UNG Vanguard

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VOL. 2, ISSUE 6, DECEMBER 1, 2014

disclaimer The staff strives to inform, educate, and entertain the members of the UNG community, and we are open to all ideas and opinions held by members of that community.

The paper does not necessarily reflect the opinions of UNG’s administration, faculty or staff.

All ideas expressed in Opinion articles are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of newspaper editors and staff members.

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Read Our Lips THE OPINIONS ISSUE

Welcome to The Vanguard opinions issue Amanda Head Editor-in-chief alhead4524@ung.edu

Photo courtesy of garzabrothers.empowernetwork.com

Opinions: You may think you believe something now, but just wait a few years.

Opinions people have at 18 may change when they are in their late 20s, according to Kel Lee Cutrell, associate director of counseling services at UNG. “The frontal [brain] lobe doesn’t completely develop until you are 27; older for guys,” Cutrell said.

Opinions also help in education.

“If we aren’t open-minded enough to be flexible in our opinions we hinder our learning,” Cutrell said.

Different views are healthy in becoming more open-minded, and debate is always a great way for people to show

two opposing views.

“It is important for people to disagree,” Cutrell said. But she cautioned, “it’s important not to be disrespectful and hateful in their opinions.”

Forcing others to believe in your opinion and manipulating them to go along with your opinion can be dangerous, she said.

Expressing opinions is a way to show others your personal beliefs. It helps people to grow and learn as they listen to everyone else’s opinions.

As the saying goes, “if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything,” Cutrell said.

We’re devoting this end-of-the-semester issue of The Vanguard to opinions.

Please read, enjoy, think a little, and feel free to disagree!

Yoga: A way to health, calm and fitness Alexa Flacker Staff Writer-Oconee AJFLAC3049@ung.edu

I started practicing yoga in 2012 as just another way to stay fit. In the past, I always dreaded even the thought of working out, but as soon as I discovered the numerous benefits of yoga, I was hooked for life.

My sophomore year at Georgia Southern University, I began attending yoga classes once a week at the GSU Recreational Center, because all fitness classes were included with tuition.

After a month of practicing yoga on a weekly basis, I already felt less stressed, my muscles felt less tense, my posture was better and I was seeing improvements in my endurance and strength.

After one semester of persistently practicing yoga, my overall health and fitness had never been better. My mental concentration and clarity was improved.

I felt more energized throughout my day.

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My balance and flexibility dramatically improved. And my body was profoundly more toned compared to five months prior.

Unfortunately, when I transferred to UNG Oconee in 2013, I stopped practicing yoga because UNG does not offer any fitness classes included with tuition.

Since then, I have found other ways to stay fit, but it wasn’t until last month that I started practicing yoga again after having been in a bad car accident 30 miles outside Athens on Sept. 8.

Immediately after the accident, I was put in an ambulance and taken to Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center where I had a CT scan of my head and neck and two stitches under my left eyebrow. Luckily, there was no permanent or life-altering damage to my body and health.

A couple of days after the accident, all the pain and bruising really set in. I had excruciating, sharp pains in my neck and lower back as well as constant tension headaches, which sometimes got as worse

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as a migraine.

I was incapable of living my life the way I had before the accident – a life full of activity and fitness.

According to my parents, the immediate solution to relieve my pain was to go to a chiropractor. Due to curiosity, I had only been to a chiropractor once before and I was far from enthusiatic about the results, so I wasn’t very motivated to give it a go once again.

After visiting a local Athens chiropractor a few times, the adjustments seemed to have only relieved some of my pain, and the uncomfortableness of having a stranger put you in awkward positions and cracking your body in ways you didn’t know were possible just wasn’t enough for me to continue going. Yoga seemed to be the next best solution.

I’ve been attending a vinyasa yoga class once a week for about three weeks now and the outcome has been remarkable.

My neck and lower back pain has been rapidly reducing, my headaches are gone

and I’ve been better aware of my body’s strengths and weaknesses. My anxiety and stress has drastically decreased as well.

Practicing yoga has had an extremely beneficial effect on my body and health in the past and currently since the accident.

Yoga has provided me with a way to relieve everyday stresses and it has taught me to accept limitations concerning my athletic performance; it has also taught me to push myself when the time is right.

When it comes to practicing yoga, its versatility allows for anyone to practice in practically any environment with an open space. Simple poses such as tree pose, warrior pose, or downward dog can be done in your own bedroom; yoga is something you can practice on your own time, in your own space.

I highly recommend yoga to anyone who has ever been in a car accident and suffered from back pain, soreness or headaches as a repercussion, but also to those who need a healthy way to tone up and relieve stress and anxiety.

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Why young women should not vote

Allie Richards Staff Writer-Oconee AWRICH2125@ung.edu

compare which candidate is hotter?!

Later, Guilfoyle said young women should not vote because they “are not in the same life experience of paying bills, doing mortgage, kids, crime, education, I am a young female troubled by the confusing and health care.” obligations to vote. I know I’m supposed to make an I don’t know a lot beyond Tinder and Match.com, educated vote, but I simply lack exbut I’m sure the particterior genitals, as well as the arbitrary ipation in the activities amount of personal birthday cakes that of kids, healthcare and are needed for voting. especially the action of That’s why I can always turn to my “doing mortgage” will number one news source: Fox News. tell me which candidate On Tuesday, Oct. 21, “The Five” is right. Ladies, let’s not made statements excusing young womforget, it’s our place to en from voting so they can “go back to uphold these homely Tinder or Match.com.” activities.

Kimberly Guilfoyle explains, Co-host Greg “They’re like healthy and hot and runGutfeld made the ning free without a care in the world.”

