Women’s B-ball wins home finale
Students take the Polar Plunge
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Volume 31 • Issue 16
AAF holds ADDYs
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Switchfoot
Students win 40 awards Shae Leitz sleitz@liberty.edu
Liberty students received a total of 20 gold and 20 silver ADDY awards at the official award ceremony of the American Advertising Federation (AAF) Advertising Awards Competition at the Patrick Henry Ballroom in Roanoke, Va. Saturday, Feb. 22. Liberty won more gold awards than all other univerisites at the event combined, according to Todd Smith, chair of the Studio and Digital Arts (SADA) department. Radford University won five gold and 14 silver ADDYs, Virginia Tech recieved three gold and one silver ADDY, and Lynchburg College brought home five gold and eight silver ADDYs, according to Smith. There are 12 total categories in which students may submit their design work, and 47 subcategories, according to the AAF website. The competitions take place in 161 locations across the nation, one in the Virgin Islands and one in the West Indies. Smith said Liberty won 11 awards for collateral material, three for consumer of trade publication, five for digital advertising, one for direct marketing, 15 for elements of advertising, one for nontraditional advertising and four for sales promotion. According to the AAF website, applicants must be enrolled in an accredited U.S. educational institution in order to participate in the competition.
See ADDY, A7
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
FADING WEST — Students and CFAW guests packed the Thomas Road sanctuary Feb. 21 for a Switchfoot concert.
CFAW takes over campus Liberty held its first College for a Weekend of the spring semester Feb. 20-23 Tiffany Samuels tksamuels@liberty.edu
Quiz Bowl qualifies
An estimated 2,000 guests visited Liberty University’s campus to experience the first College for a Weekend (CFAW) of the Spring semester Feb. 20-23, according to the Student Advocate Office (SOA). Students and their families participated in several activities and events throughout the
Team to go to nationals Mark Tait mtait@liberty.edu
The Liberty University Quiz Bowl team placed fourth out of 13 teams in the National Academic Quiz Tournament (NAQT) Mid-Atlantic sectional held at Virginia Tech Feb. 8 and qualified for its first trip to the national Intercollegiate Championship Tournament (ICT) in Chicago March 28-29, according to Dr. Jim Nutter, Liberty’s quiz bowl coach. Liberty (9-4) defeated teams such as the University of Virginia (345-175), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (310-205) and Davidson University (490-120) to earn an average of 364 points per game, according to the NAQT’s website. The team’s average score ranked 25th among the 103 teams in the nation and solidified an opportunity for Liberty to join the top 32 universities in the country at the ICT.
See QUIZ BOWL, A3
weekend, including workshops and athletic events, according to the CFAW itinerary. Johnnie Moore, Liberty senior vice president for communications, encouraged prospective students during Friday’s Convocation to try to find out if the university is meant for them, and Liberty alumnus and Oakland Raiders running back Rashad Jennings surprised students and
visitors during the service. Joshua Best, a current student at West Virginia University, said he hopes to transfer to Liberty next fall. Best said attending Liberty would not only help him academically but spiritually. “It’s a great atmosphere here, and the people are very nice,” Best said. “You really need that if you are trying to go deeper into your relationship with God.”
Visitors and their families also witnessed the Lady Flames basketball team defeat Winthrop in an 80-69 victory Saturday, Feb. 22. Best attended the game and said he enjoyed the activities during CFAW. “Liberty offers the students so much,” Best said.
See CFAW, A8
Snowflex gains popularity The Sochi Olympics has brought attention to athletes training on artificial snow Joshua Janney jjanney@liberty.edu
Liberty ski and snowboard Head Coach Ryan Leeds said he believes the artificially engineered slopes of the Snowflex has a broad appeal among riders, and the use of it to train Olympic-level-athletes is only increasing interest. Although the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre is the first slope of its kind in
North America, several Olympic athletes have come to use its slopes such as James “Woodsy” Woods, Katie Summerhayes and Jamie Nicholls of the Great Britain Team, according to the Snowflex website. “I think Snowflex attracts people mainly because it’s different,” Leeds said. “Ours here is a very freestyle oriented Snowflex facility. So that definitely attracts the (type of) crowd that we get.”
Despite the appeal of the Snowflex, Leeds feels most people are drawn to it out of convenience rather than attraction. “Snow is what we would prefer to be on, as it’s a better substance,” Leeds said. “But Snowflex isn’t a bad alternative. It’s the closest that we’ll get. We appreciate it, we like being able to snowboard and ski year round.” Amber Lachniet| Liberty Champion
See SNOW, A6 SLOPE — Snowflex offers winter sports year-round.
INSIDE THE CHAMPION News
Sports
Feature
Irving Roth, a Holocaust survivor, speaks in Convocation Feb. 24. A2
NFL players Mike Brown and Rashad Jennings visit campus Feb. 21-22. B1
Panel, Liberty professors discuss the Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham debate. B7
News Opinion Sports Feature
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A2/Liberty Champion
NEWS
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Holocaust survivor speaks Irving Roth shares a story of perseverance through the Holocaust’s hardships Emily Webster ewebster@liberty.edu
Ana Campbell | Liberty Champion
FILM — Bowden is assisting a non-profit.
Alumnus helps film Bowden co-writes script Brittany Jones bjones24@liberty.edu
Liberty alumnus Daniel Bowden said he enjoys seeing a story on paper come to life on film, and he will soon have the opportunity to be a part of bringing a story to life. Bowden is working with Alexander Films and Live the Life Partners, a Lynchburgbased non-profit, to produce a featurelength movie to be filmed in Roanoke, Va. in March. According to Alexander Films’ website, the film is called “Crossing Streets” and features a police detective and a Methodist minister in a buddy cop drama, a film featuring two people of different backgrounds working together to solve a crime. Bill Dewhurst, a former professor at Liberty, is the coproducer with Marc Hutchins. Dewhurst said he developed the idea for the story, and Bowden was brought in to take that story and make a script. “The inspiration started with a love for buddy cop dramas,” Bowden said. “The inspiration now is to support our non-profit, Straight Street, out of Roanoke.” According to Alexander Films’ website, Straight Street is a non-profit with a mission to serve children and families at risk. They have worked with the community, including the Roanoke City Police, to support children and families in the Roanoke Valley since 1994. “Alexander Films and Live the Life Partners have developed a unique film initiative that enables a feature film to support nonprofits through promotion and funding,” Alexander Films’ website states. According to the website, the film model is set up to give 100 percent of the profits to Straight Street after production costs are covered by the donations and support of Roanoke leaders and businesses. “I hope the film model we’re using can be used successfully many times over,” Bowden said. “It’s an incredible model and one we are all anxious to use multiple times with many non-profits.” Bowden said he also hopes that “Crossing Streets” will be “a quality, compelling and entertaining film.” According to Dewhurst, the detectiveminister partnership in the movie set off on a journey to solve a gang-related shooting. They soon discover that the incident is a small part of a bigger story where catching the killer means putting a stop to an all-out gang war. In the process, they learn that they will have to work together to save lives. “Marc had talked about wanting it to be a ‘Lethal Weapon meets Castle’ kind of film, almost a dramedy,” Bowden said. “Great action and drama, but also great humor. And I definitely think the script captures that.” According to Bowden, “Crossing Streets” is not a faith-based film. It is, however, a family-film made and produced by Christians that reflects Christian ethics of grace, mercy, justice and redemption. “I love seeing a story on paper come to life visually,” Bowden said. “It’s one thing to develop characters, throw them into crazy scenarios and write dialogue for them to say, but when I get to see actors bring that to life, make it their own and something even better, that’s an incredible experience.” According to Bowden, though an open casting call was already held in Roanoke, some roles are still being filled. Anyone interested can contact Hutchins at marc@ alexanderfilms.com. Alexander Films’ website states viewers can go to their Facebook page for more information on ways to support the film through monetary gifts or volunteer work. JONES is a news reporter.
Irving Roth, Holocaust survivor and coauthor of “Bondi’s Brother: A Story of Love, Loss, Betrayal and Liberation,” took the Liberty University Convocation stage Monday, Feb. 24, describing the horrors he faced as a Jew during World War II. After laws were enacted forbidding Jews to go to school, participate in sports and own businesses, among other things, Roth said the Nazis took his parents away as they began the process of eliminating all the Jews of Europe. Soon after, the Nazis packed Roth, his grandparents and his brother in a cattle car and took them to Auschwitz, a concentration camp in the suburbs of Oswiecim, Poland. “The hope and prayer (kept me going) that I would survive,” Roth said. “I was 15 years old, I (had not) lived yet … and so I wanted to live, and (I was) hoping that I would be able to live.”
Leah Stauffer | Liberty Champion
SURVIVOR — Roth speaks to students about how racial prejudice affected his life. Using this hope and prayer as his key to survival, Roth said the Nazis fled in 1945, and he was freed from Auschwitz. Now, he uses his experiences and memories to raise awareness about the importance of not repeating history. Roth pointed out how Iran could potentially follow in the footprints of the Nazis, and those watching this occur should work at stopping this dissention.
Roth takes part in Adopt a Survivor, a program that enables Holocaust survivors to tell their stories to younger generations, according to Roth. Roth said the goal of this organization is for everyone involved to be able to stand up in 2045 and tell the story of at least one survivor from whom they learned. “In 10 years from now, 20 years from now, there will be no
survivors,” Roth said. “Who will tell the story? The stories can change history. ... The effect of this will transfer not just the knowledge, but the soul of the survivor to the next generation. So you, the next generation, can see from the position of knowledge and understanding and soul.” Roth has received various awards for his promotion of the need for education of the Holocaust, according
to his Facebook page. “(These awards are) a recognition of the organizations and people of what we’re doing … because that’s what’s important,” Roth said. Roth encouraged students to understand and gain awareness for what is going on around the world in order to prevent another Holocaust. WEBSTER is a copy editor.
Commuters focus on holiness Students learn the importance of community at the Master’s Inn campground James Ebrahim jebrahim2@liberty.edu
Thirty-five Liberty University commuter students gathered at the Master’s Inn campground for a weekend retreat Feb. 21-23. Activities at the event included paintball, horseback riding, a climbing tower, a zipline, team-building exercises, a scavenger hunt and other games, according to Wislaine Dormay, senior Women’s Life Skills Coordinator at the Campus Pastor’s Office. “I think it is exciting,” the Rev. Dane Emerick, senior campus pastor, said. “This is the first time we have done something like this for commuters.” The Master’s Inn started out as a training facility for young pastors in 1974 and turned into a campground that is “designed to reach children, youth and adults for Jesus Christ through Christian camping and outdoor recreation,” according to their website. “We wanted something close to Liberty, but at the same time, we wanted students to feel like they were out
of town a little bit,” Dormay said. “Master’s Inn was amazing working with us.” The campground is located in Alta Vista, Va., approximately 15 minutes from Liberty. The goal of the retreat was twofold, according to Dormay. “(The first goal was) for students to create a community, to make friends they never would have met if they didn’t come here,” Dormay said. Hannah Underhill, an advertising and public relations major, explained how the retreat was a great way to meet other commuters. “My favorite thing about the retreat was being able to connect with other commuters. That is something that is not very available here at Liberty,” Hannah Underhill said. “I like the spiritual aspect here, to be able to connect with brothers and sisters in Christ that you don’t get to see a whole lot.” According to Dormay, the second goal of the retreat was for commuters to meet campus pastors so they know who they should go to if they have
1. SOCHI, RUSSIA: READY OR NOT?
James Ebrahim | Liberty Champion
RECREATION — Commuters enjoy a game of paintball in the woods. problems. “The kids are getting to know the Campus Pastor’s Office, that we are here for them as pastors,” Emerick said. Along with the games and activities, the retreat also included preaching and breakout sessions. According to Dormay, the theme of the retreat was holiness. “From a pastor’s heart, you are looking at what students are wrestling with,” Campus Pastor Timothy Voogd said. “We see the symptoms surface themselves in wrong things, bad behavior,
whatever you want to call it. We know this, and we continue to say stop, stop, stop and don’t, don’t, don’t.” According to Voogd, the focus of the messages was not on what students should not do but what students should strive to become. “I’d rather teach my kids than spank them,” Voogd said. “It’s positive reinforcement, really, and God is the one who originated it.” According to Voogd, there were three themes students talked about in breakout groups: discipleship,
pursuit of holy living through God’s power and grace versus legalism. Voogd said the breakout groups were fine-tuning students’ knowledge of what it is to be holy. According to Dormay, the Campus Pastor’s Office hopes to do the retreat again next year. “The students love it, and they are asking us to have it again next year,” Dormay said. “It has gone really well.” EBRAHIM is a news reporter.
