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LIBERTY CHAMPION Tuesday, January 31, 2012
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Volume 29 • Issue 13
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Re-register to vote 20 VOTE
Ashley Bollinger akbollinger@liberty.edu
Ashley Bollinger
Liberty University students have returned to a myriad of campus changes, including a new parking system. According to Liberty’s administration the changes are showing promising results and will remain in effect for the following academic year. “The first major part of the change was taking on campus parking spaces (primarily Hill and East Campus student vehicles) and moving them to newly constructed lots that were put up in the last couple of weeks,” Liberty’s Vice President of Financial Research and Analysis Richard Martin said. Although having to relocate on-campus vehicles may not be convenient, according to Martin and other members of the administration, students have responded well. “Liberty prides itself on letting our freshmen bring cars. Not too many big schools do that,” Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said. “We wanted to continue that, but we did have to change where the younger students park, and we do appreciate the way they have responded to that change.” According to Martin, on-campus students have to walk a maximum of 20 minutes to reach their now relocated vehicles. “If we had put commuters in the lot behind the Wingate there would have been thousands of hours generated a week of walking, but the same parking space used for on-campus students only generates a hundred hours,” Martin said.
akbollinger@liberty.edu
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
win — Jesse Sanders goes up against a VMI player for a two-point layup.
Building Liberty
Tabitha Cassidy tcassidy@liberty.edu
Former Liberty University defensive lineman Asa Chapman pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and one felony charge in a Lynchburg City Court in January. Under Virginia law, however, Chapman will be given a second chance, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said. As a first time offender, charges against Chapman will be dropped after a period of time and the former college football star will continue on his path toward the National Football League (NFL) without a criminal record. His next scheduled court date is Feb. 3. According to Liberty administration, the university stands behind its decision to allow Chapman to finish his schooling at Liberty in the fall of 2011. Mark Hine, a representative from the Office of Student Conduct and the senior vice president for Student Affairs, said that Liberty offers all first time offending students a second chance, if at all possible. “Our heart is that students will change,” Hine said. Legally, according to Falwell, the school had an obligation to continue letting Chapman attend. With some discretion, the Liberty University policy is to allow all
See ASA, A3
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet,” Sixteenth President of the United States of America Abraham Lincoln said during a speech on May 19, 1856. Liberty University students have repeatStudents edly proven this statecan regisment to be true through their participation in ter to vote the local polls, accordonline at ing to Chancellor Jerry www.sbe. Falwell Jr. However, due to the virginia. new districting patgov terns of Lynchburg, students must re-register in order to vote in the 2012 elections. The deadline for this registration in order to vote in the March presidential primary election is Feb. 13. “Liberty has benefitted greatly from students voting locally. In my opinion, we never would have seen the pedestrian bridge over Wards Road, a polling place in the Vines Center or the new institutional zoning ordinance that will give Liberty back the property rights that it had before 1991 if students had not registered locally and voted in big numbers in the past few years,” Falwell said. Registering to vote, and taking part in local and national elections, not only gives Liberty a voice, but also helps to keep the cost of tuition down, according to Falwell. “The zoning changes will avoid expensive mandates from the City as Liberty grows and builds, allowing Liberty to keep tuition low,” Falwell said. “Liberty has kept its tuition in the lowest 25 percent of all private colleges nationwide and Liberty gives its students over $100 million in institutional aid and scholarships each year.” “We know students have the option of registering where their parents live and voting by absentee ballot, but in return for the financial assistance Liberty provides and to help Liberty keep our tuition and fees low, we are asking students to please register to vote here in Lynchburg,” Falwell said. “It is a way they can help their university to continue to improve in so many ways.”
FYI
See PARKING, A8
Chapman receives grace
12
More changes bring new look to Liberty’s campus Ashley Bollinger akbollinger@liberty.edu
BOLLINGER is the editor in chief.
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onstruction on Liberty University’s campus continues as the administration makes plans to demolish the buildings located behind DeMoss. According to Liberty’s Director of Planning and Construction Charles Spence, the university is looking to relocate the offices and classrooms currently residing in the SLAB and Schilling to the completed fourth floor of DeMoss by March 1. “The purpose of what we are trying to do is to relocate people who are currently in buildings such as the SLAB to make room for the construction of the new library,” Spence said. According to Spence, the demolition project is projected to begin as soon as all departments have been transitioned out of their current locations. “After these building are demolished we are going to be left with approximately 90,000 cubic yards of dirt that needs to be removed for the library construction,” Chancellor Jerry
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
Walmart CEO speaks
Tabitha Cassidy
Work — Construction continues.
tcassidy@liberty.edu
Falwell Jr. said. “We are planning on using this dirt to construct the new baseball stadium.” However, demolition is not all that is happening on Liberty’s campus this semester, according to Spence. “The perimeter road is a big part of our current construction. You can’t start the library without the perimeter road,” Falwell said. “You have to route all of that traffic around,” Spence said. “There will be no traffic and no parking in that area.
William S. Simon, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., spoke on his perseverance to acquire his position in life at convocation, Mon., Jan. 30. According to his ex- Simon ecutive biography, Simon was previously the executive vice president of professional services. He also created the team that launched Walmart’s $4 prescription drug program. CASSIDY is the news editor.
See CONSTRUCTION, A8
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NEWS
A2/Liberty Champion
January 31, 2012
Virginia Primaries approach Brittany Laird bhlaird@liberty.edu
Photo provided
CHAMPIONS — Liberty University’s Quiz Bowl team captured its sixth Big South Championship Saturday, Jan. 28, winning all six games hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. The team from left to right: Kaity Shondelmyer, Andrea Teachout, Dr. Jim Nutter (coach), Corbin Payne, Catherine Hardy, Jake Rogers (captain).
Karl Rove discusses 2012 presidential race Omar Adams oadams@liberty.edu
Former Deputy Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush Karl Rove spoke at Randolph College Jan. 26 about President Barack Obama, the upcoming election and his years of experience in politics. Nicknamed “The Architect” for his role in designing both of Bush’s presidential campaigns, Rove said the current Republican primaries have been “weird” with six lead changes by four different candidates. “Part of the reason this has been so erratic is we’ve had 17 debates with the 18th tonight,” he told a crowded Smith Hall Theater. “It’s kept people interested in the contest. I mean, think about it — nearly 8 million people saw the debate last Monday.” Rove compared Obama to former President Jimmy Carter and discussed the possibility of a similar one-term presidency. According to Rove, Obama will try to frame his administration as a creator of jobs, energy independence and strong foreign policy with the end of the War in Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Healthcare is one of Obama’s main weaknesses, Rove said. The president is the first Democrat in the 75 years of Gallup polling to have a negative rating on
port came right after the president’s State of the Union address in which he called for the wealthiest Americans to “pay their fair share” of taxes. “In fairness, the president ought to take each one of them in and ask, ‘When are you gonna pay your taxes?’” Rove said. Rove cautioned attendees to be respectful of the president, however, and careful of the way they portray him. “The most powerful indictment to use against someone is their own words, and this guy has plenty to use against him,” Rove said. The election will be a battle for both parties, but Rove pointed out that the Official portrait 2010 census rearranged some of the elecpolitics — Rove analyzes the election. toral votes. Some votes from states that have traditionally supported Democratic healthcare. candidates have since been reallocated to “The problem is it ain’t very popular,” typically Republican states. Rove said. “In fact, if any of you have the Rove expects several states that the idea of getting a PhD in political science, president won in 2012 to change sides as here’s your thesis — the Healthcare Plan well. is the first piece of major legislation to be“He’s in bad shape in Nebraska,” Rove come less popular after it passed.” said. “Just trust me — he ain’t gonna win Other significant concerns for the it again.” president are unemployment, spending Regardless of the challenges facing the and scandals like Solyndra and the recent president in 2012, Rove is calling for anInternal Revenue Service (IRS) report of other tight race. tax fraud by White House aides, accord“It’s gonna be a heck of an election ing to Rove. to watch because it’s very much up for The IRS report revealed that 36 memgrabs,” he said. bers of Obama’s staff owe a collective $834,000 in back taxes, he said. The re- ADAMS is the asst. news editor.
The Virginia March Primaries are approaching at a rapid rate. The voting for the Republican candidates will take place March 6 at various polling locations throughout the state. “Due to Virginia candidate qualification laws there will only be two republican presidential candidates on the Virginia ballot, Gov. Mitt Romney from Massachusetts and Con. Ron Paul from Texas,” Political Director for senator Steve Newman and Liberty senior Zach Martin said. Martin encourages students to go out and vote for the individual that they would prefer to run against President Barack Obama in the elections held in November. Information on each candidate can be found on their websites. This information can include everything from their opinions on certain topics to their plans for the country, should they be elected president. Martin encourages students who are unable to find the information that they are looking for on these websites to drop by the Helms School of Government, located in the Spiritual Life and Academic Building (SLAB.) “You will find plenty of students and faculty that would love to answer your questions,” Martin said. Students who are not planning on voting because they are not at home have the opportunity to change their voter registration to Lynchburg. “This is an opportunity I wouldn’t pass up,” Martin said. “After all, you can’t really complain about a politician or a candidate if you don’t take a few moments to vote.” LAIRD is a news reporter.
Important voting dates Jan. 20
Feb. 7
Absentee voting Electoral board in presidential meeting, 5:30 primary begins. p.m., Registrar’s Office.
Feb. 13
Last day of voter registration.
March 3
Last day to vote absentee in person.
Feb. 28
Last day to apply for absentee ballots by mail or fax.
March 6
Presidential primary elections.
VA task force to assist local governments Victoria Lind vlind@liberty.edu
A task force comprised of five members, including Lynchburg City Manager Kimball Payne, is looking to revise and eliminate a number of the state mandates imposed on local governments. The goal is to alleviate cost, time and excess paperwork for cities, including Lynchburg.
The “First Interim Report to the Governor” is a 59-page document describing the task force’s creation, goals and a series of recommendations regarding the suspension or elimination of mandates, some of which include removing certain education mandates that are considered burdensome as well as the elimination of localities having to go through lengthy processes to install bus
shelters. Lynchburg and Amherst County Delegate T. Scott Garrett (R-Lyh) said the mandates will not directly affect Liberty. “Liberty could be indirectly impacted insofar as students that may be involved in any of the committees affected,” Garrett said. From this task force’s document stems House Bill 1291, entitled
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“Governor’s reorganization of executive branch of state government.” Introduced by Delegate C. Todd Gilbert (R-15th District), this bill narrows down mandate suggestions into a series of about 40 propositions. This bill has currently been referred to the Committee of General Laws. Ultimately, Garrett believes these changes will affect the local government in a positive way
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by removing many outdated and burdensome mandates, which will cause local governments to soar fiscally. “My hope and expectation is not getting rid of all of the mandates, but consolidating and restructuring them,” Garrett said. “We save some of our tax dollars in the process.” LIND is a news reporter.
The Champion encourages community members to submit letters to the editor on any subject. Letters should not exceed 400 words and must be typed and signed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Letters and columns that appear are the opinion of the author solely, not the Champion editorial board or Liberty University. All material submitted becomes property of the Champion. The Champion reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any letter received — according to the Champion stylebook, taste and the Liberty University mission statement.
