Volume 56 Issue 3

GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

www.asubellringer.com

VOLUME 56, ISSUE 3

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

Master plan still in works

By Jacob Scharff staff writer One year ago, there was a small plan in place to close the Summerville campus Wellness Center and expand the game room. Now that plan has been changed into a new master plan being developed for the entire university.

Philip Howard is the vice president for Facility Service of

Georgia Regents University, and he said, while the plan is still in its infancy, the admin is looking to get it started by year’s end.

“The master plan will address all three of our missions: clinical, academic and research,” Howard said. “The board approved that. There was (a request for quotations) that went out soliciting design firms.

That process is run through the university system facilities of-

fice up in Atlanta ... There are 10 firms that applied, or submitted responses, so we’re short-listing that group down, and then by probably early to mid-November, we should have a selection on which firm will be working with us on that project.”

The new vice president for Student Affairs, Mark Poisel, said he is aware of the master plan and hopes it reshapes the campus’s future.

“One of the things I’m going to do is develop a strategic plan for student engagement,” Poisel said. “So as we look at what that plan is to be, what it might encompass, it could be facilities. It could be organizations. It could be activities. We could involve a lot of different things.”

Dale Hartenburg, the director of Student Services, said he knew of the original set of plans

regarding the fitness center within the Jaguar Student Activities Center and said it was determined students needed a way to work out on the Summerville campus. The room is being left alone for now, but once the master plan is enacted, that could wind up changing.

“If we could move the fitness center someplace close see PLAN on PAGE 2

Assault leads to

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter

AMY THORNE | CONTRIBUTOR

Georgia Regents University is tobacco free as a result of a newly implemented policy. See TOBACCO ON CAMPUS on page 3 for more details.

Vending machines to be replaced

By Ashley Trawick news editor The frustration of inserting hard-earned money into a vending machine, only to have it eat the cash or display an error message that the card reader isn’t working properly will soon be a thing of the past at Georgia Regents University.

Both the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses will be receiving new snack and drink machines in various locations throughout the month of October, thanks to local vending companies, Global Vending Solutions and Coca-Cola.

Karl Munschy, the direc-

tor of Auxiliary Services, said Coca-Cola was easy to bring in for beverage vending because they already supplied drinks for both campuses, and they’re a sponsor of the GRU Augusta Athletic program.

“Coca-Cola has been a great partner,” Munschy said.

“They offered to replace a number of the machines. Now all the Coca-Cola (machines) are energy-star compliant so we reduce our energy consumption, which is a good thing. It saves the university money which keeps our tuition and everything else low.

Coca-Cola really stepped up and we appreciate their partnership.”

The other vending com-

pany providing new machines to campus is Global Vending Solutions. The owner, Michael Hinson, said his company put in a bid when Auxiliary Services at Georgia Regents released a request for vending services.

“Each section was graded based upon quality of machinery as well as technological abilities,” Hinson said. “Then there was a section that was chosen as well as far as financial stability of the company.”

Hinson said the machines are being provided at no cost to the school.

“There is cost for the electricity, but the machines that we’re putting out are the greenest machines out there,”

he said. “The carbon footprint will be cut by 30 percent.”

New features on all machines will be touch screens, nutrition information for selected products, a debit or credit card reader, the ability to dispense change in $1 bills up to $5 when inserted and about 20 percent of the products being healthier options.

The machines also hold about 35 percent more product.

The new vending machines are expected to be installed on the Summerville campus during the week of Oct. 7 and on the Health Sciences campus during the week of Oct. 21. atrawick@gru.edu

Adopt-a-spot gives campus makeover

By Meredith Day staff writer It’s time to change out the spring flowers for fall, and students are more than welcome to help.

Since last year, the Adopta-Spot program of Georgia Regents University has invited students, faculty and staff from the Health Sciences campus to help plant flowers around the school. This year, the program, which kicks off Oct. 5 at 8 a.m., has extended to the Summerville campus in what’s sure to be a fun and rewarding volunteer opportunity, said Tab Carter, a horticulturist for the Health Sciences

follow us like us on facebook @BellRinger_News

MEREDITH DAY | STAFF

Faculty, staff and students have the ability to adopt a spot on the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses to help beautify the grounds.

campus.

“We decided to offer to faculty staff and students the opportunity to kind of give back and plant the little fellas,” Carter said.

Participants usually work

in groups of their choosing with friends, clubs or family members. Once a group chooses its spot, it gets to work on it alone, which allows the participants to really feel like they own their work.

Scott Davis, the manager of landscaping and grounds, conceived this idea in an attempt to promote community service around the campuses.

Every spring and fall, the perennial flowers on campus are changed to match the colors with the season. In the program, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to help plant these flowers in a project that allows them to see the fruits of their labor firsthand.

“If a student group says they want to do spots around the student center, at that point, when they sign up or let me know and I have a group see SPOT on PAGE 2

Campus police arrested Kefele Bush at the intersection of Laney Walker and R.A. Dent boulevards Kefele Bush Thursday after he assaulted a student on Georgia Regents University’s Health Sciences campus.

Chief of Police William McBride said the event began at Macuch Steel earlier that morning.

“We have a warehouse out that way,” McBride said. “The truck driver was picking up a load and the suspect came out of the place and jumps on the running board of the truck and bangs on the window yelling, ‘Hey man let me in,’ and the driver didn’t know him so of course he didn’t let him in. The driver then drove down Augusta Avenue close to a mile up to R.A. DentLaney Walker, which is right next to campus and (the driver) decided to hit the brakes to throw this guy off his truck, which he does. The guy then hit the ground and rolls and jumps up.”

According to the incident report, 18-year-old Bush came out from behind a semi-truck and told the victim, Kate Shiver, to get into the truck. After Shiver told the suspect no, she said he punched her in the mouth.

After the suspect punched Shiver in the mouth, a witness in a nearby car told the suspect he was calling the police and that was when the man jumped onto the witness’ car, according to the incident report. At that time, Officer Anthony Plyler arrived at the scene and was able to get the suspect into custody. McBride said he checked on Shiver after the man was detained to make sure she was OK. “She had a busted lip and was just going to go home, but I told her she needed to go see student health,” McBride said. “She went to student health and got checked out and was fine.”

Tony Wagner, the executive vice president and chief business officer for Georgia Regents, sent a mass email Friday that gave students advice on keeping safe when they are on campus at late hours. Wagner said everyone is urged to take reasonable precautions on campus and to always be aware of the surroundings. It also told students to use the 24-hour Campus Escort Service and to avoid walking alone and stay away from poorly-lit areas. rperbets@gru.edu

NEWS | PAGE 2

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 6

SPORTS | PAGE 10

Class helps to bring attention to domestic violence.

New series focuses on the struggles of various addictions.

New coach revitalizes athletic focus on strength and conditioning.

PAGE 2

NEWS

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

www.asubellringer.com

Bringing violence to light The voice of

Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser MATTHEW BOSISIO mbosisio@gru.edu editor-in-chief LEIGH BEESON kbeeson1@gru.edu copy editor MINDY WADLEY mindyawadley@gmail. com news editor ASHLEY TRAWICK atrawick@gru.edu arts & life editor MEGAN STEWART mstewar7@gru.edu sports editor JORDAN WILLIAMS jwill143@gru.edu chief reporter REBECCA PERBETSKY rperbets@gru.edu production manager JACQUELYN PABON jpabon@gru.edu production assistant NIKKI SKINNER nskinner@gru.edu

By Brittany Hatcher contributor Inspired by Take Back the Night, a sexual assault awareness event hosted annually in April, the Georgia Regents University Violence Awareness Month was founded by women’s studies, sociology, criminal justice and political science majors .

The students wanted to focus more on the physical and emotional abuse in partner relationships. It started off in 2009 as Violence Awareness Week, but last year was the first year the awareness expanded to last an entire month.

Georgia Regents’s Violence Awareness Month is composed of various events held during October, the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, in celebration of those who survived abuse.

Allison Foley, an associate professor of criminal justice; Shannon Nix, a counselor at the Counseling Center; and Marie Drews, an assistant professor in the English department, have all been part of the movement since the beginning. Foley said they wanted a broader anti-violence initiative on campus.

“A lot of the events are

Upcomming Events •

Purple Light Nights Violence Awareness Month kickoff Tuesday, Oct. 1 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Quadrangle Lawn

•

Flirting with Danger: Film Screening and Discussion Monday, Oct. 7 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

University Hall Room 170

photographer NEIL DAVENPORT dportneil@comcast.net staff writers RICHARD ADAMS JORDAN BARRY KEREYIA BUTLER MEREDITH DAY JACOB SCHARFF MAGGIE SMITH contributors BRITTANY HATCHER AMY THORNE circulation manager RIDGE UNDERWOOD runderw2@gru.edu advertising manager RAVEN NORRIS rnorris2@gru.edu webmaster JAMIE LOWE jlowe12@gru.edu Direct advertising inquiries to: Marie Pierce, National Sales Manager Media Mate mpierce@mymediamate. com Address

all correspondence to: The Bell Ringer 2500 Walton Way Augusta, Ga 30904 706-737-1600 www.asubellringer.com

editorial policy

Letters to the editor must be accompanied by the author’s name, phone number and email address. All columns and letters to the editor are the opinion of the author.

The views expressed in the Editorial section do not necessarily express those of The Bell Ringer, a designated public forum.

corrections policy We strive to bring you accurately reported news.

If you wish to report an error, please provide your name, phone number and a detailed description of the error and the necessary correction.

PRINTER Aiken Standard 326 Rutland Dr. NW P.O. Box 456 Aiken, SC. 29802

Plan

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

where students can have it, then sure, we’d love more union space. We know we need that too,” Hartenburg said. “We just haven’t been able to act on anything.”

Howard said even if a firm does end up being selected by the estimated time frame of early to mid-November, the true work won’t begin until probably at least mid-December and could take up to 10 months to complete. No concrete plans are in place yet since there are a lot of things all parties involved have to consider and evaluate before moving forward.

“The process will be an evaluation of our current assets on all the campuses,” he said.

Spot

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

leader, then that spot is typically closed,” Davis said. “That’s their spot and I move on to the next.”

As far as materials are concerned, the only thing that participants need to bring is a good pair of working clothes. The school supplies the rest of the materials needed.

“We stagger time in 30-minute increments and meet the volunteers at their spots with all of the supplies that they will need to plan that spot,” he said. “A lot of times those beds may be prepped, sometimes they may not, and they need to tear out the old flowers and install the new. We give them the tools, the

LEIGH BEESON | STAFF

Students taking the Gender and Victimization class pose for October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month poster for the Summerville campus.

geared toward helping people understand specific definitions, how to identify abuse and steps that anyone can take to assist someone who’s in an abusive relationship and to be able to escape it safely because a lot of victims feel there is no way out,” Foley said. “We hope that these activities will help empower victims through the celebrations of survivors.”