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NEWS
Liberty Champion/A3
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
SAO offers new scholarship to students The Priority Program is now open to all current residential students as well as incoming freshmen who apply Evelyn Hylton ehylton2@liberty.edu
Liberty University has expanded its Priority Program scholarship to include current residential students, according to the Student Advocate Office (SAO). Students who complete the Four A’s of Admission — apply, accept, assist and attend — in a timely matter can enter in a drawing to win a scholarship from $5,000 to full tuition, according to the Liberty University website. Until this semester, only incoming freshmen could benefit from the Priority Program. Now, current undergraduate students are able to take advantage of a Priority Program as well. “We have a Priority Program for our incoming students, and (we thought) it would be awesome to offer a similar program for our current students,” Executive Director Residential Enrollment Management Dr. Larry Hoezee said. After gaining approval from the senior vice president enrollment management, Hoezee said the SAO passed the extension proposal on to President Jerry Falwell, Jr., who signed the Priority Program extension into action. All current students need to do to enter into this scholarship drawing is register early for the fall 2014 semester by April 15 and complete financial check-in before May 1.
QUIZ BOWL continued from A1 “It shows, I think, that we can compete with anybody academically,” Nutter said. “The sectional (tournament) covers five states, and of those five states we were top four, so I think it shows that we’re very strong academically and not just in the religion questions – not just in the Bible questions. We know our science. We know our literature, our history and our geography.” At the national tournament, Liberty will have the opportunity to test its academic strength
“Everyone who completes this process before the date will benefit,” Hoezee said, predicting at least 1,000 current students will register by the early registration deadline. According to Hoezee, students who decide to take advantage of early registration will automatically be entered to win scholarships ranging from $1,750 to $2,000 in addition to the financial aid already guaranteed by the Priority Program. To help determine prospective scholarship figures more precisely, SAO Director Justin Mercer advised students to be proactive in completing financial check-in and Free Application for Student Aid to take full advantage of Priority Program. Aside from the significant financial benefits, the Priority Program encourages both current and future students to develop a strong sense of diligence and proactivity, Hoezee explained. “In a sense it assists to create an environment of readiness,” Hoezee said. “(The Priority Program) just continues the momentum in that regard.” Hoezee acknowledged the ultimate goal of the Priority Program is to “foster plans of the diligent” according to Proverbs 21:5, which states, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” According to Mercer, students are welcome to stop by the SAO in DeMoss Hall 2247 to gather more information about
against teams such as Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Chicago, according to the ICT’s website. Nutter said he has wanted to compete against Ivy League schools for some time, and he is looking forward to the opportunity. “It’s huge … that (some of) the schools we’re going to go up against are Ivy League,” Nutter said. “It’s the top tier, academically, of both colleges here in America and in Canada.”
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
STUDY — Students can apply for the Priority Program Scholarship online. the Priority Program and other scholarships offered by Liberty, which can be found in the SAO scholarship binders. Hoezee and Mercer strongly encourage students to attend one of several free presentations titled Scholarship Search 101. These hour-long informational sessions are designed to help students find and apply for scholarships, giving them the opportunity to ask questions and hear
According to Nutter, while his team will challenge some of the nation’s most academically recognized universities, Liberty will compete in the division two tournament, which only includes teams traveling to nationals for the first time. “None of them have been to nationals before, so we’re all on the same level playing field,” he said. According to Nutter, he believes his team has the ability needed to compete with some of the best teams in the country. “From what other coaches and players have told me, it’s not the
testimonials from former Liberty scholarship beneficiaries. To view the schedule for future Scholarship Search 101 events, students may visit liberty.edu/admissions/studentadvocate. For more information, visit liberty.edu/ sao or call the Student Advocate Office at 434-582-7200. HYLTON is a news reporter.
caliber of the school you have to worry about,” Nutter said. “It’s the caliber of the team … We’ve got the balance of four players … that are pretty much knowledgeable in all of the areas.” Liberty’s team includes Catherine Hardee, a second-year graduate student majoring in history, Kaity Shondelmyer, a junior biochemistry major, Jon Bateman, a junior social sciences major, and Greta Hanks, an English major, who also specializes in the areas of geography and music, according to Nutter. Nutter said Hardee has played a vital role in the team’s success,
and he said he believes she will continue to do so at the national tournament. “She just has knowledge in so many areas,” he said. “She’s a history major, but she is so well read,” he said. “I’m very proud of her, and I would like to send her out this way, on a positive note.” For more information on the national tournament, visit NAQT.com/ict.
TAIT is the asst. news editor.
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OPINION
A4
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Craigslist killer claims multiple murders Government officials remain skeptical of the authenticity of Miranda Barbour’s confession to killing more than 22
Gabriella Fuller gfuller2@liberty.edu
The story reads like a real-life rendition of the television show “Criminal Minds” — childhood abuse and prolific drug misuse create a complex, convoluted psyche with dangerous subconscious tendencies. But this is not your typical tortured soul. Cue the suspenseful music and prepare yourself for the most disturbing element of the story: The murder suspects are newlyweds, and their killing is for pleasure. The premise is enough to cause chills. But the story does not end here. In fact, it is just beginning. This is the true account of Pennsylvania husband and wife killing team Elytte and Miranda Barbour. Popularly referred to as the “Craigslist Killer” by news outlets, Miranda Barbour has continued making headlines nationwide since her Feb. 18 confession, which indicated culpability for more than just the single murder tag-teamed with her husband. Miranda Barbour’s jailhouse statement reveals she might be guilty of mass murder, killing more than 22 individuals across the United States. According to a shocking interview with reporter Francis Scarcella from the Daily Item newspaper in Sunbury, Pa., the 19-year-old murder suspect is claiming to be a serial killer with a Satanic alter-ego. Though authorities have not yet corroborated any of the Barbours’ claims, the alleged confessions have raised
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MURDER — Barbour was arrested for the killing of 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara. concerns across state lines, as missing persons experts reopen cold case files for investigation. I believe that the Barbours killed Troy LaFerrara after his response to a companionship advertisement on Craigslist. But the additional 22-plus murders across the nation leave me a bit more suspicious. First, I am curious as to how Miranda Barbour managed to meticulously pull off
more than 20 murders with no evidence whatsoever, only to be caught so quickly for her Craigslist murder. Second, criminologist Jack Levin told CNN that though it is possible, it is unlikely that Miranda Barbour is a serial killer. “Anything is possible, and of course it’s conceivable that she’s a serial killer,” Levin said. “But few women are serial killers, and those few are typically older
and don’t use knives, as Barbour is accused of doing.” Miranda Barbour is a disturbed, confused individual with a sick need for attention. Even after her interview and confession, she has shown no signs of remorse or repentance for her violence. In fact, Scarcella quoted her as saying, “If I were to be released, I would do this again.” Though Miranda Barbour claims not to want attention, a Facebook fan page has already been created in her name. It would seem the self-proclaimed Satanist is on her way to cult status. Why anyone would create a fan page for a murderer is sickening. Fostering a community of likeminded criminals gives not only appalling insight into the depravity of our society, but it creates a dangerous environment for the glorification of criminals. Whether Miranda Barbour was indeed a part of a Satanic cult or not, her actions are evil, and they ought to be mourned rather than exalted. LaFerrara may have acted foolishly in his response to the Craigslist advertisement, but his death was tragic nonetheless. As a society, we should not be increasing the attention this case receives if for any reason other than awareness. As the Barbours have proved, wickedness and depravity are prevalent in our world, and we must become increasingly cautious of our actions both online and in person.
All Americans deserve the right to vote Past imprisonment should not disqualify felons and ex-convicts from participating in the democratic system
David Van Dyk dvandyk@liberty.edu
Attorney General Eric Holder has recently been ramping up his actions within the Department of Justice in contrast to his first few dormant years under the Obama Administration. With this new second wind, Holder has been tackling issues that have been near and dear to his heart, most notably the issue of racism and civil rights. While President Barack Obama has been quiet on this issue, Holder has been noted to speak on this sensitive topic, often talking about the closeness of civil rights and criminal justice. His most recent speech at Georgetown University highlighted this point. Speaking to a group of advocates concerning the need to reform the criminal justice system and mass incarceration, Holder spoke about the necessity of allowing felons the right to vote. “Although well over a century has passed since post-Reconstruction states used these measures to strip African-Americans of their most fundamental rights, the impact of felony disenfranchisement on modern communities of color
remains both disproportionate and unacceptable,” Holder said. While I believe that felons should be given the right to vote once their sentence has been completed, I believe while they are serving their sentence, they must realize that breaking the law does not allow you to take part in the judicial system. Once they have understood this, it is paramount that we re-integrate them back into the society that their actions have separated them from. Because that individual has served his or her sentence, we as a people expect and hope that the individual chooses a new beginning — a fresh start after their time has been completed. That is why I was surprised when I listened to people talk about the partisan impacts this would have on elections. I consider myself a Conservative, finding that my biblical beliefs most often line up with those of Conservative values. However, I find myself disappointed as several Conservatives noted that a large majority of felons would vote Democratic, swaying the results of several high-profile elections. Take for instance this excerpt from an ar-
by Greg Leasure I still remember sitting in an American literature class one particular day of my sophomore year in the spring of 2012 and listening to Dr. Matthew Towles tell us about the ultramarathon he planned to run. As he lightheartedly asked for prayer from the class for the incredible LEASURE feat he was training for, I could not help thinking how crazy he
ticle on felon’s voting by Richard Winchester, a writer for American Thinker. “The fourth facet of laws about voting is that there is no such thing as a nonpartisan statute affecting any aspect of voting,” Winchester wrote. “Every law governing the franchise has some disparate partisan impact, and people on both sides of the partisan divide know it.” Other individuals cited the large number of African-Americans incarcerated, noting that the vast majority of African-Americans voted in favor of Obama. Granted, there are certain demographics that will invariably affect the course of voting along partisan lines. However, this should never be a reason why voting is allowed for some and not others. Every individual should be given the right to vote, no matter their race, creed, tongue or tribe. Voting is something that has been taken lightly in recent years, and I see that trend growing among my generation. People from around the world would give anything to be able to vote. To them, a vote is a chance to right the wrongs they see in their government. It is an opportunity
was to even consider running an ultramarathon, a term used for races spanning more than 26.2 miles. To further reinforce my perception of his insanity, the ultramarathon he planned to attempt, one of four ultramarathons he completed in 2012, was the Promise Land 50k, approximately 34 miles of strenuous running in the mountains of central Virginia. Now, only two years after Towles finished the Promise Land 50k, I am considering attempting to run the same race. If you were to ask me five years ago, before I joined cross-country in high school, I would have never thought that I would be taking Dr. David Horton’s running class as a senior in college, let alone attempting an ultramarathon. But here I am, more than 10 pounds lighter than I was two months ago and
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DISENFRANCHISED — In 2010, 5.85 million Americans could not vote due to a prior felony conviction. to take part in what they perceive as a better future for their children and their grandchildren. When people from both sides throw partisan conflicts and racial assumptions into the topic of allowing citizens to vote, it saddens me. Facts are facts, and some stereotypes exist for a reason. However, let us not allow partisan conflicts to muddle our view of who should vote and who should not. Rand Paul has been a large proponent of allowing ex-convicts the right to vote. His home state, Kentucky, is one of the strictest
150 miles into my goal for the semester of running 400 miles. You might be asking yourself, “Why would anyone want to voluntarily put themselves through that much pain and waste so much time just to run for no reason?” Part of that answer is that I was a senior with the availability to take whatever class I wanted, but more importantly, I wanted to challenge myself. Writing a book report about running, reading a few articles and spending countless minutes running may not be an academic challenge, but like anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it. Although I did join a few of my high school baseball teammates in spontaneously joining the cross-country team four years ago, I would not say that I
states on allowing ex-convicts the right to vote. Speaking at a state senate panel, Paul called for Kentucky senators to restore voting rights to felons. Voting gives the citizen an opportunity to speak out against the injustices they see in the government of the people, by the people, for the people. Let us not limit this freedom based solely on the differences we do not like. VAN DYK is an opinion writer.
