Volume 55, Issue 15

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GRADUATION | PAGE 7

ARTS & Life | PAGE 5

Georgia Regents University’s first graduating class prepares to bid farewell.

SPORTS | PAGE 12

Local restaurant expands dessert offerings.

Baseball team looks for strong finish to disappointing season.

GEORGIA REGENTS UNIVERSITY

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VOLUME 55, ISSUE 15

#AugustalovesBoston

What it takes to Finish in By LEIGH BEESON editor-in-chief

As part of the Georgia offshoot of Complete College America, Georgia Regents University is endorsing a new plan meant to increase graduation rates. Finish in Four is intended to save students’ money by encouraging them to enroll in 15 credit hours per semester, which enables them to graduate in four years. The university’s new tuition model institutes a flat rate for anyone taking 10 or more hours, said Gretchen Caughman, the provost of Georgia Regents. This plan is more in line with other research universities in the state of Georgia, such as University of Georgia and Georgia College & State University, which also implemented similar programs. However, most of colleges base begin their flat rate at six or more hours. The administration decided to set Georgia Regents’ full-time rate higher than other universities’ rates because it believed some student populations necessitated an adjustment. The plan was created in response to data from national studies that showed students who enrolled 15 hours for a 120-hour major have a much higher likelihood of earning their degrees within six to eight years than students who enroll only part time, Caughman said. “The concept is that students who enroll for more than nine hours, anything more than nine hours, will pay that full tuition rate,” she said. “So it will behoove them to enroll for 15 or more, and that way it’s going to get them through faster, which will in turn also be an economic advantage. It will be the best premium dollars per credit hour.” Poor college completion rates in part inspired the initiative, in addition to the knowledge that the state of Georgia may soon experience a shortage of amply qualified young professionals, said Carol Rychly, the vice president for Academic and Faculty Affairs. “Part of the motivation for the whole Complete College America program came from the knowledge that, looking ahead, so many of the jobs that people need, the career paths that they have, are going to require at least a certificate or some degree of some kind,” Rychly said. “That’s what driving the desire to do this. Financially, it really does help a student in your earning power to have that credential. Getting that credential in the minimal amount of time makes a huge difference because, one, you start earlier, and also some of the costs are really per semester costs, like the fee costs. So it is more efficient.” Further, the program aims to cut down on unnecessary classes, said Beth Brigdon, the vice president of Institutional Effectiveness. “I think (CCA) also believes that students stay on track with their academic plan and their academic career (and that) would reduce the number of excess credits that students have tended to accumulate,” Brigdon said. “That’s one of the CCA findings is that we have students across the nation that are accumulating more credits than they need for whatever the credential is that they are attempting to get.” One of the most important aspects of successfully implementing Finish in Four is revamping the traditional advising model, Rychly said. Advising is key in determining what classes are or aren’t necessary for a student to graduate, and she said she wants advisers to serve more of a mentoring role to their advisees during upcoming terms. Other upcoming changes related to academia within the university include a seven-year plan, during which admission standards will gradually rise, Rychly said. One anticipated change is regarding the acceptable Advanced Placement Test scores. Many of Georgia Regent’s peer institutions give college course credit to incoming freshmen with lower AP scores than what the university currently accepts. Georgia Regents plans to lower minimum scores to be more in line with what other research universities those of. kbeeson1@gru.edu

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

LEIGH BEESON I STAFF

Augustans show solidarity with the city of Boston Saturday during the 2.5-mile “Run for Boston” event. Speakers during the opening of the race included several runners who had participated in Monday’s Boston Marathon but finished before the bombs went off around the 4 hour, 9 minute mark.

Learning support to decrease courses, professors

By ASHLEY TRAWICK news editor

The Learning Support program at Georgia Regents University is making a few changes in the fall due to new admissions requirements. Cynthia Craig, the chair of the Learning Support department, said fewer courses are going to be offered and fewer learning support students will be accepted. “Last semester, we offered 24 different math classes,” Craig said. “(This fall) we’re going to be offering seven, so it’s greatly reduced.” Students who have been placed in

learning support based on COMPASS placement will no longer be required to take the courses. They’ll be going directly into core courses, provided they make the system minimum requirement on SAT scores and the minimum freshmen index, Craig said. Incoming freshmen will not have to take the COMPASS test for placement if they meet the minimum requirements for the 400 SAT math and 430 SAT verbal, and their GPA is the standard for admissions, Craig said. Current students now taking learning support courses will continue their coursework until they’ve completed the program.

Ray Whiting, the associate vice president for Access, said many professors who teach learning support classes will have to transfer to other academic departments this fall or into different colleges. “Because we’re not servicing the whole University College part of what used to be Augusta State, we were very concerned that there needed to be some way that that population could, in fact, continue to receive an education here in Augusta,” he said. “They will come to our campus and they will accept those students that we are no longer able to accept, but they will be East Georgia (College) students. They will probably take

the COMPASS exam and probably place into learning support, and there will be East Georgia professors, East Georgia classes and East Georgia curriculum...but they’re not our students.” He also said some of Georgia Regents’ faculty members may choose to work for East Georgia because they’re not likely to ship faculty members from there to here on a daily basis, and they’re not likely to convince a large number of faculty to move from East Georgia to Georgia Regents for something that’s just getting started. see LEARNING on PAGE 2

GRU salutes military students, veterans By MEGAN STEWART arts & life editor

NIKKI SKINNER I STAFF

The United Nations headquarters, located in New York, is one setting for the Model UN.

United Nations

GRU team practices real-world diplomacy By RYAN MCLAY chief reporter

Georgia Regents University’s Model United Nations team returned home from a series of firsts, including a rare meeting with Iranian diplomats. The group returned to New York for its third annual conference, which kicked off Sunday, March 24. With a team of 27 students, more than any previous year, the model delegation spent its semester studying, practicing and ultimately representing Iran. After the conference finished Thursday, March 28, two members of Iran’s actual UN delegation invited the Georgia Regents team to its New York headquarters. Craig Albert, an assistant professor of political science, received an invitation three days before leaving Augusta, Ga., to join the Iranian delegates in their meeting room after having sent requests to the delegates months in advance. “You were transported into a different country,” Albert said. “It’s as close to being on Iranian territory as most Americans ever get.” Albert said that before even entering the UN delegates’ suite, the students had to go through security and had to be granted clearance. With this in mind, Albert said, the area was essentially sovereign territory.

Students expressed apprehension about meeting the actual delegates they had represented just one day before at the conference. “I was really stressed out and tense because I didn’t know how they were going to act toward us,” said Carson Masters, a junior Model UN delegate. “But we walked in and they had everything set up for us. They had a bunch of books laid out for us and a bunch of food, and they really seemed to want to inform us of their points of view since we were so young and in college.” Albert said that meeting room was filled with Iranian flags and images of the Ayatollah, the Iranian supreme leader. During their time with the Iranians, the diplomats and students exchanged questions and answers. “I had heard all throughout my life that Iran seemed to kind of be the enemy,” said junior Brittany Mathews, who returned for her second year in a row. “So I wasn’t sure what to expect when we walked in. I was pleasantly surprised. They were very respectful of us as Americans. They were very respectful of us as students. They were very hospitable toward us. It was a wonderful experience for me.” Among other firsts, Lance Hunter, a lecturer in the political science see UN on PAGE 2

Military Week provided a chance for student veterans to come together to raise awareness. The Student Veteran’s Association at Georgia Regents University put together a weeklong event dedicated to informing students and other veterans about the resources available on campus as well as attempting to strengthen the community. Michael Wilkins, the veteran’s affair education benefits coordinator, said the SVA is attempting to build a sense of togetherness with the rest of the campus. “They do it to try and build a camaraderie because you have to understand that most of the students that come here are straight out of high school,” Wilkins said. “We, being the military, have already been out in the world, we’ve lived some life (and)

we’ve grown a little bit. So our mentality is a little bit different than what theirs is … We’re more direct.” Alongside making students aware, the organization also wants to make other soldiers that may not know of the resources aware of what the SVA has to offer, said Jamie Bridges, the president of SVA. “We decided to do a Week of the Military Student to celebrate the fact that we have, you know, not just veterans on campus but also active duty personnel, spouses of military service people and children of military service people,” Bridges said. “And we’re really just trying to reach out, not just socially, but to let veterans know that there are resources on campus. There are things that they can get if they need them and we’re just trying to make them aware.” The first day of the event, Monday, April 1, started out with information in the breezeway of the Jagsee MILITARY on PAGE 2

Professor takes on Pentagon By KARL FRAZIER correspondent

With troops still deploying to the Middle East, one professor helps soldiers adapt to their new environment. Sudha Ratan, the department chair of political science at Georgia Regents University, said she started doing presentations at the Pentagon after being asked to do a presentation at her alma mater. “About three years ago, Dr. Gordon Smith asked me to come (to the University of South Carolina) and do a talk on Afghanistan,” Ratan said. “They were doing a presentation for a whole bunch (of) people. I had done this for him before and did not think anything of it.” However, she later found out that the group she was presenting to was comprised of various agencies from Washington, D.C., such as the Pen-

tagon, Department of Justice and the State Department. After hearing her talk at the University of South Carolina, she was asked to come to D.C. and do her talk for the Pentagon. Ratan said she has been doing her presentations at the Pentagon for two years and said they understand she does not like to spend a lot of time away from her students. “They are very nice about it,” she said. “I don’t like to be gone for a week from my classes.” Because of her devotion to teaching, Ratan said the Pentagon works with her scheduling. During the beginning of the week, she said the Pentagon trains people who are being deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and Southeast Asia through a program known as Pre-Deployment Preparation Program. Ratan said she comes in and does her presentations on Wednesdays. see RATAN on PAGE 2

PAGE 2

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

NEWS www.asubellringer.com

Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Students, faculty, staff offered free oral cancer screenings By MINDY WADLEY copy editor

The voice of

Georgia Regents University EDITORIAL STAFF adviser MATTHEW BOSISIO mbosisio@gru.edu editor-in-chief TRAVIS HIGHFIELD LEIGH BEESON copy editor LEIGH BEESON MINDY WADLEY news editor JILLIAN HOBDAY ASHLEY TRAWICK arts & life editor KRISTIN HAWKINS MEGAN STEWART sports editor JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER JORDAN WILLIAMS chief reporter RON HICKERSON RYAN MCLAY production manager KELSEY DONNELLY JACQUELYN PABON production assistant JACQUELYN PABON NIKKI SKINNER senior reporter FARRELL BROWN staff writers KEREYIA BUTLER JACOB SCHARFF circulation manager TREY UNDERWOOD zildjianman08@gmail.com advertising manager HANNAH FOERSTER webmaster SI-LONG CHEN JAMIE LOWE

In recognition of April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month, the Department of Oral Health and Diagnostic Sciences conducted free oral cancer screenings for Georgia Regents University students, faculty and staff Wednesday. Oral cancer, though deadly, remains one of the lesser-known cancers, often leading to late diagnoses, said Katharine Ciarrocca, an assistant professor of diagnostic sciences and the section head of geriatrics at Georgia Regents. “The thing that’s so striking to me is that in the past 30 years, there’s been absolutely no change in prognosis in the five-year survival rate because it’s detected so late,” Ciarrocca said. “So, once it’s detected, it’s usually staged later, an advanced stage of cancer, and it’s about a 50 percent five-year survival rate, which means that only 50 percent of those diagnosed will be alive in five years.” Ciarrocca said the main risk factors for oral cancer include tobacco use and drinking, especially in combination. “And the scarier thing now is that there are younger people developing oral cancer, and they’re attributing it to human papiloma virus, which is the same virus that causes cervical cancer,” Ciarrocca said. “And so we’re seeing a segment of the population that doesn’t fit that category of older smoker-drinker. It’s young, otherwise healthy people.” While the HPV vaccine may protect against cervical cancer, health care professionals are unsure of its efficacy in preventing oral and oropharyngeal cancers, Ciarrocca said. Once diagnosed with oral cancer, a patient’s treatment plan is determined by an interdisciplinary group of doctors, including oral surgeons, radiologists, medical oncologists, nutritionists and others, said Scott De Rossi, the chairman of oral health and diagnostic sciences at Georgia Regents. “The take-home message is that, No. 1, people need to look in their own mouth,” De Rossi said. “We talk about self-breast exams and self-testicular exams for various cancers. People need to look in their own mouth. And No. 2, they actually need to make sure that their dentist is looking in their mouth, doing an oral cancer exam because a lot of dentists might not

Learning CONTINUED from PAGE 1

The vice president of Academic Affairs, Carol Rychly, said the partnership with East Georgia is being negotiated but hasn’t been officially approved. “We’re very much committed to looking at various options for students,” Rychly said. “We’re looking at new ways to help students be successful. Part of that success is expecting a real commitment from students coming in to consider

MINDY WADLEY I STAFF

Scott De Rossi examines Pretesh Parmar’s mouth for signs of oral cancer during the free screenings Wednesday.

necessarily do it. And they need to make sure that they remind their dentist.” Patients without access to health insurance can take advantage of free screenings offered by dentists and oral medicine specialists nationwide. De Rossi said the Oral Cancer Foundation’s website lists providers who offer those services. “Historically, April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and there are always places that have oral cancer screenings,” DeRossi said. “Numerous dentists throughout the country will provide these free oral cancer screenings during the month of April, if not other times throughout the year.” Pretesh Parmar, a first-year physician assistant student in the College of Allied Health Sciences at Georgia Regents, attended the free screening Wednesday. “A lot of college-aged kids and people also in professional schools tend to drink socially, and drinking, although it’s more heavy drinking, is a risk factor for oral cancer,” Parmar said. “That just made me feel the desire to come and be more educated about what really are the risk factors and what sorts

themselves full-time students, that this is their primary job.” Another option for students is the Augusta Gateway program, Whiting said. According to the AGP page on Georgia Regents’ website, AGP is an invitation-only program for incoming freshmen who live within a 50-mile radius of Augusta and do not meet the regular admission standards for Georgia Regents. Upon successful completion of the two-year program, Augusta Gateway students will make a seamless transition into the university to complete requirements to earn a bachelor’s degree.

atrawick@gru.edu

contributors CLAYTON PALMER ERICA WRIGHT

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of drinking and things like that can cause problems.” Ciarrocca said she hopes events such as Wednesday’s free screenings help promote awareness of the disease. “The awareness is just not there,” Ciarrocca said. “I think that part of the reason that breast cancer has such a great survival rate now is because they detect it earlier, and there’s just so much awareness. When I lecture, I advocate all the time for monthly oral cancer exams. Just look in your mouth. Look around. A lot of times oral cancers will not be painful. It’s not like you’re having mouth pain and you want to go see your doctor or your dentist, until it’s too late.” Parmar said he would encourage his fellow students to take advantage of screenings such as the one Wednesday. “Whenever it’s free, it just doesn’t get much better than that,” Parmar said. “And finding out about things such as cancer early really helps with the prognosis and the treatment of those kinds of cancers. With a lot of conditions, if you wait too long, the damage on a body can be irreversible at some point.” mindyawadley@gmail.com

Ratan CONTINUED from PAGE 1

Ratan said her presentation at the Pentagon is a background briefing on the region. During the presentation, she talks about geography and identity issues, especially in Afghanistan. Ratan said she also talks about the history of the region to explain the political conflict and discusses which ethnic group dominates each area on the ground and what cultural traditions they are going to run up against. On Friday, she does a talk on the Rule of Law Collaborative. She discusses the Pashtunwali, which is the code of the Afghan or Pashtun people, and the Rule of Law issues in Afghanistan such as gender issues. Her job is to help fill in the blanks about the region people don’t know about. Others have praised Ratan’s presentation. “Professor Ratan always gets high marks from people (who were a part of the course),” said Michael E. Criscuolo, the captain and judge advocate for the United States Army. “People who have come back (from Afghanistan) said Professor Ratan’s training is helpful.”

Ratan said the reason she knows so much about this subject because her doctoral dissertation was on ethnic identity since she has an interest in the way ethical identity is shaped. While the focus of her dissertation was not on Afghanistan, Ratan said the issues in that part of the world were similar because of their different ethnic groups. Ratan said she enjoys when people who have already been deployed come to her presentations because they ask really good questions. She said she has also done presentations in New Orleans and New Jersey and enjoys doing these presentations for the military because they need the information and it is valuable. Gordon Smith, the director of the Rule of Law Collaborative and a political science professor at University of South Carolina, said Ratan is making a name for her future. “She is a very able scholar and people are beginning to know that,” Smith said. “She is developing a reputation that I think will grow and grow.” kfrazie9@gru.edu

Military NIKKI SKINNER | STAFF

Countless flags standing outside the UN headquarters represent various nations.

UN CONTINUED from PAGE 1

department, served his inaugural year as a Model UN advisor alongside Albert. “I think it also gave him an opportunity to become more acclimated with the student body here, kind of get his feet wet,” Mathews said. Hunter, with Albert and head delegates Mathews and Michael Jordan Pruner, advised the Model UN delegation through negotiations with other countries represented by teams from schools from all over the world. “We were working with Venezuela and Cuba and people that Iran would work with in real life,” said senior Fady Tawadrous, who was attending the conference for the first time. He also said that, despite some students entering the conference shy and timid, they flourished once they began negotiations. “We teamed up with China and Japan and Algeria and a host of different countries to get a perspective and create a resolution,” Masters said. “It was really interesting to try and find out who I could work with and who I couldn’t work with and to know their policies versus our policies and how they mesh together.” They actively had to learn how

to avoid talks with countries that were not their allies, just like Iran would, Masters said. “We clearly couldn’t talk to Israel or the United States,” Masters said. “Every time they would come over, we would kind of walk away.” Georgia Regents’ team also finished the conference with three awards, although the advisors and head delegates emphasize that winning awards is not the goal of the team’s annual trips to New York. “With such a new program, we are very proud of the different awards we were able to come back with,” Mathews said. “I will say, though, we do not measure our students’ success by the awards that they get. You get in there and you watch them and you work with them and you see them grow and then you see them perform really well.” Overall, most students seemed to agree that simply learning about their assigned country was challenging, yet eye-opening. And, as Albert said, most Americans do not get the opportunity to extensively study a country like Iran. “You kind of get what the media tells you about states like Iran,” Tawadrous said. “The class got us into the character of understanding Iran.” rmclay@gru.edu

CONTINUED from PAGE 1

uar Student Activities Center from 8:30 a.m. until noon. There were recruiters; representatives from the VA Medical Center Augusta Women’s Health Program; and Chris Ham, the vice president of SVA, to talk about educational benefits, Bridges said. Following the information fair was a film, “The Invisible War,” which was shown by the Monday night film series provided by the Georgia Regents communications department. Bridges said a panel spoke on issues relating to sexual assault awareness afterward. “The film, obviously, is about a tough subject, but it’s something that needs to be addressed,” she said. “It’s an issue, not just in the military, but in society, and it’s something we need to work on.” The following day, the SVA hosted a cookout located outside of Galloway Hall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a post-traumatic stress disorder briefing in the JSAC Coffeehouse following immediately afterwards until 4 p.m. “They (talked) about the issues that PTSD causes on students and how they’re affected,” Bridges said. “You’ll have those people who are veterans in your class that, you know, loud noises freak them out. Sitting, for me, like having someone sit behind me, freaks me out. Veterans are a different demographic. Making people aware of what

those challenges are and being able to work with them and understand it makes it better for the student or the faculty and the other people in the classroom.” On Wednesday, April 3, a benefit briefing featuring representatives from the Augusta Warrior Project and the Office of Military and Veterans Services was held in the JSAC ballroom from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. The representatives spoke in regards to the various G.I. Bills available, as well as different resources, such as tutoring, which can be paid for with veterans’ benefits, she said. A military student experience forum was held in the same location the following day. “We (had) veterans and an active duty person and they…(talked) about their experiences in the military,” Bridges said. “We (had) a slide show, pictures and music to kind of give people who have never been in the military an idea of what that lifestyle is like.” The SVA ended the week on a positive note with a get-together at Chili’s in Augusta, Ga., Friday evening. “(It was an) opportunity for all the vets to get together and trade war stories, as we say, and develop that kind family outside of the school environment,” she said. mstewar7@gru.edu

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Stray animals in Augusta

SPECIAL SECTION PHOTOS JAMIE LOWE & JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

Various agencies and individuals in the Augusta area offer assistance for the plight of animals that don’t have a place to call home.

