The Patriot - April 9, 2014

Issue 4 | April 9, 2014

(606-539-4172

A letter from the editor Dear readers of The Patriot, Our first print issue in over seven weeks is finally here! During that time, I, along with the rest of the executive staff attended the College Media Association’s spring convention in New York City, an event geared toward aiding college students hone their craft of choice. For us, most of what was focused on was primarily designbased. Since returning we have put a great deal of hours into making a number of changes that I hope will push The Patriot beyond anything our readers have seen from us in the past.

In addition to upping our publication’s cosmetics, we wanted to pay extra attention to the content itself. What’s the point in having an appealing and inviting page of layout if the prose it is intended to help support is subpar? It kind of becomes moot. So, just as much work has been put into making each article the best possible version it can be.

I know I speak for the entire staff of The Patriot when I say I hope that each of you thoroughly enjoy this new issue. It’s something we are proud of and hopefully you will be too.

April 9, 2014

Sincerely, Timothy Wyatt Editor-in-Chief

C O N T E N T S

/patriotnewspaper

@UCThePatriot

*thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu

- 7609 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Ky 40769

6 8

Q&A with Taylor Singleton

Managing Editor

Following the right voice

19 McPheron on Main Street 22

Natasha Jones Design Editor

12 The girl who cried “phone” 21

Editor-in-Chief

Timothy Wyatt

How I met the woman who ultimately doesn’t matter at all

Kristina Smith Photo Editor

Carleen Fletcher Social Media Coordinator

Hayley Davis Copy-Editors

Jannica Brady Brandy Norman Graphic Designer

Top five games of the last generation

Brad Pearce Staff Writers

Abbey Cherr y Autumn Cooney Jessie Eldridge Ryan Poynter Christin Rottenberger Tyler Shumate Solomon Whitaker Staff Photographers

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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.

Jillian Carpenter Chloe Gu Faculty Advisor

Jeremiah Massengale Editorial Review Board

Lisa Bartram Marianne Worthington

BY JILLI A N CA R PENTER Staff Photographer

Beginning at 5 p.m. on March 29, students, faculty, and alumni of University of the Cumberlands began to fill the O. Wayne Rollins Center, preparing for the next twelve hours of ’80-themed fun for Relay For Life. Each person belonged to one of the 20 teams, each with their own master plan to raise as much money as possible for the American Cancer Society. These teams included the residence halls, called “The Residence Hall and Oats”, the wrestling team, the dance team, Student Government Association, and even a team of Walgreens employees from Corbin. The booths varied from traditional Relay For Life booths, such as bake sales and Relay For Life t-shirt sales, to creative, with the “jail” booth, and the ‘80s makeover booth. In addition to having their own booth, the teams had to come up with their own ‘80s-themed activity for the night. The teams definitely showed their creativity, one team holding a “Wheel of Fortune” game, another playing “Simmons Says” an exercise-oriented Richard Simmons spinoff of Simon Says.

Agnes Brown, one of the leaders for Relay For Life in the Whitley County area, has been working to make Relay For Life a significant event in this area since the opportunity arose in fall of 2010. Like many people who get involved with Relay For Life, or with the American Cancer Society in general, Brown's life was affected by cancer.

"At the end of my sophomore year in college, my father passed away from cancer. Several of my aunts and uncles have had cancer. I have had a couple of close aunts/uncles who cancer got the better of. I also have several family members who have beaten the disease. I have witnessed what this disease can do to a person and caregiver and their family first hand," said Brown.

Because of this, she immediately took the opportunity to help bring the

yearly fundraiser to the area. Since then, she has been one of the main coordinators to get Relay For Life set up each year. This consists of ensuring that each member is registered, setting the date on which the event will be held, and keeping track of the activities each team wants to hold so no two activities overlap. Being that each task is very tedious and time consuming; being a Relay for Life coordinator is no small responsibility.

Brown even teamed up with Relay For Life and the UC bowling team to coordinate an event that took place on March 8 at the Forest Lanes bowling alley in Corbin called Strike Out For Cancer. People of any age were allowed to enter, being put into either age groups, or a group of people who had never bowled competitively. Participants lined up to compete for a good cause, and to just have a fun time bowling in general.

"Forcht Bank sponsored our event t-shirts. Forest Lanes was kind enough to help us host the event and donated bowling towels, food and shoes for the bowlers. We had several volunteers that stayed almost the whole time to help out," said Brown. Seventy games were bowled to strike out cancer. These games, combined with t-shirt sales and donations from that day, the event make over $550 to give to the American Cancer Society.

After the money from the Relay’s fundraising activities was totaled, excluding any walking sponsorships yet to be received, the event raised over $6,000, all going to the American Cancer Society. Once the money raised from Strike Out For Cancer is added, about $7,000 has been made for the American Cancer Society. This is almost $2,000 more than what was raised last year.

This shows a continuing upward trend toward the success of our local Relay for Life events.

3 News

A trip to the ‘80s to stomp out cancer

“Music is my thing, and I had to sacrifice it...”

Photo by Jillian Carpenter

4 Features

Following the right voice

5 Features

BY HAYLEY DAVIS Social Media Coordinator

A choppy version of the piano notes of “A Thousand Miles” fills the last practice room on the right, where a certain music major plays his magic on the keys. Dalton Hutton, a UC junior, yells my name as he always has, and I return the favor, before beginning to question this old and dear friend of mine.

The same guy who beat me in Disney Scene-It, once or twice. The same guy who helped me devour a box of McDonald’s cookies without a watchful eye in sight. The same guy who would duet a Beyonce song with me at the drop of the beat. We were in Choir together in high school, Chorale together in college, and we’d shouted each others’ names down many a hallway. It was beyond a privilege to discuss with him his faith and his experience with auditioning for NBC’s “The Voice.”

Speaking of which, he had a good amount to say. He talked about his trip to “The Voice” in February the first of this year.