have any type of talent for running. In fact, when I began running again in January, I had not run consistently for more than two years. Despite my complete lack of training before the class, I was amazed at how quickly my body adjusted to running. After only two or three weeks of running six days per week, I noticed a complete difference in my ability to run faster and longer, which led me to a question. How many good things are we missing out on because they would require a few weeks of hard work to get used to? Running every day does not take talent, and neither does any other way to improve yourself. Whatever it is, try it for two weeks. You just might develop a good habit that will last a lifetime.
OPINION
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/A5
Restrictions have their place in society Though Americans have the right to freedom of the press, some instances may require government intervention
Tyler Beaston tbeaston@liberty.edu
The U.S. has recently fallen 13 places in the World Press Freedom Index 2014, which ranks 180 countries based on restrictions and liberties regarding journalism, according to a NY Daily News article by Leslie Larson. The country is now ranked 46 — not horrible, but certainly not superb, particularly for a free society. Reporters Without Borders, the organization that produces the Freedom Index, lowered the U.S. ranking for a number of reasons, including the infamous Edward Snowden case. “America’s bad ranking was based on the conviction of WikiLeaks’ informant Bradley (Chelsea) Manning and the treatment of … whistleblower Edward Snowden,” Larson said in her article. Another influential factor in the drop was the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) examination of Associated Press reporters’ phone logs, Larson’s article said. I struggle with where I think the government should draw the line between risk management and invasion of privacy. Both perspectives have valid arguments, but I believe the security of the entire nation is most important. Concerning Snowden and Manning, I consider both as culpable and deserving of punishment for publicly releasing sensitive government data. Certainly some information rightly brought to light government misdeeds, but the necessity of such “whistleblowing” is questionable at best. You will not often find me agreeing with President Barack Obama, but he made
an exceptionally well-reasoned statement in his Jan. 17 speech regarding National Security Agency (NSA) reforms. “I will say that our nation’s defense depends in part on the fidelity of those entrusted with our nation’s secrets,” Obama said. “If any individual who objects to government policy can take it into their own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will not be able to keep our people safe or conduct foreign policy.” Obama continued to explain how the leaks could affect future U.S. intelligence operations. “Moreover, the sensational way in which these disclosures have come out has often shed more heat than light, while revealing methods to our adversaries that could impact our operations in ways that we might not fully understand for years to come,” Obama said. Conversely, I see a problem when intelligence agencies, such as the NSA, arbitrarily monitor the communications of American citizens. There is a certain measure of privacy that the Constitution grants people, and that guideline should be respected. Further, the DOJ had no business looking into phone records of reporters. I think the government has become too expansive and paranoid when its leaders feel the need to randomly investigate citizens and journalists. Once leaders travel down this road, it will be a very difficult slog back to privacy. Citizens should be able to trust government intelligence agencies to protect the country, and those agencies must operate in ways that do not abuse power.
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RESTRAINED — The U.S. dropped 13 places in a world ranking of press freedom. However, I find nothing wrong with keeping tabs on suspicious individuals. In Snowden’s case, he disseminated information that was potentially harmful to U.S. security. Yes, he revealed a few governmental breaches of power, but at the risk of compromising the country’s well-being. Consequently, he should sooner be classified as a felon than as a champion of freedom. Ask yourself this: How have we really been affected by any of these revelations? What significant lifestyle changes have we personally made in light of Snowden’s information leak about the NSA? None. I agree with Reporters Without Borders
when they decreased the U.S. rank based on the actions of the DOJ. But Snowden and Manning should not have been influential factors in that reduction. Government workers should not release information to the public that could backfire and harm the U.S. In other words, the government has some secrets that should be kept. We do not need to know everything.
BEASTON is an opinion writer.
Judge on talent, not on sexual orientation
Being gay should not affect the decision-making process when evaluating a player’s talent before the draft Sara Warrender sewarrender2@liberty.edu
Many different character traits have been hidden by NFL uniforms over the years. Drug addicts, those convicted for crimes and homosexual players have all at one point laced up their cleats for an NFL team. However, if drafted, University of Missouri senior Michael Sam will be the first openly gay football player to make it into the NFL. Openly gay meaning, unlike previous players, the media would know that Sam is homosexual instead of having to wait until his career is over to find out his sexual orientation. Honestly, who cares if he is homosexual or not? His sexuality has nothing to do with whether or not he can play football well. According to a New York Times article, Sam’s team members, such as Elvis Fisher, an offensive lineman and captain of the 2012 Missouri football team, support him regardless of his sexuality. “You don’t set out wanting to know each other’s life, but you spend so much time with each other, you can’t help but know them,” Fisher said. “I knew, and I love the guy.” So, with the question of other players’ reactions out of the way, the only hindrance to Sam in pursuit of his NFL dream is his talent. “I am often asked about players who step out of the silent bubble,” Andrew Brandt, a sports executive with more than 20 years’ experience in professional football and an NFL business analyst for ESPN, said in an article by the Monday Morning Quarterback. “My answer is always the same: a player can do so without fear of consequence, no matter how subtle, if he is a superior talent, with the leverage of elite playmaking ability. A player who is ‘just another guy’ forces front offices to consider a risk reward equation when there is increased media attention.” Even before coming out, the Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year and consensus first team All-American had been tagged by critics as a potential 3rd-5th round draft choice. According to an article posted by The Boston Globe, Sam is simply undersized for his position. A veteran NFL executive who wished to remain anonymous in the article
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COMING OUT — Michael Sam will be the first openly gay player in the NFL if he is selected in the 2014 draft. said Sam is “unremarkable.” “To me, he is an average prospect,” said the personnel executive. “People are going to think he is a great player, and when he doesn’t get drafted high, it’s going to be because he came out or whatever. To me, a lot of academics and people who don’t know the game, who simply look at his credentials on paper, are going to think that.” Despite Sam’s collegiate track record as an elite player, he has yet to prove himself on the professional level. His homosexuality may not be seen as a hindrance if he had already achieved the same success he has in college. The fact is, he has not yet made it to the status as an elite NFL player. Talent is not based on one’s sexuality. I do not believe Sam should be in the news for his sexual preferences. Take a look at Sam’s past as recorded by the New York Times. Sam endured the death of three of his siblings, another two were incarcerated, and his parents were separated. His father moved to North Texas to be a trucker, and his mother did not support Sam’s football dreams. Sam report-
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ed being closer to his friends than his own family members. I personally do not know what it feels like to walk in Sam’s shoes, and it does not look like a comfortable road to travel. I do not promote homosexuality, but I promote his right to communicate his beliefs. What is the difference between Christians and Sam? Sam’s sins are visible and spread across magazine pages, while our sins are often carefully covered. Many Christians’ sins are hidden inconsistencies that threaten their walks as much as struggling with sexuality would for Sam. Oftentimes, it is easy to judge someone in which their sins are openly displayed, when in reality it should make it easier for us to embrace them and show them God’s love. Love the sinner, hate the sin, and let him have the career he deserves. Indispensible players will always be accepted, and I hope Sam makes it to that status. I would support him, because if you ask me, everyone made in the image of God deserves a fan club. WARRENDER is an opinion writer.
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NEWS
A6/Liberty Champion
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Blackboard crash causes frustration
The Liberty University Information Technology Department works through issues to help students and faculty
Tiffany Samuels tksamuels@liberty.edu
Dylan Friberg dwfriberg@liberty.edu
Sophia Hahn shahn3@liberty.edu
“Page not found.” Since the beginning of the semester, many Liberty University students and faculty have experienced numerous problems with Blackboard, which result with this error screen, according to the Office of the Provost. “We deeply regret the recent difficulties you’ve experienced and pledge to improve system performance,” Matthew Zealand, chief information officer for Liberty Information Services, wrote in an email to students and faculty. “Our goal is to provide you with the best academic experience possible.” Many of the issues that have occurred include slow response time, overall system downtime and difficulty with uploading student assignments. Zealand explained the Information Technology (IT) Department increased its hours in order to find a solution to the issue. According to Enterprise IT Communication Liai-
son Connie Allison, software and hardware engineers monitor Blackboard and its related systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. “Thus far, we have reworked thousands of lines of code, developed a new login page, increased server capacity, provided additional bandwidth and removed any possible bottlenecks identified,” Zealand said. Allison explained that a service like Blackboard is incredibly complex and has many moving parts. Problems connecting to Blackboard might not have anything to do with the software. There are many variables in creating the connection, and if any one of them malfunctions, the whole system can appear to be broken. “Accessing Blackboard is not a single step, but rather a series of highly integrated processes,” Allison said. “Often the issues have had nothing to do with Blackboard itself, but rather the authentication servers that allow students to log into Blackboard.” Since students depend on Blackboard to upload and receive assignments, junior Trevena Palmer said the issues have actually made her appreciate
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NETWORK — Students and faculty are warned that IT is still working on the Blackboard problem. the system. “I only take a few residential courses, and the rest are online,” Palmer said. “I definitely depend on Blackboard to be up and ready when I am about to complete an assignment.” Though the problems have occurred frequently during the past few weeks, the IT Department regularly communicates with the Office of the Provost, according to Zealand. Palmer said, though the
problems have become an inconvenience for students, she appreciates the persistence of the school in finding a solution. “We all know that things happen, and if it was up to them, they would fix the problem in a flash,” Palmer said. “I am grateful for a school that has an IT Department that cares enough to keep us updated with the progress of the system.” Students with online classes were given exten-
sions on their assignments as a result of the issues. In an email sent to students and faculty, Zealand wrote that the teachers have helped keep the IT Department aware of the situation. “Be encouraged that your professors have communicated your concerns to Academic Leadership, and we are taking immediate action to remedy these problems,” Zealand wrote. Despite the inconsistency of Blackboard, the Of-
SNOW continued from A1 Freshman Brendan McHugh from the Liberty snowboarding team said he appreciates the yearlong availability of the Snowflex, as it has given him much more time to practice. “Snowflex is great, because I can go every day,” McHugh said. “When I’m done with classes, I can just go up there and get away from everything. With snow, I didn’t get to go that often. I could go two times a week during the winter when I was back home (in Pennsylvania). ‘Cause it’s just a long ways away, 35 minutes to an hour, and I couldn’t do that every day.” In addition to its availability, Leeds also said Snowflex allows users to further develop their skills in ways that would be more difficult on a regular slope. “The advantage to the Snowflex over snow as far as training goes is just the fact that Snowflex doesn’t hurt as much when you fall, because its got foam padding underneath all of it,” Leeds said. “So it allows you to progress in your tricks and try new tricks, and when you fall, because it doesn’t hurt as much, you can continue to try it until you perfect it.” According to Leeds, the Snowflex offers better conditions for speed training than snow resorts offer. “Because our Snowflex run is so short, they get to take so many more laps than a person would on a normal mountain,” Leeds said. “The next best thing would probably be consistency. On a normal resort, on snow, features are always changing and inconsistent. It can be very hot that
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
RAILS — The Snowflex offers skiing and snowboarding lessons year-round. day, so snow could turn to slush, which changes the speed. With Snowflex, it never changes. It’s always the same.” McHugh feels the consistent nature of the Snowflex and his ability to build his muscle memory has helped him greatly improve over the past year. “The level I was riding before I came here to what it is now has just improved so much,” McHugh said. “And that is a lot because I can go every day, and it’s also because the coaches up there know exactly what they are doing and how to help you learn new tricks and just do everything right and keep progressing.” In regards to the Olympics, Leeds said the Snowflex is a good place to get the basics of the sport down before advancing to more difficult slopes. “We definitely have the advantage of being able to instill in (the snowboarding team) muscle memory,” Leeds said. “A lot of
people that are on the Britain team that came from Snowflex, the reason they were able to progress so well is that they were able to get the fundamentals down on Snowflex, and once they got the recognition, they were able to get coaches and sponsors that were able to provide the money for them to go and train on bigger mountains with bigger features and bigger resorts.” Despite the benefits, Leeds said overreliance on the comforts of the Snowflex can cause difficulties for
some riders when they shift to actual snow slopes. “The only thing we have a disadvantage of is that, since we train on Snowflex so much, we don’t get on snow until the (win-
fice of the Provost continues to update the students and faculty with news on the issues through email and the HelpDesk Twitter and Facebook.
