Niner Times: February 17, 2015

After a dramatic off season, the Charlotte 49er’s baseball team gets ready to take the field on Friday, Feb. 20. p. 9

Garden restoration project

Restoration of the stream in the university Botanical Gardens should bring new life to the gardens. p. 6

OP-ED: To the Charlotte Christian Community after Chapel Hill

After last week’s shootings in Chapel Hill, how can the Charlote community respond? p. 8

An adventure abroad

College is a time of possibilities, one of which being the opportunity to study abroad. Many students don’t know all the options available. p. 14

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FLU MAPPING SGA UPDATE LEVINE APARTMENTS GARDEN RESTORATION OP-ED: VINYLS

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UNC Charlotte professor and team maps spread of flu, among other common diseases Chester Griffin

STAFF WRITER Since 2007, Daniel Janies, UNC Charlotte professor in Bioinformatics and Genomics, along with his team have worked to create a supramap to map out the spread of the flu and other diseases across the globe.

“We wanted to look at the history of these viruses and the genes that are associated with H7 influenza, and that’s where they’ve traveled all over the world and so we’ve used evolutionary biology to do that to prepare all the sequence information that people publish on viral evolution,” said Janies.

By building a tree of information, a phylogeny, Janies said they’re able to identify where the hubs for the transport of the disease are.

Using another technique called route map, Janies said they’re able to boil down all the complexity of the viral sequence data to give public health officials actions they can take that can be durable.

“So right now, in the news recently was a paper on H7 influenza and the reason we’ve been interested in it for a long time. H7, it’s relative to H5 influenza, they’re typically in bird viruses and what happens periodically is people who handle birds like poultry for example get infected,” said Janies. “So there’ve been cases in China for both of these, but for H5, more than about 60 percent of people infected die … these are very deadly viruses especially in people.”

Janies said for H7N9 influenza, the mortality rate is less than H5, but that’s because it’s a newer disease.

“It emerged in China, the 2013, 2014 flu season and it continues now, there are still cases ongoing in 2015,” said Janies.

One of Janies’s biggest questions raised is when will H7N9 travel to other places in the world.

“It has moved through travelers so

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people infected with it have taken it, for example, back to Malaysia, have taken it to Taiwan, have taken it to Hong Kong and most recently taken it to British Colombia,” said Janies.

While these infected travelers carry this disease from place to place, Janies said there haven’t been signs of the disease spreading from human to human, at least not yet.

“Since it mostly transmits from avian to humans thus far, and not human to human, it’s not as if those travelers spark new epidemics in their countries,” said Janies. “The question is if and when that can happen or will birds, which many birds are infected all the time by different influenzas and it doesn’t kill them, therefore they’re kind of like unaffected hosts who can carry novel strands of virus to new places.”

Janies said that with H7N9, the genes change in multiple ways such

as mutation where they’ll mutate over time, eventually changing the host who carries them.

The genes can also change through a process he calls re-assortment which he described using an infected pig.

“When a pig is co-infected with a virus containing a genome, that genome has segments like chromosomes and when it’s infected with let’s say a mammalian-adapted virus and an avian-adapted virus, those genes spill out into the host cell and then the replication of those viruses in the host cell is not very high fidelity,” said Janies. “So let’s say for the sake of argument, those 16 segments, eight of which were disassembled into sets of ancestral genomes, get reasserted like shuffling after a hand of poker, shuffling the cards back up, get reasserted into a new deck and a set of 8 is taken out,

FEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

not a random set … you put them back into the new virus and that new virus can be something our human/ mammalian immune system has never seen before.”

One of the latest questions to come under this project is whether or not the U.S is driving a network bias, given that so many diseases are recorded here. Janies said there are countries in the world that don’t publish many viruses at all.

“The point I’m making is that Sweden and the Netherlands have not published a whole lot of viruses… even though Sweden didn’t publish many viruses, it’s actually still important in the network,” said Janis. “We think that the number of viruses published is not driving a bias, but that scenario is for a further investigation.”

In the interview, Janies mentioned a former UNC Charlotte alumnus, Ketan Patel, who shared a similar problem during his work in Africa.

“We talked to a former UNCC alum who was in Africa testing patients and he says ‘Yeah, there’s a lot of data, but the local ministers aren’t sharing it at all,’” said Janies.

Janies already has a new idea on where to take the project further.

“We have an opportunity for more funding on this, and one of the things we’re going to start looking at is this sort of notion of studying the past performance of all bacteria and viruses,” said Janies. “We’re going to calculate the history of all bacteria and viruses that are in the National Institute of Health databases and try to build basically an atlas of how viruses and bacteria are transported across time and space and different animals so we can have a much more predictive basis for a much more predictive idea of how diseases spread through the world.”

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POLICE BLOTTER FEB. 10 - 13

ACCIDENT FEB. 10

• Cone Deck, driver of vehicle did not want to drive around the perimeter of the parking lot and choose instead to drive through the parking spaces.

Driver failed to see light pole which he struck head on causing damage to the vehicle.

FEB. 13

• Elm Hall, while backing out of a parking space, driver of vehicle one struck vehicle two which was parked along the curb causing damage to both vehicles.

ARREST FEB. 10

• Student Union, officers responded regarding an altercation. Upon investigation, it was determined that one of the parties involved had an active trespass.

