THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

ADDITIONAL CAMPUS OPTIONS

After a semester as student body president, Dave Craven talks about his accomplishments and struggles he faced in office.

LIFESTYLE

NEWS

Q&A WITH THE STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT Craven also talks about his plans and goals for this new semester. p.4

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In college time is short and efficiency is vital. To reduce wasted time, find lunch at the nearest eatery to your classroom.

You can zone off areas according to their locations to campus dining facilities.

p.7

NINERTIMES Thursday, Januar y 12, 2012

Published twice weekly and online at www.nineronline.com

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Dancing with a twist Sarah Obeid SOBEID2@UNCC.EDU

Oftentimes, when I share that belly dancing is a hobby of mine, I usually receive some stereotypical view of a belly dancer in return. The concept of sexy women, fine curves and rapid, rhythmic music come into people’s minds. In actuality, this is not the case. Belly dancing, commonly known as “Raqs Sharqi,” is a Middle Eastern/Arabic dance in the west that is performed by diverse women in restaurants, parties, weddings, etc. Belly dancing can be done in different forms using a variety of costumes and style techniques. It is an art, not a provocative, enticing dance. UNC Charlotte offers belly dancing club sessions twice a week on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. in the Belk Gym Squash Court 105 and Friday at 5:30 p.m. in the Student Activity Center’s G-fit room. For students interested in being a member for a semester, the fee is $5 and for students looking to be members for a year, the fee is $10.

A digital depiction of Deck J, which will be located by South Village. The deck will also have a bus pull up, a road connecting to Cameron Blvd. and a walkway leading to the new housing by the high rises. Photo courtesy of Gary Caton

DANCING p.3

New deck to limit parking Ciera Choate NEWS@NINERONLINE.COM

Students living in South Village, also referred to as the high rises, will experience limited parking next year as many construction projects come to that area of campus. To accommodate the new housing being built by the high rises UNC Charlotte will begin construction on a new 1,240 space parking deck, which they are not sure will be enough for the amount of students that will be living in that area.

“We aren’t even sure there will even be enough spots once all of the housing is there,” said Gary Caton the director of Parking and Transportation Services (PaTS). Construction will begin in May or June and continue until the following summer. The design and cost for the deck has not been determined, but the limit set by the state is $27 million for the parking deck. After the design is approved the university will put out a bid for the deck, which will determine the overall costs of construction. “According to the last thing I heard the bid was supposed to be mid-May,” said Ca-

ton, although that date is subject to change as plans develop. PaTS is working to eliminate as much inconvenience as possible, although some students will have to park away from South Village. “Anytime we build a deck we’re going to inconvenience someone, but in the end it’s worth it,” said Caton. In order to accommodate the students that will be without a parking spot PaTS is currently working out a system to relocate them. There is a possibility students living in South Village will have to park in North PARKING p.3

A&E

OPINION

SPORTS

LIFESTYLE

COLLEGE CONTROVERSY

Screenings: Catch “The Interrupters” screening at Theater Charlotte this weekend along with “The Last Circus” at the Crownpoint Stadium 12.

OVERRATED? Many Charlotte nightclubs have being playing host to various celebrities,

Students around the United State are

whether it is during or after concerts,

upset with Chick-fil-A’s list of charat-

or even just for an appearance.

able donations.

Music: The Avett Brothers are about to release their newest album since 2009.

But what will the attendees really be

Hear several UNC Charlotte student’s

getting, large crowds, over priced

opinions on the debate.

MEN’S BASKETBALL MIDSEASON REPORT p.6

p.5

p.10

covers? Are celebs overrated? p.8

Kickin’ it with CAB Jordan Scheno JSCHENO@UNCC.EDU

The Campus Activities Board (CAB) has a variety of new events for the spring 2012 semester. Leana Zona, the president of CAB, has a long list of activities and events UNC Charlotte students can look forward to this semester. “We have a ton of events being held on campus next semester. Well over 50, in fact. A few to highlight are ‘Breakfast on the Go’ tables to gain interest near commuter lots, the annual Green & Gold affair for Homecoming, the Biggest Loser and lots of interesting speakers including Coupon Suzie and Joseph Kahn,” said Zona. CAB is wasting no time getting the semester going with their first event happening the first week of classes. This event is called “Ring in the New Year” and will be Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012, from noon until 2 p.m. “Students will be able to stop by, grab some snacks and hot chocolate and sign up for a CAB Fare Card so they can start tallying up those punches to win some cool prizes at the end of the semester,” said Zona. The biggest event being throw this semester? “Homecoming! Save the date!” CAB p.3

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

NINERTIMES

NINERONLINE.COM

NEWS BRIEFS Fire department called to Student Union Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, around 2 p.m., the fire drill of the Student Union was pulled as approximately 1,100 students were evacuated from the four floors. Jim Kay, who works with facilities maintenance in the union, says that the reason for the fire alarm is not clear. “We had a fire, or a fire drill, or someone pulled the alarm, or something of that nature,” said Kay. Fire department authorities believe the alarm may have been pulled due to something that occurred on the first floor, near Mama Leone’s or Wendy’s. Sarah Stroud, assistant director of administrative and support services for the Student Unions says that the evacuation of the building was very successful. “We evacuated the building in four minutes, according to our designated building fire marshal, Neal Miller,” said Stroud. Eden Creamer

International artist featured at Center City UNC Charlotte Center City art gallery’s exhibit “Betwixt and Between,” will run Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, through Thursday, March 15, 2012, and will feature art by Ann von Gwinner. Von Gwinner, a German artist, will contribute a moving image, which will include pyrotechnics. On the opening day of the exhibit, the College of Arts and Architecture will begin a new musical program, “Fresh Ink,” to focus on taking concert music on a new path. The first performance of “Fresh Ink” and the lecture given my Von Gwinner are both free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. The reception will begin at 6 p.m., the lecture will be at 7 p.m. and the performance by “Fresh Ink” will begin at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. Eden Creamer

