Volume 55, Issue 12

GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

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VOLUME 55, ISSUE 12

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NEWS | PAGE 2

ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 7

Local group practices bird and wildlife watching at surrounding parks and ponds.

By RON HICKERSON chief reporter

see THEFT on PAGE 3

Homecoming week brings festivities to unite the two consolidated campuses.

SPORTS | PAGE 12

Basketball teams victorious in final home game as Augusta State on Homecoming and Senior Day.

Driving back into action

Student arrested on identity theft charges After making a couple hundred dollars in purchases on a friend’s debit card without permission, a Georgia Regents University student was arrested on charges of fraud.

According to a police report from Georgia Regents Department of Public Safety, Jasmine Jackson, 20, was charged earlier this month with stealing a friend’s debit card information in late January and using that information to make several purchases.

The victim of the fraud became aware of the theft once she began receiving calls from her bank informing her of some recent charges. “(Jackson) made several charges using the (debit) card number by ordering on the phone and using Amazon,” Capt. Ted McNeal said. “We found out that the phone that was used to make the transaction came back to that same person and we went from there.”

Public Safety officers were able to trace the purchases to Jackson once the victim began contesting a $30 charge to T-Mobile, where she was given Jackson’s first name and the last four digits of her phone number, according to the police report. This discovery led the victim to suspect Jackson, which gave Public Safety officers the opportunity to question Jackson about the incident where she confessed to making the charges.

In addition to paying for phone services, the police report said Jackson also used the card to order food from a local Chinese food restaurant and several products from Amazon. com. After Public Safety officers were able to trace the purchases back to Jackson, McNeal said she was arrested on felony charges of fraud.

Crimes like this one are becoming more and more common, McNeal said, citing scams that have recently cropped up in students’ e-mail inboxes like an e-mail from the University Health Credit Union. The e-mail told students that their debit cards were malfunctioning and needed to send in their information in order to be sent new cards.

Another scam that showed up in inboxes across campus that students heard about was e-mail messages supposedly sent from friends or family members saying they are stuck in a foreign country due to having their passport, cash and credit cards stolen and need to have money wired to them if they ever hope to get home.

“People are trying to scam everybody,” McNeal said. “The economy’s so bad and everything. They’re just

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

R P AP

D E OV

GRAPHIC BY TRAVIS HIGHFIELD AND JILLIAN HOBDAY

GRU Disc Golf Club cleared to compete after resolving issues with charter, leadership

By TRAVIS HIGHFIELD editor-in-chief The GRU Disc Golf Club will be able to fling plastic once again.

After spending much of the 20122013 academic year inactive, the club, which won the 2010 National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship, had its charter reactivated this past week but not without difficulty.

John Baker, an undeclared sophomore, became the club’s president at the beginning of the year after the former president, Kolbe Seklecki, be-

came ill. Upon taking the reigns from Seklecki, Baker said his primary focus was to receive funding so the team would be able to travel to tournaments throughout the Southeast. To learn more about the funding process, Baker set up a meeting with Betsy Adams, the coordinator for Greek Life and Leadership at Georgia Regents University. When he got there, however, he wasn’t prepared for what Adams had to say.

“When I went into the meeting, expecting to just find out information about what we needed to do to get funding, I come to find out we’re not

even an organization with the school,” he said. “We’re not official. We don’t have a charter. We don’t have anything. We cannot represent ourselves anything GRU, anything associated with the university.”

Most of the shock stemmed from the former president of the GRU Disc Golf Club never making any mention of the deactivated charter, he said.

After Adams made him aware of the club’s status, Baker said he immediately tried to find a way to rectify the situation.

“She said if you can complete the chartering process quickly and

show her evidence of how it was Kolbe’s fault, she would reconsider us and maybe deem us active,” he said.

“These were her exact words: ‘Give me everything you have proving Kolbe dropped the ball.’”

Baker then printed out several pages of Facebook messages he had shared with Seklecki and handed them over to Adams. By the end of the week, Baker had completed all of the forms necessary to reactivate the charter.

The reactivation request, howsee DISC GOLF on PAGE 2

Gun competition promotes heart health

By RON HICKERSON chief reporter

RON HICKERSON I STAFF

Carla Noe aims a .22-caliber handgun at a target, participating in the Shootout for the CSRA Heart Walk shooting competition at Shooters Indoor Range and Gun Shop.

In order to raise money for the American Heart Association, a local gun competition is trying to blast away heart disease.

The Shootout for the CSRA Heart Walk is now underway, meeting at Shooters Indoor Range and Gun Shop, located at 1025 Patriot’s Way, every Tuesday night in February from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Randal Gossert, the security operations supervisor for the Georgia Regents University Medical Center and the coordinator of the event, said the fundraiser made sense for his department to host.

“We figured, ‘We’re security,’” Gossert said. “‘We’re police-oriented.

Police carry guns. Let’s go ahead and

use them.’”

Now in its second year, the fundraiser acts as a shooting competition with an admittance fee of $10 that gives competitors the chance to fire 10 rounds at a target 50 feet away. People seeking to join the competition do not have to worry about renting guns or ammunition at the range because Gossert provides them. Letting people use his own handguns and ammunition allows him to raise more money for the Heart Walk.

“If you give me $10 to enter and fire ten rounds… that $10 goes to the CSRA Heart Walk,” he said. “None of that money goes to ammunition. None of it goes to Shooters. It’s 100 percent to the Heart Walk and the American Heart Association.” see SHOOTOUT on PAGE 2

Students wearing wrong ‘shade’ of IT staff continues to correct problems blue denied food at campus event after the merging of new e-mail domains

By TRAVIS HIGHFIELD editor-in-chief One homecoming activity left some students feeling blue Monday, Feb. 18, but not with school pride.

The event, which was listed as “Wear Blue Get Food” on university advertisements, was held on the first day of Georgia Regents University’s homecoming week. The premise was for students to wear a blue article of clothing in exchange for free food in the JSAC Food Court.

However, when some students showed up, they were turned away for not wearing the right shade of blue.

Senior communications studies major Karleigh King was one of those students.

King approached the food line wearing a

red Indiana University hoodie, which prompted a response from one of the event coordinators, who she identified as Assistant Director for Student Center Operations Dean Smedley. After lifting the sweater to show a blue Georgia College & State University shirt, she was denied the free food.

“I said, ‘Are you guys really not going to let me have any food?’ and (Smedley) said, ‘Yeah.

Dead serious. We’re not,’” King said. “They just kind of embarrassed me in front of people and I didn’t appreciate it, so I just walked away.”

Smedley said students were turned away because the event coordinators were, in fact, looking for a specific shade of blue. The advertising to the event, however, may have left out the specific shade of blue required to receive see BLUE on PAGE 3

By ASHLEY TRAWICK staff writer

E-mails are one of the quickest ways to contact people in the modern world, but they can also be the most frustrating way when the intended recipient does not receive them.

Students, faculty and staff experienced annoyance earlier this semester when the new Georgia Regents University domain for e-mailing went into effect. Professors sent students assignments and students sent questions or concerns to professors, some of which were never received.

Walter Ray, the director of client services for Georgia Regents, said students and faculty are experiencing multiple problems for a number of reasons.

“First of all, we are still (using) two e-mail systems,” Ray said. “We had to pick for each

person which system would actually host their e-mail. We have had to create these rules to determine that. In some cases, those rules didn’t work well because some people were both employees of the health system and they might be students.

We (also) had situations where people were either forwarded to the wrong place because we made an improper determination about where they should get their mail.”

Another scenario, Ray said, was duplicate IDs for students and faculty on the Summerville campus and the Health Sciences campus.

“There was a(n) msmith at GHSU and a(n) msmith at ASU,” he said. “We had to resolve that duplicate and then some people didn’t get the message that we were doing that. They might have gotten the message, but they didn’t read it so they didn’t know this change was coming necessee E-MAIL on PAGE 2

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

NEWS www.asubellringer.com

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 staff writers FATIMA FRASHER RYAN MCLAY MEGAN STEWART ASHLEY TRAWICK MINDY WADLEY

CONTRIBUTED BY LOIS STACEY

Several members of the Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society search for wildlife, ducks and other water birds with binoculars at Merry Brother’s Brickyard Ponds.

Audubon Society welcomes birds, butterflies and students

By RYAN MCLAY staff writer Local Audubon Society members know their way around the swamps, ponds and sanctuaries of the CSRA. The local chapter has been operating on both sides of the Savannah River since 1973. The group officially became the Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society in 1997 and now includes about 600 members, according to the society’s website.

“Basically, it’s to educate the public about nature, not just birds, because if people are interested in something, then they are interested in preserving it,” said fieldtrip chairwoman Anne Waters about the society’s mission. “When they don’t know about something, they don’t care about preserving it.”

She and her late husband Vernon Walker joined the society in 1972, not long after a vacation to Everglades National Park in Florida, where they bought their first field guide on birds from a park ranger, she said.

“We looked in the field guide, we ended up buying it,” Waters said. “It was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Look at these birds!’ We joined and thoroughly loved it. It just opened up this world we just never knew existed.”

Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society chapter president Lois Stacey, active in the society for about 10 years, said the group’s overarching goals are outreach and “birding,” or identifying and watching birds.

“Anne and Lois are world-class birders,” said Eugene Howard, an Audubon Society member since the early 1970s. “It’s an education going out with them any time.”

Stacey also said the organization wants to encourage people to become more aware of the nature that is around.

Howard said the group has a lot to offer students on campus, such as conservation work, annual bird counts and more than 20 field trips per year. The most recent count was the Christmas bird count, which spans a four-week period in December and January.

Chapter members went out in teams and counted birds in order to track wintering populations.

The Society’s upcoming events include a field trip Saturday, March 23, to Crackerneck Wildlife Management Area, an area normally used for hunting, where people will take a rare venture into a cypress swamp near the Savannah River Site. Then, Saturday, April 6, the society will host “Wings and Things,” which will be held at the Georgia Convention Center. Waters said Augusta-Aiken Audubon Society’s website will have directions to these events for interested parties.

“They’re going to have some of the education birds out, which will be on tethers, where students can see them up really close,” Waters said, adding that they expect either a great horned owl or a red-tailed hawk to be available for viewing.

They will also check buckets on the premises

Shootout CONTINUED from PAGE 1

contributor BREA BOUTWELL circulation manager TREY UNDERWOOD zildjianman08@gmail.com advertising manager HANNAH FOERSTER hannahrosefoerster@gmail.com web master SI-LONG CHEN schen1@gru.edu

CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID WICKER

Jason Lynn, the 2011 disc golf singles national champion, reacts to a throw at the 2012 National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship at the Hippodrome in North Augusta, S.C.

Disc Golf CONTINUED from PAGE 1

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for wild salamanders, lizards and frogs for people to view and hold. She said that, if any dragonflies are out, they will also capture some for viewing.

He and Waters said that, more recently, people are branching out and becoming experts in butterflies and dragonflies.

“We don’t have too many people who are experts in butterflies yet,” Waters said. “We’re getting better.

One girl tries to get pictures of them, blows them up on her computer and studies it.”

She also said some of the people who come out on the fieldtrips are more into photography than anything else.

“Photography is one thing that is really popular with groups,” she said. “They come out on the field trips just to be able to go out to places they didn’t know where to go.”

Waters recommended that people interested in field trips wear closed-toed shoes, such as sneakers.

“You’d be surprised by how many show up in sandals and get bit by fire ants,” she said, adding that people should also bring insect repellant and a set of binoculars.

She also said it is important that people keep an open mind.

“If (people) come and try they might not like it, but you never know unless you try,” Waters said.

“Like my husband and I, we didn’t know we would like looking at birds. It’s more fun than you think it is.”

ever, was denied.

“I gave him an opportunity to make a case for why they should get an exception,” Adams said. “Unfortunately, that documentation itself was not strong enough to grant exception.”

Adams also noted that at no point was the club ever stripped of its charter. Charters remain in place, but can only become active when members follow the appropriate steps to reactive the charter once each year.

This includes having an active roster and attending the Student Leadership Workshop in either the fall or spring semesters.

Jason Allind, the club’s head coach, decided it was time to contact Adams in an attempt to persuade her to reconsider her position when he caught wind of the club’s troubles.

