At a press conference Wednesday evening, U. Virginia Athletic Director Craig Littlepage reaffirmed the decisions of the No. 1 Virginia men’s lacrosse team and No. 4 women’s squad to continue their seasons and play in the NCAA Tournaments, after releasing an initial statement regarding the teams Tuesday evening.

The teams’ futures have been uncertain recently because of a first degree murder charge made against senior midfielder George Huguely of the men’s team for the death of Yeardley Love, who was a senior defender on the women’s team. Huguely scored four goals on the season and played in each of the team’s 15 games but never started. Love played in 15 of the women’s 18 games, starting in three contests.

Littlepage said he met with both teams Monday to discuss their options regarding the remainder of their seasons.

“It became clear over the course of that day that there was a certain amount of their attention that was on the future,” Littlepage said. “And although they didn’t speak about it and ask questions about it, certainly that was in the back of their minds. There was some uncertainty about whether this event would mean the suspension of the season or not. As far as conversation between the student-athletes and coaches, it was very clear to me that it was the desire of both the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs to continue playing.”

But before the teams could resume play, Littlepage added that it was imperative the athletes’ academic obligations were not hindered, particularly given the start of the final exam period.

“We felt very good about the possibility about both teams playing. We wanted to make sure before announcing anything that we had a clear idea of what accommodations would be made for the student-athletes — how they would handle their academic requirements. We are starting exams tomorrow, or Friday, and we wanted to make absolutely sure that any sort of resumption of formal activities — practices, etc. — was not going to in any way deter the academic requirements.”

Perhaps the most important factor, though, was that the teams had the blessing of the Love family, Littlepage said.

“And then the final piece in terms of wanting to make absolutely sure that this was the right thing was the acknowledgment on the part of the Love family that they would be as well firmly behind a decision for the team to play,” he said.

Littlepage was convinced that Love would have endorsed the decision to move forward and compete for a national championship.

“I had been told by our coach, Julie Myers, that Yeardley would have been PO’d with this kind of attention for anything other than this team continuing with its athletic goals and aspirations.”

The men’s team, which won the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2006 with a 10-6 defeat of Maryland April 25, concluded the regular season with an 18-9 victory against Robert Morris Saturday. The Cavaliers boast a 14-1 record and are expected to earn the top overall seed in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the No. 4-ranked women’s team finished the regular season with a 12-4 record but lost during the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to the Terrapins.

The men’s and women’s tournaments are scheduled to begin May 15 and 16, respectively.

Littlepage said that multiple spring teams have expressed a desire to wear a patch or bear some sort of emblem to honor Love as they continue to play their respective sports. The details of the plan, however, have not been finalized.

Men’s coach Dom Starsia, women’s coach Julie Myers and players of both teams could not be reached for comment.

Police served an emergency protective order against an Oklahoma State U. basketball player after another OSU student accused him of rape, according to the student’s sworn statement.

Matt Pilgrim, 22, was served the order Monday afternoon after another Oklahoma State student told police that Pilgrim raped her in her Smith Hall apartment in the North Monroe area on April 12.

The Daily O’Collegian’s policy is not to print the name of alleged victims or rape victims in coverage of sexual assault.

OSU Director Of Communications Gary Shutt confirmed that OSU police are investigating the situation. Shutt declined to comment further, citing the ongoing investigation.

According to the order, which the Daily O’Collegian obtained from the Payne County Courthouse, the woman stated Pilgrim raped her  April 12 in her OSU apartment. Their next contact was May 2, outside of her Smith apartment, where she said Pilgrim harassed her, according to her statement.

Both parties are set to appear at 10 a.m. May 20, at the Payne County Courthouse for a hearing.

OSU Sports Information Director Mike Noteware declined to comment.

Pilgrim averaged 8.2 points per game and 6.7 rebounds for the Cowboys in his first year after transferring from the U. Kentucky.

U. Virginia student George Huguely — who was charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of UVA senior Yeardley Love yesterday — admitted to police officials that “he shook Love and her head repeatedly hit the wall” during an altercation, according to an affidavit for a search warrant.

