Issue 12 | Vol. 63

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

T h e st u d en t vo i c e o f U N C As h ev i lle | by e feli c i a s i n c e 1 9 82 | t h eb lu eba n n er.n et

BLACKOUT

Week-long Black Lives Matter schedule PAGE 14

Free speech zones PAGE 2

Shanna Blake: ‘Hacer de Tripas Corazon’ PAGE 8

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November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 2

NEWS

Section Editor: Emma Alexander nalexand@unca.edu

The Blue Banner Fall 2015 Editorial Board Editor-In-Chief Timbi Shepherd, jshephe3@unca.edu Enterprising Editor James Neal, jneal@unca.edu News Editor Emma Alexander, nalexand@unca.edu Sports Editor Harrison Slaughter, jslaught@unca.edu Arts & Features Editor Larisa Karr, lakarr@unca.edu Copy Desk Chief Tamsen Todisco, ttodisco@unca.edu Layout & Design Editor Makeda Sandford, msandfor@unca.edu Photography Editor Johnny Condon, jcondon@unca.edu Multimedia Editor Maddie Stagnaro, mstagnar@unca.edu Social Media Editor Michael O’Hearn, mohearn@unca.edu Opinion Editor June Bunch, kbunch@unca.edu Copy Editors Devric Lefevre, dkiyota@unca.edu Kathryn Gambill, agambill@unca.edu Katelyn Northrup, knorthru@unca.edu

Free speech zones questioned

Brown Hall is one of the free speech zones on campus.

JASON PERRY

A&F Staff Writer jperry1@unca.edu

The First Amendment guarantees citizens the right to freedom of speech.

This guarantee is being questioned at UNC Asheville.

“It alarms me that there is a free speech zone at all,” said Diana Kruk, vice chair of Move to Amend, with her voice raised and fist in the air. “I feel like a university campus should be a bastion of free thinking, free speech and free association, and by establishing a free speech zone you eliminate that.”

UNCA has one free speech zone where visitors are able to protest outside Brown Hall, at Reid’s Plaza. Protesting outside the free speech zone is not permitted.

Kruk said she thinks having a free speech zone takes away people’s First Amendment rights. She thinks people should have a right to protest anywhere

on campus.

“When you criminalize free thinking, free speech and free association by making anything outside those parameters, it’s incredibly detrimental to society at large,” Kruk said. “When you do that at a college campus I think it is incredibly detrimental to the entire process of higher learning.”

Eric Boyce, UNCA chief of police, said he wants protesters’ voices to be heard, but he runs into problems when protests impede campus activities.

“That is not just for on campus, but anywhere, and that is important for folks who are organizing protests,” Boyce said.

“When you start running into problems is where you are in front of Bank of America, and not letting customers come in.”

Kruk said the system will take care of itself. She said a couple of people protesting would not affect campus activity.

“If there are four people who

Photo by Makeda Sandford - Layout & Design Editor

“The windows are thick enough to drown out four people.

But if it is a situation where enough people get riled up about it, then it should be listened to.”

Diana Kruk

are trying to be disruptive they are not going to be given much credence,” Kruk said. “They are not going to be that disruptive.”

Kruk said that if enough people are behind an issue, then the issue deserves to be heard.

“The windows are thick enough to drown out four people,” Kruk said. “But if it is a situation where enough people get riled up about it, then it should be listened to.”

Gray McDiarmid, senior biology student from Greensboro,

said the free speech zone is necessary but should be expanded.

“I really would like to see the freedom of speech on campus to include the entire campus,” said McDiarmid, while protesting for smokers’ rights. “I do understand the need for a designated protest zone for people coming outside of campus, because we do get a lot of anti-abortion people, with their big graphic images.”

McDiarmid said he has experience protesting outside of the free speech zone, but was redirected to Reid’s Plaza. He said he did not receive any harassment from campus police.

“They are polite police officers,” said McDiarmid, with a grin.

Sophie Silver-Isenstadt, a former UNCA student, said regulating the free speech zone is a good idea.

Silver-Isenstadt said there should be more areas besides Reid’s Plaza. Read more on page 7

Advertising Manager Amber Abunassar, aabunass@unca.edu Faculty Adviser Michael Gouge, mgouge@unca.edu Staff

Jason Perry, Matt McGregor, Phillip Wyatt, Curtis Ginn, Holden Mesk, Maddy Swims, Sam Shumate, Ashley Elder, Becca Andrews, Roan Farb, Jordyn Key, Meredith Bumgarner, and Carson Wall.

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Have a news tip?

Send to jshephe3@unca.edu The Blue Banner is UNC Asheville’s student newspaper. We publish each Wednesday except during summer sessions, finals week and holiday breaks. Our office is located in Karpen Hall 019.

The Blue Banner is a designated forum for free speech and welcomes letters to the editor, considering them on basis of interest, space and timeliness. Letters and articles should be emailed to the editor-in-chief or the appropriate section editor.

Letters should include the writer’s name, year in school, and major or other relationship to UNCA. Include a telephone number to aid in verification. All articles are subject to editing.

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

Nov. 18 - 22

Happenings Wednesday, Nov. 18 Blue Ridge Orchestra Rehearsal 7 - 9 p.m.

Reuter 102B

Thursday, Nov. 19 Wiley and the Hairy Man 7:30 p.m.

Carol Belk Theatre

Friday, Nov. 20 Chamber Music Chat 1:15 - 2:30 p.m.

Reuter 102 - Manheimer Room Symphony Talk 3 - 5 p.m.

Reuter 102 - Manheimer Room The Space Between the Stories 4 - 6 p.m.

Ramsey Library 102 - Glasshouse Opening Reception BFA Exhibition by Marisa Mahathey 6 - 8 p.m.

Highsmith Union 113 - Gallery Wiley and the Hairy Man 7:30 p.m.

Carol Belk Theatre

Saturday, Nov. 21 Wiley and the Hairy Man 7:30 p.m.

Carol Belk Theatre

Sunday, Nov. 22 Wiley and the Hairy Man 2 p.m.

Carol Belk Theatre

on the cover:

photo of black lives matter protest on monday by jahmia black

UNCA officials, students discuss the financial struggles of college

page 3

ELIZABETH WALKER Contributor

As college costs steadily rise, UNC Asheville students, faculty and staff concerns over impending financial stress increase as well.

“I think that over the last five years the one factor that has contributed in many cases is the larger financial stress.

That, I think, plays a role,” said Brian Hook, humanities program director and associate professor of classics at UNCA, last month. “Paying for tuition and thinking about one’s career after school puts pressure on the performance in classes, and sometimes the learning is crowded into a corner because of the concern for a career.”

Yet, according to The Princeton Review’s 2015 “College Hopes & Worries Survey,” 90 percent of respondents said financial aid will be very necessary to pay for college.

“Where I’m at now, I feel like the past year in school has been completely useless because I did end up having to spend a lot of money on books and other random supplies. Now I can’t even continue my education, so it feels like what was even the point in the first place?” said Xela Phillips, a former political science and international studies student at UNCA. Phillips said she had to take a semester off for financial reasons after her first year. While she wants to go back, she’s not sure if she’ll be able to return to school.

“Financial stress is probably a top concern, within the top five or ten. I don’t know if it is the No. 1 concern, just looking at the number of students we have to cancel for nonpayment versus students we have who are actually able to make the commitment and pay,” said Alexis Levenson, director of student accounts at UNCA.

From UNCA’s financial aid website

Hook said the affordability of smaller colleges over larger colleges arises as another point brought up in most college expense debates.

“The public system overall is much less expensive than the private system. Many students I think who are here would have less financial stress, but it’s not always that way,” Hook said.

Hook said UNCA remains a cheaper school than Ivy League colleges such as Yale University, but Yale can be potentially cheaper for a student depending on the circumstances. Such colleges are need-blind — whatever a low income student can’t pay, Yale will pay the difference, Hook said.

“If you’re not paying any-

thing and you were able to get (into Yale), then it might be a lot more stress at UNCA if you’re really struggling to cover an extra $3,000 a semester,” Hook said.

Levenson said a significant number of UNCA students take advantage of the financial aid that the school offers, whether it be loans, grants or even on-campus jobs.

“I have a lot of experience with financial aid because I went to a private high school where I was getting pretty much a full ride to school. While I was in high school, I was emancipated, and I had to figure out how I was going to send myself to college,” said Phillips, a Durham native. “I was also

homeless at the time, so that made it relatively easy to get what I needed to go to college.”

Phillips said a friend of hers wasn’t able to drop a class to reduce his financial stress, so he must keep his full-time status and tuition while making ends meet with a part-time job.

“The situation is really quite a mess,” Phillips said.

A few methods to combat the financial stress of college remain. Levenson said UNCA offers a monthly plan through the outside company Tuition Management Systems as one of the possibilities for financial relief.

“Instead of having your full balance due Aug. 1, you can set that up and pay it out July, Read more on page 5

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

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NEWS

Maternal and infant health care: A rising concern CODY JONES

Contributing Writer

The United States’ maternal mortality rate is rising and the infant mortality rate has stagnated, said Blake Fagan, director of the family medicine residency program at the Mountain Area Health Education Center.

The United States’ maternal mortality rate is going up while rates in other developed countries like Canada, France and Japan are dropping, according to a study by The Lancet.

The study compares data from 1990 to 2013. In 2013, there were 18.5 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in the United States compared to 12.4 per 100,000 in 1990.

The causes of maternal death are usually not directly related to pregnancy or giving birth, said Dan Frayne, assistant residency program director at MAHEC. “Many people think this is something that happens during the pregnancy or labor and de-

livery,” Frayne said. “Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of maternal death.

When we look at the causes of maternal death, each one is related to a chronic disease that is not pregnancy-related.”

Frayne said the main causes of infant mortality are linked to the health of the mother.

“If we look at why infants are dying, the top two reasons are birth defects and preterm birth,” Frayne said. “The main drivers for these birth defects are the maternal health issues.”

Frayne said the U.S. infant mortality rate has been stagnant for more than a decade while other countries’ rates improved.

“Looking at infant mortality rate, we used to be really good compared to everybody else, but we really haven’t improved,” Frayne said. “Cuba’s infant mortality rate used to be worse compared to ours, and they have actually improved beyond us. Our rates really haven’t changed over the last 15

years.”

Frayne said the traditional emphasis on prenatal care is not the solution.

“Improved prenatal care isn’t the answer, preconception health is,” Frayne said. “Most of these risks can be improved with pre-pregnancy health care.

