GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY
www.grubellringer.com
VOLUME 57, ISSUE 15
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
Student petition challenges school By Shellie Smitley News Editor
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF The former head of Georgia Southern Dr. Brooks Keel begins his first day as president of Georgia Regents University July 20.
New president brings it home By Richard Adams & Shellie Smitley editor-in-chief and news editor “I want to be seen as a president that is personal; I want to be seen as a president that is approachable, not just for faculty and students, but also for the community.” On July 8, the Board of Regents named former president of Georgia Southern University and Augusta native Dr. Brooks Keel the second president of Georgia Regents University. Dr. Keel earned his undergraduate degree in biology and chemistry from Augusta College in 1978 and his Ph.D. in reproductive endocrinology from the Medical College of Georgia in 1982. Keel said that the position of president of Georgia Regents is a dream job, and added that it was rare opportunity that anyone would get to be president of the schools where they received their graduate and undergraduate degrees. “The things that made it a great university when I came here are still here, definitely still here, and that is mostly a caring faculty,” Keel said. “They really care about the building of a young person. But the opportunities I think that are available across the board (for both) undergraduate and graduate students are
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You also have to appreciate the fact that it is all about the community and it is a key part of what you do. --Dr. Brooks Keel, new president of GRU
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far and away more than I ever had. It is hard for me to really recognize this campus anymore, and I think that is a good thing because of the fantastic infrastructure that is now in place here. I wouldn’t want to go back to the old days, I don’t think.” Search committee chair James Hull said a leading factor in the committee’s decision was the role it foresaw Dr. Keel playing in the institute’s future, with the expectation that he would move Georgia Regents’ national and international presence forward so that, ultimately, what was good for Georgia Regents would also be good for Augusta. Like his leadership at Georgia Southern, Keel said his goal will be to help the university gain national recognition. “Anytime you get to a university that is the size, role, scope and mission of something like Georgia Regents, I think that you have to appreciate the fact that it is bigger than just the community,” Keel said. “You also have to appreciate
the fact that it is all about the community, and it is a key part of what you do. But the role that this university plays goes well beyond the state of Georgia.” Keel said that he wanted to be “very clear and firm” that as the university grows nationally, its standing would not limit educational opportunities for the residents of the CSRA area. In addition to his introduction of a STEM education-centered initiative at Georgia Southern and the development of its engineering program, Lauren Gorla, editor-in-chief of The George-Anne, the student-led press at Georgia Southern, said Dr. Keel’s desire to see that school develop into a nationally recognized name was evidenced in his hands-on approach to its athletic program. “Dr. Keel is definitely praised a lot more for his belief in sports, in using sports as a way to getting people to the university,” Gorla said. “Of course, I know a lot of people were critical of (it), but from what I can tell it seems like Georgia Southern was in a time of need for that sort of thing. … And as much as you may agree or disagree with it, the name Georgia Southern is see PRESIDENT on PAGE 2
Library extends hours Shellie Smitley Staff Writer Reese Library will require two full-time employees and one parttime employee to cover the extended hours that the Provost Operations Management Team recently approved. Carol Rychly, vice president for academic and faculty affairs, said the library will now be open Sunday through Thursday until 2 a.m. and Friday and Saturday until 7 p.m. She said it will open at 7:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. on Saturday and at noon on Sunday.. Brenda Seago, director of libraries, said she is not sure when the new hours will take effect, but she is hoping it will be by fall semester. Seago said that a card reader system will be installed that will
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prevent patrons from utilizing the library after a certain time. “They won’t be able to come after a certain time,” Seago said. “I think it was after 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. that they will not be able to come in. After that time only GRU affiliates will be allowed to come in. I don’t know how long it is going to take to get the card reader installed.” Barbara Mann, Head Librarian, said that the decision to keep the library open until 2 a.m. rather than all night was based in part on attendance during the 12-week pilot that ended in May. “We did see an increase in (attendance during) the finals,” Mann said. “But we had pretty strong numbers up to part of the evenings and then they would drop off radically, and Friday nights and Saturday nights weren’t very well attended at all.”
Rychly said that the process of deciding the library’s operating hours consisted of a report from the library that included recommendations based on students’ attendance and comments, along with further research. “They did a lot of research in terms of what the usage numbers looked like, what the comments were, what they recommended forward and all that kind of stuff,” Rychly said. Seago said she is pleased with the forward progress so far. “We very very happy that this has been approved and was approved quickly,” Seago said. “We sent the proposal in June and it was already approved. And that is pretty fast for around here - so I believe there is a real commitment to trying to help the students with additional hours.” sbarb@gru.edu
A decision to repurpose the fitness center area on the Summerville Campus has sparked debate and a petition. Gareth Smith, a junior special education major, is the manager of the fitness center and game room located on the Summerville campus. “I am willing to speak because I don’t believe that the ways things are being handled are being done correctly or informing the student population the way they need to be done,” Smith said. Scott Wallace, dean of Student Life, said the fitness center is currently undergoing renovation.
He said that the game room will move to the former fitness center area and the space that is currently the game room will be utilized as a student study and meeting space. He said between 8 and 10 cardiovascular machines and one weight machine will remain in the fitness center breezeway. Wallace said use of the fitness center was monitored for 12 weeks during the spring semester and the data was then evaluated. The statistics gathered during that time period weighed heavily on the decision to take the machines out. In addition, he said the number of students that utilized the see PETITION on PAGE 2
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
Much of Summerville’s fitness center equipment was removed late last semester.