Homeward hound By RYAN MCCLAY chief reporter While many Augusta, Ga., residents often drive by a stray dog or cat, one local woman decided to take the problem into her own hands and her own household. Elizabeth Cullinan, who lives in the downtown area, recently encountered and took in a pregnant stray dog when she and her family moved into their home this spring. “She had resided here before we moved in,” Cullinan said, who already has two dogs of her own. “She was very, very sketchy and scared of everybody. It took me a couple of weeks to get her used to coming to me, and I’d start giving her hot dogs and giving her some food and bringing her closer and closer. Finally, she’d start letting me pet her, but she wouldn’t let anybody else touch her, though.” Not long after making a home

for the dog, Cullinan said she gave birth to 15 puppies, three of which soon died. She attempted to find homes for them through the CSRA Humane Society, but they told her the space was at full capacity and could not take in the mother or her litter. “I hated to have for her to go, but there was no way we could afford her and our dogs and 15 puppies,” she said. “When the pound came and got them, he took pictures of them. But he told me as soon as he went around the corner he would have to put them down because there are just so many of them.” Graduate student Jaimie Edwards, who works on the Health Sciences campus of Georgia Regents University, recently discussed homeless animals with her boss who previously lived in Ohio. “She said they don’t have that problem there because animals are required to be licensed,” Edwards said. “That cuts down on all the strays and the strays they do have are picked up by the county and the

government pays for it due to the fact that the licensing pays for all that. It’s also another source of revenue. She said she’s never seen anything like the South.” Another Georgia Regents student, Maryetta Beck, also noted the difference between how Augusta and other cities manage their homeless animal population. “If you have an animal, like they do in Phoenix now, that you can’t produce animals unless you have a license,” Beck said. “In other words, you can’t just breed them. You have to have permission to breed.” Natalie Lanham, who moved to Charlotte, N.C., after graduating from Augusta State University in 2012, said if she ever encountered homeless dogs, they were usually in the downtown area. “A lot of times you see them and they’re not wearing collars,” Lanham said. “You kind of have to wonder where they came from, if they ever had a family, and they probably didn’t, because they weren’t wearing

Local rescue fights to save animals By JAMIE LOWE webmaster Elaine van der Linden was horrified at the treatment and condition of homeless animals in Richmond County, Ga., so she decided to do something about it. Molly’s Militia was founded by van der Linden after she read an article by Sylvia Cook, an Augusta Chronicle reporter, in 1999. Van der Linden visited the Richmond County Animal Shelter and gained two dogs. Molly was one of those dogs’ names and became the poster “child” for Molly’s Militia. “I wanted to see a change in the way these animals were treated,” van der Linden said. “They were treated horribly. I couldn’t sleep at night. I just had to do something for those animals.” Van der Linden said that, at that time, the dogs were being inhumanely euthanized, and their bodies were disposed of in ways that were disrespectful to the animals. Molly’s Militia was established as a nonprofit organization staffed by volunteers that takes animals from shelters to foster them and raise their chances of being adopted. Donations to the militia include monetary donations that go toward feeding the animals as they come into the foster home. Gifts such as toys, food, dog blankets and beds are also accepted. The volunteer foster parents donate their time and homes to the animals, only to be reimbursed for the expenses of the animals. The volunteers go to shelters and take the animals that are set to be euthanized. Animals that have been fostered by militia volunteers include cats, dogs and horses from Augusta, Ga.; Barnwell, S.C.; and Aiken, S.C. Many of the calls that the militia gets have to go unanswered because there is a limit for the number of animals they can take into the foster homes. Volunteers like Teresa Tice open their homes to the animals and, sometimes, the animals’ offspring. “The pound is no place for puppies,”

Tice said. “There are so many diseases that they could catch while they’re there. They really don’t have a fighting chance in there.” Tice recently fostered a female mixedbreed dog and her litter of nine puppies. When the dog family came to Tice, the puppies were already suffering from a common illness, canine parvovirus type 2. It is an infection passed between dogs and can infect the heart or intestines of a dog or small puppy. Many puppies who contract the disease do not survive unless given special care. Tice fed the puppies multiple times a day, feeding them a synthesized goat-milk formula. The puppies were treated for parvo and any other illnesses they might have contracted while in the pound. Even with Tice’s love and care, two of the puppies didn’t survive the illness. “It’s really hard,” said Donna Hasty, the adoption coordinator for Molly’s Militia. “We try not to get too attached to the puppies because they’re so young, but when you lose one, you take it very personally.” Volunteers gather at the Augusta PetSmart every other Saturday, coordinated by Hasty. Not all of the foster families are required to attend every adoption weekend, but they are required to attend at least one per month. Van der Linden said that there is a high turnout for the adoption weekends, with several of the animals usually getting adopted. When an individual adopts an animal from the militia, there is a home inspection that is required to be performed at the future household. These inspections are required, by law, in Georgia but not South Carolina. The fee for adopting pets from Molly’s Militia is inclusive of all vaccines that the animals need, a spay/neuter procedure that the militia has done before the adoption process, microchipping, flea treatment and more. “We usually don’t even break even,” said Van der Linden. “(Our nonprofit) survives on our love for the animals and donations from our volunteers. We always need volunteers.”

jlowe12@gru.edu

collars.” However, outside of the downtown area, residents say they don’t encounter a lot of stray animals. Beck, who resides in Martinez, Ga., said she has rarely seen homeless animals in her neighborhood. “Usually, if we have a cat dropped off, one of the neighbors adopts them,” said Beck. “We don’t allow any stray animals around. I’ve been there 30 years, and in 30 years, we’ve only had to call the pound once. Most of the time people in our neighborhood take care of animals. If we have a stray, someone will usually pick it up.” During the seven years Lanham lived in Augusta, she said she doesn’t recall seeing many stray animals in her neighborhoods. “For a while I lived in Grovetown, Ga., and it’s very suburban and residential there,” she said. “I didn’t really encounter a whole lot of stray animals probably because they would have been somebody’s pets and somebody

would have been looking for them.” She then moved to an apartment in the Summerville area, noting that cats were the only stray animals she saw there. However, she did not experience the same anxiety around them as around dogs. “We think of cats as more independent and, therefore, can take care of themselves,” Lanham said. “We think of dogs as requiring a home and humans to support them. We have domesticated these animals over thousands of years.” While she doesn’t notice any stray animals in her new home in Charlotte, she does recognize a need for people to intervene to help control the homeless animal population. As for Cullinan and her family, they decided to keep two of the newborn puppies from the mother they took in from the streets. “It has worked out well,” she said. “It’s a lot of taking care of. It’s just like a child.” rmclay@gru.edu

Animal Services puts a leash on overpopulation of strays By JORDAN WILLIAMS sports editor The overpopulation and magnitude of stray animals in Richmond County, Ga., has become a serious issue for Animal Services. Karen Collins, the kennel attendant for Richmond County Animal Services, said they are a form of public safety responsible for picking up stray dogs, setting traps for undomesticated animals, taking in the homeless and handling bite cases. She said they work off complaints received throughout the day and send out officers who investigate and handle the situation. “The complainer will tell us a little bit about what’s going on, and we’ll go out and look for the dog and if we have any more questions we contact the complainer,” Collins said. “That’s part of our investigation process and that’s how we figure out sometimes whether this is just a feral animal that’s been roaming for months or a problem dog that goes to this house every night but roams the street all during the day.” Sharon Broady, the director of Richmond County Animal Services, said they are combating the problem by promoting proper animal care. “We’re trying to educate the public to spay and neuter their pets and on how to take care of pets responsibly,” she said. Despite their attempts at educating the general public on proper animal care, the issue with homeless animals seems never-ending, Collin said. In certain areas, a colony of feral cats or a pack of dogs is always popping up. Another challenge that is handicapping the Animal Services mission is the public’s lack of knowledge about the things it does, Broady said. “People don’t know that we exist,” she said. “They don’t know that Animal Services is out here, and they don’t know that we have a website, so advertising is very effective.” However, in Columbia County, Ga., the problem with stray animals is a lot less intense and Animal Services simply works to keep it that way, Daniel Mayne, the operations manager,

said. Columbia County Animal Services receives only about five or 10 calls a day that are related to stray animals running around with no owner, and whenever a bite case occurs it is usually domestic, he said. Similar to Animal Services in Richmond County, Columbia County tries to control the animal population by preaching to the public about the benefits of spaying and neutering, but the factor that makes the situation in Columbia County easier to manage is the difference in population. “Columbia County is at 125,000 (people) and Richmond County is at, like, 300,000 (people), so that’s why there is such a vast difference,” he said. “They have twice our population so they are going to have twice as many animal calls.” Broady said that stray animals are not fed regularly, and whenever a food source is discovered, this leads them to act aggressively. “They may attack an owner that is out there trying to get them out of their yard; they may attack a dog or cat that’s in that property because they’re trying to get to that animal’s food source,” she said. “So because they are hungry and stray, they become aggressive whenever something is blocking their access to the food.” Depending on the month, the number of complaints received by Richmond County Animal Services can range from 700 to 1,200. Most complaints deal with dogs running loose, or numerous stray cats being in a neighborhood. The issue with so many animals roaming the streets is mostly related to irresponsible pet owners. Collins said that if pet owners would simply spay or neuter their pets and keep their pets restrained, it would make Animal Services’ job a lot easier. “If we cut down on the amount of puppies that are being born and then take better care of the animals that we have, you’re not going to have a need for animal control,” she said. jwill143@gru.edu

PAGE 4

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

OPINIONS www.asubellringer.com

editorial WHERE IS OUR MONEY GOING?

There’s been a lot of talk about Georgia Regents University’s transition into a full-fledged research university. Such R-1 institutions include Georgia State University, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology. From what we gather, that’s the whole point of the merger between Augusta State and Georgia Health Sciences universities: to increase the university’s prestige by making it a rival to the bigger-name schools in the state and elsewhere. In order to fully embrace our new status, we are told, fees and tuition, as well as admission standards, must go up. We get that completely. We may begrudge it a bit, but we understand the necessity if we are to truly embrace our potential. What we take issue with is how and where that money is being spent. More specifically, we take issue with not being told exactly where and what our money is spent on. The Bell Ringer, for instance, was informed that Student Activities is anticipating a budget shortfall, which means the newspaper will not be getting the much-needed equipment we requested. Further, before submitting our

WHAT DO YOU THINK

about the increased fees and tuition?

What should get more funding at GRU? Where should the money go? email The Bell Ringer at bellringerproduction@gmail.com annual budget request, we were told in no uncertain terms that any requests for a budget increase would be highly frowned upon. We understand we can’t always get what we want. But it seems odd that the administration of a research university that emphasizes education and career training would choose to severely limit one of its few student-run publications, a publication that serves as a public forum for the university and community alike. We can’t help but notice the everincreasing number of stands for the

GReport, a publication produced by the Office of Marketing and Communications. We realize that a university needs a public-relations outlet, but it almost seems as though the administration expects The Bell Ringer to compete with the professionally produced GReport. Obviously, this is problematic. Funding is severely lacking for The Bell Ringer, a problem we can assume the GReport is completely unfamiliar with. We have 11 paid positions plus a fluctuating number of unpaid staff writers – far fewer than most research

universities’ student newspapers. This small staff was insufficient even when we were only expected to cover Augusta State. Now that we are expected to cover both the Summerville and Health Sciences campuses, we should be given an expanded budget so that we can increase our staff in order to better serve the community. The Bell Ringer won 14 awards at a statewide competition in February, five of them first-place awards. Considering our limited funding and slight staff, it is an amazing feat that we edged out universities such as Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southern University and Georgia State. But that shows you how dedicated we are to bringing you the latest, mostbreaking news in all things Georgia Regents and beyond. We know what is expected of us, and we do our best to surpass those expectations. We understand what an important role The Bell Ringer serves in the community, and we take that responsibility very seriously. The only question is: Does the administration?

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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:

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The hospital has a major identity crisis REBECCA PERBETSKY versity is all about promoting unity and two schools coming together as one. Well then, staff writer why is our hospital having such an identity rperbets@gmail.com crisis that the people who are treated at the There is an identity hospital don’t even know what name to refer crisis at the hospital in to it by? Another thing that frustrated us was not downtown Augusta, only this issue with identity but also that Ga. The hospital for- there were several elevators that were not merly known as the working. So what, we spend all this money Medical College of Georgia, or MCG, has on changing the name of this hospital two yet another new name and even though it is different times that there is absolutely no under a new title, I am still having a hard money left in the budget to take care of simtime calling it anything other than the hos- ple maintenance problems and housekeeping pital downtown because I am very confused when it comes to keeping the hospital fully as to what the name of the hospital is. We all functioning? This is a HUGE problem. Not only is know who is for blame for all of the confusion, and yet I feel like playing the “blame this a huge problem, but this simply should not be happening. game” isn’t the right thing to do. The name of the hospital should never Recently my younger sister had surgery on her foot and the procedure was done at be more important than the functionality of the hospital downtown. Her surgery went it, and I don’t see why the name had to be well and the staff members were angels, as changed so many times in the first place. I all hospital staff are when helping others, think that the first time the name was changed but afterward my mother and I began to talk they should have thought about the future of about some things that were very concern- possibly merging the two schools together ing. You see, my mother and I began to talk and then taken much more time in deciding about all three of the names that were located everything, and only then should they have picked one simple name that highlighted the in different areas of the hospital. There was a sign out front of the hos- city of Augusta. Then maybe the hospital pital that still said MCG on it after all these would know the identity, the patients of the years after the first identity change that the hospital and locals would know exactly what hospital went through. Then there was a dif- to call the hospital, and finally the monthly, ferent sign somewhere inside of the hospital weekly and daily maintenance would possithat said Georgia Health Sciences Hospital, bly be kept up in a more timely fashion. In all honesty, I think that this whole which was the most recent name prior to the current name. We then saw a sign that situation needs to be resolved immediately had the most current identity of the hospital, or as soon as possible because this DOES NOT reflect well on the city of Augusta at Georgia Regents Medical Center. This concerned my mother and me great- all. There needs to be someone who will ly. The hospital name should be the same stand up to right this crisis and help our bein all areas of the hospital, right? So then loved hospital regain its identity because I why hasn’t anyone taken the time to make am afraid that without a firm, well-known this happen for the hospital downtown? The identity soon others will also refer to it as the merger between the medical college that is in hospital downtown. downtown Augusta and Augusta State Uni-

you

do have an opinion on things at GRU? if so, email us at bellringerproduction@gmail.com

President-elect:

Positive changes coming to SGA in fall AMANDA BRYANT SGA president-elect abryant9@gru.edu

The consolidation of two universities in Augusta came with many changes and the fear that comes with change. New name? Yes. New logo? Yes.New policies? Yes. All of this can be very confusing. New organizations or new policies within existing student organizations? While I can’t speak for other organizations, I can speak for the Undergraduate Chapter of the Student Government Association, the SGA-Senate. My name is Amanda Bryant, and I have been elected to be President of the SGA Senate for the 2013-2014 school year. Next year’s SGA will be a little different than what you have seen in the past. Before elections were able to happen this year, the SGAs from both the Summerville campus, which is referred to as the Undergraduate Senate, and the Health Sciences Campus, which is referred to as the Graduate House of Representatives, had to collaborate and pass a new constitution. This constitution had been in the works since the summer of 2012. The former constitution was not written by the student government but, in fact, was written by the former director of Student Activities, Eddie Howard. With the consolidation of the two campuses, we had an opportunity to change the face of student government, and we started here. Since this new constitution was actually written by students, it has the best interest of students in mind. Some of these changes are as follows: We added a humanitarian position. This was vital to make sure the undergraduate students had the same representation that the graduates had. The humanitarian serves as liaison to student organizations and helps with campus and community service. As far as advisors go, the SGA is unique in that, unlike other organizations that are allowed to choose their advisors, we are appointed one. This had many people upset because it felt like we had no say in how our organization was represented by the administration or faculty. With our new constitution, however, our advisor is still appointed, but the president actually submits an evaluation of the advisor to the vice president of Student Affairs. This allows us to hold our advisor to a higher standard and make sure they are doing their job. Our policy used to be that bills required two readings. We have shortened that to allow us to vote upon the first reading, there-

fore speeding up the process to have funds allocated to a student organization sooner. We also added a few committees that will allow the Senate to concentrate on business when in meetings. What that means for the students is if you are a part of a student organization and are requesting funds, there will be set procedures that have already been established and ironed out before your request hits the floor. One more change I would like to mention is we have changed quorum from 3/4 of the body to 50 percent plus 1. That means when we have senators who are out, such as our athletes, we will still be able to meet quorum and vote. This also speeds up the process of getting business handled. Another big change that will be coming along is the way money is requested by student organizations. The process before was that a member from an organization would have to find a senator, ask for help and give the information. A bill was then written and presented to the Senate. After the first reading of the bill, another week had to pass before voting on the bill. Once the bill passed, it took about another two weeks for the bill to clear and have money available for the function they were requesting funds for. A few weeks before spring break, the SGA passed a resolution that would have all fund requests be done through an online process. There will be a link on our webpage that will walk you through how to do it. Once the information has been filled out and you hit submit, it will automatically be sent to an executive committee member and from there passed to a senator to write the bill and have it voted on that week. We are currently working on changing the election process. There will be more notification and time to decide if you want to be in the SGA, as well as more time to get to know the candidates running for positions. Included in that, we will have two days of meeting the candidates, during which the students will be able to approach the candidates and ask them any questions they would like to help determine if they should vote for that candidate. I hope that throughout the next year, I will make the student body more aware of what is going on with the SGA and serve everyone in the best manner possible. I believe that to serve the students effectively, I need to know everyone’s concerns. If there are concerns, do not hesitate to email those concerns to me or even come visit me in the SGA suite upstairs in the JSAC. I plan on keeping everyone updated on what is going on with the Senate as much as possible through the means of The Bell Ringer and would like to thank the staff for allowing me to do so.