Belk College of Business receives grant The Belk Foundation has given the Belk College of Business a $250,000 grant for the purposes of beginning programs for undergraduate business students. This money, combined with a $50,000 donation by a Belk College graduate will allow for the establishment of the Student Center for Professional Development (SCPD). The SCPD is expected to open in January, and second-semester freshman will be the inaugural group to have the chance to enroll in UNC Charlotte’s Introduction to Business and Professional Development course. A director and a career counselor for the new program is expected to be hired during the spring 2012 semester. Eden Creamer

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

PAGE 3

DANCING from p.1 Emily Soukhanouvong, UNC Charlotte senior majoring in psychology and president and co-founder of the belly dancing club gave me a feel for what the belly dancing club is about and the club’s view on belly dancing as a dance. “Our club is easy going and relaxed. Our main goal is to basically teach the art of belly dancing. We actually teach American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance. Typically, belly dance is a solo dance, but with ATS, our members learn to belly dance in a group formation,” said Soukhanouvong. “We really just want our members to learn to have fun with belly dancing. You do not have to have a certain body type or be a certain gender. Males are welcome.” Belly dancing is more than a dance to show off the body. The dance involves many elements. “Belly dancing itself is not all too challenging. We usually start off with teaching the basic moves and body control. At the beginning, members might find it difficult, but as they build up and practice on their own, good body strength and control should proliferate. Ever since I started, my posture has been getting better and better,” said Soukhanouvong. It is more beneficial if members don’t focus too heavily on individual techniques, but instead, they should focus on body form and control. This is what allows individuals to learn the belly dance. “Believe it or not, the club started off

Members of the Belly Dancing Club learn new moves and enjoy the feeling of self-confidence that comes with learning the sometimes complex moves. Photo courtsey of Emily Soukhanouvong. as a G-fit program at UNC Charlotte. The co-founder who was also vice president of the G-fit program was interested in starting a Belly Dancing Club. I never thought I would have the opportunity to help start it alongside,” said Soukhanouvong. At first, the G-fit was going to cut the club altogether due to having a low number of members. However, the belly dancing instructor, Rose (another co-founder) and Soukhanouvong implemented the idea to continue the club. Soukhanouvong has been involved with the club since the spring of her sophomore year, which was about two years ago. “It would be nice if we could compete. The only problem is that we do not have enough members. Hopefully in the upcoming semesters we will see more students interested in our club,” said Soukhanouvong. Soukhanouvong explains that members will often get nervous upon attempting to learn the dance. “Being an active member of the club, I have witnessed several funny instances. It is always hilarious to see new members freak out during the first few sessions. The instructor might explain and demonstrate

a new move and the new members will freeze, saying ‘I cannot do this!’ The style that we use is based on cues and new members typically go crazy. We calm them down and let them know that there is nothing to worry about.” The Belly Dancing Club is the only club that has booked professional belly dancers to come out for open events. Any student is welcome to come and watch the belly dancing shows. As Martha Graham said, “great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.” This is something the Belly Dancing Club encourages for students and its very own members. The club wants that all participants have fun belly dancing and not be too concerned about fully mastering the dance. The whole idea is for students to come out to learn the basics, express themselves through the dance and meet other UNC Charlotte students. “Look at it this way, practice makes perfect. Members just need to work at it but also enjoy themselves and have fun,” said Soukhanouvong.

PARKING from p.1

CAB from p.1

Deck, which was completed this summer, and PaTS will work out a way of getting students back and forth to the deck. To keep construction from interfering with student traffic, construction roads will be made to keep construction workers off of campus roads. “We’re trying to make it as convenient as possible for everyone,” said Caton. The new deck will consist of a bus pull up, a road connecting the lot to Cameron Blvd. making it possible to go all of the way around campus and a walkway to the new housing being built in that area. “It’s an exciting time, and it’s going to be inconvenient with construction. In the end it will be beautiful,” said Caton. “In the end it’s worth it.”

Zona explained that increasing student turnout is always a priority for CAB. “We have had an incentive program available to students which is called our CAB Fare program. Students can come to get their CAB Card punched at our events and… turn it in to win great prizes at the end of the year. This program is something we are really trying to push to our students to use. Mostly because its free, and because it is a great way to get them involved and coming to our programs,” said Zona. “We also have added a marketing committee to the board which is in the process of making commercials for all of our programs to air on our website, Facebook and Twitter.” CAB has many changes coming up this semester, and Zona is very optimistic about what will come from these changes. “This semester CAB is working to increase student support. We have seen dramatic improvement over the last year with our event staff members and we hope to keep them coming back to help us program the events that CAB puts on,” said Zona. A lot of thought and effort goes into how CAB chooses the events they throw. “There are an array of different factors that play into how we program our events. Our student directors attend an annual conference twice a year called [the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA)] that allows them to see upcoming artists, comedians, magicians and a variety of fun novelties that college campuses worldwide are programming with. When we come back from conferences, we take what we saw and try to target how we think different programs will fit into our campus community,” said Zona. CAB continues to work to cater to what UNC Charlotte students would like to see on campus. “Since we are a student organization we really want to get students in-

volved to help us plan and implement our programs so that we can target a larger student audience,” said Zona. Should a student have an idea for an event, Zona says that the student can present the idea to CAB, and that they appreciate student ideas. “You can stop by our office or email us at cab@uncc.edu. Anyway we can gain new ideas from students about programming is a plus and we really encourage this,” said Zona. To find out about the events that CAB throws all semester long you can go to CAB’s website, like their Facebook page, follow them on Twitter or stop by their offices in the Student Union. “We would LOVE to see new faces,” said Zona.