“Basically what happened is I told her that this club has a lot of support and meaning to a lot of the people in the community, not just to the students,” he said. “I think showing some support for it hopefully helped in the grand scheme of things. I think she had good reasoning to why she was not allowing the renewal of the

charter. I’m just glad she was solution oriented and came up for a way for us to do it.”

The solution was simple, Baker said.

“As long as we turned in an active roster with officers and one other member, so five members total, and one of the members attended the (Student Leader Workshop), we could be active again,” Baker said.

Baker then went to a fellow student for help. The student, who had attended the leadership workshop, joined and the charter was once again active. For Baker, it was a lesson in awareness.

“Really, it was just a breakdown of our organization,” Baker said.

“Their deadlines are set. It’s not like we met their deadlines or anything and she just told us no. We were so late with everything only because we were not aware of what was going on.”

With an active charter and the trouble behind it, the club will be able to compete in the Georgia Tech Collegiate Golf Invitational beginning Saturday, March 9. The team will also be eligible to compete in the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship at the Hippodrome in North Augusta, S.C., the week of April 3.

thighfie@gru.edu

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Each Tuesday evening, Gossert brings with him a “small arsenal” of .22-calbier, .25-caliber, .380-caliber, .357-caliber and 9 mm handguns, giving the competitors a variety of guns to choose from.

Buddy Lichty, the owner of Shooters, said his store reserves one lane in the shooting range for the competition free-of-charge and also provides the targets needed to compete ever since he was solicited to host the competition.

“They came in and asked, and it’s for a good cause, so why not?” he said.

“It’s part of the community.”

Last year, Gossert said the shootout raised $250. This year, the first week of competition raised $50, and Gossert said he expects a significant increase in participants competing than last year.

“By the feedback I’m getting from other staff in the hospital and from the facilities maintenance (staff), you see a lot more interest,” he said. “There are quite a few staff nurses that sound excited to be able to learn a little bit about self-defense and protection through firearms and were encouraging other staff members to come out and at least learn.”

In fact, the second night of the fundraiser hosted more people than it ever has in one night, said Divisional Leader of Facilities Management Jim Pruitte.

“Tonight is the best response we’ve had,” he said. “It’s going to get better over the next two nights.”

One of the competitors who came to the range was Carla Noe, a nurse manager for the Georgia Regents medical site. She said she loved the fundraising event.

“It’s a good cause, and I like to shoot weapons,” she said. “(It’s) just a chance to come out and have fun.”

Though this was her first time participating in the Shootout, she said she plans to come back again sometime

E-mail CONTINUED from PAGE 1

sarily.”

Anne Smith, the help desk manager for the Health Sciences campus, said the Microsoft outage that occurred a couple of weeks ago didn’t help the situation either but only added to the number of issues. Smith said transitioning from one domain to another has been hectic because things are not the same as they used to be.

“Anytime you start a semester, we always have a spike in login problems,” Smith said. “You’ve got somebody who hasn’t logged on for a month or two and passwords expire and now it looks different. Then you throw in the fact that

rmclay@gru.edu

during the next two evenings. She also said she has been trying to get the word out by sending e-mails to her coworkers, asking them to support the event.

Gossert said the majority of people who have participated in the fundraiser have been staff members and their families, but out of those people, there were a few people who had never even held a gun, much less fired one.

“Last year the (vice president) for facilities brought his wife and his son,” he said. “It was the first time his son had held a handgun, period.”

By bringing less-experienced shooters to the fundraiser, the competition also becomes an opportunity for learning more about gun use.

“This year, I’ve heard a lot more staff members say, ‘Hey, I’ve heard you’re doing this, can you show me how to fire?’” Gossert said.

But as a result of having more lessexperienced shooters compete against more knowledgeable competitors, he said, two top scores will be recognized: the highest score a person has after firing 10 rounds and the highest cumulative score for people who pay to compete multiple times.

“Even if you’re not such a good shot, you can enter more than once and accumulate your score so that if you really want to try for that grand prize you enter more often and up your score,” Gossert said.

This year, Gossert said the grand prize was a $370 Dewalt impact driver power tool.

Along with the Shootout, Pruitte said there are six fundraisers that have been benefitting the Heart Walk, like one with the help of Maryland Fried Chicken. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of a dinner’s cost every time someone leaves his receipt with the restaurant as a part of the fundraiser.

rhickers@gru.edu we’ve consolidated and changed our website and done some things with email… That definitely adds some complexity.”

Smith said not all problems are resolved but they will be soon.

Ray added that students and faculty should know that if there is a problem to please report it and try to give as many details as they can.

“Reporting of the issue is really the only way to get things solved,” he said.

“If you have a problem, please report it.

We will definitely try to follow up on it as quickly and try to get it resolved for you.”

atrawick@gru.edu

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PHOTOS BY MINDY WADLEY

(above) Cowboy Mike looks on and explains the military maneuvers demonstrated by the horseback reenactors at the Buffalo Soldiers presentation Monday, Feb. 18. (right) A group of horseback reenactors demonstrates the many different military maneuvers utilized by the historical Buffalo Soldiers at a demonstration.

Buffalo Soldiers

Reenactors trot onto Summerville campus in honor of Black History Month

By MINDY WADLEY staff writer A group of historical reenactors honored the memory of the Buffalo Soldiers at Georgia Regents University Monday, Feb. 18.

The Greater Atlanta Buffalo Soldiers have been sharing the memory of the all-black U.S. Army regiments with the Augusta, Ga., area through annual presentations on campus since 1999. Assistant Professor Emeritus Michael Searles, also known as Cowboy Mike, said the program is a unique approach to the many black history month events on campus.

“I think that there are certain areas in which people are fairly familiar,” he said. “If you talk about African-Americans in boxing or organized sports, people will say, ‘Yes, we’re familiar.’

But if you talk about black soldiers or

Buffalo Soldiers during the frontier period of American history, in a sense it’s opening up for many people a new window on the West.”

The event included a video presentation of the documentary “Buffalo Soldiers” followed by a question and answer session with the reenactors, Searles said. Students were then able to watch the reenactors demonstrate various horseback military maneuvers utilized by the Buffalo Soldier cavalrymen.

The riders demonstrated their military maneuvers on the sports field in front of Science Hall. Lauren Gordon, a junior biology major, said she loves horses and has ridden them for years, so when she saw them on campus she wanted to learn more.

“I saw the horses last year, but I didn’t see any of the background of it,” Gordon said. “But I knew they were showing a video, so I wanted some

more information on it. It’s very interesting. I love history and horses.”

The history of the Buffalo Soldiers began after the Civil War when the Army decided to include blacks in part of the standing militia, Searles said. The segregation of troops resulted in the all-black regiments serving through the 1950s, when the military integrated the troops.

“Some of the older guys who were there in the audience were actually in the military as Buffalo Soldiers,” Searles said. “The Buffalo Soldiers were organized in 1866. They weren’t really disbanded until about 1953 during the Korean War.” One of those retired soldiers in attendance at the demonstration was Trooper Harold Cole. Searles said the Greater Atlanta Buffalo Soldiers wanted to honor Cole’s service.

The name “Buffalo Soldiers” was coined by the American Indians living

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

follow us @BellRinger_News Green Team on campus promotes environmental responsibility To promote a healthier campus and community and to persuade more people to go green, Georgia Regents University has implemented a sustainability program – The Green Team.

Although the program has only been active for about three years and initially began before the merger eight years ago, the team found its direction in the last two years. However, upon the start of the committee no one knew exactly how much work was entailed, eventually causing a significant growth in members.

“We started out with one chair, then we got two chairs; the committee became so involved that we actually took on a lot more work than we thought it was going to be,” said Mario Enriquez, the co-chair of the team. “Since then, one member has retired. Now we are back to two chairmen, Mark Williams and myself.”

The Green Team consists of five different work groups. The combination of these work groups consists of education awareness, environment, purchasing, recycling and facilities utilities.

“The facilities work group is all about saving money across campus as far as lights, electricity and natural gas usage is concerned,” Enriquez said. “As a team, one of our claims to fame is our Energy Star certification. We are the only academic hospital in the state of Georgia that has that acclaim.”

Georgia Regents has been able to help the school reduce the amount of energy being used, inevitably reducing their carbon footprint. By no means is sustainability cheap, but the team’s purchasing group keeps a strict budget on what is needed.

“We try to raise awareness for environmental responsibility and sustainability,” said Jamie Coffee, a senior purchasing agent. “There’s a lot more to being green than just recycling.”

The purchasing work group’s main focus is on reducing what the university uses, reusing office products and determining what is to be recycled.

“For purchasing, we take in account for

The Buffalo Soldiers are one of many examples in American history of the multiculturalism of our society, Searles said. He said their memory should be preserved.

“I think it’s important for us, as individual citizens of a country, to realize that we have been from the very beginning a multiracial, multiethnic society,” Searles said. “It didn’t become that way 20 years ago or 40 years ago but from the very beginning when folks first came here.”

There are three Buffalo Soldiers buried in the cemetery on the campus of Georgia Regents who died during the Spanish-American War. Searles said they were sent to Cuba under the assumption that blacks were immune to yellow fever.

Those soldiers are Milledge Mills, Hugh Pollard and W.C. Brown.

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in the areas where the original troops served. Searles said the coarse texture of the soldiers’ hair reminded the Indians of the fur of the buffaloes in the region.

“The black soldiers did a myriad of things in the American West and had very good reputations,” Searles said. “Very low desertion, very low drunkenness and quite often soldiers stayed there sometimes 10, 15, 20 or more years.”

Chris Harrison, a sophomore history major, petted one of the horses while talking with a reenactor after the demonstration. He said even though he couldn’t make it to the video presentation, he was glad to watch the riders on horseback.

“I found it very informative,” Harrison said. “I like the historical aspect of it as well as the people that continue to carry on the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers.”

the life cycle of a product when we go to purchase it, how it is made, can it be reused or can it be recycled,” said Jamie Coffee, a senior purchasing agent. “Right now we are recycling materials from the hospital; we sell used medical supplies that can be refurbished, toner cartages, batteries, cellphones, cardboard, bottles, glass; and we are still trying to find a company in Augusta that can handle the volume of office paper we produce. It has been a challenge, but we are working on that collectively.”

The team meetings include every employee who wants to participate in saving the campus and community. Recently, the team has set in effect Operation Clean Air, which consists of a “no idling across campus” aspect and a tobacco ban.

Core member Linda Saunders of the education awareness work group said the groups are seeking to combine the Summerville Green Team with the Health Side Campus Green Team.

“We are really excited about the opportunity to consolidate with the Summerville campus because we feel like that gives us a lot more people to become aware of things,” Saunders said. “We are trying to get that back together so we can become more of a consolidated committee to work at both locations.”

The main goal of the Green Team is to reduce the effect of pollution in our environment and save as many resources as possible.

The group is adamant about reducing what is being placed in our landfills and not wanting to see the city or campus being over thrown with trash.

With Earth Day steadily approaching, the Green Team members said they are looking forward to having the crowd triple in size.

“We are really excited about Earth Day,” Saunders said. “We are trying to get volunteers from sororities, fraternities, basketball players, faculty, students and local community members to help out this year. The more people we have involved the better the event will be.”

The Green Team’s Earth Day event will be held Friday, April 19, behind the student center at the Health Sciences campus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

ffrasher@gru.edu

free food, he said.

“School colors,” he said. “I’m not sure what the advertising said because I’m not involved in the advertising, but students were supposed to wear school colors. The whole purpose of the event was to promote school spirit.”

King said she had no reason to believe the shade mattered and also noted the ambiguity spread by word of mouth. “(My friend) said all you had to do is wear blue,” said Karleigh King, a senior communications studies major. “She didn’t say anything about the color, what shade or that it had to be GRU related.”

Bryan Hayes, a junior communications studies major, said he was there when his friend was turned away despite wearing a navy blue

jacket. Smedley again turned the student away saying the shade was too dark to merit free food, Hayes said. After his friend unzipped his jacket to reveal a blue t-shirt, Hayes said he was shocked that his friend was allowed access.

“It was the same color blue as his jacket,” he said. “Not only that, (his jacket) was the same color blue as everyone running the event.”

Despite this experience, however, Hayes said he wouldn’t mind participating in the event as long as some clarity accompanies the advertisements.

