The Patriot - November 24, 2014

the struggle is real

boosting poor midterm grades

Issue 6 | November 24, 2014

A letter from the editor

November 24, 2014

Dear readers of The Patriot,

The best part of November (aside from my birthday) is upon us.

Yes, Thanksgiving. It’s that magical time of year when we Americans can shovel heaping loads of food down our gullets with almost no judgment whatsoever.

We can eat a turkey leg big enough to be reminiscent of something Fred Flintstone ate in the Stone Age. We can swim around in a vault brimming with mashed potatoes; much like Scrooge McDuck did with his gold coins. Heck, if we so choose, we can even eat enough pizza to shame the Ninja Turtles.

(Does anyone actually eat pizza at Thanksgiving? If so, you’re definitely winning.)

Come to think of it, calling Thanksgiving “magical” is somewhat of an understatement. Is there a word that means more than magical? I’ll get back to you on that.

While Thanksgiving is undoubtedly a favorite for many Americans, the real account of its origin is quite muddled. In school, we were taught about how the European Pilgrims sailed to America, where they landed in Plymouth. We were taught that the natives happily welcomed them with a giant feast of maize, various fowl and other delightful foodstuffs. The two vastly different groups shared a meal and communion with one another, setting the perfect scene of peace and tolerance. Yet, this fable is only a little over 150 years old—far younger than the actual occurrence.

It wasn’t even considered a holiday until 1863. Plus, the Pilgrims didn’t even continue the tradition beyond

that initial occasion.

You see, the story we were told in school is far easier to digest than the truth. Plus—to a degree—it teaches children to be accepting of those who are different, which is always a good lesson to learn. But for many of the natives of America, acceptance came at a price: their land, their livelihood and, in most cases, their lives. And that’s just the basic, oversimplified version. The brutality and sheer disregard for human life practiced by the early settlers is absolutely appalling. Using these two groups as a metaphor for goodwill toward men couldn’t be a bigger fault in logic.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not being a curmudgeon. Aside from the fallacy fed to us in grade school, the atrocities of our ancestors and Black Friday (don’t even get me started), Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday (refer to the paragraphs about food).

Seriously. November seems to be the only time I see any sort of acknowledgment from anyone that they actually care about anything in their life. Though, it wouldn’t hurt to try being thankful a little more often.

My larger point, however, is that before you sit down to eat yourself into a light coma, take a moment to reflect on what this holiday really is and be aware of its roots.

On behalf of myself and everyone else at The Patriot, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely, Timothy Wyatt Editor-in-Chief

@UCThePatriot

/patriotnewspaper

UCTHEPATRIOT

(606-539-4172 *thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu - 7609 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Ky 40769

C O N T E N T S

5

Climbing out of the grade rut

6

International student profile: Bernice Uwase

7

Operation Christmas Child

10

Once upon a Netflix binging

The Patriot is the biweekly student publication of the University of the Cumberlands. Our goal is to provide timely and original content by highlighting campus news and views.

Award-winning member of the Kentucky Press Association.

Editor-in-Chief

Timothy Wyatt Managing Editor

Natasha Jones Photo Editor

Jillian Carpenter

Staff Writers

Tylar Baker Trenton Canada Autumn Cooney Lydia Jay Shyann Norris Ashton Rector Christin Rottenberger Myria h Snyder

Staff Photographers

Jay Sanksa kulchai Faculty Advisor

Jeremiah Massenga le Editorial Review Board

Lisa Bartram Marianne Worthington

A farewell to Dr. Broome Dr. Broome announces retirement

BY TR ENTON CANA DA Staff Writer

News

The month of September 2014 marked the end of an era as Dr. John Broome announced his retirement after serving 48 years at the University of the Cumberlands. Dr. Broome, who began teaching in the university’s history department in 1966, has made this decision to retire for the second time now. He had already done so in 1999 but only from full-time teaching. He never left the university, and even with this retirement, he will still retain an office on campus.

“I don’t have any hobbies,” Dr. Broome said. “My work has always been my hobby.

I’m what you might call a workaholic. I have to be doing something.” Dr. Broome went on to say, “This college has been my life.”