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 5 www.asubellringer.com

ALLERGIES: Explaining my mid-semester slump The bane of my existence FATIMA FRASHER staff writer ffrasher@gru.edu

When I was younger I could not wait to make it back to Georgia from my various escapades with my mother in different states. It always started off the same for me: I’d arrive either downtown at the Greyhound bus station or in Columbia, S.C., on the Amtrak train. Being a grandma’s baby, I always associated Georgia with her and Deans Bridge Road. I was never home until I had seen her or the red clay our state is known for. Over the years, many things started to change for me in my lovely state, but one thing stood out incredibly my ninth-grade year that would change my life dramatically throughout the course of adulthood. That one thing was my allergies, which seem to start the same time every year – beginning in February and lasting until about the end of July – tormenting my life relentlessly. My first account of my allergies happened when I first arrived back in Georgia in 2001. I never knew I had allergies until one day one of my high school teachers sent me to the nurse’s office for conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. At that time I probably was just grateful for getting out of class, but I did wonder how I had gotten pink eye in not one but both eyes. At that time, I was not yet aware of knowing my symptoms for my allergies. Then, I just went by what I was told. I had pink eye, and never having that before either, I was pretty much scared of what the school nurse was going to do to me. Having the typical white coat syndrome and never really being in the nurse’s office, I figured she was going to give me a shot or something. Instead, she just called my next of kin and released me. My grandma was told at that time that until my family could show proof from my doctor that I was cured and not contagious I would not be permitted to come back to school. To the typical person looking at me then, they would have sworn I had pink eye, due to my eyes be-

ing completely swollen and blood shot red. But it wasn’t that at all; I was just having an allergic reaction to pollen. That afternoon, I was taken to my physician, who soon discovered that it was not pink eye I had but actually severe allergies. I was told by my doctor to try avoiding pollen, weeds and dander, though at that time I didn’t even know what pollen was what with me coming from Florida and all. So I asked my grandma when we got into the car about pollen. She looked around for a while and then spotted a car covered in this yellowish powder and said, “That is pollen.”

“Now when I leave Georgia and come back, I know I’m home when my allergies flare up.”    I was dumbfounded by the yellow powder. Like, I seriously wanted to know how that yellow powder affected me to the point of being kicked out of school. I wanted to know where it came from and how I was going to avoid something that was in the air. I asked my grandmother my final question of what made pollen so I could avoid it all together, and she just looked at me like I said the strangest thing ever. “Fatima, pollen comes from pine trees, and you could never avoid it – you just have to deal with it,” my grandma said. After that my symptoms over the years changed and so did my remedies for dealing with my allergies. I found out that Benadryl was the best, but I would get drowsy during the day. Then I had to use Claritin, which did nothing for my symptoms, so I ended up switching to Zyrtec, a hot compress, cough drops and plenty of tea. I still deal with the coughs, loss of voice, nasal dripping, nasal draining, burning eyes and just plain irritation. It is exhausting and a bother, but I could never see myself anywhere but Georgia. Now when I leave Georgia and come back, I know I’m home when my allergies flare up. Georgia is always on my mind and so are my allergies (at least for six months of the year).

RYAN MCLAY chief reporter rmclay@gru.edu

After 12½ weeks of Spring Semester, the nearly 16,000 Georgia Regents University students, staff and faculty were granted a much-deserved weeklong break, which, as we all know, is followed by only two-and-a-half weeks of classes before finals begin. Many people I spoke with about this awkward schedule told me they would rather not have the break at all and simply finish finals and begin their summer. If the powers-that-be scheduled the year’s Spring Break during Master’s Week simply to follow Augusta tradition, they have done everyone a great disservice. Augustans are well-aware that much of the city’s schedule revolves around the tournament. Many businesses make the bulk of their yearly income during this time. Others leave town and avoid the crowds. I prefer staying in class during this time. I imagine spending the week thoroughly preparing for finals and completing my final projects, all the while taking different routes to school to avoid traffic.

“The weeks before Spring Break began, I was no longer pulling 100 percent.” For the 2012-2013 academic year, Spring Break began more than a month after midterm had passed March 6. Nearby universities, such as the University of Georgia, began their Spring Breaks in the middle of March, having begun their Spring Semesters the same week as our university. Their semesters also end at the same time. In short, they are practically on the same academic schedule as Georgia Regents, aside from Spring Break. With this in mind, I think I could have managed my time much better with a betterplanned academic calendar like UGA’s. Going into this semester, I was well aware of the challenges ahead. I had signed

up for more classes than I normally would have. I had become very involved in two student organizations for which I have great passion and receive great reward. Finally, I had volunteered to present three research topics at three conferences. Honestly, I don’t believe this workload is much greater than most students, especially when compared to those in health sciences or science and mathematics programs. However, I do know that during the weeks before Spring Break began, I was no longer pulling 100 percent, and I was very unpleasant to be around. I was losing steam, fast. Perhaps, at 32 years old, I don’t have the stamina I did as a 20-year-old. And I know that I can easily become anxious and overwhelmed. But, looking around my classrooms, I could sense that most of my younger counterparts were in the same boat. People were reluctant to participate in discussions. They slouched a little bit more than usual. Their eyes glazed over with disengagement. They, too, were very ready to begin Spring Break. Even professors seemed to have less enthusiasm, noting exhaustedly that they were ready for a rest, as much as they loved their students. I want to be exemplary. I want to graduate with an excellent academic track record and lots of extra accomplishments that I can use in whatever job I find after college. But, I also want the time to recharge. Having worked in places like the military and the federal government, I am very aware that few opportunities present themselves to drop one’s workload and head off to an exotic island. The same can also be true for college students. I have taken classes full-time every semester for the past two years and have had very little time and money to relax and see my out-of-state family. However, as a student, I can usually count on some break in the semester before I burn out completely. Not this year. Fortunately, for the first time since high school in 1998, I will be taking off for the summer. Instead of books and papers, I will be dedicating my time to gardening and dog-walking. If the administration is reading, I can only hope it considers the well-being and success of its 16,000 staff, students and faculty.

Making sense of this crazy world JACOB SCHARFF staff writer jscharff@gru.edu

I don’t understand this world anymore. Days are full of memes, explosions and masks now. These three things all stem from fear, whether escaping it or trying to incite it. I remember back to when all I would fear was that my parents would stop me from playing video games for some reason. As I’ve grown older, the world has grown more complex and now fear controls a lot of the decisions we make. Memes are commonplace and almost overkill these days. Some saying is repeated over and over again until the world knows it by heart. So anytime we see a new meme we repost it immediately or post another variation on it, so we look like we’re in the know. The same goes for viral videos. I admit that I have never watched Gangnam Style. I don’t care, though, because I do know I’m not alone. That’s what we have to remember. Memes and viral videos, live and die by sharing. If what you share is that you don’t know about them and don’t care, they lose their hold over you. Horrific events seem to consume our daily existence now. The Boston Marathon bombing is a perfect example. That event will define people for a long time to come and not just for those immediately affected by it but all of us who have watched the tale unfold piece by piece. Even a year from now, assuming the marathon will be run again, the participants will have a piece of fear lodged in them. Fear that history will repeat itself, despite all the precautions sure to be set in place. Fear that has lodged itself in every human being and thus been represented either by cowering in our homes or by trying too hard to fix it. That fear is exactly what the bombers were

looking for. Fear erases all of the past happy memories; it mars our perception of everything and takes away what we love. That’s what these people look for when they do these things, whether because they are malicious or because they feel like we don’t know what fear is but they do and they want to show us. When I say masks stem from fear, I don’t mean typical Halloween masks. I mean the emotional ones that people tend to wear nowadays. In an effort to avoid upsetting the status quo, people will put true feelings toward someone to the side and keep up this air of normalcy in the hopes that eventually the person will just go away. The problem is the more you put into a person, the more they expect and the harder they are let down if you suddenly drop the mask and your feelings change. People deserve to know your true feelings because lies will build upon lies and a relationship built on that will eventually crumble and leave the builders struggling under its rubble. Fear cannot control us, though, unless we let it. If we let ourselves be defined by memes and viral videos, then we lose. If we stay in our homes or do something stupid to rectify what we lose in senseless attacks like the bombing, we still lose. If we use nothing but flimsy masks to build and keep our relationships together, we lose. So when do we win? We win when we go out and be ourselves, everyone else be damned. Carrie Underwood came to the James Brown Arena for a concert Friday. I went and saw her, by myself, not caring what might happen. I had an amazing time. I smiled, I sang along and I was happy. I wasn’t scared the arena was going to crash down around my ears, I wasn’t scared someone was going come and ruin that for me, and I wasn’t going for anyone but me and only because I think she is a truly amazing musician. Happiness drove that decision. Happiness should be what drives us. Happiness should be what builds us up. Things that make us unhappy need to be forgotten about.

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@BellRinger_News students: What do you think are the pros and cons of summer classes? @RheaOb “Summer classes are great when they’re in another country.” #studyabroad #GRU

How my unexpected life turned out to be pretty cool RON HICKERSON chief reporter rhickers@gru.edu

My life has rarely ever gone according to plan. But I think I’m OK with that. Let me explain. I used to have grandiose plans for my life: I knew what I wanted to do and when I wanted to do it. I wasn’t expecting those plans to fail. In high school, I decided I would go to Toccoa Falls University, study the Bible, find the woman I wanted to marry, graduate, go to seminary and become a minister. That plan changed when I realized how expensive it would be to go to the private Christian college, so I enrolled at Augusta State University instead in 2008. There, after watching “The Dead Poets’ Society” one too many times, I decided I was

going to study creative writing and education, get certified as a high school teacher and teach juniors and seniors, challenging their developing worldviews. But that plan fell apart when I felt as if everything was crumbling around me my freshman year. It was my second semester and I was studying for a test in my 8 a.m. biology class. The night before the test, I had a few friends who were transporting another friend of mine to the Atlanta airport for a 6 a.m. flight. Deciding to be responsible, I stayed home and crammed for the test. But I never got to take the test. I overslept. That mishap made me take my only “W” in a class. To add insult to injury, the brigade of my friends had made it back home from the airport at 7:30 that morning. That semester, I was also working as a car-hop at Sonic (a job I absolutely loathed), had just been turned down by a girl that I really wanted to date, and, with my morale down, let my grades drop because I was fin-

ished with college. That summer, to get out of dodge, I flew down to Honduras to help a friend of mine who was teaching English at a non-profit elementary school. That friend was Zoe Tolson, who would become the future Zoe Hickerson. Coming back from Honduras, I decided to revert back to my original plan of becoming a minister. I withdrew from my classes for the Fall 2009 semester and began the process of enrolling in a local biblical studies program. That didn’t pan out either. I dated Zoe long-distance while she did another tour in Honduras. Like an idiot, I didn’t take the overage rates for texting and calling my girlfriend overseas into account. The result was a $900 bill from T-Mobile. I had saved up everything for this biblical studies program, but I had to take that money and use it to pay for this cell phone bill, going back to Sonic to work full-time. After working there for a semester, I decided to go back to Augusta State. For some

reason still unbeknownst to me, I decided to study journalism. I decided writing was the only thing I was good at that I actually liked. So I began studying the form of writing I thought would make me more marketable after I graduated. Since then, I’ve still been bombarded by the unexpected and I’ve survived. And some of those unexpected events have been positive. Unforeseen by just about everyone, Zoe and I got married in June 2010 and we bought a house in December 2011. These misfortunes, mishaps and pleasant surprises have guided me throughout my college career and, like everyone, I’ve had to learn to appreciate the good and roll with the punches when it got tough. Now that graduation is rapidly approaching and the possibility of starting a family becomes even more concrete, I have no idea what to expect. But I think I’m OK with that.

PAGE 6

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

ARTS & LIFE www.asubellringer.com

Culinary art displayed in desserts

Local restaurant experiments with funky flavors in ice cream By MEGAN STEWART arts & life editor

A

local restaurant bringing fresh ingredients and a variety of flavor to the public puts a twist to its menu by providing diverse house-made ice creams. Rooster’s Beak Bar and Kitchen in downtown Augusta, Ga., is not just known for its Hispanic flavor. With the acquisition of its own ice cream maker, the chefs have taken the idea of creating flavors to a new level, said Jonathan Marks, the head chef and owner. “Our flavors are pretty off the wall,” he said. “People seem to enjoy them ... We sometimes have ice creams that are way different than people expect. We’ll put chilies, bacon and toffee in one, and we’ll have some that have lemon, mint and rosemary.” The art of creating ice cream starts with the base, which is another aspect that Rooster’s Beak has to differentiate it from others, Marks said. “We do (a) French custard style, which the difference being that we use egg yolks in ours … and local milk from Hickory Hill farms,” he said. “If we flavor it, we typically add chocolate, chilies, whatever herb or whatever we feel like doing. We incorporate that into the custard and then we have a big ice cream machine and freeze it at the restaurant. If we add like chocolate chips, cookies or whatever we want to add chunky into it, we can add it into the machine while it’s turning.” The flavors that the restaurant uses are also rarely reoccurring. “We change it up a lot,” Marks said.

MEGAN STEWART | STAFF

Rooster’s Beak has many unique flavors of house-made ice cream, including its chocolate butterscotch.

“When we first started doing ice creams, there were certain flavors that we would make regularly because the people would enjoy them. Since then we’ve started operating on a sense that we want to change it up. I can’t even remember the last time we did an ice cream flavor twice. Every couple weeks we change our flavors, so it’s always different.” Marks said he finds the technique of making ice cream important, and he said he encourages all of his employees to take part in learning how to replicate the recipe. “I want people to be hands-on and learn how to do this stuff,” he said. “We go through a lot of ice creams, so the more people that know how to make it and want to make it, the better we are.” The importance of knowing this skill for the business is not the only reason why Marks said he finds the technique to be es-

sential, however. “I try to get all the guys who work in my kitchen to want to make ice cream because I think it’s a fun process, plus it’s a good technique to know if you’re a cook and that’s what you do for a living to have that in your repertoire,” he said. “I encourage anybody that works for me to learn our base recipe, our French custard base, and experiment and make flavors of their own. So everybody that works for me usually has to go at it. Some people like to do it more than others. It’s sort of like a free-for-all. We all, sort of, bang our heads together to come up with the flavors.” A line cook at Rooster’s Beak, Chris Marsh, recently made his own custard for the first time. He said that learning how to make the custard has led him to learn more than one would think in terms of culinary skills.

“The techniques for making a custard, to turn into an ice cream, are always the same,” Marsh said. “But as far as making desserts to throw into it, I’ve learned a lot about baking, making caramels and marshmallows from scratch; I’ve never done that before so that was all new for me.” The process that the team of chefs takes to create flavors is more of a random attempt, Marks said. “Right now, I have two cooks that learned how to make the custard and, basically, I give a lot of free reign in that regard,” he said. “They usually will say, ‘Hey what do you think about this?’ It’s really just kind of whimsical, sort of like spur of the moment. Maybe somebody went out to the grocery store and got a Little Debbie snack and think it’ll be a good ice cream. Then they’ll bring it up to the kitchen and they’ll be like, ‘You should add ancho chilies or jalapenos to that,’ and it pretty much goes from there.” They try to think of what the final result will be and try to make it taste like that specific food rather than just throwing an ice cream together, Marsh said. Some customers of Rooster’s Beak said they think the idea of being able to discover new flavors when they come in the door is an exciting aspect to the restaurant. “Sometimes I don’t like them, but then sometimes I absolutely love them,” said Melissa Williams, a patron of the downtown area. “I think it’s more about being able to try a flavor you would never expect in an ice cream that makes the experience that much better.”

mstewar7@gru.edu

Student’s art show depicts Degeneration through the lens of a camera By NIKKI SKINNER production assistant

E

NIKKI SKINNER | STAFF

Jeff Iungerich takes photos during his study away trip to New York City.

ach spring, seniors in the art department are required to showcase their work to the rest of the student body and community. Jeff Iungerich, a senior majoring in photography, is putting the final touches on his senior show. “I’ve always been interested in photography,” Iungerich said. “Since my family traveled around a lot, I decided to pursue something that interested me and didn’t just make me money.” Iungerich’s experience has grown throughout his college career, with him being published in the Sand Hills Literary Magazine for three consecutive years as well as having displayed his work in four other group exhibitions. Iungerich’s girlfriend, Rachel Thomas, said that passion is a key factor in his work. “Jeff is self-motivated and passionate about his art,” Thomas said. “When he gets an idea, he always follows through with it. He spends a lot of time taking pictures but never focuses too long on a certain shot.” Pursuing his goals has proven to be a much harder task than he anticipated. Throughout Iungerich’s time as a student he has learned to embrace mistakes and build on top of those mistakes,

said Randy Pace, Iungerich’s mentor and a photography professor at Georgia Regents University. “Separating yourself from the millions of other people with a camera nowadays is one of the hardest parts about being a photographer,and trying to do something unique,” Iungerich said. Sometimes finding your concept can be a slow start, Pace said. Many times artists can get bogged down with things they have been working on in the past, causing them to feel like their new work isn’t living up to the standards of their past pieces. Iungerich said the concept of his senior show came about after visiting a friend in California. While there they went to visit Alcatraz Island. It was while they were visiting Alcatraz that he said he began to come up with his series. “I wanted to take pictures of the grunginess, but everything was blocked off because it is seen as a tourist attraction,” Iungerich said. “I wanted to be able to get out and explore without being held back by the welded doors and the guards.” Iungerich’s senior show is entitled Degeneration, and it will be up Friday through Wednesday, with the opening reception being held on Friday at 4 p.m. This series has been a long time coming. It started coming together in 2010 and is still an

ongoing series. The hardest part about putting this show together would be making the body of work cohesive, Pace said. “We spent a lot of time looking through the work, trying to find the elements that repeated themselves,” Pace said. “We looked for formal elements: color, texture and tone. Editing is the hardest part, especially when you are going through a few years’ worth of photographs.” Iungerich did a really good job with selecting the pieces for his show, Pace said. The pieces work together nicely to help show his aesthetic. Many of the images seen in Iungerich’s show come from abandoned buildings. “I got the title for the show because I trespass and it’s looked down upon,” Iungerich said. “Mixed with the definition of degeneration (the breaking down or decomposing of something). I look at it as a form of vandalism on the space I am photographing.” Putting this show together has been really stressful for Iungerich so far, but Thomas said it is going to be exciting to see how everything looks after it is finished. This show is one of four that will be displayed in the space in the JB Whites Building located on Broad Street in downtown Augusta, Ga.

nskinner@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

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Georgia Regents University

Graduation

2013

Taking Our Place in History Travis Highfield Editor-in-Chief

Seniors, this one is for you. It took years of hard work, late nights and hair pulling to get this far, but you are on the cusp of achieving something great. Though it may sound cliché, graduating from college is one of the biggest steps you will ever take in your young lives. Some of you will become the first to graduate in your families. Perhaps some of you belong to a long pedigree of college graduates. Some of you may be seeking your second, third or fourth degree. Whether you are a traditional student or an adult finally making your return to school, you’ve earned it. The city of Augusta, Ga., churns out college graduates year in and year out, several times a year, but there is something particularly exciting about this coming May: Georgia Regents University will honor its very first graduating class. This historic moment comes just more than a year after the Board of Regents announced the merging of Augusta State University and Georgia Health Sciences University, and the path hasn’t always been the easiest. While things may not have turned out exactly the way the citizens of this city may have wanted, we, as students of this university, should never hang our heads in defeat. There is simply too much to be proud of. Overnight we became a peer to three very prestigious universities in the University of Georgia, Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and in a few short weeks you will become their competition for the next job opening

in your field. And rest assured that you will be a fierce competitor; the professors employed at this university are second to none. It goes without saying that college isn’t easy. You have gained friends and no doubt lost some along the way. You had to make sacrifices to make ends meet and pulled stress-inducing all-nighters. Some of you worked on the side, sometimes taking on two jobs on top of a full course load. Believe me when I say it will be worth it all in the end. The staff of The Bell Ringer would like to honor your dedication to academics with our special graduation section. We, as students of Georgia Regents, have been right there with you every step of the way. We strive to provide this university with the best coverage possible because the students, faculty and staff deserve nothing but the very best. We have championed your cause. We exist to serve you. We would like to extend congratulations to each and every student who will be receiving degrees this May. But we aren’t there yet. Push to the very end. Thank you for allowing me to serve as the editorin-chief of your student paper for the past academic year. This has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life, and I wouldn’t change my time spent on this paper for anything else in the world. We are more than just peers -- we are family. No matter where we end up in life, one thing will always stay true: We have been, we are and we will always be a Jaguar Nation.