Sushi swap up By Shellie Smitley News Editor As of May 26, Summerville Campus students no longer have the menu option of deli-type sandwiches, but instead can purchase from the Hissho Sushi bar that was relocated from the Health Sciences Campus. Kristen Tark, manager and cook at Hissho Sushi, said that the sushi menu items range from $5.39 to $12. She said the menu includes items made with ingredients like dry seaweed and rice. She said both raw and cooked fish are available. “It is very healthy food,” Tark said. “So you should try it.” Tark said she will be packaging items for sale and delivering them to the hospital, the commons, Allgood Hall and the student center. Nicole Napier, junior psychology major, said she was not happy with the decision to put in a sushi bar at the Summerville Campus. She said she would like to see either a bakery or a Chickfil-A. She would like to see a less expensive menu offered. “I guess it would be exciting to try new things, but I am not a sushi lover,” Napier said. Earl Evans, area general manger of food service, said it is a temporary move in order to make room for the new cafeteria-style food bar being installed at the Health Sciences campus. Students at that campus will have the opportunity to purchase hot entrées, food themed cooking, deli items, hot sandwiches, salad bar and desserts. Evans said the tentative plan is to have the food bar set up by the time the new residential dorms are completed. He said that if the
food bar is ready before that time, it will be opened up sooner. Currently, the food court at the Health Sciences campus is closed for renovation. “We are still considering what we need to do to meet the needs of the faculty and students at the Summerville campus,” Evans said. He said more menu changes at the Summerville campus should be expected between now and fall of 2017. “It will change with the type of students we are getting,” Evans said. “The entire school is changing.” Evans said the deli was not a Summerville favorite and did not do well. He said although the sushi bar was popular at the Health Sciences campus, it will not be returning to that campus in the future. Professor Alan MacTaggart said he likes the idea of a sushi bar. “I think that it is terrific,” MacTaggart said. “I liked the (sandwiches), but sushi is more interesting.” Tark said she has been working at the Health Sciences campus for 10 months. She learned how to cook sushi there. She is training to be the manger. “I am already working by myself,” Tark said. sbarb@gru.edu
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
Students line up to try the new Hissho Sushi Bar on the Summerville campus.
NEWS | PAGE 2
ARTS & LIFE | PAGE 5
SPORTS | PAGE 6
NSA director visits with graduates
Second annual Augusta Music Fest
Men’s basketball team prepares for season
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TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
NEWS www.grubellringer.com
NSA chief greets grads Shellie Smitley Staff Writer
The voice of
Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser RICHARD KENNEY rkenney@gru.edu editor-in-chief RICHARD ADAMS radams99@gru.edu copy editor ERICA RUGGLES eruggles@gru.edu news editor SHELLIE SMITLEY sbarb@gru.edu arts & life editor JOSHUA ADAMS jadams35@gru.edu sports editor TIM HOWARD thowar20@gru.edu chief reporter HALEY HARRIS hharris9@gru.edu production manager ANNA DRESSER adresser@gru.edu production assistant JAMIE SAPP jsapp270@gru.edu staff writers TAYLOR MITCHELL tmitch22@gru.edu columnist SCHYLO PHILLIPS sphill17@gru.edu contributors SIDNEY FOWLER sfowler@gru.edu LESLIE ANNE WIEDMEIER lwiedmei@gru.edu photographer ALEJANDRO SMITH alesmith@gru.edu cartoonist DAQUAN MIDDLETON dmiddle6@gru.edu advertising manager ASHLEY SHELTON ashelto9@gru.edu webmaster JACOB SCHARFF jscharff@gru.edu Direct advertising inquiries to: Ashley Shelton, Advertising Manager ashelto9@gru.edu Address all correspondence to: The Bell Ringer 2500 Walton Way Augusta, Ga 30904 706-737-1600 www.grubellringer.com
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Admiral Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, was the guest speaker at the Cyber and Health Sciences Summer Academies graduation ceremony held on June 25 in the JSAC Ballroom. “He happens to be the director of the NSA, National Security Agency,” said Joanne Sexton, director of Cyber Security Educational Initiatives. “A lot of us know about NSA up in Washington, D.C. There are other places where NSA is and he is their boss. He is a four star admiral, but also he is also the director of DOD Cyber, so anyone who is associated with cyber in the military or a contractor or civilian working in DOD on cyber, he is the boss.” Sexton said that Rogers was in town for the security conference and was asked if he would make an appearance at the graduation. “The fact that he came was awesome, what else can I say?” Sexton said. “I am still kind of on cloud nine.” Sexton said the Cyber Academy was selected to be sponsored by GenCyber and that Rogers was interested in seeing how it was
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
Graduates of the Cyber and Health Sciences Summer Academies celebrate with director of the NSA.
going. “We learned how to do encryption and decryption stuff,” said Eric Chatman, a Greenbrier High School sophomore. “We worked with laptops and computer programs in order to hack, encrypt, decrypt and a lot of coding type stuff.” Mary Panzella, a sophomore at Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, said she found out about the academy from a friend and registered online. “We got to go to the
NSA (at Fort Gordon) yesterday, and that was really fun because we got to speak to a lot of officials,” Panzella said. Sexton said that the university offered intensives in both cyber and health sciences. She said high school students had to meet certain criteria in order to be accepted and that 80 students out of 130 applicants were selected. “Really it is about putting the students in and beginning to understand what these career fields are about
to see if that potentially is a good fit for them or not,” Sexton said. Chris Judkins, Greenbrier sophomore, said that students were encouraged to keep their cyber activities legal. “They did push very strongly that you need permission before you can get into (hacking) things,” Judkins said. “And they would be used in careers where you would be doing penetration testings, which is when you are hired by companies to hack into their
systems to find vulnerabilities so that they can be fixed. They were very good about pushing that.” Sexton said that the university put a “considerable” amount of money behind the academies because of the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. She also said that this year’s programs were pilots. “We are going to apply to become a Georgia Governors Honor Program next summer,” Sexton said. Rogers said that he graduated from Auburn University and rose to the position that he is in today without a STEM-related degree. “The hardest part of the STEM side is, it is an area that is pretty tough. It takes a certain aptitude, it takes a certain willingness to do it,” Rogers said. “It is hard to teach somebody that doesn’t have the inclination to do it.” Sexton said that each student who completed the programs received a non-credit certificate and that Peter Buckley, dean of the Medical College of Georgia, was the guest speaker during the July 2 graduation. sbarb@gru.edu