Weekly Belly Dancing Club Meetings When and Where

Thursday When - 6:30 p.m. Where - Belk Gym Squash Court 105

Friday When - 5:30 p.m. Where - Student Activity Center’s G-fit room

Campus Activities Board Events for January 2012 Thursday, Jan. 12 - Define Your Fit Thursday, Jan. 12 - CAB Interset

Meeting

Tuesday, Jan. 17 - Keep Warm Cabbies Commuter Breakfast

Tuesday, Jan. 17 - Making the Video with Joseph Kahn

Wednesday, Jan. 18 - Back 2

School BINGO

Thursday, Jan. 19 - Niners Got Talent

Saturday, Jan. 21 - Spring Event Staff Training

Wednesday, Jan. 25 - Photo Travel Mugs

Friday, Jan. 27 - Comedy Zone

PAGE 4

NINERTIMES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

One-on-one with Dave Craven Ciera Choate

NEWS@NINERONLINE.COM

After a semester as student body president, Dave Craven talks about his accomplishments and struggles he faced in office. He also talks about his plans and goals for next semester. From making the campus a wireless hotspot to turning the light in the Belk Tower back on, Craven promises that he works for the students to make sure their money is spent on things they need in order to make their experience at UNC Charlotte the best it can be. He is also working to finalize a UNC Charlotte phone application for students.

Q: Overall, how do you think the first semester as Student Body President went? A: We had to find our niche. What we really had to do was start the groundwork on where we were going to start and what goals we were going to achieve. The biggest things that we wanted to work on was online academic advising; mobile application, or Niner Mobile as it has become called; the lighting of Belk Tower, which is pretty significant something serious I wanted to work on and just the all around dealing with the budget crisis that erupted when I took over. A lot of things needed special attention. This is the first time we were going to see growth stop in our academic buildings on campus in the last decade, and we really had to look for ways to promote funding on a large scale across the university. Something like the infrastructure fee that you saw come out in UNC Charlotte’s fee process because we don’t get the money anymore for new academic complexes, and they stopped giving us renovation money, which used to be in the millions of dollars, I mean $6 to $8 million a year. Burson, for example, would have used that money. We don’t have it anymore. Overall, we did a really good job at targeting specific areas we needed to work on. My staff went after things like the dining committee. Working on replacing Momma Leonne’s in the Student Union with a new concept that I don’t think they want me to announce yet, but we will have a different food variety there in the future. There’s a lot of things that each staff member worked on. Q: Did you have any obstacles that you had trouble overcoming? A: The only obstacle, and I wouldn’t necessarily dub it an obstacle, was one that the new Student Body President faces each time, getting to know your administration. It doesn’t matter what ideas you have or what comes about. It’s the administration and your connection to them and what they want to help you with. They can tell when something is a student issue. We have a lot of administrators here that we are lucky to have that are in the mindset of actually working for the students. From what I understand across the UNC system from other student body presidents, other schools don’t have that luxury. The administration kind of listens to what they have to say and it goes in one ear and out the other, so that’s something that’s really good that UNC Charlotte has. You had to get in there and meet everybody and find out who works for who and who you need to contact in the right situation.

One of Dave Craven’s main goals was working to get the light in the Belk Tower (above) back on, and now is working to make those lights green. FILE PHOTO

Q: After the tuition and fees committee, some students complained that more money was going to athletics than academics and we’re in a recession and all of that. Do you feel that their concerns are legitimate or do you think that this money going towards athletics is being well spent? A: A lot of things here, a lot of things. To start with I think a lot of people that were on that side of the fence don’t understand the difference between tuition and fees. That’s the basic misunderstanding that some people have, not everybody but some. For example, the educational fee that comes from the student fee money is also supplemented with tuition so when you undercut it a little bit or don’t give as much to the education and technology fee they’re still getting money from another source where athletics does not. That was one of the debates we had with student fees because you have the education and technology asking for a significant increase only because their budget had

Dave Craven, student body president, speaking at the debates during last year’s general election. FILE PHOTO

been cut. When they cut back we lost $34 million to the state. The reason that I believe the board funded the athletics a little more was because we saw in the future a 6.5 percent tuition increase that we were going to be taking, which will put money back in education and technology this upcoming year. If we would have funded them in the fees process they would have been funded in the tuition process as well. They would have got essentially more money than they had asked for. I know that confused a lot of people. When you look at it you know football is on everybody’s mind right now, and what football does is not just bring the game to campus it brings the culture to campus. It brings everybody out, unified together on a Saturday afternoon to have a good time. It just enhances our overall college experience, and what it does after you graduate is enhance the value of your degree. Let’s face it, when you talk about degrees schools with a reputable name typically have large sports programs. Q: Do you have any goals set for this coming semester? A: We will be doing two things, finishing up two large-scale projects. The Niner Mobile app will be coming live, and that’s a two-phase process in our IT department here. We are making all of the university pages mobile accessible. When you go to it it automatically opens in a mobile form, as well as the actual app you can download. That will be available by the end of the semester, as well as our off campus discount program that marketing has been working on. We’re going to be wrapping it up on those two things, which are both something that will help unify the campus. Q: Do you see any obstacles standing in your way? A: Everything is already in motion. Our IT department here monthly, if not every two weeks, depending on whatever they’ve got on new development on the application program or what’s going on, they all come to our conference room and meet with us. We don’t go to them. The administration always comes here to meet with my cabinet and whoever is heading up that particular part of the focus group. It’s been a new concept for a lot of the administrators that we call them and say, “we want to see you prepare this.” It’s been a new philosophy to them, and I think they are really enjoying the students are that involved and want to see a change that much. They’ve been working with us very well I think. Going through the tuition and fees debate I said to the chancellor day one about the infrastructure fee for roads, power, you know, a lot, but it’s not necessarily something you can say your $100 went to that. You don’t want to ride on a road and say that cost you $100 last semester.

