The Patriot- March 28, 2019

Letter from the Editor

Dear Patriots,

As the weather warms up, I see more and more people outside walking or running with headphones in, or I’m hearing music being blasted from people’s cars with their windows rolled down. If you guys know me at all, you’ll know that music is one of the things I care most about in life, so seeing people actively listening to things makes my soul happy.

It’s rare to find me without my headphones strung around my neck, and I’ve been getting asked lately why I can’t just walk without listening to music. Well, do y’all have a song that just makes you so happy you feel like you’re in a movie? That’s like every song for me. For some reason, if I’m not consistently discovering new music or analyzing albums on a daily basis, I feel a little empty on the inside. Some of my friends would say I’m a little too critical as well, but that is neither here nor there. I’m sure I’m not the only one here on campus that feels this way either, so if you also love talking about music please hit me up!

A movie is only complete when there is a great score behind it, and life is only complete when you have a great soundtrack to it.

I’m lucky to have friends from many different places with many different tastes and views on music, some of whom are in my own staff, Emilee and Taylor, who help me discover new music every week. In this issue, I give my best Anthony Fantano impression (a famous Youtube music reviewer, for those who don’t know) as I review the debut album from indie-pop band Wallows. If you enjoy the review, be sure to check out the album, it’s an instant classic, and will be a great soundtrack for your spring and summer.

And if anyone has any good album suggestions or wants to go to a concert sometime, let me know and I’ll be glad to come!

Fire it up,

Mike Krzyston, Editor-in-Chief

Editor-In-Chief

Mike Krzyston

Faculty Adviser

Jeremiah Massengale

Staff

Emilee Agee

Haley Bullock

Taylor Duke

Abigail Fletcher

Leanne Gregory

Jessica McFerron

Alex Nunn

River Phillippe

Dan Williams

Maranda Young

Front cover by Mike Krzyston

Back cover by Taylor Duke

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

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Inaugural “Give Day”

UC introduces new fundraiser

BY ALEX NUNN Staff Writer

April 4, 2019, brings about the very first University of the Cumberlands campus-wide Give Day. The event will start Thursday at midnight and lasts for 24 hours. UC encourages everyone from faculty and students, to friends and family to help by donating, and supporting the school by giving to a part of the university that they’re passionate about. During Give Day, many social media announcements and videos will be posted to keep people aware throughout the day. The message that everyone is encouraged to spread is #400onthe4th, which matches the motto for this year, “400 on the 4th,” since the goal is to bring in at least 400 new donors to help provide for the campus.

There will be events spread out through the day as well, starting with the Thank-A-Thon, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., where you can write a card to thank those who contribute, or in memory of someone who previously contributed. Later, on campus you can enjoy an ice cream sundae in the upper BCC starting at 6:30 p.m. Give Day events wrap up on campus with a round-table speaker for philanthropy for “giving your time, treasure and talent.”

Courtney Bidwell, the donor relations coordinator for UC, spoke on the topic, saying, “Give Day is the first of it’s kind at Cumberlands. We are hoping to bring together alumni, friends and the community, no matter where they may be, for one day of giving.”

Bidwell went on to say that even though you’re able to donate at any point, it’s wise to donate anytime from now until Give Day due to dollarfor-dollar matching for the first $5,000 in alumni gifts, $10,000 in music department gifts and $400 for each athletic team, with an additional $5,000 to be unlocked.

Shawn Sudduth, director of music education & athletic bands, is one of the many who are excited about the impact that give-day will have. Sudduth said, “I think it’s an exciting thing to try, because other institutes and businesses have a give-day, and we, as a school, rely on these kinds of things.”

Sudduth says that it is important for the departments to get this kind of attention, and for the fine arts, where she resides. She added, “Art is something that takes money, and with these donations we’d like to give back to the community.”

Give Day is scheduled for the 4th, but you are able to start giving today. Even if you can’t give money, UC now has a page for becoming a “social ambassador,” at ucumberlands.edu/giveday, where you are given tools to reach out to your friends and family to encourage them to be involved in the event, so that everyone can unite for this day of giving.

Photo by University Communications and Marketing

Testimonies of Induction

UC students react to hypnotism with Frederick Winters

BY HALEY BULLOCK AND ABIGAIL FLETCHER Staff Writers

From the light bulb to the music and the verbal cues that he gives, Frederick Winters has successfully pulled many people from their grip on reality and put them under induction, through the process of hypnosis. Winters, featured annually at the University of the Cumberlands, is a hypnotist who incorporates comedy in his shows to entertain his audience. Though the process and the validity of hypnosis is often seen as questionable, the involvement of university students shows authenticity behind this controversial practice. Testimonies of hypnosis are often used as a way to prove the true existence of it and, luckily, some of the university’s own students were selected to participate in the show held recently on campus. Savannah Frost, a UC junior, is one of many that has been hypnotized by Winters. Like many others, Frost says she was wary of hypnotism before it actually happened to her.

