2007-12-12

THE BG NEWS Wednesday December 12, 2007 Volume 102, Issue 76 WWW.BGNEWS.COM

CAMPUS

Rope tying exercise creates controversy Employees are upset that no action is being taken against those who made and stored three nooses at UNCC | Page 3

Antioch may go under alumni administration

NOT NEWS

The university is exploring an option to place ownership in the hands of an alumni and donor organization | Page 3

It’s Christmas time and Not News wants...

Not News columnists sent letters to good ol’ St. Nick with details of what they would like for Christmas | Page 6

FORUM

Buying back books is a scheme Columnist Sean Martin wonders why his books aren’t being bought back and the reasons behind it | Page 4

SPORTS

AP All-American first and second teams announced Several football players made the team for the second year, including Darren McFadden and James Laurinaitis.

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was named to the first team | Page 7

A whole lotta Latta for the 5th Latta claims victory with 57 percent

By Tim Sampson and Kristen Vasas The BG News

The third time wasn’t the charm for Robin Weirauch.

The Democratic nominee lost the special congressional election to State Rep. Bob Latta by a 14 percent margin.

The Republican nominee earned 56,367 votes while his Democratic rival earned just 42,563 votes in the race to fill the vacant Ohio 5th district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The special election was called in mid-September following the death of the late U.S. Rep. Paul Gillmor.

Latta arrived at his campaign victory party on South Main Street in Bowling Green last night to a crowd of fervent supporters chanting his name at the top of their lungs.

The current state representative from Bowling Green greeted supporters with thanks for all of their “grunt work,” which he said helped him win the race.

“It was a tough campaign,” Latta said. “It was 88 days you don’t want to relive.”

Latta will be following in the footsteps of his father, Del Latta, who served as the 5th district representative for 30

PEOPLE ON THE STREET

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

VICTORY!: Bob Latta celebrates his newly claimed spot in the House of Representatives at the Latta Victory Center on Main Street.

years. Latta previously sought to fill his father’s spot in 1988, but lost the Republican nomination to Gillmor by 27 votes.

“I talked with my dad earlier tonight and he was very happy,” Latta said.

A mile away from Latta’s victory party last night, Weirauch

gathered with supporters at her campaign headquarters in downtown Bowling Green.

By 9:45 p.m., Weirauch came out to speak to a packed room and announced she had called

See LATTA | Page 2

Commission votes to reduce sentences for drug offenders

By Mark Sherman The Associated Press

EMILY KENNEY Junior Middle Childhood Education

“‘You just got dominated.’” | Page 4

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously yesterday to allow some 19,500 federal prison inmates, most of them black, to seek reductions in their crack cocaine sentences.

The commission, which sets guidelines for federal prison sentences, decided to make retroactive its recent easing of recommended sentences for crack offenses.

Most of those eligible could receive no more than a twoyear cut in their prison terms, but roughly 3,800 inmates could be released from prison within a year after the March 3 effective date of yesterday’s decision.

TODAY A.M. Rain/Snow High: 34, Low: 24

By Nathan Robson Reporter

TOMORROW A.M. Light Wintry Mix High: 32, Low: 24

Federal judges will have the final say whether to reduce sentences.

The commissioners said the delay until March would give judges and prison officials time to deal with public safety and other issues.

The commission took note of objections raised by the Bush administration, but said there is no basis to treat convicts sentenced before the guidelines were changed differently from those sentenced after the changes.

The sentencing commission recently changed the guidelines to reduce the disparity in prison time for the two crimes. The new guidelines took effect Nov. 1.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions of Vermont, a commission member, said the vote on

retroactivity will have the “most dramatic impact on AfricanAmerican families.” A failure to act “may be taken by some as particularly unjust,” Sessions said before the vote.

Four of every five crack defendants is black. Most powder cocaine convictions involve whites.

Even after the change, prison terms for crack cocaine still are two to five times longer on average than sentences for powder cocaine, the result of a 20-yearold decision by Congress to treat crack more harshly. The commission first said in 1995 that there was no evidence to support such disparate treatment.

See SENTENCE | Page 2

Midwest blizzard causes ‘war zone,’ leaving 23 dead

By James Beltran The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — A thick glaze of ice brought down power lines and cut electricity to close to a million homes and businesses, closed schools and canceled flights yesterday as a major storm blasted the nation’s midsection.

At least 23 deaths had been blamed on the storm system since the waves of sleet and freezing rain started during the weekend.

Officials in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma had declared states of emergency. President Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma yesterday, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.

A shell of ice as much as an inch thick covered trees, power lines, streets and car windshields Monday in parts of Oklahoma and Missouri, with thinner layers elsewhere. About an inch of ice was expected Yesterday over parts of Iowa, followed by up to 5 inches of sleet and snow.

“This is a big one. We’ve got a massive situation here and it’s probably going to be a week to 10 days before we get power on to everybody,” said Ed Bettinger, a spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma. “It looks like a war zone.”

Iowa’s largest school district

“This is a big one.

We’ve got a massive situation here and it’s probably going to be a week to 10 days before we get power on everybody.”

Ed Bettinger | Spokesman for Public Service Company of Oklahoma closed for the day in Des Moines, telling its nearly 31,000 students to stay home, and kids across most of Oklahoma and in the Kansas City, Mo., area stayed home for a second day.

Schools also were closed in parts of Wisconsin, including Milwaukee Public Schools with 85,000 students. “We thought about our kids on foot,” said Milwaukee schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin. Some drivers couldn’t even get to their buses, she said.

Nearly 600,000 Oklahoma homes and businesses still had no electricity yesterday, most of them since Monday when power lines began snapping

See BLIZZARD | Page 2

Lights lace trees and turf at Toledo Zoo Nearly 70 miles of Christmas lights will span the length of the park

WEATHER

STEVE WARMOWSKI | AP PHOTO

RED, WHITE AND FROZEN: A row of American flags is coated with ice and icicles Monday along Interstate 72 in rural Winchester, Ill.

19,500 inmates deemed eligible for reductions for crack cocaine violations

Pretend your final exams were in human form.

What would you do or say to them right now?

ESTABLISHED 1920 A daily independent student press serving the campus and surrounding community

This holiday season more than a million lights will be illuminating the Toledo Zoo for their Lights Before Christmas event.

Open every day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, until Dec. 31, the event is to remind the public the zoo is

STEPHANIE GUIGOU | THE BG NEWS

A WINTER WONDERLAND: Pictured above is the light display that is put on every year by the Toledo Zoo. Synchronized dancing lights create more than 200 images across the park.

still open through the winter months.

With more than 200 images, a synchronized dance light display, a photo opportunity with Santa Claus, ice carvings, hot chocolate and other treats, there will be plenty for people to do and see.

Zoo spokeswoman Andi Norman also added that while

not all of the animal exhibits are open, visitors can see several of the exhibits like the aquarium, the conservatory and the reptile house.

“With temperatures in the ’80s [in the reptile house] you can kind of escape winter and warm

See LIGHTS | Page 2

FUN LIGHTS FACTS ■ ■

■ ■

Lights before Christmas is in its 22nd year.

More than 2,700 pounds of fudge will be made during the event.

More than 6,800 gallons of hot chocolate will be made.

More than 3,800 gingerbread men will be baked.

All the lights connected together stretch for nearly 70 miles.

■ 50,000 feet, or 10 miles of extension cord is used.

■ It takes two months to take down and package all the lights.

■

Source: Toledo Zoo

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2 Wednesday, December 12, 2007

LIGHTS From Page 1

up for a while,” Norman said.

One of the more popular displays is the Big Tree, a Norway Spruce that is more than 85 feet tall, making it bigger than the Rockefeller Center Tree in New York City.

University senior Aysen

LATTA From Page 1 Latta to concede defeat.

“I’m disappointed in the loss, but I’m proud of the race,” she said.

This race was Weirauch’s third attempt at the 5th district seat.

Weirauch, the former assistant director of the University’s Center for Regional Development, lost by almost the same 14-percentage point margin that she did in 2006, despite speculation that this year’s special election was her best chance of retaking a district held by Republicans since 1939.

Yesterday’s vote marked the end of an 88-day special election

WWW.BGNEWS.COM Ulupinar went to the lights last year and said the tree was one of the most memorable sights.

“It was a really really big tree.

It was really pretty and was a really gorgeous picture,” she said.

Senior Sean Mika said that his favorite part of the event was the synchronized light display.

“There was this area by the that saw its share of controversy.

Latta won the Republican nomination after a bitter primary race in which Latta and his chief rival for the nomination, State Sen. Steve Buehrer (R-Delta), were both chastised by the Ohio Elections Commission for issuing false campaign statements about one another.

And in recent weeks, the race between Latta and Weirauch turned negative as the national parties poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the special election.

According to The Associated Press, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $150,000 on ads trying to connect Latta

CORRECTION POLICY

BLIZZARD From Page 1

We want to correct all factual errors.

If you think an error has been made, call The BG News at 419-372-6966.

under the weight of ice and falling branches — the biggest power outage in state history.

Utilities in Missouri reported about 170,000 homes and business without power. Outages elsewhere affected more than 100,000 customers in Kansas, more than 60,000 in Iowa and nearly 18,000 in Illinois.

The power was on at Big Apple Bagels in Ottumwa, but many others weren’t so lucky, said owner Lesley Owczarski.

“Most of the places don’t have power so a lot of people have been coming to the bagel shop,” she said. “If they can come in and get warm and have a hot coffee and a latte, why not? I can understand it’s

An article that appeared on page one yesterday incorrectly stated the Latino Student Union’s meeting time and LSU President Laura Saavedra’s hometown.

LSU meets on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in 207 Union when school is in session. Saavedra grew up in River Rouge, Mich.

The same article included a misleading statement about Saavedra’s involvement with the Latino Youth Summit. The University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University have both participated in the summit in the past. Saavedra hopes BGSU will host the event again.

amphitheater where there was music playing and the lights corresponded to the music,” he said.

Both students enjoyed the event and Ulupinar said that it even makes a cute date.

Several of the lights being used in the displays like the big tree and the synchronized dance use Light Emitting Diode bulbs which conserve electric-

“I’m disappointed in the loss, but I’m proud of the race.”