I encouraged for things of physical substance that the students needed and we went into a balance with the administration to figure something out. The things that we brought to the table for students were the renovation of Belk Gym, which is going to be a $17 million project. It will be started within a few weeks or the month. It is going to be massive renovation like installing HVAC throughout the building, adding a track, putting a weight room in there. We are basically building a temporary new recreational facility. After football and everything has been paid for we will look at a recreational center on campus, but this will serve that purpose for now. It’s going to be very nice. The plans I’ve seen are outstanding. We are doing cell phone boosters, two of them. Verizon and AT&T will be coming on campus with cell phone boosters in two of our buildings. Setting up a tower with which they are guaranteeing two or three bars in every classroom. Wireless connectivity throughout campus. We will be doing a $50,000 renovation in the library, much needed it’s very slow there, and from the second you come on to campus it will be a wireless hotspot. Those were the student initiatives that I put in. Q: When you ordered the buses and reserved the seats on the buses going to the Final Four, even though you didn’t end up using them what was the whole story with the reserved seats? A: When we asked for money from SAFC [Student Activity Fees Commission], first of all I thought it was something we needed to do. I think it was a good expenditure for SAFC. When we requested the buses it was initially going to be a few seats, there were five main parts of SAFC, Student Media Board is one of them, CAB [Campus Activities Board]. I thought it was good to have two or three representatives from each of those organizations on the bus. That were the original ten, twelve, whatever figure it was that would be saved where adjunct organizations could go down there. Student Media needed someone covering it, CAB obviously is very involved on campus, you need some student leaders there. It was ultimately going to be that cap. I mean, myself, I would be on the bus. That was the plan. When we got to seeing how many people were trying to get on that bus we forfeited our spaces and drove. That was the ultimate best thing to do. I mean, there are students that needed, I don’t know how to put it, there are people that are less fortunate that could have used the ride on the bus paid for by the university. We decided we would drive to allow them to go.

NINERONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

OPINION NINERTIMES Volume 24, Number 27 A PRODUCT OF

PAGE 5

Chick-fil-a’s donations cause college controversy Should we continue supporting corporations if we disagree with their values? Joshua Woods

OPINION@NINERONLINE.COM LOCATED IN THE LOWER LEVEL OF THE STUDENT UNION NINER TIMES • RADIO FREE CHARLOTTE SANSKRIT • MEDIA MARKETING • NINERONLINE

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LAYOUT EDITOR

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Ciera Choate

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MEDIA MARKETING MARKETING DIRECTOR

Brian Mister

mktdirector@uncc.edu CREATIVE DIRECTOR Karen Pierce

Everyone is familiar with the popular restaurant chain Chic-fil-A. What you probably are not familiar with is their donations made during the past years. According to the 2009 IRS 990 forms WinShape, Chick-Fil-A’s charitable foundation, received $7,814,788 from Chick-fil-A Inc. WinShape donated over $1 million of that money to various anti-gay organizations. One of the organizations that received a donation for WinShape was Exodus International. Exodus International is an organization that promotes ex-gay therapy, treating homosexuality as form of sexual brokenness. Now there is no doubt in my mind that Chick-fil-A makes excellent food, and it is without a doubt one of my favorite places to eat at on campus. Where else would be a better place to get a chicken sandwich? But when I realized the money I spent on those chicken sandwiches was going to anti-gay organizations like Exodus International, I had to stop. I find it highly ironic that Chick-fil-A was voted third most beloved restaurant chain in the United States. A company that takes such great strides to repress members of the community should not be ranked so highly. The president of Chick-fil-A Dan Cathy

CIRCULATION MANAGER

UNC Charlotte students eating at Chick-fil-A despite the current controversy. Photo by Corbin Peters defended the actions of the WinShape foundation saying “We’re not antianybody... Our mission is to create raving fans.” That may be true, but clearly the donations of Chick-fil-A contradict what Cathy said. Chick-fil-A is a restaurant renowned for its religious background. The restaurant still closes on Sunday, and in this day and age where everything is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week that is very honorable. But even with its religious ties is it necessary to have so many connections to anti-gay organizations? I consider myself a religious person, but you don’t see me running for my torch and pitchfork whenever the LGBT community wants to get married. In all honesty, do we want a business that promotes anti-LGBT organizations

serving our campus? Granted they have great food, but is it worth it when these organizations crush the dreams of people just like you and me. Schools like the University of North Texas, Mississippi State University, and the University of New Orleans have formed petitions asking their schools to not support anti-LGBT companies like Chick-fil-A; some cases even evicting the restaurant off the campus. Personally I would rather see a Burger King at the current location of our Chick-fil-A and that is just one of the many restaurant chains we could have. I am curious as to what the students of UNC Charlotte will do. Will you take a stand like your fellow students across the nation, or will you just go about you business as usual?

Speak your mind on the current issues

Mandy Blackburn

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Chick-fil-A has the right to financially support any charity Jordan McSwain

J M C S WA 1 7 @ U N C C . E D U

How obnoxious would it be if every time you went to your favorite restaurant to order some food, people were standing outside yelling and glaring at you for enjoying a simple consumer product? Well if your favorite restaurant is Chic-fil-A that may start. Upset is sweeping the nation because the Chick-fil-A is donating money. How dare them. Granted, the donations are not going to organizations who support the popular opinion, which is the reason behind the upset. Though the controvesy surrounds each organization’s opinion against gay marriage, this is not the main point in each

charity. Some of the charities supports counseling programs for broken and beaten families, help the homeless, deliver food to Third World countries, and various other programs that secular organizations are doing as well. As a example, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a religious campus organization that attracts students and athletes in over seven thousand campuses around the world. According to their purpose statement, they support “Integrity, Serving, Teamwork and Excellence.” One of the major reasons for the controversy is the therapy for LGBT people that several of these organizations offer and events held that are supporting heterosexual relationships and reserving marriage rights for traditional marriage. Several campuses around the United States including Flordia State and the University of New Orleans are petitioning the addition or presence of a Chick-fil-A location on campus.