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NEWS
January 31, 2012
Liberty Champion/A3
Vines Center food court closes Tabitha Cassidy tcassidy@liberty.edu
Lack of student interest has caused the Vines Center food court to officially shut down, according to Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. According to Lee Beaumont, director of auxiliary services at Liberty, the college began losing money after Founder’s Food Court vendors initially moved over to the Vines Center last year. The amount of revenue the operation was making dropped significantly, Beaumont said. “It’s no different than anything else. You want things to stand on their own operationally. The students just weren’t utilizing it,” Beaumont said. Student workers at the Vines Center food courts also said that area was not reRuth Bibby | Liberty Champion ceiving as much traffic as Founder’s Food vines center — Few students took advatage of the food court during its last days. Court had. In order to put the Chick-fil-A in the “At Vines, we had our little rushes in more dining services will be added around between classes and after convo, but we campus in the following years, Beaumont Tilley, the reserve officer training corps did nowhere near as much business as at said. After seeing the success of the Tilley (ROTC) offices and some Student ActiviFounders or the Hangar,” student worker Student Center food operations, the ad- ties space will have to be relocated. ROTC and Liberty senior Rebecca Wiltshire said. ministration decided to place more food will be placed in the current spinning Sodexho, Liberty’s dining services pro- options in this location. Over the summer, room across from Liberty’s postal services vider, and the administration are doing all the Tilley will undergo construction to in Green Hall, Beaumont said. “It’s like dominoes whenever you do that they can in order to make the quality host a new Chick-fil-A. “We thought it would be best to do it this. You have to construct new areas so and quantity of food options on campus over summer so we don’t displace peo- you can move the people in the existing satisfactory for students, Beaumont said. areas out,” Beaumont said. To replace the loss of this food court, ple,” Beaumont said.
After all of the construction and moving is complete, though, a few new food courts will be present across the campus. According to Beaumont, there will be food vendors in the new library as well as a second food court attached to DeMoss Hall. Also, with the success of Chick-fil-A on campus, Beaumont said that the Liberty University administration and Chickfil-A executives have been discussing the possibility of having a second location for students on main campus in addition to Tilley. . The entire process for both main campus food courts, though, could take years, Beaumont said. “We’re doing everything we can to offer a quality dining program here on campus,” Beaumont said. According to Beaumont, there has not been any negative feedback about the Vines Center food courts being shut down so far. The administration welcomes suggestions to improve the quality of dining services for residential students and takes those suggestions into serious consideration, Beaumont said. “Our desire is to service the student body as best we can and by doing so in a financially sustainable manner,” Beaumont said. CASSIDY is the news editor.
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tackle — Asa Chapman tries to take down a JMU player and win the game.
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first time offenders and those who selfreport their transgressions the chance to enter a restorative justice program, come up with a plan to better themselves and to continue their education at the college. “Asa got treated just like everybody else that has been treated under this policy. He got a second chance,” Falwell said. “The length of his suspension from the football team was the coach’s decision alone.” The new policy, taking affect only three years ago, was a change from what the college used to have, according to Executive Vice President of Liberty University Neal Askew. Before the second chance policy was put into effect by the Office of Student Conduct, Falwell said, there was no way to weed through all of the students and determine which ones deserved forgiveness. Most of the flack received about Chapman’s return to Liberty football, according to Falwell, came from Liberty alumni and former Liberty students who were kicked out of the school for what they believed to be a “lesser” offense. “Times have changed, and it needed to change. That’s why you have to appreciate the Chancellor and the Office of Student Conduct realizing that and then making that change. I think that’s a huge statement to what our Christian mission is,” Askew said. Trying to hold back his tears, Hine
spoke about how the late Jerry Falwell Sr. taught him about the second chance policy that is currently in place at Liberty. “I would meet with him in the office and I’d go over the case. ‘Mark, you’re right,’ Doc would say, ‘This kid’s gotta go.’ And he’d bring the kid in with his parents…I’d watch him melt in the chair as he listened to the story and he saw the parents’ heart and sometimes he would even say, ‘Mark, I’m not doing it for this kid, because I’m afraid this one is going to be gone within two months. I’m doing it for these parents.’ And I’d say, ‘yes sir,’ go out the door and we’d roll it out,” Hine said. According to Falwell, the problem with the old policy was that students who gained an audience with the right administrator might receive a less severe punishment. The new policy treats everyone the same. Everyone gets a second chance if their record is clean, Falwell said. Liberty has changed since the 1970s, Hine said, and with it so have the policies. The reasoning behind the second chances given by the Office of Student Conduct, according to Hine, is to simply offer forgiveness. “When any of us get in trouble, what do we want? We’re not looking for justice. I don’t want justice. I’m looking for mercy. And so I want to give mercy,” Hine said.
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OPINION
JANUARY 31, 2012
Romney: The saltine candidate
As GOP candidates drop left and right, voters are left with a handful of unappealing options to choose between
Isaac Eder ieder@liberty.edu
How far is too far? Many already believe former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has been having the best and worst several weeks a primary candidate could ever ask for. On one hand, Romney won New Hampshire comfortably after a squeaker of a win in Iowa—or so he thought. As of Jan. 19, it appears Rick Santorum actually won, though the Iowa Republican Party is calling it a “split decision”. On the other hand, Romney’s status in the eyes of many conservatives is that of the bland but electable candidate who they believe stands an appreciable chance of beating President Barack Obama rather than someone they’re genuinely excited to vote for. For conservative voters, voting for Romney is like when you’re alone at home and you can’t cook, so you forage about like a stray animal for some scrap of ready-toeat food. Unfortunately, all you can find in the pantry is a box of old, stale, saltine crackers. You’re none too happy about it, but you realize your choices are to eat the dreadful things or go hungry. It’s not hard to see what issues conservative voters might have with Gov. Mitt Stalecracker. He has, as has been pointed out by fact-checking website Politifact,
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the Left-Wing conservative — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has a whole lot of convincing to do if he hopes to entice the conservative voters. flip-flopped on hot button issues such as abortion and gun control. The healthcare plan hwe helped push through in Massachusetts has been accurately compared to President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by the law’s critics and proponents alike (not the least of which being President Obama himself). The fact that he’s from a state with a well-deserved reputation as a liberal bastion probably hasn’t done him any
favors either. Still, Romney beats most of the other Republican candidates by a long shot. Each of them had their moment in the sun before fizzling out. Wisconsin Representative Michele Bachmann’s prospects looked good before the actual voting started, but “suspended” her campaign after an abysmal showing in Iowa, as was the case with Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman after New Hampshire.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry has proven that he can’t be allowed to speak in public, botching debates and putting out an online ad that quickly became the most disliked video on YouTube. And as of Jan. 19, Perry has dropped out of the race as well. Herman Cain’s folksy charm and winning sense of humor proved popular for quite some time before a rapid volley of sex scandals sent him down in flames. Libertarian sweetheart Ron Paul, Congressman Rick Santorum and the aforementioned Speaker Gingrich remain legitimate but trailing candidates, and each of them has their share of baggage as well. Paul, for example, opposes all foreign aid, including aid sent to Israel, a sore spot for many conservative Christians. Santorum has a history of making inflammatory remarks in public and is known for going farther on some issues than your average social conservative. Gingrich’s two extramarital affairs and subsequent divorces still dog him to this day. So there the conservative voter is, hungry for something substantial but faced with a pantry full of food that is either rotten or about to turn at any moment. And there Romney, the stale, bland box of saltines sits, smiling, as if to say, “I bet I look pretty good right about now, don’t I?” EDER is an opinion writer.
Colbert takes another stab at politics Dominique McKay dgmckay@liberty.edu
A strict social-conservative, a tithing Mormon, a former Libertarian and a congressional D.C. native are the popular faces of this year’s group of Republican nominees, but in recent weeks their claims to fame have been slightly upstaged by the ever more popular Comedy Central comedian Stephen Colbert. On Jan. 12, Colbert announced on his show “The Colbert Report” his plan to form an “exploratory committee to lay the groundwork” for his candidacy for president of the United States (of South Carolina). This would bring Colbert’s total runs for a place as our American president to two. Since his first run in 2008, Colbert has grown more involved in the nation’s political game. In 2010 Colbert (the character) testified before the U.S. Congress about the poor working conditions of migrant workers and later hosted a political rally with his Comedy Central counterpart Jon Stewart. These events, and others like it, have left many people to wonder just what kind of ramifications Colbert’s involvement in politics could have. Is Colbert a serious threat to our traditional political system? At the start of his late-night comedy show Colbert claimed that his only goal with his character was to have fun and make people laugh. And that may be true, but in the case of Colbert’s involvement in American politics there is something of greater concern this year than his farce run for president.
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In Matthew 9:58, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” I am beginning to empathize with Jesus on this one.
In June of 2011, Colbert was granted permission by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to form an independent expenditure-only committee, or what’s better known as a Super PAC. One year earlier, the Supreme Court passed a controversial ruling in Citizens United v. FEC stating that the government could not prohibit unions and corporations from making independent expenditures in politics. This ruling allowed wealthy individuals and corporations to financially influence politics under virtually no restrictions. A subsequent Supreme Court ruling that year in the case of Speechnow.org v. FEC established that limiting those contributions would violate the First Amendment rights of corporations. Most recently, CNN has reported that so far, Super PACs have spent an estimated total of $35 million on the 2012 presidential race. In January, when he announced his run for president, Colbert gave over control of the Super PAC and its undisclosed amount of funds to Stewart, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” This year in an interview with New York Times Magazine, Colbert claimed that his aim with the Super PAC was once again solely for the sake of comedy. But all of his outlandish political acts are sending a loud and clear message about the absurdity of the changes in our political campaign finance system and drawing attention to the need for an overhaul. Colbert himself summed it up best when he spoke at the College of Charles-
After weeks of fruitless searching online and driving through the outskirts of downtown Lynchburg, I am beginning to think that my future husband and I will, like Jesus, have no place to lay our heads. However, not all has been lost. We have had plenty of bonding-time as we joyously navigated Bollinger the lovely city we have come to call home. By joyous, of course, I mean dreadful. Confession time. I have no sense of direction — and I hate getting lost. Two traits which fair far better apart than they do together, just ask my fiancé. So as we navigated the streets and I quickly lost my grip on sanity, I realized something. Last week I wrote on not
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cool runnings — While Colbert’s run in the 2012 election was short-lived, the result of his push for a Super PAC may become a trendsetter for future elections. ton on Jan. 23 during his recent campaign rally with former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain: “The pundits have asked, ‘is this all some joke?’ We’ve all heard it, haven’t we? And I say, if they are calling being allowed to form a Super PAC …and spend that money on political ads and for personal enrichment, and then surrender that Super PAC to one of my closest friends while I explore a run for office—if that is a joke, then they are saying that our entire campaign finance system is a joke.” In light of the 2010 Citizens United decision to view corporations as people, it seems that Colbert and his eccentric acts
taking time for granted and living in the moment. Well, as I navigated the streets searching for something that I am convinced can’t be found, I realized I was not taking my own advice. I have been spending my time futilely worrying about tomorrow, when I know that tomorrow will take care of itself. I won’t be homeless. I will make it to my destination. It is so easy to get caught up in the tides of life and forget about the reason for the waves. We waste so much time trying not to miss a moment that we miss it all. In chapter 6 of Matthew, Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” You may not be searching for a new home, but all of us have something that seems to be looming over us, demanding
really aren’t the biggest threat to American politics. Instead that title should go to those in our political system who have carelessly given Constitutional rights only intended for American citizens to large corporations. As for Colbert’s recent political run — he couldn’t get on the ballot in South Carolina, but encouraged his viewers to vote for Cain, whose name remained on the ballot despite dropping out of the race back in December. The result? Colbert/Cain received more than 6,000 votes…merely 1 percent. McKAY is a graduate assistant.
us to worry about tomorrow. Even though we know it is as futile as aimlessly roaming the streets in search of the perfect home, we still worry. Elections, graduation, grades, family — all of these things present us with opportunities — opportunities to choose to let tomorrow worry about itself. All we can do is live everyday to the fullest and make the best decisions that we are equipped to make. For Kevin and me, that decision is to find a realtor. We are all faced with the opportunities to make the right decision, but only you can allow yourself to worry and stress over the things that are beyond your immediate control. In Philippians 4:6 Paul said, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” What will you decide?
