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GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

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VOLUME 55, ISSUE 9

NEWS | PAGE 2

Renting now offered at the Jag Store, providing cheaper textbook alternatives.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 4

SPORTS | PAGE 8

The members of Sibling String take the stage at a local bar.

End of NHL lockout has major implications for the local professional hockey team.

University-wide survey results reveal new logo, seal and colors By RON HICKERSON chief reporter

survey sent out in December to students, alumni, faculty and staff was the deciding factor for the university’s new logo, seal and school colors. Once the merging of Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities was finalized as Georgia Regents University, there was a great impetus to establish a new look. Thanks to an electronic survey distributed by GHSU’s Division of Institutional Effectiveness to Augusta State and GHSU students, alumni, faculty and staff, Georgia Regents now has fresh visual representations for the new university, releasing the results Thursday, Dec. 13. David Brond, the senior vice president of communications and marketing, was the executive sponsor of the survey and said, in the face of public suspicion due to the naming survey debacle, the results completely dictated the decision. “Before we announced the results of the survey, I was asked, ‘How much weight are you going to give the results of the survey?’” he said. “And I said ‘100 percent.’” For Augustans still upset with the decision to name the new university Georgia Regents instead of the more popular title the University of Augusta, the word survey has a negative connotation, reflected by comments made when the survey was first announced on the webpages of publications like the Augusta Chronicle and GHSU’s newsletter, The Connection. For some people, suspicion remained even after the results were announced with comments asserting that the decision was made “unanimously” by administration. “This was not an administrationdriven decision, a single-person driven decision, an academic-driven deci-

TRAVIS HIGHFIELD | STAFF

Patrons at the Saturday basketball game against rival Armstrong Atlantic State University receive free GRU T-shirts and commemorative cups to celebrate the newly consolidated university and its new logo.

sion,” Brond said. “It was the entire university community.” He said the previous survey researching the new university’s name had a completely different “bent” to it and was not exclusive to the university community like this new survey. So the electronic survey was sent to 46,417 individuals belonging to the universities, be they students, alumni, faculty or staff. Out of those individuals to whom the survey was sent, 14 percent of people responded. From Augusta State, 17 percent of students responded and 40 percent of faculty and staff responded. From GHSU, 29 percent of students responded and 27 percent of faculty and staff responded. Brond said the division expected this 14 percent response rate using other merging universities within the state of Georgia as a model. When undergoing the same processes, he said the universities had response rates between 10 and 20 percent. But despite

LOGO RESULTS

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WITH A 14 PERCENT RESPONSE RATE, THE RESULTS REVEALED THAT THE PREFERRED LOGO RECEIVED 44 PERCENT OF THE VOTES.

31%

SEE PAGE 2 FOR SEAL RESULTS

Tthe low response percentage, the logo, seal, and colors were chosen. “Our commitment was that whatever was the winner of each of those was what we would choose, and that’s exactly what we did,” he said. “We’ve been working since then on how to get that logo onto a variety of different things, from how it’s going to look

25% on apparel to letterheads and business cards and so on and so forth.” Brond attributed these seemingly low response rates to the inclusion of alumni in the survey. “Naturally, you’re going to get a smaller response rate when, out of that 46,000 number, 29,000 were alumni, which are literally all over

the world,” he said. Out of that 29,000, only 8 percent responded. Brond said the overall response from students, faculty and staff as a result of this survey was that they felt appreciative of being involved in this decision-making process, and Brond said he wanted to involve the universities as much as possible by not sending off the survey to an outside firm. “That was one of the comments, too, ‘Why don’t we have an outside firm do this?’” he said. “I scratched my head and said, ‘We have PhDs in our own Institutional Effectiveness who can adequately do this survey.’ And they managed this thing very well.” But now that the results are official, the logo is beginning to be seen in more and more places. Christen Carter, the media relations director for Georgia Regents, said the process has already begun in the campus bookstores and at sporting events. “The first apparel with the logo as well as Coca-Cola commemorative cups for the Jaguars, for the athletic team, will be sold at the game,” she said. “That’ll be the first GRU-related apparel that is being circulated.” She said the Saturday basketball game was the first sporting event where Georgia Regents merchandise was featured and sold, although the Jaguars will continue to compete under the Augusta State banner for the remainder of the 2012-2013 academic year. But now that the logo, seal and colors have been chosen, university officials are beginning the long process of replacing logos and seals and instituting the new three for Georgia Regents. “Our brand is not our logo,” Brond said. “Our logo helps to represent our brand, but the brand is much more than that. The logo is the tip of the iceberg.”

rhickers@gru.edu

Planning tool allows students to Georgia Regents University MERGER track academic progress online There’s an app for that T I M E L I N E By LEIGH BEESON sity. In fall of 2012, students were By MINDY WADLEY Jan. 10 2012 Feb. 8 2012 Aug. 7 2012 Sept. 26 2012 Oct. 25 2012

Dec. 8-11 2012 Jan. 9 2013

Within six months

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. . . . . . . .

Board of Regents approve recommendation of merger Board of Regents approve mission for New U Board of Regents approve name Georgia Regents University Prospectus submitted to SACS Commission on Colleges Name agreement reached - Georgia Regents University Augusta SACS-COC grant GRU accreditation

copy editor

tudents have a powerful program to help ensure they graduate on time. The only problem with the tool is that many students don’t know it exists. JagTrax was first introduced to Augusta State University faculty and staff through a training seminar during the summer of 2011, and many advisers immediately began to use the advisement tool to help better plan out students’ academic agendas that fall, said Fran Sunderland, the associate registrar at the newly merged Georgia Regents Univer-

given access to the program, which boasts numerous features to help track students’ academic progress, such as flagging unfulfilled requirements for degree programs; providing GPA calculations to determine what grades must be made in future courses to maintain or improve one’s GPA; and basic student information including degree program and year. Saundra Reinke, a professor of political science at Georgia Regents, said one of the program’s most unique tools is the What If worksheet that allows students to see what would happen to their course outlook if they changed majors.

smartphone app for Georgia Regents University launched Tuesday for download on iPhone and Android devices. The app includes features including a directory of faculty and staff, GPS-enabled maps, news and events. Michael Casdorph, the director of academic and research technology for Georgia Regents, said as students begin using the tool, more functions and features may be

see JAGTRAX on PAGE 2

see APP on PAGE 2

staff writer

JILLIAN HOBDAY | STAFF

Two become one: the next steps for Public Safety in light of merger

Board of Regents make final decision to approve merger

SACS-COC site visit to GRU

After (Georgia Regents University) has been in business for at least 6 months, we will send a team to inspect and verify that the things they put on paper really are happening.

“

- Belle Wheelan, the president of SACS-COC

By RON HICKERSON chief reporter “Welcome to Georgia Regents University’s Public Safety Division, folks,” said Maj. Eugene Maxwell, the assistant chief of police for Georgia Regents, addressing police officers and administration from the newly merged Department of Public Safety in a meeting. Staff members from the previously separate departments of Public Safety for Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University met Tuesday, Jan. 8, to discuss the merging process, including changes in uniforms, certification

and weapon-carrying. But most of all, William McBride, the director of Public Safety and chief of police, said the meeting was for the two departments to get to know each other a little better. “The goal here is, and it’s going to take a while because we still look at (the merger) as ‘us and them,’ it’s going to be ‘us,’” McBride said. The two divisions were established as one at 10 a.m. earlier in the day when Augusta State and GHSU were officially merged into Georgia Regents. Now the merged department must begin its training and certification processes to fully integrate the two police forces. “It’s going to be a long training cycle,” McBride said. “From the day the name (of the uni-

WE HAVE BEEN.

WE ARE.