Robin Weirauch | Dem. candidate with past Republican scandals in Ohio. Likewise the Republican National Campaign Committee had $160,000 on ads criticizing Weirauch for her stand on illegal immigration and taxes.

But with the campaign behind him, Latta is prepared to head on to Washington.

“There are a lot of things I want to do for the 5th district of Ohio and the nation and just want to get to work,” he said.

ity. Nearly 35 percent of the lights are LED, and each year the zoo continues to add more LED lights as they buy or replace more lights.

One downside to the new lights, Norman said, is that the LED lights do not heat up and can get buried if there is a heavy snowfall instead of melting the snow like older lights.

With the lack of snow last year,

SENTENCE From Page 1 Relatives of prison inmates filled the meeting room and applauded loudly following the 7-0 vote. But several family members and commissioners called on Congress to overhaul cocaine sentencing laws.

“The debate needs to shift from the Sentencing Commission to Congress,” said Julie Stewart, president and founder of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. “That disparity between crack and powder and all of its injustices continues.”

Several bills have been

“The rain keeps refreezing. We put chemicals down, it melts and freezes again.

We can’t stay ahead of it. This is not fun.”

Roy Criss | Spokesman for Des Moines International Airport boring sitting at home.”

The Kansas National Guard was asked to supply generators to several locations, including two nursing homes, said Sharon Watson, Kansas Emergency Management spokeswoman.

The storm even put a crimp on presidential campaigning, with Republican Mike Huckabee canceling stops in western Iowa and former President Bill Clinton calling off appearances in eastern Iowa on behalf of his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A backup generator enabled

a Home Depot store to open in Oklahoma City, but a sign warned customers of shortages: “No Generators, Ice Melt, Scrapers, Lamp Oil, Firewood, Kerosene Heaters, Chainsaws.”

One of the store’s last kerosene heaters had been grabbed

by Jay Garcia, who lost power at his Oklahoma City home two days earlier.

“We have kids in the house and we’ve got to keep them warm,” Garcia said. “I called the power company, and they said it could be seven to 10 days before we get the power back

a record 178,000 people came to see the lights. With the weather and events going on Norman recommends people arrive at 5 p.m. to see the lights.

The gates open at 5 p.m. and are open until 8 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 9 p.m. on Friday through Sunday. Tickets to get into the event are $9 dollars for adults and $6 for senior citizens and children.

WEDNESDAY 8:47 P.M.

A bag of white powder was reported to have been found in a mailbox on South Maple Street.

Police confiscated it, tested it and determined it was some kind of laundry detergent.

9:06 P.M.

Unknown person reported to have gone through an unlocked car on Fifth Street. Nothing was taken.

introduced to further reduce or eliminate the disparity.

The Senate is expected to hold hearings on the legislation next year.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey restated the administration’s opposition to retroactivity before the commission voted.

“Our position is clear,” Mukasey, a former federal judge, said at a news conference yesterday. “We oppose it.”

The attorney general said the convicted crack offenders were sentenced under an existing standard and to change that standard retroactively dismisses any mitigating factors

the sentencing judge considered when deciding how long a prison term to set.

In addition, the release of inmates would cause problems for communities whose probation and supervisory systems are not ready to receive crack offenders, he said.

Several commissioners said they expect judges will use their power to deny sentence reductions in some case.

on.”

Des Moines International Airport closed because of ice late Monday and could be closed most of yesterday, said spokesman Roy Criss. The airport, which also was shut down by winter weather two weeks ago, has 138 arrivals and departures per day, he said.

“This rain keeps refreezing. We put chemicals down, it melts and the freezes again.

We can’t stay ahead of it,” Criss said. “This is not fun.”

More travelers were grounded at Chicago, where about 250 flights were canceled yesterday morning at O’Hare International Airport and departure delays averaging 15 to 30 minutes, said Karen Pride of the city’s Department of Aviation.

Kansas City International

Airport in Missouri canceled more than 90 flights yesterday morning, but spokesman Joe McBride said that was probably due to problems at other airports.

Southeastern Nebraska also had power outages yesterday and some flights in and out of Omaha’s Eppley Airfield were canceled.

At least 23 deaths — most of them in traffic accidents — had been blamed on the ice and cold since the weekend, including 15 in Oklahoma, four in Kansas, three in Missouri and one in Nebraska.

——— Associated Press writers Ken Miller in Oklahoma City, Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., and Marcus Kabel in Springfield, Mo., contributed to this report.

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SEASONAL TREATS AT THE FALCONS NEST

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 3

New investors to Antioch fund ethanol dream examines Opposed locals concerned about mainly pollution and water consumption

By Bill Lambrecht “We got tired of MCT fighting. You’d have BAINBRIDGE, Pa. — Brian Utz dreamed of owning a piece of thought we were an ethanol plant. So two years ago he rounded up a dozen felbuilding an atomic low farmers to find a place for it and finance all the work needed bomb” to build one of the first corn-to-

ENOCH WU | THE BG NEWS

HOLIDAY TREATS: Chef Billie Jo prepares a few chunks of fudge for a customer. The wide selection of gourmet chocolates, made by chef Billie Jo, are sold at the Falcon’s Nest twice a year.

fuel plants in the East.

But the costs — and the community opposition — grew too much to bear.

“We got tired of fighting. You’d have thought we were building an atomic bomb,” says Utz. So Utz and the other farmers got out, and the big guys stepped in. The really big guys.

The new investor group aiming to build in southern Pennsylvania includes three billionaires: Richard Branson, the British airline and music entrepreneur; Vinod Khosla, a founder of Sun Microsystems; and Jeffrey Skoll, founder of eBay. The arrival of the “makers and shakers,” as Utz calls them, is part of a sudden change in biofuels, just two years after farmers were chipping in $20,000 or so for shares in ethanol plants sprouting across the Midwest and elsewhere.

Since spring, prices for the

Brian Utz | Founder

corn-made fuel have plummeted by one-third. Local opposition has spread, rooted in concerns about pollution, water consumption and the aesthetic impact of refineries on neighborhoods. Plans for new ethanol plants are being scrubbed or delayed as construction costs soar and lenders grow tightfisted.

While the ethanol boom has stalled, billionaire investors like those in Pennsylvania see a bright long-term future for biofuels, and they have the money to withstand the current lull.

Bob Dinneen, CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, observed that eye-catching profits from ethanol turned it from “a Midwest novelty” into a golden opportunity for Wall Street, real estate investors and companies with no experience in the fuels business.

Knot-tying exercise sparks questions of racism at UNCC

By Karen Cimino MCT

University of North Carolina at Charlotte employees, angered and appalled by the university’s response to three nooses found on campus, protested in front of the Reese Administration building Friday afternoon and demanded that those responsible be fired.

“I was deeply offended,” said Marvin Mackey, an electrician at UNCC for the last nine years.

Mackey found the nooses in a bucket in the facilities workshop storage area on Nov. 14, prompting a campus investigation to determine if the ropes were made as a form of racial intimidation.

A week later, the university released a statement saying the incident wasn’t racially motivated.

But some African-American employees disagree. Members and officers with the UE 150, the N.C. Public Service Union, organized Friday’s protest and called

for change throughout the UNC system.

The ropes were used by employees during a break-time activity in which one employee, an outdoor enthusiast, was demonstrating knot-tying techniques to other employees, UNCC Chancellor Phil Dubois said in a statement issued Friday.

During this activity, there were no racially related comments or observations, Dubois said.

“The ropes were found in a bucket contained in a storage

area, were not displayed in an open or public way, and were not placed in a manner that would have ensured their discovery by the complaining employee during his normal course of work,” Dubois said.

Several pieces of rope were found in a bucket in a public storage area in the electrical shop at UNCC. One of the ropes was about 6-feet-long and had a hangman’s knot tied on each end, while another length of rope contained a loosely fashioned

hangman’s knot. Other lengths of rope in the bucket were either loose or rolled for storage.

“We are really offended that the university has overlooked this,” said Ronnie Bell, a locksmith who is president of the UNCC chapter of UE 150.

UNCC’s human resources department plans to work to improve understanding among employees and supervisors of sensitive inter-racial and intercultural issues, according to Dubois’ statement.

transfer benefits

Alumni want their own board of trustees YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — Trustees overseeing Antioch College told school officials yesterday to explore the possibility of transferring the financially struggling school to a group of alumni, donors and others with its own board of trustees.

University Chancellor Toni Murdock will lead a group of administrators and others to examine the feasibility of transferring the school, known for pioneering academic programs and history of social activism, to the Antioch College Continuation Corp. Alumni, donors, former trustees and faculty formed the corporation to try to stabilize the school and ensure its long-term operation. If an agreement is reached, the transfer would take effect July 1.

The move comes after university trustees reversed an earlier decision to temporarily close the college, contingent upon whether fundraising goals could be met.

The college, founded in 1852 is the flagship for Antioch University, which has five other campuses in Ohio and on the East and West coasts.

“We are confident that we can raise the necessary resources to stabilize the college and secure its standing as one of the nation’s foremost liberal-arts institutions,” said Frances Degen Horowitz, cochair of the corporation.

TrusteesannouncedinJunethat because of declining enrollment, heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment, the college would close after the spring term, reorganize and reopen in 2012.

They reversed the decision Nov. 3, but said they would close some buildings and dormitories and downsize the faculty to meet budget constraints.

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FORUM

“He said, ‘I have been locked in for four days.’ ” — Cleaner Cathy Scollay on finding David Leggat, who had been trapped in a bathroom in Scotland [from the BBC]

PEOPLE ON THE STREET “ ‘I heard you were easy.’ ”

BRIAN HUBER, Senior, Sociology

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 4

Pretend your final exams were in human form. What would you do or say to them right now?

“I would ask it why it’s putting so much stress on me.”

“I’d probably have to punch him.”

BRITNIE ALLEN, Senior, Special Education

DREW BELL, Freshman, Undecided

“I would stab my exam in the back like it’s stabbing me.”

