The Johnsonian - Mar. 2, 2016 by The Johnsonian

Winthrop University

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Rock Hill, South Carolina

Withers roof gets much needed repair Winthrop receives $2 million grant for roof repairs Thomas Calamia calamiat@mytjnow.com As you walk up the stairs towards the fourth floor of Withers, the first thing that hits you is the scent. You are met with the smell of wet wood mixed with the smell of the old building. As you open the door to the main room, all you can see is everything covered in white tarps. In the center of the room are two tables pushed close together with a tarp in between, creating a basin to collect the rain water. When you look up and hear the drips and drops fall into the filled tarp crevasse from the most recent rainfall, you can visibly see the wet, rotting damage to the roof. Withers, one of Winthrop’s most recognizable buildings, has been struggling with damage to the roof. This damage has been present for a long time and has only gotten worse as the years have progressed. After a grant from the South Carolina general assembly, money has been secured for the roof, an engineer design has been made, and the project is moving forward to be bid out to architectural companies. “Withers is an old, old building. It’s also a conglomeration of different structures,” said Walter Hardin, the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management. “The original building was built in 1890, and it’s the place where Plowden auditorium is.” The building wasn’t originally owned by Winthrop. It was acquired by Winthrop’s founding president, D.B. Johnson in 1908. Shortly after buying the building, Johnson built a front edition and is what we know today as Withers. The building was built as a Victorian Gothic Revival design. Johnson, an avid traveler, was heavily inspired and influenced by European

architecture and had the architecture company Edwards and Sayward build the front edition in 1912. Various additions and updates were made in 1950, 1960, 1980 and in the late 1990s. “We’ve patched it a lot,” said Hardin. The roof has undergone many different fixes. From patches, to extensive work, Withers has one of the most intricate roofs on campus. “There is a Modified Bitumen Roof, a slate roof, there is another modified roof, sip last gutters and more slate,” Hardin Jacob Hallex/ The Johnsonian said. “So it has umpteenth Roof damage has caused the fourth floor of Withers’ to be closed. different roof styles. Plus it has Tarps cover parts of the floor to prevent leaking rain water from a million places that hidden causing more damage to the room. valleys, and the hidden trough gutters. It’s a complex roof. And scheduling problems, requiring classes to be those slates have been on since 1912.” moved to other places in campus. The last time The education department, Withers’ main serious work was done on the roof was in 1983. tenants, have been dealing with this problem as best as they can. The roof has caused several see REPAIR pg. 3

NOT EVEN CLOSE

INSIDE

A&C

The blunt truth about marijuana PG 8

NEWS Associated Press

Photo of Hillary Clinton speaking at an event in 2013.

Clinton wins over South Carolina in Democratic Primary Thomas Calamia calamiat@mytjnow.com The crowd cheered Saturday night at the University of South Carolina. Blue signs saying “Hillary 2016” waved as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took the stage for her victory speech. Senior Adarrell Gadsden was in the crowd. Taking a jab at her competition on the right, Clinton said “We don’t need to

make America great again. America has never stopped being great.” “The rally culminated what I think was a great day for Democrats in South Carolina, as well as all Hillary Clinton supporters,” Gadsden said. “When polls closed at 7 p.m. we didn’t have to wait too long after to hear Anderson Cooper announce that Hillary Clinton had won the South Carolina Democratic Primary. The announcement was followed by a large cheer from Clinton supporters in the room.” The South Carolina Democratic Primary took place Saturday night saw Hillary Clinton win in a landslide against Bernie Sanders.

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see CLINTON pg. 4

Catch up with Winthrop president and first lady

S&T

PG 3

How young is too young for social media? PG 5

Index: News 3 | Science & Tech 5 | Sports 6 | Arts & Culture 8 | Opinion 10

March 2, 2016

WEATHER Police Blotter Wednesday Sunny 55 °/ 30 ° F

Saturday Partly Cloudy 57 °/ 37 ° F

Thursday Partly Cloudy 55 °/ 37 ° F

Sunday Sunny 63 °/ 37 ° F

Friday Rain 52 °/ 34 ° F

Monday Partly Cloudy 66 °/ 43 ° F

Tuesday Partly Cloudy 72 °/ 50 ° F

Puppy Flim Flam

The victim wanted to purchase two Yorky puppies from the subject, a local woman. According to the victim, the local woman was going to ship the puppies from a company called “Puppy Express USA.” On Feb. 23, the local woman told the victim that they needed to send her $300 immediately and another $100 later to cover the shipping. Later they were told that they also needed to send a $450 for an insurance fee to cover any illnesses they puppies might contract while on route. The local woman told the victim that the puppies did not make it on the ﬁrst shipment, but would be on the next shipment at 5 p.m. The victim sent the money three separate times to the company by Western Union Money Order to Puppy Express USA. Later, the victim received a text message from the local woman saying that the victim needed to pay additional $190 money gram to Beau, Cameroon for an importing license, and then another money gram of $380 to the same location to a Dina Pascal Wiymo for the dogs to change states. After this, the victim refused to send any more money and ﬁled a police report.

Alcohol Poisoning Officers were dispatched to Margret Nance Feb. 26 in regards to an unconscious intoxicated student laying in the floor. The officer met with the resident assistant on call and went to the student. The student was lying on their side on the first floor common room. Vomit was covering the couch and floor. The officer and RA tried several times to wake the defendant up. They were able to help the student to their feet but was unable to answer any of the officer’s questions. Emergency Medical Services were called and was transported by ambulance to the Piedmont Medical Center for a comprehensive treatment. The RLC of the building went to the hospital with the student. A video of the student was found after the incident from that night of the student smoking marijuana and drinking beer at a party. The officer issued the defendant a violation for possession and consumption of alcohol under the age of 21 and will be referred to the Winthrop University Judicial Affairs.

