Volume LVIII, Issue 19 | April 4, 2014
The Student-Run News Service of Columbus State University
Special Report: Man Shot by CSU Police in Courtyard 1, pages 3-5
Columbus State University
The Saber
Brandon Short, Editor-in-Chief CsuSaberEditor@Gmail.com
Danielle Davis, Managing Editor CsuSaberAds@Gmail.com
Joe Miller, Adviser
Miller_Joseph1@columbusstate.edu Joshua Jarrett, Layout Editor Tom Ingram, Copy Editor Catherine Saavedra Quintero, Media Editor Teefuh Choice, Campus Life Editor Franchesca Renfroe, Arts&Ent Editor Elaine Hoffmeister, Local & World Editor Erick Richman, Sports & Wellness Editor Bo Love, Distribution Manager Staff Writers Brandi Phillips, Jake Hall, Erika Galdamez, Justin Minge, Avonne Waddell, Sam Sachs Photography and Art Sabrina Anderson, Jay Armstead, Ashley Kimbell, Trevor Mehrkens, Carly McMinn, Skye Williams, Jazmin McCoy, Noah Sachs 4225 UNIVERSITY AVE. COLUMBUS, GA 31907-5645 CSUSABER@GMAIL.COM PLEASE SEND US YOUR COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SHOULD BE 400 WORDS OR LESS, MAY BE EDITED FOR GRAMMAR AND CONTENT AND MUST INCLUDE CONTACT INFORMATION.THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE VIEWS OF THE SABER OR COLUMBUS STATE UNIVERSITY
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The Saber would like to apologize to Professor Fred Cohen, DMA, for printing malicious rumors about him in Issue 17 of The Saber. We apologize for the damage we have done to an innocent person, and a distinguished member of the Columbus State University faculty. To publish these rumors was very unprofessional and I, as Editor-in-Chief, take full responsibility for them making it to print. I have also found the point in our editorial process which allowed these terrible rumors to be printed, and that is that I, as Editor-in-Chief, did not comb through every single article critically enough. I have altered our publication timeline as such so that the Editor-in-Chief has a sufficient amount of time to read articles critically and sufficiently before they make it to print. Also, any article that even plans to run rumors has to be run through me in advance for approval. As I come to the end of my term as Editor-in-Chief, I hope that Editors in the future continue this practice I am beginning to ensure that this situation does not happen again to any innocent persons. The Saber has no business printing rumors, and we apologize again to Prof. Fred Cohen for printing such malicious misinformation.
- Brandon Short
Editor-in-Chief
The shooting death of Zikarious Flint by Sgt. Ben Scott of CSU police on Sunday, March 30 is something that has rocked CSU to the core. As events quickly unfolded on Sunday afternoon, there was barely any time to soak in old information as new information surfaced. Throughout the week, one news report would conflict with another, and it was hard for most to tell what information was 100% fact. The Saber decided after the shooting occurred to postpone production on this issue to adequately cover the incident with as much breadth and depth as possible in a short time frame. We have sent out student reporters and contacted important individuals to get you, the reader, the most complete story possible. All information reported in this issue is accurate as of April 2nd. Be sure to follow The Saber as we continue to provide updates on this situation.
- Brandon Short
Editor-in-Chief
The following student reporters contributed interviews to our coverage: Latifah Choice, Samuel Sachs, Jonathan De Young Nia Thomas-George Cover Photo: Brandon Short
Columbus State University|The Saber
Campus Life
Courtyard 1 Shooting Coverage
April 4, 2014 | 3
Brandon Short
Editor-in-Chief
Detailed Recap: A rundown of events in Sunday shooting The timeline of events on the afternoon of March 30 that led to the shooting of Zikarious Flint by CSU Sgt. Ben Scott is a story that has confused the campus, community, and even some local news outlets. The main reason for the presence of confusion is the absence of information due to the GBI’s ongoing investigation into the incident, which only allows CSU to release information at the GBI’s clearance. Local news media reports have filled in some gaps. However, statements released by the attorney for the Flint Family, Stacey Jackson, and Coroner Buddy Bryan contradict information presented by CSU. The incident began with a call to University Police at 2:35 p.m. by a student who reported seeing a man loading a gun in Courtyard 1. Three minutes later, CSU police arrived in Courtyard 1 and confronted Flint. According to Dean Chip Reese, “details of the conversation [between Flint and the officers] will remain private.” Flint then fled from the officers, with the officers then giving chase. Flint led the police throughout Courtyard 1, across University Ave. and back across into Courtyard 1. Throughout the whole chase,
police shouted to Flint to drop his weapon and show them his hands. At this point, details begin to get murky. According to CSU, they have several witnesses who have come forward stating that CSU police were chasing a man with a gun. However, Jackson has witnesses who have stated that Flint had no weapon out during the chase. Jackson has said that the witnesses were friends of Flint. CSU police ended the chase with Sgt. Scott shooting Flint. According to Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan, Flint was shot twice, once in the lower back and once in the back of the head/neck area, with exit wounds in the front of his body. Jackson also confirmed this account, noting that the family was informed by a medical official at the Midtown Medical Center of those same injuries. While this implies that Flint was shot from behind, the official CSU account states that “when [Flint] turned and raised his arm, Sgt. Scott fired twice.” John Lester, spokesman of CSU, has been quoted by the Ledger-Enquirer as said that Flint “faced the officers, and raised his arm” before he was shot. As well as stating that Flint
