March 3rd, 2011

WHY WAIT TILL THURSDAY? READ MYTJNOW.COM.

Congressman Clyburn praises WU’s Academic Success Center.

See News, page 5

Baseball team is back on the home field.

See Sports, page 13

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

WINTHROP UNIVERSITY

Stitches, seams and zippers.

The costume shop teaches it all.

See A&E, page 10

Issue 20

NEWS

NEWS

Library purchases iPad

GOV. HALEY’S MEASURABLES

Graduation rates may affect state college funding EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first story of a fourpart series about the “measurables” Gov. Haley has put in place to determine state funding for universities.

CLAIRE BYUN byunc@mytjnow.com

Colleges across the state must now provide data to Gov. Nikki Haley in order to receive state funding, and Winthrop is no exception. The universities will be judged on four “measurables,” Haley said: graduation rates, number of out-of-state students, the school’s contribution to society and job placement after graduation.

Within the next few months, Haley has asked colleges to supply her office with graduation rates from a six-year period.

Winthrop’s four-year graduation rate is 36.5 percent as of fall of 2009, according to Rebecca Mas-

ters, assistant to the president for public affairs.

This number is on par with the national graduation rate over four years, which is 37 percent.

The university’s six-year rate is 59.7 percent as of fall of 2009, which compares to the national average of 57 percent, Masters said.

Though the number of graduates reflects public higher education norms around the country, Winthrop has succeeded in graduating minorities.

“Where Winthrop has received particularly positive national attention, however, is in having graduation rates for its mi-

See HALEY page 4

NEWS

Library archives relocate to old Bookworm MONICA KREBER kreberm@mytjnow.com

Junior photography major Aimee Harman surfs the Web on the library’s new iPad. Harman, who works at the circulation desk, said not many students have asked to check out the device yet.

Photo by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@mytjnow.com

Latest Apple device available for use in library JONATHAN MCFADDEN mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

With the flick of a finger, Jennifer Davis can watch her favorite TV shows, receive the latest Facebook updates and get her daily news fix.

Davis, junior human nutrition major, keeps her class notes and syllabi on her Apple-manufactured iPad. “I use it as my laptop, basically,” Davis said.

Instead of lugging around a heavy, bulky and burdensome

laptop, Davis makes use of the iPad, which she can just slip into her purse.

The iPad makes all of Davis’ multi-tasking needs possible, and now one is available in Da-

See iPAD page 4

Since coming to Winthrop in 1986, Gina White has seen the Winthrop archives move locations twice inside the library.

Now, she’s witnessing it make another move — this time off campus.

This spring will present a new adventure for White, director of Winthrop archives, when the Winthrop archives move out of Dacus Library and into Winthrop’s former bookstore, The Bookworm.

White said the archive collections are running

out of space in the library’s basement.

“We have taken over every closet and extra space,” she said. “We’re getting to a point where we just can’t take anymore.”

Mark Herring, dean of library services, said as a consequence of having limited space for the Winthrop archives in the library, they have resorted to keeping many collections in boxes and separate places. By moving to the former Bookworm, the archives will have more storage space, more

See ARCHIVES page 3

SPORTS

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Research opportunities attract Eagles just miss againstVMI in first science professor to Winthrop round of Big South tournament play AMANDA PHIPPS phippsa@mytjnow.com

Winthrop was the place to be for one professor.

Assistant professor of chemistry, physics and geology Nick Grossoehme came to Winthrop last semester to teach and conduct research under the INBRE II grant.

Grossoehme got his Bachelor’s of Science at Midland University

in Fremont, Neb., and his Ph.D. at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. During his study at Dartmouth, Grossoehme was involved in research that focused on determining how metal ions interact with biologically relevant molecules and proteins.

He studied how proteins that regulate transcription in cells sense and communicate cellular stress to a different site in the cell during his post-

See PROFESSOR page 8

Questions? Contact us at editors@mytjnow.com Serving Winthrop since 1923

I N D E X

JEFF BRODEUR & DAVID THACKHAM brodeurj @mytjnow.com thackhamd@mytjnow.com

As the defending Big South Champions, the Winthrop Eagles had a target on their back this year.

The VMI Keydets hit that target on Tuesday night with five points to spare, beating the Eagles 78-73, knocking Winthrop out of Big South Tournament play.

Thirty minutes before game time, the VMI students showed up and they made themselves heard. Banging their class

CAMPUS NEWS

2-4

rings noisily on the arena barriers in a single, unified rattle, the cadets of Virginia Military Institute turned Tuesday night into a exhilarating, yet fruitless encounter for the Winthrop men’s basketball team.

At first, Winthrop seemed unaffected by the electrifying atmosphere, jumping out to an 8-0 lead under the command of senior Charles Corbin. The Eagles also took care of business on the defensive end, holding VMI scoreless in five pos-

See BASKETBALL page 15

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

OPINION

5

CULTURE

HEALTH & SCIENCE

6

SPORTS

7-8 9 10-11

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THURSDAY March 3, 2011

CLAIRE BYUN News Editor byunc@mytjnow.com JONATHAN MCFADDEN Assistant News Editor mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

WU social media draws prospective students

By Jonathan McFadden mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

Before marching in the traditional Blue Line, Loren Mixon already had her first taste of the type of people she would meet at Winthrop.

It wasn’t from the visits to campus the freshman made during the summer or on Friday afternoons. It was on the Winthrop class of 2014’s Facebook page

where Mixon, English secondary education major, met a potential roommate and got to know some of her classmates through a game called ‘Hit or Miss.’

The game’s format: a student would list something about himself, such as his enjoyment of basketball.

Other students would respond with similar interests, saying, “I like basketball.” That would be called a hit.

If someone didn’t like basketball, they would call it a miss.

“You get a bunch of really random information about people you don’t even know,” Mixon said.

So it is with the world of social media, and Winthrop has jumped on the same bandwagon, bringing with it more interaction with prospective and current students.

The office of admissions uses Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Youtube, along with Foursquare and Gowalla, two social media networks allowing students to ‘check in’ to their geographical locations.

Students who check in on Winthrop’s Foursquare account can win a free Tshirt.

Despite the versatile options, Facebook remains the most popular social network among current students, said Rebecca Whitehead, assistant director of campus visits, engagement and student recruitment.

“That’s where we see the most interaction,” Whitehead said.

Not only do students flock to the Facebook page to receive updates, but they also enjoy looking at themselves in tagged pictures, Whitehead said.

Judy Longshaw couldn’t agree more.

“People tend to be very visual these days,” Longshaw said. “They like to see themselves.”

As one of the three staff members in University Relations that handles Winthrop’s social media presence, Longshaw helps manage Winthrop’s image and Internet interaction in a variety of social media outlets.

Some of those outlets include Youtube and Del.icio.us, a bookmarking service that allows users to share sites related to their interests.

Working with Facebook, Longshaw— along with Kimberly Byrd and Meredith Carter—post photos, updates and news items that may be of interest to students.

Kimberly Byrd, senior web developer in University Relations, usually puts RSS feeds from the university’s Facebook page and athletic information on Twitter.

“Facebook still rules,” Byrd said. “Twitter appears to be more popular with older folks.”

She may be right.

Some Winthrop professors have opted to create Twitter accounts, while others have created Facebook pages for their classes, Whitehead said.

Thirty-nine organizations and departments at Winthrop have their own Facebook pages, according to the university’s website’s social media information page.

About 13 departments have made use of Twitter, while three still have presence on Myspace, according to the website.

First Look Facebook Though Facebook is frequented by current students, potential students get a first look at Winthrop through Zinch and Cappex, two networking sites designed to help students search for colleges.

High schoolers may also make use of Youtube, prompting the admissions office to create videos talking about Winthrop to be posted on the site.

Each year, Whitehead creates a Facebook page for the fall’s incoming class.

Right now, she’s working on the page for the incoming class of 2015.

Having looked at pages for other classes, like the class of 2014, Whitehead has noticed a good correlation of students that are on the Facebook group and those that attend the next fall.

Enrollment deposits and orientation were once the only means of gauging who would be attending Winthrop the next fall.

Now, Facebook can tell the admissions office who will be an Eagle before any piece of paper can.

Rebecca Whitehead uses the admission office’s Facebook page.

The university is affiliated with about 20 social media websites, according to Winthrop’s social media webpage.

Photo by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@ mytjnow.com Graphic by Jonathan McFadden & Shatesha Scales • mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com, scaless@mytjnow.com

President’s House gets facelift

By Jonathan McFadden mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

A rotting porch about to collapse led the university to begin renovations on the President’s House, said Walter Hardin, vice president for facilities management.

No other renovations have taken place as of yet, Hardin said, but the porch’s poor condition demanded attention.

“It would not wait on us,” Hardin said.

The house, located at 601 Oakland Avenue, was constructed in 1893 and meant to serve as the home for the university’s president.

President Anthony DiGiorgio no longer resides in the house.

Southern Builders of Rock Hill is currently stabilizing the porch. Hardin said the costs of fixing the porch are not known yet.