Internet hoaxes are everywhere online, and it is important not to get sucked into them. Here’s some ways to know if Betty White is really dead when you see an article claiming “Betty White Dyes (sic).” The general rule of thumb is that if the story sounds unbelievable, it probably is. Always check information with reputable news outlets to confirm the story. In the case of a famous celebrity dying, the news will be reporting on it. For political hoaxes, in addition to checking other news sites, check factcheck.org or polyfact.com.

NEWS

theJohnsonian March 2, 2016

Catching up with the Mahonys University president and the first lady talk about the past semester and the future of the university Carolyn Rennix rennixc@mytjnow.com In July 2015, Winthrop University President Dr. Daniel Mahony and his wife Laura made their way down South, packed all of their belongings and moved their family of four into the beautiful brick house on Oakland Avenue. With so many unknowns, an entirely new community and many goals in mind for the university, President Mahony was ready to take on the challenge at Winthrop’s 11th president. Just eight months later, the Mahony family has become very accustomed to the Southern way of life. “Adjusting to the university and to the community has gone really well,” President Mahony said. “Getting to know the students, faculty and staff… It’s a small campus, and it’s a lot different than what I had before, but I like that part quite a bit.”

Quality family time Laura Mahony also said that the university has been a great place to continue to raise their teenagers, Gavin, 16, and Elena, 13. Whether it’s attending a sports game, political event or educational lecture, she enjoys being able to spend that time together as a family. “It’s a real treat for our kids to be able to go to the events on campus; that’s something most kids never get to experience, and that is really meaningful to us,” she said. “We like spending time with our family, and we like the fact that they get to enjoy these activities together.” With so many events on campus, Laura Mahony said that there isn’t just one memory that she can peg as their favorite. “There have been a lot of great memories; this campus and community really do have a lot of things a family can enjoy – which is one of the reasons we were so happy he got the job here,” she said. “It’s really just the simple things that we get to do together right here on campus that have been the most memorable.” But when the family isn’t all together, Laura Mahony can be seen at the many domestic violence awareness events on campus, and Elena loves to run around campus and play pool in DiGs with her friends, and Gavin enjoys working out in the West Center.

Unforgettable experiences Knowing where South Carolina sat on the pri-

Jacob Hallex / The Johnsonian

Dr. Daniel Mahony and his wife Laura Mahony led the blue line following the 2015 Convocation Ceremony. The couple said that this was one of their fondest memories so far at the university and they enjoyed being part of that tradition. mary schedule, President Mahony said he knew that Winthrop had the potential to have a few candidates, but nothing compared to the amount of high profiled figures that stumped through campus this year. “To have 10 [candidates] and 20,000 people visit our campus, and be on national TV, was way beyond what I expected or could have really hoped for,” he said. “All of that well exceeded what I thought was even possible.” Not only was this a great experience for the president but also for the students. President Mahony reflected on his years as an undergraduate and how different it compares to what the students at Winthrop have been able to experience. “Whether it was the most extreme liberal Democrat or conservative Republican, anytime someone like that was on our campus, I went to it. Being exposed to all of those people was a big part of my college experience,” he said. “But what Winthrop students have been able to experience in the last eight months exceeds what I got in my four years as an undergraduate by far.”

Accomplishments, goals for the future In less than a year as president, Mahony has accomplished many of the goals he set for himself in early July. These goals included forming working groups towards a strategic planning process, making connections with legislators and leaders in the area and also forming relationships with students, faculty and staff across the

board. Most of the working groups have completed draft reports, and a few are close to finalized reports, according to President Mahony. These committees’ findings and reports will not help the faculty work towards improving the university experience for the students, but also staff. The university also sent out a survey to all students, faculty and staff, as well as alumni and business and political leaders in the community to help pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of the university. President Mahony said that to his surprise and delight, most of the responses were consistent among all groups surveyed. “The nice thing that we found through the process was the consistency in responses across the groups, which is not always the case,” he said. “It didn’t matter which group we asked, they identified similar key strengths, challenges and priorities, which was helpful.” President Mahony said that the last eight months have been very successful for the working groups and he hopes to make Winthrop the best it can be for all members of the university community. “Once we have that plan, it will be much clearer for everyone to know what our priorities are and what our very specific and measurable goals are,” he said. “I think that will be very helpful to the whole campus community, to see where we are trying to go in the next 10 years and then start working on all of those strategies to get us there.”

REPAIR • from front “We have some classes up there, but it’s mostly for events and training,” said Karen Miller, the Budget Analyst and Building Manager for the Education Department. “We’ve been using Plowden a lot more and we’ve had to turn some people away.” The way that Hardin and facilities management have been dealing with the leaks in the main room of Withers is by a special tarp draining system. All of the furniture is covered in tarps to prevent water damage. Underneath the main leaking area is a large trap held aloft by tables. There is a crease in between, creating a basin for water to collect. The water then flows into a pump. Vice President of Finance and Business John Paul McKee said that the roof has been on the campus’s list of project that needed funding “for a number of years.” “We’ve been trying to find a funding source for several years and two years ago we got $750,000 and we used that money to develop the design for the new room,” McKee said. “And so we’re ready to go and we know what needs to be done. We’re ready to bid it out, but we don’t have the money. So last year, the general assembly gave us $2 million to do that. And we’ll put that bid out any day now.” A bid is a process in which the university puts out the plans for the repair to several different architectural companies with a maximum budget. Those companies then compete, or bid, to do it for less and less. The one claiming to do it for the least amount of money gets the job. However, the process of coming up with the designs and

Jacob Hallex / The Johnsonian

The tarps on the fourth floor of Withers catching the water dripping from the roof. getting them approved are time consuming. “We got the funding in June,” McKee said. “There is some paper work that has to be done. Had to get the design approved by the state engineers office. It has taken about six months to prepare and get ready to bid the project out.” McKee himself has helped facilities management and the education department take care of the fourth floor in the meantime. McKee said he has been “over there at 10 at night with

Thomas Calamia | News Editor calamiat@mytjnow.com

buckets” to make sure that the water does not flow into the halls. Winthrop is looking to start the project at the end of the spring semester, starting in May. The plan is to have the project done while most students are away, causing the least amount of problems for classes and the department. The roof repairs are slated to be complete by the beginning of the fall semester.