The purpose of the month is to raise awareness and educate everyone on the lesser-known issues and aspects of intimate partner abuse. It will honor “What will be layered on that is our new strategic direction, all three of our missions, and then layered on that our enrollment numbers, projections, any kind of program changes that will be occurring in any of the colleges, what’s going to grow, adding new programs, and that will feed into the planning process.”

Howard also mentioned student housing, student dining and student union space as critical aspects which would develop the planning process. The Board of Regents would like to see the campus become more of a destination campus with a more “student-centric” quality of life.

Howard said the Board of Regents would like to see the campus become more of a destination campus with a more “student-centric” quality of life. jscharff@gru.edu

compost, the flowers and a little direction and let them have fun with it.”

As the year moves on and certain areas become cluttered with either falling leaves or trash, participants are encouraged to take care of their area.

This will help to keep the campuses looking consistently wellkept.

“The hope is that those people that volunteer with those spots will kind of keep a watchful eye on those spots,” Davis said. “So, if it has weeds in it or trash in it they can take the initiative to pick up the trash or pull the weeds. That’s their spot and they can take pride in it as they go to their class or their office.” mday4@gru.edu

those who have experienced these issues and come out on the other side safely and give them a voice to share and encourage others going through it that there is a way to overcome intimate partner abuse, she said.

Graduate student Cristal Tullis said any student can be a part of this organization, but the main reason she has a part in it is because she is currently taking the Gender and Victimization class taught by Foley.

According to the syllabus, the course features a groupbased service learning project

focused on victimization, sexual violence, partner abuse, stalking, dating, violence and hate crime. As a whole, the class largely considers the role of gender, both males and females, as it relates to victims’ experiences. It also focuses on the causes and effects of victimization.

“In this class, we discuss rape and all different types of sexual crimes,” Tullis said.

“Anything that can help benefit the furthering of any education of those kinds of crimes is good.”

Senior sociology major Jennifer Hunter is also taking the course and said this month will help raise awareness of the resources that are available to students, especially those living on campus, if they are victims or know someone who has been a victim.

All of the events hosted during Georgia Regents’s Violence Awareness Month are open to all students, faculty and staff.

The events range from documentaries about double standards, workshops on financial abuse, informational sessions about LBGTQ violence, training to stop stalkers, a tree-lighting ceremony and a survivor walk.

Donations of old cellphones, new household and children’s items and gift cards for SafeHomes clients will be collected at the Purple Light Nights Violence Awareness Month Kickoff Oct. 1 from 7 to 8 p.m., which is open to the entire community.

The SafeHomes Survivor’s Walk Oct. 24 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. will feature testimonies from survivors of domestic violence and a candlelight walk to honor all who have experienced it. bhatche5@gru.edu

Happenings around campus When

What

Where

Wednesday 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Military Resource Center Grand Opening

Washington Hall

Thursday 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Counseling Center Open House

Physical Plant, second floor

Friday 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Student Research Brown Bag Seminar

JSAC

Saturday 7:30 a.m.

Jaguar Jaunt

Maxwell Alumni House

Saturday 8 a.m.-noon

Beet Feet for ALS

Augusta RiverWalk

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 3

TOBACCO ON CAMPUS

Policy depends on self-policing

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter According to the newly implemented tobacco-free policy, the use of tobacco products on any part of the Georgia Regents University campuses is prohibited, and the policy should be enforced at all times.

The prohibition was put in place to help promote a healthy environment for everyone on the campus, but Chief of Police William McBride said the enforcement issue of the policy is not a police issue.

“When we went that way, and I was here then, the committee wanted to write the policy saying it was Public Safety’s responsibility to enforce this,” McBride said. “I told them no, we are not doing that. We have way too much stuff to be doing that and being the puff police.”

The way the policy is written indicates every faculty or staff member and student is supposed to be included in the enforcement, McBride said. The policy can be difficult to enforce when an individual who is reported wants to act hostile and irrational, though.

“It does get a little bit harder here, on the Health Sciences campus, because of the number of visitors we get,” he said.

“We have between 4,000 and 5,000 patients a week, and they don’t know they are in a no-smoking zone.”

McBride added officers on the Summerville campus to take care of the issue if they see anybody. He said when the committee members first came together to begin the process, they initially wanted to be able to write a ticket for the policy violation; however, the committee members eventually voted the ticket

ASHLEY TRAWICK | STAFF

A student in a photography class in Washington Hall takes a break from smoking her e-cigarette in order to comment on another student’s artwork during an in-class discussion and critique.

issue down because they did not think it was a smart thing to do, and in order to write a ticket, the violation has to be against the law.

Along with the recent enforcement confusion, there has been talk about whether electronic cigarettes are included in the policy.

McBride said electronic cigarettes

are not a part of the policy; however, the current policy clearly states a tobaccorelated product is any product that is derived from tobacco, which includes but is not limited to cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cigars, bidis, kreteks, pipes and smokeless or spit tobacco.

Christine O’Meara, the director of Cancer Information and Awareness at the

Georgia Regents Cancer Center, said ecigarettes are included in the policy because they do contain tobacco products.

“The Food and Drug Administration is currently regulating electronic cigarettes as a tobacco device, and they do have harmful chemicals in them,” O’Meara said. “The purpose of the policy is to promote the health and safety of students, faculty and staff, and that is why electronic cigarettes are included in the policy.”

Karen Ribble, a project manager for the Georgia Regents tobacco-free policy, said the policy did have to be revised from the 2007 version, which was created when the Health Sciences campus went tobacco free, because electronic cigarettes did not exist at the time.

Ribble said the research found tobacco products were used in the electronic cigarettes, which is why they are being included and enforced through the policy.

As far as the enforcement of the electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products on campus, he said the enforcement is a shared duty.

“We encourage all faculty, staff and students to self-enforce,” Ribble said.

“This means it you see someone that is in violation of the policy, you casually let them know we are currently a tobaccofree campus (and ask) could you please extinguish that.”

The university is offering cessation classes to help students break the habit.

Along with those classes, O’Meara said this semester only the university will be providing those who participate in the cessation classes any medical treatment, free of charge, to help them stop smoking. rperbets@gru.edu

Smokeless smoking Are e-cigarettes really harmless?

What is an electronic cigarette?

Warnings:

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, electronic cigarettes, commonly known as ecigarettes, are products designed to deliver nicotine or other substances to a user in the form of a vapor. Some are made with a rechargeable, battery-operated heating element, a replaceable cartridge that may contain nicotine or other chemicals, and an atomizer that, when heated, coverts the contents of the cartridge into vapor. The vapor can be inhaled by the user.

They’re made to look like authentic cigarettes, cigars and pipes.

According to the FDA, in 2009, the agency conducted an analysis of cartridges from two brands of electric cigarettes. The cartridges contained toxic chemicals, carcinogens and nicotine, which is highly addictive. The toxic chemicals included diethylene glycol, an ingredient in antifreeze that is hazardous to humans. Carcinogens included tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which are formed from nicotine and produce lung, liver and pancreatic tumors in rats, according to the National Cancer Institute. Another health risk arises when users refill cartridges.

Some refill bottles contain levels of nicotine that can be fatal if consumed by children or adults.

Side effects/FDA concerns: The FDA has not yet evaluated ecigarettes for safety and effectiveness. When laboratory studies were conducted, the FDA found large issues that indicated that the process used to produce them are nonexistent. The cartridges are labeled as containing no nicotine and three different electronic cigarette cartridges with the same label released contain different amounts of nicotine with each puff.

Can it cause harm to your mouth and body?

Scott DeRossi, the chairman of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences for Georgia Regents University, said it’s not known because there isn’t much research done on electronic cigarettes.“We really have no scientific proof that they are good or bad,” DeRossi said.

Who uses them primarily?

Health concerns:

A dramatic rise in usage of e-cigarettes is by youth, and this is cause for great concern, critics said, because the long-term effects of the products are not yet understood.

“The concern is, you know, if you look at how these products are marketed, they’re sort of sold and marketed as something you use at times that you can’t smoke,” DeRossi said. “The implication is that it will increase nicotine exposure, not necessarily reduce smoking, and unfortunately, it encourages people to use more nicotine as opposed to less. I think that trend is something that concerns a lot of healthcare providers because a lot of these products are marketed as tools to help people to quit smoking but no one really knows if e-cigarettes is going to cure people smoking.”

Will it ever get approved by the FDA? The FDA issued a letter to the Electronic Cigarette Association inviting electronic cigarette firms to work in cooperation with the agency to achieve the goal of guaranteeing e-cigarettes sold in the U.S. are lawfully promoted. The agency intends to regulate electronic cigarettes and associated products coherent with its mission of protecting the health of the public.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION - ASHLEY TRAWICK, NEWS EDITOR

AMY THORNE | CONTRIBUTOR

A student takes a smoke break in his car in a campus car lot Sept. 13.

Views on campus tobacco ban vary

By Amy Thorne contributor Some Georgia Regents University students and Summerville residents have been struggling with adjusting to the new tobacco ban.

Since it commenced in August, the ban has caused the school’s cigarette-smoking community to find various alternative areas to smoke.

Shellie Smitley, a junior communications major, said she has struggled to stop smoking. She normally smokes at least three times during classes from the time she arrives on campus to the time she leaves.

“Smoking is not just something you can tell people to quit,” Smitley said. “It’s more serious of an addiction than that. People are going to smoke until they are ready to quit. Just because you don’t allow it anymore doesn’t mean they’re (not) going to do it.”

She said smoking off campus poses a major inconvenience because she has had to walk quite a distance to smoke in between her classes.

When she’s not walking past McDowell Street to light a cigarette, she often goes to the other side of campus to smoke in front of the school’s main entrance on Walton Way. To avoid violating the anti-smoking rules, students

have gone so far as smoking in the yards of Summerville residents. David Dunngan, the crime-watch chairman of the Summerville Neighborhood Association, said several of the residents reported seeing smokers lining up on areas like Katherine Street. He said he feared the overflow of smokers into the homeowners’ properties would portray a poor image of not only Georgia Regents, but the Summerville neighborhood as well.

While students like Smitley still adhere to the campus rules, students like Harrison Frey, a junior political science major, grew tired of the no-smoking rule and chose to smoke on campus anyway.

“As smokers, we’ve made out little designated smoking areas, usually 200 feet from the buildings’ doors,” Frey said. “We pay too much money to have to go off campus.

It’s all about the money.”

Frey said he suggests officials either designate smoking areas or make a discretionary rule for students and faculty.

The issue comes from a lack of respect, he said, not only with students’ lack of respect for neighbors’ property, but also, like Smitley said, the university’s lack of the respect for students. athorne@gru.edu

PAGE 4

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

opinion www.asubellringer.com

editorial

Facing an internal competitor Advertising is a tough business.

You have to make sure your prices are competitive with industry rivals while still maintaining a profit for your business. In the real world, it’s brutally cutthroat in the ad business – you either sink or swim. Competitors swoop in behind your back to swipe the deal you thought you had made, promising lower prices for the same ads with the possibility of better placement on the page.

