Feature www.belmontvision.com Single Awareness Day? The Belmont Vision’s in-house experts from both genders shed light on how to be a responsible “man” on Valentine’s Day and how to please your bombshell on a budget. Also, a faculty couple proves that love knows no geographical bounds. p. 8-9 A&E It’s Oscar season, baby! As the Academy Awards approach, many film critics/nerds across the country are blogging away on who they think the favorites are to win, which films got overhyped and which ones got the hose. Our staff weighs in on the heavyweights and the snubs. p. 15 Sports The student newspaper of Belmont University By Ameshia Cross STAFF WRITER The Belmont Student Government Association Congress members spend every other Monday night deciding how to best serve Belmont through a process of bills, proposals and reforms. One of the most difficult tasks the group faces each semester is allotting money to on-campus organizations. “In order to get funding, a student organization must go through the grant petition process,” said Price Rainer, SGA treasurer and junior political economy major. Grant petitions are an option for any organization that doesn’t receive university funding. “If not Belmont-funded, by all means petition,” Rainer said. Money for grant petitions is built into the SGA budget, but “before the last Congress meeting, we had a lot of surplus funds,” said Rainer. Congress voted to take most of the $3500 grant petition surplus and divide it among the following: Bruin Den Day, a women’s basketball flag, the Battle of the Boulevard series and a comprehensive SGA Web site. The previously funded Homecoming budget was supplemented with an additional $600. Bruin Den Day was allotted $500, in an effort to give students more incentives and reasons to come out for the community service effort, according to Rainer. In addition to the men’s basketball game day flag, the motion was passed to provide one for the women’s team as well at a cost of $600. The remaining SGA funds were allocated to provide discounted student tickets for the Battle of the Boulevard game at Lipscomb and for a big-screen projection in Beaman of that game. A comprehensive SGA Web site would One for the money ... The next meeting of the President’s Council, which aids in funding campus organization, will be Feb. 19 from 5-7 p.m. in the 2nd floor Multimedia Hall of the Lila Bunch Library. receive $1300 in SGA funds. It will be “a Web site that is good, professional and credible,” Rainer said. One of the recurring themes of Belmont’s grant petition process is the lack of student organizations asking for money. Rainer believes the new SGA website would change that with links to grant petition meeting dates, president’s council meetings and information on when to pick up a form and how to fill it out. The process starts with an organization’s representative attending a President’s Council Meeting: a campus-wide gathering of organizational presidents, presided over by SGA President Will Cromer, which convenes the first Friday of every month. A benefit of President’s Council “is to have a central communication area to answer questions that arise during the grant petitioning process and [it] is open to representatives from each organization,” said Rainer. It is important to note that without attending the President’s Council Meeting, an organization is automatically denied funding. “I think many organizations will petition this year,” Rainer said. With $7400 budgeted to give grant petitions, it is likely. “I’d like to give away every dollar,” said Rainer. Petitions are due Feb. 14. Reverb Media reinvents itself Think trying to finish up your degree is hard when you’re also starting for the basketball team? Add a wife, baby and the financial worries of the real world to that mix and you have entered the life of Belmont senior center Andrew Preston. p. 12 By Lance Conzett STAFF WRITER Music The Urban Showcase Online February 14, 2007 It’s your money! Family man What was that loud noise coming from the Curb Feb. 10? Why, the Urban Showcase, of course, where a glorious display of R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul, shown in our photo gallery, was performed by Belmont students for Belmont students. p. 5 Vol. 56, No. 10 PHOTO BY AMY KADISH Taking center stage With three senior theater productions running currently at Belmont, there’s no shortage of talent on display. Among those who are performing are Chris Scheele and Jennifer Lewis, above, in “Death and the Maiden.” For additional photo and story, see page 13. After nearly three years running, Reverbmedia, Belmont’s resident campus record store, is closing its doors in March – but only temporarily. The store is being transformed into what has been commonly referred to as a “dorm store.” In its new incarnation, it will continue to offer new releases and albums by local artists, but will expand its music selection to include posters, T-shirts and music supplies. Additionally, the store will sell dorm room decorations such as bedding, light furniture and picture frames. Beyond the new format, the store formerly known as Reverbmedia is also planning several promotions to generate more interest including tournaments for Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, CD release parties and in-store concerts. The presently unnamed dorm store was created as a response to diminishing sales at the record store. The store’s new manager, Sally Munns, and co-student manager Lexi Nash, were instrumental in the change. It was Munns’ pitch to Dr. Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, which resulted in a new direction. “It was kinda going downhill,” said Munns of the store’s current format. Previous managers have recently attempted to salvage the store’s failing sales by introducing DVD rentals and guitar supplies, but these efforts were met with lukewarm response. The store will remain open as Reverbmedia until around spring break, when it will shift to the new format. Until then, the store will continue selling both new releases and local music, and bargain-priced used CDs will be phased out over time. “I don’t think the music tradition is being downplayed at all,” Nash said. “Our goal is to appeal to more students by having a wider variety of products. The store is large enough to hold both music and home decor items.” But before it can open, the store needs a new name. Students are encouraged to submit suggestions for the new store by filling out a form found in Reverbmedia during store hours (Mon.-Sat., 10 am-10 pm). The student with the winning name will be awarded a $50 gift certificate to the store. The contest will run through the end of February. Reverbmedia, started in 2004 by the Belmont University Entrepreneurship Club, is south of Curb Café on Belmont Boulevard. Page 2 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 ‘Thompson Method’ still works By Linda Johansson STAFF WRITER In 1931, when Herbert Hoover was running the country and milk was 50 cents a gallon, John Bill Thompson was born. Only 75 years, 12 presidents, five heart surgeries and more than 30 Bahamas trips later, Dr. Bill Thompson still stands strong since then, changes Thompson has seen and changes he has helped to bring about. Thompson was born in Dallas where he started his career teaching at a public school. He moved to Denton ,Texas, where he lived with his wife until he moved to Nashville. During his time at Belmont, Thompson has accomplished a great deal. He was the chair of the health and fitness department for 18 years. He is the one who started offering Getting Smart “outdoor recreational” classes such as hiking, canoeing, kayakBelmont professor Dr. Bill ing, scuba diving, water skiing Thompson and his wife will and sailing. He also started the help teach “America’s women’s tennis team as well as offering Belmont’s first and Boating Course”, an eightlongest-running foreign studies hour safety seminar that class. starts at 8:30 am Feb. 24 at According to the National Bellevue United Methodist Center for Health Statistics, less than 17 percent of the American Church. Five experienced population who are 75 years or teachers will teach the older are engaged in regular course for the U.S. Coast physical activity. Thompson is Guard Auxiliary. An eightcertainly in that minority. He chapter textbook that costs has been an active athlete for most of his lifetime, something $25 is recommended for he will not give up even at his everyone who takes the age. course, but the classes are “My heart problems restrict me some, but I still keep on free to the public. Those working and doing things,” who successfully complete said. the course and exam, which Thompson In his high school and colcover boating laws, basics lege years he was on the track and problems, are awarded and cross country teams and played in a church softball certificates of completion for Tennessee Boater Safety league. “I was never an outstanding Education, mandatory for athlete but I liked to compete,” anyone born after Jan. 1, Thompson said. Today, he teaches a health 1989. In addition, those and fitness class and stays active who pass the course may by walking, lifting weights and earn a discount on boat playing badminton with stuinsurance from some dents. He stays competitive by challenging his students in badmarine insurance compaminton. Those eager to chalnies, Thompson said. lenge him should not underestiFor registration and other mate Thompson if they ever information, contact stand on the opposite side of a court from him. Thompson at either (615) “Oh yeah, I can beat my stu834-1152 or in his office at dents,” Thompson said. “I beat 460-6922. more students than they beat me.” in the health department at Belmont University, beating students 50 years his junior in badminton. Thompson came to what was then Belmont College in 1968 when Belmont had less than 1,000 students and separate physical education classes for men and women. Many things have changed at the university PHOTO BY SIERRA MITCHELL Dr. Bill Thompson, longtime professor at Belmont, particpates in a game of badminton with a student. In 1979, at the age of 48, Thompson underwent his first heart surgery. Since then, he has had four more, including three openheart surgeries. Despite his heart problems, Thompson did not hesitate going on his “Sailboat Cruising in the Bahamas,” a study abroad program he started for his students in 1975. During these trips, Thompson and his crew stayed on a boat for a week while he taught them how to navigate, anchor, sail and read the charts. Andy Rambo, a former Belmont student, went on seven of these trips with Thompson and said he would not hesitate going on seven more with him. “Dr. Thompson is my hero captain and I would go anywhere with him,” Rambo said. “He is a great sailor and a great guy and as long as he is calm on the sea, I am calm as well.” Belmont alumnus John Starnes has also gone on a trip to the Bahamas with Thompson. He found Thompson to be a very good teacher because he was more interested in a student finding the solution to a problem individually rather than learning the “Dr. Thompson method.” “Some teachers seem to be more interested in a student learning the teacher’s method than acquiring the necessary skills to solve the problem,” Starnes said. “But he wanted each student to learn on his own.” Some of Thompson’s friends believe it is dangerous to go on overseas trips with a weak heart, but Thompson is of another opinion. “If I would have had that philosophy that I can’t go sailing because I am sick, then I wouldn’t be doing anything since the age of 48,” Thompson said. Starnes said that neither Thompson’s heart surgeries nor age came up as factors that limited his abilities. “He outpaced us all,” Starnes said. Thompson believes he has been able to be this active mainly because he is a good patient. He takes his medicine and listens to the doctors. Being an obedient patient has certainly been helpful, but the doctors are still amazed by Thompson’s active life considering what he has gone through. “Some doctors are still startled that I do the things I do. However, they encourage me to do it,” Thompson said. He keeps his passion alive to this day, having dreams for the future, sailing in the Bahamas a few more times. 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville TN, 37212 Phone: (615) 460-6433 E-mail: vision@mail.belmont.edu Editor: Managing Editor: Online Editor: Photo Editor: A&E Editor: Sports Editor: Advertising: Faculty Adviser: Online/Graphics Adviser: Henry Nichols Melanie Bengtson Joanna Larson Sierra Mitchell Andrew Cole Jordan Drake Karen Bennett Linda Quigley Angela Smith Senior Staff: Adaeze Elechi, Chansin Bird, Chris Speed, Eric Detweiler, Alexander Jones Contributors: Lisa Johnston, Courtney Drake, Rachel Allen, Ameshia Cross, Rachel Waller, Linda Johansson, Bryce Leonard, Jessica Haines, Jessica Walker, Matt Reynolds, Bethany Arthur, Meaghan Mitchell, Ray Taylor, Sarah Mitchell, Jeanette Ceja Bland Clark, Chase Misenheimer The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 3 BU remembers Emmy Scott, Student loan rate cut debate heads to Senate ‘06 honors grad in math By Nathan T. Baker By Chansin Bird STAFF WRITER SENIOR WRITER Mary Margarette Scott was known around campus as “Emmy.” She died Feb. 2 on her way to a missions conference in Texas. The Rev. Eric Falk, director of missions at Emmy’s church, also died when their van reportedly hit ice and crossed into oncoming traffic near Little Rock, Ark. Emmy was 23. She was an ‘06 honors graduate at Belmont and was pursuing a master’s in mathematical sciences at MTSU. “She loved her family. She loved her church. She loved Belmont. Her ultimate goal was to come back and teach here,” said family friend James Cook, Emmy Scott who worked with her in the math department and knew her as a fellow member at Christ Church in Nashville. Family and friends remember Emmy as having a heart for people, as well as a heart for missions and math. She clocked hundreds of tutoring hours with the math department and contributed undergraduate research to her field, which took years of patience to see through. In her church work, she traveled to places as far and wide as Haiti and Israel. Professor Glenn Acree worked with Emmy on her math research nearly every week for more than three years. He remembers Emmy as a “natural teacher” in the context of showing a peer the next step in a math problem, but also in life. and Rachel Allen STAFF WRITER In 2007, it is estimated that at least 65 percent of college students will graduate with student loans, many of which will be greater than $15,000. To reduce the burden of repaying these debts, the College Student Relief Act of 2007 