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miLLEnniAL BEAT
Patrice Mitchell
The First Amendment
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back as far as the Oklahoma City Bombings in 1995. The attack killed over 160 people and early reports suggested that the person or people behind the attack was some sort of Muslim extremist. However, Timothy J. McVeigh, an American antigovernment extremist, was the person behind the attack. Through the past few years with domestic terrorism acts happening more frequently, I think if we could acknowledge them as such, then we could begin to look at combating this problem. As we go along with the narrative that these events are “random acts of violence,” and not acts of terror, we lose sight of how to handle these situations. Domestic terrorism, and homegrown terrorists should be taken just as seriously as international terrorism and terrorism from jihadist and Muslim militants. We need to stop viewing all Muslims as terrorists, and all other terrorists as, “mentally disturbed loners.” It is important that the next President and their administration have a clear idea on how to handle terrorism situations, especially when dealing with homegrown American terrorists.
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
CONCORD ACCEPTS FIVE STAR CHALLENGE
Briana Gunter
Staff Writer Concord University honors veterans that have served and those still serving today. The university has won many awards in the past for being a veteran friendly university. Lisa Spencer, a Concord University financial aid counselor and the Veteran’s Certifying Official at the Veterans Appreciation and Presentation of the Veteran Advocate of the Year Award 2015 event said “Concord University is the #1 Military Veteran Friendly School, and has been #3 as well. We have also been a leader in the state initiative of being veteran friendly.” On November 9 Concord University took the challenge to improve their support even more for student veterans. Dr. Boggess accepted the “5 Star Challenge” on behalf of the university. The “5 Star Challenge” is an initiative of the Office of Veterans Education and Training Programs within the Division of Student Affairs at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the
Athens 7-Day Forecast Nov. 19-25
West Virginia Community and Technical College System. During the event L.G. Corder the Administrator of the Office of Veterans Education and Training Programs of the West Virginia Higher Education
a signed commitment from President Kendra Boggess to adopt the best practices and standards, 2) emphasize a focus on increasing access and affordability to higher education for student veterans, 3) provide
laboration with community organizations working to meet the needs of military service members. Corder says that “fulfilling the challenge means there’s always a helping hand to any student veteran who needs it.” There were two special awards that were given at the event. David Moore, U.S. Navy Retired, Command Chief, ABC-2, DET-106 was named the 2015 Student Veteran Advocate. David graduated from Concord University in 2014 with a Master of Social Work after coming out of retirement. He currently works with Veterans Administration as a Readjustment Counselor at the Beckley Vet Center tending to the needs of veterans who have been diagnosed with P.T.S.D. L.G. Corder, Director of Veterans Education and Training Richard Woods, U.S. Army with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy CommitRetired, Sergeant First Class, tee, spoke at the Veterans Appreciation Program. Photo Courtesy of concord.edu was named the 2015 Veterans Advocate. After retiring after 21 years on Active Duty, Woods Policy Commission described increased academic support in- decided to continue his educawhat the “5 Star Challenge” cluding priority registration for tion and enrolled at Concord included. By accepting the classes, 4) enhance social netchallenge, Concord University works for veterans on campus, SEE CHALLENGE, P. 2 did the following: 1) provide and 5) encourage greater colThis Week’s Local Forecast
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This EdiTion News: • Concord Accepts Five Star Challenge • Purple Professors? Splattered Staff?
studeNt Life
• National Diabetes Awareness Month • Kicking the Concord Crud
Arts, eNtertAiNmeNt, & CommuNity • FallOut 4: A Game Review • Going Ape for Animal Tales
opiNioN • Adding Up an Entertainment Fee
miLLeNNiAL BeAt
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Patrice Mitchell is the columnist for the Millennial Beat. She is a senior Broadcast Communications major with a Journalism minor. After transferring from Marshall University, she has spent the past three years on the Concordian Newspaper staff and also as a WMLT Reporter staff. “I love writing and I’ve grown to have an appreciation for politics; which is why I choose to have a political style Beat this semester. I choose this topic because I want to learn more about politics and also encourage my generation to do the same.”