FEB. 11

• FM Trailer, officers assisted a sheriff’s department from Maryland in serving a felony extradition warrant against a UNC Charlotte employee.

LARCENY FEB. 11

• Kennedy Building, unkown persons(s) removed laptop which was left unsecured in a public area.

For more information on Mecklenburg County arrests, visit arrestinquiryweb.co.mecklenburg.nc.us

weather.uncc.edu UNC CHARLOTTE METEOROLOGY PROGRAM

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ASST. NEWS EDITOR The UNC Charlotte Student Government Association (SGA) met for their weekly legislative meeting Feb. 12.

Publicity and Outreach Committee wants to increase voting numbers this year and get students more involved.

Academic Affairs Academic Affairs is considering lending out portable phone chargers for students in Atkins Library. They are also working on making many electives available for non-major students. Since many electives are exclusive to certain majors, this will allow students more freedom as they complete track requirements.

Disc golf course survey The Student Affairs Committee continues to work on the disc golf course legislation.

Student Affairs will be releasing a survey soon to measure student appeal for the disc golf course because without student backing, the course cannot be built.

Publicity and Outreach Committee The Publicity and Outreach Committee is working on a Weebly page that will allow students to share their ideas on what they feel should be included on campus. This page is expected to be up and running soon.

The committee also expects to bring their second piece of legislation this semester to Senate during the Feb. 19 meeting.

Nominations being accepted for open seats SGA will be excepting nominations for open seats in Senate until Feb. 23. The

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Nick Cropper

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Low of 26.

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Detailed Transcript Act During the Feb. 5 SGA meeting, a bill was proposed by the Academic Affairs Committee.

This bill, the Detailed Transcript Act, is designed to add additional information to students’ transcripts to give them more context on how they performed in the class compared to other students.

If passed, this act will add more information to a students transcript including class size, median grade for that class, the percentile range of a student’s grade. It will also introduce the schedule point average.

Since it was first brought to SGA, Academic Affairs has made no changes to the bill and senators began debate over the FRIDAY FEB. 20

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SATURDAY FEB. 21

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bill. There was a mix of both positive and negative debate, but many senators felt this bill could hinder students just as much as it would help them.

The main point behind the negative debate is that the new added context may reflect on a student poorly when they are fully competent, but still perform below the class average. Being able to see how well they did in comparison to other students may also add a certain degree of stress to courses that does not need to be there.

The Detailed Transcript Act was supposed to be voted on during the meeting, but instead has been tabled until the Feb. 19 meeting. During this time, Academic Affairs is revising some of the sections of the legislation and is looking into adding a section that will give students the option to choose from the detailed transcript or an original one.

New student organizations The Black History Club invites students to explore the rich culture of African-Americans.

The Society of Collegiate Leadership and Achievement empowers students to reach their leadership potential.

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FIRST WARD’S NEWEST ADDITION LEVINE HOPES THE APARTMENT COMPLEX WILL LEAD TO A MORE MODERN CENTER CITY

Nick Cropper

ASST. NEWS EDITOR Construction is about to begin as Charlotte developer Daniel Levine plans to build a new apartment complex in the First Ward area that will add an additional 264 units of housing.

There is no specific audience for the new apartment complex. It is designed to attract anybody from young professionals to parents with no children in the house looking to downsize.

Although rent has not yet been determined, the First Ward units will be priced slightly lower than some of the newer properties to be built in center city to attract a wider range of renters.

There will also be 50 units of work force housing included in First Ward that will appeal to 80, 100 and 120 percent of the median income level.

The six-story apartment complex will feature rooms ranging from studio units to three bedrooms.

Amenities of the apartment will include a pool, transit lounge, intimate glass rooms with an overlooking skyline, exercise rooms, a lounge area and full attention to renters’ needs. There will also be easy access to the light rail connecting First Ward to UNC Charlotte.

“All of this should come together and create a competitive advantage for us,” said Levine.

Along with the new apartments, Levine will also be constructing a parking deck next to the apartments that residents will be able to use.

The parking structure will hold 1,400 parking spots.

The development team has already begun removing street lights from the construction area and grading, the process of flattening the land, of the foundation of the new complex will begin in as soon as one month. Levine expects that the

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FEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

new apartments will be complete in roughly 16 months.

The parking deck will also be completed within this 16-month time frame.

Levine’s company, Levine Properties, has owned land in First Ward for several years now and has recently begun renovating the area with several new build projects. The inspiration to build new apartments in the First Ward area is all part of Levine’s vision to create a new urban village Charlotte.

The First Ward Apartments will be built to encompass the four-acre park that Levine began construction on in September of 2014. The park is expected to be finished within the year and is the first step in revitalizing the area with hotels, office buildings and residencies. The entire project will be worth roughly $1 billion.

This development is all according to a master plan that has been drawn up over the past several years.

“We are committed to creating one of Charlotte’s 24/7 urban neighborhoods supported by light rail, a great new park, sporting facilities, libraries, museums, retail work opportunities and smart density,” said Levine.

Levine has signed with two different building companies to handle the construction of the apartment complex and the parking deck. General contractor Samet Corp. has been hired to construct the apartments and Rodgers Builders will handle the construction of the parking deck.

The complex will be located at the intersection Brevard Street and 10th Street. There will be a future extension to 10th Street which is where these apartments will be located.

