March 18, 2014 - Vol. 56, Issue 12

GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

www.grubellringer.com

VOLUME 56, ISSUE 12

ROTC:

By Ashley Trawick and Amy Thorne news editor, staff writer “It was an exercise to test the critical thinking and adaptability of our cadets that’s in leadership positions to make decisions quickly on a battlefield.”

That’s how Lt. Col. William Cantrell, the leadership enrollment officer for the ROTC department, described the cadet training held Thursday in the field next to the Forest Hills Golf Club for the Basic Leadership course lab.

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

Training gives cadets real taste of military life

Different variables, such as civilians and media on the battlefield, caused the cadets to stop and think about what action they would take if they were facing the same situation in the actual military, he said.

Joshua Hamer, a junior management information systems major, played the position of platoon leader. He said the portion of the lab is called patrolling. The positions of the cadets include platoon leader and squad leader.

“Squad leader is pretty much a representation of an E5

or an E6 in the Army,” Hamer said.

“The squad leader would be a lower-level NCO so he’s going on (and) making sure whatever needs to be done gets done. The platoon sergeant would be the most veteran in the group and the platoon. They’re in charge of security, casualties, supplies and stuff like that. The platoon leader is really the contact between all the NCOs and the higherups like company commander.

The leader is actually the main position that we’re training for.

When we commission, we actu-

ally commission as lieutenants and (the underclassmen) fill in as platoon leaders later on. The platoon leader is really (the) key leader in (the) evaluation that we get.”

Amber Quinata, a freshman biology major and a cadet who played a civilian in the mission, said it’s important for the cadets to understand their role because it may be something they face when they enter an actual mission.

“You’re going to be in see ROTC on PAGE 3

RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF

Pamela Lightsey, the JagCard office manager, displays many of the new ways to add JagCash to accounts.

Cards on the move

By Richard Adams staff writer

The JagCard machine has gone the way of the dinosaur.

This, Director of Auxiliary Services Karl Munschy said, was just another casualty of the quick growth of technology. Now, JagCard funds can be added either by visiting the two JagCard offices on either the Summerville or Health Sciences campus or online at the JagCard site.

Munschy said he decided moving forward was less expensive and more efficient than trying to retain the $10,000 machines.

Laurie Gregg, a computer technologist and the new manAMY THORNE | STAFF

Cadets in the ROTC program sit and discuss with the cadre about their mission in a field across from the Forest Hills Golf Club in Summerville Thursday.

Human trafficking: Modern-day slavery

By Leigh Beeson editor-in-chief When people discuss slavery, most believe the pratice ended after the South surrendered at the end of the Civil War. Gloria Halverson, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist whose humanitarian work was awarded with the 2013 Humanitarian Award from her alma mater, the Medical College of Wisconsin, has news for you: There are more than 20 million people who are currently enslaved throughout the world, and a good percentage of them are right here in the U.S. Halverson joined colleague Clydette Powell, an associate professor of pediatrics and neurology at George Washington University, March 6 at Georgia Regents University to discuss their experiences with victims of human trafficking.

The modern-day form of slavery, human trafficking involves the use of “force, fraud or coercion” for the purpose of commercial exploitation or the exploitation of a minor, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

There are two main categories of trafficking, labor and sex, though the two aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive, Powell said. Individuals who are trafficked for labor purposes include those who are forced to work as

domestic servants, migrant farm workers or conscripted soldiers.

Sex trafficking is a broader categorization that includes everything from child pornography to prostitution to mail-order-bride services.

The majority of sex trafficked victims in the U.S. are female, but men can be victims as well, Powell said. Lesbians, gays, transgender individuals and bisexuals are also vulnerable populations, as are children.

Between 100,000 and 300,000 children in the country are being used as “sex commodities,” she said, and the average age of entering the sex trade is 11, an age at which many girls “aren’t even menstruating.”

Thirty-six percent of traffickers are immediate family members of their victims, including fathers and uncles, Halverson said.

But not all traffickers are male, and there is no stereotype that can assist in spotting traffickers, Powell said. Common myths involving trafficking are that it only occurs in third-world nations, that the U.S. doesn’t have a human trafficking problem and that it’s only a problem in big cities, which creates the misconception that it’s not a local issue.

“If we look here in Georgia, right here at home, we can tell you that there are people being trafficked today in Augusta,

right where you live,” Halverson said. “Your state statistics show 300 to 500 girls commercially sexually exploited every month; 100 juvenile girls sexually exploited each night; 7,200 men paying for sex with adolescent females each month.”

Trafficking is appealing because it is lucrative, Halverson said.

“It is estimated that $9.5 billion a year is generated by trafficking in annual income,” she said. “That is second only to drug trafficking … If you have a drug and you sell it, I sell you my product, my product is gone.

I sell you a woman, and then I sell her again and again and again.”

Powell said the key to stopping human trafficking is through education and awareness campaigns that spread knowledge of the pervasiveness of the problem and the available resources to assist trafficked individuals both locally and nationally. It is also important to combat the perpetuation of patriarchy, a practice that promotes the subjugation of women.

“There is (a) poster that talks about three of the worst crimes committed against children are rape, molestation and inaction,” Halverson said. “And the inaction is what we can control. There are so many things that can be done.” kbeeson1@gru.edu

Get help, learn more, report a tip to

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center 1-888-373-7888

Organization helps city youth

By Jessica Sager staff writer Are you passionate about helping kids who may not be in the best living or learning situations? Then the Initiative is the organization for you.

The organization was chartered in early February, but it was active last semester even without a charter, copresident Dominique Bonds said.

“The inspiration came from seeing that in the community, communities across the globe, not just here in Augusta, there aren’t a lot of people reaching out (and) filling these spots where parents are absent, especially in the black community,” copresident Patrick Joiner said.

“There are a lot of fathers who are gone, and we recognize the effect that has on the children and how that ripples throughout their entire lives. Children need father figures and mother figures, solid ones, in order to thrive.”

Bonds said before The Initiative was activated, he volunteered at a church where he helped children with homework.

“Some of their parents are not really around; they can’t really afford after-school activities for the kids,” Bonds said. “That church allows some of the kids to go there after school, and we would help them with their

Rythm in Motion Organizations collaborate to raise money for rural schools in India

IHOP breakfast raises money for Children’s Hospital Page 3

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see CARDS on PAGE 2

homework and stuff like that.

Soon after, we started volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club.”

Joiner said that, as an activated organization, it can now fund and host its own events for children.

“I spoke with Dominique and Patrick before they started,” said Brianna Saulsbury, the public relations coordinator for the organization. “They were telling me that they were going to do something that would change the world and leave a positive impact, and they also told me that we were going to do a lot of work with children. So I was like, children? Positive impact?

I’m all for it.”

Lunden Williams, the organization’s secretary, said since the organization was activated, there have been more volunteer opportunities.

Bonds said nonmembers who are interested in volunteering are welcome to come to meetings. The membership fee is $35. The organization is open to anyone who is interested, Bonds said.

Saulsbury said the organization wants to “leave a positive impact” and be a positive influence.

“It takes everyone to make a difference, not just a few people,” Bonds said. jshucke@gru.edu

Men’s basketball makes playoff push Page 11

PAGE 2

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

www.grubellringer.com

Produce market to return

By Richard Adams staff writer

The voice of

Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser MATTHEW BOSISIO mbosisio@gru.edu editor-in-chief LEIGH BEESON kbeeson1@gru.edu copy editor MINDY WADLEY mindyawadley@gmail.com news editor ASHLEY TRAWICK atrawick@gru.edu arts & life editor MEGAN STEWART mstewar7@gru.edu sports editor JORDAN WILLIAMS jwill143@gru.edu chief reporter REBECCA PERBETSKY rperbets@gru.edu production manager NIKKI SKINNER nskinner@gru.edu production assistant JORDAN BARRY jbarry3@gru.edu

Veggie Truck Market founder Brett Heimlich was given a used Chevy pickup truck four years ago by one of his former professors and then told to make something out of it – and what Heimlich made was a movement.

Heimlich’s experience with that Chevy spawned the nonprofit Veggie Truck Market, which begins its second year starting March 25.

It will continue the original mission Heimlich, a fourth-year medical student at Georgia Regents University, started out with, but this time, it will do so from a new location at the corner of Eve and Broad streets, directly across from the Harrisburg Kroc Center.

“We were looking for a location that’s more centrally located,” said Austin Evans, a first-year medical school student at Georgia Regents and the Veggie Truck Market’s current student manager.

Kim Hines, the director of Augusta Locally Grown, said the market will be mainly comprised of dark leafy greens, the predominant crop at the tail end

TIME

Feb. 10

photographers REBECCA SIMANSKI rebeccasimanski@gmail. com staff writers RICHARD ADAMS MEREDITH DAY HALEY HARRIS JESSICA SAGER AMY THORNE

circulation manager RICHARD ADAMS radams99@gru.edu advertising manager RAVEN NORRIS rnorris2@gru.edu webmaster JAMIE LOWE jlowe12@gru.edu Direct advertising inquiries to: Marie Pierce, National Sales Manager Media Mate mpierce@mymediamate.com Address all correspondence to: The Bell Ringer 2500 Walton Way Augusta, Ga 30904 706-737-1600 www.asubellringer.com

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

of winter.

Along with kale, collards and mustard greens, Hines and Adderson’s Fresh Produce will also have green onions and sweet potatoes. J and L Farm and Stables from Hephzibah will be stocked with eggs and baked goods, and the Backyard Garden located in Augusta will have pecans as well as baked

goods.

Another incentive for participation, Hines said, is that each purchase promotes funding from the nonprofit Wholesome Wave Georgia, which matches the value of food stamps and creates double savings for those buying “clean and healthy foods” with food stamps.