Blood drive buoys efforts By Shellie Smitley news editor
A blood drive benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Georgia was held on June 9. Sheila Tinsley, Clinical Laboratory Operations Manager of Transfusion Services, said anyone, including minors over the age of 16 with permission from their parents, weighing over 110 pounds, who met certain travel and medical criteria, had not been recently tattooed or pierced and had not donated blood within the last eight weeks were encouraged to donate. Donors were asked to participate in a donor screening, health questionnaire and a short examination of vitals. She said that one donation of blood can be split up to help save between three to six peoples’ lives. “The problem that a lot of people don’t realize is that blood is needed continuously,” Tinsley said. “Most of the time, people try to step up when there is this huge disaster. But it is very important to realize that not only during disasters do people need blood and it doesn’t take but a few minutes; a half an hour of your time to save a life.” Stephanie Tutt, LPN in the CP
President CONTINUED from PAGE 1
out there a lot more because of how well we’ve done at sports. And I definitely think President Keel is a person who stepped in and realized that that was something we could use and took full advantage of it.” Dr. Keel’s presence, Gorla said, was a daily fact of campus life for Georgia Southern students. It was Dr. Keel’s prerogative, she said, to keep an open door policy so that he would be accessible to students, faculty and staff even during his office hours. She described Dr. Keel as a “cheerleader” for the university, which she expects will carry over to his role as president of Georgia Regents, especially because of the role it played in his own education. After the shock of hearing the news, Gorla said she is aware of how lucky she was to be a student while Dr. Keel was president. “I specifically remember the tragedy of the nursing students’
Blood Donor Program, said the reason donors must wait eight weeks in between donations is because it takes about 24 hours for a body to make up the fluids that are taken out and a couple of weeks to regenerate new red blood cells. It then takes 56 days for those cells to mature. “We take one unit of blood,” Tinsley said. “Your body holds eight units, so we take an eighth of your blood.” Tinsley said that the donated blood is used to help cancer patients, sickle cell patients, babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, as well as others. “There are a lot of programs that use blood around here,” Tinsley said. “All the blood stays here at the hospital.” Tutt said donating blood is a selfless act and that she is passionate about her work. “I absolutely love what I do. I see miracles every day,” Tutt said. “For someone to give a unit of blood, I mean what do they get? A T-shirt (or) a snack? I mean, for someone to do that is a truly selfless thing that someone can do, and it is amazing to see people give of themselves every day.” sbarb@gru.edu
deaths that we had happen in late April,” Gorla said. “Five students were killed in a car crash on the way to Savannah for their clinicals. And he was there every step of the way … It was definitely a busy time for the university, making sure that the students were comfortable and they had all the resources they needed, but also dealing with the parents and the aftermath of that. But Dr. Keel was very open to talking not only to (the press), but anyone who needed help.” As to where Dr. Keel will be leading Georgia Regents in the future, 2015-2016 SGA president and the sole student representative on the presidential search committee Michael Banks said Dr. Keel’s past with Augusta and the two historic universities is worth considering. “It’s like he’s back at home, so he’ll take care of the house like he’s lived there before,” Banks said. “I think he’ll bring the familiarity of having a family member back at home.” radams99@gru.edu sbarb@gru.edu
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
McKenzie Dutton, Miss Heart of the USA, recruits donors to give during blood drive.
Fitness CONTINUED from PAGE 1
fitness center at Summerville was compared to the number of students that utilize the Wellness Center located at the Health Sciences Campus. Wallace said according to those statistics, during peak times, the fitness center at Summerville was utilized on average 30 to 35 times per day, while the Wellness Center averaged 370 times per day. “We know what we saw is the game room was overcrowded, and yet the fitness center was not used as heavily,” Wallace said. Wallace said the student activity fees connected to the use of areas like the fitness center will not change this semester. “For me, this is a big indicator of lack of communication as a whole - transparency,” Smith said. Wallace said the SGA agreed with the original decision to repurpose the fitness center, but stipu-
lated that the former game room should continue to be utilized as a student oriented space. Former SGA president Michael Banks said the student feedback was gathered by the SGA prior to any decision being made, although he was not sure how many students were actually questioned. “I personally asked students,” Banks said. “I also charged all of my SGA senators to reach out to their classes and their organizations that they are a part of to get people’s input and feedback.” Smith said he obtained 485 signatures on a petition during the last three days of the semester, and presented that petition to Wallace. “(The petition) was what really helped us to form our decision to keep the remaining equipment,” Wallace said. Smith said that anyone who is unhappy with the decision to reduce the size of the fitness center and would like their name added to a second petition may contact him at gsmith2@gru.edu. sbarb@gru.edu
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TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
ARTS & LIFE www.grubellringer.com
Club poses as prom party By Joshua Adams arts & life editor Soul Bar hosted its annual Tacky Prom event on May 23, during the high school graduation season. Patrons dressed to impress each other with how ridiculous they could make themselves look and relive their high school prom memories in a tacky way; like most proms, a prom king and queen were elected. Dressed in a suit with a Budweiser logo print, Pete Stitt was elected to be king. His queen was Elizabeth Tyson. “Supposedly, I won by a landslide,” he said. Stitt said that Tacky Prom is something Soul Bar has been doing for at least four or five years, and it’s great fun for anyone who attends. “I was reminded of my high school prom because I stood in the corner most of the night,” he said. One particular patron, who insisted he be called “It,” was with a group of people dressed in scary clown costumes. “I came for Scary Prom, but apparently it’s Tacky Prom,” he said. “We were misinformed.”
jadams35@gru.edu JOSHUA ADAMS | STAFF
Artists use coffee as a medium Erica Ruggles copy editor
ERICA RUGGLES | STAFF
Graphic designer Jason Craig chose a mockingbird as the subject of his piece, painted with Buona Caffe’s popular Black Ops dark roast. Many of the pieces sold opening night of the show.