This past Friday the world stopped to weep for Paris, France. Since then, ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks that killed over 120 people, and injured dozens more. More than any other generation before us, Millennials understand terrorism. A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found that Millennials are far less worried about another terrorist attack than people from older generations. It was introduced to us at a young age, just grade school children, by the biggest attack on American soil since the attack on Pearl Harbor during WWII. September 11, 2001 is day that will forever be one of the most infamous in American history, as well as a day that defined terrorism for our generation. The actions of the terrorist that day, and the response around the world led to a decade long war, trillions of dollars in the National Debt, and the post 9/11 terrorism culture we live with today. While international terrorism is a huge issue, and it will be
past five years, but are seldom called so. Situations such as the church massacre in South Carolina over the summer are nothing less than a domestic terrorism attack meant to incite some type of social discord and societal shift backwards in racial progress, or at least to put a spotlight on these things. The organizer of this attack was a homegrown terrorist, but he was never called one. In the United States, in my opinion, we have a strong stereotype on what is terrorist is, what they do, and how they look. If the person or people committing these violent acts on other Americans do not fit the prototype that we have created in our minds, with help from various media coverage, we often disclaim the acts as, “random acts of violence.” The New York Times reported in a June 2015 article, after the Charleston South Carolina church shooting, that since the 9/11 attacks, nearly twice as many people have been killed by white supremacists, antigovernment fanatics and other non-Muslim extremists than by radical Muslims. The distorted image of what terrorism looks like can go
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important for the next administration to have a strong foreign policy on this issue, domestic Terrorism will also be a big national security issue. Since 9/11 there have been countless attacks around the world linked to international terror groups, but not as many orchestrated attacks inside the United States led by Jihadist terrorist organizations. However, we have experienced domestic terror regularly throughout the last decade or so. From the Columbine shootings, to the Aurora Colorado theater shootings, domestic terrorism is more common in the United States than international terrorism. Domestic terrorism is described by the FBI as an act dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law, appear intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, or to to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion. Also the purpose is to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping which occurs primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. There have been several domestic terrorist attacks in the
November 19th, 2015
Answer: The development of a low pressure system.
DOMESTIC TERRORISM
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University and is currently working towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education. In being the Concord University Veterans Advocate, Woods provides help to his
fellow classmates to navigate through the transition from military to civilian life. After Moore and Woods received their awards, Dr. Paul L. Hill, the Chancellor of the
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission said some last remarks about the recipients and the “5 Star Challenge”: “as all West Virginias who honor you and all those
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serving, we want to bring about an even stronger level of recognition.” Hill noted that Moore and Woods, and others like them, were “role models in our community.”
For more information on the “5 Star Challenge” go to cfwvconnect.com/veterans-education. For more about Concord University’s Veterans Office visit concord.edu/veterans.
Linh Dinh
Staff Writer As many fundraisers started at the beginning of October as the month of breast cancer awareness, other fundraising efforts are happening year-round. As Anthony Woodyard, Relay For Life Manager for the American Society best describes it, “Relay For Life is not just an event that takes place once a year on a track around a football, nor is it some sort of “product.” Rather, Relay For Life is a sense of family that lasts 365 days a year.” “Paint Your Professor/Splatter Your Staff” was created by the Concord University Public Relations Workshop to help further the work of Relay For Life on campus. It plays on the 2016 theme for the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, “Paint Your World Purple.” This fundraiser requires the votes in the form of money donations from students, faculty and staff to select the top three contestants with the most donations to be painted purple