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College of Allied Health Sciences

Students become teachers

A Message from the Dean “The College of Allied Health Sciences trains and educates health care professionals of the future – the therapists, technicians, administrators, managers and clinicians who are the backbone of our country’s health care workforce. As the nation increasingly struggles with chronic disease, disability and an aging population, our mission of educating premier health care professionals has never been more vital. As the only health sciences professions college in Georgia affiliated with an academic health center, we have nearly 800 clinical affiliation sites in over 100 counties. The College is proud to provide our community, state and country with highly qualified graduates in 13 disciplines. Our students and faculty are extremely active in community health efforts and conduct cutting-edge research in rehabilitation oncology, sickle cell disease, health disparities, environmental impact, neurological rehabilitation, sports medicine and more.”

– Dr. Andrew Balas, Dean College of Allied Health Sciences

MINDY WADLEY | STAFF

Jessica Long reviews with her seventh grade science class students at Greenbrier Middle School.

MINDY WADLEY copy editor

Though many students wonder what their careers will be like after graduation, education students at Georgia Regents University get the full experience of working in a classroom before they graduate. Jessica Long, an upcoming graduate in the teacher education department working on a Master of Arts in Teaching in middle grades education, is currently student teaching at Greenbrier Middle School in Evans, Ga. She said she is devoting her entire last semester to working in the classroom. “I’m here five days a week, 7 (a.m.) to 3 (p.m.), because we have to get a total of 75 days and 600 hours,” Long said. “I’m not taking classes. I finished all my classes last semester, so I’m just doing this full time.” Student teachers take on the full responsibility of teaching the classroom, gradually taking over classes until they are the sole teacher for a three-week unit, Long said. Though her concentration is in both language arts and science, her student-teaching classroom is a science class, where she said she taught her unit on biomes in preparation for the students’ CRCTs. “We studied the six terrestrial biomes and the two aquatic,” Long said. “And we had them do these big posters, where they had to have a certain amount of information that they had to fill out on a worksheet first, and then transfer to a poster with pictures. So I had to plan the unit, I had to teach it, I had to plan the activities and grade them all.”

mindyawadley@gmail.com

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY GRU MEDIA RELATIONS

Business college broadens students’ real-world skills

study-abroad program was hosting a trip to China the summer of his first year back. “I decided that I wanted to do that trip and business majors got an additional scholarship Seniors in the Hull College of Business at to go, so it would really cut down the price of Georgia Regents University will be handed it,” he said. “I decided to transfer my major to a diploma on May 10, beginning the newest marketing. It was the best decision so far in my chapter of their lives. life in terms of my future.” Time management is one skill that these Since then, Ivey has done four study-abroad students have been able to take along with trips and said he intends to finish college with a them. Senior marketing major Katina Berrian fifth trip to Chile. took the step to leave home for college and “It’s one of the best things you can do while said that making that decision has essentially you’re in college, for sure,” he said. “It’s an changed her life. easy way to travel, and you’re with people who “If I wouldn’t have come up here, I wouldn’t are going to know where you’re going and what be as extroverted as I am,” she said. “I didn’t like you’re doing. You’re going to get your full public speaking but now I can do a presentation benefit from going somewhere to see another like it’s nothing. It has made me grow up.” country.” While maintaining three jobs, Berrian said she Ivey said the international experience that is also taking seven classes and maintaining a study abroad gives GPA above 3.0. students is also a “You have great resume builder. to know time On top of m a n a g e m e n t “The Hull College of Business graduating and being because classes professors are amazing, so that able to start their new aren’t easy, and if lives with the skill you aren’t on your was probably one of the best sets obtained over toes then you will experiences, just getting to know the years of college, not succeed,” she the members of this the faculty. ” said. “So it has graduating class will taught me a lot, be the first to see Erica Playford but I thank God the name of Georgia for it, because Regents on their if it weren’t for diploma resulting Augusta State I from the merger would still be at home, depending on my mom.” between Augusta State University and Georgia Alongside being heavily involved in school, Health Sciences University. Berrian said she has also gained a variety of The idea of attending one school for so long experience with partaking in organizations and and then having it change right at the end is not events around campus. the only dilemma that the merger has caused, Another student who has found campus and Playford said. organizational involvement to help alter her “After learning that we aren’t walking across future outside of college is senior accounting the stage and that we are only allowed a limited major Erica Playford, the president of Phi Beta number of guests to graduation, I decided not Lambda. to spend four hours at a ceremony that will “(I had) a really good experience, I learned a spend most of its time on the Ph. D. graduates lot and I got a lot of leadership opportunities,” and whatnot,” she said. “I have a large family Playford said. “The Hull College of Business support system, and it is sad that I’m limited to professors are amazing, so that was probably who I can invite. After I’ve dedicated a lot of one of the best experiences, just getting to know time, work and money for my four-year degree, the faculty. I’ve gotten experience here that I I feel like some of the graduates are not getting didn’t expect to get, like I didn’t expect to be their due celebration.” president of an organization or traveling across Ivey said he reluctantly trusts the to Texas and to be traveling to California (for administration to build a reputation for Georgia conference trips).” Regents; however, the name printed on his Non-traditional students have also found the diploma has little effect on his potential career. Hull College of Business to make a mark on “I’m not really worried about what the their lives. diploma says in terms of my qualifications,” he Charles Ivey, a senior majoring in marketing, said. “Because regardless of what the diploma returned to the former Augusta State after says, I’m going to be able to sell myself to leaving college 10 years ago to pursue a whatever employer I’m going to see.” psychology degree until he discovered the

This type of hands-on education for upcoming teachers is useful because there is only so much one can learn about teaching in a college classroom, said Sarah Smith, an upcoming Master of Arts in Teaching graduate concentrating in early childhood education. She is currently working as a student teacher at Lewiston Road Elementary School in Evans. “It’s good to talk about theory and stuff like that, but where I’ve learned the most, we had to do 300 hours in the actual classroom before we start our student teaching,” Smith said. “And you can talk about discipline until you’re blue in the face, but until you actually have to do it, then it doesn’t really click.” Learning about teaching at Georgia Regents prior to going into the real-world classroom has been helpful, Long said. “The best practices classes were helpful, because they were more about just that area, like the science one we only talked about science stuff,” she said. “There was also a class specifically about dealing with middle school students, and that one helped out a lot because when you have elementary people, middle people and people who want to teach high school all in one class, there’s not enough direction because they’re all so different.” Having a semester to work in the field before graduating doesn’t completely assuage the nervous feelings experienced by upcoming grads, Smith said. “I’m very excited,” she said. “I feel like I have a lot of doors open, and I feel like there are going to be some good things that happen. But it is kind of scary to think this is where the rubber meets the road and I have to actually get a job. I’ve loved being in this classroom.”

Preparing to Take Care of Future Patients

MEGAN STEWART arts & life editor

mstewar7@gru.edu

ASHLEY TRAWICK | STAFF

Nursing students practice taking blood pressure with one another in the Learning Resource Center Friday.

ASHLEY TRAWICK news editor

It’s an exciting time for College of Nursing seniors Gretchen Rudell, Sarita Madell and Sade Simmons. All three are graduating this May and said they are anxious to begin practicing nursing or pursuing a higher degree. Rudell said she realized she wanted to become a nurse in high school and after seeing her aunt battle cancer. “My school offered health occupation classes that associate in nursing or if they wanted to work in a nursing home, and like, volunteer in different hospitals,” she said. “I realized that I wanted to help people in that way. Then, one of my closest family members, my aunt, battled cancer so I kind of saw her whole care. She went to go get her hemo infusions, she got a home health nurse and I really saw how positive her nurses influenced the way she felt, and how negative nurses negatively influenced her, so I realized that I wanted to positively impact peoples’ lives that way.” Not aware of wanting to be a nurse at that age, Madell comes from an extensive medical background with her dad and his family all being doctors, her mom’s family all being nurses and her mom being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at age 12. “She was in and out of the hospital for pretty extended periods of time when she was young,” Madell said. “Just hearing stories when she was little (and) being in the hospital. She would just tell us about how awesome the nurses were and they would bring her flowers. Whenever my grandpa couldn’t be there, they would come on their days off and they would sit with her and they would teach her how to sew and they would do all this great stuff. I just thought how awesome it would be to impact patients’ lives in that kind of way, and it’s a lot of different than what a doctor can do.”

As for Simmons, during her senior year of high school, her grandmother had a heart attack, and Simmons said she was there at home with her and for her. She said it was a big wake-up call. “I’ve always wanted to help people,” Simmons said. “I was very curious, like always asking the nurses what they’re doing and just trying to be incorporated in that care. When my grandmother left the hospital, I needed to know what I needed to do to be supportive of her. I always knew it’s just something I wanted to do with helping people, but I just didn’t know what exactly I wanted to do.” As far as the consolidation goes, the students said it hasn’t really affected the process of getting their degrees, but it’s still a lot of work. Rudell said it’s tough to balance classes and clinicals and can be tiresome. Madell said studying is a huge priority but the upside to that is taking what is learned and applying it. They all gave advice for students who may want to enter the program and think it’s easy. “Just make sure you study and focus,” Rudell said. “You have to be good with time management. You have to just pace yourself. I think you have to study a little bit every day.” Simmons, who already works as a lab assistant, said she has gained a lot of experience working alongside professors and professionals who may be teaching classes or helping a patient. She said the instructors really work with students to try to be the best nurse they can be. She said a nursing student has to stay strong during the difficult times. “There are some moments where it can be overwhelming and you may want to just go home and cry,” she said. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Take it a day at a time. You have to be really dedicated to it. It’s a really great program. It takes a lot of time and patience.” atrawick@gru.edu

THE BELL RINGER

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Spring 2013 Graduates College of Allied Health Sciences Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene Brooke Nicole Bennett Claire Ann Cronheim Charity Faye Daniel Hannah Elizabeth Davis Madison Saggus Evans Sarah Jim Everett Jasmine Adrianna Garnett Natasha Gastley Clarita Marie Griffin Yodit N. Hailegiorgis Jennifer Elizabeth Haynes Terrance Lorne Jackson Jennifer Lynn Jones Amanda Elaine Lewis Lauren Michele Lewis Amber Lynn Mattingly Jessica Ann Nelson Leann Alexandria Pape Amanda Nicole Picard Stefanie Vanessa Talbott Lena Patricia Turner Amanda Nicole Vincent Kelly Leigh Wendel Ashlyn Elizabeth Wiggins Bachelor of Science in Health Information Administration Lou Annette Baker Kevin D. Hackett, Jr Angela Mariel Henderson Patty J. Huggins Quentin Ralfeal Jackson Beurena Johnson Shonette A. Melville Natasha Maria Richardson Myra Louise Rodgers DaVida Natte Snead Alan Soskel Charmaine Lisha Walker Jennifer Marie Whitehead Kathleen Couvillion Wilson Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Sciences Bambi Dominique Bowers Jill Mae Breyley Walter K. Brooks Patricia Marie Buch Katherine Ann Comeaux Kelsey Lynn Dillon Sasha L. M. S. Hall Anna Carolyn Hensley Ashley Rebecca Holmes Kate Lynn Chen Korbakes Kelly Nicole Lewis Ross Elliot Linhart Teddi Lain Lynce Elizabeth Kim Nguyen Chelsea Anne Petty Jessica Anthony Pierce Pamela Pinkstaff Michelle Elizabeth Presnell Morgan Catherena Price Wendy René Reece Heather Roeding Tuan A. Tran Amanda Leigh Turner Vergilia M. Velez Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy Ryan Roamir Baeza Charlotte Hannah Blackmon Mallory Lynn Bodolosky George Gordon Hammond Bold, Jr. Tiffany Renee’ Boone Jo El Carlee Doolittle Kelley Marie Hamilton Corey G. Heald Brittany Michelle Leverett Whitney Mechelle Martinez Lela Vignati Nielsen Kimberley Mary Nunn Heather Pretzello Irina Reznik Mary Kate Rosier Audrey Michelle Seigler Helen Christene Swaim Niat Michael Tekie Mahlet M. Tesfu Courtney LaToya Young

Pamplin College of Art, Humanities & Social Science Associate of Arts in Core Curriculum Kelly Grace Poole Associate of Science in Criminal Justice Lavender Nihgeil Furlow Nora Kahal Christopher Marshall Slater Je'Lisa Monaé Williams Bachelor of Arts in Art Maleeha Samer Ahmad Jency Annie George Rachel Elizabeth Love Bachelor of Arts in Communications Mary Shea Anderson Maria del Carmen Betancourt Allegra Blair

Kathleen Elizabeth Brown Derek Chang Fox Si Long Chen Donald James Culver Robert M. Downing Kristen Renee Dunbar Erin Elizabeth Edmondson Valerie Emerick Rachael B. Foss Karl Tyrone Frazier, Jr. John Michael Garner Presley M. George Kristina Elizabeth Harper Kristin N. Hawkins Micah David Herriman Ronald Michael Hickerson Travis Brandon Highfield Erin E. Hosmer Clinton Grant Howell Raheema Tasleem Johnson Travis Jermaine Keels Tamika Cheri Lampkin Tiffany Looman Jason Evans Lynn Amanda Ruth McBride Lawrence Daniel Moss, Jr. Isis Maracuja La'Shae Nezbeth Rashad O'Conner Winchester Robinson III Tina Marie Stafford Sara Elaine Tafazoli Middleton B. Thorne, III Whitney Leighanne Webster Carnela Wiley Stenson E. Willard Cherie Michelle Wright Erica M. Wright Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Adwoa S. Afari Dwamena Julie Evalena Bennett Melodie Sherie Campbell Thomas Eric Craddock Michael Patrick Cullinan, III Brittany Jean Marie Davis Christina Jane Stampley Douglas Matthew Mulherin Duncan Thomas Tucker Heffernan Andrew Lewis Jenkins, Jr. Tiffani Hampton Jones Bradley Ryan Kowal Jessica A. Moore Nathan J. Neely Steven H. Ocak April Rose Paulk Devan M. N. Praymous Whitley Darnell Price Thomas Justin Schumann Sabrina Janeé Scruta Kevin Floyd Smith Jessica Petrice Stevens Irennah Agnes Tyler Francisco Jose Viquez Bachelor of Arts in English Anne Marie Fox Ashley Renee Gills Jackelyn Michelle Hamill Heather Renee Johnson Lisa Marie Lipani Lee A. Perry Megan Irene Petrie Stephanie Allison Poloney Jonathan St. Martin Garic von Hillebrandt Rebecca Susan Wilson Jasmine D. Smith

Maleeha Samer Ahmad Willie Baker Thomas Allen Bearden, III Erika Michele Bolton Tiffany Patriece Burch Samuel Lewis Chestnut Shawn Michael Ellis Mi'esha Gabriella Frierson Sheila A. Giles Yolanda D. Greene Shayna R. Hilderbrand Marqus Anthony Jackson Callie Elaine Jowers Erika L. Klipa Rachel Lee Martin Woodie L. Melton, IV Mackenzi L. Merck Miranda Outhwaite Andre Cooper Patterson Melissa Janelle Powell Bryan Clark Putman Brittany Chanel Raye Lagi Letupu Roberts Haikeem Olajuwon Stewart Kristine Joy D. Tan Morgan A. Tomberlin Irennah Agnes Tyler Dylan Wall Artavia Ambra Zeigler Bachelor of Arts in Sociology Shanice M. Ashley Adrian Desean Bullard Christopher M. Cupp Jennifer Emmert Kelsey Land Pearlyn Ma'Kai Mamulu Christopher M. McCarley Jessica A. Moore Darrell D. Muhammad Amber Peterson Chataura Tri'Lanca Poole Stacy E. Poole Jasmine Nicole Sherrod Ashley Stevenson Kirarra Vanee Turner Bonny Ellen van Dongeren Alexis Yvonne Hester Ward Nadine Mighty Wiggleton Shelly A. Wolford Ophelia Vanessa Wright Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Language Brittney Camille Andrews Notesiondria Acquiesce Boyd Jasmine S. Bradford Ruth Ellen Daugherty Brett A. Gorrell Amy R. Jackson Edgar Anwar Jiménez Campillo Veronica Claudia Lahens William Ty Parsons Stacy E. Poole Michael Jordan Pruner Josue Rivera Ashley Florie Rivero Middleton B. Thorne, III Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art Jennifer Lynn Ackerman Nicole Irene Arnold Marvin Leo Bass III Colleen LaFavor Fleming John F. Lause Emily Regan Pollard Ettie S. Westjohn

Bachelor of Arts in History

Bachelor of Music in Performance

Nikki Lee Boner Christopher M. Buck Emily Calkins Reed \ William Benjamin Dangerfield Amber Dawn Davis Jessica Anne Epps Emily Headrick Nancy Powell Hohlwein Justin Caleb Johnson Audrey Jean Lewis Christena Helen Painter David Allen Sammons Bryan H. Shaffer

Justin T. Hornsby Lolita M. Pierre Sophia S. Ryoo Bethany Joy Turnmire

Bachelor of Arts in Music Harvey Brandon Batchelor Jaiden Lee Patriot Brandt Shala R. Bussey Kenneth Michael Davis Brandon M. Lynn Larissa Román Rodriguez Asjah Kyneé Spann Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Derek Hunter Alexander Sharita Lynn Cannon Tyler Aaron Pope Carey Joel David Carnow Bryan Allen Diacetis Tyler Edward Fitzgerald Kyle Brian Hodge Jacob Henning Johnson Kristina Maria Leanhart Richard Banning Ledbetter Chris Messer Angela Beecher Monroe Stacy E. Poole Michael Jordan Pruner Janice Christine Reichard Thomas Justin Schumann Kristoffer D. Thompson Austin Wayne Whisenant Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Bachelor of Music in Music Education Jennifer Ann Parker Bachelor of Social Work Brittany Marie Bahr Amber Nicole Cobern Betsey W. Davis Sharndra Davis Wanda LaJune Dicks Brigitte W. Flett Laura M. Forbes Ingrid T. Gallimore Georgiana Graham Garcia Yolanda D. Greene Jessica Nicole Joiner Candice M. Litsey Teresa M. Martin Patrick Irineo Maynard Christopher Antonio Scott Kadie J. Wasden Nadine Mighty Wiggleton

Hull College of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting Catherine Grace Blanchard Ashleigh E Bolte Christopher C. Brailer Katrina Lavette Grant Daniel Dennis Key Jr Karim Molwani Jack Curtis O'Tyson Andrew Vincent Pampalon Binal Patel

