Volume 56 Issue 6

GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

www.grubellringer.com

VOLUME 56, ISSUE 6

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Police seize bogus bills

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter

ASHLEY TRAWICK | Staff

Peter Barbara, a police officer, rides the transport in the Allgood Hall parking lot on the Summerville campus Friday.

Device eases patrol

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter

“We bought them before we consolidated,” McBride said.

“We thought it would be kind of neat to be able to slide in between buildings, behind things and up close and in the dark spots.”

The Public Safety officers seem to like the transporters because they are much more than a normal police vehicle, McBride said. They are stealthy and quiet, which makes them environmentally friendly and speedy.

“They have a maximum speed of about 18 miles per hour, but we can control that and crank it down,” he said.

“Obviously, they are green because they are not gas powered. They have rechargeable batteries. You plug (the transporter) in, and the battery pack

The Department of Public Safety has acquired a new addition to the family, but this time, it is not an officer.

It comes in the form of a three-wheeled police vehicle, which is similar to a Segway.

“It’s (called) the T-3 Personal Transport,” said William McBride, the chief of police.

“They come with blue lights and sirens. I call them chariots.”

The personal transports are sold by Interceptor Public Safety Products, Inc., McBride said.

Not only does it have the normal police vehicle effects but the transporter also includes a small glove box and a pocket for ticket books and other things police officers usually carry around with them.

Chariot Facts

• Q:

How many chariots are there for Georgia Regents University?

• A:

Three. There is one for each campus.

• Q: How much do they cost?

• A: $6,000 each.

• Q: Where does the

money come from to purchase them?

• A: They’re budgeted

Campus police discovered counterfeit money in the possession of a student in the parking lot of Allgood Hall on the Summerville campus Oct. 25.

The 16-year-old male was arrested on one count of counterfeit money, said William McBride, the chief of police at Georgia Regents University.

“On Thursday, the day before the arrest, somebody passed a couple of bogus $2 bills,” McBride said. “Somebody bought some food in the Jaguar Student Activities Center or whatever with the $2 bills.”

Campus police confiscated the $2 bills, and after they were examined, the $2 bills were deemed fake, McBride said.

“The next day, Friday, the goober shows back up and tries to spend two more,” he said. “They are kind of alerted by now, and they called us and we swooped up on him.”

Kia Barr, a witness at the scene, said she saw the arrest as it took place.

“He was already in handcuffs when I saw him,” Barr

• Q: What company were they purchased from?

• A: Interceptor Public Safety Products, Inc.

Information from William Mcbride

SGA confronts parking fees This additional fee raised many questions for Allen.

“Why are we paying an extra $35 fee when we were not informed of this in the beginning?” Allen said. “Why are we doing this in the middle of the semester as opposed to this being done at the beginning of the semester, or just waiting until January to implement your new plan?”

College of Science and Mathematics Senator JoAnna Molina said the addition of a new fee mid-semester was wrong, since most students have already spent their financial aid money by this point.

“I think it’s not only irresponsible but inconsiderate for them to charge you $35 in the middle of the semester,” Molina said. “I have still refused to pay it and will continue to refuse to pay it until somebody speaks to me and gives me a clear answer.”

Adding insult to injury, Allen said, was the terse response she received from Karl Munschy, the director of Auxiliary Services, when she reached out

Consternation over the newly enforced parking fees for Summerville students continued at the Student Government Association meeting Friday.

Kelly Allen, a nontraditional student at Georgia Regents University, addressed SGA in order to raise concern over the fees and the manner in which they have been enforced.

“At no time did they inform you that you had to pay an extra $35 fee,” Allen said. “So I went to go pick up my permit from the ladies in the (Jaguar Student Activities Center). They were telling some students that they had to pay $35 because some of the students were saying sometimes they park on campus but sometimes they don’t because they’re part-time students.”

Allen said after obtaining her new permit, a $35 fee was added to her Pounce account, despite her understanding at the time that her parking fee had been covered at the beginning of the semester by her student fees.

to him via email for a clarification on the issue.

“His first response to me was a cut-and-paste of what the parking and transportation system was,” Allen said. “So trying not to be overall mean or anything, I had to redirect myself and say, I’m a 47-year-old, nontraditional returning student, so the cut-and-paste kind of insulted me. I need an actual answer.”

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Kevin Frazier, the Graduate SGA adviser who served as the substitute adviser for Friday’s SGA meeting, voiced empathy for the concerns of the students.

Frazier recommended inviting Munschy to speak at a future SGA meeting where students could attend and ask questions about the parking and transportation policies at the university.

The executive board of the SGA decided to take Frazier’s advice and plans to invite Munschy to address SGA and the Georgia Regents student population at a future meeting this semester. mindyawadley@gmail.com

Light Up the Night

Survivor’s walk for domestic abuse.

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rperbets@gru.edu

out of the police budget, which comes from funds from the state of Georgia.

see CHARIOT on PAGE 3

By Mindy Wadley copy editor

said. “I saw the officer pat him down.”

During the pat-down, McBride said, the officer found more counterfeit money on the suspect.

“He had 38 fake $2 bills,” McBride said. “It was a ridiculous thing because they weren’t even the right size.”

The suspect had black hair, Barr said. He had pale skin and was wearing jeans and a black hoodie.

Upon the arrest, Barr said the suspect did not seem worried about the situation at all.

Because the suspect is considered a juvenile, McBride said they did not put him in any type of jail and released him to his parents.

“He said some kid in Atlanta gave him 40 of them,” McBride said. “So we called the Secret Service because they have primary jurisdiction of all counterfeit money.”

Gina Thurman, the assistant dean of students, said she is currently unable to comment on the student’s future.

“Right now, I cannot confirm or deny anything or that there is any kind of issue,” Thurman said. “We are waiting on an investigation and a complete investigation report.”

PAGE 2

MEGAN STEWART | STAFF

Students speak to nonprofit organizations’ representatives Thursday.

New courses provide real-world experience

By Megan Stewart arts & life editor While many students may feel as though classes they take won’t directly influence their future careers, one class intends to bridge the gap from school to real-world experiences.

Writing in the Community and Technical Writing are two courses the Department of English and Foreign Languages has provided in the past.

However, in the spring, the department intends to link the courses with nonprofit organizations in a community service aspect, said Mike Garcia, the director of the College Composition Program.

“It’s interesting; we have literature and we have creative writing, and right now, we have this track that’s called

rhetoric and composition,” Garcia said. “And I don’t think a lot of people know what that is, and that’s the type of work I do. Things like technical writing, professional writing and maybe advanced academic writing sort of fall into that umbrella. So it’s the type of stuff that, in a lot of ways, are a little bit more immediate than some other types of writing. In other words, you’re accomplishing something in a more concrete way. It’s more transactional, I suppose, than academic writing.”

Robert Bledsoe, the interim assistant chair of English and Foreign Languages, formed the idea of this project while he was participating on a committee with Jeremy Rueggeberg, the Georgia execsee WRITING on PAGE 2

Trivia Time Local restaurants host quiz nights for bar tabs and other prizes.

PAGE 6

Softball Clinic Olympic gold medalist visits Augusta, Ga.

PAGE 11

PAGE 2

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Writing CONTINUED from PAGE 1

The voice of

Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser MATTHEW BOSISIO mbosisio@gru.edu editor-in-chief LEIGH BEESON kbeeson1@gru.edu

news editor ASHLEY TRAWICK atrawick@gru.edu arts & life editor MEGAN STEWART mstewar7@gru.edu sports editor JORDAN WILLIAMS jwill143@gru.edu chief reporter REBECCA PERBETSKY rperbets@gru.edu production manager JACQUELYN PABON jpabon@gru.edu production assistant NIKKI SKINNER nskinner@gru.edu photographer NEIL DAVENPORT dportneil@comcast.net staff writers RICHARD ADAMS JORDAN BARRY KEREYIA BUTLER MEREDITH DAY JACOB SCHARFF MAGGIE SMITH correspondents AMY THORNE contributor JACOB THIGPEN circulation manager RIDGE UNDERWOOD runderw2@gru.edu advertising manager RAVEN NORRIS rnorris2@gru.edu webmaster JAMIE LOWE jlowe12@gru.edu Direct advertising inquiries to: Marie Pierce, National Sales Manager Media Mate mpierce@mymediamate.com Address all correspondence to: The Bell Ringer 2500 Walton Way Augusta, Ga 30904 706-737-1600 www.asubellringer.com

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ASHLEY TRAWICK | Staff

Students prepare to start the Survivor’s Walk with lighted candles Oct. 24 in honor of domestic abuse survivors.

Survivors speak out

By Jamie Lowe and Maggie Smith webmaster, staff writer The color purple lined the Quadrangle on the Summerville campus Oct. 24 as supporters rallied to support domestic abuse survivors for Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

It has been part of Georgia Regents University’s campus since 2006, said Allison Foley, an assistant professor in criminal justice. The Safe Homes of Augusta Survivors Walk started in 2009, making this year’s event the fourth year for the Safe Homes walk. Violence Awareness Month was originally initiated by members of the Criminal Justice Club, she said.

“After that year, it changed and there were students from all different groups like the social work program, the criminal justice program and more,” Foley said.

The Criminal Justice Club wanted to raise awareness about domestic violence with events that would be similar to the events hosted by Safe Homes annually in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Shortly after the conception of Violence Awareness Month on the campus, Safe Homes agreed to help sponsor the event.

Safe Homes is a domestic violence intervention program that transitions victims out of unsafe situations, according to its website. The first Safe Homes shelter opened in 1983, and for the last 30 years, Safe Homes has provided emotional counseling, legal help and a safe environment for transitioning survivors throughout the CSRA. One of the keynote speakers for the event was Danessa Elreya, an Augusta, Ga., native who was recently crowned Miss

ashley trawick | Staff

Community members, volunteers and students attend the Survivor’s Walk, which was held in the Quadrangle on the Summerville campus Oct. 24.