This is certainly true considering all that he has taken on in his time spent at UC. Dr. Broome has served as the director of aca-

demic advising and on the College Acceptance and Scholarship Committee, among many other positions.

Dr. Jim Taylor, president of the University of the Cumberlands, said, “Dr. Broome has been an invaluable assistant in history courses. He has always been loved and respected. The good will continue long after we’re gone.”

As a history professor, more than 7,000 students have passed through Dr. Broome’s classroom.

“I just think a study of history is something that everybody needs to know. The more you know, the more you can understand. I don’t want to make any apologies for being a good historian,” Dr. Broome said.

And he doesn’t make any apologies for his time spent at UC either. In 2006, he ad-

dressed students by stating, “Be abnormal.

Be special. Be someone who wants to make a positive difference.” This remains to be Dr. Broome’s advice.

He offers another piece of advice by saying, “Don’t look back. As a historian, we have to look back, but never regret. If you can get to the end of the trail and have one-tenth of the satisfaction I have, you’ll be doing okay.”

We offer our congratulations to Dr. Broome and thank him for his time and efforts spent at UC. It is most likely unknown to what depths he has impacted this campus and the students of the university. For that, we wish him well and celebrate his lasting legacy.

3 News

Photo provided by Multimedia & Athletic Ser vices

From midterm failure to final success

Photo by Jillian Carpenter

BY MYR I AH SN YDER

4 Features

Staff Writer

Failure – it’s a thing that happens, right? Midterms are over. I am sure we are not all totally proud of those grades. The intimidating thing is there are just a few weeks left in this semester.

So, you failed a midterm… or two. And maybe your grades since then aren’t looking so hot either. The question is, is the world ending?

The answer to that is a resounding NO! What are you going to do about your failure… setback… whatever you want to call it? Is there a chance for redemption? Here are some other failures.

Outside Gatliff and the Bennett Building is a statue of a man. The name – President Abraham Lincoln. Obviously, he was great. He essentially held a nation together in a time when it may have easily fallen apart. I don’t think that I need to list his other accomplishments.

But before he was a success, well, he was kind of a failure too.

In 1832, he lost his job and was defeated in his run for the state legislature. He had a nervous breakdown in 1836. He was defeated for Speaker and for his nomination to Congress. This failure became somewhat of a pattern.

However, in 1860, everything changed, and he was elected the 16th president of the United States.

Then there’s Thomas Edison. The light bulbs that illuminate the building that you are sitting in can be attributed to him. Also the camera that filmed your favorite movie exists in part because of him.

Nevertheless, he was not an instant success.

Actually his teachers said that he was too stupid to learn anything. I’m going to go with they were

wrong.

Oh, and Oprah. She’s so important I don’t have to use her last name. But she was not an automatic success either.

She was fired from her first television anchor job. Now according to Forbes, she is worth $2.9 billion.

Other famous failures include Walt Disney, the founder of Macy’s, the founder of KFC, Isaac Newton, Vera Wang and Dr. Seuss.

These people stand to show us that failure is defining. Had they given up, our lives would more than likely be much different.

But maybe their stories are too distant to encourage us. Perhaps the idea that we are failing at midterm is too overwhelming. Maybe these failures turned into successes will strike a little closer to home.

With a .69 G.P.A at the end of his first semester of college, Dr. Chuck Smith, now a professor of history at UC, was obviously not off to the best start. “I went to class when it was absolutely necessary, that is to say if I happened to be awake. I buckled down and by the end of the year I had knocked it up to a .92,” Smith said.

He continued, “It took me awhile to realize that what I had been doing in high school wasn’t going to cut it in college.”

“But by the time I left Samford University my last couple of semesters there, I made the Dean’s list each time and then when on through to different degrees in graduate school and then published on four continents as a result.” Today he uses this experience to encourage his students.

“I always encourage students that it never

hurts to ask,” Mirissa Cumpston, UC’s dean of student employment, said.

“My senior year of college I was in a class required for my major I was having some personal issues going on and I had missed all of the assignments for this one class,” Cumpston continued.

She calculated that without turning in those assignments, she would not pass the class.

“I went and talked to the professor, and she let me turn in the assignments. She didn’t count any late points for the assignments which is the only way that I salvaged my grade for the semester,” Cumpston said.