As much as we at The Bell Ringer pride ourselves on our professionalism, we recognize that we are not a professional publication. We are first and foremost a public forum, written, produced and edited primarily by students in the journalism track of the Department of Communications and Professional Writing. By and large, our purpose for being is to give university students the opportunity to get hands-on experience working for a print newspaper.

Over the course of more than 50 years, The Bell Ringer has built a solid reputation as an editorially independent, award-winning college newspaper that is not afraid to tackle controversial or sensitive subject matter.

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

A mountain of GReports sits unrequested outside The Bell Ringer office, with the “ASU” label.

But here’s the thing, we are still a college newspaper. So why exactly are we facing competition from within our own university?

With its monstrous budget and professional resources, the GReport is proving to be more than just a thorn in our side. It’s apparent from perusing its contents that the GReport solicits many of the same advertisers as The Bell Ringer and, because of its infinitely larger resources, the GReport is able to offer lower bids to potential clients than we are currently able to do.

Promoting itself as and prominently plastering “campus news” on the front of its distribution boxes, potential advertisers can easily be forgiven for assuming the GReport is Georgia Regents University’s official school newspaper.

But it’s not. And it’s frankly offensive and misleading for the public relations publication to bill itself as a news publication.

Its job is to promote and cheerlead the university, glossing over any controversy or questionable actions on the parts of university administration and

Don’t take pages out of my books

The customer isn’t always right The customer is not al- lie! ways right.

I find it especially offenMaybe in the 20th cen- sive to have someone who tury when the idea was coined didn’t want to listen to my that customers were always suggestions, who goes home correct, customers had more and suddenly realizes I was sense and actually knew what right – only to fall outside they were talking about. But of the return period and then today, not so much. come back in saying that he The rationalities behind was misled in the information their expectations can be few provided and therefore deand far between. I understand someone may have been lied to or even misled, but at the I’ve seen too many people end of the day we have an inbe swift at turning a key to finite amount of engines that override a transaction, or cost a help us to collect information, company some money, in order so why are some people solely to satisfy someone relying on information from --Megan Stewart another, who probably has just as little knowledge as they do? serves some sort of solution.

I’ve been working in reBut hey, I know all the tail for a good period of my blame doesn’t fall on the conlife, and I have to say, I’ve sumer. I’m blaming the manseen it all. agement as well. If you open The cashier didn’t smile, the door for one incident, you so the customers deserve a gift have to continue to bend the card. The bagger accidentally rules for everyone else who put their meat with some ran- walks in that door. dom frozen good, so they need Before I worked in mana discount. The cashier made agement, if something I told them wait more than five min- a customer was overturned utes because the business was by someone above me, then I slightly busy, and the cashier would generally understand or was probably alone, so there just get over it. Now that I am needs to be some sort of ret- a manager and I actually see ribution. the ridiculous things people Regardless of what hap- come up with to get their way, pened, many don’t understand I realize policies should be reconstraints within a business spected 100 percent. and that certain policies and If there’s something I procedures are present be- can print, highlight and show cause they’re meant to be fol- someone disproving the abillowed and not broken over the ity for me to break a rule for slightest upset that one may that person – I definitely do. have.

Why can’t we simply say Another reason customers no? aren’t always right is people Is it that important to

“

”

Megan Stewart arts & life editor have a customer return to your multibillion-dollar company (even though, at the end of the day, we know the customer will probably come back anyway) that you would risk throwing out the rules in front of employees?

How can one expect others to abide by the policies and procedures companies have when the bosses allow customers to walk all over them?

I’m not saying the customer is always wrong because I definitely know some workers are completely pulling stuff out of their butt when they tell people certain things.

But I also know that I’ve seen too many people be swift at turning a key to override a transaction, or cost a company some money, in order to satisfy someone – all because they’re terrified of the famous threat of someone calling corporate on that individual and making a complaint.

There’s no sense in being scared to stand up for something your company tells you to enforce. If they don’t want the policy in place, let the customer call corporate and maybe they’ll change it. Until then, people should consider the business side of the situation instead of taking your anger out on an innocent employee just trying to do their job. mstewar7@gru.edu

editorial policy Letters to the editor must be accompanied by the author’s email address. All columns and letters to the editor are the opinion of the author. The views expressed in the opinion section do not necessarily express those of The Bell Ringer, a designated public forum.

Anything submitted to The Bell Ringer is open to be edited or rejected. However, The Bell Ringer staff gives all opinions a fair chance to be heard. All letters will be edited for grammar and style.

If you would like to contribute a column or a letter to the editor, send an email to: bellringerproduction@gmail.com

the Georgia Board of Regents.

Not that there is anything against PR publications or departments, but there is a definitive difference between straight-up objective reporting, like The Bell Ringer does both in its print issues and online, and the slanted information portrayed in the GReport, meant only to sugarcoat and dodge the big issues.

We were already competing with the Office of Communications and Marketing for our readership, but now we are competing with it for our advertising revenue as well, advertising revenue that The Bell Ringer needs in order to survive and continue printing real campus news.

Why are we competing for resources with a competitor that has all the resources it could ever need? Why does the GReport insist on purporting itself as campus news, placing its distribution boxes right alongside or even in more prominent positions than those of The Bell Ringer? Why are GReport publicists attempting to undercut our ad sales when The Bell Ringer so desperately needs the revenue?

We don’t consider ourselves conspiracy theorists, but we smell a rat.

As I grew up, technology changed and evolved in the world around me, but one thing I never considered would really change until recently was books. You know, those constructs of bound pages and ink that took us into worlds we could only imagine?

Those same books that now, like nearly everything else, have become digitized in this technologically advanced age?

When I was younger, I couldn’t wait for book fairs and book order forms while I was in school. Sure, I had a Nintendo, but when I couldn’t play on it for some reason, I almost always had my nose buried in a book. Series like Goosebumps and Encyclopedia Brown gathered in my room, and my love for reading has not diminished.

When I was in high school, I always had books in my book bag ready to bust them out when I got done with my work. Books were great. Each one was a different adventure, and in regard to series, I was always ready to read what happened next because I felt invested in the characters. I never had to wait long either. Books were always within reach, and I burned through them fast because I was interested in what was going to happen next.

It’s hard to carry books around for the purposes of reading now, though, with my book bag so full of textbooks, in there for the express purposes of work or study. And anytime I express desire to get a new book, magazine or graphic novel? My father is quick to answer with “I can get it on my Nook.”

How about no? Books, with paper pages and actual ink, have been in my life for so long it’s really hard to imagine them any other way. I read things online but not books. Web comics, sure.

News articles are easier to find via the Web too. True books, though, and graphic novels and magazines, lose something when there’s a screen between you and the words. It doesn’t feel as inviting when there’s this pertinent barrier that exists between you and what you’re reading.

Another great advantage to

Jacob Scharff staff writer true books is that they don’t require electricity, or charging, or load times. I’m not a fan of the idea of getting to a climactic moment to only see “Loading, please wait” or “Battery Low” before I see the outcome. It’s much more satisfying to turn a paper page and have the moment explode before me.

I will admit, I have no idea where I’m going to put all the books I’ve obtained, and plan on obtaining, when I have my own house in a few years. My veritable library will take up a lot of physical space to be sure. It’s easy to get more physical space, especially in order to have all my books clearly and easily accessible near me.

Technology has memory limitations, and even when you expand those limitations, with say a terabyte hard drive, you’re going to run out of room eventually because you won’t just be holding books. You’ll have games, music, software, documents, pictures, etc. all taking up space on the hard drive alongside your books, and then you have to either get another hard drive or even an SD card or jump drive. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the SD cards I currently have, but trying to keep track of which card holds what book if I want to go back and read them to my kids?

Not cool.

I want to do what my parents did and pull it from the shelf and read it to them and show them the pictures of the book. Not the ads of the Nook.

Technology has made many things better – TV, music, even food. Books, though, with their pages and ink are as perfect as they can be.

Jscharff@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 5

It’s more than a park My love for all things Disney is well-known to anyone who makes my acquaintance, and it goes back as far as I can remember. As a child, I was obsessed with “The Little Mermaid.” I used to watch “Mickey Mouse Club” and “Kids Incorporated” on the Disney Channel after school when I was supposed to be doing my homework. And my sister and I would have marathon listening sessions to a cassette tape called “Minnie and Me.” Sadly, I never got the chance to travel to a Disney theme park until I was an adult. But my first time at Walt Disney World, I was instantly hooked by this magical land of enchantment I discovered around me. I was 22, with my 2-year-old daughter in tow, but as soon as we stepped off the ferry-boat ride transporting us across the Seven Seas Lagoon, we emerged onto Main Street U.S.A. and into a land of childhood fantasy come true.

That first visit, I felt as if I were a kid again. All the magic you hear about in Disney movies seemed like it was really alive in the Disney Parks. Sadly, my first trip, I only spent one day at one of the parks, Magic Kingdom. But the following year, I took more trips, eventually visiting all four parks, and this year I even had another Disney dream come true: traveling to Disneyland Resort in California.

Now, I know a lot of people, especially in the world of academics, may look down

Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter

Innocence defines our generation

Mindy Wadley copy editor upon this somewhat childlike love for Disney. But for me, it holds so much more than just the face-value kiddie characters and cartoon entertainment.

It’s the nostalgia of childhood and the promise that anything is possible. It’s the irreplaceable feeling of excitement and magic in the air when you visit the parks and meet your favorite character. It’s the inspiration to never stop believing in your dreams.

The deeper lessons that Disney teaches are not so very hard to discover just by watching a few Disney films. Take my favorite princess, Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” as an example. She’s branded as an outcast by her community because of her love of reading and her dreams of leaving behind the “provincial life.” But she draws strength from her loyalty to her family and stands up for herself in the face of persecution, ever kind and devoted to her loved ones.

Then there’s “Snow White.” Admittedly, she is not one of my favorite princesses, nor is the film among my favorite Disney movies, but I

CONTRIBUTED BY MINDY WADLEY

Disneybounding as Minnie and Mickey Mouse, we stop for a picture in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park in Anaheim, Calif.

think there is a valuable lesson that is often overlooked by critics of the fairy tale. Some say the princess is a flat character, whose only value is her beauty. Well, I believe the more important lesson is that it doesn’t matter how pretty a person is on the outside if that person has an ugly heart.

After all, before Snow White came along, the Queen was the fairest in the land. But her beauty was no match for Snow White’s kindness, which was her ultimate virtue.

And who could forget Mickey Mouse himself? Walt Disney said, “When people laugh at Mickey Mouse, it’s because he’s so human; and that is the secret of his popularity.” All the mouse’s misadventures are a gentle reminder that we are all fallible, but if we have Mickey’s combina-

tion of adventurousness and bravery, we can come out on top.

Of course, Mickey takes a leaf from the book of his creator and one of my all-time most admired heroes, Walter Elias Disney. In traveling to Walt Disney World and reading about this iconic entertainment mogul, I have learned a lot about his life and his struggles.