What’s the result of the combination of art and coffee? A winning brew. The owners of Buona Caffe thought a good way to celebrate their two year anniversary was with an art show, featuring 12 artists who were provided with a special Buona brew as the medium that would grace their canvases. “Our interest was piqued at the idea of a coffee-themed art show while talking to one of our regular customers, Jay Jacobs, about our second anniversary celebration,” said Elisabeth Curry, general manager at Buona. “We’d discussed the use of coffee as the medium for some sort of exhibit before, but it was really just something we thought would be cool sometime in the future.” The featured artists included local arts scene staples such as Leonard “Porkchop” Zimmerman, Jennifer Vaz, Jacki Mayo and Jacobs, as well as other talents including Blaine Prescott, Chase Lanier, Kenneth Benson and Trilogy Gunby. Although the coffee itself presented myriad challenges, the assembled artists were more than willing to take on the experiment. In the end, organizers said, it seemed like a no-brainer to combine art and coffee. “The original suggestion (to use the coffee) came from Pat, one of our owners,” said Curry. “Jay zeroed in on using
the coffee as paint. From there, it seemed like a pretty natural progression that, if Buona Caffe was going to be hosting a coffee-themed art show, the artists would use our coffee. We chose a dark roast because we thought the artists would be able to work with it best.” Not only did the featured artists bond over their penchant for the visual arts, they also faced a common challenge: how to make lines dark enough without warping the paper. Local artist Jay Jacobs, however, felt that these issues were a welcome deviation from the norm. “The medium was an important exercise and demanded a certain deliberateness,” Jacobs said. “A dialogue begins between artists because the medium must be layered, unlike watercolors. These sort of exercises foster a community mentality, and the event brought people together; it felt friendly.” Jacobs was truly the event organizer, said Curry. “He was the mastermind behind this,” she said. “We approached him with an idea and a general theme, but he took the idea, ran with it and basically organized the entire thing. He had a poster designed, created a Facebook event and suddenly we had a cohesive art show on our hands.” As a veteran of the art scene, Jacobs had no difficulty choosing the artists who participated in the show. “Some of the artists were people I
have been working with for a long time,” he said. “These people are reliably ‘weirdos’ and they do really cool and interesting work. I really wanted to see how their work would parallel the medium used like, how would they do this theme?” Local artist Blaine Prescott said he also faced challenges with the chosen medium. “One of the toughest things was getting the coffee dark enough,” he said. “I ended up having to use some coffee grounds to make it dark enough, which took some experimentation. I already work in mixed media and this was the first time I painted with coffee, unless you count trying to draw with coffee with a straw on a Waffle House napkin.” Despite difficulties, both Jacobs and Prescott said they would welcome the opportunity to do a similar project again. “I was extremely satisfied with the way my piece came out,” Prescott said. “This time I let the art make itself. It can be a lot more fun when there are challenges and even handicaps to force new creative processes.” Jacobs said he hopes that artists and patrons who attended the show would be inspired to do more events like Buona’s art show. “Since the art scene in Augusta is really DIY and grassroots, (we) are really approachable,” he said. “If someone just waits for a show to happen, it won’t.” eruggles@gru.edu
Mobius recruits Dr. Dinkins for keys Joshua Adams arts & life editor The local progressive rock band Mobius took a yearlong hiatus, and now they’re back with a new sound and a new member who is a part of the Georgia Regents University faculty. Mobius, Dead End Sons and Sunwell played in support of Columbia-based band, Trees on Mars, at Sky City July 17. Trees on Mars guitarist Hayden Graham said the show was part of a 16 day tour they’d just embarked upon. Among the times Trees on Mars played in Augusta, Graham said, Mobius was often on the bill. “It was interesting seeing them with Michael (Dinkins) on keys,” Graham said. “It added a whole new element to it. It was great. We played down here about two years ago, and they were just starting out. They were good and all back then,
but tonight you could tell they have been practicing a lot.” Perry Davis, the guitarist of Mobius, said it’s been a year and a half since they last performed. “The interesting thing about this show is that it’s with Trees on Mars, who was there when we did our first show,” he said. “And after a long period of absence, we’re doing a show with them.” Davis said that the band took a hiatus because of problems in their personal lives. “We were all just trying to get our lives straight and everything, and we realized that our lives are pretty straight now,” he said. The band, Davis said, played a set mostly comprised of all new music, which will be featured on their next album. “We had this idea before we took at little bit of a hiatus to do a space album, so we tried like make our music reflect that,” he said. “A lot of these songs just come out of
nowhere with this weird narrative that’s implied through the music.” Davis said the band decided they would need a keyboard player to accomplish this new, spacy sound. “Rob, Travis and I decided we were going to be a band again and, in the spur of a moment, Michael Dinkins messaged me about some incoherent stupidity, because it’s Michael Dinkins,” he said. “He messages me over something completely unrelated and out of nowhere I asked him, ‘You want to do keys for Mobius?’ and he was like, ‘I might be willing.’” Dr. Michael Dinkins said he has been a part of many local musical acts in the past, but now he’s in two projects: Mobius and We Are The Audience, which is a spinoff of his former band Artemia. “By day, I’m a scientist in the department of neuroscience and regenerative medicine at GRU,” Dinkins said. “But I moonlight as a
JOSHUA ADAMS | STAFF
Grant Tyler plays guitar with Trees on Mars, Columbia, S.C., at Sky City on July 17.
musician.” Dinkins said his main project is studying Alzheimer’s disease, but music is definitely a huge part of his life. “I like it when I can go to my job every day and work on a disease
and try to improve the outcome of the disease, and then, after work, I like to play music with people,” he said. “Playing with Mobius is part of that fantasy; it fulfills that part of my life.” jadams35@gru.edu
THE BELL RINGER
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ARTS & LIFE Music Fest sets the stage www.grubellringer.com
By Shellie Smitley news editor
Augusta Music Fest showcased a number of aspiring artists on May 23 at the Augusta Common, and offered local families unique opportunities to celebrate Memorial Day Weekend for free. Corlis Law, event organizer, said that the free events were not just limited to the actual music performances, but also included both a meet and greet of the performers and an after party event at the Partridge Inn on Walton Way. The festival also provided downtown visitors with a kid zone and food, jewelry and clothing vendors. The lineup of performers included Kenyon Carter, CJ Fam, Gary Palmer, The GP Project, Perfect Picture and Richie Nuzz. “It is something that the entire family can do, and that is really what our focus is,” Law said. “A family-friendly great day for Memorial Day Weekend.” Law said she was inspired to include free face painting and free popcorn in order to help single mothers. The children were able to enjoy the kid zone while their parents relaxed and enjoyed the music.