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 356-71. This bill, if passed in the Senate and signed by President Bush, will lower the rates on need-based federal loans from 6.8 to 3.4 percent over five years. “If you consolidate all your loans together, that already decreases the amount of loans you need to pay off,” sophomore music business major Vanessa Stoerkle said. ”That, plus the interest rate going down, sounds awesome to me.” Greg Batcheler, an English major, agreed, saying, “I think it’s a really good idea. I think students can use all the help they can get.” For subsidized loans, the government pays the accumulated interest while students are in college. A grace period after graduation allows students time to get established in a job, but the loans must be repaid – with interest – in no more than 10 years. Chris Davis, a junior transfer student majoring in music business, will have close to $60,000 in student loans by the end of this year. “Obviously, if [the College Student Relief Act] makes my loans cheaper, I’m initially going to like it,” he said. He was concerned, however, about whether or not taxpayers would have to shoulder the financial burden. In actuality, banks and lenders will have to cover most of the $6 billion cost. In a press statement released by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), she said, “At a time when college tuition continues to skyrocket, this crucial legislation will help remove some of the barriers to a high- “I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction, but there is more that could be done.” Megan Waddell freshman, Spanish er education.” Some people wonder if the money would be better funneled elsewhere, for example, toward grant money. They worry that lowering interest will be an incentive that will lead to students taking out even more loans. The proposal from President Bush would increase the limits on Pell grants, making the maximum grant $4,600 dollars, an increase of $550, which is being heralded by many as a development much long overdue. Sophomore public relations major Jess Reuter, however, likes the idea of interest rates being lowered because she thinks it helps students more than grants do. “If you even open up 500 more grants, then only 500 more students are going to be helped by that,” she said. “The rest of us will still have to take out student loans. I think it will help the majority.” Others have taken a somewhat more reserved stance towards the bill, feeling that while it is certainly a good beginning, other changes need to take place as well. “I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction, but there is more that could be done,” freshman Spanish major Megan Waddell said. According to collegeforTN.org, 56 percent of Belmont undergraduates have borrowed through loan programs, and the average student debt upon graduation is $18,007. CLASSIFIED ADS Babysitter needed A family in Green Hills is looking for a babysitter for their 2-year old child, flexible hours, up to 20 hours a week. Please call at 665-9753 Part-Time Youth Minister needed. Una Baptist Church is seeking a part time Youth Minister. Duties will include, but are not limited to; planning and coordinating youth activities, teaching classes and weekly bible studies, developing youth outreach program, meeting with and following the ministry plan of the Pastor. This position is year-round, part-time, and salary based. Commitment to a ministry lifestyle is important and additional summer time activities should be expected. Resumes and references should be submitted by March 1, 2007. Send to Una Baptist Church, 1931 Murfreesboro Rd., Nashville, TN 37217 Attn: Personnel Committee Part-Time Maintenance person needed. Una Baptist Church is seeking a part-time maintenance person. Duties include daily routine maintenance, weekly preventive maintenance, minor projects, and coordination of outside contractors for larger projects. Resumes and references should be submitted by March 1, 2007. Send to Una Baptist Church, 1931 Murfreesboro Rd., Nashville, TN 37217, Attn: Personnel Committee Bed A 100% all new Full size mattress set in plastic w/warr. $120.00 615-394-0861 Bed 1 All New Brand Name Queen Pillowtop Set In plastic w/warr. $160.00 615394-0861 Bed 3 pc King Pillowtop set Brand name. New in Plastic w/war. $250.00 615-394-0861 “She did that for people, helped them get through situations — taught them how to live in a sense, which is a big deal,” Acree said. She continued to teach, helping with a few classes at MTSU, and learned from others. In the Belmont Honors program, students write a personal statement of beliefs in their freshman and senior years. A central theme in both of Emmy’s documents is her memory of Davy Lovell, a peer who died of bone cancer during her senior year at Goodpasture Christian School, Madison, Tenn. “Memories of Davy are still in my mind and the positive influence he left on our school motivated me toward many personal achievements. Overall, it ... taught me to build positive characteristics in myself and spurred me to look for those in others.” “... I have lived under the belief that every situation is a learning opportunity. This belief was first instilled in me by my parents but was not solidified as one of my beliefs until the death of my friend...” Emmy also wrote about a trip to Israel that reminded her to draw strength from her faith. She wrote about finishing her thesis and how the experience taught her to “press through difficult times and finish well.” The ceremony celebrating Emmy’s life was at Christ Church Feb. 6. More than a thousand people attended. “We concluded on a high note of worship and praise and that’s what Emmy would have wanted,” said Emmy’s mother. Survivors are her parents, Tommy and Becky Scott; brother, Ben Scott; maternal grandparents, Calvin and Margarette Carter; and paternal grandmother, Mary Martha Scott. Page 4 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Campbell urges campus to ‘do something!’ By Chansin Bird SENIOR WRITER Nationally-known civil rights activist Will Campbell has been described as “an articulate and authentic witness to what is the best of humanity,” and at 82, he’s still witnessing. Campbell, ordained as a Baptist minister at 17, became chaplain at the University of Mississippi in 1954 but was forced to leave after just two years because of his advocacy for racial equality. When the schools in Little Rock, Ark., were integrated in 1957, Campbell was one of four people who escorted the nine black students who were taunted by bystanders. When the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded that year to establish an inter-faith commitment to non-violent action in support of civil rights, Campbell was the only white person present among the black activists that included Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy and Joseph Lowery. Fifty years later, Campbell presses on for civil rights, largely through his writing and lectures such as the one he delivered Feb. 7 at Belmont as part of the university’s observance of Black History Month. “I get impatient with the young people who say, ‘We envy you because you were around to do all those heroic things,” Campbell said. “You didn’t save anything for us to do.’” But in anecdote after anecdote, Campbell pointed out that the fight is far from over. “While we are here there will be a thousand people, most of them people of dark skin, who will die from starvation and lack of water,” he said. “ ... [They] could be saved by white hands. But we don’t have “It was a privilege to have been at least an observer of one of the most important times in American culture when people were answering the question, ‘What’re we gonna do.’ I also know we’re living today in a very perilous time.” Will Campbell writer, minister, civil rights activist time. We’ve got a war! We’ve got to kill some more people whose skin is darker than ours.” To the students and community members who packed every seat in Massey Board Room, who stood around the walls and sat on the floor, Campbell said, “Don’t ask me what you can do because I’ll by-God tell you.” Campbell himself was not born to a life free of prejudice and misunderstanding. As a boy in Mississippi where his father was a sharecropper, he lived with the racial divide; a divide he believes still exists today in the South and in the nation. But it was there that he also learned early that skin color was not the measure of a man. “The first race relation lesson I ever learned was when I was five years old in South Mississippi,” Campbell said. “We were barefooted boys and would meet at Grandpa Bunt’s. He chewed Prince Albert Tobacco.” “An elderly man was walking down this country dirt road. We little boys were calling him by what became an ugly name,” Campbell recalled. “Grandpa Bunt called us all around and sat on a stump chewing his tobacco and said, ‘Hun – he called everyone ‘hun’ – men, women, kids – there is no such thing as –‘ and he called the name. ‘He is a colored man’ – which was the acceptable designation. ‘He is a man.’ “I never forgot that.” Campbell told a story from one of more than 20 of the books he has written: An old, overweight colonel owned a plantation in Mississippi around the time of the Civil War. He was not a mean man but part of an evil system. When the war ended and the man got a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, he called all the former slaves together and read it to them. The people knew that they were free. But free to what? Freedom to wander, stray, go north? What’s there? The man who had built the mansion in which the colonel lived said when the colonel finished, “What are we going to do?” “I had the old colonel sitting there because he couldn’t walk from the house to the store,” Campbell said. “When the slave asked that, the old colonel said, ‘I don’t know. But we’ll do something.’” Campbell has been doing “something” his entire life. “I was privileged to come along at a very important time in American history. It was a privilege to have been at least an observer of one of the most important times in American culture when people were answering the question, ‘What’re we gonna do?’ “I also know we’re living today in an equally perilous time.” He said that in recent days the nation has been turning other countries – mostly home to people of darker skin than ours – against America. “What are we going to do? I don’t know, but let’s do something.” The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 5 PHOTOS BY MELANIE BENGTSON Sounds of the city Performers in the 2007 Urban Showcase rocked the Curb Event Center on Feb. 10. (From left) Mary Lawren Maples, Lanzanator, Future and the night’s host, a DJ from 89.1, performed during the evening. The PearlCohn High School marching band kickstarted the show, which was followed by a party in the Curb Cafe. Applications for the Other Showcase are due Feb. 16. MONEY FOR COLLEGE NOW HIRING LOOKING FOR ENERGETIC, TRUSTWORTHY, AND HARDWORKING INDIVIDUALS TO BECOME CASHIERS NOW Hourly wage PLUS GREAT TIPS! Flexible schedule with part-time shifts available for lunch and dinner APPLY IN PERSON OR SET UP AN APPOINTMENT Because Aunt Joan needed more Botox®*. CALL 255-1415 OR VISIT THE 1528 DEMONBREUN LOCATION (NEAR MUSIC ROW) She got a facelift, you got the tuition bill. Not to worry: a Campus Door student loan can cover up to 100% of your education costs, with online approval in less than a minute. $.75 Tenders on Tuesdays!!! All without the painful side effects. campusdoor.com *Botox® is a registered trademark of Allergan, Inc. Like this poster? Download your own printable PDF version at campusdoor.com/posters All loans are subject to credit approval. Programs, rates, terms and conditions are subject to change without notice. Other restrictions apply. Trade/Servicemarks are the property of Campus Door Inc. and/or its affiliates. Lender is Lehman Brothers Bank, FSB. ©2006 Campus Door Inc. All Rights Reserved. Equal Opportunity Lender. Page 6 E The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 ideas How the Grinch stole Valentine’s Day Every lover at Belmont (well, the girls at least) liked Valentine’s Day a lot. But the Grinch, who lived in a cubicle on the 2nd floor of Gabhart, did not. “I hate the Hallmark marketing and the expectation of giving, I hate seeing the trumped-up happiness of everyone but me living.” I know what you’re thinking: HENRY NICHOLS maybe his head isn’t screwed on quite right, maybe his tie’s a little too tight, maybe too many girls have realized he’s not Mr. Right. Or maybe after all, rejection after rejection, his heart is two sizes too small. “Whatever,” the Grinch said. “Pride may go’eth before the fall, but I’m still going to ruin Valentine’s Day for y’all. “I’ll dress like Cupid, for my lost love I’ll pine, while I kick down your doors and throw out your wine. “I’ll burn your romantic comedies and trash your desires; I’ll turn your greeting cards into funeral pyres. “I’ll wolf down See’s Candies and slam acoustic guitars, I won’t stop until everything is feathered and tarred. “Then I’ll retreat to my high-rise and listen for your wails…I’ll laugh in villainous gaiety if I’m not already in jail.” But even as the Grinch prevailed with all material things gone, he slowly came to terms that love still goes on. “How could it be so?” the Grinch asked. “It comes without Sweethearts or cupcake tins! It comes without new CDs, earrings or even Boulevard wins!” And then he cried for three hours till there was nothing left to cry, and then he let something out that he had bottled up inside. “So then…maybe Valentine’s Day doesn’t completely come from a store...perhaps Valentine’s Day means a little bit more!” So instead of wishing ruin, this Grinch wants to say he’s taught the lessons he’s learned through a love distraught: Forget all expectations, everything the media shoves, and give your partner a day that accurately reflects your love. Give your love a special setting with no one else around; The Cheesecake Factory is cramped with every couple in town. Give of yourself in your own goofy way; everything doesn’t have to be perfect –it’s just another day. Remember why you came together and let your heart sing; love doesn’t care if it’s a movie or diamond ring. If they reject your earnest gift and compare and contrast, then maybe it’s time to accept that you both are the past. But for the guys who really care, listen here: there is no greater gift than paying love forward throughout the year. The key to a girl’s heart, even if you have to nickel and dime, is an unexpected gift at an unexpected time. And maybe one day we‘ll say the greatest thing we’ve learned is how to love and accept being loved in return. Then again, if nothing else