SAMUELS is a news reporter. FRIBERG is an opinion writer. HAHN is the news editor.
ter) season,” Leeds said. “And so a lot of times, people have trouble taking their Snowflex tricks to snow, because there is a mental barrier. They know that when they fall on snow, it’s going to hurt way more. So when you take a fall doing a trick you can normally do on the Snowflex, there is a greater level of risk involved.” According to Leeds, the Snowflex gives the Liberty snowboarding team the biggest advantage over every school they compete with on the Southeast. “Our record really speaks for itself,” Leeds said. “We usually win all of our competitions in the South East.” For more information on the Snowflex, visit liberty.edu/ snowflex. JANNEY is a news reporter.
NEWS
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/A7
SGA holds club fair for students The Student Government Association helps to promote the 22 clubs that are currently available on campus Zachary Pinkston zpinkston@liberty.edu
A club fair held by the Student Government Association (SGA) began Monday, Feb. 24 and will continue through Tuesday, Feb. 25 in the back hallway of DeMoss Hall. This event was created to promote the different types of clubs on campus available for the students. Celeste Martin, SGA Clubs Committee chair, said the club fair is usually only held in the fall, but this year they decided to hold it in the spring as well. “(P)eople transfer in the middle of the year, (and) there wasn’t enough publicity about it in the fall,” Martin said. The club fair is hosting groups such as Freedom 4/24, Pre-Law Society, criminal justice and many more. In total, the club fair is hoping to have around 22 clubs promote themselves.
“
College is a unique time in your life when you can be involved with things like the Japanese Culture Club. — CELESTE MARTIN
“The tables will be set up from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,” Martin said. She encouraged the students to take a look at the club fair and to find something interesting. “College is a unique time in your life when you can be involved with things like the Japanese Culture Club,” Martin said. “When else in your life can you casually be involved with and learn about that?” According to Martin, there is a
club for nearly any interest. “Just walk through the back hallway,” Martin said. “Just take a look at the whole list of clubs on the SGA website. I would challenge a student to not see something that piques their interest.” Although only 22 clubs are being promoted, there are many more that students can get involved with, according to Martin. “There are close to 90 official
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
JOIN — Tables line the DeMoss hallway promoting clubs. SGA clubs,” she said. Martin said the full list of clubs is on the SGA page on the Liberty University website, and for more information about the
ADDY continued from A1 Each submission costs a total of $10, but there is a corporate sponsor encouraging new talent that helps subsidize the student costs, according to Monique Maloney, Liberty University assistant professor of studio and digital arts (SADA). According to the AAF’s Web page, tickets were free to students receiving awards but cost up to $65 for additional guests wanting to attend the ceremony. Liberty advertising student Charissa Cox submitted three different designs and won an ADDY award for all three, including two silvers and one gold. “I was stunned when they announced that I won one award, let alone three,” Cox said. “I’m still in shock, but feel incredibly blessed by each award.
Photo Provided
WIN — (Left to right) Breann Black, Gabriella Fuller and Abigail Bock attended. It truly is a gift that I feel that God has given me, and I am so humbled by this whole experience.” The Advertising Awards
Competition is one of three tiers — local, regional and national, according to Maloney. “AAF is a respected or-
ganization,” Maloney said. “Winners get to add their awards to their résumés and portfolios. In a competitive field, showing that
club fair or SGA, students can email SGA at sga@liberty.edu. PINKSTON is a news reporter.
they have taken the initiative to put themselves out there and are being recognized by industry professionals says a lot. It proved that their work is great and that they work hard.” When asked about inspiration and encouragement from professors and peers throughout the whole experience, Cox explained how Stacey Cannon, assistant professor of SADA and SADA assessment coordinator, as well as Maloney, have been an encouragement to her. According to Cox, Cannon was the person who first encouraged her to enter her design work into the Advertising Awards Competition, and Maloney opened Cox’s eyes to how big of a deal the entire completion is. “How we, as students, perform also speaks volumes about the professors themselves,” Cox said.
saturday, march 29 11:30p.m. • vines center
$3 adv. • purchase at liberty.edu/sa
“God has placed incredibly talented and caring professors here at Liberty. The kind of professors they are influences the work and enthusiasm the students have for design. I could not be more thankful or blessed to be a part of this program.” According to the AAF’s website, Liberty has experienced success at the competition in previous years as well. In 2013, Jacob Siner won gold at the national student ADDY awards for his poster designs. For more information on the AAF and the opportunities they provide, visit their website at aaf.org or the American Advertising Awards page at americanadvertisingawards.com. LEITZ is a news reporter.
NEWS
A8/Liberty Champion
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Winter Olympics motivates youth LaHaye Ice Center’s Learn to Skate program experiences increase of sign-ups throughout Sochi games Jesse Spradlin jaspradlin@liberty.edu
After American ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White won gold at the Sochi Olympics, the LaHaye Ice Center has seen a surge in numbers for skating lessons. “Olympic years are the ones where the most amount of kids get involved in skating,” Captain of the Liberty University Synchronized Skating Team and iceskating Coach Katie Scuilli said. The LaHaye Ice Center offers ice-skating lessons through a program called Learn to Skate. More than 70 people have signed up for the skating lessons this spring, compared to the approximate 45 people who signed up during the fall sessions, according to Scuilli. Head Coach of Liberty University Figure and Synchronized Skating Teams Tatiana Payne said the spring semester is usually busier than the first two sessions of the year. “It’s not until after Christmas that we really see people wanting to ice-skate,” Payne said. “It is more of a winter-related sport, even though the rink is open year round.” The LaHaye Ice Center offers four sessions a school year, according to the LaHaye Ice Center website. Scuilli said the third session is usually the busiest of them all. “I still haven’t caught up with the registration, because there’s so many people,” Scuilli said. Payne said the Olympics inspire people to want to get involved with skating. “For little girls in particular, I think they can really relate to the pretty dresses and the crystals and the beautiful music and just the flowiness of it all,” Payne said. Learn to Skate is a basic skills program run by the United States Figure Skating Association, according LaHaye’s website. The website states that the
CFAW continued from A1 “Being able to work out in the gym and going to Sub Connection were definitely highlights as well.” Visitors were also able to enjoy a concert featuring Switchfoot and the Kopecky Family band at Thomas Road Baptist Church Friday, Feb 21. Erica Manie, a high school senior in Florida, said she was surprised at the amount of events offered to visitors. “I am a huge fan of Switchfoot,” Manie said. “When I heard they were going to be performing the weekend that I was coming, the prospect of coming to the school became even better. Without the famous people, the school is fantastic, but the fact that the school is so well-rounded in terms of the different types of music that worship the Lord is great.” Prospective students also attended various classes offered during the weekend. Manie said the experience was unlike other colleges she visited. “At other colleges, it is all about the school’s recruitment of students in order to get money from them, and therefore the visit is a drawn-out tour,” Manie said. “This weekend, I was able to attend several classes and actually learn. It
Abby Kourkounakis | Liberty Champion
LEARNING — Children practice skating techniques with their instructor during lessons at the LaHaye Ice Center. Learn to Skate program was designed to become “the best beginning ice-skating program in the world.” “(Learn to Skate) is a program to teach kids how to skate whether it be for hockey players or figure skaters,” Scuilli said. “It’s just a starting point for everyone.” Lessons begin with “Snow Plow Sam,” which helps young skaters get used to being on the ice, according to the Learn to Skate pamphlet. After that, skaters have basic skills lessons, which includes levels one through eight. The rink also offers an adult class for skaters 18 years old and over, according to the pamphlet. Payne said when kids begin the Learn to Skate program, she thinks they have dreams of going to the Olympics one day. “(The kids) definitely are watching the Olympics,” Payne
definitely lived up to its name.” According to SAO, Liberty hosts a CFAW weekend twice a semester in order for prospective students to experience the life of a college student. Audra Darville, a Liberty sophomore, said the excitement of CFAW weekend reminded her of her first time as a visitor in 2012. “I remember the concerts and events and how the whole experience overwhelmed me,” Darville said. “When I look at all of these students who are thinking about coming here, (it) makes the extra congestion on the campus easier to deal with. Most of us were in their shoes before.” According to the CFAW itinerary, families were able to tour the new Jerry Falwell Library. Visitors also watched a performance from the SOAR dunk team at the LaHaye basketball court Saturday. According to Liberty’s website, CFAW is open to students between the ages of 15 and 24 who are interested in learning more about Liberty. For more information on CFAW, visit libertycfaw.com. SAMUELS is a news reporter.
said. “I think they admire what they see.” Scuilli said Liberty has one of the most affordable skating programs compared to other rinks. She said the standard rate of personal coaching is $1 per minute. At the LaHaye Ice Center, one five-week session of group lessons costs $55 for the public, according to the LaHaye Ice Center website. Scuilli said Liberty students receive a discount and only pay $30 per five-week session. The fourth and last session of the year begins March 17 and ends April 14. Learn to Skate lessons are held Monday nights from 6-7 p.m. “If anybody wants an opportunity to see skaters that are at the quality, some of them, as what’s on the Olympics, it’s really fun to watch live,” Payne said.
According to Payne, watching ice-skating live is a great experience compared to watching it on television. “It’s better to be at the rink live watching something, because you can hear the edges (of the ice skate blades) and the sounds of skating with the music,” Payne said. Payne encourages anyone who is interested to give ice-skating a shot. “If it’s something that (people are) interested in, they should definitely give it a try,” Payne said. “Worst thing that can happen is that you fall, and you get back up and you try it again.” For more information on the LaHaye Ice Center’s Learn to Skate and other activities, visit liberty.edu/icecenter.