Photo courtesy of www.businessinsider.com statement “married She goes on to say, “I just think, and women vote republican, excuse them so they can go back to Tinder and Match. and single women vote heavily for democrats.” While com.” this may be true, he mentions the possible reasoning is As a young woman (running hot and free), I’d like single women “need their government to take care of to thank Guilfoyle for excusing me and my young fethem.” male friends from the burden of voting. Unlike Tinder, I am just a weak, helpless female. I am not always if I want to vote “yes” for a candidate, I cannot simply guaranteed a Democrat will get voted into office to take swipe right. care of me. Fox puts their best interest in me and all Also unlike Tinder, the voting polls do not give me young females by encouraging us to go to Tinder or pictures of the candidates and a 500-word minimum Match.com for a male to protect us, so we will be ready description “about them.” How am I supposed to to not just vote, but vote Republican.

You have to ask: What's more important to you?

Ishmael Hollis Staff Writer-Gainesville IMHOLL0742@ung.edu How can you determine what you should focus on more in your daily life?

Nowadays there are many of us who balance multiple things in life. However, at times we don't give focus to what is more important for the moment.

Whether it's balancing school and work; parenting and work; or even parenting, school, and work, sometimes we neglect what is more important.

I will give you a school example. Why is it that we usually wait till the last possible moment to complete an assignment? Is it because we are procrastinating or is it because it wasn't important until it was actually

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due?

We have a lot of distractions, but how can you determine if something is a distraction or if it is actually important?

For instance, is social media a distraction or is it important? Some would say social media isn't good for you, but some use social media to help promote their image.

The only one that can determine whether if it is good or bad is you.

You can relate these examples to anything that you have in life.

I urge that you find the important things in your life, even if you are criticized for the way you operate.

As long as you are doing what's more important then that's all that matters!

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The fall of the NCAA Hayden Bridges, Staff Writer-Oconee HNBRID2435@ung.edu

The NCAA used to be an organization that helped its own players. It was created specifically to protect the players of college football by creating safer rules and placing stricter guidelines for the game. It was a great source of protection to the student athletes from those who wanted to abuse their talents.

Unfortunately, the NCAA is now a corrupt organization run by selfish, wealthy aristocrats who earned their positions strictly based on politics. Whether it be stealing the money that players earn for them, or completely destroying a college’s football program to cover their own tails (Penn State), the NCAA is internally corrupt.

Let’s start off with the main man in charge - the president of the NCAA: Mark Emmert.

Emmert earned the position of president only after serving completely scandalous tenures at the University of Connecticut and LSU. At UCONN, Emmert served as chancellor, where he oversaw a $1 billion construction project. Over $100 million of that total was lost due to “mismanagement” and over 100 fire and safety code violations were implemented.

All of this information became public shortly after he left UCONN just in the nick of time to take over as the president of LSU. Down in the bayou, Emmert oversaw a program

that epitomized scandal. In 2001, an LSU instructor made accusations of widespread academic fraud about the football program, stating that the football players were receiving incorrect grades so they could remain eligible.

After a self-investigation and punishment of losing two scholarship players that year, the NCAA agreed and gave them the proverbial slap on the wrist. Not long after the ruling, the accusing instructor was fired.

This is your president of the NCAA. Emmert isn’t where all of the corruption started though. This has been going on for years.

The NCAA earns money by placing its logo on items that are sold by colleges. It earns half of the profit made by the item; the other half goes towards the school.

Every time you see someone walking around in a college player’s jersey, or see the player in a video game or on TV, know that the player gets none of the money made off their product.

How hypocritical is that?

The player, who happens to be good enough to have his jerseys mass-produced and sold in stores, earned the NCAA the money they receive from the sale of those jerseys. The player does not receive any of the benefits made from his or her own hard work.

Enter Ed O’Bannon.

O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball player, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act for

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depriving him the right to benefit from his publicity.

In August, a Federal judge ruled in favor of O’Bannon, stating that the NCAA had no right to deprive the student-athletes of the earnings they make off their own likeness. The NCAA has appealed the decision and it is currently ongoing.

After being shot down by the Federal government, the greedy men who run the NCAA still will not admit to their wrongdoings while they try to suck every penny out of the players that they can. So much for protecting the players.

Take Todd Gurley for example. Todd Gurley was just suspended by The University of Georgia for “taking impermissible benefits” by signing autographs for a sports memorabilia dealer and taking some of the profits. Reports are that he took over $3,000 over the course of three years.

NCAA Bylaw 12.5.2.1 prohibits student-athletes from accepting money for promotion or sale of a product or service, and the act of doing so can affect an athlete's amateur status and eligibility to compete in NCAA athletics. In other-words, they can suspend him for as long as they want.

Why? Because they can, and they have shown that they will.

A.J. Green, who also happened to play for UGA, was suspended four games by the NCAA in 2010 for selling a jersey of his for $1,000. That same year, Marcell Dareus,

The NCAA only acts on cases that jeopardize the loss a player at the University of Alabama, reported to have of their own profits. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winreceived $1,700 worth of “impermissible benefits” and ston has been accused of raping a woman, theft, carrying a only received a two-game suspension. firearm on campus and public indecency.

Why? The NCAA profited more from Dareus, who It was not until recent allewas playing for a then-nagations of Winston receiving tional-title-contending “impermissible benefits” for Alabama team, who was autographs that rumors bereceiving much more gan of a possible suspension air-time than a struggling being handed out to Winston Georgia team. via the NCAA. Either that, or the The University of Texas NCAA is a bunch of has taken the first step in incompetent fools who the right direction. At a Big hand out random punish12 sports forum in October, ments for players. Neither Texas Athletic Director Steve of which would surprise Patterson told reporters that anyone.

UT would start paying every In 2012, a report came out that former Texas Photo courtesy of uniformcritics.com student-athlete $10,000 per year if the NCAA court apA&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was paid for signing thousands of items, including peal falls through. Patterson expects it to cost the university $6 million annually. jerseys, that had his signature and name on them.

If the Federal court upholds its initial ruling, and all After a “thorough” investigation, video evidence signs indicate that to be the case, the entire landscape of showed that Manziel had signed thousands of items, but did not show any money being traded, he was immediately collegiate athletics is about to change for the better. reinstated.