had no weapon during the chase, Jackson’s witnesses said that he did not have a weapon in his hands as he was shot from behind. CSU police confirmed to The Saber on Monday, March 31, that a gun had been recovered from the scene and could be identified as belonging to Flint. The gun was identified as a Glock model 22, 40-caliber loaded with 8 rounds. CSU states that Scott fired two shots at Flint. However, at least one witness believes otherwise. A student, who wishes to remain anonymous, says they were driving by Courtyard 1 as the chase occurred. They were stopped by CSU police before making it close to the entrance of the complex, and saw the chase in progress. They said they heard three shots “clear as day” and saw a man, presumably Flint, collapse to the ground. They could not see if Flint had a gun. Flint, who was alive immediately after the shooting according to CSU, was transported to Midtown Medical Center. Flint was pronounced dead by Coroner Bryan at 3:29 p.m. on Sunday, March 30. Within minutes after Flint was shot, CSU police chief Rus Drew called the GBI to begin
an investigation, which is the procedure listed in CSU’s protocol of handling lethal-force situations. The GBI took over, assigning special agent Fred Wimberly to the case. Questions about the conflicting stories have been met with few answers, mainly due to the GBI controlling CSU’s dissemination of information. The Coroner’s report was the first piece of objective evidence that has been produced in this case. Other possible evidence could be footage from the surveillance cameras throughout Courtyard 1, more eyewitness testimony, and ultimately the final results of the GBI investigation. The Saber will be watching as events continue to develop.
continued on next page
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Saber News Analysis The Saber has been sifting through stories and interviewing important individuals to bring you the facts. Throughout investigation, quite a few main questions have arisen:
Who was Zikarious Flint and why was he on campus? Details about Flint have been difficult to obtain. In an interview with WTVM, Flint’s father, Homer, gave a profile of his son. Homer said that Zikarious recently obtained his GED and planned to attend welding school in Jacksonville, Fla. Zikarious also worked at Kirby Vacuum, according to his father. The Saber also interviewed the elder Flint, who told us that Zikarious attended Spencer High School and that his favorite memory of Zikarious was when he took his first steps. After revealing that information, Flint declined to answer any other questions, responding “I can’t answer that right now” to questions such as “Why was Zikarious on campus?” and “Are you going to sue CSU?” Stacey Jackson, the spokesperson for the Flint family, said that Flint with friends was visiting friends who were CSU students. He also noted that Flint had no prior criminal record. (Jackson did not return our phone calls seeking comment. Why didn’t CSU notify students immediately? When the shots were fired, students across campus, particularly in Courtyard 1, had no real clue what had transpired. However, that did not stop students from attempting to piece together events via social media, especially on Twitter. A main concern among students is why students weren’t notified, as they have been in the past when incidents such as the winter break robbery in Courtyard 2 and the Super 8 Motel homicide in January occurred. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the scene of the shooting and its investigation soon after the shooting occurred, and CSU had to obtain clearance from
Campus Life
the GBI to disseminate any information. Chief Drew and John Lester, the Assistant VP for University Relations, both stressed to The Saber that the CougarAlert system is strictly for ongoing emergencies, and that because the situation was handled quickly, an alert was not sent out. When asked about any future changes to CougarAlert, President Tim Mescon said “Is there another modality of communication we could use for something like this, even if the emergency has passed? It’s a fair question.” Which story is right? Due to the GBI investigation, official statements have been scarce, as the GBI governs when CSU can send out statements while under investigation. This has led to quite a few information gaps and contradictory stories. Stories are so conflicting, even President Tim Mescon is confused about how to approach it. “That’s not my world,” Pres. Mescon said. “It’s really almost impossible for me to give any interpretation of the events. It’s hard to get a complete picture of what it is that truly happened.” Stacey Jackson, attorney for the Flint family, is more certain. He released his own account of events put together from eyewitness testimony and information the family received about Flint from the hospital via the local media. Jackson’s report conflicts with CSU’s report in a few ways, including on the matter of if Flint had a gun, was he carrying it when shot, and was Flint
Columbus State University|The Saber
shot in the front or from behind. Jackson revealed that the witnesses he cited are friends of Flint. Jackson, who was announced as the attorney for the Flint family the next day, is also seeking the Republican nomination for the Georgia House District 137 seat, which covers parts of Muscogee, Harris, and Meriwether counties, as well as all of Talbot County. While CSU was mostly silent on Monday, Jackson’s version of events was the main subject of local media coverage the day after. CSU finally released more details about the shooting, including the officer’s name, on Tuesday. Should Sgt. Scott have used lethal force? The use of lethal force by police is always a controversial issue, and this instance is no different. CSU has a policy on use of deadly force by officers, adapted from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) policy. CSU’s policy states that officers “may use deadly force in the performance of a law enforcement duty...if the officer reasonably believes the suspect’s escape would pose an immediate and continuing threat of serious physical harm to another person,” among other prerequisite qualifications, such as “in defense of their own lives” or “another person’s life.” Also, an aggressor must have the physical and mental ability and suitable circumstances to commit a life-threatening act, as well as be exposing an officer or another person to possible