Huguely, a former member of the men’s lacrosse team, also admitted that he broke into Love’s bedroom by kicking his right foot through the door. He said the front door to the former women’s lacrosse player’s apartment was unlocked, according to the affidavit.

After the altercation, witnesses found Love face-down on her pillow with a pool of blood. She had a “large bruised contusion on the right said of her face which appears to have been caused by a blunt force trauma,” according to other affidavits. Her right eye was swollen shut, and her chin area was bruised and scraped, the affidavits stated.

Nevertheless, in a statement outside the Charlottesville General District Court this morning, Huguely’s lawyers said the death was accidental.

When president Barack Obama signed the landmark health care reform legislation from the White House East Room in March, granting millions of uninsured Americans access to medical insurance, Jennifer Cannistra was among the select few chosen to watch. But she was also among a far smaller group that had been shaping the health care reform process from the White House for the past 18 months.

As Obama discussed how health care reform would specifically benefit those sitting in the audience, Cannistra said, “You could just feel the history in the air … I was just so proud to work for the president.”

As a health policy analyst in the White House’s Office of Health Reform, Cannistra wrote background memos that eventually landed on the president’s desk and designed public relations strategies to explain the initiative to the general public.

“It was incredibly intense,” she said. “Sleeping a couple hours a night, trying to get as much work done as possible … always concerned that something you did could cause a problem.”

Cannistra called working in the West Wing “high-pressure and intense” — intense is a word she used often in her interview with The Daily Princetonian — but also said there were times when she lost sight of her position’s unique nature. “The reality of ‘You’re working in the White House’ is something that can slip by you at moments,” she said.

Given the workload involved, consistently producing quality material was a challenge for Cannistra.

“There, as you can imagine, was a lot of background paper we had to prepare for the various principals and the president,” she said.

But the 2001 Princeton U. grad, who later graduated from Harvard Law School, impressed her coworkers.

“One of the key things Jen did was she helped in our efforts to communicate these policies to the American people,” said Nick Papas, a White House spokesman who worked with Cannistra on the messaging campaign. “She was a tremendous, tremendous asset as we moved to discuss these issues with the American people.”

Though some of Cannistra’s memos stayed in 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., her projects were targeted toward widely differing audiences. “I also drafted health reform policy materials for state and local elected officials, key constituencies and [members of Congress] during various Congressional recesses,” she explained.

Cannistra said she was not authorized to comment on specific assignments, but she explained that working on health care reform was stressful and exhausting, though ultimately rewarding.

“I have really enjoyed working on health care,” she said. “I think one of the reasons is that health care is a policy area that’s personally important for so many Americans.”

The opportunity to witness history firsthand was another major perk, Cannistra said.

“It was certainly amazing to have a front-row picture into how major legislation gets passed, and definitely it was a long journey to the end of it when the president signed the bill, but I think it made the accomplishment … even more meaningful,” she said.

Cannistra had been working for Obama for two years before the signing ceremony, following a path to the White House that began on the campaign trail. After campaigning for Obama in several states during the Democratic primary season, Cannistra’s first policy position came during the general election campaign when she served as the campaign’s policy director for Pennsylvania, a role which involved “making sure that voters and volunteers and campaign surrogates had all the information they needed on Senator Obama’s policies.”

After the general election, Cannistra was offered a position on a policy working group for Obama’s transition team. She chose the health policy group because it was a topic that she had become passionate about during the campaign, since it affected so many people.

That job segued to her current one. “I wanted to join the health care policy team and I was able to, and the woman who I worked for offered me the position to come over to the White House,” she said.

Now that the health care reform  legislation has passed, Cannistra said, she will be leaving the White House in the next few weeks to work at the Department of Health and Human Services, where she will “be part of the team working on [health care reform’s] implementation.”

Cannistra said she is excited to continue working on health care policy and that she is grateful for her “once-in-a-lifetime experience” at the White House.

Though Cannistra was interested in public policy as a student, she attributed her current interest in politics to “looking at Senator Obama, listening to him, reading his books and just believing that he has a fundamental ability to be a great leader for our country.”