FYI
The LaHaye Ice Center is hosting an ice-skating competition March 1-2, with 16 universities participating and approximately 150 skaters, according to Payne. The event will be from 7 a.m. 10:30 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free for everyone.
SPRADLIN is a news reporter.
JFL offers interactive seminars Library hosts events covering available resources, implements new technology Brittany Jones bljones24@liberty.edu
The Jerry Falwell Library offers a variety of resources to facilitate student learning from books and articles to group study and librarian assistants. Research workshops in the Active Learning Classroom offer an interactive resource for students and faculty through screen hub technology. The interactive software system allows the speaker to view other screens in the room and even project them for the audience to see, according to Rory Patterson, coordinator of undergraduate and online research assistance. According to Cynthia Schmidt, head of communication and customer services for the Jerry Falwell Library, research sessions are one of the ways the library supports Liberty’s information literacy core competency. “Our goal is to help students and faculty be successful in meeting their information needs in the most efficient and effective way possible,” Schmidt said. The research workshop schedule can be found on Liberty’s website. Some upcoming sessions are Use Summon to Find Just About Anything and Using LEXISNEXIS. “People from the writing center come over and run research sessions to teach student and faculty about
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
RESEARCH — Students adjust to new technology. different writing styles,” Patterson said. “There are sessions on APA, Turabian and other. Most students like going to those sessions. They’re pretty popular.” According to Schmidt, the most attended sessions so far this semester were the MLA, APA and Turabian research workshops. She said she predicts the general interest sessions, scheduled in April, will draw the largest crowd. General interest sessions include CLEP, NCAT, GRE, Oh My: Preparing for Professional Testing, Helping You Get a Job: Company Research, Citing and Ebooks: Summer Reading.
Schmidt explained that students and faculty have an impact on which sessions will be held each semester. This year’s topics were created by the research assistance librarians based on categories of questions customers asked most over the previous year. “As we develop future topics, we will also consider which were best attended as well as customer suggestions such as those provided on our library’s social media pages, customer comment cards and customer surveys,” Schmidt said. According to Liberty’s website, research workshops
are held in the Active Learning Classroom, room 171, and are entitled Bring Your Own Device. “The Active Learning Classroom has been a great success with 38 sessions scheduled for the first four weeks it has been available,” Schmidt said. “We anticipate even higher usage as more professors become familiar with how the collaborative technologies available can improve student learning.” Patterson explained the personal aspect of holding research workshops in the Active Learning Classroom thanks to the screen hub technology present in the room. “The students seem to be appreciating all of the new technologies and are quickly mastering their use. The library technologies have a large ‘wow’ factor, but they are also providing multiple ways to help students learn,” Schmidt said. According to Patterson, students who want to learn more about the screen hub software featured in the Active Learning Classroom can do so outside of research workshops. Six group study rooms in the library are equipped with the software, allowing students to work collectively on one screen from their own personal laptops. JONES is a news reporter.
SPORTS
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
M. Basketball Liberty Campbell 79 59
Baseball
UNCW
Liberty 0
11
Giving back
Softball
WCU
Liberty
4
2
B1
Swimming
1st in CCSA Swimming and Diving Championships
W. Tennis
Liberty Campbell 4 3
hitting the rails
NFL players Rashad Jennings and Mike Brown start community youth project Tom Foote tfoote2@liberty.edu
Derrick Battle dbattle2@liberty.edu
Former Liberty Flames football players Rashad Jennings and Mike Brown returned to Lynchburg to promote Habitat for Humanity and R&M Endeavors Friday, Feb. 21. R&M Endeavors was formed by Jennings and Brown and is designed to serve Lynchburg and Charlottesville, Va., through community projects and football camps. Jennings and Brown are both currently playing in the NFL. Jennings is a free agent running back after a season in which he obtained co-offensive MVP recognition with the Oakland Raiders. After spending his first five seasons in Jacksonville, Jennings made the transition across the country to California. In his sixth season, he displayed his potential as a quality running back in the NFL. He led the Raiders with 163 carries for 733 yards and six touchdowns, appearing in 15 games. Brown, who spent the majority of his time at quarterback and little time at wide reciever at Liberty, has transitioned back to receiver and ascended to the top of the depth chart with the Jaguars. Despite being NFL players, Brown and Jennings have not lost sight of how they achieved that goal, and coming back to Liberty is one of the ways they want to give back to the community. Brown explained how the two based R&M Endeavors on serving the greater Lynchburg region. Jennings emphasized their campaign’s goal to guide and influence teenagers. “High school students can’t go to college unless they have (good) grades, no matter what
See GIVING, B3
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
STYLE — Skiers and snowboarders show off their talent in Liberty’s LaHaye Rail Jam Saturday, Feb. 22.
Lady Flames knock off Eagles Liberty ends Winthrop’s seven-game winning streak with an 80-69 victory in home finale Ryley Rush rarush@liberty.edu
It was a tale of two halves as the Lady Flames (17-10, 13-5 Big South) women’s basketball team got the win 80-69 over the Winthrop University Eagles (20-7, 14-4 Big South), the Big South Conference leaders, Saturday, Feb. 22, in Liberty’s final home game of the season.
Despite getting off to a slow start, trailing 16-5 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, Liberty rallied from the perimeter. They hit 80 percent of its threepoint shots in the half, including a momentum-shifter from guard Emily Frazier five seconds before the halftime buzzer. “The first half, it just wasn’t clicking for the post, but we were getting good looks from
sharp shooters on the perimeter, and we knocked some big shots down,” Head Coach Carey Green said. One of those sharp shooters, sophomore guard Jaymee Fisher-Davis, went 4-5 from behind the three-point line, spurring the Flames comeback with 6:30 to go in the first. “Coach Green talked in practice about how there are par-
ticular people who, whenever they’re open, we just want to get them the ball,” Fisher-Davis said. “I happened to be one of them, and my teammates just do a fantastic job of finding me when I’m open. We have a lot of chemistry. They always know where I’m at and I just try to hit the shot.”
See FINALE, B4
Nangle gets her first win Liberty is victorious in its home opener, defeating Elon 13-9 Mary Omitiga momitiga@liberty.edu
Leah Stauffer| Liberty Champion
ELUSIVE — Sophomore attacker Alyssa Kidder avoids her defender.
WE’LL SEE YOU AT THE GAME
M. Basketball vs. Longwood Feb. 25 @ 7 p.m.
The Liberty University women’s Division I (D1) Lacrosse team (13) recorded its first win of the season after defeating the Elon Phoenix 13-9 in its home opener on Friday, Feb. 21. Sunny skies and
M. Tennis vs. Richmond Feb. 28 @ 2 p.m.
spring weather greeted Flames fans as they packed the stands to cheer on the Lady Flames. Just a week prior to Friday night’s game, the Liberty Lacrosse field was covered with snow. This was the team’s first win under new Head Coach Kelly Nangle.
Baseball vs. Ball State Feb. 28 @ 3 p.m.
The Lady Flames began the first half of the game with a strong start. Two and a half minutes into the game, sophomore attacker Kallie Britton opened up the field and fed the ball to freshman attacker Michaela Rich, who rifled the ball past Elon freshman goaltender Rachel Ramirez.
Figure Skating Intercollegiate Competition Feb. 28 @ 8 p.m.
The Flames took the lead 1-0. Minutes later, shots from junior and sophomore attackers Sam Struss and Alyssa Kidder gave the Lady Flames a 3-0 edge over the Phoenix. With 21:23 on the clock, freshman midfielder
See NANGLE, B2
M. Basketball vs. Radford Mar. 1 @ 4:30 p.m.
SPORTS
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/B2
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
UNDER THE LIGHTS — Brett Bernardo weaves his way through Wake Forest defense during the Flames 21-1 victory Friday, Feb. 21.
New league, same results for lacrosse Flames torch Wake Forest and New Hampshire by a combined score of 33-7 in their first two games of the year Derrick Battle dbattle2@liberty.edu
The Liberty Flames men’s lacrosse team (2-0) defeated the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Friday, Feb. 21 (0-5, 0-1 SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference) and the New Hampshire Wildcats Sunday, Feb. 23 (1-1) in its first games in Division I (D1) play. LU 21, Wake Forest 1 In their lacrosse DI debut, the Flames displayed an offensive supremacy, defeating SouthEastern Lacrosse Conference (SELC) foe Wake Forest 21-1 in front of a record-setting crowd Friday night. “It’s a good way to start the season,” Head Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “Obviously we want to continue to grow and build off of this. … We are hoping for good things.” Senior midfielder Derek Hay-
NANGLE continued from B1 Sydeny Hesselbein fed a quick pass to freshman midfielder Annie Shank, who netted the goal, putting Elon on the boards for the first time that night. Within two minutes, Shank earned a hat trick after sniping two more goals past Liberty senior goalie Kristen Masullo, ty-
wood set the tone early in the game, laying out Wake Forest players with clean hits. Smooth ball movement also helped the Flames get easy, open looks at the Demon Deacons goal. “We have some new additions (to the offense) with Chad (Moore) and Brett (Bernardo),” sophomore attacker Ryan Miller said. “It’s good to see our offense had some chemistry. We are getting some good looks. We have guys that can dodge and also shoot from the outside, so that really opens our offense up.” Four minutes into the game, sophomore midfielder Bernardo put the Flames on the board with their first goal of the season. Later on in the quarter, senior attacker Kurt Tobias scored, taking advantage of an empty net left by Demon Deacons freshman goalie Jim Walters, who lost the ball after pressure from Miller. By the end of the quarter, Lib-
ing the game 3-3. Although less than 19 minutes remained in the first half, Elon’s quick response to Liberty’s early lead ignited a new pace to the game. Liberty regained the lead after Strauss fired another shot between the pipes. However, Shank was quick to respond with another goal to tie the game. At the 7:28 mark, the Phoenix capitalized and
erty had a 6-0 lead and tacked on more in the second. The Flames continued to overwhelm Wake Forest, outshooting the Deamon Deacons 16-2 in the quarter. “It comes down to the amount of work we put into the offseason,” McQuillan said. “… These guys have been building relationships with each other, and I continue to see them get better as the season goes along.” Liberty added five more goals and went into halftime with an 11-0 lead. The second half mirrored the first, with Liberty staying aggressive on both ends. Goalie Ethan Kamholtz was poised to pitch a shutout. However, he gave up his only goal to Wake Forest junior attacker Sam Cramer off a twoon-one break. With a 15-1 lead, Liberty chipped in six more goals in the fourth quarter to close out the pounding. “It’s good to shake off the
took the lead for the first time in the game. Fortunately for Liberty, Elon’s one-goal advantage was short-lived. The Lady Flames dominated the remainder of the first half, putting four more goals past Ramirez to give Liberty a 9-5 lead. A quick goal by Elon at the start of the second half cut the deficit to three goals, but the Lady Flames
rust,” Tobias said. “This game gave us motivation to begin the season.” Miller and Tobias had a combined 10 goals and three assists. After earning their first victory as a DI team, the Flames focused on their second home matchup against New Hampshire. “We haven’t seen a lot of New Hampshire, but we know that they are a pretty solid team,” Miller said. “We are going to try to build off this game and try to keep the offensive chemistry going.” LU 12 NH 6 After an offensive assault against the Demon Deacons, the Flames captured their second victory of the season, defeating the New Hampshire Wildcats 12-6 Sunday. New Hampshire attempted to come back from an 8-3 lead, but strong fourth-quarter play, led by junior attacker Chris Armstrong,
maintained the momentum with a retaliation shot from senior midfielder Nina Dunay. Elon quickly responded with another goal, but the Flames held on to the 10-7 lead. After 15 minutes of back-and-forth action, Struss and junior midfielder Colleen Ekert scored for Liberty. Struss contributed five goals in the victory. In the final minutes of
helped solidify the victory. Although the Flames jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the first half was a defensive struggle. By halftime, Liberty clung to a 3-2 margin. But, the Flames took advantage of New Hampshire penalties, scoring three unanswered goals in the third quarter. Tobias and sophomore midfielder Bryce Mrakovich sparked the second-half run, pushing the Flames lead to five. Tobias earned his second hat trick of the season, scoring all three of his goals in the third quarter. Liberty will play its first SELC division game when they travel to face the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday, March 1 at 1 p.m. BATTLE is the sports editor.
play, Elon managed to score two more goals but could never catch the Lady Flames, who rose to a 13-9 victory. Liberty will take on the George Washington Colonials in Washington, D.C. for its next game Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 3:30 p.m. OMITIGA is a sports reporter.