The original house underwent a major renovation in 1917 when the Victorian balconies and turrets were removed.

Photo by Kathleen Brown • brownk@mytjnow.com

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THURSDAY March 3, 2011

Dacus considers instigating 24-hour entry for students ARCHIVES • from front display space, and more availability to visitors.

“We’ve always had too many collections for the space we have for archives,” Herring said.

White added that the archives have expanded to other parts of the library.

“We have nine rooms total if you count all the closets,” she said.

Herring said, if the archives were to move into the now empty Bookworm today, it would fill up at least one-third of the building. The new building will not only have more display room, but it will provide easier access for the public; right now, visitors have to find parking on Winthrop’s campus and then make their way to Dacus’s basement in order to get to the archives, whereas the Bookworm has its own parking lot and is located at the corner of Cherry Rd. and Charlotte Ave. The new building will also provide the archivists a chance to collaborate more easily with partners in Rock Hill.

Herring and White also said it will be more available to researchers.

“We have researchers from all over the world,” White said. “We are global.”

The archive collection is expected to start moving by mid- to late-March. The full occupancy of the former Bookworm (which will be called the Louise Pettus Archives & Special Collections at Winthrop University) should be completed over the summer.

Herring said moving the archives out of the library will also be beneficial to Dacus. He said Winthrop is looking into instigating 24-hour access to the library – not to the entire three floors, but to a significant portion. He also said the library would like to have more group study rooms and private, individualized study rooms.

“We’re hoping to add that between now and the fall to provide greater ac-

commodations,” Herring said. “We’re trying to make adjustments in this building so we can fulfill the needs of 21st century research and studies until such a time when we can move to a new building.”

Herring said construction of the new Winthrop library should have started several years ago but has not been able to occur because of the economy.

“We have presented the idea to the state legislator every year that I’ve been here,” he said. “It has not been a good time economically.”

Moving the archives out of the library will therefore make Dacus more accommodating until construction of a new library can begin.

White said moving the archives will come with some challenges.

“I feel like we are going to be closed to researchers for at least four weeks,” she said, “and that may be optimistic.”

White added that visitors will temporarily not be able to access the archives.

“If they needed something really badly we probably could find it,” she said.

“I’m hoping not to be totally closed until April; usually by then most people have gotten their research out of the way. But, if someone has a question, it is ok to give me a call and I might know the answer without looking it up.”

Herring said there will also be a staff reassignment.

“It will mean we’ll all be stressed really thin,” he said, “but it has to be done.”

Changes occurring within the building include expenses going toward carpet, paint and furniture, but Herring said the new building already has most of what the archives need.

“Libraries are all about recycling,” he said. “And, of course, it’s the archives, so if the couch is 100 years old, it’s all the better.”

Herring said the move to the new Lou-

Police Blotter Leaving the scene of an accident (2/22/11) At 5:30 p.m. a student went to the front desk of Richardson Residence Hall to report a hit and run thatoccurred in the Dalton Hall Lot. (He left a note at the front desk containing the suspect’s vehicle information) the report said.

The reporting officers retrieved the note from the front desk at 5:43 p.m. and proceeded to the Dalton Hall Lot to locate the student’s vehicle. Police contacted the student and he said he had just parked his vehicle on the row across from the suspect and saw her tail lights in his rearview mirror.

He said he saw her sorority sticker on her window and thought to himself that he might know her. The student said as he walked away from his vehicle he heard what sounded like metal on metal and turned around and saw that the suspect had just struck the student’s vehicle as she was backing out of her spot, police said.

The student said the suspect looked back with a “surprised” expression but proceeded to leave the scene.

The reporting officers contacted the student and the suspect and met with both parties. The suspect was issued a citation.

She denied any involvement, the report said.

Possession of Stolen Goods (2/24/11) While on patrol, an officer noticed a suspect walking past East Thomson and stopping to eye a bait bicycle. Quickly circling the block, the officer saw the bike had been taken.

The system alerted the bike was on the move, the report said.

The officer located the bike lying on the ground at the Citgo Gas station and observed the suspect leaving the building.

After making contact with the suspect, officers arrested him and put him into the backseat of the patrol car, the report said.

While gathering the subject’s information, the officer asked his

age. The suspect said he was 16, but when asked for his date of birth told the officer it was April 5, 1992, the report said.

The officer pointed out that would make the suspect 18. The suspect then corrected himself and said it was 1994, the report said.

The suspect said he had been trespassed from Winthrop in 2009, which the officer validated.

While en route to the Rock Hill City Jail, the officer noticed the suspect moving around and glancing at the floorboard.

After arriving at the jail, the officer saw a white napkin on the floor, which the suspect said he knew nothing about, the report said.

Returning to the car, police found three tablets of Penecillin. The suspect is charged with possession of stolen goods, unlawful possession of prescription drugs, and false information to police.

Compiled by Monica Kreber and Claire Byun

The Police Blotter: always more exciting than the Academy Awards, just not as flashy. www.mytjnow.com/police-blotter

sie Pettus Archives and Special Collections at Winthrop University building is an “unconditional positive” and there is no real downside to the event.

“It is a tremendous opportunity,” he said. “We see it as a (chance) to show-

case these collections – lots of fascinating collections and things we really can’t show. We’ll have lots of things to exhibit with easy access.”

Above: Currently, Dacus employs nine rooms to house the archives, including spare closets. With the move to a bigger location, exhibition and storage of articles, as well as public access will become much easier.

Left: With the help of librarians, people interested in archived information can find manuscripts, special or rare books and even family history. Photos by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@mytjnow.com

4

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

iPad, Kindle available to students IPAD • from front cus Library for students to use.

Dacus received the iPad toward the end of December last year from a grant awarded through the Winthrop Foundation, said Mark Herring, dean of library services.

The library’s iPad made its debut and became available to students last month.

Herring said the library is always looking for different ways to deliver information. “iPads seem to be one of the ways they’ll be doing that,” Herring said.

Aimee Harman is not so sure.

The junior photography major works at the library’s circulation desk and said she hasn’t seen many students waiting in line to use the iPad. In fact, the only person who asked her about it was her own boyfriend, Aaron May. May, junior entrepreneurial business major, checked out the iPad once it was made available.

He returned it about 20 minutes later.

Without the ability to download free, basic applications, May said he feels that some of the benefits of an iPad have been

College Town Action Plan won’t bring more crime, police say

By Jonathan McFadden mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com

A more collegiate Rock Hill won’t bring any increases in crime, Winthrop Campus Police say.

As part of the College Town Action Plan, businesses and committee leaders are working together to implement action that would transform Rock Hill into a more urbanized core of retail, business and college culture.

The plan includes providing linkage from Winthrop to downtown by transforming the Bleachery site into a green corridor of retail and restaurants, redeveloping Cherry Road and putting in bike lanes and bike paths around the city.

As the campus and the area around it continue to grow, Campus Police will be just as committed to ensuring safety on and around campus, said Frank Zebedis, chief of Campus Police.

The cooperative partnership between Campus Police and the Rock Hill Police Department will only continue to grow in light of the College Town Action Plan, Zebedis said.

Safety has been a priority of the College Town Action Plan, but most of it has boiled down to concerns about students safely crossing roads and lighting in downtown Rock Hill, said Frank Keel, development manager for Old Town Rock Hill.

There were also safety concerns about the Bleachery site, which was recently demolished and lies behind campus, Keel said.

Improved lighting on White Street and around the Bleachery once it’s completely demolished has been discussed, Keel said.

“Now that the Bleachery is coming down and the city is looking at what we can do with that property, I’m sure lighting will be improved,” Keel said.

But any talks of working with the Rock Hill Police Department and campus police haven’t been given a lot of attention, Keel said. Instead, the city is more concerned about calming traffic on Cherry Road to make it safer for students to cross to McDonald’s and Groucho’s Deli.

lost.

Coupled with the fact that students cannot check it out of the library, May and Harman both agreed using the iPad would be equivalent to using one of the library’s laptops or computers.

“If you’re in the library and have to stay in the library, just bring your laptop,” May said.

Harman echoed May’s feelings.

“I think it’s a waste,” she said. “We already have Kindles; people don’t really check out those very often and the integrity of the iPad is lost in the fact that you can’t download apps or do anything else on it except read and use the Internet.”

Not allowing students to download apps they want prevents heavy clutter on the iPad, Herring said.

“We would end up with so many apps on the iPad in a matter of days, we wouldn’t be able to lend it [out] anymore,” Herring said.

Buying the hardware means buying the content delivery system behind it, Herring said.

Students can’t download as many apps as they want to the library’s iPad, but they can go to the Apple apps store online and download the Kindle app.

The library’s iPad features all standard applications that come with the Kindle as well as the iPad’s web-based feature.

User feedback may encourage the library to add more apps in the future.

“If we get enough people asking for the same application then we’ll go ahead and add that,” Herring said.

Still, May suggests the library spend money buying scholarly apps for the iPad instead of purchasing e-books for the Kindle.

Harman thinks the library should spend more money on providing better laptops.