While at Princeton, Cannistra ran for four years on the track and field team and cross-country team, for which she was co-captain as a senior. She also volunteered through the 6Student Volunteers Council and served on the USG Projects Board.

Cannistra’s fast-paced work life comes as no surprise to women’s track and field team head coach Peter Farrell.

As a student, Cannistra was “a workaholic with noble goals in mind,” Farrell said. “From the very beginning, it was clear that Jen had a mission to make a difference.”

As an athlete, “Every team seems to have a mother, and Jen came closest to filling that role and keeping people together,” Farrell said, adding that Cannistra “wasn’t the best runner on the team, but she was certainly one of the better runners on the team, and she worked very hard.”

Last week, the Deepwater Horizon rig sunk in the Gulf of Mexico, just 40 miles from the Louisiana shore.

Initially, British Petroleum (BP) – the company leasing the rig at the time of the explosion – wrote off the oil leakage as insignificant.

Currently, however, reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and satellite imagery are now indicating that the rig is leaking nearly 5,000 barrels per day.

At that rate, within two months, the spill would be the largest spill in U.S. history, surpassing the Exxon-Valdez spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska in 1989.

It is safe to say that the situation is becoming significant.

Hundreds of species face serious threats, the fishing and tourism industry are predicted to lose billions of dollars and lawsuits are being thrown left and right.

And if Louisiana residents weren’t already aware of the spill, the governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal, has declared a state of emergency to prepare citizens for the inevitable coastal impact of the oil slick.

If the media attention is any indication, the public is captivated, and rightfully so. The effects of this spill are going to be felt in all aspects of society for years.

So who’s to blame?

BP is blaming the explosion on the company that owns and operates the rig, Transocean Ltd., claiming that a malfunctioning valve caused the blast. Though this may be true, it’s not the underlying cause.

The public points the finger at BP – another big, evil oil corporation. But BP doesn’t continue to drill for pleasure; they drill for profit: There is a demand, and a hefty one at that.

As an international supplier, BP can’t be said to have support from only a single country: But as one of the most gas-happy nations on Earth, American consumers surely shoulder a large part of the burden.

I realize there are some citizens who do what they can to reduce oil dependence through their daily habits, but the majority of society doesn’t seem to care, or simply lacks the motivation to adapt.

It’ll be interesting to see if Louisiana citizens adapt and move to a more “oil-conscious” lifestyle, considering the issues they’ll soon face. Meanwhile, the rest of the U.S. continue in their merry, gas-guzzling ways. Since the spill doesn’t necessarily affect their own pocketbooks, there is no cause for concern.

Until their fishing stock is ravaged, until their coastline is stained and no longer sacred and pristine, it is of no concern. As Ben Franklin put it, “We know the worth of water when the well runs dry.” Not until the issue hits home do you care to act. This is the greatest travesty of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Can we not learn a lesson from this incident?

In the 2008 presidential campaign, the GOP ran with the slogan “Drill, baby, drill,” symbolizing the need to begin offshore drilling here in the U.S., thereby reducing the dependence on foreign oil – foreign being the key word.

The plan pushes energy alternatives aside, ignoring the ecological impact of drilling, and instead continues to reason upon the economic – or, as some may argue, the social – front.

From an international standpoint, one would be hard-pressed to find any argument against harvesting the resources we have here at home; however, from an ecological and economic standpoint, there are reasons to be skeptical of offshore drilling.

Relative to the rest of the world, U.S. oil reserves are miniscule. The amount the U.S. could supply would be dwarfed by the amount demanded.

If drilling began today, it’s estimated that it could take nearly seven years before any oil could actually be used here in the States. With such a slow turnover rate compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. would continue to lean on foreign oil.

In the end, the plan may be beneficial. However, in light of this fiasco, offshore drilling should certainly be under harsh scrutiny.

Granted, an oil spill of this size has not occurred in the past two decades (within U.S. territory at least), but thousands of spills occur each year worldwide. The quick clean ups and small fines don’t justify the crime. How can we not take this spill as another reason to move away from oil usage?

The oil companies continue to run political agendas, push social costs and dominate economic standards. Didn’t this administration run on the push for energy alternatives and the reduction of oil dependency, even shutting down the idea of offshore drilling expansion?