His story is extremely inspiring, and it truly exemplifies his own quotes, “If you can dream it, you can do it” and “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

To me, it is impossible to separate my affinity for the Disney brand from my admiration of Walt Disney himself. mindyawadley@gmail.com

Haiku sees motion in stillness When one reads a haiku about rain, it is quite easy to forget that it was written from the perspective of having been subject to the rain; I mean that, in haiku, for the winter rain to have been written about, it must have rained and the poet, somehow, must have been privy to it.

The haiku communicates the sensation of having stood in cold dampness; of having escaped it, run under the eves of unknown houses, the houses of strangers; of sharing shelter; of carrying loads and being displaced; of being slowed, or, conversely, hurried in one’s paces; of having one’s path transformed. But because of how the haiku speaks, you find yourself intoning the voice of the poet and, thus, the voice of the moment.

It becomes a moment you choose either to share or to reject. The poet has merely taken you to the place in which he is.

In choosing to accept the present, as presented in the poem, you are also accepting, quietly, the past that contains it.

In reading the haiku and experiencing its captured moment, perhaps you, too, will feel the poet’s frown as it was felt upon their face when they saw before them the poetic: the poem before it was poem.

The specificity of its form may perhaps make the haiku seem limited or overly constrained, formal as a corset and just as debilitating – but what occurs is that a transformation takes place in which the writer,

Haikus are a quiet revolution in awareness. cold and shivering as he may be, is moved and made almost anonymous by the sight that is beheld.

It is the reader who provides the memory of cold feet sunken into wet grass, or the prickled skin in response to the silence that follows nearby forks of lightning. The poet serves almost solely as conduit for the image, whether it

Richard Adams staff writer be visual or aural, in its most immediate form.

The haiku, though short in stature, suddenly blooms. The finitude of its focus, which would seem to constrain it, becomes its strength.

The conceit of the haiku makes no claim toward an intrinsic mood; the mood of each piece is the doing of the poet and the moment and the emotion, or emotions, evoked.

The tone can be cheerful, even radiantly happy given the proper mixture of poet and circumstance. It can be one of squandered opportunity, profound with a sense of loss. A haiku can even be humorous; it can make you laugh, days after the reading.

Most of all, the haiku lingers.

A world forever in motion, it is the haiku that stops and considers this.

Japan is known for its aesthetic traditions, a ritualization of the simplification of forms; yet within the simplified form is a concentration of forces, a steadying of eye and hand into the brushstroke of consciousness.

That said, I think haiku is slightly different. The study of its practice may have once been rigorous, monks having gone to school solely to study it and the art of calligraphy.

This was simply to build within its movements a philosophy of awareness: a practice almost like prayer, an opportunity to see within the thing a thousand events.

Haiku is the art of the fleeting and the temporal – a study of loss before loss.

Within that is implied growth before growth or the anticipation of growth. All things, always moving. radams99@gru.edu

Undergraduate SGA recruits you Are you looking for a way to do more with your college career? Do you have ideas that you feel would be useful if someone would just listen?

Do you want to be a leader on campus and help people with their concerns?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Student Government Association can help you. We need Senators for our Undergraduate Senate, and if you are part of any of the master’s programs, the Graduate House of Representatives is the place for you!

I joined SGA because, as a non-traditional student, I was concerned about the rising costs that were happening on

Amanda Bryant Undergraduate SGA President campus every year. I wanted to make sure someone heard my concerns. SGA was a perfect fit for me.

As president of the Undergraduate SGA, I want to be a person of action. If you want

something worked on, let’s get together and see what we can do. If you want to work problems with more people, join us!

We have many things we will be working on this year.

We have already started new processes that have streamlined the outdated ways we worked under before. Our application to become a senator can be found on our website, and we also have the application for organizations to request allocations online. We even have a comments-concerns section.

Any time you fill any of these out, as soon as you hit submit, the vice president, Brittany Mathews; the president of the

Graduate SGA, Brett Page; the vice president of the Graduate SGA, Marissa Ludley; the advisors for the groups, Jessica Haskins and Kevin Frazier; and myself all get the information instantly.

Keep your eyes and ears open for things happening within the Student Government Association. Consolidation of the two schools has changed many things. We are making sure that SGA is changing for the better!

To learn more about SGA, visit our website at: www.gru.edu/students/sga. abryant9@gru.edu

There is always one thing about a decade that will forever define a generation.

For my generation, it is hard to pick one thing you could say defined the generation as a whole.

Some people say the 1990s are defined by bad music and bad fashion trends, but I believe they are wrong. The 1990s were about finding yourself and figuring out who you, as an individual, were. No matter what people say, the one thing I think defines our generation that no other generation will ever have the privilege to have anymore is innocence.

The millennial generation seems to have been the last generation of children who remember playing outside from the time the sun came up till the time when the street lights came on – the simpler times when there was no Internet.

Well, there was but you didn’t have it at your fingertips like the youth of today. I feel the youth of today have too much pressure from the media and Internet to grow up too fast; this is why I see my generation as the generation of innocence.

We are defined by spending all of our days, when we weren’t in school learning, outside playing games like Red Rover Red Rover with our friends. We watched some of the best cartoons ever made like Bugs Bunny and Rugrats, and we learned where in the world Carmen San Diego was by methods like problem solving. We watched MTV religiously after school for TRL, or Total Request Live, just to see if our favorite musician would be at the top of the countdown. We turned playing video games into a group effort because we would gather all of our friends together to play Super Mario Brothers at the house of the only kid in the neighborhood who had a Nintendo 64.

Not only did we have cartoons that are now considered classics and video games that are now rare to find, but we also had music that defined us at every age of our lives.

The music some people say is horrible, those people being today’s generation, will always bring back memories of yesteryear for each and every one of us.

As I grow older each year, I remember back to when I was younger, thinking I will never sit back and think about my youth like my parents do. I won’t be that old person who sits and just tells stories about when I was younger. But now that I am slightly older and of a much more sensible state of mind, I realize I have begun to do exactly the same thing I once swore I would never do.

I sit and talk with my sisters, who are eight years younger than I am, about TRL and all of the cartoons I used to love so dearly. There are times when I will say something that starts off with the phrase, “I remember when...” And I think, my goodness, how old do I sound?

But I have realized it has nothing to do with age but with experience.

We as a generation inform the generation of today about the things we encountered and remember from our generation because our generation comes from a much more slowly paced, innocent time.

My generation is the generation of millennia to most, but to me we are the last generation of innocence, and we will forever be able to pass that on to our children through the stories we tell them about the days of yesteryear past. rperbets@gru.edu

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

ARTS & LIFE www.asubellringer.com

Addiction: Coping with alcoholism

By Nikki Skinner production assistant

T

he term “alcoholic” is one that can be used too loosely

nowadays.

Alcoholism is when the body becomes dependent on alcohol and is a long-term problem people struggle with for years, according to the alcohol abuse helpline Alcohol Addiction’s website. Statistics show many who begin drinking before age 15 are more likely to have problems with drinking.

“I started drinking when I was 12,” said Brittany D., a recovering alcoholic. “My parents got a divorce when I was 12.

When I would go out of town for the weekend with my dad he would let me drink with him.”

After turning 21, Brittany said she realized she had a problem. She had gotten to the point where she was drinking every day.

“All my life I’ve been told by my grandfather that I needed to watch my drinking because alcoholism is hereditary,” Brittany said.

She didn’t think she’d have problems handling alcohol because some of her family members could drink responsibly, she said. Because she likened alcoholism to more of an allergy than a disease, Brittany said

MEGAN STEWART | STAFF

Alcoholism is one of many addictions that affects people worldwide and generally begins to form at an young age.

she didn’t see her drinking as a problem at the time.

The idea of alcoholism as a disease has been the subject of many arguments for decades.

Alcoholism, once it appears, persists involuntarily. The need to satisfy the craving is irresistible and the drinking is uncontrollable once it has begun, according to Herbert Fingarette in the book “Why We Should Reject The Disease Concept of Alcoholism.”

To Brittany, alcoholism is an allergy, she said. Once an alcoholic takes that first drink,

the craving of just wanting more and more begins. Alcoholics and addicts drink and do drugs for the effects they get from these substances.

For years, Brittany said she was one of those people who said they would never do illicit drugs. Though as her problems with alcohol progressed, her opinion on drug use changed.

She started off smoking marijuana and that led her to other drugs.

She said she liked the way alcohol made her feel more carefree, a common sentiment

shared among alcoholics.

“I drank because I liked the way alcohol made me feel when I put it in my body – a wonderful side effect was I lost all inhibitions and fears,” said Max S., another recovering addict. “I harbored many fears. I drank every day to lose control.”

Max attended treatment seven times for drinking and drug problems, though he said he never thought he had a problem. It wasn’t until he lost everything in his life for the third time that he said he realized his problems were alcohol related.

Seminar sharpens dexterity

“The hardest part was to not give in to the urge for one last drink,” Max said. “When the pain of remaining the same is stronger than the fear of changing, you will change.”

Getting sober wasn’t easy, he said. He relapsed several times over several years. When he would stop attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, he said he would begin to think he didn’t have a problem and no longer needed help.

After the years of drinking problems, Max said he had not only lost physical objects but also the trust of his family members as well. It took years of sobriety before family members began to trust him again because they had been let down so many times in the past. By the time he got sober, he said he realized he had very few real friends left.

Statistically speaking, drinking frequently begins in social environments, especially in college when many students feel as though their social gatherings need to revolve around drinking.

“When I began to get sober, I had to change who I was hanging out with,” Brittany said. “My friends and sorority sisters were always drinking, and I realized that was a problem if I was going to get sober.” nskinner@gru.edu

Group plants peace on campus

By Richard Adams staff writer

By Kereyia Butler staff writer Studying in college equals a successful college career.

The top 10 study skills for success in college were covered in the study skills workshop Sept. 11, which was held for new and returning students focused on nearly a dozen fundamental study skills to ensure every student has success in college and beyond.

Shannon Nix, a counselor at Georgia Regents University and host of the event, said the idea of the workshop began after hosting a survey.

“There was an assessment done for what the students wanted out of, in terms of outreach, from the counseling center, and study skills was one of the main topics that they requested,” Nix said. “So, and this is something we see, in terms of academic counseling, all the time and even students coming in for other stuff, whether it’s personal or career ... it’s always a really good one to offer, to give the students just some basic study tips.”

The workshop welcomed everyone including undergraduate and graduate students who may have taken a break

KEREYIA BUTLER | STAFF

Yanuary Rodriguez and Brittany Summerville both attend the study skills workshop Sept. 11.

from school, have made the transition from high school to college or have been out of the college environment for a while. It gave an insight to what college students need to really focus on and how to master the skills of studying.

The most important skills for undergraduates are to be actively involved with the materials by taking notes while one reads, to work with repetition and to take the time and figure out when is best to study because students need to put in a couple of hours outside of class, Nix said.

“I think some of the main things are blocking off plenty of time to study and being aware that a 15-minute review, once a day, isn’t going to cut it,” Nix

said. “But (people) really need to block off time, especially if it’s a class or subject that’s not a strength of (theirs).”

Having a balance and knowing when to break away is equally as important, Nix said.