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March 2, 2016

Say no to domestic violence, sexual assault Safe Passage will promote speaking out against domestic violence on campus Carolyn Rennix rennixc@mytjnow.com South Carolina ranks first in the nation for women killed by men by use of a handgun, and more than 90 percent of women murdered by men are killed by someone they know, according to the Violence Policy Center. Safe Passage Inc. – a Rock Hill non-profit organization that provides support for domestic violence and sexual assault victims – wants these scary statistics to end. Safe Passage will be promoting their “Say No More” campaign March 7-11, and will attend the “Safe Spring Break” event on campus in hopes of gaining more student volunteers and spreading the word about violence against women and children. “Safe Spring Break” will be held on March 8 at 10:30 a.m. DiGs Lobby. The event is free for all students and sponsored by Winthrop’s Office of Victim’s Assistance. Various campus and community departments and organizations will provide information to students that they can utilize to have a safe and

enjoyable spring break. Topics including alcohol, sexual responsibility and helping a friend who might experience trouble or harm will be discussed. Safe Passage Volunteer Coordinator Crystal O’Gorman said that she is grateful to being working with the Office of Victim’s Assistance to remind students of the serious and pervasive problem of domestic violence and sexual assault. “Physical and sexual violence plagues all age groups and this gives us a great opportunity to remind students to be safe while they may be vacationing with friends in unfamiliar environments,” O’Gorman said. Chandra Mingo, integrated marketing communication senior and Safe Passage community outreach volunteer, said that she hopes this event will show students how prevalent domestic violence is right in Rock Hill. “We hope to bring a culture of change and that the event will bring awareness to the prevalence of the problem in our community,” Mingo said. O’Gorman said that she hopes these events will open the community members’ eyes to these societal issues. “[We hope these events] will inform the community on the realities of physical and sexual violence happening right here in our community.... Chances are you or someone you know has been affected by these violent acts,” she said. Safe Passage provides trauma-informed services such as crisis counseling, emergency shelter, and legal advocacy. We have a 24 hour toll free crisis hotline 1-800-659-0977, where victims can call to get advice on how to handle

Reagan Martin / The Johnsonian

unsafe situations and find out ways in which Safe Passage can provide resources that will benefit their individual circumstances. “These are traumatic incidents that can turn your world upside [down],” O’Gorman said. “It’s important not only for victims but also for everyone to know how Safe Passage can advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, because we have the tools to help empower the victim to move forward in his or her life.”

Reagan Martin / The Johnsonian

“Pro-Black isn’t Anti-White”

CLINTON • from front The total vote wound up with 73.5 percent of the total vote and 39 delegates, while Bernie Sanders received only 26 percent of the vote and 14 delegates. The overall projected score, just thirty minutes after the polls closed saw Clinton as the winner. Clinton’s campaign shortly after declared victory, despite having such a low percentage of the votes having been counted. “While I can say the result came as no surprise to anyone, the margin a victory was a little larger than most of the experts anticipated,” Gadsden said. “I think that neither campaign expected that huge amount of turn out,” said Roman Vitanza, Senior Digital Information major, Chair of the Winthrop College Democrats and Vice Chair of the South Carolina College Democrats. “Granted each campaign did have voter identification issues at the precincts that I went towards. No one expected that kind of outcome.” “It was really exciting to be around so many supporters and to have the opportunity to speak with some press at the event on why I chose to support Hillary,” Gadsden said. Some voters and supporters of Bernie Sanders felt that the race was called too soon. “The results, to me, were abysmal,” said Joseph Ferguson, Senior Political Science major. “Sanders got pounded. My

problem with the Clinton campaign was that they called that she won at 7:30 p.m. Voting closed at 7 p.m. Only 2 percent of the votes were in. Granted, yes, she did win, but I would have liked the respect to have been called a little bit later.” The younger voters, who are a big supporters of Sanders, were barely seen at the polls. “They were at home tweeting,” Ferguson said. “Young people just don’t come out and vote. They say that they want to make a difference, they say want to change the nation, they say want better student loan laws, but when it comes time to vote for all those things, they don’t.” “Most of the younger generation actually hasn’t registered to vote at this point,” Vitanza said. “A lot of people at the Bernie Sanders Rally were actually polled in that they had not registered, but were going to. Yet it takes 30 days in advance to either get absentee ballots or register to vote in a primary. So when they said that they were for him, they did not make enough time in their own schedule to go and get registered.” Shortly after Clinton’s rally in South Carolina, Sanders congratulated her at his rally in Minnesota, stating that “You win some and you lose some.” “We won a decisive victory in New Hampshire,” Sanders said. “She won a decisive victory in South Carolina. Now it’s on to Super Tuesday.”

Jacob Hallex/ The Johnsonian

(Top) The Gents League held a moment of silence on Scholar’s Walk last Thursday. The event was in remembrance of lives lost to police violence and to serve as a reminder that pro-black demonstrations aren’t meant to be taken as anti-white declaration. (Bottom) Dean of Students Bethany Marlowe and Assistant Director of Student Activities Patricia Riley joined students during the moment of silence.