Herring feels differently.

Almost two years ago, the library began examining information delivery using dif-

ferent platforms, Herring said.

One of Herring’s recommendations was to teach a class in which all class information, such as textbooks, would be delivered on the Amazon Kindle, a portable e-book reader.

Thus, an experiment was born.

Several semesters ago, Herring taught a human experience class in which all 22 students received their assigned readings via the Kindle.

Weighing just a couple of ounces, Herring hypothesized that students would be able to easily carry their textbooks for all four years of their college career, as well as save space and money.

He was half right.

“They [Herring’s students] had various opinions about the way information being delivered that way turned out,” Herring said.

Now, 20 Kindle DX’s and two regular Kindles are available for student use in the library.

In the past, Dacus has tried various other alternative devices to offer students information quickly.

The library currently has The Sony PRS, the Entourage Edge and the iRex Illiad available for use.

In a society where devices by Apple are taking the world by storm, staff at the library realized that something with more accessibility, features and convenience was in order.

“And it was pretty clear early on that, for example, the iReaders alone didn’t serve much of a purpose because they could only do one thing,” Herring said.

Students can check out the iPad from the circulation desk for three hours and must sign a document outlining their personal and financial responsibilities in terms of damage, said Nancy White, the head of circulation at the library.

If a student happens to damage the iPad while it’s in their care, they will have to pay $500, White said.

University must follow measurable to receive state funding, said Haley By the Numbers: WU’s four-year graduation rate:

National four-year graduation rate:

WU’s six-year graduation rate:

National six-year graduation rate:

36.5% 37% 59.7% 57%

Winthrop graduates more minority students HALEY • from front tive national attention, however, is in having graduation rates for its minority students that match or exceed those of its majority students,” Masters said.

Currently, the six-year graduation rate for white students is 57.4 percent; African-American students average 62.3 percent, according to Masters.

A point of interest to the state funding policymakers is Winthrop’s growing interest in the sciences. As part of the state’s initiative, the school is now providing a strong core of students who earn

bachelors in science to other graduate programs.

This includes medical and dental schools and those who work on the business side of science-based companies.

From 2005 to 2006, Winthrop awarded 41 biology degrees; that number increased to 64 from 2008 to 2009, Masters said.

Chemistry degrees increased from seven to 15 during the same time period.

With these statistics, Winthrop will vie for state funding from the new governor’s office.

5

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

Congressman Clyburn Changing majors, visits WU, praises ASC career paths part of finding ‘perfect’ job Major Opportunities, next. I’ve found that figurMinor Time Commiting out what I want out of ment life takes figuring out what I More years ago than don’t want, too. Take classes I’d like to admit, I enyou think you’ll hate. Talk to tered my undergraduate professors in departments college career convinced you may have dismissed. Push I would major in English yourself beyond your comfort and be the next great zone. Maybe you’ll hate it, but American novelist. Four you’ll be one step closer to Katie Levans years and countless Special to The Johnsonian something you love. changes of heart later— journalism, communiI Have a Major, I Don’t cations, history, law (??)—I graduated Need a Minor: Au contraire, confiwith a B.A. in… Spanish. dent co-ed. I graduated from a univerUpon entering the real world, I sity that didn’t even offer minors, and I thought I’d get my doctorate en espanol see now how helpful having one would and instead be the next great American be today. A minor isn’t just extra work Spanish professor. But, sometimes, life for you to worry about while you’re in has other plans, and I ended up working school; it’s a way for you to augment a nine-to-five (or seven-to-six, more like your academic studies and make you a it) in the white collar corporate world. more desirable candidate for a more diI gave presentations, ran meetings, verse array of jobs post graduation. Put traveled the world and then walked in the work now, reap the benefits later. away last year to pursue a masters in… nutrition.

Am I Ready for Grad School?: I can’t be the only twenty-something Maybe. Maybe not. Grad school is diffloating through this murky void, ferent for different people. I worked constantly changing my mind, backfor three years before going back to tracking and starting over to find my school and I wouldn’t change that for way through the twisted and tangled anything. It took working in a field world of full-time employment. There’s that didn’t interest me for me to realize nothing wrong with not knowing exactly what I really wanted to do with my life. where you want to be 50, 10 or even five If you’re ahead of the game and know years from now, but you can save yourwhat you want, then carefully consider self a good bit of time, money and sleep- your options and then go for it. Talk less nights if you take a minute to really with graduate program directors and assess your skills, your dreams, your current students to understand exactly drive and ultimately your dream job so what you’ll be getting yourself into. you can select the major and minor that Some programs require professional will get you there. work experience, others accept students You can get some help along the way straight out of undergraduate study. from the folks in the Center for Career Use the fair as a chance to find what and Civic Engagement. They offer works for you. online assessments to help you declare No matter where you are on your your major and find professions that path to a career, the best thing I can tell match your interest. In addition to you is this: It’s ok to change your mind. taking an assessment, new this year is We members of the Millennial Generaan event featuring representatives from tion don’t enter the work world planeach academic department, includning to stay at the same company until ing graduate programs. You’ll have a we retire. We’ll bounce around—not chance to ask questions and collect just from job to job but from industry information that will help you make to industry, too—and that’s ok. But more informed decisions as you move having a solid educational background forward—no matter how far along you that you can carry with you along the are in the process. way will make all the difference in your journey. Visit the Center for Career and I Have No Idea What I Want to Civic Engagement in Crawford for more Do: No problem! Whether you’re a information and don’t miss the Major freshman who hasn’t yet declared a ma- & Minor Market on March 8, 2011 in jor or a senior who can’t decide whether DIGS Ballroom. or not to pursue graduate school, you’re not the only one unsure of what to do

Jim Clyburn, Democratic U.S. Representative, spoke to students last week concerning Winthrop’s academic success and answered student questions. Clyburn said officials need to be “more realistic” when measuring the success of state schools. Photo by Claire VanOstenbridge • vanostenbridgec@mytjnow.com

Students take advantage of tutoring programs, earmark funds needed to keep services alive

By Anna Douglas douglasa@mytjnow.com

A Winthrop freshman who failed his first college math test has aspirations to become a neuroscientist and try to find a cure for cancer.

And, he says, the university’s Academic Success Center is going to help him realize that dream.

Derion Reid found his way to a tutoring session housed in Dinkins—the former Winthrop student center—after meeting with a professor about his struggles in class.

“People always say ‘don’t treat college like thirteenth grade,’” he said. “And I know that’s true now.”

Coming from a high school academic environment, the McCormick, S.C. native said he had never had to study to make good grades before college.

It didn’t take long for the lack of studying to catch up with him, he said.

After attending weekly tutoring sessions in the fall at the Academic Success Center (ASC), Reid completed his first semester with a B-plus in the math class in which he initially bombed a test. “(The center) helped me become an independent studier,” he said. “(My tutor) helped me along the way; she guided me.”

ASC’s helping hand Reid found academic help early at Winthrop.

Other students may visit the ASC after they’ve failed one or more classes.

The center does contact all students who have a D or F in a class at midterm by e-mail to offer tutoring services. University College dean Gloria Jones said that number was more than 800 students in the fall.

Professors report those statistics to the ASC, but no one at Winthrop will make any student attend tutoring in Dinkins, she said.

Last semester—the first operational semester of the ASC—more than 230 students made 1,024 appointments for academic tutoring.

U.S. Representative Jim Clyburn visited the center last week and heard from students similar to Reid who have benefitted from the ASC’s services.

A $350,000 federal grant supported by Clyburn was crucial to the ASC’s upstart and continuation.

But the grant for Winthrop, similar to other federal dollars, could disappear as members of Congress continue to discuss budget cuts in Washington.

Budget talks are especially of note in South Carolina, Clyburn said, where officials need to be “more realistic” about the way they measure the success of schools.

Filling the void Clyburn said the ASC is just one example of why members of Congress desperately need to be able to help their communities with earmarked funds.

“Earmarks work on needs that may not be present anywhere else,” he said after his tour of the ASC. He said support services such as Winthrop’s ASC fill a void that might otherwise go unmet in light of dwindling state appropriations and higher education budget cuts; a void that could hold back students like Reid from their dreams.

“Who knows what (Reid) can be,” Clyburn said. “(The ASC) may have just put him on the road to a cancer cure.”

No student left behind During a presentation to students in Dina’s Place Theater, Clyburn offered his support for repealing the No Child Left Behind Act. “The fact of the matter is every student in South Carolina takes the SAT, and so the scores are averaged out,” Clyburn said. “The schools were not pleased with the number.”

The congressman suggests coming up with a way to measure schools that is fair to all districts, especially those with low funding.

You are your experiences Before initiating a student questioning session, Clyburn explained the importance of relationships with others. According to the congressman, our world views revolve around our experiences in life; different people have different experiences, thus changing their global views.

“You are no more or no less than what your experiences have made you,” Clyburn said. “No two people have the same experiences, and therefore no two people will see the world the same.”

“We have all been limited, and therefore none of us can see the world for what it is.”

