>> ‘Girl Code’ stars take over Wilson Hall Read about it on page 10
Serving James Madison University Since 1922 BreezeJMU.org
Vol. 92, No. 46 Monday, March 31, 2014
Sunny n 67°/ 34° chance of precipitation: 0%
Losing stars at the speed of light Campus event highlights safety and lighting misconceptions, offers alternative options
By Patrick Mortiere The Breeze
Harrisonburg’s bright lights have become so blinding, admirers of the dark night sky have begun to take notice and are looking to shed light — but not too much light — on safer and more efficient methods of illumination. Thursday evening, students and local residents gathered in the Wilson Hall auditorium to listen to a selection of guests address light pollution both in Harrisonburg and around JMU’s campus. The event, “The Campus at Night: Controlling Light Pollution at JMU While Saving Money and Improving Safety,” sought to clear up misconceptions about safety and lighting,
and offered alternative options in order to curtail wasteful energy and spending around the city. The concerns of the room trickled down to the amount of money and energy that is being wasted by JMU — particularly when athletic fields and campus buildings stay perpetually illuminated throughout the night, despite not being used. For Shanil Virani, JMU’s planetarium director, using excess money and resources to keep parking lots and athletic fields lit at night is costly, especially in a time where cities such as Harrisonburg are experiencing dwindling budgets. “The National Dark Sky Association estimates that up to $110 billion is wasted every year by light that we send directly up into space that does
no one no good,” Virani said. “E.T. is not looking for us. That light serves absolutely no purpose.” The evening began with a brief video that detailed the health risks people face as a result of light pollution at night, such as disruptions in circadian rhythms and higher risks of breast and prostate cancer. Jeff Storey, a junior in the adult degree program, made a similar video and played it for the audience. He employed the help of Daniel Stein, a sophomore computer information systems and media arts and design double major, to narrate the video. Storey and Stein strung together roughly 15,000 frames for the timesee stars, page 3
sabrina mccormack / the breeze
Paul Bogard, an assistant professor in JMU’s English department, moderated the panel discussion during Thursday night’s event in Wilson Hall.
Digging into JMU Professor leads JMU students in field study
By Carlos valdivia contributing writer
matt schmachtenberg / the breeze
Juniors Mary Vongersdorff, Aaron Lovejoy and freshman Molly O’Toole applied what they have learned in class during the on-campus archeological dig on Sunday afternoon.
JMU has built numerous new buildings, changed its name and has transitioned from a femaleonly college to a co-educational university in 1966. But some students are trying to unearth more of JMU’s history. Archaeology students, directed under assistant anthropology professor Dennis Blanton, are literally digging into JMU’s interesting history. The students are investigating the bedrock that has continued to support the expanding college and its changing student base. From the university’s humble beginnings in 1908, boasting a campus of only 50 acres and a student population of 150, to its renaming to Madison College in 1938, soil analysis will reveal the
changes that could not be seen by observation and documentation alone. Blanton, who arrived at JMU last semester, has wasted no time immersing himself in JMU history by becoming the first to conduct an active field study of historical sites on and around campus. “This is a very interesting research possibility. People need to realize that the property now held by the university provides a microcosm of human history,” Blanton said. “By exploring the JMU campus, we can also get a fair representation for the human story for people living in the Shenandoah Valley.” The project focuses on four specific topics chosen by the student: excavating the site of an see dig, page 4
Competition celebrates innovators COB students receive financial rewards for their business plans By Marta vucci The Breeze
On Saturday, the atmosphere in Zane Showker Hall was similar to that of ABC’s network show, “Shark Tank,” in which hopeful entrepreneurs present their business ventures to a panel of investors, seeking to win their promise of a stake in the company. Students who participated in the JMU College of Business’ 300-level course within the last year presented their business plans to a select group of eight judges in a bit of friendly competition for some serious prize money. The 12th annual Jackson-Rainey Business Plan Competition was founded by JMU alumni Don Rainey (‘82), general partner of Grotech Capital Ventures and Jackson Wayne (‘85), CEO of Sonatype. The two JMU alum created the annual competition as a way to reward the highest scoring business plans from the past year with prizes and scholarship money they donated, totaling more than $25,000. Participants were chosen from each section of the previous spring, summer and fall semesters of COB 300, a class Rainey described as a “rite of passage” for all COB students. Rainey also attributed the college’s ranking in the top two percentile of undergraduate business schools to its implementation of the business plan within the COB 300 curriculum. COB 300 is a rigorous 12-credit course in which students are instructed in four major areas: finance, management, marketing see cob, page 4
james chung / the breeze
Morgan Clelland, a secondary education graduate student, shows off his collection of over 25 JMU T-shirts. Clelland tries to attend every JMU home game for all varsity sports.
Bleeding purple and gold JMU’s biggest fan shares his T-shirt collection from the past five years
By Andy lohman The Breeze
For secondary education graduate student Morgan Clelland, the T-shirts that he has collected over his time at JMU are more than just clothes — they’re a representation of an experience. Clelland is what you would call a super fan; he goes to as many JMU sporting events as possible. His effort and support for his classmates hasn’t gone unnoticed, as he has acquired 25 free shirts for showing his spirit. “Morgan’s a crazy guy,” junior kinesiology major Aaron Lam said of his friend. “He’s always talking about, you know, going to all these sporting events … he gets all these T-shirts that are thrown out to the crowd randomly, it’s just baffling. I think it’s pretty
cool, I’m not going to lie.” Most students go to football games and make a few basketball games per season, but leave their school spirit at that. Not Clelland. If JMU is playing in a home varsity game, no matter what the sport, he’s there; he’ll be in the stands cheering his heart out. “I think it’s deserved,” alumnus Ryan Pitts (’13) said of the large number of shirts Clelland has acquired. “He’s definitely the first one to start the celebration when there’s a soccer goal scored or a field hockey goal. And he’d be the loudest one.” Clelland graduated in May with a history degree, and is now studying for his master’s degree. As he nears the end of his career at JMU, the collection of shirts provides a source of nostalgia for him to look back upon.
“It was really nice to just look back over them,” Clelland said of the shirts that he had recounted the previous day. “I thought, ‘wow, how much time has gone by?’ and also [about] the variety of events that I’ve gone to. Some of those events are pretty hard to get a shirt for.” As the shirts were laid out on Clelland’s coffee table, he couldn’t help but crack a smile. A sense of pride in his school is apparent when he speaks about his experiences. “When I came to college, I went to a lot of football and soccer games my freshman year,” Clelland said. “Starting in my sophomore year, I thought it would be good to expand my interests, to start going to every event I possibly could. I had a great see super, page 12
3/31 Inside
3 Recent faculty
news Politics as usual
proposals concern JMU’s staff.
7 Editors graduating from opinion So long, farewell
The Breeze say goodbye with words of wisdom.
9 Clementine Cafe hosts life Fighting hunger
a PSO fundraiser and food drive.
11 JMU gets 20-7 win to
sports Lacrosse dominates
close out non-conference play against Aztecs.