Honestly, his biggest hope was that the experience wasn’t like “American Idol” where he had previously auditioned. To his surprise, he went and pretty much immediately realized how amazing it was. “It was at a different level,” says Hutton.

Dalton got an audition pass about a week before, on a Monday, and the actual audition for “The Voice” was that Saturday. Talk about a nerve-wracking week. The entire week was spent in oodles of prayer. Dalton wasn’t even thinking about doing it by the end of January, since he had filled out the profile and applied way back in December of last year.

But the email he received changed everything. From that Monday to Friday he says he was asking, “God do you want me to do this? Is this a thing I should do?” all day, all night. He was trying to hear from God but God really just wasn’t talking.

Plus, over Christmas break, he “misplaced” his wallet. Was this God hinting that he shouldn’t go, since you have to have an ID and he didn’t?

So, naturally, he decided to give up on this, the night before the audition was scheduled. God had just recently told him that He wanted to take him to the next level, which, could mean a lot of things, from Dalton’s perspective.

He had heard God say that he wanted to take him deeper in Him. Spiritually?

Musically? Who knows?

According to Hutton, reading, praying, and fasting, that whole week was hard.

“Music is my thing,” said Hutton, “And I had to sacrifice it. Kind of like Abraham. I had to be obedient to the voice of God.”

On Friday he decided to step out in faith and just do it, knowing that God would bless it if it was His will.

Saturday morning he woke up about 6:30 a.m. and sat on the bed bent over praying to God. He asked God to send him so much confirmation that it would be evident whether he was supposed to be there. Once he got to Nashville, the anxiety came in like a wrecking ball. Just the 2 p.m. showing line was wrapped around the center twice; that’s how many people were auditioning for the NBC singing competition.

A group of 10 people go to different rooms with a judge and in five minutes, you’re done. You either get it or you don’t. Dalton, all wide-eyed and head nodding, said, “It’s cut throat. I was as nervous as heck.”

As any good fellow would, you make friends with those around you.

Standing in line for three hours, Hutton met the guy behind him who happened to be a musician in Nashville that was a little older than him. This stranger had the same music taste, was a Christian artist, had his own record label, dressed the same as Hutton, acted the same, and was even affiliated with Church of God. This certainly made Dalton feel comfortable in an uncomfortable spot.

Hutton said, “People thought we were a duet because we instantly clicked. Singing Kirk Franklin and old school black gospel.” Out of thousands of people, they happened to be in the same room. God-send?

To add a cherry on top of affirmation, a high school senior from Lexington was also in his group and was a prospective student considering UC. So, Dalton got to put a positive plug in for his university, getting to help her out.

Jeff, the guy he met, went first and sang a NeedToBreathe song. Jeff was followed by a duet, and finally, it was Hutton’s turn. Hutton said, “The judge looked up at me and was all confused. He sang a NeedToBreathe song, ‘Washed by the Water.’ At the end of the ten people, we got a red ticket for a callback.” Apparently the judge thought she was being pranked because both voices sounded exactly the same.

“There were amazing people in there that didn’t get through,” Hutton added.

The judges loved Dalton. He ended up getting to sing with a famous person, too. In the end, though, Hutton was cut from “The Voice,” but frankly, he felt far from a failure by that point. It is safe to say that Dalton’s trip to Nashville was more than a success.

QA &

BY JESSIE ELDRIDGE

Staff Writer

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Taylor Singleton, a senior theatre major, wore the “pants” in the most recent spring musical here at UC. She was cast as Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, so not only was she the lead role, but she played a “pants” role— meaning that her character is a man who is supposed to be played by a woman. Since her last interview, the play has taken place, and now she has taken the time to sit down and give some insight to how her experience went with her lead role in the musical as well as what lays ahead in her future.

She’s wear ing the pants now Eldridge: How was being in Drood?

Singleton: It was amazing! It was so much fun. The cast members were really fun to work with. I honestly can't think of a better way to end my acting career on the stage of the Kohn Theatre.

Are you glad that it’s over?

It's bittersweet really. I'm glad in a sense that I'll have a little bit more free time to focus on planning the next step for my future, but sad because it was my last show acting wise as an undergraduate.

Do you feel like you learned a lot from this role?

Certainly. Considering the fact that I didn't think of myself as much of a singer, with the help of Dr. Etter, I learned how to belt and in turn proved myself wrong, every night. Aside from that, I had to learn appropriate stances for males in the Victorian era. Then there was walking around and dancing in men's dress shoes, that was a fun one. Haha

What could to apply to other role that you learned in this one?

I think learning to belt will definitely come in handy in the future.

Tell me about the play.

It's called "The Whole Shebang". The premise of the show is what if the world was created as a science fair project? A student is trying to earn his Master of the Universe degree. To earn this degree, they created the earth and all that inhabits it. As part of their presentation, two perfect examples of the human race were intended to be interviewed, but in an unforeseen event, the wrong two humans were brought. And, well, the rest is downhill from there for the student. There's a lot of laughs to be had.

When are you showing it?

The show is Thursday, April 17th. There will be more information posted around the campus closer to the show date.

What are you doing to prepare for this?

Reading to the script over and over and over and over again, thinking of where people should be at s certain post. Also, working with the production team to help create my vision for the show.

Once you graduate what are you planning on doing?

A Theatre internship for props somewhere out of Kentucky (Hopefully.) I've recently talked to quite a few people at the South Eastern Theatre Conference about prop internships and the future looks pretty promising

Are you going to continue acting are you going to force on behind the scenes?

Of course, I'll still act! It's something I'm really passionate about as well, so why not both props and acting?

Are you going to move to New York or L.A. or someplace like that?

Eventually, I'd like to travel all over before I plant myself in one place.

What would be your dream role to have?

As cliché as it may be, Elphaba from “Wicked” would be my dream role.

Do you think you'll ever become a director of plays or musicals?

Directing is also something I enjoy doing (obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t be directing a show), so I could see myself as a director as well.