works and your head is full of rocks, you can always cut a hole in the side of a giftwrapped box. Henry Nichols, Vision editor, is a senior journalism major. E-mail: henroid83@gmail.com Let us know what you think. Send a signed letter, 400 words maximum, with your local telephone number, to The Editor, Belmont Vision, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212. E-mail submissions are also accepted; send them to vision@mail.belmont.edu. The faces of feminism As Harvard University named its first female president, Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust, this week, I found myself at a loss. For the past week, the news cycle has been dominated by women: an astronaut, wife and mother of three who went crazy, a “demanding” speaker of the house who requested a larger plane to fly cross country and a former Playmate of the Month who met an unexpected death. Dr. Faust slipped in almost undetected, save for those of us who linger for hours on the New York Times online and Google News. But then, it really isn’t all that surprising, is it? As some women strive continuously to erase the gender gap, our media “I am ... the does one of product of a two things: (1) generation it focuses on those women plagued by who perpetuate stereotypes mixed sigand make misnals and takes (i.e. the shifting Spears-Hilton camp) or (2) stereotypes.” makes such a big deal about a certain newsmaker being a woman that their actual accomplishments are drowned out by their gender (i.e. the ClintonPelosi-Faust group). The last thing I want to do is paint myself as a radical feminist (believe me, I’m not), incessantly complaining about men and their supremacy-complex. Nor do I want you to think that I am a submissive, bread-baking housewife-to-be. I am somewhere between the two extremes, the product of a generation plagued by mixed signals and shifting stereotypes. I don’t know who I am supposed to be. What is a 21st- century woman? Look at Harvard, for example. Two of the most recognized female names to come out of that university this year: Faust and Lena Chen, a sophomore at Harvard who writes the award-nominated blog “Sex and the Ivy,” represent the two antitheses in this debate. Chen’s blog, a popular and muchtalked-about glimpse into the erotic adventures of an oversexed college student – in my prudish opinion – does nothing but demean my gender and undermine Harvard’s credibility. Chen has every right to write whatever she wants – and I have every right not to like it – but this young woman, who is receiving arguably the best education she could receive, is making a name for herself not with her brain, but with her body. Then Faust, who worked her way up through academia before landing as the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, is heralded for becoming the first woman president of Harvard – because she is a woman. See Speaker Nancy Pelosi for further reference. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, anyone? I am proud to be a woman (or at least, I’m proud to be on my way to becoming one). But I’m not really sure what that means anymore. I am told by many members of society that I should be looking for a husband and learning to cook, preparing to settle down and raise a family. I want that. But I am also told that society has moved past that era and that I, as a woman, can do anything that a man can and because I can, I should. I want that too. So what do I do and to whom do I look for an example? If someone has an answer, I would surely appreciate the advice. Perhaps I am doing nothing more than perpetuating a female stereotype by writing these words: My inde- MELANIE BENGTSON cisive heart is worrying too much. But this is what society has made me and what every young woman of my generation will face. The strides that women like Drew Gilpin Faust make are overwhelmed by the fact that Britney Spears forgot to wear her panties. “Woman” is an ever-evolving notion, subject to both history and current events as it seeks a permanent definition. Men are men; they have a concrete role in society that has seen very little change since the Garden of Eden. The role of a woman – and subsequently our very ideas about this transparent gender- has yet to be permanently defined. In the 19th century, women built amazing lives around their families and households; few ventured outside that realm. In the 20th century, women rebelled and made incredible lives outside the home, creating opportunities and breaking barriers that confined their predecessors. Perhaps my generation will bridge the gap between the two and be able to satisfy the dueling desires in our hearts: to have a successful career and to nurture a family. Melanie Bengtson, managing editor of the Vision, is a sophomore developmental politics major. E-mail: bengtsonm@mail.belmont.edu Reader challenges Vision’s objectivity To the editor: As a former journalism major and Vision writer who never got his stuff in on time, I feel an obligation to remind the editors and writers of the Vision of your job as a journalist. You are not a member of a party. You are not a conservative, liberal, libertarian, socialist, communist, anarchist, centrist, or scientist. You do not have an opinion. You are a channel of information. I don’t want your “professional” opinion and neither does anyone else. You also can’t treat anything in a story as “assumed.” You can’t take the public’s often uninformed opinion as “fact.”.And most importantly, writing attacking stories, whether intentional or not, is not objective behavior. For instance, in Chansin Bird’s story, “Minimum wage hike would help students” she writes her own convictions and fails to write an objective piece. I saw no quotes from an employer of stu- Letter to the Editor dents, and no quotes from an economics professor, probably because both would denounce a minimum wage hike. By the word “help” what does Bird mean? Does “help” only mean more money in a paycheck? Or does “help” mean an increase in government spending of work study money which results in a necessary increase in government intake through taxes, ultimately coming from the same students. Does “help” mean forcing small employers to hire less people in order to pay them, later casting them out and making these major corporations that liberals like Bird love to hate the only source of commerce in the country? Or when Ameshia Cross writes about the troop surge in Iraq. I cannot argue objectively on this, as I am a member of the College Republicans and was inter- viewed for this story. However, Mitchell Hastings, a friend of mine and president of the College Democrats, was quoted three times in the article, and Roxanne Hajjafar, another member of the Dems, quoted twice. Hastings alone out-quoted Cross’ military sources, which consisted of two quotes from Sgt. Lee Krabel. She wrote her entire article on the opinions of political science students with little input from American servicemen. I would also believe the Soldier Seminar about the troop surge held the same week this article was released would have served as an amazing point of discussion for Cross’ article. However, I saw no mention of it. My point is, as journalists you are obligated to be objective. It has been no secret about the biases of the Vision, but for the sake of your own education, try to consider for a second that you might be wrong. Rob Martin The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 7 Love is in the air, and so’s caution My undergraduate days are ticking away. For some of us, this is the final semester. Soon we’ll have to come face-to-face with our student loans, find a stable job that’ll allow us to pay them off, and try not to compromise too many of our ideals along the way. We’ll get our degrees, a hearty handshake, and a firm push into the arms of life after college. And at the same time that many of my peers will be receiving bachelor’s degrees, they’ll be searching for the quickest way to escape bachelorhood. The flurry of engagements has already begun, and a veritable marriage blizzard can’t be far behind. Yet as I’m regaled ever more frequently with speeches about the pending joy of marriage, feverish discussions about love and caterers, and myriad retellings of proposal stories, there’s a solemn voice in the back of my head that refuses to let me take it all in peacefully: my peers are starting to get married, which means it’ll only be a few years before my peers start getting divorced. Even though I wish it was otherwise, I realize I’ve just set myself up for rampant charges of cynicism. Certainly I’d never walk up to one of my engaged friends and tell them point blank that statistics indicate there’s a greater probability of their marriage ending in divorce than lasting through sickness, health, wealth, poverty and all the ERIC DETWEILER other trials and blessings of life. It’s much easier to throw divorce statistics around as abstract reflections of American culture than as indicators of the staying power of a particular marriage. The unfortunate reality remains, however: if I assumed that onequarter of my friends’ marriages are not going to endure, I would be erring on the side of optimism. Granted I’m not pulling for the continuation of divorce trends. I would like to believe that our generation has figured love out. I’d be ecstatic if the marriages of the children of the late 20th century proved miraculously tenacious. There would be no shortage of celebration on my part if the tribulations of emotional differences, financial setbacks, and personal imperfections began to strengthen marriages instead of destroying them. But as far as I can tell, there are too many romantic comedies out there for those to be realistic expectations. Not having a date for Valentine’s Day isn’t half as frustrating as enduring constant references to “Singles Awareness Day,” whether they’re made with an air of eye-bulging anxiety or excruciating smugness. Most people respond to singleness in the same way a child responds when their favorite toy is taken away: “I-own’t even care, I din’t wanna play with it anyway, you’re stupid!” Then we try to restore our faith in the power of love by watching Meg Ryan movies, which of course only serve to steal another piece of our self-esteem and drive home the notion that the pursuit of a romantic relationship is the only way to overcome the bustling desperation of modern America. Love stinks until it clicks, and then it’s a montage of bliss until the credits. And so although most people are willing to admit that marriage is not the commitment it once was, that the media has probably done a serious number on our perception of what love is, and are often manically obsessed with letting people know how comfortable they are with their own singleness, a great cross-section of the population seems unwilling to seriously question their own judgment once the heart starts a-pounding. We’re jaded and hopeful, and the collision of youthful idealism and the creeping fear of becoming a typical middle-aged American taxpayer drives us to love, that great metaphysical force that can lift us beyond the mundane. And what better way to find love than through matrimony? And then if marriage turns out to be as common as a cubicle, we shudder and separate; go on our way and wait for next time. Nobody’s obligated to take this seriously, of course. Give me cocky compliments for realizing love is a fallacy and marriage is an empty social convention, or hold that hand a little tighter and write me off as a sad little man who just hasn’t met the right girl. Go on, do it. I’m not buying it either way, because here’s the thing:I don’t believe that love is a lie. I think it’s out there. But I’m just not sure that love always wears a wedding dress. Senior writer Eric Detweiler is a senior English major. E-mail: detweilere@pop.belmont.edu College ‘theme’ parties cross racial lines By Ameshia Cross “A Change Gone Come” by Sam Cooke is my all-time favorite song. I have always been a fan of classic songs that seemed to echo messages of social injustice. Music became an outlet for blacks to speak freely about their oppression and the world soon took notice. Growing up as a poor black kid in the South, I heard the stories of the brave civil rights leaders from my grandparents and listened eagerly. While attending schools in Mississippi, the topic was glossed over by my teachers who’d much rather focus on the things that came out of the Civil Rights Movement than the things that sparked it in the first place. It’s easy for people to forget the pain and suffering endured by African-Americans and to believe that Dr. King’s dream has come true, but news stories tell me otherwise. The Clemson University gangsta party is a prime example of just how far we have to go. The Clemson gangsta party rocked the news media for all of two days (not surprising by any means); they had bigger fish to fry like which celebrity would be admitted to rehab next. The party coincided with the Martin Luther King weekend. White students adorned themselves with black paint from head to toe, wore pillows to accentuate their backsides, wrapped gold chains around their necks, drank malt liquor and put gold teeth in their mouths, all in an effort to assume the so-called “gangsta lifestyle.” The students also drew Commentary quote balloons from the mouth of Dr. King in which they inserted obscene phrases. The scene mocked the worst racial stereotypes and was a blatant disgrace to black culture. The only words of solace from the Clemson University president John Barker were, “I am angry and offended, but these students didn’t know their actions were racist.” Members of the black community became outraged. The NAACP quickly acted to create a forum for discussion of the party and its implications. Recently, a group of 15 Clemson students publicly apologized in front of over 200 faculty, staff and black students for their involvement in the gangsta party. University officials are applauding them for the courage they exemplified. This seems puzzling to me considering the acts of blatant racism that none of the students seemed to claim as motives behind their actions. One student even said, “I never thought it was offensive.” These partygoers are being honored for their “courageous” acts. On what grounds? They apologized in front of the people that they don’t feel they’ve hurt and expect a thank you. The most shocking part of this story to me is that Clemson is not alone in its disrespect for black culture and history. White students at Tarleton University in Texas hold a party in which they dress in gang gear and drink malt liquor from brown paper bags. In January, students at Minnesota’s Macalester College hosted a “politically incorrect” party