By the time you know you’re pregnant, the horse is already out of the barn. It’s really too late to intervene to reduce risks for birth defects.”

Folic acid plays an important role during pregnancy, Frayne said, but it needs to be taken before conception in order to decrease the risk rate.

“Congenital anomalies are dramatically affected by folic acid use,” Frayne said. “That prenatal vitamin everybody wants to take when they’re pregnant? The folic acid in that actually has its effects before you’re pregnant. It’s preconception folic acid that decreases the rate by 70 percent, not pregnancy folic acid.”

Fagan said women need to

take folic acid a minimum of three months before conception.

In North Carolina, Frayne said, Medicaid provides folic acid multivitamins for free.

“Our state was a pioneer on the idea of making folic acid multivitamins free and available to everybody,” Frayne said.

Frayne said due to this initiative, birth defects in the area have reduced dramatically.

“Western North Carolina in the late 1990s was the highest neural tube defect area in the country,” Frayne said. “And since this program has been going, we are now back on par with the rest of the country. We have changed, just with that simple public health approach.

It’s a no-brainer for the state budget, and the good news is that they keep putting it in, although every year it’s at risk for getting cut back out.”

Diabetes is a growing risk factor in the U.S. that affects maternal and infant health, Fa-

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Amid finals, UNCA encourages students to care for their mental health CALLA HINTON Contributing Writer

Bogged down by impending deadlines, final exams and essays, UNC Asheville students trek through a waterlogged campus, grim-faced, adjusting heavy backpacks. Only weeks ago, the Quad was full of smiling faces and autumn leaves, but crunch time has arrived.

Increased stress and too little study time can contribute to anxiety and push students towards abusing ADHD medications like Adderall or contemplating suicide.

“I think that the main reason college students start abusing

these drugs is because they are really stressed and we feel the drive to do well in our classes that overwork us for no reason,” said UNC Asheville transfer student Sidney Jones, running her fingers through her hair and sighing.

Jones said students feel pressured because of high expectations and self-imposed standards, so they take drugs to avoid falling behind.

Jackie McHargue, dean of students at UNCA, said she worries students push themselves beyond their limits, taking on more than they can handle and ignoring the effects on their mental health until it’s too

late.

Following several recent student suicides that devastated North Carolina campuses and families, McHargue said students need to realize the campus has outlets to provide help if needed.

“If you are struggling on any level emotionally, go see someone in our counseling center.

You shouldn’t wait until you’re an absolute wreck,” McHargue said. “They can really provide skills and great resources to help prevent you from reaching that point.”

UNCA officials from the Counseling Center said they assess students’ mental health

needs, before recommending services like individual and group therapy sessions. They offer workshops to help students manage stress and anxiety, and assist students battling addiction via support groups like alcoholics and narcotics anonymous.

In a 2011 study by the American College Health Association, more than 6 percent of college students said they seriously consider suicide, with around 1 percent attempting suicide in the past year.

Colleges have begun increasingly focusing on depression and suicide. North Carolina State University recently host-

ed its second annual Suicide Prevention Vigil in the wake of the recent suicide of one of its students.

Officials at NC State’s counseling center urge students to use #StopTheStigma in order to persuade more depressed students to seek help before their mental state gets out of hand.

“Sometimes we’re trained to not ask for help and that’s just the biggest message I think I would want students to hear,” McHargue said. “Just ask, talk to people, tell people that you’re struggling, and don’t be afraid to ask for help because the resources are here.”

Read more on page 5

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

Stress From page 4

Kirk Boyle, assistant professor, speaks highly of Merritt Moseley, chair of the literature and language department, and says he is an excellent faculty member to go to if you need to

talk.

“He’s very good at mentoring younger faculty and students and telling them all sorts of stories that in the classic sense are full of little bits of wisdom on

Finances From page 3

August, September, October, November. So that gives you five months to spread those payments out, and it is a really low cost option. There is no interest, there is a nominal enrollment

fee,” Levenson said.

The 2015 Princeton survey found 39 percent of students’ concern was level of debt to pay for the degree.

Levenson said debt will al-

Infant gan said.

“If you have a kid today, they have a one in three chance of having diabetes if they live in the United States,” Fagan said.

“The effects of having diabetes and then getting pregnant, the effect on that mother and child is unbelievably higher that they will have birth defects and poorer outcomes.”

Frayne said over half of the pregnancies in the United States are either mistimed or unwanted.

“Fifty-one percent of pregnancies in the United States are unintended,” Frayne said.

“How much time do we spend planning for marriage, or getting into college or choosing a career?”

Fagan said unwanted pregnancies greatly increase the risk of depression.

“If you have an unwanted pregnancy, the chance that you’re going to have depression is multiple times higher than the general population,” Fagan said. “If you have a mother who is depressed and she’s trying to raise her child, the child’s out-

page 5

how to succeed and be happy,” said Boyle.

McHargue said an extremely important factor when dealing with stress and depression is to be realistic when it comes to triggers, and to make sure to avoid them as best as possible.

“If you’re not healthy and well and you aren’t doing all right in school, then you’re go-

ing to be less helpful for those that you’re trying to support,” McHargue said. “What can happen is that you wind up not being here, so now you don’t get to support anybody.”

Although the stigma around mental health is present, Jones views UNCA as an accepting community.

“At UNCA I felt like social

stigmas placed on mental issues were certainly torn down; however, you have to remember that not every environment is perfect, so there will still be some perpetuating of them,” Jones said. “Hopefully with a little more time, those notions will be completely broken down.”

ways remain something that a student and a family need to consider.

She said that the value of the education they are receiving relating to the job they want and what the job market value will be versus the cost of their education are factors to consider.

Phillips said she does not

think a degree equates to the amount of debt students collect to pay for college, even though she said the college experience remains valuable.

“Plenty of people I know have degrees that were difficult to get but they work at Starbucks.

The thing is, (people) see the jobs you can get with a college degree as being more valuable

to society than whoever works at Starbucks,” Phillips said.

“There’s a lot of shame, I think, that comes with pushing college degrees on people, and that ‘Oh you need to go to college or you’re not going to be a successful person.’ Who’s to say that person working at the gas station doesn’t feel successful in their life?”

From page 4

comes at five years of age are greatly affected.”

Frayne said 43 percent of reproductive-age women have some type of medical condition that requires regular physician monitoring or medication, including obesity, depression, anxiety, hypertension and diabetes.

Frayne said the average age of those with first-time pregnancies is increasing, and very few women return to their physician for postpartum checkups.

“In some populations, less than 10 percent show up to their postpartum visit to have that planning for the next pregnancy,” Frayne said.

Fagan said the turnout for postpartum checkups is low in Asheville.

“We’ve done some studies here in Asheville, and in the population that we see, which is a lot of the Medicaid population, about 20 to 25 percent won’t show up for their sixweek postpartum visit,” Fagan said.

Frayne said one in five women have no health insurance.

“Improved prenatal care isnʼt the answer, preconception health is. Most of these risks can be improved with pre-pregnancy health care. By the time you know youʼre pregnant, the horse is already out of the barn. Itʼs really too late to intervene to reduce risks for birth defects.”

“This is one of the things that the Affordable Care Act was supposed to fix through expanding Medicaid and increasing access to health care,” Frayne said. “These women often don’t have health coverage to seek care for themselves until they are pregnant. We actually have great pregnancy Medicaid and access to care once you’re pregnant.”

In 2013, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill that banned Medicaid expansion.

Gov. Pat McCrory signed the bill into law, but in 2014 said he would consider a plan to expand Medicaid.

Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina would provide coverage for 500,000 people, according to the North Carolina Jus-

-Dan Frayne

tice Center.

“It’s actually an irony that I will have someone come in that’s pregnant and they have a laundry list of the things they need,” Fagan said. “They know they’re on the clock, they’ve got to get everything taken care of in the next seven to nine months while they’re pregnant because as soon as they deliver, they’re not going to have insurance anymore.”

Frayne cited a quote from Donald Berwick, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who said systems are designed perfectly for the results they achieve.

“So the United States’ health care system is perfectly designed to have the highest costs in the world, a rising maternal

death rate, and an infant mortality rate that is not improving,” Frayne said. “That’s our perfectly-designed system that we are working in right now. Is that the system we want?”

Frayne said southern residents need improved health care access and systems.

“Medicaid coverage is really important, it’s about access to care. We have to know about the care and we have to have access to it, and the care you receive needs to be of good quality,” Frayne said. “The South is in the most need of improved health care systems and yet the State is systematically not allowing us to improve upon them.”

Frayne said focusing on the health of individuals will lead to a healthy nation.

“So this is the concept that we’re trying to push,” Frayne said. “This is what we believe: the healthy woman will have a healthier pregnancy, which lead to healthier children, which lead to healthier families and communities, which will lead us to a healthier nation.”

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 6

SPORTS

Section Editor: Harrison Slaughter jslaught@unca.edu

Bulldogs fall to 0-2 to start season

Photo by Chris Jones - Sports Staff Writer David Robertson, junior, starts a play during Sunday’s game against WCU.

CHRIS JONES

Sports Staff Writer cjones5@unca.edu

In the battle of the mountain, the UNC Asheville men’s basketball team was defeated 90-81

by Western Carolina University, despite being ahead for most of the game. UNCA has dropped their first two games to open the season, while Western Carolina has gone 1-1 to open theirs.

Catamount senior Mike Brown led the way for Western as he had a career high 29 points in the victory and scored 22 of those points in the second half.

“Mike played a great game for us tonight and we are lucky to have him, he’s a senior so he

knows how to play the game and he helps us out a lot to achieve victories for our team,” said Larry Hunter, Western Carolina head coach. “UNC Asheville and Nick McDevitt are a good team and they always play hard and is a good game, much respect to him and his team.”

For the Bulldogs, sophomore Kevin Vannatta finished the game with his own career high of 20 points in the loss. The Catamounts did, however, hold Vannatta scoreless over the final minutes of the game.

“We played a good first half, but in the second half we couldn’t get the job done on defense. We scored the ball and

scored 81 points in the game and if you score 80 points in a game you should win the game.

We need to focus and work better on defense,” said Nick McDevitt, UNCA head coach. “We played good defense in the final couple possessions but Brummitt made a bank shot at the shot clock buzzer and Pughsley made a deep three. They hit big shots.”

UNCA finished the first half and headed to halftime with a 34-31 lead over the Catamounts. The Bulldogs shot well and were 12 for 20 from the floor but had 14 turnovers in the first half. WCU shot 10 for 27 from the floor but only had five

turnovers, helping them stay close and down by three heading into the second half.