Brittany Summerville, a graduate student studying psychology at Georgia Regents who attended the workshop, said the workshop forced her to look at some of her studying habits.

“It kind of made me look back on some of my study habits that I could probably improve and some new ones … that I can incorporate with my studying,” Summerville said, “especially since the first test of the semester is right around the corner.”

A quiet declaration of peace was brought to the Summerville campus of Georgia Regents University.

It took three years, three different club presidents, participation across the entire Student Government Association and the merger of two universities, but the planting of the peace pole, under the initiative of the Georgia Regents Rotaract Club, finally took place May 2, according to members of the club.

This wasn’t the first time that someone had tried to plant a marker of some kind in campus soil, said Ethan Holliman, the former SGA president and a senior political science major. When he was first approached two years ago to help Rotaract students realize their dream of a university-sponsored peace pole, the lessons of the past seemed a daunting precedent.

“There were differing views about whether this could happen,” Holliman said. “Representatives from business services told me … students had tried to plant a pole before for recognition purposes, but because it was public property at a public university, there were some legal loopholes that they had to go through that

see STUDY on PAGE 8

see PEACE on PAGE 8

Graduate program consists of multiple backgrounds

By Ashley Trawick news editor Regardless of your undergraduate degree, you could become a clinical nurse leader.

A CNL oversees the care coordination of a distinct group of patients and actively provides direct patient care in complex situations. The clinician puts evidence-based practice into action to ensure that patients benefit from the latest innovations in care delivery. The CNL evalu-

ates patient outcomes, assesses cohort risk and has the decisionmaking authority to change care plans when necessary, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing website.

The CNL program at Georgia Regents University is four semesters long, which is approximately 16 months. All the courses are taught using realtime technology. Students practice their skills in the Learning Resource Center and the simulation lab, according to the Geor-

gia Regents CNL website.

There are a lot of reasons people decide to join the CNL career, said LaTosha Hicks, the CNL program manager, even when they have already earned an unrelated bachelor’s degree.

“It can be for career change,” Hicks said. “It can be because, when you were an undergrad, the nursing program was majorly flooded and you just couldn’t get in. The position itself has been around, I think, since 2005 (or) 2006.”

The degree is achievable even when a student does not have a degree in nursing. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing created the White Paper, which Hicks said is similar to a dissertation.

“It explains the role of the clinical nurse leader,” she said.

“We are the only institution in Georgia that offers it (as) a pre-licensure, which means that students who do not have a background in nursing (can) become a part of this accelerated

program.”

Hicks said there are currently almost 500 students who have a pre-nursing major in the program. But this year only 190 students were accepted into the program. A second-year CNL student, Jessica Dickins said the program requires a lot of dedication and time and there’s a lot of competition for jobs as a CNL because there aren’t many hospitals out there that offer the see PROGRAM on PAGE 8

PAGE 7

THE BELL RINGER

Lecture focuses on aliens

By Richard Adams staff writer

A Georgia Regents University classroom goes outside and explores the sky.

The proposal for the Look Up At Night, Augusta astronomy presentation Friday, Sept. 13, was first received laughingly, but guest presenter and a senior physics major Simeon Hanks was completely serious – he wanted to give audiences the opportunity to shake hands with E.T. Based on audience attendance and often packed lectures, the LUNA series has grown into a Georgia Regents community favorite for students, their families and anyone else interested in not only hearing about the stars but in seeing them too. The series’ first installment of four this semester was standing room only.

“That’s where (a young person) actually gets hooked on science,” said Grant Thompson, an astronomer and an instructor of Physics. “If we give them really neat information … they’ll say to themselves, ‘I’ve never thought about things from this perspective.

That’s really neat. I might look into the sciences some more.’ Then we might have another scientist in the future.”

Thompson, who first began teaching last year, began the LUNA series almost immediately after starting at the university. In lieu of any alternative, it has become Georgia Regents’ de facto astronomy club.

Information about LUNA • •

• •

•

• •

Students and family members can attend the LUNA series for free.

The series consists of four events that take place throughout the semester.

This event is hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Physics.

The aim for the series is to connect the community with the night sky as well as to inform of the science behind it.

Each event begins with a lecture followed by observation through telescopes provided by Georgia Regents University.

LUNA is hosted on the Summerville campus of Georgia Regents.

The series is held at the Douglas Barnard Ampitheater.

Around Town

Nikki Skinner production assistant

The lost art of letter writing

RICHARCH ADAMS | STAFF

Murray Macnamara, a senior physics major, and Katherine Overman, a senior math and physics major, set up the telescope for the Look Up at Night, Augusta series for Sept. 13.

Though still in its inception, the event marked a first for the series.

Thompson said Hanks was the first Georgia Regents student to ever give a LUNA presentation, and there is at least one more student lecture coming up in the following months.

“With a lull in my free time, I told Dr. Thompson that I would be willing to pick up a full presentation if he’d let me, and he wanted to know what my idea was,” Hanks said. “That’s where I said, ‘Aliens,’ and he laughed and said there’s nothing in science about aliens.”

Determined, Hanks said he told Thompson he felt there was, indeed, a great deal of interest among scientists over the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Not only that, but Hanks said he was interested in why individuals feel they had witnessed alien phenomena.

“I tried to focus on the science of SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence).” Hanks said. “This is conducted by, generally, professional amateurs that have access to highquality radio telescopes or scientists as a side project … because you really couldn’t get funding for it as a mainstream science. If it should ever net results, though, it would probably be one of the greatest discoveries of humankind.”

Hanks said his goal was to collect enough material to make a compelling 45-minute talk; this process, Hanks said, required reading at least four comprehensive books on the subject during his summer break.

Being that astronomers pose many questions regarding life in space,

Hanks said he felt that his talk would speak to a large swath of the community.

Thompson and Hanks said one of the things they value most about these lectures is their ability to communicate to all age groups. Both men started on their paths as scientists through the avenue of childhood wonder and curiosity. Hanks’ first exposure was through household experiments, he said, definitely causing him to get electrocuted many times; while having a childhood in the country, Thompson said he was first introduced through star gazing.

“That’s a big reason I became an astronomer,” Thompson said. “I grew up on a farm, and I got to look up on very dark nights and see the Milky Way itself. You can’t see the Milky Way in the city.”

William “Bo” DeBruin, an accounting major, said after hearing about the LUNA lectures, he decided to invite his son along.

“I figured it’d be something I’d give him a chance at,” DeBruin said. “I let him make the decision whether he wanted to come or not. I didn’t force it on him. We’ve only missed two of the lectures since they started them (out of eight). Actually, every time he’s been here, he’s been part of the program in some way, either gone on stage or asked a question (and) I expected that.”

That night, DeBruin’s son wanted to know a question that even Hanks had to stop and consider: “Do you think it is possible for life on earth to have begun elsewhere?” radams99@gru.edu

As I have grown up, there have been many things that have changed. With the fast growth of technology, one thing I am sad to see fade is writing letters.

When I was younger, going to camp or on vacations was my favorite time of year because I knew leaving meant going home with new pen pals.

For years, one of my closest friends and I would write letters back and forth.

Even with the rise in popularity of social media, we still made the time to sit down and hand-write each other letters. As we have grown, we don’t have as much time as we once did and it is something I have grown to miss.

Many times I feel as though text messages and emails are so impersonal nowadays. People may write to you while they are driving down the road or in a class or meeting, not taking the time to sit down and write you a thought-filled message.

It is no longer about quality but quantity.

How many words can you type a minute or messages can you send is the focus instead of being more concerned with what you are writing and to whom you are writing.

Oftentimes, I approach my emails to friends much the same way I would approach a letter. I am finding many people don’t even know how to approach an email; they seem to think everything needs to be short text-style messages, full of acronyms and more to-the-point than engaging in a conversation.

Recently while traveling, my only means of communication was through email, and it blew my mind how hard it was for my friends to write to me while I was away. I always received short messages and responses saying they didn’t know what to say or how to write in an email. It was a little disheartening for me.

In school, I had to learn how to write letters, both professional and casual, and I feel like letter writing is something that is so important, yet it has been lost through the years. And with the lack of letter writing is also the loss of a great form of communication. nskinner@gru.edu

Five-day festival combines art and culture

By Amy Thorne contributor In an attempt to continue the tradition of bringing fine art and culture to the CSRA, the 2013 Westobou Festival has assembled various acts to provide entertainment for all festivalgoers.

Since its premiere in 2008, the festival has showcased an eclectic array of artistic events in venues all over Augusta.

Though the original festival spanned 10 days, this year follows the five-day framework first seen in 2012.

Despite a few changes over the years, the Westobou Festival has kept most of its traditions, Mary Hull, the event coordinator, said.

“We’re still pushing for high quality,” she said. “It just keeps getting better.”

Much like previous years, this one will offer a little something for everyone, Hull said.

“We’re very proud of this year’s programming,” she said.

“Each day will focus on one of five different genres of art: film, music, visual art, dance and words.”

Starting Oct. 2, the first day of the festival, the focus will be on film. Director Donna

Draper’s film, “Versailles ’73,” will be shown as well as Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” Kim Gordon, the former lead singer of indie band Sonic Youth, and her new band Body Head are going to perform a live support to Dreyer’s work.

Georgia Regents University’s Matthew Buzzell, a professor involved with “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” said the film is one of the most beautiful ever made and said the supporting music is “a rather experimental soundscape.”

Next, music takes center stage in the lineup with a performance by Johnnyswim, one of VH1’s “You Oughta Know: Artists On the Rise.” The duo, which is comprised of Abner Ramirez and his wife Amanda Sudano, daughter of late disco artist Donna Summer, combines blues, folk-soul and pop with storytelling to create an eclectic sound.

Ramirez and Sudano said they are both honored and nervous to headline for the festival.

“We put every ounce that we have into it,” Ramirez said.

“Fans will enjoy the stories and just being entertained, you know.”

Other musical events during

MEGAN STEWART | STAFF

The Westobou festival has been in Augusta, Ga., since 2008, offering various events for community involvement.

the week include a performance by the Harry Jacobs Chamber Society, a Tech Crawl, T. Hardy Morris and an organ concert.

Visual art will follow, starting with Westobou’s first ever trolley crawl. Riders will board a trolley starting on Main Street and ending at the Old Academy of Richmond County with the Klacksmann Gallery.

Later that night, T. Hardy Morris from the band Dead Confederate will perform a free concert with his musical-film project “Places in Peril.”

Another new event will fol-

low, the Color Run, a 5K run which prides itself as the happiest 5K on the planet, according to its website. Hull said an estimated 4,000 runners would begin the route at the Old Academy of Richmond County.

The final day of the festival will celebrate the art of words with recurring events like the Porter Fleming Literary Awards, Hull said. As new additions to the festival, Roy Blount Jr. will host a lecture and Buzzell will show his film, “The Moment Before the Song Begins,” which is a portrait of writer and racon-

teur Starkey Flythe.

Buzzell said this year’s Westobou festival marks his third time participating in an event. His movie will screen continuously, with other artistic works in the Old Richmond Academy.