and, according to the Associated Press, one student was costumed as a Ku Klux Klan member and another wore blackface with a noose around his neck. Even large Eastern establishment schools partake; a fraternity at Johns Hopkins has encouraged white partygoers to wear ‘bling-bling” grills or shiny metal caps on their teeth. University officials and NAACP representatives condemn these parties as insulting and inexcusable under any circumstances. Black History Month, is a time to acknowledge the pain, struggle and suffering African-Americans endured for hundreds of years just to be able to enjoy some of the constitutional rights given to all of us, whatever the color of our skin. Lynchings, mass murders, bombings and KKK terrorism are all parts of the past that blacks would rather not relive. But with the mindsets of white students like those at Clemson, Tarleton and Johns Hopkins, is the point really getting across? Ameshia Cross is a sophomore political science major. Email: cross@pop.belmont.edu Kennedy thefts remind students to be safe By Jeannette Ceja STAFF WRITER A homeless man suspected of recent thefts in Kennedy Hall has been arrested on unrelated charges, but Belmont Campus Security believes he’s responsible for the campus break-ins. “The person we have been looking for has been captured by Vanderbilt Police Department in conjunction with Metro Police. He is in jail at this time,” said Terry White, director of Belmont Campus Security. The problem, White said, is that law enforcement officers have not been able to tie Alexander Leslie Baxter, 47, directly to the Belmont incidents, which took place in January. Baxter has an arrest record dating to 1983. He was charged on Jan. 26 and Jan. 30 with trespassing, theft, Helping out Belmont Campus Security asks students , faculty and staff to report suspicious incidents so officers may try to determine if there’s a crime or other risk to the university community. To report, call 460-6911. attempted burglary, possession of drug paraphernalia and evading arrest in connection with incidents at Vanderbilt. White said the suspect in the Belmont thefts, whom be believes to be Baxter, waited outside the Kennedy entrance until a student came out, then entered the building without having to use Belmont’s Access Control System, which allows entrance by scanning a stu- dent ID card. White said the suspect went into several rooms, taking items from empty rooms and claiming he was in the wrong room when he encountered an occupant. One victim, however, music business freshman Adam Edelstein, was in his room when the suspect entered and stole his wallet. Edelstein, who grew up in St. Louis, said, “I’m helpless and more than a little confused by this.” White said students in many communities face similar incidents, and it’s important to keep lines of communication open. “Our challenge can be getting this information to freshman students when they first get here, even before they come to Belmont,” White said, “so they will come into our environment here, into this community with this knowledge and can start immediately helping us keep them safe from those who would come on campus to take advantage of the situation.” Freshman Isabel Perez, a music business major, says she was surprised to hear about the Kennedy break-ins. “I have always locked my doors because I can’t afford to lose my guitar or my other things,” Perez said. “But I always feel very safe.” The effect of this break-in has spread as far as to Belmont students starting a facebook group of the alleged suspect, called “I’m ready for you, Alexander Leslie Baxter.” The group currently has 83 members. The creator of the group, freshman Frances Anderson, worked at the front desk at Hail Hall. She said she started the group out of something humorous, but on a more serious note, Anderson said she has become more careful to lock her doors. White said Campus Security officers try to keep the campus safe, but they also need cooperation from students.”by helping us keep the Access Control System working properly, to lock their residence hall or apartment doors. Report any suspicious people they may see on campus, and let us check it out.” The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 8 Love spans continents at Be By Chansin Bird SENIOR WRITER They both worked in the Wheeler Humanities Building, but they didn’t know each other. It took a trip to Charleston, S.C., for their paths to cross. The 1993 February day was cold and dismal. Trevor Hutchins came out of a session at the teaching conference he was attending. He walked down a corridor and saw a woman sitting, reading a mystery novel and wearing a Belmont nametag. “Hi. You’re from Belmont. So am I,” Hutchins said in his Australian accent. Sandy Smith heard his accent and looked at his nametag. “No, you’re not,” she said. At that point, she remembered there was an Australian exchange professor on campus that semester. He sat down to talk with her and eventually asked if she had already had dinner. They decided to go to a jazz restaurant and together they ran through the rain. The rest is history. Dr. Trevor Hutchins and Dr. Sandy Hutchins currently work at Belmont. He is the associate dean of the school of education, and she’s an English professor. They’ve worked eight consecutive years at Belmont since moving back from Australia, but Sandy worked six years here prior to the marriage. Trevor had spent one semester at Belmont in the exchange program. That’s when they met. “In those days to follow, we walked around Charleston and he told me so many things about his travels in his life and his projects in restoring houses,” Sandy said. “I could tell he was a really interesting guy.” Trevor stayed in the United States another four months. Before he left for Australia, though, he proposed. The couple had a long-distance relationship for eight months. “We bought out the card stores,” Sandy said. “We sent a card everyday. There’s got to be no more love and romance cards left. We talked on the phone, too.” Trevor said the relationship was expensive on phone bills. They got to see each other once when he took a few weeks off of work to visit her on her birthday. Finally, Sandy got her visa and followed him to Australia. Within several weeks of her arrival, they had a small wedding under the trees. “I was so happy and excited that I remember shaking matters to “It mak we suppor this is not believe in that both o They’re other much “We ca a different said. Sandy much as o “Every for lunch,” come hom Someti walks dow “When heart still l he’d make Sandy said When t phony, eat towns in T enjoy trave Today brating by PHOTO BY JESSICA WALTRIP They’ve g Sandy and Trevor Hutchins share a moment of togetherness at Belmont, where they both teach. Their first Valentine’ of Sandy’s meeting, however, was in Charleston, S.C., where each spotted the other’s Belmont nametag. food, the d dancing. “Belmont is the only place we’d come back for,” Trevor from the time I got up ‘til I went to bed,” Sandy said. “Trevo said. “Sandy loves it so much. I enjoyed it when I worked Because of Long Service Leave, a system in Australia dancer. I a here. Both of us had excellent jobs in Australia, but she meant to encourage people to stay at the same company for “But anyti wanted to come home.” a long time, Trevor was able to take three months off work him to dan Now at Belmont, the couple sees themselves as part of for his honeymoon with Sandy. She didn’t have a job in that’s grea the same vision for the University. Australia yet so the newlyweds spent two months in my favorit “I think the most important thing about it is how much America – some in Nashville and some in Florida with memory w we believe in this place - how we are committed to it,” Sandy’s daughter – and then traveled to London, Paris and with the sn Sandy said. “We have always been excited about Belmont Bangkok for a week in each city. down outs the quality of the faculty, how committed people are and The couple both taught at universities in Australia for was so lov just to be a part of all the betterment coming to fruition.” four and a half years before Sandy’s homesickness and an When something matters to one of them, it’s likely it associate dean job offer to Trevor brought them back . Being a man on Valentine’s Da By Nathan T. Baker STAFF WRITER And now for a scientific analysis of Valentine’s Day. Let’s call this section of the paper The Vision’s Scientific Journal of Luuuuv. I’m your credible expert. All my friends in the scientific community can vouch for my [in]credibility. My complete works cited page is available online at wikipedia.org. Just search for the topic that needs clarification. In this document, I will first deconstruct the question “What is man?” Then, I will address the construct of “Valentine’s Day” and the proper man response. Lastly, I will offer suggestions for future research. Warning: gender stereotypes abound after this point. All the views expressed in this text are absolutely false, if you are my girlfriend. Section 1: “What is Man?” The man. Can I just type that again? The man. Yeah, he is awesome, but besides that, he is a very complex creature. Let’s open the hood of this very nicely waxed car and have a peek inside. Welcome inside. From here, let me show you how it all works using another apt analogy. Man understands the world as a video game. If man finds food, man has energy to walk and find more food. If man finds love, man smiles. If man kicks enemy ninjas in face with incredible accuracy, or some other skill of equal value, man is validated. The game may look simple, but the more you press those little buttons with your fingers, and stare into the screen, and increase your hand-eye coordination, [reference works cited page for more benefits of video games], the more you notice. For instance, let’s look at the bar at the top of the screen that indicates energy. A man’s energy bar has two components, types of energy he can draw from to perform actions. These two sources are based on testosterone and estrogen. (Sorry about the image that leapt into your head of a high school wellness teacher pointing to projected body parts with a large ruler. I promise it will be less awkward soon.) If all a man does is eat steak and cuss at puppies, he may have too much man energy. For instance if his gerbil dies, it may be hard for him to cry and express remorse. The solution to this is to eat more éclairs, ask people about feelings, and/or watch appropriate levels of approved TV: Project Runway, You’ve Got Mail, Top Chef, Cinderella... [See works cited for more programming based on gender stereotypes.] A man can also have too much lady energy. In this case, do manly things such as sweat, practice your strut in front of a large mirror or scale large rock masses without ropes. Being self aware of your limits is key. For instance, if you feel like you are too buff and lifting incredible quantities of weight in the gym like it was a pastime, you may want to work out in pink tights to counteract your man energy. By the same token, don’t wear your pink tights to poker night if it is designated man time. Only you will know what is the best balance for you. Balance, balance, balance. Ying that. Yang that. dar. Therefore, it is important pared to “ying it and yang it” lier. But here’s the catch: Ladie more lady energy than men, w confusing. I would not sugges Valentine’s Day by beating yo roar!” There is a time and place f Here is the proper response Treat that special someone have a responsibility to treat a Surprise people with little tell her you love her. Give in Hug with your whole body. E three songs. Watch a sappy ch I am the expert and I say it “semi-dark” chocolate. Write tiful or how she has been ther Section 2: “A proper response to Valentine’s Day” So we’ve learned the importance of balance. Now, what do you do when a holiday is naturally weighted to one energy source? Do not be alarmed, I am an expert and have solutions. Did I also mention that I am also good at rotating 3-D objects in my head? Yeah. It’s so true. So the traditional Valentine’s Day consists of loving people, slow dancing, surprising people with flowers and telling people sweet nothings. This is one of the highest concentrations of lady energy present on the calen- Section 3: “Conclusion” After spreading the love, if the guys. And ladies, let him cook th Laugh when someone says that place where she captivate better. Suggestions for future rese wikipedia.org. Page 9 elmont the other one as well. kes a difference in our marriage and the way rt each other in our commitment because just a job,” Sandy said. “It’s something we and we can feel we’re being a part of. The fact of us can feel it - I think that’s even better.” e a part of it together, but they don’t see each h while they’re on campus. an go days and never see each other here. She’s in t department and her hours are different,” Trevor agreed the two of them don’t see each other as ne would think. y once in a while he’ll call and ask if I want to go ” she said. “That’s actually exciting. Then he’ll me and say, ‘I had lunch with a beautiful woman.’” imes, before going home at the end of a day, he wn her hall to say goodbye. n he comes in my classroom and waves, my leaps like when we were first dating and e excuses to walk up the corridor,” d. they’re not at school, they like to go to the symt at Waffle House on Sundays and explore small Tennessee. And as their honeymoon testifies, they eling. is Valentine’s Day, and this couple will be celegoing to a dinner dance at Trevor’s golf club. gone for the past several years, and last year’s ’s Day was one s favorite – the decorations and the or is an excellent am not,” she said. ime I can get nce with me, at. I would say te Valentine’s was a slow dance now coming side last year. It vely.” y to be preas discussed ear- es naturally have which makes them st counteracting our chest and screaming, “I am man! Hear me for mimicking Tarzan, but the ladies deserve better. e: e right. If you don’t have a special someone, then you all your friends right. Spread the love. packages tied up with string. Call your mother and to the gush. Blow kisses with your hand. It is OK. Embrace pink. Slow dance. Slow dance for two or hick flick. t is OK. Go all out. Buy “special dark” instead of a note. It’s OK. Make a list of the ways she is beaure for you. It’s OK. f you need to, take a day off and cook a burger with he burger. s “balls.” That’s OK too. But remember to return to es you. Return often, and even burger time will be earch are included in my works cited page, online at The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Jewelry, roses, chocolate or ramen spaghetti? By Victoria Harris STAFF WRITER For those