WCU trailed the entire game since the first minute of the game when they had a 3-2 lead. From there, the Bulldogs held the lead all the way up to the 8:25 mark of the second half when the Catamounts tied the score 60-60. The Bulldogs quickly grabbed back the lead when junior Will Weeks scored a layup.

The Bulldogs started to fall apart around the final three and a half minutes of the game when Bulldog senior Sam Hughes fouled out and freshman Dwayne Sutton fouled out

a minute later. WCU closed the game out on a 19-11 scoring run. Catamount freshman Elijah Pughsley put a dagger in the game when he hit a deep uncontested three-point basket with two minutes left in the game to bring the Catamounts up five.

“I was feeling my shot today and it felt good, I had confidence in myself and I took it and drained it. They should’ve guarded me closer,” Pughsley said.

UNCA will return home at Kimmel Arena on Wednesday night when they face the Lions of Mars Hill University at 7 p.m. to try and capture their first victory of the season.

page 7

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

SPORTS stats

Free Speech From page 2

By Harrison Slaughter, Sports Editor

Kevin Vannatta, sophomore, guards net while Dwayne Sutton looks on.

Photo by Chris Jones, Sports Writer.

men’s basketball Nov. 13 UNC Asheville Tennessee

Final 78 82

Nov. 15 UNC Asheville WCU

Final 81 90

Women’s Basketball Nov. 13 UNC Asheville ETSU

Final 68 74

Volleyball Nov. 13 Liberty University UNC Asheville

Final 1 3

Nov. 14 Radford University UNC Asheville

Final 0 3

“I feel like protests can get out of hand, and it is a bad idea to regulate the good from the bad,” Silver-Isenstadt said. “That will take away people with good intention rights, but it is sometimes necessary. You need to be cautious about what could happen if you give everyone the right to do that.”

Boyce said protesters were arrested for protesting outside of the free speech zone when Vice President Joe Biden spoke on campus.

Boyce said there was a secure zone around Justice Gym and people were scanned and checked before entering.

“The protesters that were arrested did not agree with the free speech zone in Reid’s Plaza that we normally have and wanted to be a little closer to the activities towards the Justice Gym,” Boyce said. “They were arrested.”

Boyce said most protests on campus are peaceful, and UNCA students are responsible about making their voices heard.

Kruk said the free speech zone is only limiting students.

“Having a free speech zone and anything outside of that intimidates and scares people into submission,” Kruk said.

“It is kind of similar to militarizing our police force. When the culture is that way there becomes a system where there is an enemy. There is an us and a them, and when that happens, people lose rights.”

page 7

NOV. 18 - 24

calendar

Nov. 18 Men’s Basketball vs.

Mars Hill University Kimmel Arena Sherrill Center 7 p.m.

Nov. 19 Abs Blast Room 351 12 p.m.

Nov. 20 Women’s Basketball vs.

Montreat College Kimmel Arena 7 p.m.

Nov. 21 Yoga – All levels Meditation Room 468 Sherrill Center 12 p.m.

Nov. 22 Mindful Flow Yoga Meditation Room 468 Sherrill Center 4 p.m.

Student Recreation Center 213-B Sherrill Center 351

Nov. 23 Spin Class 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 24 Fit in 5 12:15 p.m.

Check out The Blue Banner’s YouTube Channel

Blue Banner Television

for multimedia clips on sports games, student opinion, campus events and more!

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 8

Arts & Features

Section Editor: Larisa Karr lakarr@unca.edu

Shanna Blake has a big heart and communicates this through her art PHILLIP WYATT A&F Staff Writer pwyatt@unca.edu

When people view art, a visceral experience materializes an interpretation of the artist’s work, evoking myriad thoughts and emotions.

Shanna Blake, fine arts student with a concentration in sculpture, said she desires to separate the ego associated with artists and their work by advocating for community participation within the arts.

Blake spent over 40 hours creating an anatomical heart piñata, using materials such as chicken wire, insulation foam, paper mache, cardboard tubing, paint, glue and duct tape. The piñata and its contents weighed over 50 pounds.

“I’m really exploring the heart shape and symbol and what kind of metaphors go with it,” Blake said. “It seems like a tendency for the heart to be wounded in a sense, being broken. It kind of gives the heart deeper insight people can really resonate with if its been injured rather than attacked.”

The site-specific piece titled “Hacer de Tripas Corazon,” a common Spanish phrase meaning “to make heart from guts,” was suspended outside of Owen Hall Nov. 7. Attendees were given roughly 15 minutes to observe the piece before taking turns thrashing the piñata with a wooden bat while blindfolded.

Blake constructed the provided blindfold, adorned with a pair of eyes on the front.

“This added a bit more whimsy to the overall effect of this piece but it also comes with its own metaphor,” Blake said. “Many times people think their eyes are open and they are seeing the truth when in all actuality they have been blinded to it.”

After an hour of swings the piñata was punctured, spilling blood and guts onto the ground below.

Blake diluted washable red paint to create blood and stuffed sausage casings with spaghetti noodles to simulate guts.

Kyle Monaghan, mechanical engineering student at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, was not expecting an interaction with a bloody heart.

“In some sense it was kind of gory, almost graphic,” Monaghan said. “You have this heart you’re destroying and you see blood and fake organ parts falling out. People were very excited about that rather than grossed out.”

Monaghan had never attended an installation art exhibit as participatory as Blake’s, giving people the opportunity to interact with the art, he said.

“It really made me think of it as an art show rather than just producing art because it was just that one moment we got to appreciate it,” Monaghan said. “The art was created just for that moment, which really made it kind of special.”

Blake’s favorite artist, Frida Kahlo, served as the main inspiration for this art piece, she said.

“She does a lot of anatomical hearts herself,” Blake said. “I love her allegorical sense of humor.”

The decision to host the installation outside of Owen Hall was intentional, she said.

“It serves as a reminder that art is a foundation here, not only on campus, but in Asheville,” Blake said. “It’s a reminder that people do get a lot out of art and the site is incorporated in the piece.”

Read more on page 13

Photo by Jackson Martin - Art Professor Shanna Blake’s heart pinata providing an interactive experience outside Owen Hall.

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

Willow's Dream chops away the horrors of hairstyling KATHRYN GAMBILL Copy Editor

I sit in the chair, anxious and waiting.

Hairdryers hum in the background as my favorite song

by The National soothes my nerves from overhead.

Then, Brenda’s voice saying, “You’re going to be a total new you.”

Then, the scissors.

They snip and click as a weight is lifted from my shoulders. Literally.

I read a number of online reviews before showing up for my appointment at Willow’s Dream in downtown Asheville. Even with 4.9 stars on Google and numerous glowing recommendations, I was skeptical.

“I’ve never been a big fan of hair places,” says UNC Asheville senior Hannah Wiepke, her hair falling to her waist.

“They kind of creep me out, actually.”

Hannah says she doesn’t like the lack of control.

Neither do I, especially when it comes to my hair.

It’s been almost a year since I’ve had my hair cut. Letting go is hard, and I’ve had too many unflattering haircuts to make the mistake of choosing an amateur hairstylist again.

But Brenda is no amateur.

She’s been working at Willow’s Dream since 2006, and has been doing hair for 33 years.

Even so, I’m apprehensive, as inches of my hair hit the floor.

But the salon has a comforting vibe. It’s warm and intimate, a place that welcomes

Kathryne Gambil shows off her haircut.

you to relax. The stylists buzz around, bringing the salon to life.

And that’s just what owner Marcy Lanier is hoping for.

She opened the salon in 2004, and her staff now includes 20 stylists, a nail technician, an esthetician and a spiritual reader.

“My peeps are really, really happy,” she says, smiling.

Marcy says her goal is for everyone to leave with a big smile.

I hope I will.

Before beginning my haircut, Brenda washes my hair.

The typical, awkward introductory banter ensues.

Yes, I go to school at UNCA. I’m a mass communication major. This is my second year.

I’m a sophomore.

Now that’s out of the way, it’s time to really get started.

I sink in my chair and let Brenda work her magic.

After several minutes, I can feel the ends of my hair, which previously fell below my collarbone, now brushing my Read more on page 15

page 9

"Caught between new and old":

Exploring one of the world's oldest countries ELIZABETH WALKER Contributing Writer

Standing on the Great Wall, students look out from one of the world’s seven wonders. The wall zigzags across the land, stretching for miles through arid deserts, steep mountains, lengthy rivers and wide grasslands. On top of the world, the students truly feel alive, surrounded by a culture so ancient they can never fully comprehend it.

Only a few weeks later, they are in Beijing, thrown into the fast-paced life of a city with almost 12 million people. Around every street corner, a new sensory experience awaits — the smells of street food permeate the air, people shout at every passerby, hawking their wares and bright colors surround everywhere. To be here, to be caught between both new and old, embodies the spirit of China.

The country remains a mystery even to Jinhua Li. A nation sheltered from the world for centuries, it only recently opened its doors to outsiders, displaying what lies within. Li, director of the summer study abroad program to China and assistant professor of Chinese studies and language and international studies, said she acts as travel guide for many UNC Asheville students.

“The program is offered to the whole campus, and it’s one of the best college experiences they can ever hope for,” said Li, who lights up at the chance to discuss the program that she built from the ground up.

Li, surrounded by sentimental trinkets such as umbrellas, paintings and mementos that serve as reminders of the country and people she left behind, relates the details behind a program that remains close to her heart. After taking students abroad to China for the first time in 2013, she said her pas-

Photo by Elizabeth Walker Jinhua Li guides UNCA students traveling abroad to China.

sion for teaching was not only within the classroom.

“I think the students here are entitled to the same kinds of experiences, the cultural encounters and exposures to China. I think China is so important not to know better in the 21st century and in the globalized world,” Li said.

Li smiles, remembering her own days as a student. Originally from Beijing, she came to the United States to obtain her Ph.D. in British and American literature at Purdue University, believing it made more sense to study the literature in the country where the works were written.

She said she transfers this mindset to her own classes, encouraging many of her students from her Chinese language classes to expand their speaking skills by going to China.

“I just want them to have the lived in experience of the cultural exchange. It’s completely different reading about some-

thing, discussing about something, as opposed to just being there physically,” Li said. “I think it’s an eye-opening experience, getting to see my own country through fresh pairs of eyes.”

The program’s itinerary changes each year, Li said, as she shows students many different parts of China and travels to places even she hasn’t gone before.