“The Whole Shebang” a one-act comedy

In a classroom in a dimension far beyond ours, a student completing his MU, Master of the Universe, presents his final project for the term using two ordinary human beings. The fate of the Earth, and the student’s grade, rests on he shoulders of John and Mary Doe. What will be the fate of humanity itself?

“The Whole Shebang” on April 17th at 8:00 PM in the Kohn Theatre.

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Come see

Recapping Spotlight blunders from years past

BY NATASHA JONES Managing Editor

Roaring cheers, vibrant lights, blasting music, and hopeful hearts are just a few things The Spotlight, UC’s annual singing competition brings to Gatliff chapel every other Tuesday night of the spring semester. In addition to these things, a few mishaps and epic fails are bound to happen along the way.

The Campus Activity Board coordinator, Lisa Bartram and a couple of her CAB students definitely had a few stories a to tell about the tragic but sometimes entertaining mess ups that have happened when preparing for the competition.

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Lights out

In season 5, right before “Cumberland Idol” switched to “The Spotlight”, during the duet nights the sound board blew right after the very first group performed.

“That was the biggest uh-oh in my opinion. We didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t plan for that,” said Brad Pearce, Spotlight host and former Cumberland Idol.

The sound board was going to take about twenty minutes to reset itself, the CAB crew scrambled to send members down to the CAB office in the lower BCC to grab the smaller one. Luckily the upcoming pair had planned to sing a cappella and they just urged audience members to be very quiet, which did turn out to be successful.

After the performance, they were still waiting on the board to repair itself and the CAB members had not yet returned with the smaller soundboard. Brad Pearce and his co-host, Chelsea Hill came out and sat on the edge of the stage and talked back and forth to keep the audience entertained for what seemed like an excruciating amount of time to the crew.

“I actually talked about how I skipped Dr. Dickman’s class that day, and everybody laughed because he was one of the judges,” admitted Pearce.

By the time the CAB members had arrived back with the small soundboard the bigger one had finally successfully reset itself. The night wasn’t a total disaster but definitely a huge hurdle for the crew.

Duet Nights Duet Nights are the first round of Spotlight (and was back when it was called Cumberland Idol) which of course means there are going to be a couple bumps in the show.

For one, duet nights used to always be hosted in the music building’s rehearsal hall which seats a significantly smaller amount of people compared to the Gatliff chapel.

“I don’t really know why we did it, it’s just one of those things you think is going to be a good idea. It did work for a while. When you’re in a smaller room with a big crowd it creates a much different atmosphere, but of course we eventually outgrew that,” said Bartram.

Spotlight judge Michael Dickman said, “It worked and had to stop for the same reason, the crowd size. At first it was nice to have a very full room.

But, as the show became more popular and drew in more and more people it became overcrowded. It got to the point where we were beyond safe capacity.

So we moved the whole thing over to Gatliff where it has been ever since.”

Testing one, two,three…..

Before every show, the sound team runs through a rehearsal and sound check with each contestant to plan out how the actual performance is going to go.

Spotlight host, Brad Pearce described these to be an especially frustrating part of preparation. They have to take precautions to make sure everything runs smoothly and the sound board doesn’t get blown. In addition to the natural slight mess ups that are bound to happen, dealing with a performer’s anxious nerves, that are extremely focused on making sure they sound good on stage can also make this a much longer process.

Brad Pearce said, “All these contestants want to be the next Spotlight winner, and they're all super nerve wrecked about how they sound on stage. So it's frustrating, we're like; you're done, you sound good, get off stage.”

Rock and Roll nights

Not so smooth moves During this year’s Duets Night the CAB crew had planned to have two past Spotlight winners come out and perform during the time frame where the judges would be making their decision on who should stay and who should go hoping that it would fill up the time that elimination decisions were taking place. However, it

For this competition today, CAB has certain rules and limitations they have to give their contestants. Before a specific themed Rock and Roll night contestants were allowed to bring in full bands and on a particular night in history many contestants did just that.

“Everybody wanted a full drum set, so we let bands come in, which is what banned having a full band from now on and there wasn't enough room and nobody could share drum sets because apparently drum sets are very personal to the drummer,” said Bartram.

That night they had three drum sets stacked on stage across from each other, and different amps and cords scattered all over the

stage.

Bartram said, “Now, everything has to be acoustic and you can only have two instruments. It was just so frustrating for us to set up.”

Backlash

When dealing with a group of young, competitive singers you’re almost always asking for there to be a dispute about what is considered “fair”. Imagine if there was one contestant who took a rather unconventional way to get ahead in the terms of votes.

"We had a backlash and uproar one time, cause there was one contestant once that was caught in class, voting for herself over and over again. Students were so mad, they came and complained to us and there was nothing we could do about that,” said Bartram.

“It’s not against the rules,” said Lawson.

Bartram said it was definitely a new and unexpected scenario to be found in and there was literally nothing she could for either side of the confrontation.

Billy Joel and Elton John night

One of the themes for a performance night in the past was a night contestants had to sing along to only songs from Billy Joel and Elton John, in the opinion of Spotlight host Brad Pearce he considered this a disaster.

Pearce said, “Slow music makes for a terrible show.”

“Hey Billy Joel and Elton John and great and I’ll stand by that,” defended Bartram.

“Okay I’ll stand by the choice that it’s good music but doesn’t make for a good show.

Unless you actually are Elton John or Billy Joel,” replied Pearce.

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was not.

CAB’s graduate assistant, Johnathan Lawson had to scramble to askJonathan Carmack, who is a musician as well as a CAB member working with the sound for the production, to come down from the sound team and perform a few songs on stage with Pearce to help stall the show till judges voting were done.

“I have this ear piece in my ear, and I run backstage where there are 22 contestants, and I'm trying to talk to Carmack and tell him to come down. Then, I ask one of the contestants if I could borrow his guitar. I tell him I'll take great care of it,” said Lawson.