Georgia Latina and is also a survivor of domestic violence.

“This is my first event for my platform as Miss Georgia Latina, which is domestic abuse,” Elreya said. “Up until now, I’ve worked mostly in Atlanta, but I want to form a Latino support unit here in Augusta for victims of abuse.”

The other speakers for the program included Gretchen Caughman, the provost for Georgia Regents; Kim Easterling, an assistant district attorney in the Augusta-Richmond County Judicial Circuit; and Michele Schott, the owner of Global Medical Executives, LLC, and a member of the Board of Directors for Safe Homes.

Schott spoke of her previous history with domestic violence at the Survivor’s Walk, sharing her story publicly for the first time.

“Safe Homes assigned me a case worker and helped me form a plan of action,” Schott said.

“When I knew I couldn’t go home, I put that plan of action into use. I went to my lawyer the next day, and he asked, ‘What do you want me to do? You’re married to him.’ After that, Safe Homes helped me attain a legal order of restraint and helped me

out of that situation. It’s been a long road, but I’m in a better place now.”

Students of various majors filled the seats of the inside of the purple-lined tents to hear the testimonies of the survivors.

Faculty members, including Assistant Professor of English Marie Drews, were pleased by the turnout.

“It is important for students and members of the community to hear survivor stories,” she said.

“There is something so powerful about students getting the opportunity to see concepts play out in real life. It gives them a personal connection.”

Drews said she hopes the walk inspired students who had not previously been involved to join in the support of the cause. jlowe12@gru.edu msmith91@gru.edu

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Monday all day

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Monday 4 p.m.

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utive vice president of sales and marketing for iBuddyClub Inc., Rueggeberg said.

Rueggeberg is an advocate for nonprofits, and due to his experience within the field, they both said it was a good fit.

“I felt like I could network the people that I knew, who have needs,” Rueggeberg said.

“Most of the nonprofits in Augusta (Ga.) are pretty small.

They have about four people, and one or two of them are paid staff. They don’t have the capabilities, the time and effort to expand their social media footprint, to do regular newsletters or to update their website – let alone to research and write a grant.”

After reaching out to some of the organizations in Augusta, Rueggeberg said he found the range of material the groups need also fits into multiple curricula.

In order to promote the courses, Garcia held an event in the Jaguar Student Activities Center Breezeway Oct. 29 to allow students to speak to the nonprofits involved in the coursework, see some sample work and learn more about the course, Garcia said.

The course is not only for English majors, although it is a 3000-level class, he said. The interim chair, Wendy Turner, is overriding the normal prerequisites to students who want to get involved as long as they’ve completed English 1102.

“We’re trying to actually break down the barriers that have existed before, that have kept non-English majors from registering in a course,” Garcia said. “What we want are students from any major that would be dependable.”

Along with pushing the courses to a range of majors, the department ultimately wants to utilize the courses to make an impact, Bledsoe said.

“I think it’s a great way to build not only your resume but build yourself,” Bledsoe said.

“I mean, what an opportunity to work with these organizations and hopefully make a difference. Maybe not a huge difference but make a difference, and get out there and get some work experience.” mstewar7@gru.edu

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Lanier’s Meat Market brings a country feel

By Richard Adams staff writer

Wayne Lanier wanted to give the downtown community something he felt the area didn’t have: a fresh meat market.

Lanier’s Fresh Meat Market, located at 1831 Walton Way, between the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses of Georgia Regents University, opened Oct. 7 and is a new phase of a longstanding family tradition in the meat business, Lanier said.

Lanier and his family formerly owned and managed Lanier’s Fresh Meat Market on Deans Bridge Road. He said the business, prior to closing, had served the area for 42 years. The location in Blythe, Ga., though, had begun to show a decline in patronage, he said.

“People would drive 20 miles out to it,” Lanier said. “It was a dirt road. Not as many people were making the drive out there as there used to be.”

When the family closed the original store in 2011 and his brother decided to leave the meatpacking business altogether, Lanier said he did not have a new location in mind. The idea to move closer to downtown Augusta, Ga., he said, initially came from carefully listening to his former patrons, who had been informing him for years about their desire for a store like Lanier’s.

The store, he said, gives the neighborhood not just a new shopping option but also the atmosphere of a country store. In addition to the top-shelf steaks

RICHARD ADAMS | Staff

Wayne Lanier, the owner of Lanier’s Fresh Meat Market located on Walton Way, restocks the shelves with various types of meats and products.

and specialty locally raised beef, he said the store also offers old-fashioned hoopcheese, fresh and frozen vegetables, homemade sausage prepared according to a 40-year-old family recipe, and specialty meats like frog legs, alligator and rabbit. Hospitality, Lanier said, is also something he and his staff strive to offer.

“We personally greet and get to know our customers, and our customers get to know us,” Lanier said. “Our cus-

tomers tend to want to deal with you once you get a relationship.”

Cashier Kimberely Clark has worked with Lanier for two years, and she was quick to say why she believes Lanier has been so successful in drawing in customers, both old and new.

“They couldn’t wait till he opened,” Clark said. “It’s amazing.”

Allan Moore, a former customer of the Deans Bridge Road location, said he

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has driven across town to the new location twice already. He said he was devastated when the Deans Bridge Road store closed but told Lanier that no matter where the business reopened, he would continue to be a customer.

“I don’t mind driving down this way,” Moore said. “I know if you look at the distance it seems far, but it’s not if you want some good meat. radams99@gru.edu

Mental health: Accepting there is a problem Series Part 3 of 4

By Mindy Wadley copy editor Patterns of mental health symptoms that occur consistently and cause significant disruptions to a person’s ability to function are often diagnosed as mental disorders.

Amy House, a psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at Georgia Regents University, said some of the most debilitating mental disorders are personality disorders.

“Personality disorders are really patterns of behavior, thoughts and feelings over time,” House said. “So the idea is that personality disorders are considered part of the develop-

mental process that you would see these patterns in the way that people think or feel or interact with others or respond to their environment. ” House said one of the more impairing personality disorders is borderline personality disorder, which she described as a condition causing people to experience a mismatch between their environment and their sense of self.

“A child who is especially emotionally vulnerable, who has an emotionally vulnerable temperament, finds himself in an environment that is illequipped, or sometimes despite the best of intentions, unable to provide sufficient validation for that child,” she said.

BPD affects around 1.6 percent of the U.S. adult popula-

tion, according to the National Institute of Mental Health website.

Reckless, impulsive behaviors like those exhibited in BPD patients can also be caused from a manic state of bipolar disorder, said Dale Peeples, an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Georgia Regents.

For diagnoses of mental disorders, students can make an appointment with a psychiatrist at Student Health Services or a private physician. Therapy services are available through the Counseling Center. mindyawadley@gmail.com

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Learning to accept your situation Information contributed by PsychCentral.com Strategies: “distracting, self-soothing, improving the moment, and thinking of pros and cons”

Distress Tolerance 4

Information contributed by PsychCentral.com

Dean of College of Education speaks on merger progress

Chariot is good for five or six hours.

When it starts to run low, you just pull in (to the station) and the other one is being charged, so you just swap them out.”

There are currently three transporters, McBride said. One stays on the Health Sciences campus, another is located on the Summerville campus and the third one is used by Parking Services.

The Public Safety officers and Parking Services employees are not the only people who think the transporters are a good addition to the police vehicle lineup.

Kristyn Coogler, a sophomore nursing student at the Summerville campus, said she is also excited about the transporters and what they could do for the campus.

“I think that it is a good idea,” Coogler said. “They can get to places more easily and places vehicles can’t get to, and it’s faster than walking. They could respond quicker to certain situations.”

The Four Mindfulness Modules of 1 “observe, describe, and Dialectical • What: participate” • How: “non-judgmentally, one-mindfully, Behavior and effectively” Therapy Interpersonal Effectiveness 2

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CONTINUED from PAGE 1

Fall 2013 Move-in Special For All Applicants during

October 1st – November 1st

Happenings around campus

PAGE 3

Fresh meat on Walton Way

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copy editor MINDY WADLEY mindyawadley@gmail.com

THE BELL RINGER

By Jamie Lowe webmaster

ASHLEY TRAWICK | Staff

Public Safety officers use the personal transport to get around campuses.

Officers have a lot of walking around that has to be done in order to check buildings, said the assistant chief of police, Eugene Maxwell. They have to go in and out of the buildings and the transporter would make the normal tasks less work for the officers.

Even though officers may not be using the transporter as often as they could be, Coogler said she still thinks they will help with enforcement and will help cut down on response times.

“Our campus is more widespread, I think; I am not exactly sure,” Coogler said. “The build-

ings aren’t all jumbled together, so if someone’s in a building that’s not supposed to be in that building, they can get there faster on (the transporter) versus walking.”

Maxwell echoed Coogler’s sentiment on the convenience added by the new transport system.

“That’s a big campus, and there is a lot of walking around up there,” Maxwell said. “It would be extremely beneficial.

It goes right into doors. I have taken it up in the elevators in the research buildings, so you can take it anywhere.” rperbets@gru.edu

A room full of educators were educated for a change at the Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Cindi Chance, the dean of the College of Education, held her annual State of the College of Education address Oct. 25.

The speech opened with a video, recently produced by IT Services, lauding and showcasing the work the College of Education has done in the last year.

Items on the budget included merger positives, merger negatives, programs of distinction and new technology.

Chance opened by talking about the programs of distinction, including partnership, student and faculty distinction.

“I keep trying to tell (the downtown campus) that we’re more than an undergraduate campus,” Chance said.

“Last year alone, we gave

out 232 graduate degrees and 130 undergraduate degrees, with most of the degrees (being) in early childhood education with a close second place in kinesiology. That doesn’t sound like ‘just an undergrad’ campus to me.”

One of the other major topics of discussion was faculty and student research and grants.

Technology was also what rounded out the address of the College of Education, as new, cutting-edge technology has been offered to teachers and professors.