FYI
Junior attacker Sam Struss is third in the Big South Conference in goals with 11 through the first four games of the season.
SPORTS
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/B3
Hockey moves on to national tourney
The Liberty Flames men’s Division II team advanced past the Southeast Region Tournament for the first time
Nate Haywood nhaywood@liberty.edu
Liberty University’s men’s Division II (DII) hockey team (26-7) continued tournament play with a win over the University of Delaware Blue Hens, 4-1, in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) regionals at LaHaye Ice Center. Both teams aggresively began the game, taking several decent shots and getting multiple scoring opportunities. Each team responded to its opponent’s scoring chance with a counterattack of its own. Delaware received an early advantage as it went on a power play only six minutes into the game. Liberty sophomore goalie Cary Byron responded by making a series of saves to keep the game tied at zero. Tensions began to flare as Liberty sophomore Parker McIntyre and Delaware sophomore Mike Stickle began a small fight after the referees stopped play. From that point on, the hits from both teams were harder and the shots were faster. The Blue Hens counterattack continued to produce scoring chances, but Liberty made necessary defensive adjustments to negate them. “There were a lot of blocked shots, and our (defense) is doing a pretty good job
overall,” Head Coach Chris Lowes said. “They had some chances, but you know, maybe the most important person on your defense, our goaltender, made some big saves when he had too.” After 14 scoreless minutes, sophomore Jeremy Miller scored his fifth goal of the season to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. Liberty rode the momentum provided by Miller’s goal, as senior Bobby Cervone’s shot off a rebound found the back of the net at the 14:02 mark in the second period. “(Byron) has had a really good year overall,” Lowes said. “Tonight, he made all the saves he had to and is supposed to.” Liberty started the third period with a two-goal lead, which soon changed as Stickle scored to cut Delaware’s deficit to one goal, swinging the momentum in the Blue Hens favor. Delaware’s senior goaltender Joe Marshall began to make his share of impressive saves. However, Marshall could not stop a wrist shot from freshman Ben Freymond, which was his sixth goal of the season. Approximately two minutes later at the 2:42 mark, freshman Bannon Lynott scored to give the Flames a 4-1 lead, which ultimately ended Delaware’s chances at a comeback.
According to Lowes, his team was confident going into the game. The Flames defeated the Blue Hens in each of their three matchups earlier this season, scoring 15 goals while only allowing Delaware to score four. Delaware had only scored more than one goal in one of the four matchups this year. “We are more confident because we played good in our last two games,” Lowes said. “We knew (Delaware) was going to be good. We played them three times, and in one of the games, we had to come back and score a last-second goal. They had a lot of desire.” Going into the next round of regionals, Lowes still wishes to see some improvement in his team. He was impressed with its overall defense, including its penalty kill, but wants to see the power play improve. “Our power play was kind of ugly tonight,” Lowes said. “We had trouble seeing the lanes that were there for us, so we couldn’t take advantage of it. I think we need to execute and finish some of our chances. We could’ve put some goals away early. You saw when they got their goal to get within one, you know it really changed the tone of the game.” The Flames clinched a berth in the
GIVING continued from B1
Tom Foote | Liberty Champion
SMILE — NFL players Rashad Jennings (left), Mike Brown (right) and Flames running back Desmond Rice (middle) greet each other at Williams Sadium.
their skill set is like,” Jennings said. “So I want to set a stage and educate high school students about what it takes to make it in college, because there will be a lot of sad faces if they don’t face the facts of reality.” Jennings and Brown share a common goal in their desire to help the community who helped them while they were at Liberty. Both said that they are accustomed to the Lynchburg area and want to provide for families who are less fortunate They hosted a Kids’ Punt, Pass and Pancake Breakfast and a Skills and Drills minicamp at Williams Stadium for third to eighth grade students Saturday, Feb. 22. “Even if (the kids) don’t learn anything through any drill we do, if we can say something to them that will impact them, that’s what we want to do, just plant a
Leah Stauffer | Liberty Champion
STAYIN’ ALIVE — Liberty kept its hopes of a national title in tact. ACHA DII National Tournament with a victory against fifth-seeded Miami (Ohio). The tournament runs from March 21-25 in Marlborough, Ma. HAYWOOD is a sports reporter. seed, a small seed,” Brown said. Jennings and Brown appeared at Convocation Friday, Feb. 21 and later that evening at a player panel to explain to the only goal of their initiative — positively affecting people’s lives, even if just one person. FOOTE is the asst. sports editor. BATTLE is the sports editor.
FYI
Rashad Jennings holds the Liberty single-season records for rushing yards, touchdowns and career touchdowns.
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SPORTS
Liberty Champion/B4
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Meighan Thompson | Liberty Champion
GOLD RUSH — Russia took advantage of having the Olympics on home soil, capturing the most gold and total medals at the 22nd Winter Olympics.
Editorial:
Crossing a line
Has bullying become a serious issue in the NFL? Alex Tichenor atichenor@liberty.edu
Wikimedia
MAKING THEIR NATION PROUD — Russia took the crown as the top nation in the Winter Games.
Sochi passes the torch The Americans finished second in the total medal count to host country Russia Tom Foote tfoote2@liberty.edu
Derrick Battle dbattle2@liberty.edu
Olympic expectations for Team USA are always extraordinary. Some athletes live up to the hype, while some falter under the bright lights. Despite finishing second in the medal count to host country Russia, the United States still came home with 28 medals. One sport the U.S. had high expectations for was hockey. Four years ago, Sidney Crosby buried the U.S. men’s hockey team’s chance of securing its first Olympic gold medal since 1980. However, the Americans entered the tournament this time with revenge on their minds and appeared poised to gain redemption after the heartbreaking loss from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The U.S. entered the semifinal matchup with tournament favorites Canada riding a wave of momentum after outscoring its first four opponents 20-6. Canada had underachieved, as it struggled to score and scraped by a Latvian team in the quarterfinals that featured just one NHL player. Despite the two teams going in seemingly opposite directions, the results on the ice showed how competitive this
FINALE continued from B1 Though three-point success made the difference in the first-half, it was secondhalf paint play that won the game. Winthrop adjusted its defense to control Liberty’s outside shooting from the first half, putting stifling pressure on the perimeter and forcing Liberty to rely on the inside. Redshirt sophomore center Katelyn Adams provided the necessary spark in the post, going 7-10 from the field, garnering three rebounds and assists and four critical steals. “(Adams) attacked the rim very well,” Green said. “And when she does that, good things will hap-
rivalry has become. The sole difference between the two teams was a deflection by a player who did not even receive an invite to the Canadian Olympic camp. The unexpected hero, Jamie Benn, seized the moment, scoring the only goal of the matchup as he deflected the puck into the net on a pinpoint pass from the point by defenseman Jay Bouwmeester. The 1-0 loss to the Canadians, who went on to defeat Sweden for their second consecutive gold medal, was just the beginning of the misery for the Americans. Less than 24 hours later, the Americans showed up on the ice flat, losing the bronze medal match to Finland 5-0. Just like the men’s team, Canada was the thorn in the side of the USA’s women’s team as well. Four years ago, the women lost to Canada in the gold medal game in Vancouver, and the two teams squared off again in Sochi for the same prize — a gold medal. For 56 minutes, America dominated the ice, displaying their quickness and physicality against the Canadians. With a 2-0 lead with less than four minutes remaining in the final period, it seemed the U.S. had it’s first gold medal since 1998 wrapped up. However, the Canadians had a different idea. Three minutes was all Canada needed to tie the game at two and force
pen. We were in a situation where they were putting a lot of pressure on the perimeter, and the post needed to step up. They responded well, and Katelyn really had her mind made up and was more aggressive (the second half).” Collectively, the Lady Flames doubled their post productivity in the second half. Redshirt-sophomore Ashley Rininger put up 13 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked one shot. Sophomore guard Sadalia Ellis played a role in the team’s inside dominance as well, setting up the Lady Flames bigs with masterful passes for a total of seven assists on the night. “We didn’t have great
overtime. In extra time, Canada capitalized on a five-on-three advantage, scoring the go-ahead goal to earn its fourth straight gold medal. Despite the disappointments from the hockey teams, other Americans thrived in their opportunities to seize gold. Alpine skier Ted Ligety captured a gold medal in men’s giant slalom and became the first male American skier to win two Olympic gold medals. In the women’s slalom, 18-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. made history as the youngest winner of a gold medal in the event. Sports the U.S. usually thrives in, such as individual figure skating and speed skating, laid goose eggs in the medal department for the first time since the 1936 and 1984 Olympics. However, the U.S. made up for their lack of medals in figure skating and speed skating in the debut of halfpipe freestyle skiing at the Olympics, as David Wise and Maddie Bowman each took home gold. Although stars such as Shaun White and Shani Davis came home emptyhanded, new stars such as Shiffrin, Wise and Bowman shined in their opportunity to represent their country and displayed that at the Olympics, anything is possible. FOOTE is the asst. sports editor. BATTLE is the sports editor.
energy starting out, but toward the end of the first half, we really picked it up,” Adams said. Adams and her team expressed similar excitement looking forward to the fast-approaching Big South Tournament. “Tonight was definitely a statement game,” Fisher-Davis said. “We just wanted it to be a game where nobody in the Big South thinks that they can beat us.” The Lady Flames return to action when they travel to take on the Radford University Highlanders Thursday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Leah Stauffer | Liberty Champion
RUSH is a sports reporter.
FLYING HIGH — Liberty upset the Big South-leading Winthrop Eagles.
The Richie Incognito-Jonathan Martin conflict is certainly not a simple situation. The two were teammates with the Miami Dolphins NFL team during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, but Martin left the team in late October of 2013, citing repeated bullying by his fellow offensive lineman, Incognito. Over the past several months, some of the content of text messages and voicemails has come out that is far too explicit to repeat. Incognito spewed threats and racial slurs at Martin, and that is just the stuff that was recorded. To say the messages were shocking is like saying the Taj Mahal looks pretty nice. According to yahoosports.com, agent Ted Wells identified another player who was a victim in the bullying scandal. Offensive tackle Andrew McDonald was identify as “Player A” in Wells’ report. McDonald played for the Dolphins in 2012. Recently, the Dolphins Head Coach Joe Philbin fired offensive line coach Jim Turner and dismissed trainer Kevin O’Neill as part of the situation as well. The word “bullying” has been thrown around in this case, but that may be a very narrow way of looking at it. There are two different ways people can view the word “bullying.” The first view is held by people who have never been bullied. They see bullying as something unfortunate, but trivial. As long as nobody is going to the hospital, everything is okay. Words are harmless. The old phrase “sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can never hurt” is how they view bullying. The second view is held by people who have been bullied. They know how damaging the wrongful actions of a person or group of persons can be on a psychological, emotional and even physical level. They know that their lives were made into a living nightmare at times by people who deemed themselves superior. I have been lucky enough to only have been the victim of bullying on one occasion, but it will always be engrained in my mind. I was at the bus stop with some older school mates waiting to get picked up to go to class, and I was thrown onto the ground repeatedly while being called names, leaving my freshly-cleaned school clothes coated in dirt and my right arm adorned with scrapes. I ran home in tears and told my mom I did not want to go to school. I felt anger, but I was also ashamed and embarrassed, even though I did nothing wrong. I was abused. One of the biggest problems with bullying is the casualness in which people look at the simple term of “bullying.” What if we stopped calling it “bullying” and began calling the same actions “abuse?” Martin was continually verbally abused by his teammate Incognito. He left the team so he would not have to be a part of that kind of situation anymore. Critics of Martin have portrayed Incognito as just being a regular football guy taking jabs at his teammate. It happens to everybody, they say. Sure, locker rooms are not the most proper places on earth. Teammates joke around with each other all the time, and not all the jokes are rated PG. But there is a line between friendly, disparaging humor and mean-spirited verbal abuse, and Incognito crossed it. Martin is a 6-foot-5-inch, 312-pound man, but he has the same emotions as the rest of us. He was done being told that he was somehow less of a person than Incognito. There is nothing soft about that. TICHENOR is a sports reporter.