harm or death. Also, there is the case of the Fleeing Felon Rule, a Federal Common law which permits the use of deadly force against an individual who is suspected of a felony and actively fleeing arrest. The 1985 Supreme Court Decision on Tennessee v. Garner ruled that “where the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others, it is not constitutionally unreasonable to prevent escape by using deadly force.” CSU officials have come out in support of Sgt. Scott and University Police as a whole. “I know our police department,” Dean Chip Reese said. “They are good, hard-working people. I believe that if they had to use deadly force, they had a reason to.” “[Officer Scott] is a decorated officer and I will be thankful to see when he gets cleared by the GBI,” SGA President Chelsee Pike said. “The moment I turn on our UPD is the moment I turn on the students.” Did race play into the shooting? The NAACP has opened an independent investigation into the shooting of Flint, noting that “this story began when someone spotted a young black man believed to be up to ‘no good.’” With a case of a white officer shooting a black man, the situation sets up perfectly for those who wish to believe Scott’s shooting of Flint is racially motivated. However, the results of the GBI investigation, and NAACP investigation, will likely shed more light on any possible instances of racism. There is currently no timetable on the GBI investigation, and until that point, many of these questions will go without a final answer. Stay with The Saber for more coverage.
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Campus Life
Lack of notification alarms students, parents After shots were fired in Courtyard 1, different questions arose about what actually happened. However, some students had the same question about what didn’t happen. “Why the hell didn’t they tell us?” said Matt Thompson, junior studying geology. “We have a right to know what’s happening on our campus.” In the direct aftermath of the shooting, many students had no idea what occurred. A search on Twitter of CY1 shows quite a few residents perplexed at the sounds of gun shots outside of their residence. The CSU population has come to expect messages when tragedy and perceived emergencies strike via the CougarAlert system, which is described by CSU as an “emergency alert system that can send alert messages in the even of a campus emergency.” Recently, the CougarAlert system was used twice: once over winter break for an armed robbery in Courtyard 2 and again in January for the homicide at Motel 8 on Warm Springs Rd. Both times, the alert was sent out in the middle of the night. However, in the shooting of Zikarious Flint, no Cou-
garAlert was sent out. When asked why, both police chief Rus Drew and CSU spokesman John Lester stressed that CougarAlert is to be used for situations of an ongoing threat. CSU police neutralized the threat so quickly that a CougarAlert wouldn’t have gone out in time, according to Drew. That explanation was not enough for some students, and even parents. “The CougarAlert should have gone out the moment they knew there was danger on campus,” SGA President Chelsee Pike stated. “The alert to students could have been something short and sweet stating something to the effect of ‘stay in your dorms, lock your doors, and don’t come to campus until we make it clear.’” “One article said that CSU police didn’t send an alert because ‘there was no immediate threat’, but if there wasn’t a threat, why did someone get shot by the dorms,” CSU student Shari Taylor said. “I found out through the news two hours after it occurred and I should have known first through the school” “It doesn’t sit well with
me that they failed to notify parents immediately after it happed,” CSU parent Dianne Thomas said. “I shouldn’t have had to find out from Fox 5 when I get CougarAlerts for everything else.” The first notification from CSU via e-mail was a copy of the press release at 6:24 p.m. to local news sources and placing that release on their website, also at 6:24 p.m. The release recounted the events up until Flint was taken to The Medical Center, only noting that Flint was wounded. At 8:03 p.m., University Relations sent another e-mail to local news noting that Flint had died. Flint was officially declared dead at 3:29 p.m. In reference to the timing of the release, Lester revealed that the GBI was the source of the delay. “[GBI] calls the shots as far as what information is released by the university,” Lester said. “We had to wait until we got that clearance from them.” Although the delay was created by forces outside of CSU’s control, it hasn’t absolved CSU in everyone’s eyes. “Columbus State needs to
April 4, 2014 | 5 be held accountable for the timeliness of the alert,” Pike said. “For all we know, there could have been more armed people at the dorms. The alert could’ve protected students that were directly on site, not to mention students walking along the back path, on the intramural field or in the direction of Courtyard 1.” When asked about the possibility of modifying the CougarAlert system or adding another alert system, Lester stated that “with any incident like this, there will be a lot of review.” Bill Sutley, the Associate Director of University Relations, also noted that “there are things we could’ve done better. We’ll evaluate what to do next.” Changes may also come from a higher level than University Relations. “There’s nothing more sacred to this campus than safety and security,” Pres. Tim Mescon said. “It’s our absolute top priority, and that’s for students, faculty and staff. It’s a very good question. Is there another modality of communication we could use for something like this, even if the emergency has passed?”