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Garden restoration project goes mainstream UNC Charlotte Professor Richard Mogenson and team of students work to revamp campus stream, which will in turn stabilize Botanical Garden trails

Stewart Shelton

STAFF WRITER Beside Craver Road, across from the UNC Charlotte’s McMillan Greenhouse, are the Botanical Gardens of UNC Charlotte. These gardens offer a variety of services to everyone, whether it’s studying plants, appreciating the view or seeing how native and foreign species can live in a North Carolina climate.

The gardens are the result of hard work and maintenance from university staff, students and associates. Many may have noticed that the gardens are under construction as the new section, called the Mellichamp Native Terrace is being built, but there is more going than just construction.

The trails that make the area both scenic and accessible are at risk of degrading to the point of collapse, and it’s all due to the state of the streams. The main cause for concern is an unnamed tributary to Mallard Creek that flows through the middle of the gardens.

Richard Mogensen, president of Mogensen Mitigation, Inc. and UNC Charlotte professor explained that “during storm events, when the water can’t infiltrate into the ground anymore it runs off, and when we put in a lot of pavement, it increases runoff. So now all our streams around here have increased runoff, which is not natural. So the stream banks can’t stand up to the increased forces of the few flash flows that we experience in urban streams.”

These flash flows cause severe erosion on the channel banks, which in some places, will lead to the inevitable collapse of the trails in the gardens. The problem is not a new one. Mogensen started teaching at the university last spring, where he first encountered the streams and sought for a solution. Without much of a budget, Mogensen found creative ways to fund and get some manpower to properly perform the stream restoration.

“My class from last year and this year both participated in this, and the work was funded partially by the Carolina Green Initiative, which is an on-campus group to do green projects on the campus,” said Mogensen.

“One of their members was in my class last year and suggested that we go and give them a presentation and ask for some funding to buy some tools and things … We were able to get a little money to do some stream repair work out here, and the school asked that we get all the proper permits that we needed … and that took about six months.”

The stream restoration has been in development for almost a year, with most of the time spent

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The stream flows through the middle of UNC Charlotte’s Botanical Gardens. Photo by Ben Coon

getting the necessary permits and paperwork to allow Mogensen and his associates to perform the stream restoration legally under the Clean Water Act. Since the 1970s, this act requires any work done in an area considered a jurisdictional water of the United States to receive a permit from the federal and state governments.

“It is to protect our water quality, that’s what it’s all about,” said Mogensen.

Mogensen and his team of staff and students completed the first restoration project using native rocks and mortar to alter the majority of the water flow away from the trail to stop further erosion.

“This is one little fix of about probably another ten that we are planning on doing over the next few years out here,” said Mogensen. “And right now, we are in the process of getting an extended permit to allow us to work on up to 300 linear feet of channel on this stream.”

Mogensen expressed interest in restoring another stream on campus called Toby Creek, which he describes as being degraded and in very bad shape. Unfortunately, this project hasn’t seen FEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

any funds or interest to work on it. “It’s a very big project and it’s going to cost millions of dollars to fix it properly, so that is one of the things I’d like the school to look into is fixing Toby Creek as well as this little one,” said Mogensen.

Before the stream restoration projects, the channel was in the process of being completely degraded, but thanks to Mr. Mogensen, his students, university professors and faculty and the members of the Carolina Green Initiative realigning the channel to protect the eroding stream banks in sensitive areas, the trail can be salvaged.

“I think water quality, wetlands and streams is very important to everybody as we go forward,” said Mr. Mogensen. “And we’re moving into a new era of environmental consciousness, and whether it’s climate change or water quality degradation, or flooding, or loss of an endangered species, there’s all sorts of things that the next generation is going to have to address, and as students that’s you guys.”

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S L O W DOWN

AND LISTEN Vinyl records make a surprising resurgence as consumers look for more in music than just convenience

Josiah Goodrum INTERN

Welcome to the 21st century, where we hear buzzes and bings every other second and people have back problems not from hard labor but from sitting all day. Most college students would not go a day without their smartphone glued to their hands while they walk to and from class with the latest “Drizzy” song bumping through a pair of wireless Beats.

These days, we can listen to more songs, more artists and more genres. At the touch of a button, we can go from Bach’s 5th to Beyonce’s latest smash hit. Music now is as convenient as everything else in this modernized world, so why has the Wall Street Journal dubbed vinyl records the biggest music comeback?

My guess: People want to experience music, taking the time to let the needle down onto the record, flipping it from side A to side B and listening to the entire album. It boils down to an innate need to relax and take a break from the constant barrage of information that invades our minds every millisecond.

In his article “The Biggest Music Comeback of 2014: Vinyl Records,” Neil Shah states that LP sales have gone up 49 percent from last year.

That means about 8 million of these cumbersome things sold last year. I can’t think of any other outdated technology that has made this kind of resurgence.

With technology moving at such a rapid pace, it is hard to find something that has lasting rele-

vance. You know that brand new iPhone 5s you bought last spring? Yeah, that’s history. What about all those DVDs you bought in high school?

There’s no need to touch them when Netflix is just a button push away. Even the computers that most college seniors bought their freshman year are outdated by now.

The advancement of technology is what makes this story of vinyl so interesting, and it’s why I have come to the conclusion that the reason behind its comeback is more than just superior sound – there’s a deeper psychological want and need.