to support the cause. Simply donate any amount of money to the jars with the professors or staff member and wait for them to be painted. Right now, there are seven participants who are professors and staff working at the University: Dr. Sharon Brescoach (Assistant Professor of Public Relations), Dr. James White (Professor of Political Science), Dr. Jack Sheffler (Chair of the Division of Fine Arts/Associate Professor of Art), Dr. Joan Pendergast (Professor of Social Work), Lindsey Akers (Instructor of Communication Arts), Sarah Wambe (Director of International Admisions) and Douglas Moore (Information Systems Specialist). All proceeds will go directly to Relay For Life of Concord University. Anthony Woodyard is a Concord alumnus who has found his calling as a Relay For Life Manager for the American Cancer Society. Woodyard works with volunteers in southwest/central Virginia and southern West Virginia to
plan and execute Relay For Life events across the two Virginias. “It is my job to empower Relay For Life volunteers in each community by giving them the support and resources they need to be successful,” shares Woodyard. Woodyard thinks the fundraiser is a great idea “to bring the different constituencies on The Campus Beautiful together. Plus, it’s a fun way to give a little “payback” to the educators we love and adore—especially at the end of the semester!” Mrs. Akers shared that she was asked to be the Faculty Advisor of the Relay For Life of Concord University event by Woodyard and “wanted to raise as much money as possible to help the American Cancer Society fund the cure for cancer.” She also started her own team, Concord University Public Relations Workshop at the beginning of the Fall 2015 and has so far helped raise $151. Leading teams are Concordians for a Cure ($446), Chi Omega Psi ($425) and Team Brooke ($240). Woodyard is optimistic
about the future of the work Relay For Life teams are doing at Concord “We have a fundraising goal of $15,000. To date, we have raised about 10% of our goal so we certainly have a lot of work to do. With that being said, I feel confident that we can and will achieve our fundraising goal. In order to do so, however, we need the help of everyone on Concord’s campus to make it a success.” The Relay For Life table will be set up in Ground Floor, Jean and Jerry L. Beasley Student Center from Thursday, November 12 to Wednesday, November 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Any amount of donations will be appreciated. Purple Your Professor/Splatter Your Staff will be held Wednesday, November 18 at 3:00 PM at the gazebo outside of Alexander Fine Arts Center and The main Relay For Life of Concord University event will take place on April 15, 2016 from 5 to 11 PM in the Carter Center Gymnasium. Woodyard would also like to pay special tribute to the volunteer Execu-
tive Board, an “impressive team of individuals”: The Concordian Editor-in-Chief and this year’s Executive Director, Brittany Strother; Associate Director, Lindsey Cartwright; Jordan Adkins, Communications Director; and Abigail Porter, Finance Director. The Relay For Life of Concord University volunteer Executive Board wants all campus organizations, individuals, faculty, staff, and members of the Athens community to join us in the fight against cancer. Interested people can sign up by going to www.relayforlife. org/cuwv. For more information, Woodyard can be reached at Anthony.Woodyard@cancer. org or (540) 774-2717. If you would like to donate online directly to American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Concord University, all of the fundraising teams will be available at relayforlife.com/cuwv.
full daily serving of fruits and veggies. Other foods that help boost your immune system are garlic and orange juice. Instead of using salt on your food or when cooking, you can substitute it for garlic salt. When you go to take that Dr. Pepper out of your fridge to take with you to class in the morning, fill up an empty bottle with some orange juice instead. Another way to tweak your diet is to choose whole wheat or multigrain breads instead of white bread. So the next time you go to order your sub on Italian herbs and cheese bread, give it a second thought and consider going with wheat instead. Maintaining a healthy diet, getting enough exercise, and getting enough sleep are all crucial to protecting your immune system during the cold season. There are plenty of foods you can choose and substitute for foods that you choose now. Instead of buying whole fruit that goes to waste quickly, think about opting out for a Bolthouse Farms or Naked juice instead. Substitute your daily soda with a healthier option, even if it’s a caffeinated tea, if that’s what you need to get through the day. Try to fit some exercises in when you wake up in the morning to get your juices flowing and do some at night to help you sleep better. Put away the electronics if possible for a more sound sleep. You don’t need to completely change your diet or your daily routines, but little by little, try and fit in a few more exercises and few more healthy foods to boost your immune system, not just during the holiday season, but all year round.
Kylene Babski, “Render” Della Allen, “Weighed Down” Andrew Gondor, “Downside UP!” Emilee McNeal, “The Beauty of Destruction” Jacob Smutko, “Face Value” and Darrick Williams, “Day II Day” For more information, contact Jamie Biggs, gallery director, at 304-384-5351.