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If you could eliminate one thing you dread to do in the morning what would it be?

Bryton Bergman “Shaving”

Matt Parks “An hour commute”

Will Gasaway “Trimming my beard”

Your password is incomplete Raleigh Shouppe Staff Writer-Dahlonega RASHOU5276@ung.edu Password changes are coming up, which totally sucks.

It sucks because they ask so much of you when you’re changing your password. Your password must contain at least eight characters and meet three of these requirements which are: at least one uppercase letter, lower case letter, number, special character, and one Unicode character.

If you were like me, you disregarded the “must meet three” part of the requirements and tried to meet them all. I’m an overachiever, what can I say? This level of overachieving will lead you on a witch hunt trying to find out what the heck a Unicode character is. This witch hunt will lead you to crying for hours on end, and finally giving up on changing your password.

Do not be a Raleigh, read the directions.

Changing the password is not as terrible as it seems, especially when you only need three of the five requirements. The reasons

Photo courtesy of youtube.com

for all the requirements are to make your password as difficult as possible to guess.

The safer your password, the less likely you are to have your life ruined.

If you’re curious as to what a Unicode character is, you should do an online search. If you want to know how to use one of those Unicode characters, I suggest you go talk to the IT department or anyone majoring in Computer Science.

Remember, that you must change your password every 180 days and you cannot use any of the 10 previous passwords you have created.

If you still have questions about passwords, contact IT Services at 706-864-1922.

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Jordan Dockery “Showering”

James Couey/Vanguard Gainesville

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Catcalling women a compliment? Oh, really?

Jessica Shreve Staff Writer-Gainesville JSHRE2590@ung.edu

Recently, the company Hollaback! released a video entitled “10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman”.

It was created to illustrate the role street harassment plays in the daily lives of American women, especially in urbanized areas, and has gone viral as many women identify with the experience it portrays.

The video has sparked multiple discussions on the idea of catcalling, why men do it and why most women do not like it.

The problem, however, is that most of these discussions have a disturbing trend: they consist mostly of women saying that catcalling is annoying at its best and threatening at its worst, and the men involved in these discussions proceeding to talk over them and dismiss these concerns.

The typical responses run along the lines of “You

wouldn’t mind if they were hot.” and “You should learn that it’s “just the way men are”, and that men will do it to take a compliment.” no matter what.

Of course we like to be told, we look good. But This is connected to the “Boys will be boys” mentalthere is a difference between politely complimenting ity which excuses men for other offensive action, and it a woman’s appearance and shouting is, in this case, simply untrue. obscene things at her from the street.

This was proven when a woman in Believe it or not, most women don’t “The need to shout at New Zealand reproduced the experiment and harass women structure their appearances and their from the video in her own country. you find attractive is lives around the hopes that some ranWearing a similar outfit to the woman not just an inherently dom strangers will appreciate them. in New York and walking the streets for male thing- it is unique close to the same amount of time, she As stated by actor and comedian to cultures” Jessica Williams, “Since going to work was spoken to by only two people, one of isn’t a performance, we’re not looking whom complimented her politely and one who was simply asking for directions. for applause.”

This video helps to prove that the need to shout We do not exist as objects for you to gawk and jeer at and harass women you find attractive is not just an at. We are human beings, and when there are scores of inherently male thing. It is unique to cultures more women telling you that catcalling is not complimentary to them, but degrading and even threatening, you might explicit in objectifying and dehumanizing women.

Bottom line: Is catcalling a compliment? do well to just, you know, listen. To us. As humans.

No. It is not. Please stop.

Another common argument in favor of catcalling is

Bad cop, no donut for you. Not today.

Lance McCurley Staff Writer-Oconee MLMCCU8547@ung.edu

It was just another Saturday night in Athens for me and my friends, and we all headed downtown to celebrate another Georgia football win. The night was alive as we hit the bars and people were everywhere lined up trying to get a little more alcohol in their system.

Our group started out the night at Bourbon Street (sorry) for some cheap drinks.

As we made our way through the crowd to the bar my friends started ordering shots. I did not take any because I was elected the designated driver.

We scanned the crowd looking for our girlfriends but they were nowhere to be found so we headed out.

As we made our way through the madness to the exit I noticed there were police officers standing on the sidewalk. I thought to myself “keep it cool, you’re not drinking you’ll be fine.”

Photo courtesy of www.flickr.com

My friends were the first one to make it through the door safely when it was my turn. My heart wasn’t really racing because I’ve done this before many times, but not paying attention, I ran straight in to a tree.

Uh oh.

The bike cops, with all their might, rushed over towards me and picked me up.

I thought that they were trying to help me back to my feet but the jackasses pinned me against the tree.

“Do you know what you just ran into, son?” asked one officer.

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“A tree” I replied.

Thinking this was a smartass response (it kind of was) they threw me to the ground and handcuffed me. I was in complete disarray.

I screamed and shouted for them to let me go.

Some asshole down the street was yelling “free that kid,” which didn’t help. They called for a squad car on their radio and sat me down on the

sidewalk.

Repeatedly they asked me questions like “How much have you had to drink tonight?” and “Are you underage?” and I kept responding with the truth.

They then searched me and ran their hands in uncomfortable places trying to find my wallet, which had slipped out when I fell.

Some nice random gentleman handed it to them several moments later. Then the interrogation began.

One officer asked me all my information as one shined a flashlight right in my eye. He even asked my height and weight from the ID, which I got incorrect because I have grown probably a foot since I first got that license.

My credit cards and cash was thrown all over the sidewalk looking for proof of false identification. All the while they were being rude and unreasonable they demanded my compliance and claimed that I would be safe.

That made me really mad because they were breaking the law by not having any reasonable means to search my persons without my permission.

