tt 02.03.11

8pageHow are the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters fairingthis basketball season? Turn to Page 8 to get up todate on basketball’s success.

Curious of how Anthony Hopkins performed in the newexorcism-type movie? Turn to Page 5 to find out.

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TThhee ssttuuddeenntt vvooiiccee ooff LLoouuiissiiaannaa TTeecchh UUnniivveerrssiittyyFebruary 3, 2011

Volume 85 Number 14

Talkwww.thetechtalk.org

Tech faces most cuts in UL system450 academic programs cut in Louisiana, Tech has the most at risk

Twelve graduate and 34 un-dergraduate academic pro-grams identified aslow-completers at Tech are atrisk of being cut by theLouisiana Board of Regents.Tech had the highest num-

ber of the 450 low-completerprograms the Regents identifiedat the eight-campus system.“The Board of Regents has

been talking about the low-completer review, and this issomething they have tradition-ally done,” said Ken Rea, vicepresident for academic affairs.“It’s not anything new. Themajor change is that it used tobe based on a five-year average,and now it’s based on a three-year average.”Rea said the news did not

come as a surprise as officialswere expecting the review. Hesaid he believes the shift from afive-year to a three-year reviewperiod was caused by the eco-nomic crises facing higher edu-

cation. The criteria for a program to

be identified as a low-com-pleter for undergraduate pro-grams is an average of eightcompleters per year or a mini-mum of 24 graduates withinthree years. For masters pro-grams, it is an average of fivecompleters per year or a mini-mum of 15 graduates withinthree years.“Each campus has until the

end of February to agree to ter-minate the program, recom-mend consolidation of theprogram or defend the continu-ation of each program identi-fied as low completer,”according to a Board of Re-gents press release last week.“Campuses that choose to de-fend a program for continuationor consolidation must not onlyprovide fiscal impact data intheir response but will also berequired to address how con-tinuation of the program fits

within their mission, especiallyif there is duplication of theprogram by another institutionin the state. The Board of Re-gents will vote on the recom-mendations of staff concerninglow-completer degree pro-grams in April.” The University of Louisiana

System, which includes Tech,the University of Louisiana –Monroe and Grambling StateUniversity, among others, had212 potential cuts, more thanany other education system inthe state including theLouisiana State University, theSouthern University and thecommunity and technical col-lege systems.“This does not mean these

programs will automatically goaway,” said UL System Presi-dent Randy Moffett in a ULSystem press release. “Itmeans we must review studentneeds and program effective-ness to justify maintaining theprograms or consolidating formore efficient delivery.”

Kelly Belton & Hayden HaynesNEWS EDITOR & STAFF REPORTER

Source: Academic Program Review

> see CUTS page 6

LA GEAR UP mentoring program will soon beginhelping area junior high schools in a new enrichmentprogram. The program, called ib4e or intervention before

enrichment, will serve as a way to motivate juniorhigh students in Choudrant, Dubach, Ruston andSimsboro. Sheri Robken, assistant principal at Ruston Junior

High School, said the schools will be squeezing in25 minutes per day for the program.“The students will be able to enjoy fun activities

as part of the en-richment program,but if they’re strug-gling in class orneed to make up atest a teacher canpull them out for theday and help themwith their schoolwork,” Robken said. Taylor Hamilton,

a senior sociologymajor, is one of the38 mentors involvedin the mentoringprogram. She saidthe LA GEAR UPmentors will beworking with the fun

and entertainment portion of the program.“I’ll be working at Ruston Junior High School

where we’ll be doing skits to entertain the students,”Hamilton said. “They will relate to things they willbe learning in school that students may be strugglingwith as well as teach good character and leadershipskills.”Hamilton said going to these schools will present

all new challenges for the mentors.“We’re used to just being with a handful of stu-

dents, but now we will be working with entire stu-dent bodies,” Hamilton said. “It’s going to besomething we’re not used to, but I’m excited tostart.”Nicole Gailfoil, a senior medical technology and

biology education major, serves on the executiveboard as historian for the LA GEAR UP program. She said in addition to now helping with the en-

richment program, there has also been tremendousgrowth within the mentoring program with the num-ber climbing from 15 to 45 mentees over the pastyear. With such growth, Gailfoil said she encouragesanyone interested to apply to become a mentor. “This is a great way for college students to get in-

volved,” she said. “Students can make an impact ona kid’s life which is one of the best and most re-warding things you can do.” She said students interested in joining the pro-

gram must go through an application and interviewprocess to become a mentor. Students must alsohave a 2.0 GPA, but she said there is a little leniencyfor extenuating circumstances.“We want to give everyone who wants to help the

opportunity to,” Gailfoil said. “It’s a good feeling

Mentor programoffers help forRuston JHSZach BeairdSTAFF REPORTER

> see LA GEAR UP page 6

The department of residentiallife sent residents of the temporar-ily reopened Hutcheson ResidenceHall a letter on Jan. 12 stating thattheir temporary stay in the dormwas up. Hutcheson was orginally closed

for the summer in May 2010, butdue to an unexpected number ofmale students enrolling for on-cam-pus housing, housing was forced toopen it temporarily in fall 2010.Casey Ingram, coordinator of

student development, said housingdid not want to turn any studentsaway from on-campus housing, soto accommodate them, the dormwas reopened.“Hutcheson was officially re-

opened in August when there was

an overflow of male students andnot enough space in the otherdorms to house them,” Ingram said.Ingram said they have been mov-

ing students out since the beginningof the school year, but it was notuntil recently that housing was pre-pared to move all of the occupantsout.“Two weeks into fall quarter, we

started moving people out,” shesaid. “We moved them out accord-ing to how early they had applied foron-campus living. Now that we arein winter quarter, we have enoughspace to move them out.”Although getting the students

moved out of Hutcheson is some-thing that has been in the works forsome time, Ingram said she hasmixed feelings about it.“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “We

are glad to move them out, but atthe same time that means we lost a

lot of students.”Some residents of Hutcheson

were reluctant to move out of thespace they called home for a quarterand a half. Residential Life gave residents

until Jan. 25 to come to housing topick their new room assignment orthey would assign them into a newroom. Semaj Roots, a sophomorebiology major, said even though heknew the assignment was tempo-rary, he was not happy about themove.“I felt my privacy was being

taken away,” Roots said. “I was usedto not having a roommate and hav-ing my own thinking area.”Ingram said they do not have any

private rooms available for the resi-dents to move into and probably willnot for the rest of the year.“We have to have enough space

to house students for spring quarter,”

she said. “So, even if people moveout after winter quarter there is noguarantee they will be able to moveto a different room.”Roots said if he had the choice

of moving into a private room, hewould have done so.“It’s not the same rooming with

somebody else,” he said. “You haveto share everything, and on top ofthat you have to worry about yourroommate stealing your stuff.”Ingram said at the beginning of

the process Hutcheson had approx-imately 70 residents, and now thereare fewer than 20 who have not con-tacted housing for a room change. She also said even though there

are no concrete plans on what willhappen to Hutcheson once it is nolonger in use, they plan to have allstudents out by the end of the quar-ter.

Sherelle BlackSTAFF REPORTER

Hutcheson Hall closes doors again

From left to right Rachel Brady, Krithika Maddineni, Alex Marquardt, Sam Tatroand Rachel Hanks participated in the March for Life protest in Washington D.C.

Submitted photo

Bulldogs for Life rallyat nation’s capitol

Five students departed from Ruston Jan. 21on a journey to the nation’s capitol in hopes ofmaking a difference in one historical decisionthat changed “life” as we know it.Those students, members of Bulldogs for

Life, a pro-life organization on campus, traveledto Washington, D.C. for the 38th annual Marchfor Life, a pro-life rally that protests abortion

and aims to overturn the 1973 U.S. SupremeCourt decision of Roe v. Wade. The casepaved the way for the legalization of abortion inAmerica. This year’s march was held Jan. 24—two days after the 38-year anniversary of thedecision.Alex Marquardt, president of Bulldogs for

Life, said this was the first year the organizationjoined the event.“It was overall an amazing experience,”

Amber GuyotteCOPY EDITOR

> see HUTCHESON page 6

> see RALLY page 2

Following 10 on-campus vehicle burglaries,students and Tech Police officers are encour-aged to become more observant of suspiciousbehavior in the parking lots. Tech Police recorded burglaries in four to

five different areas around campus in parkinglots such as the Kidd dormitory lot, the West-ern lot, Caruthers lot and the Cottingham lotwith electronics as the main targets. Thievessnatched items such as DVDs, stereos, globalpositioning systems, cash, subwoofers and am-plifiers. Vehicles were broken into through un-locked doors or breaking in a window.Tech Police Chief Randal Hermes said

Tech Police are staking out these parking lotslooking for suspicious behavior, and everyoneon campus needs to do his part to be obser-vant of this behavior in the parking lots.“We will ask our student committee to look

for suspicious activity of individuals walkingaround peeking in cars and generally loiteringaround the parking lots,” Hermes said.He said if any students, not just student

workers, recognize this suspicious behavior,they should call Tech Police immediately.“We need student crime stoppers,” he said. Though at 3 a.m. Sunday morning, Hermes

said a male student in the Wyly Tower ofLearning parking lot noticed a black malechecking the handles of several cars includinghis own car.He called Tech Police to report this

Haley KraemerCOPY EDITOR

> see ROBBERY page 6

Car burglarycases runrampant

““It’s all about caring. Caring

about yourself and caring

about the kids. That’s the

most important thing.”

TTaayylloorr HHaammiillttoonn

senior sociology major

The Academic Program Review released details Jan. 26 that cut of over 450 academicprograms in Louisiana. Of these, 212 are at risk of cut in the University of LouisianaSystem, which includes the 46 programs at risk at Tech.

Southeastern Louisiana University

Nicholls State University

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

McNeese State University

University of Louisiana at Monroe

Louisiana Tech University

Grambling State University

Northwestern State University

2 • The Tech Talk • February 3, 2011

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Students and communitymembers will have the chanceto donate to St. Jude Children’sResearch Hospital during aradiothon sponsored by EpsilonSigma Alpha International andRuston radio station KXKZ-107.5 from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb.7 and from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Feb.8.

