THE DAILY COLLEGIAN SENIOR STAFF COLUMN Coach's determination pus By Brian Hall F N.C. State men's basketball coach ,inn Valvano led the Wolfpack to the NCAA champi onship in 1983. In • that game, Jimmy V's troops tallied the last basket at the buzzer to defeat the Houston Cougars. Valvano charged the court, his long straggly black hair flying in his face. It was truly a great moment for Valvano as a coach. Ten years later, the Italian coach who fre quently smoked cigars in his office while he reviewed paperwork, showed true grit and determination in his fight against bone cancer. On March 4, 1993, fellow bastetball colleagues, coach Mike Krzyzewski from Duke and the voice of college hoops, Dick Wale, ushered Valvano to a podium to help him accept the Arthur COLUMN We must hope patriotic display doesn't reflect commercialism By Alissa Wisnouse Half-delirious from my fourteen hour plane ride Sat urday from Sydney to Los Angeles, I left the plane and walked into the ter minal. It was the first time I've been on American soil in five months. While most Americans spent their post-Sept. 11 time huddling with their loved ones, anxiously tuning into the news each night, and decking their homes, outfits and cars with the stars and stripes, I was studying abroad in Australia Twelve time zones away, in the south ern and eastern hemispheres, I felt very far from New York, Washington and Somerset County at least physi cally. Logically or not, the distance between the terrorist attacks and my adopted city gave me some sense of Experience the sonic power of the HUB Auditorium state-of-the-art Stereo Surround System at the SURROUND SOUND SHOWCASE THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS FRI DEC 7 - 9:3OPM PLANET OF THE APES SAT DEC 8 - 9:3OPM This free study break program as presented by . . LatatiigM-PennState Ashe Award for Courage at ESPN's first ESPY Awards show. Just as certain Americans remember former president John F Kennedy say "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your coun try" or the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream" speech, words from Valvano's touching solilo quy reverberate through my mind to this day .-I have settled into this stage in life partly because of Valvano's words of information on that night of celebration for the world of sports. As Valvano gripped the sides of the podium to remain upright, he uttered, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." Nearly two months later, on April 28, 1993, cancer ditimedAie life of James Thomas Valvano at age 47. lb that fate ful day, the former coach and TV com mentator lived out his promise and - motto. MY OPINION As I entered Penn State as a fresh man, that kernel of wisdom remained tucked in my mind, waiting for the exact moment to prove beneficial to a difficult decision. That moment came at the beginning of the fall semester dur- comfort and security. The events back home were on my mind, but when I really needed to get my mind off things, it was easy enough to escape into a pub with a pint of beer or keep my mind clear while I was lounging at the beach. Unlike most Americans in the days and weeks after the attacks, I didn't feel that my safety was directly threat ened. But my escape from reality came to an abrupt end this Saturday when I left my Australian bubble and flew home. Some things about being back home, I figure, ru be used to again by the end of the week using green money, driv ing on the right side of the road, not MY OPINION being of legal drinking age• It's going to be harder to get used to the changes implemented after I left the country. I knew security was going to be tight at the airports, and I thought I was pre pared for it. But as I walked toward my gate to my connection in Los Angeles, I nearly bumped into one of the camou flage-clad guards• I was startled. He clutched a gun longer than his arm and stood at atten tion, surveying the people around him Maybe you've SEEN these movies... But have you HEARD them? LAI ► R N All movies will be shown in the HUB Auditorium SHREK FRI DEC 7 - 12:00AM HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS SAT DEC 8 - 12:00AM s editor to succeed in career mg year four. Twol offered my services gian as a writer. Two through the same exact •• • from a news advisor, handing outwords of encouragement. "We have edit* on our staff right now that didn't get accepted on their first attempt," he'd . say. Obviously, I thought he was full of stories. It was just a meager attempt to calm down the nervous freshmen and, in my case, distraught juniors. Two times I listened to the same load of bull. By the end of the process, Colle gian staff chose who would become a part of the next classs of candidates to prove their mettle in the college jour nalistic world. Thal three started just like clockwork All week, I agonized over whether I should even attempt a blue book exam again. Preceding last fall, two failures supplanted a hive ego and firmly established my place nere. I was quite certain the third time wasn't the proverbial charm. Day after day of sessions with "the speech" continued that week Finally, Thursday arrived on the calendar. With confidence at an, all-time low, I used a with eyes that seemed as sad and fear ful as they did vigilant. His face, boyish and pimply, suggested that he was barely out of high school. I walked away, shaken. Before I boarded my connection to Pittsburgh, security guards singled me out to hand-search my carry-on bag gage and pat