“That time in my life I really needed that grace and I got it and it was awesome,” she concluded.

Even those students that don’t really struggle will have those times when things don’t go right.

There is still redemption.

Professor of English Dr. Jolly Sharp, after being a “straight A” student through her entire academic career, failed a comp class while getting her Ph.D. “That was devastating because I had always been a good student. But that took away some self esteem -- took away some self confidence at first.”

However, she learned a valuable lesson through that. “I went back and figured out what they wanted and that’s what you have to do. If you fail a course, figure out what the professor wants, what the professor requires and go again,” Sharp said.

So keep your head up. This semester is not over. Start studying harder. Do your best. You can still succeed at this whole school thing.

5 Features

BY JILLI A N CA R PENTER Photo Editor

We always start the beginning of the semester out strong. We use flawless time management skills, perfect study techniques and get grades that would grace any parent's refrigerator door.

But, as the semester progresses, so do the problems. Suddenly, the three discussion posts you had due per week turn into two papers, a presentation and a test due all on the same day! Suddenly, with A's turning into C's and sleep getting less and less accessible, we find ourselves in a dreaded grade rut. At this rate, we can kiss that wonderful GPA goodbye, right? Maybe not. You started the semester out perfectly, who's to say a couple of bad grades will keep you from ending the semester on a good note, too? You may be in a grade rut, but you don't have to stay there!

The first, and probably the most important, thing you should do to pull yourself out of a grade rut is get plenty of sleep. I know, having several papers due and tests in the same week makes it seem like you can't schedule sleep in until right after finals week, but your brain will thank you for it. Part of the reason that grades go down during this time in the semester is because students aren’t getting enough sleep, so they can't function at the mental level that they were in August and September. You can't expect yourself to be able to finish first in a race if you run non-stop for a

month; so how can you expect your brain to remember four chapters worth of material without giving it the break it needs? Not only do you need a sufficient amount of sleep, you need it on a regular basis. Fitting in five hours at night with a three-hour nap during the day does equal eight hours, but it doesn't work as well as going to bed at the same time each night and getting up at the same time each morning. Getting your body used to the routine helps your brain function even more.

Sometimes, we fall in a grade rut because we simply don't want to study anymore. It's been three months, and studying every week is simply exhausting! Reading the chapters and writing reading notes takes several hours, and while it did get you an A, it's just so boring and tiring, right?

So, you skim the chapters instead, and then wonder how you got a C (or worse). It's important to find ways to convince yourself to keep up the great study work. Try rewarding yourself for studying well. If you get an A on your next test, reward yourself by going to Dairy Queen or getting something you've been wanting for a while.

Keep in mind that you know how you best study, and being tired of studying doesn't change that your time consuming method is exactly what will get you that A.

You may not always know that you're falling into a grade rut. If your professor only gives grades out online, and you never check the online grades, how are you supposed to know how you're doing in the class? It may be unnerving to check those grades, but if you don't, you won't know if you can relax a little or if you need to step up your game. In general, it's best to stay in contact with your professors and instructors.

They will talk with you about your grades, and they would be more than happy to give you advice if you're feeling overwhelmed with all the assignments you have. Your instructors often don't realize that they paper they have assigned in their class is due the same day that you have another paper due. If you let them know, sometimes they will help you out by giving you advice, helping you plan out your paper and sometimes giving you a day or two extra. A day or two extra doesn't sound like much, but it not only gives you more time, but it relieves some of the stress that was probably keeping you from doing your best anyway.

In the most stressful time of the year, it can be easy to just accept that you're going to finish out the semester with C's across the board. But, it's not too late. You can pull yourself out of your grade rut without a problem.

BY JENNIFER MA RSH Associate Professor of Spanish

International student profile: Bernice Uwase

BY MYRI A H SNYDER

6 Features

Staff Writer

Her home is across the globe in the capital city of Rwanda. But she lives in Williamsburg, Kentucky now. The reason why? To study at the University of the Cumberlands to become a civil engineer.

Aimee Bernice Uwase, or just Bernice as she is known around campus, was born and raised in Kigali city. She is the oldest of six siblings, so she is the first to leave home for her education.