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
Local band Perfect Picture performs for free at the Augusta Commons in the second annual Music Fest alongside other artists.
“It is very hard times now, and at least they can look forward to this type of event every year,” Law said. “(Here) they can come out and do some type of activity with their kids, instead of sitting home and not doing anything, and getting a different type of exposure.” Law said that she hired musical artist CJ Fam for this event because
of Fam’s experience and her ability to stir up excitement in the crowd. Fam, a 15-year-old high school student, said she labels her music as alternative, soulful and R&B. She said this was the first time that she had visited Augusta. “I am kind of the new generation of music that is starting to come out now,” Fam said.
Fam said she was a semifinalist on the televised talent competition “X Factor.” She said she also got as far as meeting the producers of the “The Voice.” “She just came out of California,” Law said. “The Disney Channel is actually looking at her, as we speak, to possibly be on some type of sitcom with them that is in the
making.” Kenyon Carter, saxophonist, composer and producer, also said that this was the first time that he has performed at the Augusta festival. “I actually made contact with the festival’s (founder) through Twitter,” Carter said. “(He) runs an internet jazz radio station out of Fort Lauderdale. We made contact. He was playing my music on his station, and he told me about the festival.” Carter is releasing a new CD in August titled “Game On.” He said that he labels the compilation of music as contemporary jazz. The Augusta festival-goers were the first ones to have access to his new CD, which was available through iTunes until July 17. “This record feels a little bit more like our live shows; it has a little bit more improvisation,” Carter said. “We are excited about getting the music into the hands of Augustans first.” Carter said he was born and raised in Georgia and earned his master’s degree from Georgia State University. He taught at a Georgia Regents University band camp a few years ago. sbarb@gru.edu
Piano Man shines in dark times Shellie Smitley news editor
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF
Darrell Griffin plays piano at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia to lift spirits.
Upcoming events: August 22 Dog Day Crafternoons at Aiken County Animal Shelter, 1:30 p.m. August 24 Funk You at Sky City, doors open 9 p.m. JAMPcert at Augusta Museum of History, 6:30 p.m. August 29 Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School at Le Chat Noir, 7 p.m. September 2 Artrageous! Family Sunday at Morris Museum of Art, 2 p.m. September 5 Awake At Last at Green Light Sound Studio, 5 p.m. Comedy Zone at Somewhere in Augusta, please be seated by 7:30 p.m. September 6 Little Tybee at Green Light Sound Studio, 8 p.m. September 7 Sofia Tolvik at M.A.D. Studios, 8 p.m. September 13 Art Now: Lonnie Holley at Morris Museum of Art, 6 p.m.
A member of the community can be found spreading joy and bringing comfort to the families and patients at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia through music. Darrell Griffin, 59, said he daily walks the short distance from where he lives to the hospital, often making the trip more than once. “I am just trying to make somebody else feel good,” he said. Griffin said that he is
on Social Security and that playing the piano located in the lobby helps keep his hands lubricated. “Sometimes I play for four hours, sometimes two hours, sometimes an hour, depending on how I feel,” Griffin said. Griffin said that his mother sent him to music school when he was either 14 or 15 years old, and since then he has played for churches. “I am a minister of music,” Griffin said. Ken Bonds with greeter services said he hears Grif-
fin’s piano playing more than anyone does and enjoys it. “I think he plays what he knows,” Bonds said. “I think that his playing can be soothing.” He said that he believes that Griffin’s music lifts the spirits of the patrons. “Every now and then I kind of sway to it,” Bonds said. “He plays ‘Easy Like Sunday Morning,’ he plays that pretty well.” Griffin said he sometimes gets requests. Environmental services employee Anthony Waller
said that he previously worked with Griffin at the S&S Cafeteria and said that Griffin is a person that typically keeps to himself. “I think that it is a good civil service that he comes and takes time from whatever he is doing in life to share,” Bonds said. Griffin said that he plays the guitar as well as the piano and, from time to time, he plays his guitar in the lobby. He said that he currently does not give lessons, but might in the future. sbarb@gru.edu
Wilco offers surprise new album for fans By Joshua Adams arts & life editor Coming up on their 20th anniversary, the alternative folk band, Wilco, have proved to be an unpredictable and hard-working band. With nine studio albums, a lust for the road and an adoring fan base ranging from grandparents to heartbroken teenagers, it’s no surprise that the band still has a few tricks up their sleeve. On July 16, Wilco released their ninth studio album “Star Wars” through their own record label, dBpm. The band never announced the album prior to its release and released it for free download on their website wilcoworld.net. Some may be let down to find out that the album has nothing to do with the Star Wars franchise, but will be pleased to hear Wilco still doing what they’ve always done: evolve and reinvent themselves. The album starts off in a dissonant daze: “EKG” is an instrumental traffic jam with guitars colliding into each other, and bass and drums stopping and going. From that point, the album twists and turns. There are songs that capture the classic easygoing feeling that Wilco is known for, and there are songs that are a little more aggressive than usual. Musically, it’s a rollercoaster of light and dark sounds. Frontman Jeff Tweedy is known for redefining himself musically, and that’s definitely showcased on
COURTESY OF WILCOWORLD.NET
“Star Wars.” In 2011, Wilco released “The Whole Love,” which is full of catchy folk rock songs and carries a very positive vibe. To say that “Star Wars” sounds like “The Whole Love,” or any other Wilco album for that matter, would be outrageous. Tweedy’s lyrics are nothing short of relatable and mesmerizing. Lines from “Taste the Ceiling” paint a picture that everyone has been captured in before: “Why do I forgive you?/Because I get confused/I could never leave behind/The part of me that you refuse.” Tweedy has a way of making us feel like we’re not alone in life.