In keeping with this philos-

radams99@gru.edu

Media Log - Georgia Regents University Police Dept.

DATE

correspondent JOSH COLE

CONTRIBUTED BY THE VEGGIE TRUCK MARKET

ophy of applying better thought to food, Evans said this year’s farmers market will also provide fun learning opportunities.

There will be also be cooking demonstrations, a children’s activity tent and live music to encourage participation.

The Veggie Truck Market, Heimlich said, still allowed him to fulfill his original goal for the Veggie Truck as a vehicle for expanding opportunities in Harrisburg from the inside out. So now, instead of a functional way to get products to people, the Veggie Truck itself is “more of a kind of a symbol and a rallying point” for the community.

“I had never really thought about how big a deal (it is that) the only food opportunity you have is a gas station,” said Evans, who was only introduced to Harrisburg last year. “When that’s your only option, you’re kind of destined down a path that you really don’t have much control over. But when things like the Veggie Truck and farmer’s markets can come and give that exposure to healthy things that they can eat, then you can make your own decisions and you can take that personal responsibility and improve your life.”

LOCATION

SUMMARY

20:58

PARKING LOT 55--01

Case is cleared by arrest.

Feb. 21

23:20

UVIL - UNIVERSITY VILLAGE-ROOM 4302-SVC

Case is inactive pending new leads or information.

Feb. 22

17:07

PARKING LOT 14--03

Case is inactive pending new leads or information.

Feb. 26

12:40

PSO - PUBLIC SAFETY--SVC

Case is under investigation.

Feb. 28

16:17

LANEY WALKER BLVD-1400 BLACK-07

Case is cleared by arrest. Additional charge: Failure to Yield to Pedestrian.

March 1

01:19

BA - TALMADGE BUILDING--04

Case is under investigation.

March 2

18:05

LANEY WALKER BLVD-@ EMMITT ST-07

Case is cleared by arrest. Additional charge: Operating Vehicle with No Registration.

Cards

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

ager of Campus Card and Auxiliary Services, said she even tried to salvage spare parts from the JagCard machine that once resided at University Village in order to fix the one currently in the student center, but that was unsuccessful.

“The other positive to the online (system), I would have to say, is there’s no cost associated with it at this point,” said Pam Lightsey, the JagCard office manager, adding that each transfer of funds requires $15.

She said online transfers will be automatically available for use on campus. Also available now is the ability for relatives to add funds to a student’s card.

Lightsey said online transfers will be automatically available for use on campus. Also available now is the ability for relatives to add funds.

“This is exciting for students, if they would just know that they’ve got this,” she said.

Munschy said this move is the right one and holds many possibilities for the future, such as providing access to services only available to the JagCard office before.

“We’re trying to eliminate some of the bureaucracy,” he said.

“You know, up on the Summerville campus you still have to go in every semester and get that little (validation) sticker placed on the card? We’d like to eliminate that.” radams99@gru.edu

Happenings around campus When Tuesday 4-5 p.m.

Wednesday 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Wednesday noon Through Wednesday All day Thursday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thursday 1-4 p.m.

Thursday 6-8 p.m.

What Job Search for Seniors Voter Registration Table Hosted by the College Republicans Phi Kappa Phi 15th Annual Student Research and Fine Arts Conference SMILE Video Competition Voting Deadline Go Downtown Graduate Research Day GRU Student Business Etiquette Dinner

Where UH 251 JSAC JSAC Ballroom Online Downtown Augusta

Information provided by Chief William McBride

Series to prompt exchange of ideas

By Jordan Barry production assistant The Presidential Lecture Series kicked off Monday with a speech from the president of the University of Buffalo in New York.

Satish Tripathi said he was honored to come speak at Georgia Regents University, and he said he thinks it is important for universities to learn from each other.

“The university, like any organization, is not at a standstill,” Tripathi said. “We are always evolving; we are always changing with time. We are always thinking about how can we make the universities better?”

Ricardo Azziz, the president of Georgia Regents, asked Tripathi to come speak when he and Azziz were discussing some of the strategic planning he was implementing at the University of Buffalo, Tripathi said.

Azziz said the Presidential Lecture Series was started for that very reason.

“I think the most important thing is for our own commu-

nity to learn what the national trends are in higher education and academic medicine and in research,” he said. “Because, again, it is a service to our community to bring these people here, to educate, hopefully, our faculty and our students and our staff about it.”

Gretchen Caughman, the provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at Georgia Regents, said the different installments of the Presidential Lecture Series are not just lectures.

Azziz chooses speakers who have expertise in different areas, but Caughman said she thinks it can still apply to the university as a whole.

“I think that it really enlarges our viewpoint,” she said.

“It provides another avenue or a venue to hear a different perspective about things that touch us all. Some speaker will be certainly more relevant to certain sectors of our university than others, but they all are highly relevant to some large portion.” jbarry3@gru.edu

Interdisciplinary Research Building, Room 2109 JSAC Ballroom

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday 7:30 p.m.; 3 p.m.

Tribes

Friday noon-4 p.m.

MATCH Day 2014

Lee Auditorium

Friday 1-2 p.m.

Brown Bag Student Presentations

JSAC Ballroom

Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre

HR/job opportunities available!

For more information visit TrinityofAugusta.com or call (706) 481-7454

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 3

Conference to discuss outlook for education

By Meredith Day staff writer

MEREDITH DAY | STAFF

Cindy Azziz, the wife of the university’s president Ricardo Azziz, greets IHOP customers on National Pancake Day.

Pancakes for a cause

By Meredith Day staff writer People across the country enjoyed their free short stack of pancakes for National Pancake Day while the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals raised money at International House Of Pancakes March 4.

Since 2006, IHOP has worked with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals in a fundraiser, which has raised more than $13 million, according to the Public Relations Senior Manager Clint Curry. “(IHOP) launched it because they wanted to give back to local communities, and they felt that our organization did exactly that,” Curry said. “We raise funds for over 170 hospitals across the U.S. and Canada, and every local IHOP has a local hospital that they’re supporting.”

National Pancake Day is ac-

tually the finale to a month-long fundraiser, Curry said.

“Starting Feb. 1 of this year, IHOP started filling our Miracle Balloons, which are $1 or $5, and those are donations to the local children’s hospital,” he said. “People can write their name on the balloon and leave them on the wall, which is why IHOPs have those huge walls of balloons everywhere. It’s really a month-long campaign and the cap of it is National Pancake Day.” National Pancake Day draws large crowds of not only hungry pancake lovers but also volunteers eager to help a good cause. One such volunteer this year was Cindy Azziz, the wife of Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz.

“It’s all about the kids,” Azziz said. “It’s all about supporting the families and the children that come to our hospital that we take care of, and we’ve

done it ever since we’ve been in Augusta.”

She said this event has become sort of a tradition in her family.

“We usually come after the kids get out of school, and we serve for hours and eventually we’ll have a stack,” Azziz said.

“It’s always a lot of fun.”

While the goal was to raise $3 million this year, final numbers on how much was actually raised will not be available for a couple more weeks. However, Curry pointed out this is not just about raising money but also about spreading awareness.

“Not a lot of people understand that children’s hospitals need help,” he said. “They think that they’re self-sustaining and don’t have a charitable prospect to them, so we use these days to really emphasize to everyone that your local hospital does need help.” mday4@gru.edu

ROTC

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

charge of lives,” she said. “(When) you do graduate (with a) commission, you’re the person they’ll look up to so you’re going to need to know what you’re doing.”

Cantrell said the training’s objective is to inject scenarios different from what they thought they were originally going to do and have them think and adapt to their mission because the civilians or media who are on the battlefield could’ve had some knowledge the cadets could use to help them.

Several cadets like Renae Capers, a junior psychology major, said she had fun while completing the mission and loves that the Basic Leadership class is different from any other class, and that’s why other students should consider taking the course, she said.

“I haven’t taken every single class on campus, but I know for a fact that this is probably the only class that really sets you up for the future,” she said. “A lot of us really want to make the military our career so taking these military science classes is getting us to where we really want to be.”

Hamer said when junior year approaches while being in the program, it can be difficult when completing the mission because, as platoon leader, that’s

AMY THORNE | STAFF

Cadets listen to feedback about their mission Thursday at the Forest Hills Golf Club field.

the position that receives the most attention. He said it can be nerve-wracking, but it’s worth it.

“That’s the year you’ve already had two years in the program, (and) you’ve built up experience,” he said. “What you do here matters. It’s good because you have a team. I’ve seen those seniors be in positions like this last year, so I’m just glad I’ve finally got here and I’m in this position. It’s very rewarding.”

Cantrell said entering freshmen and sophomores who may want to enter the ROTC program and seniors who may need an elective can take the Basic Leadership courses without committing to the Army and gain a lot of skills they would be able to use in other classes. atrawick@gru.edu athorne@gru.edu

Policeman earns award

By Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter

Biagio Prestifilippo, a Public Safety officer for Georgia Regents University, was recently awarded a police commendation medal for his hard work after detaining two armed robbery suspects at a nearby Kroger store Jan. 19.

Prestifilippo said he heard the call go out over the radio for all units to report to Kroger for an armed robbery.

“Two males (were) armed with a handgun,” he said. “They fled around back to a neighborhood called Harrisburg.”

One of the men took off running, Prestifilippo said. He said the man with the gun ended up hiding in the dark un-

der a tree, when he found him and handcuffed him.

Continuing to sit in the dark, Prestifilippo said the man didn’t even see him and Prestifilippo sort of surprised him.

While holding the two men in custody until Richmond County Deputies arrived on the scene, Prestifilippo said he and the other officers recovered the gun that was thrown down during the chase, and they then secured the scene.