SHEENA NIEHAUS, Junior, Special Education

The true hawks’ sensible alternative JASON SNEAD COLUMNIST

This past week Russian President Vladimir Putin, advocate for rebuilding the old Russian empire, revealed how many believe he will indefinitely hold on to power. It was exposed that someone in China attempted a highly skilled and precise hacking of one of our most secretive nuclear research laboratories.

The National Intelligence Estimate said Iran stopped actively building nuclear weapons, but warned that its confidence in this assessment was only moderate. And insurgents continue to do battle on a daily basis with American forces in the streets of Iraq.

This was all just one week, a few days, in the foreign policy of the United States. In the midst of this troublesome time, the United States is preparing for election year, judging candidates by their stances on issues near and dear to each of us, including our nation’s foreign policy.

We judge them on their stances, their speeches, and their histories, using tools our teachers taught us, the media and our parents. We call them doves or war hawks, contented with this limiting and, in some cases demonizing, framework.

Yet, is this dichotomy really sufficient to judge the merits of those seeking the most powerful office in the world?

At one point there was trichotomy in policy formulation, a recognition that between the two extremes a third camp of moderates existed. These moderates, perhaps best characterized as true hawks, abhorred war every bit as much as their dove counterparts, hoping steadfastly to avoid it.

But the key difference between the hawks and the doves was that the hawks drew a certain line in the sand, a mark beyond which the price paid to avoid war was greater than the price of war. To these true hawks, war was sometimes a necessary evil, an option that can never be idealistically abandoned so long as we function in the real world.

To the doves, this moderate group represents the greatest threat to their agenda. The warmongers, in effect, dig their own graves, their ideas far too belligerent for the mainstream of American politics and culture.

Even the doves are more appealing than this group.

The true hawks, however, make the most sense, possess the most rational policy objectives and ideologies, and appeal to the broadest base of American voters. They perpetually threaten to undo what meager progress the doves have made towards aligning American policy with a European-style doctrine.

But the problem with these moderates is that they are not so easily subject to the sort of attacks that radical left- or rightwing politicians are. The answer to this conundrum was found

Send responses to Jason’s column to thenews@bgnews.com.

THE BG NEWS LISA HALVERSTADT, EDITOR IN CHIEF 210 West Hall Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 | Phone: (419) 372-6966 E-mail: thenews@bgnews.com Web site: http://www.bgnews.com Advertising: 204 West Hall | Phone: (419) 372-2606

Have your own take on today’s People On The Street? Or a suggestion for a question? Give us your feedback at bgnews.com.

It’s more than just ‘noise’

“The losers in this game of politics are the people who, because of their realistic worldviews, are referred to sneeringly as crazed warmongers.” in America’s obsession with dichotomies, and if the hawks could be made into bedfellows with the warmongers, both could be simultaneously demonized under a single category: the war hawks.

The winners in this game of politics are the extreme left, who gave themselves traction on issues by demonizing their opponents and building a base of support great enough to capture the attentions of Democratic candidates running for president.

Beholden to this far-left camp, each of the frontrunners has called for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, and pledged to establish diplomatic relations with rogue nations such as Iran and North Korea. Ironically it was one of their own, fellow candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., whose campaign fought heartily during the YouTube debate to ask the candidates a simple question: What next? Though the question was not asked, his query raised eyebrows because it made evident the unrealistic expectations thrust upon national political leaders by groups advocating radical agendas.

The losers in this game of politics are the people who, because of their realistic worldviews, are referred to sneeringly as crazed warmongers. And because they are made to be warmongers, their ideas are scoffed at as well. In a world as troubled and divided as ours, with China rising in the ranks and terrorism showing no signs of diminishing in influence or scale, there could not be a worse time for the doves to launch an unfounded assault against the character and value of the hawks and their ideas.

As the election season approaches rapidly, and the democratic principles of the nation allow us to select our next leader we need to keep this political struggle in mind, and not be swayed by the smear campaigns of one group against another.

America cannot afford a dove, nor can it afford a warmonger, in the Oval Office. The times ahead are simply too perilous, the future of our national status too close to a dangerous precipice, to allow either extreme to dominate politics and reshape our foreign policy to fit a radical agenda.

The next president, whether Democrat or Republican, needs to be a true hawk, recognizing the value of diplomacy, but drawing a line in the sand for which no peace is ever worth crossing.

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LEVI JOSEPH WONDER COLUMNIST

of years to make, and that dinosaurs now live in them.

Anything worth updating in a book would have been breaking news to all of us already.

I have had other books like English books get turned down before, too. I guess they must have found new forms of speech or even maybe new verb tenses.

My fraternity brothers have told me of physics book being rejected. Now, what happened in the last year that is so amazing? Did a scientist find out taping buttered bread (buttered side up) to a cat’s back creates anti-gravity?

If all else fails and a person wants to add more crap to their books but can not find a way to screw people over on text alone they have an ace in the hole:

It has all the fervent bottledup energy of a truckload of caffeine-rattled rabid monkeys and the inherent complexity and mind-boggling capacity to confuse and disorient of an M.C. Escher work.

It has the unbridled, intense maniacal mental energy of 1,108 evil geniuses working together at once, and the unpredictable-ness of a cluster of performance artists dancing in a crowded city square during an earthquake registering at 6.0 on the Richter scale.

I’m talking about electronic music. Despite all of these descriptions pointing out the pure intensity (whether fast or slow), artistic merit, and intricate detail work involved with the creation and analysis of electronic tunes, there are people who tend to label such music as simple strings of abstract “noise” and arbitrary bass beats, thereby relegating it to their personal music trash cans. Explain all you want to, but some people will, quite simply, refuse to acknowledge electronic music in the same regard as more mainstream music genres.

Although I understand their perspectives on the issue, it still irritates me when I hear such beliefs picking on this wholly independent and unique music form.

The most common argument I have heard coming from critics of electronic music is, as I said, their comparison of electronic to the randomness of meaningless noise.

On one occasion, I have

See MARTIN | Page 5

See WONDER | Page 5

MCT

New editions just not worth it SEAN MARTIN COLUMNIST

Every semester I get molested.

While this may occur to some as a private matter, this attack on dignity occurs in the MultiPurpose Room of the Union in plain view of all.

“We’re not taking this.”

This is the phrase that makes me want to burn every new academic book I see on a bookstore shelf.

Why the hell are you not exactly taking my books back?

Actually, this is one case where I do not care what the argument is because there is no valid excuse.

Normally, I would care what the other side says, but I do not care to listen to why it’s OK for the bookstore to swindle me out of my money.

Why is my book no longer good four months later? Maybe it is because technology has advanced in the literary world. I thought this might be the case, but bookstores everywhere are still full of bundles of ink on

“New textbooks are a lot like Madden or Medal of Honor games: The new ones are just a little bit shinier with new pictures.

And that’s about it.” shiny paper. Maybe the paper is self-recycling or self-reading.

There is one reason I could accept when people claim a textbook needs updating: When monumental scientific discoveries are made. Not when some tool decides to put a pointless foreword nobody cares or reads about in his book.

Today, my 20th Century History of Europe book was rejected (it had been updated 4 times by 2005). Maybe they found out that Hitler was an alien, or Nicolai Ceausescu was the Romanian version of Mother Theresa, or maybe there was a zombie epidemic in Poland in the 1950s. What else do they know now that shakes the foundation of that subject?

I had a geology book denied once. Last time I kicked one down the street, rocks were still rocks. They were still hard and took hundreds of thousands

OMGUG2BK: Reading habits are a shock THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS | GUEST COLUMNIST

Oh my God, you’ve got to be kidding.

Borrowing from texting’s mushrooming lexicon, that’s our reaction to fresh research on the nation’s declining reading habits.

The National Endowment for the Arts reports an “alarming” falloff of reading and reading ability among teens, the very age group that’s busily developing its own language of hieroglyphics.

Sobering fact: From 1984 to 2004, 17-year-olds who never

or rarely read have risen from 9 percent to 19 percent. Everyday readers in the age group fell from 31 percent to 22 percent.

The reading aversion has crept into young adulthood, too.

Over 20 years, 18- to 24-yearolds who read literature slipped from 60 percent to 43 percent.

It’s no wonder that the trend is overtaking a demographic that is immersed in entertainment media, communicates in code and is AATK (always at the keyboard), as they say.

But it is no light matter. The NEA study correlates a falloff in reading skills with a falloff of academic and economic

DAVE HERRERA, SENIOR EDITOR CANDICE JONES, SENIOR EDITOR KELLY DAY, CAMPUS EDITOR TIM SAMPSON, CITY EDITOR STEPHANIE GUIGOU, DESIGN EDITOR BRIAN SZABELSKI, WEB EDITOR KRISTEN MOONEY, COPY CHIEF COLIN WILSON, SPORTS EDITOR ADDIE CURLIS, PULSE EDITOR CHRISTY JOHNSON, SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR ENOCH WU, PHOTO EDITOR

achievement.

Before concluding there’s NWO (no way out) and CID (crying in disgrace), consider that technology itself might help fight the trend. E-books, even.

They have been on the market for a few years, and the latest generation — Amazon’s new $400 e-book, the Kindle — looks to be getting closer to meshing with reading habits.

Is it a WOMBAT (waste of money, brains and time), like a $400 library card? We don’t think so, not if it helps pass along the reading bug to kids who would otherwise be estranged from actual sentences. It’s better than

another video game.

To be sure, electronic gadgets are not the salvation for generations who are letting a foundational cultural skill escape. The new research numbers should be a “call to action” and instill new emphasis on the critical nature of reading, according to the NEA. Indeed. It’s also important to recognize that technology is part of the backdrop. And technology will be undoubtedly figure into the solution.

This is truly a BBC (big, bad challenge).

(Translations courtesy of Internet.com’s Webopedia.)

The BG News Submission Policy LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are to be fewer than 300 words. These are usually in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area.

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These are usually also in response to a current issue on the University’s campus or the Bowling Green area.

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MARTIN From Page 4 the CD. God knows what’s on them or if they actually have any value, but God himself can’t help you if you lose it as the book is now magically worthless. They are about as useful as a one-legged soccer player.

There is only one job in the world that shares a similarity with writing textbooks: working for Electronic Arts.