Then they asked me to submit to a blood-alcohol level test and I agreed. As he put that little tube in my mouth I blew with all my might: .00.

They picked me up off the sidewalk, dusted me off, and sent me on my way.

Several tried to apologize and show their regrets, but as I walked away I responded, “Bad cop, no donut.”

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Nigel the Nighthawk > Mike Hawk SaaraWintersgill Staff Writer-Dahlonega SEWINT3414@ung.edu

This newspaper ran an article by Colin Ochs Aug. 8 on why our mascot should be named Mike Hawk and not Nigel.

“Mike Hawk. Don’t get it? Say it out loud. Now five times fast. Funny, right?”

Funny? No. To me, that sounds like a sophomoric phallic reference. There is a time and a place to chuckle at genitals. A student newspaper isn’t one of the places to do that.

The article reads in part: “Elementary school students don’t go to this university, I go to this university, and I love Mike Hawk.”

It’s almost entertaining to hear a college-aged boy whine about not getting to shout about his genitalia at a sports event.

Perhaps it’s because the writer never got past Freudian’s psychosexual development stage of phallic fascination. There have got to be some abnormal brain patterns going on in this writer’s head. As college students, we’re supposed to be focused on higher education, social maturity, and generally bettering our school in positive ways.

What exactly would calling our mascot Mike Hawk accomplish other than to

satisfy the need for people to reaffirm Oh, you poor young man. You’re so the fact that genitalia exists and to shout repressed and socially stunted. a phrase that satisfies their need to make The fact that this writer even came others aware that they are male? to the conclusion, in jest or not, that not Some people can be traumatized by mentioning his genitalia is a sign of social sexual referencrepression… well, es in settings that just reeks of where it’s one male’s perinappropriate ception of being to have them. persecuted when Before you roll he’s not. your eyes at Also, what’s this, you need wrong with “Nito be aware gel”? It reminds that one in four me of “The Wild college-aged Thornberries” too, women have as the writer of the been sexually Gainesville article assaulted or said. But “The survived an atWild Thornbertempt of sexual ries” reminds me assault. You can of Flea, the lovably never be too insane bassist from careful or too The Red Hot considerate of Chili Peppers who others’ emovoiced one of the Photo courtesy of Vanguard Dahlonega tions. At what characters. At a point did we stop caring about others’ basketball game, I’d much rather hear emotional well-being?

“Nigel” and be reminded of Flea and “I’m tired of social progress being Anthony Kiedis than hear “Mike Hawk!” stunted in this country because we’re wor- and think of a naked college boy’s geniried about the children,” the article reads. tals.

I’ve seen Nigel in action. He’s fine with the name he’s got. I watched the convocation this year at the beginning of August and Nigel was adorably clumsy, failed at his attempted cartwheels and slid across the floor with his hands on his hips before toppling over. He stole the crowd.

His moniker fits him.

I imagine that if his name were “Mike Hawk,” he’d be a hip-thrusting, winged humanoid. Might as well invite a bunch of people from the zoophilic subculture and have them do their thing in costume on the gym floor.

I’m sure you love your k-hawk. I’m sure you enjoyed the fantasy you had about getting to shout “Mike Hawk” in a public setting. Perhaps you subconsciously have an issue with people not acknowledging your masculinity, and this fantasy satisfied that need. Perhaps you need to organize a counterpart to the play “The Vagina Monologues” in which you can talk about your penis in a safe forum.

I’m tired of males trying to shove their love for the existence of their genitalia in everyone else’s business, because we don’t care about your junk. You’ve already been doing this since the dawn of time.

UNG is Nigel’s country, not your khawk‘s.

If you could be a cereal box character for 24 hours, who would it be?

Emily Elliot “Lucky”

Karlie Harris “Tony the Tiger”

Brandon Adams “Count Chocula”

Walsen Green “Captain Crunch”

Ashla Brown “Lucky”

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Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top Breanna Langston Staff Writer-Gainesville BMLANG6740

to Hear, and it was right on point. These tips are not only for the women who are a bit bigger but also for the women who think they are fat. Here are her key points With today’s society telling women that from the article: a size 12, sometimes even a size 10, is plus 1. Everyone has rolls when they bend size there is no wonder they are having over. Everyone. problems with their self images.

2. When people say “you’re gorWomen these days geous”, believe think that in order to look them. “beautiful” they must 3. “Arm flab is obtain a certain image of embarrassing.” a perfect body, wardrobe, No it’s not, go f--k teeth, hair, and makeup yourself. but who are we to define 4. You’re not the definition of beauty. stunning despite Beauty is defined as a your body. You’re combination of qualities, stunning because such as shape, color, or of your body. form, that pleases the 5. A guy can pick aesthetic senses, especially you up off your the sight. But what about feet, and it won’t the old saying, “Beauty is break his back. in the eye of the behold6. You don’t need er?” to exercise every So why is it that day in order to society can tell us that just Photo courtesy of depositphotos.com feel better about because that woman is yourself. a size 14 and she wears clothes that are a 7. You’re allowed to fall in love with little out dated that she is not beautiful just yourself. I promise. because she does not look appealing in our 8. It’s also okay to have days where eyes? Or maybe it is the woman who is a you don’t love yourself. size zero but everyone thinks that she is too 9. Everyone’s boobs are uneven. If skinny and needs to pack on a few pounds. you have a lot of boobs, they might I think it is time that we start empowbe way uneven. ering women and their self images and 10. There are people who prefer large telling them that they are beautiful just the ladies. And I mean all sizes of way they are and that they do not have to large. change just because someone else wants 11. Fat chicks bang hot guys... ALL. them too.

THE. TIME. Not only do we need to empower the 12. Riding during sex will NOT colwomen to think that they are beautiful lapse his insides. but that it is also okay for other women to 13. Wearing whatever you want is a be beautiful in their own ways. Women political statement. should empower each other in their differ14. You are f--king beautiful. ences and help to grow their self esteem It is like singer Meghan Trainor said and boost them up as in society. in her song, “If you got beauty, beauty, Blogger Jes Baker wrote an article called just raise em up cause every inch of you is 14 Things Every Fat Girl Absolutely Needs perfect from the bottom to the top.”