“They’re actually treating my film like a piece of art,” he said. “To be shown in a gallery space is a new one for me, so I’m excited.” athorne@gru.edu

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

PAGE 8

Neurologists showcase artistic talent

By Jordan Barry staff writer

A neurologist teamed up with a resident in Georgia Regents University’s Department of Neurology for an art exhibit to raise money for the American Brain Foundation.

Sept. 12, Sacred Heart Cultural Center in Augusta, Ga., opened Tom Swift and John Edry’s art exhibit to the public.

Swift, a practicing neurologist,said he has painted all his life. His work consists of drawings, collage-work and watercolor.

“I like looking closely at people, plants, animals, buildings and looking at the structure, and seeing how the structure makes a statement about what the person, or the plant, or the animal or the building is really about,” Swift said. “So, I like structure, so I tend toward realism in my paintings - not abstraction - but realism.”

Swift, who said he has felt compelled to draw all his life, hosted several exhibits in the past, and he usually sells all of his paintings.

“I don’t put real high prices on my paintings because I like to have people have them,” Swift said.

Because he has so many friends around town, Swift said he invites them all, and they all show up to his exhibits.

One such friend was the general manager of Village Deli on Wrights-

JORDAN BARRY | STAFF

The Sacred Heart Cultural Center opens an art exhibition featuring John Edry, a resident in the neurology department at Georgia Regents University, and Tom Swift, a practicing neurologist.

boro Road in Augusta, Heather Chancey.

Chancey said Swift is one of their very good customers, and he invited her to the exhibit. She said his paintings are very interesting.

“There’s definitely a bit of character and his personality in each and every one of these,” Chancey said. “They all have his sense of humor in them.”

Another one of Swift’s many friends and colleagues at the exhibit was his part-

ner in the show, Edry.

Edry is a fourth-year resident in the neurology department at Georgia Regents. Swift said one day he happened to mention to him that he likes to paint, and upon seeing Edry’s work, Swift came up with the idea of teaming up for an exhibit at Sacred Heart.

“I looked at his paintings, and I realized they’re really good,” Swift said.

“We’re both neurologists (and) we both

like to paint, so why not have a show together?”

Edry, who said he has an eclectic art style, was a fine art major at the former Augusta State University as an undergraduate, but he later switched to neurology when he became interested in medicine.

Though involved in medicine now, Edry said he couldn’t let go of his artwork.

“I think artists are kind of driven to paint,” he said. “If they don’t paint for a long time, they have to paint or make something or create. I think I’m just sort of driven to do that.”

In his artwork, Edry said he focuses more on organic things like people and trees while his wife, Hajra Hasan, and child also inspire him.

“I’m very excited and very proud of him,” Hasan said. “It’s hard to do creative things while he’s in residency, and he did it, so I’m very proud of him. I think his artwork is great.”

Swift and Edry’s artwork will be on display in the Art Hall at Sacred Heart until Oct. 25 and a portion of the proceeds from the paintings will be donated to the American Brain Foundation, a nonprofit organization that funds research to cure brain diseases. A portion will also be donated to Sacred Heart Cultural Center. jbarry3@gru.edu

Campus club promotes togetherness through games

By Meredith Day staff writer Members of the Electronic Gaming Club have found their niche among the students and campus of Georgia Regents University.

To many students at Georgia Regents, the Summerville Campus is simply a place to attend class and study. The actual appeal to remain on campus is small to some, and many instead choose to socialize elsewhere.

However, members of the Gaming Club said they have found out games are an excellent way to relax between classes and meet new friends.

The Gaming Club, which meets every Thursday from 4-7 p.m. upstairs in the Jaguar Student Activities Center, is a group for people with a common interest in video games. Fees to join are $10 and help to support the

events held throughout the year such as gaming tournaments, nights at Level Up, a gaming center in Martinez, Ga., and even a camping trip.

“You get a feeling of camaraderie, family at our best (and) enemies at our worst,” said Shawn Ellis, a current member and former president of the Gaming Club. “More often than not, everybody is really cool, enjoys themselves, but it’s much more than that. Everyone gets to know each other and you leave the club with a lot more friends than when you walked in.”

Jonathan Robbins, a history and anthropology major, said the members try to include several things that might appeal to people who enjoy video games, which includes anything from playing tabletop games and card games to watching anime.

“It’s technically a gaming club, but we do everything,”

Robbins said. “There are a lot of us that are really into watching anime and obviously we can’t do that and the games at the same time, because there’s a limited number of TVs and space, so ... there’s the Anime Club.”

“

The entire purpose of the club (is) to enhance social skills through an electronic medium.

”

-- Nick Labon, the vice president of the gaming club

The Anime Club, which is not currently an official Georgia Regents organization, meets every Tuesday in the JSAC. However, while the club does try to include many different activities to appeal to the different interests of its members, at its heart, the club is about video games. Jessica Faust, a creative writing major, said with

mday4@gru.edu

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

atrawick@gru.edu

dent of the Gaming Club, also said the club has a strong emphasis on promoting social skills.

“The entire purpose of the club (is) to enhance social skills through an electronic medium,” Labon said.

Currently, the Gaming Club is planning for their Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament, which is tentatively scheduled for Thursday at 5:30 p.m. Ellis said he hopes for many to get involved in the tournament.

“I’m hoping that there will be some kind of prize given out (and) that it will be open to everybody,” Ellis said. “Most of all, I’m hoping that it will just be fun.”

Peace

Program position.

“The main hospital that has positions for a clinical nurse leader is the V.A. hospital,” she said. “So if you get hired on it, you get more of a chance to use that title. But if you get hired on at another hospital, you can use things that you’ve learned through this program like … charge nurse, you can be a case manager, things like that.”

First-year CNL student Iyanu Adeleke said growing up with both of her parents being nurses and her experience as a certified nursing assistant influenced her decision a lot for entering the program even though it wasn’t her first choice.

The program is stressful, Adeleke said, and a student has to learn to get adjusted to it but the professors are really helpful and want to see their students succeed in the program.

“I’m still trying to find my niche towards things, but it’s going well so far,” she said.

“The teachers are really nice and you can tell they’re genuine. They’re doing their best to help us out no matter what.”

the addition of many new activities, many members forget the club started with video games, and a goal they have this year is to remind members of their origin by emphasizing the video game aspect of the club.

Although this club has been a part of Georgia Regents since 2009, some members have expressed concern that the university does not see the club as academically-based and therefore may want to shut them down. However, the members argue the club actually promotes students to stay on the campus longer and gives them a place to unwind during their hectic schedules.

“You have school and you got all this stuff you got to do, and you have teachers and deadlines,” Ellis said. “We come up here, more or less, just to get away from that for a few hours.”

Nick Labon, the vice presi-

KEREYIA BUTLER | STAFF

At a workshop to promote better study techniques, Yanuary Rodriquez and Brittany Summerville engage the speaker as the only attendees.

Study

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

Although it takes time to master the art of studying, Summerville said she has it under control.

“I kind of got it down now,” she said. “But undergrad took me a little while because in high school I really didn’t have to study and now, you know, in grad – the course work is a little faster, a little heavier, so you have to learn. Then you have all these new things, like social life, that come into play. So you have to learn how to balance it.”

Yanuary Rodriquez, another workshop attendee, said the workshop was very beneficial to her.

“For me, it just kind of makes you aware of what you might be doing not so right,” Rodriquez said. “Even as a

grad student, you still have to learn and you have to adjust to your professors.”

While all college students want to have a good time and enjoy college life, Rodriquez said people need not to forget that they’re in college.

“Don’t think it’s just a party because they forget that it’s college and yes you’re going to want to have fun,” Rodriquez said. “But you have to understand what’s the main reason that you’re here.”

Although the seminar was hosted in order to teach better studying habits to students across the campus and was publicized through the campus website, there were only two guests who attended the event.

Initially, the event was going to be cancelled due to the lack of attendees, Nix said. kbutler7@gru.edu

made it kind of futile.

(There were some) who didn’t think it could happen.”

Among those who did believe in the possibility of this project was Irina Melnic, an Augusta State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science. When she began the project, she was still a student; when the project was finally finished, she had already graduated, she said.

In the end, it took the combined leadership of the Rotaract club over several years to achieve the goal of placing a permanent message on the grounds of Georgia Regents.

Tan Tran, last year’s Rotaract president and a senior business major, was the one tasked with finalizing Melnic and those early members’ dreams.

Originally conceived as a prayer, the message reads, “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” and it does so in nine different languages – including Farsi, French, German, Spanish, English, Japanese and Braille.

“The time when we started the peace pole project was the time of a lot of political and economic turmoil,” Melnic said.

“We had the Arab Spring going on, all these crises in Europe (and) all these crises here in the States. Our message was that sometimes we forget and get

RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF

The Peace Pole project was initiated May 2 to bring unity to the campus.

lost in our struggles.”

Melnic said members of Rotaract, as being representative of the student and faculty population, handpicked each language.

Located at the corner of the Douglas Barnard Ampitheater, Georgia Regents’s peace pole, the first peace pole on state property, joins the ranks of thousands of peace poles around the world.

“The purpose was just to bring awareness of all the different cultures out there and how we need to be together,” said Pam Lightsey, the JagCard manager and Rotaract advisor. radams99@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 9

comics www.asubellringer.com

Global Village Crossword Puzzle Across 2. South African Nobel peace prize winner in 1984 4. The country that is east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands 6. The national language of India 7. What countries government uses a lion on the government seal.

9. The national capitol of Greece 11. Korean dish made with napa cabbage or korean radish.

12. A baby is born every seven seconds in this country 14. The famous Trojan Wars took place in the western part of this country 15. A special way of pre-

paring meat in Guam 16. The national flower of the Republic of China

Down 1. The Ginger Flower is the national flower of this country 3. This country was named by Christopher Columbus when he discovered it during his third voyage to the New World 4. The national dish of Thailand 5. This country is ranked 12th among the most populous countries in the world 7. Famous Jamaican reggae singer 8. The national language of Laos 10. The largest river is West Africa 13. Famous Irish beer

follow us @BellRinger_News

like us on facebook

TOUCHDOWN

Sideline Teammate Football Pass Touchdown Pigskin Interception Fumble Sack Field Goal Huddle Place Kicker

Hike Punt Timeout First Down Cheerleaders Beer Chicken Wings Tailgating

PAGE 10

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

sports www.asubellringer.com

Cooper strengthens teams

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter GRU Augusta has reassigned its former head baseball coach to a new position.

After spending four seasons with the baseball program, Coach Chris Cooper is settling into his new position as strength and conditioning coach.

Joey Warren, the athletic media relations director for GRU Augusta, said the position for strength and conditioning coach has been around for a while, and at the time was handled by graduate assistants, to give them a little extra money, about five or six years ago.

“Coach Cooper did it for a year or two,” Warren said.

“Then when he became the head baseball coach the position went to the wayside. We kind of had it on the books for the time, but it was unfilled.”

Warren said the job is a fulltime position, and along with being the strength and conditioning coach, Cooper is also teaching classes through the kinesiology department. However, the most important part of his new responsibilities includes working with all of the teams within the Athletic Department.