OPINION
January 31, 2012
Liberty Champion/A5
Costa Cruises
costa concordia — The Concordia had a capacity of 3,780 passengers, plus an additional 1,100 crew members. Dozens are still unaccounted for.
Costa Cruises evades responsibility
After the Concordia capsized, the ship’s captain is under fire for abandoning the ship and its passengers Jason Bailey jbailey4@liberty.edu
As the imminent 100th anniversary of the Titanic approaches, the death of another cruise liner caused hundreds reminiscent anguish. On Jan. 13, the Concordia ran aground off the Tuscan Island of Giglio and capsized, claiming the lives of 16 passengers, but dozens are still unaccounted for. In an effort to avoid imminent lawsuits, Costa Cruises has offered survivors of the capsized vessel 30 percent discounts on future cruises with the company. This attempt to appease is hardly enticing and draws the implication that Costa Cruises is shirking personal responsibility. It is also a disrespectful gesture to the public, particularly the families who lost loved ones during the Concordia’s voyage. “Each cruise line is required to conduct a drill prior to departure. I experienced this drill during my cruise with Costa Cruises. They teach you how to evacuate the liner in the event of an emergency,� Retired Army Cpl. George Bailey said. Bailey had previously traveled with Costa Cruises once and his experience had been excellent.
“I sailed with Costa Cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Sea,� Bailey said. “It was without question one of the better cruises me and my wife have had.� There are hundreds of others who disagree, and the ship’s captain didn’t help Costa Cruises’ image while the chaos of the event occurred. Captain Francesco Schettino reportedly jumped ship, forsaking his passengers and crew as the liner was sinking and escaped in a life raft, according to ABC News. “He is definitely in serious trouble,� Bailey said. “I would fully expect some sort of felony charge pending against him, and wouldn’t be surprised if involuntary manslaughter is in the works. You can be sure an army of lawyers are swarming, dispatched from families of lost loved ones.� “By default, there are certain laws that limit action taken against the company in the [case of an emergency]. There are contracts customers sign before they purchase tickets. Depending on what the conditions of limited liability are, legal action regarding liability will be limited,� Bailey said. Julia Knopp, another Costa Cruises customer, recalled her experience with the liner she sailed on to be equally enjoyable. Her trip took her through the Bahamas and
Puerto Rico. “It was an awesome experience. It was very luxurious because it was on one of the more expensive cruises. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone.� Regarding the captain’s actions, Knopp admitted that she sympathized with the deceased and the families who had lost loved ones and understood the rage they must be experiencing towards him and the company. “I think [the captain] needs to take responsibility for what he did. He was in charge of the ship. I wouldn’t want him captain of a future cruise I was on. He should be fined or have his license revoked. When you are responsible for the lives of so many people and you abandon them like that, it’s not right. He should be cited for negligence and discharged.� And while the Costa Cruises has now upped its compensation deal to a less-than-impressive $14,460—with an additional reimbursement for the cost of cruise tickets—the company still has a hard time ahead of it. It now faces an exhausting battle to redeem its reputation. BAILEY is an opinion writer.
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January 31, 2012
Sgt. Alex Helmich: Helicopter pilot
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AIRBORNE — 101st Airborne soldier Sgt. Alex Helmich served a year in Balad, Iraq before enrolling at Liberty University to become a helicopter pilot. Omar Adams oadams@liberty.edu
Jacksonville, Ill. native Sgt. Alex Helmich — now a helicopter aviation student at Liberty University — enlisted in the Army in 2006 in response to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. “I chose the Army so that I could serve my country for what happened on 9/11, and I chose the Army over the other branches because of what the Army could do for me,” Helmich said. “They set me up to succeed in whatever I do in the future.” After training to be an air defense artillery soldier, Helmich deployed to Camp Anaconda in Balad, Iraq from April 2008 to April 2009. “In Iraq, me and my unit actually had a joint mission with the Air Force and the
Navy called ‘CRAM’ (Counter Rocket Artillery Mortar),” he said. “Basically track and shoot down all artillery shot at our base with high tech Gatling guns.” Helmich tracked rockets and mortar rounds, both to get the grid coordinates for Air Force and artillery counterattacks and to warn the base of incoming fire. “One night we got hit with five 120mm rockets from about three miles south of base,” he said. “I sent up grid coordinates to the Air Force, and they deemed it necessary to drop two 500-pound bombs on the spot they were fired from. Seeing the fighter jets drop them and hearing them go off is very unforgettable.” Helmich finished his service in the Army and got married in July 2010. When he enrolled at Liberty the following month, he said he was not sure where God was leading him.
“My wife kept asking me what major I was going to declare. I didn’t know,” Helmich said. “So from my experience in the Army with going through Air Assault School and being around helicopters all the time in Iraq, I chose to be a pilot. I jumped in the helicopter program head first and never looked back.” With the end of the helicopter program at Liberty, Helmich will have to transfer to a new flight school at the end of the semester to go for his commercial certification. He is disappointed about the decision, but he said he understands why the school had to do it. Helmich also thanked Liberty and his instructors — Director of Helicopter Flight Operations Don Childs and flight instructor Josh Tate — for “a good foundation” in his flight training. “I wish there were some way to keep it
so other future helicopter pilots can learn in the same environment that so many other Christian pilots have learned,” he said. “The School of Aeronautics had a choice to make and they made it. I’m not bitter about it, that’s just the way it has to be.” Because of the new change in plans, Helmich is not sure when his graduation date will be, but he has goals in place when he finishes his certifications. “Eventually when I do graduate, I want to fly tours over the Grand Canyon,” Helmich said. “And possibly join back in the Army to be a combat medic pilot. Either way, I will be doing something that I love and will continue to enjoy my whole life.” ADAMS is the web editor.
Expansions in Aeronautics Helicopter Omar Adams
Omar Adams
oadams@liberty.edu
oadams@liberty.edu
Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics is now offering unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) training and has significantly expanded both its aviation maintenance and flight attendant programs. The school anticipates an “explosion” of job opportunities in the next few years. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is currently testing to see whether manned and unmanned aircraft can fly safely in the same airspace, and their results are expected within five years, according to Associate Dean retired Navy Capt. Ernie Rogers. “That technology will increase, and then once the FAA approves it, industry experts are expecting a real explosion in the use of UAS in the United States,” Rogers said. Rogers anticipates a tremendous increase in demand for UAS pilots. Law enforcement, the Drug Enforcement Agency, pipeline patrols, TV stations and even crop dusting and international cargo flights are all potential UAS applications. The simplicity, safety and extremely low cost of small, unmanned aircraft make them perfect for countless new jobs in the future, according to Rogers. “Also, some of the plans are to put a UAS balloon at 60,000 feet over selected cities to replace the need for cell phone towers,” he said. “It will just sit up there for a month or two, and then they’ll replace it. The need for cell phone towers and some satellites will go away.” School of Aeronautics Dean retired Air Force Gen. Dave Young sees an opportunity for an online UAS program. The school already offers an online degree finish-up program for airline pilots and military members to finish their degree with seven advance aviation academic courses such as aviation business and aviation weather. “We see an opportunity for an online degree program in UAS, and that would apply to these military UAS operators, let’s say — enlisted persons that don’t have a college degree, but have the UAS experience,” Young said. “We can give them credit for that and flesh out their other college requirements.” Along with the new UAS program, two others have seen tremendous growth in the past year. The aircraft maintenance technician program opened a new building in November that will triple the size of the program.
Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics will phase out its helicopter training program, citing low enrollment and a lack of available jobs for helicopter pilots. Students currently enrolled in the helicopter program will be allowed to finish their training, but the small market for helicopter jobs has traditionally been a problem, according to School of Aeronautics Dean retired Air Force Gen. Dave Young. “The primary reason is that we are committed to educating and training our students so that they can obtain employment when they graduate from Liberty,” Young said. “In the aviation industry today — and in the foreseeable future — the employment opportunities are going to be in fixed-wing aircraft, not helicopters.” According to Young, the problem is part of the nature of commercial aviation: companies require pilots to have a certain minimum number of flight hours — much more than the amount required for a commercial license. To obtain the required hours, many pilots become certified flight instructors (CFIs) to earn flight hours while teaching new pilots. The CFI option is not available to helicopter pilots at Liberty, however, because there are so few helicopter students and only one helicopter available to fly. Low enrollment is due to both the limited size of the industry and the expense of flying a helicopter versus a fixed-wing aircraft, Young said. It costs $325 per hour for the helicopter versus $150 for a Cessna. Military training still makes up the vast majority of helicopter training in the U.S. If someone wants to fly helicopters, they ought to join the Army and learn to fly that way, Young said. The helicopters themselves also cost much more to acquire than fixed-wing aircraft, limiting their availability. “Let’s say I had 10 helicopter students — with only one or two helicopters, I couldn’t promise all 10 of them a position as an instructor pilot,” Director of Helicopter Flight Operations Don Childs said. “Whereas in the fixed-wing program, we’re growing so fast, we have a lot of opportunity.”
U.S. Air Force photo
UAV ONLINE — The School of Aeronautics initiated a new program in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) training and significantly expanded its aviation maintenance, online degree finish-up and flight attendant programs. Instead of training one 11-month class at a time, the school can now support three. Rogers said the maintenance school has a 98 percent graduation rate and a 100 percent employment rate. “It’s a two year program squeezed into one year,” Rogers said. “It’s nice — you leave with an airframe and power plant license, so you’re an FAA licensed mechanic. You have the opportunity to work while you’re in college, or if that’s not what you want to do, you can get your job and finish your degree online.” A final program which has grown significantly is Liberty’s flight attendant program. It grew 400 percent since last year. The program can be taken as an elective, minor or associates degree. When students finish their flight attendant training, they are awarded a certificate of completion from the Flight Attendant Training Group and a letter of recommendation from the School of Aeronautics. “The primary focus of the training is
safety, security and emergency training because that’s why flight attendants exist,” one Flight Attendant Training Group instructor said. “Our training focuses on water survival, fires and other emergencies that may arise. We feel that anyone can hand out a Coke, but not everyone can save a life.” According to the Flight Attendant Training Group instructors, it is a great job that involves plenty of traveling while still allowing enough time off to do other things like school, a second job or raising a family. Rogers said flight attendants are in demand as much as other career fields in the aviation industry. As the country climbs out of the recession and older flight crews retire, he said School of Aeronautics graduates will be ready to take advantage of the opportunity. ADAMS is the web editor.