“We begged for the Curriculum Center to be moved into the College of Education,” Chance said. “That was granted to us, and the Center was upgraded with brand new technology valued around $1.5 million. Some of the technology is 2D and 3D technology that will be available for teaching and research.” jlowe12@gru.edu

PAGE 4

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

opinion editorial Merger strikes again: No rings for December ’13 and were upperclassmen when the university merged with Georgia Health Sciences University in January.

But no, the bigwigs at Georgia Regents aren’t allowing it.

The Jostens rep said the design for a “GRU ring” had yet to be approved, but students can expect to be able to purchase a class ring come Spring 2014.

That may be great news for those graduates, but what about the ones finishing up this semester? Will those grads be able to purchase rings come May 2014 that list their 2013 graduation date?

After saying the only available rings were for “downtown,” the rep offered her sympathies to The Bell Ringer staffer, saying she regretted that this semester’s graduates weren’t going to have the commemorative piece of jewelry.

The whole graduation process seems rather disorganized this year, with some students having to result to ordering certain graduation accessories, mainly sashes and cords, off websites unaffiliated with the university because of a miscommunication between the administration and departments offering major- and departmentspecific regalia. Department heads told students to check with the JagStore in order to

Jordan barry | Staff

purchase sashes for graduation, but the bookstore employees said to check with the departments because they weren’t sure whether students were going to

be permitted to wear sashes at graduation at all.

So the cycle of confusion that enveloped the merger from the beginning continues.

Beware uncharitable charities

By Jacob Thigpen contributor Last month, pink was the new black. We proudly pinned pink ribbons on pink shirts, wore pink hats, some of us pink shoes. Many of us looked like the pink Power Ranger, ready to destroy the evil breast cancer that attacks more than 200,000 American women each year.

In 2009, the NFL joined the battle against breast cancer by creating its “A Crucial Catch” program to promote awareness of the deadly disease. Players wore pink wristbands and socks while coaches adorned themselves with pink hats, each becoming walking (or running) billboards for the country’s most popular sport to spread breast cancer awareness.

Fans are given an opportunity to purchase NFL-licensed clothing and merchandise covered with pink as a way to support the crucial fight against breast cancer. The league then takes a percentage of sales made on pink apparel and donates it to the American Cancer Society.

Buying pink NFL gear sounds like a win-win situation for the dedicated fan; you get to support your team while also supporting breast cancer awareness, then the NFL does the donating to the ACS for you. Looks like football fans are going to take out breast cancer one pink purchase at a time with help from the sweethearts over at the NFL. Most of the money they get from pink sales has to be funding research … right? According to Forbes, the league will make around $9 billion

in revenue. Clearly there’s plenty of money in Roger Goodell’s pockets that for one month he can drop the NFL bottom line and donate most of the money made from merchandise sales to the ACS … right?

Wrong.

According to a story by the Business Insider, about 8.01 percent of the money fans spend on pink merchandise is actually donated to cancer research. Basically, of the $100 you probably spent on that official pink hoodie or T-shirt, only $8 went to fight breast cancer. Understandably, 37.5 percent of the sale pays the apparel manufacturers, but the NFL keeps around 50 percent of the leftover money since it acts as the primary retailer selling merchandise through the NFL website and at individual team stadiums.

Sweethearts? More like bittersweethearts.

There’s no shame in buying marked-up, pink merchandise to show awareness for such a deadly disease.

However, if your intent is to fund research, your money would go much farther if you got rid of the middleman and donated directly to the ACS. The NFL isn’t the only organization misleading the public into thinking its money is going a far to fight breast cancer. Some businesses around the country try to take advantage of pink October by promising to donate a portion of sales for the month to breast cancer, according to a story from the Herald Tribune.

What these business fail, purposely, to tell customers is that they cap donations at a certain amount, never

editorial policy

informing them when the cap level is reached. Customers then continue to buy a little extra, believing the added spending is helping the fight when it’s really not.

But we can be deceived by organizations fighting many causes, not just those fighting breast cancer. Countless charities representing causes from fighting child abuse to helping veterans use their names to prick the hearts of potential donators, while also fooling them into believing their dollar is making a big impact.

The Tampa Bay Times published a list showcasing the 50 worst charity organizations in the U.S. The top charity on this list, Kids Wish Network, raises $127.8 million a year, but $109.8 million goes back to charity solicitors and those working for the charity. The Kids Network is not a true charity.

It’s a for-profit organization hiding behind a false image of helping sick children.

Pathetic.

Before donating money to a charity or spending extra at a business that claims it will donate a healthy portion to a cause you support, do some research first.

The Better Business Bureau has a list of accredited charities at bbb. org that will get the most out of your donation. You can also use the BBB website to research businesses that donate portions of their sales to a charity.

Charities support causes that are close to our hearts. Make sure you know which ones are going to take your money as far as it can go. jthigpe4@gru.edu

Letters to the editor must be accompanied by the author’s email address. All columns and letters to the editor are the opinion of the author. The views expressed in the opinion section do not necessarily express those of The Bell Ringer, a designated public forum.

Anything submitted to The Bell Ringer is open to be edited or rejected. However, The Bell Ringer staff gives all opinions a fair chance to be heard. All letters will be edited for grammar and style.

If you would like to contribute a column or a letter to the editor, send an email to: bellringerproduction@gmail.com

PAGE 5

Making decisions on life and death

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Turns out students who liked their experience at the former Augusta State University aren’t going to be able to put a ring on it.

During the first day of the so-called Graduation Fair, which consisted of one whopping table from yearbook- and class ring-giant Jostens, a member of The Bell Ringer staff was told sympathetically by the Jostens representative that the December 2013 graduates of Georgia Regents University will be unable to purchase class rings.

Why? Because Georgia Regents rings do not exist.

If you check out the Jostens website and search for “Georgia Regents University” class rings, it brings up several available options … for the Medical College of Georgia and the medical college only.

Because the medical school at Georgia Regents is still called MCG, it makes sense that its current grads receive the old design until a new seal is created and approved. Following this logic, though, it would only be reasonable to assume December graduates of our newly merged institution would be able to purchase the old Augusta State rings, especially considering the vast majority of these soon-tobe graduates started their upperlevel education at Augusta State

THE BELL RINGER

Fall 2013 grads appear to be simply out of luck. And students at the Summerville campus get the short end of the merger stick. Again.

Letter to the editor Cross dressing costumes should be accepted at Halloween, always Dear Editor, As a woman of little, but just enough, class and dignity, I would like to know: Why do people think that I can’t be a male character for Halloween if I so desire?

I have decided that my thriving social calendar dictates I must have two different Halloween costumes this year. For both costumes in question, I plan to attend two different social events with two different, darling friends of mine. Each of them wishes that my costume would complement her own, which has already been previously decided. I, being the sweet friend I am, could not rob them of their Halloween fun so I’ll play along. Their characters, Flo from the Progressive commercials, and Jess from the hit TV show “New Girl,” dictate that I bring my A-game and represent the characters of Mayhem, of the All-State commercials, and Schimdt, of “New Girl,” as their companion characters. It is true, I could be Jess’s Nick of New Girl, but I find Schmidt to be hilarious and would rather be Schmidt as it seems I am to play a male role. (I don’t have the patience, fashion sense or enough melanin to pretend to be Cici, Jess’s best friend from the show “New Girl.”)

Now, I see these roles as endearing and hilarious, and in no way feel I’ve received the proverbial “short end of the stick.” Yet all of my companions and workmates ask, “How are YOU going to play Schmidt?” or say, “You can’t be Mayhem, you’re a woman!”

Now it is true, God endowed me quite well from the chest up. Well, really just the chest. Either way, I’m not sure if the opinions of those who seem to doubt my ability to play these characters are because of my gender and proportions or my cute, sweet disposition.

Either way, I’m offended and think it is morally reprehensible that a woman in her twenty-somethings is looked at oddly when she desires to dress up as a male counterpart to her female friends’ female characters.

This isn’t the Dark Ages, people. Wanting to role play as the opposite sex should be totally accepted, although it seems some people are a little late in receiving that memo.

Silence DoesLittle silencedoeslittle@yahoo.com

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In the last six weeks I gave two men permission to die.

I can’t begin to tell you the depth of my heartache. It seems like every day my heart gushes and breaks over the smallest triggers that remind me of “my boys.” Suffering is unbearable, but I know I’m not the only one who suffers.

My friend Bill, whose name isn’t really Bill but I’d like to protect his posthumous privacy, committed suicide roughly six weeks ago. His other close friend, who was also his roommate, and I grieved hard.

Bill’s mother came forward and introduced herself, telling us how thankful she was that Bill was our friend and that we tried to help him. She told us that he was quiet and didn’t have many friends here since they’d moved to Augusta, Ga., while Bill was in high school a few years ago. We hugged each other, kissing tears from cheeks and grasping at air, bitterly trying to understand. We all vowed to stay in touch to honor Bill’s memory.

Only a week later, my own mama called me home to tell me that it was my brother’s time.

Jon had been really sick for a long time. Four years ago, in the space of a few weeks, he had multiple strokes and a heart attack. In a matter of a few weeks, he went from being a produc-

Jamie Lowe webmaster tive citizen to a man who had to move back home into his mama’s house for fear of living alone and the fear of dying alone.

His health deteriorated quickly over those years. His kidneys started to shut down after his most recent heart attack.

In the last week of his life, they tried desperately to get him into the car to go to dialysis. He’d become too weak to lift his body into the four-door sedan.

He looked at my mama and said, “Leave me here in this chair next to the car. I want to catch my breath and think.”

They came back, and he said, “This isn’t living.”

He decided to stop dialysis Thursday, and my mama called me the next morning. I went home indefinitely to help my family surround my brother with love and ease his passing.

I look back at both cases and realize that, at some point, each asked my permission and the permission of others.

With Bill it was hard to pinpoint the conversation. He told me one night that I could have any of his stuff in his storage unit I wanted.