William McBride, the chief of police for Georgia Regents, said the university receives calls along with Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

Prestifilippo was awarded a police commendation medal, which he said is a little pin that goes on his shirt. rperbets@gru.edu

The annual Impact Student Learning Conference is being held Saturday, with the goal of shaping the way teachers and student teachers think about education.

“The point of the conference is to come and to find concurrent solutions that best fit each teacher in their journey of education,” said Judi Wilson, an associate professor of teacher education. “Our intent is for them to be able to implement something new and something more effective than what they were doing the Monday after the return to the classroom.”

The conference at Georgia Regents University offers several different types of sessions, making it a diverse day of learning, she said.

“This year, we’ve added some new things on charter schools, bullying, gifted students, how to work with those students, stress management for teachers (and) creating safe stations in the classroom,” Wilson said.“We (also) have a session on autism, ADHD and a number of sessions on technology and its benefits.”

She said at the conference, participants get to choose which sessions they attend, which helps to cater specifically to each participant’s needs.

“They’ll get to choose four different sessions, which is nice, so it really allows for a lot of

“

The point of the conference is to come and to find concurrent solutions that best fit each teacher in their journey of education.

”

--Judi Wilson, an associate professor of teacher education

flexibility and a lot of tailoring to meet the needs of the individual,” she said.

Ashley Davis, a graduate student and presenter at this year’s conference, said it’s a chance to come together with other educators and to learn more about teaching and making an impact on students.

One of the benefits of this conference is it is free to local teachers in the counties of Richmond, Columbia, Jefferson, Burke, McDuffie and Warren, and undergraduate and graduate students at Georgia Regents, Davis said. The conference will be a way to give back to the community.

“Our teachers in our local schools and administrators are fabulous about taking our students,” she said. “We have to have those placements in order to do our job as educators and as teacher educators and so this is really our way to give back to the administrators and school districts and those teachers that open up their classrooms so willingly for our students to practice teach.” mday4@gru.edu

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

PAGE 4

opinion www.grubellringer.com

editorial

The importance of support Things have been a little slow around the Georgia Regents University campuses recently. So we thought we’d take the opportunity to highlight some of the often-overlooked extracurricular activities offered by our university.

As our staff writer Meredith Day pointed out in her Jan. 28 column, the city of Augusta is maligned for its supposed lack of activities and things to do or, as our president described it soon after his arrival at the old Georgia Health Sciences University, its lack of coolness. By extension, our university suffers as well.

But we at The Bell Ringer don’t agree with this blanket condemnation of our city and are going to share some of the events coming up on and off campus that make our university great.

First up, we have the 15th Annual Student Research and Fine Arts Conference, hosted by the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Wednesday in the Jaguar Student Activities Center Ballroom at noon, during which undergrads present their research projects and other scholastic and artistic endeavors. This is an educational opportunity for students, staff, faculty and community members alike to see what exactly our students are up to, and it provides a venue for students who work tirelessly throughout the academic year researching and conducting experiments to share their knowledge with others and, admittedly, get a little praise on their extra effort.

The university also hosts Graduate Research Day Thursday at 1 p.m. in

room 2109 of the Interdisciplinary Research Building on the Health Sciences campus, which provides grad students, residents and postdoctoral fellows with the same chance to share their work with an interested public. Poster presentations will be held at 10 a.m. in the Wellness Center Friday.

Also Friday, the Brown Bag Student Presentations continue at 1 p.m. in the JSAC Ballroom, where the Center for Undergraduate Research offers free pizza and drinks to those attending the lectures.

There are likewise events coming up that will appeal to the theater-loving members of our community, with “Tribes” playing Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Read up on the basic storyline of the play,

directed by Doug Joiner of our communications department, in our Arts and Life section under “Play shows the value of science.”

Stargazers can enjoy the Look Up at Night, Augusta series Friday night in Science Hall room W-1002, where Eric Zuckerman, an associate professor of chemistry, will speak on the temperatures of stars. After his lecture, participants can use the university’s telescopes to get a better look.

These are just some of the countless events Georgia Regents has in store for us in the next few days. Make sure to check out the university calendar for more.

Our university has a lot going on.

We just have to make the effort to support it.

Say no to drugs, unless prescribed

Jordan Barry production assistant When it comes to taking medication, I am the worst patient ever. I am known to randomly go off my meds for no apparent reason.

“Why do I feel so sad and sloth-like?” Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I decided not to take my antidepression medication for the past few days?

Honestly, most of the time it is because I am incredibly absent minded. Also, for some reason I have set the time I take my medication to midnight every night, making it all that much easier to forget.

This time, though, it’s not my antidepressants that I’ve gone off. It’s my allergy medication, and I made a conscious decision not to take them.

I thought I would be fine.

Wrong! I have been taking allergy medicine year-round for four years or more now, so I guess I forgot what it was like to be off them.

The answer? Terrible.

It took a while to catch up with me, but the meds have finally worked out of my system.

Here lately I’ve been wondering, “Why do I breathe so loudly?” “Why am I so itchy?”

“Why do my eyes feel so... weird?”

Yup. It’s hay fever. Woohoo!

What’s really sad, though, is I thought I could live with all of these symptoms. I would put up with it if it meant one less pill every day. Then, I realized something else. I have been breaking out more than I have in a long time. It’s ridiculous. I feel like a teenager who just hit pu-

berty. I thought I was done with this four years ago...

Wait. Four years ago. Like, when I started taking my allergy medication. Hmm... a quick search on Google tells me that antihistamines could be linked to a decrease in the appearance of acne for different reasons.

One of those reasons is that you will touch your face less because you will not be itchy.

So, aside from the obvious reasons to stay on your allergy medicine, here is another: It helps to reduce your acne by reducing the skin irritations that can lead to it.

Skin irritations like itching are caused by unpleasant, allergic reactions to things like soap and lotion. Taking your allergy medicine helps you to be less affected by these irritants. Duh. I hadn’t really done all of the calculations when I decided to quit loratadine cold turkey.

Usually, you would only think of pollen and maybe ragweed as allergy causes.

However, I seem to have neglected to remind myself that I have sensitive skin. I have had reactions to soaps and lotions for as long as I can remember.

Prior to the doctor ordering me to take loratadine, I had more than just a runny, swollen nose and itchy eyes. I had skin irritations like tiny red bumps on the backs of my arms and a list of soaps and scents to avoid.

Most of my problems went away with the addition of an antihistamine into my daily regimen. I also felt considerably less icky.

Maybe I am weird for this, but being itchy has to be the worst part of having allergies.

Sneezing? Fine. Runny nose?

Fine. But make my skin crawl with the itchy scratchiness that results in breakouts? No, sir!

I am buying more loratadine and jumping back on the antihistamine wagon. jbarry3@gru.edu

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

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

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

MEGAN STEWART I STAFF

Becoming a vegetarian can add many health benefits including a lower risk of heart disease, cholesterol and more.

A vegetarian’s story: It’s not easy eating only greens I recently made a life decision to become vegetarian, and I couldn’t be happier.

My reason for making this decision is simple: I wanted to be healthier and eat better.

Now, I know what everyone thinks when they hear me say that because they tend to give me crazy eyes and they ask me how not eating meat makes me healthier.

Well, my friends, let me explain.

You see, one day, my best friend, who has been a vegetarian her whole life, and I decided to go grocery shopping.

On the way to the store I found myself thinking about all the different preservatives that are put into the food we eat to ensure the product does not rot while sitting on the shelves.

The thought of this made me cringe in disgust for putting so many chemicals and preservatives in my body.

After thinking of all the different poisons, as I like to call them, which I have been putting in my body for so many years, I made the big decision.

When we arrived at the store, I looked at my friend and said I am going vegetarian.

With an exulting look upon her face she threw her arms around me, as if she were welcoming me into the most prestigious club.

With the beginning of my vegetarian journey underway I began to tell other people about

“

My reason for making this decision is simple: I wanted to be healthier and eat better.

Rebecca Perbetsky chief reporter my achievement in becoming vegetarian.

However, others were not as exulting as my best friend.

Three weeks have passed since I made my decision to become an abecedarian in the vegetarian world.

I have received nothing but ridicule from everyone who is not a close friend or my family.

I have received everything from the crazy eyes face, which state you are out of your cotton picking mind, to the WHAT THE HELL, WHY?!

That is when I go through the explanation all over again, and I have to tell people it was a simple decision, and I only did it to be healthier and to eat better.

After I tell them my reason, this is the point where it all goes to hell in a hand basket, as my mother would say.

It is at the very point where I end my train of thought when everyone says you are stupid.

You can get enough protein and get the proper nutrition without eating meat.

This is when I give them the crazy face right back.

The worst part isn’t that

”

people are ignorant to there being other ways to get protein; it is that my friends still invite me out to eat at places like Carolina Ale House.

The only thing I could possibly eat there is a side salad or mozzarella sticks.

The other thing that irritates me about the reactions I have received is people don’t think I know what I am doing when I have a best friend guiding me through the process and helping me with each and every step.

So far, my friend has helped me with getting the right amounts to food and showing me how much protein I need to take in and which foods have the most protein to sustain me through my days.

She warned me prior to my change that people would judge me harshly for making this decision.

But I must say this decision is one that I am extremely proud of and I couldn’t be more exultant with my life than I have been since I started my journey.

I still have the occasional craving for chicken, but I am hoping those cravings will subside in due time. rperbets@gru.edu

PAGE 5

THE BELL RINGER

Finding the ‘Stick of Truth’

By Josh Cole correspondent

I’m goin’ down to South Park, gonna have myself a time!

That is what I did March 5 when I got ahold of Ubisoft’s newest title “South Park: Stick of Truth” the day after its release.