Reagan Martin / The Johnsonian

S&T

theJohnsonian March 2, 2016

Game Review: Disgaea PC Great game, bad port Daniel James jamesd@mytjnow.com Disgaea PC is the new port of Nippon Ichi Software’s 2003 strategy role playing game. Disgaea is a classic RPG with seemingly endless replay value filled with humor and action. The game stars Laharl, demon Prince of the Netherworld who awakens after a 2-year nap to find out that his father, Overlord Krichevskoy has died. Along with unlikely allies that include exploding penguins, an angel trainee, and an inept space hero, Laharl must battle his way to retaking the throne. Disgaea PC uses all of the functionality that was added in the PSP port Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. This port added new modes to the original as well as characters from Disgaea 2 and a music shop that lets players listen to whatever song they want from the game. Despite the success of the PSP port and the fact that Disgaea was one of my favorite games growing up, this port held little to be desired, at least for the $20 price tag. One of the main features that NIS added is what they call updated user interface and textures. While

the updated UI is fantastic and makes it much easier to read the menus, the texture update is not much of an upgrade. The backgrounds look fantastically crisp and high definition for an SRPG. They also added shading and shadows to the world. The issue is the fact that the sprites weren’t updated. While there is an option to smooth the character sprites, the juxtaposition of the faded sprites over the new background makes the characters seem out of place. This isn’t the only issue with the updated textures, however. I have a gaming computer, and even I experienced fps drops due to the new functionality Screenshot by Daniel James / The Johnsonian of the port. After I while I had Comparison between old and new graphics. The left shows the PSP graphics to turn the computer to High Performance Mode, which uses and the right shows the newer options. While backgrounds are improved the much more power and processing characters look out of place. and is normally meant for 4k texture Skyrim with over 200 in the item world, depending on have not played it, I recommend the mods. This should not be necessary the complexity of the dungeons you game for its story and gameplay, for a PSP port. get, could take away over 2 hours of but try to get it on another console I also, even after switching gameplay. if you can. modes, experienced a game crash. What is most surprising to me This port gets a 1.0 point drop While I only had one while others is what they didn’t add. For years, with a 3.5 rating. have reported more, I think it is still fans have been asking for a way to That being said, I still hope that important to note. increase the combat speed. While NIS will attempt to port the other One of Disgaea’s key features that certain animations can be turned games to PC and I do believe that set it apart is a concept called “The off, the game still takes a while they will improve this port with Item World.” This is an area in the to get through due to waiting on patches. game that allows players to enter certain animations that don’t turn TL;DR items and fight through randomlyoff. Pros – Gameplay same as the PSP generated dungeons to improve the While I love this game, this port version, packed with humor and item. does not do it justice. For anyone references, updated UI Crashes are a major issue here who already owns this on PSP, don’t Cons – Flawed textures, frame as players are only allowed to save bother buying it; you already have rate drops, random crashes, the game every 10 floors. A crash the best version. For those who gamepad support could be better.

Children in a social age

How young is too young? Sydney Hankinson Special to the Johnsonian

When we were little, many of us spent our days playing with Barbies, Legos or even playing outside. Occasionally, we may have played a video or computer game. Many children today have access to the Internet, and in many cases they are not sufficiently monitored. Cyberbullying, sexting and sharing personal information are just a few of the dangers that children may face on social media. So how young is too young for Instagram? According to a study by Director of the Self and Relationships research team at the University of Michigan, teens and preteens spending a great deal of time on Facebook can increase risk of depressive symptoms, a malady that has come to be called “Facebook Depression.” Sydney Hankinson / The Johnsonian University of Houston researcher Mai-Ly Steers said that comparing oneself to others may be the Social media apps are becoming as popular to kids as actual toys. Research shows that more than half of cause of this in some cases. young people will be on social media by the age of 10. “One danger is that Facebook often gives us information about our friends that we are not over half of children will have joined a social Social media addiction is becoming a major normally privy to, which gives us even more media network by the age of 10, public issue. The younger children are allowed opportunities to socially most of them joining Facebook. to use social media, the more time they have to compare,” Steers said. “You The study also found that 43 become addicted, potentially to a point where it can’t really control the impulse percent of 8 to 16-year-olds had would be very difficult to fight the addiction. to compare, because you never messaged strangers. KnowTheNet’s social age survey continued with know what your friends are Although Facebook has a a response from the children surveyed. According going to post. minimum age limit of 13 millions to them, the best way for parents to address this Steers said that while social of children under 13 are on issue is communication. media might seem to be a Facebook anyway, often with their For some children and parents, it might just benefit, she hopes that her parents’ knowledge. be a good idea to wait until the children have research will help people Certified family physician matured, but for those that do choose to allow understand that there could be Deborah Gilboa said that parents social media use, while parental controls are unintentional side effects and knowingly allowing Facebook helpful, they don’t catch everything. consequences. to those underage sets a bad This means that parents have to talk to their “If we’re comparing Mai-Ly Steers example. children about the dangers and help children ourselves to our friends’ University of Houston researcher “Preteens need to learn to follow understand them. ‘highlight reels,’ this may rules before they learn the later Parents should also familiarize themselves with lead us to think their lives are skill of which rules are appropriate to break in their child’s school Internet policies and try to better than they actually are,” Steers said. life,” she said. “They need to see that rules are be aware of what is happening at school and on A social age survey conducted by KnowTheNet, enforced.” social media, offering guidance as needed. a nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom,

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One danger is that Facebook often gives us information about our friends that we are not normally privy to

Daniel James | Science & Technology Editor jamesd@mytjnow.com

SPORTS

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March 2, 2016

Who is the yellow man?

Jacob Hallex/ The Johnsonian

Yellow Man leads the student section in cheers at Winthrop home games. Emily Gill gille@mytjnow.com If you’ve been to a Winthrop home basketball game, you’ve seen Kyle Rine. The senior biochemistry major usually wears a yellow body suit to the games. He likely has signs and a whiteboard with him, too. He didn’t buy the outfit just for Garnet and Gold. He got it in high school. “I went to this small little high school in Kernersville, North Carolina, in the middle of scenic nowhere. We were good at one thing and that was girls basketball,” Rine said. He counted off the eight straight state championships on his fingers. “We had won back to back to back to back…” “Some of my friends and I, we all got the suits in all different colors. We were the Skittles Brigade,” Rine said. After high school, the lemon Skittle suit traveled to Winthrop and beyond. Rine attends some away games in his spare time. “Who says Winthrop fans don’t travel?” Rine said. Wearing the suit at games was a way Rine incorporated himself into the school during his freshman year. Rine said it has been one of his favorite pastimes as an Eagle. Rine has seen changes in the student section because of the Game