Chick-fil-a’s 2009 donations

Marriage

& Family Legacy Fund: $994,199 Fellowship Of Christian Athletes: $480,000 National Christian Foundation: $240,000

Focus On The Family: $12,500

Eagle Forum: $5,000

It is appalling that groups on these campuses lobbying for equality are upset because a company is giving to what it supports. Several companies support gay marrage, and they are not petitioned against on college campuses. Wal-Mart and Disney both donate to pro-homosexuality but that doesn’t stop the people who believe differently from going there. Then again, that’s probably just because if someone were to say they were upset with that, they would be labeled immediately as an ignorant, bigoted, homophobe instead of just being able to believe in what they want. My point to make is that people should not jump on the beliefs of the charities that Chick-fil-A supports. They have a right to their opinions, and in this case, I feel like people are jumping on the fast food company without a frame of reference. Thankfully, there are some people who continue to shop or eat at businesses regardless of the company’s opinions on political issues. These are the people who understand freedom and who can comprehend true choice. To be able to believe in the different rights and wrongs and talk about it with someone with a different viewpoint without ending in a corporate war is what everyone should be aiming for instead of the “Burn Them at the Stake!” mentality that so many have now. It’s up to you from here on out. Is it wrong to support a company that has its own beliefs or will you take a McChicken from now on? If you make that choice, I hope you enjoy it because the university’s own Chic-fil-A restaurant is very tasty.

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NINERTIMES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

A&E

LIVE MUSIC:

Sarah Jarosz, 1/12, 8 p.m. Neighborhood Theatre Kills and Thrills, 1/14, 8 p.m. Tremont Music Hall

ON CAMPUS:

“Making the Video” with Joseph Kahn, renowned music video director Student Union Theater 7 p.m., Free

NEW ON DVD Jan. 17:

Ides of March Courageous Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star Dirty Girl Killing Bono

Film Society to screen vicious flicks

Violence interrupter Ameena Matthews

Photo courtesy of Kartemquin Films

One exposes violence Barry Falls Jr.

B FA L L S 4 @ U N C C . E D U

“Every city needs its hero,” reads the tagline of Alex Kotlowitz and Steve James’ documentary, “The Interrupters,” which will be screened twice at Theatre Charlotte this Saturday. In recent history, influential documentaries like “Restrepo,” “Bowling for Columbine,” and “Food Inc.” have proven that films have the power to not only influence public perception but to also bring about lasting change. Filmed in gang-ridden Chicago over the span of one year, “The Interrupters” follows three ex-gang members, Ameena, Cobe and Eddie, who are determined to intervene in the conflicts before they explode into violence. As each “violence interrupter” begins to intervene, they are faced with moral quandaries. Chicago is still the setting of America’s most brutal and high profile acts of violence, including the beating to death of a Chicago High School student whose death was caught on videotape. Still, news networks continue to overlook these incidents. Director Steve James aims to shed light on these brutal occurrences. “Making ‘The Interrupters’ was a gift,” said James. “I became a documentary filmmaker

because I wanted to understand people and communities other than the ones I’ve lived in. “The best film experiences are akin to living inside a rich and surprising novel. Your own personal life and dayto-day worries tend to recede and pale in comparison as you bear witness to the lives and often profound struggles of others.” An initiative of the Chicago Project for Violence Prevention called CeaseFire was used in “The Interrupters.” The CeaseFire program treats gang violence like an infectious disease by going after the most infected and stop the infection at its source. After watching a screening of “The Interrupters” in October 2011, Bermuda’s National Security Minister vowed to implement a CeaseFire-style program in the country. Premiering at the Sundance film festival, “The Interrupters” received almost immediate critical acclaim. It became an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival and the South By Southwest Film Festival, and it currently holds a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. “The Interrupters” will be shown twice on Saturday Jan. 14, 2012 at Theatre Charlotte at 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Santiago Segura in The Last Circus

Photo courtesy of Magnet Releasing

One celebrates it For those who are serious about their hellish violence and dark storytelling, The Back Alley Film Series isn’t clowing around. An offshoot of The Charlotte Film Society, The Back Alley Film Series brings foreign and independent films to Charlotte that would not otherwise visit the area. The Last Circus takes place in 1937 Spain in the midst of the brutal Spanish Civil War. A “Happy” circus clown is interrupted mid-performance and forcibly recruited by a militia. Still in his costume, he is handed a machete and led into battle against National soldiers, where he single-handedly massacres an entire platoon. Later in the film the clown’s son, Javier, dreams of following in his father’s career footsteps, but has seen too much tragedy in his life. He’s simply not funny and is only equipped to play the role of the Sad Clown. Javier works at a circus where he is humiliated by a “happy” clown who ridicules him for the entertainment of others. He soon meets the happy clown’s abused wife and falls in love. In an attempt to rescue the wife from abuse and unhappiness, Javier finds himself entangled in a dark love triangle. “The Last Circus” culminates in a

shockingly violent battle between the Happy and Sad clown. The Last Circus received an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and currently holds a 70% on Rotten Tomatoes. Director Alex De La Iglesia seems to speak of “The Last Circus” as if it were the reenactment of some demented nightmare he had. “I’m making this film to exorcise a pain in my soul that just won’t go away, like oil stains,” said De La Iglesia. “I wash my clothes with movies. I feel ridiculed, horribly mutilated by a marvelous and sad past, as if I were drowning in nostalgia for something that never happened, a huge nightmare that won’t allow me to be happy.” While “The Last Circus” features the violence and absurdity of a potential cult classic, it also features some of the twisted torture porn sequences that some may deem far too demented for its own good. But for those are looking for something different from the cookie-cutter flicks at AMC, “The Last Circus” will certainly satisfy. Back Alley Film Series is screening “The Last Circus” this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012 at Crownpoint Stadium 12. Tickets are $5 for Charlotte Film Society members and $8 for non-members.