This is, so far, the best game of 2014 with its odd mix of “South Park”’s crude humor and a serious turn based role-playing. As a fan of “South Park,” I was not passing this game up.

I had about six free hours for the game Wednesday, so I downloaded a copy in the morning. I enjoyed every moment of my time from when I created my character world to the end.

“Stick of Truth” starts out with the creation of the new kid, who is the silent kid controlled by the player, and there are four classes to choose: the fighter, the mage, the thief and the Jew. The first three are rather self-explanatory, but the Jew class, as created by Cartman, is a high-risk for high-reward character that gets stronger as he takes on more damage.

The plot of the game is about a fantasy game all the

PHOTO BY HIGHDEFDIGEST

“Stick of Truth,” a role-playing based video game, places the audience in an adventure with South Park characters.

boys in “South Park” are playing. They are split into two factions: the humans, who are led

by Cartman, who is playing the “grand wizard,” and the drow elves, who are led by Kyle, the “elf king.”

At the center of the heated battle between the two factions is the stick of truth. The stick is the coveted item that decides who is the master of the universe, in reality the rules of the game.

The stick of truth is a nos-

talgia dream for any fan of the series. Nearly every character from all the seasons of South Park can be seen. Also, in the game, there are items labeled as “junk,” which can be sold for money to buy equipment.

I just loved being able to scroll through it all and reminisce about the items from my favorite episodes.

I think my favorite had to be the Sword of a 1,000 Truths, from my favorite episode about the game World of Warcraft.

For a turn based combat RPG, I found the combat surprisingly fun. I have played a few in my past, but I never liked them and always would rather avoid battles when possible.

With “Stick of Truth,” nearly every move has a different way the move is performed coupled with usually a funny way it is done.

A personal favorite of mine was from the crippled, stuttering comedian Jimmy, who played as an “elven bard.”

Guest column

Guest column

By Danielle Pelmore and Shelley Williams contributors

By Matthew Roberts contributor

UV policy is unfair My roommate and I are graduating this May, and we’re residents of University Village.

This week, we found out through another resident that tenants have to move out of their buildings from May 11 to May 14 due to “renovations.” The Village only informed residents living in those specific buildings on March 7 that they had until March 12 to come to the leasing office to choose from a list with open rooms that are available for the summer and possibly for the fall and spring.

The resident who informed us of this change chose to move into one of the rooms in our apartment, which is fine since we’re graduating. However, we remembered that our lease should not be up until May 31 based on previous leases.

Not only that, but if they’re telling residents to move out from May 11 to the 14, then we possibly have to move out on graduation weekend, which is May 9, if one of our rooms is chosen from the list.

The resident who is moving only had until Sunday to choose a room, then

by March 31, a room will be chosen for them. This also creates a problem for residents who are renewing their leases for the fall because they could have already said they wanted the same apartment and the same room, but it could be taken away from them without them having priority over the moving residents.

The Housing committee, which is under Student Services, is not considering the timing for the current residents or the students who have to move from the two buildings.We are severely irritated with decisions by the Housing committee and how the Village management has been informing residents of the absurd changes.

Upon discovery of the news, we were informed that the Village can move us at anytime in our lease, but it goes back to the courtesy of respect.

How can you tell students to move out on their graduation weekend with finals week being the week before or not even inform residents until late?

We found out about this through another resident, not an employee in the leasing office or through a timely email.

Were they possibly going to inform us a week before or even the day of? This is the same committee that made these changes to the callbox.

We have spoken with student senators about changing the current callbox policy, which is that the call box is cur-

He would stutter through his song about a girl from Stone Berry Hollow, which buffed your characters and debuffed the enemy.

Jimmy had another move much similar to playing “Guitar Hero” on the controller. It was moves like this that made combat never get old.

At the same time, though, “Stick of Truth” was relatively short.

I believe it was around an 18-hour play-through, with my difficulty on hard halfway through.

The one thing I wish I’d done differently is to play the whole game on hard, though, because I craved for my fights to take longer and require me to have to use potions more often.

However, the classes having different-looking moves to perform did not have much differences between them.

Any class could use any weapon or armor, so the replay value is not as high as it could be.

I did have a blast, though, and I certainly am hoping for some downloadable content to release in the future. jcole8@gru.edu

Making the most out of college life

REBECCA SIMANSKI | STAFF

Two buildings in the University Village will be renovated for the summer, forcing many of the residents to move out during that period.

rently shutdown from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. every day. If residents have guests visit during that time then they have to physically walk to the gate with their JagCard to let them in.

This is difficult because we not only have to leave the comfort of our homes, but we’ve had to walk through rough weather, such as the freezing cold and pouring rain, if we want to let in our guests. When guests have come to visit in the past, they would call us on our landline phone, and we’d be able to buzz them in without leaving our apartments.

In response, we met with the SGA senators and a resolution has been passed. The alternatives we suggested for the current gate policy is considerate of the safety and security of the residents, which was initially the cause of the policy change.

We also started a petition, which received more than 100 signatures to further move this process along. We’re in the course of trying to take the next steps.

We’re submitting a column because we want residents who are unaware of this change to make the proper arrangements and speak to management and housing officials about these conditions.

Once this is made known, we hope this will create more volume in the leasing office or the housing committee to potentially adjust the move out dates to a later time in May that would be more convenient for the residents. dpelmore@gru.edu swilli99@gru.edu

follow us @BellRinger_News like us on facebook

As a graduating senior this semester, I have been bombarded with two questions: The first of which is always an inquiry of what I plan to do after school, and the second is what I will miss the most of college when I leave.

While my future plans are interesting to me, I think the second question is where the majority of my usefulness in this column shall arise. The greatest aspect of college is that it is a place where you can manifest change in yourself.

This change is mostly academic and so we can get a good job, but college life has so much to offer an individual outside of the classrooms of our majors. At first, I hated the idea of interdisciplinary requirements, especially humanities, but after taking them I came to appreciate them.

As a physics major, I have always had the same 12 people in all of my upper-level classes, so I find it refreshing if I can take a class with a different sort of people who are not hardcore science majors and learn more about a subject that might possibly be interesting.

So, my first bit of advice is this: take as many classes outside of your field that interest you as you can! You might actually find a new field that truly sets your heart ablaze and decide to switch majors, and there is no shame in switching to something you have a passion in. Selfdiscovery is what makes college a magical experience, and you should make the most of it.

College life has much more than just classes to offer you.

I have come to realize that campus organizations and activities are what really make college worthwhile. The first activity I downright and shamelessly implore you to pursue is undergraduate research. When you do find the field that gets you all giddy, find a professor in that department and pester that professor about doing a research project.

There is no greater sense of pride than knowing that you are working to expand the knowledge of your field.

Last spring, I competed in the research conference called the Georgia Academy of Sciences, which took place in Valdosta, where I went up against several dozen other students from various schools in the state in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science and engineering.

While I did end up winning best presentation for my study of oscillations of a two-pivot system, I found that the trip

“

College is the most fertile soil for personal growth you will ever encounter, and I beg of you to make the most of it.

”

and overall experience of being with colleagues is what was the most rewarding aspect of the venture, and I will always look back on that weekend and the weeks of preparation leading up to it with fondness. Working on research not only gets you experience in your desired field but also looks fantastic on your resume.

Also, if you take part in any organizations, like Greek organizations, Student Ambassadors, Theatre Guild or whatever group you gravitate toward, you learn to work in a group, which employers love to see too, and you meet all sorts of awesome people you would otherwise never have the pleasure to meet.

I would not have met my best friend if I had not climbed out of my shell and made an effort to partake in campus life by starting a ballroom dancing club.

Alright, I’m willing to admit that I have been coming off as a public service announcement straight from the school with all my mentions of all things academic and employers, but I swear it is straight from the heart. As a non-traditional student, I find myself regretting not being more active in my teens and early-to-mid-20s, and I want you to benefit from my experience.

Being enrolled means that you want to better yourself, so why not take it further? Please, for the love of whatever you may find holy, get out there and test your boundaries.

Stagnation really is equivalent to death. There are whole years of my life I don’t remember because nothing worthwhile happened.

Try new things. Be a trendsetter. No one expects a physics major like me to act on campus, write an article for the school paper, be on the Ambassador Board or anything that doesn’t involve solving first-order linear differential equations until my mind implodes, but like I said there’s more to being here than books and lectures if you’re brave enough to venture past the normal and comfortable.

College is the most fertile soil for personal growth you will ever encounter, and I beg of you to make the most of it while you can and have fun! mrober17@gru.edu

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

ARTS & LIFE www.grubellringer.com

ASHLEY TRAWICK | STAFF

Community members of Augusta enjoy a packed yoga session at Space Yoga Studio’s soft opening March 8; the locally owned studio on Monte Sano Avenue will have its grand opening March 29.

Relaxing in Space: New yoga studio opens doors

By Ashley Trawick news editor Space Yoga Studio owners Rebecca Ferraro, Frankie Kraemer and Moniqua AcostaHeyman are all about helping any and everyone who wants to take up yoga.

The new spacious studio, located on Monte Sano Avenue in Augusta, is a big empty space with mats and a swing, and that’s exactly how the owners are going to keep it, they said.

Kraemer and Ferraro met in a yoga studio and said although

JORDAN BARRY | STAFF

By Haley Harris staff writer

Avartan brings India to town A local nonprofit organization sought to remedy the dire educational need in rural parts of India by hosting a performance of traditional music and dance.

Caravan Corporation collaborated with the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation to put on a show at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre March 7. Rhythm in Motion was a collaboration of Kathak dance, tabla and vocals.

The organization strives to give back to the community by raising money through art, said Sangeeta Verma, an active member of Caravan.

Sara Samuel, a member of the audience, said she enjoyed the performance.