There happened to be a chair by the stage doors and as Lawson turns around, his ear piece falls out of his ear and he tries to catch it while accidentally and simultaneously ramming the guitar in his hands into the chair.

Lawson admitted, “It was the loudest sound backstage and every one of them (contestants) were staring. I just handed it back to him so he could check it out. It turned out be fine but, it was a thousand dollar guitar and super nice. I texted him four times that night to check on it.”

The girl who cried “phone”

BY AUTUMN COONEY

10 Features

Staff Writer

Have you ever spent more than one hour on your phone? Ever felt that weird sensation that your phone vibrated in your pocket even though it didn’t? Have you ever felt the compulsion within yourself to share or post something in the social media world? Do you believe that you spend entirely too much time on your phone?

It was Steven Spielberg who said, “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we're too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.” Is Spielberg’s statement true or false?

In most cases those who reply false are the ones who normally spend too much time on their phones. I myself will place myself in that category. But have you ever wondered if you’re missing anything in the word as your eyes are focused on the entertaining yet seductive screen of a smartphone? Spielberg’s statement makes me wonder if I really spend that much time on my phone, and if it is really interrupting my lifestyle. So I came up with an idea – for 24 hours, I decided to go throughout my day without my phone.

Yes, twenty-four hours. This, I hoped, would allow me to see from the eyes of someone not distracted by their phone, and to see if I really was that addicted to technology.

On March 8, I decided to go an entire 24 hours without my phone. Yes, a Saturday without my phone! It was my idea that the 24 hours would fly by and I would prove that if I could go a day without my phone, then anyone could. If the experiment went simpler than planned, I would be all the more grateful.

There were some rules involved. Living so far away from home I kept in contact with my family and friends on a daily basis, and was fearful that something would happen while I was on hiatus.

So I wanted to keep in contact with my family back home. There’s also my social contact with my friends here on campus as an undergraduate, I didn’t want them to think I was ignoring them for an entire day. So, I needed to set the following ground rules:

Photo by Timothy Wyatt

2.) There must not be any social media sites (even on the computer), games or music for the entire 24 hours.

3.) The 24 hour clock would begin the exact second woke up on Saturday.

4.) I am allowed to tell my friends and family that I am not allowed to use my phone for an entire day, that way there’s no miscommunication or anger throughout the day.

These rules, however, required amendments. To allow me to stay sane throughout the day, I chose to make two exceptions to these rules: 1.) I am allowed to check my phone every four hours just to make sure there’s no emergency or problem back home or on campus. When I checked my phone it can only be to check for text messages and calls. I was not allowed to respond to any calls or messages unless I deemed it an emergency.

2.) I am allowed to keep my phone on my person but I cannot check it or look at it until it is my said time.

The first four hours were literally as bad as I thought it would be, all I did was just go about my day. It was easy to stay distracted with homework, doing laundry and cleaning my room. By the time the first four hours were up, I just looked at my messages and put the phone back in my pocket.

By the time my second set of four hours began it was around lunchtime, which is when the inconvenience set it. I had no way to get in touch with my friends to go to lunch. I walked over to my closest friend’s dorm but even then I still had no way to get to her room.

Since I did not live in her dorm I didn’t have a key to get past the door that allowed you to get to the rooms, I had no way of contacting her either so I had to wait patiently for someone to let me in. By the time I reached her room I had to wait 45 minutes to go eat since everyone was still working on homework.

Before 1 p.m. came around I was much more eager to check my phone. But with the lunch fiasco I realized I had to set plans up with

my friends and exact times so that way we could all be ready and know the time of what was taking place. The entire situation was frustrating. I sat down I wanting to get my phone out and text people or scroll through social media. I had to stay busy! So for this next set I decided to go on an hour-long run. I hadn’t been on a run this semester, so it was a little refreshing. I found myself among beautiful scenery that both amazed me and confused me. I can’t understand why I was just now seeing these places because I drove by them numerous times throughout the semester. It was then that Spielberg’s statement made sense to me, during that time I would either be texting or scanning social media. This realization made me less interested in checking my phone.

By 6 p.m. it was dinner time. At dinner I was informing some friends about my experiment and how it was going. At first all of them were intensely listening but then slowly one by one their eyes turned toward their phones. This kept happening many times throughout dinner, it was awkward and I truly felt left out. Countless times I noticed that I had to keep my hands busy by playing with my hair because I wanted to text. Or thought of something I needed to share within social media. But at times, I truly felt like an addict, I could’ve sworn I felt my phone go off my pocket even though I knew it wasn’t. I seriously felt the strong need to yell “Phone!”

By the time 10 p.m. came around I had been more than 12 hours without my phone. My mood once again was back to normal as my friends and I decide to go to the movies. On the way there everyone stayed off their phones, opting to talk the entire way instead. As we took our seats in the theater I laughed at the irony of the screen asking us to turn off or silence or cell phones.

Before my last set had arrived early in the morning, I was too tired and had no desire to check my phone before I went to sleep. I slept through the rest of the experiment.

The most ironic part about this experiment is that when I woke up, went to breakfast and went to work with my friends on homework, it was not until noon that I realized I left my phone laying in my room.

So not only did I go without my phone for 24 hours, I had gone an extra six hours beyond that. For this experiment I went a total of 30 hours without my phone. Yes, there were complications and yes, cell phones make communication 1,000 times easier, but at the end of the experiment I truly felt that I gained a realization that I use my phone entirely too much throughout the day. I encourage you to take the challenge I did, who knows, you may have a similar experience.

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1.) My phone would be on silent the entire 24 hours. No beeps, no vibrations, just silent.

Bethany Williams for President 2034 Founder of new chapter of Young Americans for Liberty at UC

BY CAR LEEN FLETCHER

12 Features

Photo Editor

I saw her from the corner of my eye, poised as ever from the blazer down to her Oxfords, as she rushed into the BCC to stand next to me. She juggled the numerous items in her hands: keys, Libertarian paraphernalia ranging from buttons to pamphlets, and a Starbucks mug wafting the aroma of fresh coffee through the air. Without missing a beat she hoped right into conversation with the Matt Bevin’s field representative on Thursday, March 6th.