Erica Lee Playford Katie Marie Reese Rosalyn Denise Rogers London Smith Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance Christopher C. Brailer Teresa Robinson Fort Mo'Nika Kierra Kindle Matthew Thomas Mazur Julia Stalbro Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Nicholas Dean Arrington Rebecca Mary Ann Bowman Levi Carter Deirdre Maeve Donohoe Michelle Lee Ebenroth Bernardo Osorio Fernandes Kenneth Hewett Thomas M. Jones Sarah Kehr Ján Labaš Steven Charles Larson Arlia Bianca Lewis Rafael Quintanilha Milhati Lee Muddiman Chelsea R. Robinson Clifford Brandon Sanders Christopher John Stratton O'Bryant Le'Shon Woods Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems Joseph Campbell David Andrew Czapala Gabriel Donovan Medo Jasmine D. Sigee Chris F. Wurzinger Erik Yannuzzi Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Katina Berrian William Reese Glisson Daniel Joseph Halmi Richard Harrington Chamesha Elizabeth Renee Hillman James Walter Hutto Jr. Charles D. Ivey Kiesha Maharaj Lawrence Ross McDaniel Lacey Leigh Ross Krystle Nicole Stone Quentin Pierre White Mishan Lisa Zheng Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Curtis M. Celtrick Eric Yoshihiro Cutlip Eric Ryan Freeman Richard Jerome Gamble Jr. James Howard Gillam, Jr. Elliot Grave de Peralta Laura Infantino Shawn David King Michael Lee Kirby Himansubhai Patel Thomas Ra Andrew K. Randolph Karington M. Turner

College of Education Bachelor of Science in Education in Early Childhood Education Ryan Michele Allen Christan L. Armour Anna Marie Barnes Jamie Michele Bridges Monica Patrice Burnett Brandy Lynn Clements Joshua Dewayne Davis Rebecca Anne Denson Jessica Lee Doherty Sarah Alicia Fitzgerald Maria Cathleen George Kaitlin Marie Harris Lauren Taylor Hatcher Lauren Ragland Hixon Sarah Minette Ingram Amanda Kate Johnson Kaitlyn Marie Kurowski Heather Loungeway Jessica Nicole Martinez Candice Claire McKee Kianna Janine Merrill Ashley Jones Neely Brittany Michelle Nelson Kristen Holly Peacock Tristan Rosina Perry Amy Marie Resendiz Martinez Samantha Kay Rice Rositta Rivera Stephanie Monique Scott Wadee'Ah Z Sims Jennifer Erin Smith Natalie Elizabeth Smith Samantha B. Snellings Lori Ann Stanley Julie Parker Surles Sydney Azucenas Sutter Amanda Tuten Katie Laura Wodarz Brianna Nicole Yost Bachelor of Science in Education in Health and Physical Education Joshua Brock Hawkins Stephen Christopher Walker

Bachelor of Science in Education in Middle Grades Education Tammy Michelle Connolly Holli Dye Pamela Swint Hargrove Marie L. Hedgecock Cassandra Grace Loftin Adrienne C. Mundy Laura Elizabeth Niko Thomas J. Smallwood Beverly Caitlin Starnes Shane Joseph Walker Bachelor of Science in Education in Special Education Daniel Brac Barton Lori Ann Cooke Taylor Nicole Ellison Evelyn Reneé Jennings Jacqueline C. Omar Priscilla Delories Palmer Jessica L. Thornton Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology Dwight Galen Ashe Jr. Max P. Belchyk, IV Laura Ann Brown Joshua Alston Carrick Charles Chiappetto Madaline Dougherty Henry Clay Holton Jr. Maya Angelia Howard Lisa Ann Joyce Mira Kim Carol D. March Lindsey Anna Mitchell Tearrance Quarterman Timothy Michael Rawlings Tyler Lang Ross Adrian Denise Travis

College of Mathematics and Science Bachelor of Science in Biology Alejandro Aguilar Brandon Arant Billy C. Brinson Jr. Evelyn Brenda Coile Leigh Catherine Coursey Mikeka LaRhea Garcia Melissa Wren Gieseking Amy R. Jackson Keida Denise James Michael Jimenez Jatarrah B. Jones Amanda Lynn Joyce Robert Lancaster Adam David Meszaros Brittany Nicole Mickell Jessica Blanchard Miller Kadasen T. Miller Vivian Nguyen Harry J. Reed Michael Everett Ridlehoover Eric Scott Rose Joseph R. Sheffield Tina Fulford Smith Carlee Marie Snyder Savannah Sutton Mary Rebecca Teeters Glenn W. Thompson Christina W. Tran Lovenna Uyoga Angela Rose Woodward Lauren Jean Yeargan Bachelor of Science in Chemistry J. Adam Bowen Evelyn Brenda Coile Amber Nicole Graff Eunice Hong Kristin Karman Quang Ngoc Le Roger Pollock Harry J. Reed Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Philip D. Javernick Jordan Sarah Luke Clarence Odell Williams,III Bachelor of Science in Physics Philip D. Javernick David Charles McCall Claiborne Ford Tuggle Harrison James Zeigler

College of Nursing Erica Deanea Albea Amber C. Anderson Bridgette Yaa Antwi-Adjei Kristin Amber Atkinson Christine Marie Bailey Susane Ruth Alemi Banissi Sarah Joy Beadles Taylor Welborn Beam Christine Marie Messano Bennett Kelsey Lauren Benson Brandi Bishop Roger Carlton Boyle Amanda Marie Boots Sara Elizabeth Bozeman Jasmine S. Bradford Kevin Wallace Bragg Lora Kristine Brightwell Holly Christina Brown

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Lindsey Tyler Burch Patricia Coleman Burford Shelby Elizabeth Cañas Katherine Elizabeth Carpenter Laura Louise Carpenter Amanda Jane Carter Leslie Anne Carter Juan Chen Kristen Marie Chrismer Jessica Danielle Cohen Taylor Courtner Anna Kathleen Crowe Katie Elizabeth Dalton Lauren Hailey Darnell Mary Rose Darr Meagan Drury David McKenzie Jane Dicks Mehtaab A. Dobani Nancy A. Doby Elliott S. Elsey Elizabeth Temitope Famakinwa Melissa Howard Fick Leigha Jeanette Fouts Julie Marie Fowler Jayla Michelle Freeman Katie Michelle Fuller Sydney Katherine Gaines Amanda Gay Sara Michelle Gibson Tanaysa TraVonne Green Angela B. Griffin Hannah Elizabeth Goldberg Meagan Olivia Hamilton Kristy Ann Hardin Leanne Cole Heberling Brandy Marie Higson Caroline Marie Holt Matt Carson Howell Amy Elizabeth Jamison Ruth Lowe Jatho Sarah Katherine Jessee Grace Lynnae Johnson Samone Ashley Jones Casey Kim Ashlee Catherine King Margo Lauren Kinsaul Lilian Marcia Kitchen Yomanika Untrice Laughlin Stephanie Rebekah Lee Nathan Lever Marcia Loraine Lewis Matthew Jerome Lewis Meagan Leigh Lowenthal Brittany Leigh Luxon Sarita Madell Ushica T. Martin Marjorie Anne McElreath Catheryn Yvette McKenzie Kaitlin Nicole McNeal Victoria Rebecca Mililli Abigail Christine Misdom Alberta Demetra Mobley Ashton Mock May Momongan Brittney L. Moore Jenna Barratt Morgan Michael Morris Ashley Blaire Moyer Elizabeth Ndungu Trang Khanh Nguyen Gideon B. Nkrumah Amanda Christine Orr Janet M Osinlu Maria Pak Melessa Joan Patterson Kara Anne Piganelli Amy D. Presley Samantha Mechell Pruitte Caitlin Elizabeth Pye Priscilla Naomi Reddish Rachel Kate Rios Krizel Manuel Roque Whitney Anne Rosenkampff Gretchen Elizabeth Rudell Rena Sarkar Sade Laquinta Simmons Tosha Leah Simmons Susan Jayne Smith Tanya Starker Jennifer Tyeshia Stevens Catherine M. Su Mariah Symone Swilling Daniel E. Texidor Mary Catherine Theiling Charles H. Thomas Rachel Victoria Treadwell Ashley Sha'Rae Turman Laura Katherine Waters Calli Christine Watson Ashlee Staton Weaver Susan Ashley Weber Jorie Anna Weirather Sarah Louise Wells Jennifer Lauren West Tania Alicia Widener Meredith Wilkerson Charmaine A. Williams Melissa Quattlebaum Williams Rebecca Nicole Williford Tonya Ann Wilson Yonisha Leigh Wimberly Katie Winkel Kaelan Ashleigh Woodall

Graduate Degrees College of Allied Health Sciences Master of Health Science in Clinical Laboratory Science Daniel Shelton Anderson Victoria LaSundra Bailey James D. Bryan, II Lacey Ann Campbell Marion Cofer, II Wayne Robert Kendall Vimalkumar Patel Brett M. Rice Tangelia Walker Master of Health Science in Occupational Therapy

Elizabeth Caroline Dalman Erin Leah Sanders Mary Ann Horne Doctor of Physical Therapy Kelly Elizabeth Baker Amber Rae Barker Gentry Elizabeth Baum Vincent Thomas Blankenship Kerianne Elizabeth Blease Matthew Wayne Bounds Stephanie Ann Boyd Jennifer Lynne Buckner Kristine Elizabeth Devine Lauren Ann Edwards Kyle Eric Fenton Perry Eugene Gates, Jr. Marin Elizabeth Gibson Samuel Michael Greavu Travis Allen Isak Greene James Grey Haddon Allyson Marie-Fuoco Harten Megan Ann McCoy Justin Ernest Horne Hannah Marie Landress Michelle Renee Manley Erin Maurine McGonegal Christina Ashley O'Connor Courtney Nash O'Neal Teressa Marie Petosky Kendra Leigh Phillips Joseph Mark Sharp Michelle Lynn Simpson Katrina Marie Steiner Brian Dale Tanner Michelle Denise Troiano Kristen Leigh Turchi Kristen Elizabeth Vick

College of Education Specialist in Education in Curriculum and Instruction Erin Manfrin Battershall Troy N. Dowds Hannah Marie Funsch James V. Grant Christopher Dewayne Harris Dana Kay Kelley Emma S. Roundtree Mallory Williams Smith Mary Gibbs Soares Elizabeth Blackburn Thompson Jennifer Carol Valentino Amy Schylea Marks Williams Lisa Marie Wilson Specialist in Education in Educational Leadership Angela S. Baker Jasmine Barné Chavous Judson Stephen Hickey Jason Aaron Holt Eric M. Lewis Isaiah LeVar Mealing Martha Clyatt Messick Elijah Grant Putnam

Kenneth J. Hiroshige Kristin Dare Hunter Marcus Jarrell Jackson Alysha M. Krier Lauren Faulk Martin Lauren Charrof Morris Patricia Hyman Pond Ashley Marie Snyder Elizabeth Barron Sumerlin Heather Nicole Thigpen Judith Theresa Varner Master of Education in Counselor Education Stephanie Marie Barlow Sara Elizabeth Cameron Taylor L. Fulcher Talonda G. Landers Jenny Pursley Neely Valerie Vazquez Thompson Verna Faye Timothée Master of Education in Educational Leadership John A. Burnham Eric Michael McDaniel Anna Elizabeth Smiley Master of Education in Teacher Leadership Janis Reneà Cook Master of Education in Special Education Kathryn L. B. Greene Gloria Denise Kendrick Melissa M. Melick Stephanie W. Reeves Master of Science in Kinesiology Schyler G. Jackson Timothy McClain James Scott Quarles, III Ashley L. Tindol Aurea Dominique Young

College of Graduate Studies Master of Clinical Translational Science Kavita Natrajan Master of Public Health Ahmad Khaled Al-Basheer Lauren Barrineau Vejjajiva Mylar Joseph Giri Tran Ha Nguyen Melinda Christine Thomas Larisa Cheryl Wallace Master of Science Earnest Joe Baulkmon, II Xiaoxiao Wang

Master of Arts in Teaching

Master of Science in Medical Illustration

Amanda S. Banister Kimberly Trisha Bell Cervantes R. Boddy Katherine Loraine Brown Brittany A. Bush Jessica Howard Capell Sheila Deputy Michelle Jackson Douglas Julianna Golden Kimberly Darshelle Graham Tiffany Marie Gregg Cara Jessica Griffin Kattie L. Herring Tiffany Reneé Hollomon Tammy Horton Thelma A. Nicole Howard Jacqueline De Athos Hulsey Arielle Hunter Louiza Iordanidou Melissa K. Jenkinson Kelley Ann Jonske Melissa Klann Jessica Lee Long Melissa Canup Mann Mark Phillip Menees Margaret Sargent Meyers Tonia L. Miller Cleveland G. Mixon Chalisa Nestell Rasmiyyah Nuriddin Youngblood Jonathan Ooten Maria Osorio Victoria Jane Parker Roxan J. Pitter Marie Evette Reid Timothy Marcelle Roy Sarah Grace Smith Tamara A. Tate Nicholas D. Wandless LaShaka D. M. Wesley Melanie Yvonne Wheeler Rebecca Elizabeth White Danelly A. Williams Nyema Sabrina Williams Kristin Marie Wright

James Berrien Chidsey, IV Katherine Elizabeth Dale Neal Craig Esplin D. Ryan Hallman Caitlin Lange Hartmann Brandon James Keehner William Joseph McAbee Jamie Jo Rippke Lisa Ryoko Sato

Master in Education in Curriculum and Instruction Stephanie Jo Adams Melissa Ainsworth Anne Marie Anello Sarah Ashley Austin David Garrett Bradberry Niesha C. Carthen Amanda Chernek Tara Wilkes Cooper Amanda Brooke Davis Adrienne Nicole Dicks Ann Pardue Flanagan Mary Lisa Grumman Alissa Harley Jennifer Lynn Harper

Master of Science in Nursing Casie Brook Anderson Chundra Shevonne Brown Tranika Charisse Brown Britanny Dawn Castro Ashleigh Caudill Steinmeyer Phyllis Pelfrey Costello Hannah Leigh Davis Patricia Sue Finkenhoefer John Michael Grigsby Tara Phelps Gulsby Paige Watson Harris Jennifer Rachel Holland Michelle Lea Jones Shelly Keip Lijy John Kuttukaran Robyn Johnson Lance Kristen Goodin Lane Robert Jason Mann Kimberly Musiba George LeRoy Naylor, III Carmen Cristina Oller Aubrie Michelle Patrick Bianca Rae Germano Suzette Sharlette Scott Cheryl Fish Stephens Megan Danielle Stuckey Judith Lee Thigpen Ashley Stockwell Underwood Mary Laurel Varghese Kimberly Goodwin Warnock Miranda H. Wood Ashley Christine Ziobrowski Master of Science in Oral Biology Esam Abou Nahlah Jennifer Lynn Elzinga Manuel Pelaez Doctor of Nursing Practice Shannon Jones Cole Terri Davis Crutcher Bridgitte Lorraine Jackson Sharon Caldwell Jones Patrice Pierce Stephanie Madeline Wright Doctor of Philosophy Sara K. Akeel

Sung Gyu Cho Christy J. Dubert Preethi Srinivasan Ganapathy Joshua Caleb Greene Samuel Andreas Herberg Melanie Dawn Ivester King Courtney Elizabeth McCracken Hyangsoon Noh Lawrence Ogweno Olala

College of Dental Medicine Doctor of Dental Medicine Katherine Elizabeth Abell Christen Lynn Adamson Anushka Amin Lindsey Clark Anderson Patrick Daniel Barnes James Edward Barron, II Clinton David Baugham Andrew Phillip Benfield Jessica S. Brown Robert Clayton Cannon Wendy Ellena Cardenas Daniel Joseph Carlon, Jr. James Louis Cassidy, III Meagan Nicole Chaffins Karin Davis Raymond Charles Dickey. Jr. To Nga Thi Dinh Megan Powers Flournoy Destiny Murray Foote David Christian Forrest Shiven Shailesh Gandhi Jorge Carlos Griswold James Wylie Gustin Emily Elaine Hahn Brandon Lane Hammond Alex C. Harvey Megan Michelle Henry William Trenton Herring Nhi T. Ho Jeremy Steven Holloway Charles Thomas Hopkins, III Samira M. Jafari Jennifer Wyatt Kendrick Dustin Ross Kilby Jamie Youngshin Kim Amanda Lee Kossick David Langer James M. Maina Naghmeh Majdi Brian Preston Martin Matthew B. Martin Jesse Franklin McMillan Kyrslyne D. Moore Robert Brandon O'Brien Jancy Allison Parkerson Stella Patterson Bonner Kaley Ellyn Peek Kimberly Anne Peters Ben S. Popple Samuel Alan Posey Brock J. Pumphrey Tyler Payne Rathburn Andrew Shoemaker Kamyar Simian Matthew Oliver Smith Ivan James Stojanov Thomas P. Suitt Dana R. Swayze Benjamin James Taylor Michael Anphoney Thomas Jr Jessica Wood Varn Matthew Lawrence Vaughn Brittany Rose Waters Devon Watson Nicole Yates

Medical College of Georgia Doctor of Medicine Taryn Alexandra Abrams Bilal Bakhsh Ahmad Craig Chike Akoh James Schley Ashford Nnamdi Edward Asika Sara Elizabeth Atwater Aimee Elizabeth Baer Amanda Carina Barrett John Ryan Barrett Matthew Dean Belcher Dimpal Babu Bhakta Michael Jason Bishop Christopher Michael Blakely Joseph Daniel Boaen, IV Desiree Dana Brooks Cory A. Bryan Michael Ray Bykhovsky Michael Alexander Callander Michael Blair Carter Robert Glenn Carter, Jr. Candice Nadia Castellino Kristen Amy Chicola Padraic Bailey Chisholm Heather McKenzie Choat Peter Sung Chung Andrea Kelsi Cohron Jane Arden Sutterfield Conway Nickolas Hamilton Culpepper Carolyn Anne Curtis Emily Whitmer de Golian Ashley Nicole Dodd Adam Michael Donnelly Itoro Bassey Edet Ashley Renee Elam Stephen Merle Elmore Aaron Cecil Emmons Matthew Scott Erwood Naseem Shams Esteghamat Chuan Frances Fan Clifton Cartwright Fay, Jr. Laura Stubbs Fay Kelcie Fincham Joshua Mark Flatow Benjamin Robert Ford Michelle Camille Forrester Cody Scott Freeman Thomas Franklin Freeman Erin Elizabeth Fynan

* Names of students graduating in Spring 2013 provided by the Registrar’s Office. Names listed are of potential graduates pending final grades.