FEATURE
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/B5
‘Ring by spring’ in a new light There are many details to consider and a lot of research to do when picking out a new engagement ring Jeremy Beale jbeale3@liberty.edu
Within the hands of a man on bended knee sparkles a luxurious clear-cut stone, entwined by a flawless metallic band, welded together to create the perfect symbol of love — the engagement ring. As February is coming to a close and spring is quickly approaching, “The Ring by Spring” deadline is almost here. Because the ring symbolizes the promises of marriage made between men and women looking to get engaged, the process of finding such a masterpiece has been described as one of the most difficult tasks in a man’s life. “A lot of research goes into selecting the ring of your respective fiancée’s dreams,” Biff Bowen, owner of Bowen Jewelry Company, said. “The tradition of selecting an engagement ring is an intimate and complex process which entails many steps, but the most important are figuring out the Six Cs of an engagement ring — certification, carat, cut, clarity, color and cost.” Liberty University graduate student and Liberty University Residential Director Brandon Wirth and his wife Alexandra Wirth began their path to engagement by walking through the doors of Bowen Jewelers, thus starting the ring-choosing process. According to Brandon Wirth, he had a woman that he loved, the job security that he needed, and a question he wanted answered. In a moment of spontaneity, Brandon Wirth drove 11 hours to surprise Alexandra Wirth with a ring similar to the one they had seen at Bowen. “We talked a lot about our future plans and marriage,” Alexandra Wirth said. “We knew we were going to get married. It was just a matter of when.” According to Brandon Wirth, he spent roughly 30 hours trying to replicate the ring that his wife saw at Bowen, studying the different specifications of his fiancée’s ring through Bowen and various websites, such as online jeweler bluenile.com.
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
PROMISE — A ring is a more than just a symbol of love, it is a representation of a woman’s personality and a commitment between two people. He described the process as and luxury, as it absorbs light, ring. He explained that the enchallenging, demanding and in- constantly renewing its clarity gagement ring he picked for Altense, especially as he worked to and effervescence, and the color exandra Wirth had to be a persubtly gain insight from Alexandra represents the character and per- fect expression of her character Wirth about the ring she desired. sonality of the fiancée.” and how he felt about her. “Each part of the ring repreBowen said he believes that “She is worth far more than sents a different aspect of your when choosing a ring, the man rubies. I have full confidence respective fiancée’s character, should pay attention to every in- in her and she lacks nothing of and it is important for a young tricate detail. value,” Brandon Wirth said, exman to take notice to this,” Brandon Wirth shared convic- plaining her character in terms Bowen said. “If the young man tions similar to Bowen’s when he of Proverbs 31. “I knew Alexandoesn’t know her taste, then it started the search for his wife’s dra wasn’t a material girl, and I can hinder his decision in selecting the perfect ring for her.” Bowen suggested Brandon Wirth ask her family and friends for advice, or even visit her Pinterest for inspiration, and Brandon Wirth said he took the advice to heart and actually did look at her Pinterest. According to Bowen, the ring is more than a mere representation of the institution of marriage. It is the perfect representation of the husband and wife’s past, present and future together. Bowen said he believes that alongside the symbols of passion and longevity, each component of the ring represents something more. “The band represents durability and eternity, as the metal is built to last forever,” he said. “The diamond represents life
knew the ring had to be a perfect representation of her and what she means to me.” Brandon Wirth also had to consider how much he would pay for the ring. According to Andrew Jones, a former Zales jeweler, an average, full-time working individual normally pays $2,000 for an engagement ring, but engagement rings start as low as $500. Although Brandon Wirth said it would have been easy for him to quickly spend two months’ salary on the most expensive ring in the store, he chose to save for the ring. He said that by spending a ton of money on the ring automatically, the ring would have lost its intrinsic value. According to him, working to save for the ring communicated to his brideto-be how hard he will continue to work for her. Alexandra Wirth explained her gratitude at receiving the ring that represented the important vow. “To receive something like that is beautiful,” Alexandra Wirth said. “It’s like a promise, where he is betrothing me and I him,” Alexandra said. “It is a symbol of his commitment to me.” BEALE is a feature reporter.
Meighan Thompson | Liberty Champion
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FEATURE
Liberty Champion/B6
Finding truth
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Creation Studies class will explore D.C. in March Kathleen DeWitt kedewitt@liberty.edu
In an effort to expand learning beyond the classroom, History of Anti-Semitism and Creation Studies 390 classes will unite to take a trip to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Jefferson Memorial and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., Saturday, March 1. During their visit, they will explore exhibits that reveal the history of America, the integration of evolution and how evolutionary beliefs influence perspectives about the value of human life. This provides students with the opportunity to interact with culture and the Creation versus Evolution debate, which took place Feb. 4, firsthand. Former Creation Studies 390 student Benjamin Osterkamp explained that Creation Studies Director David DeWitt taught them how to find examples of evolution in the Smithsonian museum. “For every exhibit that was presented in an evolutionary and naturalistic light, he was able to shed new light on them,” Osterkamp said. “He revealed how creationists and evolutionists would have the same evidence, yet form completely different conclusions from it.” According to Osterkamp, evolutionary principles were evident in many of the exhibits at the museum, especially in the fossil and mammal displays. “The exhibits were very deceptive, and the people who design the exhibits have an obvious goal to ingrain evolution into everything that they do,” Osterkamp said. “It is impossible to look at something that does not have an evolutionary twist.” Osterkamp explained that these false beliefs undermine scripture and devalue human life. Although Creation Studies 390 classes have taken this field trip annually for the past eight years, this is the first time another class will go to Washington, D.C. with them. According to DeWitt, the Anti-Semitism class joined the trip due to a conversation Liberty student Christy Connell had with Judaic Studies professor Randall Price. According to Connell, when she shared her excitement about the trip with Price, he was curious about the connection between creation studies and the Holocaust museum. “He asked how the Holocaust museum connects to evolution, and I told him that evolutionary thought influenced Hitler with (his) final solution: thinking of the Jews as a subspecies and using that as an excuse to exterminate them,” Connell said. After hearing Connell’s response, Price said that the Holocaust museum related to the class’s topic of study, which is how to support Jews instead of discriminating. According to Connell, she asked DeWitt if the classes could combine for the field trip, and he agreed. DeWitt said that taking a trip to Washington, D.C. gives students an opportunity to take their knowledge and apply what they have learned in a relevant context. “It’s encouraging to them to see that they can apply what they’ve learned in that type of setting,” DeWitt said. “Some students haven’t confronted evolution like that at a museum before. For a large number, it’s their first trip to Washington, D.C.” DeWitt finds that visiting the Jefferson Memorial will remind students that America was founded on the belief that life is sacred and all men are created equal. DeWitt said he has received positive feedback from many former students about the trip, and some have even asked to come back the following year. He believes that this trip is a valuable piece of the Creation Studies 390 course. To sign up for the trip, email DeWitt at dadewitt@liberty.edu. The deadline to sign up is Tuesday, Feb. 25. DEWITT is a feature reporter.
Courtney Russo | Liberty Champion
ENTHUSIASM — Switchfoot, led by front man Jon Foreman (wearing hat), brings different styles of music to its concerts.
Liberty welcomes Switchfoot Switchfoot performs fan favorites and songs from their new album “Fading West” Olivia Brown obrown5@liberty.edu
Fans quickly filled the space in front of the stage at Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC) at 7 p.m., an hour before the Switchfoot concert began, Friday, Feb. 21. Student Activities (SA) hosted a concert featuring Switchfoot as one of the main events for the first College for a Weekend (CFAW) of the spring 2014 semester. The opening band for Switchfoot was the Kopecky Family Band, a group from Nashville, Tenn. According to Markus Midkiff, the band’s cellist, TRBC was the second stop on Switchfoot’s Fading West Tour. “(The crowd) was really enthusiastic and really receptive to the music,” Steven Holmes, the guitarist for Kopecky Family Band, said. “It has been a dream getting to know (Switchfoot) and just them treating us as equals or as peers.” Logan Smith, a prospective Liberty student who has been to four Switchfoot concerts, said he enjoyed listening to
Kopecky Family Band. “They brought a little folk,” Smith said. “It gave me a different taste before the harder music. I got a lot more out of it than I thought I would.” Liberty sophomore Rachel Leininger, however, had already been looking forward to watching Kopecky Family Band perform, because she had previously seen them open for Tenth Avenue North. “I came super stoked to hear Kopecky,” Leininger said. “I had seen Switchfoot in concert already, so I wanted to see (Kopecky Family Band).” When Kopecky Family Band left the stage, the crowd was given a 30-minute break in order to buy refreshments, purchase Switchfoot and Kopecky Family Band T-shirts and CDs and meet some of the Kopecky Family Band band members. At 9:15 p.m., the lights turned off and the crowd cheered as the members of Switchfoot walked on stage. Lights and lasers flashed on as they began performing their first song, “When We Come Alive.” “I always love Switchfoot,
(especially) the lighting they have,” Leininger said. “It is always amazing.” Jon Foreman, the lead singer of Switchfoot, made use of the whole stage. While performing, he walked to the front of the stage and shook some of the hands coming up from the crowd in the front. He also climbed and jumped off the drum set. For two of the songs performed, Foreman actually stepped into the crowd as he sang. “The communal element of music is something I will never get over,” Foreman said. “That’s why we do what we do.” Sarah Janaskie, a CFAW visitor staying with Leininger, said she attended the concert because she received a free ticket for signing up for CFAW. According to her, she was glad she went. “I appreciate the instruments (Switchfoot uses) and their talent,” Janaskie said. “It is always a treat to listen to their music.” Switchfoot performed songs from their album “Fading West,” as well as older songs like “Only Hope” and “When I Look at the Stars.” “‘Meant to Live’ (was my fa-
vorite song) because they started out acoustic and ended with electric,” Smith said. According to Foreman, that was the band’s first acoustic performance of “Meant to Live” on stage. “It was written on an acoustic guitar, like most of our songs,” Foreman said. “Then it turned into a rock song. So I want to bring it back to the way it resonated.” Switchfoot ended the night by performing their song “Dare You to Move” from their album, “A Beautiful Letdown.” The band will continue to tour the U.S., with the last performance of the Fading West Tour taking place September 13 at the Awakening Festival in Centreville, Va. Tickets for all of their concerts are available at switchfoot.com. “If I had to sum up what we have learned as a band in the past nine albums, it would be (that) love alone is worth the fight,” Foreman said. BROWN is a feature reporter.