me down. Looking back on it, I suppose I looked pretty questionable after my flight over the Pacific. Better safe than sorry, I thought, but I still felt a little unsettled. After spending a few more hours in an airplane, I began to safely descend toward the runway at the Pittsburgh airport• My hometown is right next to the air port, so as the plane eased downward, I peered out of the window to see famil iar buildings and roads coming closer and closer. I realized I was finally home. But it wasn't the homecoming I had imagined when I left in July. New secu rity regulations meant no one was allowed past security without a ticket. The area near the gate felt lonely and sterile because my family wasn't able to lON painful migraine headache as an I J, t semesters I The Daily Calle a't I sat excuse not to even bother failing the last time, burying a frail body under neath a mountain of covers. One can only take the Collegian exam three times before acceptance into the candidate program. The pow ers above prohibit a fourth encounter with "the speech" to end all speeches. Second, seniors can't compete for an open spot in the program. Strike two. While wallowing in my own self-pity, suddenly, a voice pierced my ears; simultaneously a pair of hands pulled the blanketssoff the bed. No, it wasn't the apparition of the dearly departed man blowing a whistle. But, this person. physically pushed me out of the apart ment door, into my silver 1996 Toyota Tercel, drove me to the Collegian even though she didn't have a license and • booted my sorry butt out onto the curb of Burrowes Street. I realized Valvano's motto for life, "Don't give up," was all I had left. So, I didn't. . I read nearly the same prompt for the third straight exam. I wrote the best story about fires in Pattee Library greet me as I got off the plane. Better safe than sorry, I thought again as I walked to our meeting point by bag gage claims. Two days and one emotional reunion later, I decided I wasn't too jet-lagged to visit the new mall that had been built near my parents' house while I was away. As I pulled into the parking lot, rows of American flags greeted me from antennas and rear view windows. I felt glad to be back among Americans Patriotism was also the theme in the mall. Everywhere I looked, stores were displaying merchandise with a red, white and blue theme: I Love New York handbags, NYPD sweatshirts, Santa figurines clutching flags. I began to feel a bit uneasy. Were these stores merely meeting the demands of shoppers who had a new found sense of pride in their country? Or were they shamelessly commercial izing the attacks and war to make money from them? One store was selling a pair of blue cotton panties with a screen print of the New York City skyline across the front, complete with the twin towers. I know that each person is coping with e he rfec Graduation F11111C1C 1 111{11111(Tl'i I To subscribe please enclose: El 535 for a one-year subscription $55 for a two-year subscription Ei $6B for a three-year subscription ISubscribers outside of the United States. please I add $23 per year. I Make checks payable to Collegian Inc. IMail to: The Weekly Collegian Department W 123 S. Burrowes St. University Park, PA 16801-3882 Look for our Web site at ift LI new subscription ❑ renewal LI gift The Weekly Collegian publishes when classes are in session during Fall Semester and Spring Semester. collegian.psu.edu THURSDAY, Dec. 6, 2001 I 11 I could imagine and steered through an interview with that guy that recycles the same speech for all fall, spring and summer potential candidates. When the dust cleared, the name Brian Hall appeared on the list of the Collegian's fall candidate class of 2000. Coach Valvano faced a far tougher fight than I will ever face. But, the sheer determination of a man who refused to let a disease ruin his spirit and break his resolve, pushes me to make myself a better student, journal ist and human being. Coach Valvano never altered in his constant battle. Unlike the 1983 nation: al championship game, "Jimmy V" ran out of time. The only advice I have for ' my fellow students focuses on a never ending promise, "Don't give up." Now, here I am 15 or 16 months later, sitting behind a computer as the night sports editor of The Daily Collegian. It reinforces the fact that determination pays off in the end. Man Hall is a senior and The Daily Collegian's night sports editor. His &mail address is bkhl29@psu.edu. the tragedy in New York in his or her own way, but is it really necessary for anyone to adorn underwear with the doomed buildings? At what point does the surge in patriotically themed mer chandise stop being a sincere reflection of our mourning and solidarity and start to become just another meaning less trend? There is a fine line between supply ing patriotic-themed goods to meet the public's post-Sept. 11 demand and exploiting the deaths of thousands of people to turn profits. As I adjust to being back in America during these next few days, I'll wear a pin with our flag on it to show my sup port for the people who lost loved ones on September 11. By wearing some- thing red, white and blue, I'll join my fellow Americans in displaying our grief and showing our hope for the blood- shed to end soon But I think I'll have to pass on those twin towers panties. Alissa Wisnouse is a junior majoring in journal ism and women's studies and `is columnist. Her e-mail address is AllssaW@lpsu.edu state zip
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