“He is required to work with all 13 of our teams and develop a conditioning program,” Warren said. “Whether it is a baseball player who wants to add muscle or a golfer who just (wants) to improve their conditioning or for an athlete who

REBECCA PERBETSKY | STAFF

As the new strength and conditioning coach, Chris Cooper motivates Whitney Rohbach during a team workout.

wants to get fitter or leaner.”

The strength and conditioning aspect of the occupation isn’t the only thing Cooper is expected to work on with athletes.

Warren said Cooper also focuses on the fitness of the athletes and their nutrition.

“It is one more resource for our student athletes that we haven’t had before on a fulltime basis,” Warren said. “It also makes the athletes accountable to someone else besides their coaches.”

Cooper said for strength and conditioning he is simply trying to get the athletes bigger, faster and stronger, and right now he is focused on doing some condi-

tioning-type stuff with the tennis teams.

“With all the other sports I have them in the weight room about five days a week,” Coach Cooper said. “I am trying to work each team out differently.”

Cooper said the biggest perk of his new job is having the opportunity to work with all athletes, getting the chance to see something different every day and looking at the athletes objectively.

“I have told each coach and each athlete I don’t care who the starting five for the basketball team is or who is starting for the baseball team,” Cooper said. “I want to know who is going to

work hard in the weight room.”

Most head coaches expect their athletes to give everything they have in the weight room, and Cooper said with strength and conditioning he gets to see that and determine what he reports back to the head coaches.

“I tell them this person is working hard,” Cooper said.

“I don’t know if they’re the best player on the team. I just know they are getting after it in the weight room, so I get to see that, and it is something that isn’t your sport. I get to see kids who aren’t used to lifting that are now thrust into this spot and going, ‘Oh, maybe this will help my game a little bit.’”

As far as the nutrition part of the program, Cooper said right now it is not his main focus, and hopefully later on in the year they can develop program for nutrition, but he is not worrying about it. Right now he is trying to get them on the correct path as far as weight training and conditioning goes.

“I will steer them in the right direction,” Cooper said. “But as far as telling them what to eat and when not to eat, I haven’t gotten into that yet.”

Even though Cooper oversees all of the GRU Augusta athletic teams, he is not alone in the process. Cooper said he does get help from the athletic trainers on campus. He says he checks with them to find out what status the players are during the seasons.

“We communicate with (Cooper) regarding any athletes that are injured and what their limitations may be in the weight room,” Assistant Athletic Trainer Lisa Cummins said.

Cummins also said at times Cooper will ask if there are any alterations he needs to make with his workout plans for athletes who are injured, but for the most part she just tells Cooper what athletes can and cannot do, and then he adjusts accordingly.

“If a player says they’re injured, they will be in the training room,” Cooper said. “I am going to make sure no one is just being lazy.” rperbets@gmail.com

Men’s golf tees off to fast start

By Megan Stewart arts & life editor

NEIL DAVENPORT | PHOTOGRAPHER

Potential women’s basketball players practice drills during tryouts at Christenberry Fieldhouse Sept. 10.

Teymer seeks walk-ons Kereyia Butler staff writer The women’s basketball team held tryouts Sept. 10 in hopes that a few participants will have the chance to join the team and bulk up the roster for the upcoming 201314 season.

Nate Teymer, the head coach for the women’s basketball team, said the tryouts were only for students attending Georgia Regents University. “(It’s) just a tryout for the currently-enrolled students,” Teymer said. “We usually try to do it once a year about this time. If there’s any students that might have an interest of playing basketball with us, we’ll let them, give them a shot and kind of evaluate their talents and see how they look.”

Teymer and the assistant coach, Courtney Boyd, said they were both looking for women who would give their all whether it is on the court or off.

“We’re trying to look for somebody … who just wants to give 100 percent every day because if they weren’t recruited out of high school or out of their junior college, then there was something missing (in them),” Boyd said.

The tryouts consisted of a series of drills, which included shooting, dribbling, layups and also teaming up with one another to see how well they worked together because even if a participant makes the team, the challenge would be making sure she fits in well with them, Boyd said.

“As much as we’re on the court, (the athletes) spend 95 percent of their time with their teammates and so, if we bring in somebody who doesn’t fit the mold of the rest of the teammates, it could be a very negative effect,” Boyd said.

Sabiyah Broderick, a member of the track team and one of the participants who tried out for the women’s basketball team, said

she spent a couple of days at the wellness center improving her skills in preparation for the day of tryouts, which weren’t as difficult as she thought they would be.

“The first thing we did was ball handling,” Broderick said. “That wasn’t really that hard. It’s just like any tryout. They need to see if you can dribble. We did lay up lines and shooting lines.

That was a little bit difficult because I was playing with the boys’ ball for like a month and a half and the girls’ ball is like (difficult) compared to the boys’ ball, so I had to adjust.”

Broderick is now a new member of the women’s basketball team and said she plans to just keep working hard physically and academically so she can step foot on the court and have a chance to represent GRU Augusta like she has always done by remaining respectful and by staying focused on her books and sports. kbutler7@aug.edu

The GRU Augusta men’s golf team has set high expectations for the season.

After the season opener, with a lineup consisting of Alex Wennstam, a senior; Meechai Padung and Maverick Antcliff, both sophomores; Cody Shafer, a junior; and Jackson Stroup, a freshman, the Jaguars tied for sixth alongside the Fighting Illini.

The tournament was hosted at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill., a course that has proven to be one of the strongest compared to the upcoming ones planned for the team, Kevin McPherson, the head coach, said. “(It’s) where they hosted the 2003 U.S. Open, and we play the same conditions, the same tees and the same pins that they played,” he said. “It’s an exclusive golf club with a lot of history and the members take really good care of us.”

Last year, on the same course, the team placed 14 out of 15 teams, McPherson said. This year, they were able to place higher than many of the top 20 teams in the country, ultimately making a mark for what could be expected out of the season.

“This is the best that we’ve played in that tournament in the last three years,” he said. “We finished one shot short of Stanford – which is ranked No. 3 in the country. We were only two shots short of Arkansas – which is ranked No. 6 in the country.”

While the team is not adding any new techniques to its practice routine, the players are still dedicated and spending every day on the course, McPherson said.

“Whenever I have time, I try to (practice) three or four hours each

JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

Maverick Antcliff works on his technique.

day,” Shafer said. “It (can be) hard, you definitely have to have time management, but we try to find time to practice whenever we can.”

A lot of practice and effort has ultimately made the team more mature, he said.

“We should do better than we did in the previous years,” Shafer said. “We had a young team last year and (we’ve grown).”

With three new promising freshmen, the hopes for success are high.

“I think we have a good group of people,” said Robin Petersson, a junior on the team. “And I hope, at least, that everybody hates to lose and everybody wants to go to tournaments. I mean, I know my first years I played every tournament but one, and I know how much it sucked staying home that one time. So I hope that when people don’t get to go, they get motivated and practice even more and maybe get to go to the next tournament.” mstewar7@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 11

Running rugged Richard Adams staff writer

GRU Augusta men’s and women’s cross-country teams hosted the Jaguar Invitational at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga., Sept. 20, for their second meet of the season.

While the men’s team was able to secure first place with the lowest overall team score, the women’s team finished third and had the top two runners, freshman Jordan Humphrey at 24 minutes, 55.39 seconds and junior Jessica Carpenter at 25:03.03, despite, teammates said, being heavily depleted by injuries that kept more than half the team off the field.

Before the race, freshman Whitley Kennedy said the course would be a tough obstacle to overcome.

“I think it will be different for me because most people not running usually run near me and help motivate and push me,” she said. “There’s so many hills. You go up one … and then there’s another one … and there’s another one.”

Kennedy said she benefited from Ward’s careful preparation and training of the team.

The foreknowledge with which he prepared them was measurable by the dismay with which other teams finished the course.

Darton State had the second lowest time average behind GRU Augusta in the men’s event, but the head coach, Bruce Skiles, said his team finished the race worse than it began it.

“I’ve got a young team,” he said. “I’m only a junior college, you follow me? So most of my kids are just freshmen and sophomores ... Couple of them went out a little too fast. I

The sideline report Pound-for-pound champion preserves undefeated record

RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF

Coach Adam Ward huddles with his female runners before the start of the Jaguar Invitational at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga., Friday.

knew it was going to bite them … (They’re) all beat up.”

Many of the Jaguar runners said Ward used a course like Blanchard Woods Park to teach them how to balance their running and not rely solely on raw power. The runners were taught

by Ward to treat the event as not just a race to be won but a practice ground.

“It takes a mature runner to understand that, yeah, it’s a hard course so I’m not going to run as fast as I can,” team senior Dustin Ross said. “You have to put it in retrospect of (how good your time is) and how hard the course is.”

Ross shared the top spot with teammate Jaiden Brandt, who placed second with a time

of 26:52.04.

“Dustin and I finished together,” said Brandt. “We’re getting ready for Charlotte, (N.C.), and it helps running together. Today we were really focusing on that so that hopefully next week we’ll also be running together at Charlotte.”

The course in Charlotte, McAlpine Creek Park, is where the NCAA Southeast Regionals will be run. There will be two opportunities for the teams to run that specific course, the Charlotte Invitational Saturday, and the Royals Cross-Country Challenge on Oct. 11, before Regionals. radams99@gru.edu

Floyd Mayweather Jr., this generation’s greatest boxer and the biggest ticket in all of sports, remains undefeated and the king of a bleak boxing world.

On Sept. 14 at the MGM Grand Garden arena in Las Vegas, Mayweather stepped in the ring to face fellow undefeated champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. This matchup marked Mayweather’s second fight in the last five months, and the second fight of a six-fight, 30-month contract with Showtime.

As the highest paid athlete on the planet Earth, Mayweather’s contract with Showtime is estimated to be worth an excess of $200 million. His most recent fight against Alvarez racked in an all-time gate record of $20,003,150 set by the 16,746 in attendance at the sold-out MGM arena.

Before the fight, some critics said Alvarez would be Mayweather’s toughest test in many years, and the hype surrounding Alvarez had not come without warrant. Before losing to Mayweather, he was 42-0-1 with 30 knockouts and has emerged as the biggest star in Mexico at 23 years old.

However, during the actual fight, experience triumphed youth, and Mayweather made it look easy by dominating Alvarez through all 12 rounds and claiming victory by a majority decision. He tallied up points by consistently landing his right hand and badgering Alvarez with solid jabs.

After the fight, Mayweather still looked fresh and untouched.

He had utilized his notorious elusiveness during the bout to avoid nearly every big shot by Alvarez.

Out of 526 punches thrown by Alvarez, only 117 (22 percent) landed, while 232 of 505 punches (46 percent) thrown by Mayweather struck home.

However, despite the onesided performance, all three judges did not come to a conclusive agreement. Judges Dave Moretti (116-112) and Craig Metcalfe (117-111) scored in favor of Mayweather, but judge

Jordan Williams sports editor C.J. Ross had the match inexplicably scored as a tie at 114-114.