Busy as ever, and getting it all done, that is Bethany Williams.

Not your typical freshman here at UC, a transfer student from Delaware State University, her schedule consists of a full load: 19 credit hours for this political science major, a member of the debate team, staying active in her church, and now she’s adding president of Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) to the list.

For those of you who don’t know, YAL is a libertarian-based campus organization. Williams elaborated greatly on the subject, saying “It’s based on the principles of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, but also the freedom to do what you want with your money.” Essentially it’s the belief to do what you want, but with limitations. “You can’t hurt people,” Williams said with a laugh, “it’s really a laissez faire government kind of thing.”

Officially made a group on campus in February, meetings usually focus on the group going into detail about what’s going on in the world based on politics from their points of view. “We have people that are statist and anarchists and other things, so we let everybody chime in,” Williams said.

She went on to add that many people are libertarian and don’t even know it, saying “At one of my last meetings we had a survey to see where people stood on the political scale and a lot of people were libertarian and didn’t realize it until they came to the meeting, so that was pretty cool.”

Meeting activities can vary a lot, sometimes even to hold debates, such as the debate the group hosted over the legalization of marijuana.

As big of a feat as it is to begin any group from scratch, this isn’t even Williams’ first time founding a chapter of YAL; she left a previous chapter at Delaware State University where she was cofounder and vice president of the group.

“I think the biggest difference between my last school and this school is that people seem to be more politically aware here. In Delaware, politics wasn’t as big of a thing because it was more of a beach atmosphere and people just weren’t really into politics. People here in Kentucky really seem to care about politics, especially with Rand Paul being a representative of the state, that’s a really big deal.”

Apart from how amazing it will look on her resume, Williams had other reasons for creating the group. She said, “The main reason I started doing Americans for Liberty was because we have a Young Democrats and Young Republicans, but there wasn’t really anything for people who aren’t Republican or Democrat. Young Americans for Liberty pertains to anybody.”

Williams really wanted to emphasize that you don’t have to be into politics to be in this group. Within the short amount of time that the group has been established here at UC, Williams has had accounting majors, journalism majors, psychology majors, and many others join.

“When she was at Del State, she was in YAL too, and I wasn’t really interested in politics at all,” said Kiersten Mason, a freshman member of YAL and also cousin to Williams, “but when she came here she would try to talk to me about it and I would be like ‘I don’t want to hear about that,’ the more she talked about it though, and the more determined I saw her with all of this stuff, the more it inspired me.”

Williams added, “We have people in this group right now from every major and they are all helping in their own way. Our treasurer is an accounting major, and I dunno how she feels about politics, but she is doing it because it looks good for her resume and Young Americans for Liberty really helps build resumes.”

freshman too, and I work and focus on school work, but she has all of this other stuff going on and that is inspiring to me.”

For now, however, she will stick to President of YAL here at UC and hopefully a great summer job with the Illinois Policy Institute. This semester, however, she has a great game plan mapped out, consisting of, well, fun and games. The group recently had a Valentine’s Day bake sale, all of the proceeds going toward the fun activities YAL will be offering later on this semester, such as the Liberty on the Lawn event coming up on April 17.

Williams hopes to host the event on the lawn in front of the game room and CAB office. The fundraiser event will include a showing of “Frozen,” a free speech wall, a dunk tank, Liberty Pong, a corn hole tournament, and a raffle for prizes including two movie passes and a gift card to the theater, a McDonalds gift card, and a copy of the movie “Frozen”.

Photo by Carleen Fletcher

Admission to the event is completely free and gains you access to the movie showing as well as the free speech wall and trying your hand at Liberty Pong. The corn hole tournament is open to anyone, but you must be signed up by April 14th by emailing Williams at bwilliams5375@ucumberlands.edu. The tournament has a $2 entry fee and the winners will receive a cash prize. The dunk tank will feature the notorious Ezra Anderson and Dr. Pilant. Spectators can take a throw for $0.50 or three for $1. Anyone wishing to participate in the raffle can purchase three tickets for $1, which can gain you an entry for all three prizes or you can place them all into one prize option. Liberty on the Lawn will begin at 5 p.m. as well as the corn hole tournament, and the movie will begin at 8 p.m. Feel free to bring snacks, blankets to sit on, or chairs, however if you bring charis, it is en-

couraged that you sit in the back so others can see. All proceeds go toward the club and other activities they plan to host, including a huge end of the year event.

Young Americans for Liberty meet every Tuesday from 5-7 p.m. in Bennett 221. At the same time, don’t forget to keep a lookout for Bethany Williams on those election ballots in the not so far off future.

Bethany Williams: Prez 2034.

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Williams will definitely be taking advantage of all of the opportunities to perfect her resume, as she is planning for an important career path with just a little bit of a title tweak from President of YAL at UC; something more to the tune of President of the United States of America.

“I want to be president because I want to make a difference in the American government and I feel like government doesn’t handle things the way they should today. I want to properly enforce human rights; freedom of speech, freedom of religion, things like that, and I want to reform tax laws,” Williams said as she gave me a brief overview of her political reform path.

It may seem like a large goal, but others aren’t surprised at her zeal and feel she is more than capable of accomplishing what she sets out to do.

Mason said, ““She is inspiring, influential, and really determined, definitely determined above anything else, especially as a freshman. I am a

Hitting the high notes

BY CAR LEEN FLETCHER Photo Editor

1

3 1. Jessie Eldridge and Tyler Ward rehearse the Rumba.

2. Eldridge has voice lessons with Dr. David Etter.

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3. Eldrige and Ward practice their duet.

4. Eldrige during her senior recital.

2

5. Eldridge is congratulated by friend Whitney Johnson after her successful recital.

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4

5 10 tips on how to ace a recital hearing

BY JESSIE ELDRIDGE Staff Writer

1.) Make sure you practice for at least an hour five or more times a week.