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suggest that echinacea contains active substances that boost immune function, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects. It’s arguable whether or not you should take echinacea regularly as a preventative or not. While some doctors say you should only take it when you feel the symptoms of a cold setting in, others say there are no known side effects as to whether taking the supplement produces any negative effects if taken regularly. Recommended dosages include taking two to three capsules a day when you feel the symptoms of a cold setting on, then continuing to take the supplement 48 hours after you no longer have any symptoms. Echinacea comes in capsules that you can either take like a pill or split open and brew into a tea. They also have echinacea tea that you can buy at most grocery stores. Being a student makes it hard to eat healthy. On campus, there are a limited number of healthy options unless you have the money to eat at Subway every day, or unless you don’t mind having salad for lunch and dinner 7 days a week. However, it’s important that you’re getting all of the necessary nutrients you need. Some ways to make it easier are finding foods or drinks that contain a lot of the nutrients you need. For example, fruit smoothies or protein shakes are a great way to get in a lot of nutrients without having to eat a full meal. Bolthouse Farms and Naked drinks have almost a full serving of fruits and vegetables in them. There are lots of recipes on Pinterest that have smoothies that include a
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Don’t forget Concord Color Fridays! Show your Mountain Lion pride with your favorite maroon and gray gear!
juices flowing before class. Do the same before you go to bed, a little bit of exercise may even help you sleep better. Speaking of sleep, it’s something we all love, but never seem to have enough time for. However, sleep is crucial when it comes to maintaining your health. According to mercola. com, a website authored and run by Dr. Mercola, an osteopathic physician, if you stay up late at night, depriving yourself of sleep, you send conflicting signals to your body. As a result, your body gets confused and doesn’t know whether it should be producing chemicals to help you sleep, or gear up for the beginning of a new day. Basically, try and establish a sleep routine that works with your schedule. If you don’t have class until 11:00 a.m., you can afford to stay up until 2:00 a.m. However, if you’re unlucky enough to have an 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. class, you should probably aim to be in bed by at least midnight. However, those six to eight hours are only going to count if you get sound sleep. A helpful way to get a better night of rest is to avoid any electronics an hour before you go to sleep. In this day and age it’s unlikely that we’re not falling asleep with our phone in bed with us. Try and do your nightly exercises right before you go to bed, or pick up a good book to read or catch up on some of that reading you’ve been putting off for class. According to webmd.com, echinacea is a flowering plant that grows in the U.S. and Canada, and it’s been used as medicine for centuries. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, several laboratory studies
November 16th through December 12th Concord Features Senior Art Exhibit at the Alexander Fine Arts Center in the Arthur Butcher and Memorial Lounge Galleries.
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ADDING UP AN ENTERTAINMENT FEE Tyler Jackson
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Earlier this year at an event the Concordian covered, less than 20 people showed up to see a weeknight comedian and that is a red flag. While some activities are hit and miss, on a campus where over 1,000 students reside, a turnout of 20 is deemed horrendous. Issues such as this could also be a factor in the drop in enrollment at Concord. With rising tuition costs of over five percent the last two years, outside of academics there isn’t much that draws students to Concord when it comes to activities. College is a time where most students are on their own for the first time and often find out more about themselves then they could’ve possibly imagined. Students are humans as well and need relief as well as incentives to look forward to. Presuming that enrollment will
go up because entertainment on the Campus Beautiful isn’t a sure fire scenario, however it adds good publicity to the University. Some students may see the fee as way of the University nickel and diming students, but putting it into perspective, the fee isn’t an outrageous amount, to put it into perspective it would be less than $10 a month over the school year. The proposal is being brought up to the Board of Governors at a meeting on November 17 for the board. For any student interested in showing support you can contact Andrew Sulgit at sulgit@concord.edu or attend an SGA meeting on Wednesdays at 4 in the Stateroom to stay updated on the progress.
Do you have an opinion on something you’ve seen in the Concordian? We want to hear from you! We welcome any and all feedback, comments, and questions. Just shoot us a Letter to the Editor at concordian@concord.edu
Haley McCord
Staff Writer “There are 29.1 million people in the United States, or 9.3% of the population, who have diabetes. While an estimated 21 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, unfortunately, 8.1 million people (or nearly one-third) are unaware that they have the disease,” according to the Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease. November is National Diabetes Awareness Month and a few students on campus were determined to spread the word. There was an information table set up by the ALEF organization in the student center on Thursday, November 12, to help educate the students about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF. Students were encouraged to make a donation, sign their name on a paper sneaker, and tape the sneaker to the wall for all to see; the sneakers were available in four different colors – red, blue, yellow and green.