“To be honest, I would make it more inclusive,” he said. “If you are going to make it exclusive, just say it. Say it has to be GRU attire or blue jeans don’t count, make sure it’s this shade of blue. Just clarify.”

thighfie@gru.edu

JACQUELYN PABON I STAFF

Student Jasmine Jackson was arrested on charges of fraud and identity theft after stealing and making hundreds of dollars in purchases with a friend’s debit card information.

Theft CONTINUED from PAGE 1

trying to make a quick buck, but it’s against the law.”

These scams are just a reflection of a report made by the Bureau of Justice Statistics that states incidents of identity theft have been rising in recent years.

In its most recent report on identity theft, the BJS reported 8.6 million United States households had at least one person 12 years old or older who was victimized by identity theft in 2010. These thefts resulted in these households as a whole experiencing $13.3 billion in direct financial losses. The number of thefts grew 33 percent from 2005 where 6.4 million households were victimized.

One of the reasons that identity theft may

be growing is its overall ease. McBride said identity theft has become easier for potential thieves because people are putting more personal information online than they should.

“Don’t put your information out there,” he said when asked how students can best protect themselves from identity thieves. “I think too much information is on Facebook and (other) websites. It is so easy to get the information off websites. Don’t help them; they already can obtain it. It’s just so easy. The computer age is here now and anybody can almost hack anything.”

He also said students can best protect themselves from identity theft by contacting Public Safety whenever they have any questions about making purchases online or through businesses like Craigslist, saying that most identity thefts students experience can be avoided if they just asked Public Safety officers.

rhickers@gru.edu

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

PAGE 4

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editorial

Mislabeled ‘media’ gets a bad reputation Almost everyday we hear people referring to the biased media. But our question at The Bell Ringer is what do you consider media?

Newspapers obviously fit the bill and some straight news television stations do too, but what about blogs, radio and the omnipresent internet? Many of these have all the markings of news providers – they cover popular, timely social and political issues, they get quotes from powerful and influential people, and they present their information to the public as neutral, unbiased reporting.

But they don’t have to inform their readers that their coverage is ethically questionable. They don’t have to get multiple points of view of the stories. And, perhaps most importantly, they don’t have to tell the public if they verified the accuracy of their information before putting it out there for the entire world to see.

Because of modern technology, it’s become much easier for the average Joe to start a website or blog, claiming to be a full-fledged journalist. But the truth is real journalists go to universities to

WHAT DO YOU‘media’ THINK is?

Newspapers?

Radio or television?

Blogs and social media?

email The Bell Ringer at bellringerproduction@gmail.com learn the ins and outs of being a responsible member of the mass media. They learn the laws pertaining to their career field, the ethical guidelines that surround the profession and the way to write a balanced article. Granted, not all journalists abide by the standards, but that can be said of any profession.

Although some individuals mistakenly believe that newspapers are becoming less relevant in today’s society, the truth is they are needed now more than ever. In contrast to these burgeoning alternative media sources, newspaper editors do

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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:

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Late-February means so long New Year’s resolution MINDY WADLEY staff writer

mindyawadley@gru.edu

It’s the same story year after year: All through January, gyms are packed, health foods are flying off the shelves and cigarette smoking declines.

People all over the world bury themselves in the pursuit of betterment. Then, February arrives, and it’s bye-bye New Year’s resolution.

I don’t generally make New Year’s resolutions, at least not earnestly. Occasionally, I’ll make a half-hearted effort to start drinking more water or lose a few pounds.

In 2011, I resolved to familiarize myself as much with Lord of the Rings as I already was with Star Wars and Harry Potter. That was one resolution I actually kept.

Sadly, though, I’ve already started slipping up on my resolution for this year, which I thought I was really committed to.

I had decided that I was going to start being on time.

Anyone who knows me can attest that being late is an intrinsic part of who I am.

Ever since kindergarten, I have been a slowpoke, a quality I seem to have passed down genetically to my daughter, who is now in kindergarten. And for some reason, no matter how much I try to hurry, getting places on time has always been a real struggle for me.

But this year, I decided that was all going to change. I recently got hired at a television news station, a job which I could easily see transitioning into a career when I graduate from Georgia Regents University next May. And speaking of Georgia

fact-check their stories because they have to maintain their reputations whereas the writers of blogs and websites don’t, especially if they publish their work anonymously.

There is no significant way to hold those authors accountable for what they say, and there are no real repercussions if the published information is flawed. Effectively, they can say whatever they want without fear of reprisal.

Newspapers, on the other hand, have people counting on their stories to contain the latest, most accurate information, and as a result editors aren’t willing

to let less-than-quality work be published. If a journalist publishes inaccurate information, that writer is sanctioned – by the public and by his boss. His name and his credibility is permanently tied to his published works, and because of that immense pressure, he makes sure what he writes is accurate.

We at The Bell Ringer hold ourselves to the same standard as professional writers. We want to feature accurate, timely articles that are pertinent to life on and off both the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses in the Augusta, Ga., area because we know that’s the service students need us to provide.

We are the voice of Georgia Regents University, one of the few publications created specifically with the students in mind. We hold ourselves to a high standard because we believe that quality is what the students want and what the students deserve.

It is our duty to speak for Georgia Regents students and to protect their interests in whatever ways we can.

We definitely do not take that responsibility lightly.

Regents, this semester I have classes daily with a professor who has always expressed an overt disdain for tardiness. So, I decided this would be the perfect time in my life to finally kick the bad habit of being habitually late.

At first it was going great. I made it through six full weeks of the new year without being late to work or school. But then, as with all resolutions, I began to slack off right around Valentine’s Day, giving in to the urge to hit that snooze button just one more time; taking a few too many minutes in the shower to lather, rinse and repeat; or stopping by the JSAC for Starbucks on my way to class, even when I only have five minutes.

I know I shouldn’t be too hard on myself; everyone breaks their New Year’s resolutions around this time of the year, right?

I think it stems from our society’s collectively truncated attention span. By February, most people simply can’t remember what it was that was so urgently important to them back in December of the previous year.

Perhaps I should take a leaf out of my sister’s book. She has never broken a New Year’s resolution, choosing such foolproof goals as making as many “that’s what she said” jokes as humanly possible or drinking every day to build her alcohol tolerance, rather than the more traditional choices.

Then again, maybe I’m at a point in life when self-improvement resolutions would be the wiser choice.

So even though it isn’t the “new year” any longer, I’m resolving to double my efforts to stop being late all the time. I just hope that with persistence, I can finally change from a person who is always late to someone who is always on time -- or maybe even early.

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ASK KRISTIN Have any questions or concerns that you just can’t figure out? Write a letter and someone will give you advice, but we give no guarantees you’ll like it.

Dear Kristin,

My boyfriend recently asked me to participate in a sexual act involving him, myself and another woman. I’m not very keen on the idea, but I want to make him happy. What should I do?

- Fake Fiona KRISTIN HAWKINS staff writer khutchi2@gru.edu

Dear reader, Your dilemma is one that many couples face. When a lull occurs in the sex department of a relationship, most men immediately jump to their rawest, most scandalous fantasy: the threesome. And some of them just get ballsy enough to ask for it. As women, when the intimacy fades, it takes more of an emotional toll. For men, it is a lot simpler.

You must remember, as cliché as it may be, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. We don’t have a lot in common on how we view sex. The mentality for a man is that it is just sex. Women, for the most part, put a lot more thought into it, at least when it comes to relationships.

There are a couple of things to consider if having a threesome is really something you feel like you would be willing to do.

One, how will it affect your relationship in the long run? Two, is this a decision you’d be willing to live with for the rest of your life? And three, would you really want to see your boyfriend performing sexual acts on another woman?

There is a lot involved in a threesome.

Think about how awkward sex can be with two people. You add in another person on top of that and things can get really com-

plicated. There are no instructions, none that I’d be willing to give anyway, when it comes to multiple people in the bedroom.

The thought alone gives me anxiety. There are too many people that have to be pleased while also considering your own pleasure. I feel like I would end up leaving more frustrated than I was when I got there.

Let’s be honest, there is a certain time in most people’s lives where they want to explore their sexuality, but I don’t know that the best time to do that is while you are committed to someone. I personally feel like that opens the door to a lot of issues.

I’m sure there are people who allow that sort of playful activity into their relationship and it works out for them, but polyamorous relationships are not for everyone.

You are obviously having doubts, and that is a big indicator that you should not go through with something to this magnitude. If you want to liven up your sex life, start with something with less involvement of other people. If your sex life is good and your boyfriend is wanting to add another person in bed, then maybe there are more issues there than just him wanting a threesome.

Ultimately, it is your decision, one that you will have to deal with and one that you have to deem suitable for your relationship.

Don’t be pressured into something that you aren’t willing to do.

But if you do go through with it, keep this one thing in mind: There is no I in threesome.

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 5 www.asubellringer.com

No Top Ramen life for me KEREYIA BUTLER staff writer kbutler7@gru.edu

My student loan debt will not get the best of me.

I came to college for a reason, and that reason is a higher education that will catapult me to a better place in life.

My student loan debt does concern me, but at the same time I have to look at the bigger picture. For me, the bigger picture is my future - for the kids I plan on having later in life, for my mother who has sacrificed endlessly and has been nothing but a complete support system to help me through college, and for my entire family to see its first college graduate walk across a stage.

Last month, when I had a little downtime, I read this article by Brian McBride, the associate producer for CNN International, and in the article he discussed how he paid off $26,500 of debt in less than two years by skipping meals and eating protein bars or drinking Ensure shakes. In the article, he also said he went to bed hungry and left the heater during the winter and the air conditioner in the summer months off so he could save money to put towards his debt.

While I say kudos to him, I will not make that my future after graduation. I already know how it feels to go to bed hungry but not by choice, and I can’t understand why someone who had the option of not doing so, chose to do so.

I vowed to not go back to that life anymore, and one way I make sure of that is by gaining a higher education.

Living that way is not something that I can bear. That’s why I’m in college. If that reason racks me up a ton of debt, then that’s the price I will pay for a college education and I won’t complain.

The sacrifices put toward my education from all of my family led me to where I am today. In December, it will all pay off when I can look at my diploma and think of all the time, energy and work I put into becoming a college graduate. I’ll also think of the people who’ve helped me along the way.

Sure, my student loan debt is going to be there in the back of my mind, but I’m definitely not going to stress out about it. I understand the ramifications if you miss payments and all the other things that can happen, but I’m very aware of what I got myself into.

For me, the point of getting a higher education isn’t to go on a Top Ramen feast or to be penny pinching on the dollar menu while aggressively budgeting down to my last cent. It’s to gain more knowledge to take you into a field where you don’t have just a job but a career.

What was the hard work for if you’re going to stress out every five minutes about your debt after you graduate?

I understand why McBride did what he did because he didn’t want the burden of debt to be cowering over him at all times, but that life isn’t for me.

I’ll take my debt along with my diploma, and I’ll lead the life that a ton of Americans live now.

Proper instruction, not medication, is the answer NIKKI SKINNER staff writer nskinner@gru.edu

It bothers me that a kid’s childhood can be taken away at such an early age.

Teachers, as well as some parents, no longer feel like putting up with all of the energy produced by children. Before a child has even made it to first grade, teachers are having them “diagnosed” with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and attention deficit disorder. Then, children are put on some type of medication to calm them down.

I feel as though some teachers and parents are using this medication instead of a firm hand.

I don’t mean physically spanking -- or abusing a child as some would see it -- but instead of taking control of the situation and showing the child who is in charge, teachers and parents are looking for other methods.

To put it plainly, they are looking for an easy way out.

What they are failing to understand is children will be children. They are loud, energetic and often have short attention spans but didn’t we all at their age? They are not adults; they have to be taught how to pay attention. It is not something that happens overnight; it takes time and patience. Yet, instead of being willing to take the time with these children and teaching them how to harness all of this energy and look for other

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do

Travel: It’s not so scary JAMIE LOWE staff writer

jlowe12@aug.edu

I was about to embark on the best four weeks of my life, arriving at my destination via Atlanta with a brief

layover in Paris.

I had everything ready to go. It was all packed and accounted for. It was only then I let myself get scared.