ADAMS is the web editor.
NEWS
January 31, 2012
Liberty Champion/A7
Math Emporium: A new way to learn math Troy Dauksys tadauksys2@liberty.edu
At Liberty University, students are learning math differently than ever before. This decision is mutually beneficial for both the students and the professors. It’s called the Math Emporium, developed by the National Center for Academic transformation, whose motto reads, “Experts in improving learning and reducing cost in higher education.” “This remedial approach to teaching lower-level math allows students to learn at an individual pace, while being cost effective,” Coordinator and Developmental Math Assistant Professor Dr. Kathy Spradlin said. With more than 250 computers and comfortable workspace, this quiet math lab aids the student’s ability in retaining and better understanding math. “Students can work at their own pace and receive individual assistance by the Math Emporium’s tutors and professors the moment help is needed,” Spradlin said. The Math Emporium is open 80 hours each week, but only requires a minimum of three hours a week. “Students are still required to meet in a classroom once a week for instructional time,” Spradlin said. Now that students have more time to
Kate Powley | Liberty Champion
math skills — Students study at their own pace at the new Math Emporium. work on their math, there is the added chance to perform better and receive higher grades. “Students can complete assignments, quizzes and tests one section at a time, and move on to the next if they desire. This means any student could potentially complete the course weeks before the
semester ends,” Spradlin said. “I actually like the Math Emporium a lot. I am able to go to the lab for just 15 minutes, or I can complete the required three hours in one sitting,” 22-year-old Aaron Williamson, a math student at Liberty, said. The grading of coursework is struc-
tured differently in that it requires a score of at least 80 percent on assignments in order to continue to the next. “I think the requirements for grading are better for students because it encourages students to learn the material, resulting in a better grade,” Williamson said. Liberty is not the only school taking advantage of the Math Emporium. “Other colleges and universities are using this remedial tool as well, such as Virginia Tech, University of Alabama and Louisiana State University, just to name a few,” Spradlin said. It won’t be long before this emporiumstyled class expands and is utilized by other courses. “As of now, The Math Emporium is only available for lower-level math courses, but plans for additional math courses are in effect for the upcoming Fall semester,” Spradlin said. Now that students are gifted with this new addition, it is possible to enhance learning abilities, as well as utilize math professionals in their efforts to guide a “math-handicapped” individual in the intended direction toward success. Students now have the ability to manage their time wisely while soaking up math in an easier format. DAUKSYS is a news reporter.
Health Services expand New equipment makes diagnosing patients quicker Victoria Brunner vbrunner@liberty.edu
Liberty University’s health service medical provider, Centra Medical Group, underwent a major scheduling change Jan. 9. Health services, located in Green Hall, now accepts walk-ins. In addition to this, new equipment, staff, rooms and medical record services have been added to accommodate this change. “Just as Liberty is growing, LU health services has grown too,” office manager Paula Conway said. Previously, students were required to have an appointment scheduled. Now the model allows walk-ins for acute illnesses or injuries to be seen by the next available health care provider. Two new exam rooms, X-ray suites Liberty’s for diagnostics X-rays health and the triage room services for determining the department patients illness are renders apjust a few of the new pointments changes made within the last 10 months to for various the center, according reasons. to Conway. Health services are available to all of the Liberty community. This includes the universities students, faculty, staff, Liberty Christian academy students and Thomas Road Baptist members. Members and staff of health services began to notice during the flu season in the fall that they needed to change their office to accommodate services for the sick. “We wanted to make sure that we could actually get to all the student population that needed health care and it’s nice, because we’re actually here right on campus for the convenience of the students,” Conway said. Patients will be able to walk-in with no appointment necessary for any acute illness such as sore throats, fever, vomiting, nausea, aches, active bleeding or injury, according to a press release issued by health services. “We have already set the expectation that we want to have patients in and out of the department in no more than an hour,” Conway said. According to Conway, the speedy service of the center would not be possible without the new records system, which is filed electronically. Now the office is able
Kate Powley | Liberty Champion
blood drive — Community members partake in the campus-wide blood drive.
Blood drives save lives
Liberty University collects over 50 units of blood
Kate Powley knpowley@liberty.edu
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Equipment — New high-tech machinery now allows medical professionals to properly assess patients quicker. to access records immediately when a person arrives. If a person has an injury, the new stateof-the-art digital X-ray machine and on site certified radiologist will aid and diagnose him or her. The newly acquired orthopedic supplies and digital X-ray will allow immediate care so a person can be diagnosed and treated for his or her injuries in the same visit. If a person chooses to go to another orthopedic specialist, the digital X-ray allows the print to be sent quickly to any certified specialist, Conway said. “If someone comes in and we find that we have several people waiting, we can pull some back, go ahead and get their assessment, their vital signs, their chief complaint and do any pre-testing that needs to be done. Then they can get back to see the physician. So by the time they get to the physician, most of the stuff has been done so the physician can take a look at them that way,” Conway said. All appointments are scheduled within a 24-to-48 hour time frame. The center is open five days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. BRUNNER is a news reporter.
A blood drive was held Wednesday, Jan. 25, in the back hall of DeMoss Commons at Liberty University from 12:30 p.m. until 6 p.m. The event was sponsored by the Virginia Blood Services and the College of General Studies. “During the winter months regular blood donors go down due to illness and holidays and hospital rates go up,” Virginia Blood Service’s Communications Manager Marly Fausz said. Winter is an especially important time for blood donations because of holidays. There is usually a greater amount of traffic accidents and patients dependent on blood treatments tend to use more blood, according to the Virginia Blood Services. “When you give blood, it stays local,” Fausz said. “It’s important for members of the community to come out to help meet the needs.” According to statistics provided by the Virginia Blood Services, one pint of blood has the potential to save up to three lives and every two seconds someone needs blood. The statistics show that more than 450 pints of donated blood are needed by the Virginia Blood Services each day in order to provide for patients. “(As college students), we are in the prime of our lives, age wise … why not give blood when you’re young,” junior Timothy Hepburn said. Hepburn has donated blood four times in his life and began donating during basic training. “It went to soldiers before anyone else … it’s important for me to do service before anything else,” Hepburn said. Lynchburg residents and university staff members were also able to attempt
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to give blood and save lives. “It doesn’t matter who gets it as long as they can use it,” Larry Whately, 62, said. “ I have plenty to share.” Whately has been donating blood several times a year since he was 18. “You know what hurts the worst? Taking the tape off,” Whately said. Colleges such as James Madison University, Virginia Tech and other local community colleges also participate in blood drives using the Virginia Blood services. “I hope (Liberty) is our largest college group yet,” Fausz said. Liberty is new to the Virginia Blood Services, typically using organizations such as the Red Cross. The Red Cross serves the needs of hospitals nation wide, where the Virginia Blood Service impacts the community directly. So what advice can veterans of blood donation give to those considering donating? “Don’t be nervous and make sure you eat,” Hepburn said. “Don’t do anything extreme like run a marathon … plan out the rest of the day before you give blood.” Donors must be healthy, at least 16 years old with parental consent, and weigh at least 110 pounds. Donating blood typically takes less than an hour after an anonymous question screening about travel and lifestyles. A mini health screen is then used in order to record blood pressure, temperature and iron levels. For more information on the Virginia Blood Services, donation times and directions to a donation center, go to www. VAblood.org. POWLEY is a news reporter.
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January 31, 2012
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
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demoss rooftop — An artist’s rendering of people enjoying the view on the roof of DeMoss (top). The roof is anticipated to open before the 2012 May graduation.
Kate Powley | Liberty Champion
Photo provided
construction — The new baseball stadium will be located where David’s Place currently stands (left). Many roads are closed due to on going construction project (right).
CONSTRUCTION continued from A1 All of the traffic will be moved to the perimeter road.” By redirecting all traffic to the outskirts of the university, the contractors and construction workers will be given ample space to begin demolition and construction, according to Spence and Falwell. The perimeter road is scheduled to open at the end of this week, Spence said. “After the transition to the perimeter road and the commencement of construction on the library, there are approximately 150 parking spaces on DeMoss Drive that are currently being used that will go away,” Liberty’s Vice President of Financial Research and Analysis Richard Martin said. The loss of parking spaces will not affect the overall number of spaces available for students, according to Martin. “We are moving approximately 100-200 staff parking spaces to Thomas Road Baptist Church (TRBC),” Martin said. “This will open up spaces for students to park near main campus.” According to Falwell, the construction of the perimeter road is a major step forward for the university. “We ran into every imaginable problem while completing this road,” Falwell said. “Bad mud, railroad issues, you name it — Mr. Spence had to deal with it all.” “Is was a big undertaking, but with that done it frees us up to build the library as well as new dorms,” Falwell said. With the construction completed, the administration has made way for the completion of other on-campus projects, including the basketball practice facilities behind Vines. “This is going to be a neat building for students,” Falwell said. “This is going to be
PARKING continued from A1 According to Falwell and Martin, students were evaluated not by academic year, but by age, when determining which oncampus cars would need to be relocated. “We have been using an age based cut off since 1992,” Martin said. “We had a lot of war veterans coming back from the Iraqi War, so we had a lot of older freshmen. That’s when the school made the change to look at it from an age standpoint.” The administration offered younger students Flames Cash incentives to relocate their vehicles. “Students have responded positively to the incentives, but having incentives did not mean students were either getting pun-
the building where you can walk across the roof to get to DeMoss.” According to Spence, the practice facility is expected to be completed by Oct. 1. The current construction plan projects the roof of DeMoss being completed first, then the practice facility, the library, which is expected to be completed by August 2013, and finally the new baseball facility, which is anticipated to be finished before the spring 2013 season. The completion of the roof is anticipated before graduation in May. “We decided to build 12 feet above the roof to give students and visitors a view of the mountains from DeMoss,” Falwell said. “Where we go after that has not yet been decided,” Falwell said. “I don’t know whether the next move will be a new academic building where the Schilling is now, or new dorms.” According to Spence, the immediate future holds the demolition of all one-story dorms as well. However, construction on main campus is not all that the administration is working on right now, according to Falwell. “We are currently buying the old church from TRBC and planning on moving the seminary there over the next few weeks,” Falwell said. “We are going to use the old church as a place to park departments temporarily as we make changes on campus.” The seminary is being relocated to make room for the School of Worship, which will move into the old School of Religion as soon as the transition is completed, according to Falwell and Spence. “We made the decision to demolish David’s Place because we recently noticed a need for a new practice football field for Coach Gill,” Falwell said. “We moved the baseball stadium over to make room for that second practice field, and the stadium is now going to sit right where David’s
ishment or a reward,” Martin said. According to Falwell, younger students relocating their vehicles was a decision that was made and was mandatory for all students fitting the pre-set standard. With the change, more than 600 parking spaces have been converted into commuter spots. “The change has positively affected commuters,” Liberty’s Director of Planning and Construction Charles Spence said. “It really opened up the availability of commuters to be able to park.” Commuter decals were sold at an oversell rate of 1.7 decals per available spot last year, according to Martin, which resulted in the negative response of students who were unable to find parking during peak hours. However, this semester the oversell rate was
Bonds to build
Place now sits.” While rearranging the campus layout, the administration has not forgotten about the new health services building that was announced to students last semester. “Right now we are awaiting a special permit that will allow us to build 92,000 square feet,” Liberty’s Director of Auxiliary Services Lee Beaumont said. “Once we get this next month, we will be able to move forward with the health services building.” The health services building will be placed on Liberty Mountain next to the paintball fields, according to Falwell. While waiting for the building permits the university has not slowed its expansion in other areas. “We have started a lot of projects that are just for the future,” Beaumont said. “It is the same sort of thing that we did when we began to construct behind the Wingate. When it is cost effective to begin a project — to grade or level an area — we have to take that opportunity.” This is the burning and excavation that students have been noticing below Snowflex on the highway. “We decided to level out the land along the highway because construction costs are low right now,” Falwell said. “We have no definite plans for that area, it was just a good time to move forward.” With so many construction projects underway the administration is urging students to follow signs and stay out of construction areas, Spence said. “We have found many dangerous things while we have been working on these projects,” Spence said. “We found hidden wells and sink holes that could be dangerous if a student accidently stumbled upon them.”