Jamie Lowe I Staff

Jon Lowe made the life-or-death decision to end his treatment of dialysis after four years of suffering kidney failure.

I retorted, “I told you I’d help you clean up that mess.

We’ll do it over Christmas break.”

I looked back at him, and he had real tears in his eyes, along with a real look of incredulousness on his face.

“I didn’t plan on living that long, Jamie.”

He promised me he wouldn’t do anything to himself, and he’d talk more to his therapist.That was the last night I ever saw him. I didn’t realize that was his way of saying goodbye.

Two weeks later, I sat on my brother’s bed next to him.

He’d become housebound in the last few weeks of his life and bedbound by the time I showed up that Friday. I sat next to him in the same spot I always did. I reached out and gave him a onehanded back rub.

He looked into my eyes, with tears in his, and asked if I was all right with his decision.

I told him I loved him and wanted him to be happy and comfortable. He smiled and thanked me. My mama and I stayed by his side until he died

Monday morning.

I continue to struggle, even as time continues to pass. Some days are really good and some aren’t good at all. I struggle the most when people try to console me or ask, “if I’m OK.” The only realization that makes me continue to try to function normally is that other people are struggling just as much as I am.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and we will bear through this pain.

We have to. jlowe12@gru.edu

Star Wars: Out with the new, in with the old It’s been a year since the announcement of “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and I’ve made it through periods of shock, depression, excitement, anger and anxiety.

Yeah, maybe a bit much for a reaction to a film, but Star Wars has always been a huge part of my life, and after the disaster of a trilogy the prequels were and then being forced to watch the original trilogy get ripped apart through special editions, I don’t know how much more of my childhood I can take getting destroyed.

I’ve spent a lot of time, probably too much time, pondering on how the prequels could have been saved, and my conclusion is, beyond the poor casting, terrible screenplays, annoying characters and cheesy lines, the real problem was with the special effects.

OK, that’s not entirely true.

If I were to be completely honest, nothing could have saved

Meredith Day

Unfortunately, these characters “just don’t look as good as their puppet

staff writer

counterparts.

the prequels because they were all around awful and unnecessary. But, for the sake of this column, I’m going to say the main issue was special effects.

To start off, puppets are amazing. They have been used to tell stories for thousands of years and are still an important part of storytelling today. The original Star Wars trilogy used puppets to create some of the most memorable characters in film, e.g., Yoda and Jabba the Hutt. These characters felt real because they were real, in the sense that they existed on the set and were actually filmed. After “Episode I,” which still had puppet Yoda in the theatrical version, the prequels completely ditched puppets in favor of com-

puter-generated characters.

Unfortunately, these characters just don’t look as good as their puppet counterparts. In addition to this, when watching the prequels back to back with the original trilogy, switching from the new CGI look to the old puppet look makes the films feel as if they belong in separate universes.

Another problem I have with the special effects in the prequels is nearly all of the scenes were filmed not on a set but in front of a green screen.

Sets help set the mood for the actors, and the problem the prequels ran into is some of the actors, mostly Hayden Christensen who played Anakin (aka Darth Vader aka the most important role in the trilogy), weren’t tal-

Fall break is necessary for students

mday4@aug.edu

Sign up for SGA seats

By Ashley Trawick news editor Why can’t the Georgia Regents University administration understand that students on both the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses need a fall break?

Every year when the planners of the academic school year sit down to discuss and work out details regarding the calendar, they should also consider the well-being of the students. It’s us paying the tuition, ridiculous fees, and room and board, especially in university housing.

It’s not fair for us to have go through months of work, stress and complete chaos when they have vacation and sick days.

We can’t do that unless we skip class, and most of the time, even excused absences are counted against us.

From Labor Day to Thanksgiving, we are bombarded with

”

ented enough to perform with as little context as a single moving platform in a big green room.

Also, like the problem with CGI to puppets, switching from sets to green screens makes the films feel like two separate trilogies rather than one full set of movies.

Now, I’m not completely opposed to CGI. There are many films that have used CGI effectively to create wonderful new universes, such as “Avatar.”

However, I think CGI is best used when it is mixed with traditional effects to create a complete universe. The best example of this, in my opinion, is in Guillermo del Toro’s films “Pans Labyrinth,” “Hellboy” and “Pacific Rim.” In these films, entire sets, puppets and costumed

characters are created, and CGI is added to complete the scene.

If the prequels had done this, I think the films would have not only looked much better but would have worked better as a series.

While my complaints for the prequels may be a bit dated, my hopes for the new trilogy are high. There have already been a couple of early reports that producer Kathleen Kennedy wants to use actual locations and sets rather than opting for an allgreen-screen approach, which is promising. Also, J.J. Abrams, while not my favorite choice for director, has done some great work with sets and effects in the past with films such as “Super 8.”

However, as Yoda said, “Always in motion is the future,” and until the actual filming begins, it’s impossible to pass any good judgments on the new trilogy.

LEIGH BEESON | STAFF

Vacationing in the mountains is a favorite pastime for many students in Fall.

Ashley Trawick news editor exams, quizzes, papers, labs and midterms all while dealing with work, family and daily responsibilities with being an adult. The two or three days, considering one’s schedule, which is supposed to be a weekend is not long enough at all.

Once school ends on Friday, it is 7 a.m. on Monday before we all know it, and the hustle

and bustle of another week begins again. Forty-eight hours is simply not enough to catch up on homework, to study, to work and to take care of ourselves and our families, especially for those who have kids.

Of course, we can use the Counseling Center and other services that are provided on campus to air out our frustrations, but what’s so wrong about receiving a reasonable amount of time to take a breath during the fall semester?

Forget the concept of a fall pause. We need a full week. atrawick@gru.edu

Buddha once said, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.” I want the students of Georgia Regents University to apply that philosophy.

As president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association, I have developed a task force for freshmen and a task force for transfer/non-traditional students. These task forces will help bring fresh ideas from each set of demographics to SGA and help to develop these ideas. We will accept 6-8 applicants from each of these groups. Applications can be found at www.gru. edu/students/sga. The deadline is Nov. 15, 2013.

Amanda Bryant SGA President Don’t forget to submit your SGA seal application. We still need senators, so fill out your application today. Keep your eyes open for guest speakers coming to our meetings with important information about your fees.

As always, our meetings are open to the students. They are held Fridays at 1:30 p.m. in the Coffeehouse located on the second floor of the JSAC. abryant9@gru.edu

WHAT DO YOU THINK? email The Bell Ringer at bellringerproduction@gmail.com Check out www.asubellringer.com for more opinions

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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THE BELL RINGER

Kings and queens

ARTS & LIFE

perform in drag

www.grubellringer.com

Writer shows new title to enthusiasts

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter Fans of “The Notebook,” “Dear John” and “Safe Haven” were given the opportunity to meet Nicholas Sparks, the man behind the books, Oct. 26.

The Columbia County Library held the event, An Evening with Nicholas Sparks, at the Lady Antebellum Pavilion in Evans, Ga., and despite the cold weather, the fans came out in full force.

In the weeks leading up to the event, the library screened three of Sparks’s movies on the first three Tuesdays in October in the performing arts theater.

The Friday before the event, “The Notebook” was screened outside in the amphitheater behind the library, said Mary Lin Maner, the director of the Greater Clarks Hill Regional Library System.

“It took a couple of years working with his publicist to actually get a date and everything all settled,” Maner said.

“We have been looking at trying to get him for a couple of years because he is one of our top circulating authors.”

During the event, Sparks spoke to fans for 45 minutes

about where he found inspiration for the many books he has written and also gave fans, some of whom were writers, tips and advice on how to write a good novel.

Other fans were simply excited to meet Sparks, but the reasons they enjoy his books vary.

Ashley Windley, a senior instructional designer at Georgia Regents University, said the reason she was excited to meet Sparks was because of the types of novels he writes.

“He writes about experiences that people actually have,” Windley said. “It is easy to relate.”

Windley wasn’t the only fan who had a different reason for wanting to meet Sparks. Jodi Dyer, a stay-at-home mother, said she relates to his stories because she is a romantic.

“I like that his stories are all about romance,” Dyer said.

“There are real people you can relate to, and they are in the South.”

With the ability to bring Sparks to the Augusta, Ga., area, Maner said, there is also the possibility that other well-known authors will come to the area in the future. rperbets@gru.edu

rebecca perbetsky | staff

Nicholas Sparks, an American novelist, screenwriter and producer, holds a book-signing session after giving a speech at the Columbia County Library.

By Nikki Skinner production assistant

S

neil davenport | photographer

Mike Sleeper, the host of trivia at Pizza Joint in Evans, Ga., Wednesday nights, hypes up guests for the trivia game.

Trivia entertains many

By Jamie Lowe webmaster

Augusta, Ga., is getting more informed with each passing Monday and Wednesday, all thanks to one local resident.

Mike Sleeper, the owner of Regal Beagle Productions, hosts trivia night once a week at Pizza Joint in Evans, Ga., Wednesdays and at Wild Wing Café on Washington Road Monday nights.

“It all started when I used to go out to trivia night with one of the corporate managers of the Pizza Joint in Evans,” Sleeper said. “I said I could do a better job, and he asked me a few weeks later to start hosting trivia. That was three and a half years ago.”

Trivia night with Sleeper is fairly simple. A player comes, individually or in a group of two to 15 players, and they are handed a stack of cards by the host.

Those cards are all stamped with a number, which the host uses to tally each team’s points. At the end of the night, all of the points are totaled, and a winner is announced.

The process for the host, though, is much more involved, Sleeper said.

He spends up to eight hours per week preparing the trivia show, Sleeper said. His show is

primarily made up of videos, the questions, the answers and the music video interludes, which play before, during and after trivia night. All are prerecorded videos, many with video and sound accompaniment.

“It’s really a full-blown show,” he said. “My job is to get (patrons) up and excited and entertain them.”