The obviously inaccurate scorecard of Ross has raised a lot of eyebrows in the sports world, and feeds into the idea that the sport of boxing is corrupt. Ironically, Ross was also one of the two judges who had Tim Bradley beating Manny Pacquiao Dec. 8 in a controversial ruling.

After spending two months in prison for committing domestic violence against an exgirlfriend, it was questioned if Mayweather could return back to form following his prison stint and one-year hiatus from the sport, but so far, so good.

The 36-year-old boxer plans to fight again in May and next September, as a part of the 30-month deal with Showtime, but the question is, who will be next. With Manny Pacquiao’s diminished reputation, Mayweather stands alone on top of the dreary boxing world.

At 147 pounds, nobody in that weight class can touch Mayweather. Potential opponents include the likes of Danny Garcia, Amir Khan and Adrien Broner, which leaves no doubt Mayweather will cruise through the final four fights of his career.

Even though the competition is stretched paper thin in the sport of boxing, what Mayweather has accomplished is still an impressive feat. Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes were around the same age as Mayweather when they experienced historic upset losses, but our fellow champion will not let Father Time slow him down. jwill143@gru.edu

Carpenter leads by gold example

By Jordan Barry staff writer A strong, natural-born leader joined the ranks with GRU Augusta’s cross-country team three years ago.

Hailing from California, Jessica Carpenter came to GRU Augusta on a sports scholarship her high school coach helped her apply for.

The coach of the men’s and women’s cross-country team, Adam Ward, said he received an email from Carpenter’s high school coach the spring semester before she was recruited.

The email contained a resumé of her accomplishments, times and races she had participated in. Ward recognized Carpenter’s potential, and he scooped her up.

“She was obviously a very strong and talented runner, and so I thought OK, you know we can definitely take a look into this young lady,” Ward said.

“We were very pleased. We brought her in for a visit. She got to meet several of the folks, kind of see Augusta and meet the team.”

Carpenter said the visit to the campus made a lasting impression on her, so she chose to attend Georgia Regents University.

“I liked his coaching style,” she said about Ward. “After I visited, I just really enjoyed my time here and stuff, so I just decided to come here.”

Despite moving to a state on the opposite side of the country, Carpenter said she does not have any regrets.

“It’s completely different, but I really like it,” she said.

“This is my home now, so I’ve gotten really used to it.”

Though she is far away from her home and family in California, Carpenter said she has found a new home with her team.

“I just got really close with the team and stuff,” she said.

“They’re pretty much my family here, so it made it a lot easier.”

However, Ward said Carpenter has the potential to be more than family to her teammates. He said she is a naturalborn leader, and he said he hopes that she will learn to embrace it.

“Jessica’s ... kind of a natu-

RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF

Jessica Carpenter converses with teammates before running her event in 25 minutes, 3.3 seconds at the Jaguar Invitational Friday in Evans, Ga.

ral leader, although I don’t know that she embraces that all the time,” Ward said. “But people just seem to follow her. It’s kind of one of those qualities that you always hope you have in an athlete, is that they’ll not only be a strong positive leader but that people will follow them.”

Ward said he is counting on Carpenter to act as a leader and a role model for all of the younger runners on the cross-country team.

Carpenter’s teammate and a freshman at Georgia Regents

University, Jordan Humphrey, said she sees Carpenter as a leader as well.

“She is a hard worker,” Humphrey said. “She is disciplined. She leads by example and by her actions.”

All of Carpenter’s hard work shows in her running and in her studies. She is required to keep her grade point average up, and she said she does not take it lightly. Not only is she a fierce competitor, but she also stands out in the academic realm.

She has won several academic

awards for athletes, such as the Peach Belt All-Academic team, and her efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“She’s definitely maintained high academic standards as well as obviously being a solid performer for us athletically,” Ward said. “That’s kind of a double whammy. You can’t only be just smart; you also have to be good, and she’s both of those.”

Carpenter said she always uses her time wisely so she can keep up with her school work in between the rigorous, daily practices.

“When you have free time, you just have to use it wisely,” she said. “Other than that, it’s just a lot of hard work. Don’t get me wrong, but you just get used to it.”

Though she does not have much time for leisure, Carpenter said she enjoys her life and does not mind being busy.

“I’m really dedicated, and I’m not afraid to put in the work,” she said. “It’s my passion, so I love doing it.” jbarry3@gru.edu

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

sports www.asubellringer.com

Day of Service

Former NFL star speaks at KROC Center Jordan Williams sports editor

NEIL DAVENPORT | PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior guard Devonte Thomas lends a helping hand during a baseball game for mildly disabled children Sept. 14.

Players give back

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter A Day of Service is a way for Georgia Regents University, as a whole, to give back to the community.

According to an email sent by the president of Georgia Regents University, Ricardo Azziz, in 2009 Congress designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance to take place in September. Georgia Regents called on its faculty, staff, student organizations, students and their families to participate in the event Sept. 14.

Kerry Cartledge, the business operations chair and an employee of the Advisory Council at the Georgia Regents University College of Dental Medicine, said this is not the first time the university has participated in this event.

“We did one in the spring, and it was on Feb. 9,” Cartledge said. “We just go out into different organizations in the community and volunteer. It is on a Saturday always, and it is GRU giving back to the community.”

More than 550 combined faculty, staff, students and organizations participated in this year’s event, Cartledge said, which was a 150-person improvement from last spring’s event, which only had 400 participants.

One organization that is helping give a little back to the community which has given so much to them is the GRU Augusta Jaguars men’s basketball.

Head Coach Darren “Dip” Metress said having his team participate in the event was very important.

“This is unique for us because Day of Service is something that the Health Sciences campus did before the consolidation of both campuses,” Metress said. “It is kind of a way for us to get on board with the day of service.”

“

The community does a lot for us ... so I think it is a good thing for us to give back.

”

-- D’Angelo Boyd, a junior guard

Metress said the team usually holds community service events separate from the university, so participating in Day of Service was a good way for the team to unite with not only the Health Sciences campus but the university as a whole.

“We are going to a baseball game that is being put on by the (Charlie) Norwood (VA Medical Center) on Wrightsboro Road,” Metress said. “We are going to be working with mildly handicapped children, so we are ba-

sically going to put one player with each child, and they will be standing on the field with that child.”

Along with putting some of the players on the field with the disabled children, Metress said the other players acted as base coaches, called the game over the PA system and filled other positions for the game.

D’Angelo Boyd, a junior guard for the men’s basketball team, said being part of something like this is wonderful not only for the individuals on the team but for the team as a whole.

“It means a lot,” Boyd said.

“I think the community does a lot for us, like coming to the games and supporting us, so I think it is a good thing for us to give back so we can always have their support no matter what.”

Boyd said he is always eager to meet new people and help children with disabilities, because it is good community service and helps improve the team’s image.

The game was held Sept.

14 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the Family Y Miracle League Pavillion on Wrightsboro Road, across the street from the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center. rperbets@gru.edu

On Sept. 19, four-time Super Bowl champ Terry Bradshaw made an appearance at the KROC Center for The Salvation Army’s 2013 “Doing The Most Good” annual dinner.

Every year the Salvation Army hosts a dinner, but this year marked the inaugural “Doing The Most Good” dinner, and it was the biggest event the Augusta Salvation Army has ever coordinated, said Marketing and Public Relations Manager Beth Bargeron.

The purpose of these annual events by the Salvation Army is to raise money in order to continue operating in its mission of advancing the community and surrounding areas, Augusta Area Commander Major Toney Perez said.

“Every event, every fundraiser such as our ‘Doing the Most Good’ annual dinner will aid us in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and breaking the chains of addictions,” he said. “This event will raise awareness of our organization and provide funding to help us serve our community and provide hope for those in need.”

The goal of Bradshaw’s

speech was to provide a fresh perspective on what makes people successful despite facing relentless competition and dealing with disappointment, according to a press release.

“He talked a lot about his life and how he got to where he is today,” Bargeron said about the speech. “It was just different because it wasn’t your standard speech. He talked about football, he talked about how he grew up, he talked about right now and his family and how important family is to him.”

Bargeron said her highlight of the evening was Bradshaw’s eccentric method of breaking the ice with the crowd. Bradshaw asked everybody to stand up, shake the hand of someone next to them, then hug the person and then kiss the person.

“Which, of course, no one did,” she said. “I think he might have kissed a couple of ladies on the check, but the crowd just ate it up.”

Along with being a motivational speaker, the guest superstar is also a multi-Emmy award-winning broadcaster, former quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee. jwill143@gru.edu

JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

Terry Bradshaw, a former NFL quarterback, answers questions from local news media after speaking at the “Doing the Most Good Dinner.”

Burke County coaches bond with players

By Maggie Smith staff writer An hour away from Georgia Regents University, there is a powerhouse football team that is continuously successful in the heart of Waynesboro, Ga. The title of this successful team is the Burke County High School Bears.

The Bears have been region champions for the last three years and recently won a state championship in 2011.

Head coach Eric Parker said the key to the success of the team comes from its routine. However, Burke County’s routine is much more than just hard work on the field during practices and games.

Every Sunday the players and coaches sit down together to have devotion time in order to start their week off in a positive way. Their devotions are led by members of the coaching staff, or sometimes they bring in members of local churches to help lead. After devotion, they eat lunch together and watch game footage from Friday’s previous game.

Parker said they spend this time together in the afternoon.

“We usually meet around 3:30 p.m.,” he said. “We want to spend time with our players, but we don’t want to interfere with them being able to attend church or

NIKKI SKINNER | STAFF

The Burke County Bears practice a few techniques before the start of their junior varsity game.

Sunday school.”

The team also has a meal together every Wednesday evening after practice, Parker said. The coaches said this is their time to be human with the kids.

Instead of talking with the players about their performance on the field or previous games, the coaches take this time to talk to them about their personal lives.

“This time is not about football,” he said. “We talk to the kids about their families and talk to them about their goals in

life. Not all of our kids have the best parental structures at home, so we try to be there for them.”

The coaches continuously try to motivate their players by spending time with them, but the players also play a role in helping motivate each other as well. Before home games, the players meet together one last time and have devotions similar to the ones they have on Sundays.

The players help lead this time, and afterward some take turns to give pep talks

to the team. Offensive Coordinator Sean Tiernan described this time as being a spiritual experience.

“It’s really great to see the guys try to motivate each other,” Tiernan said.

“There is so much leadership on this team, and that motivation is so much better when it’s not just coming from the coaches.”

However, the coaches said the success of their football team is not only because of the routine they have set in place but is also because of the talented players on their team. Currently, the team is composed of 110 players. Each one is taught to work hard on the field, but most of their success comes from natural talent each player shows.

Parker said most of his players have natural talent inside of them which isn’t taught by their coaches. He says the talent the players on his team have is the real reason why Burke County has such a successful football program.

Currently the Bears are ranked No. 39 in the rankings for high school football in Georgia. The coaches said they hope by motivating one another and playing hard, they will earn another state championship title this year. msmith91@gru.edu