Changers Initiative. He believes it encourages students to attend other sports events as well. He emphasized the unity it has brought to campus. “You need people out there to support one team, Winthrop,” Rine said. He does have one regret as far as the initiative is concerned. “They never called A1. That’s my seat. They never called A1,” he chuckled ruefully. Winthrop’s number one fan has one only more sport to attend: lacrosse. He said he plans to attend the home game against St. Francis. The body suit was not worn to all sporting events. For example, it was absent at the golf tournament Rine attended. “I just watched,” Rine said. “[It was] there in spirit.” Rine will graduate in May. He plans to work locally in a toxicology lab for the next year. After that, he will pursue his Masters or a Ph.D. Until then, he’ll still be around. “I guess they can’t keep me away from the Coliseum. I’ll still be in Rock Hill supporting Winthrop in any way possible,” Rine said. Then he paused, considering something. “I don’t know if I’ll wear the suit. Might be a trophy now more than anything else,” Rine said. The game against UNC Asheville was Rine’s last men’s home game. He held up his whiteboard at the before tip off. It read: “Today is my last home game. Thanks for the memories.”

Eagles 4-0 in Adidas Tournament Taylor Simpson simpsont@mytjnow.com The Winthrop Eagles leveled their record to 7-7 after they won all four games in the Winthrop/Adidas Tournament. In Winthrop’s first game on Friday they defeated the Brown University Bears 8-3. Brown got off to a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning until the bottom of the 3rd the Eagles struck back with 2 runs to tie up the game. In the fourth and sixth innings Winthrop got the bats going as they scored 3 runs in each inning take a controlling 8-2 lead. In Winthrop’s second game on Friday the Eagles rallied in the sixth inning to take down the Towson Tigers 4-2. The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning and the Tigers lead lasted until the 6th inning. The Eagles put their rally caps on as they added four runs in 6th inning to take their first lead of the game 4-2. Pitcher Dallas King earned her third win of the season as she pitched all seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits but struck out five.

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The Eagles held on to an early lead to beat the Rider Broncs 9-3 on Saturday. Winthrop started off the game with a homerun from Leah Young and then added three more runs in the first inning to take a 4-0 lead. In the 2nd inning the Eagles bats heated up again as they added four more runs to take a demanding 8-0 lead. Kiley Majette got her second win of the season as she pitched 4 and 2/3 innings and added five strikeouts of own to help Winthrop to a win. In the Eagles’ second game on Saturday they needed last inning heroics to earn an 8-7 win over the Golden Griffins of Canisius College. Winthrop had another early lead as a two-run homerun from left fielder Morgan Lowers gave the Eagles a 5-0 lead in through the 3rd inning. Canisius started a huge six run rally in 4th inning and added one more run in the 5th to give the Griffins a 7-5 lead over Winthrop. In the 7th and final inning the Eagles overcame Canisius’ two run lead with three runs of their own. The won the exciting game with a walk-off single from catcher Paige Haley.

Pitcher Dallas King earned her third win of the season as she pitched all seven innings

Emily Gill | Sports Editor gille@mytjnow.com

College of Charleston maymester/summer sessions 2016

summer sessions can help you: accelerate your degree program. focus on tougher courses. graduate on time. more than 300 courses will be offered this summer, including study abroad and online classes, independent studies and internships.

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March 2, 2016

Eagle of the Week: Jimecheia Banks Men’s Basketball Big South Tournament 3/4 @ 2 p.m. Buies Creek, NC

Women’s Basketball Jacob Hallex/ The Johnsonian

Jimecheia Banks looks for an open passing lane in a 2015 game against High Point University. we're all late. We as a team are Emily Gill accountable for each other,” Banks gille@mytjnow.com said. Part of their accountability Over eight years ago, a young involves keeping other positive and Jimecheia Banks watched some working at a high energy. boys play basketball at her after “The energy level is what school program. sets WU apart from any other “I didn't join them, because I organization or team! We as was very shy but later that day I players initially have energy, as grabbed a ball by well as the coaches. myself and began The energy from the shooting and crowd amps us up dribbling. Before I more!” Banks said. knew it, I was being Banks described the picked to play with crowd as essential to those same boys,” student athletes. Banks said. “Seeing hundreds Now the of fans in the stands sophomore exercise pumps us up. It is nice science major to see students and from Phoenix City, faculty of WU attend Alabama., plays for events, because at Winthrop. [Winthrop University] Playing at we feel like we are one Winthrop comes big family,” Banks with standards. said. Putting in extra time One of those times outside of practice, Banks felt the energy scoring a certain from her team and the amount of points crowd was Winthrop’s as a whole during win over Auburn practice drills, University in 2014. and succeeding Then-sophomore Jimecheia Banks in academics guard Aliyah Sophomore exercise science are three of the Kilpatrick scored four major most important free throws within the expectations. last 18 seconds of the Banks emphasized game, which brought the importance the score to 56-54. of working together as a whole, Schaquilla Nunn, then a junior, especially in light of the many shut down a shot from Tigers injuries the Lady Eagles have faced senior Hasina Muhammad seconds this season. later at the buzzer. “We have to stick together to Banks has come a long way from conquer. We do everything as a her days shooting by herself at her team. We show up on the court all school and hopes her team can pull together as one. If someone is late, together for the rest of the season.

“”

I didn’t join them, because I was very shy but later that day I grabbed the ball myself and began shooting and dribbling.

Indoor track and field finishes strong Women’s team captures 4th place at Big South Conference Indoor Championship Taylor Simpson simpsont@mytjnow.com The Winthrop Eagles track and ﬁeld teams traveled to Virginia Tech this weekend for the Big South Conference Indoor Championship. The women took 4th place in the standings while the men took 5th. Junior thrower Marthaline Cooper had another dominating

performance, as she took first place in the women’s weight throw with a 21.19 meter toss. Marthaline also added another award as she was named Big South indoor field athlete of the year. In the women’s 60 meter hurdles and the 400 meter dash senior Alesha Love finished second in both events and also breaking school records in both events that were set in 2010 and 2013. Cullen Barringer finished second place in the heptathlon and breaking his own school record. Jordan Jackson and Asa Walvoort both finished in fifth in the 60 meter hurdles and the shot put. For some Winthrop Eagles they will extend their indoor season as the NCAA indoor championships is in Birmingham, Alabama March 11-12.