Natalie Gladden, an international studies student who went on the first trip in summer 2013, said the group went to cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin and Xi’an.

Gladden’s brightens when discussing Harbin, a Chinese city near the border of Russia famous for its ice festival every year. While she wasn’t able to see the festival, Gladden said she was amazed by the ice museum they visited while abroad, full of sculptures handcrafted from ice.

“You know people have Read more on page 19

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 10

Arts & Features “I like to call it beautiful punk, or beautiful emo”: A behind-the-scenes picture of local band Pictures of Vernon CHLOE BANKSON Contributing Writer

While the music industry overflows with big time artists, UNC Asheville students and musicians see the impact that a local following can have on a career.

Local band Pictures of Vernon includes UNCA freshman Anderson Ragan, sophomore Daniel Gorham and Greensboro College student Matt Brotherton.

The lead guitarist and youngest member of Pictures of Vernon, Anderson Ragan, said the band came together at the end of summer 2014 after playing around with instruments turned into something more.

“Daniel and I started the band,” Anderson said. “We were jamming a lot without really writing songs. But then one day we just started writing, so we wrote some songs and called some people to play other instruments and we didn’t really tell anybody about it.”

The 18-year-old said things started picking up when the band started playing shows only two weeks after they posted their music on Facebook.

“We were a four-piece when we started out, but after two or three months of that we got sick of one of the people, so we downsized. That’s when we really started to find our musical voice,” Anderson said. “We started writing newer stuff. In March we recorded, and then we released the EP in May of the new songs. It’s called The Days are Just Packed.”

The band had a strong start, Anderson said, and not long after, they were headed out on the open road to play more shows, traveling continuously across the nation to get their music out into the world.

“In the summer we went on

Photo courtesy of Pictures of Vernon Daniel Gorham, left, and brothers Joel Ragan and Anderson Ragan, right, goof off when discussing the perks of being young musicians and performing their own songs.

tour up the East Coast through Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee.

That’s the highlights of the band history,” Anderson said.

“We weren’t even around for a year before we went on tour.”

Anderson said all of the songs on the EP were written by a guy named Brody Rogers, who played bass. He was still in high school and couldn’t tour

because of strict parenting, Anderson said.

“So, Matt joined. That’s how that happened,” Anderson said.

Anderson said they all met in high school in Greensboro.

Matt and Daniel have been in three bands together.

Anderson isn’t the only musical talent in the Ragan family.

Brothers Joel, 21, and Anderson

said their mother, who plays piano, taught them the importance of music at a young age.

“My brother Joel does music too, so we have a fairly musical family. I dabbled with instruments growing up, but I started learning bass in eighth grade. I started playing shitty pop-punk and was like, ‘Oh yeah, this is for me,’” Anderson said.

After three years of being bad at bass, guitar and pop-punk, Anderson said he decided he would try to become better.

That’s how Pictures of Vernon started.

Anderson’s older brother, Joel, 21, released his EP and launched his own music career.

His music has been influenced by some of the same genres as Picture of Vernon’s.

“I have been playing music for about 12 years. I started playing music in fourth grade, I started taking piano lessons,” Joel said. “My mom is pretty musical, but not my dad. I play guitar, piano, hammer dulcimer, drums and I sing.”

Joel’s EP “Back to Asheville” released this summer, and since then he has played some local gigs on and off campus.

“Asheville is the city that I love. It’s home,” Joel said.

While the brothers have a lot in common when it comes to musical preferences, the music they perform fits into different genres.

“The EP can be considered Americana. There are some punk influences in there, maybe a little bit of folk,” Joel said.

Anderson said the bands The Hotelier, Tiny Moving Parts and Brave Bird influence their sound. He said that it is hard to pin down what exactly Pictures of Vernon’s genre falls under.

“I like to call it beautiful punk, or beautiful emo. Anything with punk, emo or twinkly. Those all fit in,” Anderson said.

Joel said he has wanted to be a musician for about 10 years, and Daniel laughed as he quoted Pokemon.

“I want to go as far as I can,” Joel said. “I want to be the very best, like no one ever was.”

Anderson said he could see Read more on page 13

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 11

New Sierra Nevada facility open for business in WNC KADY BRASWELL Contributing Writer

Walking through the heavy front doors, the smell of malted barley, hops and yeast entices the senses. The aroma of homemade duck fat fries and the steak du jour mingles with the scents of popular pale ales, stouts and lagers.

Barely a year and a half old, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Mills River broke ground in 2014, after the demand for beer outpaced the supply, forcing an expansion from California to North Carolina. The move would supply fresher beer, faster, with a smaller environmental impact to thirsty fans on the East Coast.

And it has.

“About seven years ago or so, we were all sitting around kind of looking at the future, wondering what exactly we could and should do,” says Bill Manley, beer ambassador, over the phone. “It was pretty obvious we were going to run out of space in Chico sooner rather than later.”

Along with the space for a new brewery, and access to good water and decent shipping channels, Manley said the company also considered its em-

ployees’ wants and needs.

“If we’re going to ask people to move from California, it better be to a place they want to live,” Manley says.

“A place with that same culture, that same sense of a community we’ve always had in northern California.”

After meticulously choosing hundreds of potential cities, the company eventually fell in love with the Asheville area.

With a brewery culture similar to California, it was reminiscent of home.

It also had access to good water and shipping channels, affordable housing, a decent quality of life and live music, Manley says.

So Asheville moved to the top of the list.

Sierra Nevada announced the move in January 2012 and opened the doors in April 2014, along with 12 of their Chico employees.

Tour Supervisor Scott Randall was one who made the 2,600-mile move.

“It was a big decision for sure,” Randall says. “I was kind of the lone wolf leaving my family out on the West Coast, but it’s definitely been worth it.”

For a few months after Sierra Nevada broke ground on the Mills River

Photo by Ashley Elder - News Staff Writer

Andres Arias and Mary Beth Cox smell the sweet aroma of hops as they tour Sierra Nevada.

property, he says he wasn’t so sure.

2013 was one of the largest rainy seasons the Carolinas had experienced, halting progress in construction.

Aside from that, Randall said the progress, although slow, has been beautiful to watch come together.

“The Chico brewery had kind of been a culmination of a few years, you Read more on page 15

Malt Disney: Sierra Nevada brews beer the green way ASHLEY ELDER News Staff Writer aelder@unca.edu

Orlando has its theme parks.

Asheville has its breweries.

Sierra Nevada’s Asheville location might as well be called “Malt Disney.”

Bill Manley, beer ambassador, said he has been with the company for nine years.

Dressed in a button-down plaid shirt, jeans and Converse, Manley discussed how Sierra Nevada brews so much beer without negatively affecting the environment.

Inspired by hiking, owner Ken Grossman named Sier-

ra Nevada after the mountain range.

He decided to skip his high school graduation and started the company soon after in 1980.

“Being stewards of the environment has been one of the core fundamentals from the very beginning,” Manley said.

It was not just having respect for being outside, Manley said, in the early days there was no such thing as smallscale brewing.

“Ken figured out that reusing and recycling was not just a platitude that you say or a bumper sticker, but something

you did because you had to as part of the business model,” Manley said. “There was no other way to do it.”

The Chico location in California brews 900,000 barrels a year. Asheville brews a third of that with 300,000 barrels.

After only a year and a half, the extra space built into the Asheville location for the fermentation process is already being utilized, Manley said.

Sierra Nevada talks about sustainability as a whole corporate structure, he said.

The Chico location has 11,000 photovoltaic cells to collect sunlight, allowing the

brewery to supply almost all its own electricity during the summer.

This property is one of the two largest privately owned solar installations in the country. The other belongs to Google.

The Asheville location uses solar panels to supply some of its electricity as well.

“We also have hydrogen fuel cells that put out hot gas,” Manley said, “which we use to heat our kettles. So it’s a closed loop of inputs and outputs.”

He said the company sends employees reminders about

recycling. All the lights are on motion sensors at both locations. Little things like that add up to be a big deal, he said.

“With 30 years of hindsight they were able to design this building from the ground up to be more sustainable and efficient,” Manley said.

All the buildings are constructed with panels made of prefab concrete Manley said.

And all those panels work as individual cells making them airtight.

When looking to build another brewery, Manley said, the new location had to have Read more on page 18

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November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 12

beat from the Street

By Larisa Karr | Features Editor | lakarr@unca.edu Many stories lurk throughout Asheville, whether they are behind the Vaudevillian jazz-folk played TIMBI SHEPby buskers around Pritchard Park, the colorful HERDbusinesses decorated with funky, hand-made crafts or the laughter echoing from a Editor-In-Chief patio as locals and tourists alike enjoy delicious beer.

Isabelle Vacher, 51, medical education developer, originally from Tampa/St. Petersburg

How would you describe your style, this look in particular that you have going on today?

“Uh, I don’t even...me?”

That’s awesome.

“Edgy, fun, quirky.”

That’s perfect. It’s very Debbie Harry-meets-Cyndi Lauper but if Cyndi Lauper was like Siouxsie Sioux in terms of clothing.

Being involved in the medical field, how do you see art if that makes sense? How do you stay creative? Because the medical field doesn’t seem like a very creative industry.

“Yeah. Well, it’s not. It’s very, I mean, so my fiance is a musician. I’m a huge art collector. I surround myself with art.

I love pop surrealism.”

Oh yes! Like Warhol and Lichtenstein?

Andria Paige Barlow, 20, junior art and management student, originally from Terrell, N.C.

How would you describe your style?

“I kind of consider myself too broke to really pursue my style. Being an art major, I just wear a whole bunch of comfort clothes, especially now when I’m painting all the time.

You’ll see me in jeans and sweats and I usually wear tank tops with jeans and sweatpants. And even in the winter, I’ll usually wear a tank top and sometimes I’ll put a sweater on over that under my jacket, but when I get indoors, I take it right off. I just walk around in a tank top all day.”

If you were to say creatively the names of things that inspire you, what would you say?

“Well, I don’t know. I listen to a lot of, you wouldn’t really think it, I guess you would if you talked to me, but if you looked at me, you wouldn’t, I listen to a lot of really “Well, I collect a lot more of contemporary, like Mab Graves. I just stay very embedded in the music community, yeah, yeah, and art community.”

What type of musician is your husband?

“Rock.”

Like classic rock? Or garage rock?

“No, death metal.”

Oh, wow. That’s very specific.

“Yes.” If you were to say what inspires you creatively, besides art, in terms of literature, music or fashion icons, who else would you say?

“Um, I would say, I love Betsey Johnson.”

Oh my god. Yes. That makes sense.