Additional reporting by Claire Byun

Hearing concerns of the people A Winthrop alum and member of Clyburn’s staff attended the ASC tour with the congressman.

Willie Lyles, a 2006 graduate, monitors political news coming from South Carolina and talks with constituents on a daily basis.

While at Winthrop, Lyles was a political science major and served on CSL. He said he works closely with Clyburn to relay the concerns of South Carolinians, especially on issues effecting education.

One thing he’s hoping to help Clyburn rectify, he said, is the potential $5 billion cuts to the Pell Grant program proposed by some Republicans in the House of Representatives.

6 Our Say

Lawmakers out-of-touch with importance of funding for higher education in S.C. When South Carolina isn’t busy sweeping higher education under the rug, it seems state lawmakers just pulls the rug out from under us.

As Columbia lawmakers talk about measurables and appropriation cuts, universities like Winthrop go on with their day-to-day operations.

As the state adds insult to a historical injury of not prioritizing higher education, university students and families are facing daily uncertainties about footing college tuition and fee bills.

Budget-making days in the Capitol make for lots of worry about furlough days, salary freezes and loss of programs in higher education.

But what aren’t as obvious are the problems everyone in our state, in our country and in our world will face if funding for education in South Carolina and elsewhere isn’t improved and revamped.

A society that places minimal value on education—especially college and specialty education—is a society in danger of regression.

Stimulus funds and federal grants are useful and do help,

but their scope is limited by their inherent brevity. Those dollars are similar to a bandaid over a college’s wound brought on by cuts in state appropriations.

The band-aid is appreciated and is certainly better than walking around with gaping lacerations, but at the end of a band-aid’s lifespan, the help— like a grant—is ripped away.

Funding for important university initiatives such as the Academic Success Center comes from federal grants now in danger.

The Johnsonian doesn’t have a magic wand to wave or even any sage advice to give to lawmakers on this issue. We can only hope for the best; hope that, collectively, our lawmakers will give a seat to education at the funding priority table.

In the past, student organizations such as CSL have organized letter writing campaigns to policy makers and university officials. We encourage that practice and hope students will take the time to educate themselves and actively lobby for an improved higher education funding policy.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

CONNOR DE BRULER Opinion Editor debrulerc@mytjnow.com

Editor starts discussion about egalitarianism, values response Prejudice is not something reserved their creativity. We were not encourto the uneducated. The educated are aged to approach anything differently just as guilty. but to do as we were told or suffer the I was speaking with an English punishment of more homework and less professor the other day. We talked recess. about the finesse and practice it Even today, as a 20-year-old college takes to become a proficient writer. student, I am still bitter and curt with I likened writers to welders. I have many of my professors because of what always admired welders.

Connor de Bruler I experienced in elementary school.

Opinion editor Welding is the liquefying of metal I guess I’ll work on that. through an electrical current in order Another prejudice of mine hapto fuse two pieces together. It a seripens to be my aversion to German and ous artform that takes a vast technical knowlBritish culture. I had bad experiences in those edge and ascetic approach in order to master. countries. I’ve talked about it in other columns.

It is very much like writing. It takes the same Now that my own faults have been accounted amount of dedication and impacts the infrafor, I want to take the rest of this short column structure of our society just as writing impacts to advocate egalitarianism: the belief that everythe infrastructure of our intelligence. one should be equal.

Welders are regarded as workers, not as the Strictly speaking, we are not equal. Some of artisans they truly are. I told the professor that us have learning disabilities. We all have difI thought welders were just as important as ferent tastes and preferences. We have differwriters. ent physical characteristics. We have different The professor said, “Yeah, I bet they are.” needs. The point isn’t equality. The point is to with a subtle tinge of sarcasm. treat all living beings with “equal understandI thought, “Damn you.” ing.”

Prejudice is a form of ignorance: an ignoI think most people agree with this idea. I rance that believes itself to be intelligent. We also think most people unconsciously want to naturally want to be better than other people. I be better than everyone else. don’t understand why.

I want to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Most of my own prejudices come from being If you’re a professor or a sociology student or treated poorly. I’ll admit I hate teachers. whatever, e-mail me at debrulerc@mytjnow.

I never liked school because I was yelled at com and tell me what you think it would take every day and called an idiot by my second and to instill such a principle as egalitarianism into fourth grade teachers. School, in my eyes, was modern society. a systematic attempt to break every child of

An Original Comic

By Courtney Niskala

Transfer student gets harsh welcome to the Deep South When I introduce myself some money. to someone, I start with Despite giving them what they my name followed by some wanted, they threw me to the ground qualities about myself that and left me there with three fourI like to think define who I inch stab wounds on my side and am. arm.

That’s why it’s unfortuNot knowing what to do next, I nate that so many people walked back to campus and visited Jeff Brodeur who get to know me choose Crawford.

Sports editor to associate me with events Fortunately, there was a still a that have happened to me. nurse staying late in the office that Within my first four months of stepnight to provide some assitance. ping foot on Winthrop’s campus, I manI left the building about five minutes aged to get mugged, stabbed three times later with nothing but gauze wrap and and have both my car and bike stolen.

Tylenol.

Therefore, I didn’t have very high Still upset over how the vehicle situpraise for the city of Rock Hill, S.C., after ation was handled, I opted not to report moving here from Massachusetts. the incident to campus police.

I could have very easily packed my To top it all off, I discovered my bike bags, complained about how terrible and was stolen from the bike racks in front of unsafe Winthrop and Rock Hill are and Richardson one morning. driven back home.

When I brought this to the attention This never crossed my mind for a few of Campus Police, they went through the reasons. First, I didn’t leave because, same procedure as with the car, minus the well, my car was gone so I couldn’t drive paperwork. anywhere. But the more significant reason The result was the same: no call back was because of all the support I received and no bike. from my friends.

I understand there is only so much that It’s a shame I can’t say the same for officers and medical staff could have done Winthrop’s student services. to help me out, but it was the noticeable On a Friday morning last October lack of effort and care that made me ques2010, I walked behind Richardson to get tion Winthrop’s division of Student Life. something out of my car only to find it No one should feel as if they must fend wasn’t there. After scanning the campus for themselves should any incidents such for about an hour, I walked to the Campus as these happen, which is exactly how I Police station hoping they could help. Infelt. stead, an officer drove me around campus My mind would have been put at ease in his cruiser and all he did was confirm if the school followed up after the incithat it was indeed gone. dents to see how everything was going, After filling out 20 minutes of paperor perhaps give me any updates on the work, I was told they would call if anywhereabouts of my car or bike. thing turned up. I never heard from them Even if all they told me was “Sorry, we after that, nor did I ever see my car again. haven’t heard anything,” that would have About a month later, I was walking been better than nothing. back from CVS around 10:30 p.m. when two men came up to me and demanded

Editor ANNA DOUGLAS

Arts & entertainment editor JESSICA PICKENS

Ad designer SAMANTHA FURTICK

Managing editor TIFFANY BARKLEY

Assistant arts & entertainment editor ALISON ANGEL

Photographers KATHLEEN BROWN STEPHANIE EATON

Sports editor JEFF BRODEUR

Multimedia editors SHATESHA SCALES KAYLEE NICHOLS

News editor CLAIRE BYUN Assistant news editor JONATHAN MCFADDEN Opinion editor CONNOR DE BRULER Culture editor ALEXIS AUSTIN Health & science editor AMANDA PHIPPS

Assistant sports editor DAVID THACKHAM Graphic Designer COURTNEY NISKALA Copy editors BRITTANY GUILFOYLE BRANTLEY MCCANTS

Webmaster DEVANG JOSHI Advertising manager SARAH MACDONALD Faculty adviser LARRY TIMBS

About The Johnsonian The Johnsonian is the weekly student newspaper of Winthrop University. It is published during fall and spring semesters with the exception of university holidays and exam periods.

CONTACT INFORMATION Our offices are located in suite 104 in the DiGiorgio Campus Center.

Phone: (803) 323-3419 E-mail: editors@mytjnow.com Online: mytjnow.com LETTER POLICY Letters and feedback can be sent to editors@mytjnow.com or by mail at The Johnsonian, 104

Campus Center, Rock Hill, S.C., 29733.

Comments submitted online at www.mytjnow.com may be printed as letters and may be shortened for space and edited for clarity.

Please include your name, major and year if you are a student; your name and title if you are a professor; or your name and profession if you are a member of

the community.

Letters, cartoons and columns reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily the opinions of The Johnsonian staff.

CORRECTIONS Contact us if you find an error in an issue of the newspaper. We will correct it in the next issue.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

THE JOHNSONIAN

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7

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

8

AMANDA PHIPPS Health & Science Editor phippsa@mytjnow.com

New professor values teaching, chooses Winthrop PROFESSOR • from front doctoral research at Indiana University, he said.

Currently, Grossoehme is working on multiple projects with students under the INBRE II grant. He said his main project under the grant is working to understand the thermodynamic, or heat and energy, properties of copper.

Copper (I) is the oxidation state of healthy cells, Grossoehme said. Unhealthy cells result in the formation of copper (II), which can cause harm to the cell.