2.) Don’t over-sing because that can be just as bad as under-singing.

3.) You should really practice.

4.) Listen to your vocal coaches; they know their stuff.

5.) Practice.

6.) Make time with you accompanist to get your emblem together.

7.) Schedule practice time.

8.) Find professional recording of your songs being performed and listen it to get a feel for each song.

9.) Pick the right songs for your voice that you can live with for a semester.

10.) PRACTICE!

BY CHR ISTIN ROTTENBERGER

Why students are making the switch from tobacco to vapor

Staff Writer

E-cigarettes, or e-cigs for short, have started to slowly appear in the hands of students across campus. A number of students have begun switching from traditional cigarettes to battery powered, flavored vapor e-cigs.

It would not be surprising if these started to outnumber normal cigarettes in the next few years.

The new e-cig trend started in part because of it being overall healthier for the user. Typical everyday cigarettes run many health issues such as lung cancer and heart disease among many others. When a person uses an e-cigarette, they aren’t getting any of the tar and toxins that they would

Once he quit he began to use the e-cigs and has been using them for the last year and a half. The e-cigarettes have a wide variety in flavored liquids that the user can purchase. Different flavors include different fruits, cinnamon, mint, a variety of candies, and even popcorn, just to name a few.

Using an e-cigarette, as Proctor stated, eliminates the unflattering smell of tobacco cigarettes. More often than not, the flavored liquid omits a pleasant smell relating to the specific flavor being used.

However, not every student is favor of this new trend. Senior Nicki Howard says, “I don’t really like them. I think they’re just as pointless as

receive if they smoked a tobacco cigarette. Tiramasu, a brand of e-cigarette

flavors, carries non-nicotine options if someone wants to use one without

the nicotine addiction. Using an e-cig also gives the user the freedom to

smoke wherever they want, although they should still be considerate if

someone wishes to not have someone smoking around them.

So why are people making the switch? UC senior Dillon Proctor says,

“E-cigs taste better [than tobacco] and you don’t have the bad smell,”.

Proctor smoked traditional cigarettes for a year and a half before quitting.

typical cigarettes,”. There is a fair share of students that believe smoking the e-cigs is a silly concept. “Even though the vapor isn’t as strong as regular cigarettes, I feel overwhelmed by the smell and the vapor being blown in my face,” says junior Logan Reynolds.

The trend of using e-cigarettes in place of traditional tobacco is a trend that could possibly stay around campus for a while. If it does, it could make for healthier students and more peaceful walks across campus without being bothered by the smell of tobacco blowing in the wind.

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Clearing the air

Photo by Abbey Cherr y

Lessons learned from The Grill:

BY A BBEY CHER RY

18 Faith & Ministry

Staff Writer

How to be a servant

In recent months, we as University of the Cumberlands students have been served by arguably one of the most polite, courteous, and sincere gentlemen ever. Yes, you know, the man who has been dubbed as “the nice Grill man.”

Upon entering the Grill, Dale (yes, he has a name) greets his customers with a humbling smile, followed by a statement along the lines of, “Hello ma’am/sir, how are you doing today? How may I serve you?”

Within those few moments that we all share daily with Dale, no matter if the day has been really good or just downright bad, there is something beautiful about someone being intentional with you.

One thing that Dale so wonderfully encompasses is having a humble servant’s heart. We have all seen people who serve and do so with a poor attitude, but through Dale we also have seen what serving with a sincere heart looks like.

A few weeks ago, I did an unofficial survey of people's thoughts of Dale's kind, serving heart. I simply put out on Twitter, "In all seriousness UC people, what difference has the kindness of the overly polite and kind Grill man made in your life? I'm interested." I received an unbelievable amount of response from this tweet. I'm talking 10 retweets, 47 favorites, and 14 responses.

Sophomore Jacob Ratliff stated, "Honestly the way he lives his life

and serves others in his job is such a great example of loving your neighbor." Senior Cassie Riffe responded, "He makes me feel like I'm doing him a favor by him serving me."

Junior Sarah England said, "It's so refreshing to see someone not only love their job, but genuinely love people. So encouraging!" So many comments similar to these continued to roll in. Even if comments weren't noted, the fact that so many people “favorited” the tweet, is just a further testament to people acknowledging the kindness of Dale.

I am reminded of Philippians 2:5-7 which says, "Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. Instead of this, of His own free will, He gave up all He had and took the nature of a servant."

Now, I'm not comparing Dale to God my any means, but I am saying that he has every right to simply take orders and send students about their business, but he doesn't. He is intentional with every person that he comes into contact with, making sure that he does whatever he can to serve those around him.

With all this being said, I challenge each of us to take example of people like Dale. I challenge us to have a servant’s heart, even when we feel that we don't need to. When we follow these examples and serve as Christ served with humility, the impact we will have is boundless.

BY SOLOMON WHITA K ER Staff Writer

Making an impact through worship

If you were to walk Main Street Baptist Church on a Sunday you’d notice there’s a white banner strung to two white columns. Light blue letters on the banner read “Impact Worship, Sunday Nights at six.” Enter through the white doors behind the banner and there is a foyer that leads into the room. The room is two stories tall and very wide, having a wood floor. Onto the gray-carpeted stage, the members of the band file out. The worship leader, with an acoustic guitar, in the center of the stage asks everyone to stand. The whole room stands and starts singing a song along with the band.

The song begins out quiet and then builds to a crescendo in the chorus. Some people raise their hands, while others simply stand and take in the scene; a great amalgamation of worshipers together in one mind. Impact Worship has begun.

The man in the center of the stage is Jake McPheron, the worship leader for Impact worship. McPheron is a junior at UC and is Youth and Family Ministries major. He won The Spotlight singing competition in the spring of 2013. Now he helps lead worship for the Impact services at Main Street Baptist Church.