She said that her parents want her to be successful and as a result they have to miss her.

“I know that I could be one [a civil engineer] in Africa, but I believe that I can get enough skills here that I could be able to maybe take them back to Africa and help my fellows in Africa, do something for my country,” Uwase shared.

Uwase has been in America for 10 months now. She finished her high school education at a Christian high school in Utah before coming to Cumberlands.

In fact, her choice to attend a Christian high school and university are not a coincidence.

“As a Christian who was coming from Africa, I was kind of scared of the society I was going to. I just wanted to keep up with my belief. I grew up going to church, so I wanted to go to a school that is Christian,” Uwase said.

She didn’t come all this way alone though. Her friend, Marie Consolatrice, grew up with her in Rwanda as neighbors.

They attended the same high school in Utah together and coming to Cumberlands has only made their friendship closer.

“We work through everything together.

We’ve become more than best friends, we’ve become like sisters you know. It’s such a good thing,” Consolatrice said.

“When we came here we didn’t know anyone, and being the only students from Rwanda in this school was also hard. We helped each other to know more about the school, and we have found friends together,” she added.

One of these new friends include Uwase’s roommate, Emmalee Anderson.

“It’s really interesting,” Anderson said of living with Uwase.

“You get to learn about a whole new culture, but you’re learning it firsthand. It’s totally different than what could be researched about Africa on the Internet, because I’ve learned a lot about Africa that I never really knew from living with her and having talks with her. It’s really awesome,” Anderson continued.

Uwase’s favorite part about being in America is the opportunities afforded here.

“It’s not like you just come here to study.

You can come here and do some things that affect your fellows positively.” However, her opinion of the food wasn’t quite as positive.

Her key to surviving school, for international students and American students alike is this: “You have to be responsible.

It’s when you realize that nobody is there for you to tell you what to do you become responsible and take your own serious measures that will lead you to where you want to go.”

After completing her education, Uwase wants to return to her home country and put her civil engineering degree to use there.

7 Features

Operation Christmas Child UC Marching Band assists children in need

Photo by Carter Hoffman

BY CHRISTIN ROTTENBERGER Staff Writer

Every child dreams of waking up on Christmas morning with presents from Santa under the tree just for them. Many people don’t typically give thought to those who receive very little (or even nothing at all) on Christmas. That’s one reason why the Christian organization Samaritan’s Purse decided to take action and help those in need.

“Operation Christmas Child” was started by Samaritan’s Purse in 1993. This drive was created to give children in need all over the world hygiene items, school supplies and toys while also sharing with them the love of Christ. Each year the program has National Collection Week, which runs from Nov. 17 until Nov. 24 this year, when Samaritan’s Purse collects all of the shoeboxes from over 4,000 dropoff sites in the United States as well as Puerto Rico.

Carter Hoffman, a junior at University of the Cumberlands, heard about this service and wanted to jump in and help the cause.

Many students from the UC marching band helped Hoffman pack 32

shoeboxes over the course of two weeks and delivered them to New Haven Baptist Church of Oneida in Tennessee, which is Carter’s home church. Each box contained a plush toy, a harmonica, a toothbrush, toothpaste, crayons, coloring pages, a brush or a comb, and a letter to the recipient describing where the sender is from and what their favorite things are.

When everything was said and done, each student involved had nothing but positive statements. “I’m so thankful to have these wonderful people in my life” says Hoffman about the students who helped him.

Kelsee Barnett, a freshman at UC who was a part of Operation Christmas Child, says, “It was such a privilege to be invited to take part in delivering the boxes. I had a good time!”

If you want to help make a difference in the lives of children across the world, visit samaritanspurse.org

One and Only or One in Many

BY SHYA NN NOR R IS

8 Faith & Ministry

Staff Writer

Day to day life can be hectic, it can be busy and it most certainly can be stressful. When life gets to this point, where do you go for help? Who do you find comfort in? What materialistic items do you turn to? These are all questions that we may ask ourselves to get a better idea of where Jesus is in our lives.

Look at it like this. Imagine your boyfriend or girlfriend or even husband or wife told you that they would be committed to you 100 percent and love you so much but they also wanted to be able to see other people.