NAACP opens independent investigation into shooting of Zikarious Flint On Tuesday, April 1, the Georgia NAACP announced it would be opening its own investigation into the shooting of Zikarious Flint by Sgt. Ben Scott of the CSU police department on March 31. “Putting aside legal questions, this story began when someone spotted a young black man believed to be up to ‘no good,’” said Dr. Francys Johnson, State President of the Ga. NAACP. “American history is filled with tragedies that began that way.” As the narrative of a police officer shooting an AfricanAmerican man spread, the likelihood of a racial divide on the issue arose. After Sgt. Scott was identified as the shooter, The Saber was able to use numerous sources, who wish to remain anonymous, to deter-
mine that Scott is Caucasian. “In a society where some in law enforcement have so often operated under the concept of shoot first and ask questions later, African-Americans have often had to bear the pain of burying our dead from these tragic events,” said Edward Dubose, a member of the NAACP National Board of Directors. This case won’t be DuBose’s first instance of dealing with this type of case. DuBose was the President of the Columbus Branch of the NAACP when Kenneth Walker, a black man, was shot by a white sheriff’s deputy on the side of I-185 in 2003. The deputy shot Walker after stopping the vehicle he was riding in because it matched the description of a vehicle containing armed men
from Miami engaged in the Columbus drug trade. No guns or drugs were found. DuBose coordinated the largest protest march in Columbus history over the shooting of Walker. There is little doubt DuBose is working closely with Columbus’ NAACP and it’s current president, Abraham Wallace. “We are also paying close attention to the facts and details of this tragic loss of life and hope for quick and thorough investigation by the GBI,” Wallace said. “We reserve any judgment on this case until more information is made known to the public. However, we are very concerned about reports that seem to conflict..” What is unclear is where CSU’s own College Chapter of the NAACP falls amongst
seemingly opposed sides. “The Columbus State University family is strong and the College Chapter is here to help assist students during the process in conjunction with the University officials,” said Stephon Cooper, President of CSU chapter. With such recent instances of shootings of young African-Americans, including the well-known Trayvon Martin situation, some may try to simply label this as a cut-and-dry case of a white cop killing a black man. However, until the GBI investigation is complete, a thick haze of gray will hang over this case for those that try to view it simply as a racial matter.
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Campus Life
Columbus State University|The Saber
CSU hosts 3rd annual Diversity Conference Dr. Florence Wakoko organizes successful conference and receives award
Dr. Florence Wakoko receives award at CSU’s Diversity Conference
On March 20, the 3rd Annual Diversity Conference, a collaboration of Columbus State University and The Mayor’s Commission on Unity, Diversity, and Prosperity, was held at the Cunningham Center. The theme for this year’s conference was, “The Dream Lives: A Wake Up Call, Perpetuating the Dream in a Climate of Haves and Have Nots.” The Diversity Conference was a success. Over 150 students, staff, faculty and members of the Columbus community attended. These individuals were allowed to express, discuss and debate their views on how to make things better within the community. This event was organized
by Dr. Florence Wakoko, Paula Adams and the Mayor’s Commission on Unity, Diversity and Prosperity. There were several fantastic speakers which included Mayor Teresa Tomlinson, Muscogee County School District Superintendent David Lewis, and Rothschild Middle School principal Michael Forte, along with Francis Johnson, state president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, who gave the keynote address. Some of the topics discussed were classism vs. racism, smearing the lines that divide, classism and poverty in America’s schools, and the arrest and adjudication of the poor. After
Meagan Smith, Tazeur Matthews, and Corey Benson
Contributing Writers
Photo: Courtesy Dr. Wakoko
each presentation, participants discussed practical solutions to the community’s problems in small group discussions. “My favorite part of the conference was participating with the small groups. As we had conversations about what it means to strive for a more equitable society, I was able to engage with concepts of the theme more holistically because of the diverse group of people sitting around our table,” said Megan Smith.