of you macho men out there who have the unfortunate circumstance of not being able to celebrate this year’s national Single Awareness Day, you need to come up with something, and fast. The clock’s ticking, the restaurants are booked, and well, you go to Belmont, so cash isn’t entirely expendable. Below is a list of ideas that will make this year’s Valentine’s Day affordable and memorable. For the sweet tooth Roses are expensive and chocolate is a Valentine necessity: kill two birds with one stone and make her a candy bouquet. Personally, I’d just jack a flowerpot from the Beaman and skewer some Milkways® and BabyRuths®. Bonus points if you can come up with some clever phrases for the card; such as, “you’re so kissable®” or “you make me snicker®” For the hopeless romantic Valentine’s Days consistently incite images of candle-lit dinners at four-star restaurants, but why go out and spend that precious Spring Break cash when Circle K has all you need? Kick your roommate out and make her some ramen spaghetti. Use some of that candy bouquet to double as dessert and highlight your poverty with flashlights instead of candles. Just get her out by 11 so you don’t get written up. For the music lover The one gift that can actually make you money is the gushy love song. As much as I hate to admit it, the female gender still swoons when you write a song about her, so pick up that guitar, piano or kazoo and tell her how you feel. Worst case scenario is in your Grammy speech you can say, “Yea, the best part was when she started vomiting that spaghetti ramen during the bridge.” If you really love her you’ll copyright it in her name. For the nagger Let’s face it, women are always complaining about you, which means there is always something you can change about yourself. So for once, burn the tight pants, give her back the eyeliner, wear blue and take out that awkward eyebrow piercing for just one night. Lastly, don’t forget to take photos of the evening for Facebook. How else can we prove that you really do look nice when you brush your hair? Crazy in Love? Yes, it's far too late to have roses delivered no matter how friendly your favorite florist. But if you stop by Beaman today, you can choose your colors – red, yellow, pink – for $2.50 for a single rose, $14 for a half-dozen and $28 for a dozen. They don't come with a guarantee that your love will bloom, but, hey, it's a start! Page 10 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 sports The women of Magdalene House, an award-winning addiction recovery program, and their children will attend Belmont’s home finale against Campbell at 4 p.m. Feb. 17. Donation boxes will aid the families, so give what you can. For info: www.thistlefarms.org. BU limping, but not dead By defeating Belmont at the Curb and in Allen Arena, Lipscomb has completed the “season” sweep in the Battle of the Boulevard. However, the word “season” is important because the winner of the season series very likely has not been written in stone yet. The rivals are on a bee-line to face each other again in the conference tournament. Assuming Belmont and Lipscomb secure the #2 and #3 seeds and win their opening round games in the A-Sun Tournament, the two teams will meet one more time to decide the winner of the “War of the Boulevard.” When Belmont and Lipscomb meet again, the first two games will be deemed irrelevant because the winner of this Battle of the Boulevard wins the war and keeps their dreams of dancing in March alive. Even after the getting swept by Lipscomb, Belmont (169, 10-4 A-Sun) remains in second place in the conference, above Lipscomb (15-10, 9-5 A-Sun). After losing the second battle, Coach Byrd reminded his team of where they are compared to Lipscomb. “We’ve played the same number of games against the same number of opponents Lipscomb has, and right now we are in second place.” JORDAN DRAKE Yet, the sentiment around most Belmont and Lipscomb fans is that the latter has the former’s number this year. After all, the Bisons were no doubt the tougher, physically and mentally, of the two in both games. In fact, the scoreboard at the end of the game didn’t do justice to how lopsided the game was in the second halves. In the first battle, Lipscomb led 51-40 with little over a minute remaining before only winning by 5, 55-50. In the second battle, Lipscomb took a commanding 60-42 lead with just over three minutes to go, before only winning by 10, 7060. Byrd admits that Lipscomb matches up favorably against his Bruins, adding, “They are a hard team to beat. They are a hard team for us to beat.” Losing to a rival twice in one season is tough for any team, but it’s what you do in March that people will remember. Byrd adds, “We all feel pretty bad right now. And you know what, by the time we go to Johnson City [the A-Sun Tournament] in March, the way we feel right now is going to be gone. We’re going to walk in there [Johnson City] with a new lease on life and a chance to win the tournament. And if you lose sight of that by letting your guys lose sight of that and start feeling sorry for themselves, then you won’t get much done.” Now, the Belmont nation needs to step back from the emotion and realize that it has just as good as shot as anyone to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins have beaten everybody in the league, including league-leading ETSU, except for Lipscomb and Campbell who the Bruins seemed poised to defeat at home on Thursday, Feb.17 (4 p.m. at the Curb Event Center.) It is a testament to Belmont that they have not shot the ball nearly as well as in past years and still are in second place. Byrd agreed, “We don’t have a lot of guys shooting it good right now…and at some point we’ve got to all look in the mirror and decide we’re going to rise to the occasion and make big plays.” So, if the shots start falling for this team, then look out. The Bruins may very well be invited to the Big Dance at Lipscomb’s expense once again. Jordan Drake is a sophomore entrepreneurship major. Email: drake.jordan@gmail.com PHOTO BY AMANDA HILL Belmont senior center Andrew Preston, right, prepares to box out Lipscomb forward Thomas Pfaff while BU guard Josh Goodwin, left, waits in the background. Pfaff and the Bisons used dominating second halves to win both regular season Battles of the Boulevard, the latest a 70-60 decision in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Bruins wilt, Bisons win Lipscomb sweeps ‘06-’07 boulevard series By Jordan Drake SPORTS EDITOR After winning the first two games of a three-game road stretch, Belmont fell to rival Lipscomb 70-60 Feb. 9 in front of a Division 1 Battle of the Boulevard record crowd of 5,289 at Allen Arena. The Bruins (16-9, 10-4 A-Sun) seemed poised to avenge their Jan. 12 loss as they raced out to a 26-16 lead 14 minutes into the game. However, a late first half run by Lipscomb (15-10, 9-5 A-Sun) sliced the lead to two at the half. Lipscomb then froze Belmont in a blizzard by ripping off a 25-3 run in the second half to take a commanding 6042 lead en route to a 10-point win. Head Coach Rick Byrd thought his team played better this time around when he said, “I’m disappointed because I really think, overall, that we played better than we did at our place. Our quality of shots was much better.” Sophomore guard Andy Wicke started the game off with a bang for the Bruins, as he converted a Matthew Dotson dish into two points. A Dotson tip-in combined with four points from Boomer Herndon and a trey from Wicke gave Belmont an 11-2 lead six and a half minutes in. Stifling defense, early on, forced Lipsomb to only hit on one field goal in the first eight minutes. A couple baskets by the Bisons sliced the lead to six, 16-10, before consecutive triples from Wicke and Henry Harris pushed the lead back out to double digits, 22-12. Lipscomb recovered, but a Herndon lay-up and Dotson tip-in gave the Bruins a 26-16 lead with six minutes remaining. Up 28-19, the Bruins’ poor ball handling combined with sharp Bison shooting, led to a 12-0 Lipscomb run in the next four minutes to give the Bisons a 31-28 lead with one minute left. A jumper by Harris and a three pointer from Andy Wicke as time expired pushed Belmont back on top at half, 3331. Wicke led all scorers at intermission with 11 points off of 3-4 three point shooting. Early on in the second half, the Bruins stretched their lead to four, 3935, off of another Wicke trey with 13:16 remaining. The four-point lead, however, evaporated into an 18-point deficit after a 25-3 Lipscomb run in the next nine minutes. Belmont trailed 6042 with four and a half minutes remaining. Byrd said, “I don’t really know where it [Lipscomb’s 25-3 run] came from in a game that was played pretty close up to that point.” The Bruins responded with a 12-1 run, capped by the fifth and final trey from Wicke, to pull within seven, 6154, with 1:24 left. However, the push proved to come a little too late, as Lipscomb connected on 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch run to ice the game, 70-60. After shooting a blistering 50 percent (12-24) in the first half, Belmont went frigid in the second by shooting only 25 percent (9-36). The Bruins missed 23 of their first 25 shots in the second half as well. Getting There Belmont begins a two-game home stand against GardnerWebb (8-17, 6-8 A-Sun) Feb. 15, 7 p.m., followed by a Feb. 17 match with Campbell (1113, 6-8 A-Sun), 4 p.m.. Belmont concludes the regular season with a two-game road stretch in the state of Florida. The Bruins play Jacksonville (12-11, 8-5 A-Sun) Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. followed by a Feb. 24 match against North Florida (2-22, 0-13 A-Sun), 3 p.m. Belmont’s leading scorer Justin Hare did not score until 1:34 remaining in the game. The reason, according to Byrd, was Lipscomb guard Brian Fisk. “They [Lipscomb] put the best defender in the league [Fisk] on him [Hare].” Wicke led all scorers with 17 points. The Bruins still are second in the ASun, behind ETSU and a game in front of Lipscomb after the loss. In the two previous road games, Belmont outlasted Stetson Feb. 1 62-58, and logged another victory Feb. 3 with an 84-77 win at Mercer, giving the Bruins seven straight wins over the Bears. The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 11 With Clark out, 10-game streak snaps By Jordan Drake SPORTS EDITOR The Bruins (18-5, 12-1 A-Sun) without star forward Alysha Clark were tripped up by conference cellar-dweller Mercer (3-19, 2-9 A-Sun), 69-65, Feb. 8 in Macon, Ga. effectively ending Belmont’s 10-game winning streak. Clark sustained an ankle injury in practice leading up to the game. In addition to losing their leading scorer, the Bruins were without the services of freshman guard Shaunda Strayhorn and junior guard Laura Cowley. The guard tandem are the Bruins’ 3rd and 4th leading scorers, respectively. Before the loss, the Bruins wrapped up the A-Sun regular season championship by completing the season sweep of second-place ETSU, 69-66, Feb. 1 in the Curb Event Center. Belmont then made short work of visiting Kennesaw State, capturing an 86-75 win Feb. 3. Redshirt freshman guard Amber Rockwell kept Belmont in the game against Mercer with a game and career-high 20 points. A trifecta by Rockwell late in the second half gave the Bruins a 34-31 halftime lead. Thanks to continued red-hot shooting from Rockwell, Belmont expanded its lead to 10, 54-44, with nine minutes remaining. Mercer responded by going on a 19-9 run in the next eight minutes to tie the game up at 63. Rockwell broke the tie with a pair of free throws to put the Bruins ahead 65-63 with 44 seconds remaining. On the ensuing possession, Mercer nailed a triple to take the lead 66-65 and never relinquished the lead as the Bruins fell 69-65. On Feb. 10, the Bruins responded to their first conference loss with a 72-56 win over Stetson (4-19, 4-8 A-Sun). Belmont, again without Clark and Strayhorn, took an early 17-10 lead behind the sharp shooting of senior post player Destri Bockey, who paced the Bruins with a career-high 21 points. The Bruins pushed the lead to 10, 30-20, but Stetson closed the gap back to six, 36-30, with one possession remaining in the first half. Freshman guard Tereva Moore, then took a pass and nailed a fall-away trey as time expired to give Belmont a 39-30 lead at halftime. The Bruins maintained a high shooting percentage en route to defeating Stetson 72- Baseball seeks return to conference tournament By Jordan Drake SPORTS EDITOR With eight of nine starters returning, Belmont’s baseball team has its eye on a tournament slot. “Our primary goal is to play our way into the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament,” said Belmont head coach Dave Jarvis, but the goal is achievable only if his Bruins finish in the top six of the conference. The Bruins, however, have good reason to believe in their goal, despite their seventh-place finish last season, because eight of nine regular starters return. Belmont doesn’t lack any experi- his teammates look toward in times of adversity.” Fellow senior Wilson Tucker is a key offensive cog as well. The outfielder is a preseason AllAtlantic Sun First Team selection by coaches and media. A strong junior campaign earned Tucker a spot on the postseason All-Atlantic Sun First Team in 2006. He led the Bruins in average (.388), slugging (.652) and on-base percentage (.430). He ranks first all-time in Belmont history with 88 hits in a season and second all-time in doubles in a season with 20. Belmont’s baseball season begins at noon Feb. 17 at Greer Stadium with a doubleheader against Bradley. ence on the mound either as the current roster’s pitchers account for over 460 of 480 innings pitched last season. Jarvis recognizes that the Bruins are blessed to have good experience. “We’ve got good senior leadership. Our experience is very valuable to us – in the lineup and on the mound.” It all starts with outfielder/ catcher Ben Petsch. The senior was bestowed the honor of team captain this off-season by his teammates. Petsch had a record-breaking junior season as he set Belmont’s single-season mark for doubles with 21. He finished with the sixth-best hits mark in school history at 71, which was also good for second on the team, while scoring 44 runs, which paced the Bruins. Coach Jarvis said, “[Petsch] brings a lot of versatility to the plate. He also is the person Another reason for hope of postseason play is a strong sophomore class. Infielder Derek Wiley and closer Chris Manning were chosen to SEBaseball.com’s AllAtlantic Sun First Team. Outfielder Carlo Testa was pegged on the second team. Both Testa and Wiley earned conference all-freshman team honors last season while the latter also was named to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-American