“As kind of a designer, if I were to pick someone, it would probably be her, although I don’t necessarily collect designers. You know, I just kind of collect what I like in terms of clothes. I would say for art, you know, again, I just love

rambunctious bullshit. Yeah. I listen to a lot of hype music. I don’t know.”

In terms of an artistic aesthetic, how would you describe your artwork?

“My style of work? I don’t really like pop art very well. Well, it’s not that I don’t like pop art or new style, because I don’t really do it a whole lot. I really like baroque-style paintings, really dramatic things.

I really like the baroque style in that there’s a whole lot of contrast fixated on that one subject or action.

I have a free style that I do more baroque kind of stuff. I’ve always tried, like even as a kid, to do more realistic but I could never do it. I’ve just come to accept this. I like to do a lot of female figures. One of my favourite mediums is chalk pastels.

It’s not very commonly appreciated.

People hate them.”

Chalk is cool. There’s a really whimsical element to it.

“Well, I had an art teacher in high school. She got a charcoal set Read more on next page

very much the pop surrealism and more of the contemporary pop surrealism.

So that is very inspirational to me. I love surrounding myself with that. We moved here because this environment inspires me. I love the creative energy here. I love that it’s surrounded by the beautiful mountains. Yeah, yeah!”

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. It is pretty creative here for a small town in North Carolina I would think. How long ago did you move here?

“Just seven months ago.”

So if you were to cite a personal motto that you live by on a daily basis, what would you say?

“A personal motto. You know everybody has those, don’t they? They have them on their Facebook page, and I’ve just come to this point in my life at 51 where I can’t do that anymore because it’s always changing.”

Maybe that’s your personal motto: “It’s always changing.”

Read more on page 15

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 13

Arts & Features BFTS: Andria Barlow

that an art supply store had sent her on accident instead of what she actually wanted. She reimbursed her. She knew that my family was broke growing up. My mom had multiple cancer diagnoses and five kids in the house, so it was kind of

strapped. We were always real tight. She just let me have that whole set. I spent that whole summer experimenting with chalk. I got really good at it.

I sold a couple pieces in high school for $250 apiece.”

That’s awesome. That’s

From page 12

really exciting.

“Yeah. I was making commission off of works when I was like, 14, 15 and the first piece that I ever did for commission outside the family was a memorial piece for a twoweek baby. I didn’t know when

Shanna Blake Blake’s art piece was created as an assignment for a contemporary sculpture methods course taught by Jackson Martin, assistant professor of art.

“I think very highly of her work. At this point in her career as a student, it’s due mainly because of her work ethic,” Martin said. “Talent’s great, don’t get me wrong, but drive and ambition is better.”

For decades, a movement within the art community has materialized where artists are generating works of art specifically for a particular site, Mar-

to get real up-close-and-personal with those pictures.”

That’s really sobering.

“Yeah. That was my first one, but oh my God, they loved it.”

From page 10

tin said.

“They are literally creating a work that’s fused with an area,” he said. “Whether that’s inside or outside, it has to live in that area or otherwise it ceases to exist. It’s activated by the site.”

Martin instructed his students to walk around campus and choose a site they responded to and then create a work of art for that area. Students were required to write a project proposal, create an artist rendering and approach administrators for approval and safety.

Issues concerning the con-

tents of the piñata and potential staining of Owen Hall’s façade were expressed, Martin said.

Plastic tarps covered the ground and walls around the structure and a water hose was on hand for potential splashing.

“She did a good job in preparation, using materials that were washable and nontoxic,” Martin said. “If you weren’t there for the event or saw images, you would be none the wiser.”

Participators spent nearly an hour attempting to destroy the piñata.

“Shanna’s craftsmanship is

Pictures of Vernon Pictures of Vernon touring with his brother, and Joel agreed with the possibility.

“We have thought about it.

In the summer he might come along with us, or at some point in the future have some sort of musical project with him,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Daniel said their plan consists of working and touring indefinitely.

“To really get your name out there as a band, it is more about touring more than anything else.

That’s not really a way to make a lot of money at this level, so it it really just for promotion,” Anderson said.

Anderson smiled and said touring with the band was probably the best thing he has ever

I got the reference pictures that, one, I would be getting those reference pictures that day and, two, that three of those reference pictures were taken from the baby’s casket.”

That’s harsh.

“Yeah. It was kind of rough

great,” Martin said. “As a result, the structure of the heart really held up, longer maybe than it should. I was afraid the structure would completely collapse within the first couple of minutes or it was going to hang on to the bitter end, and it was the latter.”

Blake said she would love to create a new interactive art project involving the community in future, she said.

“I’m in my moment right now,” Blake said. “I’m just really going at it full-force.”

From page 10

done in his life.

“It was just playing a show every night, and meeting people who are into the same music as me and understood why we were doing it,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the band doesn’t completely go old school and live out of a van while on tour like some people may think, although it is still a possibility for the future.

“We haven’t had to yet. Usually we have been able to find someone,” Anderson said. “At the show, if we don’t know somebody we’ll be like, ‘Hey, if you have a couch or a floor, please let us stay there.’”

Anderson said he expects they will have to sleep in the van this winter, since no one

in the band knows anyone in most of the states they plan to tour.

Anderson said the band may have already had their ideal show, referring to a time when a group of teens at their concert were jamming to their music.

“We played Kentucky with our friends in a band called Secret Stuff. There were like 30 kids — half of them were singing along to every song. It was insane,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the band hopes to find a bigger label to release their new songs, and he spoke about the differences between Asheville and Greensboro’s music scenes.

“We played the Grotto October 17, that was pretty fun.

Some people came out and danced and stuff,” Anderson said.

Anderson said overall, Asheville presents great opportunities for musical artists.

“It seems to support more folk stuff, and indie folk more than anything else, but there is still room for other genres,” Anderson said.

Anderson said the band has plans to hit up states they have never ventured to before, and the upcoming trip will be one for the books.

“December we are going on tour in the Southeast,” Anderson said. “We are playing Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and places we have never been. It’s a long journey for us, it will be

interesting.”

Anderson said they are going to record songs to put out next summer and the band has plans for a big tour in the summer. He wants Pictures of Vernon fans to know local bands need their help.

“Keep supporting small bands. Just go to shows, get your friends to go to shows and stop listening to the radio. Stop going to arenas and coliseums,” Anderson said. “Go to houses, and sheds and whatever.”

Anderson said seeing local bands costs less and the bands are usually a lot nicer.

“Bottom line, music is cool.

Final closing statement: Party on,” Anderson said.

17

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November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 15

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Willow’s Dream shoulders.

I look down at the hair covering the floor around my feet, and back up into the mirror.

It feels like there’s more of my hair on the floor than there is on my head.

But this is what I asked for.

And the more I look at my re-

Sierra Nevada know, adding on here, adding things wherever they needed to be put within the space,” Randall says. “This was the opposite; a clean canvas to paint with.”

With hundreds of visitors and several tours daily, the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Mills River is well on its way to satisfying the needs of the thirsty east coast.

But what about the needs of the Earth?

“Sierra Nevada’s got a pretty big commitment to sustainability really on all aspects,” Manley says. “We try to reduce our energy demands on the system

From page 9

flection, the more I realize that Brenda isn’t just a stylist, but an artist.

She designed my hair to frame my face perfectly, with long layers giving it body, just like I requested.

Now I can take a sigh of relief.

“I want people to walk in here and forget about their troubles and their stresses, feel just kind of free for a little bit, laugh and giggle,” Marcy says, “and leave floating.”

So I float out the door, running my fingers through my new hair and smiling.

From page 11

as much as humanly possible.”

The Mills River facilities feature a 99 percent landfill diversion rate, several hundred solar panels, micro turbines and sustainably-grown hops and barley.

“It has really been awesome seeing this place come together and see the progress of all we’ve done sustainability wise, tourism wise, brewing wise,” Randall says.

With only a 20-minute drive from the UNC Asheville campus, Randall says he sees hundreds of students on a daily basis come to take in the brews, the concerts and the taproom

food. Manley says the food is sustainably grown and farmed within a 100-mile radius.

Haley Hahn, a soon-to-be UNCA transfer student, says she has been excited about the opening since she first heard of it, especially after falling in love with the brewing and music cultures Asheville has to offer.

“I love knowing I’ll be able to go to what has become one of my favorite breweries so close now,” Hahn says. “I love that some of my favorite beers will be just minutes away.”

And what can be better than that?

I consider snapping a selfie as I walk toward my bus stop.

Cars pass by. As I approach the crosswalk, a lifted truck rumbles up to the stoplight.

The window rolls down.

I can feel my eyes get ready to roll.

Less than a minute after

leaving the salon, a Confederate-flag-clad man leans out of his pickup and lets out a whistle.

But I guess you can’t avoid the attention when you’re a total new you.

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November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

Arts & Features

Travel broke: Couchsurf with strangers to crash and then leave, which

commentary was less than ideal.

JUNE BUNCH The mediocre ones kept the

Opinion Editor fridge stocked or left, purposekbunch@unca.edu fully or forgetfully, other mis-

Folks asked if I ever felt afraid a couchsurfer might rob my apartment and kill my flatmates.

“Nah,” I’d say. I always read travelers’ references and got acquainted before cramming guests through my trust-filled doorway.

I’ve let 32 perfect strangers sleep on my couch and nothing horrific ever happened.

“Friends are all are terrified by what I do,” Woody Feffer, an Asheville Couchsurfing host, said.

Yet Feffer said he could recall no instances when guest experiences went aft agley.

For me, the worst thing surfers ever left behind was an empty living room.

Sometimes, they’d show up

cellaneous souvenirs.

At best, they’d leave me and my roommates with an old friend in the making.

Each experience lent its own quirky twist.

“I had dumpster divers once that made me dinner out of a Fresh Market dumpster,” Feffer said.

But why would we let all those random nomads fill our houses with weird stories and questionable food?

Perhaps we ran out of cable shows or thought it’d be good karma.

Either way, my roommates didn’t seem to mind. They thought it was one of those phases, like feeding skeletal stray animals.

It wasn’t.

Using Couchsurfing.com, our

apartment connected with dozens of travelers throughout the year, all aiming to skip tourist traps for a native perspective.

“I want some sort of connection. I want to learn something,” Feffer said.

The network, founded in 2003, brought travelers to hosts during times when their wanderlust fantasies could only amount to daydreams.

Later when hosts finally skipped town, they’d find Couchsurfing members who would help them feel like locals in new random towns as well.