I was going on a study abroad trip in Rome. I was not afraid of the study abroad class, the professor, flying or even trying to speak Italian; I was afraid of the last two weeks of the trip in which I would be in a foreign country, so very far from home, all on my own.

I had decided long before my departure date that I would extend my flight and spend two weeks traversing through Rome on my own. In typical procrastinating fashion, I did not have a clue what I was going to do or where I was going to stay. In a blind, unorganized panic I called my dad.

“Hey Dad, sorry to wake you so early. I just have a quick question,” I said. I continued, “If I go missing while I’m in Rome, you’ll be like Liam Nieson when his daughter got kidnapped in that movie and come find me, right? Then beat the unholy mess out of whoever kidnapped me, right?”

I was relying on my dad’s military training for the “beating the unholy mess out of the kidnappers” part.

My dad groggily responded, “Jamie, who is Liam Nieson?”

I was literally all on my own in a country where I did not speak the first language, and I did not know a soul there. That was the scary part. For the first time in my life, I had no safety net.

I was accountable for my own safety and wellbeing.

I am here to write this column, so obviously I survived. I actually thrived on everywhere I got to go, everything I got to see, and through everyone I got to meet. Without much further ado, here is my advice for the individuals who find themselves without the angelic help of Liam Neison when they travel alone overseas. My advice is simple: Stay in

youth hostels.

Yes, youth hostels get a lot of negative attention when terrible things like abductions and alcohol poisonings happen within their walls. These few hostels give other magnificent youth hostels a bad name.

Every hostel that I stayed in while I was in Europe was clean; the staff was friendly and mostly British, Australian or American. There were always new people at the bar or new roommates coming in to socialize with and plan adventures with.

Like a regular hotel, you check in around 2 p.m. Usually there is an attractive slew of girls who work for the hostel that handle check-in, for obvious reasons. You decide beforehand how many people you’d be willing to share a room with. In most hostels, the more people in a room, the cheaper the price of the room per night. So you make a reservation for whatever room you want and the attractive girl hands you a room key and a locker key.

You go up to your room and meet your new roommates. Everyone speaks some level of English.

You lock up your belongings in the locker, take the key with you and go do whatever you want with your new friends.

The great thing about youth hostels is that they are all over Europe, and everyone knows they’re a good time. You have to be between the ages of 18 and 30 at most of them.

They are the greatest investment of your stay in Europe because everyone is interested to know who you are and where you are from. You will meet some of your best friends at hostels. Please believe me: Hostels are worth it.

My only other advice about traveling solo is to be as smart as you can. If you are in a situation that does not feel right, get out of it. Ask for help. Know when you need directions and ask someone.

Even if it is a game of pointing at the map and playing charades when that person’s English isn’t as good as you’d hoped it would be. As long as you are smart and observant of your surroundings, you’ll have the time of your life.

So get out there and travel. I believe in you. You won’t even need Liam Neison.

you

have an opinion on things at GRU? if so, email us at

@BellRinger_News How involved are YOU during homecoming week? “@iSmile_youFrown I was involved as much as i could be but there isn’t much school spirit at GRU.”

productive outlets, they look for a quick fix.

They have decided that the easiest way to solve this problem is to dope kids on medication, leaving them with a shell of the energetic child they had before.

It really is sad to see how much a child’s personality can change due to medication.

Many children lose so much of their personality, as well as their energy, when they begin to take these medications. We have enough adults in the world already. We need to let these kids live out their childhood.

Regardless of whether they have a medical disorder, they will become dependent on the medication over the years.

I feel as though these children shouldn’t be put on medication until they are at least in middle school. Give them time to enjoy their childhood and experience it to the fullest before having it stripped away. I don’t think that there are not children with these medical issues; I just feel as though the children need more time to develop before we start feeding them prescription drugs. The parents, as well as teachers, need to step up to the plate and take time with these children and realize there are other solutions besides medication.

The world has gotten so used to having a quick fix to every problem and sometimes that isn’t the solution. Especially when it comes to your children. If you look for a quick solution now, what will you do as they get older, the problems grow and a quick fix is no longer the option? If they would just take the time now, it would make a word of difference in the child as it grows up.

bellringerproduction@gmail.com

Nurture the Savannah River SI-LONG CHEN webmaster schen1@gru.edu

The Savannah River is home to us all.

Growing up in a single-parent household where my mom worked most of the time, I hardly had any restrictions as to what I could do. My intrinsic behavior was to go outside. I was an animal protector and a field runner, and I absolutely loved getting close to nature.

I was that kid with a muddy face, walking around with no shoes on. I never had a pet, but I never went a day without touching animals. As I got older, however, I became more focused in school and stop going outdoors. My long-forgotten love for nature slowly comes back to me whenever I see the running Savannah River.

Unlike the secluded city I used to live in, Augusta, Ga., is particularly invested its river.

This beautiful river runs 300 miles between Georgia and South Carolina and is home to thousands of animals. The Savannah River was here long before civilization, has provided essential drinking water and was used for importing and exporting goods from Augusta to Savannah, Ga. Walking down the River Walk, built with red bricks, this river reflects the beauty

of the city but also its ugliness.

I would witness a group of smokers carelessly throwing cigarette butts on the ground. Drinkers would leave shattered bottles, and even little kids tossed their candy bar wrappers aside. The most ridiculous thing I have witnessed were the mountains of tires, the urban waste along the riverbed and, most disturbing, garbage in the water.

It amazes me how people take nature for granted.

One day nature will stop putting up with us or, rather, nature will be unable to put up with us.

Recently, I started an internship with Savannah Riverkeeper, or SRK. This organization inspired my passion for nature once again. SRK, founded in 2001, is a nonprofit organization that serves as the guardian of the Savannah River. This organization is composed of devoted volunteers, wildlife enthusiasts, tree huggers, animal protectors and many who valued the power of nature; I am one of them.

SRK sponsors countless activities to bring people to the river and create awareness about protecting the environment. The activities provide opportunities to clean up the river through an event that occurs twice a year, Rivers Alive. Through this event, volunteers have removed 25 tons of trash in the river. Other fundraising activities, such as Paddlefest, provide opportunities for people to athletically engage in the river.

ROOM FOR RENT

• 1/4 MILES FROM GRU • $237.50 RENT/MONTH WITH ONE MONTH’S RENT DEPOSIT UPON MOVING IN • $400 PER MONTH AFTER BILLS • 2,500 SQ. FT • HARDWOOD FLOORS • WALKING DISTANCE TO SHOPS ON MONTE SANO AVENUE AND CENTRAL AVENUE

CONTACT: KKING15@GRU.EDU (706) 877 - 7581

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

ARTS & LIFE www.asubellringer.com

Smoke Free

PHOTOS BY MEGAN STEWART

Downtown bars enforce non-smoking policy to encourage more clientele

By MEGAN STEWART staff writer

B

ars in downtown Augusta, Ga., have recently decided to change the scene by taking smoking out of their venues.

Although the city has held hearings on whether to keep smoking in public locations, Augusta officials decided it was a decision that business owners were allowed to make for themselves, said Coco Rubio, the coowner of Sky City and Soul Bar. In Soul Bar, smoking is still allowed inside while Sky City has decided to go non-smoking.

The option to remove smoking from Sky City was more of a business decision due to the complaints that had been accumulating over time about people not wanting to visit a venue

where they were subjected to smoke surrounding them, Rubio said.

“We feel like Sky City is a live music venue more than it is just a regular bar and with that in mind, we thought it would be better to make it non-smoking,” he said.

“We’ve had lots of people asking if we could go non-smoking because then they would go to more concerts. A lot of people seem to not want to come out to see a show and have to deal with people all around them smoking, so we thought it might be good to try it out.”

Another local bar that went along with taking smoking out of their location was Joe’s Underground Café after its new owner, Jeremy LaFontaine, took over.

“We really don’t have ventilation down here, and it was particularly bad,” LaFontaine said.

“You would come down here and smell like an ashtray. It

wasn’t even like just cigarettes – you would just smell terrible the rest of the day or the evening, and I don’t think people enjoy that. People want to be able to go to a bar and have a couple of drinks and not have to worry about taking a shower before they go to bed or before they do anything else.”

Other than the smell of the actual venue, taking smoking out has added other positive aspects for Joe’s, LaFontaine said.

“We’ve had several people say that when they get take out that they’re happy because the napkins don’t smell like smoke anymore and the pickles don’t taste like smoke,” he said. “The quality of the food is better.”

Some customers argue that having a cigarette vending machine in the bar is a contradiction, said Allen Jones, a local to the Augusta area.

“I visited Joe’s for the first time ever this month and was an-

Going to the chapel of love

By FATIMA FRASHER staff writer

C

haplain Betty Love is used to having a hectic schedule during the beginning of the year.

Love’s Wedding Chapel & Healing Center has been a cornerstone on Wrightsboro Road for more than 14 years. Originally named Love & Light Healing Center, it was designed as a hypnosis center to aid those who desired to give up smoking and pursue weight loss.

Love had much success in her new business; however, questions remained, she said.

“People kept asking me, ‘Well, you are a reverend, why don’t you do weddings?’” Love said. “Georgia had a threeday waiting period and a blood test; I was sending everybody to North Augusta or Aiken. I didn’t want to deal with all that.”

Eventually, she said, curiosity got the best of her, so she called the probate court to inquire about what was needed in the state of Georgia to obtain a marriage license. Love found out then that Georgia had recently changed its laws concerning marriage procedures.

Love said the new law states that there are only two items now needed to obtain a marriage license in Georgia: a

$35 license fee and an ID. “Shoot, I just stuck out my sign, and I found out the chaplains at Fort Gordon (were) sending me people, and the ball started rolling,” she said.

In 2011, Love reported hosting 11 weddings Sunday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. Love said weddings started taking up most of her time.

She said she placed the hypnosis to the side for a while to take on the mission of aiding couples in unification in front of God, family and friends.

So it was of no surprise that Love officiated five weddings on Valentine’s Day. She said her first wedding on was aired on NBC’s 26 and covered by Jay Jefferies at 6:45 a.m. The union was between Trish and Johnathan Watts.

Later that morning, she conducted another wedding at 9 a.m. The wedding started off with a dedication to the women and men of the armed forces by citing a speech given by Colin Powell to the troops in England. After that the bubbly reverend turned on her incredible charm, which made the wedding light, fun and memorable for all in attendance.

The wedding ceremonies only tend to take 15 to 20 minutes. The couple also has the choice to have the wedding within Love’s facilities. Love said she in-

see CHAPEL on PAGE 8

noyed when I went to the back and spent money on a pack of cigarettes in the bar but couldn’t smoke them,” he said. “I almost lit it in the bar until someone I was with told me they read a sign outside saying it wasn’t allowed.

On top of that, I either had the choice to climb back up the stairwell to smoke or to stand in front of the door where two other guys already were.”

With the complaints in mind, Joe’s is making accommodations for those who smoke and don’t feel welcome, the owner said.

“I’m going to look into maybe doing some temporary fencing and maybe put a couple of high-top tables out there,” LaFontaine said. “I don’t want the smokers to feel like they’re getting pushed around, and I want everybody to feel welcome at all times.”

Another option that LaFontaine has for those who smoke is to bring in smokeless cigarettes

in order to allow the option of smoking at the bar in a healthier way.

Sky City has also decided that it wants to make circumstances for smokers better, Rubio said.

“We have portable ashtrays that people can use to throw away their cigarette butts,” he said. “We might even put some benches out front where you can sit and smoke if you want to.

Just to have a little outdoor area where you can smoke.”

The people who don’t light up are finding it better for them when they go out.

“I don’t care if people choose to smoke, but I would rather not have it affect me being able to have a good time out, and I certainly don’t have a good time if I’m choking or stinking from smoke,” said Joshua Cole, a junior public relations major.

mstewar7@gru.edu

The effort behind Homecoming

By MEGAN STEWART staff writer

H

omecoming week at Georgia Regents University, a weeklong event leading up to the crowning of homecoming king and queen, has more than just a week’s worth of time and effort put into the production of the events.

Planning for homecoming starts the prior fall semester with a committee of 10 to 15 people made up of students, faculty and staff, said Dean Smedley, the assistant director for the Office of Student Life and Engagement at Georgia Regents.

“The committee basically brings up what happened the year before and brings up the schedule,” Smedley said.