Jdrf.org defines diabetes as “the name given to disorders in which the body has trouble regulating its blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels. There are two major types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease in which a person’s pancreas stops producing insulin, a hormone that enables people to get energy from food. Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which a person’s body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively.” The amount of people who have diabetes has risen in the past few years and continues to rise in the United States each year. An anonymous source spoke about their mother’s struggle with the disease: “She’s been diabetic ever since I can remember and she’s always been a little heavier than she should be – so that never helped. But she gets a long pretty well. I think more people need to know that diabetes is manageable. It’s not a death sentence.”
Some may question why knowing about diabetes is relevant to those living in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the issue is exponentially relevant. To put the problem into perspective, The Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease also states that “Diabetes has escalated to epidemic proportions in West Virginia, where approximately 12% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes by a health care professional. West Virginians have also experienced higher prevalence of co-morbid conditions such as obesity, physical inactivity, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.” While this is a statistic about adults, diabetes also affects many children – more and more every year. In fact, and according to the National Diabetes Education Program or NDEP, “Diabetes is one of the most common diseases in school-aged children. About 208,000 young people in the US under age 20 had diabetes in 2012. Both type 1 and type 2
diabetes are increasing in U.S. children and adolescents.” While diabetes is typically inherited, knowing the symptoms of diabetes can help those at risk keep from developing the disease. The Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease provides a list of symptoms of diabetes. Some of these signs include “being very thirsty, urinating often, feeling very hungry, feeling very tired, losing weight without trying, having cuts or sores that heal slowly, having dry, itchy skin, loss of feeling or tingling in the feet or toes and having blurry vision.” For more information about juvenile diabetes or diabetes in general, visit jdfr.org. The website accepts donations all the time and encourages everyone to join a JDRF group near you; go to events and help raise money for a good cause!
KICKING THE CONCORD CRUD Briana Gunter
Staff Writer By now, if you haven’t caught the “Concord Crud”, you’re one of the few. It’s hard to maintain your health when you’re in class with that one person who has a cold and refuses to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, or if they do cover their mouth, they rub their snot covered hands all over the desks. Not only that, maintaining a healthy diet that
boosts your immune system is difficult to do when you have a limited option of healthy foods, unless your ideal meal includes chicken sandwiches and burgers in the cafeteria. Nonetheless, here are some things to keep in mind while trying to avoid the crud as we tough out these last few weeks of classes until we venture back to the homeland to be knocked into a food coma. It may go without saying that exercise plays an essential role in maintaining your health.
According to an article on how to boost your immune system from Harvard Health Publications, exercise “improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases. Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. It may contribute even more directly by promoting good circulation, which allows the cells and sub-
stances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently.” If you don’t already have a regular work-out routine, starting one now this close to the end of the semester can be difficult. Even if you don’t regularly go to the gym, find ways to work-out in your dorm room. Do some situps, jumping jacks, push-ups, or some yoga to get the morning SEE CRUD, P. 7
Brittany Strother Editor-in-Chief Sarah White Managing Editor Staff Writers: Linh Dinh Briana Gunter James Hoyle Tyler Jackson Haley McCord Patrice Mitchell WebMaster Jonathan Collins Business Manager James Blankenship Mrs. Lindsey Akers Advisor
Your Name Here Write for the Concordian!
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Year In and year out there have been underwhelming activities or entertainment for the students here at Concord University. Gone are the days when a generational act such as Vanilla Ice would grace the campus beautiful with their fame and talent (depending on who you talk to, but still). In recent years, the headline entertainment for Concord has been Badfish, a Sublime cover band, a Beetles cover band, and a Led Zepplin cover band. That has been respectable but unsatisfying and a solution may be on the way. Last Wednesday in SGA it was announced that CUSAC would be proposing to the Board of Governors a fee that could be called a “concert fee.” Ryan Lilly, the SGA Vice President, is
number, give me more if there isn’t more to give,” said Sulgit. Sulgit declared he is in favor of the fee and believes if anybody can push this, it is CUSAC and the students. CUSAC is, in Sulgit’s words “the body organized through SGA that has faculty, staff, and student representatives that brings up issues near and dear to students, talks about them, votes on them, and make recommendations, and present them to people to try and make a change.” Sulgit went on to list some of the things CUSAC was able to accomplish, including the new open visitation policy that was instilled this year. While there may be some disdain from students who aren’t fond of concerts or entertainment, the propped fee could solve several problems the University faces, including enrollment and student involvement.