Sometimes, you could even switch it up and surf at a previous guests’ couch.

That’s how the network carries on.

Couchsurfers threw their bags down, talked of explorations, snored for a night or two and traveled on.

It was as natural as having friends or family, except more interesting.

Read more on page 20

Photo by June Bunch - Opinion Editor Trevor Madison surfing on June Bunch's couch.

I AM THAT GIRL advocates for women to embrace their inner badass MAKEDA SANDFORD Layout & Design Editor msandfor@unca.edu

Photo courtesy of Haley Mann

Mann, I AM THAT GIRL president, founded the UNCA chapter this year.

In a cozy corner of Karpen Hall every Wednesday night, ten women sit in a circle. Fortressed by pushed-aside desk chairs, the corner is stripped of artificial light, only lit by lavender and ocean wave-scented candles and garnished in blankets and pillows.

Every meeting starts the same way. Haley Mann, the 19-yearold sophomore president of I AM THAT GIRL, asks everyone to share why they are a badass.

Pillows rustle, chins raise and every woman takes a turn sharing her proudest moment from the week since last meeting.

To show solidarity, some pat their chests.

I AM THAT GIRL, according to their website, is a national outreach organization with online communities and local chapters. Their work includes addressing the mental and emotional well-being of women and girls through community education.

“It was started by Alexis Jones and Emily Greener,” Mann says. “It was started because they felt like they needed it. They felt like women spent too much time talking about things that didn’t matter, and they wondered what the world would look like if girls sat down and started talking about things that did matter, and wanted to

collaborate instead of compete, and wanted to be there to lift each other up.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifts. Mann announces the theme of the week: respect.

Then she asks the first question, “Is respect something we earn or is it a right?”

The air is filled with warm silences. One by one, Mann asks questions, but not in a questioning voice. With her words, it’s as if she lays down a tangible thought to the middle of the circle.

An offering.

Answers range from self-realizations, deep confessions to testaments of conquered fears.

Throughout the brief meeting, women share just a little or

entire stories, and it is always returned with silent reflection.

Frankie Keller, a freshman from Charlotte, says she likes that here, they can be quiet.

“There are a lot of silences but I don’t think they’re awkward,” says the history student.

“I think it just gives you time to think and slow down. You’re never trying to come up with a correct answer, you’re just saying what you think.”

It took Mann a while to learn to embrace the silence as a leader. Naturally, she says she is always willing and ready to share.

There are some who will want to answer every question in a meeting, and some who will need to process information for Read more on page 18

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 17

Vape culture catches on in Asheville

Vapor World manager Christine Ballogdajan and her colleague talk to a customer at the Merrimon Avenue store.

LEE ELLIOTT Contributor Walking into Vapor World on Merrimon Avenue seems like stumbling into a steampunk harem. Instead of sheikhs sitting on lavish floor pillows smoking hookahs with flavorful blends of shisha, patrons sit on leather couches exhaling billowing clouds of sweetly-scented nicotine vapor from elaborate battery-powered vaporizers.

What started as a tool to wean cigarette smokers to a more healthy alternative has quickly become a trendy subculture supplanting cigarettes as the hip accessory for Asheville’s nicotine inclined.

Once fairly simple in appearance, the apparati evolved past the earlier cigarette look-alikes to bulkier vapor-chucking cannons that provide radically more nicotine than their combustible carcinogenic cousins.

Christine Ballogdajan, Vapor

World manager said she used to be a heavy cigarette smoker before she transitioned to vaping, what users call vaporizing the flavored nicotine solution.

Her fiery dyed hair matches the glowing coils of a rebuildable atomizer at peak voltage.

“I smoked a pack a day,” Ballogdajan said. “I started vaping two years ago, but I didn’t quit the cigarettes until I found something a little better than the standard pen-style e-cigarette.”

She said she started her transition like most users, on a smaller vaporizer that produced relatively little vapor compared to the heavy-duty modified vaporizer she now totes with her at all times.

To the uninitiated, a lot of Ballogdajan and other vapers’ vocabulary might sound like another language. “Sub-ohm” this, “rebuildable coil” that.

It can get pretty confusing for beginners. However, at Vapor

World they sell a variety of starter kits that don’t require electrical engineering knowledge.

When she fires up her vape, it makes a gurgling sound as the cotton wicks heat up and push out the saturated nicotine infused vegetable glycerine.

After a few seconds of inhaling, Christine blew out what might be described as a cloud, a huge plume of opaque vapor smelling of tropical fruits and a hint of cinnamon.

Although Christine said she has not used the vaporizer to taper down her nicotine consumption, she advocates the new technology as healthier than traditional tobacco. This has yet to be proven through scientific studies.

“With smoking, you’ve got just tons and tons of chemicals that are in each cigarette,” Ballogdajan said. “With vaping, in the standard juice, there are

Photo by Lee Elliott - Contributor

literally a handful of things that are in it: nicotine, if you want it; flavoring; propylene glycol; and vegetable glycerine.”

Vapor World staff concoct a wide variety of custom vape juices. The sample table houses more than 100 different vials marked with numbers that correspond to a specific flavor on the store’s menu. Ballogdajan said premium house blends like “Cinnamon Bear” and “Gilligan’s Island” have more complex flavor profiles, while the standard house flavors like strawberry-kiwi and pomegranate taste like their namesake fruits.

“We try to have an atmosphere where people feel comfortable just hanging out and not buying anything,” Ballogdajan said. “They can sit around with friends in our vapor lounge and sample the new flavors.”

Mitchell Dowd, 21, frequent Vapor World customer and me-

chanic, said he began smoking cigarettes at age 11. He stole the cigarettes from his parents, who smoked heavily.

After smoking for almost 10 years, Dowd said he made the transition to vaporizing over smoking for health reasons. An avid rock climber and boulderer since 15, Dowd noticed cigarettes were impacting his athletic performance.

“Every morning, I’d wake up and cough up nasty stuff,” Dowd said. “I couldn’t breathe well.”

Working at Valvoline with his hands all day and rock climbing after work, Dowd said he noticed a change in his health and stamina immediately once he transitioned to vaping. Now, six months later, he climbs longer without getting out of breath.

“There’s definitely a difference, I don’t have a smoker’s cough,” Dowd said. ”I still run Read more on page 18

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 18

Malt Disney access to transportation, good water and infrastructure to support it.

They needed to have a recycling program and people who can make biodiesel, he said, and the architecture was made to match the surrounding area so it would fit in.

“This location looks much different than Chico. It references historical brewing, made of a lot of stone and wood, but efficient and sustainable at the same time,” Manley said.

Manley said the goal is to achieve at least a silver LEED standard, though the results have not come back yet.

According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

LEED-certified buildings save money and resources and have a positive impact on the health of occupants, while promoting renewable, clean energy.

Manley said LEED takes into account factors such as the amount of natural light coming into a building, the presence of ergonomic furniture for employees and access to public transportation.

To receive LEED certification, building projects satisfy prerequisites and earn points to achieve different levels of certification. The levels after

becoming LEED certified are silver, gold and platinum.

Sierra Nevada’s Asheville location is 99.8 percent landfill avoidable so far according to Manley.

Each batch of beer makes 10,000 pounds of malt barley, so they sell it as feed to farmers within a 100-mile radius. They only charge enough to be revenue neutral Manley said, the cost of transporting the feed determines the price.

“It’s nice to find those synergies,” Manley said.

Manley said Grossman is a big fan of transporting barley by rail. One railcar takes four semi-trucks off the road.

Sierra Nevada can now ship to anywhere on the east coast in a day’s drive.

Grossman wanted to stay 50 miles away from other breweries, Manley said, but the Asheville Brewers’ Association met and decided the more breweries there are the better it will be for Asheville brewing scene.

“You’ve got the Biltmore, the beer and the leaves,” Manley said. “We’ve been selling beer here for 10 years, it was a culture to build around,” Manley said.

Sierra Nevada now has no problem getting beer to customers east of the Mississippi.

The restaurant and brewhouse

Vapor out of breath sometimes, but it’s not as noticeable.”

Now a convert to strictly vaporizing, Dowd said he can actively work without being sick all the time. He has gradually lowered his nicotine intake due to the variable nicotine levels in Vapor World’s custom vapor juices.

“I started off on 18 milligrams of nicotine and worked my way down to three milli-

I AM THAT GIRL

From page 11

use fresh ingredients from the garden out back. The property covers over 200 acres, with only 35 of them developed so far. Manley said they want to keep most of it for wildlife and hiking trails.

Kaylee Larkin, tour guide, said she has worked for Sierra Nevada for a year and a half.

“Sierra Nevada is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable,” Larkin said.

The brewery owns about a mile of land on the French Broad. By adopting part of the river and doing trash pick-ups once a month she said, Sierra Nevada strives to cultivate that kind of culture within the company.

Mary Beth Cox and Andrés Arias, a couple from Winston-Salem, took a tour of the Sierra Nevada facilities as part of their vacation to Asheville.

Cox said the sustainable, environmentally-conscious design of the building impressed her during her visit.

“Hopefully it encourages all the other breweries and people in general to do the same thing,” Arias said. “Especially with manufacturing on this scale, you can negatively affect the environment, but if you can add to it positively, people feel a little better about it.”

a while beforehand. But when they get comfortable to share.

Mann says it’s incredible.

“So if that means sitting in silence for 15 seconds and then magic happens,” Mann says, “then I don’t feel like it’s awkward.”

Jamie Harris, a freshman psychology student from Wilmington, says the I AM THAT GIRL space is safe and free from judgment.

Harris says she is more comfortable in this space than in a brightly-lit classroom with peers looking at her, sitting in chairs. Here, she says she is comfortable.

As the meeting goes on, the conversation gets more serious.

Mann asks, “Is there anyone in your life that doesn’t show themselves respect?” and “When is it hard to respect yourself?”

In response to the latter, one woman says it’s hard to respect herself while feeling like it’s her against the world.

As the meeting wraps up, Mann proposes a game. She passes out baby blue-colored notepad pages, and asks the women to pair up to write down one thing after “I matter because…” and another for her partner, after “You matter because…”

Giggling ensues, and the women talk among each other.

From page 16

“Even though we talk about insecurities, I still like to end on a note of ‘OK, but what is going well, and what do you love?’” Mann says. “It is a space where you can talk about what you’re dealing with and the hard stuff and the messy stuff, but there’s still a recognition that you’re enough.”

The reason behind the name I AM THAT GIRL is something Mann found out a year after the first meeting of her high school’s chapter, she says.

It stems from jealousy of looking at another woman and seeing beauty and passion that could be enviable. This movement, Mann says, is about saying anyone can be that girl who is so capable, kind and a work in progress.

Sydney Nazloo, a freshman from Charlotte, says the meetings give her a peace of mind. Issues weighing on her mind from the week prior can be talked about candidly, free from preconceived notions.

“In what other space can you be exactly who you are and not what you’re supposed to be,” Mann asks, “and no one in the room is going to judge you?”

I AM THAT GIRL will resume meetings in the spring every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Karpen Hall room 018, open to all students.

From page 17

grams over six months,” Dowd said.

Four other e-cigarette shops pepper Merrimon Avenue alone, but Vapor World was the first to open its doors on this side of town more than a year ago. Ballogdajan said there will be no real competition from nearby shops due to her store’s superior customer service and product selection.

Over on Patton Avenue sits

High Life Gallery, a sizeable head shop that sells water pipes, hookahs and smoking paraphernalia, but also has a varied selection of vaporizers and nicotine juices.

Chelsea Myers, one of High Life Gallery’s employees, said she recently started transitioning from smoking to vaporizing. A young woman with a head full of light brown bejeweled dreadlocks, Myers plans to

stop smoking last week after being a cigarette smoker for over five years.

Even though she still smokes several cigarettes a day, Myers said she needs to change to fully vaping to preserve her health in the long run.

“I was smoking a pack a day,” Myers said. “Now I smoke one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at night.”

Once critical of vapers, My-

ers said she found an interest in the vaporizing culture and its future. The most devoted vapers host vaporizer conventions, contests, YouTube channels and DVDs devoted to vapor tips and tricks.

“They’ve made it into almost an art form, there is such a huge culture of vaping,” Myers said.

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November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

BFTS: Isabelle Vacher From page 6 “You know, everything is always changing. I think one of the most important things to me is always being around fresh perspectives and being open to fresh perspectives and that changes mottoes all the time. I don’t have one.”

Why are you in the medical field? What makes you want to stay? Why are you passionate about it?

“Yeah. So, I was a nurse for 10 years, and then I got out of nursing and am a writer. So I was a medical writer initially after being a nurse for many, many years

China bucket lists, and some of the things on those bucket lists are to see the Great Wall, to see the terracotta warriors,” Gladden said. “Most of the time when people go to China they’re not able to do all of that. We were basically able to do everything you could as a tourist, which was fantastic.”

This past summer’s trip focused more on the Shandong Province, with cities in the area such as Qingdao, Jinan and Qufu being major stops, along with Beijing. Heath Bradley, a student currently in Li’s Chinese class, said he loved Qingdao the most for one reason — food. The amounts of seafood in this coastal city sated Bradley’s hunger for new cuisines.

Each Chinese province has a unique take on the national food staples. Bradley said one of his favorite ways to end a night was gala, a stir fry composed of tiny clams cooked with red chilies, bursting with flavor.

Bradley said he yearns to be back on the streets of Qingdao for just another bite.

Bradley, a business management and international studies student, said the experience abroad was valuable not only to his palate, but also his future career path.

In a place like China, knowing the language will not be

and that just really transitioned into developing continuing medical education. Now, I work with a company where I liaison with the pharmaceutical companies and I write grants and I design education. So, but at the end of the day, I’m a nurse at heart. So, I care.

What keeps me inspired with my profession is my love of patience, my love of science and then of oncology. So, you know, cancer teaches everyone.”

And what is next for you?

What are you looking forward to in the future?

“Oh gosh, you know, just

living life with that guy over there and this dog, just, you know, trying to really live at this point in my life like every day really matters, like, you know, life is special and precious and embracing just who I am, which takes a long time to do, you know, for us people.”

Yeah.

“So I’m kind of at this point in my life where I’m finally just where it all fits and I’m comfortable and, you know, I truly am comfortable. I’m not just saying I’m comfortable, so just continuing to live like that. Because actually it takes a while to get there, so I’m hoping that I have enough years left to enjoy that.”

From page 9

enough to land a job. Understanding the people is key to truly working with them, and Bradley said he is grateful his first trip was the springboard for many more.

Both students said along with waking up each morning to explore a country with cultures and monuments thousands of years old, Li’s guidance and confidence on the trip made the experience even more fulfilling.

Her sense of humor, kind nature and sense of adventure led to a trip better than either expected from a professor-led program.

“There were two professors when I went on the trip. There was Jinhua Li and Lei Han, a professor in new media,” Gladden said. “The way we described them was that Dr. Li was the mom, and Dr. Han was the aunt you go to when you want to hear a yes.”

Bradley said Li was a wonderful trip leader.

“I do have a lot of trust in her and a lot of respect in her abilities. She really does know what she’s doing and she has a passion for the students achieving their goals,” Bradley said.

While on the trip, Gladden said she got the chance to know the Chinese volunteers, students around their own age.

Gladden said it was helpful for both her speaking skills and

her knowledge of the country.

Without their guidance, Gladden said China would have been a very different experience.

Li said some of her fondest memories remain seeing students’ faces when they first see the wonders China has to offer.

She remains in awe at some of the sights, such as Qufu, the birthplace of the famous philosopher Confucius.

Located within the city, the Kong Family Mansion remains a bastion to Confucius.

“Imagine that Confucius stood where you stand 2,000 years ago. That’s the experience of a lifetime, seeing the intersection between new and old,” Li said.

Bradley said he remembers standing on the Great Wall, in awe at a monument thousands of years old.

“There’s no perspective you can have when you look at something like that. You don’t have anything to compare that to historically,” Bradley said.

While talking, Li has an excitement akin to a student finally presenting a project they’ve worked on. Only once does she take on a more serious air.

“Be critical about what you think about the country,” Li said. “We talk about China so much, we see China representing different channels and

different aspects of our lives, but what is China? I think really everybody would have a different answer after they visit China and see for themselves.”

This need for students to think critically of the world around them drives Li to do the same.

In fact, her students weren’t the only ones learning on these trips — even though she’s a native, she said she learns a new thing every time.

“When I introduce my own country to other people, I obtain a cross-cultural perspective, and that’s really an educational experience for me as well,” Li said.

Not only do these trips allow Li to share her country with students, but they allow her many chances to go back home to visit the people she left behind. She feels blessed to get the chance to visit so often, since the people closest to her are what she misses most.

Li said teaching and spreading a new image of her home country continues to motivate her.

However, going home after living abroad can be a perplexing experience for a Chinese citizen.

“There was one time where I didn’t go back for three years, and I couldn’t recognize my

neighborhood because of all the reconstruction, the demolitions of older buildings and the constructions of newer buildings, and the improvement of the neighborhoods, the older neighborhoods,” Li said.

Even though such changes are occurring at a rapid pace in China, Li said the one thing that doesn’t change remains the most important.

“What stays the same are still the people,” Li said. “Even if I don’t talk to them for a year with some of my college friends, we still get reconnected really fast, we catch up, we know what happened in each other’s life, and then we just return to the good old days.”

Through her study abroad program trips, Li said she acquires the ability to mesh her personal and work lives.

Li said this stability between both parts of her life permits her to show off the nation she hails from.

She aspires to always keep China with her, no matter where she goes next in her life.

“I am really grateful that I still keep contact, and that I am closely connected to my cultural roots. I think it’s so important not to be disconnected from where you are from and who you are, and China is very much a part of who I am,” Li said.

pagenet 20 November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.

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Couchsurfing From page 16

And usually, they were better cooks and cultural conversation.

I had a French girl teach me about crepes and the Louvre one week.

Later, a Japanese United Nations member stayed over and informed our home of global policies and anthropology.

My favorite guests were supposed to stay for an emergency night but ended up joining us for a week.

James and Nathan from California spent their first Easter away from the Pacific with my flatmates and at one point shared the living room with yet another couchsurfer, Linlee from New York, whose travel dates overlapped.

For a good four days. our living room racked up with endless backpacks, piled blankets and travel itineraries.

Our apartment was never more alive than those rainy mornings spent jamming with acoustic guitars and coffee between raindrops. We ran out in the storm and danced.

Linlee picked wildflower bouquets while James made gourmet vegan brunches.

James Henrick said Couchsurfing created a place that felt like home, with friends that felt like family.

Linlee said the experience changed her life.

Sometimes it worked out like that. A day’s trip would turn into a week all because each day, there was another reason to linger.

As a host, the first days with guests would often start out the same: Travelers would predictably get lost, call with dubious GPS coordinates and ask that their hosts play warriors-of-the-compass until they reached town.

I’d give protocol room tours and welcome surfers to my excessive tea collection before sending them on their way.

Every host brought their own

signature welcome.

Guests would often insist on cooking a meal and I would steal their recipes for my couchsurfer-secret-recipe book. By now, the pages are stacked with half a globe’s worth of cuisine.

By the last day, the importance of the exchange of trust would settle in.

It would make you believe in humanity, if not just because of specific strangers’ hopefulness.

After leaving, the hosts and guests would eventually get to writing references.

Sometimes, they’d call you something endearing. Or they’d state superlatives, like being the essence of “100 elderly Jewish ladies”, like Andrew Brown, a previous guest, said about me after staying at my home.

Regardless of written reviews, couchsurfing often brought out the best in people.

It seemed to make them brave, able to do the whacky things they’d never try in their own city.

They made condensed and meaningful relationships that lingered far past the actual visit.

The only con I could conjure up was the knowledge these new friends would flee town just after getting to know them.

There was also the occasional misunderstanding that the site seconded as a hook-up spot, which could get annoying to correct.

“It’s a part of a revolutionary movement toward a peer-topeer commons, and not just in terms of space, but in terms of a lot of things,” said Sonia Marcus, the director of sustainability at UNC Asheville.

Marcus found out about Couchsurfing because of her students, but she wasn’t new to the idea.

“Couchsurfers typically were couch surfing before they ever got involved with Couchsurfing,” she said.

While writing publications about the network’s role in

sharing economies, Marcus got in touch with one of the key founders of the network, Casey Fenton. She said she was more involved in Couchsurfing than most.

“I have a million stories of things I’ve done because of Couchsurfing,” Marcus said.

She claimed the network transformed travel experience into a deeper discovery of both places and people.

Marcus said couchsurfers tended to be very educated, culturally-aware people.

“You end up learning so much more from those people about where they live than you would from any random person you’d meet on the street,” Marcus said.

But with that, there would still be a weeding-out process.

You don’t just let anyone into your house, after all. There’s research involved.

When folks look at potential guests, they should first investigate the users’ profile.

If the page isn’t completed, it shows a certain measure of apathy.

Because of the massive growth of Couchsurfing, there has been a diluting of dedicated couchsurfers.

On the positive side of that note, it means the network is growing.

Now, there are millions of members to choose to know.

So, if you take to surfing or hosting, remember a few pointers.

1. Require minimal references before considering a host/ surfer, that way you have a background knowledge of what to expect.

2. Plan in advance so you can get the most out of time.

3. Discuss house rules from the beginning to ensure mutual understanding.

4. Express gratitude.

5. Be flexible, be open to cracking out of your comfort zone.

German corner About the Germans, in German, for our German students.

OPINION

By Jana Mader, Professor of German, Department of Modern Languages and Literature

Folge 21: Helmut Schmidt Helmut Schmidt ist tot. Im Alter von 96 Jahren starb er in seinem Haus in Hamburg. Einer der größten deutschen Politiker mit scharfem Verstand und hanseatisch-zurückhaltendendem Charakter hat die Weltbühne verlassen. Helmut Schmidt war Politiker der SPD und von 1974 bis 1982 der fünfte Bundeskanzler von Deutschland. Von 1983 bis zu seinem Tod war er Herausgeber der Zeitung „Die Zeit“.

Deutschland trauert um den großen Staatsmann. „Die deutsche Öffentlichkeit und die freie Welt haben einen großartigen Denker und Fürsprecher verloren – einen wahrlich großen Mann“, sagt der frühere US-Außenminister George P. Shultz. Helmut Schmidt zählte zu den beliebtesten Kanzlern Deutschlands. Auf der Internetseite der „Zeit“ können Bürger ihre Anteilnahme ausdrücken.

Jemand schreibt: Ich trauere um Helmut Schmidt wie um einen engen lieben Verwandten.

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

OPINION Senior Refl ections: Saying goodbye to college is tough, but facing the real world might be harder MICHAEL O’HEARN Social Media Editor mohearn@unca.edu

A long, long time ago, I could still remember the way those Kansas sunrises used to make me smile.

I knew if I had my chance, then I could have left sooner than I actually did.

But December made me shiver, with every snow storm I encountered.

Good news on the doorstep, the loaded Penske truck ready to make its first steps.

I couldn’t remember if I cried, the day I left the west side.

But something touched me deep inside, the day the teenage me had died. *** Now, as I approach my final few weeks of my college career, I sit here and write what will be my last Banner piece before becoming a fulltime reporter on the flip-side of college.

I made it to the endgame of my schooling, for the time being, and I can see graduation on the horizon.

A small-town boy from Kansas just trying to make his way in the mountains of Asheville finally clinches the golden ticket, the diploma, but at what price?

For the last four years, I feel like I’ve been moving at the speed of light and never really had the time to slow down.

This was true when I did multiple theater shows in community college.

Long nights were spent toiling over the semester’s big production, rehearsing lines, painting the stage and building and destroying pro-

duction sets after a well-received run thanks to the director Jennifer Treadway.

After leaving community college almost as fast as I entered the college stage, I had merely a few weeks to decide where I was off to next and, more importantly, what I was going to set my sights on as I finished my higher education.

This transition into becoming a mass communication student, after being told I still needed three credit hours at Blue Ridge Community in order to graduate, ended up being a split-second decision I landed upon days after my twentieth birthday.

I decided I would enslave myself to pen and paper, to being another recorder of history in the annals of time as a reporter at the end of summer 2013.

Coming here, I had high expectations. The first thing I wanted to do was to find my tribe of friends and live at college like Cory Matthews from Boy Meets World, friendly and smiling at everyone I came across.

I met someone who would eventually become the so-called “love of my life,” who I now refer to as the ex who slipped away, within the first few days of being at UNC Asheville.

I focused myself on my work within the department and decided sticking to my assignments throughout each class would be the way to go if I was going to survive college.

I rarely say I regret anything when it comes to living, but it is with college I feel I rushed it. I see the finish line ahead, but all I want to do is make a U-turn and walk back to the starting line to redo the event.

I had been told college it’s supposed to be the “most fun four years” of my life, but my noseto-the-grindstone demeanor circumvented most of the fun I was supposed to have.

page 21

Section Editor: June Bunch kbunch@unca.edu

That isn’t to say I didn’t get anything out of going to college. I grew and I learned more about myself and what I can offer this world at UNCA through the classes I tackled.

Mass communication law taught me I’m not destined to be a lawyer like I wanted to be as a child. Early cinema taught me my love of film does know some bounds. Even video production taught me not to rush a thought-provoking and intimidating class through four weeks in the heat of summer.

I don’t want to end these last four years on a depressing and less-than-stellar note. I graduate college in three weeks, and that’s a staggering achievement in itself, plus I’ll have a guaranteed job the Monday after I walk the stage in Kimmel Arena.

If that’s not stellar, I don’t know how else to define the adjective then. The moral of my final story this semester, and my college experience, is don’t rush anything. Embrace the time, the people and the experiences you have in college.

Sure, not every class taken will be cotton candy and rainbows and yes, there will be periods of time where it will be almost not worth it, but believe me, these are the best years of our lives.

There is nothing better than a college education in this day and age.

I sound like I’m destined for the retirement home at this point (ironic because presently I work at one) but I feel like I’m prepared for the challenges of the world on the other side of the door.

I feel like I’ve done the absolute best I could while at college. There are a lot of things I would change, yes, but I don’t regret my last-minute decision in the summer of ’13 in transitioning to UNCA. Go Bulldogs, and I will see you all again soon.

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

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OPINION

Students from campuses all over the country joined forcesto protest in Washington, D.C.

Photos by Larisa Karr - A&F Editor

Taking it to K-Street: Why I don't regret my decision to protest

LARISA KARR Our Choice” event taking place Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C. A&F Editor lakarr@unca.edu My first thought was, “There is no way I can leave school, not It was an overcast day as we with all the assignments I have seated ourselves in the middle to do.” My second thought was, of a park near one of the most “Hell, yeah.” I had never really notorious streets in America. been to D.C., unless you count We gathered to eat lunch and gliding through on a Greyhound say goodbye to our new friends, bus, and these are all issues that César and River, who had guid- I am passionate about. ed us, all but one from UNC It was settled.

Asheville, to Washington, D.C., We first left for D.C. on Satto join over a thousand individ- urday morning, and aside from uals in a mass protest against some mild panic in regards to the most hot-button issues in obtaining rental cars, the trip the country, racial injustice, en- there was fairly smooth. We vironmental destruction and an- discussed everything we loved ti-immigration legislation. about the world, hated about the A few weeks earlier, I was world, talking ‘bout our generseated on the Quad, enjoying the ation all the while. The energy quaint and cute maple-shaped was good, and it was evident cookies and cider that UNCA so that we were all thoroughly exgenerously hands out every fall, cited and ready to jump into the when a friend from the UNCA action.

Divestment Coalition came and Rolling into the American placed a flier in my hand, telling capital at night, we first went to me about the “Our Generation, an art collective in a warehouse

nestled in an industrial, sleepy side of the city. We met César and River, who, alongside the other artists there, were helping to make the signs and the mural that would ultimately be our group’s creation.

We worked for hours in the chilly, neon evening and the warm, comforting art studio, with some of us cutting out cardboard circle stencils, others painting the main banner that would be supported by over 20 hands on the day of the rally, others making the wood posts to hold the signs up, and still others spray-painting the stencils onto small canvases outside.

We were there from 6 to 9 p.m., weary but excited, envisioning how everything we were helping to create would be utilized in the rally.

After this, we departed into the twilight and found the church in which we were staying. Sleeping on the floor along-

side other activists from across the country, it wasn’t exactly the most comfortable situation, but I love my sleeping bag, so it was all good.

Some of the group went directly to sleep, while the other, perhaps less sensible portion of the group, myself included, retreated back into the night to roam the streets of D.C. It was a fantastic night to say the least. We walked up and down various sections of the city, sipping beers and talking about life, engaging in various kinds of debauchery that won’t be mentioned here for various reasons.

However, the inevitable hangover that ensued the following day was nothing short of awful, and as I took off to our day-long civil disobedience training, running to throw up in trash cans at subway stops, I sort of regretted my decision to not be responsible.

The training was a lot of things, to say the least. There were intense moments, in particular when one person confronted the speaker about immigration issues and treatment toward minorities who were protesting, and by the end of the day, we were tired as heck and ready to crash.

The morning of the event, however, we were just ready.

Even running off an unstable amount of sleep, we were possessed by a fervent energy to get into action and bring everything we had to the rally. We had been warned numerous times that we could be arrested that day, and while it was frightening, it was a risk that I wanted to take. The issues we were speaking out against, the impending crises that the United States is facing as the 21st century pushes forward, and the well-being of our generation and the generations Read more on next page

November 18, 2015. | Issue 12, Volume 63 | thebluebanner.net

page 23

D.C. From page 22

still living on this earth were something to speak out about, and I wanted to contribute my voice.

As we marched down to K Street and blockaded the traffic, car horns filled the air as members of our group spread out and started to paint the mural, which bore the words “reconstruct, re-

invest and resist.” I held the art supply cart, mainly because I had managed to skin my already-skinned knee further by falling that morning, and would have been in too much pain to kneel on the ground and paint.

The snipers inevitably came out on top of the White House and pointed their automatic

weapons at us, a bunch of “crazy hippies” promoting a world where people are kind and thoughtful, not ruthlessly given over to the behest and pursuit of the almighty dollar.

After two hours, we retreated back to the park from where we had originally marched . Al Jazeera and Reuters reporters

were there, interviewing students about our protest that apparently was national news.

I have at times been skeptical of whether or not myself and a few others in our generation, a few planktons dominated by a sea of piranhas, actually have the chance to make a change in the world.

But as I sat there with my crew, smiling and taking in the soothing autumn air, I knew I wouldn’t have chosen to have spent the morning of November 9, 2015, in any other way. In the words of Regina Spektor, “All this hippie shit’s for the ’60s.”

But it’s for the ’10s, too.

Fall Dance Happening Photo series by Cory Thompson - Contributor

Montana Fenske Dancers from within the UNC Asheville dance minor and beyond performed last Friday in the Fall Dance Happening.

The experimental dance event offered a space for students to share their works in a low-tech, but user-friendly space.

sophia ahmad

"Fostering a community where anyone can dance is important," said Celia Bambara, assistant professor of dance.

Kaila Hubbs and Lilly Augspurger

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