The University of Maryland’s Independent Student Newspaper
T U E S DAY, M A R C H 3 1 , 2 015
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL | No. 1-SEED TERPS 58, No. 2-SEED LADY VOLUNTEERS 48
Reps rally support for finance reform Chris Van Hollen, John Sarbanes discuss campaign donations By Andrew Dunn @AndrewE_Dunn Staff writer
BOUND FOR TAMPA The No. 1-seed TERPS celebrate after the buzzer sounds on their 58-48 victory over No. 2-seed Tennessee last night in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament at Spokane Arena in Spokane, Washington. The win sends the Terps to their second-straight Final Four, where they’ll face Connecticut in Tampa, Florida, on Sunday. alik mcintosh/the diamondback By Ryan Baillargeon @RyanBaillargeon Senior staff writer
SPOKANE, Wash. — Lexie Brown hadn’t made a shot in the NCAA tournament since arriving in Spokane. After an 0-for-7 outing in a Sweet 16 win over Duke, the Terrapins women’s basketball guard had gone scoreless
for 19 minutes of action to start the Elite Eight. But just before the halftime buzzer sounded Monday night against No. 2-seed Tennessee, Brown knocked down a step-back jumper that gave her team a 22-21 lead. It sparked a second-half resurgence for the slumping player her team calls “Big Shot Brown.” The
sophomore hit three 3-pointers after the break, each igniting the Terps faithful, many of whom traveled across the country to watch their team secure a 58-48 win. “Once one goes in,” Brown said, “the basket grows and it’s as big as an ocean.” See VOLS, Page 2
U.S. Reps. Chris Van Hollen and John Sarbanes (D-Md.) discussed campaign financing and the presence of big money in politics in front of a group of about 140 students last night. “We, of course, pride ourselves in the words that we have a government for the people, of the people, by the people,” said Van Hollen, who announced his plan to run for U.S. Senate in 2016. “Of course, we meant to spell by ‘B-Y,’ not ‘B-U-Y.’” The panelists rattled off statistics throughout the event, which was sponsored by this university’s Maryland PIRG chapter, a studentrun public interest advocacy organization, in Jimenez Hall. Following the discussion, the audience watched the documentary Pay 2 Play: Democracy’s High Stakes. “It’s staggering how just a hundred Americans contribute more and finance more of the campaign finance system elections, whether through super PACs or other independent expenditures, than the 4.7 million Americans who contribute under $200 a year,” Van Hollen said. Only 10 percent of Americans give to political campaigns and less than 1 percent of Americans fund
rep. Chris Van Hollen speaks at yesterday’s MaryPIRG event on campaign finance reform, which also featured a screening of Pay To Play. tom hausman/thediamondback
the majority of political campaigns, said government and politics professor Michael Spivey. “The great majority of Americans are not participating monetarily in elections,” he said. Sarbanes said he’s witnessed a rising level of cynicism in politics, especially among young people, which he said stems from problems such as campaign financing. Sarbanes, the author and sponsor of the Government by the People Act of 2014, told the group he will fight the idea that big money in politics cannot change. The bill, introduced in February 2014, would encourage more Americans to participate in the political process by providing a $25 tax credit for small donations. These donations would be matched with limited public funds, allowing small donors to have a bigger impact on campaigns.
See Play, Page 3
Graduate students share U professor research at conference discovers new Two students represent university with modern interpretations of ancient classics
By Carly Kempler @CarlyKempler Staff writer
Comparing ancient classics with modern med ia a nd tra nslati ng them into contemporary rap songs were feats Emily Mohr and Noah Cogan, respectively, were inspired to tackle in efforts to modernize these iconic works. Graduate student Cogan translated the works of an ancient Roman playwright into rap verses. Mohr, also a graduate student, looked at the depiction of women as statues in ancient Greek plays and compared them to modern pornographic societal body portrayals. These two graduate students were the only two from this university to present their contemporary perceptions of different classical works at the 111th meeting of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday. Mohr, a second-year graduate student studying classics, has been working on her paper for more than a year. One line from 5th century B.C. Athens playwright Euripides’ play Helen inspired Mohr to write her paper. “It’s referring to Helen of Troy when she sa id she w i she s she could wipe her beauty away so she wouldn’t have all these problems,” Mohr said. “I’m a feminist scholar, and I work specifically with women
in tragedy.” Mohr’s paper discusses the term “agalma.” Euripides uses the word, which translates to “statue,” in reference to women in his plays. Mohr wanted to explore why he portrayed women as lifeless sculptures. Her paper argues Euripides portrays women as pornographic statues, and this portrayal teaches the m a le popu lation to v iew women as objects. She relates this theory to how modern media represents the female body as art, or pornographically. Mohr submitted her work to the convention so she could share it with the academic community and get feedback from her peers. “I want to be involved in the academic community and, in a way, [this is] significant of my research at UMD. It’s a culmination of my work as a whole. It’s almost like a thesis, except I’m not getting credit,” she said. “I’m hoping to be a professional classicist, and I want to earn a Ph.D and eventually gain a tenure track at a university.” Cogan, a second-year graduate student studying classics, submitted a paper titled “Rapper’s Delight: The Modernization of Plautus.” His paper focuses on the works of the eponymous writer. W hile the playwright penned See graduates, Page 3
ISSUE NO. 91 , OUR 104 TH YEAR OF PUBLICATION
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method to find neutrons
Research could change methods for detecting nuclear material By Joe Zimmermann @JoeMacZim Senior staff writer Research that began as an inquiry into an obscure molecular physics question resulted in a new method to detect neutrons, which could provide efficient means of identifying nuclear material. Michael Coplan, a professor for this university’s Institute for Physical Science and Technology, was studying what happens to electrons
Professor Michael Coplan poses for a portrait in his office. Coplan worked with NIST to develop new technologies that allow for more efficient means of identifying nuclear material. tom hausman/the diamondback as atoms fly apart when he discov- thing were kind of small, but we ered the method for the experiment thought we’d try,” Coplan said. could apply to a different approach “And to our great surprise — and for detecting neutrons. “The chances of our seeing anySee neutrons, Page 2
Professional fraternities create governing body By Alex Carolan @thedbk For The Diamondback Thirteen of this university’s professional Greek organizations have teamed up this semester to form a representative governing body. The Professional Greek Council acts independently of the Professional Fraternity Association, the national governing body of professional Greek groups. The univer-
sity’s council, which held its first meeting two weeks ago, formed to open up opportunities for more campus Greek organizations, including an LGBT “frarority.” “ We d id n’t wa nt to b e constrained,” said Alexandra Kramer, t he c o u nc i l’s pre s id e nt a nd a member of A lpha Phi Omega, a national service fraternity. “[The Professional Fraternity Association] didn’t want to take Theta Pi Sigma, the LGBT fraternity, just because
they said they weren’t professionally focused.” The council did not decide to partner with the national organization after it would not accept Theta Pi Sigma as a member and the group members wanted more inclusion from all professional and alternative organizations on the campus. “We as a community don’t have to follow [the Professional Fraternity
See fraternity, Page 3
SPORTS
OPINION
WINGS HELP RAFFA AT FACEOFF X
Disappointment in those who failed to respect its importance P. 4
Charlie Raffa has dominated in recent weeks thanks to some help from a few of his Terrapins men’s lacrosse teammates P. 8
STAFF EDITORIAL: Greek life protest
DIVERSIONS
DEEP, DARK PLACES Sufjan Stevens deals with death on Carrie and Lowell P. 6