Just Keep Swimming
February 8, 2018
Letter from the Managing Editor
Hey, Patriots!
I’m sorry to wake you from your winter slumber, but I have something to warm up your day! Another intriguing weekly issue! I bet you all are all dying to get out of your snow boots and into your flip flops for Spring Break but we still have a few weeks until then. So, in the meantime work on your spring break abs, eat some kale, and read the articles we have in store for you this week.
Are you looking forward to Valentine’s Day or are you single and ready to mingle? Either way, you can still curl up with a bowl of cheddar cheese popcorn, put on those fuzzy socks, and watch “The Office.” This issue we decided to steer from the stupidity of eating Tide Pods, to a more lighthearted topic: Love. This week’s issue includes a variety of articles that will spark your curiosity toward things such as where to eat near campus, how to maintain a long distance relationship, and what songs to listen to if you’re in the lovey-dovey mood.
Editor-In-Chief
Eric Ford Edwards
Managing Editor
Megan Willoughby
Faculty Adviser
Jeremiah Massengale
Staff
Emilee Agee
Taylor Duke
Leanne Gregory
Tyler Kohn
Megan Muggridge
Nichole Sharp
Zane Ross
Editorial Review Board
Lisa Bartram
Marianne Worthington
Here at The Patriot we are striving to design content that will inform you of the events happening on campus, entertain you with the latest trends, and interest you into joining our staff. We would love to have some new faces around with writing, photography and/or graphic design experience. Contact us at thepatriot@ ucumberlands.edu if you are interested in joining our family. We don’t bite!
As my talented staff and I work on the next issue, we hope you are pleasantly satisfied with the work we have accomplished.
Sincerely,
Megan Willoughby
Email comments, concerns or tips to: thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu or call us at 606-539-4172
7000 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Kentucky 40769
The Patriot is the weekly 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 Associated Collegiate Press and Kentucky Press Association.
UC laps the competition
UC women’s swimming captures fourth straight
MSC Championship
BY MEGAN MUGGRIDGE & TAYLOR DUKE Staff Writers
On Feb. 1 through Feb. 3 in Kingsport, Tenn. the University of the Cumberlands women’s swimming and diving team took home their fourth consecutive Mid-South Conference Championship. This win can be attributed to the talented mix of dedicated athletes and the head coach, Eric Skelly.
UC’s swim team was not always the conference champions they are today. During his first year, Skelly was very strict with his athletes in order to build a reputable program. With experience in various positions at different universities and his accumulative seven years at UC, Skelly used his knowledge to improve UC’s swimming and diving program.
While talking about his coaching style, Skelly said, “My role as a coach is to help mentor them, and help them make the right decisions.”
A standout athlete at the conference was junior biology and chemistry major, Christina Klouda. This is her third year at UC and she is no rookie to being the best. Even as a freshman Klouda took the top podium spot for the 200-meter individual medley, 400-meter individual medley, and the 200-meter backstroke. This year she earned first place in the same races while cutting seconds off of her time. Klouda earned her third straight Swimmer of the Year accolade, while Yuliia Hnidenko took home Freshman of the Year honors.
When talking about the team’s performance during the championship Klouda said, “I was very proud of how the team performed throughout the meet. Finishing out our first ever
undefeated season with a conference championship was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I am honored to share with my amazing teammates.” UC finished with eight first team allconference honors and six second-team all-conference honors The team emphasizes excellence both in and out of the pool. Some team members not only placed high in many categories during the meet but also received academic all-conference awards.
Klouda added, “We try very hard to embody the vision of the NAIA by being not only great athletes but great individuals and I hope that that showed.”
When asked what factors played a major role in helping the team achieve their goals sophomore Nicole Ceausu said, “A positive team attitude, excellent work ethic, everyone’s willingness to work together as a team, supporting and encouraging each other at practices and swim meets, and overall trust in the plan that coach Skelly has in store for our season has gotten us where we are today.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams did well in the MidSouth Conference championship and they still have their eyes set on an even bigger prize, the NAIA National championship. The Pats will take on nationals on Feb. 28 through Mar. 3 in Columbus, Georgia. Learn more about UC’s Swimming and Diving program by following UC’s Athletic Department’s Twitter feed via @ UCPatriots_Swim and checking out the athletics website.
Photo by Sports Information
Christina Klouda finishs a race.
Retta’s place
Just steps away from campus is the best-kept secret, “Rhetta’s.” This cozy restaruant provides the home-cooking style with portions big enough for two. Loretta Smith, the owner, decided to open at the spur of the moment. Smith says she has always wanted to open a restaurant. She stated, “The opportunity just came up and we took it and went with it.”
Located across from the Hutton townhouses, Retta’s is a small restaurant with tasty homemade meals cooked up right before your eyes. With low prices fit for college students, it’s the a perfect substitute for on campus dining. The restaurant’s name stems from Loretta’s family members.
When her nieces and nephews were younger, they would call her “Retta” because her full name was difficult for them to pronounce.