WE WILL

versity) changes, which was today, we have six months to get this unit like our unit.” McBride said one of the major changes for police officers at the Summerville campus during integration will be the certification process for Georgia Regents Public Safety to obtain the State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification, which was held by GHSU Public Safety before the merger. Kymyetta Turner, the certification manager for Public Safety, said the certification program, which gives the operation a set of standards to follow, contains 129 operating standards that department members are required to follow. McBride see PUBLIC SAFETY on PAGE 2

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REMAIN a nation

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 www.asubellringer.com

NEWS Jag Store implements textbook rental program By ASHLEY TRAWICK staff writer

The voice of

Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser MATTHEW BOSISIO mbosisio@gru.edu editor-in-chief TRAVIS HIGHFIELD thighfie@gru.edu copy editor LEIGH BEESON kbeeson1@gru.edu news editor JILLIAN HOBDAY jhobday2@gmail.com arts & life editor KRISTIN HAWKINS khutchi2@gru.edu sports editor JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER jgarner6@gru.edu chief reporter RON HICKERSON rhickers@gru.edu production manager KELSEY DONNELLY kelseydonne@gmail.com production assistant JACQUELYN PABON jpabon@gru.edu senior reporter FARRELL BROWN staff writers KEREYIA BUTLER RYAN MCLAY REBECCA PERBETSKY JACOB SCHARFF MEGAN STEWART ASHLEY TRAWICK MINDY WADLEY circulation manager TREY UNDERWOOD zildjianman08@gmail.com advertising manager HANNAH FOERSTER hannahrosefoerster@gmail.com web master SI-LONG CHEN schen1@gru.edu

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Students returned to campus last week after registering for new classes and filled the aisles of the Jag Store carrying textbooks, electronic access codes, blue books and other supplies required for their courses. Some students, though, were practically red in the face when they discovered the prices of their books. Many complained and left to find alternatives while others swallowed their irritation and shelled out $200 or $300 on textbooks alone. However, to aid unsatisfied customers, the bookstore has implemented a rental program for some textbooks. Michelle Neely, the bookstore manager for the Summerville campus of Georgia Regents University, said the program for renting textbooks has been going well so far. “It has been popular, and it has been successful,” Neely said. “This is our first time using this program so I will know better at the end of the term when we have people returning their books.” The bookstore has no bearing over which books are rentable, meaning not all books are available through the program. Neely said the bookstore has partnered with Banner, a company that determines which books can be rented. “What happens is we send them our database, which is our list of books for all the classes that have been adopted,” Neely explained. “They go through that database, and they tell us which ones we can rent. We don’t get to choose yes or no.” Neely added that the bookstore has rented previously but only offering limited titles for rent. The bookstore was with the same company but under a different program. The other program was completely manual, so Neely had to do a lot of the work herself. “I had to go on the shelves and choose the

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books personally,” she said. “I had to submit the booklist to them, and then they said yes or no. I had to create the rental agreement, keep up with the forms and keep up with everybody. If they didn’t return the books, we handled all of the late fees and everything internally here. With the current program, they handle all of the replacement fees, late fees and everything. We are not involved with that anymore.” If a student wants to rent a textbook, there are

JagTrax

App

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HOW TO ACCESS JAGTRAX

STEP 1:

STEP 2: Find & click the “student” tab

STEP 3: Scroll down & click the “JagTrax” link “Basically what this does is it pulls up your official record like the registrar has it,” explained Reinke, who uses JagTrax with all her advisees. “So this lets us see, according to the registrar, what you’ve done towards graduation, the courses you’ve completed, your grades, what requirements you’ve finished and what you haven’t. One of the things that’s really good about this is that it helps an adviser spot really quickly what it is you still need but also it can help… show things like if there are any holes that might keep you from graduating (on time).” The program is as useful for students as it is for their advisers because it makes it easy for students to see how close to earning their degrees they are, which makes the task of advising students slightly less stressful, said Leza Witherington, the administrative assistant in the Department of Communications and Professional Writing, and Sunderland agreed. “You can go in and determine what you want to take, with your adviser, for multiple terms,” Sunderland said. “It will populate that into the electronic checklist and will show you what is planned (and how that fits into your degree’s requirements).” Students can also double-check that substitutions, transfer credits, and department or degree program changes have been submitted to the registrar’s official record on Jag-

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JILLIAN HOBDAY | STAFF

Several students stand in line at the Jag Store, some purchasing and others renting available textbooks.

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Trax, Reinke said. This helps students and their advisers catch when paper changes slip through the clerical cracks. “The problem with paper is that sometimes, let’s be honest, the paper doesn’t get to where it needs to get to,” Reinke said. “And as a student under the old system, you would never have known that.” The former Augusta State University had previously used a similar program, Degree Evaluation Guide, also known as CAPP, to streamline advising sessions, but Sunderland said that program didn’t grasp what Augusta State did with certain humanities courses as core requirements, making it a less effective tool for advisers to use. JagTrax, she said, has been much better received by faculty. Sunderland also emphasized that JagTrax serves a supplementary role in the advising process, saying that the program doesn’t replace advising meetings or the graduation application. It does, however, give students a better grasp on what they need to do to graduate on time with their desired GPA. Georgia Health Sciences University had a similar program, and Georgia Regents administration is working to integrate the two programs into one seamless advising tool that will go live in July, Sunderland said.

kbeeson1@gru.edu

Public Safety CONTINUED from PAGE 1

said that while the program is difficult, it makes the department look more professional as a whole. “Only 15 percent of the agencies in the state of Georgia have this pin,” said McBride, pointing to a pin representing the certification beneath his police badge. “It’s hard to get.” But he maintained that this drive for certification is not a statement that Augusta State’s Public Safety Department was being unprofessional by not being certified nor that the GHSU department is now taking over to tell Augusta State how things need to be done. McBride said, over time, police officers from both campuses will begin joining patrols on the two campuses in order to learn the different routines and standards officers have on each campus, which would es-

three requirements they must have in order to do so: a valid ID, an email address and a valid credit card. “Before with the old program, if you didn’t return a rented textbook, it would place a hold on your account with Banner,” she said. “Now because they don’t have access to everybody’s account, you have to have a credit card. If you return the book in a damaged manner or don’t return it at all, they will charge your credit card.” Due to the program’s expansion, there are more than 400 titles available to rent this semester. A student renting from the bookstore will receive an email at the end of the semester reminding them of its due date. The bookstore’s goal since 2003, said Karl Munschy, the director of Business Services, has been to figure out the cheapest way to get books to students. He said the rental program has been forthcoming. “We’ve been test marketing it for about two years now,” Munschy said. “We’ve been doing it selectively with just a few titles to figure it all out. A couple of times, we didn’t have that much success. We had a lot of problems with students returning the books at the end of the semester, so that I think we’ve really got it figured out. You have four options: You can buy new, buy used, rent new or rent used. We’re also playing around with a fifth option which is e-books.” Munschy added that the industry is evolving and e-books are the next thing students will see by fall semester. He also said the next step is to figure out how to rent online. “It’s just a process,” Munschy said. “Textbook pricing is always an issue. We agree with the students; we’d love to be able to sell them cheaper if we could. It just gives our students one more option to obtain the books they need for their classes.”

added. “This is really a tool for the students,” Casdorph said. “These are the core, basic components, but we want to evolve it and grow it and add the tools in there that make the most sense for the students.” Many of the current features are tailored to health sciences content, a result of the app’s development as the former MCG Mobile app which launched in 2009. Casdorph said he was excited to incorporate features that would be engaging for the Summerville campus as well, such as the athletics tab. “Most universities that have a mobile app talk about how the athletics part of the app really brings students to the app, so that they can check scores and live stats,” Casdorph said. “Back then MCG didn’t have an athletic program, so one of the things we were super excited about was being able to add athletics to the mobile suite. Now students and parents of students and all of the people in our community that care about our athletics can look at all of the athletic news, schedules and scores.” The mobile development team for Georgia Regents cre-

atrawick@gru.edu

ates mobile applications, 3D simulations and gaming to support academics. Currently, interactive applications for health science students can be downloaded, with more projects in development, such as interactive children’s books and iPad games to help prepare children for surgeries at the children’s hospital. Jeff Mastromonico, the associate director for educational and collaborative technology at Georgia Regents, said digital textbooks and educational tools are on the horizon for Summerville students. He said instructors can contact the educational and collaborative technology department with ideas. “Our purpose is to find a way to serve the campus,” Mastromonico said. “That’s what we’re doing right now on the GHSU side, developing applications for the students to use.” While access to the MyASU portal is not a current function of the app, Casdorph said it could be incorporated if students show interest. Desire2Learn and library catalog access will be added features by fall 2013, Casdorph said, with features for student organizations and student publications in development.

mindyawadley@gmail.com

like us on facebook follow us @BellRinger_News sentially allow police officers to train each other. “Out of five days, you may work this campus for two or three days or that campus for two or three days,” McBride said. Maxwell agreed. “Over time, we will be able to interchange with everybody,” he said. McBride said the two campuses currently have different cultures but that eventually, by interchanging police officers, officers will begin to see themselves as a unified group. “We’re all part of the same team,” McBride said. “And it will feel more like it once we’re all in the same uniform.” During the meeting, Maxwell and McBride showed the new Public Safety decal for Georgia Regents, which will be placed on police cars and uniform badges. But one of the most notable changes that students and faculty at the Summerville campus will notice is that campus police officers will begin carrying tasers. McBride said

carrying tasers may cause some concern among faculty and students, but he said the motivation for carrying them is to better protect students and employees. “We do it because it keeps our people from getting hurt,” he said. “This doesn’t damage them, but it sure makes them cooperate. I don’t want any of my folks to get hurt, and I don’t want their folks to get hurt.” McBride said suspects are generally not even tased by officers, as suspects frequently begin to cooperate as soon as they see officers pull out a taser. But without this deterrent, officers trying to apprehend a disorderly suspect can either hurt the suspect or get hurt themselves. But with all of the changes that Public Safety will undergo, McBride said the mission of the department will not change. “The only reason we have police departments, here or there, is our students,” he said.