No other job in the world allows you to reproduce the same work year after year with minimal changes and still pass it off as a “new” work.

New textbooks are a lot like Madden or Medal of Honor games: The new ones are just a

little bit shinier with new pictures. And that's about it.

There is no real addition of substance or material. They are made with the simple intention of lining pockets, not for educating. After you are done with them you feel empty and broke, kind of like smoking crack.

I can not think of many other jobs where people would put up with this same kind of product quality.

There is this thing that is called tenure; it’s like a guaranteed job, unless you commit crimes, that professors get.

They get this so they can do research and find new things out: not to correct typos and make fun of me in a foreword.

You may think I am crazy, but read some of these forewords in books, and the author talks

about how much they thank people for buying their book and how it motivated them to re-issue it.

Translation: “Since so many people bought this book, I should make more money. I will do this by not offering any new valuable content, and forcing new books to be sold in bookstores, who will get a cut of my sales. Basically all of you reading though the newer editions are suckers!”

I thought academia was all about education and the pursuit of knowledge, not the pursuit of screwing people out of their hard-earned money by people with job security.

Send responses to Sean’s column to thenews@bgnews.com.

It’s the end of TV as we know it, and I ... want to be prepared CHICAGO TRIBUNE | GUEST COLUMNIST On the morning of Feb. 18, 2009, some Americans will awake, flip on the television, and find ... nothing. Not a single channel in the vast sumptuous television banquet.

Just snow.

They will wonder what happened. We will tell you what happened.

On that day — more than a year from now — TV stations will stop broadcasting an analog signal. In English, that means the old way of beaming television to the set, the way that millions of televisions still depend on, will cease. Only digital signals will be beamed.

People will be slapping the box, and adjusting the ears and scratching their heads and blaming their teenagers. But it won’t help.

If the deadline holds, about 20 million homes that rely strictly on antennas to receive free over-the-air broadcasting will suddenly go dark, the National Association of Broadcasters estimates. An additional 14.6 million households have cable in one room but also at least one antennapowered television. In all, 69 million televisions will be

“You don’t want to get between a television addict and his or her ‘24’ or ‘Dexter’ or ‘30 Rock’ or ‘Friday Night Lights’ or ...” affected, the association says.

So why are we telling you now, more than a year in advance? Well, for one thing, this is good to keep in mind for Christmas/Hanukkah buying season, particularly if you’re in one of the households that rely on free analog television signals. For another, it’s important that those who are shopping for a new TV make sure they know what they’re buying. Some stores won’t sell the analog sets anymore. But some will.

Buying a new digital set is not the only way to stay connected after the transition. You could also subscribe to a cable or satellite or telephone-company TV service provider and let it handle the details with your old set. Or you could buy a settop converter box for $50 to $70 that allows you to watch digital programming on an analog TV. The feds will even help pay for the converter box because they’re commandeering the analog spectrum for advanced wireless services and public safety needs. Come Jan. 1,

SPEAK YOUR MIND Got something you want to say about an opinion column or news story?

Here’s how to get in touch with us for letters to the editor: ■ ■ ■ ■

E-mail us at thenews@bgnews.com.

Drop a note into our new comment box at the Union Information Center.

Call us at 419-372-6966.

Come to our newsroom in 210 West Hall.

Be sure to read the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.

Americans can apply for as many as two $40 coupons toward the purchase of converter boxes. (Call 1-888-DTV2009 or visit dtvanswers.com for more information.)

Many Americans haven’t heard of this coming change.

Our guess: You’ll be hearing about this a lot more. As U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, DMo., said at a hearing earlier this year, the lack of public awareness “scares me politically. There is no anger that comes close to the anger of an American that cannot get television.”

She’s right about that. You don’t want to get between a television addict and his or her “24” or “Dexter” or “30 Rock” or “Friday Night Lights” or “The Office,” “Reaper” or “CSI: Miami” or “Desperate Housewives” ... well, you make your own list.

For people who disdain television, who brag about not having one or about still owning a black-and-white set circa 1979, this is another reason to feel superior to the proles who sit slack-jawed in front of the set every night. What’s the fuss, they’ll ask snootily. High def?

Who cares? Maybe they won’t even replace the ancient television, content to believe that television is not necessary to live a fulfilling life.

Millions, though, will have to get ready for the great conversion.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 5

WONDER From Page 4 heard a person go so far as to compare electronic music to pure static: total chaos, no melody or rhythm. The lack of vocal work, relative “ease” of production and the fact that “it’s too weird to be music” are all unfounded complaints which I have been forced to tolerate when conversing with others who are critical of electronic music (remember, people: not all electronic music is bereft of vocal work!).

One criticism in particular (one which was directed partly towards myself) derided electronic because of its “associations” to illegal drugs such as ecstasy. Before I go any further, please let me debunk this myth unfortunately associated with electronic music.

As common sense will tell anyone, people who listen to electronic or rave music are not subliminally brainwashed to buy and consume illegal drugs!

It is purely up to them and their personal reasons to do so on whether or not they decide to go gulp a handful of amphetamines before entering a congested warehouse to dance next to a bunch of other sweaty people with laser lights cutting elegant swathes through the humid air and furious techno tunes blaring out of ten-foot-tall speaker assemblies. *Ahem.* Regardless, these many criticisms of electronic music would not nettle and provoke me in the way they do if the critics of electronic would come up with some substantial evidence pointing out the weak points of electronic music which surpasses the logic of “it sounds different, and there’s no guitar!”

Come on, music critics! I’ve heard wittier comments about

“As common sense will tell anyone, people who listen to electronic or rave music are not subliminally brainwashed to buy and consume illegal drugs!” the Backstreet Boys!

Some people actually don’t know just how many great musicians permeate the realm of electronic music. Personally, I didn’t even know about all these great DJs and synth artists until a couple of months ago when a few students around campus and in my residence hall rekindled my fascination with electronic music, and I’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the genre with my searches for new artists. Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers, Panacea, Squarepusher, u-Ziq, Kenna, Autechre, Lionrock, Aphrodite, Kerrier District, J Majik, and a smattering of other artists are all great examples of music creators whose tunes can coalesce into a great electronic experience.

Acid, rave, industrial, trance, Hi NRG, drum ’n bass, new wave, electronica, techno, trip hop; whatever you decide to classify it as, electronic and its many subgenres all offer a refreshing break from the mundane music which we are exposed to every single day.

Be it the unorthodox nature of the music, its driving bass lines, the absurdity of some song names (Chin hippy?), or the fact that it’s just so freaky when compared to more traditional contemporary music, electronic is a genre to which I am grateful to have been reintroduced.

However, don’t let my opinions and such define your individual music experiences; listen to whatever you desire!

That is precisely what makes music unique and what makes each individual person’s musi-

WEB SITE POLL

Q A

Q: How many finals do you have to take [this week]?

0: 19% 1: 5%

2: 13%

3 : 21%

4 or more: 42% Total votes: 151 The BG News poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those Internet users who have chosen to participate.

The results cannot be assumed to represent the opinions of Internet users in general, nor the public as a whole.

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Whether you like to rock out, dance & freak, get in the mosh pit, slow dance, enjoy Beethoven and Bach, “get low” or whatever, go ahead and do your own thing. Just try to give certain genres a bit more credit when discussing them.

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NOT NEWS YOU COULD TELL YOURSELF THAT IT’S NEWS, BUT IT’S JUST NOT.

THIS WEEK’S BAD JOKE Q: What do reindeer hang on their Christmas tree?

A: “Horn”-aments

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

6

It’s a Not News Christmas and we’ve all been nice — well, sort of GREG CHICK HUMOR COLUMNIST

Alright, fat man, let me lay it to you straight. I understand it’s your job to figure out if everyone’s been good or not. I don’t like you and you don’t like me. But I think my work here in the Not News section this semester has demonstrated what a good boy I am.

There was that time I called anyone who liked “Spiderman 3” a waste of life and should spend some quality time with their family before jumping off a cliff. No one has even mentioned that movie to me since then, look what I’ve done for the people of BG! Then there was that Halloween article where I boldly forecasted that women wouldn’t use the holiday to degrade themselves, and low and behold look how that played out.

I only have a few modest requests. First, I’d like to have a Rock Band. My friends and I are getting tired of getting wasted and throwing ping pong balls into plastic cups or sitting on my porch and watching the drunken escapades of undergrads on Wooster Street. I mean my friends appreciate walking up to all these wasted girls, helping to escort them home and help tuck them into their bed, but I’m just a bit classier than that. Also, I think this will help my guitar skills increase. At a party last week, I conducted an unofficial poll, with 66.6 percent of the

women I interviewed saying a guy who can jam in Guitar Hero is way sexier than a guy who can scope someone 500 yards out in Halo 3 with a Spartan Laser (I know, I was surprised too, but luckily I can do both). Clearly this will solve all my relationship troubles.

What I’d really like is my own personal Batmobile. Not that my car is broken or anything, but I feel like having a Batmobile for myself will just set me up for success. Cops wouldn’t give me tickets (who messes with Batman?), as the Dark Knight himself said “chicks dig the car,” and I’d quickly become the most popular guy on campus (I assume that there’s currently some really hot girl that’s keeping me locked down at No. 2 on campus).

Lastly, I want the phone of 20 years from now. Forget the iPhone, I’m not plunking down $400 until I can have an MP3 player, GPS, cell phone, PDA, Nintendo Wii, electric shaver, air freshener and breathalyzer test in one gadget. This all-in-one gadget will wreak benefits throughout my life; better groomed, more organized, faster communication and more ways to procrastinate during class (forget texting when you can play Wii Bowling with your friend on the other side of the room).

I know you’re surprised I’m not looking for a girlfriend or whatever, but I’ve got that handled. I’m going back home to New England, the mecca of female perfection.

It’ll work itself out.

Thanks!

Greg Chick

AMY DILLON NOT NEWS EDITOR

Dear Santa, First of all, I want to apologize for all the crap I talked about you in the past but, come on, that whole, “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake,” stuff is pretty creepy!

Nonetheless, I have come up with a humble list of requests and I’d ask that you’d consider all the good things I’ve done this year.