“We then decide if we want to do the same thing or to do something different.”

There are committee meetings held every other week up until the semester of homecoming and then every week afterwards, said Jessica Haskins, the assistant director for programs and the homecoming chair for the Office of Student Life and Engagement.

“We do a very similar set of events every year,” Haskins said. “So, it’s just realigning the days, the times, making

sure that everything is appropriate, making sure there is space available and everything that goes along with that. Then we start to find sponsorship, doing our contracts and all the things for the different events.”

This year’s homecoming was planned to have two new events: Wear Blue Get Food that was hosted on Monday, Feb. 18, which was an event where everyone who had the school color on got free food in the Jaguar Student Activities Center breezeway, and the Sidewalk Spirit Contest that was going to be hosted Tuesday, Feb. 19, but was cancelled due to rain, which would have been a contest to help build points for Pass the Paw, a competition involving student organizations that earn points throughout the week of homecoming in hopes of winning a $200 check for their organization, Haskins said.

The rest of the week’s events consisted of Car Chalking Friday, Feb. 15, during which the candidates and organizations involved in the Pass the Paw competition brought cars for spirit decorating by Washington Hall; a Dance Marathon Kickoff hosted Monday, Feb. 18, in the JSAC Ballroom, where the candidates for homecoming were introduced; Jag-A-Lympics Wednesday,

see HOMECOMING on PAGE 8

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 7 www.asubellringer.com

Homecoming week attempts to unite all campuses

By REBECCA PERBETSKY staff writer

W

e believe. That is the theme for homecoming week this year, but do the students really believe?

Many students are still upset about the name change and the merger between what were Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University, but this isn’t getting the Georgia Regents University Homecoming board members down.

According to Leza Witherington, an administrative assistant and a member of the homecoming board, the members of the board planned on having a homecoming that is memorable in itself for reasons other than being the first homecoming for the new university.

“It’s about consolidation and inclusion to make students feel like this is their event,” Witherington said. “We are trying to incorporate students on the medical side as much as possible.”

In order to incorporate the students from the Health Sciences campus, Witherington said that the homecoming board changed some of the rules and made it so that students didn’t have to be part of an organization to be nominated, and it also encouraged graduate students to run.

“Our homecoming is about athletics, students and trying to give everyone the best time they can get,” Witherington said.

REBECCA PERBETSKY | STAFF

Haely Chadwick (left), a junior communications studies major and homecoming queen candidate, paints a banner in preparation for Homecoming in the gym at Christenberry Fieldhouse with a friend.

Dixie Wells, a junior music major, said most students she has talked to are skeptical about the whole thing because they think that it isn’t going to be the same.

“Overall, there is going to be a little bit less spirit amongst the people because I think everyone’s a little disheartened by the consolidation and the merger,” Wells said.

Although there are students that are disheartened by the merger, there are students that

do believe in the new university and the change.

Haely Chadwick, a junior communications major, ran for homecoming queen and said she is one of those students.

“I am more excited that this is for GRU,” Chadwick said. “I would love to be able to go down in history as GRU’s first homecoming queen. I think with the transition everything is new and exciting and has full opportunity.”

With this new start and plenty of opportu-

Students get artsy

By SI-LONG CHEN webmaster

T

he Juried Student Art Show is a longstanding tradition at the Summerville campus.

The purpose of the show is to give Georgia Regents University students the hands-on experience of being in a competitive art show, said Alan MacTaggart, the chair of the Art Department. It is an honor to be chosen to be in it, he added.

Different judges come with different tastes and understandings. All judges would value work that shows a certain kind of mastery of the media and the content of the media, MacTaggart said.

Wim Roefs was the jury for the show and is also the owner of If Art Gallery in Columbia, S.C. “I’ve been asked to critique at different schools as well, Valdosta State University and Lakeside High School,” MacTaggart said.

“Students need to get tough skin about their work. It’s a very competitive place, and we want students to develop tough skin to accept rejection.”

The juror makes three jury awards, actual cash awards to what he believes is appealing. Students received a check upon receiving this award, he said. The other scholarship is decided by the full-time art faculty.

The Juried Art Show coincided with the open house, which displays artwork in the hallway. Each art instructor had a wall to hang up students work, MacTaggart said. All of Washington Hall was covered in artwork. There was also a reception in the dome room across from the gallery, which was open and free to the public.

Mary Byrd, of Evans, Ga., said she is interested in art and art education and has supported many art scholarships for a number of years, MacTaggart said.

“Because of her support,

nity, the board members decided to move some of the events around so that they could be held at both campus locations. The lip syncing competition, for example, was held in the gym on the Health Sciences campus. It is things like this that the board members have changed in order to try and incorporate both sides of the new university.

“Homecoming for what was GHSU is very different from the homecoming at the formerly known ASU,” Witherington said. “Their homecoming is about alumni, and they have very few student-centered events.”

The students aren’t the only ones that the board members are trying to incorporate during this event. What was GHSU also has its own homecoming event so the members had to figure out a way to handle that along with when to schedule the event.

“That was the other thing that made it more difficult,” Witherington said. “You can’t really join together two events that are more than a month apart and the dates were already set for this year long before consolidation ever happened so it’s not like we can just say, ‘Oh yeah, forget basketball season. We will just move ours to April.’”

Witherington said the members of the homecoming board plan on honoring the homecoming for what was GHSU but because of the set dates this event will take place sometime in April and will focus more on the alumni.

rperbets@gmail.com

Juried Art Show Winners The Philip Morsberger Purchase Award Rosalind Avrett, “Body Analysis”

The Juror’s Awards NIKKI SKINNER | CONTRIBUTOR

Justin Edwards, a senior art major, screenprints T-shirts for the open house before the Juried Student Art Show in order to raise money for art supplies for the department.

we decided to change the name of the gallery to Mary S. Byrd from New Space gallery,” MacTaggart said.

During the award ceremony Thursday, Jennifer Onofrio, a professor of photography; Janice Whiting, a professor of painting; Dorothy Eckmann, the education director at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art; and Kevin Grogan, the director and curator of the Morris Museum of Art, announced the winners of the awards and scholarships.

“Every year I am excited to hear what the juror has selected for the show,” Onofrio said. “This is my favorite day of the year. Our juror did a wonderful job (and) the students (did) amazing.”

Grogan echoed Onofrio, saying he believed in the quality of the exhibition and the efforts of the students.

“I believe it to be the best student show I’ve ever seen in the Byrd Gallery,” he said.

“This year, there was a much larger proportion of 3-dimensional work. The ceramics were particularly interesting.

Everyone who earned a place in the show is to be complimented.”

The installation of the exhibition was well-suited to the work, Grogan said. There was a rich vein of imagination that informed all of the work, and it wasn’t dependent on a single, identifiable source.

The quality of the materials, technique and execution were outstanding all throughout.

“The awardees are reflective of the whole,” he said.

“The crowd at the awards ceremony was spirited, goodhumored, mutually supportive, as art students tend to be, and uplifting. In short, a good time was had by all.”

Nina Daniel, a senior majoring in fine arts with a concentration in photography and printmaking, had her photography works selected to be in the art show.

“I participate it because it’s good to put on resume and was curious to see if the juror liked my work enough to put it in a show,” she said. “I got three photographs in. I was so excited!”

Daniel said she learns that it is important to always put yourself out there and take a chance. The worst that can happen is the juror says no.

“Just go for it!” she said.

“Try it out! It’s free, easy, and a good experience if you want to have your own show one day.”

Brooke Mays, a freshman art major, 3-dimensional work, “Clarissa,” had her selected to be featured in the show. It was made in her first art class at Georgia Regents and strongly featured natural materials and texture.

“I was (at) first apprehensive, but I know I don’t want to miss this opportunity,” she said. “I am glad that I decided to participate.”

schen1@gru.edu

NIKKI SKINNER | CONTRIBUTOR

Shannon Smith, a senior art major, embraces Janice Whiting, an art professor, after receiving a scholarship at the art show.

1st place- Chelsea Stetz, “Untitled” 2nd place- Hannah Schelb, “More than Medicine” 3rd place- Kathleen Brewton, “Untitled”

Eugenia Comer Scholarship Nicole Arnold

Samuel J. and Sarah Singal Scholarship Shannon Smith

Jim Rosen Award Sara Mays

Katherine Reese Pamplin and Nathan Bindler Scholarships Jasmine Cruz, Justin Edwards, Jessica Herold, Heather Howard and John Lause.

The Morris Award of Excellence Emily Eubanks, “The Trickster” Nicole Arnold, “Friendly Dog”

The Morris Museum Honorable Mention Nick Atkins, “Plant ASU” Kathleen Brewton, “Black Sheep” Heather Howard, “Aged Pops” Amanda Lynn Joyce, “One Big Happy Family” Eleanor Schehl, “Watercolor Self-Portrait” Laura Umphrey, “Gallus Domesticus”

PAGE 8

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013 www.asubellringer.com

Merger brings ethics to campus

By KARL FRAZIER correspondent

N

ow that the merger is finalized, one professor continues his dual role at both universities.

Before the merger took place, Steven Weiss, an associate professor and clinical assistant professor at Georgia Regents University, said he was juggling teaching classes at Georgia Health Science University while also being a full-time professor at Augusta State University.

“Since 2003, I have been working down in the College of Medicine,” Weiss said. “(I have been working) as a small group facilitator and lecturer for what is called the Essentials of Clinical Medicine Program for first- and second-year med students.”

For years, Weiss said he volunteered his teaching services for free because he found the subject of medicine interesting and wanted to learn about medicine and develop his background in medical ethics. In 2005, he started serving on the hospital ethics committee, which does patient consults and deals with difficult ethical issues that come up in a hospital. Later, Weiss said he joined the Human Assurance Committee where the committee review research protocols involving human subjects.

Although Weiss said he enjoyed the experience of the Human Assurance Committee, it came with stiff stipulations.

“We would meet every other week, and those meetings (would) last 3 to 5 hours,” Weiss said. “On the

Around Town Theater: classic to modern

By MEGAN STEWART staff writer

T

KARL FRAZIER | CONTRIBUTOR

Steven Weiss and Reynolds Jarvis, co-professors of a BioEthics class, chat before their 10 a.m. lecture at the Summerville campus.

weekends, I would read a stack of research protocols 6inches high. It wore me out.”

Weiss said he has been able to find shadowing positions for students where they can attach themselves to a physician and get to see behind the scenes activities of the hospital and clinic. This semester, Weiss said two students from the Augusta State campus are doing internships at the Health Sciences campus.

Adrian Bullard, a senior sociology major at Georgia Regents, said he heard about the internship while in Weiss’s Intro to Philosophy class and jumped at the opportunity. Bullard said he is interning at Patient Family Center Care and does patient rounding. While Bullard said he does not want to be a doctor, he is enjoying the knowledge he is gaining.

“The experience is good,” Bullard said. “You are able to network different people in the hospital. I want

to go into the medical field as a mental health social worker, and it allows you to get familiar with the hospital procedures.”

Julie Kane, a sophomore communications major at Georgia Regents, said her internship is right on the path for her future career. Kane said she is working in pastoral care and wants to eventually go to divinity school and become an ordained minister. Kane said she enjoys working with people in the hospital who definitely need someone to be positive for them. Kane said the experience has been wonderful, despite only being there two months so far.

Weiss said he is teaching bioethics with Reynolds Jarvis, an associate professor of internal medicine and psychiatry at the Health Sciences campus, at the Summerville campus. Jarvis said he and Weiss have been collaborating for six or seven years and has enjoyed every

minute of it.

“We have certain similarities,” Jarvis said. “Although I am a physician, I still have interest in philosophy, theology and the arts.

That has certainly helped us work together.”

Weiss said he is very excited about the opportunities the merger of Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences will bring for faculty and students. Weiss said hopes to get more applied ethics internships for students at the Summerville campus.

Weiss also said he wants to develop a joint MA and MD program with the College of Medicine where students could get their MAs in Medical Humanities while working on their MD. In the long run, Weiss said what will determine the success of the merger is how much effort and investment we make of the opportunity and how the two institutions merge together.

kfrazie9@gru.edu

Chapel

Homecoming

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

forms the bride and groom that it is up to them, regardless of their denomination or preference of religion or lack thereof. However, she does reference God in all of her services.