Oscar winning actress speaks at Legacy Celebration banquet The Office of Diversity Programs and Services invited actress Marlee Matlin as keynote speaker Brandi Phillips Staff Writer
Photo: Carly McMinn
The Office of Diversity Programs and Services hosted their Legacy banquet March 26 in the Cunningham Center. The event consisted of a night full of appreciation of the growing diversity at Columbus State, and there were even more reasons to celebrate diversity when this year’s guest speaker was philanthropist, author, advocate and Oscar winning actress, Marlee Matlin. It was not Matlin’s starring roles and performances in works such as “Children of a Lesser God”, “The L Word”, “Celebrity Apprentice” and “Dancing with the Stars” that made Matlin’s presence so significant at the banquet. It wasn’t even because the entire banquet was sold out. Matlin’s presence at the banquet was significant because she is a deaf woman who is not afraid to share her stories of tribulations and successes. Her interpreter, Jack, was beside her to eliminate the communication barriers and help everyone understand her story. Before the Legacy Celebration banquet began,
Matlin speaks about her supportive parents the Saber was fortunate to get a personal interview with the actress: What is the message you would like to bring at this conference? I will be speaking to the staff, faculty, and students here at CSU about the importance of respecting diversity and talking about my childhood growing up. As a deaf woman, there were barriers I want to share and also my experience as an entertainer in this industry. You lost your hearing at a young age, how did you learn to deal and cope with that
growing up? I became deaf when I was 18 months old. There was no cause we could pinpoint, but that wasn’t what it was about. It was about growing up with parents who were fighting for me. They allowed me to be myself. They allowed me to focus on what and where I wanted to be in life. Whenever barriers came up, I would always knock them down or walk around them. I still continue to fight barriers every day. What are words of encouragement you have for people with disabilities?
I often tell people with disabilities not to let other people tell you what you should be doing with your life. Do not let anyone tell you cannot set your goals, and how to set your goals. Like King Jordan, the first deaf President of Gallaudet University, which is the only liberal arts college specifically equipped for deaf and hard of hearing students, once said, “The only thing [deaf] people can’t do is hear.” This message is about never being afraid, and to go out there and experience as much as you can. Whatever goals you have, just go for it. The banquet and Matlin’s humorous personality and heartfelt speech left the crowd in awe, and minds opened to accept and respect all types of diversity. Shawn Padonu, a junior majoring in communications, said, “I thought it was very enriching and interesting. It was an honor for Marlee Matlin to come here. I feel like it opened the doors of diversity for the people that came from not only CSU, but also the Columbus, and Atlanta communities.”
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Local & World
An update on the Crimean Crisis What’s been happening since the split from Ukraine?
For the story on factors leading to the secession of Crimea, see page 8 of Issue 18 on March 19th. At the climax of the Crimean Crisis the small peninsula of Crimea seceded from Ukraine and joined the Russia Federation after a majority vote. It was an expected outcome for the deciding referendum; however, the consequences are a Russian takeover of Crimea and a backlash from the rest
of the world which agrees that the move to annex Crimea is illegal. After the vote, Russia seized Crimea and stationed troops along its border with Ukraine. The Republic of Crimea was formed, with its largest city Sevastopol becoming a Federal City under Russia. The international community does not recognize this move and still considers Sevastopol a part of Ukraine. All of this intensifies with a vote from the United Nations General Assembly which claims that the referendum itself is invalid. Ukraine is preparing itself for war as Russia continues to place troops along its border, a number which could reach 40,000. The movement of the soldiers to the border may be an act of intimidation, but the concern is that Russia will invade the outgunned and outmanned Ukraine. Those involved with the re-
The return of SOPA
United States. This does not Is the Internet in danger once again? include local sites, because the government already has the Justin Minge authority to seize the domains Staff Writer of any website based in the US Illustration: Trevor Mehrkens It has been almost three if it violates copyright or intelyears since the Internet ral- lectual property laws. In regards to foreign sites, lied against SOPA, the United SOPA would have given the States House of RepresentaAmerican government a large tives bill that so many feared amount of influence over them. would unconstitutionally cenIt would have allowed the sor the world wide web. Three government to: order search years later, the legislation seems trivial after news cov- engines (such as Google) to erage over it died down. Or at modify their search results to least it did, until a recent resur- exclude foreign websites that gence of news on the Internet displayed copyright material, which suggests that SOPA is order payment providers (like Paypal) to cease the payment back in play. SOPA, or the Stop Online accounts for guilty foreign Piracy Act, was designed to websites, and most importantdo exactly what its name sug- ly gave it the power to force gests. The bill was drafted as a foreign website’s internet serreaction to copyright infringe- vice providers (ISPs) to block ment and the online market access to the site. This means for counterfeit goods. The bill that any French torrent website would have given the United offering “The Dark Knight” States government the power for free would be in danger of to heavily enforce the con- almost complete shut-down by tent being offered by foreign the United States government, websites, meaning sites that even though the site was not have servers not located in the technically in our jurisdiction.