rhickers@gru.edu

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the opinion pages: editorial New U struggles with identity

Saturday afternoon, 1,702 fans packed into the Christenberry Fieldhouse on what is now the campus of Georgia Regents University for the big reveal that the administration and officials have spoken of for weeks. Only there was no big reveal. Instead, an announcement was made during the interlude between the men’s and women’s games congratulating Georgia Regents on its merged status. And in a moment where you would expect the fieldhouse to echo with rounds of applause, boos bounced off its storied walls. Ricardo Azziz, who was present wearing his white GRU shirt just as he promised in a tweet the day before, remained seated with a nervous smile on his face. Everything about the merger feels, for lack of a better word, strange. If it wasn’t bad enough that we have been in lawsuit limbo for the past couple of months, there is still the feeling that, while we share the Georgia Regents banner, we are still two separate institutions. Everything is being handled, well, clumsily. Professors list two email addresses on their syllabuses, one for Augusta State University and one for Georgia Regents, in an attempt to cater to those who have not yet adjusted to the new system. Students of the former Augusta State still have to access MyASU to receive vital class information, and students at what was once Georgia Health Sciences University still have to access their own portal. A website for Georgia Regents is now live, and

it looks like it was thrown together by an amateur. Though it’s fixed now, clicking on the “Academics” link at the top of the home page transferred you to GHSU’s degree offerings. Save the A signs still adorn the yards of Walton Way, and while they are becoming weathered and beaten, it shows that the people of Augusta still have some fight in them. They were brave enough to boo the New U when it was mentioned at the basketball game, even when the president of said university was sitting among them. It was almost picturesque as the fans around Azziz called out with two thumbs pointed to the ground. In that moment, the entirety of everything this merger has meant to the city was captured. No matter how loud the city boos or cries foul, it still falls on deaf ears. T-shirts with the new name printed on the front still were being handed out by the hundreds and fans kept chanting “ASU!” It was strange. Just about all this merger has produced so far is a new shuttle with the updated logo and colors slapped on the side. The shuttle is just as lost as the new university itself, wandering from campus to campus with no real home. Call us pessimists, but we aren’t pleased with how things are being handled. We, as a university, are having a major identity crisis, and we will remain this way until the administration is ready to kick things into gear and get the job done right. Help us become great again.

TV just isn’t what it used to be

Standing at the precipice of pickles and professionalism “I’ll admit my stomach sinks at just about every major change in my life, especially as it pertains to getting a job.”

With my final semester approaching, I now begin my journey into the wild. The professional life, I mean. And take my word for it, for those of you who aren’t already going through it along with me, it’s terrifying. If you’re anything like me, by the time you reach your senior year of college, you begin thinking, “I’ve been in school for the past 16-plus years of my life; I can’t wait to get out of here.” But then you think, “Oh wait, I don’t know how to do anything else.” Well, hopefully, you’re not like me. But recently, I’ve been stepping up to the precipice of the professional life and putting my journalism education to good use by starting my internship. It was almost like starting a new life. I got a new phone (finally upgrading from my 4-yearold Samsung slide phone), new clothes, a new haircut and a clean shave, all to get my foot in the door of a local newspaper office as a lowly intern ,hoping somehow to get my name out there in the land of print journalism. It’s terrifying. I’ll admit my stomach sinks at just about every major change in my life, especially as it pertains to getting a job. Because of my anxiety, whenever I enter a new job, I start wondering whether I’ll have what it takes to conquer whatever challenge comes my way. I think of all the ways I can mess things up. But then my thoughts start shifting to the ridiculous. I begin thinking of my objections to the American

The way TV used to be, if you missed the last episode of your favorite show, all you had to do was ask your friend who managed to see it. However, TV isn’t what it used to be. Pretty much everyone in college now grew up somewhere in the 1990s. In the ’90s, if you missed an episode of something and you didn’t tape it, you were out of luck. There was a chance you wouldn’t see the episode again for well over a year, and as a result you’d be missing an essential part of the show. People could talk about it, but all TV is better seen than heard about. In today’s world, we have digital video recording. You can press record and go on your way when you know you’re going to miss something. Then you just tell everyone you recorded it and you’ll watch it later. Even better, studios hell-bent on promoting their products are starting to put shows up on video on demand services usually the morning after they air, and they almost always air all of the episodes they’ve already shown at least once during the break between spring and winter seasons. The problem now is that there is a lack of slow build up on TV these days. Every episode has to have that shocking moment or twist to keep you tuned in. If you miss even one episode, you miss some sort of big plot point. In my opinion, you should want to see a show for the overarching story, not for all the little twists and turns that may or may not happen throughout. The endgame is just as important as the midpoint. If the endgame isn’t satisfying, it’s not worth it. A prime example of this is former Fox Network drama “The O.C.” The show started off really strong, but in everyone’s opinion, mine included, the show really started

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to struggle in season three, and season four was declared as the final season. A few years earlier, Fox’s show “Reunion” was canceled because of ratings and was not given a proper ending, leaving viewers, like me, very upset. All I wanted was for the end of season four of “The O.C.” to really bring some closure to the series. It did a fantastic job. All the poor episodes that came before didn’t mean anything. The end was satisfying. It wrapped up everything and gave us a fantastic look at the future of these characters we had watched for four years. If you can reach the end of a show and it works no matter what, that’s fantastic. Another example is “Smallville.” The show looked at Clark Kent’s years in high school up to the point he really truly adopted the mantle of Superman. The show lasted for 10 seasons, but all would’ve been for naught if the ending hadn’t delivered. The writers took a lot of chances early. One of Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor, started as one of Superman’s best friends, and Lois Lane lived with Clark Kent for years before they started working at the Daily Planet together. All these changes made for much more interesting dynamics that really kept the show going, but had it not all come together in the final episode to truly have Clark become Superman, it all would have meant nothing. An entire decade would have been utterly wasted. We take TV for granted. Programs now are just thrown away the moment they start doing too poorly. We always assume we’ll see an episode we’ve missed in some way or another. I have a small question for you though: If you can’t find time to watch one hour of television when it’s broadcast, when are you going to find time to watch the five hours you’ve recorded?

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Dream. I remember my mad desire to not live life stuck in a cubicle. I start thinking of all of the “Dilbert” comic strips I’ve read. Scenes from “Office Space” play back in my mind. The lyrics from Arcade Fire’s “Antichrist Television Blues” loop in my head. It’s all enough to make me consider packing up and moving to Portland in order to learn how to make and sell organic, artisan pickles. But then I remember there’s a time to be practical. As much as it terrifies me, I will admit I have caught myself looking forward to getting out of college and trying my hand at the professional life, regardless of whether I work in my field of study. There’s just something to providing for oneself, even modestly. I can’t wait to start earning enough money in order to save up with my wife to start our own family, to finally have the resources make the repairs around our house that have been irking me since we first moved in here in hopes of leaving our house in better shape than we found it. I look forward to feeling like a real adult. Yet while I stand on this precipice, I don’t have to leap just yet. For the next four and a half months, I’ll just have to wait in the limbo of my final semester and the semi-professionalism of my internship, plotting my future adventures in the land of the working. Although I could always make artisan pickles on the side.

How the merger ruined my graduation

“But I dropped off my application, received the graduation information and started to cry.”