Before all the audiophiles and hipsters chime in with cries of “It’s the only way to listen to music,” or “It sounds so much better,” I will agree those claims have some validity. After all, analog, unlike its digital counterpart, is not compressed into submission like the MP3 files we have on our smartphones.

But some would say this is purely a subjective argument. (You can check out both sides of the aisle on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, in an episode titled “Why Vinyl Sounds Better than CD, Or Not.”) In essence, the jury is still out on whether vinyl sounds better. So while there is some validity to this argument, it is safe to say sound quality is not the only reason people listen to this outdated gadgetry.

Listening to records is not simply listening to music – it is a ritual. Sliding the disc from its al-

EDITORIAL POLICY Niner Times is written and produced by students at UNC Charlotte. All unsigned editorials are the expressed opinion of the editorial board and do not represent the views of the University. Views expressed in signed editorials are solely those of the author. Niner Times is published on Tuesdays during the regular academic year except during holidays and exam periods.

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bum cover – which is an actual work of art – placing the needle gently on the record’s shiny black surface and, finally, listening to an album all the way through. When is the last time you did that?

It is in this ritual that our psyche finds rest as the routine settles us into the warmness of a favorite album. Our souls need rest from this crazy busy world, and taking the Doobie Brothers’ advice, we find rest when we take time and listen to the music for a while.

I am not opposed to convenience, and by no means am I calling for an all-out war on digital music, but I do think taking time to rest from our busy lives is needed in this world of instant downloads. Our culture is fast-paced. We are constantly on the go, streaming the next episode of “Friends,” cramming for the next exam and hopping from fast food to frozen dinners in an effort stay on top of the busyness.

We need a break. Imagine if you allowed your world to slow down long enough to appreciate good music. The scene is set: a favorite beverage in hand, a comfortable place to sit, phone turned off. You walk over to the record player and select an album. After placing it on the turntable and setting the needle in the groove, you sit and listen, taking in the soul soothing sound of God’s gift to humanity: music.

Take a break today. Turn off Netflix, the computer, smartphone, tablet or whatever. Slow down, and listen to the music.

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To the Charlotte Christian community after Chapel Hill Casey Aldridge

STAFF WRITER Last Tuesday night, I was up late and having difficulty falling asleep. Maybe it was curiosity that kept me up. I was thinking about a necklace I’ve been wearing since the beginning of 2015.

On the necklace is a cross, carved out of a bullet, which I received at my youth group back in 2009. My youth pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Concord, the Rev. Ben Acton, had given each of us one of these bullet crosses with a story of where they came from, and over the past month and a half, I’ve been searching for that story and meaning again.

I messaged Ben that night and asked him if he remembered the crosses and their significance.

He responded quickly that he did remember, and the story was as follows: The crosses are the craftsmanship of a Liberian artist who harvested bullets used in his country’s civil war to remake a symbol of hate and violence into a symbol of hope and love – the cross.

I fell asleep on Tuesday night satisfied with that story. But when I woke up the next morning and reached for my phone, I scrolled through social media to see the awful news that Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha had been murdered just off of the UNCChapel Hill campus.

It was clear to me from the moment I read the stories that the killings – in execution-style shots to the victims’ heads – were hate crimes and an act of terrorism. The mainstream news narrative that emerged since, however, implies that the murderer killed the three over a heated “parking dispute.”

Maybe they’re right; maybe the immediate cause of this tragic and

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sickening act of violence was over a parking dispute. But I’m convinced that the Chapel Hill shooting wasn’t only over parking. Rather, it was the physical manifestation of deep, pervasive antagonisms in our society.

Craig Hicks, the alleged shooter, may have been an atheist – or, more accurately, an “anti-theist” – but his prejudices were informed by a deeply Islamophobic society, which Christians must hold ourselves accountable for. Here in the Bible Belt, Christianity is so ingrained into a culture of violence, racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and transmisogyny, that it certainly holds a level of responsibility in at least creating the conditions for this act of terror.

That brings me back to the bullet cross. As I worked with the Muslim Student Association on campus to organize a vigil for “Our Three Winners,” the Chapel Hill martyrs, I realized why I’ve been wearing that bullet cross nearly every day so far in 2015. I plan on attending seminary after college, and I want to grow up to be a preacher for a Presbyterian Church. Because of that, I want to stay grounded in my faith, and that’s why I wear the bullet cross.

I wear the bullet cross to remember every time Christianity has been at the receiving end of the bullet. I wear it for Oscar Romero and Palestinian Christians and Jesus of Nazareth himself and the martyrs of the early church.

But I also wear it to remember every time Christianity has metaphorically or literally been the bullet. I wear it for the Crusades and Inquisition, Manifest Destiny and social imperialism around the world and the violence my religion is

Deah Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, were killed Tuesday, Feb. 10. Photo courtesy of Tribune News Service

responsible for still today.

At the end of 2014, Leelah Alcorn – a 17-year-old transgender girl from Lebanon, Ohio – walked into traffic on I-71 to end her life. In her last message to the world, Leelah cried out for us to “Fix society. Please.”

That’s as much a call to all of us as it is to each of us. Leelah’s parents were religious and fundamentalist, and they didn’t accept or respect her preferred gender.