Donations can be made toSt. Jude at Super 1 Foods andWalmart or by calling 1-800-787-5288 during the radiothon.

Epsilon Sigma Alpha hopesto receive pledges for “Partnersin Hope,” a program wheredonors agree to donate $240 ina year’s time.

Those who pay the $240 upfront will be placed into a draw-ing to receive prizes donated bylocal businesses and individu-als.

For more information con-tact Mary Poe, sales managerfor KXKZ, at 318-255-5000 orat [email protected].

NNSSBBEE ttoo hhoolldd ffrreeeessttuuddyy ‘‘jjaamm sseessssiioonnss’’

The National Society ofBlack Engineers will host studysessions at 4 p.m. each Monday,Wednesday and Thursday inBogard Hall, Room 326.

The study sessions aremeant to help students withhomework or projects in engi-neering, math, chemistry,physics, biology, English andother classes.

Students will also receivehelp in preparing for tests.

NSBE encourages all stu-dents to come hang out andstudy in a fun and comfortableenvironment.

For more information contactTrevan Jenkins, NSBE programchair, at 318-617-3990 or [email protected].

NNoorrtthh LLaa.. ttoo ooffffeerrMMaarrddii GGrraass PPaarraaddeess

Shreveport and Monroe willoffer Mardi Gras parades be-ginning Feb. 19. The Monroe-West Monroe Krewe of Janusparade is at 6 p.m. Feb. 19. Theparade begins at the intersec-tion of Eighth and Natchi-toches streets in West Monroe.It then turns left on TrentonStreet before the final right turnon to Louisville Avenue. It endsat the intersection of BreardStreet and Louisville in WestMonroe. For more informationcontact 318-338-3172 or visitkreweofjanus.com.

"Centaur's 20th Carnivale"begins at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26 inShreveport.

The parade begins in down-town Shreveport on Clyde FantParkway and turns at Shreve-port-Barksdale boulevard andcontinues in front of the ShreveCity Shopping Center before itturns and ends on East KingsHighway. For more informationvisit kreweofcentaur.org.

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The second Wallace Her-bert Memorial Astronomy Lec-ture, presented by guestlecturer Sara Seager, will beheld at 6 p.m. Friday in WylyAuditorium.

Seager is a professor ofphysics at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology and re-ceived her Ph.D. from HarvardUniversity. She was also part ofa team that not only helped dis-cover the first detection of lightfrom an exoplanet, but also thefirst spectrum of an exoplanet.

For more information con-tact the Chemistry and Physicsoffice at 318-257-4911 or LeeSawyer, associate professor ofphysics, at 318-257-4053 [email protected].

BriefsCampus

Congratulations2011 Kappa Delta Orientation Student Leaders

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,your sisters

around the world in 180 minutes

The main floor of the Stu-dent Center was twisted into amixture of cultural traditionsfrom around the world duringSaturday’s 12th Annual Inter-national Scholarship Dinner.

The International StudentAssociation hosted the event,which included song anddance performances fromLatin America and theCaribbean Islands and foodfrom China, India and Nepal.

The cultures from aroundthe world merged to help raisescholarship money for foreignexchange students at Tech.

Dan Erickson, director ofInternational Student Services,said there are 660 internationalstudents who attend Tech andan additional 65 are herestudying English.

“This event is like a familyreunion,” Erickson said. “Youget to see people you’ve grownto know over the years. Thisyear we gave out 15 scholar-ships. We really appreciatethose who have helped donatethese scholarships.”

Attendees had the chanceto mingle and share culturalcustoms with international stu-dents along with faculty andcommunity members.

Neelima Ranjitkar, a gradu-ate student from Nepal, saidshe has been enrolled at Techsince fall quarter.

“I have never attended adinner like this, so I was so ex-cited to attend,” Ranjitkar said.“I got to see different varietiesof food and culture.”

Ranjitkar said she attendedthe dinner to meet different

people from different culturesand to represent her country.

“The International StudentDinner gets people from allover the world to a single placewhere everyone can representtheir country and their culture,as well as getting to knowabout people from all over theworld,” Ranjitkar said. “I thinkit is the best place and occa-sion for getting people from allover the world together.”

The dinner allows for stu-dents of all nationalities togather and discuss the similar-ities and distinctions amongtheir cultures.

Natalie Wood, a formerTech student, said this was thefirst year she attended theevent.

“The dinner allows studentsto show people their favoritetraditions of their homeland,not just tell us about it,” Woodsaid. “We learn so much duringthis dinner and appreciatethem sharing their culture withus. We are so blessed to havethese students with us for awhile.”

Along with a new outlookon different cultures, attendeesalso had an opportunity toform lifetime friendships.

Wood said the dinner was agreat way to bring people to-gether and make new friends.

“At the dinner, I sat with agroup of students from Nepal,”Wood said. “We talked,laughed and discovered thatwe like some of the samethings. I would have never metthem had it not been for the In-ternational Scholarship Din-ner.”

E-mail comments to [email protected].

All photos by Karthik Gotrala

A group of international students from India perform a classical fusion dance for International Scholarship Din-ner 2011 organized by International Student Office.

Mary TimmonsSTAFF REPORTER

Top: A Sword balancing act, which is part of belly dancing,was performed for International Student Dinner 2011 byAlex Beeler from Portbelly Project in Shreveport. Themotto of Portbelly project is to promote belly dancing andeducate the public about this form of women dancing.

Bottom:A group of students from the Caribbean Islands per-formed island fusion dance for International Student Din-ner 2011 organized by ISO.

International Scholarship Dinner hosted by ISO

Congratulations to the 2011 International Scholarship recipients

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Marquardt said. “It was greatto see people from all over thenation from different placeswho were just as passionate asI am about this issue. I enjoyedthe spiritual aspect of it, too.We prayed with other groupsattending and got to share ourexperiences with others.”

He said he traveled morethan 30 hours for the five-daytrip because he is grateful forlife and supportive of thecause the March for Life fightsfor every year.

“I went because I feelstrongly about overturningRoe v. Wade,” Marquardt said.“We are all a generation ofsurvivors because our mothershad the choice to abort us butchose not to. I am thankful toGod and my mother that shechose for me to experiencelife, and I wish for all to havethis amazing experience. [Themarch] helps let the govern-ment know there is a signifi-cant number who care deeplyabout this issue and want thiscourt ruling overturned. It isthe great number of peoplethat show this is still a majorissue to many Americans.”

Rachel Hanks, a sopho-more biomedical engineering

major, said she was not an of-ficial member of the groupuntil she signed up for the tripbut wanted to travel to D.C. tosupport her pro-life beliefs.

“I believe everyone has aright to life—born or un-born—and the march was away to actively support my be-liefs,” Hanks said. “Though Iwas just one of a huge crowd,I truly felt like I was making adifference. I think it's impor-tant because it raises aware-ness about a controversialissue that most people strug-gle to choose a side on.”

Sam Tatro, a sophomorecivil engineering major, saidshe believes in standing up forbeliefs, even if it means travel-ing more than 1, 200 miles andstanding in 14-degree weather.

“It shows how many peo-ple actually feel strongly aboutending abortion and that Roev. Wade was a bad decision,”Tatro said. “Think of it, therewere thousands of peoplethere and for every person,there was probably at leasttwo that could not make it be-cause they could not take timeoff or something. I am surethat someday we will make adifference.”


> RALLY from page 1

February 3, 2011 • The Tech Talk • 3

Nursing students had the opportunity to meetwith representatives from hospitals and universi-ties at the annual Nursing Career Day Jan. 26 inthe Student Center, Main Floor, to set up futureconnections for their post-graduate careers.Nursing Career Day is organized by the Student

Nurses Association to help Tech graduates withthe recruitment process. Vendors from as far awayas Baton Rouge and Texas made up the 22 ven-dors available for students at this year’s event, saidBeth Fife, a faculty adviser for the Student NursesAssociation and an associate professor of nursing.“The students love this, and the vendors like

talking to our students,” Fife said in a universitypress release. “We have (representatives from)hospitals, from uniform shops and from universi-ties.”Lindsey Punchard, president of SNA, said

holding an annual Nursing Career Day gives Techstudents an advantage over nearby schools.“Schools like [University of Louisiana – Mon-

roe] and [Grambling State University] don’t havenursing career days,” Punchard, a senior nursingmajor, said. “So, that sets us apart from other localuniversities.”Janey Gaston, vice president of SNA, said

Nursing Career Day, which has been around formore than a decade, nearly doubled the amountof vendors from last year.“Last year we did not have any universities

available for the students,” Gaston, a senior nurs-ing major, said. “We started planning earlier thanlast year by sending letters out in July and book-ing the TONK nine months in advance.”Some of the hospitals represented were North-

ern Louisiana Medical Center in Ruston, St. Fran-cis Medical Center in Monroe, GlenwoodRegional Medical Center in Monroe and MindenMedical Center.ULM, University of Louisiana Lafayette and

Northwestern State University sent representa-tives this year.Punchard said she was exceptionally glad uni-

versities were incorporated this year.“I’m glad that we could have some colleges at-

tend,” Punchard said. “I am interested in continu-ing my education, so I was interested in seeingwhat they offered.”Along with getting the chance to network with

prospective hospitals and universities, Gaston andPunchard were two of the four recipients of ascholarship.Mary Coleman, owner of Uniforms for You in

West Monroe, presented four nursing studentseach with a $250 scholarship based on an essay,GPA and active participation in SNA.Gaston said she is appreciative of the scholar-

ship because it will help her with some of thecosts of graduating.“I was thrilled to receive the scholarship,” she

said. “It will help pay for my cap and gown andcover the cost of the NCLEX-RN [National Coun-cil Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses]test, the state board test for nursing.”Other recipients were Allison Ambrose, a jun-

ior nursing major, and Mary Rea, a senior nursingmajor.Punchard said not only should nursing students

in clinicals go, but all nursing students should be-cause it helps get their name out and make lastingimpressions that will be useful in the future.“Most people think they can always get a job

in nursing right away,” Punchard said. “That’s nottrue, at least not in Louisiana.”Gaston said she does not believe there is any

other nursing program around where the facultyshows their concern and connection to studentson a personal level by holding a career day.“Tech’s nursing program really cares about its

students and what happens to them after gradu-ating,” Gaston said. “They always look out for theirown.”