It is strange how oil spills get covered so heavily, as did Australia’s Great Barrier Reef spill just last month, yet nothing seems to be changing. It’s only fitting that a spill of this magnitude occurs just weeks after the announcement of an extended offshore drilling plan, and I should hope the irony is taken to heart.

I can understand the need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. I can understand the possibilities of creating jobs. But I have yet to understand why offshore drilling is the solution.

I don’t hear of solar farms bursting into flames, windmills devastating landscapes or geothermal pumps causing deformation. Nuclear energy is usually the big bad boy when it comes to accidents, but the oil spill appears to be its partner in crime.

There is still no alternative energy source to which we can move to tomorrow in order to eliminate our impact and continue to fuel our nation. However, there are numbers of sources we can begin to support, fund and implement to help reduce our impact and shift our nation to a more sustainable lifestyle.

No pun intended, but I believe the spill can fuel our support of alternative modes of energy usage, or if nothing else, fuel the political debate.

– Armand Resto is an Oregon State U. sophomore in environmental science.

Whether suffering from chronic insomnia or simply pre-exam restlessness, most people experience at least a few sleepless nights in their lives. While counting sheep may not lead to a restful night, recent work by Sarina Rodrigues, associate professor of psychology at Oregon State U., suggests that music may be the key.

Rodrigues was interviewed by The Today Show last week about her investigation of the effect of algorithm laden music on sleep, based on the results of a test run she completed that will be followed by a full clinical study in the fall.

In the test, Rodrigues asked individuals to listen to music developed by sound design company, NeuroPop, as a non-pharmaceutical sleep aid before or while falling asleep for at least five nights. Those who used the music then gave testimonials on its effects on their sleep patterns during The Today Show interview, which will air as part of a three-day sleep segment in the coming months.

“The music targets the vestibular system, which is thought of as our sixth sense,” Rodrigues said. “It is responsible for balance and coordination, kind of where we are in space, and when it’s out of whack we might feel dizzy. The music is designed to use low frequency vibrations to simulate rocking. It synchronizes mass populations of neurons in the brainstem to induce this rhythmic stance in body and brain.”

The vibration effect is intended to encourage sleep in the same way that rocking a child or being vibrated by a motor in a vehicle tends to facilitate a relaxed mental state. In her fall study, Rodrigues plans to test the music on three categories of people, consisting of 20 participants each.

Rodrigues selected adults from age 20 to 40, who typically exhibit trouble falling asleep; adults over 40 is an age group that struggles with staying asleep and children. The music is expected to help listeners fall asleep, promote more restful, quality sleep and discourage waking during the night.

“It didn’t really change how quickly I fell asleep, but it helped me sleep more soundly,” said Heather Chambers, a 36-year-old lab assistant to Rodrigues and OSU psychology student who used the music. “I didn’t wake up during the middle of the night and I woke up more rested and energetic. I had more restful sleep every night that I did it.”

Rodrigues became involved in the exploration of the NeuroPop algorithm music through friend Seth Horowitz, assistant professor of neuroscience at Brown U. Horowitz primarily studies animals, such as bats and dolphins, and asked Rodrigues to participate to bring the perspective of human study to the project.

“The Today Show contacted me the day after (Horowitz) asked me to do this study,” Rodrigues said. “They were already planning to do something on his research, but they wanted a story interested in the human element and how the research could benefit people.”

Rodrigues started at OSU in fall 2009, following post-doctoral research at U. California-Berkeley. Her past research has included the study of emotions and the hormone Oxytocin, which according to Rodrigues, is released during social interaction and is responsible for stress reduction and how different people deal with stress. Rodrigues believes the hormone may also play a role in sleep, as it is the source of the warm, comfortable mental feeling that some people experience when falling asleep.

“(Rodrigues’) research prior to coming here was outstanding, and she’s great in the classroom,” said John Edwards, OSU psychology department chair. “We’re excited to have hired her. I have every expectation that this research is going to be outstanding.”