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Goals and obstacles John Amofah Staff Writer-Gainesville JAMOF1965@ung.edu

family. West Georgia University offered a scholarship shortly after graduation, but withdrew the offer two weeks before training camp. Confused and angry, My ninth grade teacher, Mrs. HardI had to find another school quickly esty, who uttered words I will never because the season was approaching. forget, said, “You are too dumb for anyShorter University presented me with one’s college or football program, who a walk-on opportunity, so if I played would ever take you with a 1.9 GPA.” well throughout training camp I would From then on I set out to be a receive a scholarship. At the time I was champion and overcome any adversity hesitant because the price of the school, I faced. Struggling on and off the field but I believed in my skills. I always throughout high school was rough. Not imagined my last two years of school at a playing football my junior year, being huge university. academically ineligible, reflected how I took the walk-on offer from I began my high school campaign at Shorter, and it was the best decision Riverdale High.

I ever made in my life. I received the Sitting out that year of football, made scholarship following training camp and me realize that much more: I I need to take found a family the classroom forever. Trying seriously. Mrs. to get into any Hardesty’s school that would words were accept me in the on repeat in long run hurt me my mind, in the classroom, and I thought though. about them as Transferring to I worked my a private school way back to took credits away Photo courtesy of johndruckenmiller.com eligible status. from me and the Working hard all year in the classscholarship ran out. I ended my footroom, I managed to pull my GPA up ball career on senior night, at Shorter just enough to play my senior year. After University, walking my parents out the an impressive season, scouts began to tunnel, being able to tell my parents notice, but they also noticed my grades.

I did it. I now have one more goal to I couldn’t run the ball for any team that accomplish, which is being the first to I dreamed of with a 2.1 GPA. graduate college in my family.

Instead, I took the junior college Now at the University of North route, playing two years at Northland Georgia, finishing up my communiCommunity College in Minnesota. cation degree, I can say, adversity is Many questioned my decision and felt something that we all face.

I wouldn’t last in the cold. I received an Some handle it better than othassociate’s degree and excelled on the ers and some let it handle them. It’s field receiving MCAC All-American unavoidable and cannot be explained honors. or predetermined but it just happens.

The journey was not complete as You will have to overcome obstacles in I desired to get out the snow, back life that are in the way, which try to stop into the sunshine, closer to home and your success.

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Question: What words or phrases should be retired in 2014?

Birdman shines as the show goes on Alec Larson Staff Writer-Oconee ACLARS1287@ung.edu

Cassi Bieri “Hashtag.”

Ryan Basden "Literally… make it disappear in excess"

Jack Nedza "Yassss"

Matt Wentworth "I'll do it tomorrow"

Samantha Hefner "Keep calm."

Shawanda Cantrelo "Bae."

Rebekah Kerlin/Vanguard Gainesville

With his latest feature film, “Birdman,” Michael Keaton uses his own backstory to make a triumphant return to leading-man form.

The backstory of Keaton’s character in “Birdman” should be familiar to anyone who has been paying attention to the comings and goings of the superhero film industry for the past 20 years.

Michael Keaton plays an actor named Riggan Thomson, who at one point 20 years prior had starred in a multi-million dollar superhero franchise named, you guessed it, Birdman. But after making two Birdman movies, Riggan decided to call it quits in the superhero genre in order to make more serious films.

But wait? Didn’t Michael Keaton act in the similarly

titled, “Batman,” nearly 20 years ago now? Didn’t Michael Keaton also make the decision to shun the best-selling superhero franchise after just two films? Yes, these are the questions you are supposed to be asking yourself as you watch the film.

Michael Keaton may not have been the specific basis for his character, but you can be completely assured that no other actor has been this perfectly suited for a role in years.

The plot of the movie follows Riggan Thomson, now fading away in his 50s, as he attempts to make a comeback by staging a prestige Broadway play. Over the course of three preview performances of the show before it’s opening night, Riggan attempts to hold the production together while also battling some pretty wicked demons within.

Between a temperamental leading man, Thomson’s own

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/MOVIE/REVIEWS/ childish daughter, a terrifying theater critic and the fact that he might be going crazy, the movie follows Riggan as his life begins to spiral into the absurd.

The acting performance done by Michael Keaton in this film is one that is immediately destined for a Best Actor Oscar-nomination.

As Riggan Thomson, Keaton truly lets all of flaws shine. From his growing gut to his almost non-existent hairline, Keaton bares all in order to realistically play a man in fear of his decline.

Between some virtuos physical comedy and a surprising amount of actual gravitas, Keaton creates a character that you cannot take your eyes off of, even as he self-destructs.

Also deserving of mention acting-wise in the film are the performances of Edward Norton and Emma Stone.

As a preening leading man and as Riggan’s daughter respectively, the pair manages to nearly steal the film from Keaton with some sublime scenes.

Also of note in the film is the superb work of the director, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and the cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki.

Coming off his Oscar-winning camera work for the film, “Gravity,” Lubezki manages to accomplish another cinematography feat for the ages with his work in this film.

This feat being the fact that the entire film is visually staged to seem as if it is taking place within one never-ending shot.

Lubeski’s camerawork manages to add a level of ingenuity to the proceedings that one doubts any other cinematographer could have.

Last but not least, it is necessary to say that Inarritu has finally found his calling as a director. After years of directing beautiful but ponderous dramas, Inarritu has really hit on something with his masterful creation of an absurdist epic.

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Nightcrawler: Do you have a camera?

Chase Thomas Staff Writer-Gainesville HCTHOM5086@ung.edu It was the best of times, and if you ever encounter Lou Bloom, it was probably the worst of times.