Smith lives in La Follette, Tennessee which is 45-minutes away by highway 25, but she still makes it to Williamsburg in time to pour hot coffee, and whip up a hearty breakfast. “Most of the people here
Midday mixtape
BY THE PATRIOT STAFF
With Valentine’s well on its way, this playlist captures a cheerful outlook on love.
The following playlist is a collection of iconic love tunes to set the tone for your Valentine’s Day, or “National Single’s Day.” For whatever holiday your celebrating this year take a listen to our top picks.
are regulars,” says Smith. A perfect addition to Williamsburg’s Main Street, Retta’s not only serves a filling breakfast, but also caters to patron’s lunch needs.
You can order a sweet tea, a grilled cheese, and chips all for $3.50. Smith prides herself on quality homestyle food, reasonable pricing, and creating a comforting environment. Smith greets all her customers with a smile. Smith is in the kitchen all day with the help of her daughter who also attends the University of the Cumberlands.
They’re open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, they are open from 6-to12 a.m. Retta’s focuses on serving breakfast and lunch, but with more business, she plans to expand to serving dinner.
It’s the perfect place for breakfast date for two, or a lunch with friends, and it won’t break the bank. Supporting a local business not only promotes that business, but it can encourage more local business to open in our community.
BY ERIC EDWARDS & TAYLOR DUKE Staff Writers
Photo courtesy of Upsplash
Miles foreverapart, in your heart
Social media’s influence on long-distance relationhips
BY MEGAN WILLOUGHBY Managing Editor
Within a long distance relationship, couples face a challenging obstacle between them, separation. Attempting to maintain a relationship with no face-to-face interaction for long periods of time can be difficult to those who suffer from withdrawal. The convenience of technology has aided the pain of this isolation making their relationships tolerable and easier to maintain.
Long distance relationships are more common than one may think. According to an article published in 2015 in USA TODAY, “About 25 to 50 percent of college students in the United States are currently in long distance relationships, and around 75 percent have been in one at some point in their undergraduate careers.” On a larger scale, LongDistanceRelationships.net explains, “There are just over 7 million couples (14 million individuals) in the US who consider themselves in a long distance relationship.”
How do people tolerate no physical contact or face-to-face interaction within these relationships? Social media, FaceTime, Snapchat, and many other digital communication resources aide couples to tackle this obstacle. Bailey Fowler, a UC senior, discusses how social media has affected her five-year long distance relationship.
“I think any distance when in college can be both difficult and rewarding. On one hand you get the chance to learn and grow on your own which helps you define your own identity, beliefs and values. On the other hand it is very difficult at times. You have to grow and develop as a couple but you have to do so separately which adds an extra challenge to dating.” Fowler says.
She adds, “Communication is one of the most important aspects of a relationship and with things such as FaceTime and Snapchat that let you not only hear the other person but also lets you see the other person in real time is a benefit when trying to connect with someone who is only available virtually. It adds an element of emotion and allows for more sufficient connection when you can see nonverbal cues.”
The advancement in technology over the past decade has changed the way people communicate. From the invention of the telephone to the advancements in the 21st century, people are able to communicate in various ways. Not only do people have a telephone to hear voices and read text messages from the person to whom they are trying to communicate with, but they also have a way to see their
significant other virtually on their phone screen with the convenience of FaceTime, a video chat service accessible through apple products.
With FaceTime, couples are able to have one-on-one communication along with a clear visual representation of their partner. The intimacy, visual and communicative needs required in a relationship are met with the use of Facetime because it allows couples to forget the distance separating them, and feel as if their partner is present.
Freshman Abigail Genders is among the many students that went from having a regular relationship to a long distance relationship when she came to UC. “Being able to constantly stay in touch with my boyfriend through pictures, live videos, and much more has made coping with distance much more bearable. It helps us stay up and connected on what’s going on in each other’s lives without truly being there,” Genders says.
If one does not have the time to sit down and talk via FaceTime, Snapchat is another digital media resource that makes long distance relationships easier. With a busy schedule, one is able to use Snapchat to quickly send a picture or video of themselves to their significant other at any time. Receiving and sending pictures to one another provides couples a brief visual representation of their partner’s face and often times, their voice through a short video.
Rebekah Fisher, a UC junior, explains the positive and negative side of using social media due to her recent commitment to a long distance relationship. “It is difficult, especially if it is new. A lot of times if we are having an in-depth conversation over text, one or the other may read a text in the wrong context and that can make one of us become angry even though that’s not what the other meant,” Fisher says.
However, Fisher adds, “Technology has helped but texting can have its downfalls. As for things like Snapchat and Facetime, I can actually see their face and it makes me happy to just see them. It allows me to read his reactions versus just relying on words and his tone of voice.”
Our world will continue with technological advances as time proceeds. Long distance relationships may not even be a challenge at all in the future.