Nels Cline’s guitar parts never cease to amaze me, and this album is crammed pack with jazzy and jamming guitar riffs. There’s only one thing I find slightly disappointing, as far as guitar goes - in the first four tracks, Cline uses the same distorted guitar tone, which sounds great, but becomes a little stale after four songs. Through and through, “Star Wars” is a great listen for Wilco fans. The only complaint I could file is that the album and the songs are relatively short, but maybe some things are better left short and sweet. jadams35@gru.edu
THE BELL RINGER
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OPINION www.grubellringer.com
editorial
Downtown isn’t out of reach I
’m not sure if any readers have caught on to this or not, but I care about Augusta’s downtown quite a bit. Not only did it serve as a haven for me and my friends in our youth, but it’s also home to several artifacts that have made Georgian history. From the haunted slave pole on Broad Street to the statue of James Brown right across the street from the Augusta Commons, from Sector 7G to the James Brown Arena, we’ve all made memories in Augusta’s downtown. Aside from these memories, there are several restaurants and businesses whose employees and owners rely on attendance downtown to make their ends meet. We’ve seen a few of these businesses stay open, but we’ve also seen quite a bit close down. It doesn’t take much convincing to get someone to believe that our downtown needs some serious improvement. While there have been numerous efforts and events devoted to the cause, downtown’s prosperity still suffers. Many buildings
still stand vacant and abandoned. Many events go with barely any attendance. Beautiful works of art go unseen or unheard, and many broken strangers still wander the streets being ignored or, even worse, mocked. I’m not dismissing efforts that have been made to improve Augusta’s downtown, but I am saying that we should be doing more. When it comes to who should be making more of an effort to improve downtown, I’ve seen a number of fingers pointed at our wonderful educational institution, Georgia Regents University. With a large part of our university located downtown, you would think board members, faculty and students would be paying more attention and money to the businesses there. In one of my previous columns, I discussed a land purchase recently made by GRU and how it could be used to improve downtown’s prosperity. How else could GRU help downtown? Maybe we could have a college radio station to encourage people to visit the area more often. What about facil-
itating official events downtown, or the school could do a monthly event that encourages students and faculty to pay a little more attention to downtown? You might not have heard of it, but such a monthly event actually exists. It’s called GRU Go Downtown. According to myaugustadowntown.com, it’s a partnership between our university, the mayor’s office and The Downtown Development Authority. I haven’t been able to find much information about it online, but it’s apparently held every third Thursday of each month. According to GRU’s official schedule, on March 19 over 70 businesses offered discounts to students, faculty and staff for both sections of our campus. Did you hear about it? I sure didn’t. Not only am I a student at GRU, but I’m also an employee downtown. You might think that I would catch wind of Go Downtown in some way or another, but I noticed the event when trying to come up with stories for a past issue. Because of my connection
to downtown, I was immediately excited to take the story and talk to the people who are making this happen. Upon emailing the first source of this story, whose name I won’t mention, I received a reply fairly quickly. The source said he would be happy to speak with me and even gave me a second source. Unfortunately, after that single reply, there was no further communication with either source. I was persistent, but not to the point where the sources could find my efforts annoying. I really wanted this story. What troubles me here is how
these sources hold a position to improve downtown, but they were reluctant to accept the free press that I was offering. Why isn’t there much information online for Go Downtown? What are they doing to improve downtown? I’m curious and I seriously want to help their cause, but I guess they’re too busy for my help. If the sources happen to read this, know that I’m willing to do the story next semester. I’m not trying to give you bad press, but I would like to call attention to your reluctance. Joshua Adams editorial staff
editorial policy Letters to the editor must be accompanied by the author’s email address. All columns and letters to the editor are the opinion of the author. The views expressed in the opinion section do not necessarily express those of The Bell Ringer, a designated public forum. Anything submitted to The Bell Ringer is open to be edited or rejected. However, The Bell Ringer staff gives all opinions a fair chance to be heard. All letters will be edited for grammar and style. If you would like to contribute a column or a letter to the editor, send an email to: bellringerproduction@gmail.com
RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF
A diverse group of Georgia Regents University students, including contributing columnist Leah Smith, participated in the #blacklivesmatter march December 5, 2014, around the Grove on the Summerville Campus.
Compassion and Family Law Act still endangers healing needed to begin change traditonal beliefs W “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd” ~ Mark 9:36
T
he psyche screams/for silence/as it’s thrust back into chaos--/collective mourning/manifested in the form/of rebellion. At least that’s what my mind said to me as I watched a muted television that depicted the scene in Baltimore. After the death of Freddie Gray on April 12, 2015, and little to no answers as to who, what, where, when and how, angered people, frustrated to the point of rioting, demand visibility and to be heard in the same way that those in Watts and Newark did years ago. This is a struggle of consciousness - of what it is to be human. Social media has a way of exposing people, though I don’t personally believe that one is necessarily synonymous with her or his ideas
all of the time, I do believe that whatever one believes to be true Leah Smith about contributor her or himself is not only reality, but it is also the way in which she or he perceives the world, thus informing one’s existence. So when posts on social media swing as far left or right as possible, the result is a skimming over of the middle, an effect that only lasts long enough to ruffle the hairs on the back of one’s neck. Here is a harsh reality: Unpoliced police in America is a problem. It appears that police brutality against certain ethnic groups happens at an alarming rate when juxtaposed with incidences from other ethnic groups. As a result, cries of social injustice centered around race make their way into the argument. But it is deeper than just this. There is a definite lack of solidarity, accountability and, even more, compassion. The problem with the swinging pendulum that is propagated on social