Sherelle BlackSTAFF REPORTER

Nursing students gain insightfrom professionals at career day

FFiillmm ddiirreeccttoorr sshhaarreess eexxppeerriieennccee iinn iinndduussttrryy

Students got an up-close look at the growingfilm industry in North Louisiana Jan. 27 in WylyTower Auditorium. Goodman explained the importance of the

industry, answered questions and gave outcopies of his DVD and soundtrack as prizes forcorrectly answering trivia questions. “We’re at an important crossroads with our

area’s film industry,” Goodman said. “We’ve ex-ceeded expectations. We’ve grown somethingfrom nothing, and we’ve had more than 80movie and TV productions in the area since2005.”Goodman has worked on six short films and

his first feature-length film, “The Last Lullaby,”was filmed entirely in North Louisiana. He hasbegun working on his second feature-lengthproject, “Peril.”Goodman said Louisiana has faced several

challenges in its film industry including com-petition from other states, business communityeducation and participation, media exposureand infrastructure.“I still had to go to Los Angeles for 10

months to finish the film ‘The Last Lullaby’,”Goodman said. “We didn’t have the infrastruc-ture in the state for me to do all the post-pro-duction here. Now, though, we’ve realized thatthis is an area where we are lacking.”Students were able to learn from Goodman’s

experience and how this area has received aneconomic boost due to the industry tax incen-tives offered by the state.Sharlene Smith, president of Bulldog Entre-

preneurs, said learning about the NorthLouisiana film industry was very informative,and Goodman was excellent.

“As a student part of BE [Bulldog Entrepre-neurs] on campus, I felt it was incredible, in-formative and entertaining,” Smith said. “Italso allowed me to meet and hear the feelingsof other movie industry enthusiasts.”Smith said it is nice to hear the experience

of someone who has been involved with the in-dustry and had success with his own movie. Smith said Goodman gave good tips on how

to break into the industry and see new ways tobe innovative.“I’m from Baton Rouge, so I know how the

industry has affected the economy there, and Iwanted to know if the trend was the same ornot,” Smith said. “I'm glad to hear the industryis growing and has the opportunity to havesome large successes in the future.”Some who attended the event have experi-

ence in videography and wanted advice andthoughts on how to break into the industry.Maurice D’aquin, president of the wake-

board team, said he has always considered theoption of going into the field of film produc-tion because of his love for videography.“I guess I can be described as an independ-

ent film maker, but really I just love document-ing things,” D’aquin said. “I video, edit andsometimes direct mostly documentary work forthe Louisiana Tech Wakeboard Team.”D’aquin said that it’s nice to hear Louisiana

recognizes the perks of having film industriesin the area, and they are willing to fight to keepthem here.“I feel that Louisiana is going in the right di-

rection to keep the industry here, and I doagree that having major motion films as well asindependent films is vital for the area,” D’aquinsaid. “We have an amazing amount of creativetalent in Louisiana, and the more exposure wecan capture will only benefit the community.”Goodman ended the night with hopes that


Photo by Kyle Kight

North Louisiana native, director Jeffrey Goodman, speaks about his five year film indus-try and reports on where the North Louisiana film industry is going. Goodman also speaksabout his newest film, “The Last Lullaby.”

the film industry’s success continues to grow inthis area. Goodman said communities should workto make this industry stronger for our area and fu-ture generations. “I understand that the film industry isn’t brand

new anymore in town, but it’s still a major eco-

nomic addition to our area and we have to makesure we continue to value it as such,” Goodmansaid. “Let’s keep working to make our film industryeven stronger.”


Study abroad programs give Tech studentsthe chance to travel to different countries andexperience their cultures along with stretchingtheir purse strings for payments. Currently thereare three study abroad programs available forsummer 2011. Trips to Madrid, Florence andLondon will be made over the summer. Thecost for the trips is estimated to be more than$5,000 for each trip. The pricing may vary be-cause of the exchange rate in foreign countries. According to Tech’s website, in order to in-

crease the international education of its studentbody, Tech has summer Study Abroad Scholar-ships. These scholarships are offered annuallyto juniors and seniors hoping to enrich their ed-ucation experience.

LLoonnddoonn

The Tech London study abroad experienceis a three-week program that will take place inLondon and parts of southern England. Thetotal estimated cost of the trip is between$5,000 and $5,600. Ken Robbins, director ofSchool the Performing Arts, said he plans to goto London with the 15 students currently signedup for the Tech London study abroad program.“The cost of these trips may vary due to the

exchange rate,” Robbins said. “As of right now,the exchange rate in Europe is 1.59 percent; thismeans for every pound in London we wouldhave to pay $1.59.”

FFlloorreennccee

The Florence program will last five weeksand students can earn up to six credit hours in

history and architecture. The cost for the pro-gram is $6,800 for undergraduate students and$6,980 for graduate students. Katie Wella, secretary for the School of Art,

said the cost difference for tuition for graduatestudents has increased; therefore it costs morefor a graduate student to study abroad than anundergrad.

MMaaddrriidd

The cost for Tech Madrid is estimated to be$6,200 and will allow students to gain six credithours in Spanish, including one for Spanish 102. Don Kaczvinsky, the director ofthe school of

Literature and Language, said the cost would beslightly more for graduate students due to tu-ition costs. “If a student has had Spanish 101 then they

may complete Spanish 102 while taking part inthe Tech Madrid program,” Kaczvinsky said.“There are also 400 level Spanish classes of-fered for those who have completed 200 and300 level classes.”In October, Kaczvinsky, sent an e-mail to all

students informing them that the trip was opento all students and that financial aid and TOPSmay help cover costs. Kim Barlow, the scholarship coordinator at

Tech, said that TOPS does not fully cover studyabroad programs.“Students who plan on going abroad can

however take advantage of TOPS during thesummer if they have 60 credit hours and attendschool during both summer sessions.” Barlowsaid. “So, if a student participating in a studyabroad program meets the requirements TOPSmay assist in that tuition for the program.”



The 35th annual St. JudeAuction, held Feb. 3-6 in Min-den, is a well-known traditionin the small town held eachyear on Super Bowl weekend. In the past few years Tech

students have become moreinvolved in the fundraiser,which last year raised morethan $800,000 for the chil-dren’s hospital. Mollie Catherine Smith, a

sophomore elementary edu-cation major, will participate ina 5K run for this year’s auc-tion. There is a $20 entrancefee for the 5K, with all pro-ceeds go to St. Jude. Smith said this will be her

first time participating in theevent and is excited to be apart of it.“It’s so rewarding to know

that you’re helping such agreat cause,” Smith said. “Ithink awareness is growing,and I think it is beginning tospread to Tech.”Smith said her sorority,

Sigma Kappa, also had manymembers volunteer to work atlast year’s auction. “We had a group of girls go

last year who put in a lot ofhard work at the event,” Smithsaid. “They answered phones,took pledges and did a lot ofbehind the scenes work to givetheir support.”

Smith said that althoughthis is not one of the sorority’smain philanthropies, it is still agreat cause, and she is happyto be raising its awareness.“St. Jude is not our main

philanthropy, but it’s good forus to step out of the norm,”Smith said. “I feel like we’rehelping raise awareness

around campus and educatingmore people about St. Jude.” Bailee Madden, an unde-

cided freshmen, is a native ofMinden and will be helpingwith the St. Jude Auction forher second year by helping or-ganize the 5K.“At 7 a.m. I’m out putting

up signs for the runners. I alsohelp with getting concessionsfor after the run and do otherodd jobs that need to bedone,” Madden said. “It’sgreat being involved in suchbig tradition and seeing peo-ple come out to help and sup-port a great cause.”

Laura Hollingsworth, whoworks with the auction andhas served as a past chairman,said the support from Techstudents is greatly appreci-ated, and she encouragesmore to get involved. She said one way students

can contribute is throughpledges made on items raffledat the auction. Students cango to www.mindenstjude.comto make pledges on any of themany prizes, or a studentgroup on campus could evenhold a fundraiser and donatethe money to St. Jude. However, she said money is

not the only way a student canhelp out.“I understand college stu-

dents don’t always have a lotof money to give,”Hollingsworth said. “But timeis worth just as much asmoney, and students who vol-unteer their time are a hugehelp.” Hollingsworth said there is

always something needing tobe done if a student wishes toget involved.“We’ve had young people

contribute in all kinds ofways,” she said. “Whether itwas answering phones, help-ing with Internet sales ordoing the radio announcingthere’s always something thatwe could use a hand in.”