FEATURE
FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Liberty Champion/B7
‘Little Women,’ big performance Ashley Bunner
abunner@liberty.edu
While many people were celebrating Valentine’s Day the night of Friday, Feb. 14, 21 Liberty University students transformed into Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy March and several others for the opening of “Little Women” at the Tower Theater. According to the Tower Theater’s website, the show is based on Louisa May Alcott’s own family experiences and novel. “Little Women” follows the adventures of the March sisters as they grow up in Civil War-era America. McKenzie Connell, who plays Aunt March, said that even though the story is set in the past, it is still relatable to audience members today. She said that Jo March, the main character of the play, makes the play especially relevant. “Jo’s spirit is a modern spirit,” Connell said. “She does not conform to society.” According to Christopher Nelson, the show’s director, he believes that the story that centers on Jo March can serve as an encouragement to spectators. “The audience will see what readers have read for years, a story of a family and a young woman specifically who is growing up and facing the challenges of the real-
ity that surrounds her,” Nelson said. “It is heart-warming and inspiring and very family friendly.” The story of the play follows that of the book, but the book has been adapted to fit the style of a musical, Nelson said. The music was written by Jason Howland and Mindi Dickstein for the Broadway production. “(T)he music is wonderful,” Nelson said. “It adds to the emotional depth of the story and really gives the story a nice rhythm.” Connell said that the music is contemporary and gives the show a powerful drive. Jonathan Hogue, the actor who portrays Laurie, agreed and added that the music is the heart of the show and makes it flow better. Timmy Williamson, who plays Mr. Laurence, said that because the play is a musical, the cast members had to work quickly to develop their characters in addition to perfecting the songs. In preparation for the part of his character, Hogue read the novel of “Little Women” only a few weeks before the play. The actor said he had some fun, quirky moments playing his character and enjoyed hearing the audience laugh along with him.
Ty Hester| Liberty Champion
ADVENTURE — The play follows the story of sisters during the Civil War. This is the first time “Little Women” has been performed in the Tower Theater, but it is not the first time it has been presented at Liberty. According to Nelson, “Little Women” was also performed at Liberty a little more than eight years ago in Lloyd Auditorium in the Fine Arts Hall, which is now used by Liberty’s marching band.
The show will continue to run through Sunday, March 2. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketreturn.com, over the telephone at (434) 582-SEAT or at the Vines Center box office. Discounts are available for students, faculty, staff, seniors and active military members. BUNNER is a feature reporter.
Faculty revisit debate between Ham and Nye
Liberty hosts panel of three science professionals to refute Nye’s claims against Creationism as the origin of life Kathleen DeWitt kedewitt@liberty.edu
Dozens of students and professors gathered in the Terrace Conference Room of the Jerry Falwell Library on the afternoon of Monday, Feb. 17 for a panel discussion about the Ken Ham versus Bill Nye debate that took place Feb. 4. Assistant Director of Creation Studies Marcus Ross mediated as Dr. Terry Mortenson, a guest from Answers in Genesis, and Liberty University professors Dr. David DeWitt and Dr. Andrew Fabich participated in the panel. According to Ross, each panelist gave a short presentation that addressed and refuted
points Nye made during the debate based on each panelist’s area of expertise. DeWitt spoke about Nye’s slide with 51 skulls and explained which skulls were human and which ones were extinct apes. Fabich, a microbiologist, shared research regarding E. coli and explained that what evolutionists claim to be new bacterial traits were not derived from new information. According to environmental science student Rebekah Stites, viewing the debate and attending post-debate panel were valuable experiences. She said DeWitt’s explanation of the skulls Nye presented was particularly insightful. “It helped me to see that I do
not have to understand everything right away,” Stites said. “If I take a step back and do my own research about the things I do not understand, that will help.” According to Stites, she learned that research is a powerful tool and walked away with a greater appreciation for the faculty that are dedicated to educating from a biblical standpoint. “My biggest takeaway from the post-debate panel was that I feel so blessed to have awesome professors like this who are godly, intelligent and on fire for God,” Stites said. “That’s what I love most about Liberty.” In addition to participating in the panel, Fabich had the opportunity to contribute to the debate
the panel analyzed. According to Fabich, he traveled in January to the Creation Museum, the site of Ham and Nye’s debate, and was filmed for a short segment broadcasted during Ken Ham’s presentation. He refuted Lenski’s bacterial evolution experiment and claimed that microbiology is consistent with the biblical model of creation. “Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity for our position to be laid out clearly for the audience,” Fabich said. Following the presentations, Ross opened the floor to questions from the audience. Students and faculty asked the panelists for further clarification, opinions about comments made by both
Nye and Ham, and questions about how to defend creation when speaking to people who do not believe the Bible is true. According to Mortenson, more than 10 million people viewed the debate from 212 countries and territories, and he hoped that the debate and panel discussion would encourage students to continue learning. “I would hope that they are motivated to think carefully and critically about evolution claims as well as scriptures and how to think biblically,” Mortenson said. “I want students to be motivated to keep thinking.” DEWITT is a feature reporter.
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FEBRUARY 25, 2014
Christieanna Apon | Liberty Champion
COLD — Students participating in the sixth annual Hill City Polar Plunge experienced warmer temperatures than last year’s plungers.
Plunge benefits Special Olympics
The money raised will be used to support the Special Olympics program in Lynchburg and throughout Virginia Mary Helen Norris mhnorris@liberty.edu
The sixth annual Hill City Polar Plunge was met with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s, a stark contrast to the 32 degrees and snow that was reported the previous year. The good weather brought more than 75 people to Camp Hydaway to raise money for the Special Olympics of Virginia Saturday, Feb. 21. A breeze was blowing at Camp Hydaway, the location of the plunge that Liberty University allowed the Special Olympics to use, and students avoided the chill of the shade by sitting on the sunny beach by the lake. The excitement grew in the crowd as 63 participants gathered for registration an hour before the plunge began. For an hour, the Albemarle Police Department dive team prepared the lake, setting up boundaries for the swimmers, observing the water temperature and clearing the path for the plungers. One of the divers, Dominick Zambrotter, reported that at the time of the dive, the water in Camp Hydaway Lake was only 41 degrees. But even with low water temperatures,
students, including all of the members of the Liberty women’s volleyball team, were still excited to participate in the plunge. The team of Liberty athletes was named the top fundraising team of the event. “For me it’s no surprise, because I’ve done this for five years, and this team always supports us each and every year,” Matt Camire, Special Olympics of Virginia’s director of development, said. Rachel Smoltz, the sophomore outside hitter and defensive specialist for the volleyball team, was named the top individual fundraiser and was awarded a Galaxy S Tablet tablet courtesy of AT&T. AT&T also provided Dunkin Donuts coffee and doughnuts for the event. According to Camire, because of AT&T’s food donation, Liberty University’s donation of the Camp Hydaway facility and the payment for the T-shirts, nearly 100 percent of the funds raised by the Polar Plunge was donated directly to Special Olympics VA. Each plunger was required to raise a minimum of $50 to support Special Olympics athletic programs in the local Lynchburg area as well as throughout the state, Camire said.
After announcing the top-fundraising team, Camire awarded the best costume title to a group called the Screaming Buffalo Brothers. Peter Lanham, along with Matt, Stephen and David Clarke, plunged into the icy water for their second time. Matt dressed up as John Reid, the Lone Ranger from the 2013 Disney film, and David portrayed Tonto, played by Johnny Depp in the movie. Stephen donned a HAZMAT suit, while Lanham rounded out the team dressed as a hotdog. “It’s a polar plunge. You’ve got to have a random hot dog running in,” Lanham said. The Screaming Buffalo Brothers won several gift cards as their prize. PRSSA has been working on coordinating the Polar Plunge since August, according to Ashley Rawsthorne, the account executive from Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). “I rounded up a team of 15 students from our club to help spread the word about the event through guerilla marketing on campus, table signups and business-tobusiness fundraising. It turned out to be a great event,” Rawsthorne said. “I was really thrilled with the outcome.”
Camire had one more award to give out before the participants took the plunge. A few weeks ago, there was another Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach. At the event, sailors from the USS Eisenhower won the best costume category. They later emailed Camire and wanted to give it to another participant, Scott Catron, who has been a Special Olympics athlete for 14 years. Catron is involved in swimming events, basketball and soccer. He has participated in the Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach for nine years and has participated in the Camp Hydaway plunge for two years. As the event wrapped up, the Albemarle County Police Department divers mentioned that they look forward to this event every year, they love coming to Camp Hydaway and they enjoy being around everyone involved. For more information about the Special Olympics of Virginia, including how to donate, events the organization hosts and more about the cause, visit specialolympicsva.org. NORRIS is a feature reporter.
LOVE sculpture attracts tourists The sculpture is designed to showcase some of Lynchburg’s outdoor activities, such as hiking and skateboarding Ashely Bunner abunner@liberty.edu
Many people do not usually associate art and recreation, but local artist Paul Clements connects the two subjects with a sculpture located at the Percival Island trailhead in downtown Lynchburg. Clements was commissioned by the James River Council for the Arts and Humanities and the City of Lynchburg to create the sculpture, which spells out the word “love.” The sculpture was unveiled in May of 2013. According to President of the James River Council Terri Cornwell, one of the goals of the sculpture was to bring attention to art in the city. Clements explained that this was not his first sculpture, however. According to Clements, most of his artwork takes the form of sculptures. Clements is also an experienced glass blower and has been working with metals for seven years, but the LOVE sculpture was his first completely metal sculpture. According to Clements, each letter in the LOVE sculpture represents some of the outdoor activities that are available in the Lynchburg area. The “L” has footprints across it, representing hiking. The “O” is decorated with bicycle wheels for trail biking. Attached to the “V” are two canoe paddles that represent water rafting and other river activities. The “E” is adorned with skateboard wheels to represent the pastime.
The bright, candy-apple red letters are made out of powder-covered aluminum. They each stand six feet tall and are mounted onto a two-foot tall catwalk, which is held in place by cement. Clements said that he had a few sleepless nights wondering if the sculpture was sturdy enough to withstand the attention it would receive. He worried that if people climbed on the letters, either they or the letters would fall. He also worried about weather conditions and how they would affect the sculpture. With these concerns in mind, Clements decided to restructure the sculpture to make it stronger and more weather resistant. He used the structure of airplane wings and inserted 1 1/2 inch bars of aluminum where he anticipated people would stand on the sculpture. Clements said that his sculpture is one of 22 LOVE sculptures that are a part of the VTC’s oversized LOVEworks. According to virginia.org, the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) has created oversized LOVEwork across the state as a part of the Virginia is For Lovers campaign to promote the message that “Love is at the heart of every Virginia vacation.” According to Cornwell, the Virginia Is For Lovers slogan has been very successful for a number of years and has been voted one of the top 10 tourism marketing campaigns of all time. Born and raised in Lynchburg, Clements says that he is very familiar with the
Danae Samms | Liberty Champion
ADVENTURE — Lynchburg’s LOVE sculpture is part of the Virginia is For Lovers Campaign and is one of 22 similar works of art in the state. area and believes that his first public outdoor sculpture is in a great spot. “Everybody likes it,” Clements said. “I knew that people would, but I didn’t know that people would at that level.” Cornwell said she wouldn’t be surprised if the LOVE sculpture received more traffic around Valentine’s Day. She also said that many people have taken pictures with the
sculpture for their Christmas cards. According to the Virginia is For Lovers website, visitors are encouraged to take photos with the LOVEworks and share with loved ones on Facebook at Facebook. com/VirginiaisforLovers or on Twitter with the special hashtag #LOVEVA. BUNNER is a feature reporter.