“I thought it was going to be like a complete classical dance routine, which would have been lost on me after maybe one piece or one show, but this was kind of a mix of different things,” she said.

to drive out to Evans or North Augusta, and she never felt at home when she was there. She went out of town to go to another yoga studio where she met Acosta-Heyman. Concurrently, Ferraro was working as a nurse, and she said about a year ago she wanted to open her own studio.

She, Kraemer and Acosta-Heyman came together and gave life to Space Yoga Studio, but the journey to this point hasn’t all been peace and Zen. Ferraro has taught yoga for see YOGA on PAGE 8

Play shows the value of silence

Caravan Corporation pairs with Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation to perform a fusion of authentic Kathak dance and traditional Indian dance styles March 7 at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre, with the proceeds going to various schools in rural India.

By Jordan Barry production assistant

they didn’t know each other, they knew someday they would work together.

“Personally, I’ve been a stay-at-home mom for the past couple of years … (and I) was just kind of stir crazy,” Kraemer said. “While I was at home, my personal yoga practice was growing, and I realized what I needed more was to get into a yoga studio, instead of just being in my living room all the time, to expand my practice, and there wasn’t really a place for me to go to.”

She said she would have

The dancer, Aditi Bhagwat, is known for her fusion of different dance styles with the traditional Indian dance Kathak.

However, Samuel said Bhagwat stuck with tradition for the first half of the show, and she respected that.

“Most people come in, and when they do authentic Indian dance styles they tend to kind of do a little bit of a fusion, but what she presented in the first half was authentic Kathak dance,” Samuel said. “It was not altered in any way.”

Caravan teams up with different performers to put on shows. Ravi Verma, the technical director of Caravan Corporation, said in the past it has raised money for organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Children’s Hospital of Georgia. For the show March 7, Verma said the corporation teamed up with Ekal.

“This organization is running schools in the very remote, tribal areas,” he said. “There, $365 takes care of the whole

school for the year along with the teacher’s salary. That’s how dire the situation is in India. The motto is if children cannot reach to education, the education should reach to children. That’s the whole point of this organization.”

Verma said Caravan is hoping to raise enough money to help Ekal run 20 schools in rural India for a year, putting them at about a $5,000 to $6,000 goal.

“One dollar takes care of one day, all the children and education and the teacher and the food in India,” Verma said. “It’s unbelievable, but this is true.”

Caravan already has a good reputation with the Augusta community, and now it hopes to build a lasting relationship with Ekal, Verma said.

“Caravan is known in this city for the last six to seven years, and Ekal – people don’t know about that organization,” he said. “So that’s why we want to collaborate, to tell people we support Ekal Foundation.” jbarry3@gru.edu

The Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre will take the audience through the hardships of family, values, beliefs and more in the upcoming play “Tribes” Thursday through Sunday.

“Tribes” is a play by Nina Raine that explores the idea of what it means to be part of a family and how families differ from one another in their beliefs, values and even language, making them their own tribe, Director Doug Joiner said.

“There’s so many messages in it,” Joiner said. “Depending on who you read, the messages are all over the place. Nina got the idea from watching a documentary on a deaf couple that wanted their baby to be deaf. We want our children to be like us: our tribe.”

“Tribes,” according to the theater website, is about a man, Billy, who deals with the troubles of being born deaf into a family that can hear. He adapts to the hearing world until he meets Silvia and learns how it feels to be understood.

Michael Fortino, a junior majoring in theater, plays the character of Billy.

“Billy is raised in a hearing family, and it shows the struggle

“

It’s a look into communication, or lack thereof, and how fiercely we can love and reject our family.

”

-- Doug Joiner, the director of “Tribes” for him to find his voice in the family,” Fortino said. “They didn’t raise him to learn sign because they didn’t want him to be seen as handicapped. That’s a controversial thing to say, though, because some would see him as not knowing how to speak sign as a handicap.”

Fortino said the character of Billy has been one of his most challenging roles yet. He has taken sign language classes in order to perfect the role and has also had to work on a different kind of dialect.

“I find my voice through this language and through Silvia,” Fortino said. “The dialect is really tough because I’ve been studying a lot of people who have been deaf all their lives and how they speak and it’s been really tough.”

Billy’s guide through see TRIBES on PAGE 8

What are Georgia Regents University students reading?

Rachael Arant, a junior history major

Keaton Thurmond, a junior creative writing major

Elizabeth Parsons, a junior early childhood education major

Charlene Batiste, a senior creative writing major

PAGE 7

THE BELL RINGER

St. Paddy prompts a day full of green

By Jessica Sager staff writer St. Patrick’s Day, which can be both a serious religious holiday and an excuse to party, is celebrated in many cities including Augusta.

“Here in America we treat St. Patrick’s Day just as a chance to have a party, and it’s a bit more serious than that,” said Debra van Tuyll, a professor of communications.

St. Patrick was kidnapped from Britain and brought to Ireland as a slave, she said.

He escaped in his youth and then spent a number of years in the equivalent of seminary.

After becoming a priest, he returned to Ireland.

Hubert van Tuyll, the department chair of history and anthropology, said St. Patrick did not introduce Christianity to Ireland, though.

“It already existed there,” he said. “He spread the religion to non-Christians, but a major focus of his career was to bring Roman Christianity to Ireland.”

Debra van Tuyll said one of the main people he converted was the king of Munster.

“St. Patrick went to see the king of Munster and convinced him to convert to Christianity because St. Patrick knew if the king converted, the people would convert,” she said. “And so St. Patrick had a Bishop’s crosier, which is that big staff thing that’s got a hook that looks like a shepherd’s crook, and it apparently has a pointy end on the end of it. So he was baptizing the king of Munster, and at one point he was being very empathic and he slammed his crosier down, and it went right through the foot of the king of Munster, who thought, ‘This must be part of the ritual.’ He didn’t say anything. He didn’t cry out or do anything.”

Hubert van Tuyll said one tidbit you don’t often hear about is that St. Patrick was a defendant

in a church trial.

“There were priests who accused him of illegally, under church law, claiming to be a bishop,” he said. “(They claimed) he had never been consecrated a bishop.”

Van Tuyll said for the Irish Catholic population that came to live in the U.S., St. Patrick’s Day became the ethnic national day, in a sense. This was not the case for the Protestant Irish population, though.

“I would say that by midcentury, certainly (St. Patrick’s Day was) starting to become a more secularized holiday,” he said.

Debra van Tuyll said the biggest parade for this holiday is in Dublin, and the second biggest parade is in New York, with the third being in Savannah, causing many to go to Savannah from Augusta to celebrate.

Jimbo Thrash, the parade chairman, said he has been in charge of the parade that takes place in Augusta for two years, and he has been involved with the parade for about 15 years.

“The parade (was) Monday,” he said. “We always have the parade on whatever day (St. Patrick’s Day) comes on, unless it’s Sunday. (If it is) Sunday … it usually falls back to that Saturday.”

The parade has included bands, Irish dancers, radio stations and bagpipers, Thrash said. Around 90 to 100 people participate in the parade each year.

“It’s always been a good thing,” Thrash said. “I love it.”

Debra van Tuyll said she wears orange instead of green on the day because orange represents the Protestants in Ulster.

“That’s a little provocative to wear orange,” she said. “But it’s simply my way of saying it’s not just a Catholic holiday. St. Patrick is not just a saint for the Catholic Church; he is a saint, a religious role model, for all of us, Protestant or Catholic. So that’s why I do it. It’s not to be contrary, and it’s to try to be more inclusive.” jschucke@gru.edu

Around Town

Meredith Day staff writer

Nerds band together to defeat Pokemon Twitch Plays Pokemon was the stupidest, funniest, most inspiring thing to come out of video games this year.

It was an experiment in which more than 120,000 people played one game of “Pokemon Red” at the same time.

It’s important that I make this clear: I don’t mean 120,000 people played their individual copies of “Pokemon Red” at the same time; I mean 120,000 people played one copy of the game for more than two weeks.

The result? A chaotic mess.

The experiment was done via Twitch, a website that allows video game enthusiasts to stream games live to whoever is bored enough to watch.

To play, one simply needed to sign into the website and input their command into the game chat. For example, if you wanted to move up, you simply needed to type “up.”

Unfortunately, it’s not quite so easy to get a character to move up when more than 100,000 people are typing other commands at the same time.

You would think with so many people playing a single game at the same time, nothing

would ever get done. But, miraculously, after only 16 days of nonstop play, the thousands of players somehow managed to beat all eight gyms, catch a legendary Pokemon, Zapdos, and beat the Elite Four in order to become the new Pokemon champion. It was, to say the least, inspiring.

However, as inspiring as 120,000 people completing Pokemon together is, it was equally maddening for about 99 percent of the time. But as frustrating as it was, it made each small accomplishment a huge victory. Every time the Pokemon were successfully healed, every time the in-game computer was used without releasing all of the Pokemon, it was a true accomplishment.

When they finally beat the Elite Four and faced the Pokemon League Champion, the final battle in the game, it was amazing how well they worked together.

Despite all odds, 120,000 from across the world beat “Pokemon Red” and, together, became the new Pokemon League Champion. mday4@gru.edu

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

PAGE 8

Comedian impacts small town

By Jessica Sager staff writer

Oliver “Ollie” Hardy left a long-lasting impact on the town of Harlem.

Hardy, who went by Norvell until the age of 18, partnered with Stan Laurel, an English comedian, in the early 1930s when they went on to create 106 movies and win an Oscar for best short film, according to the city’s website.

The Laurel and Hardy Museum is located in Harlem, the birthplace of Hardy.

The museum doesn’t charge a fee to enter and is funded by donations and what it sells. Everyone who works there is a volunteer, said Nancy Mulheron, a volunteer at the museum.