April 4, 2014 | 7
Elaine Hoffmeister
Local & World News Editor Illustration: Noah Sachs
coil against Russia’s actions, including the U.S., are putting pressure on Russia economically and diplomatically. President Obama spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin to search for a diplomatic solution. Obama stated that the U.S. disapproves of the aggression towards Ukraine and urged Putin to avoid military provocation by withdrawing the troops stationed around the border. The two political leaders will continue to meet in order to reach a compromise. One of the responses to Russia’s actions is the strengthening of sanctions against Moscow. A sanction is a threatened penalty for disobeying a law, in this case the annexation of Crimea. However, any penalties targeting big investments such as the Russian oil companies will come back to haunt the U.S. since it also impacts those Western companies that have investments in Russian
energy production, including Exxon. Meanwhile, the United States Congress approved a bill that would provide a $1 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine and more sanctions for Russia. This is partly in response to Ukraine’s damaged economy and partly to show good faith and support for the Ukrainian people. The verdict for now is that the United States cannot simply bully these nations into finding a solution, since Russia is not likely to reverse the seizure of Crimea. On the other hand, fears are high that history is repeating itself and that a complacent response to Russia’s disregard of international law is an equally dangerous move. What everyone wants most now is to avoid a Crimean War.
Opposition was strong during the time that the bill was active in the House, with so many clambering to sign petitions admonishing it. Criticism was just as prevalent in Congress as it was online, with many arguing that the bill catered to political lobbyists from big entertainment companies in Hollywood. The creators and supporters of the bill also came under fire when they appeared to have limited knowledge on the technical aspects of the bill, and also of the impact that it would have online. Many popular websites such as Reddit and Wikipedia basically shut down their sites in protest, and many prominent figures, including the Obama administration, denounced the bill as a violation of free speech. There was a great deal of relief in the online community when debates on SOPA were announced to have been postponed in early 2012. Since the postponing, there have been no significant updates on the Stop Online Piracy Act itself. However, a great deal of concern erupted
in March of 2014 when it was announced that several key lobbyists involved with the drafting of SOPA testified at a House Judiciary Committee Meeting called “The Role of Voluntary Agreements in the U.S. Intellectual Property System.” The lobbyists stated that while some governmental control over the regulation of copyright material on the Internet is helpful, a “voluntary agreement” with copyright holders, advertisement agencies, payment providers, and other companies that have some ability to regulate sites that the US government cannot would be much more effective. Many individuals on the Internet fear that these voluntary agreements could basically lead to another SOPA, but without a vote. Because these agreements exist outside of the government, many worry that the decisions will be made without public debates and votes in Congress. With this in mind, there is only so much that petitions and protests can accomplish this time around.
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Scott Harris
A&E
set to continue growth of One year down, a brighter future ahead Brandon Short Editor-in-Chief Image: CSU
It’s April, and Scott Harris, Ph.D., is finishing his first year as Director of the Schwob School of Music. Harris, who was started on July 1, 2013, came to Columbus State from the University of Southern Maine, where he was the founding director of their school of music and served in that role for 11 years. Harris learned of the Schwob during the development of USM’s school of music. “I followed the Schwob and CSU for several years because at USM, we also have a two campus university,” Harris said. “We were looking for an example of an university to have an arts unit to partner with professional organizations, and to build a new building and move it downtown. CSU had just successfully done that. They built this beautiful new building, attracted some amazing faculty members and great students here.” Harris has immersed himself into the Schwob since arriving, and has embraced the chance to work with the faculty, students and facilities of the Schwob. “The huge benefit here is that more of the faculty are full-time than at USM,” Harris said. “It better serves students to have full-time faculty. “ “The other difficulty was that my perennial challenge
at USM was facilities. We did not have a hall on campus large enough for our large ensembles. Here we’ve got one of the most beautiful concert halls in the country in Legacy Hall. It’s about the student experience. The students don’t have to worry about performing at a local middle school or something. They have a beautiful facility to work with and to learn how to use and operate.” Students aren’t the only focus of Harris’s leadership. Harris also has larger plans for the Schwob School of Music as a whole. Upon arrival at CSU, Harris worked with the faculty at the Schwob on finalizing their drafted strategic plan for the school, and now they’re working on specific initiatives in that plan. Harris also wants to expand the scope and reputation of the Schwob School of Music domestically, regionally, and internationally. “I’ve been impressed with the level of activity of the Schwob,” Harris said. “I talked with the new superintendent of [Muscogee County schools] and he’s got some great ideas. The Schwob will be very important to helping him pull of those ideas. A bunch of my colleagues just finished playing in the orchestra for Les Misérables at the Springer Opera House. When I hear from people that have been here in the community for eight or nine years that the Schwob has been
Columbus State University|The Saber