James Kennith Gable Preethi Srinivasan Ganapathy Joseph Richard Garcia Brian Curtis Gardner Evan Fuller Garner Bintou Mary Gassama Thomas Herron Getreu Andrew Frank Glass Kevin Tyler Goelz Mahsa Golabi Arvind Muralimohan Gomadam Sarah Elizabeth Goolsby Eric Russell Gordon Patrick Dean Grace Charles Kevin Grigsby Nisha Gupta Chi-Son Han Xiao Han Laura Marie Harrison Angela Denise Haskins Zhihua He John Andrew Henderson Richard Avery Herman, Jr. Caitlin Anice Hester Monica Hokanson Fortson Jacob Harvey Holley, III Christopher Gillen Homan Christina Huan Huan Huang Lisa Elizabeth Hunt Kaitlyn Rebecca Ike Whitney Wellborn Irwin Julie Lynn Jacobs Reena Kabaria Praful Kaushik Payal V. Kenia Justin Christopher Kennon Edward Kim Nathan William Kincaid Russell Connelly Kirks, Jr. Jordan Levi Knoefler Young Jin Kwak Ashlee Lafontaine Katherine Mills Lanning Chad Allen Lee Gorby Leon Austin John Lewis Jedidiah Colter Litsey Jessica Helen Litsey Joe Henry Livingston, IV Joi Lakia Livingston Timothy Brian Lumpkin Ashley Elisabeth Mazo Scott Christopher McCorvey Jared Stewart Mckinnon Tyler John Mckinnon Abeer Ali Memon Jefferey Thomas Mills John Bradley Morris Nathaniel Kenneth Mosley Zorana Mrsic Leo Muduve Diana Grace Murro René Alissa Mussell Susan Musyimi Sepedeh Meibodi Nabavi Hugh Christopher Gardner Nadeau Khoi Dinh Nguyen Kiet Trung Nguyen Rachel Hannah Nix Chinonye Chika Ogbonnaya-Odor Jin Sol Oh Jessica Marie O'Neal William Brinson Orr Jonathan Lance Overcash Catherine Kyungwon Park Nehal Ajit Patel Sagar Yatin Patel Viniya Patidar Jonathan Howard Payne Joseph Richard Pelli, Jr. Alejandro Pena, Jr. Ashley Brandt Dickinson Peña Adam Joseph Pettigrew Rebecca Dailey Pierce Zahra Pirani Radhika Prabhakar Tequilla LaShawn Pryor Adam Pyrzak Walid Radwan Chathruckan Rajendra Aishwarya Gantla Reddy Alicia Roberts Register Melissa Meagan Reidy Shannon Tierney Remick Vanessa Nicole Richardson Michelle Anne Romej Jarrad Wyche Rowse Gary Michael Schwarz Vladimir Selounski Nandini Setia Amit Deepak Shah Shubin W. Shahab Asiya Khan Shakir Rajat Singh Blake Robert Smith Devin Michael Smith Luke Daniel Smith Adam Derik Smitherman Benjamin Lev Solomon Harsh Pareshbhai Babubhai Soni Charles Jacob Stoudenmire Jeffrey Alan Strelzik Gopika Suraj Bryan Nicholas Swilley Meneshensh Maazu Tadese Alexander James Tatem Philip Charles Tharp Priya Susan Thomas Samantha Leigh Thomson Derrick Lieberman Umansky Jason Robert Van Rompaey Dennis VanLoozen Chelsea Meredith Venditto Angela Wanyan Wang Catherine A. Warner Matthew Roberts West Andrew Wesley White Robert Dayton Williams Aaron David Winn Michael X. Yang Leonard Allen Yontz Bilal Khan Yousufzai Ronnie Henry Zeidan Wondwossen M. Zenebe Andy Francis Zhu

THE BELL RINGER

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A Student’s Reflection ERICA WRIGHT contributor

PHOTO CONTRIBUTORS | NIKKI SKINNER, GRU MEDIA RELATIONS, KELSEY DONNELLY, TRAVIS HIGHFIELD, KRISTIN HAWKINS, JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER, ASHLEY TRAWICK, MINDY WADLEY AND TERRANCE JACKSON

“Can you believe we are almost done?” Why yes I can, and I am slightly freaking out. I am going to miss this campus, the people I have met, my office and the perks of the little responsibility most of us truly have during these four to five years. The only interesting things I can think of to share before I graduate are some of my epic life fails from my time here. During my freshman year, I endured the horrors of physical science with a professor who thought he was teaching honors physics. While sitting through a never-ending lecture, I grabbed my water bottle for a sip. I looked at the bottle and realized it wasn’t Dasani, and it wasn’t mine, but it was too late. “Did I just drink out of a random water bottle?” It didn’t belong to the student next to me either. I saw the little specks and strings of what I imagined were a mixture of a stranger’s germs and spit floating in the bottle and possibly invading my body. I couldn’t hold it in, and I walked out in the middle of class. Was I being childish? Probably, but I didn’t care. I had to go rinse my mouth. Then there was sophomore year when Pig Out gave me quite a memorable experience. I went to the JagCard office and asked the women working if she could “jalidate my VagCard,” and her jaw dropped. I literally stood there just looking at her. It finally sank in. “Oh my gosh! Jalidate my VagCard. I just said jalidate my VagCard.” She looked at me straight in the face and laughed as she took my card. My friend was shaking his head and telling me to stop repeating myself, but I probably said it two more times while in shock. The things we do for free food. Junior year, while pumping coffee into my cup, I noticed the person behind me was a professor many students like to refer as the Silver Fox. I turned around to smile, and the coins I had in my hand fell right into my searing hot cup of coffee. Why had I decided to pay for my coffee in coins? I stared down into my black cup of coffee, and I could feel him staring at me and heard him laughing. I walked away, dumped my coffee, got my coins, and came back when he was gone. To this day, whenever I see this professor I get nervous. This was the same year that I was jamming out to Shakira in my car waiting for parking outside of Allgood Hall. My windows aren’t tinted, and I don’t know what possessed me to dance as if they were. The next thing I remember was noticing Mr. Australian Basketball Player pointing at me and staring at me with his friend, both laughing. I parked and probably waited about five minutes before getting out to avoid any further humiliation. My senior year seems to have left me dry of any epic freak-outs that I wish or dare to share. The one thing I can say is that I thought I had all the time in the world to conquer this year, but it’s ending, and it’s bittersweet. My time is almost over here, and hopefully the humiliating experiences too, but I’m going to share a little piece of advice. I simply ask that you take risks with what you decide to do next. That is my advice. Take on positions for the experience, not the money. Personally, I’ve applied to volunteer for AmeriCorps, and I plan to relocate in the fall to serve. Most of you, like me, are probably at the most opportune time in your life with little responsibilities. This is when you can afford to take risks. You’ve been locked up in a classroom sitting for most of your life, so be selfish and do something for yourself. Consider it a reward. Congratulations, seniors!

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To the Class of 2013, Your names are destined for the history books. By last count, there are more than 1,000 of you in this, the first graduating class of Georgia Regents University. A new university, one of only four comprehensive public research universities in Georgia, and one of approximately 200 such universities in the nation. Years from now yours will be names people read about. But you are more than a list of names. You are among the elite in this country. According to the most recent Census figures, only 28 percent of all Americans 25 and older have earned a four-year higher education degree. Less than that have finished a graduate program. You, through perseverance, hard work, and discipline, have beaten the odds. You are our future business and political leaders. The authors of the books we will read. The composers of the songs we will hum. Our physicians, nurses and health providers. Our dentists and our artists. The scientists who will discover cures for the diseases that plague us or who will further our understanding of the fundamental underpinnings of our cosmos. And so much more. As you move into your life’s next chapter, whatever it may be, I would like to offer some advice that I believe will keep you on this upward trajectory. • Never lose your desire to learn. It is our ability to learn, and to assimilate that learning into new ideas and novel creations that makes us who we are and gives us our value as humans. • Dream. Aspire to things you do not think are possible. While you may not achieve it tomorrow, the journey of trying is sufficient reward. • Beware of the ‘Easy’. If it is easy to achieve then it is likely not even worth attaining in the first place. • Always try to ‘Do the Right Thing’. And doing ‘the Right Thing’ is not just about doing what’s right for me, but doing what’s right for others, for the greater good. It is what separates us from the animals. • Appreciate your competitors. They make you who you are and ensure that you are always giving your very best. • Value your setbacks and mistakes. They have much to teach us. • Recognize and admit your weaknesses. We all have them. Our failings are part and parcel of our human fabric. • And never, ever, allow yourself to think “I can’t do this.” The principal reason for failure is not believing we can do it. It is a time of great strain and discord in our nation and our world, but also a time of great hope and promise. You and your generation will be responsible for leading and managing this nation, this earth, very soon... and ensuring that it is left to future generations in better shape than you found it. Your institution has amply prepared you for the path ahead, and whatever degree you leave here with, please remember that your state, your country, the world, needs you. Your intellect and ideas, your energy and enthusiasm, your positive outlook, your hopefulness about the future... your leadership. We are proud of what you have accomplished. And rest assured that we will continue to work, as faculty and staff, day after day, to ensure the growing value of Georgia Regents University to our community, state, and nation. And to you, as the value of your diploma is intimately tied to the strength and recognition of this university. Remember that the success of our university will greatly depend on your support as you become its newest alumni. Be proud of your institution... from our roots in the early 1800’s to our mission and vision of providing leadership and excellence in teaching, discovery, clinical care, and service. You are all products of that mission and, now, part of its history. Congratulations to you all! Sincerely, Ricardo Azziz President, Georgia Regents University

THE BELL RINGER

ARTS & LIFE

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Instuctor sheds light on new techniques By RYAN MCLAY chief reporter

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photography instructor’s vision has gotten his department looking far beyond the picture plane. Randy Pace, a Georgia Regents University instructor of art, places priority on helping his students develop their own unique styles of photography. Basing his approach in concepts such as postmodernist theory and humanism, he calls photography “the great manipulator” because most people tend to look at the superficial appearance of photography. “People tend to take a photograph at face value and not understand that everything about it is a lie,” Pace said. “You’re manipulating the focus. You’re manipulating the exposure. You’re manipulating the four corners. You’re choosing what not to include in your photographs. Every photograph, which is why I believe photography is so popular, is a complete original.” Throughout his career, developing awareness of this manipulation has been important, Pace said. He came to Georgia Regents from both photojournalism and public relations backgrounds. Pace finished his master’s degree in 2012 after completing his thesis for the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Following this, the art department, including Alan MacTaggart, the chair of the art department, invited him to become a full-time instructor for Georgia Regents. This year is Pace’s first as a full-time instructor for the university. While a dean at the time, MacTaggart met Pace when he was a student at Lander University in Greenwood, S.C., Mac-

Taggart said. According to MacTaggart, when Pace began as a part-time instructor, he was largely mentored by Jennifer Onofrio, an art professor at Georgia Regents. “(She helped) him get started (while) making sure that his syllabi were up to snuff and the content was what we expected,” he said. Pace also named another professional photographer, Shelby Lee Adams, amongst his mentors. “If you look at his work, you’ll see some parallels but not complete copyright infringement,” MacTaggart said. “He’s a heavy influence of mine and he has a lot of great input on my work.” Like Adams, Pace’s work includes black and white portraiture. They also both use subjects from small-town and rural America. One of Pace’s projects, “Just As I Am,” a series of portraits of subjects from his hometown in Greenwood, exemplifies this style. In Pace’s process for shooting portraits, he explained that getting involved in the subject is important. “You have to be obsessive (and) persistent,” Pace said. “You have to have a personality that people don’t mind hanging around you or talking to you. You just have to be laid back.” Pace said , the real difficulty of taking portraits begins when trying to get people to let down their barriers, noting that all people have their own “photo self” and they tend to know how to pose to present their “good side.” “That’s not what I want,” Pace said. “I want (a) visceral portrait that lets you into the essence of a person versus what they look like. I’m not interested in what they look like. I’m inter-

The extinction of survival Horror By CLAYTON PALMER contributor RYAN MCLAY | STAFF

Randy Pace demostrates different types of lighting techniques for his students.

ested in how they’re represented in the photograph with the combination of composition, lighting and exposure.” When Pace was still in graduate school, he took the opportunity to contact Adams for the first time, he said. “I contacted one of my major influences and he contacted me back,” Pace said. “We conversed over the phone quite a bit, and I would do the same for anyone else.” MacTaggart recognized these same mentor-like qualities in Pace, describing him as a personwho is very student-centered and generous with his time. Onofrio agreed. “He has the students’ best interest in mind,” she said. “He’s incredibly positive.” Senior art student Jeff Iungerich, who specializes in photography, is one of those students whose work has been informed by Pace’s perspective. “He offers a different point of view from previous teachers,” he said. “He gives you a new way of looking at your work and other people’s work.” Pace forced him to think beyond the random images in his photographs and look at them

more conceptually, Iungerich said. “I prefer to capture the essence of things rather than depiction of things,” Pace said. “I would have to say 80 percent of my classes deal with concept and 20 percent deals with exposure settings (and) how to use a camera.” Concentrating on concepts and physical aesthetics sooner is important for photography students, Pace said, emphasizing that many artists who were mediocre in art school became great when they found their vision after a lot of creating. Since beginning as an instructor, Pace has remained in Greenwood with his wife, Stacey Thompson, and their child. Thompson is a museum director in Greenwood with an anthropology degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. With Pace’s residence being in South Carolina, MacTaggart said that he would like to eventually see him become part of the art scene within Augusta, Ga.

rmclay@gru.edu

PRESS PLAY: What are students listening to?

Shelby Doyle, biology

Around Town

Katina Berrian, marketing

Terrance Jackson, dental hygiene

S

urvival horror is a subgenre of action-adventure video games that does away with the typical guns-blazing approach that you would find in a typical action-adventure game, replacing it with puzzle solving, conserving supplies and making the right decisions. Creating a feeling of isolation and hopelessness, along with making health and ammo sparse and emphasizing the importance of making the right decisions, made the survival horror genre stand out from other genres of games. In the 90s, games like Silent Hill Alone in the Dark, Clock Tower and the Resident Evil series defined survival horror. They all used the same formula and did it well. My first experience with a survival horror game was Resident Evil in 1996. I was 9 years old and I was terrified by the zombies and the feeling of hopelessness but loved every minute of it. It was new, and I wanted to play every game like it, so I did. I played them all and loved every one that I played. However, as the years passed and new games emerged, something was happening to the genre that I loved so much. In 2005, Capcom released Resident Evil 4, and being a fan of the series, I couldn’t wait to play it. I started the game up and something was different. The element of survival had been taken out of the game. Instead of ammunition being scarce, it was everywhere; health was abundant; puzzles were easier and the enemies were less than scary. In fact, I finished the whole game and slept like a baby afterward. I know I was much older when Resident Evil 4 was released, but with the updated graphics and more advanced consoles, I thought I would be scared out of my mind like I was with former games in the series. Now don’t get me wrong, Resident Evil 4 was an amazing game for what it was and is still one of my favorite games of all time. But when that game was released I couldn’t help but feel as if the survival horror genre was over. Even big hitters in the survival horror genre like Silent Hill released games that just seemed to have forgotten what made them so great. Major companies are appealing to a larger audience and it’s sad to see my favorite franchises lose their way. Although all is not lost; there are indie companies developing true survival horror games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Lone Survivor. The genre may not be what it once was, but there are still games out there waiting for you to lose sleep over.

palmerclayton@ymail.com

New Surrey Center boutique brings high-style to the upper-level

LEIGH BEESON | STAFF

Augusta, Ga., welcomed its latest clothing store, Fab’rik, to Surrey Center with the fashion boutique’s grand opening Thursday. Fab’rik welcomed customers with decorated cookies from Two Moms cookies and a plethora of hors d’oeuvres and beverages, as people packed into the crowded store, overflowing its dressing rooms and creating a sizeable checkout line. The store sells everything from Hudson and Paige denim, to bracelets and rings, to Hanky Panky panties.

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Global cuisine shared between students

By ASHLEY TRAWICK news editor

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nternational flavors were brought to the table at an event hosted by Hispanic dental students. The Hispanic Student Dental Association on the Health Sciences campus of Georgia Regents University recently held its second annual event titled International Flavors at the downtown student center. The cultural event was catered by the students and for the students. Different dishes from various countries were served, Latin music was played and free salsa dance lessons were given. The event was, overall, very diverse and lively, said Lida Paez, the president of HSDA. “We had people participate from different countries,” Paez said. “We also had a lot of faculty and staff members that are American that brought typical American dishes or Southern dishes. It was pretty much, like, our little get-together outside of the school environment so that peo-

ASHLEY TRAWICK | STAFF

The Hispanic Student Dental Association brings in cuisine from around the world.

ple can learn a little bit more about other people’s culture and food.” A sophomore dental student, Adrianna Castiblanco, said International Flavors was an idea that was introduced after the organization wanted to create an international festival. She said major changes have been made since last year but a downside was this year’s last-minute location change.

The event was initially supposed to be held at the College of Dental Medicine, but because of the rain, it was moved to the student center. “Last year was our first one and we’ve learned from our mistakes,” Castiblanco said. “It was a little unorganized, so this year we know we got a little better organized. We got more people involved. (The switch in location) was good and bad because the

student center was a good location, I guess. Then having it outside of the new building would have been better because some people didn’t know (where it got moved to). They don’t read their school emails.” Like planning any other event, Paez said it took a lot of work, especially for the last year. People had to sign off to donate their dishes, using their own ingredients and cookware, and volunteer to serve everyone. The money raised, which came from the $10 entrance fee, was donated to a dental clinic located in Cusco, Peru. Sophomore dental student Natasha Diaz said medical and dental students use the clinic for rotation. “It not only benefits the school in itself, like getting people together and showcasing all of the countries that are represented in our school, but it also goes toward a great cause to help underserved people in our clinic,” Diaz said. Diaz said a major difference between the events from last year to this one is that more members have joined the HSDA and there were

more volunteers helping out with serving the food. “We have grown our organization from about 10 members to about 40 or so,” she said. “We had a great turnout from all professors, staff and students that donated dishes. The countries that were represented this year far outweigh the countries that were represented last year. Despite the rainy day that we unfortunately had, we made as much money as we did last year.” Diaz added that the HSDA originated on the Health Sciences campus and they are now in touch with the foreign languages department on the Summerville campus to see if the organization can grow. “You do not have to be Hispanic to join this organization,” Diaz said. “One thing that you do have to want to do is basically to help underserved people in our area and to be involved with the Hispanic community in general because we do try to target them.” atrawick@gru.edu

Giving back to the community one cup of coffee at a time By RON HICKERSON chief reporter

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eople are always buying cups of coffee for energy. How about buying one for charity? Charitable Coffee is a fledgling coffee company seeking to make a difference in the community of Augusta, Ga., by selling coffee and donating 50 percent of its profits to local charities. The small company is headed by Paul Rush, a fourth-year Master of Business Administration student at Georgia Regents University; Pratik Trehan, a first-year MBA student; Travis Delgado, who is in his last year of the MBA program; and Longkaam Bless, a recent graduate of the MBA program. Bless said Rush was really responsible for “getting the ball rolling” on this project. One of Rush’s friends expressed how hard it was for local charities to raise money, even though they have the most direct impact on a community. Realizing this need, Rush said he began brainstorming about products he could sell to generate profits that could be used to benefit these charities. The answer he came up with was coffee. After this vision, Rush encountered Bless, Trehan and Delgado in his classes. Trehan said their individual visions matched, and they decided to work together.

RON HICKERSON | STAFF

Fifty percent of Charitable Coffee’s profits go to help raise money for local non-profit organizations, such as Interfaith Hospitality Network of Augusta and Joshua’s Wish.