While Harlem has various tributes for Hardy each year, his house was torn down in 1955, and in its place, there is now a plaque. Although Hardy has made such an impact on the town of Harlem, Mulheron said she doesn’t think the people responsible for the demolition knew how much it would have meant to the town to keep it.

Harlem is also home for the

annual Oliver Hardy Festival.

Mulheron said the participants used to donate Laurel and Hardy collectibles, which were then displayed in the city hall until the space became too small.

The present-day Laurel and Hardy museum was previously a post office until the town opened the museum in 2002, Mulheron said.

Amber Overton, who works in Harlem, said visitors who come to the festival are generally very excited about it.

Harlem gets between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors a year for the festival, Mulheron said, but visitors do not only come to the museum during festival time.

Gary Russeth, a volunteer, said visitors come from all over the world and the museum also gets a lot of visitors from England because of Laurel.

Hardy was born in 1892, and after his father died, the family left Harlem, Mulheron said. Hardy’s mother ran a boarding house in Madison and later ran the Baldwin Hotel in Milledgeville.

“That was when he got his love for acting because he would watch the Vaudeville people that would come and stay in his mother’s boarding house,” Mulheron said. “As he got older, he felt he could do as good as they did, if not better.”

Hardy worked as an actor for a few years in Florida before going to California, where he met Laurel, Mulheron said.

The first movie they were both in was called “The Lucky Dog,” but the journey for the two didn’t end until Hardy’s death in 1957.

“They became friends and stayed friends for life,” she said. jschucke@gru.edu

RICHARD ADAMS | STAFF

The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History houses many historical documents from African-Americans in town.

Museum preserves community heritage

By Richard Adams staff writer The Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History is much more than a museum: It is preserving the cultural heritage of an entire community, marking an integral, but often overlooked, part of the history of Augusta.

Historian Corey Rogers said the museum uses its collection of historic documents and objects to tell the story of African-American communities in Augusta, specifically the hub of commerce, politics and education, which ran along Laney Walker Boulevard.

Rogers said he often tries to link people and events from Augusta to a broader social context, personalizing his tours for museum visitors from other cities and states by researching the connections between those areas and Augusta, which were built by the political activities of these Augusta pioneers.

Museum director Christine Miller-Betts said she never

Tribes

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

HALEY HARRIS | STAFF

Actors in the play “Tribes” work together to rehearse lines prior to the show’s opening Thursday, which will be at the Maxwell Peformings Arts Theatre.

After years of misunderstanding, Billy, who was born deaf and never learned sign language, meets a girl named Silvia and gains a new perspective of life and the companionship within families.

Yoga

CONTINUED from PAGE 6

30 years and said westerners are familiar with yoga in the big-box gyms. She said the owners wanted to pull it out of the gym and into a studio so Augusta community members and others can adopt the whole yoga lifestyle, which is hard to present in a big gym setting.

“It’s not just about doing the physical practice of yoga,” Ferraro said. “This just affords this opportunity for people to come and be in a place that’s special to them and for yoga.”

Services the studio offers include classes and practices that are open to the public. It

will start hosting classes at 6:15 a.m. to achieve the goal of helping people with yoga before they attend classes or commute to work, the owners said.

Ferraro said they also have private instruction sessions available when community members can call and make an appointment. The studio accepts walk-ins to sit and meditate if needed or to take a break in between classes or on a lunch break.

The owners said 100 percent of the money made at Saturday practices will be given to a local charity or foundation.

“The one we start with for March is for Kimberly Young Bernier (who is struggling) with colon cancer,” Acosta-Heyman said.

learning sign and girlfriend in the play, Silvia, is played by Raheema Johnson, a graduate of Georgia Regents University with a degree in theater.

“There are different parts to the play,” Johnson said. “You have Billy, who is deaf, living with a hearing family, but then you also have Silvia, who’s hearing and going deaf, who grew up with a family who is deaf. So you have two people who are kind of opposites. I think it’s just about these journeys and just accepting what’s happening to these people and the way they deal with it.”

Johnson said the role of Silvia has been demanding for her

“She’s getting treatments in New York this month, so all of our Saturday practices, 100 percent of what we raise will, go to her to pay for her trip to New York for her treatments.

(We’re) continuing that with GRU for Take Back the Day, the 5K walk, and Take Back the Night with the Rape Crisis Center. So just things like that will continue through the year. (It is) a way for the community to give back (and then) create more of a community.”

Acosta-Heyman said the studio provides an opportunity for community members to try something new if they’re not willing to commit fully yet to get an idea of what it’s like. The owners all said they want the space to give an at-home feel

imagined herself taking on such a task, but Laney’s contribution to educational advances for African-Americans was an inspiration.

“We have far more resources than they had, and see what they did?” Miller-Betts said.

“All you have to do is drive down Laney Walker Boulevard and see what they accomplished in their lives. Now we’re beginning to build it back again, and that’s what’s really important: Getting people to understand that money is important to get things done, but to get things done with a passion and a concern – that is so much more important.”

The museum has not only served as a reminder for the city but also for those who come there to teach and research.

“I knew she was a black educator, but that was about it,” said Alysha Griffin, the projects manager at the museum. “It was a surprise how much she did, especially in that I didn’t know what she did other than probably teach or something. I didn’t

know what she did to be associated with Lucy Craft Laney High School.”

Griffin, who grew up in Appling and went to school in Columbia County, said she moved away for several years to attend Spellman College in Atlanta and then to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Kansas.

Griffin said her education allowed her to bridge the gap in her knowledge about Laney’s vital role not only locally but also in national affairs. She considers Laney part of a chapter in American history too rarely referenced.

“It gave me some idea of what’s missing, those missing links, and what needs to be filled in,” Griffin said. “Because we all know about slavery in the South, but we don’t know that there were free people in the South – especially free people in Georgia. And free people who were doing things to help other people, in that they were really instrumental in building up Augusta.”

because of the character’s situation, which she said she has difficulty relating to.

“It’s very challenging because, as someone who’s always been able to hear, it’s hard to appreciate losing something that’s that vital to your everyday life,” Johnson said.

Both Fortino and Johnson said the show is worth seeing, not just because of the talent involved, but also for the message being delivered in the play.

“This show needs a lot of attention because it’s just, it’s a real thing,” Fortino said. “I couldn’t imagine, because I come from such a close family, to feel so isolated from them.”

Johnson agreed that the play needs attention.

“The show just has a lot of depth, and a lot of shows do, but with this one you really get to

see because this happens every day,” she said. “It’s a very common thing. You know, it’s one of those things that happen to other people but not you. You get to actually see what life is like for these people. It just really makes you appreciate people who are in that situation.”

Joiner said he believes the play has many aspects, but the message is simple.

“It’s a look into communication, or lack thereof, and how fiercely we can love and reject our family,” he said.

“This play applies to anything when having different tribes. We have different majors on campus that pretty much speak their own language. And what happens when you go cross tribe, you wonder if you’ll be accepted or rejected.”

and for members to be comfortable.

“There is always somebody here even when a practice isn’t going on,” Kraemer said. “It’s always open. Sometimes it’s just nice to have that place to

go to, especially for me. I was like, ‘Oh, when am I ever going to get out of this house?’ To be able to come here, even now, I walk in and I just feel like it’s so calming.”

radams99@gru.edu

hharris011@yahoo.com

atrawick@gru.edu

Salmon and Grits

ASHLEY TRAWICK | STAFF

Lady Dred presents her original spoken word during Salmon and Grits, a poetry show hosted at Le Chat Noir in Augusta.

CHECK OUT www.grubellringer.com

for full story!

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 9

comics Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Across

Down

2. a basic staple in the Irish diet; a round root of a plant that has brown, yellow, or red skin and white or yellow flesh and that is eaten as a vegetable

1. Apostle and patron saint of Ireland; an English missionary to Ireland in the 5th century

3. of, relating to, or constituting the Goidelic speech of the Celts in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Scottish Highlands 7. a light or humorous verse form of five chiefly anapestic verses of which lines 1, 2, and 5 are of three feet and lines 3 and 4 are of two feet with a rhyme scheme of aabba 9. a stone said to give the gift of persuasive speech and skill in flattery to anyone who kisses it.

10. a small plant with three leaves on each stem that is the national symbol of Ireland 13. a mischievous elf of Irish folklore usually believed to reveal the hiding place of treasure if caught 15. “Kiss me, I’m ______!” This is a reference to the Blarney Stone. Kissing it is thought to bring good luck.

16. a force that brings good fortune or adversity

"So, success attend St. Patrick's fist,

4. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including Irish

For he's a saint so clever;

5. the festive, alcoholic drink often served on St. Patrick’s Day

Oh! he gave the snakes and toads a twist,

6. a curved line of different colors that sometimes appears in the sky when the sun shines through rain

And bothered them forever!"

-Henry Bennett

8. the reward at the end of a rainbow 11. if someone is not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day, people do this to them to remind them that leprechauns will do this to anyone they can see (wearing green was though to make you invisible to the fairy creatures) 12. a musical instrument that is played that has a bag, a tube for blowing air into the bag, and pipes where the air leaves and makes sounds 14. a bright green stone that is used in jewelry; a bright or rich green color

Across 2. Potato 3. Gaelic 7. Limerick 9. Blarney Stone (no space) 10. Shamrock 13. Leprechaun 15. Irish 16. Luck Down 1. St. Patrick (no period, no space) 4. Celtic 5.

Green Beer 6. Rainbow 8. Pot of Gold (no spaces) 11. Pinch 12. Bagpipe 14. Emerald

Good Luck

Top 17 Party Towns

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven."