In Nightcrawler, Jake Gyllenhaall delivers one of his finest, and creepiest, performances to date in which he dives headfirst into the role of the caliginous video reporter, Lou Bloom.

What defines Bloom is his motivation. He manipulates those he can to fulfill his own personal desire to create a successful video production company, disregarding ethical complications for what he sees as the greater good.

To succeed at "nightcrawling", one has to be very, very motivated. It's a cutthroat profession in a cut-throat world.

A news journalists' job, for the most part, is to observe and report the news.

A nightcrawler's job is to capture a tiny sliver of that and sell it to the highest bidder, which is the perfect playground for Bloom to prey on.

Within minutes, the audience is shown the lengths Bloom is willing to go to get ahead in a world where the win-at-all-costs mindset is celebrated and encouraged.

Results are what matters, not the process. This is especially true for a guy like Bloom, who lives in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles.

After failing to land a job with the construction manager who purchased his stolen scrap metal, Bloom's confidence isn't shaken as he stumbles upon a bloody, intense car wreck on the side of a freeway and sees another opportunity to find success -- video journalism.

Bloom is as much of a brilliant survivor as he is a heinous, twisted monster.

He uses those traits to eradicate his

Photo courtesy of youtube.com

competition, hire homeless, vulnerable interns to non-paying gigs and even negotiate his way into becoming one of the most powerful journalists in a newsroom that celebrates his ethically-flawed approach to video journalism.

Director Dan Gilroy wants the audience to feel uncomfortable not just

by Bloom's sociopathic tendencies, but how successful and lionized his approach is in creating his video production empire.

You keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for his perpetual line-stepping to catch up to him, but that moment never comes. Gilroy even teases justice finally being served to Lou by getting two Los Angeles police detectives involved, but Lou's calm and calculated demeanor render those efforts fruitless. It becomes overtly clear once Lou leaves the police station, he is going to get away with it.

Behind Lou's aviator sunglasses is a monster that grows stronger and more confident with every crime scene he films and manipulates to fit his narrative. Lou is not only a very smart, adaptive and terrifying individual but he's

also a narcissist that wants the recognition he feels he deserves because of his "hard work". The only path that leads to that conclusion is crafting his own story, or even worse, inserting himself into the story.

Lou may be the most disturbing character in Nightcrawler, but Gilroy takes it a step further by painting a broader picture of a newsroom that puts aside its ethical obligations for higher ratings and job security, a viewing audience at home that validates the phrase "If it bleeds, it leads", and the chaotic reality that many freelance journalists face on a daily basis.

Lou Bloom is a lot of things, most noticeably motivated and a lover of negotiations, but those traits hadn't led to much until he stumbled his way into the career path that is nightcrawling.

Even with the success, Bloom isn't satisfied until his recognition for his efforts are fulfilled as well.

But with that comes scrapping ethical manuals and concocting your own narrative.

Lou can live with that. Can you?

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11

Question: What are your holiday plans?

Maril Jaramillo “Staying home in Oakwood.”

Anastasiya Skutar “Me and my boyfriend are going to the Smoky Mountains.”

Natalie Mitcham “Staying home spending time with family in Warner Robbins.”

Daniel Ford "Sleep."

Michael Mankin “What holiday plans? Haha I gotta work.”

Rebekah Kerlin/ Vanguard Gainesville

Shelbie Chandler “Going to my stepdad’s mom’s house.”

I give thanks for the food Caleb Hutchins Staff Writer-Gainesville CDHUTC7882@ung.edu

I love Thanksgiving. Why, you might ask. It’s not because of stopping to give thanks for all the good things in life. I enjoy being around my family, but I could do that on any old Sunday afternoon. It certainly isn’t for that increasingly boring parade (how many Snoopy balloons need to take to the air?). I love Thanksgiving because for one glorious day out of the year everyone comes together to share in my personal favorite pastime: eating and doing nothing.

With that in mind, the eating part is particularly important. A bad Thanksgiving meal can ruin the attitude of the rest of the day.

Fortunately I have rarely run across a just plain bad Thanksgiving meal. However I have often contemplated what the perfect Thanksgiving feast would

• • • • • • • •

look like. Surely many of you have had similar thoughts, but I have decided to sit down and give it some proper thought. A real attempt to sort out the ideal meal.

To start the beverages must be right. The ideal way to approach this is options. Everyone likes different drinks so provide choice. Water, soda, tea, coffee or even punch. This way nobody can complain that their liquid of choice was not excluded.

Next comes the entrée. Don’t try to be the clever person.

Turkey. The way it’s cooked is almost irrelevant but I prefer a traditional style oven-cooked bird.

The surrounding options are possibly the biggest key to the spread. You need a good mix of vegetables that people actually eat along with food adults and kids will both enjoy. Dressing is a must, along with rolls and mashed potatoes. Add macaroni

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and cheese to appease all age groups. As far as vegetables go, I recommend fried okra but any vegetable will do as long as it’s something people really enjoy, not pretend to like as they shovel it onto their plate but then eat three bites of.

Dessert is where you have some leeway, as people are likely so full that a bad dessert will go unnoticed. Its hard to go wrong with pie, and nobody should complain about apple pie. I also truly enjoy some form of cookie to finish the feast as I make my way to the television.

You undoubtedly have some disagreements with my list but that’s another reason why Thanksgiving is so great. You and your family can make it your own.

So say gobble-gobble, set up your Pilgrim and Indian salt and pepper shakers and even watch that god-awful parade. Celebrate, it’s Thanksgiving!

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas But it's not Christmas yet

merce, says that starting the music early hurts other holidays.