The Concordian Staff
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also on the committee and said that they had discussed adding a fee of $50-75 that each student would be charged each year and would go to bringing in “decent entertainment” as Lilly said. Hypothetically speaking, if this fee were instituted and Concord’s enrollment was around the 2500 that it is this year, $175,000 would be generated. There is a fee inserted into each student’s bill for student activities and Andrew Sulgit, the Director of Student Activities, stated that to his knowledge the fee is around $25. Sulgit said that this year he received a little over $20,000 to work with. According to Sulgit, it’s not much to work with because he has to spread it over nine months, “whatever the number is I just try to work with, I know it’s something I can’t really fight, I can’t say I don’t like this
NATIONAL DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH
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ArTs, EnTErTAinmEnT, & CommuniTy
FALLOUT 4: A GAME REVIEW James Hoyle
of political commentary about the current state of the world and where it could be heading. Some of the other games in the series have explored such ideas. That previous exploration makes the rather pedestrian story in Fallout 4 all the more painful. Its one innovation is
yet be out there somewhere. Essentially it becomes a vengeance and a search quest all in one. This would be more effective if the player had more than five minutes to establish their relationship with their family. Fallout 3 handled this better, where an entire hour
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was spent acquainting them with their Dad, so the player felt like escaping the Vault and searching for him was the right thing to do. Here, we might as well be searching for the last horde of Charleston Chew on earth for all I cared about this child. If the issues were only with the story though, I could still give this game a recommendation. Unfortunately, the graphics are only marginally better than Fallout 3 (a game that came out seven years ago now), the gameplay feels almost exactly the same as both its predecessor and Fallout: New Vegas, and to top it all off, Bethesda seems to have learned nothing from its previously buggy releases. In fact, I experienced more bugs in my sessions in Fallout 4 than I did in any other game in the series. Some would argue that because Bethesda games always release buggy, mods will fix the problem and we should accept that. However, a modding community should not be relied on to finish a developer’s job. A game ought to ship complete and relatively bug free, or not at all. After all, sandbox titles have come a long way since Bethesda hit gold with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 2006, and now ship with fewer and fewer bugs as time goes on. Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, and Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain are all
recent examples of sandbox games done right, with little to no game breaking glitches in any of them. If any other company released a game in the state Fallout 4 is currently in, gamers would be out for blood, but because it’s Bethesda, they get a free pass. I think Bethesda should be held to the same standards as every other company in the industry. The one saving grace this game has is its crafting and town building system. It allows the player to be a kind of real estate tycoon, which is an opportunity that has not been presented in any other Fallout game. Building something out of scrapes found in the wasteland is surprisingly addicting, even if the fences constructed float three feet off the ground. There is a good game somewhere in here, but as it stands, I would recommend those interested in it to wait for the inevitable patch, or better yet, not buy it. Bethesda should not be rewarded for releasing what is essentially an unfinished product, as it sends a message that this shoddy worksmanship is okay. Stick to Fallout: New Vegas. It at least is a complete game. For alternate recommendations, I point you to the aforementioned Witcher III: Wild Hunt for those wanting a deep gameworld with an equally rich lore, but for those more keen on a journey through a post nuclear war setting, I recommend Wasteland 2. It is far more true the spirit of the original games that even Fallout: New Vegas could ever hope to be.