3/5 @ 2 p.m. Conway, SC Big South Tournament 3/10 @ T.B.D Asheville, NC

Lacrosse 3/12 @ 12 p.m. Eagle Field

Baseball 3/4-3/6 @ Various Times Eagle Field

Softball 3/4 - 3/6 Winthrop Invitational Terry Softball Complex

FREAKY FAST! FREAKY GOOD!

SERIOUS DELIVERY!

★ JIMMYJOHNS.COM ★

Taylor Simpson | Assistant Sports Editor simpsont@mytjnow.com

A&C

theJohnsonian March 2, 2016

Event highlights mental health issues Kali Coleman colemank@mytjnow.com Depression and suicide are topics that are usually saved for behinddoors conversations. The National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) attempted to bring the conversation to light Monday night. “Trapped” was just one of the events that the NPHC put on last week for Winthrop’s NPHC week. Alongside a student’s poetry reading and a performance from the improv theatre group “Skin Deep,” the event also showed a TED Talk from YouTube and hosted a presentation from Dr. Gretchen Baldwin, a member of the Winthrop’s counseling staff. “Why we choose suicide” was the TED Talk showed at the event. Mark Henick, a Canadian Mental Health advocate, gave the talk and discussed his personal experience with mental illness and attempted suicide. “One way that we can help is to stop saying that people ‘commit’ suicide… and that is because suicide is a public health concern, not a criminal one,” Henick said. After the video, Baldwin asked the audience for their reactions to the video. One member yelled, “painful.” “That’s right, it’s all about pain,” Baldwin said. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association, lists symptoms of a Major Depressive Episode. According to Baldwin’s

presentation, some of these symptoms include depressed mood, loss of interest or enjoyment in activities, significant weight loss or gain, and fatigue or loss of energy. “Depressed mood doesn’t necessarily mean ‘super sad,’ like crying all the time. It can mean that, but most of the times when I see a client in my office, they describe their mood as ‘I just don’t care,’” Baldwin said. A major part of Baldwin’s presentation was explaining the specific nature of depression and African-Americans. According to Baldwin’s statistics, many African Americans tend to believe that depression is a personal weakness, and only 31 percent believed that depression was a “health problem.” Baldwin included a quote from a 2012 NPR interview with Dr. William Lawson of Howard University “Many African-Americans have a lot of negative feelings about, or not even aware of mental health services. They may not be aware of the symptoms of many mental disorders, or they may believe that to be mentally ill is a sign of weakness or a sign of a character fault,” Lawson said. Baldwin said that the statistics for Winthrop students show a positive outcome. “Thirty percent of students at Winthrop identify as African American or black. Luckily, 30 percent of clients in counseling services also identify as African American or black… Clients are coming in at the same proportions as we exist at Winthrop,” Baldwin

Reagan Martin / The Johnsonian

said. Cynthia Gordon, a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc and NPHC, spoke during the program. She said the organization wanted to started out with an informative event for NPHC Week. “Suicide and depression are not topics talked about. And it’s a hard conversation to have, so we wanted to talk about that and share

different experiences. It’s to give students ways to help, or help their friends,” Gordon said. Gordon said she specifically thinks these type of programs are important for college students because of the stress we endure. “We need to know how to balance out stress and what avenues we can take if we have any issues,” Gordon said.

The blunt truth about marijuana Anthony Sale Staff Writer In a culture driven by maximizing profit and misconceptions, pot-smoking has rapidly spread throughout our country in the past 10 years. After the medical and recreational legalization of marijuana in states such as Colorado and Washington, American students are being introduced to the substance earlier than ever before. This of course, bears dangerous implications. This week, Winthrop held a “Part 2” cultural event discussing “The Blunt Truth About Marijuana,” where speaker Ben Cort from the University of Colorado Health System provided information on issues like medicinal use, early consumption and potency. Cort, a representative from the Center of Dependency, Addiction and Rehabilitation (CeDAR) at the University of Colorado, began by joking, “I guarantee that all of you all won’t like at least one thing I say tonight. Now, let’s make some people mad.” Surprisingly, he went on to reveal that while there are negative stigmas associated with

Kali Coleman | A&C Editor colemank@mytjnow.com

recreational use, he is an advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana. Among the many statistics that were used in his presentation, it was an ad labeled “not what you smoked in the 70s” that centered his main point of the event: the potency of marijuana has dangerously increased. Potency refers to the percentage of THC (psychoactive compound in marijuana) in the plant. For example, he shared that in only five years, the potency of Colorado’s marijuana has increased from 15 to 35 percent. Concentrates of marijuana can reach up to 94 percent potency. Contrast this to what is considered a healthy potency—12 percent or lower—and there lie obvious reasons for informing the public. Additionally, he made an important distinction between the two compounds in marijuana: THC and CBD. Contrary to popular belief, THC is the chemical that makes users feel “high,” yet is has little to no medical benefits. Whereas, CBD contributes a plethora of medical benefits to the user. According to Cort, while THC levels are exponentially increasing each year, CBD levels have remained the same. Next, he shared a little of his own addiction

story. Cort mentioned that this event was one of many toward reaching his goal of ending misconceptions about marijuana. He is also dedicated to inspiring sobriety amongst American minorities—in particular, the Queer community. At the end of the event, the speaker allowed time for questions in the audience. The most interesting question was as blunt as his presentation: in 2016, it’s safe to say that there’s a certain culture attached to using marijuana. How much of addiction can be attributed to this culture, and how would one know whether their addiction is culturally or mentally based? He replied, “without getting too detailed, addiction is not subjective.” Then, he answered one more: would nationwide legalization in 20 or 30 years be possible, so long as there are classes about drug, alcohol and rape culture in all public high schools? Cort responded, “Yes, if we actually presented it honestly, we wouldn’t have the same issues because right now, these young folks are like ‘yeah, there’s nothing wrong with anything!’”