“They play this music nonstop from Halloween to ChristIn the shopping malls and mas while totally skipping over outlets, Christmas can already be Thanksgiving,” Leroy said. “I seen in full swing. know there is not really any All of the decorations and Thanksgiving music but come music fill the air. Stores hang on.” mistletoe and holly while the Mark Valentine, manager of sent of generic gingerbread and the Tanger Outlet Mall, says that peppermint fill the air. the stores start playing Christmas Since Christmas is coming music early to remind the shopfaster and faster every year, pers that Christmas is on its way. will people start getting tired of “Sometimes shoppers are so Christmas music? busy that they forget that ChristWorking in retail, I started mas is right around the corner hearing Christmas music the first and most wait till the last minute day of November. From “Jingle to do their Bell Rock” Christmas to “Run Run shopping,” Rudolf”, I have heard it all.

Valentine said.

Personally, “When we I like Christplay the music mas music and we hope that it have always will get people enjoyed taping to do their my toes and Christmas sinning along shopping while to the classics. they are here Everyone Photo courtesy of and not have to knows Christprojectinspired.com get out in the mas songs. madness of the They are timelast minute shop,” Valentine said. less pieces of Americana that all There is nothing we can do to of us have been sinning since we slow down Christmas music. We, were little kids.

The fact that some places start as consumers, must live with the playing this music before Hallow- music that are in the stores.

You may listen to your One een has some people out of the Direction CD while you drive, Christmas sprit. but while you shop it’s “Silent Alisha Leroy, an employee at Night”. the Tanger Outlet mall in ComDavid Chandler Staff Writer-Gainesville DMCHAN3581@ung.edu

Sydney Motes Staff Writer-Gainesville SLMOTE8986 I work in retail, and anyone who either works in retail or has worked in retail for any length of time knows just how hard it can be – especially during the holiday season.

In retail, the holiday season begins in September and never really ends.

There’s Valentine’s Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and just summer in general being treated as one big holiday season.

And then, before we know it, fall happens, and suddenly it’s time for changing leaves and pumpkin spice lattes and candy. From there everything just snowballs into one big holiday season.

Because people will buy things regardless of whether or not the purchase is really needed, the holiday season is slowly progressing and becoming lengthier, happening earlier.

Don’t believe me? You should.

I worked Halloween evening, a simple four-hour shift at Kroger.

As expected there were kids running around in costumes, parents buying last-minute bags of candy for trick-or-treaters, and people buying alcohol for

We wish we could change the song

Photo courtesy of poststar.com

various shenanigans. In short, the store was still in full Halloween mode; all of the candy and costumes and decorations were still on the shelves.

The next afternoon, the first day of November, I went in to work and it was as if Christmas had exploded.

Gone was Halloween and suddenly it was time for Santa Claus and reindeer and eggnog and trees and lights and presents and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

I don’t know about other families, but Thanksgiving is a big deal for mine. Everyone gets together for a huge lunch at my parent’s house, and we just all spend time together – then it happens all over again for Christmas.

That is the chronological order of things: Thanksgiving

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and then Christmas. It’s just how it’s supposed to happen.

But now it doesn’t, and it really bothers me. I don’t want to walk into places on Nov. 1 and see everything in red and green.

I do not start listening to Christmas music at any moment before Thanksgiving. It simply isn’t time yet.

Maybe it’s because I have slight OCD tendencies, I don’t really know, but it bothers me when people just skip over Thanksgiving.

And that is exactly what’s happening. Commercials are already pitching for the perfect gift. Stores are already displaying Christmas décor, and people are already singing Christmas music.

And Sydney Motes is not a fan.

University of North Georgia Student Newspaper

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your voice matters Question: are cumulative exams fair?

Ivy Smith “I don’t think we should have cumulative tests because they are very stressful.”

Alec Larson “I don’t think there should be cumulative tests at the end of the year. I think you should be rewarded for having made it through the year with like pizza parties and videos.”

Conner Pearce “I just wanna care about the subject, actually care and, you know, not put all my priorities, and stress and worries into getting every question right on this test.”

Ben Tankersley “I think cumulative finals can work but they need to be done correctly not nit-picking, pointless info but actually pointing out the most important things learned throughout the semester.”

Desten Brown “Cumulative tests are not fair because the idea of finals or whatever is what are you going to take away from the class, and the focus on nit-picky details that you learned at the beginning of the semester does not in any way reflect that.”

Dawson Knick “I do think there should be a final but I don’t think it should count as much for your grade. I think it should be more like CRCT where it’s like a pass or fail, like if you get credit for the class or not but it doesn’t go towards your grade.”

Will Turner “I don’t think they are fair because every person learns differently. To basically throw a pile of questions for people to memorize by the end of the semester, that’s really stupid and it doesn’t accomplish anything except stresses out the student and gives them a bunch of information that they’re gonna forget the second the test is over.”

Alex Popp “I think they’re fair. I think they’re a good idea because they make you go back and relearn stuff that you’ve forgotten throughout the semester and it definitely puts it all in your brain before you leave and go to the next semester.”

UNG Vanguard Oconee

14 University of North Georgia Student Newspaper

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The Future of the Final Frontier Charles Garcia Staff Writer-Dahlonega CMGARC3780@ung.edu

At the height of the Cold War, nations competed to establish themselves as the first explorers of the far reaches of space. Nationalism, science and the unknown, all were contributing factors of mankind’s desire to shoot for the stars.

With the beginning of the 21st century, space programs from around the globe still represent major world powers.

Despite the role of public funding in space exploration, private entities have now entered the industry, marking the latest chapter of the final frontier.

State actors continue to carry the greatest weight of space research. On Sept. 14, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) announced the arrival of their Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) to the Red Planet.

Many argue that Mars should be the next manned space mission.

MOM, also known as Mangalyaan, reached the orbit of Mars as part of a mission to showcase India’s space technologies and develop a better understanding of the mysterious planet.

The overall cost of the probe was around $74 million, well under the budget of the recent Hollywood space film, “Gravity.”

The lowering costs of space exploration opened the industry to all sorts of competitors. Governments and corporations from around the world are beginning to realize the accessibility of the final frontier.