Now put your relationship with Jesus into this scenario. Do you love Him and say you are committed to Him completely but are still turning to other things for what you can only find in Him? This brings us to the question, is Jesus your One and only or One of many? Allowing Jesus to be your One and only requires your whole heart. It takes time and being a committed follower of Jesus Christ every day.

Jesus may be considered your One of many if you turn to things besides Him. Do you get as excited for Jesus and His blessings on your life as you do for your favorite sports teams or favorite band? I know many of us are guilty of getting caught up in worldly things, but Jesus is worthy of having our full time discipleship and not just being a part-time “fan” on Sundays.

Hardships and trials don’t always bring out who we truly are. We are more likely to rely on earthly pleasures and materialistic things than to run to God whole-heartedly for everything we could possibly need.

Philippians 4:6 (KJV) says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” This is God’s way of telling us that if we make known our needs and be in prayer with Him, He will supply.

According to Matthew 16:24 (KJV), “Then Jesus said unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Jesus wants all of us and wants us to come to Him for our every need. He deserves all we are capable of giving to Him. He states that we are to deny ourselves and remember that it isn’t about us but about Him. Jesus doesn’t want to share our hearts with things of this world. He wants all we have to be devoted to Him. Are you willing to sacrifice everything to follow Jesus and make Him your One and only? Is Jesus such a vital part to your life that if you lost everything it would be worth it because you would still have Him? I challenge us all today to make Jesus the One and only in our lives and not One of many.

BY LYDI A JAY Staff Writer

Have you ever found yourself bombarded with a heap of problems all at once? Has it seemed as though no matter how hard you try to make your situation better it just seems to become worse? Has it taken you to a point where you are just at a loss as to how to turn things around in your favor, and you don’t know who to trust or where to turn to?

I believe it is safe to say that we’ve all been there. However, we all deal and react to these situations differently. When these trials and tribulations occur in our lives we tend to deal, and react in one or two ways. We either operate in our way or God’s way. I am going to go on a limb here and say that most of us, including myself, tend to try to go about resolving our problems our way. We do this consciously and unconsciously. I know some of you may be wondering, okay what is our way, and what is God’s way?

What’s the difference between the two? Personally, through my experience with trials and tribulations I have discovered that our way is incorrect, defective and flawed. I say this because I have found we have the tendency to try solving and getting through our trials and tribulations in our or others own strength and might.

You see, we’ve gone about running and turning to ourselves and others to help us. We do this with the mindset that by getting the solution ourselves or from seeking help by others we would get the right ingredients to produce pleasant results. This causes us to believe that putting our trust in ourselves and others is the key to overcoming and succeeding in the trials and tribulations we face, although there is nothing wrong with handling things yourself or going to others for advice or help. Nevertheless, we all know that there comes a time when that is not enough, and it seems to get you nowhere; you then find yourself at a point where every option you have tried has failed and you know you need a greater source of help that no one

else can provide for you. With that in mind, this leads me explain God’s way.

I have realized God’s way is risky, hard, trusting, rewarding and correct.

I say this because going to Him rather than ourselves and others, requires us to depend on Him only -- to put our hope, trust and faith completely in Him, to rely on Him, to fix our eyes upon Him. Allow him to step in and intercede on your behalf. Doing anything God’s way is admitting that you or no one else can help you, that only He can. It is also allowing Him to counsel, comfort, guide, be there with you and for you and particularly help you get through those trials and tribulations with the result of triumph and victory. Choosing to go to God and admit that we cannot do or get through anything alone, without His help is risky, and hard for us at times, because for the most part without realizing it, we allow things to get in the way of choosing to rely on Him and allow Him to help us, such as going by what our circumstances look like or the comments people make that aren’t uplifting and encouraging. Or we let our pride or fear consume us, or whatever the case may be that hinders us. But if we surpass all of those things and allow Him to step in, we’d all be guaranteed to conqueror the trials we face.

The difference between putting your hope, faith, trust in yourself, and others rather than in God is with Him you can never go wrong, because there is no error or flaw with Him. He does not fail us of fail period. Unfortunately, with us there is error and we do fail. This leads me to say because we are imperfect individuals and we need help instead of allowing ourselves to accept defeat we should decide to go to the best helper there is. Once you do that, watch what He will do for you. I hope I have helped encourage you to put your faith, hope and trust in Him. Be blessed.