However, because copper (I) will easily turn into copper (II) in the presence of oxygen, Winthrop provided Grossoehme with an anaerobic reactor, or glove box that does not contain oxygen and allows him and the students to work with copper (I).

“It’s a big challenge,” he said.

Grossoehme will also look at how copper (I) binds to proteins and measure how much heat is involved in the protein-folding process. This will provide him and the students involved with a quantitative tool to understand how copper (I) is regulated, he said.

Senior biology major Sharon Jenkins is working with Grossoehme on the copper project as a paid student researcher under the INBRE II grant, she said.

Starting this semester,

“”

I didn’t want to go to a school where teaching wasn’t valued.

Nick Grossoehme

Assistant professor of chemistry, physics and geology

Nick Grossoehme works with students on various research projects. He started working at Winthrop this year. Photo by Kathleen Brown • brownk@mytjnow.com she made copper (I) by mixing a copper (II) solution and adding a copper wire and a stabilizer, she said. She worked inside the glove box to prevent copper (I) from forming copper (II).

Jenkins also mixed copper (II) with BCA, an acid that binds with metal. She is comparing how light passes through the copper (I) complex versus the copper (II) complex because they interact differently with light, she said.

Jenkins said she is also learning how to use both the glove box and a spectrometer and how to handle different experimental situations.

“It’s a learning experience,” she said.

Jenkins said it’s unusual for students who are about to graduate to start work-

ing on a research project because they will not be around to work on it again next year.

“I appreciate Dr. Grossoehme taking me in,” she said.

Understanding copper regulatory networks of bacteria, such as how the bacterium that causes Tuberculosis uses copper, may eventually help scientists kill these pathogens without harming human cells, Grossoehme said.

He said the students and he are working on an INBRE II-supported project involving Nickel Uptake Regulator (NUR), a protein that senses nickel concentrations in cells. He is working with students to study the metal sensory pathways in the bacteria S. coelicolor.

“This belongs to a ge-

Club experiments with Xbox-gaming technology

By Amanda Phipps phippsa@mytjnow.com

Students offer computer help sessions, work with video-gaming technology and learn from professionals in Winthrop’s Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter, said Mike Wingard, junior computer science major and club president.

ACM is an international organization dedicated to advancing scientific and educational purposes, according to the Winthrop ACM chapter website. The student chapters serve to allow students to take a more active role in the association.

The group has advanced programs for computer science majors or people who have a background in computer technology, Wingard said. However, the group also includes anyone interested in computers through game nights and other programs.

“Not all of us are on the same level, and some members aren’t computer science majors,” he said. “(At game night) last year, we had a blast.”

In the future, the club wants to do more collaborative projects with other groups on campus, Wingard said.

“We want to expose members to other parts of the field,” he said. “We want the chance for stu-

dents to do research in the computer science department.”

Wingard said the group also plans to work with groups such as STARS Leadership Corp., do volunteer work and tutor. The group wants to provide students with technology news and networking opportunities by inviting professionals to speak.

“Our mission is to bring people and technology closer to each other,” he said. “It is a good way to get an internship.”

The club also experiments with technology, such as that used in videogaming systems, Wingard said. The group experimented with the software used in Microsoft’s X-Box Kinect system, which recognizes players and allows them to control their own movements in the game.

The group is looking at how this technology may be used in operating systems such as Linux to allow people to interact with computers through gestures.

The Kinect technology code is available for the public and is free to use and modify, said Jeries Armaly, junior computer science major and club vice president.

The club helps students of every major learn more about computers, he said.

“Linux runs the business world,” Armaly said.

Like computers?

What: ACM meeting When: Tues., March 8 Time: 11 a.m.

Where: Thurmond 200 “Computers run the economy, and we need to know about them for the future.”

Right now, the group is looking for more members and to expand its involvement on campus, he said.

He said the group wants some science majors to join because their techniques would help them with projects.

“We want some recognition for the club,” Armaly said. “Any major is welcome.”

He said the group is open to suggestions.

“We want to do what you want to do, and share knowledge of technology,” Armaly said. “Technology is the future.”

“”

Our mission is to bring people and technology closer together.

Kea Tucker

Junior biology major

nus that provides a large amount of relevant antibiotics,” Grossoehme said.

Junior chemistry major Paisley Trantham is working to purify the NUR proteins so she can use them for the rest of the project, she said. Once purified, she will produce too much of the NUR proteins in the E. coli bacteria so they can recognize the sensing pathway.

Trantham started working with Grossoehme last semester and is now a student researcher under the INBRE grant. She took biochemistry last semester as well, but said conducting research is a better learning experience.

“Research is a more hands-on experience, and you learn more,” she said.

“Dr. Grossoehme is a really good teacher.”

Junior biochemistry major Katie Bolling is also working on this project.

She is currently looking at proteins from S. coelicolor that can potentially regulate metals. She is identifying the metal specificity of these proteins, she said.

Grossoehme said after the group knows which metals the proteins can regulate, they can narrow down the gene cluster they will work with.

Bolling has to balance research with being on the Winthrop golf team.

“It is tough juggling schoolwork, research and golf,” she said.

Though she doesn’t get to do as must research as she’d like, she said she enjoys it when she gets the chance.

“I really enjoy doing it,” she said. “It feels like I’m learning something new every time, and my laboratory skills have improved immensely.”

Grossoehme said he has applied for funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund the continuation of the copper project and fund a project involving the metal ruthenium.

“The idea is that we de-

sign a peptide that has no defined structure but has a ruthenium-binding molecule attached to it,” he said.

The ruthenium metal will induce a folding process that will result in a more compact shape, Grossoehme said. He will then measure the heat involved in this process.

“This will provide valuable information about the forces that dictate protein structure,” he said.

Once Grossoehme has funding, he said he can start this project.

“We have to focus on what we have funding for,” he said.

Grossoehme said coming to Winthrop instead of a bigger research school felt right.

“The job posting seemed right up my ally,” he said.

“I felt like Winthrop was looking for someone with my expertise.”

Grossoehme also said he wanted to work at a school that focuses both on research and teaching.

“I didn’t want to go to a school where teaching wasn’t valued,” he said. “I love my job.”

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• Free food, prizes and mocktails

The Deadliest Catch When: Thurs., March 3 Where: Dina’s Place Theater Time: 8 p.m. www.birdnest.org/springbreak for more info.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

THE JOHNSONIAN

9

10

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

JESSICA PICKENS Arts & Entertainment Editor pickensj@myjnow.com ALISON ANGEL Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor angela@mytjnow.com

Students stitch, cut costumes for plays

Junior theater major Cecily Bigham uses a sewing machine to finish a costume. Bigham is a teacher’s assistant in the costume shop in Johnson where students help create costumes for dances and plays. Photo by Paul Ricciardi • ricciardip@mytjnow.com

By Alison Angel angela@mytjnow.com

With any job, there are rules.

Here, you’ll find only five: No whining. Never doubt your supervisor.

Backstitch, backstitch, backstitch. No tap dancing. And don’t even think about bleeding on your work.

Located in the underbelly of Johnson, students working in the costume shop churn out dozens of costumes for every performance in the theatre and dance department.

Janet Gray, professor of theatre and dance, oversees the costume shop, hunting down supplies for the students as they

sew and produce the costumes.

“The students are the work force that builds the costumes for the shows,” Gray said. “We try to assign each student an actual full costume to build so that they can see their process from beginning to end, and once its on stage being able to say, ‘I made that.’”

She praises the work ethic of the students who come into the costume shop and said they are incredibly enthusiastic about the creative process, which is not going unnoticed.

“We’re getting more and more people who are interested in and aware of the things that happen beyond being the actor on stage and getting the applause, and it’s nice to have them sharing that enthusiasm for that,” Gray said.

Sydney Moore, sophomore tech design major, worked as the assistant costume designer for “Once Upon a Mattress.”.

“We were in there every day for at least three hours a day,” Moore said. “And then about two weeks before, we really start spending an hour or two extra working.”

To work in the costume shop as a teacher’s assistant (TA), Moore said students have to take the practicum, a class that teaches the basics of costume design and production.

“I came in not knowing how to sew, and now I’m making hats and sewing these really complicated things,” Moore said. “It’s really cool to just learn all of these things, it’s useful.”

Moore said the end result is what makes the hours worth it.

It’s a really great feeling,” Moore said. “When you see the to-do-list, which is like four pages long, and the end of the day you’ve got it down to two pages,

Apocalyptic comic offers few surprises, little substance I am fascinated with the apocalypse.

As a practicing nonbeliever, the notion of eschatological terror and reckoning holds little metaphysical resonance for me.

Yet, as a writer and lover of literature, an apocalyptic narrative that reduces whatever we might consider human down to its most essential has always fascinated me.

Jeff Lemire’s recent entry into the world of world-ending stories, the Vertigo comic series “Sweet Tooth,” offers several points of interest, even if the overall picture doesn’t cohere as tightly as it could.