In 2004, British mogul Richard Branson founded Virgin Galactic as a commercial spaceflight service. The company plans on creating a market for suborbital flights for space tourists, where individuals can enjoy the feelings of zero gravity.

Will states or businessmen, like Bran-

son and Elon Musk, fund the next stage of exploration?

Virgin Galactic has already sold over 700 tickets to various customers such as Kate Winslet, Ashton Kutcher, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. Aside from Hollywood types, important business leaders and personalities, like Stephen Hawking, have also signed up.

It should come as no surprise that only the wealthiest individuals have bought their tickets into space. Virgin Galactic currently offers customers a ticket for $250,000 per seat. Nonetheless, Branson’s customers might be disappointed with further delays in light of this year’s corporate catastrophes.

Virgin Galactic’s spaceship will be used to carry tourists into suborbital flight, taking passengers right on the fringe of the void.

On Oct. 31, the Virgin Galactic’s VSS Enterprise experienced a mid-flight malfunction, resulting in the death of one pilot and serious injury of another. This incident holds the potential to delay space tourism by a few more years.

If you’re worried a few crashes will discourage investors, think otherwise. Elon Musk’s space company, SpaceX, currently enjoys a $2.6 billion contract with NASA for sending resupply flights to the International Space Station.

SpaceX also experienced a failed launch with one of their rockets in the same month as the VSS Enterprise crash.

In any case of scientific research, failure and disaster must be expected as an aspect of innovation. Think of all the dogs and monkeys that never made it back to Earth. More tragically, imagine all the human beings that may have died in the cold embrace

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of the void, such as the suspected lost Cosmonauts.

The organization plans on hiring engineers to construct abodes for the lifelong settlers.

Since the Space Race, mankind has understood the various dangers encountered off planet.

Despite these risks, many people remain committed to pushing human exploration to the limit. Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk the Moon, actively campaigns for a manned mission to Mars.

In 2014, thousands of individuals signed up for a chance to participate in the Mars One mission. Led by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, the organization created a conceptual design of a human colony on Mars. The entire

operation will be funded by a combination of donations, investors and filming the mission as a reality TV show.

Back at UNG, the student body can take pride in our university’s contribution to space research.

In 2012, a group of NASA scientists traveled to the university’s observatory to help with the installation of cameras and sensors. These devices currently monitor data on meteorites falling within Earth’s atmosphere.

Space tourism might be a real phenomenon in our lifetimes, but the prospect still seems far off. With the privatization of the space industry, the likelihood seems even higher everyday.

Still, I’m happy to see us shooting Hollywood off into space instead of dogs and monkeys this time around.

Photo courtesy of www.telegraph.co.uk

University of North Georgia Student Newspaper

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Hookup closets: Colin Ochs News Editor-Gainesville CTOCHS4561@ung.edu College is all about meeting new people, and then hooking up with those people. Unfortunately at the University of North Georgia, we don’t have many good hookup spots and that needs to change.

At most universities, they have dorms. Invite a girl (or guy) over, put a sock on the door, and boom, you’re golden. With the exception of the Dahlonega campus, us Nighthawks don’t have that luxury and it’s a real bummer to be deprived of such an integral part of the American college experience.

I feel a compromise is in order. It’ll be years before the Gainesville campus gets dorms if ever. So in the meantime, I propose we designate some hookup closets.

They could literally be closets, or we could repurpose already existing rooms. Maybe put a bed in there, or just install curtains on the study room widows. Problem solved.

Now that I think about it, it seems like those gigantic widows in the study rooms are there solely to discourage what I’m trying to encourage. Not cool, bro.

If the yearning is strong enough, it doesn’t matter where it goes down; all that matters is that it does go down. Whether we’re in a Venetian villa or the handicap stall at a Kmart, it’s going down. Because ladies, it doesn’t matter where I am as long as I’m with you.

Of course this is only a temporary solution to curb

Please Do Not Disturb

Photo courtesy of bryndonovan.tumblr.com

Not pictured: Colin Ochs. the horniness until we are able to build dorms, kind of like when a high school is overpopulated and they stuff students into those trailers turned classrooms. You do what you got to do, but I think this will be a win-win for students and the administration.

The win for students is obvious. You can have sex and who doesn’t like that?

Sex is also a great stress reliever. Feeling anxious

about that final? Grab your study partner, head over to the hookup closet and knock one out of the park. You’ll feel a lot better after getting that load off your chest and you’ll probably do better on the exam, too.

The win for the administration? Well, they can have sex, too, if they want, but I’m looking more at the well-being of the students. What’s better for an administrator at a college then knowing that they have a happy and healthy student population?

Sheenie Ambardar, M.D., a psychiatrist in West Hollywood, California, says via WebMD that sex is not only a prescription for a healthy life, but a happy one. And she’s a doctor, a female doctor for that matter, advocating for more sex. We should definitely listen to her.

Point is that sex strengthens your immune system, lowers blood pressure, is great exercise, lowers heart attack risk, is a great pain reliever, lowers the risk of prostate cancer in men, improves sleep, and boosts your self-esteem and happiness as well as the aforementioned stress relief. (This is all backed by medical research. I’m not going to tell you which research though because you all know how to use Google. Look it up.)

So stop having sex because you love the person and start doing it for your health.

Giving students the freedom to do the dirty will have this school humming like an occupied hookup closet, and what administrator wouldn’t want that.

I see no downside to this plan and if you do, keep it to yourself, you prude. I’ll be too busy looking for a hookup closet.

If you could change one thing about UNG, what would it be?

Kyle Wilson “Add awnings over sidewalk.”

Jack Gale “Smoking sections.”

Ethan Cantrello “Studio accessibility at all times of the day.”

Rebekah Kerlin/Vanguard Gainesville

16 University of North Georgia Student Newspaper

Jessi Austin “Administration. The way the registrar’s office treats people.”

Cody McDaniels “Change the UNG Nighthawks credit card only option at vending machines.”

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