As far as I’m concerned, Leelah’s death wasn’t suicide – it was murder at the hands of a transmisogynistic society. It would be inaccurate and ignorant, of course, to blame that transmisogyny on religion alone. But it would also be inaccurate to ignore the church’s role in perpetuating systems of oppression.

When Leelah died, I dedicated

FEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

2015 to “creating non-exclusive, nonhierarchical and non-supremacist theologies,” and that’s a commitment that is deepened by the tragic events in Chapel Hill. Since the murders at our sister university, an Islamic school in Houston was burned down intentionally and a Muslim family was attacked in Dearborn, Mich.

This further heightens the need for theology that breeds love and not bigotry.

If I believe one thing as a person of faith, it is that Leelah and Deah and Yusor and Razan and Mike Brown and Jesus Huerta and Eric Garner and Lennon Lacy are all children of God. I’ll keep wearing my bullet cross as a reminder and to make sure that my Christianity is never the bullet again. I hope you’ll join me.

NINERTIMES

BACK ON THE

DIAMOND

Photo by Chris Crews

Opening day is right around the corner and no team in the country is more eager to put the offseason in the rearview mirror than the Charlotte 49ers. Head coach Loren Hibbs and his talented, but inexperienced squad will finally take the diamond on Friday, Feb. 20 after months of scrutiny surrounding an ongoing hazing investigation conducted by the University’s Student Affairs Division.

Details of the investigation have been minimal, but Chancellor Phillip L. Dubois released a statement in December announcing that Coach Hibbs had dismissed five players from the team.

No names have been officially released by the University, but there are glaring omissions of key players from last year’s team when you look at the 2015 roster on the Charlotte 49ers athletics department website.

Brett Lang, Mikal Hill and Des Roberts are all absent from the roster this season after making consistent contributions in 2014. Each player started at least 48 of Charlotte’s 51 games last year.

Lang called the shots behind the plate for the 49ers and finished with a .277 batting average, ranking third best on the team. Hill and Roberts tied for second with 23 RBIs apiece and were also the top two speed threats for Charlotte on the base paths. Hill led all players with eight stolen bases a year ago, and Roberts successfully stole five times in six attempts.

Hibbs relied heavily on these three for leadership and experience on a team filled with underclassmen, but will now face the daunting task of managing this season with just seven upperclassmen on his 30-man roster.

“We’re going to have to be patient,” said Hibbs.

“We’ve got 23 guys on our roster that are either freshmen or sophomores so we’re going to be even

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THE CHARLOTTE 49ERS BASEBALL TEAM IS READY TO TAKE THE FIELD AFTER OFFSEASON CONTROVERSY

Matt Chapman

SPORTS EDITOR younger this year than we were last year. It’s part of the builing process and part of the plan we’ve got in place. The good thing is we’ve got some young guys who we have some confidence in.”

On the bright side, Charlotte received key contributions at the plate from a trio of freshmen who will look to take the next step in 2015. T.J. Nichting, Logan Sheerer and Zach Jarrett all were thrust into a starting role right away as true freshmen and performed admirably despite the circumstances.

Nichting, Charlotte’s second baseman in 2014, tied for the team lead with a .283 batting average while leading the team with 56 hits and 13 doubles. He struggled early, but really hit full stride during conference play, batting .310 while collecting 10 of his 13 doubles on the season.

Sheerer is a do-it-all type player and a physical speciman at 6’3’’ 235 lbs. He played first base and also made 13 appearances on the mound in a relief role for the 49ers. Sheerer was the big bat in Charlotte’s lineup a year ago, leading the team with five home runs and 29 RBIs in his first collegiate season.

Aside from the ongoing hazing investigation, the biggest question mark for the 49ers heading into the new season has to be the pitching staff.

Charlotte lost all three of their weekend starters from last year, including Ryan Butler and Brock Hudgens who were both selected in the 2014 MLB Draft. Butler was the ace of the staff in 2014 and was selected in the seventh round by the San Diego Padres. He started 13 games on the mound and posted a 3.47 ERA which was the best amongst Charlotte’s starters.

“We’ve got more options. We’ve got more left-handed and right-handed options,” said Hibbs when asked about his rotation.

“We’re going to have a lot of freshmen and sophFEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

omores out there. We’ve got a few older guys and I think the older guys have gotten better from last year.

The 49ers also have an attention-grabbing schedule lined up for 2015. Charlotte will open the season with 18 consecutive home games in the Queen City before finally playing their first road contest on March 20 against FIU. Without a doubt the most anticipated game of the season will come on the final day of March when the 49ers play the N.C. State Wolfpack at the brand new BB&T Ballpark, home of the Charlotte Knights.

“It’s a crazy schedule when you look at how it’s set up,” said Hibbs.

“We’re playing about as good of a schedule as we could possibly play. To be the first ever college baseball game played at that stadium is something that not only our baseball team can be proud of, but also our university can be proud of.”

Coach Hibbs is entering his 23rd season at the helm of the 49ers baseball program. He ranks 43rd among active coaches in wins in the NCAA, winning 688 games during his illustrious career.

Despite all his experience, 2015 will likely be a different animal than anything he has faced in the past due to all the questions surrounding the ongoing investigation.

“Looking at our schedule and roster we know it’s going to be a grind. We expect a high level of performance, and we’re not going to be happy if we don’t play well. The reality is we’re going to have to have some time for these guys to develop,” said Hibbs.