Zach BeairdSTAFF REPORTER

AAnnnnuuaall SStt.. JJuuddee AAuuccttiioonn ttoo bbeehheelldd oonn SSuuppeerr BBoowwll wweeeekkeenndd Tech travels abroad

Students plan to earn hours in foreign nations

Insight

WWhen Bulldogs for Life, apro-life organization oncampus, traveled to

Washington, D.C., this past weekfor the 38th annual March for Life,a pro-life rally that protests abor-tion and aims to overturn the1973 U.S. Supreme Court deci-sion of Roe v. Wade, I wonder ifthey were aware that the Housewas working on the “No TaxpayerFunding for Abortion Act.” Of course, this act has nothing

to do with what our Bulldogs forLife were out there protesting, butit’s almost ironic that the Housechose January to bring up such abill. The “No Taxpayer Funding for

Abortion Act” requires the redef-inition of “rape” in pieces of leg-islation and would preventtaxpayer’s money from beingused to provide abortions. Now this may be a boo-yah

moment to those fighting to makeabortion illegal, but for those whoare pro-choice, know that underthis plan, only abortions from“forcible rape” may receive assis-tance from tax dollars, Medicaid. What bothers me the most

about this act is not what it’s fight-ing to do, but rather that theHouse believes there is a differ-ence between “rape” and “forciblerape.” I am mostly sure that rapeis the act of forcing sex upon anunwilling participant. How crazyis it that change is only achievedthrough the act of redefinition? So, why the change, and, oh,

an even better question, will theOxford English Dictionary have toadopt this change, or will it sim-ply be another one of those spe-cial words only the governmentgets to use?The ultimate aim of the bill is

to eliminate “taxpayer funding forabortion.” This would end thehealth insurance tax-deductionfor any plans that offer abortioncoverage. I’m sure for those whodespise the knowledge that theirmoney is being used to help abortbabies, this comes as a relief, buttry not to get too excited. Themoney will still be used for spe-cific cases.Of course, there were already

restrictions for this type of cover-age. Federal funding will onlycover an abortion in the case ofrape, incest and when the preg-nancy endangers the life of the

mother. This means that instances of

statutory rape resulting in preg-nancy will no longer be coveredby tax dollars. Also, according toGawker.com, “Other types ofrapes that would no longer becovered by the exemption includerapes in which the woman wasdrugged or given excessiveamounts of alcohol, rapes ofwomen with limited mental ca-pacity, and many date rapes.”To me, the proposal to rede-

fine types of rape and cuttingthose that are not “forcible rape,”the House makes it sound as if it’smore the woman’s fault for notbeing on her guard, and she al-lowed herself to be assaulted. If there were going to be ex-

ceptions for abortion, I wouldwant to know that any type ofrape pregnancy would be pro-tected. This does not mean I advocate

abortion, but rather the woman’sright to terminate a pregnancyshould she be unfit to bear a childafter having a traumatic event,such as rape, happen to her. Another thing about this act

that bothers me is that in the caseof incest, federally funded abor-

tions would only cover thosewomen under the age of 18. How does that make sense?

What is the difference between anincestual baby born from awoman who is 15 and a womanwho is 22? Nothing.This proposal is one of the

most absurd things I have readsince the beginning of the year.There’s no way this bill will makeit out of the Senate alive. I can only see this bill as a way

to appease those pro-life protest-ers in Washington, D.C. It’s almost as if they think by

cutting out a few more federallyfunded abortions, the crowd willcalm. Well, news for the House, the

abortion topic will never diedown. So, please stop proposingsuch ridiculous bills and do notcall the Oxford English Dictionarypublisher to redefine rape. It iswhat it is.

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FROM THE EDITOR

Danielle Cintron

Rape has only one definition

In Our Opinion

In his State of the Union address Jan. 25, PresidentBarack Obama touted the merits of the Americanpublic and the strength of our nation as he described

ambitious plans to place the U.S. back at the forefront. Hemused on the economy’s growth following the recessiontwo years ago, and the difficulty Americans face findingjobs in a market that depends more on technology thanmanpower. He advocated taking lessons from China andIndia by placing more emphasis on math and science todevelop new, job-creating technologies as a way to stim-ulate the economy, and thus, “win the future” through in-novation and creativity.

Before we can increase innovation, however, Obamanoted we must also improve our education, placing em-phasis on the role of parents in ensuring their children’sacademic success. Obama discussed the role of schoolsas high-expectation institutions and the successes of theinnovation-rewarding Race to the Top program as well asgiving more respect to teachers for their responsibility as“nation builders,” a term used in South Korea.

“Over the next 10 years, nearly half of all jobs will re-quire education that goes beyond a high school educa-tion, and yet, as many as a quarter of our students aren’teven finishing high school,” he said. To assist students achieve higher education, taxpayer

subsidies that used to go to banks have been redirected tosave that money and “make college more affordable forstudents.” He also urged Congress to make the tax tuitioncredit permanent, awarding $10,000 for four years of col-lege. Obama also plans to bring access to high-speed rail-ways to 80 percent of Americans and enable 98 percentto access high-speed wireless coverage. Perhaps one ofthe president’s most important talking points was the ad-vocation of bipartisanship in areas ranging from educa-tion to energy, stating “new laws will only pass withsupport from Democrats and Republicans. We will moveforward together, or not at all.” The Tech Talk editorial staff holds mixed reactions to

Obama’s vision. For example, as part of his plan forcleaner energy, the president claimed “with more researchand incentives, we can…become the first country to havea million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.” A ques-tion was posed on whether enough people were ready tomake that change, and how would people cope if theyran out of energy while on the road? Obama’s plan tofreeze annual domestic spending for the next five years isanother sensitive issue. Although the cuts, including healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid, are meant toreduce the national deficit by $400 billion, some wonderwhy the focus is not on foreign spending and remove ourarmed forces from overseas instead of making cuts athome. It is, however, agreed that bipartisanship is neces-sary to move toward progress. For his goal of improvingour technology and industries, Obama wants to retainthese students and help them become contributing citi-zens instead of deporting them after their education iscomplete. It is unclear how successful the administra-tion’s goals will be or how the short-term requirementswill affect our nation. Obama wants to restore confidencein the institution of government; while everyone may notagree with his policies, no one wants him to fail. At thispoint, a loss for the president can be a loss for us all.

The state of our Union

TechTalkThe

We college students don’talways have health inthe front of our minds.

We are freaking out over whattests are coming up, some of usour jobs and if we are even goingto have enough time to finish thatEnglish research paper due to-morrow. The college environment has

taught us that the five letter wordthat begins with an “s” calledsleep is an activity characterizedby laziness. We are pressured tofeel guilty for catching moreshut-eye than we should have. We think, “if I would have just

stayed awake long enough tostudy a few hours more, then Iwould have done better on thattest.” We feel that we have letourselves down by sleeping.I know people who are walk-

ing zombies who refuse to sleepbecause they are stressed be-yond belief, and they are afraid towaste precious time that may beused to study for tests.I absolutely hate this mental-

ity that lack of sleep equals bet-ter performance, and enoughsleep equals laziness.

The truth is if they would justtake a substantial nap before theystudy, it would make a world ofdifference in their retention ofthe test material.Sure, our schedules often-

times seem to not allow for peri-ods of slumber, but timemanagement is something youhave to work out for yourself.What would work better for you?Your body will thank you formaking that extra effort to sched-ule a bracket of sleep into yournighttime and/or your daytimeroutine and more importantly toutilize your weekends to catch upon sleep.According to Fox News, a

study concluded that neglectingto get enough sleep on the week-ends is causing America’s chil-dren to gain extra pounds, and asixth of our children are alreadyobese.The study found that obese

kids slept fewer hours and had amore irregular sleep pattern thantheir thinner companions. Theydetermined this by logging thenocturnal habits of more than300 kids, ages ranging from 4 to10 years old, by wearing a smalldevice that measured their sleep

every night for a week.I know what you’re thinking.

How are children relative to us,and was the study only to provethat less sleep on the weekendsincreases weight gain?Well, “the researchers ac-

knowledge that the study was notdesigned to prove that less week-end slumber packed on thepounds, but they say other ani-mal and human studies showsleep can influence weight.”The simple explanation of

this discovery makes plenty ofsense. I wonder why I hadn’tconnected these dots earlier. According to the article, Dr.

David Gozal, leader of the study,believes “…that the direction ofthe arrow is you sleep less, youeat more, you exercise less be-cause you’re tired and thereforeyou gain more weight.”Gozal is an expert in child-

hood sleep problems at the Uni-versity of Chicago.What came as a relief to me

is that, after a closer look at theresults, Gozal still firmly believedthat getting the hours of sleep onthe weekend that you lacked dur-ing the week does make a differ-ence in our body weight.

According to the article, hetold Reuters Health, “If you sleptlittle during the week but consis-tently caught up on it over theweekend, then you reduced yourrisk of obesity from 4-fold to 2.8fold.”So next time you are bragging

about the lack of sleep you gotthe night before a test due tohardcore studying, rememberthat those more sensible peoplewho have planned sleep intotheir schedules through timemanagement will be more alert,feel better and oftentimes per-form better on tests.According to Fox News, “Our

society thinks of sleep as a com-modity that can be sacrificedeasily,” Gozal said. “We look atpeople who sleep less as if theywere heroes. Better education ofparents and children about get-ting regular sleep, and not sacri-ficing it for TV, etc., would lead toa healthier society.”

HHaalleeyy KKrraaeemmeerr iiss aa jjuunniioorr jjoouurr--nnaalliissmm mmaajjoorr ffrroomm SShhrreevveeppoorrtt wwhhoosseerrvveess aass ccooppyy eeddiittoorr ffoorr TThhee TTeecchhTTaallkk.. EE--mmaaiill ccoommmmeennttss ttoohheekk000022@@llaatteecchh..eedduu..

KRAEMER KHRONICLES

Haley Kraemer

Sleep affects performance

Despite a strong lead intechnological communica-tion, the Facebook fad

could be heading for a close.Yes, there is a Golden Globe

winning, Oscar-nominated movie,600 million users and a $50-80billion corporation involved, butwhere else can the corporation gofrom here?What was once a company

that prided itself on the commu-nication between friends and hostsometimes-unflattering picturesof each other has turned into asocial deviant, being the cause ofmany personal security issues andnow being used as a way to haveemployees fired.That’s not all. Facebook allows

“exes” to stalk old lovers, gives en-emies a portal to cyberbullyingand has aided in a number of ma-licious crimes.How often have you untagged

yourself from pictures or postsout of fear of people you may ormay not know knowing yourwhereabouts and activities? It is fears like this that have

caused Facebook to becomemore of a menacing upkeep

rather than a fun way to wastetime.Of course, there are small se-

curity features that Facebook of-fers that will allow only certainpeople on certain lists that youcreate to see what you do, butwith the ever-changing Terms ofService, you can never be certainwhat that list will be able to seeafter an update, not to mentionthe upkeep required to know whois on what list and who should beable to see what. Facebook has become a com-

plex array of services that losesits luminosity and excitementwhen it becomes too complex,and that is exactly what is hap-pening.Complexity forced MySpace,