Impact Worship was conceived during the summer of 2013. Albert Jones, the youth pastor at Main Street Baptist Church, approached McPheron about the idea of starting a worship service called Impact Worship. “He wanted it to be a contemporary service for youth and college students,” states McPheron. Jones wanted him to be the worship leader for this service. After much prayer and consideration, McPheron accepted the position. He then went about recruiting the other members of the worship band, Chris Lowrie on drums, Jimmy Deaton on lead guitar, Trey Bryant on bass guitar, and Nick Monroe on acoustic guitar.

For McPheron, the opportunity to lead worship has been both amazing and a blessing. “The fact that Albert came to me and trusted me with that leadership, it’s humbling,” states McPheron. It can be stressful being the worship leader of Impact as the band practices a few hours before the service. Having only those few hours makes practice very imperative and intense. Also, the songs have to be prepared prior, so Jake also has to find what songs they are going to play during the week. However, for McPheron it is all worth it when everyone comes together to worship. “I look out and see everyone having a worshipful heart and no one not into it,” he says.

McPheron has been a worship leader for eight years and he says that this worship service is unlike any he has ever done.

To those who are interested in becoming worship leaders McPheron has

some advice. He says to stay in the will of God and to not get discouraged when it seems like there isn’t an opportunity because God will make one available.

McPheron is very thankful to all the people that come to and support Impact Worship. He would like to see it outgrow the building it is currently in and be able to worship in an even bigger place. Just like Jake got involved with Impact worship, so can anyone else. They are always looking for small group leaders or any ministry someone would love to start.

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McPheron on Main Street

Majestic makes worship come alive

Compelling and powerful: ‘God’s Not Dead’

BY SYDNEY FR EEMA N Guest Writer

BY K A MRYN OLIV IER

20 Entertainment

Guest Writer

Kari Jobe has done it again with her newest release Majestic. It’s no surprise that this album holds a beautiful collection of praises that will surely make worship come alive in the hearts of listeners. Majestic is more than just an album of praise, but a newer, deeper, more passionate sound and delivery than what we’ve heard from Kari Jobe in the past. This album contains single “Forever” which is a phenomenal ballad about the power and beauty of God’s glory being shown when Jesus rose from the dead and proved that He would reign victorious for eternity. The album also holds a quieter, more meek collection of songs like “Holy Spirit” (originally written and recorded by Brian and Katie Torwalt) and the spontaneous “When You Walk in the Room”.

Kari’s soft but powerful sound has captured listeners for years, the power and passion behind her gifts has not changed at all, but Majestic is proof that this artist’s musical ability is growing about as rapidly as her zeal and love for the Lord.

This album will not disappoint. It’s evident not only in the words to the songs or her beautiful pure tone, but the passion in her worship that this album is a testament to Kari’s growing, deepening love for God. This remarkable collection of songs is a beautiful worship experience.

“God’s Not Dead” has set a new standard for the Christian film industry, appealing to the curiosity of non-Christians with its unique and unprecedented storyline, as well as the attention Christians who, no doubt, have had their faith reaffirmed and are rejoicing at the success of this movie. In spite of several weak acting moments, (a result of a small budget and a few inexperienced actors), the well-written storyline keeps the viewer engaged and intrigued throughout the film.

This move is nothing less than a roaring success for the Christian community, has been packing the theaters since the day it hit the big screen. It has attracted the attention of both Christians and NonChristians due to its bold and successful attempt to answer a question that has been asked since the beginning of time: Is there a God? The movie features actor Kevin Sorbo (most famous for his role in “Hercules, the Legendary Journeys”) as professor Radisson, a smug and dogmatic professor of Philosophical thought, who is a devout atheist. On the first day of classes, he urges his students to deny the existence of God by writing on a piece of paper “God is Dead”, signing their name for a grade. All of the students proceed to do just that, except first year freshman Josh

Wheaton (Shane Harper), whose refusal to renounce his faith in such a way results in the center conflict of the story. Wheaton is then challenged by his professor to either convince his classmates of God’s existence by the end of his next three class meetings, or fail he class entirely putting his academic career in jeopardy. As if the fact that this is a movie finally addressing what billions of people have wondered throughout the ages doesn’t make it a worthwhile enough watch, it also features “Duck Dynasty’s” Willie and Korie Robertson as well as a famous Christian band, “The Newsboys.” This movie has done something that no other movie in the Christian film industry has succeeded to do; it educates, informs, and could even inspire those who haven’t given God or Christianity much thought to explore what they believe.

The makers of the movie went above and beyond with the creation and completion of the movie, creating one of the most interesting and eye-opening films to have hit the theaters in years.

The movie’s captivating main plot, as well as the intricate and interwoven stories that connect and make up the rest of the film, make it a must-see for believers and non-believers alike.

Reviewing the series finale of “How I Met Your Mother”

BY TIMOTHY W YATT Editor-in-Chief

Let’s start this off with a giant disclaimer: if you have yet to see the series finale of “How I Met Your Mother,” or have yet to watch the show whatsoever and possibly plan on it anytime in the near future, you may want to stop reading now. Also, if you happened to watch it and somehow like the outcome, kindly disappear forever.

“HIMYM” came to an end last Monday night, bringing a close to the stories of Ted, Marshall, Lily, Barney and Robin. For nearly nine years this show kept viewers guessing who Ted’s hopelessly wayward journey for love would find him at the altar with. For the 22 episodes leading up to the finale, Ted and the rest of the group’s entire world revolved around one single weekend as Barney and Robin prepared to say “I do.” Then, in 44 minutes, all that time spent crying, laughing and caring for these characters was flushed away.

Not even a quarter of the way into the finale Barney and Robin reveal they got divorced (merely three years into their marriage), blowing up a whole season’s worth of work, and everything derails from there. The entire basis of the show, the apex, the “mother” for whom the show even existed, becomes a meaningless plot point; a surrogate to bear Ted’s children, become “sick” and die, leaving him to end up with Robin six years later, essentially erasing nine years of character development and making the pilot episode the only one that even matters: Ted sees Robin across the room, falls instantly headover-heels in love with her, decides he wants to marry her. That’s effectively the entire series wrapped into one ill-written sentence.