The College Almanac
BY LEANNE GREGORY Staff Writer
Weather predictions with Leanne
A facetious forecast
Recently the bluegrass state has been bombarded by bouts of heavy snow and ice that covers everything in thick layers of silky condensation, begging two pertinent questions: What exactly is snow, and will students here at UC be lucky enough to see it hit the campus grounds? Well, scientifically speaking, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, snow is a unique phenomenon that occurs when the temperature in the atmosphere settles itself at or beneath a frigid thirty two degrees and there is a smattering of moisture in the air, allowing for the formation of icy crystals. These ice crystals can then take several forms, such as a snowflake or graupel, depending on when they freeze and how they freeze as they free fall from their place in the clouds.
Now, given the tacit facts that the past few days have seen their fair share of warm and cold temperatures and rain showers, flooding the atmosphere with copious amounts of moisture and that the optimum conditions needed to create snow demand that there be moisture present in the air, it is my highly esteemed and educated opinion that UC students can expect a nice wintery surprise in the coming week. For the bluegrass region and southeastern United States I can easily foresee a snow total of two to eight inches with a slight coating of ice about two inches or so. In fact, my fourteen hours of internet research has led me to conclude that Mother Nature
doesn’t intend to dump the soft fluffy stuff on us at all. No, no, instead old mama Nat means to pile drive flakes the size and shape of Corgis onto the poor, unsuspecting heads of the local college students. Creating hazardous, but insanely adorable, traveling conditions for commuters and on-campus residents alike.
In light of the impending disaster my highly-trained team have informed me to say that it is highly recommended that students carry jars of peanut butter in their back pockets. It is the only known form of protection against insidious Corgi-flake invasions.
Good ole country wisdom
It’s not only the size of the mistake that matters, but the size of the effort’s made towards fixing it that truly counts in the end. We know everything about the things we think we know, but we know nothing about the things we actually know. When in doubt, cartwheel out. No one will ever see it coming.
Day
of the month
Out of all the days in February the 22 reigns supreme. It is the quintessential number, being made simultaneously of two angry flamingos if you turn them to the left or right and a broken heart if you face them toward one another. Perfect for the upcoming holiday season in my humble opinion.
Photo by Flickr’sGeoffrey Coelho
BY ZANE ROSS Staff Writer
5 reasons to binge watch “Rick and Morty” in your down time.
It has been four years since the sci-fi comedy series “Rick and Morty” made its way across the multiverse and into the homes of millions of viewers around the world. The show follows an elderly scientist who drinks too much, Rick Sanchez, and his 14 year-old grandson, Morty Smith, (both voiced by Justin Roiland) as they travel to some fairly similar, and some vastly different, universes that make up the entirety of the multiverse. On October 1 it finished up its third season with a fanfare of praise. Adult Swim announced, shortly after the end of season three that “Rick and Morty” holds the title of most-watched show in the history of the network. Nielsen, a website that focuses on accumulating data for what consumers are interested in, named “Rick and Morty” the number-one comedy show on television for viewers ages 18-34 in the United States. If that isn’t enough to pique your interest then maybe it’s time I’ll just let Rick and Morty show you what they’ve got.
Nothing Matters, Morty
In a similar fashion as “Family Guy” or “American Dad” there are many episodes that don’t really mesh together into a cohesive part of the underlying story. Is this a good thing? Well, sometimes binging can get tiring, but not with “Rick and Morty” because every episode feels fresh and doesn’t feel repetitive, like some other mainstream shows.
Time Travel Stuff
The show has absolutely nothing to do with time travel. Before you mark it off of your watch list though it is important to note that both Rick and Morty were based loosely on the characters Doc and Marty from the 1985 hit film “Back to the Future.” The show takes aspects of both and pushes their most negative qualities to an 11. Rick frequently pulls Morty into his scientific adventures with no real thought about the ramifications it has on Morty. Similarly Morty begins as a very whiny teenager who doesn’t understand half the things that Rick does which is similar to how Marty feels in “Back to the Future.” Despite seeming to be alternate
versions of Doc and Marty, Rick and Morty have definitely become their own characters.
No One Cares What You Think Jerry
The humor can be either extremely light or incredibly dark and sometimes one will come right after the other. Co-creators Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland pull no punches with how they view the world and sometimes that means getting “too real.” However, that is something that makes the show much more unique because of its honesty about how things are in the world. If you find yourself able to enjoy a good fart joke or a joke about a character’s own existential crisis then “Rick and Morty” is definitely the show that can bring you both.
Rickdemption
If you binge “’Rick and Morty” you’ll notice some significant changes in Rick from the start of the series to the end and the same can be said about Morty. Co-Creator, Dan Harmon, is a strong believer in the hero’s journey meaning that he believes that his characters need to start somewhere, go off what they know, see that what they know isn’t completely true and then they learn something in the end. Almost every episode follows this pattern and it helps to show growth in our heroes as they continuously get into trouble.
Wubba Lubba Dub Dub
As mentioned, there is an underlying plot to “Rick and Morty” that has been culminating throughout all three seasons so far. It is even revealed at one point that Rick’s catch phrase, “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub,” isn’t just random jibberish, but that it has an actual meaning that helps to dive into Rick’s, currently vague, backstory. If you enjoy trying to piece together a mystery from small tidbits of information then binging “Rick and Morty” is probably perfect for you.
Image Credit - Adult Swim