-Traditional Irish Toast to Drinking

1. Dublin, Ireland

10. Moscow, Russia

2. London, England

11. Tokyo, Japan

3. Boston, Mass.

12. Seoul, South Korea

4. New York

13. Montserrat, Carribean

5. Chicago, Ill.

14. Munich, Germany

6. Birmingham, England

15. Bologna, Italy

7. Montreal, Quebec

16. New Orleans, La.

8. Toronto, Ontario

17. Sydney, Australia

9. Cape Town, South Africa -According to Huffington Post

PAGE 10

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

sports www.grubellringer.com

Team scales ranks

By Haley Harris staff writer

The GRU Augusta women’s golf team continues to bring in good news as it remains on top of its game this year.

The Jaguars earned a fifth-place finish at the UCF Challenge at the Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 11.

The Jaguars kept the ball rolling by finishing second overall in their second tournament of the spring 2014 season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic Feb. 18.

These two achievements led to a No. 32 ranking in the latest Golfstat rankings for the Jaguars.

“The girls are really excited with their progress,” said Kory Thompson, the head coach of the women’s golf team. “We finished fifth in Orlando and second in Puerto Rico, which was a really strong field. We beat a lot of tough top-ranking teams, which is what jumped us I guess in two weeks from 49 to 32. So, you know, we’re super excited, but we want to keep striving to get better and better. Top 25 will probably be our next goal and then top 20 and top 10.”

Jessica Haigwood, a freshman team member majoring in marketing, agreed the team’s progress is due to

its hard work on the field.

“We played our hearts out and worked hard,” Haigwood said. “I’m grateful for what we’ve achieved, and I know we’ll continue to do really well.”

Ranking No. 32 is only the beginning, Thompson said. She said she believes the reason for this achievement does not necessarily mean the girls practiced more or anything out of the ordinary.

“I think a lot of it was just confidence,” Thompson said. “Once you play well and all the girls play well on the same day, success breeds success. I think that’s what happened. We played pretty good in Orlando, and then from there the girls got a strong start down in Puerto Rico and just kept going.”

The team hosted the 3M Jaguar Invitational March 14-15 at the Forest Hills Golf Club, and finished the tournament in sixth place.

“It’s comfortable playing at Forest Hills, and I know the course really well, so the team is far from nervous,” Haigwood said.

Casey Kennedy, a senior majoring in business management, agreed with Haigwood and said the tournament was exciting.

Kennedy has played for GRU since her freshman year and finished second overall

Jordan Williams sports editor

It’s March Madness and no bracket sheet is safe HALEY HARRIS | STAFF

Women’s golf team finishes sixth in the Jaguar Invitational Tourney.

“

We beat a lot of tough top-ranking teams, which is what jumped us, I guess, in two weeks from 49 to 32.

-- Kory Thompson, the head coach

”

in the UCF Challenge with a five-under 211 after she shot an even par 72 in the third and final round, according to the GRU women’s golf website.

Thompson said the girls this season are definitely in shape for the competition and have the talent and drive to keep improving.

“We’ve got a really good, solid group of girls,” Thompson said. “We’ve (got) some good senior leadership as well as three hungry freshmen that are playing some good golf. We’re playing the next three weekends in a row, so it’ll be a good test for us.” hharris011@yahoo.com

Homosexuality in sports Pro athletes come out to the public and the world of sports, revealing their sexual preference

By Meredith Day staff writer The Brooklyn Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-102 Feb. 23.

However, the media was far more interested in player Jason Collins than the winning score. The reason? Collins is the first openly gay athlete in the NBA and playing in this game marked a milestone, both in sports and in LGBTQ history.

While there have no doubt been gay athletes in professional sports long before now, it has only been in the last year pro athletes have been coming forward as openly gay.

Just last month, Michael Sam, a possible NFL draftee, came out as gay and, if he is drafted, he will become the first openly gay athlete in the NFL, according to ESPN reports.

In addition, Fallon Fox was met with controversy after she became the first transgender woman to fight in mixed martial arts last year, according

The sideline report

to The Huffington Post.

Fortunately for Collins, his coming out has been met mostly with support.

President Barack Obama called him on the phone to praise his bravery, and Collins was invited by Michelle Obama to be her guest at the State of the Union, according to CNN. In an interview with George Stephanopoulos at ABC, Collins even said this is the happiest he has ever been in his entire life since he came out.

Despite the outpour of support that has met Collins’s decision to come out, some people still worry the world may not be ready for openly gay athletes in professional sports.

The GRU Augusta men’s basketball team, however, said its players aren’t concerned with the sexual preference of their athletes.

“I think it’s a personal preference, and it’s their choice to live the way they want to live their life,” junior forward Devon Wright-Nelson said.

“As long as they’re performing at a

Homosexuality in sports •

LGBTQ student-athletes are more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to have other marginalized identities, including being a woman, being a person of color or having a disability.

•

More women student-athletes identified as LGBTQ than men.

•

One in four LGBTQ student-athletes is pressured to be silent about his sexual identity among teammates and in playing collegiate sports.

• LGBTQ student-athletes are two times more likely to experience harassment than heterosexual athletes.

• Only 18 percent of LGBTQ student-athletes compete in a featured collegiate sport.

Information provided by Huffingtonpost Graphic designed by Megan Stewart

high level, I think that’s all that really matters.”

Some players on the team even expressed respect for Collins in his decision to come out. Junior forward Roman Hill said this could potentially help other homosexual athletes who may not have felt comfortable coming out before.

“Jason Collins, I really looked at him as brave and having heart for doing that,” Hill said.

When asked how they would react if one of their teammates were to come out as gay, all responded the same: As long as the individual is putting forth effort and getting results on the court, sexuality shouldn’t be an issue.

“I wouldn’t really think too much of it,” Wright-Nelson said. “They would be the same person, just with a different preference than I do. I’m sure that guys on the teams know there are gay teammates already, and they just don’t come out publicly. I’m sure there are people who are gay that nobody knows except for their teammates.”

As for issues that could arise from having gay athletes on a team, the basketball team didn’t really think anything other than personal judgments from those not accepting of homosexuals would cause an issue.

Senior guard Ryan Weems said even if some fans aren’t ready for gay athletes, it shouldn’t become a problem on the court.

“It will (become an issue) only for certain people who don’t like it, but I don’t think it should,” Weems said. “It shouldn’t change anything, period, but a lot of people are judged within sports.”

Overall, the GRU men’s basketball team said it was open to the idea of gay athletes in professional sports and expressed numerous times that a person’s sexual preference is not an issue on the court.

“At the end of the day, everyone’s the same, everyone just wants to play basketball, make money for their families,” junior guard D’Angelo Boyce said. “It’s their opinion. It’s their option.

It’s who they want to be.” mday4@gru.edu

The month of madness is here, and the brackets are filled.

With Selection Sunday over and done, the teams for the big dance have been chosen.

The only mystery is who will be the Cinderella story in 2014.

Everyone remembers the excitement of Florida Gulf Coast and the dunk city spectacle brought to the tourney last March.

And how could anyone forget the Wichita State Shockers and their Final Four run.

Now the Shockers are a historic 34-0 and will shock no one this season.

The only way for these small programs to punch their ticket is through their respected conference tournaments and claiming a conference title.

Who will fit the glass slipper this March is yet to be known, but that is the lure of the contest.

Fans fill out a bracket sheet every year only to have them butchered by a university never heard of before.

Nonetheless, I could still try to point out those unfamiliar basketball programs to look out for.

Let’s start with American University (20-12) out of the Patriot League. AU beat down No. 1 seed Boston University 55-36 as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament championship game to claim its automatic bid.

AU is led by first-year head coach Mike Brennan.

During the preseason, AU was picked to finish ninth in the conference standings, but Brennan helped defy those odds and won the Patriot League Coach of the Year in the process.

The Mercer Bears (26-8) will represent the Atlantic Sun Conference.

The Bears had to upset Florida Gulf Coast, 68-60, in the conference championship to go dancing.

In the ASC, the Bears lead in almost every stats category.

On offense, the team tops the ASC with averages of 79.3 points a night, 47 percent scoring from the floor and 38 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Even on defense the Bears put up crazy numbers, allowing 66.4 points a game and guaranteeing at least 37.9 rebounds and 4.2 blocks every time they hit the court.

Another potential sleeper could be the Manhattan Jaspers (25-7) coming out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The Jaspers are piloted by AllMAAC first team senior George Beamon and third straight MAAC defensive player of the year Rhamel Brown.

Wing player Beamon is the third leading scorer in the MAAC with 19.7 points per game.

Beamon also averages 6.7 rebounds a game and has a free throw percentage of 84.9 percent.

Brown, a 6-foot-7 forward, is the first player in MAAC history to win Defensive Player of the Year three straight times and is the third leading shot blocker in the country with 3.7 blocks a game.

Brown also broke a program record by blocking nine shots in a game. jwill143@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 11

Jags make it to postseason Men’s basketball team climbs playoff brackets

By Jordan Williams sports editor The GRU Augusta men’s basketball team received a heavy dose of postseason action.

In the Peach Belt Conference Tournament, held March 6-9 at Columbus, GRU (24-8) made it as far as the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals, the team scored a season high in points and set a PBC tourney record with 35 free throws made on its way to a 99-87 victory against North Georgia.

Against UNG, PBC Freshman of the Year Keshun Sherrill paced the team in scoring with 25 points, senior All-Conference honoree Ryan Weems posted 23, and the older Sherrill brother KJ put up 18 points.

In the semifinals, Montevallo eliminated GRU in a crushing 96-87 double-overtime loss.

Only 2.1 seconds remained in the second half with the score at 71-69 in favor of UM. At that moment in the game, Weems said the team still had plenty of fight.

“We don’t give up,” he said. “We didn’t look down like ‘Aww, we ’bout to lose the game.’ We just keep our head and told everybody let’s just fin-

ish the game.”