team. Manning earned recognition due to his 10 saves last season, which ranks second in Belmont history. Even though the Bruins were chosen to finish seventh by way of the Preseason Coaches Poll, expect them, at the very least, to move up a notch to sixth, which would secure a ticket to the conference tournament. AD Strickland talks baseball In anticipation of the Feb. 17 opener, Vision editor Henry Nichols sat down with athletic director Mike Strickland for his thoughts on the strength of the baseball program, its future and status in the community. On the state of the program “In all fairness, baseball has probably the toughest job of any sport we have. Baseball is so good in our league because you have all these schools down in Florida that have great facilities. So year in and year out, our baseball team has the toughest challenge. I think if you look at their record over the past five years, they have competed very well. They made the [A-Sun] Tournament three years ago and we expect them to be in the mix this coming year. Last year, we had a terrible amount of injuries and that really affected the outcome of the season, but that will level out. On Vandy’s rise as top-10 program “[Vanderbilt’s rise in baseball] has helped to elevate baseball in the eyes of the community. This is a really good basketball town, a really good golf town, and while there are places that you might say are better baseball environments than Nashville, that kind of success in the SEC and on the national level benefits all the colleges with baseball teams in the community. The more we can make baseball important in the community means there are more people paying attention to it, and all of those things lead into athletes picking your school and being involved with you, so that exposure helps you.” On baseball players going pro “Blake [Owen] was a great addition and a great hit for us. It didn’t work out for him at Vanderbilt, so he comes over here and he’s great for us. He becomes our top relief pitcher and he’s drafted [in the sixth round of the 2005 MLB Draft].. That’s another great stamp on our program to have people drafted in the pros. Coach Jarvis has had six to eight people drafted since we’ve been here. That certainly helps you in recruiting because you can say, ‘Hey, whether you play at Belmont or Vanderbilt, you can play at either school and get to the pros.’” - Henry Nichols 56. Moore chipped in with a career-high 13 points in the winning effort. Clark should be back in action against Lipscomb (8-14, 6-6 A-Sun) Feb. 17 in the Curb Event Center. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Comcast will be televising the game in the Southeast. Correction In an article in the Jan. 31 Vision, “Bruins shaky after Boulevard loss,” it was incorrectly reported that the top two seeds in the men’s Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament receive firstround byes. No team receives a firstround bye, as each seed must win three games to win the tournament. Page 12 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 A balancing act Preston juggles family, basketball and school get through each day, they try not to make things that pull marriages apart become an issue. They respect their own personal goals and help each other as much as possible. “Andrew is an amazing man,” Kimb said. “He is a supportive husband and father.” When asked how he finds reason behind all that has happened in the past year, Preston says he puts his trust and faith in God. He lets God play his steps and takes his challenges one at a time. Preston acknowledges that it was God who allowed him to move smoothly into the role of being a father. “God’s grace is part of His love,” Preston said. “If you do not understand God’s grace and love, you will not understand the situation.” By Erin Mullen STAFF WRITER Imagine you have two tests tomorrow, you’re trying to graduate on time, you have basketball practice and weights in the afternoon and on your way home you have to pick up diapers and formula. Trying to balance school, athletics and being a college student is difficult enough, right? Well, try adding another responsibility into the mix: a baby boy. This is the life of senior basketball player Andrew Preston. Caleb Isaac Preston was born the afternoon of June 30, 2006, but before his arrival, Preston and Kimb Ulloa – now Kimb Preston – had some decisions to make. “I prepared myself mentally for it,” Preston said. “I was on a road trip with the basketball team when Kimb told me The Future she was pregnant.” Initially, feelings of fear and uncertainty set in with Kimb, a Belmont graduFinancially, because of money saved ate. from previous jobs and earned from “At first we were surprised,” Kimb Kimb’s employment at Baptist said. “Once everything settled down, the Hospital, the young family has been excitement set in and we were overPHOTO BY SIERRA MITCHELL somewhat comfortable in their new livwhelmed with joy.” ing situation. Preston believes worrying Senior post Andrew Preston spends some family time with wife, Kimb, and their son, Preston and Kimb considered their about finances can hurt a marriage. Caleb Isaac. options and chose to have the baby and Fortunately, Kimb not only has a job, but raise it together. “It is a different story when you are personit is one with good healthcare benefits that cover most of the wrong idea about the group. ally involved in a life-changing situation,” Preston said. medical expenses attached to a birth and subsequent pediatric Now that Caleb has become part of his life, Preston says “Kimb and I did not want to make any mistakes.” care. he is more focused. Not only is Belmont’s starting center The day after Preston got the call from Kimb, he called Last summer, Preston established key connections with responsible for meeting deadlines for school projects and his parents in Lexington and broke the news of the pregnanhis paid internship in the accounting department for studying for tests, he also needs to practice basketball and cy. “My mom had a hard time because I am the baby of the help take care of Caleb. The family man now realizes he is in Community Health Systems in Tennessee, one of the largest family,” Preston said. “My family has been very supportive healthcare providers in the nation that helps fund hospitals in the next phase of his life. of the situation.” rural areas. One year ago, Preston’s goal was to embrace the freedom Shortly after, rumors started to circulate throughout Preston is set to graduate in May 2007 with an accounting of enjoying life and college as much as he could. Continuing Belmont. The first person Preston told was Belmont men’s degree. He plans to get another internship in the tax departto do well in school, he strives to be the best basketball playbasketball head coach Rick Byrd. ment with Health Care America. Preston will implement the er he can be. Instead of going out with friends as most col“Coach assured me that I had his and the team’s full supvaluable knowledge earned from his experience with lege students do, Preston stays home with his wife and son. port,” Preston said. “He continues to work with me on what- Since Caleb’s birth, Andrew’s responsibilities and goals have Community Health Systems in his upcoming pursuits. ever issues arise. He even held Caleb and brought him He is thinking about getting his master’s degree but is changed. around the sports department to show him off.” unsure what the future holds for Caleb and Kimb. “I still want to excel academically and be successful on Preston looks forward to every day and keeps a bright the basketball court,” Preston said. “In addition, I want Caleb outlook on the future. He loves coming home to his wife and and Kimb to have the best lives they can.” Sacrifices and Responsibility holding his son. As Preston tries to puts his family and what is best for them first, he remains focused. Preston had to make many sacrifices, including his deciFinding Reason in Relationships “I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything,” Preston said. “I sion to leave the leadership team of the Fellowship of have grown spiritually and now understand responsibility.” Christian Athletes. He left FCA because it would be time The Prestons say their marriage is going strong and that consuming and he did not want the new members to get the Caleb has brought the relationship to a new, closer level. To Sports Notebook Junior guard Justin Hare was named to the CoSida Academic All-District Men’s basketball team for the second consecutive season. The Cleveland native carries a 3.85 GPA in his chosen major of exercise science and health promotion. Williams earns A-Sun Weekly Track award Junior Lauren Williams was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Co-Track Athlete of the Week. The David Lipscomb High School graduate won the mile run at the Indiana Relays by posting a school record time of 4:56:92. The time is also the best so far this season in the ASun. A total of six Bruin women runners placed among the top 10. Brigham captures first in 3000-meter title Redshirt sophomore John Brigham, who transferred from Mississippi State, won the 3000 meter title with a time of 8:41:23. Overall, a total of six Belmont men runners had top 10 finishes in the Indiana Relays. Clark grabs 5th A-Sun P.O.W. Award this season Sophomore center Alysha Clark continued her domination of the A-Sun by earning her fifth ASun Player of the Week award. She becomes only the 3rd player in conference history to win the award 10 times. Clark tallied 49 points and 44 rebounds against Kennesaw State and ETSU. She is currently 3rd in the nation in rebounding. Women’s tennis earn first two wins of season After falling to Evansville, 5-1, in the season opener Jan. 27, Belmont rallied by winning their next two matches to push their record to 2-1. On Feb. 2 the Bruins defeated Chattanooga for the first time since the program moved to Division 1 in 1998 with a score of 43 at the Wildwood Tennis Club in Brentwood. Senior No. 3 seed Elizabeth Conyer, junior No. 5 seed Katie Rhodes and junior No. 6 seed Kelly Pence all won their respective matches in singles play. On Feb. 10, Belmont defeated Austin Peay for the ninth straight time, winning 7-0. Men’s tennis 1-2 after first three matches After getting swept in their first two matches of the season, the Bruins responded Feb. 10 with 6-1 win against St. Louis at a neutral site in Little Rock, Ark. Belmont won all three doubles matches to capture the doubles point. In singles play, the Bruins won in straight sets in five of the six positions to earn their first match win. In the season opener against ETSU on Feb. 3 and in the Feb. 9 match at UALR, Belmont was swept 7-0. The Bruins are set for their home opener against conference foe North Florida Feb. 17. Gametime is set for 11 a.m. at the Davis Tennis Complex. – Jordan Drake The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 13 a&e Billboard’s Pop 100 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. “Say It Right” - Nelly Furtado “Irreplaceable” - Beyonce “It’s Not Over” - Daughtry “This Ain’t a Scene...” - Fall Out Boy “The Sweet Escape” - Gwen Stefani feat. Akon Theater seniors mount three shows By Andrew Cole A&E EDITOR As if it were not enough to worry about applying to professional jobs or graduate schools and finishing up those last stray credits before leaving Belmont, the senior theater majors have had a few other things to keep them busy these days: three shows at once. The ambitious showcase opened this past weekend and will continue for the next two, featuring the plays “Death and the Maiden,” “Eleemosynary” and “The Maids.” “Especially since we are doing three shows in rep it is challenging in making sure [everyone has] time to do dress rehearsals, time on stage and things like that,” said Leah Jensen-Rader, senior theater major and production manager of this year’s showcase. Jensen-Rader explained that, in the past, the capstone of the senior theater experience came in the form of several one-person shows. However, the current crop of 11 seniors made that avenue virtually impossible. A solution was formulated that would allow the upcoming graduates to collaborate on three different shows with the entire department. “It is something people have been thinking about for a long time in terms of what they want to do,” said Jensen-Rader. “The three shows are very different in style.” The selection process for the plays was similar to the method normally used to determine what stories will hit the stage of the Belmont Little Theatre, but a specific focus was placed specifically on what would allow the seniors to shine. “We read every play we could get our PHOTO BY AMY KADISH Senior theater majors Andrea Ridge and Jessika Malone tackle Jean Genet’s absurdist drama “The Maids.” The other senior appearing in this production is Olivia Hart. hands on, figure out what fits best where and if we have enough time to do it,” explained Brittany McManus, junior theater major and chair of the play selection committee, a voluntary group of students that determines each season’s lineup. “It was a little different this time around in that the seniors had a lot of input. ... With this, it’s a little different because we knew who the cast would be.” Indeed, all of the actors appearing in this set of productions are seniors except for two underclassmen and an outside actor selected for “Death and the Maiden”. Because the seniors have known for so long what they would be doing, they have had ample time to focus on their specific roles and truly make them their own. See SENIOR THEATER, page 15 Showcase caters to Valentine’s crowd By Adaeze Elechi SENIOR WRITER On Valentine’s Day, prepare for an evening of dimmed lights, roses and smooth R&B, neo-soul and urban music at the Curb Café. All of it provides the atmosphere for the second “Pink and White Showcase.” This showcase, created by Belmont students Kia Jarmon and Kenneth Brown, is not quite like the other Belmont showcases. First, it’s on Valentine’s Day, maintaining the theme of the day in gifts and décor. Second, it is not a competition. “It’s just going to be a romantic, funfilled evening,” Jarmon said. “We’d like to set the mood [with] low lights and give the ladies roses at the door,” Brown said. “It’s generally going to be laid back.” There will also be gift bags for the first 50 guests. Brown is no stranger to organizing shows and events. The music business and entrepreneurship senior, currently taking a year off school to focus on his entertainment agency, BrownWave Entertainment, began when he was 13 years old. Brown’s cousin worked as a DJ on a local hip-hop radio station and all the parties that his cousin went to or