The 49ers open the season on Friday, Feb. 20 with the first game of a four-game weekend series against the Akron Zips. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

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49ers dominate UTSA in annual Play 4 Kay The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team is now above .500 in conference play after a slow start to the season

Dylan Woodham INTERN

The Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team took on conference foe University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Saturday night in Halton Arena.

The 49ers donned pink uniforms for their annual Play 4 Kay game, spreading awareness for breast cancer.

“The Play 4 Kay turnout was great,” said 49ers head coach Cara Consuegra.

“The crowd was wearing lots of pink and I’m happy with the Charlotte support for a great initiative. I asked our players to play for those survivors and those who are fighting because they need to see strong players out there on the court.

I think our players really took to that and played tough tonight.”

After winning the tip, the 49ers also scored the first points of the game thanks to a Lefty Webster fast-break layup which was assisted by Ayanna Holmes. The 49ers went straight to a full court pressure, completely rattling the Roadrunners, forcing them into three consecutive turnovers.

The 49ers controlled the pace early, but strug-

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gled from the field. Sloppy play and missed shots from both teams led to a low scoring start with the 49ers leading just 14-9 at the under 12 minute media timeout. Webster led the way with six points at the break.

As play continued, the 49ers relentlessly pressured the Roadrunners guards as they forced nine turnovers and only allowed 14 points. Holmes was all over the floor with four steals in the first 15 minutes of action.

Kira Gordon came up huge for the 49ers as she continuously attacked the offensive glass giving the Charlotte multiple possessions.

She fueled the spurt that gave the 49ers a double digit lead at the half. She had 10 points with eight boards along with Webster who chipped in with six giving the 49ers a 32-17 lead at the break.

The 49ers came out of the locker room still maintaining the 15 point lead thanks to more prowess on the defensive end. Consuegra said after the game she was very pleased with the 49ers

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effort on the defensive end of the court.

“This was the best effort defensively this year,” Consuegra said.

“When we are in our press, we raise our intensity. UTSA threw some plays at us and I think we adjusted really well to that. It’s a testament to their focus and especially after a loss, it’s tremendous. One thing I like about our team is that every time we come off a tough loss, we’ve been able to bounce back.”

Olivia Rankin also saw success in the painted area like her frontcourt mate Gordon. Rankin was the recipient of many close range baskets as the 49ers continued to extend their lead, eventually escalating the lead to 18 points with 13 minutes remaining in the game.

With 10 minutes remaining, the 49ers saw trouble brewing as the lead was shrinking and Holmes, the starting point guard, picked up her fourth foul. Consuegra subbed in freshman Griffin Dempsey who handled the Roadrunners’ pressure with ease.

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“We saw no drop off in talent when Griffin came into the game,” Consuegra said after the game. “The bench did a great job.”

Dempsey and company picked the pace back up and continued to apply

Lefty Webster rises up for two of her 15 points. Photo by Benjamin Robson

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full-court pressure. Rankin and Gordon controlled the paint, along with a slashing Webster who always seemed to be near the basket.

The 49ers lead was steady around 14 points for most of the half, and the re-entrance of Holmes seemed to seal the deal. With the score at 61-47, the 49ers saw the game well in hand with only three minutes remaining.

The 49ers cruised to a final of 7454. Gordon led the 49ers attack with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Webster chipped in 15 points, and Alexis Alexander contributed 10 points off the bench.

“I was getting open, easy shots tonight,” said Gordon post game.

“We are just having fun with our team and the Kay Yow video really gave us all some motivation tonight on the court. Between us, it’s always communication and knowing who we have at that moment.”

Charlotte dominated on the backboards throughout the evening against a UTSA team that ranks near the top of the conference in rebounding. The 49ers finished with a 45-36 edge on the glass, including

Lefty Webster, 21, and Kira Gordon, 20, trap a UTSA guard in Charlotte’s full-court press.

Photo by Ben Coon

14 offensive rebounds.

“We rebounded great tonight,” said Consuegra.

“UTSA is the second-leading team in rebounding margin, so I’m excited about that and to win that battle by nine. We were very physical tonight, more physical than we have been all season and I thought our players

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kept their composure in the game.

We got the 50-50 balls and used them to our advantage, especially rebounding when we could.”

The 49ers moved to 10-14 on the year and 7-6 in conference play.

Charlotte will return to action on Feb. 19 at Louisiana Tech at 7:30 p.m.

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Gallery Review:

UNC Charlotte’s Student Union Art Gallery hosts installation artist Meredith Connelly’s ‘UMBRA’ Leanna Pough

A&E EDITOR If I had to give up the social science of communication, I would choose a career in the natural sciences, biology to be exact.

I remember my first college level biology course and how it rekindled a flame that hadn’t been lit since high school. Partnering with a classmate to dissect frogs, observe organisms under a microscope and identify the structures of plant cells.

Hard science and discovery made me feel smart.

Emerging American installation artist, Meredith Connelly’s “UMBRA” exhibit features intricate paper cut outs of magnified crystals, algae and cells, a nostalgic recap of a high school earth science class.