The second couple of the morning, Quar-an and Donald Green, looked appropriately festive in red and black. The bride in a stunning red cocktail dress and the groom in a black suit with his red and black bowtie smiled happily at each other while they gathered to take pictures before the service.

“Valentine’s Day has always been my dream day,” said Quaran Green. “We thought (that)

we’ll do it the sooner the better.

We love each other so we chose Valentine’s Day.” The couple was introduced to Love through mutual friends Carol and Kenneth Gibson, who were also married by the reverend five years earlier, Love said.

“Marriage is a two-way street,” Carol Gibson said. “As long as you stick together everything will go good together.”

At the end of pronouncing the Greens as man and wife, Love concluded with her catch phrase: “How ‘bout them Dawgs?”

ffrasher@gru.edu

Feb. 20, which was in the JSAC sports field where there was a relay competition between organizations; Jaguar Jam Thursday, Feb. 21, which was a tailgate and bonfire that had a performance by the local band Funk You in the Fieldhouse; the Lip-Sync Showcase in the Wellness Center on the Health Sciences Campus; and, finally, the homecoming basketball game Saturday, Feb. 23, between Augusta State University and Francis Marion University at the Christienberry Fieldhouse, Smedley said.

“For the overall student body, the most popular event is probably the tailgate and bonfire Jaguar Jam,” Haskins said. “Last year, we had 400 people attend it

he art behind film has been lost.

With digital film, the people behind the scenes at a movie theater have no art in the work they do.

Although a majority of my cinematography experience has definitely been with digital film and I do find it significantly easier to control and add to, when I see someone using an actual roll of film I can definitely respect the hard work and art behind it.

It is a lot of work to develop, cut and edit film, however, aside from the actual person who takes the film or edits it; there is art in displaying it and the theater where it is displayed.

In the bigwig theaters today such as Regal or AMC, everything has gone to digital and the idea of the control room is nearly obsolete.

One job that is overlooked is the work that projectionists used to put into their jobs and I feel that their ethic should be shown some spotlight.

First of all, the control rooms were extremely cramped and the projectionists would have to be very cautious of fires occurring due to the high flammability of film. They would practically be the only ones who could fit in the rooms, and I can only imagine how stuffy they could become.

On top of that, paying intense attention to the film’s ending and beginning and actually being able to switch the reels without causing a pause in the movie is not only an art form but also an ability to relieve burdens from the viewers.

Projectionists would be proud and love the work they did, at least the ones who were more passionate about film than a paycheck.

Another aspect of theaters that you lose when you walk into one today is the idea of decor. Many of the theaters have turned to a more modern look and generally have similarities between them.

There used to be ornate decorations that would catch the people’s eyes as they walked in. However, the art aspect of the architecture has also declined. Decorations and architecture would compliment one another; instead it is plain and filled with neon lights and high-resolution food displays behind the concession desk.

mstewar7@gru.edu

in its first year. This year we are expecting 600 to 700 people.”

During the entire week of homecoming, students were able to donate two canned goods, either at the Jaguar Jam event at one of the designated donation areas, in order to get a button for free admission to the tailgate and bonfire or they could pay a $5 entrance fee. Donation locations were at the office of Student Life and Engagement in JSAC, the Department of Communications and Professional Writing in Allgood Hall and Greenblatt Library on the Health Sciences campus.

Although homecoming week leads up to big events for the student body, they should make the

week more focused for the students, said Dominique Tucker, a junior majoring in psychology and political science and the vice president of the Black Student Union.

“The email telling students to vote doesn’t really engage them,” he said. “I would just like to see new creative things to involve the students more because as you can see there isn’t really any hype with the students.”

Tucker said that the week should be bringing more excitement within the students but instead it’s more oriented to the administrators.

mstewar7@gru.edu

New bar in Surrey serves up fresh hairstyles instead of cocktails

By MINDY WADLEY staff writer

T

he hot new bar in town may offer wine, but that’s not its speciality.

Fix Blow Dry Bar in Surrey Center is one of a growing nationwide trend of salons that do not offer the full range of services of traditional salons, such as color and haircuts, instead focusing on shampooing, blow drying and styling clients’ hair. Elaine Redd, a manager at Fix, said that customers come in and choose from a few basic services.

“It’s a lot easier for someone else to do it than yourself,” Redd said. “It’s definitely a different look and an experience, and what you couldn’t normally do to yourself on every other day.”

The owners of Fix, Natalie Lee and Adair Pennington, opened the business Wednesday, Jan. 2. Lee said the salon has been staying busy as word has gotten around about its unique offerings.

“It’s a new concept in town to have a blow dry bar,” Lee said.

“But we’ve already got some regular clients that are coming in once a week. Lots of return customers and new people, new faces each day.”

The services include a basic fix, which is the signature service including a shampoo, blow dry and basic style. A quick fix in-

MINDEY WADLEY | STAFF

Shelby Frank, a stylist at Fix Blow Dry Bar, dries and styles customer Lindsey Settles’ hair for its set price of $28 without cutting her hair.

cludes the same minus the shampoo. And a fix it up rounds out the style menu, which entails a dry hair up-do. Redd said clients’ needs range from everyday styles to celebrations.

“We also throw bridal parties and little girls’ birthday parties and stuff like that,” Redd said.

“We’ve had some special occasions and then some that basically just wear a blow-out for a week or so, so they just come in here and let us do it.”

A first-time client of Fix, Augusta native Lindsey Dickson, said she came to the blow dry bar

to have her hair styled for a special event, a concert, but that she would definitely return.

“It’s been great!” Dickson said. “It’s easy, and it’s just relaxing and fun. It’s the perfect way to unwind.”

The process of unwinding begins as customers enter the salon’s inviting atmosphere. Upbeat music plays in the background while clients sip glasses of complimentary champagne as they relax amidst the simplistic modern décor. The hardwood floors and one accent wall in a soft lavender hue are contrasted by an odd combi-

nation of fluorescent light fixtures and chandeliers, which put out a softer, warmer light as the stylists use their brushes, blow dryers and curling irons to make the beauty magic happen. Emi-Jay hair accessories and Amika products are available for customers to purchase.

“When we opened, we wanted to make sure that it was a very clean, open and fun atmosphere,” Lee said. “We’ve got televisions where when you’re having your hair fixed, we’ve got chick flicks on and fun music playing. So far when people come in, they always

say that it’s a real happy place to be. We did want that sense of community in here. We wanted it to be relaxing but fun.”

The blow dry bar’s ambience is rounded out by a staff of five stylists, all licensed cosmetologists, each of whom has his own unique style. Redd, who worked at Sports Cuts prior to Fix, said the uniqueness of the salon is part of what drew her to work there.

“It’s a different atmosphere,” Redd said. “I did men’s hair cutting for two years, and I just wanted to take a dabble in women’s hair.”

Lee and Pennington decided to open the business with no prior experience in cosmetology. Lee said they both worked in Surrey Center retail locations before choosing to launch the new enterprise.

“We knew we wanted to be in Surrey Center,” Lee said. “There was no question about that. We didn’t look for anything else.”

The salon has already attracted some regular clients despite its relatively recent opening day.

Lindsey Settles, who was having her hair blow dried and curled, said she has been to the salon weekly for an entire month.

“My house is close, so I just come in on Fridays and get my hair curled,” Settles said. “Everyone is really friendly. I get my hair washed, blow dried out, get some curls, drink some wine and hang out.”

mindyawadley@gmail.com

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 9

COMICS: ENTERTAIN YOURSELF

CROSSWORD Test your knowledge of current issues covering Georgia Regents University, pop culture, news, music, sports and random trivia

www.asubellringer.com

2.

1.

3.

4.

6.

5.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

ACROSS 1. The Life Sciences _____________ Award, a $3,000,000 award to innovating scientists, is funded in part by Mark Zuckerburg.

impacted the earth. romantic 1942 movie titled after 9. An ensemble that contains four it. singers or instruments DOWN 10. The name of the popular 1. _______Soldiers re-enactors wildlife and bird-watching club. were recently performing on 3. The first double-amputee campus. athlete to compete in the 11. ___________ Joe’s, an Olympics allegedly murdered his underground bar off Broad Street 2. “______________ Surrender,” girlfriend. that has no windows, recently a 25-feet-tall statue in San Diego banned smoking Port, brings the famous World 7. ___________ retriever is still War II photo of a sailor kissing a the most popular dog in America, 12. Defined as a useless nurse to life. according to Today.com. ornament or accessory 4. A new English pub on Broad 8. On Friday, Feb. 15, this object 13.

A city in Morocco that Street that opened earlier this from space injured more than became well known after the year 1,000 people in Russia when it

5. An environmental club on campus that promote sustainable and healthy ecosystems 6. Another name for the photos taken by the subject and have become a plague of social media 10. The name of the popular wildlife and bird-watching club.

In the last issue...

DOWN 1. rice 2.shihtzu 3. timberlake 4. call me maybe 5. froghollow 6. guimaraes

7. pandamonium 8. gcpa 9. fourteen 10. ivory 11. eleven ACROSS 12. patrick

13. february 14. boys and girls club 15. ibeatmeryl 16. roses 17. henry 18. thurman

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U R a p e r

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The Voice of ASU

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

PAGE 10

SPORTS www.asubellringer.com

Lady Jags claw back to the top Backups

find ways to help teams win

By JORDAN WILLIAMS staff writer The Lady Jaguars’ basketball team has been a frequent visitor to the winner’s circle this season.

In his third year, head coach Nate Teymer has his basketball team off to the best start in school history.

“The biggest difference is the players,” Teymer said. “I feel that we’ve brought in some good kids that will work and are coachable.”

When Teymer first arrived on campus, he inherited a program that went 1-26 in its previous season and needed to go through a multi-year rebuilding process, he said.

The change in head coaches was a necessary act because losing was something the program wasn’t used to, Teymer said.

“Augusta State in the past has had 20-win seasons and Elite Eight teams, but they just had a little dip for two years,” he said.

In December 2009, Augusta State’s director of athletics, Clint Bryant, installed himself as head coach in the middle of the season because the team was not getting the job done, he said.

“I didn’t think the program was moving in the direction we wanted it to go in,” Bryant said. “It wasn’t so much about wins and losses but that there just wasn’t the type of commitment and quality of coaching you need at this level.”

When he hired Teymer, Bryant said he

By KEREYIA BUTLER staff writer

By JORDAN WILLIAMS staff writer

BREA BOUTWELL | CONTRIBUTOR

Third-year Augusta State head women’s basketball coach Nate Teymer, who has led the Lady Jaguars to a 19-5 record and first-place standing in the Peach Belt Conference’s East Division in 2012-13, offers instruction to forward Brianna Sims during a practice at Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga.

knew he had the right man for the job. The head coach was named the NAIA Division I Women’s Coach of the Year in 2009-10 and built a nationally competitive team at Southern Polytechnic State.

The players noticed the passion in their head coach and how he went the extra mile in order to have his team prepared for game day, senior guard Eryka Menzies

said.

“He is willing to put in late hours watching film, dissecting other team’s game plans and presenting them to us,” Menzies said.

Teymer said the beginnings of the rebuilding process were tough. The challenge was having an entire team that

see LADY JAGS on PAGE 11

Wille records win at Michigan State

Short and swift!

Natalie Wille, a senior for the Lady Jaguars’ golf team, said she has been working hard to perfect her swing, and that fine-tuning paid off in a big way last week.

Wille was named a medalist at Michigan State’s Central District Invitational after she shot an even-par 72 during the final round of the tournament, making it the second win of her college career. The first was during her freshman year when she won the Low Country Intercollegiate at Moss Creek Country Club.

“I did very well,” Wille said. “I felt like I was playing very solid and didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I was hitting the ball very well. I felt very solid.”

Kory Thompson, the head coach of the women’s golf team, said she was impressed with Wille’s performance.

“Natalie played great,” Thompson said. “And I’m really excited for her because she beat some of the top ranked

“I felt like I was playing very solid and I didn’t make a lot of mistakes. I was hitting the ball very well.”

- Augusta State senior golfer Natalie Wille players in the country.”

With Wille’s help, the Lady Jags placed eighth overall at the Invitational, one week after a fourth-place finish at UFC Challenge earlier this month. Wille has been a catalyst behind the team’s solid month of golf, Thompson said.

