April 5, 2016 Vol. 52 No. 26 by Pacer Times

University of South Carolina Aiken

Apr.05.2016

Vol. 52| No. 26

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INDEX. SGA Results

see pg. 2

wareness

Project Alpha

see pg. 3

Red Carnation Pageant

see pg. 4

Ending Notes

see pg. 5

pg. 3

TUES

65 38 WED

68 55

pg. 5

THURS

70 48 FRI

68 38

Shuck &

SAT

62 38 65 48

SUN

pg.

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Pacer Times Editor-in-Chief Thomas Gardiner Copy Editor Caitlin Butler

School of Business: Shane LaDonne

Vice President: Spencer LaMunion

School of Nursing: Carissa Adgerson

Secretary: Ariel Alston

News Editor Lizzie Abshire

Campus Relations: Hunter Bailey

Arts and Entertainment Editor Amanda Askins Staff Writers Angelika Davis Josh Recor Mikaela Ransom Cartoonist Rhett Barnard Business Manager Timothy Boerste Events Coordinator Jamacia Jimerson Adviser Peggy Elliott

ABOUT PACER TIMES Pacer Times is a weekly publication of the University of South Carolina Aiken. The opinions stated in this paper are those of Pacer Times and in no way reflect those of USCA. The student newspaper is distributed free on campus, one copy per student. To purchase an advertisement, parties must contact the advertising manager at (803) 641-3517 or by email to pacertimes@usca.edu. Advertisements are subject to rejection by the staff.

Pacer Times is a member of the Associated Collegiate Press and South Carolina Press associations.

About our cover Design by Brooke Clark Photos by Thomas Gardiner and Lizzie Abshire

President: ShaQuanda Ross-Simmons

Creative Director Brooke Clark

Opinions Editor James Paisley

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Student Government Association Results

Treasurer: Michaela Howard

Sports Editor Jordan Phillips

news

2 | April 5, 2016

College of Humanities: Rhett Bernard College of Sciences and Engineering: London Vickers Brandon Eberl

Community Service: Tabitha Mathis Commuter: Kendall Haley Historian: Fatima Watson Marketing: Cassie Torres

Image: USCA Marketing.

Parliamentarian: Ana Carbajal-Martinez

School of Education: Tenesha Hare

Congratulations to all winners of the Student Government Association 2016 elections! -Amanda Askins

Ross-Simmons new president

tudent Government Association held their annual elections this past week, with many prominent positions up for grabs.

showed that the student body had faith she would do her job well. “I think it shows that the student body trusts me and

“Students should feel welcome at any time. I want them to love this campus as much as I do.” -ShaQuanda Ross-Simmons The Presidential election was perhaps the one most focused on. The three candidates running for President were ShaQuanda Ross-Simmons, Jeremy Jones and Alex Oliver. The three faced off in a presidential debate before students were given two days to vote for their preferred candidate. Results were released Wednesday night, declaring Ross-Simmons the winner with more than 40% of the vote. “I honestly was shocked and stunned,” Ross-Simmons said of her victory. “When I first got the news, I kind of froze and my heart dropped.” The fact that she received a substantial amount of the vote, Ross-Simmons said,

thinks I’m the best fit for the job,” said Ross-Simmons. About her opponents, ShaQuanda had nothing but gratitude for the campaigns they ran, thanking them for “a great campaing,” and “for being humble candidates.” This election proved to be historical for the campus as well, since Ross-Simmons will be the first AfricanAmerica woman president for USCA. “It means a tremendous amount to me, but I want everyone to see I’m just like everyone else,” she said. The platform that made her successful in this election was one of building studentcommunity relations. “Students should feel welcome at any time. I want

ShaQuanda Ross-Simmons wins SGA’s 2016 presidency. Ross-Simmons ran against Jeremy Jones and Alex Oliver. them to love this campus as much as I do,” Ross-Simmons said of her platform. The road to victory was not without its challenges, however. Ross-Simmons said that perhaps her biggest challenge was student outreach. “Many students didn’t know who I was, which made it difficult to reach out to every student,” said ShaQunada. Student outreach is a

constant problem for many candidates running for SGA positions, even for the incumbent senators running for re-election. Ross-Simmons will be replacing SGA President Ryan Rafanan starting in the fall semester. Of her presidency, she says that she hopes students will remember her as “humble, hardworking, and a friend.” -Amanda Askins

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news

April 5, 2016 3

THE TRUTH Every Day

women Are Sexually

((that only accounts for cases reported to Law enforcement))