“The problem now is that there is a lack of slow build up on TV these days.” JACOB SCHARFF staff writer jscharff@gru.edu

RON HICKERSON chief reporter rhickers@gru.edu

JILLIAN HOBDAY news editor jhobday2@gmail.com I am not allowed to walk at the May graduation because of the merger. This is the one and only negative byproduct of the merger that directly affects me, and I’m not exactly taking it lightly. Let me go ahead and mention that when I transferred to Augusta State University, I had no interest in wearing a cap and gown. As far as my naive, younger self was concerned, this place was only a means to an end, a way to get my degree and nothing more. I wasn’t interested in being part of clubs and organizations because I did that in high school. I wasn’t interested in making friends because I wasn’t planning on sticking around. There would be no way in hell I was walking across a stage to shake hands with people I had no interest in getting to know. Well, if this column is any indication, all those things changed. I finally found my place at this university, but just as I’m filling out my application to graduate with some of the greatest individuals in this world (aka my Bell Ringer staff friends), I was told, “You know that there is a new policy because of the merger and because you’re a responsible adult who has chosen to take care of your sick mother and do an internship over the summer instead, you have to wait until December to walk across the stage, even though you will be finishing your last three classes of your college career seven months in advance” (or something along those lines). This cut like a rusty medieval dagger straight to the heart. And honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to. Like I mentioned before, I really had no interest in taking part in the whole graduation thing. I planned on going to the alumni house and picking up my degree dressed in regular clothes and that would be that. But I dropped off my application, received the graduation information and started to cry. In the past, doing an internship in the summer has not been an issue. Even students who had classes to finish during the summer were able to participate in the commencement ceremony. But because of the merger and because there will be more students graduating, there is simply no room for peo-

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ple who have summer obligations like internships or classes on campus.... BUT there is room if you’re willing to pay for it. Yeah, that’s right. I can shell out big bucks so my family can watch the FIRST daughter, granddaughter, etc. graduate from college. I forgot to mention, when I was filling out my application, I was told, “You can do a study abroad over the summer instead and still be able to walk in May if you want!” Excuse me policy makers, but you’re telling me that students who decided to wait until the last minute to go to Salamanca in order to fulfill their humanities courses and two of their foreign language classes can pay close to $4,000, plus the cost of tuition, plus the cost of having fun in another country, with the DEFINITE possibility of FAILING a class in which case they will have to return in the fall to retake can walk across the stage? But although I will be doing an internship in my field of study and hopefully at a future place of employment, I am not allowed to walk at graduation in May, though the likelihood of me “failing” out of my internship is close to impossible? I’ve chatted with a few study-abroaders and it turns out the course work is tough and things such as homework, papers and finals do actually exist in other countries. Not only that, but I think getting drunk on a daily basis is a requirement. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember the last time I got wasted the night before a test and passed. But who knows, maybe I’m just being sensitive to the fact that I have to wait seven months to walk across stage with a group of people I have no relation to. (Oh, by the way, I’m not going to do that. I am not going to walk at all because of this policy change.) Or maybe it’s the fact that someone who decides to pay money to get drunk in another country is allowed to take my spot at graduation. Or the fact that I can literally think of twenty people who DO NOT want to walk and would be willing to trade places with me. I sure do hope that those empty seats have fun walking across the stage for their empty family and friends’ seats to see because I won’t be.

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ARTS & LIFE

Local band rocks around the underground By MEGAN STEWART staff writer

local band takes on the music scene in Augusta, Ga., every other Wednesday night at Joe’s Underground Café. Sibling String consists of five experienced musicians from the Augusta area who came together to form their own spin on rock and roll. The band consists of Jacob Beltz, Michael Baideme, Henry Wynn, Dave Mercer and Deveran Roof, who all share a variety of musical talents. The band members can sometimes be seen switching up roles during their shows with instruments that range from the drums, electric and acoustic guitars, all the way to a fiddle and an upright bass. The most prominent songwriter and vocalist of the band, Beltz, is a former Augusta State University student who is on his way to medical school at the Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, Ga., this summer and is also a full-time employee at University Hospital in Augusta. Mercer is a student at Georgia Military College and is pursing a career in musical education. Baideme, Wynn and Roof are all well-established musicians in the area who also perform professionally while they work at Rock Bottom Music, Mercer said.

KRISTIN HAWKINS | STAFF

The members of Sibling String entertain the crowd at Joe’s Underground Cafe Wednesday, Jan. 9 one strum at a time.

Overall, the band plays rock, but it puts a twist to the genre and likes to expand different styles, which makes it hard to classify the band’s music within a specific genre, Beltz said. Sibling String is the main band of each of its members, but all of them can be found playing gigs with other people or performing solo in the area. The lives of the members are

hectic with them being students, professional performers and fulltime workers, Beltz said. “Four hours of sleep at night, maybe max, pretty much,” he said. “It’s been pretty tiring, but it’s paid off. I’m happy with where the band is right now. I have friendships with these guys that I would never trade for anything and luckily got into med school, and we’re still having a lot of fun with it.

And I have a great job. It’s been very rewarding.” With most of the members having musical backgrounds of performing that date back nearly 10 years and the time they have been together, they have become a pretty tight-knit group. “It started with me and Jacob,” Baideme said. “Me and him were playing and Henry joined, and then everything else just kind

of rolled into place as each week went on.” Over time, the group has established an ability to improvise, and with such hectic schedules, Joe’s has become a type of rehearsal spot for them. “We’ve got kind of a repertoire now where we can just get together and play without having to rehearse,” Beltz said. “We’ve been together for about three years so that kind of affords us the ability to do that.” The band has become well known over its time performing and has been involved in some of Augusta’s bigger productions. “Once we played 12 Bands of Christmas then everything else kind of opened up for us,” Mercer said. “We did Rock Fore! Dough, Banjo-B-Que and stuff like that, and we’ve been kind of playing around ever since. Mostly in Augusta but some out of town too.” The band is currently in production with the producer Morgan Parham and is pushing to release an album before Beltz leaves for Savannah, Beltz said. Although Beltz will be moving more than two hours away, the band fully intends to get together as much as possible to perform, Baideme said. The band is foreseeing that playing less will allow them to shoot for bigger events and ultimately help the band grow and fill bigger venues, Beltz said.

mstewar7@gru.edu

A different take on Italian taste Hearty food, decent prices By REBECCA PERBETSKY staff writer

he owner of the Pizza Joint isn’t just interested in making pizza anymore. Now he has a new Italian restaurant that prides itself on its atmosphere and fresh rustic Italian cuisine. Michael Schepis, the owner of the Pizza Joint, and Alain De Bernardi, his business partner and

are certain selections that are strictly by the bottle.” Oliviana isn’t only known for its large array of wine. The staff at Oliviana prides itself on the quality of the food and the atmosphere that the restaurant exudes. “We serve rustic Italian food, so it is basically comfort food Italian style,” said Josh Newman, the executive chef. “Everything is made in house, and I mean everything.” Newman said at the core of

KRISTIN HAWKINS | STAFF

Luke Duggar, a bartender at Oliviana entertains the manager Beth Rogers.

life-long friend, opened Oliviana Bar Italiano & Pizzeria, located in the old Polka Dot Pig location in Surrey Center. Oliviana opened its doors in late October 2012, and, according to the restaurant’s manager, Jennifer Fraley, business took off from the start. “Business is going good,” Fraley said. “It has been steady. Lunch has been really good and dinner is definitely our biggest part. We have a lot of wine that people just love to come in and get.” Oliviana has a large selection of wine to go along with the unique cuisine that is served. “We have an owner that is a wine expert, (and) he is able to pick out all the wines by hand so he is always recommending new stuff,” Fraley said. “We sell them by the glass and by the bottle. There are certain selections that are by the glass, and then there

Italian cooking is the quality of the ingredients used in the dishes. “We use nothing but the best,” Newman explained. “The best cheeses and the best tomatoes, that’s the main thing that you have to work with in Italian cooking. There isn’t much to it; we just want to accent all these great ingredients that we have.” The quality of the dishes, as well as the fresh ingredients, is something that draws customers to the restaurant, Newman added. One dish, however, that was a special when the restaurant first opened stands to be the most popular dish. “Ironically, our signature dish isn’t even on our menu, and it would be the Assobuco,” he said. “We have people who come here just for that dish. It’s kind of like the McRib, people we know are like, ‘When is it gonna be here?’” Along with the fresh ingre-

dients and vast variety of wines, Oliviana’s has happy hour specials to fit any budget. “I think they are geared towards people who want to come in and have fun and to just afford a drink if they want too,” said Carey Mogianesi, one of the servers at Oliviana. “Our house wines are $3 a glass, well drinks are $3, calls are $5 and premium drinks are $6, so that’s like Grey Goose things like that. I think that is really good and reasonably priced.” The drink options are limitless. “What’s really different too is that whenever you go to places you know they have a selected list for you that you can pick from; well here, we kind of make up our own drinks,” Mogianesi said. “We have lots of different martinis. You can make like Key Lime pie and cookies and cream.” The staff of Oliviana also takes great pride in the atmosphere of the restaurant, and patrons of the restaurant notice the overall relaxed vibe exuded by the new restaurant. “I think the atmosphere was like really kind of a nice, relaxing, laid back atmosphere,” Maria Darley, a recent patron, said. “It’s somewhere you want to go and have some appetizers with a glass of wine or a drink. It wasn’t too loud in there. It was kind of mellow and it had dim lighting, so it was very relaxing. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was somewhere I would bring a whole bunch of kids, though. There was more of an older crowd in there when I went.” Although Augusta is a town full of different Italian chain restaurants, the staff members at Oliviana said they aren’t that worried about the competition. “We haven’t even labeled our competition yet,” Fraley said. “I’m guessing our biggest competition would be any Italian place like Carrabba’s, but they are just a big chain, you know? We just want to be separated from the chains.”