“Sweet Tooth” tells the horrific and fascinating story of Gus, an almost comically naive young man who has survived a global pandemic that wiped out most of the world’s population.

By virtue of his overbearingly religious father’s concern and his genetic mutation – a condition that devel-

Joseph Henderson

English graduate student

oped into a set of antlers and deer ears – Gus survived the wave of sickness and the subsequent gangs of human traffickers who killed, mutilated and performed experiments on the children born after the Affliction.

Throughout the course of the first five issues – collected in Out of the Deep Woods – Lemire advances the plot forward to an unsurprising conclusion with little dialogue and a copious lack of backstory.

However, this lack of speech and in-depth background allows Lemire to craft a barebones present narrative that feels immediate and, at times, quite tense.

Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning apocalypse “The Road” comes to mind as vastly superior work with a similar sense of survivalist intensity. Ultimately, Lemire’s art and writing still leaves much to be desired.

Though the illustrations and the narrative are propulsive enough, Gus and Jeppard, the immediately suspicious, mysterious stranger with a gun who appears in the first five issues only to commit an apparent betrayal at the end, feel almost unrealized as rounded characters.

Similarly, the motion of the plot through these issues is equally flat, moving in a single direction; Gus is caught between a pattern of flight and captivity, perhaps the only natural path of movement in his nightmarish world.

When compared to the elaborate worlds created in equal space by writers such as Neil Gaiman and

Alan Moore, Lemire’s foray into the world of imaginative horror looks insubstantial indeed.

Admittedly, I’m judging a scant five issues against some of the most genre-defining and path-breaking works of graphic fiction from the last few decades, but it seems that all similar works conceived in their wake has to pass a similar acid test.

Currently, Lemire has collected the next five issues in a second volume, “In Captivity,” with a third volume to come out over the summer.

Perhaps with a broader, ongoing canvas, Lemire’s characters will find more room to breathe and a greater range of action and expression.

Though it feels unfair to critique this first run as if it were the whole series, I’m intrinsically drawn to Lemire’s subject matter, even if the first taste is a bit thin and fleeting.

you just go ‘Look at us, we’re awesome!’”

Norman Burt, junior theatre major, is the self-described “muscle within the shop,” always there to lend a hand when it comes to the heavy lifting.

He took the practicum class and enjoyed being in the shop so much it was suggested he become an official TA. “To say that I’m a part of greatness is nice,” Burt said. “Most of the time you have to work outside of what you truly want to do in life but, with the costume shop, I get to learn new things that will actually aid me in the future.”

Although the costume shop is a bit quieter these days now that “Once Upon a Mattress” has had its run on the stage, Burt said there is still much to do and learn.

“There is so much more that goes on before, during and after the show that makes the show what it is,” Burt said. “Everyone plays an amazing part in the creation of a show and there truly are no small parts in theater.

That’s what I’ve learned from working in the shops and getting a first-row seat in how a show is created and ended.”

The next batch of costumes the students will create is for the play “The Country Wife.” The play will start on Wednesday, April 13, and run until Sunday, April 17.

Making the cut

Junior sculpture major Matt Horick cuts into a sheet of metal as he works on a project. Photo by Reuben Bloom • bloomr2@winthrop.edu

11

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

March 2011

Winthrop

Music

The Winthrop Flute Choir will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, in Barnes Auditorium. (Free cultural event) The Friends of the Conservatory Series presents the Ciompi String Quartet from Duke University. The performance will be at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22, in Barnes Auditorium. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for faculty/ staff and $5 for students. (Cultural event) Guest artist, pianist Theresa Sumpter, will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, in Barnes Auditorium. (Free cultural event)

Art

“Undergraduate Intercollegiate Jewelry and Metals Exhibition” will be displayed in the Lewandowski Student Gallery in McLaurin. The exhibit will contain all-student-made jewelry and metal workings. Items will be made out of materials such as sterling silver to plastic.

Renowned metal smith and jewelry artist Bob Ebendorf will come to talk about his work at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, in Rutledge 119. (Free cultural event)

As a Movie During fall 2009 and spring 2010, the Arts and Entertainment section featured Winthrop faculty and staff and their celebrity look-a-likes. Now it’s back.

The Johnsonian uses the family networking website, MyHeritage.com, to generate the look-a-likes.

This week, the Johnsonian chose history professor Jason Silverman.

According to the Johnsonian staff, Silverman looks similar to George Segal of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” and “Retired at 35” fame.

Movies

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt star in the political thriller “The Adjustment Bureau,” which premieres on Friday, March 4.

Johnny Depp’s handsome face isn’t seen in his latest film, “Rango,” where he talks for an animated cowboy chameleon. The movie premieres on Friday, March 4.

Another alien movie attacks theaters in the form of “Battle: Los Angeles,” premiering on Friday, March 11.

An alien film in the form of a kid’s movie where Martians kidnap a mother, “Mars Needs Moms,” premieres on Friday, March 11.

Jason Silverman

George Segal

Amanda Seyfried stars in a retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” which looks similar to “The Village” in “Little Red Riding Hood,” premiering on Friday, March 11.

On-Campus Movies - All on-campus movies are $2 with I.D. and in Dina’s Place Theatre The blockbuster “Tron” will be showing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 5.

Send your celebrity look-a-like ideas to pickensj@mytjnow.com.

The “Chronicles of Narnia” series continues with the “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which will be showing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 26.

DSU - DSU events are $5 with I.D., $10 for the public and free with DSU Spring Pass.

Hipshack, a band Winthrop alum Scott McCloud created, will be performing along with singer/songwriter Jared Mahone at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 4, in the Campus Center.

Students can belt out good…or bad notes during karaoke at 9 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, on The Edge stage in the Campus Center. (Free event) Improv group Dad’s Garage will perform at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 25, in Dina’s Place Theatre. (Cultural event)

Other

“Hip-Hop and Politics: Inception to Evolution” will feature a panel of hiphop artists, such as Larry Green and Kurtis Blow. The panel will discuss how hip-hop has changed since it began and how it can be steered away from the direction it is headed in. The panel discussion will be at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, in Barnes Recital Hall.

Students can vote with money to see their professor do M.C. Hammer’s “Hammertime” dance. All money goes to Blackmon Road. Students can vote from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, March 7, and Tuesday, March 8, in the Campus Center lobby.

The Miss Jabberwock Scholarship Pageant presents a scholarship to a female student based on her performance in the pageant. The pageant is at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 11, in Tillman Auditorium. Tickets are $3.

Students will be celebrating Winthrop’s history with a fashion show. Students will strut their stuff at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 28, in Plowden Auditorium in Withers.

On-Campus Movies: Thursday, March 5: The futuristic movie “Tron” is a remake of the 1984 Disney film.

Saturday, March 9: Natalie Portman goes crazy, and wins an Oscar for it, in “Black Swan.”

Check next week’s issue for tickets.

12

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

ALEXIS AUSTIN Culture Editor austina@mytjnow.com

THE WORLD OUTSIDE WINTHROP Students embark on exchange in country, rather than abroad

By Susan Clark clarks@mytjnow.com

The National Student Exchange, or NSE, is an alternative choice to studying abroad. Students can choose from 180 universities in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Guam.

Students spend a semester in the exchange program during the fall or spring of their sophomore or junior year.

Winthrop tuition is used to pay the room and board charges of the host school.

Financial aid can be used for the NSE program. Transportation, meals and other personal items are at the student’s expense.

Courses taken while on exchange can transfer into Winthrop. Prior to departing on the exchange program, the student must meet with his or her adviser to make sure class choices will transfer back to Winthrop. Also, students must fill out an Approval to Transfer Credit form.

Students on exchange must receive a “C” or above in order to receive Winthrop course credit.

In order to be eligible for NSE, students must be full-time, have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher and have sophomore or junior status during the NSE program.

The application deadline for the NSE program is Feb. 1 one year before the student plans to study.

Sophomore exercise science major Tyler Polomski is currently on exchange in Durango, Colo. Polomski chose the NSE program because it was more beneficial for his major. He realized

Sophomore Tyler Polomski explores the Rocky Mountains in Durango, Colo. Polomski is currently taking classes at Fort Lewis College as part of the National Student Exchange program. Photo Courtesy of Tyler Polomski staying in the U.S. would allow him to take the classes he wanted and they would be able to transfer back to Winthrop. The NSE program also allowed him to choose where he wanted to study.

“I chose Colorado because it is the healthiest state in the U.S. It’s very environmental. It’s my kind of people out here,” Polomski said.

Polomski, who’s been in Colorado for almost two months, said it was difficult adjusting at first.

“Making friends was difficult. Once I joined groups on campus I started making friends,” Polomski said. “It’s that first month. Give it one month. That’s the toughest part.”

Despite the rocky start, Polomski said

if he had the chance he would do this program again.

“I would definitely do it again. Every Sunday I go for a run. I see views of the Rocky Mountains and it’s such a beautiful place. Four months is just a blink in my lifetime,” he said.

Junior integrated marketing communication major Noel Rizzuti will be going on exchange next semester to Manhattan, Kan. Rizzuti chose the NSE program because of its opportunities.