Avett Brothers announce spring release Barry Falls Jr

B FA L L S 4 @ U N C C . E D U

Since the 2009, Avett fans have been patiently waiting for the long-awaited follow up to the folk quintet’s sixth studio album, “I and Love and You.” The band recorded over a dozen tracks in Asheville North Carolina last year for an album that is set to be released sometime this spring. “We’re right at the finish line,” singer-guitarist and UNC Charlotte alumni Seth Avett said earlier this week to Rolling Stone magazine. “It’s just the formalities now.” When the news was announced, The Avett Brothers’ FaceBook feed was flooded with comments full of passionate excitement. The Avett Brothers performed “Head Full of Doubt/ Road Full of Promise” alongside British folk group Mumford & Sons and American legend Bob Dylan at last year’s Grammys. “I and Love and You” marked the very first big label album that the band put out. The group had continued to develop a close relationship with Rick Rubin, who has produced albums with Aerosmith, Tom Petty and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rubin produced both “I and Love and You” as well as the upcoming album. On the upcoming album, “The Once and Future Carpenter” recounts the band’s experience touring. “Paul Newman Versus the Demons” is an ode to their favorite actor. “Newman is a prime example of that really talented, goodlooking guy that had every opportunity to be vain and selfish but didn’t,” said Seth.

Scott Avett, left, and his brother Seth

MCT Campus

“It has an aggressive riff, and the instruments are very nineties rock– what you could call grunge. It’s certainly a major departure.” “It was interesting to see it gain some mainstream momentum, but trends change quickly. I’m sure if anyone considers us cool, give it a year or two and we’ll be the most uncool thing on the block.” Currently The Avett Brothers are not scheduled to perform in the Charlotte area in the near future. Regardless of what the next big step is for the North Carolinabased band, The Avett Brothers should expect full and unconditional support from their home state.

NINERONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

PAGE 7

Where a Niner’s spare moments go

No time for lunch?

Beat the rush

MCT Campus

The semester has arrived and students are adjusting to new schedules and routines. People are searching for lunch buddies and figuring out the most efficient way to get good food with time to spare. If your class ends at 12:15 p.m. and you have a 12:30 p.m., it isn’t likely that you’ll have enough time to grab a Chickfil-A sandwich in time. To make the best of your time, try an alternative restaurant. Prospector offers several low-traffic options during the lunchtime rush. Try a fresh sub from the deli Mondo Subs or a burger from Smashers. It will save valuable time that can be used for homework or socializing. Main Street Market in Cone Center, which experiences a tamer after-rush, is home to Bojangles and Use Your Noodle. Of course, there is always Crown Commons in the Union, which serves an all-you-can-eat buffet style lunch ($7.70 without a meal plan). During peak hours, seating can be limited. If you’re in a hurry, try the Residence Dining Hall on the south side of campus, which offers abundant seating. Coffee drinkers are also subjected to long waits during rushes between classes. Starbucks in the Union often experiences lines out the door on weekday afternoons. To avoid long waits for caffeine, head to Peet’s Coffee and Teas in Atkins Library. Though rushes occur, they are less time-consuming than the long lines at Starbucks. If all else fails and you simply have no time to spare to sit down for lunch, grab-and-go from Outtakes, located in the Student Union, RDH, CRI and Crossroads buildings. Outtakes sells convenience store items and offers a deli-counter. Time may be hard to come by, but don’t let it stop you from healthy eating habits. Lunch is an important meal of the day and there are no excuses to skip it.

Lee Pham

COMMUNITY@NINERONLINE.COM

In college time is short and efficiency is vital. To reduce wasted time, find lunch at the nearest eatery to your classroom. You can zone off areas according to their locations to campus dining facilities.

Facility RDH

Buildings Served Moore, Sanford, Holshouser, Scott

Cone Center Colvard, Atkins, Robinson, Rowe

Prospector Fretwell, Friday, Smith, Macy, Rowe, Denny, Garinger, Winningham, Storrs, Barnard

Crown Commons

Burson, CHHS, COED, Woodward

BY THE NUMBERS:

CAMPUS DINING

2 10 4 9 49 28

The campus has 2 cafes, excluding Starbucks: in the library and in Fretwell

The number of different meal plans available at UNCC

There are 4 different Outtakes all over the UNC Charlotte campus

The number of self-service stations available in Crown Commons

Bistro 49 is a nicer dine-in option in the student union for those who prefer table service