Sleeper doesn’t have to do it all on his own, though. George Green, the Regal Beagle Productions producer, said he is happy to lend a hand.

“I started playing trivia a year ago at Pizza Joint,” Green said. “I stayed after and would (talk to Sleeper). He said he needed a production guy and I was happy to. I have kind of an obsession with ‘Jeopardy’ and trivia anyway.”

Green serves as a “last minute fact checker,” as well as helps to set up and take down equipment during trivia nights, he said. He runs the sound board Sleeper brings, making sure the videos and music are played at the right times.

The crowds at each week’s trivia night are typically large and unique to each location.

Trivia, like most weekly events, fluctuates seasonally. During the spring and summer, Sleeper said, the crowds are bigger, and

during the winter the crowd slumps off.

“Sometimes we have as many as 40 to 50 teams a night,” he said. “Those teams can be one to 15 people, but either way I usually bring in at least 100 people a night.”

Although each location brings large crowds, each location’s patrons make up a unique group, Sleeper said.

“Wild Wing Café’s crowd is much more serious,” he said. “(The restaurant) has a full video set up and better sound equipment due to bands that come and play regularly. That being said, Pizza Joint in Evans is a huge party. Each location is fun.”

Each week, patrons scamper to turn in answers and gain points, all in the name of bragging rights and winning the week’s prizes, Sleeper said.

Prizes are usually cash or gift cards to the restaurants at which the events are hosted, valid for a meal or credit on the winner’s bar tab at the establishment.

While Sleeper and Green travel between restaurants, there are regulars who follow the trivia duo each week. Sharon Garn, an Augusta patron, said she brings her family to trivia each week. jlowe12@gru.edu

Local bars display passion for sports

By Megan Stewart arts & life editor Walking into a place full of televisions, ranging in size, can create a special atmosphere for those looking to enjoy sporting events.

Somewhere in Augusta, located at 2820 Washington Road, has been under the ownership of Cindy Fiske and her husband for nearly four years while also being consecutively voted the No. 1 sports bar in the area since they took over, Fiske said.

Being able to walk into Somewhere in Augusta and see more than 40 televisions lining the walls and booths isn’t the only thing that has its customers coming back, Fiske said. A lot of the bar’s popularity relies on it paying attention to its customers.

Another bar in Augusta, Ga., that has become popular among the locals is Buffalo Wild Wings at

120 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway. The general manager, David Bullock, said although the restaurant is a franchise, the store still focuses individually on the guests who visit in order to decide what is played on its televisions.

“You have to pay attention to who’s coming into your restaurant from week to week,” Bullock said. “You have to watch the jerseys coming in, the hats coming in, to see what people like.”

Although paying attention to the customers’ demands is important to both Fiske and Bullock, they also both said having the right packages with television companies, such as DirecTV, plays a major role in a sports bar’s success.

With 64 televisions lining the walls of Buffalo Wild Wings, Bullock said Buffalo is able to provide a variety of sports. While see SPORTS on PAGE 8

jacquelyn pabon | staff

Melissa Grey steps into the spotlight at Sky City in Augusta, Ga., Saturday.

ky City in Augusta, Ga., hosted the second annual drag cabaret put on

by Lambda Alliance and Georgia Regents University Equality Friday night.

This show came about after talking to people from other college campuses, whose Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning groups used drag shows to help raise money, something that seemed like a great idea, said founder Justin Neisler, whose stage name is Ivey Dripp.

“We were hoping to raise maybe $200 but we ended up raising $890,” Dripp said.

“It was insane.”

Lambda Alliance and GRU Equality wanted the event to help bring students of all ages together. Their communal goal is to help bring the LGBTQ community together.

The event featured performances by local drag king and queens Hayden Lowe, Ivy Dripp and Melissa Grey while the band She N She, a local queer-inclusive indie rock band, volunteered to provide free music.

After a successful first dragshow last year, the groups decided to bring it back, according to their Facebook pages.

“This will definitely be an anual event every fall,” Dripp said. “We are hoping to find somewhere more accessible for freshmen and sophomores.”

For future performances and shows, keep an eye on the GRU Equality Facebook page. nskinner@gru.edu

jacquelyn pabon | staff

Participants in the show get ready before performing in drag.

jacquelyn pabon | staff

Leslie Larue performs for the audience at the drag cabaret.

School brings big shows to the theater

By Ashley Trawick news editor Plays have a way of broadening horizons and looking at things differently.

The Oscar Wilde tale “The Importance of Being Earnest” is being produced this season and teaches lessons in marriage, morality and hypocrisy. Carolyn Cope, the show’s director and an associate professor of communications, said the way the show was brought to Georgia Regents University was through faculty members discussing different shows they think would be appropriate for the students or shows they would enjoy working on.

“What we do is try to have a balance with new works, which we include our play festival in that because we do student-writ-

ten plays in the spring,” Cope said. “As a balance, sometimes we try to do what we call the classics of some sort. So this year, I was thinking about what we might do for this season, I was thinking about something in a style of acting or style of playwriting that we hadn’t worked on previously.”

Over the years, she said, the theater department has done plays by Moliere and William Shakespeare and Greek tragedies but never an Oscar Wilde piece. Of all of his plays, she pitched “Earnest” because she said she felt like it was more accessible to the students in terms of life experience.

The cast and crew practiced for six weeks in their rehearsal room in Washington Hall on the Summerville campus, but once they stepped into Maxwell The-

Writers’ series teach skills in a literary form

By Jordan Barry staff writer Many writers’ conferences in the Southeast have died off due to hard economic troubles, but at Georgia Regents University, one has survived.

The Sandhills Writers Conference was established in 1975 by the late professor Charles Wallig.

“There was a need,” said Anthony Kellman, the director of Sandhills. “Today you have a lot more conferences in different states in the South and so on, but back in 1975 there were very, very few, and there certainly wasn’t any in this particular area.”

Wendy Turner, the interim chair of English and foreign languages, said although many writers’ conferences have disappeared recently due to the high costs to put them on cou-

pled with a lack of attendance because of higher travel expenses, Sandhills has survived.

Through the years, the conference has changed into a series to cut down on expenses, Turner said, because it was too important to cut out completely.

It now has quite a reputation in the Southeast.

“I think these smaller, one day, coming for the afternoon-type conferences are going to make it,” Turner said. “They’re going to stay alive because people still crave that.

They can’t go away for the big $2 to 3,000 workshops, but they can come to something like this, and we’ve kept ours free.”

This semester’s installment of the Sandhills series featured established authors Manette Ansay see SANDHILLS on PAGE 8

ashley trawick | staff

Carolyn Cope, the director of “The Importance of Being Earnest” helps actors with their roles for the play’s debut Thursday in the Maxwell Theatre.

atre to rehearse, Cope said they adjusted pretty well.

“Of course, I’ve got a few of them in the cast that are more experienced than others,” she said. “Some of them have actually worked on that stage. You can kind of pick out the ones who have been around the way a little bit.”

The cast is a different mix of majors from biology to psychology to theater. If a student is interested in being in a play, they don’t have to be part of the communications program or theater track at all, Cope said.

Ben Wheeler, the technical director and an assistant professor of communications, is in

charge of the scene and lighting design. He said in his stagecraft course, the students learn how to build sets, and they’re currently working on the set for “Earnest.”

Ashley Rivera, the stage manager and a senior communications major, makes sure the set is accurately done and makes sure the cast shows up for rehearsal. She said if the cast wasn’t great at being on time and being professional, it would be a lot harder to manage.

“They know what they’re doing,” Rivera said. “I’m very grateful to have a cast like this one.”

The play is a modern romantic comedy with a little twist, she said. How students may be able to relate to the play is the ups and downs of a rela see EARNEST on PAGE 8

Study Abroad Photo Contest Photos displayed on GRU Study Abroad Facebook webpage.

Voting on Facebook will begin on November 1- 11, 2013 The Grand Prize winner and other winners will be announced on November 12 at the keynote speaker event of International Education Week. www.gru.edu/studyabroad to get to the Facebook page Study Abroad

Photos by Nikki Skinner and Megan Stewart

By Amy Thorne and Megan Stewart staff writer, arts & life editor

Students will kick off another summer in Spain this June.

Individuals participating in the study abroad program to Salamanca, Spain, will study at the University of Salamanca June 27 through Aug. 2 and participate in various activities to enrich their Spanish learning experience, according to the Study Abroad website.

On first arrival, students will experience culture shock, said Jana Sandarg, a professor of Spanish.

“When all you know is Georgia, the whole world must be like Georgia,” Sandarg said.

“It’s necessary to have that culture shock because that’s the learning curve.”

The length of the trip, five weeks, also adds to the experience of the culture, she said.

Students gain more from a trip that lasts longer than two weeks.

“If you’re going for a couple of weeks, they go in with the mentality that they don’t have to adapt,” Sandarg said.

The trip has many highlights, she said, such as the running of the bulls, shows from bands from around Europe, the trip to Barcelona beach and the ability to visit the Salvador Dalí museum.

One of the aspects of attending the trip is learning Spanish

actively rather than sitting in a classroom because students learn quicker and have more confidence to talk, she said.

Kayla Rodgers, a junior pre-pharmacy major who attended the trip this past summer, said her experience proved to be more of a language immersion than a culture shock, although her first week proved to be the most difficult to her.

“You’ll be surprised how much you know when you actually get there,” Rodgers said.

“By day three or four you get used to using (Spanish) all the time.”

Another part of the trip is to board with a host family from the area, she said.

“My host mom didn’t know English,” Rodgers said. “She knew several words and would figure out where we were trying to go with it if we really were struggling. A lot of things we think are said one way, she would tell us how we use phrases. The host parents have been doing it for a while.”

How the language is used and how phonetically it is supposed to sound is similar to the way people use grammar books because one doesn’t speak like that each day, she said. The teachers were young and understand how the students learned, which made it easier.

However, Rodgers said one big adjustment was the sense of time.