1. “Law and Order: SVU” box sets — What can I say?

Seven continuous hours of the show on USA Network doesn’t always fill my hunger for justice and due process of law. But make sure it’s “SVU” because everyone knows that “Criminal Intent” is far less superior.

2. A new cell phone— I can’t tell you how many times I’ve dropped my $200+ cellular device down the stairs, in the mall, in the snow and nearly in the toilet a few times!

Let’s just say it’s seen it’s better days. Other than that, it hardly works indoors. I swear there is some sort of force field around Olscamp and the Jerome Library because when going within 10 feet of either of them my cell goes kaput.

3. Diamonds — Besides that whole girl’s best friend

“I think I’ve been a pretty good sport dealing with my psuedo-chauvinistic male columnists all semester.” mumbo-jumbo, I’m going to need something of worth that I can pawn off at the begining of next semester to pay for my books. At least I could enjoy them until the new year.

4. Gift Cards — Sorry, Mr. Kringle, I like you and all but do you think I honestly expect a man to buy me something I’d actually wear in public?

Let’s leave the bootyless chaps to teenage Christina Aguilera.

Not to mention I’d rather spare you and I the trouble of trying to guess my size. Let’s keep it simple: hand over the plastic and no one will get hurt.

So maybe you’re not feeling very inclined to fulfill my wishes after all man-bashing but you’ve got to bear with me.

I think I’ve been a pretty good sport dealing with my pseudochauvinistic male columnists all semester.

And I don’t want to hear anything about how the only female asks for more than the other columnists!

Merry Chrstmas, Amy Dillon

Experience college life in

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COLBY JAMES HUMOR COLUMNIST

JON RUGGIERO HUMOR COLUMNIST

Dear Santa, Hey there, big guy. How are you doing? Once again, it’s another year to beg and plead for some crap that I really want. But, this year is better.

Oh, so much better. Because, for once, I’ve actually been good this year! Remember that time I saved that baby from that building fire?

Wait, that wasn’t me. Oh, but I do remember giving all that money to the homeless!

No, no, I didn’t do that either. But, I was a lot funnier and prettier than most of the other Not News writers!

Darn, that was Colby. Oh well, I guess I just deserve gifts because if I don’t get them, I’ll get my stereotypical Italian mob family to hunt you down!

Dear Santa, I know you’re slowly being killed by those wacky fundamentalists who claim that you detract from the real meaning of Christmas, so I thought I’d write you before they succeed.

Christmas after Christmas, I’ve slipped some Bailey’s into the milk my parents have been leaving out for you, and Christmas after Christmas, you’ve stiffed me by not giving me the deathray machine I’ve been asking for. So, it’s fair to say you owe me. That said, the following is a list of the things I want: 1. A faster car. In response to all the dangerous high-speed chases through Parking Lot A I’ve been leading them on, the campus police has finally wised up and purchased new cars that can now outrun mine. I need a car that’s faster than theirs.

2. A puppy. I would really like the companionship of a puppy, and I am very interested in training him to take-out my enemies. A German Shepherd should be fine.

3. And finally, because Christmas isn’t all about me, I’d like to request a gift for my wonderful girlfriend: an authentic reindeer-fur coat. I’m a reasonable man and don’t expect you to send me Rudolph, but I would like someone reasonably high in the reindeer pecking order, like Cupid or Donner.

Santa, I’ve been really good this year. The amount of hatemail I’ve received from my columns is down from last year’s 327 to a pleasant 294. And I’ve only gotten into one traffic altercation this year, and you and I both know that old woman completely deserved that punch in the face. So, please Santa, bring me these gifts this year, and next year I won’t have to poison your cookies.

1. A Pony: God knows I’ve asked for it for so many years.

You better come through this time, fat man or I swear I’ll use one of them new TomTom GPS doohickey things to find you!

2. Rock Band, the video game: I’ve always been a huge fan of Guitar Hero, and this just expands on that idea.

Besides, nothing is more awesome than four awkward kids fake-playing instruments and thinking they’re just awesome.

Check out the arcade in the Union sometime to see what I mean.

3. Good grades: I know I don’t try for them. This seems like the best way to get them without having to do that boring “studying” or “going to classes” that everyone seems keen on doing. Actually, I really should change this wish to “$50 to all my teachers”.

Nothing says the holidays like bribes!

Sincerely, Jon Ruggiero

Your Biggest Fan, Colby James

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SPORTS

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

7

SIDELINES

McFadden, Tebow headline All-Americans

CHRIS VOLOSCHUK ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

FOOTBALL Three Falcon football players make Academic All-MAC BG starting offensive linemen Kevin Huelsman, Kory Lichtensteiger and Drew Nystrom were named to the Academic All-MAC team by the league office yesterday.

All three players are fifth-year seniors.

ONLINE The BG News Sports Blog Be sure to take a look at The BG News sports blog to get inside information and updates on all of your favorite BG teams as well as live updates during games. Also, check out the blog in January for exclusive GMAC Bowl coverage. http://www.bgnewssports. blogspot.com

OUR CALL Today in Sports History 1995—NBA referees return to work after striking.

1988—Sandra Miller sues Mike Tyson for sexual harrassment.

1987—Mookie Blaylock sets an NBA record for steals in a game with 13.

1951—Joe DiMaggio announces his retirement.

1899—George F. Bryant of Boston patents the wooden golf tee.

The List

ALEX BRANDON | AP PHOTO

JOHN RAOUX | AP PHOTO

TWO-TIMER: With his All-American First Team selection yesterday, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden received the honor for the second year in a row.

SUPER SOPHOMORE: Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first major college player ever to run and pass for at least 20 touchdowns this season.

AP All-American first and second teams are set the nation with 2,448 yards and 30 touchdowns. Smith is the first All-American from UCF, NEW YORK — When it comes to which began playing major colbeing an All-American, Darren lege football in 1996.

Missouri quarterback Chase McFadden doesn’t have to settle Daniel, who finished fourth in for second.

The Arkansas running back the Heisman voting, was voted and two-time Heisman Trophy to the second team. Hawaii’s runner-up was one of four play- Colt Brennan, third in the ers voted to The Associated Heisman voting, was the thirdPress All-America team for the team quarterback.

McFadden set school records second consecutive season.

Michigan offensive tackle with 1,725 yards rushing and Jake Long, LSU defensive tackle 2,172 all-purpose yards, breakGlenn Dorsey and Ohio State ing the marks he set last year. linebacker James Laurinaitis He scored 16 touchdowns and were the other two-time first- threw four TD passes, working team AP All-Americans on the as a quarterback out of Arkansas’ shotgun Wild Hog formation. team released yesterday.

The junior has said he’ll decide Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow joins McFadden in the whether to return to school backfield along with Central for his senior season after the Florida’s Kevin Smith, who leads Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1 against

By Ralph D. Russo The Associated Press

Daniel and Missouri, though he may have given a hint as to which was he was leaning after the Heisman ceremony when he said, “I think my quarterbacking days are about to come to a halt.”

Kansas State receiver Jordy Nelson went from walk-on to All-American.

Nelson didn’t get a scholarship after playing at Riley County High School, about 20 miles from Kansas State’s Manhattan campus. He redshirted in 2003 and was a defensive back in 2004, again not seeing any game time.

He moved to receiver in 2005 and started all 11 games, catching 45 passes for 669 yards. In 2006, he battled injuries and caught 39 passes for 547 yards.

This season, Nelson became

This is the last sports section for the year 2007, so we’ve decided to look back at five of the best stories in BG sports this fall.

By Paul Newberry The Associated Press

They snuck into the MAC Tournament as the last seed with a 9-9-2 record and advanced all the way to the MAC Championship game, where they lost in double overtime to Toledo.

2. Hockey: At 8-6 (5-5), the team is putting up its best season in two years. They’re currently ranked 19th in the country.

TONY DING | AP PHOTO

3. Men’s basketball:

POST-HOLIDAY GAMES: The Big Ten will play games after Thanksgiving starting in 2009.

First-year coach Louis Orr has injected new life into the Falcons, who are currently 4-4 in an ultra-competitive MAC East Division.

Big Ten schedule to increase by a game in 2009

MAC-best record of 6-1, a young team that was thought to be in a reloading year has looked very good to start the season.

5. Football: They won four straight games down the stretch of the season to finish 8-4 and earned a bid to the GMAC Bowl. They will play Tulsa on January 6 in Mobile, Alabama.

a star. He ranked second in the country in both receptions (122) and receiving yards (1,606) behind fellow All-American Michael Crabtree of Texas Tech.

“I couldn’t envision this going into my senior year,” Nelson said. “Week after week the numbers kept coming. I have to give a lot of credit to the coaches.

“It surprises me what’s happened.”

Crabtree set NCAA freshman records with 125 receptions for 1,861 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Fellow redshirt freshmen Jeremy Maclin from Missouri (all-purpose player) and Arizona State kicker Thomas Weber also made the first team.

The last freshman to be an AP

See FOOTBALL | Page 8

“What better place than here?

What better time than now?”

Sure, the aforementioned are lyrics to the song “Guerilla Radio”

by Rage Against The Machine, but they also do a pretty accurate job of describing the state of BG sports this semester.

The volleyball team put together another winning regular season. The women’s soccer team took the Cinderella path to the Mid-American Conference Championship game, while the men’s team earned a home playin. Both the men’s and women’s golf teams had some impressive individual performances.

It’s pretty safe to say Falcon athletics have been in a positive upswing since August. Multiple teams have been exciting to watch, and there are a number of players who are not only playing well right now, but are also young enough that they’re going to be around in the future.

Let’s take a look at the current state of the biggest programs going into Christmas break.

Football This year’s BG football squad put the program back on the map after a mediocre 2005 and a dismal 2006. Now, they’re headed to the GMAC Bowl to face Tulsa on Jan. 6.

How’d they get there? There are a number of reasons.

There were some coaching changes, for starters. Head coach Gregg Brandon needed new offensive and defensive coordinators, and promoted from within, appointing quarterbacks coach Mick McCall and defensive line coach Mike Ward to the respective posts. As of right now, both have found success, although the defense’s came a little later than expected.