“If we could have a team of eight with all Natalies, it would be great,” she said.

“She works hard, motivates the other girls. She’s an all-around great person.”

Wille makes sure her skills stay sharp by brushing up on the golf course six times a week, usually by herself, on the weekends and by practicing hard during the offseason, she said.

“I’ll get home in December, and I’ll probably have to practice indoors,” Wille said. “I try to make the bigger technical

changes in the winter. That’s the time you try to build (on your skills).”

Willie has been playing golf since she was 9 years old and competing since she was 13, but now she said she hopes that perfecting her swing for future competitions and tournaments will help her continue to do well as a competitor.

“I’m going to keep on seeing my swing coach,” Wille said. “I just started working with my swing coach over here, and it’s been real good obviously because I got good results and keep working on my swing and keeping it on track and working hard on my short game.”

Stephanie Bennett, one of Wille’s teammates, said Wille serves as a great leader to the other Lady Jags. see WILLE on PAGE 11

Brown a leader for youthful softball team

By RYAN MCLAY staff writer Soon to be a college graduate, softball player Laura Brown has led the Jaguars through milestones in the team’s history.

Brown, a 22-year-old senior and kinesiology major from Evans, Ga., will reach the end of her playing career for the Jags in May. Currently a captain, she arrived at Augusta State during her sophomore year, starting out as a pitcher before transitioning to becoming a fulltime outfielder.

Before enrolling in the university in 2010, Brown attended Evans High School where she said she pitched and played third base. During her time there, she was named the team’s best defensive player.

“She’s been a starter for us the past couple years,” said Melissa Mullins, Augusta State’s head softball coach and the assistant athletic director for student athletes services. “She came as a pitcher and a second baseman and we transitioned her to the outfield, and she’s worked really hard there and has been a consistent player in the outfield for us.”

Brown said that, in part, she decided to play at Augusta State to continue playing with one of her close friends, Kacee Camp, who graduated last year.

“Kacee and I both traveled throughout high school together,” Brown said. “She came here, and I looked up to her and eventually came here. We were such close friends and then that friendship remained throughout college.”

Brown has experienced numerous milestones during her college career, including going to the NCAA Regionals twice. Athletic media relations director Joey Warren said Brown has been playing during an upswing in the program’s history, noting that Augusta State

RYAN MCCLAY | STAFF

Senior outfielder and former pitcher Laura Brown chases down a ball in left field while practicing at Jaguar Field during the 2013 campaign.

has advanced to the Southeast Regionals four of the last five years. Last year, the team was a 1-0 game away from going to the Super Regionals, losing to North Georgia.

“Considering where our program came from, that’s a pretty big deal,” Warren said.

“We had not had any sustained success, and all of the sudden we had this run. She hadn’t been here the whole time, but she’s been on the last two teams.”

Mullins said Brown started off the year with a bang.

“She’s just doing a great job at the plate for us,” Mullins said. “I think a lot of Laura; she has a great personality.”

Warren, who praised Brown’s work ethic, also added that her contribution to the team has been notable considering she is one of the few local players on the softball team.

Mullins said that while she wants all of the players to do well, she is especially glad when local players can do well for the team.

Brown has helped lead a very callow Augusta State roster that has experienced some growing pains in the season’s opening weeks, Warren said.

“I know they’re counting on her to do more this year, and that’s tough because we’re so young,” Warren said. “She’s played a lot but hasn’t hit until this year.”

As a veteran on the team, Brown has seen a lot of teammates come and go. Last year, seven players graduated from the team. So, this year, she said is working with more new and younger players.

“It’s definitely different,” she said. “Having an older group all throughout has definitely been a transition. We have a bunch of young ones now. I’m just trying to get them to buy in to what’s going on and understand and make the transition to college.”

She said she is also shifting her gaze toward what is next in her career, planning to devote more time to her goals outside of softball.

“I’ll be done with softball,” Brown said.

“The plan right now is to get into physical therapy school.”

rmclay@gru.edu

All team sports are unique, but on every roster there are backups.

It’s the ultimate sacrifice to put the team ahead of self, and a number of college athletes do it every day. Only the best high school athletes reach the Division I or II level, but rarely does a freshman come in and immediately impact a team right away, said head men’s basketball coach Dip Metress.

“Usually your backup players are your younger guys, and they just don’t know how to maintain the intensity of the college level when they get here,” he said.

Almost all student athletes come out of high school as one of the best on their teams, and the transition from being a major asset to playing a smaller role requires adaptation, said freshman forward Michael Graham.

“It’s different, but eventually you adjust,” he said.

Players who don’t start right away have to understand that it’s because the person in front of them is better, Metress said.

“They have to work on their weaknesses and don’t sit on the bench and worry about why they’re not playing,” he said. “Just be thankful the opportunity comes and take advantage of it.”

Redshirt freshman Trevor Foreman, a walkon, has embraced the opportunity to play for the men’s basketball team and pushes the starting guards every day in practice, he said.

Foreman said he came into the program fully aware that there would be no handouts and everything had to be earned.

“I knew I would have to work extra hard to translate how I played in high school to the collegiate level,” he said.

The main roles for the redshirt freshman are to compete every day and simulate the most realistic game scenario for his teammates, he said.

A number of injuries and off the court issues have plagued the basketball team this year, Metress said. As a result, the starting lineup has varied throughout the season and a lot of players are getting a chance to prove themselves.

“Ryan Weems didn’t start the first two or three games of the year, and he’s our leading scorer now,” he said.

Foreman said whenever his number is called, he will be ready to step in.

“I’ll be ready,” he said. “We have no choice.

Everybody has to step up.”

However, on the baseball diamond, certain aspects of the game are totally different, said head baseball coach Chris Cooper.

“In basketball, if you’re the starting point guard you might only play the first two minutes of the game and then the backup comes in for five minutes,” he said. “But in baseball it’s uncertain how much a backup will play.”

For certain positions, like pitcher, the competition for a starting spot is intense. There are five starters and two or three long relieve pitchers, and the rest are one-inning guys, Cooper said.

There are 19 pitchers on the team and unlike in most sports, experience does not dictate who will start. Instead, Cooper said, the coaches are looking for the guy with the hot hand.

“I have five seniors that are relievers and then a mix of younger guys,” he said. “I don’t go into each season worrying about how old you are; it’s about how good you can pitch. This year our starting pitchers thus far have been two juniors, a sophomore and a senior.”

For the most part, relievers compete among themselves in order to be the first guy called whenever needed, Cooper said.

With so many pitchers to compete against, relievers can only do all they can to stand out, right-hander Dalton Reed said.

“We have a pretty heavy upperclassmen roster, so being a freshman, it’s tough competing against seniors who have been here four or five years,” he said.

The ways Reed contributes to the team are by making sure his teammates practice drills correctly and helping them with their mechanics, he said.

After signing with the Jaguars, Reed said he did not expect to start right away.

“The competitor in me wanted to start, but I knew that my first year out here I would probably be just a backup guy,” he said.

Similar to other young athletes, the transition from starter to backup was an unfamiliar experience for him.

“In high school you’re the big dog and everyone knows you, but then you get here you’re just a little fish in a big pond,” Reed said. “Going from being the top dog to someone who barely has a role was a big-time transition.”

In order to rise up the depth chart and become a starter someday, Reed said he gives his all every day.

“To increase my chances of starting I just work hard, do everything 100 percent, so hopefully the coaches will think I’m the guy for the job,” he said.

jwill3@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 11 www.asubellringer.com

Struggling Jags still have some fight

By FARRELL BROWN staff writer The men’s basketball team’s season hasn’t quite gone according to plan, but it’s not ready to throw in the towel.

“Sometimes life throws curveballs at you and you got to deal with it,” assistant coach Dee Howard said. “Depending on how you deal with it (determines) how far a program will go.”

After starting off at 6-0, the Jags currently have an overall record of 13-11 and a Peach Belt Conference record of 8-9. This year will be the first time the team has finished the regular season with 15 or fewer wins since 2006. Heavy personnel losses have been a big reason for the team’s slide, forward Devon Wright-Nelson said.

“Everybody is working hard,” he said. “But it’s not just the people on the bench. We don’t have much depth to go to. That’s pretty much the biggest thing. We’re just undersized.”

Head coach Dip Metress agreed with Wright-Nelson’s assessment.

“We need about three or four guys that are 6-foot-6 and above,” Metress said. “We have one that’s a redshirt with K.J. Sherrill.”

Augusta State has lost four players from its roster this season.

The team at one point was only dressing nine people for practice, including redshirted players and assistant coaches, Metress said.

The players who have remained on the roster form a closeknit group, Wright-Nelson said.

“With the struggles that we have to overcome, it has brought the team a lot closer together,” he said. “So that’s the plus of having struggles.”

One of the team’s biggest problems over the season was players having to learn new, more expanded roles. Metress said the team has had to play through more in-game mistakes than usual. Players used to coming off the bench to fulfill a particular purpose are also now getting more time in the games than they are used to.

The team’s philosophy and playing style has also changed to include controlling the tempo of the games, cutting down possessions

and playing slower into the game plan, Metress said.

Howard named point guard D’Angelo Boyce and forward Travis Keels as the vocal leaders of the locker room. He added that WrightNelson, Devonte Thomas and Ryan Weems are leaders by example with their high level of play.

Thomas echoed Howard’s sentiments. “(Boyce) has stepped up a lot getting more assists and scoring,” said Thomas. “He’s been more aggressive with the ball in his hands.

Ryan’s stepped up tremendously.

He’s been a little more assertive not only on the offensive side but on the defensive side. Devon’s stepped up with a bad ankle. His ankle’s still bad, but he’s still playing on it.”

Freshman Michael Graham is another player Thomas said has made the most of his recent opportunity.

Without much depth on the bench, the key players from the team have had to play well without the luxury of having backup players to fall back on. Weems is the team’s leading scorer 16.3 points a game, Boyce has 163 assists on the

“Once we get in the conference tournament, anything can happen.”

- Augusta State assistant coach Dee Howard

year and Wright-Nelson has pulled down 160 rebounds.

Howard said his team is currently focused on trying to nail down a spot in the Peach Belt Tournament.

“Once we get in the conference tournament, anything can happen from there,” Howard said. “We’re focused on the task at hand right now.”

The team has already began the process of scouting players for the next season but is not yet allowed to recruit new players, according to the coaching staff. Metress also added he has already started thinking of new strategies and game plans to implement next year but his focus

BREA BOUTWELL | CONTRIBUTOR

Senior Travis Keels puts up a shot over two Francis Marion defenders during a 69-67 Augusta State win Saturday.

is still on the current season.

The Jags’ next game will be Wednesday against USC Aiken at 7:30 p.m. in Aiken, S.C.

fbrown19@gru.edu

Wille

Senior hoops players leave mark

CONTINUED from PAGE 10

By FARRELL BROWN staff writer

“She is very supportive, and she’s someone we can all really look up to because she’s doing so well in golf right now,” Bennett said.

Bennett and Wille have been teammates for almost two years, and Bennett said Wille carries herself well on and off the course.

“She’s very controlled, and she doesn’t ever get upset (on the course),” Bennett said.

“At least she doesn’t express it on the course. She just always seems like she just stays in a positive kind of mental state when she’s playing. She never really gets discouraged (off the course). She’s really nice and really, really friendly. Everybody gets along with her really well.”

Willie is taking the competition by storm and the way things are going she will only continue to get better, Thompson said.

“With four events left, I’m hoping she can get another win,” Thompson said. “I see big things in Natalie’s future.”

Wille said after she graduates in December she plans on going back home to Sweden where she will try to play golf professionally qualify for the European Tour.

kbutler7@gru.edu

With the basketball season coming to a close, the Augusta State hoops programs are preparing to wave goodbye to six seniors.

Five of those players are on the women’s team, and head coach Nate Teymer said each one has been instrumental to the Lady Jaguars’ dramatic improvement over the last two years.

“I’m going to remember them as the group that got this women’s basketball program headed back in the right direction,” he said.

Forward Laci Schreiber, out of Tecumseh, Kan., transferred to Augusta State in 2011 from Kansas City Community College. During her junior season with the Lady Jags, Schreiber started every game. She averaged 27.6 minutes a game, which was the second highest on the team.