“You don’t eat lunch until 2 or 3 o’clock, and we would eat dinner around 9 or 10 (p.m.),” she said. “Walking everywhere is a huge thing (too). Most people don’t take the bus or use a cab, (and for) food, you have to walk 2 miles to get to a restaurant.”

While this was a type of vacation, Rodgers said, students have to use their brains and learn as much as possible to advance their conversational abilities.

Karleigh King, a graduate of Georgia Regents who is now an AmeriCorps member working in Denver, attended the trip last summer as well and said the trip provides the students with experience they need later in life.

“You’re living in the culture, (and) that was my favorite part and the most different,” King said. “It’s helped tremendously because I actually got a job out here where there is a very high Spanish population. At every school, at least 75 percent or more of the student population is Latino.”

While many students are nervous upon arrival to the country, King said she took her professor’s advice when she said to just be open to the experience because the whole point is to be a learning experience.

“They work to live; we live to work,” Sandarg said. “They live, and they know how to live.” athorne@gru.edu mstewar7@gru.edu

Sandhills CONTINUED from PAGE 7

Megan Stewart | staff

Augusta, Ga., locals fill sports bars in town to watch various sporting events.

Sports

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

football games can be credited with bringing both of the bars their busiest evenings, pay-perview events also cause a rise in customers.

“I go out for a lot of sporting events, but my favorite one to catch is UFC,” Justin Roberts, 28, of Augusta, said. “I try to go wherever I can see it on the largest amount of TVs so I can actually hear what’s going on.”

Other than the sporting events to drive customers, Somewhere in Augusta has broadened its services by adding things like trivia, live bands and poker to the week, Fiske said.

The nightly specials, various events and customer service can cause customers to return,

but Bullock said the main goal is to make people feel like they’re in a stadium setting.

“Everybody can’t make it to a stadium, but we try to make it feel like you’re (in one),” he said. “It is loud for some people who don’t like it too loud, (but) we just like to bring our beer and our wings and have the atmosphere that encourages people to yell and scream at their team and try to get them motivated.”

However, food plays an important role as well, Roberts said.

“There are several places that claim to be a sports bar,” he said. “But I want to walk in and have great food, great service, numerous amounts of TVs and a variety of beer before I consider somewhere a genuine sports bar.” mstewar7@gru.edu

and William Wright.

Ansay, a creative writing professor at the University of Miami, said writers’ conferences add value to the curriculum, and she wishes they could have one at her university.

“I know about the series because (there’s been) some really huge writers here in the past,” Ansay said. “It’s a well-funded series and (the school is) lucky to have it. We have to go scrambling at UM for funds every time we want to invite somebody; it’s a battle to get the money. So it’s really nice (they) have this.”

One of the main purposes of having visiting authors is to complement the creative writing program. Students have the opportunity to apply for the Mary Lu Kuhl scholarship. If they are selected, they can have their writing reviewed by one of the visiting authors, she said.

“Even if the visiting writer says exactly what the residential writers say, sometimes we can say it differently in a way that can be heard,” Ansay said. “And it’s just really important that

Around Town Jacob Scharff staff writer

ashley trawick | staff

Paul Jones and Bobby Jones practice Oct. 21 for theIr upcoming play.

Earnest CONTINUED from PAGE 7

tionship or girls being deceived by a guy and vice versa.

“Sometimes that falling in love is fun,” she said. “And you sometimes meet an equal like both guys (in the play) do. Both girls are equals of the guys.

They’re both smart, eloquent and obviously beautiful so they like that. I’ve seen that happen – (it’s) happened to some of my friends.”

Performing in plays is relaxing, said Chris Venable, an actor in the play and a post-baccalaureate student. After having been acting for so long, remembering lines just comes to him naturally, he said, and for the show, his character, Algernon, adds a lot of complex but funny moments.

“It’s kind of loaded with a lot of puns and stuff like that,” Venable said, “which makes it funny and complicated.” atrawick@gru.edu

people get together as a community if they have an interest in writing in the arts because real life doesn’t make a lot of space for that.”

One of the four students who received the scholarship this semester was Jaleesa Mitchell, a junior majoring in creative writing and social work. She said she had her work reviewed

by Ansay Oct. 22 prior to the series.

“She was really helpful,” Mitchell said.

“She decided to critique my work, and she helped me figure out some of the punctuation marks and helped me figure out where I could go with what I wrote.”

Mitchell said the scholarship is not the only benefit of having the series though.

“I think the whole purpose of the Sandhills Writers Series is to get us introduced to people who have already made it,” she said.

“Usually they use local authors. So, because they’re local authors it really opens your eyes to, ‘Hey, I don’t have come from Los Angeles, California or somewhere to do it. I can do it right here.’” jbarry3@gru.edu

Band makes its comeback after 15 years

By Richard Adams staff writer Beneath Jeff Mangum’s beard, he could have been almost anyone.

But when he performed Oct. 23 at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga., with his band Neutral Milk Hotel for its first tour in 15 years, there was no mistaking who he was. Behind the microphone, this was the one place where he could not hide.

And he seemed completely at peace with this.

I expect if you have no idea who Neutral Milk Hotel is, then an explanation is in order.

Fifteen years ago, Neutral Milk Hotel put out its second full-length album and, shortly after beginning the tour to promote that album, disbanded. In the

Richard adams | staff

Neutral Milk Hotel, an American indie rock band, returns to the stage after a 15-year separation.

meantime, the record without a tour, “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” had gone on to sell more than 300,000 copies in the band’s physical absence.

During this time, those who have stumbled across the band’s music and found a strange kinship in it, a wholehearted embrace of all that is strange and lovely in the human condition, have had to settle with what already existed: music, which while of a very fixed quantity made up for it with its extraordinary

quality of presence.

As the years sank in and the record progressively became a staple at college radio stations (where I first learned about this enigmatic consortium of musical magic), the question everyone seemed to ask was, “Why would a band this good ever stop making music?”

There may never be a satisfactory answer to that question. This is now a moot concern because Neutral Milk Hotel is back, and, folks, the band is astonishing.

Welcome to the next generation in gaming Companies Sony and Microsoft are about to fire their latest volleys in the console war.

Sony was the first to strike with an event in February that, while it didn’t show off the new console, announced specs and showed some game footage and tech demos that intrigued a lot of people.

Microsoft launched its first salvo in May when it unveiled its new system via press conference. The system looked interesting and innovative, but there was very little revealed on actual games for the system as Microsoft chose to focus on the all-in-one entertainment idea for its console, which shows you can now play games, watch TV, surf the web and much more all through the Xbox One. What Microsoft did reveal, though, which sent shockwaves through the gaming world, was digital rights management policies that across the board were seen as awful. The new system would be online all the time and a Kinect camera had to be attached to the system for it to even operate.

Not to mention, the system would not take used games and friends could only borrow games with special codes for limited amounts of time.

Microsoft ended up reversing many of its policies after a debacle at E3, but its lineup of games is very similar to Sony’s exclusives, and Microsoft still has the higher price tag and later release date of the two systems, plus many gamers like myself are still not convinced.

I don’t have the means to get a system on launch day, but the games I really want are all coming out on PS4.

Most of the game series I get, like the yearly WWE titles, will undoubtedly be on the PS4 as well. I’m not saying there’s no chance I will get an Xbox One, but I can tell you that I will be a getting PS4 first. jscharff@gru.edu

The fact is a simple one: This is a band, which when together, makes the most beautiful music.

The dynamic with Neutral Milk Hotel is a unique one. The center of the band, especially with an album as nuanced as “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” is Mangum’s lyrics.

In this spirit, he took the stage alone.

The first song was “The King of Carrot Flowers, Part I,” but he wasn’t alone in singing – the audience matched him word for word.

The song, like much of the band’s material, is a thematically difficult piece: Its lyrics deal nakedly and vividly with the defenses with which adolescence guards itself against the impending specter of adult failure. The intimacy of these emotions, no matter how elliptically expressed, was magnified by the single spotlight that shone on Mangum.

What began quietly and precipitously quickly became as explosive a piece of raucously energetic music you could ever expect to hear.

Neutral Milk Hotel, welcome back. radams99@gru.edu

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comics

The ‘dog days’ are over crossword puzzle ACROSS 4. America band who wrote and performed the song ‘Wild Pack of Family Dogs’ 5. Breed of blue-grey dogs made famous in the art of William Wegman 7.Constellation named after a mythical dog 11.America’s organization for pure-bred dog 12. The name of Odysseus’s faithful canine companion 13. Famous American in the 1950s who wrote the popular song “Hound Dog’ 14.Painting by Diego Velasquez, which features a large dog in the foreground putting up with an ornery child

DOWN 1.A non-profit organization based in the United States that helps abandoned animals find new homes 2. Relationship of the upper and lower jaws when the mouth is closed 3.The Obama’s dog ‘Bo’ is pure-bred 6.Surgical removal of a portion of a dog’s ear to make it stand erect 8.Breed of Nana, the dog nanny in Peter Pan 9.One of Led Zeppelin’s hit songs 10. The name of the rough border collie that rescued Timmy from the well

DOWN 1.humanesociety 2.bite 3.portuegesewaterdog 6.cropping 8.newfoundland 9.blackdog 10.lassie

Program shows many international learning

THE BELL RINGER

ANSWERS ACROSS 4.modestmouse 5.weimaraner 7.sirius 11.americankennelclub 12.argos 13.elvis 14.maidsofhonor

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 11

sports

The sideline report

www.grubellringer.com

Blood drive packs a punch

Jordan Williams sports editor

Kansas City Chiefs spear competition

By Jacob Scharff staff writer

Neil davenport | photographer

The men’s head basketball coach Dip Metress wears a funky costume during the basketball teams’ introduction during the Jaguar Madness event Oct. 24.