Photo Courtesy of Amazon.com
Brittany Strother
Staff Writer Turkeys and chipmunks and cats, oh my! As has become customary, the Concord University Theatre delivered a showstopping performance with their rendition of Don Nigro’s Animal Tales. Animal Tales is an anthology of monologues from commonly seen but seldom heard from creatures including turkeys, cats, a bat, a platypus, cows, birds, a baboon, lemmings, a mouse, a chipmunk, and a groundhog. The monologues center around the inner turmoil the critters endure as they scurry around in their daily lives. The problems range from being told that one is destined for one niche role with no opportunity for advancement or differentiation to dark allegories for religion. Many of the actors played multiple parts, meaning they had to memorize multiple lengthy monologues and recite them to the audience with no prompt or assistance. Although this is a lot of pressure to place on an actor, the all-star cast of Animal Tales didn’t let it slow
them down. They didn’t falter at all. They didn’t miss a cue, they didn’t miss a gesture, they didn’t even mispronounce a single syllable. The performance was truly impressive to watch as they gave fast-paced, often intensely emotional speeches while remembering exactly where to step and to maintain the right amount of eye contact with the audience without ever missing a beat. This year’s cast featured some familiar faces as well as some newcomers. The cast included Brooklyn Clemons, Jordan Tuck, James Blankenship, Amber Convery, Dakota Bellangee, Kayla Jordan, Megan Purdue, Amberly Lester, and Grace Campbell. Dr. Thomas Gambill and Christin Walker designed and directed the show, and
the dedicated crew members were made up of Chad Bowling and Bradley Convery. Special thanks are extended to Mrs. Lindsey Akers’ Public Relations workshop, Kevin Bennington’s commercial art students, and Karen Hays.
In the time I’ve been attending and reviewing Concord University Theatre productions, this is my favorite play so far. I loved the intensity the actors were able to convey, I loved the range of emotions from light-hearted humor to dark and unnerving
despair. I loved the symbolism, the allegorical nature of the monologues, the thoughtprovoking metaphors, all of it. I was taken on a roller coaster of emotions, both highs and lows. I laughed, I gasped in horror, I teared up, I found myself sympathizing with a groundhog. And, like a roller coaster, when the ride ended, I was left breathless, charged with adrenaline, and yearning for just one more taste of that rush. Aside from putting on a fantastic show and selling out every seat in the house every single night of its Wednesday through Saturday run, the cast and crew accomplished another fantastic feat this semester. Instead of simply charging an admission fee to see the play, the theatre requested everyone wanting to partake in the per-
formance donate one pet care item to be donated to the Mercer County Animal Shelter. After four nights, the grand total of pet items reached 311 items, ranging from cat and dog food and treats to cat litter and blankets. The earnings completely filled a car and were promptly delivered to the animal shelter. Thanks to the hard work of the theatre and the generosity of donors and patrons, the poor animals that aren’t fortunate enough to find homes during the holiday season can at least sleep easy with full bellies and warm blankets. This semester’s theatre production was a success in every meaning of the word. They sold out their show every night, with many overflow guests being allowed in at the last minute and often nearly doubling the original maximum capacity of the theatre. They filled a car to the roof with pet food and other care items. It was a great semester for the theatre and a great way to kick off the generosity of the holiday season. As always, I can’t wait to see what the Concord University Theatre has in store next!
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Well folks, it finally happened. Bethesda Software managed to release a mediocre game. Anyone that spends any amount of time on the internet can tell you the hype for this game was immense, with many people preordering it in advance. On November 10, Fallout 4 dropped on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. This review examines the PC edition of the game. The Fallout series is an RPG franchise has been known for its expansive world and lore, and at least in this department, Fallout 4 delivers in spades. In an introduction that blends CGI and live action together extremely well, Fallout 4 begins like the other games in the series by saying that war never changes. In an alternate history where mankind pursued the use of atomic energy and robotics to the point of 50s B-movie retrofuturism, mankind flourished. However, due to overpopulation and limited resources, the world was soon engulfed in world war again. During this war, China would invade Alaska, the United States would annex Canada, and Europe would devolve into bickering, squabbling states desperate to control what resources they could. The war would eventually come to a head in the year 2077, where in two hours, the United States and China engulfed the surface of the earth with countless atomic weapons. Most of humanity was wiped out on that day. However, some managed to escape via the relative safety of underground vaults. Most Vaults emptied after the dust settled. However, some stayed locked, seemingly for good. In every game in the series, you
that you briefly get to see what life was like before the bombs fell. You play as a man living in the Boston, Massachusetts area before the bombs fell. At the Vault, you are put into cryogenic sleep. You awaken hundreds of years into the future, and learn your spouse is dead and that your child may
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play as a Vault Dweller from a secluded Vault 200 or so years after World War III suddenly thrust into the outside world where they have to rustle with gangs, drugs, irradiated animals, the remnants of the United States government, and a race of gigantic Supermutants. This setting is ripe for all kinds
GOING APE FOR ANIMAL TALES
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