Schwob School
on a trajectory of growth for that long, my goal is to keep that trajectory going forward.” Harris is also interested in tapping the Atlanta area for talented musicians. “We’re making a concerted effort to make stronger connections with Greater Atlanta,” Harris said. “We’ve got a concert coming on April 27th where our choir is going up there to sing with the Michael O’Neal Singers in a joint concert, then the next week they’ll come down here for a joint concert. That same day, the Atlanta Youth Symphony is coming down to our campus to work with our faculty and that’s the premier youth orchestra in Greater Atlanta. Atlanta’s very best youth musicians will be on our campus all day.” Harris’ plans for the Schwob don’t stop within the borders of Georgia, or even the United States. “In the coming years, I’m hoping that people around the world will know about the Schwob School of Music as an example of what an extraordinary music unit inside a state university can look like firing on all cylinders,” Harris said. “I hope that we’re competing for the best students around the country and the world and bringing those students to Columbus and amplifying their work so everybody in Columbus gets to enjoy and realize what an extraordinary asset the
of
Music
Name: Scott Harris Position: Director of Schwob School of Music Previous Position: Founding Director of University of Southern Maine School of Music Education: B.M. with distinction in composition M.M. with distinction in music theory Ph.D. in Music Theory All from Indiana University Schwob is.” Although Harris has only been in charge for a year, he holds a grand vision for the Schwob School of Music, and a plan to help it get there. “All of the assets are in place here to be a leader in the training of 21st century musicians.” Harris said. “There’s nothing missing that we have to go and figure out how to do.”
Columbus State University 2014 Scholastic Honors Convocation Honoring Outstanding Academic Achievement by Students and Faculty
For more content go to csusaber.site50.net
Friday, April 18, 2014 2:00pm in University Hall
(Soon to be saber.columbusstate.edu)
10 | April 4, 2014
A job well done
Sports & Wellness
Columbus State University|The Saber
Rick Cravens retires after 30 years of building CSU’s intramural sports program “We’ve come a long way baby,” says Rick Cravens, reflecting on his time at Columbus State. “It’s been a great 30 years, but it is time to move on.” CSU hired Cravens almost 30 years ago to take over the intramural sports program. During that time he has seen it grow from a corner office in Woodruff Hall to a state-ofthe-art recreation center. Come July, he will retire from CSU. “Over half of my life I have been with CSU, which is mind boggling,” says Cravens. “One of my mentors said about retiring ‘most people cannot sit back and see what they have done in thirty years, but Rick, sit back and look at what you have done.’ Fifty years from now my grandkids will come up and learn that their granddad did this [referring to the Student Recreation Center].” Rick Cravens took over as the Assistant Director of Outdoor Adventures, Intramural and Club Sports last August after spending time as the Director of Campus Recreation. He has held many titles over his near 30 years of service, but Assistant Director of Outdoor Adventures is one of his favorite titles. “I love that kind of stuff,” says Cravens. “It becomes a lifelong experience for the students. I was blessed to have these opportunities to go cycling, canoeing, rafting and thirty years later I am still doing those things. It is a chance for students to get out and get rid of stress in a clean, wholesome fashion, and after they do it they tend to bond as a group. That’s why I love doing it.” They have gone on a few trips since August, but for Cravens April is the outing that he is looking forward to the most. “In April, we are going sky diving,” says Cravens. “How many people get to say that they have gone sky diving? Not very many.” Cravens graduated from CSU in 1982 and earned a master’s degree in leisure recreation from Florida State in 1984. Afterwards he returned
Cravens, above, is set to retire after 30 years at CSU to Columbus to find a job. The job he found was not quite what he had hoped for. “I was selling air conditioners at Sears,” says Cravens. “I was fresh out of grad school and looking for a job.” Cravens had previously applied at CSU, but was not hired right away. About a year and a half later the position reopened and Larry Kees, the Director of Intramural Sports at the time, remembered Cravens and gave him a call in 1986. “I called him at his work,” says Kees, “and said ‘Rick, what are you doing?’ He said ‘selling air conditioners.’ I asked him, ‘would you like to stop selling air conditioners?’ and of course he did and came right on over.” The intramural sports program at CSU was already established when Cravens took over, but it was relatively small in size in 1986. “I remember when I first got here the position was part time and had a budget of $10,000,” says Cravens. Kees recalls, “when he took over as Director of Intramural Sports he shared the old Woodruff gym with the basketball team because back then there
was no Lumpkin Center. He had a corner of the bottom floor up until the Lumpkin Center was built and then he was able to take over the center.” Cravens had to share each of the sporting facilities with the varsity teams until the intramural fields were built. “Intramural Sports was very popular even when I got here in the early seventies,” says Kees. “But we certainly had to work with what we had back then.” There were only three intramural teams back then: football in the fall, basketball in the winter and slow pitch softball in the spring and summer. Cravens made many adjustments to the program during his tenure, including moving to its own set of fields in the nineties, but change has been more significant than the completion of the Student Recreation Center across from the Lumpkin Center. “Larry [Kees] asked me ‘Rick, what can we do to get to the next level?’” says Cravens. “I told him ‘we need to have a student recreation center.’” They pitched their proposal for the center several times before it was accepted.