Connelly brings an artistic flare to science using metallic paint colors to depict nature, shades my colored pencils couldn’t create in class. In the first composition, “PG Crystalization,” Connelly’s work resembles the intricacy of snowflakes or old school floor tiles. “Kelp,” “Salt Crystal” and “Dragon Fly Wing” all capture designs, shapes and forms that would make any pattern junkie swoon. But, it’s

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the exhibits title piece, “UMBRA” that demands your attention when entering the gallery. The structure is about 9-12 feet tall and wide, and at first glance can be mistaken for a glacier. A closer look at the waxed paper and lighting, its multi-surface is more molecular in nature. Connelly said she believes illumination is one of the

Meredith Connelly uses lights along with wax paper to form ‘UMBRA” Photos by Leanna Pough FEB. 17 - FEB. 23, 2015

most magical phenomenons we encounter.

“Sculpting with lighting, my creations are held together by a channel of energy. As light diffuses through the layers of utilitarian materials, they are reborn in a textural way while leading the eye down a visual path,” said Connelly.

Lastly, Connelly uses bark, twigs and winter warped prickle bushes in “Pods,” a series of organic matter and plastic.

I’ve never been the outdoorsy type, but it’s nice to observe nature again.

Connelly often illuminates her work and sometimes employs interactive elements to connect and submerge viewers in her environment. Connelly said she is equally inspired by the textures and natural elements she works with everyday. By incorporating manufactured materials, Connelly reveals their surprising, innate organic qualities.

“UMBRA” will be on display in the Student Union Art Gallery until March 2. For more information and work from Connelly, visit her website at www.meredithconnelly.com.

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‘HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2’ PROMISES INSANE FUN Comedy film travels through time when a magical hot tub sends four friends into the future

Hunter Heilman

STAFF WRITER Don’t deny it, you laughed in “Hot Tub Time Machine”; there was too much craziness in it’s initial concept to ignore, and even if the film ended up being terrible, it was bound to have a cult following shortly after.

Well, five years later, here we are, with a cult following and a sequel.

But, will “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” live up to its original? The cast seems to think so.

In a recent conference call interview, the returning cast of Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke, talked about the dynamic of shooting the sequel, “It was no different. It was the exact same, which was really comforting and fun. That made it an easy work environment.” said Corddry, who reprises his deliciously irreverent role of Lou. This time around the craziness of the time machine takes our characters into the future, rather than the past, after the group has constructed new realities from their previous adventure. When asked about which time period the cast would want to go to, we got a hodgepodge of answers from the renaissance era, to Soul Train, to simply living in the moment and “I want to go back to any time that dueling was allowed” Corddry said.

The sequel comes five years after the release of the original, subbing

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Adam Scott into John Cusack’s original role as Cusack’s son. The film travels into the future to save Lou from getting killed as he does in their conceptualized present day’s.

The film’s trailer proves to be just as crazy as the original, spanning many different time period’s and incorporating many different elements into the film to make sure the film doesn’t suffer from “sequel syndrome.”

Judging from the trailer, I certainly think “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” will deliver to the crazy fans of the first film. Sequels of cult films often fall short, but in our new world of competent sequels, I can’t imagine this disappointing many people.

When asked the question of whether the cast would return for a third installment if this one were to do well financially, there was one resounding response from Craig Robinson that stuck with everyone, “You’re god damn right.”

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 hits theaters on Feb. 20.

Funny men Adam Scott, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke are sent 10 years into the future to prevent a deadly shooting.

Photo courtesy of Metro-Goldwun-Mayer Pictures and Paramount Pictures

Pennsylvania in 2006

ACROSS 1 Ray Charles’ genre 6 “Thank God” day: Abbr.

9 Swedish autos 14 Borden mascot 15 Cereal grain 16 Come from behind 17 Teen’s budding facial hair, informally 19 Place for a perm 20 One of many in a Lipton bag 22 Home buyer’s debt: Abbr.

23 Ceases 26 Sister of Rachel 28 Distributes by shares 29 Group nickname for Ringwald, Sheedy, Lowe, Estevez et al.

33 “Let’s go!”

34 Name of 18 French kings 35 “Toto, __?”: Dorothy 36 Caviar, e.g.

37 Country-drive view

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39 Jam holder 40 Nonprofit URL ending 41 Carpentry bit 42 Uncommon 43 Next-door resident 45 Gabor with an echoic name 47 Florida State player, for short 48 Native 49 Living room piece 51 “No chance of that happening!”

54 Relax, in slang 56 Speculation leading up to a February 22 awards extravaganza 60 Open, as a jacket 61 Tex. clock setting 62 Theater offering 63 Takes a nap 64 Fancy carp 65 Former Steeler star Lynn __, who ran for governor of

DOWN 1 Sales agent 2 Bass brew 3 Govt. intel org.

4 Style of wording 5 Command 6 Hoops ref’s calls 7 Demolish, as a building 8 Chichén __ 9 Yearbook sect.

10 Road travel org. freebie 11 Semi-autobiographical 1979 Fosse film 12 Opinion website 13 “Auld Lang __” 18 Pool legend Minnesota __ 21 Natural aptitude 23 Wrinkle-resistant synthetic 24 Author Leonard 25 Bubbly plum-flavored drink 27 Online market for handmade crafts 29 Dumb mistake 30 Penitent sort 31 Like a woodworker’s rasp 32 Seoul native 34 Toy block brand 37 Humorist Mort who wrote jokes for Kennedy 38 To the third power 42 Colorful post-cloudburst phenomenon 44 Hockey mask wearer 45 Alcopop brand 46 Hurricanes, e.g.