rperbets@gmail.com

By LEIGH BEESON copy editor

arm environment, hearty food: Oliviana is welcome addition to Surrey dining The corner spot on the fountain level of Surrey Center in Augusta, Ga., used to be the place local, original restaurants went to die. But a new Italian joint is threatening to break the curse. Opened by Michael Schepis, the same man who brought the CSRA several successful The Pizza Joints, Oliviana Bar Italiano & Pizzeria offers a wide array of traditional Northern Italian and Mediterranean fare, ranging from inexpensive pastas and salads to more costly but not unreasonable entrees like pollo al limone and salmon alla griglia. The restaurant, named for the owner’s daughter, is housed in the space previously occupied by culinary catastrophes The Public House and Polka Dot Pig Gastropub and serves lunch and dinner seven days a week at its 399 Highland Ave. location. Walking up to the restaurant, I saw it had a pleasant enough exterior. Nothing overwhelmingly innovative in terms of design but nice nonetheless and noticeably different from the slew of chain Italian joints lining Washington Road and the Augusta Mall food court. After walking through the doors, though, I immediately smiled. Dark hardwoods, draping white curtains and floorto-ceiling windows lining one side of the restaurant created a cozy, rich environment without the pretension of other Surrey establishments. Several televisions, set on silent of course so as to not interrupt the flow of conversation, showed an old black and white film, the perfect entertainment for one dining alone and the perfect backdrop and conversation starter for those awkward lulls in conversation when dining with a friend or date. My friends and I split an appetizer – classic calamari ($8) with marinara and garlic aioli dipping sauces. It took maybe five minutes from the time of ordering for the piping hot breaded seafood to arrive at our table. After the promising bread and oil and vinegar and the affordable but extensive wine list, the fried squid dish was noticeably lacking. The taste of the coating reminded me of the frozen appetizers supermarkets sell: utterly unsatisfying and heavy with the slight aftertaste of salted cardboard. It was a shame that the coating was so dreadful because the squid itself was tender and fresh, the perfect mix of squishy and chewy. The salads, one spinach-based and the other a mix of baby greens ($6 and $5, re-

spectively), were a refreshing change of pace. Raisins, shaved ribbons of carrot and creamy goat cheese with just the right amount of dressing, the salads proved to be the much needed redemption for the lackluster appetizer. For my main course, I had penne vodka ($8), which although good wasn’t entirely what I expected. Having eaten this dish elsewhere, I thought I knew what I was ordering, but the kitchen turned out a pasta dish with more heavy cream in its super-thick sauce than vodka. Regardless, the penne was satisfyingly filling and piping hot upon its delivery from the open-galley-style kitchen. The other dishes were equally good but slightly more expensive at $16 and $18 but still cheap when compared to the prices at other long-time Surrey staples like Bistro 491 and Calvert’s. There were no options for dessert this time, I was told by our charming but obviously inexperienced 20-something waitress. The restaurant was only serving under-$10

REBECCA PERBETSKY | STAFF

Olivinia sign glows bright in Surrey Center.

cheesecake with strawberries, which was just as well considering my penchant for the dairy-centric dessert. The presentation was poor, with sliced strawberries flung halfheartedly to either side of the slice, but the cake itself was dense and rich. The crust was unfortunately overly sweet, but when the cheesecake top was scrapped off its sugar cookie-like base, it had a mild creaminess that was undeniably unique and delicious. Walking out of the restaurant stuffed and relatively satisfied, I decided Oliviana deserves another shot. It’s new to the neighborhood and still has some kinks to work out, but it has the potential to be a great, locally owned restaurant, something the Augusta, Ga., area is severely lacking. The atmosphere is comfortably upscale, the décor is modern but warm, and, most importantly, the food is rich and authentic. Granted, there were some misses, but the overall experience and quality of the food merits further investigation.

kbeeson1@gru.edu

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Around Town

Game show heads to Bell

Play it safe when partying

By KEREYIA BUTLER staff writer

love to have fun, dance and party, but I don’t want to be hit with a stray bullet in the pro-

cess. I wouldn’t mind going out to a bar or a club downtown to let loose from the shackles of school and work and get my mind off of everything that was on it before and leave all my stress at their front doors, but, now it seems like you can’t go anywhere downtown. One minute you’re having a good time enjoying yourself, your friends and your over-priced, watered-down alcoholic beverage, and the next a fight breaks out and you’re forced to leave with a depressing look on your face while the night is still young. All because someone wanted to let their fists do the talking and many times soon after that they introduce their pistols or other handguns to the fight too. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched the news and see the face of a victim’s parent or loved one cry inconsolably simply because the victim was at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s senseless, and no one should have to ever go through that horror. Do I want to have fun? Most definitely! But I care about my safety first, and if that means staying away from the violence, I will do so and will not question myself about it at all. I can’t account for the immature and the reckless who have

no regard for human life and the ones who don’t think about all of the consequences to their actions. I can only account for me. Now, don’t get things misconstrued because I still have my fun, but I just do so when things aren’t hectic downtown. I play it smart and safe. I try not to stay out in the downtown nightlife past 10 p.m., and if I have any inclination that something is about to happen or if something doesn’t sit right with me, I leave. I don’t bother with the rowdy crowds or the ones who’ve had one drink too many and are just looking for some trouble to run into. I keep my distance because anything could happen in a matter of seconds. I enjoy my safety and my space. Of course, I can’t always control what might happen, even if I’ve done everything I could. But at least I know I’ve done everything I could and that’s the most important aspect of it all. The nightlife scene downtown isn’t as bad as Detroit’s might be, but you can still have your fun at night and not be stuck at home staring at your bland four walls on a weekend night or watching reruns of the shows you missed during the weekdays. I do. I still have my fun along with my friends, and we have a blast even though it means leaving a little earlier than most. We don’t care because we make every moment the best moment. Have your fun, but be safe.

kbutler7@gru.edu

BY RYAN MCCLAY staff writer

he Bell Auditorium encourages Augusta to “come on down” for a night with “The Price is Right.” The hit game show, which has been airing for more than 50 years, is going live and coming to the

the way to California for my honeymoon, and I saw they were coming here so I bought [the tickets] for him for Christmas,” the 24-yearold said. “It’s his dream. He watches ‘The Price Is Right’ every day.” Georgia Regents University student Dorn Smith, 24, found out about the show from Harley and the local news. She will also be attending the show with

Plinko, the putt-putt game Hole in One and the beloved yodeling game Cliff Hangers. “We’re trying to come up with some creative things to get noticed,” said Harley, anticipating being called down to the contestant stage. “He wants to do it all.” Harley said she is hoping for a big win. “It’d be awesome if we

The William B. Bell Memorial Auditorium will host “The Price is Right Live”

Bell Sunday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. Just like on the CBS television show, contestants on the stage show will play the same games that have entertained fans of the popular program for decades. In the show’s tradition, contestants and audience members will have the opportunity to take home cash and prizes, such as furniture, appliances and a new car. Rebekah Harley, a coowner of the local beauty and personal care spa Salon Indigo, will be attending the event with her fiancée, a dedicated fan of the game show who has wanted to attend tapings of the television show in San Diego. “I didn’t want to go all

her fiancée, parents and grandmother. Smith said that as a child she always watched “The Price Is Right” with her grandparents. “Every time 11:00 hit, we were on CBS,” she said. Though her family hasn’t come up with any detailed strategies if any of them are called to the big stage, Smith is sticking to the philosophy of not guessing more than the estimated price. It’s better to come in under an item’s value than overestimate its monetary worth. Harley and Smith are looking forward to seeing some of the show’s favorite traditional games, such as

KRISTIN HAWKINS | STAFF

Sunday, Feb. 10.

could win a honeymoon,” Harley said. Smith agreed. “I think it would be great to get some appliances,” the recently engaged Smith added. Katie Wells, the director of marketing at the Bell, said sales have been high since ticket sales opened Friday, Dec. 21, with prices ranging from $35 to $45. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the show will begin an hour later. “I think there’s a very good possibility,” said Wells, referring to the potential of a sold-out show.