The number of dining options all around campus

PAGE 8

NINERTIMES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

A yogi’s journey Ciera Choate NEWS@NINERONLINE.COM

We all have times in our lives when something comes up and knocks us off of our feet. You never see it coming, but once it hits your life will never be the same. During times like these it’s always good to have a person to go to for comfort, but lately my comfort hasn’t been a person; it’s been my yoga practice. There are certain things we go through no one will ever understand. They’re things you don’t want anyone to know, but you need to get out in order to move on and learn to live again. This week I began the 28 Days to Gotta Make a Change routine at my yoga studio, Gotta Yoga. During the 28 days I will be attending yoga at the studio five times a week, totaling 20 classes. I’m used to attending about one class a week, so this may get difficult. I thought the difficulty would come from the physical pressure it puts on my body, but I’ve realized yoga is just as much a mental workout as a physical workout. Three days into the challenge I have experienced changes and comfort I never thought I would find on a yoga mat. Mantra meditation is a type of meditation that requires you to think of a phrase that goes in rhythm with your breathing and repeat it over and over again to yourself. My phrase: “Accept yourself. You are beautiful.” As I said those words, chills ran all over my body and I realized that things that happened in the past are exactly that - in the past. I received news about a week ago that flipped my world upside down. I won’t go into the details now, but my self-perception morphed into this self-conscious, selfdoubting person I never thought I would see when I looked into the mirror. She’s gone though. With every breath I took in class, with every motion I made on my yoga mat I shed off the part of me that even for a second doubted the person I have become. Never have I apologized for the mistakes I have made in the past, and I don’t plan on starting today. Regardless of what happens in my future I know that every step I take shapes me into a better person, whether it be the right or wrong thing. Yes, there will be times when I doubt myself in the future. I will not always make the best decisions. But in the end I know that no matter who is in my life and whether or not anyone around me can connect with what I am going through, I have my yoga mat and my practice that will always be there for me. Yoga has changed my life at a point where it really needed to be changed. I have a long way to go and a lot of things I need to work on, but I have started. 28 days. Five classes a week. It doesn’t end there.

NINER TIMES RECIPE

JALAPeÑo PoPpErS Lee Pham

COMMUNITY@NINERONLINE.COM

Stay warm this month with these easy-to-make poppers. They make great appetizers and are guaranteed to have a kick for spicy food lovers. Best of all they’re quick and convenient and you can grab a few for between classes.

INGREDIENTS: 5 jalapeños 1 tub of Philadelphia cream cheese 10 bacon slices 1 package of shredded cheese (optional) DIRECTIONS: 1. Cut jalapeños in half (top to bottom). 2. Hollow jalapeños using a spoon. Be sure to remove all seeds. 3. Fill each jalapeño trench with sour cream. 4. If desired, sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the sour cream. 5. Wrap each jalapeño with a slice of uncooked bacon. 6. Bake poppers on a nonstick tray at 450 degrees for 8-10 min utes or until bacon is fully cooked.

MCT Campus

Celebrity appearances: overrated? Haley Twist LIFESTYLE@NINERONLINE.COM

Charlotte nightlife is becoming increasingly popular, especially with the large university crowds. College nights are constantly jam-packed at various venues Uptown with students filing in the doors at all hours to dance and socialize. Many Charlotte nightclubs have being playing host to various celebrities, whether it is during or after concerts, or even just for an appearance. Butter nightclub, part of the NC Music Factory, advertised Vinny Guadagnino to be in attendance later this week. The TV personality famed for starring in “Jersey Shore” is scheduled to show up at Butter on Friday, January 13th. With “Jersey Shore” having such a huge university fan base, advertising that one of the most popular cast members is going to be in the university area and at a frequented night club seems like a guarenteed way to reel in even bigger student crowds. But what will the attendees really be getting? The same event took place in early 2011, and while many UNC Charlotte students dressed to impress and waited in a long line to hang out with Guadagnino, they did not realize that they would not be getting what they expected. UNC Charlotte sophomore Bethany McMullen was among the crowds last year to excitedly enter Butter, expecting a thrilling night meeting a celebrity. But what actually came of the evening was much less thrilling than what was hoped for. “When I heard that Vinny was going to be at Butter I thought that he would be engaging the crowds like he is portrayed as doing on ‘Jersey Shore,’ so I immediately expected him to be socializing,” said McMullen. “However, when we arrived at Butter about an hour before he was expected to be there we discovered that they had roped an area off for him to sit with a few lucky VIP ladies.” McMullen was not able to say that she danced, hung out with or even conversed with Guadagnino at all. She described how her night involved being one among a large crowd of people wishing that Guadagnino would interact with them in some way. “When he finally arrived he simply sat in the V.I.P. area and bobbed his head with the music talking to a few people. He never once acknowledged the hoard of people gathered in Butter to get a

glimpse of him,” McMullen explained. So why have an advertised celebrity guest appearance if the person is simply going to be on display? McMullen’s bad experience made her form opinions regarding the reasoning behind it. “I think certain clubs have celebrities make appearances to promote business. It was also ironic that Vinny was making an appearance on College Night when 18+ are allowed into the club. It was definitely a smart business move.”

Celebrity appearances attract university students to clubs on college nights. MCT Campus

To entertain students in university areas, celebrity appearances that are more interactive can prove to be a completely different experience, which can potentially draw more people in to the event. McMullen noted a more pleasant night out in Charlotte last year when Deena Cortese, another cast member of “Jersey Shore,” came to Whisky River in 2011. According to McMullen the TV personality was out on the floor hanging out and dancing with her fans, resulting in a much better experience for the club-goers. With the large amount of different-scale night clubs in and around Charlotte, it is hard to tell what could be expected each time at the occasional celebrity appearances. With this year’s Guadagnino appearance falling on a night other than college night, will the evening’s events be different?

NINERONLINE.COM

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

DOWNTIME 12

13

Thursday

49ers for Life Blood Drive SAC: 9:00 a.m-8:00 p.m.

Help Niner Nation donate more than 1000 units of blood.

14

Friday

11th Annual Charlotte Folk Society Young Talent Showcase

Saturday

Men’s Basketball Halton Arena

Niners take on St. Louis in this year’s fan blackout.

15

16

Sunday

17

Monday

No Class Tomorrow No Class: Take time to catch up

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

after a week of class.

Tuesday

2012 MLK Celebration McKnight Hall: 3:30 p.m.

Join speaker Joseph A. De Laine, Jr. as he speaks about his father, a leader in the South Carolina Civil Right Movement.