Friendster and other less-knownsocial networking sites into nearextinction, and unfortunately,Facebook is following the path ofits predecessors by taking the funout of social networking and turn-ing it into a part-time job.Facebook should look at Twit-

ter and emulate at least the func-tion. Though 140 characters is a lit-

tle steep for a post, the simplicityof Twitter is what makes it such

an addicting networking site.Even more trouble for social

networking and the Internet as awhole is the literal near-end ofspace available on the Web.New York magazine reported

that the Internet is running out ofaddresses for all devices wantingto connect to it. Internet protocoladdresses (IPs) are the unique nu-merical label assigned to everydevice participating in a com-puter network. The system being used now,

IPv4, lets 4.3 billion different de-vices connect to the web. How-ever, with only 117 million devicespots left, a new system isneeded, which is why the IPv6 iscurrently in the works.Among other companies such

as Yahoo and Google, Facebookis planning to switch over to theIPv6 in June. However, I would caution

Facebook to hold their cards be-fore folding into the new genera-tion of IP control. The fad isdying fast, and Facebook may nothave a leg to stand on when theIPv6 is released worldwide.This column is not to diminish

the usefulness of Facebook. Itdefinitely has its uses -- e-mail,

chat, photo sharing -- but as amainstream use, Facebook’s lus-ter is diminishing.Steve McKee, author of

“When Growth Stalls,” wrote inhis blog about the shock he feltafter attending a conference forexecutives who oversee onlineand digital activities at a varietyof leading corporations and find-ing that many of the “digital glit-terati” either had personalFacebooks or no Facebooks at all,but few had Facebooks for busi-ness. When confronted, manygave the same “been there, donethat, not interested” message. Hesaid he was confused at first butlater understood that the great cu-riosity about social media is com-ing to an end and with it the needfor corporations to force everyoneon the bandwagon.While Facebook may not be

coming to a halting end or an endat all in the near future, it is defi-nitely reaching its peak.

TTaayylloorr SStteepphheennss iiss aa jjuunniioorr jjoouurr--nnaalliissmm aanndd EEnngglliisshh mmaajjoorr ffrroommBBoossssiieerr CCiittyy wwhhoo sseerrvveess aass ffeeaattuurree eedd--iittoorr ffoorr TThhee TTeecchh TTaallkk.. EE--mmaaiill ccoomm--mmeennttss ttoo ttddss002266@@llaatteecchh..eedduu..

THE TRUTH AS I SEE IT

Taylor Stephens

Facebook reaching its peak


Visceral Games scored a hitwith its ultra-gory horror-sur-vival venture “Dead Space” in2008 and has returned to startoff 2011 with its highly-antici-pated follow up, “Dead Space2,” released Jan. 25.

Haunted by memories of theevents aboard the space vesselUSG Ishimura, engineer IsaacClarke awakens three years afterthe end of the first game in apsychiatric ward on the Titan, amassive space station orbitingSaturn.

After a man frees Isaac fromhis cell to save him from a newoutbreak of Necromorphs,grotesque monsters formedfrom revived human corpses,Isaac discovers another Marker,a religious artifact responsiblefor the Necromorphs, is some-where on the Titan. As he strug-gles to destroy it, Isaac alsobattles disturbing visions of hisdead girlfriend, Nicole, as wellas a deadly case of dementiaconnected to the Marker.

The original “Dead Space”made waves for its unforgivingdifficulty, intense violence,barely-restrained depictions ofgore, nerve-wracking tensionand innovation of using limbdismemberment, not just aheadshot, to ensure an enemywas truly down for good. Whilethe sequel has toned down theinfamous constant atmosphere

Robert WilsonENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Visceral Games / EA

of suspense, the theme of ab-solute horror is still intact. Bar-ring the clichéd “scary”moments of machinery sud-denly coming to life or lightsflickering out, the game is at itsstrongest when Isaac has nochoice but to watch peoplegruesomely die or be forced tokill in self-defense via suddenquick-time events.

Perhaps the best element ofthe game, as far as the story isconcerned, is the integration ofNicole as a source of Isaac’s in-ternal conflict, frequently ap-pearing from nowhere andtaunting him as the cause of herdeath in scenes akin to theScarecrow moments in “Bat-

man: Arkham Asylum.” Theemphasis on Isaac’s fragile men-tal state is what really drives“Dead Space 2,” giving whatcould have been a rehashing ofthe same story a sense of depthsimilar games trade for shockvalue.

Along with a well-writtenstory are updated gameplay el-ements. The Stasis tool, used toslow enemies and buy time tofocus on their weak points, nowrecharges over time and theTelekinesis power has been re-fined, although it sometimes fo-cused more on the objectnearest to me than the object forwhich I was actually aiming.Text and audio logs also returnto give some backstory on theTitan. New to the game, how-ever, are terminals Isaac canhack to access locked areas.

Most of the enemies fromthe original return with the ad-dition of the Stalker, a raptor-like creature that hunts as partof a pack and utilizes cover be-fore sprinting toward the player.

There are more zero-gravityenvironments as well, enablinggreater challenges and varietyfor the action as Isaac hoversthrough elevator shafts, ventsystems and even deep space.These areas are among the bestin the game, granting the playerto maneuver in any directionand re-orient themselves withthe press of a button while man-aging to establish a genuinesense of nausea when facingunusual angles.

Arts & Entertainment‘dead space’ sequel sets new standard

What really makes the game-play standout is how deeply it isimmersed in the story. Whatbegin as cutscenes give roomfor pulse-pounding quick-timeevents and sudden shootoutswhere the player is placed backinto control without warning,keeping the persistent sense ofexhilarating confusion.

One area where the gamefalters, however, is the Necro-morph generation system.While part of the theme is thesurprise of creatures crashingthrough walls and fallingthrough ceilings to sneak on theplayer, many areas becomepassable only because it be-comes possible to predict wherethe Necromorphs are going toappear. Furthermore, the cli-mactic final chapter is one ofthe most difficult I have faced ina long time, not only because ofthe number of enemies, but alsobecause some Necromorphsare extremely tough, if not im-possible, to kill, making the ex-perience more frustrating thanfun.

Despite some minimal flaws,“Dead Space 2” is a high-qual-ity game and an improvementon a landmark survival-horrortitle. With intensely creepy,blood-soaked atmospheres,challenging obstacles and a har-rowing tale of coming to termswith one’s inner demons, “DeadSpace 2” should not be missed.


VIDEO GAME REVIEW

Hopkins returns with a vengence

After last year’s “The Wolf-man” failed to impress, AnthonyHopkins returns as an unortho-dox exorcist in “The Rite,” a filmthat investigates the truth be-hind demon possessions andexorcisms.

Based on the book, “TheRite: The Making of a ModernExorcist,” by Matt Baglio, thefilm follows Michael Kovak(Colin O’Donoghue), a youngpriest who was born into a fam-ily of morticians and priestswho pressured him into thepriesthood. Skeptic of demonpossessions and exorcisms,Kovak drops out of seminary inhis senior year. However, a pro-fessor encourages him to attenda famous Italian school for ex-orcism where he meets exorcistFather Lucas (Hopkins).

No sooner do the two meet,Lucas engages Kovak in an ac-tual exorcism of a young preg-nant woman, the beginning ofhis quest for truth.

Unlike “The Exorcist” andother movies dealing with pos-session, this film, as explainedby O’Donoghue in an MTV in-terview, is classified as more ofa psychological drama ratherthan horror.

“The point of the film is toexplore the idea of whether it’sa psychological illness or a truepossession, trying to take as un-biased a position as possible,”he said.

Hopkins said in his interviewhe retains the same creepy pres-ence he exhibited in the “Han-


Warner Bros

nibal” tetralogy.There were many instances

where I jumped in my seat in re-sponse to the Hopkins’ exorcistperformances, threatening theintegrity of the movie-theaterchair as it rocked back andforth.

“I know how to do theseparts,” Hopkins told MTVNews. “Not because I’m scary,but because I know how toscare people. It’s a question ofbeing quiet and not overplayingit. You let the script and the au-diences do the work for you.You don’t have to play evil.”

The psychological thrill ofthe mysterious act of an exor-cism was made all the moresensational by the extensivepreparation both actors took fortheir roles.

Hopkins’ preparation con-

sisted of learning Latin and Ital-ian and spending a lot of timein his room going over thescript, and O’Donoghue evenattended actual exorcisms withthe assistance of Baglio.

“The idea of going to themwas more frightening than actu-ally being in them,”O’Donoghue said in his inter-view. “[Matt] had been to the ex-orcism school, and he knewsome exorcists who were willingto let me in, as long as it wasokay with the people who werebeing blessed. Some peoplewere and one woman wasn’t,and she wanted to close thedoor. It’s a different experiencethan you expect it to be. It’s likegoing to a therapist. It was fas-cinating to watch.”

Hopkins’ performance as Fa-ther Lucas was extraordinary inthe first exorcism scene. I had aflashback of the eerie counte-nance displayed in “Hannibal.” Isaw Dr. Lecter Hannibal’s pierc-ing eyes staring into that womanwhile chanting strong wordsfrom the Bible and holding thecross up to the victim’s face.

The film does not give anexact answer as to the veracityof exorcisms or the existence ofdemons spending the run timebetween Kovak’s claims of psy-chiatric disorders and FatherLucas’ inability to give him afull, simple answer. The audi-ence was glued to the screen asthis psychological thriller ex-plored the journey of a youngpriest looking for the truth indemons and exorcisms.

E-mail comments [email protected].

Courtesy of Visceral Games / EA

MOVIE REVIEW

The Rite��

Dead Space 2��

Ruston theater shows‘Dial M for Murder’

Ruston Community Theater’s production ofFrederick Knott’s “Dial M for Murder” presenteda twisted mystery tale Jan. 27-30 at the DixieCenter for Performing Arts.

“Dial M for Murder,” famously turned into anAlfred Hitchcock film in 1954, is set in London in1950 where ex-professional tennis player TonyWendice, played by Mitch Dufour, has settleddown with his wife Margo (Sommer Richardson).After discovering Margo has been keeping an in-timate correspondence with American crimewriter Max Halliday (John Emory Jr.) through let-ters, Tony decides to have revenge and conspireswith an old colleague to have her murdered.