At the moment, Rush said the coffee company benefits five local charities: the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Augusta; Joshua’s Wish; Child Enrichment, Inc.; Rooms From the Heart; and the

Crisis Line and Safe House of Central Georgia. But the number of benefited charities is growing. “Charitable giving is a yearround thing,” Rush said. “It shouldn’t just be around Christ-

mastime or when a disaster happens. The biggest problem with charities is that in raising money they have to have an event. Since our company is mostly focused on giving awareness, we’re basically another arm of the charity.” While the company’s main priority is to raise funds for these organizations, it also aids them by raising awareness. The label on the back of the coffee bag tells the story of each charity and explains the kind of work it does. Bless said this information can help potential customers form a relationship with the charity, giving them more incentive to donate to its cause. “We want to create a community around the coffee and the charity and make it something that is a brand that people recognize,” Rush said. “Not just for the coffee but for the fact that we give money to charity and really encourage people to do that.” Trehan said the company has been trying to form closer relationships with the charities they benefit by taking part in charity events. Their future plans include getting involved with Relay for Life in May. The relationship between charity and buyer is furthered by the method customers use to purchase their coffee. By buying online, customers can choose the charity they want to benefit after reading about each one, Rush said.

Once they choose the charity, the order is put in, the label is printed and the coffee is shipped to the buyer. The company’s local focus is furthered by its coffee source. Charitable Coffee receives its roasted beans from John Curry of Buona Caffe in downtown Augusta where the owner roasts his coffee beans in-house. After months of planning and coordinating this project, Rush said the company just launched its products two months ago and have been receiving good responses. In fact, sales have been rapidly increasing over the past two months as they have been campaigning the coffee’s launch through social media outlets, word-of-mouth and even by handing out free bags of coffee to prominent figures in the Augusta area like Mayor Deke Copenhaver, Trehan said. Yet the partners said their goal is to make an impact in their local community. “I’ve never worked with a charity before,” Delgado said. “(This experience) has really enlightened me to the help that local charities need versus national charities. Local charities need just as much help, if not more, because they’re on the front lines every day.” rhickers@gru.edu

Historic Augusta experienced through a riveting musical cruise down scenic canal By Jordan Williams sports editor

E

very spring and fall the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area hosts the Moonlight Music Cruise Series, which features live performances aboard the canal’s Petersburg boats. The moonlight music cruise is one of many recreational activities the canal has to offer. It has been a program operating for seven years and provides an array of musicians and musical styles every Friday evening during the open season, said Rebecca Rogers, the director of marketing and external affairs at the Augusta Canal. Over the span of her time directing the program, Rogers has gained a lot of familiarity with the local music scene and said she mostly chooses performers who have a following that can sell out the seats, but she also tries to find new bands and musicians in order to add variety. “The most unusual event we’ve done was African drumming,” Rogers said. “Everybody sits around on the boat and everybody plays on that one. It’s really a lot of fun and very different from a typical event.” Before booking a performer Rogers always takes a glimpse at the music through various media outlets such as YouTube, ReverbNation or Facebook. However, this luxury of instant access to musical talents has not always been available, she said. “Back when we got started…it wasn’t quite so easy to know what your local talent sounded like,” Rogers said. “But things

have really changed and made our jobs a little easier now.” When first starting the music cruise, Rogers addressed her need for performers by reaching out to people who were already in the booking business. She interacted with individuals such as Coco Rubio, the co-owner of Sky City, and Joe Stevenson, the executive director of Gluestick, to learn who was popular and could draw interest. Now, while in the current season, the music cruise has been able to bring in talent from outside of Augusta, Ga. Some of the musicians in the spring line-up include artists from Nashville, Tenn.; Greenville, S.C.; and Atlanta. Robert Foster, a jazz musician and a professor music at Georgia Regents University, plays on the canal cruise sometimes as a duo with another jazz musician named Not Gaddy, who plays percussion while Foster handles various wind instruments. Foster said the experience is simply beautiful. “It’s right close to the city when you start leaving the dock, but in a very short while it seems like you’re totally emerged in nature,” Foster said. “Sometimes I’ll just stop playing for a little while and people can hear the sounds of nature, you know, the birds (and) the water going by or like an otter in the water.” Foster said that playing on the Petersburg boats does provide some small challenges because performers are required to adapt to the limitation of a sound system and sometimes compete against outside noises such as the boat engine.

CONTRIBUTED BY HOLLEY MADDEN

Augusta patrons enjoy an evening filled with live music while cruising down the historic Augusta canal.

The Petersburg boats were designed as exact replicas of the old cargo boats used by the canal, Rogers said. The only differences are they now run on electricity,are made out of fiber glass and are strictly used to take people on tours. In 1845 when the canal was first built, it essentially gave life to a dying city, said Holley Madden, the manager of the gift shop and visitor service. “Augusta probably wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t dug a canal,” Madden said.

“Times were getting hard. There was a lot of competition and (the canal) brought industry to Augusta, which was rare to have a large canal.” Other services the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area provides include the Interpretative Center Museum, a hands-on interactive museum that teaches the history and uses of the canal, as well as an extended three-hour boat tour available Saturday nights, Madden said.

jwill43@gmail.com

PAGE 15

THE BELL RINGER

COMICS: ENTERTAIN YOURSELF www.asubellringer.com

CROSSWORD ’90s music edition CLUES: Song lyrics from popular 1990s hits ANSWERS: Artists/bands who made the songs famous

ACROSS 4 “Something’s got me reeling, stopped me from believing. Turn me around again.” 6 “Mmm bob, ba duba dop.” 8 “Do you believe in life after love?” 9 “And all the roads that lead you there were winding.” 13 “Come on baby let’s get away. Let’s save your troubles for another day.” 16 “Her lips are devil red and her skin’s the color mocha.” 17 “Death Row is the label that pays me.” 18 “She acts like summer and walks like rain.” 20 “You are my fire.” 21 “Our memories, well they can be inviting, but some are altogether mighty frightening.” 22 “Insane in da membrane, insane in da brain!” 24 “Don’t call it a come back. I been here for years. Rocking my peers and putting suckas in fear.” 25 “I knew I loved you before I met you. I think I dreamed you into life.” 26 “Pack it up, pack it in. Let me begin... I came to get down.”

DOWN 1 “Come my lady, come come my lady, you’re my butterfly, sugar baby.” 2 “Touched for the very first time.” 3 “But when we are apart, I feel it too. And no matter what I do, I feel the pain with or without you.” 5 “I need a lover to give me the kind of love that will last always.” 7 “Now don’t go wasting my precious time. Get your act together and we could be just fine.” 10 “Say my name, say my name.” 11 “Always talking about what he wants and just sits on his broke ass.” 12 “I will never find another lover, sweeter than you.” 14 “I must confess, that my loneliness is killing me now - don’t you know I still believe.” 15 “I saw the sign and it opened up my eyes.” 19 “My mind is telling me no, but my body, my body’s telling me yes.” 23 “There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea.”

In the last issue... DOWN 1. Clooney 3. Pawnee 6. Puppy Bowl 9. The Osbournes 12. Growing Pains 13. Beavis 17. PlaysWithSquirrels 20. COPS 22. My So called life 24. Youtube 26. Morgan 27. Nip/Tuck 29. MacFarlane 31. JudyJudy

33. HBOgo 34. McDreamy 35. Firefly 38. Los Angeles 41. The Simpsons 43. Lucy 44. Hannibal 46. New York 48. Elaine

ACROSS 2. Wilson 4. Topanga 5. Nemoy 7. Penny 8. Clone High 10. Cowell 11. Newport Beach 14. houseofcards 15. The Americans 16. Party of five 18. Inspector Spacetime 19. Robin Sparkles 21. Louise

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23. Benjamin 25. Catdog 28. Khaleesi 30. Bates Motel 32. Buffy 36. Colbert 37. Mystic Falls 39. Duchess 40. Renard 42. Bugs bunny 45. Baldwin 47. Sorkin 49. Depp 50. Hulu

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

PAGE 16

SPORTS www.asubellringer.com

Jaguars’ struggles continue

JAGS’ SPORTS SCHEDULE BASEBALL April 24 @ USC Aiken April 27-28 vs. UNC Pembroke May 4-5 vs. Flagler

CONTRIBUTED BY AUGUSTA STATE ATHLETICS

Augusta State baseball team tries to finish strong By JORDAN WILLIAMS sports editor The baseball regular season ticks away as the Jaguars fight to remain relevant and earn a chance for postseason action. The Jags haven’t experienced a win since their victory against Anderson Tuesday, March 19, and now find themselves positioned at the bottom of the conference. In order to have any chance of making the NCAA tournament, the team must finish the regular season in the top eight of the Peach Belt Conference, head coach Chris Cooper said. This would qualify the team for the conference tournament and breathe new life into the season. Cooper said that he believes his team has the talent to turn things around, but the problems are more psychological. “I think we have some guys with self-doubt, and that’s unfortunate because I keep telling them as a coaching staff, ‘We wouldn’t put

you in there if we didn’t think you could do it,’” Cooper said. “So if we have confidence in them, they need to have confidence in themselves.” One of the methods Cooper uses for improving his players’ psyche is coordinating intersquad games, during which the pitchers’ coach and Cooper himself participate as catchers to see where pitcher are missing their spots and try to set them up in better situations. Players such as freshman outfielder Logan South also said that simply building confidence would be the key to winning out the rest of their games. “I think we’re really young, but I think we have great potential to do things,” South said in response to whether the Jags could still earn a playoff spot. Because this year’s team is so young, it has also taken some time for them to come together, sophomore outfielder Bradley Dennis said. “You could tell in certain games we’ve won that we were together at times and some guys were hot at one point,” Dennis said. “At other times

(we) were cold, and it switched every once and a while. We just need to work on everybody one through nine getting together and swinging the bat as a team.” Dennis also said that the heartbreaks they suffered have indeed affected their confidence, but at this point in the season it’s about finishing strong. Even with a losing streak, the team still has hope because a conference opponent ranked above the Jags could easily slip up and drop in the standings. Freshman pitcher Trey McAvoy said that working on issues such as being better in the field, pitchers decreasing the number of walks allowed and hitters taking advantage of pitcher mistakes would better the team as well. “I just feel like we beat ourselves in most games, not the fact that the other team beats us,” McAvoy said. “We just play one or two innings that really dictate the game for us.” At the start of the season it seemed like the Jags were going to have an outstanding year, McAvoy said. They opened the gate with wins

against Carson-Newman and conference opponent Armstrong Atlantic State in three-game series. However, with life comes adversity and Cooper said he preaches to his team that it’s all about how one handles the tough times. “Everything’s not going to come easy,” Cooper said. “You just have to keep working.” Despite the disappointment with the overall record, Cooper said there is still a lot of good that has come from 2013 season. “The fact that the guys continue to work,” Cooper said. “It would be easy for these young kids to just give up, and I don’t think they’ve given up on the season. So I’m impressed by that.” Another positive to take away from the season thus far is the production from the younger players, Dennis said. A lot of the freshman have gotten time on the field and stepped up when the coaches called their number.

jwill143@gru.edu

Track and field team breaks in first season By FARRELL BROWN senior reporter

JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

Former Augusta State coach Josh Gregory observes his SMU players during the practice rounds of the Insperity Augusta State Invitational at Forest Hills.

Gregory back in town By JORDAN WILLIAMS sports editor Former Augusta State men’s golf head coach and two-time NCAA champion Josh Gregory returned to Forest Hills Golf Club to participate in the Insperity Augusta State Invitational earlier this month. Now the head coach for his alma mater, SMU, Gregory came back to Augusta, Ga., for the second time in a row since he announced his departure from the Jaguars during the summer of 2011. “It’s always a little bit emotional to come back and see a lot of the people that helped our program along the way, so it’s a very special weekend for me,” Gregory said in regards to playing in the invitational. Augusta State was the first school to offer Gregory a head coaching opportunity, and he spent nine years as a Jaguar. Considering that he was only 27 years old and had little experience, Gregory said that he will always be grateful to the university for giving him a chance. When Clint Bryant, the director of athletics at Augusta State, hired Gregory, he said he saw somebody who had a lot of potential to grow into a great coach. “I think what Josh brought to the table was what we try to do with most of our coaches that we’ve hired in the past,” Bryant said, “somebody that was young, we could afford and (was) looking for an opportunity to do a really good job for us knowing that one day they would get an opportunity to go and coach at the

highest level.” Gregory described the experience of coaching nine seasons at Augusta State as incredible. “It’s one of the few, if not the only, universities that truly values college golf,” Gregory said. “With the Masters there and with the love of golf in that city, it’s a place unlike any other. I always said that there would be no place that would appreciate a national championship like Augusta, Ga., and Augusta State University, and then fortunately we got to experience that twice.” Gregory gave all the credit for winning back-to-back titles to his players. He said that it was a team full of athletes who bought in to what he preached and thought Augusta State was the greatest place in the world. The only thing that could drag Gregory away from Augusta State, he said, was the once-in-a-lifetime chance to coach for his alma mater. “It was the right time to leave,” Gregory said. “Obviously, we left on an extremely high note with winning back-to-back national championships, and I felt like the program was in great hands.” The hiring of Gregory’s replacement was kept in-house, as former women’s golf head coach Kevin McPherson was handed the responsibility of continuing excellence in the Augusta State men’s golf program. “When we went through a search like we do everybody else, see COACH on PAGE 17

In February, the regular season for Augusta State’s newest sports teams, men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, began. The Peach Belt Conference recently added the sports to its list of official conference championship sports. “I don’t think we’ll get the full gist of it this year,” freshman sprinter Devonte Thomas said. “Probably starting next year, we’ll really get into being a track program.” The new team wasn’t made official until June 13, 2012. The goal for this season is to build a solid foundation for the new track program, head coach Adam Ward said. The team is currently in the process of trying to find its identity as a unit as well as its strengths and weaknesses on the track. This will help Ward and his assistants figure out what to recruit for after this season is over.

Another key objective for the season is for the team to learn about its competition and figure out the best way to build its team. Ward added that the team has somewhat of a learning curve because of its inexperience. Ward has also brought on assistant coaches for the year in Anthony Carlie, Ariana Fisher and Katherine Phillips. Ward said he hopes to eventually build a full coaching staff with possibly a fulltime assistant in order to be able to help give all parts of the team the proper guidance and attention. “We work to get where we are,” said freshman middle-distance runner Ashley Smith. Without a full offseason, Ward said he spent the time putting together a team that consisted of men’s and women’s cross country runners, a few high school recruits and a list of students who heard see TRACK on PAGE 17

Lady Jags’ Birkle leads team’s starting rotation By JOHN-MICHAEL GARNER   & JAMIE LOWE   sports editor   & webmaster

In a rebuilding season for the Augusta State softball program, freshman pitcher Haley Birkle provided reason to believe that better days are ahead. Birkle, who attended Oak Hall High School in her hometown of Gainesville, Fla., finished the 2013 season with a teamleading 2.45 ERA while appearing in 29 games for the Lady Jags this season. She went the distance in 18 of her 21 starts and limited opposing hitters to a .244 batting average. Birkle also paced the pitching staff with 61 strikeouts and 148.1 innings pitched. Head softball coach Melissa Mullins said Birkle was a steady

arm this season for the Lady Jags, who lost their top three starters, Emily Headrick, Heather Hughes and Heather Sexton, from last year’s team that finished 3318 and advanced to the NCAA Southeast Regional in Dahlonega, Ga. “Birkle is a consistent starter,” Mullins said. “She’s pretty unique as a lefty and that helps make her effective.” Birkle said she practices with the team all 20 hours per week that it is allowed to practice, in accordance with NCAA rules. In addition to her dedication to the game, Birkle said she also credits her success to the fact that she throws left-handed, which offers opposing hitters a different look compared to Paige Deschaine, Kaleigh McNair and see BIRKLE on PAGE 17

JAGS’ SPORTS RESULTS BASEBALL April 20 @ Francis Marion L, 8-0 @ Francis Marion L, 8-0 (Florence, S.C.) April 21 L, 8-0 @ Francis Marion

MEN’S GOLF April 6-7 – 2nd place Insperity Augusta State Invitational (Forest Hills Golf Club, Augusta, Ga.)

WOMEN’S GOLF April 20-21 – 9th place Lady Buckeye Spring Invitational (University Club – Scarlet Course, Columbus, Ohio)

MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD April 19-20 – 6th place Peach Belt Conference Championships (Rome, Ga.)

WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD April 19-20 – 8th place Peach Belt Conference Championships (Rome, Ga.)

MEN’S TENNIS

April 12 – vs. Georgia College & State L, 5-2, PBC Tournament Quarterfinal (Florence, S.C.) April 13 – vs Flagler W, 5-0, PBC Tournament Elimination Match (Florence, S.C.) April 13 - vs. Francis Marion, L, 5-1 PBC Tournament 5th Place Match (Florence, S.C.)