The quarterback situation looked murky going into the season, but then Tyler Sheehan led a pair of lightning-fast scoring drives to help upset Minnesota in

See BG | Page 8

First-year Falcons coach Petrino resigns after just 13 games at the helm

1. Women’s Soccer:

4. Women’s basketball: With a

Sports-wise, BG’s had a great semester

CLEVELAND (AP) — Thanksgiving leftovers and the Ohio State-Michigan game could become a new tradition.

The Big Ten will move to a 13-week schedule beginning in 2009, pushing the rivalry game and the rest of the conference’s schedule to the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Big Ten school presidents voted to support a 13-week schedule on Dec. 2, spokesman Scott Chipman said. That will allow teams one week off during the 12-game regular season.

Since the NCAA adopted a 12game schedule in 2006, many Big Ten coaches have been calling

for a bye week to give coaches and players a mental and physical break instead of three straight months of football.

Other coaches, including Ohio State’s Jim Tressel and retiring Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, supported the Big Ten tradition of ending the season before Thanksgiving, though no other conference in college football finishes as early.

“I really like the fact our players and coaches can go home for Thanksgiving,” Tressel said on Nov. 20, three days after the

See BIG TEN | Page 8

ATLANTA — Bobby Petrino resigned as Atlanta Falcons coach yesterday, having lasted only 13 games with the NFL team. A person within the league told The Associated Press that Petrino quit to return to the college ranks at Arkansas.

He had only left Louisville in January, agreeing to become Falcons coach for a five-year, $24 million contract handed out by a team that felt he could help star quarterback Michael Vick reach his full potential.

A few months later, Vick came under investigation for a grisly dogfighting operation that eventually led him to plead guilty to federal charges.

He was sentenced Monday to 23 months in prison without ever taking a snap for Petrino.

A source familiar with Patrino’s decision, speaking on condition of anonymity because the school had not made an official announcement, said he was going to Arkansas. The Razorbacks have been looking for a coach for two weeks to replace Houston Nutt, who resigned after a tumultuous season and took the Mississippi job.

The school had no immediate comment on its coaching search, but called a 11:30 ET news conference for a “major announcement.”

cell phone or a call placed to his Atlanta-area home. His brother, Falcons receivers coach Paul Petrino, declined comment when reached on his cell phone.

“I don’t think I can say anything about it right now,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

After losing Vick, Bobby Petrino tried three starting quarterbacks without success. The Falcons are 3-10 and assured of the 32nd season of .500 or worse in their 42-year history.

“Anytime you’re without of the best athletes in the National Football League, it’s going to be tough,” Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall said earlier in the season. “Take Peyton Manning from the Colts, and they’ll go through a little slump.”

JOHN AMIS | AP PHOTO The resignation of Petrino was another jarring blow in SEE ‘YA LATER: Petrino’s tenure as head a surreal year for the Falcons, coach of the Falcons only lasted 13 games. who had dealt with Vick’s legal troubles since the first day of The Falcons declined further training camp. A plane flew comment beyond a terse, two- over the team’s practice facility paragraph statement released pulling a sign that said: “New last night. Owner Arthur Blank team name? Dog Killers?” and general manager Rich That was a far cry from McKay were scheduled to hold Petrino’s introductory news a news conference Wednesday. conference, when he talked There was no immediate word of his reasons for leaving who would take over as head Louisville. coach for the final three games, “I was able to see the committhough defensive coordinator ment that has been made here,” Mike Zimmer and offensive he said. “I believe this is truly coordinator Hue Jackson would be the most logical candidates.

See PETRINO | Page 8 Petrino did not answer his

SPORTS

8 Wednesday, December 12, 2007

WWW.BGNEWS.COM

BIG TEN From Page 7

Middleweights Pavlik and Taylor hold conference for February rematch

Michigan game and two days before Thanksgiving.

“We ask so much of these kids, to train all year long, and for them to get four days to just be kids with their parents, I put a lot of value on that,” Tressel said.

In the end, it was money that won out over tradition. The 12th game allows most major schools an extra home game, and Ohio State turns a $4 million to $5 million profit off each game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

The move to after Thanksgiving isn’t unprec-

By Barry Wilner The Associated Press

to Taylor’s 29. Pavlik is taller and would seem a natural for super middleweight in the future.

“I’ll still go into the fight like NEW YORK — Two of the a title is on the line,” Pavlik best boxers in the world were said. “That zero on my record upstaged yesterday by an has been there a long time and infant.

I want to keep it there.

Laila Jayden Taylor was born “The extra weight means ...

Monday in Little Rock, Ark., the you don’t have to put yourself third child of former middlethrough hell to make it. Your weight champion Jermain energy level will be much highTaylor and his wife Erica. Taylor er.” stayed home with wife and Added Loew: “I’m puzzled by daughter rather than attend a it, why anyone would let this news conference promoting his kid come at you at 166 pounds?

Feb. 16 rematch in Las Vegas You’ll just get a bigger and stronwith Kelly Pavlik. ger Kelly Pavlik at that weight.”

The 8-pound, 9-ounce Laila The first bout has won sevwas the talk of the proceedings eral fight of the year awards, at a Manhattan nightclub. and HBO Sports senior vice After accepting congratupresident Mark Taffet believes lations and even applause on the Feb. 16 rematch will live up Laila’s birth, Taylor said by to the hype. HBO Pay-Per-View phone that his appetite for the will televise it, and it comes one sport has been enhanced by SETH WENIG | AP PHOTO week before a heavyweight title the prospect of meeting Pavlik fight between IBF champion again.

THE CHAMP: WBO and WBC middleweight champion and Youngstown, Ohio, native Wladimir Klitschko and WBO “I look at boxing totally diftitleholder Sultan Ibragimov. ferent now,” said Taylor, whose Kelly Pavlik speaks to the media during yesterday’s press conference.

“One of the highlights of first loss in 29 professional bouts With a rematch clause in 2007 was Jermain Taylor-Kelly was a seventh-round knockout 31-0 with 28 knockouts heading at the hands of the unbeaten into their WBC and WBO title the contract for the September Pavlik,” Taffet said. “Some Pavlik. “I have a whole new love bout, he was not considered as fight, Pavlik had little choice called it one of the greatest strong a contender as some of but to meet Taylor again. This middleweight fights in boxing for boxing now. time, however, it’s not a title history. It had everything, all “I made a lot of mistakes in Taylor’s previous victims.

When Taylor knocked down match because of a 166-pound the drama and passion you that fight,” he added of the Sept.

29 loss in Atlantic City, N.J. “I’m Pavlik in the second round, his weight limit agreement in that could want in the ring. When not making any excuses, but I’ll favorite’s role seemed accurate. clause. that fight was over, we were all Pavlik, who has become the exhausted.”

But Pavlik not only got up, he make up for it the next time.”

Taylor was a heavy favorite in carried the fight to Taylor until, biggest sports hero in his homeCould it happen again? the last fight after two decisions in the seventh round, a mas- town of Youngstown, Ohio, and “If you thought the first fight over Bernard Hopkins and wins sive right landed squarely on trainer Jack Loew wonder why was a good one,” said Ozell over Kassim Ouma and Cory Taylor’s chin and knocked out Taylor would want to meet him Nelson, Taylor’s trainer, “then at a higher weight. Pavlik is 25 come see the next one.”

Spinks. Even though Pavlik was the champ.

“I couldn’t envision this going into my senior year...

I have to give a lot of credit to my coaches.”

FOOTBALL From Page 7 All-American was Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson in 2004.

Crabtree was also one of four players unanimously selected to the first team by a panel of 12 media members, along with McFadden, Dorsey and Southern California defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis.

Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman on Saturday night. He was the second-rated passer in the country, led the Gators in rushing and became the first major college player with at least 20 rushing touchdowns and at least 20 TD passes in the same season.

The last Florida quarterback to be an All-American was Rex Grossman in 2001.

Missouri’s Martin Rucker, who led the nation’s tight ends with 81 catches, gave the Tigers two All-Americans.

Long was joined on the offensive line by Kansas tackle Anthony Collins, guards Duke Robinson of Oklahoma and Martin O’Donnell of Illinois, and Wake Forest center Steve Justice.

On the defensive line with Dorsey and Ellis were ends Chris Long from Virginia and George Selvie of South Florida.

Jordy Nelson | All-American Penn State’s Dan Connor, Colorado’s Jordan Dizon, who led the nation in solo tackles with 107, and Laurinaitis were the linebackers. They were also the three finalists for the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker.

Laurinaitis won the award.

In the secondary, the cornerbacks were Aqib Talib from Kansas and Antoine Cason from Arizona. The safeties were Jamie Silva from Boston College and Craig Steltz from LSU, each with six interceptions.

Cincinnati’s Kevin Huber was the punter. He led the nation with a 46.9-yard average.

The Big 12 had eight players selected to the first team, leading all conferences. The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference were second with four All-Americans each.

and Marion Campbell, who went 17-51 in two stints as head coach, rank below Petrino’s .231 mark.

In four years as Louisville’s the best football job in the NFL. coach, Petrino produced a 41-9 It was an easy decision for me.” record and some of the highestOf course, he had no idea scoring teams in the country. what Vick was doing in his But the Falcons were anemic without Vick, ranking 24th in spare time.

Petrino’s stint was one of total yards and 30th in scoring.

Atlanta also was plagued by the shortest for a non-interim coach since the 1970 NFL-AFL injuries on the offensive line, merger. Pete McCulley was which forced Petrino to start fired after starting out 1-8 with two players who weren’t even San Francisco in 1978, and Sid drafted out of college.

Just hours after Vick’s senGillman lasted only 10 games in his second stint as San Diego tencing in Richmond, Va., coach, going 4-6 in 1971 before Atlanta took its fourth straight double-digit loss, 34-14 to the quitting.

In an interesting twist, Lou New Orleans Saints.

“Not a good day,” Petrino said Holtz coached the New York Jets for 13 games in 1976. He afterward.

The resignation had to be a went 3-10, then left the team with one game remaining to major surprise to Blank, who fired Jim Mora just two seasons become Arkansas’ coach.