She contributed an average of 7.4 points and 7.2 rebounds a night and had four double-doubles.

As a senior, Schreiber has started in every game and is averaging 4.6 points and 5.3 rebounds a game on the season.

Forward Tiffany Jaecks, from Houston, joined the program the same year as Schreiber from Iowa Western Community College. This season, Jaecks has every game and

averaged 7 points and 5.4 rebounds a contest.

A third member of the 2011 recruiting class, Brittany White, a kinesiology major from Marietta, Ga., transferred from Teymer’s former team - Southern Polytechnic State - where she was named SSAC AllFreshman team selection.

In 2012-13, White has averaged 7.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.7 steals a game. White said she plans to coach basketball at the collegiate level after graduation.

“I don’t really have family here, so I’ve become real close to my teammates,” she said. “We’re more

ence.

“There’s a family atmosphere, and everyone has the same goal of winning and playing ball and having fun,” she said.

Tracy Aifuwa hails from Dacula, Ga., and has spent her entire college career as a Lady Jag. She played 10 games in her first year and started five of the 11 games she was in as a sophomore. Aifuwa averaged 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 points that season.

This season, Aifuwa has only appeared in three games but said she has thoroughly enjoyed watching the program’s progression.

“From my freshman year in ’09

this is it for me. I’ll be hanging the shoes up after the season’s over.”

The senior members Lady Jags all agreed that while they haven’t individually mentored the younger players on the team, they have set examples for each other on and off the court. They all noted how much the community has meant to them and that they will miss it, and one another, after graduation.

The men’s team, on the other hand, will be bidding farewell to only one player after this season.

Forward Travis Keels, a communications major from Chesterfield, Va., has played all four years of his collegiate career as an Augusta State Jaguar. He joined the program when it was Nate Teymer competing for national championships and has taken over a leadership role this season as the Jags have been faced with heavy adversity on and off the court. Head coach Dip Metress lauded the way Keels has handled the team’s topsy-turvy ride.

“He’s been a great representative to our program,” head coach Dip Metress said. “I’ve tremendously enjoyed coaching him.”

“I’m going to remember them as the group that got this women’s basketball program headed back in the right direction.”

- Augusta State head coach

like a family. It feels good to say I play for Augusta State and the fans show a lot of love here.”

Taylor Ayers, a sociology major, played high school basketball at Lucy C. Laney in Augusta, Ga. After her senior year in 2009, she was named player of the year and MVP while helping her team become region champions. Ayers spent her first three years in college at Virginia Tech.

Ayers has played every game this season and is averaging 11.5 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. She said returning home for her senior season has been a positive experi-

to where we are now in 2013 is a big change, and I’m happy to be a part of that change,” she said.

Like Aifuwa, Eryka Menzies, a communication major from Chatsworth, Calif., who transferred from Mercer in 2010, has seen the program come a long way during her time with the Lady Jags. With the team on the cusp of earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament, Menzies will go out on a high note, as she said this will be her final season playing basketball competitively.

“Maybe one day when I have kids, I’ll coach their games at the park or something,” she said. “But

fbrown19@gru.edu

LOCAL WRESTLING Lady Jags Flatline Pro Wrestling brings thrills to city

CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES KITCHENS

Kevin Blue, a competitor in the CSRA’s Flatline Pro Wrestling circuit, pins an opponent during a February brawl at Patriots Park in Evans, Ga., where next months March of Champions event will take place. Look in the next issue of The Bell Ringer, in stands March 12, for coverage of this tournament.

CONTINUED from PAGE 10

bought into his message and understood the level of work ethic needed to win. Teymer accomplished these tasks through recruiting and bringing in the right players for his program.

Outside of changes in coaches and players, Bryant thinks that what stands out about this year’s team is how well it plays together.

“From the outside looking in, it just seems like they have tremendous team chemistry,” he said. “Every night there could be somebody different contributing in.”

Menzies agreed that the players’ familiarity with one another has been a differencemaker.

“My first year here it was a brand-new program,” she said.

“The coach was brand new and everybody was still getting acclimated to each other. Last year, we had probably six or seven new players, but this year we only have two new players who fit right in and everybody just works really well together.”

Even after its top scorer Jemimah Ashby fell victim to a knee injury last month, the team continued to rack up wins and play at a high level, Bryant said.

After the Lady Jaguars earned a spot in the top 25 earlier this season, Teymer told his players they were still the same team as before. The programs

that hang their hats on being nationally ranked are those who quickly fall out of the rankings, he said.

The Lady Jags dropped out of the rankings last week but can play their way back into the polls with a strong finish. Senior forward Tiffany Jaecks said a lot of pressure to maintain a lofty ranking exists.

“You want to keep your spot,” she said. “So I guess there’s that little bit of pressure that you don’t want to lose, you can’t lose or if you do lose you know you’re not going to be ranked anymore.”

Immediately after earning a No. 24 ranking in the country, the Lady Jags were put to the test against some of the best teams in the Peach Belt Conference.

The team suffered back-to-back losses against top-10 opponents in USC Aiken and Clayton State earlier this month, but Jaecks said she believes the team has grown from those losses.

In order to remain serious contenders, the players constantly push each other every day in practice, Jaecks sad.

“At this point in the year, coach says there are teams that will fall apart because it’s such a long season or there are teams that come together,” she said.

jwill3@gru.edu

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013

SPORTS www.asubellringer.com

Roller derby team storms Augusta

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Soul City Sirens offer local women an athletic outlet

By TRAVIS HIGHFIELD editor-in-chief It was going to take more than just a busted chin and 11 stitches to keep Kim Smock out of a bout.

It was 2009, and the Soul City Sirens had made the short trip to Columbia, S.C., to take on its rival, the Richland County Regulators, in the season opener.

Smock, who was a jammer with the Sirens at the time, rounded a turn when a Regulator by the name of “Truck Stop” collided with her at full speed. Failing to regain control over her body and land properly, Smock’s chin met the track, absorbing the full impact of the block.

But she wasn’t done yet. After speaking with the medics about the severity of the injury, she convinced them to wrap her up so she could finish the bout.

“What they did is they got this gauze and they wrapped it around like it was a toothache or something, and I just went back out and skated,” Smock said. “I think I got 25 or 26 points in the jam. I think they were just afraid of the blood.”

Upon re-entering the bout, Smock scored the winning point.

Though she has since hung up her competition skates, her 26-point performance stood unbroken for many seasons after.

The Sirens renewed their rivalry when they hosted the Regulators Sunday at Red Wing Rollerway. And while the injuries may sound gruesome, head coach Jason Craig said they just add to the excitement surrounding the bout.

“There is a 10-foot buffer between you and the game,” he said.

“There is no wall between you and them. If you come around a curve and someone hits you, you slide and you slide right into the fans. You can catch a baseball at a baseball game, but there’s not that many sports where you can catch a player.”

The players, Craig said, can come from just about any background imaginable, though not from the background he anticipated when the team was formed five years ago.

“We have teachers, accountants, a librarian, a photographer and we’ve even got one girl who is some sort of nuclear chemist over at Plant Vogtle,”

Craig said. “It’s all over the place. We thought you’d go downtown, go into Firehouse (Bar), go into Soul Bar, clear them out and bring them up here to play and watch roller derby. We wouldn’t even be here if that’s what we were depending on.”

Betsy Hart, a 28-year-old nuclear chemist at Plant Vogtle, said the decision to lace up her skates and join the team became an easy one after learning that she could train as she went.

After watching the Sirens for a year, she made her move.

“It seemed like a lot of fun,” said the third-year power blocker. “A bunch of women playing a full contact sport, it just seemed like a great thing to do. This is all women, and it empowers women, so of course I wanted to do it.”

The sport has seen a steady rise in popularity over the years, Craig said.

The Sirens, who are nearing the end of their status as an apprentice-level team with the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, have been able to travel further to play more skilled teams each year. Once it obtains member status, the team will be able to compete for a spot in WFTDA’s na-

JACQUELYN PABON | STAFF

Members of the Soul City Sirens wait for jammers from another team to break through the blockers during a December invitational at Red Wing Rollerway in Augusta, Ga.

tional rankings.

But for Craig, nothing beats competing in front of a home crowd.

“We’ve got a good core of probably 350 fans that all I have to do is remind them that we are having a bout and they’ll be here,” Craig said.

The Sirens’ 2013 schedule fea-

Jaguars sweep on Senior Day

By JAMIE LOWE staff writer Homecoming and Senior Night were a mixed bag of emotions for the Augusta State basketball teams, as the women’s team was feeling peachy and the men’s team was working hard to recover from this season’s losses.

The Lady Jaguars recorded a 5540 win over Francis Marion to move to 19-5 on the season and remain tied with USC Aiken atop the Peach Belt Conference’s East Division.

Guard Brittany White and forwards Taylor Ayers and Tiffany Jaecks were key in Saturday’s win.

White registered 6 assists and 5 steals in her final game at Christenberry Fieldhouse.

“The senior game is always emotional because you want to get out on the court and do your best for your last game,” White said. “Once we got over our nerves, we were able to play well and win.”

The win over the Patriots also marked the final home game for Ayers, Jaecks, Eryka Menzies, Tracy Aifuwa and Laci Schreiber.

After the victory, Nate Teymer, the Lady Jaguars’ head coach, reflected on the team’s successful season to date while looking ahead to the remainder of the schedule.

“Our goals had to be realistic and attainable,” Teymer said. “(Getting to the Peach Belt Conference Tournament was) realistic and attainable. We know what we have to do to achieve those goals.”

Teymer was also quick to comment on the performance of his senior

BREA BOUTWELL | CONTRIBUTOR

Carl Long, a former professional baseball player who broke the Carolina League’s color barrier, interacts with a young fan during the opening

BREA BOUTWELL | CONTRIBUTOR

Jaguars’ head men’s basketball coach Dip Metress chastises his team during a second-half timeout in Augusta State’s 69-67 win over Francis Marion Saturday.

players, not just for their contributions to the win over Francis Marion but for what they’ve meant to the program.

“I’m very proud of the senior this season,” Teymer said. “They should be proud that they’ve left this program going in the right direction.”

Following the Lady Jags’ win and the emotional Senior Day festivities, the men’s basketball team took the floor.

The lone senior for the men’s basketball team this year is forward Travis Keels.

After suffering five home defeats and nine Peach Belt losses this season, the Jags were looking for a redemptive win, and they got it thanks to big performances from sophomore guard D’Angelo Boyce, who had 9 assists.

The Jags opened up a 32-16 halftime lead but were forced to hang on late, as the Patriots scored 51 secondhalf points before falling short, 69-67.

“The second half of the game we were sluggish and fatigued,” Boyce said. “We were able to come back for a win.”

The team is hesitant to comment about its postseason prospects. It’s fallen from last season’s standing considerably but still has a good chance to reach the Peach Belt Conference Tournament.

“We’re fourth in the (division) right now,” Boyce said. “It was really good that we won this game. We need to win the next two games to get a seat.”

The Jags’ final two regularseason games in the Peach Belt are against USC Aiken and Flagler, both teams that defeated Augusta State earlier this season. The games are scheduled for Wednesday and Sunday.

“We’re getting ready for USC Aiken starting on Monday,” Thomas said. “We’re going to go out and play to win.”

Dip Metress, the head coach of the Augusta State men’s basketball team, sported a No. 44 jersey under his suit jacket for the special homecoming game and was hopeful for a home win in forward Travis Keels’ final contest at Christenberry.

“It’s been a tough last year,” Metress said. “The guys have hung in there, especially because of Travis’s leadership.”

In the last home game playing under the name Augusta State, the basketball teams were well represented, Ayers said.

“We had pride in ourselves and our defense,” she said. “We just had to make sure we played well.”

jlowe12@gru.edu

tures seven home bouts and six away contests. Home bouts, played on Sundays, will take place at Red Ring Rollerway on Washington Road.

The result between the Sirens and Regulators was not final at press time.

thighfie@gru.edu

JAGUARS’ BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Feb. 27 at USC Aiken (Aiken, S.C.) March 2 at Flagler (St. Augustine, Fla.) March 7-10 at Peach Belt Conference

Tournament

(Columbus, Ga.)

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