“Studying abroad was going to be a lot more expensive. I had thought about transferring to Kansas State at some point, but out-of-state tuition was way too much for my family to handle. This was a perfect alternative for me to be able

to attend the school I’ve always wanted to for a semester,” Rizzuti said.

Rizzuti hopes to gain a lot from the NSE experience.

“I’m excited to take the in-depth public relations classes there and hone my skills in my field of study. I am looking forward to the whole experience in general; living in a brand new environment, meeting new people and learning under new professors,” Rizzuti said.

For more information on the NSE program, visit the International Center’s webpage at winthrop.edu/international or stop by the International Center in 218 Dinkins.

Restaurant tipping etiquette varies around the globe When in Rome, don’t leave a tip

By Alexis Austin austina@mytjnow.com

It’s not the $2.13 an hour that attracts people to become waiters at restuarants and bars. They would probably much rather work somewhere that doesn’t smell like smoke or where they don’t have to deal with people’s attitudes. What attracts most people to the job are tips.

In America, most waiters are paid a minimum wage of $2.13 per hour.

However, whatever money they make in tips while working is theirs, tax free. Guests at bars and restaurants are expected to tip their waiter at least 15 percent of the total on their bill. Depending on the restaurant, if there is a party of eight or more, 18 percent gratituity is included in the bill.

While this is the norm in America, many who have traveled or lived abroad know tipping etiquette is quite different overseas.

Senior political science major Elise Gibbons learned this while studying in Italy last year.

“In Italy they typically don’t tip,” she said. “It’s usually included in the price you pay at the restaurant if you choose to sit and eat. If you stand, you don’t pay a tip.”

Gibbons also said that

the only time she ever left a tip was after riding in a taxi.

France is not much different.

“In France the waitress will not be offended if you don’t leave a tip,” said Jean-Phillipe Martin, a foreign exchange student.

Martin also said the only time it is expected

to leave a tip is if it is an expensive restaurant, but the customer decides how much they would like to leave.

For first year MBA student Miguel Casajuana, he said going to a restaurant in his home country of Spain is not like in the United States.

“People don’t pay with

Some countries find it impolite to leave a tip. Illustration by Alex Miles

credit cards very often,” he said. “Whatever change they have left after paying in cash is what they will leave for the waiter, plus a euro sometimes.”

If a waiter receives tips while working, the extra money goes into a jar and at the end of the day everyone working in the restuarant splits it.

“Waiters get paid the same as any other worker,” Casajuana said.

As part of the Japanese culture, people do not tip, Tomo Koyano said.

Koyano is a first-year MBA student.

“The waiter won’t feel it’s polite to take a tip,” he said. “They will feel like they shouldn’t accept it.”

Koyano, who has lived in the United States for 10 years, said there is a difference in what is expected from the customers and servers in Japan.

“I feel as though servers in the U.S. are nice because they want more money, but in Japan the people are genuinely nice; they don’t expect anything in return,” he said.

Despite their cultural norms, Martin, Casajuana and Koyano said they do tip while living in the United States.

“When in Rome do as the Romans,” Casajuana said.

www.get-in-on.com

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HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGE

SPORTS BRIEFS Winthrop baseball drops three in a row in Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament The Eagles baseball team was unable to complete a last inning rally for the second night in a row as they fell to Kent State 8-6 on Sunday afternoon.

The loss marks their third in a row as they finished up their opening home weekend 1-3 in the Johnny Gill Memorial Tiurnament.

Their overall record sits at 2-5 as they prepare to host Notre Dame and Manhattan College in the Coca-Cola Classic on March 4-6 at the Winthrop Ballpark.

Women’s tennis sweeps Big South opener The women’s tennis team opened up their Big South play on a strong note as they swept Liberty 7-0 over the weekend.

The Lady Eagles took the doubles point by winning all three of their matches and continued to dominate by taking all six singles matches.

The win improves Winthrop to 8-7 overall, and they are now 1-0 in conference play.

“Overall, it was a very solid match,” head coach Cid Carvalho said. “It’s good to start the conference season with a win.”

Men’s tennis overcomes slow start to win against Liberty The Winthrop tennis team beat the Liberty Flames over the weekend 6-1 to give them their first conference win of the season.

After dropping all three doubles matches, the team was able to rebound in singles play, taking all six matches.

The victory improves the Eagles to 4-5 on the season and 1-0 in the Big South Conference.

“Our guys responded well after dropping the doubles point,” head coach Cid Carvalho said.

“It feels good to be 1-0 in

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

JEFF BRODEUR Sports Editor brodeurj@mytjnow.com DAVID THACKHAM Assistant Sports Editor thackhamd@mytjnow.com

the conference.”

The team will return to action on Friday, March 4, as they host Radford at 3 p.m.

Women’s basketball player ties Big South Freshman of the Week record Freshman Dequesha McClanahan tied a Big South record by earning her sixth Big South Freshman of the Week honor last week.

The freshman guard averaged 13 points per game last week and shot 50 percent from the field against Big South opponents Radford and Presbyterian.

McClanahan has now passed Ashley Fann as the Winthrop record holder and tied Katie Larue (1998-1999) of Charleston Southern and Shamia Brown (2008-2009) of High Point for the conference record.

Outdoor track and field schedule kicks off in Florida Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams will begin their outdoor schedule this week at the UNF Spring Break Open in Jacksonville, Fla. The three-day event will begin March 3 and go until March 5 at the University of North Florida.

Lady Eagles basketball hope to salvage unimpressive season A 45-57 loss to High Point University leaves the Winthrop women’s basketball team sixth in the Big South standings with a 5-8 conference record.

The women, (4-3) outside of Winthrop Coliseum, will take on the No. 3-ranked GardnerWebb Bulldogs in Boiling Springs, N.C., on Friday.

The Eagles will look to avoid falling to their ninth conference loss, which would place them in a first-round Big South Tournament matchup against the No. 2-ranked Radford Highlanders.

Eagle baseball team in winning mode at home

By Jeff Brodeur brodeurj@mytjnow.com

After opening the season in San Diego, Calif., the Winthrop baseball team is happy to be back in Rock Hill as they continue their 16-game home stand.

“As much fun as it was playing in California, it feels good to be home,” senior pitcher Wade Newman said. “It’s great to be on your own field in front of your own fans.”

The old term known as “home field advantage” has held true for the Eagles, which is another reason the team should be excited every time they step into the Winthrop Ballpark.

Over the past five years, dating back to the 20062007 season, the Eagles have won 62.9 percent of their games played on their own turf.

Life on the road has not

“”

As much fun as it was playing in California, it feels good to be home. It’s great to be on your own field, in front of your own fans.

Wade Newman senior pitcher

been as kind to Winthrop, judging by the 45.5 road winning percentage on the road over the past five seasons.

“It’s never easy going into a hostile environment and walking out with a win,” Winthrop head coach Tom Riginos said. “Gaining momentum is much easier when the crowd is on your side throughout the game.”

Fortunately, being away from home is noth-

ing new for many players.

Of the 34 players on the roster, 21 of them are from out of state, including 10 players representing the Northeast region of the country.

The Winthrop Eagles are in the beginning of an unusually long 16 game home stretch, a perfect opportunity to gain early ground on the rest of the competition in the Big South.

“It is important to

take advantage of home games,” Winthrop pitching coach Clint Chrysler said. “It’s difficult to be successful at this level if you can’t capitalize when you’re at home because away games are never a guarantee, no matter who we’re playing.”

This is especially true for Winthrop, who has to travel to powerhouse schools such as the University of Florida, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Wake Forest throughout the course of the season.

The Eagles will continue their home stand over the next 17 days before traveling to Gainesville, Fla. to take on the Florida Gators.

They will be back in action March 4-6 as they host the University of Notre Dame and Manhattan College in the CocaCola Classic.

Tough away game competition builds softball team chemistry

By Hannah Schwartz

schwartzh@mytjnow.com

The Winthrop softball team has 10 away games before they play in front of a home crowd. Head coach Matt Cooke said that’s all just a part of his plan.

“We try and go on the road early because of the weather,” Cooke said.

“”

It’s a new experience everywhere you go.

Veronica Barrie Centerfielder

He also said it’s easier to “handle the pressure” without having to worry about getting the field ready.

Some of these away games have been against tough opponents. The Eagles played both the University of South Carolina and the University of Georgia in the first few weeks of the season. That’s also a part of Cooke’s plan.

Because only three players on the team are playing the same position as last year, Cooke said he knows his young team will make mistakes.

“This way, we can make them early,” he said.

The players don’t mind going on the road early.

Senior centerfielder, Veronica Barrie, likes playing on the road because she thinks it gives players a different perspective.

“A lot of us are from out of state and out of country,” she said. “It’s a new experience everywhere you go; it’s really exciting.”

Barrie and sophomore right fielder, Teja Durante, think early games on the road have helped strengthen the team’s chemistry.

“I think this is the closest we’ve ever been,” Durante said. “You learn more about your teammates that you may not have known before, and it’s more fun.”