Liberty University sold $100 million worth of taxable bonds to finance construction projects across campus. The university made its second initial public offering (IPO) in the past two years on Jan. 11. According to Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., financial advisors recommended that the university borrow close to what it would be spending over the next five years for construction projects due to low interest rates. These interest rates, Falwell said, will be locked in at 5.1 percent for the next 30 years. “It’s just good business practice,” Falwell said. For the first time, Liberty received a rating from Moody’s Investors Service with an A1 rating, meaning. that the school has a strong likelihood to pay back what it owes. Standard and Poor’s rated the school AA, a very strong capacity to meet its financial obligations, Falwell said. Liberty’s credit rating places it among the nation’s top 80 universities in financial strength. “That is quite amazing given that Liberty is only 40 years old, much younger than most of the nation’s wealthiest schools,” Falwell said. According to Falwell, Liberty only borrowed one third of the amount of money that it currently has on hand. The school, Falwell said, is on track to having $1 billion in net assets within a year or two.
BOLLINGER is the editor in chief.
CASSIDY is the news editor.
lowered to 1.2 decals per spot. “We still have some challenges during the 10:50 a.m. time slot, but other than that we are seeing major improvement,” Martin said. However, there are still parking lots that are not being utilized by students, even during the 10:50 a.m. issue, according to Martin. “The parking lot behind the ice center is open for students, and I have never counted more than 15 cars there,” Martin said. According to Falwell, Spence and Martin, there is plenty of parking on campus for students who have paid the annual fee. However, there is one major problem that the administration is looking for student assistance is rectifying, according to Falwell. “Last week we had a 30 percent violation rate, with students
Tabitha Cassidy tcassidy@liberty.edu
who did not re-register their vehicles and parked on campus,” Martin said. “This week the violation rate was down to 16 percent.” Though the violation rate was down, the administration is still urging students to comply with campus policy. “Some students think this is a financial game,” Martin said. “We have a very prominent student who was bragging on a social network site about not buying a decal for his eight semesters here. Well, when that one student parks without a decal he is causing students who have paid for a decal to be left without their rightful spot.” The administration is asking students to assist in making parking easier by notifying LUPD when cars are continually seen out of compliance.
“Take your camera, take a picture and send it to the LUPD,” Spence said. Students need to understand that compliance is necessary because it is the only way to make parking work, Falwell said. “We still have 15-17 percent of students out of compliance,” Liberty’s Executive Vice President Neal Askew said. “We need students to help us locate the students who think they can beat the system.” Students can email LUPD@ liberty.edu with pictures and location descriptions of illegally parked cars. “I think students will do this because cars that are parked illegally aren’t hurting us,” Spence said. “They are hurting the (other) students.” BOLLINGER is the editor in chief.
SPORTS
JANUARY 31, 2012
Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
jump start— Liberty men’s and women’s track and field dashed past challengers, winning nine events after hosting its open this past weekend.
Flames shred competition in Open Coach Tolsma was proud of his teams’ overall performance on the indoor track this weekend
Paul Frazier pfrazier2@liberty.edu
T
he Flames track and field teams took care of business this weekend as they hosted The Liberty Open in the Tolsma Indoor Track Center. Not only did they take care of business, but they did it in a convincing fashion, having nine overall event winners in both men’s and women’s events. Redshirt senior Mia Aghaji took home
the crown in the women’s triple jump as well as high jump. “I am definitely happy with my performance today,” Aghaji said. “I was happy with my triple jump performance, but it could have been better. I was shocked to win high jump.” Aghaji credited head coach Brant Tolsma with her success. “The main thing is we have to stay focused as a team and just listen to what Coach tells us. Coach Tolsma is a very
Precision — Paintball has the title in their sights.
smart man, so if we just stay focused and listen to him, I think we will have a great chance to build on this win.” Tolsma was happy with the performance he got from both teams. “We’re getting to that time of year where we want to see people putting up some decent performances, and several people have done that, and that’s what we want,” Tolsma said. But, Tolsma refuses to rest on his laurels.
kharvey@liberty.edu
Aiming toward the mark Mark Meyers mameyers@liberty.edu
The Liberty University paintball team has its sights set on a National Championship. Currently at 4-0, the Flames are in prime position to shoot their way past all competitors and attain the biggest prize. Liberty has finished in fourth place in each of the last two years but coach Todd Hoglund believes that this year is Liberty’s year to win it all. “We expect to win the national title this year,” Hoglund said. In order to meet these high expectations and finally make that jump from fourth to first, Liberty will need to overcome reigning national champion and conference foe, the University of Tennessee. One ingredient that this year’s squad has that teams in past years have not is depth. “Last year, the biggest weakness was depth. We didn’t have the players who were comfortable playing in different situations,” Hoglund said. “The team has a lot more
depth this year than in previous years, which gives me more options.” Hoglund is really looking for team captain Brian Davidson to step up and be a leader to the team. Hoglund is hoping for more leaders as well and said anyone can be a leader on his team as long as they have a good attitude. “The biggest thing is their attitude on and off the field,” Hoglund said. “If they have their head on straight and the end goal in sight, then I look for them to lead. The world of paintball is a very secular world so our core guys need to step up and express their faith.” There are two divisions in the National Collegiate Paintball Association (NCPA), Class A and Class AA. Class A is the top division and is the division in which teams compete in a regular season, which culminates in Lakeland, Fla. with the national championships. Class AA teams compete in tournaments for their season. Liberty’s Class AA team is currently ranked seventh in the NCPA while the Class A
team is currently the only team in the NCPA with a 4-0 record on the season that started in September and runs through March. Class A matches consist of two 10-minute halves with five players on the field for each team and a flag set up in the middle of the field. When a player is hit with a paintball and it splatters, the player who has been hit must leave the field. If the paintball does not break then the hit does not count and the player can continue to play. Teams earn points by grabbing the center flag and hanging it on the opposite end of the field without getting shot. Liberty competes in the Southeast Conference along with the University of Tennessee and Kennesaw State University. The next two matches are both scheduled for March 31 against Tennessee and Kennesaw State. The national championships are in Lakeland, Fla. and are scheduled for April 13-15. MEYERS is a sports reporter.
See TRACK, B2
Amoo, Aseweh selected by Major League Soccer Kyle Harvey
Joel Coleman | Promotional Publications
“We need to build on what we started. We have some people looking better, but we need to continue to keep getting better to continue to be a dominant program in the conference and move on to the next level.” So far, the Flames have been just that, currently ranked fifth regionally in men’s standings, as well as sixth regionally in women’s.
The list of Liberty Flames in pro sports just got a little longer this month, with soccer players Darren Amoo and Phillip Aseweh both being taken in the supplemental MLS draft. Amoo will be playing for the Columbus Crew, and Aseweh will be taking his talents to the Houston Dynamo. “The MLS is the highest level of soccer available in this country,” head men’s soccer coach Jeff Alder said. “There are a lot of players who’ve played in the World Cup who play in this league. It’s the equivalent of an LU student going to the NBA or NFL. That’s the kind of soccer we’re talking about.” Both Amoo and Aseweh took a winding road to get to Lynchburg, with both coming to the United States from Ghana for their collegiate careers. “These are two more guys in a long line of players from Ghana who’ve had a great experience at Liberty,” Alder said. “Darren was in Ghana and one of our former players had a connection with him and put the two of us together in terms of being able to con-
tact Darren,” Alder said. “Phil was at Virginia Tech and contacted us after his freshman year looking for this kind of environment. I think our Christian environm e n t combined with the amoo rich tradition and history we have in soccer was very appealing for t h e s e Aseweh guys.” Just as Liberty was a perfect fit for the young athletes, Amoo and Aseweh are perfect men to represent Liberty. “Both of them are outstanding characters. Both are Dean’s List guys. They were very focused on getting their degrees and studying in the classroom,” Alder said. “Both are very passionate about getting better each day. They’ve allowed us to foster and develop their talent in order for our team to be successful and, ultimately, for them to be successful as individuals.” Their success as Liberty Flames garnered the attention of numerous scouts
from the MLS and soon it became clear that they might be receiving phone calls on draft day. “I was actually working out in the weight room,” Aseweh said. “When I finished, I picked up my phone and I had several missed calls. One was from a teammate. One was from my agent, Matt Nagel, and one from coach Alder. So I called my agent back, and he filled me in on everything that happened. I was drafted Tuesday, the 17th, and I needed to report to Houston by the following Saturday.” With less than a week to get his affairs in order, Aseweh headed for Houston to start his life as a professional player. “I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was pretty peaceful. I had so many people praying for me — friends, teammates and family. That’s very special for me. God is going to glorify Himself through my life with this opportunity,” Aseweh said. “Houston will definitely be a good fit. It’s a young team, there’s a lot of energy in the locker room.” The Houston Dynamo’s young squad is coming off a season in which they narrowly missed out on a MLS Cup Championship, losing 1-0 to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
See MLS, B4
SPORTS
B2/Liberty Champion
January 31, 2012
ANATOMY OF A DUNK
Nate Brown | Liberty Champion
Posterized — All of the SOAR dunk team’s moves are originals. Brent Fortenberry takes us step by step through Dunking 101. First, jump. Second, pose. Third, slam.
SOAR mixes ministry with athletics A trampoline and a dunk might be the only way to reach some audiences. SOAR Dunk knows this. Greg Leasure gleasure@liberty.edu
Liberty University’s SOAR Dunk Ministry Team chooses to serve God a little differently than the average person. Eight athletes with nothing more than a few basketballs, two trampolines and a message to share can go a long way. The team’s main goal is to capture an audience’s attention with creative, highflying dunks and to use that opportunity to share the gospel. The team’s name is an acronym that stands for “Sold Out and Ready.” “We do the show just to grab their attention, but the aftermath where we actually speak, that’s where all the ministry happens,” team captain Brent Fortenberry said. Associate Director of Ministry Teams Tim Jackson helps organize the events
where the team performs. “This team allows us to get into public schools where our other music teams typically don’t go,” Jackson said. In the past, the team has traveled as far as Kentucky, Ohio and California. Normally, they travel two or three weekends per month, plus a fall break tour and either a January or March tour. “We’re trying to raise the bar and get them out to even greater audiences,” Jackson said. The team is looking forward to an upcoming event in Ohio this February in which they will be performing for about 3,000 people. SOAR Dunk used to be a ministry that was only open to youth ministry majors, but it is now open to all students. The team also used to be a club sport, but it is now a part of the Department of Ministry Teams.