1 in 3 Teens are affected By ,

ARE only http://www.ywcaww.org/saam-infographic/

Project Alpha gives young men advice and direction Young men from the area will have a chance to talk “man-toman” about issues related to sexuality April 16. The program is called Project Alpha and is sponsored by the Omicron Tau Lambda and Sigma Tau Lambda chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. The conference is part of a national effort designed to help young men make better and more informed choices about their sexual behavior. “The men of Alpha Phi Alpha are committed to helping the next generation of young brothers live healthy, productive and smart lives,” said local Chapter President Marvin Morrison. “Project Alpha is just one way that we can continue to change our communities for the better, from the inside out,” USC Aiken Chapter President Antonio Furtick. The workshops focus on young men between the ages of 10 and 18. According to a statement

from the organization, this is a unique mentoring program that offers African-American men as positive role models for the next generation. The fraternity puts the conference together in association with the March of Dimes. Topics for the event include abstinence, consequences of early sexual activity, peer pressure, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, and being a responsible father. The organization said their three goals for the program are to combat ignorance with factual information, provide young men with the motivation needed to make positive changes in sexual behavior, and providing skills to create a sense of empowerment and selfesteem. Young men between 10 and 18 years of age can attend free of charge but must preregister at (803) 643-1268 or projectalphaaiken@gmail.com

Crossword puzzle ‘time’

Across 1. Twelve days of this make a 23 down 4. Seven days 7. A fruit pressed for its oil 8. A straight line of objects 9. Say 11. Part of a circle 13. Opposite of 27 across 15. Make a mistake 18. Opposite of yes 19. Middle part of the day 22. The day after yesterday 24. Sixty of this make 3 down 27. Opposite of 13 across 29. Correlative of neither 30. The number of 3 down in a day

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news

4 | April 5, 2016

Students spotted around campus during Shuck and Shag week

JC’s Seafood, located in Aiken, provided fresh seafood for Alexx Ravenelo, Damion Parrialla, the lowcountry boil. JC’s Seafood has provided food each and Shekinah Hampton compete for year for the Shuck and Shag. who can eat the most oysters.

Mo Johnson, Lond Wilson, Deshannon James and Tierra Segars take a study break and enjoy the lowcountry boil Wednesday evening outside the SAC.

Students helped hand out food for the Shuck and Shag. Trays were constantly re-filled due to the huge amount of students who came to the event.

USCA students from a choir on campus called the “Voices of Praise” kicked things off for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry Thursday night.

Students enjoy the event as they chow down on oysters straight from the cooker.

Photos by Lizzie Abshire

Tau Kappa Epsilon spreads the magic during pageant

ontinuing the celebration of TKE week, on March 31 the annual Red Carnation Pageant was held in the B&E gym. “TKE Week is an event week in which all three NPC sororities compete in daily events to win the title of TKE Week Champion, all while raising money for St. Jude’s Children’s hospital,” said Ellis Reeves, senior English major. Reeves is the current vice president for the Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter here on campus. Many events have been held over the week in commemoration of this Greek fraternity founded in 1899. The pageant was one of those activities. Ladies from Zeta Tau Alpha, Phi Mu, and Alpha Omicron Pi competed in the friendly competition to see who would be crowned Ms. Red Carnation. Reeves said, “This event for me means building stronger ties with all sororities on campus and it is important because it helps to promote Greek unity” “A great deal of coordination and planning has gone into all the events this week but the pageant

Angelika Davis Julia Vu was crowned Ms. Red Carnation. Angela Holland won first runner-up, and Ashley Matlock received second runner-up during TKE’s pageant. required more effort than one might think,” said Reeves. “We all had to put in a lot of effort for this event. Some guys arrived five hours before the event to set up. We also had to distribute and collect applications, create a script, create playlists and create score cards. It takes a lot of work to plan a pageant,” said Reeves.