The worst part about it is that you can see it coming. Robin removes herself from“the gang” early in the episode because she can’t handle the dynamics of the group anymore. The main one being—as she tells Lily—is her having to see “the guy I probably should’ve ended up with, with the beautiful mother of his child.” Oh, OK. It became painfully obvious, especially once the mother was out of the picture, that Ted would end up outside Robin’s window holding that stupid blue French horn—basically recycling a scene from season one.

However, there was one scene redeeming enough to almost let the rest of this drivel pass off as an actual finale. Almost. We all know Barney as the shady, deceitful lothario who only cares about himself (except for that short period of time we thought him and Robin might actually make it together).

So, the thought of him being a father seemed…well, let’s just say it felt like a less than favorable situation for the child. But after all the moaning and

groaning and talking about how his life was over, he stood alone in the nursery holding his baby girl Ellie in his arms for the first time and said to her, “You are the love of my life. Everything I have and everything I am is yours. Forever." So. Many. Tears. For real, I needed to be swaddled after watching that.

A nice bottle and a nap wouldn’t have hurt either.

After such an uninspiring finale, it’s hard to say where “HIMYM” ranks in the history of sitcoms. Re-watching old episodes, while still entertaining and enjoyable, now feels a little tainted, and as a viewer, I feel a little cheated.

Ted was such a compassionate character who was ultimately robbed of the ending he deserved. It’s as if he just skipped ahead to the end of the book.

That’s how his great romantic quest comes to an end; him just disappearing into someone else’s failed marriage? That’s not Ted Mosby.

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how i met the woman who ultimately doesn’t really matter at all

TOP FIVE GAMES OF THE LAST GENERATION

BY RYA N POYNTER Staff Writer

22 Entertainment

The next generation of gaming has been in full swing since November, and alongside the release and development of the Playstation 4 and Xbox One hardware is sure to come a slew of games with unprecedented visuals, complex characters and new gameplay mechanics. But before we get too invested in the future, I’d like to briefly revisit what we’re leaving behind.

The last generation of consoles was incredibly kind to us. As a sort of tribute to consoles gone by, here are my top five games available on the Xbox 360 and/or Playstation 3:

#5 Dark Souls (PC, Xbox 360, PS3): Last generation was filled with overbearing, motherly-type games. We saw title after title full of hand-holding tutorial levels, quickly regenerating health meters and satellite GPS-guided objective markers, because heaven forbid you ever determined for yourself where you needed to go next.

“Dark Souls” is not that kind of game.

Instead, “Dark Souls” is in the business of teaching valuable life lessons. Did you just miss a block or incorrectly time your dodge mechanic, thereby rolling into the path of your enemy? Congratulations -- you’re dead. Progression in “Dark Souls” is a measure of mastery, asthe game demands that, through trial-and-error, you approach each enemy as a puzzle, trying over and over until you learn both your foe and your environment enough to finally move on.

And there is no reward more satisfying.

#4 Minecraft (PC, Xbox 360, PS3): “Minecraft” isn’t just a game anymore - it’s a cultural phenomenon. My dad plays “Minecraft” (he owns two different versions!). You can buy “Minecraft” action figures or pixelated pickaxes modeled after tools in the game at Walmart now. There are Minecraft-themed shirts on sale at department stores -- and people buy them.

This game has gone nuclear in a way that no one could have predicted.

But at the core of the “Minecraft” brand is still one of the greatest games I’ve ever experienced. This is a game that actively encourages creativity and rewards players with a unique vision. People have built spaceships, entire cities, and even functional computers inside the world of “Minecraft.” It isn’t just a game; it is a giant foundation yearning for player expression.

I’ve owned “Minecraft” since October 2010, and I haven’t stopped playing it since then.

#3 Bioshock (PC, Xbox 360, PS3): “Bioshock” is great for a lot of reasons.

It’s got one of the most unique and beautifully-realized settings in gaming in Rapture, a fallen underwater utopian city built by the industrialist visionary, Andrew Ryan.

It’s got tight gunplay, which combines with the use of Plasmids (superhuman genetically-modified abilities) to create one of the best and most varied combat systems of last generation. Simply put, it’s fun to play.

But where this game really shines is in its narrative; it incorporates the ideas of objectivism and dystopian versus utopian societies into a beautiful game world and tops it with a climax that makes the player question the ideas of choice, free will, and how much we really have of either.

#1 The Last of Us (PS3): It’s fitting that “The Last of Us” came toward the end of the PS3’s life cycle, because this game is the culmination of every good thing video games have done in the last generation. Gaming’s swan song, so to speak. First of all, it is visually beautiful. The graphical prowess that Naughty Dog, the game’s developer, managed to squeeze out of seven-year-old hardware is absolutely unmatched. The gameplay, both in and out of combat, is weighty and brutal, and it’s all incredibly animated. “The Last of Us” is a technical feat.

The best part of it all, though, is that this all comes together in a way that complements the narrative. The game itself is a great experience, but it takes a backseat to the development of two very compelling characters and the story they tell. Rarely in “The Last of Us” do you feel like you’re playing a game; Instead, you’re participating in the journey of two very real, suffering people. This is, without a doubt, the best game of the last generation.

“

This is, without a doubt, the best game of the last generation.

”

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#2 Journey (PS3): “Journey” is the most unique and refreshing experience I had all of last generation, and one that is difficult to describe without spoiling it for any future players.

Here’s what I will say, though: This game will connect with you on a very primitive, almost innate level. The game has been totally simplified; the controls are limited, and there is no HUD and no dialogue. There are only two characters, a destination, and the simple task of getting from point A to point B. This is a game everyone, even non-gamers, deserves to experience, and a compelling case for video games as a respected art form.