The tryout process involves an initial audition where they put the athletes out on the floor with a basketball and see what they can do. From there, a short list is made up, and interviews about the spiritual aspect of things determine who makes the final team. Fortenberry got involved with SOAR Dunk as a freshman and is still dunking as a first year grad school student. “No one came here knowing that we had a trampoline dunk team or knowing what to do and how to do it,” Fortenberry said. “We were all rookies.” It normally takes about a month for inexperienced team members to get accustomed to the trampolines, getting the right approach and the right speed. The most difficult part of the process is learning how to stay in control in the air. All of the dunks are original moves each member thought up.
LEASURE is a sports reporter.
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TRACK continued from B1 While No.14 Charleston Southern joins the men’s team to represent the Big South in regional rankings, the Lady Flames are the only Big South women’s team sporting a regional Ranking. The Flames hope to carry this early success into conference meets, only a month away. However, to accomplish their goals, the Flames will need to stay healthy. “Of our key performers, about 25 percent are not performing at their best because of injury,” Tolsma said. “Normally we hope for that to be about 10 percent. We expect the rest of the team to pick up the slack, but that’s why you run the race — to go out and see if we can still go and perform well in the conference and on to the next level.” Alongside Aghaji, freshman Mychelle Cumings and redshirt junior Ryan Smith performed exceptionally well. Cumings
“A couple of us had trampolines when we were younger, and we would pull the basketball hoop up next to it. So that was our training, I guess, when we were young,” Fortenberry said. Early in his “career,” Fortenberry dunked over Jerry Falwell Sr. and last year, over Jerry Falwell Jr. and his wife, Becki. SOAR Dunk is usually out performing at events away from Liberty, but also performs at halftime at Liberty basketball games when they’re at home. It just goes to show what can be done when athleticism, creativity and ministry combine somewhere over a trampoline.
Feb. 2 Women’s Tennis vs. Richmond 12 p.m. Men’s Basketball vs. Gardner-Webb 7 p.m. Feb. 3 Men’s DI Hockey vs. Delaware 7 p.m. Men’s Tennis vs. Richmond 4 p.m. Women’s DI Hockey vs. Robert Morris 9 a.m. Ruth Bibby | Liberty Champion
top speed — Liberty’s domination at home gives them momentum heading to the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. broke her own school record and Smith was a double event winner, taking home wins in men’s shot put and weight throw. The Flames will be in action once again next week competing in the Sykes-
Wanna know more? Check out our website at www.libertychampion. com
Sabock Challenge Cup, located at Penn State University. Action is scheduled to begin Feb. 4 at 9 a.m
Feb. 4 Women’s Tennis vs. Averett 1 p.m. Men’s Tennis vs. Averett 4 p.m. Men’s DI Hockey vs. Delaware 5 p.m. Men’s Basketball vs. UNC Asheville 7 p.m.
FRAIZER is a sports reporter
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SPORTS
January 31, 2012
Liberty Champion/B3
The importance of training year around Brent Washburn bwashburn2@liberty.edu
The football team has Williams Stadium, the basketball team has the Vines Center, the hockey team has the LaHaye Ice Center and the freestyle skiing and snowboard team has the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre. Without any of these facilities it would be difficult or impossible for Liberty University to host these sports teams. The reason they are successful in sports is Liberty’s incredible sports facilities. The opening of the Snowflex Centre brought the opportunity for Liberty to have its very own freestyle team. Students could ski and snowboard before it was made convenient, but the Snowflex Centre was the catalyst that made a team possible. “It allows me to ride all the time, whether it’s hot or cold, and allows me to practice year round and learn new tricks that I would not be able to learn without it,” Ryan Leeds, a Liberty senior and captain of the freestyle team, said. Leeds is a great example of the necessity of the Snowflex Centre for these athletes, having been here a year before it opened and having no viable way to host a team. To Liberty, snow-sports are available in an unmatchable way, all year, in all conditions, and to everyone. This gives Liberty’s freestyle team a huge advantage and has some credit for their success. The Snowflex Centre offers multiple ways for these high-caliber athletes to
Ruth Bibby| Liberty Champion
thrill seekers — Snowflex accommodates more than just Liberty students but professional athletes as well. train, progress and master their sport. Besides skiing or snowboarding, the facility offers an Olympic trampoline to train aerial awareness. Aerial awareness is merely knowing self-proximity while airborne. The trampoline also builds confidence in the athletes for learning new spins and flips, as it offers a lower consequence for unsuccessful attempts. The facility also has an Aratik Board
Sports Trainer, which is a box and rail trainer that looks much like a parking stop. Athletes use this trainer to learn new tricks on boxes and rails. Much like the trampoline, this helps to build an athletes confidence in potential tricks and offers less consequence than trying it on a real box or rail. If that was all the Snowflex Centre had for training athletes, the team would al-
ready have one up on other teams. That’s not all though. The Snowflex Centre also gives its athletes three jumps and nine boxes and rails to practice on. This winter specifically, that is a lot more than many mountains can say as they struggle with warm temperatures and little snowfall. All that being from a training angle, there’s more to competitive snow-sports than training. The freestyle team also needs inspiration and for that they turn an eye to professionals. The Snowflex Centre draws the attention of many professionals from all over the world, the highest caliber skiers and snowboarders. Some come to practice for themselves, such as Jay Panther, Mogul Skier for the US Ski Team. Others come to compete in the many competitions that the Snowflex Centre hosts. A few of the professionals that have visited to compete are: Cody Boan, Keir Dillon, Yale Cousino and Scott Stevens. “Seeing how well they advance just in the time they’re here, with the lower consequence from our foam padding and being able to take a lot of runs, gives the kids that look up to them some confidence seeing that the pros are still progressing too,” Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre’s General Manager, Drew Sherwood, said. Professional athletes such as these bring their talents to the Snowflex Centre and the freestyle team athletes get to ride with the pros and learn from them. WASHBURN is a sports reporter.
Serving from a season of disappointment Flames tennis are preparing for a promising 2012 season after a dismal 2011 season Mark Meyers mameyers@liberty.edu
The men’s tennis team has begun preparation for the 2012 spring season with one goal in mind — improvement. The Flames are coming off a disappointing 2011 spring campaign in which they finished sixth in the Big South Conference. Coach Chris Johnson believes, however, that this year’s squad is poised to surprise the rest of the conference and make a run for the conference title. “We certainly have the ingredients for great results this spring,” Johnson said. “We are prepared to achieve our goals.” Two of those “ingredients” come in the form of junior Siim Tuus and senior Giancarlo Lemmi. The Flames will rely upon these two players heavily this season to carry them to new heights. Lemmi is the team captain and a Big South all-academic 1st team honoree and will be asked to step up and be a leader on and off the court to the rest of the team. Tuus holds down the top spot in the Flames rotation and despite earning 1st team all-conference honors last year, Tuus is not satisfied. “One of my personal goals is to win the Big South Player of the Year award, which takes hard work and commitment, as well as smart choices, to stay injury
Les Schofer| Promotional Publication
Dueces wild — Coach Johnson leads a primed and ready Flames tennis teams. free,” Tuus said. Senior Mandeep Yadav and junior Tristan Stayt formed a formidable tandem last year on the doubles circuit with a record of 10-3. Lemmi and sophomore Shea Thomas also had great performances as doubles partners last season, as they racked up 11 wins compared to 6 losses. These two teams’ successes this year will
The Spring House
have a huge impact in determining this year’s overall team success. One of the main reasons for the success of Yadav and Strayt is the relationship they share off the court as it helps them communicate better on the court and also have an understanding of how one another plays. Last season, Tuus and Ben Wirth went
11-6 as doubles partners. Despite losing Wirth, Johnson believes that one thing this year’s team has that past teams did not is depth. “One of the things that we have this year is great depth. In years past we had good talent but one or two injuries could certainly hurt us,” Johnson said. “This year our line-up is deeper and very talented all the way through. We should be able to weather the storms better because of this.” Depth will be vital if the Flames want to challenge teams like the Radford University Highlanders and Winthrop University Eagles for the Big South Conference title. With Lemmi, Tuus, Yadav, Stayt and Shea Thomas, it would appear that the Flames have the necessary depth to do just that. The Flames began their season in West Virginia to square off against Bluefield State on Jan. 26. The home opener is scheduled for Feb. 3 against the Richmond Spiders. One of the toughest stretches for the Flames this year will be from Feb. 8 to March 25 when they play 10 consecutive road matches.
MEYERS is a sports reporter.
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SPORTS
B4/Liberty Champion
January 31, 2012
meet & greet
Jesse Sanders sets NCAA record Derrick Battle dbattle2@liberty.edu
Posting a triple-double in the NBA is hard. In college it’s nearly impossible. To do this each season is a blessing, something for which Jesse Sanders is thankful. “It’s crazy,” Sanders said. “It’s a real blessing to have done something like that. It’s not something that I set a goal for but I am thankful for it. I think its really important that I realize it’s not a record reflective of me, it’s a record reflective of our program and the guys I have around me.” In an 84-78 victory over High Point, Sanders became the first player in NCAA history to have a triple-double in each of his four eligible seasons. He also holds Liberty University’s assists record with 652 for his career. However, this story unfolding at Liberty almost happened elsewhere. “(Liberty was) actually recruiting my younger brother before they recruited me,” Sanders said. “I was committed to play ball at Rice but the day before I was supposed to sign, their head coach was fired. So in an interesting turn of events, Liberty found out I was available. It took two days for me to commit to Liberty. I fell in love with the program and being able to get a Christian education. It felt like the place I was suppose to be.” Hailing from Sugar Land, Texas, not far from Houston, Sanders played prep ball with the HCYA Warriors, where he led them to a 41-3 record against 5A competition and averaged a near tripledouble. He was named as the Home school National Player of Year twice. At Liberty, Sanders has learned plen-
Nate Brown | Liberty Champion
Sand man — As Jesse Sanders comes to the final stretch of his college career, he’s hoping for a future in the NBA. ty from past and current coaches. “It’s definitely been life changing,” Sanders said. “The time being away from family, defining myself as a person under the leadership and mentorship that I had with the basketball program under guys like Coach Ritchie McKay and now Dale Layer, it’s been the experience of a lifetime and I would not trade it for anything else.” To play collegiate ball is dream for many. Few have the opportunity to share that dream with a younger sibling. John Caleb started playing Liberty basketball last season and has become a major part of the offense. Currently, the Sanders brothers lead the team in scor-
ing both averaging around 12 points per game. “It’s really fun. No matter how close you are with other guys on the team the connection between brothers is tight,” Sanders said. “John Caleb and I have 15-16 years of experience playing together and you can’t beat that. It is something that we have talked about since we were little kids working out in the backyard, so being able to share this experience with him is something that I’m sure I’ll look back on for years to come.” Although his career at Liberty is coming to an end, Sanders’ love for basketball is still deep and continues to grow.