Rhett Barnard provided intermission entertainment and Ellis Reeves was the MC. Participants were showcased in three different categories including casual wear, a creative round themed around Harry Potter and formal wear with a round of questioning. The ladies were judged on poise, grace, style and their

responses to the questions. There to make the decision of choosing between the ladies were Associate Director of Student Life Angel Miano, Police Chief Kevin Liles and Chancellor Sandra Jordan. At the end of the night only one girl could be crowned Ms. Red Carnation. Escorted by Cullen Hightower, Julia Vu,

junior biology major, walked away in victory. “It means a lot to me. We’re celebrating Greek Unity here and I’m so honored to be able to participate in all these events,” said Vu. This was not her fist walk down the stage. She has participated in several other pageants before. Vu has been a proud member of AOII since her sophomore year. “It was the best decision of my life,” stated Vu. Making an appearance since her winning of the presidential election was ShaQuanda RossSimmons, who crowned the victor and the runner ups. Ashley Matlock, escorted by Aaron Scicchitano, won second runner up. Angela Holland, escorted by Samuel Flippen, won first runner up. -Angelika Davis

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Arts and Entertainment

April 5, 2016

DJ Dollamenu gains recognition on the internet

SCA’s own TJ Wright will soon be performing in Aiken. Wright, performing under the stage name “DJ Dollamenu” has been gaining a lot of notoriety as of late. After releasing his first solo song, “New Phone, Who Dis,” a month ago, his SoundCloud blew up, receiving over 8,000 plays. Wright began rapping and performing live a little over a year ago. According to Wright, he was just “freestyling and joking around in the car” when one of his friends encouraged him to actually sit down and start making music. However, when this opportunity first presented itself, Wright was reluctant and said no, that he was “not going to fall into that cliché and become a rapper.”

Eventually, Wright was persuaded to give it a try, and from there things began to take off for him. According to Wright, “at first I didn’t really take it seriously, it was just something fun to do. Then I started realizing I was getting paid to do it.” In the year since he started rapping, Wright has played multiple gigs across the state gigs which include a rally for Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and a live performance on Clemson’s college radio station, WSBF. According to Wright, after such a promising start this is only just the beginning. He just released a new song last week titled “Aaron Carter,” and he is working on another solo project called “I can’t drive,” which he intends to release in the near future

Ending Notes A staff playlist to get through the end of the semester Professor Peggy Elliot Sarah Groves “Tell Me What You Know”

Mikaela Ransom Kanye West “Stronger”

Thomas Gardiner Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats “S.O.B.”

Josh Recor The Exies “God We Look Good (Going Down in Flames)”

Caitlin Butler Random Forest “First to Wake”

Angelika Davis Bon Jovi “Livin’ On A Prayer”

Brooke Clark Modest Mouse “Float On”

Lizzie Abshire Jack Johnson “Banana Pancakes”

Jamacia Jimerson Chaka Khan “Ain’t Nobody”

Kelsie Blocker Beyonce “Formation”

Amanda Askins Queen “Don’t Stop Me Now”

Jordan Philips City and Colour “Coming Home”

James Paisley Daoko “Girl”

Meredith Hawcroft Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places”

on his SoundCloud, as well as on cassette tape, because the idea seems funny to him. In regards to where he gets his inspiration, Wright said that he “likes music that makes him feel happy,” and that he wants to reflect that in what he makes. Also according to Wright, the goal for his project is “for every song to be something you can play at a party or in the car with your friends.” On April 22, Wright will be performing with another local rapper, TJ Wright Samson, at 504 Gregg TJ Wright, 21 year-old Communication major, is the face Avenue in Aiken. of DJ Dollamenu on Soundcloud The show is being presented by USCA’s Broken Ink and a local group of musicians known Interested in arts and entertainment? Love pop culture? Join as “Bad Internet” at 10 Pacer Times on Tuesdays at 5:15 in the Student Media office. p.m. Tickets cost $5 at the door. -Josh Recor

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Sports

6 | April 5, 2016

Pacer Times Player Spotlight

Montei Sarah T his year’s Pacer softball team has been a force to be reckoned with. They’ve already beaten last season’s win total of 22, holding a record of 23-11, and with twelve games remaining, they’ll be looking to blow it out of the water. Leading the charge this season has been senior CF Sarah Montei. Montei has slashed for a .376 AVG, the highest on the team. She also has the highest OBP on the team with a .427, and trails only 3B Samantha Chubb for highest SLG, with a .560. Montei has been much more successful this

season than in her junior campaign. She attributes this success to her move to the lead-off spot. “My job in the past has been to sacrifice and move runners over,” she said. “This year my job has been to get on base. I’ve also focused on hitting to the opposite field more.” In her final season, Montei has been working with her fellow seniors to lead the younger players and bring out their best. “We have eight freshman this year, so I think it has been a challenge for the senior class as a whole and lead by example to the

younger players.” she said. “We have a good balance between us seniors and we have worked well with the underclassmen.” The team is currently fourth in the PBC which puts them in position to make the conference tournament. Montei has this in her sights as her final year draws to a close. “I’d really like to win the conference tournament, make regionals, and then go to the NCAA tournament again.” This dream is very real for Montei and the Pacers, and the last few games of the season are sure to be exciting for all.