9 Faith & Ministry

Doing things God’s way

once upon a netflix binging

BY AUTUMN COONEY Staff Writer

10 Entertainment

Most of you will spend the five days of break filling your taste buds full of your mom’s home cooked meals, others will be cheering in front of a TV screen begging for a touchdown.

But what do you do on the time you have just to yourself--the time away from the chaos of families, love and sales? As college students there are two words that all of us can bond over, “binge watching.” No matter what time of year it is, we are always trying to find the time to catch up on our shows or the view shows we would like to watch but have absolutely no time for it. Well, here’s the good news, the times when you’re not busy are the perfect times to binge watch!

Everyone has those movies that can turn your day around. Movies like that are very dear to my heart. So that is the list I have created. As a college student, you find yourself being forced to grow up, and no one really wants that. So, why not journey back to your childhood this Thanksgiving Break?

Binge watch all of these modern animated classics.

Disney’s Tarzan (1999) “Tarzan” is the first movie on my list because one, it’s just simply a great movie. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love a movie that involves Phil Collins singing? “Tarzan” is a beautifully detailed and full of artistic animation as it follows the classic story of the child who was raised by gorillas.

Tarzan spent his entire life trying to be accepted by his family that is obviously so different from him.

The movie releases so many childlike values such as wanting to fit in to the world we live in and the curiosity there is found within every child. The tires as world is turned upside down when Jane Potter and her father come to study the wild life of the Island Tarzan has known as his home and to study his so called “Family.” Curiosity is from

when Tarzan meets these curious creatures; wanting to know more Tarzan learns more about these “Strangers Like Me.” Journey through the jungle with Tarzan this break and discover what it would be like to learn about a world you’re apart of but have never known.

Mulan (1998) I specifically picked “Mulan” because, as a child I feel like every little girl cut their hair at least once in order to be like their favorite war hero.

“Mulan” is about a girl who grew up in the beautiful world of old China. But back then the rules where so: Men went to war to fight for the Emperor, while woman would marry and give birth to sons. Sounds horrible, I know. But Mulan believed that she was made for more. So when her injured father is called to once again fight for the sake of wWar, Mulan decides to go in his place disguised as a man. Along with the guidance of her scaly friend Mushu, Mulan tries to learn the ways of war along with trying to be a man. Fight alongside Mulan and see if General Shang can make a man out of You.

Anastasia (1997) “Anastasia” is not Disney-produced like the first two on the list but it’s still a lovable and on Netflix. But not everyone knows the tale of the great Russian princess. During the fall of the Imperial Palace the great family is destroyed and only Anastasia and her grandmother survive only to be separated while the escape. Years later, we find Anastasia again as a woman with no memories of her past, follow Anastasia throughout her journey on finding who she is with the help of the cunning Dimitri and the lovable pup Pucka. But watch out for the Evil Rasputin; he has a hatred for Anastasia

and her family and will do anything he can to see the last of the great family line fall.

Disney’s Hercules (1997) “Hercules” was probably one of my favorite movies as a child, mainly because of the singing Muses but also because I’ve always loved Greek Mythology. Although the cartoon verse is nothing like that of the original Hercules, it’s still a marvelous story. Thanks to his Uncle Hades, Hercules is forced to live in the world of mortals where, of course, he feels as though he doesn’t fit in. Soon discovering where he belongs Hercules learns that in order to return to Olympus he must become the greatest Hero of them all. And the only way he can accomplish that is with his incredible horse Pegasus and Phil, a hot-headed centaur. Become a hero with Hercules and defeat the God of the underworld, because remember you put the “glad” in gladiator.

Lilo & Stitch (2002) Because who wouldn’t want a cute, little, fluffy alien as a pet? Fall into the beautiful world of Lilo as she tries to find her place is the world.

Every child goes through a time in their life where they feel as though they don’t fit in. But Lilo soon makes a friend that will turn her beautiful Island in Hawaii upside down. Lilo and Stitch join together to find their place in this world, for Lilo its feeling like she belongs in her “Ohana” but for Stich its finding his “Ohana.” And “Ohana” means family and family means no one gets left behind.