Petrino leaves with the third- after he led the Falcons to the worst winning percentage NFC championship game, and among Atlanta coaches. Only lured Petrino with a lucrative Norb Hecker, who was 4-26-1, contract.

PETRINO From Page 7

BG From Page 7

has helped the team to impressive early-season wins over Cincinnati and Belmont. With 14 points per game, he’s ninth in the MAC in scoring.

Knight is not the only story.

Players who have spent time in former coach Dan Dakich’s system, such as guards Nate Miller and Ryne Hamblet, have turned in some solid efforts. Miller is 11th in the MAC in scoring at 13.9 points a game, just behind Knight.

Hamblet leads the conference in assists with 5.38 a game.

The bottom line is that this team is showing signs of getting better and could be fun to watch once the conference schedule kicks in.

last season. With seven freshmen coming in, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

As their play has shown so early week one, and now, BG could have in the season, rebuilding is looka special player on its hands. He’s ing a lot more like re-contending.

These freshmen have track only a sophomore.

Freshmen played a big role in records of high school success and this season’s success. When line- the team’s current 6-1 record is backer John Haneline went down top in the entire Mid-American with a foot injury late in the year, Conference.

While the younger players have true freshman Glen Stanley took his place and didn’t miss a beat. been adjusting to the demands of On offense, it was running back the college game, vets like point Willie Geter showing flashes of guard Kate Achter have been consistent and effective. Achter is curdominance.

The veterans also made this rently third in the MAC in scoring season memorable for fans. The at 17.6 points per game, and has multi-tasking Anthony Turner had a knack for making tough bashas made the offense increas- kets in the clutch.

Basically, this is a team very ingly dangerous. The solid play of Freddie Barnes at wideout has much worth watching. Their given Sheehan a bona fide No. 1 overtime thriller last week against option in the passing game. And Notre Dame will attest to that. the offensive line has been the Men’s Basketball rock of the team.

Defensively, guys like safety P.J. No doubt, another young team.

Mahone and linebackers Erique But they’re under new manageDozier and Haneline provide ment and there’s new optimism. hope for next year, while playing First-year head coach Louis Orr well in the present. And veteran has brought a new feel to the team, leaders like end Sean O’Drobinak, trading the old motion offense for linebacker Loren Hargrove and a more open, fast-breaking type of cornerback Antonio Smith show game. So far, the team is 4-4 and the way. at the bottom of a tough MAC East division, but they’ve shown signs Women’s Basketball they’re improving.

The biggest surprise so far has This team is young. Real young.

Head coach Curt Miller lost the been the play of redshirt freshsix seniors who rounded out his man Chris Knight. His ability to seven-player rotation and led the shoot from almost anywhere on team to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen the court and crash the boards

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Hockey The Falcons look like they’re back on track after two disappointing seasons in a row. They’re currently ranked 19th in the country with an 8-6 (5-5) record after losing two nail-biters on back-to-back nights to third ranked Michigan.

Even after the two losses, there’s still plenty of positives. Senior forwardandcaptainDerekWhitmore iseleventhintheCentralCollegiate Hockey Association with 13 goals.

Freshman goalie Nick Eno is in the top 10 in the conference in goals against, save percentage and winning percentage.

As a team, BG can score with the best of the CCHA. Their 30 total goals are fifth best in the conference. They’re also one of the league’s best in the power play.

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Winning Ways: A Look At BG Sports This Fall Football: Finished season 8-4.

Earned a spot in the GMAC Bowl.

Volleyball: 21-10. Lost to Kent State in the MAC Tournament.

Men’s Soccer: Finished 6-11-3.

Lost to Northern Illinois in a MAC Tourney play-in.

Women’s Soccer: 9-9-2. Lost in MAC Championship game.

Women’s Golf: Placed 5th in their first tournament of the year.

Swimming: 4 second place finishes to start the season.

Men’s Golf: 4 top-five finishes this season.

Cross Country: Women placed first, men in second in the first meet of the year.

Tennis: Multiple top finishers.

Men’s Basketball: 4-4 in Louis Orr’s first season.

Women’s Basketball: 6-1, tops in the MAC East.

Hockey: 19th in the country.

8-6 (5-5).

They should continue to play well as the season goes on.

With crowds like the energetic 4,314 that packed the BG Ice Arena Friday night for the Michigan game, people are paying attention.

In short, this has been a great semester to embrace BG sports. If these teams continue to play well and entertain, the fan support will only grow come January.

the will be

2 & 3 B ED TOOM TOWNHOUSES

edented.

Since President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation in 1941 that officially decreed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving, the Ohio State-Michigan game has been played after Thanksgiving 16 times, but only four times in the past 29 years. The most recent was in 2001.

Chipman said teams may choose to move a game to after Thanksgiving next year if it is cleared through the Big Ten, but Ohio State won’t be changing its schedule. Though conference schedules have been set through 2011, the presidents instructed the league office to start adjusting the schedules in 2009.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007 9

Bush: Iran has some explaining to do

Questions still linger about the CIA destroying interrogation tapes

By Pamela Hess The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — CIA Director Michael Hayden’s explanation yesterday of how videotapes of terror suspect interrogations were made, then destroyed, left many questions unanswered, said Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller.

The West Virginia Democrat called his panel’s 90-minute closed-door session with Hayden “a useful and not yet complete hearing” and vowed the committee would get to the bottom of the matter. Among lingering questions: who authorized destruction of the tapes, and why Congress wasn’t told about it.

Hayden told reporters afterwards that he had “a chance to lay out the narrative, the history of why the tapes were destroyed” and the process that led to that decision. But since the taping was done under one of his predecessors, George Tenet, and were destroyed under another, Porter Goss, he wasn’t able to completely answer all questions, he said.

“Other people in the agency know about this far better than I,” Hayden said, and promised the committee he would make those witnesses available.

The hearing came as a former CIA agent who was part of the

LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE | AP PHOTO

CIA VIDEOTAPES: CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden speaks at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance dinner in Washington,in this Sept. 18, 2007 file photo.

interrogation team went public with his account, saying the waterboarding of a top al-Qaida figure was approved at the top levels of the U.S. government.

According to the former agent, waterboarding of terror suspect Abu Zubaydah got him to talk in less than 35 seconds. The technique, which critics say is torture, probably disrupted “dozens” of planned al-Qaida attacks, said John Kiriakou, a leader of the team that captured Zubaydah, a major al-Qaida figure.

Kiriakou did not explain how he knew who approved the inter-

rogation technique but said such approval comes from top officials.

“This isn’t something done willy nilly. This isn’t something where an agency officer just wakes up in the morning and decides he’s going to carry out an enhanced technique on a prisoner,” he said yesterday in a round of television news show appearances. “This was a policy made at the White House, with concurrence from the National Security Council and Justice Department.”

At the White House, press sec-

By Ben Feller The Associated Press

retary Dana Perino said the CIA interrogation program approved by the president is safe, tough, effective and legal. But she said that Hayden will not “talk about techniques and explain to the enemy what we are doing” during two days of questioning before closed sessions of the Senate and House intelligence panels.

“It’s no secret that the president approved a lawful program in order to interrogate hardened terrorists,” Perino said. “We do not torture. We also know that this program has saved lives by disrupting terrorist attacks.”

Kiriakou said that each time CIA agents wished to use waterboarding or any other harsh interrogation technique, they had to present a “well-laid out, well-thought out reason” to top government officials. In Zubaydah’s case, Kiriakou said the waterboarding had immediate effect.

“The next day, he told his interrogator that Allah had visited him in his cell during the night and told him to cooperate,” Kiriakou said in an interview first broadcast Monday evening on ABC News’ World News. “From that day on, he answered every question. The threat information he provided disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks.”

Twin bombings in Algerian capital kill at least 26 al-Qaida claims responsibility in Web site posting

By Hassane Meftahi The Associated Press

ALGIERS, Algeria — Truck bombs exploded minutes apart yesterday in central Algiers, heavily damaging U.N. offices and partly ripping the facade off a government building. At least 26 people were killed, including U.N. workers, and scores were wounded, officials said.

The North African branch of alQaida claimed responsibility in a Web site posting and said suicide bombers carried out the attack.

Jihadists in Iraq who later affiliated with al-Qaida were blamed for attacking the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in 2003, killing 22.

The two bombs exploded around 9:30 a.m., and one had deliberately targeted United Nations offices, according to the head of the U.N. refugee agency in Geneva. The other bomb struck outside Algeria’s Constitutional

Council, said Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni.

Al-Qaida-linked militants who were arrested after deadly April bombings in Algeria had identified those buildings as among their future targets, the official APS news agency quoted him as saying.

A small tanker truck was used in the U.N. attack, while a van used in the other bombing, he said.

A statement on a militant Web site said two “martyrs” of al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa drove vehicles each loaded with | AP PHOTO more than 1,700 pounds of explosives “to attack the headquarters DESTRUCTION: Rescuers and forensic police work at the site of a bomb blast in Algiers, of the international infidels’ den” Algeria yesterday. and the Algerian Constitutional Council.

“This is another successful conquest ... carried out by the Knights of the Faith with their blood in defense of the wounded nation of Islam,” said the statement.

Happy Holidays

WASHINGTON — President Bush yesterday called on Iran to explain why it had a secretive nuclear weapons program, and warned that any such efforts must not be allowed to flourish “for the sake of world peace.”

“Iran is dangerous,” Bush said after an Oval Office meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. “We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had a program.”

Bush’s comments came after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that it was “a step forward” that U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded that Tehran stopped developing its nuclear weapons program four years ago.

Ahmadinejad told reporters that an “entirely different” situation between the United States and Iran could be created if more steps like the intelligence report followed.

“We consider this measure by the U.S. government a positive step. It is a step forward,” Ahmadinejad said.

“If one or two other steps are taken, the issues we have in front of us will be entirely different and will lose their complexity, and the way will be open for the resolution of basic issues in the region and in dealings between the two sides,” he said.

Bush did not respond directly to those comments when asked about them in an interview with ABC News yesterday.

“My answer to the Iranians is: You had a hidden program that was a military program,” he said. “We think you have shut it down now. You have an obligation to explain to the world loud and clear why you had a military program. Do you intend to start it up again.