theJohnsonian

March 2, 2016

“I ain’t got no lunch” Kristin Streetman Special to The Johnsonian

One in every five children in the United States lives in poverty. “What is poverty?” asked speaker Jessica Lynn, the executive director of South Carolina Campus Compact. We tend to think of poverty of a bony, emaciated child in some distant third world country. But the truth of poverty is that it affects people right here at home. There are around 7 billion people on the planet, and 50 percent of those people live on less than $2.50 a day. In the United States, which has a population of 319 million people, has a poverty rate of 15 percent and 21 percent for children under 18. In South Carolina, population five million, there is a poverty rate of 18 percent and a childhood poverty rate of 27 percent. Right here in York County with a population of 250,000, there is a poverty rate of 13 percent and a childhood poverty rate of 17 percent. Poverty rates are hard to track, most people don’t want to admit they live in poverty, so this number could be higher. Poverty has arguably the most devastating effect on children. Children who live in poverty, that is without access to proper medical care, with a lack of shelter, lack of regular meals and/or with an unemployed parent often perform lower in school, get into more fights and are less likely to complete school. Many parents have to choose between paying their bills and feeding their children. But the reality of these necessarily selective meals is far from accepted. People who live in poverty are more likely to be overweight. Healthy foods are more expensive than unhealthy foods, a person can buy a pack of instant noodles or a cheeseburger from McDonald’s for a dollar or two, but a salad from Panera costs eight dollars. Unhealthy food is an unfortunate necessity for people with low income. This diet can cause a slew of other problems. People that are overweight are more likely to have kidney failure, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes and are at a higher risk for certain cancers such as colon cancer. These conditions require medication, which costs money. Poverty affects all aspects of life for those who live in it. There is hope. There are local and national programs to aid those affected by poverty. National programs include SNAP (food stamps) and free or reduced lunch programs. Local programs include food pantries and shelters, such as Pilgrim’s Inn. To specifically help local children with their problem of food insecurity there is Back the Pack. Back the Pack is a program which fills bags with food and delivers them to children who live in poverty,

Kristen Streetman / The Johnsonian

children who would likely not get meals on the weekend, as the majority of their meals come from their lunch program. These bags, fueled by donations and packed by volunteers, are delivered discreetly to children who need them. If you would like to help with Back the Pack and feed needy children in the Rock Hill area you can donate food or volunteer. There will be donation boxes located in the lobbies of all residence halls for the next two weeks, they want things such as fruit snacks or pudding for the children. While cans are appreciated they cannot be given directly to the children, all cans donated will be given to food banks in the area. Other ways to donate include donating food or other supplies to food banks or shelters. Or working with AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) is a national service program with the mission of fighting poverty. SCCC VISTA members serve on our member campuses across South Carolina to develop and implement anti-poverty programming through which they recruit and manage student volunteers to impact their communities. Members must have a 4-year degree and a passionate for civic engagement. If anyone would like more information, they may contact SCCC at sccc@winthrop.edu.

Bring public art to Rock Hill Emily Leamy Staff Writer In an effort to offer more to the already growing Rock Hill community, the city’s Economic and Urban Development leaders have taken on the “Knowledge Park Transformation Initiative.” Knowledge Park is the area in Rock Hill stretching from Old Town East residential development at Elizabeth Lane to Winthrop University at Cherry Road. This includes historic downtown Rock Hill, the redeveloped textile area, a number of residential neighborhoods and Winthrop’s own campus. The park is built upon the principles of “creativity, innovation, and opportunity,” and offers economic as well as cultural benefits. The cultural benefits were discussed on Feb. 23 in Dina’s Place. The cultural event was entitled “Transforming Our Community with Public Art,” and featured acclaimed sculptor Thomas Sayre. Sayre was born and raised in Washington, DC in the shadows of the Washington Cathedral, where his father was the main minister. The cathedral introduced Sayre to the makers that created the beautiful architecture. This introduction at an early age proved to have a great impression on the young sculptor; Sayre now considers himself a maker, a maker of public art. Public art is formally defined as “art in any me-

dia that has been planned and executed with the intention of being staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all.” This definition, however, does not delve into the importance and gravity that public art can have on a space or a community. Shaun Cassidy, a professor of Fine Arts and Sculpture at Winthrop University, believes this cultural event series approaches the subject of public art in order to bring awareness to its significance. “We want to convince people the importance of public art, because it makes a space unique and meaningful; it becomes a destination space, something to celebrate within the community.” Cassidy says. Sayre’s presentation went on to discuss the impact that public art can have on a community such as Rock Hill. The maker explained that public art is very site specific; a concept that he says is “used a lot of the time, and misunderstood a lot of the time.” Site specific art is public art that is created to exist in a certain place, and takes in account the people and the culture surrounding it, adding to the meaningfulness that better allows a community to celebrate the piece and the space it inhabits. Sayre’s own space-specific art has been installed in places such as Portland, Nashville, and

Washington, D.C. One of his most recent pieces is located in Kinston, N.C., a town that has a history of being very active in the tobacco industry. Sayre took this into account when creating his design. For Sayre, the pieces he creates represents the people of the community, “It’s their town, it’s their story.” The final installment consisted of seven tobacco barn faces, taking influence from the culture of the community. This added an aesthetically pleasing public art piece with the bonus of site specificity. “As a sculpture student, we are encouraged to look at public art, and it is interesting to listen to listen to the personal aspect that goes into developing pieces like Sayres’,” Senior Kat Shaw, said. Courtney McLeod, a sophomore who has attended all of the events in this cultural event series thus far, said, “I think it would add something to Rock Hill specifically in the downtown scene. If there were more public art pieces, it could attract people to stick around downtown longer than they usually do.” The next event in this series will occur on March 23 at 7:30pm in Rutledge 119 and feature artist Ivan Depeña. For more information about the Knowledge Park Transformation Initiative, visit KnowledgeParkRockHill.com.