GRU initially had to travel the length of the court on its ensuing possession, but the basketball was accidentally deflected out of bounds by a UM defender during the inbound pass and this allowed GRU to get off a shot from its end of the court.

GRU junior guard D’Angelo Boyce had the ball on the team’s sidelines and tossed an alley-oop to senior forward Harold Doby, who swished the shot at the buzzer to tie the game and was fouled on the play.

Doby made the trip to the charity strip to win the game and reach the championship round but missed the free throw as the ball bounced off the back of the iron and forced OT, tied 71-all.

However, one overtime period would not be enough to settle this semifinal thriller.

“They couldn’t stop us,” GRU head basketball coach Dip Metress said. “We couldn’t stop them. That’s how we got the second overtime.”

During the second OT UM pulled away by forcing turnovers and sparking an 11-2 run to close out the game and move on to the final round.

Weems led GRU in scoring with 23 points, but UM guard

Tennis player grows into a team leader

REBECCA SIMANSKI | PHOTOGRAPHER

Senior Victor Cabellos serves during Thursday’s match against Concord.

JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

The men’s basketball team practices for the upcoming PBC Tournament and the NCAA DII Southeastern Regionals.

and PBC player of the year Troran Brown paced all scorers at 27 points and added 13 assists.

Due to its strong 22-6 regular season record and solid performance in the PBC tournament the team was able to keep its season alive and move on to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional. GRU met Anderson (S.C.) for a rematch in the quarterfinals Saturday on a neutral court in the Convocation Center in Aiken, S.C. Anderson defeated GRU

91-86 Nov. 10, but GRU settled the score in a win or go home situation.

Led by junior forward Devon Wright-Nelson (28 points and seven rebounds), GRU eliminated Anderson in an 86-84 slugfest. Anderson guard Chandler Hash canned a three-pointer to tie the game, but Devon WrightNelson attacked the heart of the Anderson defense on the next possession, driving straight to the basket and sinking the game winning layup with five seconds on the game clock.

GRU moved on to the next round to face No. 5 ranked USC Aiken for the third time in the season. It was this semifinal matchup where GRU’s season came to a close.

USC Aiken sustained the scoring edge throughout the game and jettisoned GRU out of the Southeast Regional with a 78-58 thumping.

GRU scored 30.4 percent from the floor Sunday evening, and had one of its worst offensive performances this season.

By Ashley Trawick news editor

well since they were roommates for three years. They have been playing doubles for four years, and Guimaraes said their friendship hasn’t suffered even through challenges while on the team.

“In our first year, I think it was the toughest one ever,” he said. “Because in Brazil and Spain, we play more singles than doubles so we started off playing doubles … It was tough in the beginning – we lost, I think, maybe around five or six games. In our second season, we did very well. (It was something) we got used to.”

Michael McGrath, the head coach for the women’s and men’s tennis teams, said Cabellos started out as a solid freshman on the team and has grown a lot.

“He’s always been solid as a player,” he said. “I guess he’s evolved into a leader over the last two years. I don’t think (he has) anything necessarily to work on. I think his strengths is his desire to win and just his work ethic day in and day out. ” McGrath said the freshmen and sophomores look up to him and to Guimaraes when it comes to leadership and they’re both well respected by everyone on the team.

“I think (Cabellos’s) goal

here as a freshman was to make it to the national tournament and he achieved that,” he said. “I think a freshman can learn from him, and also, he’s incredible in the classroom as well. Whatever he does, he does at 100 percent academically (and) athletically.”

Cabellos said his experience while with the team and attending GRU as a student and athlete has been a great one.

“In the beginning when I got here, it’s so different from my country,” he said.

“It was my time to (gain) independence because I lived with my parents and everything changed. It was a change in my life (as a) positive (one).”

Victor Cabellos is someone all students and athletes could learn a lot from when it comes to multitasking.

The business management senior said he has been playing on the GRU Augusta men’s tennis team since his freshman year at GRU Augusta.

He said he was first introduced to the sport as a 5-yearold.

To stay fit for tennis, the 5-foot-9 player practices with the team but also tries to keep in shape outside of practice with some core conditioning alongside the team’s captain and senior Victor Guimaraes.

Guimaraes said since the season began, Cabellos has been performing well, and he continues to keep the team encouraged, especially the freshmen and sophomores.

“It’s like both of us are kind of the leaders of the team,” Guimaraes said. “It’s kind of good because (every) year we have new players, so sometimes it’s kind of (better) to get to know the people and kind of make them know you but they all respect us.”

Guimaraes and Cabellos are close outside of school as

jwill143@gru.edu

atrawick@gru.edu

Getting to know Victor Cabellos •

If Cabellos could play any sport outside of tennis, it would be soccer.

•

Favorite movies are “The Hunger Games” series.

•

Favorite restaurant is Sheehan’s Irish Pub.

•

Favorite athlete is world soccer star Lionel Messi.

•

Graduation plans are to earn a master’s in business adminstration.

PAGE 12

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014

sports www.grubellringer.com

Trotters come to town

Basketball players do more than perform

By Amy Thorne staff writer

The famous Harlem Globetrotters came to Augusta Friday and brought more than their usual antics-filled game.

For the past 88 years, the Harlem Globetrotters have been known for having a familyfriendly atmosphere at their games. Keela Colombraro, the marketing manager for Global Spectrum, which books events for the James Brown Arena, said the Harlem Globetrotters are the only act to have broken their box office record five years in a row.

The Harlem Globetrotters played in the James Brown Arena Friday in a unique game as a stop on the team’s Fans Rule World Tour, the team’s guard Anthony “Buckets” Blakes said.

Blakes also said next year’s game in Augusta will feature something different but wouldn’t elaborate on what that something will be.

Despite the changes the team has made in recent years, it has kept the mission started in the 1960s of giving back to the community. Tuesday before the game, Blakes reached out

AMY THORNE | STAFF

At Doctors Hospital, patient Anna Coffey, 3 years old, has fun learning new basketball tricks from Harlem Globetrotter Anthony “Buckets” Blakes March 11.

to people in the local community as part of the Globetrotters’ most recent service campaign.

Blakes said he has been doing these community service projects for the 12 years he has been on the team.

The first stop Blakes said he made in Augusta involved giving a presentation of the ABCs of Bullying Prevention to North Augusta Elementary School students. The program’s letters, he said, stand for action, bravery and compassion.

Blakes also said he went to Doctors Hospital and visited patients.

“It’s part of Smile Patrol,” he said. “Our whole goal is to get as many smiles as possible.”

Blakes said even though doctors and staff were excited to see the Globetrotters come to a hospital, the team members were even more excited to see the kids and help their healing process.

“You don’t know the situation,” he said. “You go room to

room and you don’t know who is feeling like what. You have a conversation, talk, do a few tricks and hopefully get them to smile.”

Joshua Hart, a 12-yearold who was burned in a space heater explosion, enjoyed seeing the Globetrotter as well, even though he did not know anything about the Globetrotters prior to meeting Blakes.

Freddie Jackson, a 65-yearold patient, was in the middle of a recovery exercise in the hospi-

tal’s physical rehabilitation center when he got to meet Blakes.

Jackson said he lost half of his leg after having a gangrene infection in 2012.

Jackson said he has been a fan of the Globetrotters for as long as he could remember. He said his recovery has been going well, and Blakes’s visit helped. “(Meeting Blakes) was great,” he said. “I wished that I just could have gotten up and played a little ball.” athorne@gru.edu

Baseball team mounds up wins

By Rebecca Perbetksy chief reporter

The middle of the baseball season is here, and the GRU Augusta Diamond Jaguars (11-15) are making a comeback.

After a rough start to the season, the Diamond Jags are looking to finish out better than last year, and this feat may not be as far away as most would think.

Jason Eller, the head coach of the GRU Augusta baseball team, said some changes were needed after the first few games to ensure the team played to its potential.

“We had to make a few position changes,” he said. “Get some guys in some different spots. We had to adjust our offensive identity and get a little more aggressive to the baseball. We started swinging the bats a little bit better and scoring some runs.”

Senior outfielder Jeff Rice said the rough start was most likely due to a mindset issue the team had prior to the season.

“We had to start believing we could win,” he said. “We changed a few things.

Eller put in an approach offensively that we could gravitate towards and use up there, and it gave the guys kind of a com-

fort level. They know what they are going up there to do every time they go up there, so having that in their minds really gives you a comfort and a peace at the plate.”

Every team is different, but for the Diamond Jags it is more about fundamentals, Eller said.

“Holding runners, bunt defenses and first and third plays,” he said. “Probably just stuff that baseball people kind of get, but it is a fundamental that we have to be really good at because when you are in one-run games – those little things tend to show up. They have to know the system and know where everybody is going to be in certain plays so they don’t panic and they can relax and execute.”

Senior outfielder JD Sabo said at the start of the season, the team didn’t really know its abilities.

“I think it was just a matter of reaching that potential,” he said. “You leave some questions out there unanswered. A lot of them are answered, but there are still some out there. That is why we have to come out here and play hard every day, so we can do that and prove to people and prove to ourselves how good we are.”

After the 6-4 win against Erskine

REBECCA SIMANSKI | PHOTOGRAPHER

The baseball team has already won more games so far this season than last season’s 10 wins.

College March 11, the Diamond Jags are officially playing better than they were this time last year.

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Hope is still alive for the GRU Augusta Diamond Jaguars. rperbets@gru.edu

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MEGAN STEWART | STAFF

Participants at the Garden City Classic, a darts tournament sponsored by the Savannah River Dart Association, compete to win up to $8,000 in cash March 7 through 9 at the Augusta Mariott, President Lee Blair said.