In other words, the ball is in their court.”

White House press secretary Dana Perino dismissed Ahmadinejad’s comments as “fanciful thinking.”

Iran has said its nuclear program is peaceful, but until last week, the United States and Western allies had countered that Iran was hiding plans for a bomb.

“...Iran must explain to the world why they had a [military weapons] program.”

George W. Bush | President “Iran has an obligation to explain to the IAEA why they hid this program from them,” Bush said, referring to the nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Iran is dangerous, and they’ll be even more dangerous if they learn how to enrich uranium,” Bush said. “So I look forward to working with the president,” Bush said, referring to Napolitano, the Italian leader, “to explain our strategy and to figure out ways we can work together to prevent this from happening for the sake of world peace.”

Bush’s comments amounted to a renewed effort to keep pressure on Iran after the release of last week’s National Intelligence Estimate. That report found that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and administration officials worry it could weaken their ability to build global pressure on Tehran to stop its uranium enrichment program.

That estimate cautioned that Tehran continues to enrich uranium and still could develop a bomb between 2010 and 2015 if it decided to do so.

It also concluded that it may be difficult to ultimately dissuade Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb because Iran believes such a weapon would give it international prestige and leverage to achieve its national security and foreign policy goals, the assessment concluded.

Iran is still enriching uranium for its civilian nuclear reactors that produce electricity.

That leaves open the possibility that fissile material could be diverted to covert nuclear sites to produce highly enriched uranium for a warhead.

Napolitano said he and Bush broadly “share the same concerns, and we express a common commitment” on a variety of issues.

“We want to discuss, con-

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Former councilwoman admits to faking kidnap

By John Seewer The Associated Press

TOLEDO, Ohio — Lawrence Hancock first knew something was wrong when the day care center called and said his wife didn’t pick up their son.

He tried calling her phone. He looked for her car at the law office.

Then he started to wonder if she just simply left, needing to get away from the stress of being six months pregnant and having a lawsuit hanging over her.

He hoped that she would come home until she called a day later saying she had been kidnapped.

But it turned out his first instinct was right.

Karyn McConnell Hancock, 35, a former city councilwoman, admitted that her tale of being kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to Georgia was fabricated, police said yesterday.

Her husband said she had “a meltdown.”

Investigators said they don’t think her husband or anyone else knew she made up the story until she told them during a family meeting Monday night that

On Thursday afternoon, she called him, saying “they have me” and that she thought she was going to die.

Her father, Toledo Municipal Court judge C. Allen McConnell, and her husband, bishop of Final Harvest Church, pleaded for her return on national television.

Churches hosted prayer vigils.

At the same time, police were having doubts about whether she had been abducted. They looked through phone and financial records and found things didn’t add up, Mauro said. He wouldn’t elaborate.

The family thought the purported kidnapping had something to do with a case McConnell handled before he was a judge.

The family said both the judge and his daughter had been receiving strange, threatening calls.

One of her former clients recently filed a lawsuit against her, accusing her of taking money he was owed from an accident settlement.

Maurice Morris, of Toledo, said Hancock negotiated a settlement but never gave him the $10,000 settlement.

Karyn McConnell Hancock faked kidnap due to a “meltdown.” followed an eight-hour meeting with police.

Near the end of that meeting, she finally told the truth, said police detective Vince Mauro.

“She said she was tired and wanted to get away,” he said.

Police didn’t offer an explanation about why they think she staged the kidnapping. Her husband said problems had been building for years.

“She experienced a meltdown and attempted to handle those matters without the assistance of professional help,” said Lawrence Hancock. “Karyn elected to leave everything because she felt that she was unable to continue.”

Hancock, an attorney whose father is a judge, was last seen Wednesday morning at her office.

That evening she never came home and her husband filed a missing persons report.

Head of civil rights commision resigns

WWW.BGNEWS.COM

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The head of Ohio’s Civil Rights Commission resigned yesterday just before a hearing to officially confirm her in the wake of a flap with the governor over proposed changes to maternity leave requirements.

Barbara Sykes — who led the commission through a recent decision to give women more maternity leave in some cases — told Gov. Ted Strickland in a resignation letter that she hoped her stepping down would put an end to the politics that had pervaded the debate.

“Recently, the important work of the Commission has been detracted by political back and forth,” Sykes wrote. She offered her resignation “in hopes of hastening resolution of this issue and allowing the Commission

“Strickland ‘thinks she is a good person and respects the fact that she’s long been a good advocate for disenfranchized Ohioans.’”

Keith Dailey | Strickland spokesman The commission ignored Strickland’s request to delay the change so businesses could have more time to study its impact. A legislative committee later voted against the change, saying the commission hadn’t thought through all of its ramifications.

Sykes and Strickland spoke yesterday morning and arrived at a “mutual agreement” that her resignation was the best way to move forward, Dailey said.

Strickland “thinks she’s a good person and respects the fact that she’s long been a good advocate for disenfranchised Ohioans,” Dailey said.

to return to the numerous other cases before them.”

Sykes will retain her role as chair until her resignation takes effect on Dec. 31.

Strickland has not yet decided whom he will appoint to fill her position, or whether one of the remaining commission members will take over the job as chair, said Strickland spokesman Keith Dailey.

The commission recently proposed requiring all businesses with four or more employees to offer up to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave under certain conditions.

Check out THE BGNEWS special GMAC issues.

ucina di Bet

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Barbara Sykes decides to step down in an attempt to end political issues

By Stephen Majora The Associated Press

Italian Restaurant

THE BGNEWS returns January 8th!

Have a happy and safe Winter Break!

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11/2 Blocks From Campus Help Wanted

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PROPERTY A

PROPERTY B

PROPERTY C

Apartment Size

2 Bed / 1 Bath

4 bed / 2 bath

4 bed / 4 bath

3 bed / 1.5 bath

# of Roomates

2

4

4

3

Rent

$570 ($285 each)

$1196 ($299 each)

$1292 ($323 each)

$900 ($300 each)

Gas

$0

$44

all electric

$114

Electric

$20

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Included w/Electric

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121 South Main St. Bowling Green, Ohio Dinner: Monday-Saturday 4-10pm Lounge: Monday-Thursday 4-9pm Friday & Saturday 4pm-1am

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Help Wanted

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**ATTN: GRADUATING SENIORS* *Still Looking For A Great Job In The Bowling Green Area??* $$Salary($400/wk) + Full Benefits Full Time Only-Entry Level-Sales & Managers. Only 15 mins. away; Start date: Jan., 7, 2008. Good Communication Skills Needed.

No Exp. Needed-Paid Training-Work 12-9PM. ****CALL KRIS TODAY 419-261-6034**** TruGreen Chem Lawn. EOE M/F/D/V

1 bdrm apt. across from campus $350 a month + utilities. Available January. 419-897-5997.

BGSU 2008 Orientation Leaders Applications will be available January 14, 2008 ??? Email klrifen@bgsu.edu Counter person needed. Must be avail. 3-6pm, 3 days per week & 2 Sat s. a month. Apply at 1204 W. Wooster - Long s Cleaners Delivery & prep personnel, day & evening shifts. Apply DiBenedetto s 1432 E. Wooster.

1 bdrm. apt for grad students or mature undergrads. Close to campus.

Avail. Dec. 1st. Call Gary 419-3525414.

1 bedroom, 1 bath apt.

Available Dec. 15 thru May 15.

Call 440-537-5047 2 bdrm unfurn. apt. utilities included. $600 per month, deposit required.

Efficiency apt. unfurn. $320 util. included. Both available 5-15-08 5-18-09, 139 S. College Dr. 419-348-3134.

2 bedrm. avail. immed. 2 & 3 bdrm. for 2008 school year, available in May or Aug. 419-409-1110.

2 RM. EFFIC. APT. Close to BGSU & Downtown. Util. incl. in rent. $425/mo. NO PETS, non smoker. Ph. 419-352-2104.

3-4 bedroom houses.

Close to campus & downtown.

419-308-2456 4 bdrm house for rent. 3 people. 2 car garage, W/D, air condition. 138 Williams. Available May 08, 1 year lease, $1200 + util. 419-654-9512.

GRADUATING? Do you have a job?

Want help? Call 877-874-0011.

Gorillas & gazelles, ask for Kim.

Jay-Mar 2 bedroom apartment Dishwasher/Central Air $300.00 Security Deposit Available NOW 419-354-6036

Perrysburg family looking for pt-time child care. MUST have transportation. Call for info .419-280-0260.

Subleaser needed. 1 bedrm., 1/2 block from campus. Dec. to May. Call 937-631-6733.

RELIABLE, CARING BABYSITTER needed spring semester, possibly beyond, for our 4 yr. old daughter in our Perrysburg home. Tues., Wed., & Thurs. afternoons 3:30pm 5:30pm. More hours very possible.

We are looking for someone who will ACTIVELY engage in playing with and teaching a sweet, shy girl. $7.50/hour.

E-mail : vekstra@bgsu.edu.

Sublsr. needed. 1 1/2 blk. from campus. Private bdrm., bath. $320 mo., until 5/15. Price neg.419-308-4108.

The Highlands 1 bedroom apartment Remodeled Tenant pays electric $300.00 Security Deposit Available December & January 419-354-6036 WANTED: subleaser for Enclave II. $325 mo. I will pay first month s rent.

Call Tyler at 419-438-2701.

Happy Holidays from THE BGNEWS 1-2-3 Bedroom Apartments

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‘08 - ‘09 May/Aug. Leases Now Available Call 419-352-9392 or www.froboserentals.com for current listing

*Note: All utilities are based on a market survey and are on a 12 month average. Due to weather, bills may be higher in some months

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Winthrop & Summit Terrace Apts • Office: 400 E. Napoleon Rd • 419.352.9135 www.winthropterrace.com • email us: winthrop@gerdenich.com

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Assertive, experienced sales rep needed for a cell phone kiosk located in the N. Baltimore Petro truck stop. Great earning potential. Salary & monthly bonuses/benefits. Call for interview. 419-464-6397 or email resume to: staffing@icrocks.com

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