Jaguars bring madness

By Maggie Smith staff writer

Students cheered with excitement for the introduction of the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the Jaguar Madness event held Oct. 24 at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Black curtains draped from the ceiling, covering the student section of the bleachers, and the court was blacked out for the big reveal of the 2013-14 men’s and women’s basketball season.

Fog machines were on display as rapper Young Rome, along with members of JagSwag, performed for the crowd with a song featuring the “I believe that we will win” chant.

JagSwag, a student organization at Georgia Regents University, hyped up the crowd by running around fan sections waving a flag with the school’s new colors and logo.

Following the performance, the players of the women’s and men’s basketball teams were introduced individually. Each player had a unique entrance.

They showed their personalities through different songs and dances.

Freshman Sharon Ascherman said she enjoyed watching

neil davenport | photographer

Georgia Regents University students participate in a doughnut-eating contest to win Krispy Kreme doughnuts for a year at the Jaguar Madness event.

the introductions of the players.

“It was hilarious watching all of the players come out,” Ascherman said. “I really enjoyed watching them getting involved with the crowd. I also liked seeing them interact with the rest of their teammates. All of the players seem so close.”

Even though the crowd cheered for the players’ introductions, the crowd really went wild with the entrance of men’s basketball Coach Dip Metress.

Metress’s performance had the crowd laughing hysterically with the dance moves of the Dougie and Soulja Boy. Along with the arrival of the

coaches and players were the new jerseys for the men’s and women’s teams. The men sported white jerseys marked GRU Augusta, with blue stripes down the side. The women’s jerseys were a bit different. Their jerseys were solid navy blue with a white basketball outline.

Members of the crowd seemed pleased with the look of the jerseys. GRU Augusta Director of Athletics Clint Bryant said he was glad for the fresh new look of the teams.

“Athletics will have a look all its own, a look representative of each of our 14 men’s and women’s athletic teams and the

student-athletes who compete,” Bryant said.“I’m really excited about our logos and our brand and I’m sure it will serve us well for years to come.”

The night also contained activities where the crowd could get involved with players from the teams. There was a doughnut-eating contest featuring Georgia Regents students. The winner of the contest received free doughnuts from Krispy Kreme for a year.

There was also a game titled the Hot Shot Contest. This game involved two teams playing on opposite sides of the court. Each team consisted of one player from the men’s team, one from the women’s team and one fan from the crowd. The teams had one minute to score as many points as they could by shooting baskets.

Assistant Media Relations Director Taylor Lamb said he was glad to see excitement from the fans about the event.

“It’s great to see our fans and members of the community get excited for the new season,” Lamb said. “We’ve had such a great turnout. I can’t wait to see our fan section continue to grow during this new season.” msmith91@gru.edu

It’s the thrill of the fight.

That’s what brought the Evans Fitness Club and Greubel’s Mixed Martial Arts together Oct. 26 for the Out for Blood event, a blood drive and fight night meant to raise money to send a team of kickboxers to Turkey to compete.

Along with the fights and donations of both blood and money were costume contests and an armbar competition.

One of the coaches from Greubel’s Mixed Martial Arts, Chris Elms, kept watch over part of the armbar competition and was the man the judges reported to when time was called on the competitors.

Elms said the eight matches that had been fought prior to the armbar competition were what are known as smokers.

“We do, like, a quarterly smoker, which gives our amateur up-and-coming fighters the chance to practice and iron out all the wrinkles before they go out in the world and compete for real, on record,” Elms said.

Danny Velez was in the fourth match of the night against Reggie Kitchens. Velez said he trains at Greubel’s to hone his craft, and he really feels at home there.

“What I’ve gathered as a member is that they care a lot about the person,” Velez said.

“They know you by name, they greet you when you come in and they know when you’re gone for a while.”

One of the men who competed in the second match of the night was Mark Greubel, the owner of Greubel’s Mixed Martial Arts.

His match at the blood drive was the first fight in 13 years after taking time to start a family.

“Eventually I’d like to win another title, but I’m going to take it one step at a time,” Greubel said. jscharff@gru.edu

Freshman golfer makes immediate impact

By Jordan Barry staff writer GRU Augusta added a fresh face to its golf team this semester.

Freshman Eunice Yi, a marketing major, has been golfing since she was 14 years old.

“I just have this really good feeling after I practice,” Yi said.

“I love practicing. I like coming out here every day and knowing that I’m improving after I practice. I just love that feeling, and it’s fun. I don’t know; I just love it.”

Yi graduated high school in May 2013 and was offered a sports scholarship for golf at GRU Augusta.

“I’d read about her in papers and had seen her at junior golf events, and I became good friends with her swing coach who was telling me a lot about her,” head coach Kory Thompson said. “So I watched her play in junior golf tournaments throughout the summer.”

Thompson said Yi brings talent and a great personality to the team.

“She’s played great golf,” she said. “She’s really consistent. She got second place and sixth place in two out of the three events. That’s pretty strong for a freshman. You don’t see that very often.”

Yi’s teammate Casey Kennedy, a senior kinesiology major, said she agrees with Thompson.

“She works really hard,” Kennedy said. “She’s always out here. She always has a positive attitude, and she gets along well with everyone on the team.”

Though golf is typically viewed as an individual sport, GRU Augusta golf is a team endeavor. Yi said this is the first time she has actually felt like part of a team while playing golf.

“You have teammates, and you bond with them too, so it feels like a team,” she said.

“You contribute to the team, so

if you don’t do well, and you’re one of the top four scores it affects the whole team.”

Thompson said certain scores get counted and teams place, but there is also placing for individuals.

“We go to tournaments,” she said.

“You play five players and four scores will count each time after each day, so you can drop the worst score each day. And the next day it could be a totally different person whose score that you drop. So that’s how it’s a team effort.”

Thompson said the coaches only require 20 hours of practice every week, but the course is open to the team anytime, and Yi takes advantage as much as she can.

“I told her she needs to take a day off every now and then,” Thompson said. “But she works hard and she’s a perfectionist and wants to do as well as she can.” jbarry3@gru.edu

Jordan barry | Staff

Freshman golfer Eunice Yi gets in the zone during practice at the J. Fleming Norvell Golf House by listening to Eminem and Tupac while improving putts.

By Jordan Williams sports editor Nikki skinner | Staff

USA national softball pitcher Jennie Finch chats with softball camp participants and offers advice at Riverview Park in North Augusta, S.C.

Finch tutors fantatics

By Nikki Skinner production assistant

Even in their offseason, athletes work to hone their skills, no matter their ages.

Riverview Park hosted a softball camp with Jennie Finch, a former American softball player and member of the USA national softball team. Her softball camp was held Oct. 26 and 27 for girls in the third grade on up. “(As) softball players, this is what we try to do in our offseason,” Finch said.

“We can’t have real jobs because we spend our time away playing. While being a part of the USA team, the girls gave me the idea for camps.”

Finch said she wanted to put together a team of her own people for this camp.

She looked for people she had worked with over the years and combined a team of people from different camps she had attended in an attempt to find the best of the best.

The camp was set up to cover as much as possible

in a short period of time. To make this possible, attendees were broken down into groups and activities were divided into different stations, said Aubrey Lamar, a third baseman at Lander.

There were people from all backgrounds in attendance and from as far as Minnesota. Allen Benner from Brunswick, Ga., said this was by far one of the best camps he’s attended.

“Other camps that I’ve attended like this covering these fundamentals cost around $300,” Benner said.

“This event has much better coaching at a much lower rate.”

Another thing that stands out about this event was the family involvement, Benner said. Many times at this type of event the organizers discourage family involvement at the camps, but at this event Finch was all about family involvement.

“We welcome parents for every single part of it because we are throwing a lot of information at them,” Finch said. “We are here to teach people, and we want

the parents to be able to help implement what we teach them while they are here.

Some of my greatest memories growing up were at the field with my family.”

Finch demonstrated how important the role of family is by having her father come in and talk to both the children and the parents. He told them how much time goes into a sport like softball and the support level the children need from their parents.

Another great thing about this event is that Finch was highly involved.

She wasn’t just a face for this event, Benner said. She got involved, answered the participants’ questions and would talk to them, not just talk at them.

“This was an opportunity of a lifetime for me,” Lamar said. “I grew up watching her play, and the chance to work with her and meet her was amazing.”

The Jennie Finch Softball Camp has been running for eight years now, and this is the second year it was hosted in North Augusta.

Finch said she doesn’t pick

Finch’s Accolades •

2002 Honda Award, “Nation’s Best Player.”

•

2002 Pac-10 “Pitcher of the Year.”

•

2004 Olympic gold medal softball team member.

•

2008 Olympic silver medalist.

•

2009 Japan Cup “Most Valuable Player.”

•

2009 World Cup champion.

•

2010 World Cup champion.

•

2010 Women’s Sports Foundation “Team Sport Athlete of the Year” nominee.

where they are going to go; it is up for venues to contact Finch and let her know they want them to come and set up a camp.

“North Augusta and their staffs are amazing and so much fun to work with,” Finch said. “The facilities are bar none and a great place to come and hold this event.” nskinner@gru.edu

iCan run, iCan cycle, iCan kayak

By Kereyia Butler staff writer The inaugural iCan 4 iPads fundraiser is reaching out to the community to help those with developmental and cognitive challenges.

Mark Swanson, a committee member for iCan 4 iPads, said the idea to have a fundraiser started from a parent advisory group at his job Accent, Inc., a service provider for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental retardation.

Swanson said someone from Walton Options, a company similar to Accent, Inc., came to his job, did a demonstration on the iPad and how it helped individuals with disabilities communicate, and then it took on a snowball effect from there.

“We were looking for a cause to get behind, and the president of our committee, the Accent’s parent advisory committee, his son received training from Walton Options to use an iPad to communicate with (others),” Swanson said.

“The stories he was telling us was just amazing how Antoine’s world’s just completely opened up for him and (the) bridge of commu-

Kereyia Butler | Staff

Participants in the iCan 4 iPads fundraiser start the 5K run or walk phase at the Augusta Canal Oct. 24.

nication was made between Antoine and his parents for the first time in their life.”