announced were 18 and up, so Brown was shut out. But he was not about to sit around until he turned 18 so he began his first promotional business – Dirty South Entertainment – for teen clubs and parties. “I noticed that there was a void in the market for teen parties and events in the city Getting there The Pink and White Showcase, an evening of entertainment, begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, in Curb Café. Belmont grad Raffeal Sears will headline the show. He will be accompanied by another Belmont grad, Mia Jones, and Crystal Dove, Brandi Sellers and Jonathan Jackson. You can expect to hear jazz, R&B and neo-soul. There will be gift bags for the first 50 guests. Admission is free. so I decided to capitalize on where others had fallen short,” Brown said. He maintained D$E until he was in high school when one of the artists in his company was about to land a record deal with Sony Records. The deal fell through and Brown decided, when he graduated from high school, to take a route that would educate him in the business that had captured his attention since his youth. He came to Belmont to learn the ropes of the music industry. “[Before Belmont] I had the drive and determination, but not an understanding of the business,” Brown said. “Belmont was a really big help.” Dr. Jeffery Cornwall, chair of the Center for entrepreneurship, was one of Brown’s inspirations., and soon Brown was ready to try once more at With a combination of the drive and determination that he brought with him from his youth, the understanding of the business that he picked up at college and the inspiration that he received from his professors, Brown was ready to try entertainment promotions once more. In 2001, he established BrownWave Entertainment, an urban/hiphop agency. Belmont was also helpful to Jarmon, a music business major with an emphasis on business. She graduated in May 2006 and now owns a public relations agency. “[The professors] taught me how to network with people,” Jarmon said. “They gave me a lot of information, let me meet a lot of people… [and] got me to attend helpful seminars. They want me to be able to take risks.” Belmont still helps them today. When Jarmon and Brown let the university know about this year’s Pink and White Showcase, Belmont provided the Curb Café. Using what they learned in the classroom and their outside experience, Brown and Jarmon combined their common desire to diversify Belmont’s music scene. They knew it would take some risks. While the Other Showcase was supposed to cater to the kind of music they were looking to introduce to Belmont, they did not feel that it did the genre justice. So in February 2004, Brown and Jarmon decided to compete. While the Other Showcase was in progress, they had their first Pink and White showcase in the Curb Café.” “We had a packed house,” Jarmon said. “That café only takes about 200 people. We had about 400 show up.” After that night, the showcase council granted Belmont an Urban Showcase to display the talents of students who performed neo-soul, R&B, hip hop and jazz. “We formed [the showcase] because of the student demand for neo-soul and spoken poetry,” Jarmon said. Even though there is an Urban Showcase, Brown and Jarmon have no intention of ending the event from which it emerged because they still see a gap in what students want and what the showcases provide. They also want student audiences to have an appreciation for the artists they see. “These are our peers. These are people that you have English class with,” Brown said. “They may not have been music majors but they are talented people.” Brown Wave Entertainment and Miss Ellaneous Public Relations, Jarmon’s company, finance the showcase. “We’re definitely going all out,” Jarmon said. “It’s our own investment and we’re paying for this out of our own pockets.” Any proceeds from donations will go towards the Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers. Brown is involved in the latter. Page 14 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Wacholtz shares thoughts on music industry, faith Fall Out Boy - Infinity On High To those of you who have never heard of Fall Out Boy, I have to ask where have you been? Joining the ranks of other overly commercialized bands such as My Chemical Romance, Switchfoot and The Fray, the guys of Fall Out Boy have successfully infiltrated their “catchy” tunes in every musical outlet in America possible. Considering that last year was slow for record sales, the executives at Island Records are looking for a huge turnaround in 2007, hence the newest release from Fall Out Boy, Infinity On High. Unfortunately in the industry today, soaring album sales typically do not reflect quality music and that trend has not changed here. Perhaps I should step back and acknowledge that there are some solid tracks on this album, notably “Thriller,” “The Take Over, The Break Over” and “Hum Hallelujah.” In fact, everything “Fall Out Boy” is present here - tense harmonies, choppy guitar/drum rhythms and that pop/punk sound that everyone’s 13-year-old sister is sure to get into. But in its entirety, Infinity On High falls low as another inconsistent album from the puppet figureheads of Fall Out Boy. Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift So what can one expect when a debut album is released from a young, commercial-friendly girl from the north? The same caliber of melodramatic music that one would suspect from a sixteen-year old girl. Swift, whose debut single “Tim McGraw” has no doubt gotten infinite airtime from every Nashville country station, has fully personified the new direction in which country music seems to be steering these days - younger artists for a younger audience. Indeed the gap between such country greats as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams and even Garth Brooks seems to be further widened by the emerging country artists on the scene. The objection behind Swift’s debut becomes obvious three tracks into the excruciating album, another attempt by a country music label to maximize profit at the expense of putting out a tasteless, yet profitable release. If the pursuit of music and its outcomes should always be considered art, perhaps Taylor Swift should pursue another non-musical hobby that she enjoys (at least for the next five years) and give the rest of our ears a deserved break. Bloc Party - A Weekend in the City Driving guitars, brilliant lyrics and a sound that just gives off a great amount of energy: that’s what many people remember 2005’s Silent Alarm for. So how does Bloc Party’s second album stack up? From the moment the sly, soft sound of the first song, “Song For Clay,” starts, you know you’re in for a great album. Not soon after, the guitar sounds we’ve come to know and love begin. Bloc Party’s second album is no less than a statement of growth as musicians and songwriters. The heart of the album (and the band) is in the songs, “I Still Remember” and “Waiting For the 7.18”. This is the typical sound that we have come to expect from the band. Swirling guitars and a great beat with Okerere’s vocals pushing the song forward as he reflects about life and love in London. Another song, “Hunting for Witches,” starts out like a programmed DJ live mix and then quickly reverts to a sound more reminiscent of Silent Alarm’s “Banquet”. For all its triumphs it’s suprising that there is little to find fault with in this album. “Uniform” is a decent song, but something about it doesn’t seem to click. The song almost seems like it’s a strenuous chore in describing and chastising young people. There may also be a bit too much simple drama and sap in the second half of the album, not that it takes away from the songs too much. But overall, this is still a great album.Definitely a must have in your music collection. - Bland Clark Kick off 2007 with a Winning Career at Vanderbilt! 2007 Vanderbilt Medical Center Student Career Room Thursday, February 22nd, 3:30pm - 6:30pm LP Field (Titans Stadium) www.vanderbiltcareerevents.com Attend our Job Fair on Thursday, Feb. 22nd at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans. We are hosting a specially dedicated RN Student Career Room just for you! The RN Student Career Room will be open from 3:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., giving you the exclusive opportunity to meet and network with Staff Nurses and representatives from our various Units and Residency Programs. Interview appointments will be scheduled on-site for employment opportunities. To pre-register your attendance in the RN Student Career Room on February 22nd, please visit www.vanderbiltcareerevents.com or call 615-322-2116 or 800-288-6622. Please bring your resume and references. Parking is free. We look forward to meeting you and sharing why Vanderbilt Medical Center is a premiere employer for Nurses! 2007 Vanderbilt University is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and affirmative action. By Matthew Reynolds STAFF WRITER As an instructor for Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, it is Professor Larry Wacholtz’s job to have his finger on the pulse of the music industry. He cites his spiritual focus as the primary reason for teaching at Belmont. But what might surprise you about the experienced veteran is his fondness for artists like Eminem. Vision: Tell me a little bit about how you got involved in the industry. Wacholtz: I started off wanting to be a producer/audio engineer type guy. On the college level, I ran a recording studio in a college which helped me realize that God kind of missed me when it came to musical abilities and so I decided that I really enjoyed the business behind it. The second thing I’ve always been passionate about is why does entertainment communicate and work so well with people. Why do we as human beings use it to help ourselves understand who we are and celebrate who we are? What is it about Belmont that you really like and what keeps you teaching here? Honestly it’s my Christian principles. [. . .] God has facilitated through me and some of the other instructors here information that will help people go out and get involved in the industry in very positive ways. So what I like about Belmont is that it’s a very cool place—it’s the best of quite honestly what you would find in a very private school, a religious school and a public school combined in this very special program. Something stressed in the industry is networking. How would you describe effective networking? Effective networking to me is having an understanding for what you have a passion for and then meeting people in that side of the industry. It gives you a realistic reason to go out and meet these people because you want to do what they are currently doing. You want to think about what can you contribute to make the industry better to help those people that are currently there. Networking is scratch- For Rent 1515 Ashwood Avenue 4bdrm 2 1/2 bath house Walking distance to Belmont. Completely remodeled/ brand new. ing the surface of something to see what it smells like. If you go out as an intern or start networking, just be honest. These people in the industry are very bright and know that you are kind of a sponge soaking up all this knowledge, information and connections. You usually get your first “breaks” in this business by networking. What is the best advice to give to freshmen in the music business program? I think that God has put many of them here to find out if this is their thing or not their thing. They’re not walking alone— ever. They’re here with other young people who are very bright. Many of our students don’t fit in at a typical school, but here they fit in perfectly with the other students who are here trying to get into the business. It’s a perfect match. If you have Christ in your life, I believe that as you go through this experience in college and then out into your life, you will live a wonderful life. The music business is a career but your life is so much more than what you do for a career. If you could be one artist for a day, who would it be? One would be Bono in U2 because I think he’s doing great things with his fame. I think he’s sincere about trying to change poverty on the planet. [. . .] I think Toby Keith is another one that I admire because he brings in a “tongue-in-cheek” when it comes to the cutting edge to some of the philosophical aspects of being country. He’s a good-ole-boy to the max. I’d like to spend a day with Paul McCartney. Instead of me being them, I’d like to talk to these guys because I want to know what’s in their heart and mind—what made them successful and what made them have the ability to write such great lyrics. I kind of like Eminem because he’s more complex than he comes off. How do you think mega corporations play a part in the creative side of the industry? The reality is the traditional model in the music industry tied to these mega entertainment umbrella corporations is where creativity had an opportunity to actually exist because they would fund it, distribute it and sell it. That’s all going away. Today the consumer is going to be able to select so much more of what they specifically want easily. The world of music is headed toward the iPhone. Steve Jobs right now is the 4th largest seller of music. Wal-mart, Target and Best Buy are ahead of him. Steve Jobs is making billions of dollars selling iPods and is now going towards the iPhone where everything is connected to one device. So the music industry is really just in its infancy. It’s a little baby as to where its headed with digital entertainment, and that’s pretty exciting. It’ll be about a year and a half before most people can really afford it, but when it comes down the networks are going to be in trouble. Everything is about to change, and it’s really going to be exciting for our students. You guys are on the leading edge and are going to be the first out there to be hired in this totally new digital entertainment industry. For Rental Information please call: Brad Dozier 615-584-7885 jfdozier@comcast.net The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 Page 15 Queen to reign on Oscar night... By Andrew Cole A&E EDITOR Dreamgirls As a firm believer in the artistic integrity of the modern book musical, I held my breath until the release of Dreamgirls. However, when I learned Dreamgirls would have a screenplay penned by Bill Condon (who did wonders with the best movie musical of the past ten years, Chicago), I breathed a sigh of relief. Oscar has perhaps justifiably overlooked this delightful ode to Motown fame and corruption for the Best Picture prize, but the film has received notice where it is most deserved – Jennifer Hudson’s surprisingly layered portrayal of ousted