rmcclay@gru.edu

Knuckle Sandwiches provides a delicious option for late-night crowd By JACQUELYN PABON production assistant

knuckle sandwich never tasted so good. Knuckle Sandwiches, a small hole-in-the-wall sandwich shop, opened its doors to the streets of downtown Augusta, Ga., in 2011, filling the bellies of the latenight, zombified bar scene. With its typical hours of 9 p.m. to whenever the owners choose to close and its $10-or-below menu, the restaurant satisfies even the drunkest bar hopper. The restaurant is conveniently wedged in between two of the most popular hot-spot bars on Broad Street: Sky City, a music venue for traveling and local bands, and Firehouse Bar, a pub popular among the older punk-rock crowd. Needless to say, the restaurant’s customers make up a very diverse crowd. Like any downtown business, the outside storefront of Knuckle Sandwiches isn’t the most appealing. The bricks of the building are worn down, with a glass-window display across the entire front of the restaurant. The only visible sign from the street is a logo of a vintage boxer circled by the name of the shop etched on the glass. Several patio tables and chairs sit outside

because of the cramped space inside. Upon entering, I noticed the warm glow of the burgundy artwork-flooded walls. The art consists of large and small vintage prints of photos of old boxers and boxing matches. The shop also displays local artists, like Aaron Crawford of Augusta. In the midst of all the art, the names of menu items and prices were painted upon slabs of wood sprinkled around the artwork as if the sandwiches were art themselves. The floors of the restaurant are checkered black and white with several smaller, neatly cleaned two-top and three-top table sets inside. The speakers blared ‘90s pop and alternative music. I assume this was done to compete with the noises of the kitchen and the bars next door. The restaurant was warm from the kitchen, and the aroma of barbeque made my mouth water. I asked the smiling woman behind the counter what the restaurant’s most popular menu item was. She smiled again, and responded with “The PBR-B-Que.” I decided to give this uniquesounding sandwich a shot. After I paid for my $8 meal and dropped money into her black Jolly Roger flag tip jar, the woman behind the counter told me to take a seat, and she would bring the food out to me. This demonstrated the integrity of the service because

KRISTIN HAWKINS | STAFF

Late night drinkers gathers for a quick dinner.

the shop was overflowing with costumers. She quickly turned around and handed the handwritten order through the window to the two scruffy gentlemen covered in tattoos in the tiny kitchen. They hurried to get each order to perfection for their hungry patrons. Because of the overwhelming line of people strung throughout the restaurant waiting for their meals, I felt claustrophobia sitting in and decided to dine outside. The wait for the meal, which was about five to eight minutes, felt like no time at all while I sat outside and people-watched the

drunken crowd. It was as if I was watching a free soap opera from a distance. As I watched a couple apologize and kiss after a quick spat over spilled beer, the door of the restaurant opened and the server was holding a hot to-go box plate of food. She handed me my meal as I quickly said my food was not for take-out. The server said the restaurant only uses disposable plates and she wasn’t trying to run me off. She went back inside and brought out a roll of paper towels for napkins, do-it-yourself style. I opened the take-out box and found a soft hoagie covered with cheese and pulled pork braised in Pabst Blue Ribbon, with a side of vinegar-based barbeque sauce. The rest of the plate was filled with glorious salt-and-pepper golden french fries. Every item popped with a unique tangy flavor and still had the straight-offthe-barbeque taste. The meals were so large that no one could leave without a box to go. Overall, this restaurant is one of the best downtown shops to catch a quick bite to eat. And just in case customers aren’t comfortable with the bar crowd, the restaurant recently began opening for lunch hours Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

jpabon@gru.edu

Summertime brings severe drought to the Augusta Entertainment Complex

By BREE- CONSTANCE HUFFIN staff writer

ugusta, Ga., is an entertainment hotspot – just not during the summer months. The city of Augusta housed a population of 195,844 in 2010, according to Quickfacts.censusus.gov and is closely surrounded by 19 counties. When entertainment comes to the city, a great percentage of these people usually flock to attend. According to a few citizens, people will even attend the same show multiple times depending on the entertainer performing and the show’s quality. Augusta is home to the Augusta Entertainment Complex: The James Brown Arena and the Bell Auditorium. “The James Brown Arena is an 8,700 feet arena that can accommodate an audience of 8,700 people, and the Bell Auditorium is a 2,800 feet theater that can accommodate 2,800 people,” said Monty Jones Jr., the general manager of the Augusta Entertainment Complex. The Augusta Entertainment Complex is very well equipped and accommodating for any promoter who chooses the city of Augusta as a tour spot.

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Patrons flood the box office at the James Brown Arena to get tickets in the winter months.

“We are a hotel,” said Scott Montgomery, the assistant director of Box Office Operations. “Someone essentially rents our space and brings an event in, and we provide the staffing, the tickets and help them with pulling the event off.” During the summer months, most people, depending on their job, have more freedom in their schedule and do not have to be bound by them. Sometimes, regardless of their schedules, people have more energy during the summer when they would not mind suddenly going out of town or being

out later to attend entertaining gatherings. According to the 2011 Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, between January and August, 2 million people traveled to Georgia in 2010. There are significant increases in visits to Georgia during the month of August, which is the peak month of summer tourism in Georgia. A percentage of these people traveled to Augusta. With the right marketing and availability these people would probably attend a show at the Augusta Entertainment Complex. Even with all these statistics,

Katie Wells, the director of marketing for the Augusta Entertainment Complex, said the complex’s most thriving seasons are fall and spring. “The summer months are usually slow for us,” Wells said. Since the complex has trouble booking entertainment during the summer, there are only a few events there between June and September. To prove her point, during the “outof-school” summer months — MayAugust - the James Brown Arena is only showcasing a few shows in May and June: a wrestling event, a gospel explosion and an old school R&B and rap concert. The Bell Auditorium is no different. There are no events until August, the last month of summer when school starts for the Augusta area and schedules start getting full. For the Augusta Entertainment Complex, the peak season of shows and ticket sales happen during November through January, or the fall and winter months. During these months, customers are looking for a warm place to go, so they find indoor entertainment. “Sales are just phenomenal late fall through spring,” Montgomery said. Shows in Augusta are very profitable for the entertainment complex as well as the promoter/artist. They do “a lot of walk up” for ticket sales and

ticket sales usually “break even or better,” according to Montgomery. Booking depends and varies between the ability to reach out to the agent, promoter or artist management to the agent trying to reach out to the Augusta Entertainment Complex looking for available dates. “We use all types of marketing tools and mediums such as advertising through print, publications, broadcasting, internet and word-of-mouth, branding, direct marketing, loyalty marketing and publicity,” Wells said. Ultimately, it is up to the Augusta Entertainment Complex’s general manager as to what events will come to Augusta based on its schedule and if he can contact shows’ promoters and on whether he thinks it will do in the Augusta area. “(It) all just depends on routing and what the artist and-or agent wants for their artist,” said Jones Jr. It is up to the performers where and when they want to perform. But local venues can reach out to all types of different acts. “Mainly due to a lot of the acts in the summertime, they would prefer being in an outdoor venue compared to being inside as far as some of your bigger acts,” Jones said.

bhuffin@gru.edu

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013

PAGE 6 www.asubellringer.com

comics: entertain

yourself

In this Issue... 1.

3. 4.

10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15.

16.

17. 18. 19.

Clues... DOWN 1. On Jan. 12, the Jaguar basketball teams played ______ Atlantic State at Christenberry fieldhouse. 2. Mallory ___________, a signee from South Effingham High School, is set to join the Augusta State softball team in 2014. 4. Michael ______, the owner of the Pizza Joint, recently opened an upscale Italian restaurant in Surrey Center. 5. The former Augusta State University campus will now be refered to as the __________ campus of Georgia Regents

University. 6. Merriam-Webster defines this as being of one mind, having the agreement and consent of ALL 8. A local band that features a violin and a standing bass along with a guitar and drums 9. A program online in Elroy to help you track your courses for graduation 13. The new director of Public Safety. 17. A softball signee for the 2014 season from South Effingham High School. 18. Patrick ____ is one of two Augusta State golfers that joined the PGA tour.

ACROSS 3. ______ is made of fried squid and is served at many Italian restaurants as an appetizer. 7. The Augusta RiverHawks defeated the Columbus ________ Friday at the James Brown Arena. 10. A newly opened Italian restaurant located in Surrey Center. 11. The online survey to vote on the ____ resulted in a “unanimous” conclusion of 44%. 12. Jacob _____ is not only a member of the band Sibling String, he is also a Georgia Regents University student.

14. One of the words used on the new seal meaning finding something never found before. 15. Meriam-Webster defines this term featured on our new seal as the “introduction of something new, or a new idea, method, or device.” 16. Australian professional team of a former ASU basketball star 19. Former Swedish ASU golfer who recently earned his PGA tour card

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U R a p e r

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In the last issue...