In her fall study, participants will be housed at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center where they can be monitored by machines that will measure their brain waves, heart rate, stress hormones, saliva, and Oxytocin levels.

“We are hoping to get a lot more physiological data and we will be interested in their sleep cycles, because we’ll be able to measure their cycles for changes in response to the music,” Rodrigues said.

“Since I’m really into emotions, I’m really interested in how our sleep quality can improve our health, mood and being.”

Until testing is complete, NeuroPop will not be releasing the music for public use, but Rodrigues will be looking for participants starting in the fall for her clinical study on the music’s effects.

We may soon have to rethink our view of the “tolerant” Dutch. In the Netherlands’s upcoming general election, the far-right candidate, Geert Wilders, is the current favorite to end up as prime minister in a coalition government. However, Wilders has labeled Islam “retarded” and has called to ban the Koran. These dismaying steps are part of an eruption of Islamophobia throughout Europe. Across the Continent, the far right has exploited fears of terrorism and changing demographics with great success. Although people should have the right to oppose a dramatic change in the make-up of their societies, something far more radical may be afoot in Europe. Years after Europeans heralded the success of multiculturalism, open vilification of Islam has become standard in many mainstream parties.

The recent Swiss referendum on the building of minarets, spires used to call Muslims to prayer, is a perfect example of how Islamophobia extends beyond a vocal minority. Recently, 57 percent of Switzerland’s population voted to ban the construction of future minarets in their country. This response seems excessive because there are currently four minarets in Switzerland and roughly five percent of the population follows Islam. The danger of the Alps’ chocolate-box villages being swept away in favor of numerous variants of the Blue Mosque looks slim. A comment by Roberto Calderoli of Italy’s anti-immigrant Northern League sums up what this vote is about, “Switzerland is sending to us a clear signal; yes to bell towers, no to minarets.” It is very much about Islam, and the rejection of a “foreign” culture.

Fear of Islamic culture is encapsulated also in the Europe-wide debate over the veil. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France has promised to push ahead with a ban on the full veil, and Belgium has become the first European nation to hold a successful vote on the subject. A concerted effort has been made to tie the debate over Islamic dress to women’s rights within Muslim society. Politicians repeatedly invoke the need to “liberate women,” while some left-wing members of parliament have gone so far as to label the burqa a “walking coffin.” That most of the women who dress in this way appear to have made a voluntary decision to do so appears to not matter. As in Switzerland, far-right parties have persuaded voters that the veil is unequivocally a symbol of Europe’s Islamification—even though only an estimated 1,900 women wear the full veil in France out of six million Muslims. Polls indicate that 70 percent of the French public supports a ban on the burqa, even though a fraction of this number would be in favor of outlawing similar expressions of faith from other religions such as crosses and yarmulkes.

Banning minarets and burqas may only be the beginning. In Italy, the Northern League is increasing its numbers in Silvio Berlusconi’s ruling coalition and came out on top in many of March’s regional elections. The party specializes in “Muslim-baiting” and has called for boats carrying illegal immigrants from North Africa to be shelled. A popular campaign poster warns that native Italians will end up on reservations like their American counterparts as a consequence of immigration. The League now has control of the Italian Interior Ministry, while Berlusconi himself has proclaimed the “superiority” of Western culture over Islamic culture.

However, even the situation in Italy pales in comparison to the Dutch situation. After years of heavy migration from North Africa and Turkey, the stereotypically tolerant Dutch now believe (poll numbers indicate a massive disparity of over 60 percent) that Islam is incompatible with “modern European life.” As a result, the Dutch government may soon not only drastically curb immigration but also move to outlaw the Koran. The difference between restricting immigration and banning a book exemplifies perfectly how enthusiasm for preventing European society from changing too much has evolved into a radical reaction against Islam. The threat of outright discrimination toward Muslims in Europe is becoming a reality.  European leaders seem prepared to brazenly attack Islam and disregard the basic freedom of expression of which the Continent has become so proud. Even the president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, espouses hard-line opposition to Turkey joining the EU, simply on the grounds of its Islamic population. Multiculturalism in the Old World may soon shape up to be little more than an ideal.

– Eli B. Martin is a Harvard U. freshman.