48 Spiny desert plants 49 Gulf War missile 50 “Don’t tell me!”

52 Relax on a porch chair, perhaps 53 Standard Oil brand 55 Hi-fi platters 57 Charlottesville sch.

58 Red or blush wine, familiarly 59 Buddhist sect

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PLAN YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE Many students may miss their opportunity to study abroad before they graduate. Find out what you need to do to apply for a study abroad program so you don’t miss out on an exciting adventure abroad

Amanda Duke

LIFESTYLE EDITOR Many students wish they had the chance to study abroad before they realized it was too late.

At UNC Charlotte, after you spend a semester of summer abroad, you must complete at least one more semester here on campus.

There are also many other qualifications, deadlines and steps you must complete before spending a semester or summer abroad.

The first step in studying abroad is to attend an information session. These sessions are held in the College of Health and Human Services office 256, the study abroad office.

At these sessions, a member of the Education Abroad staff will tell you exactly what the process to study abroad is and the different types of study abroad.

You will also get assigned a Study Abroad advisor. Your advisor will help you figure out which program and university will be best for you financially, as well as for your major.

These information sessions are Mondays at 11 a.m., Tuesdays at 10 a.m., Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4 p.m. and Fridays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

After you have attended an information session, go on to the study abroad website, edabroad.uncc. edu to research different programs that UNC Charlotte offers.

One of the programs is an exchange program.

For the exchange program, you pay UNC Charlotte prices for the university abroad you attend.

There are three different types of exchange programs.

For exchange programs UNC Charlotte Partners and UNCEP, University of North Carolina Exchange Program, students will be paying UNC Charlotte tuition and fees, but the abroad university’s housing fees.

For the last exchange program, ISEP, International Student Exchange Program, there are qualifications you will need to meet, unlike the other two programs.

You will need to have completed at least one academic year of classes at UNC Charlotte, be in good academic standing and have a GPA of 2.75

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or higher.

Students choosing this option will be paying UNC Charlotte tuition and fees, housing and meal plan.

There are many universities where you can study abroad through this option.

For a full list of countries, visit the study abroad website.

The second type of study abroad program you

can participate in is an affiliate program. With this program, you go through a third party to study abroad, but you still need to apply though UNC Charlotte.

There are many different third party programs that you can study abroad through that the university has already approved of.

These programs have single destination trips as well as multiple destination trips.

For this type of study abroad, you need to make sure that the classes you will take will transfer back to UNC Charlotte.

Some departments offer study abroad trips that last a few weeks over the summer or for a week over spring break.

This type of study abroad is called Facility -led Group Program. In this type of program, a UNC Charlotte faculty member and a group of students travel abroad together. They also take a class together and go on day trips together.

These trips are tailored to the group of students going based on their major.

Facility-led programs are usually led over the summer, fall and spring break. Most of the programs are held over the summer and your course of study depends on which programs you can participate in.

The application process for this type of program

“Visiting Paris made me never want to leave; it was more enchanting and magical than my wildest dreams.”

Alyssa Fronk Photo by Alyssa Fronk

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is the same as the other two types of studying abroad.

When you decide which program you would like to participate in, contact your study abroad advisor and make an appointment to meet with them to discuss which of the programs will work best.

Your advisor will also help you apply for the program of your choosing and which classes you will take while abroad.

There are multiple scholarships you can apply for to help you pay for your semester abroad.

For these scholarships, there are qualifications you will need to meet and the qualifications for each scholarship may be different.

There is a full list of scholarships listed on the study abroad website. They range from just paying for a portion of your abroad tuition, to the whole thing.

Some of the scholarships are program or country specific. Before you apply, be sure the scholarship will be able to be used for your program.

Once you have your trip all planned out, you will need to go by the Student Health Center to see if there are any immunizations that are required, or strongly suggested, before going abroad to the country of your choosing.

You will also need to apply for a passport if you do not already have one. You can apply for one at the Union Station in the Student Union for your convenience.

Alyssa Fronk, a junior, studied abroad in coun-

tries such as France, Italy and Spain last summer.

“Visiting Paris made me never want to leave,” Fronk said, “It was more enchanting and magical than my wildest dreams.”

Fronk enjoyed her summer abroad and found herself planning a trip to go back to visit before she even left.

Though many students choose to take classes abroad, you can also have an internship, a job or even just volunteer while abroad.

Planning an internship abroad takes a lot of planning. You will also need to go though the University Career Center to find and apply for an internship.

Though many students take a few classes as well as an internship, you can only take on an internship for course credits.

Many internships are unpaid, but some offer housing for international students.

If you do not need course credit for an internship, you can get a job or volunteer abroad.

If you are going to work abroad, you will need to get a visa to do so.

There are many different types of jobs that you can hold from being an au pair to tutoring children to learn English to even a full time job.

Be prepared to have the time of your life abroad and take many pictures, you never know when you will be able to have an opportunity like this again.

Photo by Alyssa Fronk

THREE STUDENT SPEAKERS AND THREE BELL RINGERS SOUGHT FOR MAY 8-9, 2015 COMMENCEMENT CEREMONIES

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