T W 2 C A N T O N E S E H L R V 3 F I F T Y - F I V E S T 4 E D D I E H O5 W A R D M H A 6 7 S O U L C I T Y S I R E N S 8 I S H O K O 9 E M I L L I O N E S Y L B E A 10 S R O B M I L L E R S 1

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 7

SPORTS Ayers brings inside presence to Lady Jags

FARRELL BROWN staff writer

Compelling season of pro football draws to a close

NFL regular season review

My first column for The Bell Ringer had my predictions for the 2012 NFL season. Now that the regular season is over, I’ve decided to share my thoughts about some of the things that took place. A major topic in any season of any sport is the Most Valuable Player. The two leading candidates in this vote are Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos and Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. In football, the marquee position is the quarterback. The quarterback gets all the credit for good games and takes all the blame for bad ones. I say all of that to say this: For Peyton Manning to have four neck surgeries and to have to essentially start over and relearn his craft and then to come back to a team that looked to have a terrible receiving core and a mid-level running game and defense wind up two games away from the Super Bowl is beyond amazing. However, if I had a vote, it would go to Adrian Peterson. Within a 365-day time span Adrian Peterson tore his ACL, got it fixed, returned to playing football and led his team to the playoffs all while coming nine yards short of breaking the NFL record for the most rushing yards in a single season. Last week, Peterson was one of only two players to be unanimously named to the NFL AllPro team for this year. The playoff push is more impressive for Peterson than it is for Manning because in the division the Broncos are in, it was conceivable for the Broncos to at least make the playoffs. No one had the Vikings making it (except for, of course, some Vikings fans). Coming into the season, I had the Vikings ranked as the worst team out of the NFC North. Peterson is responsible for most, if not all, of his team’s success this season. Speaking of the NFC North, the Chicago Bears were one of eight teams to fire their head coach after the season. Out of all the open head coaching positions, I think the Bears are the best option. First you have the history and legacy of the Bears franchise coupled with one of the most rabidly loyal and dedicated fan bases in sports. On the roster, you have statistically the fifthbest defense in the NFL. The Bears defense led the league in interceptions, came in second in forced fumbles and was eighth in sacks. They were third in points allowed and eighth in both pass and rushing defense. You also have an offense that features All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who finished third in the league in overall receiving yards and fourth in touchdowns. You have possibly the best running back combination in the league. You also have a poorly protected yet highly effective quarterback. Whoever accepts this job needs to focus on making the offensive line better and improving the depth for an aging defense.

fbrown19@aug.edu

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Augusta State women’s forward Taylor Ayers awaits an inbound pass during Saturday’s win over conference rival Armstrong Atlantic State.

By MINDY WADLEY staff writer A newcomer to the Lady Jaguars basketball team is helping the team in its quest for a Peach Belt Conference title. Taylor Ayers, a senior sociology major, transferred to Augusta State from Virginia Tech for the fall 2012 term. As a post player, she leads the team in field goal percentage and rebounds, with a shooting percentage of 50.5 percent and an average of 7.6 boards per game. “My job entails rebounding and scoring in the paint area,” Ayers said. “I usually guard the other team’s big players.” Nate Teymer, the head women’s basketball coach, said Ayers came to the Lady Jags at an ideal time since the team was in need of a post player. “She’s given us an inside presence, which we didn’t have last year,” Teymer said. “She’s really helped us out with

scoring inside, defending and rebounding. We’re just looking at her to keep getting better and better throughout conference play.” Ayers, who is from Augusta, Ga., and attended Laney High School, said she enjoyed the family atmosphere of Virginia Tech’s basketball community but decided to transfer to Augusta State to be closer to home. “It’s good being back home,” Ayers said. “It’s not as much of a strain as having to talk (to family) on Skype like I had to before.” Ayers said she has been able to integrate well into her new team, with her stats reflecting the same. She led the team in scoring four of the 10 games and in rebounding six of the 10 games. “I think all basketball teams have the same family atmosphere,” Ayers said. “A common goal here is that everyone wants to win. Everyone genuinely wants to be here.” The Lady Jags began their season 8-0 but then lost two consecutive games before rebounding with a win

over Armstrong Atlantic State. Ayers said the losses have helped the team focus its efforts. “In basketball, you’re always going to have adversity,” Ayers said. “Ours just came in a little early in our conference play, and that’s a good thing. I’d rather it come now than later in the season. We’ve got a little bump to get over, but we’ll be alright.” Looking forward to the rest of the season, Teymer said the Lady Jags need to improve in order to finish the season successfully. “We’ve got one non-conference game, but the rest are conference play,” Teymer said. “We’ve really got to stay focused and get better for these next two months.” Ayers said she and the rest of the team plan to do just that in order to achieve their goals. “We all want a ring,” Ayers said. “We just want to make history since it’s our last year as Augusta State.”

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Lady Jaguars turning corner under coach Teymer By JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER school history. This season has marked a sports editor dramatic turnaround for Augusta State under third-year head coach Eleven games into the 2012- Nate Teymer. Prior to Teymer’s 13 season, the women’s basket- arrival, the Lady Jags had gone ball team has gotten used to what 6-49 over the previous two camhad become a very unfamiliar paigns. Before this year’s fast feeling: winning. start, Teymer had compiled a 20With a 75-70 win over di- 33 record at Augusta State while vision rival Armstrong Atlantic building the program back to reState Saturday at Christenberry spectability. Fieldhouse, the Lady Jaguars imOne reason the Lady Jags proved to 9-2 overall and 3-2 in look poised to fly past last year’s Peach Belt Conference play. The 12-15 mark has been their imvictory over the Pirates ended proved play at home. Augusta a two-game skid for Augusta State was just 5-8 at ChristenState after an 8-0 start, the first in berry Fieldhouse in 2011-12 but

is unblemished in its first six contests on its home floor this season. Guard Tanchelle Hollingsworth, a transfer from Johnson County Community College in Missouri who ranks third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game, said maintaining a home-court advantage is a priority for the team going forward as it looks to secure a high seed in the Peach Belt Tournament this March. “We want to stay undefeated at home as long as we can,” she said. “We just have to keeping bringing the same energy we brought (against Armstrong At-

lantic State).” The defeat of the Pirates was not only critical for the Lady Jags from a wins-and-losses standpoint, but the game also proved the team could survive without leading scorer Jemimah “J” Ashby. She missed the game with a knee injury and could be out for three weeks. Teymer said his squad will have to be resourceful to continue its success without Ashby. “We have to get some scoring from other places,” he said. “It has to be a team effort. Hopefully, we can get it figured out for

see LADY JAGS on PAGE 8

Jaguars white hot during ‘Whiteout’ win against Peach Belt Conference rivals “Last year they came to beat us on our home floor, and that’s been on our minds for a whole year.” - Augusta State forward Harold Doby By JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER sports editor After a rocky road trip, the men’s basketball team was able to whitewash the competition at home and reclaim the top spot in the Peach Belt Conference’s East division. The Jaguars blasted Armstrong Atlantic State 74-56 during a “Whiteout” at Christenberry Fieldhouse Saturday. Fans in attendance at the women’s and men’s basketball games were encouraged to wear white for Augusta State’s matchups with the Pirates in celebration of the first events officially hosted by the newly titled Georgia Regents University. In the spirit of the occasion, head coach Dip Metress dressed in all-white regalia before coaching his team to a pivotal conference victory. Metress said the win was a culmination of a

determined effort by his team in the days leading up to the game. “More importantly than just winning, we practiced with a purpose over the last three days, and that’s what led to a big game today,” he said after the rout of the Pirates. “I’m very pleased that we were able to continue what we did in practice.” The win was timely for the Jags, who entered the contest having dropped three of their previous four games following a 6-0 start. The skid began with a humbling 67-53 loss to Lincoln Memorial at the James Brown Arena in Augusta, Ga., Wednesday, Dec. 19, and continued with narrow road defeats at Mount Olive and UNC-Pembroke. Returning to the friendly confines of Christenberry Fieldsee BASKETBALL on PAGE 8

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Players for Augusta State and Armstrong Atlantic State jockey for position under the basket to fight for a rebound during the Jaguars’ 74-56 win over the Peach Belt Conference East division rival Pirates Saturday at Christenberry Fieldhouse, a victory that moved the Jaguars to the top of the Peach Belt standings.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 www.asubellringer.com

SPORTS

RiverHawks have new look for season’s second half By JACQUELYN PABON production assistant

Much shuffling of players in professional hockey due to the ending of the National Hockey League lockout is causing the Augusta RiverHawks to have a new look for the second half of the season. With the ending of the lockout comes the training camp for the NHL, leading teams in that league to call up players from lower leagues and causing changes all throughout professional hockey, said Mark Richards, the head coach and team president of the RiverHawks. Richards said dozens of players in the Southern Professional Hockey League have been recruited for higher division leagues, which has severely affected the RiverHawks’ league overall. “You know, we all knew it would happen when the lockout ended,” Richards said. “It happened real quick when they announced it. The phone’s been pretty hectic for the last few days

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Augusta defenseman Joe Schiller dons pink in support of Doctors Hospital’s Lydia Project, which raises funds to support breast cancer awareness, during the RiverHawks’ 4-3 win over the Mississippi RiverKings Saturday at the James Brown Arena.

with trying to get guys here, get guys on the road and get new guys in.” With the NHL swiftly plucking