So grab your family and come together to binge watch all these fun-filled movies this break.

And as you watch these childlike movies, be thankful for the years and joy you have been given.

Managing Editor

Conjoined twins, bearded ladies and killer clowns, oh my! The co-creators of “Glee,” Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy are back with the fourth season of the highly praised and Emmy-winning show “American Horror Story.”

The new season called Freak Show, premiered October 8th, 2014. Deadline.com reports that the season broke its own record with the first episode of Freak Show, titled “Monsters Among Us” reaching a 6.127 million viewers, a 10 percent increase from AHS: Coven’s premiere episode. This season is set in 1950s Jupiter, Florida around a group of monstrous misfits that are a part of the lastrunning circus-like show that is called by its performers, the Freak Show.

Like in the previous seasons, this season is a brand new story and set of characters yet with much of the same cast returning from previous seasons. However, this is the first season of the series to have any returning characters from previous seasons. Naomi Grossman’s character, Pepper from season 2 of AHS: Asylum, returns in this season. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, series creator Murphy revealed that Lily Rabe will return this season with her character from AHS: Asylum as well. Murphy continued to reveal that all the seasons are all connected in some way and this is the first season they have been able to reveal some of those connections and he is excited to continue to reveal clues to viewers.

Golden Globe and Emmy-winning leading lady Jessica Lange is back with a spotlight lusting, power-hungry and intimidating char-

acter named Elsa Mars. Mars is the leader of the freak show and has brought in and rescued a number of disfigured and deformed beings and given them a calling and outlet to showcase their abnormalities.

Two series regulars Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson are back as two of the Freak Show’s headliner characters. You could call Paulson’s performance this season a one-two punch, as her character is a conjoined twin who has two heads and two hearts but only two legs and two arms. Paulson certainly has a challenge as an actor as her two personalities, Bette and Dot, both have two completely different personas in the show.

Peters’ character this season is a boy named Jimmy Darling, who was born with a condition called Ectrodactyly, which gives him claw-like hands. In Jimmy’s case his hands resemble lobster hands, which lead him to be referred to as “lobster boy” occasionally in the show. Jimmy is the son of Kathy Bates’ character, Ethel Darling, or more commonly referred to as Bearded Lady.

Among other familiar faces returning this season are Frances Conroy, Emma Roberts, Denis O’Hare and Angela Bassett. This season introduced some new faces to the canvas as well.

Michael Chiklis, who you might know as Ben Grimm from 2005’s “Fantastic Four,” plays the role of Dell Toledo, who is sometimes referred to as Strong Man. Mat Fraser is also a new addition to the cast this season.

Fraser has starred in the UK’s 2004 television film, “Every Time You Look at Me.” Fraser

plays Paul the illustrated seal; a man whose limbs are physically distorted. Paul has normal-sized hands with much shorter than normal arms. Meanwhile, Finn Wittrock plays a rich boy who has a comfy life but he harbors psychotic thoughts and yearns to join the freak show because he feels it’s the only place he belongs.

This far into the season we’ve watched the backstories of every member of the Freak Show unfold and watched as chaos breaks out in the town of Jupiter after a few suspicious murders happen. Law enforcement continues to investigate these murders while jealousy and envy outbreaks at the Freak Show as Paulson’s characters begin to steal the spotlight from show manager, Elsa.

When Chiklis and Basset’s characters stroll into town it brings a whole new set of problems including an unwelcomed blast from the past for one of the long standing performers of the Freak Show. To shake things up even more, Roberts’ character, Maggie, poses as a fortune teller who gets close to the troupe in order to steal some of the abnormal characters that inhabit the Freak Show.

With mystery, twisted intentions, immorality and jealousy, this season is off to an intriguing start as viewers learn the secrets behind the group of the Freak Show and watch as show creators Murphy and Falchuk reveal to the audiences the connections between all the seasons. With so many twists and turns this far, this season will no doubt be one to continue to keep viewers on the edge of their seats and always wondering what will happen next.

11 Entertainment

BY NATASHA JONES

American Horror Story: the Freakiest freakiest season yet