Geri Taylor, who made her RCT directingdebut with the play, said she suggested “Dial Mfor Murder” as part of the reading committee,looking for a dramatic film-noir type and evendrew from Hitchcock’s film for inspiration.

“We choose the layout the writer establishedand configured it according to our stage,” shesaid. “Hitchcock made it feel very claustropho-bic, keeping the focus very tight and realistic. Wewanted to make it feel like their lives are confinedhere.”

Setting the entirety of the play in the livingroom of the Wendice home, the stage was de-signed for all furniture and props to have a black-and-white motif so the actors could “pop” andstand out from the set.

Richardson, a senior general studies major,said she began acting 15 years ago and returnedto the stage in October for the “Red Velvet CakeWar.”

“[For this play] I had the looks, the blonde hairfor the role,” she said, laughing. “I also love the‘50s and ‘60s; I find it intriguing.”

In the play’s first act, the audience is intro-duced to Margo and Max, who discuss a trou-bling matter of a mysterious person whointercepted one of Margo’s letters and is now at-tempting to blackmail her, holding the letter as aransom.

During the initial dress rehearsal performance,Emory Jr. seemed to be stiff in his delivery, notreally coming into his own until the climacticthird act. Dufour also appeared to have someproblem grabbing hold of his accent, but man-aged to lock it down in time for the first pivotalscene where Tony calmly explains to Lesgatehow he will either accept money to assist him in

murdering his wife or he will tell the police Les-gate was the person responsible for his wife’sblackmail, all while a carefully-controlled dra-matic score built sharp tension in the back-ground.

Lee Sawyer, an associate professor of physics,primarily played a reporter in addition to smallerparts. Sawyer said he acted in high school as wellas amateur one-act plays in college with hisfriends, even coming to view his classroom lec-tures as performances.

“I like to read plays; I love drama and I’m amovie buff,” he said. “In this play, it’s not a ‘who-dunit,’ but more ‘will they catch him?’ It’s chal-lenging; it’s dialogue driven and the actors have togive the audience clues. It’s very challenging, butI liked the material.”

Sawyer said throughout the show’s run, theaudiences were good and he was impressed bythe size, but he was always surprised when theaudience would laugh.

“It’s a serious play and there are some funnylines, but there are places where people will laughto relieve the tension,” he said.

As an example, Sawyer pointed to the ActTwo’s second scene, where the plot twists again.Lesgate arrives, entering the house and hides be-hind a curtain as Tony instructed, waiting forTony to make a call from a party and draw theloneMargo toward the phone where Lesgate canmake the kill. Lesgate manages to wrap a scarfaround the young woman’s neck and proceeds tostrangle her, pinning her atop a desk. Margoman-ages to grab a pair of scissors and stabs him inthe back, quickly reaching for the phone to callhelp and finds Tony on the other end, forcing theduplicitous husband to quickly hatch a new planas Inspector Hubbard (Kevin Cuccia) and his sub-ordinate, Thompson (Terry Stepp), began theirinvestigation.

Sawyer said people tended to laugh afterMargo kills Lesgate.

“It’s not funny, but [the audience] is presentedwith a man strangling a young woman so realis-tically, they laugh as a catharsis,” he said.

Emory Jr. said he serves on the board of theDixie Center and has worked various positions,using “Dial M for Murder” as a chance to steponto the stage.

“It’s been fun, I recommend it to anybody,” hesaid. “It’s a growing experience and gives you thechance to meet people you never would haveotherwise.”


Robert WilsonENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Photo by Ben Corda

Ruston Community Theater showed their production of “Dial M for Murder” Jan. 27-30 at the Dixie Center for Performing Arts.

SUDOKUPUZZLE

Across1. Latin I word5. Rascal10. Temperate14. Coarse file15. Nearby16. Bhutan's continent17. ___ Little Tenderness18. Cave19. Greek temple20. Verse form23. Japanese syllabic script24. Narc's org.25. Hoops28. Bleat of a sheep31. Legend maker35. Break37. Lotion letters39. Bro or sis40. High-speed separator44. ___-mo45. "___ had it!"46. Sharon's land47. Groups of animals50. Hesitant sounds52. Silk fabric53. AOL, e.g.55. Anklebones57. State in the NE United States63. Aromatic fragrance64. Highways, e.g.65. Coloured part of the eye67. Gymnast Korbut68. Glossy fabric69. Belonging to us70. Clock face71. Group character72. Depilatory brand

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CROSSWORDPUZZLEwww.sudoku-puzzles.net

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Fill in the grid so that every row, every columnand every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9.

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LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION


AriesMarch 21 – April 19Is there a secret you're obsessed with unveiling, Aries?Something strange could be going on in your neighbor-hood, or it might be an intellectual puzzle.Whatever it is,you're determined to discover the truth.You may do thingsyou wouldn't normally do. Don't be too pushy with ques-tions. Con4ne your research to books, newspapers, andtheWeb.You can 4nd a few clues without alienating any-one.

TaurusApr 20 - May 20Various intellectual or humanitarian subjects you've beenreading about have changed your value system, perhapssubtly, Taurus. You may not notice it until you hear some-one mention beliefs like those you used to hold. It mightbe uncomfortable to realize that such profound changeshave occurred in you, but it's only a natural part of per-sonal growth. Everything changes, so why not you?

GeminiMay 21 - Jun 20A temporary separation from a love partner might haveyou in a very gloomy mood, Gemini. Attempts to reachyour friend by phone might prove fruitless.You might growmore and more frustrated and angry.There isn't much youcan do other than leave messages. Don't let your insecu-rity get the best of you. Find something else to do untilyour friend has a chance to call. Better late than never.

CancerJun 21 - Jul 22Expect to be frantic if you have to take care of somethingthat's time critical today, Cancer. People and situationsaren't in your favor. Everything will seem like a challenge.Prioritize tasks and do them slowly and cautiously one ata time. If you push too hard, you will make mistakes and

wear yourself out. The world won't end if you don't 4nishall your tasks.

LeoJul 23 - Aug 22Generally you avoid politics in any group you belong to, Leo,but today youmight get caught up in the fray in order to sup-port a friend. This goes against your grain. Be sure and as-sess the situation carefully before getting too involved.Friendor not, you aren't going to want to alienate anyone in thegroup.Think about it. Is it worth it?

VirgoAug 23 - Sep 22Changes you're making at home might necessitate yourplanning extra time, Virgo. Perhaps you're waiting for aguest whose plane got delayed, or your shopping triptakes much longer because you can't 4nd what you'relooking for.Whatever it is, don't panic. Just try to stay ra-tional and think about other options or alternatives.

LibraSep 23 - Oct 22Are you involved in a search through every store for aparticular item, Libra? You might be looking for a longtime.The object you need won't be found at the local mall.Secondhand shops, obscure boutiques, antique stores out-side town - all of these are more likely to have what youwant than any shop you'd normally frequent. Be braveand take a chance. You might really enjoy it.

ScorpioOct 23 - Nov 21If you've given up on something you've lost, Scorpio, youmight get a real surprise tonight when a dream sheds lighton where you might 4nd it. It's important that you eitherget up and search for the object immediately or write thedream down in as much detail as you can remember. Oth-erwise, this could be one of those dreams that disappearsas soon as you wake up, and you won't want that.

SagittariusNov 22 - Dec 21A business or romantic partner might be in a foul moodand not very likely to tell you why, Sagittarius. It won'tbe all that easy to deal with, but it probably doesn't relateto any trouble between you.Therefore, it's best to let yourpartner work it out alone.Take care to stay cool and keepa safe distance between you, at least for today.The moodshould pass by tomorrow.

CapricornDec 22 - Jan 19Have you been exercising beyond your 4tness level, Capri-corn? If you have, you're probably feeling very tired, sore,and out of sorts.Take it easy today, even if you don't wantto. You can still exercise, but concentrate on yoga and taichi rather than more strenuous programs like aerobics.Push yourself a little, but not too much. The idea of "nopain, no gain" is a fallacy.

AquariusJan 20 - Feb 18A goal you've recently been on the verge of attaining maysuddenly hit unexpected setbacks, Aquarius. Howevermajor or minor they are, it's going to be disheartening.The only thing you can do is pick up the pieces and moveon. The goal isn't dead in the water. There are only someextra tasks that need to be done before you achieve it.Do what you have to, and hang in there.

PiscesFeb 19 - Mar 20You could be introduced to a new person today Pisces. Heor she may be someone who will play a very importantrole in your life at one point. You will feel an instant con-nection and 4nd out you share a passion for the samekinds of things. This person could turn out to be a verygood friend, and romance is also very likely.Take it slowlyand see what happens.

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getting to know a menteeand knowing that you madea difference.”

Hamilton said mentorswork with the mentees toeducate and acquaint themwith college at an early age.

“We have an event everymonth where we bring thementees to campus and ac-quaint them with collegelife,” she said. “We are as-signed mentees who wekeep in touch with and justget them used to a collegeface and atmosphere.”

Hamilton also encour-aged those interested tosign up, but said there isone quality that any poten-tial mentor must first pos-sess.

“It’s all about caring,”she said. “Caring aboutyourself and caring aboutthe kids, that’s the most im-portant thing.”


> LA GEAR UP from page 1He said this is a healthyprocess that is good for univer-sities’ improvement.

“We are pleased the Boardof Regents has stepped up itsefforts in reviewing under-per-forming programs,” he said.“This more stringent review isconsistent with our streamlin-ing and efficiencies initiatives.”

Rea outlined the optionsfacing Tech’s 46 identified pro-grams.

“There are basically threeoptions that they (Board of Re-gents) outline,” he said. “One isto continue the program, theother is to terminate the pro-gram, and the third is to con-solidate the program.”

Bob Levy, chairman of theBoard of Regents, defendedthe board’s review process inthe Board’s Jan. 26 press re-lease.

“It is critical that we im-prove the efficiency and pro-ductivity of our institutions,”Levy said. “Regents will beginby putting all low-completerand duplicative programs onthe table so as to drive ourstate’s effort to become moreproductive and efficient con-cerning degree offerings.”