WOMEN’S TENNIS April 12 - vs. Francis Marion L, 5-0, PBC Tournament Quarterfinal April 13 - vs. USC Aiken, W, 5-4 PBC Tournament Elimination Match April 13 – vs. Clayton State W, 5-4, PBC Tournament 5th Place Match

THE BELL RINGER

PAGE 17

Local fencing club continues to grow By JACOB SCHARFF staff writer

Fencing as a sport does many things, and in Augusta, Ga., the Augusta Fencers Club is finding a new home downtown. An old grocery store at the corner of Fifth and Greene streets has now been converted into the new home for the Augusta Fencers Club. The club’s main instructor, Rudy Volkmann, purchased the building more than a year ago and went to work on it. Volkmann said the building is about double the size of the old location, and the club figured it was time to move on from its old location of 12 years on Ninth and Reynolds streets. Volkmann is also the club’s founder and has been fencing for many years because of all the things fencing can do for a person, he said. “(It’s) highly aerobic, and it promotes handeye coordination and physical acuity,” Volkmann said. “Psychologically, you learn how to deal with aggression in a positive way. It’s good for an awful lot of things.” Volkmann got some help in purchasing the new location from Collin McCoy, who is now partners with Volkmann. McCoy said he was a student, competitor and instructor in the past. One reason McCoy is helping with the purchase of the building is because his business will move into that very building, taking up the front while the Augusta Fencers Club takes up the back. McCoy will be running his business out of both its current location and out of the new location until everything can be moved over, which

CONTRIBUTED BY THE AUGUSTA FENCERS CLUB

Fencing instructor Rudy Volkmann works with members of the Fencing Club on their technique.

won’t be until at least the end of the year. He said he also hopes that the new building will eventually allow him to take up coaching and fencing again. “I’m running two businesses, so the main thing that’s keeping me from fencing right now is the hours that I really need to be there training are

From A to GRU By JORDAN WILLIAMS sports editor Georgia Regents University’s Office of Communications and Marketing recently presented the new Jaguar logos for the university’s athletic teams. The new look that will represent Georgia Regents athletics has been greatly anticipated as the student-athletes finish their last year competing under the name Augusta State. Coaches and other members within the athletic department said they are pleased with the results from the Office of Communications and Marketing and are eager to use the logos beginning in the 2013-2014 season. “The coaches and student-athletes are excited about the direction we’re headed and how we’ll begin to represent ourselves and the university to our competitors, along with current and prospective students,” said Clint Bryant, Georgia Regents’ director of athletics, in a press release. “Athletics will have a look all its own – a look representative of each of our 14 men’s and women’s athletic teams and the student-athletes who compete. I’m really excited about our logos and our brand and I am sure it will serve us well for

Birkle CONTINUED from PAGE 16 Kristen Miller, all right-handed pitchers on the Lady Jags’ roster. “My opposite pitching throws (off) a lot of batters,” Birkle said. “Every game is a learning experience.” After four consecutive 30-win seasons, the Lady Jags fell off to an 18-32 record this spring, including a 7-15 mark in Peach Belt Conference play. Mullins is hopeful that Birkle, along with the other freshmen on the team, will help the team in the coming seasons as it looks to re-emerge as a contender in the conference. As impressive as her performance was during her maiden voyage with the Augusta State program, Birkle will become an even more effective pitcher in the future now that she has a year of experience pitching in the

years to come.” According to the press release, the logos will be used to brand apparel and other items available for purchase in the university’s bookstores and at Jaguars’ sporting events and licensed retailers. The coaches and players were all involved in the process of creating the logos in order to achieve a perfect representation of the university’s teams. These logos include an original Jaguar icon, the historic Augusta State athletics typeface and numeral set and the words “Georgia Regents University,” “Augusta” and “Jaguars,” according to the press release. “GRU Augusta’s Office of Communications and Marketing has been very ‘openminded,’ presenting several branding options to each of the head coaches,” said Kevin McPherson, the men’s golf head coach at Augusta State. “It is important to note that we have all worked together in finding the ‘perfect fit’ to brand the new university’s athletic teams. I’m honored to be a part of those decisions and look forward to the future growth of GRU Augusta.”

jwill143@gru.edu

Peach Belt under her belt, said Evan Smith, an assistant coach for the softball team. “As a freshman, she (did not) know what to expect,” Smith said. “What I mean by that is that she (did not) know to expect because of tradition. She (had) never played against some of our rivals, so she (went) in fresh.” In her – and the Lady Jags’ – final game of the season, Birkle allowed four runs in six innings as Augusta State fell to No. 3 Armstrong Atlantic State in Savannah, Ga., Sunday, April 14. The defeat marked the seventh consecutive loss for the Lady Jags to close the 2013 campaign. Mullins said Birkle has the right mentality to handle success as well as setbacks. “(Birkle) is a great teammate,” Mullins said. “She’s got a lot of personality and is more mature than most traditional freshmen. She’s a great addition to this team.” jgarner6@gru.edu, jlowe12@gru.edu

the hours I’m home with the kids,” McCoy said. “I’m really hoping that getting into the new building will allow me to become more involved.” Instructors past and present aren’t the only ones looking forward to the move. Georgia Regents University student Ramon Figueroa, a management information systems major, has been

Coach CONTINUED from PAGE 16 there were five really good candidates we brought to campus and interviewed,” Bryant said. “At the end of the day, we thought because of Kevin McPherson being here, having a lot success as a women’s coach and knowing the lay of land, we were very comfortable with him.” McPherson said that it wasn’t difficult replacing Gregory because he was already part of the program and was involved in the experience of winning the back-to-back titles. He not only coached women’s golf but served as Gregory’s right-hand man, as they built a close bond over the years. “We worked well together,” McPherson said. “I did a lot of things for him on the men’s side of things, and also he did a lot of things to help me out on the women’s side as well. So we had a fantastic relationship and we still do.” When McPherson took over for men’s golf all of the high-caliber players from the championship teams had graduated or gone pro, such as current PGA Tour professionals Patrick Reed and Henrik Norlander.

Track

CONTINUED from PAGE 16 about the team through emails and word of mouth. Some of the members of the team have never run track before. The team has also added help in the form of freshman Natasha Broughton and Augusta State women’s basketball players Becky Newhouse, Ashley Johnson, Tiffany Jaecks, Tracy Aifuwa and Jacqueline Weathers, Ward said. “Right at half or a little over half of the men’s team is cross country, about 10, maybe 11, athletes,” he said. “And then on the women’s side, we’ve got four women that competed in cross country last fall.” The Jaguars feature so many cross country runners mostly for the purposes of adding more depth to the roster and to help with building the foundation as well as running in the longer distance events. Their experience and team chemistry also helps the team with becoming competitive sooner rather than later. Ward said the cross country runners on the track team solidify the team’s ability to be competitive because they’re used to competing. “Becoming a conference power is going to take at least three, maybe four, years,” he said. “You got to build a base, but you need at least a solid recruiting class or two before you can really start to develop those people and coach them up.”

with the Augusta Fencers Club for more than a decade. Figueroa said that one of the issues of the old location was the setup of an electronic scoring system that used ceiling pulleys to get around. “We’re going to have floor reels because, right now, what’s happening in the club is that we had Dr. Volkmann set up a rig to have the reels and the lines hanging from pulleys and such,” Figueroa said. “It’s pretty neat, but it does get caught up in the pulleys a bit and we have to stop the action to fix the pulley and such. But now with the floor reels it should probably just be much easier for us to fence.” Figueroa also spoke of his competition experience, which included an event called the North American Cup that is held once a season and runs from January to sometime in the summer. He also said that the Augusta Fencers Club will host a tournament this April. Fencing is not just a college or mid-life sport, though. Volkmann said a fencer can participate in the sport indefinitely. “It is a lifetime sport,” Volkmann said. “I’m 70 and I still compete. I love football, but unless you’re super, super material, when you leave high school you’ve played your last game of real football, unless you’re pretty good, in which case when you leave college you’ve played your very last game of football, ever. You’re never going to have 22 people together again that feel like they know what they’re doing and be able to play a game of football. It’s never going happen again; whereas this, you learn how to fence and you can literally compete for the rest of your life.”

jscharff@gru.edu The program has lost 10 players in the last two years, and such a huge loss would put any athletic team in a rebuilding stage. But Augusta State’s ranking as a championship program has helped McPherson tremendously in recruiting and it is already showing, Bryant said. “Based on they’ve won two tournaments this spring and a second-place finish in our own tournament, which everybody in it was a top 50 team, I think the progress Kevin has made has been exceptional based on the fact that he had to rebuild this team,” Bryant said. During Gregory’s first two years at SMU, he has been able to continue the success he had as a Jaguar. The Mustangs were able to bring in the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation last year and become the 16th-ranked team in the country while playing three or four freshmen every week, Gregory said. In the Insperity, McPherson topped his former mentor with a second-place standing, while SMU finished in 13th place and finished 31-over-par.

jwill143@gru.edu Carlie echoed similar sentiments. “In the next year or two, I see us definitely placing at least top three in the conference,” she said. “And my goal for the 2014-15 season is to be a contender for the conference title.” Ward has laid out his plans for the team’s success. He said the team’s objectives are to first become an established power in its conference. The next goal is to reach the NCAA Division II championships followed by getting runners to qualify for nationals. Ward said he expects the conference championship to come in the team’s fifth or sixth year and the national qualifiers to come within the eighth year. Thomas said it’s important to place team goals ahead of individual ones. “The goal is always to win,” he said. “You can set individual goals but to win you have to do it collectively as a team. So my goal is team oriented and that conference championship is No. 1 on the list.” The goal in track and field events is to win points. Points are accumulated based on where a runner finished in a race. Points are then added up and winning teams as a whole are determined by which school has the highest total points. So far the team has had a lot of success and even competed in the Peach Belt Championships. During the two-day event in Rome, Ga., the men took sixth place and the women eighth. fbrown19@gru.edu

Final chapter closes on Augusta State sports as new era dawns By ASHLEY TRAWICK news editor Augusta State Athletics’ last piece of history is moving forward because of the merger and name change. In the fall, athletes will play as the Georgia Regents Jaguars, and become fully recognized as a part of the Georgia Regents athletics department. For some, this change is troubling, but others, like men’s basketball head coach Darren ‘Dip’ Metress, said that they are optimistic about the conversion. “Change is difficult no matter what,” Metress said. “Any change is tough. I think any time there’s a name change, it’s difficult and it’s going to take some time, but we’re transforming into a research institution and we’ve got to support it to the utmost.” Melissa Mullins, the assistant director of athletics and head softball coach, said there’s sentimental attachment to Augusta State, but that she’s excited about the upcoming transition. “Any time there’s change, it pulls on the heartstrings,” Mullins said. “I can say that I’m really excited about what the consolidation is going to of-

fer for us in athletics. I’m excited about the new logos. I think they look really good. It’s time. We’ve been doing this now for several months. We’ve been prepping (and) getting ready. As we say goodbye to all of our old Augusta State stuff, we’ll do so with much love and adoration and then we just move on looking forward to who we are and how we’ll represent Georgia Regents University.” Metress reflected on past moments during his nine years being head coach of the men’s basketball team and said Augusta State has seen a lot of good moments. He said he hopes that when the fall comes, everyone will have adjusted to everything. “(As ASU athletics) we’ve had a lot of good moments,” he said. “Winning all of those different regional championships on our home floor was gratifying. Playing the national championship game…we had a lot of good moments. Our last game, I heard the chant of ‘ASU, ASU!’ and it didn’t kinda hit me that that would be the last time that will be chanted. It will be ‘GRU!’ now. All those great moments have ended with the chant of ASU and

hopefully will give us more great moments with a chant of GRU.” Clint Bryant, entering his 25th year as director of athletics, said the school has changed a lot over the years since he first arrived in April of 1988. He said he tells students, his coaches and his family that life is a continual process of getting used to things that are least expected to happen. “Life is about change and things are constantly changing,” Bryant said. “The way we live after 9/11 is quite different than recent things that have happened just in the last few days. I am an eternal optimist that I’m trying to find a silver lining in every cloud. The opportunities and the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages and the challenges as we move into this new day.” Students and athletes who are not yet warmed up to the idea of the consolidation will have to progress and get used to the idea, Mullins said. “Honestly, it is what it is,” she said. “We’re not changing anything. Just because someone may be personally uncomfortable with something or maybe it’s not their preference, (it)

ASHLEY TRAWICK I STAFF

The center-court logo on the basketball court at Christenberry Fieldhouse will be replaced as a result of Augusta State athletics’ rebranding to Georgia Regents.

doesn’t make it dumb. It doesn’t make it wrong. It doesn’t make it bad. It’s just different and that’s life.” Bryant said he shared Mullins’ sentiment and said he’s very excited about this consolidation because he embraces the positive change it will bring to the new university. “As students graduate and leave and new students come in, the new will

basically become the norm,” Bryant said. “It’s not about giving up anything or losing anything. We just always continue to embrace our history and what got us here and how far we’ve come and everything, but the future is brighter looking towards ‘Now what’s going to happen? What’s going to come?’ That’s what is exciting to me.”

atrawick@gru.edu

PAGE 18

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2013

SPORTS www.asubellringer.com

Highlights from NFL free agency

Augustans run for a cause

FARRELL BROWN senior reporter Football’s back! You’re right. That was too much. No more outbursts. On Tuesday, March 12, the 2013 NFL season unofficially started with the beginning of the free agency and trades. From now until the regular season officially starts in September, teams will have the ability to move players around in attempts to put themselves in the best position to make a legitimate run at the Lombardi trophy. Going into the offseason, the main things the Detroit Lions need to fix are their 23rd ranked rushing offense and their 27th ranked overall defense. They have begun making the right moves by signing running back Reggie Bush, from the Miami Dolphins; cornerback Glover Quin, from the Houston Texans; and defensive end Jason Jones, from the Seattle Seahawks. In 2012, Bush had his second best statistical year out of his sevenyear career. With two wins last season, the Kansas City Chiefs essentially needed help everywhere on the team. They finished last season ranked dead last in overall offense and 25th in overall defense. The Chiefs and their new general manager and head coach have already locked up a new franchise quarterback by trading for ex-San Francisco 49er, Alex Smith, who was a major part of the Niners’ Super Bowl run. After resigning number one receiver Dwayne Bowe before the free agent signing period, the Chiefs added respectable No. 2 wide receiver Donnie Avery to play on the other side of the field. On the defensive side, the Chiefs have signed defensive end Mike DeVito, from the New York Jets; cornerback Dunta Robinson, from the Atlanta Falcons; and nickelback Sean Smith, from the Miami Dolphins. Two teams that have made big splashes already in the free agent period are the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Starting Monday, March 11, these two teams have seemingly been playing their own game of tit-fortat separate from the rest of the league. The Seahawks fired the first shot by trading for ex-Minnesota Viking Percy Harvin. The Seahawks signed defensive ends Michael Bennett from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cliff Avril from the Detroit Lions. Last season, the two combined for 76 tackles, five forced fumbles and 18 1/2 sacks. The Seahawks also acquired cornerback Antoine Winfield, from the Minnesota Vikings. Winfield is expected to play the slot corner position in what has become arguably the league’s most dangerous secondary. The Niners responded by trading for ex-Baltimore Raven, Anquan Boldin. They’ve also signed defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey, from the Kansas City Chiefs, and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, from the Philadelphia Eagles. The team that has made the biggest splash in free agency so far has been the struggling Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins finished last season ranked 21st in yards given up. In an attempt to rectify this, they have signed Philip Wheeler, from the Oakland Raiders, and Dannell Ellerbe, from the Baltimore Ravens. Combined, these two had 201 tackles, three forced fumbles and seven and 1/2 sacks last season. In 2012, the Dolphins ranked 27th overall and in the bottom half of the league in all major offensive categories. The Dolphins have added to their receiving core by adding former Pittsburgh Steelers star Mike Wallace; emerging star Brandon Gibson, from the St. Louis Rams; and tight end Dustin Keller, from the New York Jets. Football is back! Okay, I lied.

fbrown19@gru.edu

JORDAN WILLIAMS | STAFF

5K run raises sexual assault awareness By JORDAN WILLIAMS sports editor Rape Crisis and Sexual Assault Services hosted its annual Tack Back the Day 5K Run/ Walk early Saturday morning, April 20, as a part of sexual assault awareness month. The event began on campus at Georgia Regents University with registration and a kickoff ceremony. Following the ceremony, all the patrons took their marks on the intersection near the Career Center and followed the course until it ended at University Hospital. The 5K served as a way of visibly showing that sexual violence will not be tolerated in the community, said Karen Belk, a sexual assault awareness month committee member and the director of student development. It was also an opportunity to raise money for Rape Crisis and Sexual Assault Services, a nonprofit organization. The sexual assault awareness month committee assists with programming and plans, and Belk said she assisted with the kickoff ceremony. The ceremony took place 15 minutes before the actual race and served as a mini pep rally to express the purposes of the event and excite the participants. This year’s event was unique from any other Tack Back the Day event since it started back in

2010 because the running component was added. In previous years, patron would only walk, but this was the first time bringing in a competitive element, Belk said. “The benefits of adding a run this year was that we received more participants because we have so many runners in our community,” she said. “The benefits of the walk again provided another element of people that would like to participate and give back to the community.” At the start of the race all runners lined up first, with the walkers taking up the rear. All runners had their times marked at the finish line, and prizes were given to those with the best finish times. Belk said that each year the event gets more popular and that they may have had the biggest turnout this year as people brought their families and pets. Even students from Georgia Regents came out in large numbers to support the cause, especially those in women’s studies and nursing programs. The patrons said they thought the 5K was a great event and had a fun time supporting their cause. “I think it’s great because it’s for rape and sexual abuse,” participant Riddhi Patel said. “So I think it’s a good way to raise money and help people out.” Patel also said that being part of the event gave her a good feeling because it required time consumption instead of just giving money.

The fact that the running component was installed had other participants excited, they said. “I love it,” participant Michael Anchor said about being able to run. “I love to get out here in the morning; it’s a nice morning although it’s a little chilly out, but you get to run and you get to exercise.” Anchor said he always tries to find races that benefit the community and had even done a few of the Jaguar jogs, but this was his first time being a part of the Take Back the Day event. The assistance from sponsors who helped finance the event went a long way in making it possible and allowed the sexual assault awareness month committee to successfully execute another charity run, Belk said. “The proceeds from the walk can help the Sexual Assault Services provide counseling services, various programming throughout our community, as well as provide more awareness in our community,” Belk said. Outside of the 5K, the sexual assault awareness month committee also holds a Take Back the Night event. The differences are that Take Back the Night is more of a visual event in which participants are more sympathetic to the survivors and victims of sexual assault and a chance for law enforcement and city leaders to participate and share their ways of reinforcing safety in the community, Belk said.

jwill143@gru.edu

Softball team’s rollercoaster season ends By ASHLEY TRAWICK news editor Augusta State softball has had a rough year after finishing the season with an overall record of 18-32 and a 7-15 conference record. Melissa Mullins, the head coach of the softball team and the assistant director of athletes, said at the beginning of the season, the majority of the girls didn’t know what to expect, especially the freshmen. “I feel like we have all of the talent in the world (and) we’re just not applying or we weren’t applying,” Mullins said. “Then we started making some improvements. We saw some things go our way, we started to win some games and we did a lot better like we could. Then you get into conference, which is one of the toughest parts of our schedule, and so you start facing tougher competition even though you may be playing better (but) so are better teams.” Sophomore nursing major and second baseman Hannah Vaughn said the Jags are a very young team and players still have a lot to learn about one another. “I knew it wasn’t going to be the best season that we’ve ever had at Augusta State,” Vaughn said. “We kept working and we started playing as a team. Our freshmen stepped up and started making some big time plays (and) started playing their roles, and we just started playing as a team and things started turning around for us.” Lauren Yeargan, a senior biology major and right fielder, said she shared Vaughn’s sentiment, saying the season was rocky at first. “We had our ups and downs,” Yeargan said. “It was definitely a learning season. It’s just that we just

RYAN MCLAY | STAFF

Lady Jaguar outfielder Laura Brown looks on from the dugout as teammates take warmup swings during a practice session at the Augusta State athletic complex.

couldn’t put it together this year.” It has been a rebuilding year due to the addition of seven new freshmen and them having to adapt to the college level, Vaughn said. Some improvements have been made since last season but the team still has a lot of work to do. “Everybody has taken on a different role this year,” she said, “(and) taken on teaching different people different things and stepping up and doing jobs they didn’t

have to do last year because we had so many seniors step up and play a very important role for us.” When speaking on the experience of this year, Mullins said it hasn’t been all bad. They’ve had some victories as well. “Sweeping Francis Marion was a big thing for us. They always have a good team,” she said. “Splitting with North Georgia, you know, they’re nationally ranked so it was good that we were able to do that.

And even splitting with Wingate and Catawba – those are always teams that are traditionally strong in our region so we were feeling really confident about things at that point. And then we dropped a few that we just didn’t need to be dropping. We at least needed to be splitting with some teams that we recently lost to, and we didn’t make that happen.” In the final days of the season the Lady Jags hit a brutal six-game road stretch against Flagler, Georgia College and Armstrong Atlantic, all of which are in the top five of the Peach Belt Conference. In the game against Flagler, the Lady Jags were clobbered by a score of 12-0 and were outhit 115. Freshman pitcher Haley Birkle struggled immensely, giving up all 11 hits and nine runs in only one inning. However, the second game of the matchup turned into a defensive struggle with Flagler barely escaping, 2-0. The team would go on to lose heartbreakers in both doubleheaders against Georgia College and Armstrong Atlantic. Georgia College won its games 9-8 and 8-5, and Armstrong Atlantic claimed victories in low-scoring affairs of 4-3 and 4-0. For encouragement, Vaughn said Mullins tells them to improve every day. “If you know you’re improving every day, you know you’re doing (better) every day,” she said. “Know every day, that you have to work on your weaknesses.” Mullins added that they’re trying to learn from the season and use it for next year. She also said that, despite everything, she tells them to have fun, regardless of whether they win or lose.

atrawick@gru.edu