“I was completely skeptical of hypnotism before I was hypnotized,” Frost said, “I had even seen some of my friends hypnotized the year before, but there’s something about experiencing it for yourself that changes your whole viewpoint. It is so real and so fascinating.”

If one hasn’t experienced hypnosis, it can be hard for one to describe the feeling of it. Frost says, “The closest thing I could compare it to would be when you get really tired and your body kind of starts to loosen up. You’re

still completely in control of what you’re doing, everything just seems a little slower and you’re more likely to be a little sillier or do things that you wouldn’t normally do.”

Clara Arnold, a UC junior, is yet another person that has went under hypnosis due to Frederick Winters’ ability to allow people to complete the induction process. It is said that a side effect of hypnosis is that one loses their perception of time, however, that was not the case for Arnold. She says, “I would not say that I lost track of time while being hypnotized. It’s not that I had no sense of time at all, it just felt like time worked differently. I felt like only 20 minutes had passed when it had actually been well over an hour.”

Though Arnold said that she was skeptical of hypnotism at first, she added, “After going through it, I’m not as skeptical, but I am even more intrigued by it and why different people have different experiences.”

Though hypnosis is a controversial topic in terms of its authenticity, testimonies are recounts of anecdotes that can be used to sway opinions when it comes to the topic. Frederick Winters is competent when it comes to placing people in the process of induction, and has changed many opinions on the topic of hypnosis. The testimonies given by UC students show that even the biggest skeptic can be induced into hypnosis.

Photo by Mike Krzyston

Sophomore Emily Crump after she’s hypnotised into thinking her neighbor’s shoe is a phone.

The Stage is Home

From “Spotlight” to a band, Jordan Yaden continues to pursue music

BY MARANDA YOUNG Staff Writer

One of the many ways to worship Jesus Christ is through music. A person who is a prime example of this is Jordan Yaden, a senior at The University of The Cumberlands. Yaden is the lead singer and a bass player of the contemporary worship band Heaven to Earth.

“I had a buddy when I was in high school and we started dabbing around with recording,” Yaden said, “We wanted to create a band together, so we created a group who at the time had a different name.” This wasn’t the first time that Yaden had practiced music. Yaden was raised on music. His first experience with music was when he was four years old playing the drums in church. Now, he can play several instruments and is currently a music major.

Yaden says, “Music is kind of my life.”

A part of understanding music is knowing your band members. Yaden developed strong personal relationships with each individual of the band and then brought them together like a puzzle; piece by piece. The members consist of Yaden, Tyler Huff, the drummer, Daniel Reeds, the guitar player and Josh Wheeler, the keyboard player.

“I picked songs that spoke dearly to my heart, a heart of worship. I decided to do covers of well-known songs and put a little twist of my own in them,” Yaden explained, “Adding more of a rock vibe in a intense worship style.”

Yaden has an EP coming out soon. On it, you can hear the covers of “Reckless Love”, “Glorious Day” and a mash up of “Great are you Lord” and “Never Lost.” Yaden and his band have already released one cover of “Forever” by Carry Jobe.

“The end goal is to just create opportunities to lead people in worship. I feel like worship is my highest calling,” Yaden says, “I am a music education major and I want to be a great teacher one day, but I feel like as a disciple of Christ, to work for Him is to be a worship leader.”

Yaden will be graduating this May and he plans to continue his life of worship.

“Really try to master your craft as much as you possibly can because music is a gift that not everyone can be a part of, “ Yaden said, “But you can be and inspire others to be a part of it as well.”

Photo by Mike Krzyston

Jordan Yaden performs in the finals of last season’s “Spotlight” competition. He went on to win the grand prize of $1,500.

Album Review: “Nothing Happens” by Wallows

8.5/10

BY MIKE KRZYSTON Editor-in-Chief

Indie-Pop trio Wallows has been causing a little bit of a stir in the rock scene this past year. Their 2018 EP “Spring” was so well received that it boosted the Los-Angeles-based group to be billed on some of the hottest summer festivals of the summer, like Chicago’s Lollapalooza and California’s Coachella. After all, one of the lead singers, Dylan Minnette, was the lead actor on Netflix’s hit drama series “13 Reasons Why,” which unintentionally helped the band earn a larger audience.