media creates an “us” and a “them,” confusing the fact that there exists a “we.” The danger is that when we pitch our tents in an “us” or a “them,” the ability to hear one another is muffled, if not lost completely. Instead, we merely practice our lines while the other person talks. This does not bring about healing, and healing is needed. My mantra has always been that there has to be meaningful conversations that require those involved to have a willingness to be vulnerable, knowing that they will be wounded in the process. The sacrifice of self, of the need to be right, is what facilitates healing. Rightness is completely relative to perspective, which is decided by individual realities and influenced by ideas. In order to move forward, we must be ready to listen, to have our ideologies challenged and our paradigms shifted. If we can dig down deeply within ourselves and remember a time when we were once excited about life and living, we can find compassion. Then and only then, can we bring about change. ellesavvy8490@gmail.com
here have America’s family values gone? The next time you are doing the dishes, look down the drain. Case in point: a couple of semesters ago, I was enrolled in a political science class when the subject of abortion came up (Roe v. Wade). A student made a point for abortion being legal by posing the question, “What if you get pregnant by someone you do not want to be in a relationship with?” Admittedly, I live a sheltered life, but honestly, I was stunned. I was even more shocked when, after I replied that one should not be involved in a sexual relationship with someone they don’t want to be in a relationship with, the professor looked at me and said, “You don’t have to be in a relationship in order to have sex.” I understand that people have sex outside of a committed relationship; I am not that naive. However, I was not aware that somewhere along the line, that went from being something that people did while still knowing that was wrong and knowing that there are consequences to doing
Shellie Smitley news editor
something you know is wrong, to believing that it was acceptable
behavior. I blame this primarily on The Family Law Act of 1969 signed by then governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Reagan himself stated that it was the biggest regret he had in regards to his political career. This, in my eyes, was the beginning of the end. The Family Law Act gave people the right to divorce simply because they did not want to be married anymore or because they no longer “felt” like being married. Not only did it make it possible to end a marriage without cause or reason, it caused the divorce rate to skyrocket, and it took the word “commitment” right out of America’s vocabulary. It was the death of the traditional family. Forty six years later, I am sitting in a classroom where a student openly sees nothing wrong with having sex outside of a committed relationship and believes abortion is a viable solution
to the consequences one may suffer, as well as a professor, while in a class room setting, openly condones promiscuous sex. I am sorry that the student, being young, only knows the world that we currently live in. There isn’t the frame of reference that people in their late 30’s and older have and no memory of a time when people were seldom divorced, kids generally grew up with both of their parents and promiscuity and unwed pregnancies were considered to be scandalous, if not embarrassing. Richmond County has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the state; 11 pregnancies a week, according to Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP). Why would current generations believe that they should be in a committed relationship in order to have sex when, to begin with, their own parents didn’t even commit to each other? Ronald Reagan is dead and he took the traditional family with him. Thank you Ronald Reagan for enabling traditional family values to become an endangered species. Too bad it was the Family Law Act of 1969 that did not get aborted. sbarb@gru.edu
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TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015
sports www.grubellringer.com
Volunteers create waves By Shellie Smitley news editor The annual Adaptive Water Skiing Clinic, held June 26, at Pointes West Fort Gordon Outdoor Resort in Appling, Ga., gave patients with cognitive and physical limitations the chance to have “a day of their own.” Jacob Herdon, a resident of Thomson, Ga., said this is the first time he had been water skiing and that he was very excited. He said the somewhat choppy water was not a deterrent. “I am not afraid of anything,” Herdon said. Zell Ruczko, the mother of Trey Ruczko, said that this event is something that her son looks forward to every year. “He loves it,” Ruczko said. “He looks forward to it. He did the skiing, and now he’s doing the tubing, and he will do the kayaking - so he enjoys all three things. It’s just fun, something that he would otherwise not be able to do. He is not physically handicapped, but mentally, (and) he would not be able to do water skiing. But he can sit in the adaptive ski chair and
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF Trey Ruczko (pictured) enjoys a ride on the ski, pulled by Georgia Regents student Christian Crews.
have a ball.” Kelly Garcia, office manager of Champions Made from Adversity, said the non-profit organization provides sporting events for people with physical disabilities. “This is our one time a year that we partner with GR Health and offer an event for cognitive and physical disabilities,” Garcia said. “We team up with GR Health to put on this event; it’s a free event for all participants with cognitive
and physical disabilities, children and adults,” Garcia said. “And it just provides a day to be free of the illness or disability, whatever their issue may be” Paul Rodi, Plant Vogtle employee, said he volunteered to help participants get fitted in the skis. “A lot of the kids were very joyful about it,” Rodi said. “Sometimes they were a little scared to get in at first - they have never done it before - but this is giving them a chance to do some-
thing they have never done before, and when they come back (in from the lake) they love it.” Garcia said GR Health helps by connecting patients to the event, promoting it, finding volunteers, organizing the catering by Sconyers Bar-B-Que and by storing the equipment. Jane Willson, director of rehabilitative services at Georgia Regents Health System, said that she has been involved in this annual event since it started
more than eight years ago. She said that this is a great opportunity for people with limitations to have “a day of their own.” Willson said that great lengths were gone to in order to ensure the safety of the water-skiers. Christian Crews, a kinesiology student at Georgia Regents University, said that he spent the day driving around on a jet ski. “(My job is) riding around on a jet ski to ensure that if someone falls off there is someone there to help,” Crews said. “It is an amazing event. It is my first time out here, (but) … I will be out here every year.” Garcia said there were around 80 participants this year and over 130 volunteers. “We couldn’t put on an event like this without all these volunteers that come out and volunteer their time, volunteer their boats, their jet skis (and) equipment,” Garcia said. “We have a Jeep Club out here with their grill doing all of our cooking for us. We just never could put on an event of this size without all of the volunteers, and we are very appreciative of that.” sbarb@gru.edu
Team builds for the future By Timothy Howard sports editior
SHELLIE SMITLEY | STAFF Chase Shelton (right) aims his bow at a target as Richard Robinson (left) looks on.