“I still love basketball. The game has been great to me, so I hope to sign with an agent after the season, Sanders said. “My long term goal is to play in the NBA and if I’m able to do that in one year, great. If it takes four or five years to get there, that’s fine too. God willing, that’s what I want to do. After basketball, when my career ends, I hope to start a basketball ministry and give back to kids who aren’t fortunate enough to go to a school like this, working with inner city kids. I want to use basketball as a tool to get people to Christ.” BATTLE is the assistant sports
Sold Out And Ready living what they preach sports TALK
Nate Brown nbrown4@liberty.edu
This article is not nitty. It’s not gritty. It’s not slimy or grimy or scandalous. Quite the opposite, in fact. This article will tip its hat to a group of guys who left a distinct impression on a guy they didn’t have to humor or care about. This article will highlight a group of guys who took the chance to let their ministry manifest itself from 14 feet in the air. Brown Recently, I was hiding behind a camera, intruding on a SOAR Dunk team practice at the Tolsma Indoor track. The assignment was easy enough, and practice went smoothly. I had been chatting with team captain, Brent — Fortenberry, I would learn later — about their upcoming show in Ohio in front of thousands and of the numerous injuries the team has suffered from slamming basketballs from insane heights 40 minutes at a time for months without rest. He didn’t have to entertain me. They had business to accomplish. Balls to dunk. Ministry to rehearse. The conversation was brief, but refreshingly genuine. Brent called the practice to an end, mindful of the litany of taped fingers, wrists, swollen hands and knee braces. I start to detach the lens from my camera
MLS continued from B1 “On draft day I was on a train heading back home,” Amoo said. “While I was on the train, I got a call from my agent Matt Cohen, and he told me that I had just been drafted by the Columbus Crew. Going in I was just praying for a team, any team, that would give me a chance to showcase my talent. Coming out of college, it’s hard to get an opportunity.”
when Brent stops me. He waves over to the trampoline positioned just inside the three-point line at the top of the key. “Ever done this before?” “Can’t say that I have.” “Want to?” “Are you kidding? Of course.” Brent turns to the nearest teammate. “Get this man some shoes.” It wasn’t until I was shucking out of my boots that two distinct things registered in my mind. First, I was going to die, flailing and screaming, shortly after being sprung into the air by a trampoline. Second, Brent and his teammates didn’t have to offer me shoes and the chance to dunk a basketball. Practice was over. They hadn’t been home in months. They were tired and sore and a million other things. They didn’t have to. Brent gives me a crash course on the mechanics of the approach, the jump etc., and gives me a clap on the back. No backing out now. The first jump ends as precisely as I had imagined, except I lived. The rim seemed impossibly out of reach and suddenly I realized I was airborne and flailed accordingly, landing square on my nose, spread eagle, on the blue mat under the goal. Well, that was athletic. “Good,” Brent says. “Try it again.” Good? Again? This guy was either blind or very encouraging. I leaned toward blind, because he didn’t have to be encouraging. He was tired and sore and a million other things. He didn’t have to. The second attempt was only mildly better than the first. Higher, but just as much flailing. “Good,” Brent says. “Try it again. This time with a ball.”
For Amoo, who arrives in Columbus, Ohio, on Tuesday for the beginning of training camp, playing in the United States was not actually his boyhood dream. “Five or six years ago, I dreamt about playing in a European league, but God had a different plan. He brought me to America for school and soccer. I’m just going to do the work and let God take me wherever He wants me to go. I’m trusting God com-
Greg Leasure| Liberty Champion
love from above — The SOAR dunk team ministers from 15 feet in the air. I tried to dunk that ball a solid six or seven times, each time not quite getting it. Each time I landed face-first on the blue mat, Brent would say, “Good. Try again.” One more time. I got it. Brent cheered. I cheered. The whole tired, sore team cheered. Brent told me I needed to dunk it one more time so I could have a picture of it for my Facebook. So I dunked it again, still landing square on my nose. Brent’s a pretty good photographer. But he didn’t have to be. He was tired and sore and a million other things. Like, genuinely and distinctly Chris-
tian. This was one of his two weekends “off ” this semester. He didn’t have to throw a ball to a skinny guy with a camera and wait time and time again for the skinny guy to get up off the mat saying, “Did I get it that time?” He didn’t have to encourage, he didn’t have to teach. He didn’t have to compliment. He just plain didn’t have to. But he did. And he helped make a white guy in boots feel like Jordan, Game Six. Thank you, Brent, and all the guys on the “Sold Out And Ready” dunk team. BROWN is the sports editor.
“I’m just going to do the work and let God take me wherever He wants me to go. I’m trusting God completely,” Amoo said. pletely,” Amoo said. Alder is confident in his former players’ abilities but had one word of advice for the young stars. “I’ve told both of them that
the best quality to have is selective amnesia, to stay confident regardless and recognize that the next play is always the most important play.” Liberty’s reputation in the soc-
cer community stands to gain a lot from these two success stories. “(We’ll gain) visibility and credibility with kids around the globe that are looking to get a Christian education and play soccer for God. For us, it’s about finding Christian kids who can play at a high level,” Alder said. HARVEY is a sports reporter.
January 31, 2012
FEATURE
Liberty Champion/B5
Addressing the elephants Students come together to watch live simulcast featuring leading pastors Daniel Garcia dtgarcia@liberty.edu
Desiree Wheeler dwheeler@liberty.edu
Addressing the elephant in the room can be a dangerous and intimidating task, but on Wednesday, Jan. 25, seven leading pastors banded together for the Elephant Room 2 Simulcast to unearth issues that Christian leaders often avoid discussing on a public platform. Armed with pens and notebooks, an attentive audience filled two dimly lit rooms at Thomas Road Baptist Church on Wednesday afternoon. Eyes fixed on the projector screens, those in attendance watched as several of the nation’s leading pastors confronted issues such as what to do when church staff members stumble morally, the future of denominations and segregation among believers. “The purpose of the simulcast was to unify ministry leaders, allowing them to hear discussions with some of the nation’s top pastors on pertinent ministry issues. Instead of crouching behind walls of disagreement, pastors come to the Elephant Room speaking directly to others, even if their philosophy of ministry is different than the one they practice. In many respects it puts unity on display, showing Ryan Perry | Liberty Champion how Christian leaders can openly discuss CONFRONTING THE ISSUES — Students gathered in TRBC to hear leading ministry, even if they go about it differpastors such as James McDonald and Mark Driscoll discuss controversial topics often ently,” Travis Doucette, simulcast coordiavoided in the public realm. nator and Liberty University music and momentum moving throughout the entire largest nationwide. worship studies instructor, said. “I think it’s great,” senior Jonathan Seven pastors from various denomina- simulcast. According to a press release from the Barber said. “When you bring together all tional backgrounds spoke at the event, among whom were James McDonald, School of Religion, the event was filmed these pastors from different backgrounds, Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick and Bishop in front of a live group in Rolling Mead- as well as different denominations and difT.D. Jakes. They covered seven different ows, Ill. and audiences in 70 major cit- ferent networks, and they confront issues topics during the live stream, and each is- ies viewed the live stream. According to head-on, that’s actual edification.” People of all ages sat side-by-side to lissue was covered by alternating the seven Kelly Jacobson, the office manager for pastors, allowing for a better variety of the School of Religion who was in charge ten and absorb the seven hour long discusopinion and insight from each person. of promotion for the event, the crowd of sion, with excited amens and spontaneous The host pastor, James MacDonald, or- 600 who gathered to watch the simulcast clapping echoing from the rooms. The chestrated the conversations and kept the in Thomas Road Baptist Church was the event began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 5
p.m. Due to the length of the event, the audience was treated to a catered lunch and coffee breaks. Many Liberty students were able to attend the Simulcast in replacement of their regularly scheduled classes. Sophomore Ashley Johnson, who attended the Elephant Room Simulcast Round 1 in 2011, enjoyed the daylong event. “I knew it would grow me and help me have a better understanding of issues that usually aren’t addressed in the church,” Johnson said. Barber, who arrived at the start of the day, said that time moved quickly. “I feel like I’ve been here for an hour, because I’m just so enthralled in what they’re saying,” he said. Senior Calvin Lindsey commented on the quality of the discussions. “The material is just so rich,” Lindsey said. “You keep soaking it up. It’s like sitting in a worship service for two to three hours and you have no clue, because the Spirit is moving.” After seven conversations and a personal question and answer session between all of the pastors, the simulcast came to an end. “Students really loved the conversations. The topic was very relevant to all of us, whether we’re old or young,” Jacobson said. “I think it’s good for those going into ministry to see what other pastors are dealing with.” “I think we’re also all blown away by the humility of these pastors, to submit themselves...to a completely unscripted conversation,” Barber said. “They knew what their topics were, so they could prepare, but...when a moderator questions them, that’s really revealing as to where they stand on a topic...this whole day has been about transparency.”
GARCIA and WHEELER are feature reporters.
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FEATURE
B6/Liberty Champion
January 31, 2012
penny wise
Kate Schoener | Liberty Champion
Dressing on a dime — Thrift stores such as Goodwill and Salvaged offer the economically savvy shopper a budget-friendly alternative for fashion and furnishings.
Thrifty options around the ’burg
Secondhand and consignment shops offer vintage clothes and home decor for the shopper on a budget
Kayla Gurley kgurley@liberty.edu
For college students with a big eye for fashion and a small piggy bank, local thrift stores provide opportunities to satisfy the urge to shop with less stress on the wallet. Liberty University senior Abigail Koppenhaver said many pieces in her wardrobe are found from thrift stores, and that Salvaged in Wyndhurst is one of her favorite kinds of consignment shops because of its high-end retail at affordable prices. “When I first walked in (to Salvaged), I immediately noticed some really cute boots and jewelry, but I had to really look through the clothes to find cute things,” Koppenhaver said. “I like Salvaged because all of the clothes and shoes are really good quality and they don’t look dirty, worn or dated.” The Goodwill, located on Wards Road, is another option for students in search of clothing, household goods, shoes, movies, books and accessories.
Junior Matthew Crawford’s mother, Cheryl Crawford, frequents the Goodwill on a regular basis in search of name-brand clothing items and said she usually can find something good from being a thrifty shopper. “I really like the Goodwill because it is so large and clean,” Crawford said.“It’s the only thrift store in Lynchburg I go to, and I am always looking for a good deal.” New to You Consignment shop, located on Old Forest Road, is a smaller and more selective thrift shop. “I’m picky about thrift stores. For clothes and accessories, I like smaller consignment shops that don’t accept things in bulk. If I want joke clothes, or clothes that I can rip up and make into something crafty, or old movies and books, I will go to a larger store like the Goodwill,” Koppenhaver said. For those students in need of furniture for the dorm or apartment, the DAV, located on Timberlake Road, and Consignment First, located on Waterlick Road, offers an
array of furniture and household goods at low prices. “In today’s economy it is very important for me to shop at thrift stores and save money where I can,” Crawford said. “I can even make a little cash by selling items to thrift stores, in addition to just buying items at discounted prices.” Consignment shops like Salvaged and New to You pay cash for gently used items, and then once the item sells in the store, the seller receives a percentage of that sale. According to Koppenhaver, thrift store shopping is often hit or miss, but it is worth all the digging to find a great deal. “I would recommend checking out a thrift store to students who want to have unique things in their wardrobe for cheap,” Koppenhaver said. “College students have pretty much no money, so getting a cute bag or pair of vintage shoes for five dollars should be celebrated.”