Jake Hall
Staff Writer
Photo: Jazmin McCoy
“The answer was usually ‘great idea but not this year,’” says Cravens. “I think it was the seventh time when they finally said ‘Rick, it’s time to do this.’” After completing their research for what to include in the student recreation center, a student committee pitched the idea to the Student Government Association, where it was approved and construction commenced. Rick Cravens has a lot to be proud of during his tenure at Columbus State, and those that were interviewed for this article had nothing but high praise for the work he has done at CSU. The people that are the most thankful for his efforts are definitely the students. “I work out at the Rec Center almost every day,” says Brandon Hatcher, student at CSU. “It was one of the main reasons that I came to CSU so I am definitely thankful for it and I know a lot us that frequent it are too.” “He is a true professional,” says Kees. “He has taken these students all over the country and I never had to worry about their well-being because I knew that Rick was going to take good care of them.” “He was a thorn in my side when he was a student here because he never wanted to lose,” says Kees jokingly. “But as a faculty member he was always there when I needed something, and was always there to do more than what his job required of him.” On July 31, Cravens will retire and move on to the next stage in his life. He has witnessed not just his department’s growth, but that of CSU as a whole as it became what it is today. His success has been well documented and undoubtedly he will continue doing the outdoor activities he has loved to do his entire life.
Columbus State University|The Saber
S&W| Rear End
April 4, 2014 | 11
Being Stronger: Neural Adaptation in Weight Training Understanding how to use more of the strength you already have Erick Richman Sports and Wellness Editor Illustration: Avonne Waddell
Weight training seems pretty straightforward. Lift a weight, add on some new muscle mass, then lift more. With that idea in mind, it can be discouraging for someone walking in to a gym to not see changes in body size right away. Others might avoid weight training out of a fear of getting “bulky.� However, the truth is quite inspiring for anyone who would simply like to be stronger, especially for someone just beginning. Weight training not only improves strength, but also can improve quality of life as we age and make some disease states less likely. For the first month or so of weight training, there is almost no substantial change in muscle size, but novices will experience very fast gains in strength with consistent training during this time. This happens because mus-
cles have the ability to produce much greater force than an untrained brain is able to tell them to. Strength is not just a function of muscle size, but of the ability to recruit and synchronize muscle function. While gaining muscle size happens slowly and is subject to many more factors, like repetition ranges and training volume, improvement in the ability to command the musculature begins as soon as the first training session. The increase in strength is a result of improved neural function, from the brain to the muscle. As one performs an action, the pathways used by the brain to signal the muscles improve in their ability to tell the muscles to create force. At the level of the muscle itself, these signals are able to improve force production by two mechanisms. Firstly, a muscle does not usually contract at once, but in an asynchronous pattern
of groups of fibers. This can be seen in an exercise done to failure, where muscles will sometimes visibly shake, as more fibers fatigue and the intervals between partial contractions become longer and more pronounced. One effect of training is to increase the number of these fiber units that can contact simultaneously, increasing the amount of force produced in a unit of time. Secondly, there is an improvement in the number of signals sent. A single signal reaches the muscle, causing it to contract, after which it begins to relax. Following training, these signals come faster, causing the contractions to build upon each other, a process called summation that results in greater force production. These two processes at the level of the muscle combine with increased function along the neural pathway to improve strength without muscle growth. Substantial muscle growth
has been shown to dominate over neural factors after four weeks of training, but there is evidence to suggest that cycles of muscle growth and neural improvement alternate as the length of consistent training increases. To some extent, training can also be targeted to gain mass with higher repetition ranges or for neural activation with lower ranges. Even for advanced lifters, an understanding of this effect is helpful to ensure continued progress. There are many other advanced ways of improving performance using these principles, but for everyone looking to get stronger, exercises should be done with intention and a focus on fully contracting a muscle throughout the range of motion. Realize the strength is already there. Strength training is just learning how to use it.
. . . become a high school math or science teacher. Scholarships of $6,900 per semester are available for 2014-2015. Requirements include: • GPA of 3.1 or higher • Junior, senior, or post-baccalaureate student • Secondary certification in science or math attainable within 2 years See application forms and information online at
http://uteach.columbusstate.edu/stem/noyce_scholarship.php. For more info contact Dr. Tim Howard (thoward@ColumbusState.edu or 706-507-8464).
Scholarships funded under NSF grant DUE 1136356