Yet their debut album, “Nothing Happens,” isn’t about cassette tapes left for enemies, or the struggles of stardom. What “Nothing Happens” does is offer a raw and honest look at life in your twenties—failed and hopeful love stories, finding self-confidence and wondering what there is to look forward to while growing older.

Where this album succeeds is in its musicianship. Each song is composed to make it sound huge and un-escapable, as if the music is consuming you more and more every second. The guitar riffs are subtle and simple, the bass lines are groovy and heavy and the synthesizer runs amok in every track. Wallows sounds as if The Smiths went pop, and it works.

What hurts this album, albeit very slightly, is the fact that Wallows is following the current, un-escapable trend in indie rock of channeling inspiration from the ‘80s. Many albums released in the past few years have had heavy influence from the synth-rock period of the 20th century—MGMT did their best Depeche Mode impression in their 2018 album “Little Dark Age”, and even folk band Houndmouth did an entire disco-album last year. Yet, the many strengths of “Nothing Happens” outweigh the few negatives.

From the get-go, the album erupts into a colorful, yet somber, burst of instruments in the opening song “Only Friend”. The short introductory song

evaluates the feeling of being lost after a broken relationship, as Minnitte sings “Pick up the pieces/ Finding a place in the world/ To be”, before the song perfectly transitions into the next.

The themes of failed relationships continues in the lead single “Are You Bored Yet,” which features another up and coming indie artist Clairo, as they sing about both partners losing interest in one another, as they sing “Before this turns into another memory/ Will you tell the truth so I don’t have to lie.”

There are a lot of silver linings in the lyrics of other songs however. The song “Scrawny” focuses on self-love, as the narrator turns the things people say about him negatively into things he loves about himself. In turn, the song “Treacherous Doctor” asks the important question of finding ones place in the world as you watch the “best days of your life” fly by.

Perhaps the strongest part of this album happens at the end in the final two songs “I’m Full” and “Do Not Wait”. The two complement each other, flowing seamlessly into one another. The songs center on falling in love with a friend and the fears and hopes that come along with it, complete with huge choruses and instrumentals that can overwhelm even the most apathetic listener with a wave of emotions.

“Nothing Happens” sounds like a soundtrack of a feel-good, coming of age film that every listener is living in real time. The production quality is clean, but not too clean, giving a raw and heartfelt feeling to each song. With summer right around the corner, Wallows delivers a masterful debut album that will for sure be played full volume in the car with the windows down, as the band shows immense potential for what is yet to come.

Image courtesy of Atlantic Records

Review: “Us”

BY EMILEE AGEE Staff Writer

9/10

Written, directed, and produced by Jordan Peele, horror film “Us,” premiered in theaters March 22. It follows the Wilson family who take a vacation to Santa Cruz, California to visit their friends the Tylers while staying in wife and mother Adelaide’s childhood home. But the trip quickly brings up haunting memories for Adelaide, when her son Jason wanders off on his own at the beach. Later that night, her dark fears become real when four intruders break into the home and to their shock, these intruders happen to be their exact look alikes who know everything about them.

Something that stood out to me was that every detail was utilized to connect to the rest of the story later on. From the blood red jumpsuits worn by the doppelgangers, the large gold scissors they brandish, the kids’ hobbies of track and magic, they all are woven into the story to propel the plot and connect to the backstory. Details that in the moment were eerie with no explanation behind them are later revealed to have heavy significance, for example, a homeless man holding a sign that had the Bible verse Jeremiah 11:11 foreshadows a grim future for the Wilson’s. As they run for their lives from the worst versions of themselves, it channels such a deep-seeded fear in the audience. You cannot help but imagine, with every risky decision made, if you yourself would follow suit.

The violence is plentiful without losing the focus and progression of the story and while it is paired with humorous moments to lighten tension, there are times it results in cringing, for example when the father, Gabe, shows the family the old boat he bought which is met by eye-rolls from the kids, or when you meet the Tyler’s, who drink too much and have airheads for daughters. Possibly the best use of humor, though, is when they find their clones outside of their home and Gabe struggle to work up the courage to go outside and face them.

The first moments the family realizes they’re in danger, as they wait with dread not knowing what will happen next, will have the audience frozen and transfixed. Suspense and anxiety mount with every passing minute after Adelaide says the police won’t be there for 14 minutes. All questions are answered at the end of the film, all at the same time, which can be difficult to keep up with, but the last scene of the movie provides a wonderful twist, so I cannot but give it 9/10.

March to New Music

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures