September 10th, 2015
Volume LXXXV No. 3
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES RENEWS GRANT James Hoyle Staff Writer Concord University’s Student Support Services has recently renewed their grant to continue functioning. It has been renewed until August 31, 2021. According to the official press release issued by the university, the grant equals roughly $300,000 per each year of the grant, coming to a total of slightly over $1.5 million. “Student Support Services helps 200 students at Concord University,” said Academic Coordinator Beth Nelson, “However, that number is just for Concord alone. Many other colleges across the United States and its holdings have Student Support Services. Student Support Services is funded via the federal government, particularly the Department of Education. $270 million is given out across the 968 Student Support Service programs across the country and territories.” According to a report from the United States Department of Education, the colleges
Sept. 10-16
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Weather Trivia Who developed the temperature scale?
Thursday
T-storms Likely 78/62 Precip Chance: 60%
Friday
Few Showers 74/57
Precip Chance: 40%
Saturday
Few Showers 73/53
Precip Chance: 40%
Sunday
Few Showers 71/55
Precip Chance: 30%
Monday
Mostly Sunny 73/55
Precip Chance: 5%
Tuesday
Wednesday
Precip Chance: 5%
Precip Chance: 5%
Mostly Sunny 76/58
Mostly Sunny 75/57
?
Answer: In 1714, Gabriel Fahrenheit developed the scale.
Athens 7-Day Forecast
that receive funding are quite complish their goals. said Terri Philpott, Director of diverse in locations. Colleges “What the grant entails, in Student Support Services and from as far north as Anchorage, addition to the money, is the writer of the grant. “This grant that we have written would be the Google Maps or the GPS for the trip.” When asked about where the map would take the students involved in the Student Support Services program, Philpott described the goals for the next five years. “The grant basically gives us standardized goals and objectives to work towards. First, we want the students we help to be in good academic standing, which at Concord University means having at least an overall GPA of 2.0 or above. Second, we want the students we serve to continue to return, so retention plays a major part. Third, we want our students to graduate and either find successful jobs or to continue their education Terri Philpott is excited about the help they will be able to in pursuit of a Master’s Degree. provide with the grant renewal. Therefore, the graduation rate Photo By: Jonathan Collins of the students we help is very important. These objectives are Alaska to as far south as San focus and direction for our basically the same for all Student Juan, Puerto Rico, enjoy the next five year period. Imagine, benefits of the program and all if you will, that our five year SEE GRANT, P. 2 strive to help their students ac- period is an extended journey,”
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This Edition News: • Student Support Services Renews Grant • Former Concord Student Hits it out of the Park with New Management Firm
Student Life:
• CU BSU Ralley in the Valley • My Only Safe Haven
Arts & Entertainment • Crazy Little Thing Called the Auxillary
Opinion
• 2 Min. Warning: Fantasy Football • In the Community: Local Mo’Joe • VMA’s in Review
Sept. 10th 2015, Page 2 The Concordian
News
GRANT FROM PAGE 1
Support Service programs. This program was a product of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s war on poverty. As a result of that, you’ll often hear our program called TRiO. When Student Support Services began, there were three different programs, hence the title TRiO. Although there are a great deal more than those three programs now, they all still fall under the same umbrella,” she explained
Student Support Services is designed to help financially needy and first generation students find their way through college. According to Beth Nelson, they provide many services for students, such as peer mentoring, one-on-one tutoring, scholarships, academic, financial aid, and career counseling, cultural trips, ensuring students understand their degree requirements. As she was explaining
this, there was a sudden burst of laughter coming from the next room. Nelson was quick to add, “Another thing we try to foster is a sense of belonging. We have a little more laid back, informal atmosphere compared to some of the other offices, so we might be the place some students go when they truly need advice and are nervous about speaking to faculty first when they need help with problems.”
In the follow-up, Philpott wished to stress that they can help students with graduate school. “I recently talked to a freshman here who is already looking at Master’s Degree programs. We can help any student in their search for funding. We even will take trips to other colleges to learn what options are available to them. A few years ago, we took some students on a three day visit to Tuft’s Uni-
versity, and they were able to learn firsthand what was available. Although we do not have the funding for such a trip. we remain committed to helping students find the funding they need to get to graduate school.” Students wishing to use Student Support Services are urged to call (304)-384-6088 for more information.
FORMER CONCORD STUDENT KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH NEW MANAGEMENT FIRM Tyler Jackson
Staff Writer For a while, many people have lamented the lack of businesses in Southern West Virginia, but Princeton area native and former Concord University student Cody Pettus wants to change that with his very own sports agency, aptly named “Pettus Sports Agency.” Pettus grew up in the Princeton area and graduated from Princeton Senior High School. After attending Concord for a year, Pettus transferred to New River to finish getting his two year degree. According to Pettus, his agency, located in Princeton, was established back in May and his certification came through in July. “We are an agency that is committed to signing athletes and getting them on professional rosters. Our services also
include getting the players endorsement deals,” said Pettus. Although there are a lot of sports that Pettus could elect to focus his talents on, he chooses baseball for now, acknowledging that it’s a good sport to help get one’s foot in the door in the sports industry. He said that nearly sixty
percent of sports agents never sign a single client and he wants to taste the success. “I’m hungry and that’s why I will succeed. I don’t let the players that haven’t signed with me affect me. My end goal is to have a very powerful agency with tons of clients on huge deals and hopefully break into
Cody Pettus is a great example of Concord students chasing their dreams and achieving their goals. Photo By: Haley Pettus
other sports as well. I believe anyone can do what they want as long as they put in the time to do it,” said Pettus. Being a newer agency, Pettus has not acquired any clients, but is definitely on the hunt. He said he has talked to numerous players and continues to do so, including players from Mercer County’s own Blue Jays and Rays and even some from rival teams. Despite the inability to reach a deal with any players thus far, Pettus holds no ill will towards any broken down negotiations, saying “I don’t hold any angst towards them either, I know we’re new and a lot of them are scared to sign with someone that’s unproven. I believe most of the time people say no because they are scared to say yes.” As of right now, Pettus says that he has two people helping
him and they will be employed when the agency starts rolling, and when it does he doesn’t plan on slowing down. “I will be a powerful force not only in the sports agency world, but in the business world in general, I will be a king,” he said. Pettus has wanted to be a sports agent since high school and draws a lot of inspiration from the late Steve Jobs, saying “He was a big hero of mine and that’s the kind of impact I want to leave on this line of work.” Pettus isn’t limiting his clients to those who are a part of an organization, “I’m going to attend a lot of college baseball games this year and hopefully meet a lot of talented athletes who want to help me reach my goal as I help them reach theirs.” For more information or to inquire about getting an agent, Cody Pettus can be contacted by cell phone at 304-308-0960.
Sept. 10th 2015, Page 3 The Concordian
Student Life
CU BSU RALLY IN THE VALLEY Briana Gunter
Staff Writer On Tuesday, September 1, Concord University’s Black Student Union kicked off their semester with a “Rally in the Valley” interest meeting event. Without any awkward icebreakers, members, potential members, and other students who just happened to be in the valley came together and dove right into the fun and camaraderie. No time was wasted with the tedious task of going around and introducing everyone; current members welcomed potential members and all other students with open arms with a friendly game of kickball and free food.
The Black Student Union was originally founded on Concord’s campus in 1996 but was then known as P.R.I.D.E.—People’s Right in Dreaming of Equality. However, the organization hit a dry spell in 2008. Not to worry; James Riley, a current Concord student helped revive the group in 2012. When he first came to Concord, as a transfer from WVU where he was involved with BSU, he realized that there wasn’t an organization like BSU anywhere on campus. Riley said he “called up a couple of people to see if they’d be interested,” and the rest is history in the making. He and those few others came together to create what would become a group of individuals
that grew into a family. James served as the BSU president for three years and helped shape BSU into the diverse and community involved organization that it is today. BSU is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing black culture and social diversity. However, to the members involved, BSU is so much more than just an organization. It’s like a home away from home. Current president Ashley Hawkins said “BSU to me is a family that comes together with a common goal of creating equality and unity within our community. BSU is more than just an organization to me, it is my home that I share with people that I feel most comfortTop Left: President Ashley Hawkins grills up some grub for everyone. Bottom Left: Members (Left to Right) TahTeona Hall, Shelly Craighead, and James Riley show off their pearly whites Bottom Right:James Riley pumps up the crowd and attracts new members
able around. It is a true definition of a brotherhood to me.” Like many other members, including potential members that attended the Rally in the Valley interest meeting, Hawkins went to one interest meeting, and that’s all it took. In that one meeting Hawkins said she “got to experience a true brotherhood.” BSU welcomes everyone from any and all races and ethnicities. This semester, the BSU plans to continue working with a tutoring/mentoring program in Princeton called SPARKS (Students being Positive and Achieving Recognition with Knowledge and Success). Hawkins says that BSU “does have a few other events up [their] sleeves but [they’ll] keep that as a surprise!” The BSU meets on Wednesdays at 8:00 PM in the AB conference room in the Student Center. For more information on BSU and how to get involved looked them up on Facebook under Concord University Black Student Union or contact Ashley Hawkins at hawkinsa15@mycu.concord.edu.
The Concordian Staff Brittany Strother Editor-in-Chief Sarah White Managing Editor Staff Writers: Jacob Adkins Peggy Ballengee Linh Dinh Briana Gunter James Hoyle Tyler Jackson Haley McCord Patrice Mitchell Web Master Jonathan Collins Mrs. Lindsey Akers Advisor
Photos By: Briana Gunter
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Sept. 10th 2015, Page 4 The Concordian
Student Life
MY ONLY SAFE HAVEN Haley McCord
Staff Writer On Wednesday, September 2, the band “My Only Safe Haven” returned to Concord University and rocked the campus with some original pieces as well as two cover songs at Subway Sides from 9 PM to 10 PM. The band is mostly alternative rock with a bit of Christian rock blended in. They are from Beckley, West Virginia and consist of five members: Kayla Saunders on vocals; Caleb Bolen and Preston Belcher on guitar; Brian Sexton on drums; and Taylor Ray on the keyboard. The two songs covered were “Misery Business” by Paramore, which the lead vocalist explained was her favorite band and a huge inspiration of the band’s music, and “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World. The audience was small, but the students who attended seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and sang along to the familiar songs. My Only Safe Haven was reminiscent of another band called A Day To Remember, which the lead vocalist also explained was another of her favorite bands and inspiration for many of the original songs.
Although the band was entertaining and made sure to welcome and include the audience throughout the performance, the experience felt rather flat. It was hard to hear what the vocalist was singing because the music was extremely loud and drowned out anything else; the vocals were also too muffled to understand, although these things may have been caused more by technical difficultly than user error. However, when I could hear the lyrics, I was not overly impressed; they seemed fairly typical and nothing caught my attention as new and fresh. On the upside, the stage lighting surrounding the performers was bright and fun, changing colors and adding a lighthearted tone to the show. The performers seemed to truly enjoy being on stage entertaining and while the lyrics were somewhat uninteresting, the vocalist had a beautiful voice when I could hear it. However, keeping in consideration that the band is still fairly new, they’ve got a lot of potential and room for growth. A merchandise table was set up nearby so that students could browse items like wristbands, t-shirts, CDs and posters featuring lyrics and titles of the
band’s original songs. Prices were fairly reasonable ranging from ten dollars for albums to fifteen for t-shirts. Recently, the band made
their first music video for My Only Safe Haven, visit their their newest single “Can’t Get Facebook page or at reverbnaEnough.” The video can be tion.com/myonlysafehaven. viewed on Youtube. For more information about
My Only Safe Haven has performed at Concord University in the past, and each of their performances draws a crowd of enthusiastic students. Photo By: Haley McCord
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Sept. 10th 2015, Page 5 The Concordian
Arts & Entertainment CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED THE AUXILIARY Peggy Ballengee Staff Writer Flutes, clarinets, and trumpets aren’t all that’s necessary to make an impact on the campus marching band. Last Thursday afternoon, September 3, the Concord Marching Band’s auxiliary members were excitedly taking measurements for incoming uniforms. With only four members, it isn’t hard to imagine the group keeping busy with the upcoming football season. Measurements, however, were only one of their many preparations for their decidedly royal television debut on the campus football field, upcoming on September 12 at noon. The auxiliary members of the band, though made up of a meager five members, include the campus’s color guard and baton twirlers. These visual aspects of a marching band often team up to create a spectacle that is sure to please any watchers during a home game halftime. This year, several of Concord’s football games are to be recorded and televised. This notion, while exciting for all of the campus, sets the band abuzz with determination to create a show that will rock watchers both live and in the comfort of their homes. “We perform at all of Concord’s home games,” says Amanda Pemberton on behalf of the color guard, “this one just happens to be a bigger deal with a bigger audience. We’ve been buckled down, and are dedicat-
ed to making sure we’re ready for the challenge.” Over the past weeks, the band has been actively practicing both Bohemian Rhapsody and Crazy Little Thing Called Love, creating a Queen-themed half-time show. “Dr. Ball was the one to decide on our set list, collaborating with our drill-writer Preston Bennett, but we all enjoy it.” Pemberton adds. In previous years, the band has been known to maintain one routine through several showings. Pemberton mentions that this year, Freddy Mercury may only be the star of the halftime show for a couple of games before the performance is mixed and mingled all over again. Joining the Concord Marching Band proves to be quite the commitment for everyone involved. Though a semester of Band only provides one credit hour, Pemberton estimates that the auxiliary section of the band dedicates at least eight hours per week to practice and groundwork for their live routines. A reasonable estimation, added between four hours weekly in the class itself, two hour sectional practices, and any independent work done. That count doesn’t include the extra two hours before each game, or even the performance itself. Pemberton laughs at the realization, “On those weeks, I’d guess that we all spend up to 13 hours working on the band. It can be much more extensive than you’d think, especially considering how small our
numbers are. We’re all really excited when it comes down to it, and ready to take on the challenge.” Practicing with the color guard is Sarah White, a baton twirler for the band, “While a baton twirler is not a part of color guard itself,” she says, “if the color guard provides, well, color, my position revolves around adding extra excitement to the visual aspect of a show.” Choreographing the Queen show, White admits, is much like choreographing anything else between the auxiliary members of the band. “We all came from unique backgrounds and different levels of experience, so a lot of the times we try moves until something fits.” This particular experience – perhaps in light of its televised glory – is sure to be a treat for any spectators, “The color guard will be throwing show rifles, among other exciting things. I’ll even be picking up a flag for an eight-count or two,” White admits, “This is very unusual because I truly like the split between factions, the separation and added elements that it can give us.” The preparation and excitement is universal throughout the dedicated students involved. Between the exciting visual developments unfolding in the auxiliary department of the band, the musical prowess of the Concord’s band, and the diligent football team gearing up for battle, this season is sure to be a thrilling experience for all of the senses.
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Sept. 10th 2015, Page 6 The Concordian
Opinions
2 MIN WARNING: FANTASY FOOTBALL Jacob Adkins
Staff Writer Football fans around the world are on the edge of their seats waiting for the long-awaited return of professional football season. Thursday, September 10t, the Pittsburgh Steelers will trek to Gillette Stadium, home of the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, to kick off the 20152016 season. That day will also mark the beginning of another season: fantasy football season. Fantasy football is an online game where participants make up a ‘dream team’ of players from varying teams and are scored based on those players’ performances on the actual field during the season. Although football season is here, it’s not too late to start your league, gather your contenders, and begin your own draft. However, before jumping right into draft mode and channeling your inner NFL owner mindset, there are a few key points to note before the careful player selection process begins. Let’s start this lesson by discussing the men carrying the load for many teams, the running backs. Adrian Peterson has returned; with much to prove after a year’s absence from being suspended, and just one year after nearly breaking
the single season rushing yards record, combined now with a young quarterback poised to bring more of a passing threat to the Vikings and eliminate the one trick pony offense that was running the ball, it looks like another great year to take AD (ALL DAY) Adrian Peterson, with a top pick in your draft. But is he the best running back available this season? Many argue Le’veon Bell of the Steelers, despite his 2 game suspension that is in effect for the first two games after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, will still be the best tailback in the field this season. There are, of course, safer picks from not exactly the biggest breakout players, but staples of consistency that a team owner can rely on week in and week out to allot points. From Green Bay’s Eddie Lacy, Kansas City’s Jamal Charles, and former Dallas Cowboy turned rival Philadelphia Eagle, Demarco Murray, who is arguably the league’s best back last season, are all top prospects for any owner to build their team around. But we can’t stop the conversation about running backs without even a mention of “BEASTMODE” Marshawn Lynch. The Seattle Seahawks, who appeared a single handoff to Lynch shy from repeating as Super Bowl champions last year,
have appeared to gain more firepower on offense with the addition of former saint’s standout Jimmy Graham. But the load for Lynch will remain the same, so look for Lynch to continue to grind out yards and, ultimately, points with continued success from those break away runs and goal line surges. Turning to the wide outs, my top 5 prospects for this season are Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Calvin Johnson, and A.J. Green. These players, some of whom have struggled with injuries in past seasons, have seemingly healed up and are ready for a full seasons work load. Expect heavy targets to these studs, and plenty of touchdowns over the course of the season. Not to be discredited are the guys throwing the touchdowns and deep balls to the receivers, the quarterbacks. I would not personally grab a quarterback first for my fantasy team, ever. It’s not usually going to be where the bulk of your points come from. When selecting a quarterback, a lot of factors should come to mind. First, is the quarterback’s team any good? Will they make the playoffs? Does he have a good receiving core? All of these affect the quarterback’s play and fantasy team value. My personal top five quarterbacks off the draft boards this
season are Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Russel Wilson. Luck was last year’s best quarterback in fantasy football. Luck has the ability to push forward if a play breaks down and pick up lots of yardage, which brings high value to his draft status. Aaron Rodgers’ season ended in a quicker fashion than he had intended when the Packers lost their playoff game even after being up 13 points in the fourth quarter. Look for Aaron Rodgers to have another great season, with that crumbling loss at last season’s end fueling the fire. Who is everyone forgetting? What is the one guy that can change my season from mediocre to championship contending? Try C.J. Anderson, currently with the Denver Broncos as a sleeper, or player with surprisingly good stats. Although he’s not a household name like Lynch or Peterson, Peyton Manning is aging swiftly in Denver, so look for Anderson to carry the load a lot more on offense to create easier passing opportunities for Manning and the Broncos. Late in the draft and looking for a flex pick? Check out Eddie Royal, who has landed as a potential WR1 in Chicago now especially with the injury to their first round draft pick, former
West Virginia University standout, Kevin White. Danny Woodhead is back from an injury and is a veteran player that will get touches in San Diego, barring a break out season from Melvin Gordon. Looking to take a risk and need a receiver? How about some Oakland Raiders? Yes, Oakland hasn’t exactly been the hotspot for future hall of famers as of late, but with young receiver’s such as Michael Crabtree, with a lot to prove after dealing with injury and battling for touches in San Francisco, this could be a good season for Crabtree to return to his Texas Tech style play. But the Raiders also locked in a huge draft pick when they selected Amari Cooper, from college football powerhouse, Alabama. With rookies come risks, but if you’ve watched Cooper, the rewards seem to outweigh any perceived risks. Whatever direction you as an owner choose to go on your quest for fantasy football glory, I hope these tips can help further the success we all covet. Numerous different websites have free creatable leagues and drafts, each with many contests to get in on as well. Make sure to create your league and join in on all the fantasy football talk and fun before the season kicks off.
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Sept. 10th 2015, Page 7 The Concordian
Opinions
IN THE COMMUNITY: LOCAL MO’JOE Haley McCord
Staff Writer Located on Mercer Street directly across from the Princeton Public Library, Local Mo’ Joe is a newly renovated and all organic coffee shop and cafe. The shop operates daily, save for Sunday, from 7:30 AM to 7:00 PM and serves salads and various baked goods like scones, bagels, muffins, warm cinnamon rolls, and pound cake. Everything is made fresh in-house each morning. They also serve a wide variety of coffee and tea specialty drinks like classic cappuccinos and macchiatos, lattes, smoothies, hot and cold chai tea, classic and mocha frappes and several more; for an additional fee, one can add an extra shot of espresso, foamed milk, a foam dollop or steamed milk to
any specialty drink. Guests can choose their favorite item from the large, artsy chalkboard menu on the wall. The hostess was friendly, energetic and happy to answer any questions. She explained that the shop had only been open for approximately two months and apologized because “the menu doesn’t have sandwich options yet, but we will definitely be adding them soon!” The ambiance of the shop was gentle, warm and inviting. The walls were painted with a light shade of blue, and pieces of artwork donated from the Riff Raff Art Collective were displayed generously throughout. Tiny handcrafted jars full of bright purple live flowers sat in the center of each table and the entire shop smelled of fresh bread and coffee beans.
The atmosphere was mellow and quiet; this shop would be the perfect place to relax, read a book and sip on hot tea. The service was good, albeit a little slow, considering there was only one person behind the counter during the lunch hour rush. The food was brought to the table before the drinks, which arrived approximately three minutes afterward. While the smoothie ordered was refreshing and tasted delightfully of real, fresh fruits, the classic frappe was completely undrinkable. It was mainly espresso and crushed ice with no sugar, cream or flavor; overall, the taste was very bitter and unpleasant. While the baked goods were warm, fresh and crisp, they could have been displayed a little more carefully. The bagel dogs, which are basically pigs
VMA’S IN REVIEW Jacob Adkins
Staff Writer The MTV Video Music Awards have come and gone once again, and as usual, have left us with much to talk about. As for the awards themselves, it seems to take a backseat to a night of speeches and performances that drew the most interest. From beginning to end, the show always continues to grab the audience’s attention because of the sheer unknown of what will happen next. Miley Cyrus is back in the spotlight, this time as host for the 2015 VMAs. Her stage presence cannot be questioned; her outfits, however, were. Many of her ensembles were the trending topics on social media, but before that could take the cake
for her most dramatic, a wardrobe malfunction caught a bit too much skin on Miley as she hid behind a curtain as the station turned to a commercial break. Even after that disaster was handled, she was not done being the center of attention. As Nicki Minaj was accepting an award for Best Hip-Hop Video, she turned her attention to Miley and confronted her about what she had said about Nicki in an interview. Miley seemed to shake it off and placed the blame on the media taking her words out of context as they often do with celebrities and people of interest. The standoff ignited the online chatter of a new feud between the two celebrities. What are the VMA’s in today’s
world without talk of Kanye West and Taylor swift? We last saw these two face off in 2009 on the VMA stage when Kanye interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech to give credit to his friend Beyoncé on what he thought has the best video of the year. Since then the tables have turned and in this installment of the VMA’s Taylor called to the stage her old friend Kanye to accept the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Swift started her announcement off with a familiar “Imma let you finish” and then added “but Kanye West had one of the greatest careers of all time,” before handing off the award. Oh but how the action had just begun there. Kanye’s lengthy acceptance speech was filled with questionable moments but
in a blanket, were spilling out from underneath a cake dome and looked somewhat unkempt and inviting for potential insects and pests. Also, some of the other baked goods were simply piled into baskets and left to harden. As for the prices, take a thick wallet when visiting this laidback joint. For example, one classic frappe was priced a little over four dollars for a large size and for the smaller sizes, prices ranged from 2.75 and up depending upon the drink. The cheapest thing available was priced at fifty cents; the veggie vitamins which featured a heaping amount of kale. Regular coffee was a little more affordable, ranging from 1.50 for eight ounces and 2.00 for twelve ounces. Although the atmosphere of
the Local Mo’ Joe was easygoing and whimsical, the prices were a tad high, the coffee was a tad too strong for the average drinker, and there was only one person running the entire store. However, the storefront is brand new and the employees are just beginning to get the hang of running a business. After a little more experience and opportunity to establish themselves, and after some more food items have been added to the menu, this shop may hit its stride and become a bustling hotspot for Princeton citizens. For more information on The Local Mo’ Joe, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/localmojoe or call 304-709-6656.
at one point he even seemed to have admitted to be under the influence by saying, “ yes” to his rhetorical question of did he smoke something before getting on stage. Kanye continued, “I rolled up a little something to knock the edge off.” Even then Kanye had more to tell. In what had become a speech that bounced around all over the place, it ended up landing with Kanye concluding by announcing his nomination for United States President in 2020. If he didn’t accomplish anything at all that night, Kanye did get our attention, something that he never seems to fail at. All in all the night played out as expected, no truly shocking upsets in award winners. Taylor Swift brought home the coveted video of the year award with
her song “Bad Blood,” which also sparked fan interest due to the related skirmish with Nicki Minaj. Swift and Minaj ended up singing a duet together wearing red dresses that concluded with Swift singing a piece from “Bad Blood” all with a smile. Maybe not the action the audience had hoped for, but all the while fun to watch. Until next year’s show comes back around we will wait and see how the development of Kanye’s presidential campaign plans to unfold, and surely have plenty of beef and rivalries between the artists and, as always, the Video Music Awards will provide us with plenty to chat about.
Sept. 10th 2015, Page 8 The Concordian
Millennial Beat
FREEDOM OF RELIGION Patrice Mitchell
Staff Writer One of the biggest trending topics of the past couple of weeks is the legal activity involving Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis. Davis made national headlines after she repeatedly refused to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, even after the landmark decision by the Supreme Court on marriage equality this past summer. She refused to uphold the law for what she deemed was wrong by her own religious beliefs. A Kentucky judge ordered Davis to jail, with a charge of being in contempt of court. The recent incident with Kim Davis, along with other instances has sparked a national debate on the freedom of religion. The founding fathers of the United States were rebels; a group of diverse revolutionaries with the common goal of freedom for the colonies, and eventually, American Liberty. The First amendment in the Bill of Rights mentions that Congress can’t make any laws prioritizing one particular religion over others. This granted all Americans the right to prac-
tice any religion that they chose. Separation of Church and State refers to the distance between organized religion and the government of the United States. The phrase, “Separation of Church and State” originates from a letter from Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to the Baptist Association of Danbury, Connecticut; “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and State…” President Jefferson’s letter was in response to a letter written to him by the Danbury Baptist clergy where they expressed their concerns of religious pressure and infringement from the Connecticut state legislature. America is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, a nation built by immigrants. Different cultures from all around the world came together to form the melting pot that makes up American culture today. There are hundreds of religions and denomi-
nations practiced all across America. In fact, religion is one of the five issues that can gain asylum for refugees of countries that do not have freedom of religion. Although the constitution places the freedom of religion in the hands of the American people and not in the hands of the government, religion is often in the center of social and civil rights issues in this country. Sadly, today the diversity of the right to freedom of religion isn’t celebrated, and often divides the American people. Like race, age, gender, and income, religion, or the lack of, should not be used to judge an entire group in particular. We all must learn to coexist and accept that no one is the same, and religious differences are a part of what makes the United States so beautiful. Freedom of religion allows for the practice of religious customs without fear of persecution or discrimination from the government. It does not, however, allow anyone to force their beliefs on others who choose to worship differently or not at all. Throughout the next election cycle it is important to vote on
The above text is a widely known symbol asking for peace and equality among various world religions. It takes symbolism from different religions and joins them in a single word that strives to prove that the human race can coexist, regardless of religion. Photo curtesy of www.coexist.org
issues, and not the candidates religious views. America needs a president that upholds the constitution and supports and fights for the religious freedom of all Americans. It is important for the future of America as well as the rest of the world. There is a statement on the official White House website from President Obama that says, “History shows that nations that uphold the rights of their people, including the freedom of religion, are ultimately more just and more peaceful and more successful. Nations that do not uphold these rights sow the bitter seeds of instability and violence and extremism. So freedom of religion matters to our national security.”
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The First Amendment of the United States of America
“Anyone who knows history, particularly the history of Europe, will, I think, recognize that the domination of education or of government by any one particular religious faith is never a happy arrangement for the people.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
Don’t forget to wear your maroon and grey to celebrate Concord Color Fridays!