This week in sports: The Pacer Scoreboard Baseball USC Aiken

8 USC Aiken

Softball Albany State

Augusta University

USC Aiken

UNC Pembroke

USC Aiken

Women’s Tennis

Men’s Tennis Belmont Abbey

Columbus State

USC Aiken

Belmont Abbey

USC Aiken

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Sports

April 5, 2016

New year means new faces on court I

t’s always a sad time of the year when we have to see our basketball season come to another end. Week after week, it’s enjoyable for so many of us to go watch our Pacers and support them. With this past season behind us, it makes all of us excited for a new year to come. It’s always interesting to see what the new season brings and what’s in store for our team. Head coach Mark Vanderslice is very excited about next season. “Oh yeah, next season is gonna be great,” he said. “We’re really excited, always excited to have more chances at a championship and to play good teams. We’re even really happy about the new faces coming in, a lot of exciting changes coming.” With a record of 6-20 for the 2015-2016 season, this may not have been their best year. It was still one for all of us to experience and remember. The team gave us an amazing year with some really great games to keep us on our toes the whole time, just like any good basketball team does. They gave us an amazing homecoming game when everyone came together to

Pacer Times would like to thank Ahmed Samaha, Julie Wise and Jeff Wallace for their support. Pacer Times is an independent, student run publication. None of our successes or failures would be possible without the guidance from the Media Advisory Board.

2015-2016 Men’s basketball team

watch the men play their hearts out against Lander University, or the home game against Augusta University where they played so spectacularly and went into overtime playing hard as they could. Of course, like in any sport or on any team, there are times when you wish you had won more, or wish you could change some things. When asked what he would change about this past season, Vanderslice said,

PacerSports.com

“Well of course, we’d want more wins, a lot more W’s but we had some losses and that’s okay, we just learn from them and get ready for the next year.” This year in particular was a very emotional and bittersweet year for the players and their fans. At the end of this school year, five of our basketball players are graduating and others are moving on to other things. With Keith Belfield, Arbry Butler, Hendrix Emu, Jordan

Foster and Tavares Sledge leaving the team there are more places to be filled, and there will be a whole lot of new faces. Head basketball coach Mark Vanderslice said, “When you have as many players leaving as we do it’s a sad thing to see them go.” However, that leaves room for brand new faces and new talent. “There’s definitely some new guys coming in, a whole lot. When you have

5 seniors who are averaging at 33 minutes per game, you have to replace them and find the next group that can step up. We have the seniors graduating, and then some guys deciding to take their talents elsewhere, and that’s okay, so we bring in new talent.” Of course these guys will be greatly missed by their fans, and will always be Pacers, even if we’re excited to see new players. -Mikaela Ransom

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Editorials

April 5, 2016

Stress relief through horizontal dance

t’s the time of the semester when stress can really do a number on a student. Exams and assignments cause stress, stress eats away at sleep and lack of sleep causes stress; it’s a vicious cycle. However, there are many ways for someone to combat stress. Things like meditation, spending time with friends and family and exercise are often cited as stress relievers. Ah, but there’s a toptier de-stressor missing from the list… sex. First of all, sex counts as exercise. According to multiple studies, men and women burn different amounts of calories during coitus. In the average session, which lasts about 25 minutes from foreplay to end game, women burn about 70 calories and men about 100. It’s not as much as a trip to the

gym, but it’s a little more fun than your typical workout of the day. Studies also show sex is good for your blood pressure. Most college-aged students aren’t worried about their blood pressure, but every little bit helps, right? Along with heart health, sex also serves as an immunity booster. Apparently college students who have sex once or twice a week have higher levels of antibodies than students who had sex less. It’s also good for self-esteem. Feeling close to your partner improves your self-image and can boost overall happiness. During orgasm, the chemical oxytocin is released. That’s the magical chemical that brings about feelings of intimacy and connectedness. Another chemical released is called

Life in Windsor by Rhett Barnard

prolactin, which is responsible for sleepiness and relaxation. That relaxed, sex-coma feeling will help you get to sleep, which we already know is connected to how well a person handles stress. So, as the semester binds your minds with assignments, grades, and maybe even graduation, do something about your stress. Get some exercise, get better sleep, and improve your immunity with a little sex. You might even find an interesting new use for that Fitbit. **Editor’s note: Please practice safe sex. Children and STDs make college more difficult. -Thomas Gardiner Thomas is the author of the weekly sex and life column

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