Great Aunt Stella Center: 7:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

See the answer to the sudoku puzzle by scanning the code with your smartphone.

The answers:

Get the answers at www.nineronline.com/downtime

Jan 09, 1493 Columbus mistakes manatees for mermaids

Jan 10, 1901 Gusher signals start of U.S. oil industry

Jan 11, 1908

1

9

Theodore Roosevelt makes Grand Canyon a national monument

4

6

Jan 12, 1926

Albert Schweitzer born

3

2

1

5

6

2

7

9 7

4

6 8

7 9

1 4

8

9 4

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6

2

7

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2

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7 9

1

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Pope recognizes Knights Templar

9 4

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Jan 13, 1128

2

7

9

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Original Amos ‘n’ Andy debuts on Chicago radio

Jan 14, 1875

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

SPORTS Midseason Pulse

the Saint Joe’s Hawks on the road with 11 points and five rebounds. If Henry keeps playing the way he has been and keeps improving from week to week, the 49ers should finish in the top half of the conference field.

Shear Boardom

Another player to look at is DeMario Mayfield, while his performance hasn’t been stellar from the charity stripe; he contributes on the boards averaging seven rebounds-per-game. The 49ers as a team are currently ranked fourth in the A-10 in rebounds averaging just over 38 boardsper-game. Charlotte’s kryptonite will be their free throw shooting;. If the 49ers’ want to keep playing come March they need to correct the issue of missing free throws and fast. The 49ers are shooting just under 65 percent from the free-throw line as a team,11th worst in the conference. One thing that has started to come together has been Charlotte’s defense. The 49ers’ did exactly what Major wanted them to do since he took the job last year, play tough gritty defense, limiting a potent hawks offense to just 52 points.

Between the blocks

Pierria Henry currently ranks fifth in the nation in steals averaging nearly three-per-game. Photo by

Chris Crews

Ed NIser SPORTS@NINERONLINE.COM

Conference play began a week ago and there are already some surprises circumventing the A-10, with Charlotte’s win over Saint Joseph’s Saturday. If you asked anyone at the start of the season if LaSalle and Dayton would be at the top of the heap at the conclusiom of opening weekend, they would’ve looked at you if you had seven heads. First we will start with the two biggest surprises of the conference, Fordham and your hometown team, Charlotte. The Rams picked up a big out of conference win for the A-10 when they defeated Harvard inside Rose Hill Gymnasium, 6054 on Jan. 3. Since the upset over No. 21 ranked Crimson, Fordham’s flame has went dim, as they fell to 0-2 to begin conference play with losses to UMass and Xavier by a combined margin of 12 points. Placing added emphasis that the conference is as wide open as a field in Pennsylvania Dutch country. Fordham is part of the equation why the A-10 conference now has nine schools sitting in the Top 100 in RPI, with Charlotte sitting at 82nd despite losses to Memphis, Arkansas, Miami, Lamar and East Tennessee State. Temple’s upset of then No.2 Duke vastly improved the conference RPI, which brings up the question that arises every season

around this time, is the A-10 really a midmajor conference?

Wiser than his years

Before the season began a lot of 49er fans were left to ponder who would get the start at the point guard season with Major’s new found commodity in his second year... depth. Major decided to put the ball into the hands of true freshman point guard Pierria Henry. The WVa. native has done nothing but get better as the season progressed, ranking fifth in the NCAA in steals averaging nearly three swipes per game. At the start of the season it was evident that this kid had a lot of promise, the main problem with Henry’s game to begin the year was his lack of control driving into the paint. We’re now at the midway point and he has corrected that issue and appears to have improved his strength as the season marches on. Henry is a player with a plethora of heart and sheer grit, many believe that the sky is the limit for him. Henry is also receiving a lot of media attention for his stellar play, with a lot of writers tossing around the possibility of Henry being the early favorite for this year’s A-10 Rookie of the Year and with the way he has played lately, it may become a reality. In his last outing prior to this publication Henry was the leading scorer against

Let’s now move on to the 49ers, as Norm the Niner bulked up so did the 49ers, they are starting to get stronger inside play from Center Chris Braswell who currently leads Charlotte in points-per game averaging 13.5. Braswell has used his fair share of glass cleaner, pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game on average. His post moves have vastly improved, he still needs to go up a bit stronger, but the Baltimore native, has undoubtedly improved as the season has marched on. Others in the sports writer community have given Braswell a mention in the running for A-10 Player of the Year honors for his dominant performance inside for the 49ers. Last year Braswell fell victim to a lot of criticism from the 49er fan base and journalist for his lack of strength going to the cup, while he is undersized when it comes to weight compared to other players at his position, he possesses the ability to draw contact. Charlotte’s next conference date is with a Saint Louis Bilikens team who cracked the Top 25 to begin the season, but has recently fell out but still prove to be a formidable test for the 49ers.

NINERTIMES

SPORTS SCHEDULE

Saturday Men’s Basketball vs. St. Louis 2 p.m. Women’s Basketball @ George Washingon 2 p.m. Track & Field @ Virginia Tech Invitational Friday & Saturday

Sunday Men’s Tennis @ Wake Forest TBA

SPORTS RESULTS Men’s Basketball

WIN

@ St. Joseph’s

57-52

Women’s Basketball

WIN

@ Xavier

58-54 SPORTS FACTS Men’s Basketball vs. St. Louis all time in home contests are 10-2. 11-13 overall.

Tuesday’s Trivia Answer:

Chris Braswell leads the 49ers in scoring averaging 13.5 points-per-game. Photo by Chris Crews

Current 49ers’ men’s soccer coach Kevin Langan played for Bristol City FC from 1997-1999 as a defender.

NINERONLINE.COM

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012

NINERTIMES