Local shops for Thrift and Consignment Goodwill 2420 Wards Road, Lynchburg, Va. 434-239-6504
On Second Thought 17860 Forest Rd. 434-316-9844
ETC. Consignment Shop 2912 Old Forest Rd., Forest, Va. 434-384-3635 DAV 8400 Timberlake Rd., Lynchburg, Va. 434-239-5363 Consignment 1st 3412 Waterlick Rd. 434-832-1177
Salvaged 100 Northwynd Circle, Wyndhurst, Va. 434-239-0599 Shopaholic Outlet 2320 Wards Rd. Lynchburg, Va. 434-239-7467 Estate Specialists, Inc. 1228 Commerce St. Lynchburg, Va. 434-845-0555
GURLEY is a feature writer.
New semester brings new musical talent Kendra Alleyne kalleyne@liberty.edu
Student Activities kicked off the first Campus Artist Series of the year Thursday, Jan. 26, in the Tilley Student Center. The event ran from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and featured the bands “Fiver” and “GH and The Brothers.” “Fiver” took to the stage first with
members Katie Macintire, Katie McCrackin and Todd Pitt. The band’s name originated from the book “Watership Down.” “ (The name is) symbolic for putting faith in something even if you’re not sure,” Pitt said. The crowd was fired up as “Fiver” performed several original songs beginning with “Mine” which they had previously performed on campus, as well as “Wake
Up” and “Hearts and Home,” which featured a combination of whistling by both Macintire and McCrackin and the ukulele, played by Pitt. During the show, the band performed the more popular song “Hell Raiser Hellen,” written by Macintire. The second band to grace the stage was “GH & The Brothers,” featuring members Gabe Hernandez, T.J. Sloan and William (Will) Wilson. The “GH”
of the band’s name is symbolic of the initials of Gabe Hernandez and “The Brothers” represents Sloan and Wilson. These artists came together after Hernandez and Wilson connected during a worship class together. ALLEYNE is a feature reporter.
For the full article, go to www. libertychampion.com.
January 31, 2012
FEATURE
Liberty Champion/B7
PRSSA Prepares for the Plunge Devin Francis
dmfrancis@liberty.edu
“She doesn’t always get to participate in the same activities that I do,” Liberty University junior Victoria Petrocelli said when describing her 18-yearold younger sister, Alexandra, who was born with Down syndrome. “They offer her something special, something that makes her so happy.” Petrocelli is referring to the Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. They provide year-round training and competitions to more than 3.7 million athletes in more than 170 countries, according to specialolympics.org. Petrocelli describes the Special Olympics as close to her heart, which is why, after joining the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Liberty, she chose to use her skills to help plan and support the Hill City Polar Plunge. Petrocelli has been working on the event with other account associates at Innovations, Liberty PRSSA’s official public relations firm, since September 2011. The Polar Plunge, now in its fourth year, is an event dedicated to fundraising for Special Olympics Virginia. The event takes place Saturday, Feb. 25, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Camp Hydaway Lake in Lynchburg, Va., and Petrocelli defines it as a “fun, carnivallike day filled with great food, games, giveaways and live music that ends with people running and jumping into freezing cold water.” Petrocelli was quick to add that a heater will be readily accesible at the event for participants to warm themselves up following their plunge. “It’s a fun way to raise money for a good cause and it doesn’t cost you a penny,” Petrocelli said. “I’m plunging, because it is a way for me to help my sister even when I’m not at home with her.” Liberty students are encouraged to raise money and have a prayer leader or their pastor plunge in their place if they do not want to plunge themselves. Plungers will receive a free T-shirt and
Arielei Coelman| Liberty Champion
an icy leap— Participants in the Hill City Polar Plunge will jump into the frigid Camp Hydaway Lake, a unique way to raise money for the Lynchburg Special Olympics. lunch, and a prize will be awarded to the top individual fundraiser. The Polar Plunge raised over $12,000 last year for the Special Olympics and the Innovations staff working on this fundraiser is confident that this year’s event will produce an even better financial outcome. “Our main goal is to get at least 100 people to sign up to plunge,” Haley Collins, Innovations’ account executive for the Polar Plunge, said. “We are planning on hitting campus hard with promotions these next few weeks to gain more plungers, and we are also reaching out to the Lynchburg community and Special Olympics athletes this year to get them involved.”
Even if a person does not wish to physically plunge into Lake Hydaway’s icy cold water, Collins insists that there are numerous fun, rewarding ways to support the cause, such as helping run games, volunteering time to paint signs and helping with set up and clean up at the event. “Promoting the event on Facebook and Twitter, or spreading information by word of mouth, is helpful too,” Collins said. “Or you can just attend the event to show your support and celebrate what the Special Olympics stands for.” The best part of this event overall, according to Collins, is that it is local. The Polar Plunge raises money specifi-
cally for the Lynchburg Special Olympics. “It’s a unique way to give back to an incredible group of people,” Collins said. “And as much as the Special Olympics changes their lives, the stories of these athletes have changed mine. They are truly inspirational people.” To qualify to plunge, participants need to raise at least $50 and can register online at https://www.firstgiving. com/polarplungeva/2012hillcitypola rplungefestival. For more information on the Polar Plunge, visit polarplunge. com/hillcityplunge or contact Haley Collins at hacollins@liberty.edu. FRANCIS is the copy editor.
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FEATURE
JANUARY 31, 2012
Victoria Pearce | Liberty Champion
Cup by Cup— New to Candler’s Station and Wyndhurst, former students bring fresh fro’ yo’ to the Lynchburg community.
Grads bring Bloop back home
Liberty Alumni open new yogurt location in Lynchburg, offering health and a chance to help those in need
Melissa Bauman mbauman3@liberty.edu
When students returned from Christmas break, they were greeted with a new frozen yogurt shop just minutes from campus. Bloop frozen yogurt is located in the small community of Wyndhurst and will soon open in Candler’s Station. Bloop is the creation of four couples, all of whom graduated from Liberty University. “As former Liberty students, we were all challenged by Dr. Falwell Sr. saying ‘If it’s Christian, it should be better’” Lauren Mcquillian, Bloop’s director of operations, said. “That’s where Bloop came from — a desire to create better yogurt for a better reason. As Christ followers,
we are called to live out our faith according to James and that’s what we plan to do through Bloop.” Bloop caters to students at Liberty with its convenient location and by accepting flames cash. Bloop is the only self-serve yogurt shop in the area that offers the “Super Blooper” – a “Fill all you can cup” for a fixed price. Bloop also features a program called “A Cup 4 A Cup” which will help a charity organization give water to those who are in need. “Every time someone buys a cup of yogurt, we give a cup of clean drinking water to someone who needs it. It’s that simple. Bloop is teaming up with Charity: Water to offer the simplest form of compassion according to Matthew 10:42 and
Mark 9:41—a cup of water,” Mcquillian said. “Bloop will donate 5 cents of every cup of yogurt to Charity: Water with the goal of each store donating enough to dig a well at the end of each year. How amazing would that be? We believe it’s our God-sized idea.” Bloop also features a unique form of yogurt that has a hand-crafted flavor and texture. The yogurt products are crafted with real fruits, coffee and even real cookies. Bloop offers fresh local fruit, as well as low fat, non-fat, sugar free, gluten free and non-dairy options for customers. In comparison with the local competition, Bloop prides itself on its support of missions as well as promoting health. “We love the healthier aspects of yo-
gurt but we know that not all yogurt is created equal,” Mcquillian said. “Some of it is not even yogurt. We just knew it could be done better. The results are there already. Everyone who tastes Bloop loves the hand-crafted flavor and texture.” Beyond Lynchburg, there are two more Bloops opening in both Charlottesville, Va., and Fort Mill, SC. The management of Bloop has plans of expanding and hopes to have 10 Bloop stores open in 2012.
BAUMAN is a feature reporter.
More businesses offer Flames Cash Justin Berry
Jlberry2@liberty.edu
Sweet Stellas and Yogurt Yeti are the newest additions to the list of merchants that now accept Flames Cash from Liberty University students. Sweet Stella offers a variety of baked goods, including brownies, muffins, cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Owner Linda Conley prides the bakery on the fact that everything is 100 percent made from scratch. The “Lobster Tail,” a top selling pastry that is flaky and crème filled, usually sells out fairly quickly each day, Conley said. Yogurt Yeti offers self-serve frozen yogurt, indoor and outdoor seating and free Wi-Fi for customers. “We really believe in Liberty, and we love the vision of raising Champions for Christ,” Yogurt Yeti owner Patrick Neff said. Both locations look forward to business with students and have great things to say
about the student body. “The Liberty students are just so friendly,” Conley said. “We had been making snowflakes out of coffee filters, and the students just came in and helped out. It really felt like family.” The Flames Cash program is anticipated to bring students, and their business, out to these locations. BERRY is a feature reporter.
Sweet Stella’s is located at 7106 Timberlake Road in Lynchburg and is just minutes from Liberty’s campus. Yogurt Yeti is located at Wards Crossing West on Simons Run, next to Ross Dress for Less.
Candace Gladfelter | Liberty Champion
Sweet cash — Lynchburg venders Sweet Stella’s (pictured here) and Yogurt Yeti now take Liberty’s Flames Cash, hoping that Liberty students will become regulars.
Sodexo hosts ‘Fit Flames’ health workshop Courtney Wiest
cwiest@liberty.edu
Sodexo, in cooperation with Registered Dietitian Robin Quay, is hosting a monthly informational meeting called the “Fit Flames” Workshop. “What we found in surveys is that college students really want information about health, wellness and good nutrition,” Quay said. “We want to make sure we are offering them everything they need to be their best.” The “Fit Flames” Workshop will be held on the last Tuesday of each month from 5:30-6:30 p.m. The workshops on Jan. 31, March 27 and April 24 will be held at the Reber-Thomas VIP room. The Feb. 28 meeting will be held at the LaHaye Workout
Room. Topics at the workshop include how to read a food label, portion control, easy ways to be active, eating on a budget, buying good snacks, making good choices at the dining hall and more. “The purpose of the class is to give basic nutrition information to students,” Quay said. According to Quay, the average college student between the ages of 18 and 21 gains 7-13 pounds during their undergrad years. Quay said that there are many factors that cause weight gain, including buffets, going out late at night for pizza, homesickness, academic adjustments and stress. “This is one reason the program came about. It’s not inevitable that you will come out
of college 13 pounds heavier,” Quay said. “We want to make sure they have every tool available for that not to happen.” Benefits of the workshop include tips from a trainer who will give health and exercise information and show students simple exercise ideas. A physician will also attend the meetings to share health and wellness advice. Quay will also be conducting a tour of the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall so students can learn how to navigate and make healthy food choices. “We are going to be taking weight and waist circumference each meeting,” Quay said. Students are encouraged to attend each meeting if possible. The workshop includes regular weigh-ins and those who attend
Photo Provided
will have their information and progress recorded. “It’s going to be really informative and really interesting. Students (will) learn a lot of things that will help them in life. This won’t be something to just do today, but something to help them have good habits for the rest of their life so that they will be happier and healthier,” Quay said. The Fit Flames workshop
hopes to make students look their best, feel their best, perform their best and form habits for a healthy future. Students can register by emailing Robin Quay at Robin. Quay@sodexo.com. Registration is not required, but preferred, and walk-ins are more than welcome, Quay said. WIEST is a feature reporter.
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