A majority of Tech’s pro-grams identified in the LowCompleter Review deal witheducation, and Rea said manyare certification requirementsused to be certified to teachspecific age groups or subjectareas.

“I wasn’t surprised at thenumber,” Rea said. “Tradition-ally, they have not included ed-

ucation in the low-completerreview, and they have not tra-ditionally included what we callgeneral education such as his-tory, English and so forth.”

According to the Low Com-pleter Review, the universitymust respond to the Board ofRegents by Feb. 28 with its de-cisions on affected programs.

It will then be up to theBoard to determine if the pro-grams will remain or be elimi-nated.

“Where we are right now,we are working with the deans,and the deans are working withthe departments,” Rea said.“We’re looking and examiningand doing a self-evaluation ofthese programs.”

Because the university is be-ginning the process, Rea saidTech is not ready to disclosewhich programs will be cut.

“We’ll make that decision(to terminate or appeal) oncewe get all the information,”Rea said.

Rea also said in the past,students in programs that havebeen cut have been allowed tofinish their degrees, but he can-not guarantee that will be thepolicy in the future.

“The university is workinghard to examine all of theseprograms,” Rea said. “We wantto do what is in the best inter-est of the students and the uni-versity. We remain committedto the students and to provid-ing them the top-quality edu-cation they came here for.”

E-mail comments [email protected] [email protected].

> CUTS from page 1longer in use, they plan tohave all students out by theend of the quarter.

“There are no officialplans,” she said. “Hopefullywhen they tear downCaruthers and Neilson, theywill tear down Hutcheson atthe same time.”

Ingram said althoughHutcheson will not reopen forthe rest of the year, there is apossibility that it will be usednext year depending on thenumber of males wanting tolive on campus.

“There are no plans to ren-ovate it because we eventu-ally want to get rid of it,” shesaid. “So, we would ratherspend money on the otherdorms that we know for surestudents will live in.”


> HUTCHESON from page 1

suspicious behavior. When the police arrived,

the individual was gone, butthey located 22-year-old Del-mond Oliver, a Ruston resi-dent, in a vacant lot near theHousing Office where theybegan to question him.

Oliver’s vehicle was foundin the Steeples Glen parkinglot where items were recov-ered such as Marijuana anddrug paraphernalia.

Tech Police and Ruston Po-lice Department searched hisRuston apartment at 716 Ver-non Street, and between hiscar and apartment, theseitems were recovered: GarminGPS, two pairs of sunglasses,a small flashlight, a black iPod,two DVDs, a Belkin FM trans-mitter for iPods, a 3-port ciga-rette lighter and anemergency glass breaker.

These items were tied tothree on-campus car burgla-ries.

Oliver was charged withunauthorized entry into amotor vehicle, vehicle bur-glary, illegal possession ofstolen property, possession ofmarijuana and possession ofdrug paraphernalia and he iscurrently booked at the Lin-coln Parish Detention Center.

The three Tech Police offi-cers who worked on this casewere Sergeant Harry Shrell,Officer Steven Whilsek andAssistant Chief Bill Davis.

Ben Corda, a senior jour-nalism major, lives in ParkPlace apartments and hasfallen victim to the recent rob-beries.

He said his 2005 ChevyCobalt was broken into be-tween 12:30 and 8 a.m. Jan.25 in the center of the gravellot located on Mississippi Av-enue, and they stole his stereohead, his subwoofer, his ampli-fier and his GPS.

“I had parked it the nightbefore, and I got a call on theway to class on the 25th fromTech Police telling me mywindow was broken, and itlooked like someone mayhave broken into my vehicle,”he said.

Corda said this type ofthing have never happened tohim before, and he alwaysmakes sure his car doors arelocked.

Hermes also said Tech Po-lice has also been dealing withseveral thefts at the MaxieLambright Intramural SportsCenter since intramuralgames have started, and hewarns students about leavingtheir wallets, phones andsweatshirts along the wall inthe gym during sports games.

“This may be becauselarger numbers of studentsare at the intramural center atlater hours of night now thatintramural games havestarted,” Hermes said.

He said he encourages stu-dents to lock their possessionsin the car or in a locker.

“Students need to call usand let us know if anyonelooks suspicious,” Hermessaid. “We can’t be everywhereat once. Everyone needs to dotheir part.”

E-mail comments [email protected].

> ROBBERY from page 1


More Talk

After the Arizona tragedy early last month, gun control has become the focus onwhich the media has turned its lens.Jared Loughner’s shooting spree in Tucson Jan. 8 opened a case of arguments

for gun activists, pacifists and the media alike, which, according to The Week mag-azine, is most likely what he was looking for.According to the FBI database, gun usage in violent crimes has seen a decrease

in numbers. When in 2006 guns were used 63 percent of the time in robberies and64 % of the time in aggravated assault, 2009 studies have shown that gun-armedrobberies have decreased by 20 percent and by 40 percent in aggravated assault.However, decreased gun violence does not decrease awareness of issues in-

volving gun control. In fact, over the years, public opinion on gun control has re-mained at a plateau in spite of the decrease on gun violence, said Jason Pigg,department head and associate professor of political science.He said the media portrays that the majority of Americans want stricter gun

laws, but statistics show no change in public opinion regarding stricter gun laws.“Even though you hear stories that this may lead to more gun control, when you

look at the numbers [on public opinion], they are not there,” he said. “[Opinion] ispretty much the same as it was a year ago.”Pigg said regardless of public opinion, the studies on guns show evidence that

gunas are a problem.“When you look at households that own guns, there is more gun-related death

and violence in those households because of misuse of those weapons,” he said.

“So, I think there has been extremely effective lobbying from the National Rifle As-sociation that really shapes the debate that we have in the United States.”Recent news articles show examples of shootings which led to changes in the

schools’ gun policies.A FOX News article stated that Nebraska Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial,

Neb., introduced a bill that would allow school administrators, teachers and securitystaff to carry concealed handguns in schools following an incident where a 17-year-old killed his vice principal and shot his principal before turning the weapon on him-self.TheWeekmagazine’s article, “Guns:Would tougher laws have prevented amas-

sacre?” sparks a debate among editorialists, columnists and the American peopleabout the gun control issue.According to the magazine article, “Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post

remarked Loughner was able to buy that ‘sleek, efficient killing machine’ only be-cause of ‘our nation’s insane refusal to impose reasonable controls on guns.’”The Week quoted Erich Pratt in a USA Today magazine article seeing the issue

in a different light.Pratt said gun-control laws only protect those honest citizens who obey them,

and they are at the mercy of those who do not.“No amount of gun control will stop people like Loughner getting guns,” Pratt

said.She believes a more effective response is to pack guns, so when the next dis-

turbed person begins to open fire, a citizen has the tool to stop him. This presentsanother problem for universities.Tech Police Chief Randal Hermes said firearms have not been a problem on

Tech’s campus.He said it is not a crime to have a gun on campus, but it is a violation of a school

rule as listed below. Certain measures will be taken if someone is found with afirearm anywhere on campus.According to the Tech Student Handbook, “6.04:20 Possession and/or Use of

Guns, Firearms, Knives, Explosives and Other Weapons- Possession of and /or ex-ploding of fireworks and other explosives is prohibited.”The student handbook also states that those found guilty of on-campus violations

that violate the university behavioral standards “are subjected only to censures im-posed by the University authority.”

“You can lawfully drive through campus with a gun in your car because youcan lawfully have a gun in your car,” Hermes said.

Possession of a gun in your vehicle is perfectly legal in Louisiana as thevehicle is seen as an extension of your home, according to Louisianastate firearm laws.

Hermes said it does not seem like the right environment to haveweapons at a school.

“If you knew your teacher had a gun, and you wanted to goshoot up the class. Who’s the first person you are going to shootat?” he said. “You’re going to shoot at the person who has thegun. Honestly when you look at these school shootings, in a lotof cases, it is the grown-ups that are the first ones [shooters]seem to target.”Hermes also said carrying a concealed weapon some-

times allows someone to have an unreasonable sense ofbravado.“They may put themselves in a situation or not retreat in

a certain situation that they should,” he said. “They standtheir ground and become over-confident. They uninten-tionally expose themselves to these situations.”Pigg said the U.S. Constitution is shady on how to deal

with gun control, which leads to what is now being seen innational news.“I think the U.S. is pretty distinctive in having so few gun-

control laws. We definitely have a different culture thanmany other countries do,” he said. “It is one, especially inthe South, that has a very strong attachment to the ownershipof weapons and guns. The Supreme Court has ruled that theSecond Amendment stands for an individual’s right to ownweapons, but they were pretty careful to point out in their opin-ion that it doesn’t mean that there couldn’t be restrictions on ei-ther the types of weapons sold or the types of people who couldown weapons.Pigg said he would be worried if Tech professors were coming

to school with weapons.Though gun control has been a hot topic of discussion in themedia

lately, the U.S. should keep in mind what Loughner’s possible intentionswere in his planning of the massacre as according to the opinion of Bryce

Tierney, a friend of Loughner..“I think the reason he did it was mainly to promote chaos,” Tierney told

MotherJones.com. “He wanted themedia to freak out about this whole thing. Hewanted exactly what’s happening.”



GUNCONTROL‘No amount of gun control will stop people‘No amount of gun control will stop people

like Loughner getting guns.like Loughner getting guns.