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

A fan dresses as a black shadow stormtrooper monitors and controls the crowd during Star Wars Night for the Augusta RiverHawks’ contest versus Columbus Saturday Jan. 5.

players from the league, Richards said some teams are suffering from loss of talent. The Pensacola IceFlyers lost the most. “Pensacola really lost a lot of guys,” Richards said. “They have lost five guys already. I don’t think we are done with it. I think it was just the initial wave here. I’m sure that teams will still lose guys a little bit for probably another week or so – until the dust kind of settles on that lockout ending and training camp starts in the NHL and they start having some movement.” But even with all the losses of teammates, morale hasn’t changed, at least according to left-winger Shawn Skelly. “Obviously, for a guy to go up to a higher league and play, everyone loves to see that, and it’s a great op-

portunity for each guy,” Skelly said. “It sucks for our team at the time because you have to try and find guys as quick as possible, which is tough, and find guys that will come in and help right away. I think morale stays the same because we have a good core guys that have played in this league, obviously guys who have played for over three or four years and some guys over a year. We come together pretty good.” Captain Matt Auffrey said the team struggled last season right before the playoffs because of call-ups. “We lost a good group of our guys, and it’s just hard for bringing in five or six new guys and trying to get together right before playoffs,” Auffrey said. “Hopefully, we can keep as many guys as we can and other teams lose a bunch of theirs and we

can move up.” Auffrey further commented on the RiverHawks this season by calling them “blue collar.” “We’re not a real skilled team,” Auffrey said. “We are just hard workers, and we’ve got to win games somehow by doing that.” To Skelly and Richards, the graduation of players to higher leagues will not end with NHL training camp. They think the call-ups of players will continue as the NHL season progresses. “I think now, with the NHL lockout over, there is going to be guys coming in and out a lot,” Skelly said. “Obviously, we have four guys already gone. (It) could be a couple more in the next week or so.” With players lost, there are players gained. Richards said he looks forward to coaching the new talent they have acquired, like defensemen Joe Schiller, returning player Jesse Echternach and Miles McCauley. Richards said much research goes into account when searching for replacement players, but sometimes the organization comes across players it doesn’t know much about. “Miles McCauley, we really don’t know a lot about (him),” Richards said. “He played junior hockey in the OHL and has been playing Canadian University this season. He’s a young guy looking for a chance and opportunity. We happen to have a need for that right now, so we will see what Miles can do.” The team goes on the road for next month until Saturday, Feb. 16. After Saturday night’s game, the RiverHawks are three points out of eighth place in the standings.

jpabon@aug.edu

Lady Jags to lean on newcomers Basketball By FARRELL BROWN staff writer The Augusta State softball team will soon begin its 27th season, but for eight players on this year’s roster, 2013 will be their first taste of the collegiate game. “We’re out to win,” catcher Nichole Lyday said. “We do have a lot to prove just being freshmen.” Along with Lyday, the other freshmen on the team are outfielder Erika Burkhart, pitcher and first basewoman Kristen Mills, third basewoman and outfielder Kristen Bagley, pitcher Paige Deschaine, pitcher Haley Birkle and shortstops Casey Rowland and Carol Giuffrida. In high school, Birkle was named Most Reliable Player in 2009, Most Valuable Player in 2010 and Most Valuable Offensive Player in 2011 and 2012. Giuffrida was named first team all-state in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. She was also named to the class AAAA all-state team in 2011-2012, according to the official Augusta State Athletics website. Most of the girls say they were recruited from local high school tournament games. “We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well,” Burkhart said. “We’re all good friends.” A common sentiment among all of the freshmen, as well their head coach, Melissa Mullins, is that the group has bonded quickly. Lyday said she believes having so many of them together helps more than it hurts. They help each other through the transition from high school to college as well as with the pressure of being a university student. They also get the chance to grow together as both students and athletes over the course of their time on the team. With almost half of the roster being freshmen and having their entire college careers ahead of them, the expectations going forward

are to make this group into the core of the team and build around them. The freshmen stated that they welcome that kind of pressure and are excited to live up to the expectations. “It’s kind of like a hop in and learn type of thing,” Lyday said. “Probably because there’s so many of us with everything, we just figure it out.” The softball freshmen said they have more than welcomed all the challenges that come along with being new to a team. They said they believe they have taken in the team philosophy and its culture. They also note how welcoming and helpful the upperclassmen have been. “They’re good girls,” Mullins said. “They work hard at what they do.” Mullins said she started by explaining the team rules and expectations for the season to each of the freshmen herself but mostly she relies on the upperclassmen to help “teach the ins and outs of how we do things.” Mullins said she has experience with coaching such a young team. She echoed the sentiments of the freshmen players by saying that they have jelled well on the field and like each other off it. Mullins noted the freshmen bring a certain sense of excitement and energy in with them. “Pressure always makes you do your best,” Birkle said. “So it’s really a good way to push us.” The team is excited to have the support of the Jaguar Nation. They welcome all the pressure of living up to the school’s expectations of them this season and in the next few years. The team’s goals are to make it to regionals and win a conference championship, Mullins said. The team plays its first game Saturday, Feb. 2, at Jaguar Field against Anderson.

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Lady Jags CONTINUED from PAGE 7

the stretch we have coming up.” The team will look to Hollingsworth and forward Taylor Ayers to carry the bulk of the scoring load in Ashby’s absence, Teymer said. The senior Ayers, an Augusta, Ga., native who transferred to her hometown university from Virginia Tech, has made an immediate impact, averaging 12.6 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per contest. While Hollingsworth and Ayers will be charged with more responsibility in the coming weeks, the coach said there will be opportunities for other players to step up and ease the burden on the two transfers. “We’re going to need consistency out of Tanchelle and Taylor, but then that third- or fourth- or fifth-leading scorer could be different every night, so our girls need to step up and answer that challenge,” Teymer said. While the loss of Ashby is a blow, it might have come at a time when the team is prepared to weather the storm. The Lady Jags’ next six games are against teams with inferior records

to Augusta State, so the Jags have an opportunity to pad their record before back-to-back home games against USC Aiken and Clayton State - two undefeated and top-5 nationally ranked foes - during the first week of February, by which point Ashby could be back in the lineup. Teymer said his team has to be mindful of what awaits it in the weeks ahead. “We need to start worrying about our opponent instead of fixing things,” he said. “We can tweak some things, but we need to know who we’re up against.” Although the pressure will intensify on the Lady Jags the further they delve into the schedule, Hollingsworth said her team remains confident as the stakes begin to rise. “As a team we all believe this is our year to be good and leave a mark at Augusta State, so we’re not even looking at our record,” she said. “We’re just trying to keep our focus every night.”

jgarner6@aug.edu

CONTINUED from PAGE 7

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Georgia Regents University president Ricardo Azziz (center, collared shirt) takes in the men’s basketball game Jan. 12, one of the first events formally sanctioned by the new consolidated university.

“Everyone says we have a big home-court

advantage, and it was a little bit of a special game tonight with us switching over from Augusta State to GRU.

”

- Harold Doby house, where Augusta State is 79-4 since the start of the 2007-08 season, proved to be an elixir for the slumping team, said junior forward Harold Doby, who registered 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win over Armstrong Atlantic State. “Everyone says we have a big homecourt advantage, and it was a little bit of a special game tonight with us switching over from Augusta State to GRU,” Doby said. Doby said the team was also motivated by the memories of last year’s bitter home loss to the Pirates, during which Armstrong Atlantic State head coach Jeremy Luther called a timeout in the final seconds despite the victory being well in hand for his team, a move the Jags viewed as insulting. “Last year they came to beat us on our home floor, and that’s been on our minds for a whole year,” he said. “We had a chance to come out and retaliate and we did our job.” Guard Ryan Weems put an exclamation point on the win with an authoritative slam dunk with 4.1 seconds remaining, perhaps intended to exact a measure of revenge after last year’s heated finish at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jags got a big lift against the

Pirates from sophomore guard Devonte Thomas, who broke out of a lengthy shooting slump by draining three of his eight 3-point attempts as part of a 15-point effort. “I’ve been having a tough stretch, but I got in the gym and put up a bunch of shots,” Thomas said. “Coach Dip and all the assistants have been trying to help keep me positive.” Thomas had been taking better shots recently, and it was only a matter of time before some of them started to find the net, Metress said. From a personal standpoint, Thomas said his peformance was gratifying not only because it helped get his team back on track but also because it came against Armstrong Atlantic State. In a game against the Pirates last February, Thomas suffered a broken jaw, an injury that sidelined him for the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. With the win, the Jaguars moved to 4-1 in the Peach Belt and dropped the Pirates into third place in the East division with a 4-2 mark. At the end of play Saturday, Augusta State was one of six teams in the Peach Belt with either one or two conference losses.

jgarner6@aug.edu