Archers gather, shoot on holiday By Shellie Smitley news editor The Appling Archer’s Bow Hunter’s Festival took place during Memorial Day weekend and offered families a free weekend of activities, food, camping and religious fellowship along with competitive archery on their 3-D course. Ronnie Stancil, a Grovetown resident, has been attending the event since it started more than 15 years ago. He said it is his love of archery and the Christian nature of the event that brings him back year after year. He said the shooters participating in the competition were given a score every time they shot at a target and the shooters with the highest cumulative scores were announced as the winners. “We try to set the targets up for hunting purposes like you would be on a hunt somewhere,” Stancil said. Rebecca Jones of Harlem, Ga., said although the targets were hidden behind limbs and leaves, it was a fun experience. She said the festival had more women entered in the competition than in previous years. Jake Martin, owner of Top Nock Archery in Appling, Ga., said he donated a compound bow as a prize for an archery game that his business sponsored. He said proceeds from the game were donated to a local 4H group to help support the group’s archery program. Martin said that although there is an element of competition to the festival, it is a family-oriented Christian event. All levels of archers could be seen at the festival,
he said, from small kids learning to shoot for the first time to 80-year -old men walking with canes and shooting their bows. “The intent of the festival is to get people out and get them involved in the community and introduce them to Christ through archery and just good fellowship,” Martin said. “We don’t let people show up and come and shoot in a group They all get paired up with complete strangers and have to go out and shoot, so they are all meeting new people.” Lee Yelton, a member of the Appling Archers, said that the competition, the food, the camping and the kids’ events were all free. He said one event that was offered to the kids was the opportunity to spray paint their own bows. Each child who participated received an arrow with their bow. Yelton said a fellow member suggested the event after seeing it in a magazine. “Every kid that comes to this event gets to come out here and make their own bow and take it home with them,” Yelton said. “We do about 100 of them each time we have this event. I have been doing it for about six years, me and my family, so that is about 600 of them we have done in the past few years.” Jones said each first place winner in all of the competitive events received a plaque to take home. “The people are just wonderful and I love this place,” Jones said. “I did okay. I didn’t do the best, but I did okay. I probably placed second or third.” sbarb@gru.edu
Coming off the heels of two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, the GRU Augusta Jaguars men’s basketball team has reasserted itself as one of the top teams in the Peach Belt Conference. But now the Jaguars have to fill the shoes of graduates D’Angelo Boyce, Roman Hill, Henry McCarthy, Devonte Thomas and Devon Wright-Nelson. Assistant coach Jamie Quarles, who is entering his fifth season with the Jaguars, not only noted the loss of offensive output – the five seniors scored 53 percent of the Jaguars’ total points last season – but commented on how younger players on last year’s team will fill in that veteran presence. “Obviously, we lost a large portion of our offense, a lot of senior leadership,” Quarles said. “But there were some really good players on that team who were young that saw, you know, what it was like to go to the NCAA tournament.” One of the newcomers to the Jaguars is shooting guard Ja’Shawn Brooks, from Laney High School. Brooks, who received offers from Division I schools like Appalachian State, chose to attend GRU Augusta because of the way he was welcomed to the school. “What made me come here was when I took my visit here, and I saw how it was so much of a loving environment and it was like I was already family, even though I didn’t even go here at all and they had just offered me a couple of weeks before,” Brooks said. “It was just
Stats don’t lie •
Junior point guard Keshun Sherrill leads all returning players with an average of 18.7 points per game.
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Freshman shooting guard Ja’Shawn Brooks won a state title with Laney High School in 2012.
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Head coach Dip Metress has led the Jaguars to seven NCAA tournament berths in his 11 seasons at the helm.
such a loving environment, it was nothing but love. There was no hatred. They were welcoming me with open arms, and that’s what I like. So I made my decision the same day I visited, that’s what made me want to come to GRU.” Quarles discussed how the seven-player class, one of the largest in recent memory, would contribute to the Jaguars in myriad ways. “This class is ready to play, and these guys are going to be a big part of what we do,” Quarles said. “And it’s a very talented, and different, class. We have some guys that are different from what we’ve had already. And so, if we have a 2-guard that can really shoot it, we combat that with a 2-guard that’s a little different, that’s a little longer, that’s a better driver. So we’re really excited about the depth of this class.” Junior point guard Keshun Sherrill, who was an All-American last season, praised the new players’ work ethic and poise. “It is tough playing for Dip (Metress, head coach), it’s even tougher coming in and practicing in a college level while you’re still in high school,” Sherrill said. “But they didn’t break, they listened to the coaches, they listened to the veterans, so I’m just excited for them.” Brooks is excited about playing with his new teammates. “(What I’m looking forward to is) just all the challenges I know I’m going to face as a freshman,” Brooks said. “Really, just that, and wanting to be successful and wanting to get wins right away, and playing with guys who are competitors, and playing for Dip, really.” Sherrill says they have what it takes to top last season’s success. “We have the tools,” Sherrill said. “Dip signed seven people (Brooks, Aaron Byrd, Tre Maloney, Tyvez Monroe, Ben Ursich, Deane Williams and Tommy Williams), and all of them can play. I’ve seen them, played with them, and all of them can play. So you never know what’s going to happen within this next season. I’m looking for big things, Dip is looking for big things, the whole community is looking for big things. So we’re going to wait and see.” thowar20@gru.edu
The Hot Corner Timothy Howard sports editor
GRU and the Future of Football When Dr. Brooks Keel was announced as the new president of Georgia Regents University on July 8, I felt a mixture of excitement and sadness. I was very excited that someone from Augusta – a city that both of us were born and raised in – was going to lead Georgia Regents, his alma mater, into the future. But I was also a little bit sad, because I knew of his accomplishments at his former employer, Georgia Southern University. As a longtime fan of Georgia Southern’s football program, the Eagles, I was fully aware of Keel’s passion for athletics, especially football, as he attended many Eagles football games. Could Keel bring a football program to Georgia Regents? There are so many reasons why, and why not, a football program should be instituted. In an attempt to keep this fair and short, I’ll mention a few reasons on both sides of a potential dispute. A football program gives students an extra reason to attend a university. I have heard Keel refer to athletics as “the front porch of a university.” In other words, just as a front porch draws a visitor’s eye to come into a house, athletics can be a way for prospective students to enroll at a university. Football also serves as a way to increase school spirit. Students can get together on Saturdays and have fun while cheering for their university, while alumni can visit their alma mater and reconnect with old friends. On the other hand, football can be a very problematic and costly venture, as was seen here in Augusta this past January. Paine College shut down its football program after just one full season of Division II play in order to “firmly establish the financial health of the college,” as officials from the college told Kevin Faigle. In addition to financial concerns, should Georgia Regents play football at the Division II level, it would either have to play as an independent or move to a new conference, because the Peach Belt Conference does not sponsor football. Either way, football would take a long time to arrive at Georgia Regents, perhaps as long as 10 years. Many of us, if not most of us, will have already obtained our degrees by the time a Jaguar football team would begin play. No matter what the decision, I hope that it is made with careful planning and with the well-being of the university and its students in mind above everything else. thowar20@gru.edu