All of these road games are a part of a long season that concludes with the most important home stand of the season – the Big South Conference Tournament.

The last time the Eagles hosted the tournament was in 2008, which was also the last year Winthrop won it.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

UPCOMING EVENTS Women’s Basketball March 4 @ GardnerWebb at 7p.m.

March 7 @ Charleston Southern at 7p.m.

Baseball March 4-6 Coca-Cola Classic (HOME) Softball March 4-6 Buzz Classic in Woodstock, Ga. Men’s tennis March 4 vs. Radford at 3p.m.

March 9 vs. GardnerWebb at 3p.m.

Women’s tennis March 4 vs. Radford at 3p.m.

March 9 @ North Carolina State at 12p.m.

Men’s outdoor track and field March 3-5 UNF Spring Break Open in Jacksonville, Fla.

14

SPORTS

Simms, Honor finish strong at Big South track championship

By David Thackham thackhamd@mytjnow.com

Although the final results went against them, the Winthrop Eagles track and field team made sure not to leave the Big South Championships empty handed in Clemson, S.C., last Friday. While the Liberty Flames men’s and women’s teams continued their dominant success, the Eagles gained positive results from sprinters Keary Simms and Sharon Honor, as well as an admirable finish from freshman Jeanne Stroud.

The Flames led in the team standings by the end of the Thursday preliminaries and did not let up their consistency, blazing ahead of the pack by picking up wins in the men’s 500 m run, men’s mile run and the women’s 1600 m relay, among others.

The teams won in the women’s tournament by accruing 179.50 points, more than seven times the number points the Winthrop women (ninth place out of nine teams) made of 23.50. The men, however, showed more resiliency to finish tied for 5th with 56 points throughout the events.

Winthrop cross country and track coach, Ben Paxton, was satisfied, despite the standings.

“I’m happy with the team, but I thought we could have done better,” Paxton said.

“We did the things we thought we would accomplish, so I’m pleased.”

Winthrop’s day began slowly as Eagle runner Drew Harris never got going in the men’s mile event to finish 12th overall with a time of 4:38. However, as the events got shorter, the fortune got better for the garnet and gold. Honor barely missed a podium finish in the women’s

60-meter hurdles final with a time of 8:81 to gain fourth place. Her finals time was .07 seconds faster than her preliminary time.

Simms picked up Winthrop’s one-andonly event win in the men’s version of the 60 m hurdles, with a blistering time of 8:05 seconds. The time was only .28 seconds slower than the Big South conference record held by former Winthrop athlete Kandrick Cooper set in 2007.

Simms was confident going into the event.

“I knew I had the advantage coming in and I wanted to finish the race as soon as I started it,” the senior said. “This year, I got stronger and faster, I just had to capitalize on my training, perfect my technique, to get over the hurdles and be as fast as possible.”

Meanwhile, freshman Kimberleigh Riggs impressed in the women’s pole vault, clearing a height of 3.45 m to score fifth place in the finals.

Despite entering an atmosphere such as Clemson University, the Winthrop contingent was undaunted at the competitive nature of the Big South Championships.

“Some people get scared of the pressure,” said cross-country runner Adam Freudanthal, “but it elevates us and makes us work harder.” “The bigger the environment the more competitive I am,” said Simms, Freudanthal’s teammate Back on the track, senior Drew Franklin came close to victory with a time of just more than 50 seconds in the men’s 400 meters, while Adam Leroux placed fourth in the 800 m final, finishing with a time of just 1:57.

In the heptathlon, senior Theo Facinoli

had a quick start in the 1000 m race, but was passed on the final stretch to earn third-place. However, the Phoenix, Md. native was satisfied with his performance.

“We’re a pretty small crew, so if we can pick up any points from events, it all helps,” he said.

Honor continued her impressive day with a second-place finish in the women’s 200 m final. But the Winthrop women were altogether unsuccessful on Friday, as they could not uproot themselves from the bottom of the standings after Jeanne Stroud failed to protect an early lead and slipped to 10th place in the women’s 5000 meter race.

“She [Stroud] is disappointed,” Paxton said, “but the girls in front of her are scholarship athletes, and she’s not. The schools are going out for the best talent they can, but she’s young, and I think she’s very good.”

The focus for Winthrop now lays outside as the weather warms and activities move outdoors in the Big South Conference.

“I’m really excited to get to the outdoor schedule,” said Freudanthal, who also picked up all-conference academic honors in Clemson. “It’s good to be in our true element,” Paxton said.

“We’ll be taking most of our kids [and] see how they fare outdoors. We’re definitely looking forward to that, it’s a big competition.

The Eagles’ first outdoor challenge will be at the University of North Florida as Winthrop will take on the best from the Southeast at the Spring Break Open.

Coming soon: WU unveils athletic statues Statues depict athletes in men’s track, men’s soccer, women’s tennis and softball

By Johnsonian sports staff editors@mytjnow.com

The Winthrop University Athletic Complex will soon introduce four new athletic statues to the vicinity. The iron figures will honor athletes in four sports - men’s track, men’s soccer, women’s tennis and softball, all which will bear the Winthrop logo.

The statues were generously constructed by Charlotte, N.C., businessman and philanthropist Ike Belk. His name may seem familiar to many student-athletes at Winthrop. The Irwin Belk Track is honored in his name for providing funding to the facility.

Additionally, Belk’s generosity contributed to the main campus’ famous eagle sculpture. The sculptures are completed and set to be installed at the Complex in the spring semester.

Above: The proposed locations of the athletic statues at the Complex. Left: A representative photo of the statues. Photos courtesy of the Winthrop University website.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

15

SPORTS

WU offense not good enough for road win

“”

We’re proud of our team.

Randy Peele

Head Winthrop coach

Photo by Jeff Brodeur • brodeurj@mytjnow.com

Team eliminated after first round play, finishes season with 13 wins basketball• from front sessions in the first three minutes.

The Keydets seemed ineffective from the three point line— their usual forte. They shot well below their Big South leading average, only hitting one trey in eight minutes of play.

However, VMI had another way to win, through the masterful rebounding of Sam Okoye.

The sophomore contributed ten defensive rebounds and led the team in scoring with 23 points.

VMI head coach Duggar Baucom commented on Winthrop’s post-season strength after the game.

“They’re good at tournament time and playing them was not what we wanted to do,” he said.

Winthrop tried to cling to their tenuous lead, but soon found themselves in hot water after VMI guard Keith Gabriel tied

the game at 20 with fewer than seven minutes to play in the half.

A Corbin free throw briefly restored the lead for the Eagles.

But not long after the home crowd was brought to its collective feet after a massive block by freshman D.J. Covington denied Winthrop any comfortable lead.

Head Winthrop coach Randy Peele said such a close lose while vying for a conference title is hard to swallow.

“We’re very proud of our team,” Peele said. “It was a very tough game for us to lose.”

Winthrop had certainly done their homework to contain VMI’s main threat, Austin Kenon, who tallied 29 points in the last encounter between the squads. Kenon was scoreless for the first 17 minutes of the game and got into early foul trouble.

Close to the end of the first

half, VMI’s Rodney Glasgow pulled a three point play by getting fouled on his way to an open basket, bringing the Keydets their biggest lead of the night, 31-27.

VMI got off to a rapid start to open up the final half. After three minutes, the Keydets were up 44-34 due to more magic from Okoye in the lane. VMI, the nation’s leaders in points per game shocked Winthrop out of the blocks with a perfect 6-6 from the field, including 3 straight three pointers.

The large lead caused Winthrop to try more shots, but started to show fatigue.

Corbin had to shoulder most of the load for Winthrop, finishing tied for the game-leading scorer, with 12 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. His work in the paint allowed Winthrop to

wrestle their way back into the game, 50-48.

Both teams nulled each other until a questionable charging call provided Winthrop a tantalizing opportunity to spoil the show in Lexington. Valentine made two key throws from the stripe to cut the lead to 3 with one minute and a half left in the contest. The play inspired the Eagles to make two separate three’s within 30 seconds from the fingertips of Robbie Dreher and Andre Jones, slicing the Keydet lead to 72-70.

But VMI’s Okoye was not finished yet.

He drained a three of his own with 45 seconds on the clock.

The situation did not get any better after Valentine gave up a foul on Kenon, to give VMI an almost unassailable lead with 26 seconds to go.

With the last play of the game,

Corbin saw no other options around him and was forced to try a half-hearted trey, which clanged off the glass and gave the students of VMI every reason to storm the court as time expired.

“I took the shot, I felt confident about it,” Corbin said after the game. “It just didn’t fall.”

Kenon finished the night below his 18.3 points per game average, but it was enough to take him and his squad to Coastal Carolina to compete in the semifinals.

The last time Winthrop lost in the first round of the Big South Conference Tournament was in 2009 against UNC Asheville, 7668.

Winthrop is now to 13-9 all time against VMI and concludes its season with a 13-17 record, 9-9 in conference play.

THURSDAY March 3, 2011

THE JOHNSONIAN

16