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Source: FBI Database

Page designed by Taylor Stephens

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Erich PrattUSA Today

arch 20, 2010. The LadyTechster basketball teamwalked off the court in Tal-lahassee, Fla., after falling toFlorida State in a first round

matchup and any dreams of advancing inthe 2010 Women’s NCAA Tournamentwere dashed in an instant.One year later, seniors Adrienne John-

son, Tarkeisha Wysinger-Mackey, Brietta

Thomas, Whitney Jones and Martina Hol-loway have returned with one goal in mind.Win.Having successfully navigated their way

through a grueling non-conference sched-ule, these seniors are well on their way toleading the Techsters back to the NCAATournament after putting themselves in afavorable position by going undefeated inWAC play thus far.After receiving three Associated Press

Top 25 votes for the first time this season,the Techsters are a few wins away from en-tering into the polls and turning someheads in women’s college basketball.Whether it’s Johnson littering the stat

sheet with double-doubles or Thomas hit-ting a last second 3-pointer in triple over-time to squeak out a win over Fresno State,the seniors on this team are resilient.Maybe it takes a heartbreaking loss at

the end of a season to build the sort of re-solve that is required to take the next steptoward greatness.Maybe it is as simple as maturing and

growing together as a team.Maybe it’s following under leadership

of head coach Teresa Weatherspoon to

give them one of the best seasons thisdecade.Whatever it is, the Lady Techsters have

it and are growing in confidence everytime they step on the court.Homefield advantage and crowd sup-

port can give the Techsters the extra boostthey need to go above and beyond andsend Fresno State packing once and for all.The Techsters are approaching one of

the biggest home games in recent mem-ory against Fresno State that is likely to de-termine the regular season WACchampion.I highly encourage all true Tech fans

and students to go the extra mile and joinas one in support of the Techsters.Last March, these seniors fell short in

their ultimate goal of winning a champi-onship.Johnson, Wysinger-Mackey, Thomas,

Jones and Holloway are looking to finishtheir careers at Tech with a different resultthan last year.As fans, let’s all get behind them and

help send them out as winners.


The nationally ranked Lady Techster Bowling team is look-ing to turn things around after a 13th place finish at the Mid-Winter Classic in Cabot, Ark., Jan. 16.Head coach Shawn Jackson sees the challenge in the coming

weeks for the Lady Techsters but sees talent in his team.“It’s all about progressing as a team,” Jackson said. “We are

young in comparison to the top-ranked teams in the country, butwe have a talented group of student-athletes with potential totake their talents to the next level. We have had highs and lowsthis season, but our year will be defined based upon how we re-spond to those challenges in the upcoming weeks.”The Lady Techsters lost their first two matches of the classic,

falling 1096-978 to Jackson State and 1244-1136 to nationally-recognized Prairie View A&M.

In the Lady Techsters’ final match, they topped Alabama

State 743- 634 for a 13th place finish. No. 12 Vanderbilt won theMid-Winter Classic.The Lady Techsters are ranked 20th and are the only nation-

ally ranked sport on campus according to the National TenpinCoaches Association poll.“It is a nice honor, but the only thing that matters to us is

where we finish at the end of the season,” Jackson said.Tech is led by junior Houston Granger from McKinney, Texas.

She is averaging a pin-fall of 189.1 pins.Granger has a current season high of 233 pins.“Houston Granger has been our leader this year,” Jackson

said. “She is one of two upperclassmen on our roster and hasbeen our most consistent bowler.”Jackson is looking forward to the remainder of the season

with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA championships.“Obviously we want to qualify for the NCAA Championships,”

he said. “In order to accomplish that we need to be consistent inour abilities as a team.”


Bulldogs aim for third straight win

The Lady Techster basket-ball team will square-off witharguably their toughest oppo-nent left on the schedule thisseason when they face West-ern Athletic Conference foeFresno State at 7 p.m. Saturdayin the Thomas Assembly Cen-ter for the NCAA Pack theHouse Challenge.The teams last met on Jan.

13 in a historic triple-overtimegame that allowed the Tech-sters to leave the west coastwith a win and a firm grip onfirst place in the WAC.The Techsters, a team that

boasts 15-5 record this season,are coming off their eighthstraight win and look keep theirperfect conference record in-tact after knocking off Idahoand Boise State on the roadlast week.Head coach Teresa Weath-

erspoon said her squad’s focuson the offensive side of the ballhas lately made the biggest dif-ference in good form.“We’re doing much better

of valuing each possession,”she said. “That’s big for us. Ifwe can at least value each pos-session and get an opportunityto score, that makes it mucheasier for us on the offensiveend.”

The Lady Techsters arecoming off an impressive per-

formance on the road wherethey had six players in doublefigures on the night andknocked off the Broncos.Weatherspoon said despite

the Techsters staying unde-feated in conference play, herteam has yet to play a fullgame at the highest level.“We definitely haven’t put

together two halves but onlyone time this whole season,”Weatherspoon said. “We’regoing to keep working until wecan get it clicking on all cylin-ders. When we can do that,you’ll definitely see a verygood basketball team.”The Techsters have a week

off to prepare for what’s sure

to be a must-see matchup be-tween the two conferencepowerhouses Saturday night ontheir home floor.Weatherspoon said the

week off before facing theFresno State Bulldogs will giveher team a chance to rest andput in place a successful gameplan before squaring off inwhat’s sure to be a physicalgame.“We want our kids to enjoy

this moment,” she said. “Wehave a few days ahead of us toprepare and make sure theytake care of their bodies. Thegreatest thing about this is we’llbe able to take a look at thegame played against them sowe can watch ourselves andsee what we can do much bet-ter to make the game a littlebetter on our end.”FAIRwell Fresno State will

kick off at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 5.The event will include fair

rides, food and a petting zooavailable to the public.The first 300 fans will re-

ceive free admission, and allstudents can attend for freewith a student ID.The game against Fresno

State can be heard on the LaT-ech Sports Network on 97.7FM.The gametracker will be

available and can be accessedon latechsports.com.


The Bulldogs snapped their eight-game losingstreak and gained their first Western Athletic Confer-ence win Jan. 27 after defeating Idaho 71-56. Techhosted Boise State Saturday night and recorded theirsecond consecutive win when they defeated the Bron-cos 70-60.Junior forward Olu Ashaolu led the Bulldogs Satur-

day night in the Thomas Assembly Center. Herecorded his third consecutive double-double.The Bulldogs will look to improve their WAC record

when they hit the road this week against WAC foesFresno State and New Mexico State.Head coach Kerry Rupp said he was proud of his

team’s strong defensive skills that helped the Bulldogssteal the win."This was a great defensive effort," Rupp said. "Boise

State was averaging 75 points a game, and we heldthem to 60. When we battle hard defensively, we havea chance to win. That gave us a competitive edgetonight."The Bulldogs’ game against the Broncos was part

of the “Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers,” wherecoaches around the country wore tennis shoes with

their suits to raise awareness for cancer.“I was a little emotional before the game about this

being the coaches vs. cancer game," Rupp said. "Can-cer has affected all of our lives. I had three or four as-sistant coaches that I have coached with that havepassed away due to cancer. I dedicated this game tothem. It was fun to see our guys fight and battle justlike those cancer survivors do."After the Bulldogs improved to an 11-12 record this

season and 2-7 in conference play, they will head outwest to take on Fresno State tonight.Fresno State is led by freshman guard Kevin

Olekaibe, who leads the Bulldogs with an average of12 points per game. Fresno State stands 8-12 overalland 3-6 in the WAC. They are coming off of a 78-66loss at San Jose State.Senior guard DeAndre Brown leads Tech with

points, averages 15.7 per game. Ashaolu is shortly be-hind him with 14.9 points per game and leads in re-bounds.Saturday’s game against Fresno State will begin at

10 p.m. before playing at New Mexico State at 8 p.m.Monday.


Sports Talk

Sarah BrownSPORTS EDITOR

Photo by Jessica Wethington

Anna Claire ThomasASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Hayden HaynesSPORTS REPORTER


Senior guard DeAndreBrown attempts a hoopagainst Boise State Satur-day night.

TTeecchhsstteerrss kkeeeepp ssttrreeaakk aalliivvee


Junior forward Olu Ashoalu attempts a hoopduring the Jan. 29 game against Boise State. Hecurrently leads the Bulldogs in rebounds.


Bowling seeks NCAA Championship

Dear Tech students,This Saturday night

at 7 p.m., we will behosting a huge WesternAthletic Conferencegame when the FresnoState Bulldogs come toRuston.During the course

of this program’s his-tory, there have been so many important gamesplayed in the Thomas Assembly Center, and thisone will rank right up there among the biggest.Less than a month ago, YOUR Lady Techster

basketball team defeated this same Fresno Stateteam 94-92 on the road in the first triple-overtimegame in the program’s history. Now Fresno Stateis coming to Ruston.And as the Under Armour commercial states

... WE MUST PROTECT OUR HOUSE!We need your help Saturday night! These young ladies donning the red, white and

Columbia blue Under Armour uniforms work hardto represent you and your university. These areyour fellow students who you attend class withand interact with on campus on a daily basis. I am urging all students to come out in force

this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Thomas AssemblyCenter and become our sixth man. Paint yourself up in red and blue. Bring signs.

Make noise. Be fanatical. Provide the home-courtadvantage that we need and show the WesternAthletic Conference who has the best basketballfans around.The outcome of this game will play a huge role

in determining this year’s WAC champion. YOUCAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE as our student bodyis the heart and soul of all our athletic teams.We are currently undefeated in WAC play and

have won eight straight games, while Fresno Stateis only one game behind us in the standings – withtheir lone conference defeat coming to us threeweeks ago.We are starting to get some national recogni-

tion in the latest Top 25 polls, and a win this Sat-urday night over FresnoState will only increaseour chances of return-ing to the Top 25. All students with a

current Tech ID receivefree admittance into all of the home basketballgames, including this Saturday night againstFresno State. This is also our NCAA Pack the House game

and the theme is FAIRwell Fresno State. Starting at 4:30 p.m. there will be plenty of free

food, free fair rides and free giveaways out in theparking lot and front steps of the Thomas As-sembly Center.It will be a night full of great (FREE) entertain-

ment and you won’t want to miss it. So get yourfriends together, come out this Saturday night andhelp us say FAIRwell to Fresno State.

Teresa Weatherspoon,head coach

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters

Senior forward Adrienne Johnson makes a play duringthe Jan. 22 game against Nevada in the Thomas As-sembly Center. The Techsters return home to hostFresno State at 7 p.m. Saturday in the NCAA Pack theHouse Challenge, “FAIRwell Fresno State.”

AA lleetttteerr ffrroomm TTeerreessaa WWeeaatthheerrssppoooonn

anna claire thomas

FROM THE SPORTS DESK

M

sending techstersseniors out on top

Go Tech!

tt 02.03.11

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