The race consisted of a 5K run or walk, 10K cycle and 5K kayak. The goal was to raise $15,000 for 20 or 25 iPads to go to those in need with cognitive or developmental challenges so they can have a chance to communicate their needs and wants, Swanson said.

“I think we found a part of the key to that communication, and we’re just trying to get as many iPads out there to families and individuals in need that we can,” Swanson said.

There have been many

communication devices around for years, but Swanson said he thinks the iPad is the best device around because it is user-friendly and not as frustrating as some of the others he has seen while working in the business for 20 years.

Agreeing with Swanson, Kathy Pelletier, the director of assistive technology at Walton Options, a sponsor for the fundraiser, said the iPad is also a great tool that wasn’t present a long time ago.

“The Apple devices are changing every three to six months, and it’s hard to keep up with them sometimes, but

that’s a good thing,” Pelletier said. “That means things are advancing, and things that, you know, we may not could’ve accessed five years ago are at our fingertips now.”

Robert Bryant, a participant of the fundraiser, learned about the fundraiser through an Internet meet-up group and said he can see how an iPad can help those in need. “ A lot of times, working with an iPad can be more helpful because they can focus more on it without having sensory overload or someone over their shoulder.” kbutler7@gru.edu

Who would have thought at the beginning of the NFL regular season that the Chiefs would be the last undefeated team standing.

I certainly did not see the Chiefs as a playoff contender, let alone ahead of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West division.

On paper, the Chiefs seem like a legit 7-9 or 8-8 team, but so far they are superseding expectations. Under the supervision of former Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs went from only 2 wins last year to already 9 wins in their current season.

Believe it or not, the Chiefs have always been stout on defense and Jamal Charles has been a workhorse running back for years now, but its weakness came from the air attack.

After spending four years on the Matt Cassel experiment, the organization decided it was time for a change at the quarterback position.

One of the Chiefs’ best moves during the offseason was trading a 2013 second-round draft pick and a secondround 2014 draft pick to the San Francisco 49ers for their quarterback, Alex Smith.

Even after obtaining a quarterback who once led his team deep into the playoffs, it was still questioned if it was the right move or not. Smith was a quarterback who struggled tremendously in the NFL as the No. 1 overall pick out of Utah in the 2005 draft.

It was not until the 2011 season, when the 49ers brought in head coach Jim Harbaugh that Smith started to experience success at the pro level. This fact questioned whether Smith could flourish under a coach aside from Harbaugh.

Other knocks on Smith were that he was only a game manager who could not take over games and that he did not have the arm strength to push the football down the field.

So far Smith is averaging 208.8 passing yards a game, has nine touchdowns and four interceptions and an 82.1 quarterback rating.

Smith will not win league MVP, but he does what matters most, which is taking care of the football. Also in his defense, outside of Dewayne Bowe, the Chiefs are subpar at best in the wide receiver department.

However, with the support of a great running game and defense, the Chiefs don’t need Alex Smith to put up Peyton Manning-like numbers.

Behind the legs of Charles, the Chiefs are ranked 11th in the league in rushing yards per game. In the first nine games he has already racked up 725 yards on the ground, and he is also the leading receiver on the team with 47 receptions.

The Chiefs have one of the mostfeared defenses in the league with an aggressive style of play and ball-hawking nature. The unit has 36 sacks, 12 interceptions and eight forced fumbles.

If anybody in the AFC can stop Peyton Manning and his explosive offense, it would be their division rival.

Getting after the quarterback and creating pressure can disrupt any offense’s tempo.

The only critique against the Chiefs’ success this year is their soft schedule.

The team’s highest quality win was against the Dallas Cowboys, a team with a pedestrian record of 5-4.

Jwill143@gru.edu

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2013

sports www.grubellringer.com

JAGUAR MEN’S BASKETBALL

Photo by Nikki Skinner

International Education Week November 11 - 16, 2013

What is International Education Week?

“International Education Week is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of our efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.”

Monday, November 11

“The U.S. Immigration Journey” 11:30 - 12:30, BC 130, Auditoria Center on Health Science Campus A forum for GRU International Scholars (faculty, postdocs, staff and students) to discuss the U.S. immigration process for international researchers, clinicians and students.

Workshop: Around the World in 50 minutes Noon - 12:50, Reese Library, Room 304 Bring your lunch and discover library resources about the various destinations our Study Abroad Program will be going to this year.

Open House: Study Abroad South Africa 4 - 5:50 p.m., Sociology Dept. Conference Room Drop in to learn about opportunities to study sociology, criminal justice, and education in the beautiful metropolitan city of Cape Town, South Africa.

Tuesday, November 12

Jacquelyn Pabon | Staff

Senior forward KJ Sherrill practices drills in front of coaches at the Christenberry Fieldhouse.

Injuries result in team makeover

By Jordan Williams sports editor

At the dawn of a new season, the men’s basketball team has its focus aimed at returning back to dominant form.

During the 2012-13 campaign, GRU Augusta struggled with consistency and finding a rhythm as the team finished with an overall record of 14-13.

Last year, the team began the first half of the season red hot with a 6-2 start and ranked as high as No. 12 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll.

However, in the second phase of the 2012-13 season, the Jags’ game went up and down against conference opponents, and the defeats started to pile up.

During the 2013 portion of the schedule the Jags earned a record of 8-11.

Junior guard D’Angelo Boyce said the root cause of the team’s struggles came from the dismissal of two big men Chad July and Harold Doby.

“Size matters when you play in any sport,” Boyce said. “Losing them two, it killed us (because) we were so small, but I mean we fight hard.”

Crippled by injuries and behavioral issues from multiple players, the Jags only had eight active players on the roster toward the end of the season.

On some nights the team was limited to only five or six players, Boyce said.

“Our legs were done,” he said about playing the extra minutes. “Having to practice every day and playing in games with no subs was pretty tough, but we pushed through.”

Boyce started in all 27 games and averaged 33.3 minutes a night last year.

He was able to average 9.3 points a game and led the team with 176 assists.

The team managed to finish the season with a No. 4 seed in the East Division of the Peach Belt Conference tournament, before falling short to Montevallo, 60-53, in the quarterfinals.

The men’s head basketball coach, Dip Metress, said last year is in the basketball team’s rearview mirror, and its future is now.

Metress is eager to begin the upcoming season and said he is confident

in the players he will be putting on the court this year.

The Jags will return four starters and six lettermen from the 2012-13 season.

Among the returning players are three seniors, guard Ryan Weems, forward KJ Sherill and the reinstated forward Doby, whom the team will lean on for guidance and leadership, Metress said.

During the offseason, Metress said he addressed the team’s needs through recruitment and also focused on restoring the health of his veteran players. The most significant change for the upcoming season will be the Jags’ deep roster.

“We got some good-quality depth,” Metress said. “We got some guys who have been around here, and we got four newcomers that are going to compete for playing time right away.”

Two of the new recruits Metress said have caught his eye during practices are junior transfers Ronell Crocket, a wing player, and Henry McCarthy, a 6-foot-9 forward.

“Henry’s got a great basketball IQ,” Metress said. “He’s very long, and he’s a relentless rebounder. Ronell is very competitive, and he can create his own shot.”

The team’s leading scorer, Weems, said he has spent the offseason improving his free throws, practicing 3-pointers and just finishing games.

Weems averaged 15.7 points a game last year and said his focus right now is taking it one game at a time and overlooking no opponent on the schedule.

The added depth will also give the Jags’ top scorer more opportunities to distribute the ball.

“I know at some point during the game I will have to step up and be a leader,” Weems said. “I don’t have to score necessarily to lead. I can do other things, (such as) pass and play defense.”

The return of the Jags’ feature 6-foot-6 big man, Doby, will give the team an added presence in the interior, and he said it feels good to be back.

In the 11 games he played last year, Doby scored in double figures seven times and posted four double-doubles.

During the offseason, Doby said, he spent time developing his jump shot. jwill143@gru.edu

Business Study Abroad Info Session 1 p.m., Allgood N132 Come learn more about Study Abroad Options for Business Students including information about the trips to Chile and Cuba sponsored by the Hull College of Business as well as trips that fulfill Freshmen/Sophomore Core.

Keynote Speaker- Rachel Louise Snyder, Globalization: Manufacturing, Sweatshops, Development/Aid Work & Ethical Consumerism, 6 p.m., JSAC Ballroom Rachel Louise Snyder is a writer and radio commentator. She is also the author of Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade.

Wednesday, November 13 International Festival 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., Amphitheater & JSAC Patio (Rain Location: JSAC Ballroom) Are you ready for International Festival? Join the CREW for our first International Festival, GRU’s version of Arts in the Heart. There will be food from local restaurants, fun, music, dance performances, and of course culture. Come out and join us for an exciting festival you don’t want to miss!

Thursday, November 14 Film: “Museum Hours” 7 p.m., Maxwell Theatre The Cinema Series will bring the film that A.O. Scott in The New York Times deemed “quietly amazing, sneakily sublime.” In director Jem Cohen’s “Museum Hours,” a Vienna museum guard befriends an enigmatic visitor, and the grand Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes a mysterious crossroads that sparks explorations of their lives, the city, and the way artworks reflect and shape the world. The film, rated PG, is in German and English.

Workshop: How to Find a Job Overseas 2:30 p.m., UH 252 Meet Returned Peace Volunteer Melissa Hall and learn about tips to identify and land overseas opportunities in the Federal Government, Non-Profit and Private Sectors

Friday, November 15 CerviCusco Presentation with Dr. Daron Ferris & Lynn Allmond, FNP,RN Noon - 1 p.m., EC 1218 on the Health Sciences Campus Come to understand and hear the history & purpose of the CerviCusco clinic development. Current operations for the CerviCusco clinic will be discussed as well as current, and future, educational opportunities for GRU students.

Future plans for CerviCusco will also be presented.

Study Abroad