diva Effie White. Personally, I felt a bit awkward as I sat in the theater and had her yell at me that she wasn’t going anywhere (for the definitive version of that moment, head over to YouTube and track down Jennifer Holliday’s 1982 Tony performance). But the rest of Hudson’s embodiment of the tragically downtrodden Effie should be enough to seal her claim on the best supporting actress trophy. After all, shouldn’t upstaging Beyonce at least be worthy of an Academy Award? Little Miss Sunshine The Queen It is truly unfortunate that last year’s indie hit is getting the kind of Oscar buzz it is because in the end it will amount to nothing. Yes, it is a quirky, irreverent jaunt across America with a dysfunctional family who could put the Griswolds to shame. But is it the best picture of 2006? No. And Abigail Breslin probably had to have a couple nasty bar fights with Dakota Fanning to secure the crown of the nation’s most beloved pre-teen girl. But did she give the best supporting actress performance of the year? Nope. And then there’s Alan Arkin who gave a sidesplitting take on a cantankerous grandpa who ends up… eh… detained by the movie’s end. But will he really walk away with that little gold statue? Unfortunately not. I am thrilled the Academy decided to recognize a deserving work that had so much popular acclaim, but the categories it finds itself in almost set the movie up for failure. The one glimmer of hope comes for Michael Arndt’s nod for Best Original Screenplay which Sunshine could conceivably claim. But with stiff competition from Pan’s Labyrinth and The Queen, don’t be surprised if Sunshine faces a fate similar to that of Olive at her beauty pageant. Speaking of The Queen, Stephen Frears’ marvelous picture spearheaded by Helen Mirren’s spot-on portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II is the film I am counting on to have the most royal of triumphs come Feb. 25. The aforementioned screenplay by Peter Morgan is the true masterwork that allows the countless other talents evident in this project to shine through. Instead of constructing a typical biopic that painstakingly rehashes every event of the monarch’s life, Morgan honed in on one of her most recent sagas, her reaction to the death of Lady Diana Spencer. With the way the story unfolds, you end up understanding why she came off as such a stuffy old curmudgeon and begin to resent the masses of people that refused to consider her otherwise. Mirren’s work is the only performance recognized in a piece that could have easily secured several other acting nods (specifically Michael Sheen’s Tony Blair), but it is so widely praised for good reason. Her intuitive reading of Morgan’s script is both compelling and refreshing. Unless Babel repeats its Golden Globe win, all will hail The Queen on Oscar night. Betcha didn’t know ... - Superman Returns (Best Achievement in Visual Effects) - An Inconvenient Truth (Best Documentary) - Happy Feet (Best Animated Film) - Click (Best Achievement in Makeup) - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Best Achievement in Art Direction) - Marie Antoinette (Best Achievement in Costume Design) A few forgotten gems ... - Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code (Special Achievement in Hair Design) - Julianna Margulies in Snakes on a Plane (Best Actress) - Robin Williams in RV (Best Actor) - Stick It and John Tucker Must Die (tie) (Best Picture) - The Lake House (Best Original Screenplay) - High School Musical (Defense for creating a Best TV Movie category) ...but does Pan deserve a crown? By Lance Conzett STAFF WRITER Babel Babel is the third film in Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “death trilogy,” a series of movies which uses the same tired method of ten random lives intersecting in odd ways. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and is quite awful. Sure, it starts out OK. We get images of a couple with a shaky marriage, a deaf-mute Japanese girl looking for affection and a Mexican maid taking care of the first pair’s children. But after a while, things take a turn and Murphy’s Law is applied to the point of absurdity. The film also fills the background with out-of-place political commentary about American policies on immigration and diplomacy. Maybe this would be alright if the film had even bothered to try to address the central point of communication breaking down, but probably not. And yet, somehow, the movie is still better than its offensively bad distant cousin, Crash, which won last year’s big prize. Children of Men Pan’s Labyrinth The Prestige While Hollywood is honoring overrated and generally bland films like Babel, it’s passing over some of the most daring and fascinating films to be released in years. Children of Men tells the story of a bleak, post-apocalyptic future where humanity has lost the ability to procreate. But hope returns in the form of a mysteriously pregnant girl who hooks up with a former rebel named Theo to deliver her and the baby to safety. Director Alfonso Cuarón tells his story with an intense understanding of detail and through some of the most engaging action sequences put to film. It’s terrifying because the battered ruins of England take cues from modern events and famous photographs, bringing out a disturbing reality about human nature while still keeping the viewer in a rollercoaster of intense action. The film was rightfully nominated for best cinematography, if not just for the use of cinéma vérité. It keeps the viewer in the film, dodging gunfire in an impromptu war zone holding on for dear life, all in one uninterrupted shot. Ever since the Lord of the Rings movies made enough money to start a small country, studios have been scrambling to recreate the magic. Unfortunately, moviegoers wind up with a lot of garbage like Eragon. This also seems to be why Pan’s Labyrinth, often described as a fairy tale for adults, seems to have been lost in the shuffle. Granted, Pan’s managed to garner a few award nominations, including best foreign film representing Mexico, but it’s nowhere in sight of the more prominent awards. The film tells the story of Ofelia, a girl who escapes from her cruel stepfather during the fallout of the Spanish Civil War. She meets a faun who tells her that she is the princess of an underground kingdom and must perform three tasks to prove her heritage. Meanwhile her stepfather rules his grotesquely violent reality with an iron fist and does what he can to destroy a group of rebels hidden in the forest. The film has a certain dark Wizard of Oz charm to it, making it one of the most imaginative realistic fantasies made in a long time. Christopher Nolan has never steered me wrong. Memento was nothing short of brilliant and his follow-up films proved entertaining and memorable. He even managed to pull the Batman franchise out of the dank pit of despair. But his 2006 film The Prestige is something special. I dare say that it had “Aha!” moments that were on par with the final revealation in The Usual Suspects and featured David Bowie as a very convincing Nikola Tesla. More important than Bowie’s best role since Labyrinth is the fact that the movie makes the viewer an active part of the experience by packing on layers for the viewer to peel away and decipher. This film is another instance where two stories unfold for the viewer but its clear theme means the significance isn’t lost like it is in Babel. Despite incredible acting from Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, this film had the misfortune of going up against the similar yet more mediocre The Illusionist, which may have turned people off of the plot of stage magicians turned bitter enemies. SENIOR THEATER from page 13 “What’s great about the senior showcase is that they didn’t have to please the college or the students,” said Jensen-Rader. “These are parts they’re interested in doing.” Even though mental preparation time has been plenteous for these shows, the process of producing them simultaneously in a dorm basement has not been the easiest of endeavors. “It is hard and easy at the same time,” said Jensen-Rader. “It all [came together] in a very short period of time. Rehearsals started in January which in the professional world wouldn’t matter but these people are still students.” “It is complicated because we have three directors, three sets of actors and three stage managers who we need to keep in contact with,” said McManus. “It is not at all like doing one show because for the set we had to have one basic [concept] that worked for three plays. ... None of the directors get their [complete] vision.” Which is not to say the shows compromise any amount of artistic sensibility, McManus said. Indeed, the efficient base set designed by senior Mitch Massaro puts emphasis upon the stories being told while still allowing for a great degree of individuality from show to show. “I really had the easiest deal because the show itself is supposed to be done with an open space and platforms,” said Bill Feehely, professor in the department of theatre and dance and director of “Eleemosynary.” “When I saw the preliminary idea, I had some suggestions but it pretty much worked,” he said. The minimalist approach works to the benefit of three shows that are thematically very different. “All plays surprisingly work together well,” said Paul Gatrell, chair of the department of theatre and dance. “They have different storylines and are different genres but overall they are very successful together.” “‘Death’ is a very realistic, meat-and-potatoes type of show,” said Feehely. “‘The Maids’ leans a little more toward stylized drama on the cusp of the absurdist movement. ‘Eleemosynary’ is very old but very modern in the way it flows. It is seamless but not linear.” With rich material to work with, the seniors have the opportunity to leave an artistic mark and set a precedent for the underclassmen to follow. “One of the things I really liked about the process [is that] I talked about the seniors leaving their stamp,” said Feehely. “This is the culmination of four years of education. In some, we have seen things we’ve never seen before. They have dug down [. . .] into roles they might not have originally considered.” “I think overall we’ve seen a lot of growth in all of the seniors,” said Gatrell. “Everyone was up for the challenge and they met it successfully.” The department is currently looking forward to a landmark season in the next academic year when their new space opens near Belmont Heights. The schedule will include “Much Ado About Nothing” (a collaboration with Actor’s Bridge), the Nashville Children’s Theatre October production, Lee Blessing’s “Two Rooms,” “Hamlet” (the Nashville Shakespeare Festival’s winter production), “Pride and Prejudice,” further work with the Nashville Ballet and Nora Ephron’s “Imaginary Friends.” Until then, they will have plenty to keep them busy with Ariel Dorfman’s “Death and the Maiden” (Fri., Feb. 16 at 7:30 pm, Sun., Feb. 18 at 7:30 pm, and Sat., Feb. 24 at 2 pm), Lee Blessing’s “Eleemosynary” (Sat., Feb. 17 at 2 pm, Wed., Feb. 21 at 7:30 pm, and Sun., Feb. 25 at 2 pm) and Jean Genet’s “The Maids” (Wed., Feb. 14 at 7:30 pm, Sun., Feb. 18 at 2 pm, Fri., Feb. 23 at 7:30 pm, and Sun., Feb. 25 at 7:30 pm). Page 16 The Belmont Vision, February 14, 2007 stage Hanging Mary People’s Branch Theatre Mar. 8-17 www.peoplesbranch.org The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Tennessee Performing Arts Center Mar. 6-11 www.tpac.org Speed-the-Plow Tennessee Repertory Theatre Feb. 1-17 www.tnrep.org Einstein Is a Dummy Nashville Children’s Theatre Jan. 30 - Feb. 18 www.nct-dragonsite.org Ordinary Heroes Actor’s Bridge Ensemble Feb. 2-25 www.actorsbridge.org song Classical to Contemporary: Haydn to Glass Nashville Symphony Feb. 15-17 www.nashvillesymphony.org Mexico and Modern Printmaking Frist Center for the Visual Arts Continues through April 15 www.fristcenter.org Take 6 and Jubilant Sykes Nashville Symphony Feb. 22-24 www.nashvillesymphony.org Contemporary Cultures: Prints by Antioch High School Students Frist Center for the Visual Arts Continues through May 6 www.fristcenter.org Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra Concert Frist Center for the Visual Arts Feb. 25 www.fristcenter.org The Killers Ryman Auditorium April 23 www.ryman.com Billy Joel Gaylord Entertainment Center Feb. 21 www.gaylordentertainmentcenter.com Justin Timberlake Gaylord Enerainment Center March 16 www.gaylordentertainmentcenter.com The Will Rogers Follies Boiler Room Theatre Jan. 26 - Feb. 24 www.boilerroomtheatre.com The Red Badge of Courage Roxy Regional Theatre Feb. 9-24 www.roxyregionaltheatre.org the stuff Bluebird Cafe at the Ballet II Nashville Ballet Feb. 16-18 www.nashvilleballet.com Griffin House with Leigh Nash Exit/In Feb. 16 www.exitin.com Jean Cocteau’s Beauty and the Beast Belcourt Theatre Feb. 17-24 www.belcourt.org Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries Belcourt Theatre Feb. 19-21 www.belcourt.org Letters from Iwo Jima Regal Green Hills 16 Currently Playing www.fandango.com The Queen Regal Green Hills 16 Currently Playing www.fandango.com Cool Hand Luke Grimey’s Feb. 19 www.grimeys.com feb. 16 Minton Sparks and Friends Tennessee Performing Arts Center Feb. 24 www.tpac.org feb. 23 Jamie Foxx Tennessee Performing Arts Center March 16 www.tpac.org grimey’s top 20 Be Your Own Pet The Rutledge Feb. 23 www.therutledgelmv.com screen 1. The Shins/Wincing the Night Away 2. Oh Montreal/Hissing Fauna... 3. Deerhoof/Friend Opportunity 4. The Good, The Bad & The Queen/ The Good, The Bad... 5. Menomena/Friend & Foe 6. The Bird & The Bee/The Bird & The Bee 7. Annuals/Be He Me 8. Clinic/Visitations Ghost Rider Bridge to Terabithia Music and Lyrics Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls Breach The Number 23 The Abandoned Reno! 911: Miami 9. The Decembrists/The Crane Wife 10. The Dears/Gang of Losers 11. John Mayer/The Village Sessions 12. Amy Winehouse/Back to Back 13. Mew/Frengers 14. Cat Power/The Greatest 15. Moe/Conch 16. Lee Hazlewood/Cake or Death 17. The Autumn Defense/The Autumn Defense 18. Fujiya & Miyagi/Fujiya & Miyagi 19. The Privates/Barricades 20. How I Became the Bomb/Let’s Go album drops... feb. 20 feb. 13 Lucinda Williams/West (Lost Highway) Van Morrison/Van Morrison at the Movies (Manhattan) Blue Oyster Cult/Spectres (Sony) Ashley Tisdale/He Said She Said (Wea International) Music & Lyrics/Original Soundtrack (Atlantic/Wea) TobyMac/Portable Sounds (Forefront) JJ Grey & Mofro/Country Ghetto (Alligator) The Ataris/Welcome the Night (Sanctuary) Everlife/Everlife (Buena Vista) Cities/Anberlin (Tooth and Nail) Explosions in the Sky/All of a Sudden... (Temporary Residence) Company/2006 Broadway Revival Cast (Nonesuch)