From the red carpet to McBryde Hall Emily Leamy Staff Writer As awards season comes to a close in Hollywood, formal and prom season approaches the real world, including Winthrop’s campus. Event goers can take example from the red carpet, especially perhaps the most famous of them all, The Academy Awards. This awards season fashion ranged from one extreme to the other. On one end, stars wore simple Calvin Klein and gowns with minimal gems and embellishments, while others donned extravagant Valentino and Ellie Saab gowns. Here’s four tips to take a formal look from the red carpet to McBryde Hall.

Keep It Simple

Instead of buying an expensive, extravagant dress, keep it simple with a monotone dress, and splurge on some

statement costume jewelry. You’ll for sure have an eye-catching look while simultaneously looking chic and cool.

Retro Waves

This hair look was seen on many a star this awards season. The most simple way to achieve this look is to part hair on the side, curl with a one inch curling iron, and brush out.

Matching Sets

Matching sets were a trend that was seen from every day looks to the red carpet. Try finding a flowy chiffon maxi skirt and pairing it with a sequined crop top. You can wear the two pieces separately from everyday to a night out.

Bold Lips

This is another trend that was seen in everyday looks, but can be easily transferred to evening. Try pairing a bold lip with simple eye makeup and a strong brow.

Photo courtesy of Vanity Fair

Rachel McAdams at the red carpet for the Oscars Sunday evening.

Jay Grice | Assistant A&C Editor gricej@mytjnow.com

OPINION

theJohnsonian

March 2, 2016

Student talks private rooms Brianna Temple Staff Writer While it may be believed that the rooms provided by Winthrop in residence halls are up for grabs, there is more to it when it comes to getting a double room or a private room. Each residence hall – Margaret Nance, Richardson, Wofford, Lee Wicker, Phelps and Thomson – gives the option of living in a double room or a private room and students can take advantage of it, “but that comes at a cost.” And a hefty cost at that… #brokecollegestudent over here. Residence hall rates are provided on Winthrop’s Department of Residence Life site and the significant increase is noticed as the private room price is twice the amount of a double room. The “per semester, per person” rates are updated as each school year goes by. I cannot imagine paying so much to live on my own here at Winthrop, per semester may I add. When I first came to Winthrop, I knew the price of a private room would be more than a double room, but I did not expect it to be double the amount. I thought we would receive everything we needed to live on our own, just as if we were paying our half of the double room. “Private rooms are provided if they are available,” Cynthia Cassens, Director of Residence Life, said. “We usually can’t determine if we will even be able to offer private rooms for the fall each semester until summer time.

When Cassens stated this, I was surprised because I thought some private rooms were held in each residence hall each semester just for the people who wanted to have them. Cassens, who also holds the position of Assistant Vice President for Student Life, continued by mentioning that the number of private rooms provided depends on the number of incoming freshmen and transfer students that are coming in. The available private rooms are dependent on the incoming students because Residence Life needs to make sure that there is enough space for everybody. There are exceptions made for students to have private rooms if they have a disability that was certified through the Office of Disability Services. “I think there is always someone interested in them for the fall so we maintain a waiting list for people who have requests in. If we can get to them over the summer, if the rooms are available, then we contact them by email or we call them,” Cassens said. “There’s always a request for a few.” While there may be benefits of having a double room such as twice the space and twice the furniture - beds, desks, and closets to name a few – it does come with a raised rate. “That’s why it’s called ‘buying out the other half of the room’ because everything is still there,” Cassens said. Other benefits that were mentioned by Cassens

If we have to live on this campus... We should be happy to be wherever we stay – with no major problems, if any at all.

Althea Holenko / The Johnsonian

were that visitation guidelines and cleaning would not have to be worked out with a roommate. I always thought that when you were paying for a single room, you were paying to receive just that – a single room. No extra closet, dresser, desk, etc. Thinking back on it now, maybe I just watch too many room tours on YouTube and that is where my comparison of double rooms and private rooms come from. And if there has been any doubt on if the private rooms at Winthrop were going away or not, it has been conﬁrmed that they are here to stay. Cassens ended by saying, “If we have the space available and someone wants to buy out the other half of the room to make it private, we’ll sell it to you.” Some students may want to

increase privacy, enjoy more personal space and quiet time, avoid bad roommate experiences, or even be somewhere where they feel more at home and that is why they choose the private room over a double room. I don’t blame them. If we have to live on this campus, or anywhere for that matter, and want to have a nice experience throughout our college years, we should be happy to be wherever we stay – with no major problems, if any at all. While it may be convenient for some to live on their own rather than with someone else here at Winthrop, it is advised to consider the costs of making that arrangement to choose what is best for them – and their wallet.

Uniforms aren’t that bad What if Winthrop had a dress code? Emily Gill gille@mytjnow.com Lots of schools, particularly private schools, require a uniform. Once upon a time, Winthrop was part of that number. Now students can wear whatever they please instead of the required navy blue outﬁts. Some people argue that uniforms show look professional or even are for safety. I have also heard the argument that uniforms eliminate some diﬀerences between rich and poor by wearing the same thing. I disagree. I wore a uniform all four years of high school: navy blue polo tucked into khaki pants with a

belt. Surprisingly they were most concerned with making students tuck in their shirts. My school subscribed to all of the previously stated arguments. I never saw their two main points in action: professionalism and leveling the playing ﬁeld between rich and poor. Some high schoolers did look fairly professional. They were typically well groomed and adhered to the school’s uniform standards. Others were an absolute mess. Understand I am not talking about people who may not have had access to a washing machine. I’m talking about the ones who still had lunch on their shirt. This is the case in all high schools. Essentially, a uniform may show a common thread through the student body but does not necessarily add to professionalism. I attended a charter school on a college campus. As high school students, we enrolled in college classes. Administration told us part of the reason for the uniform was to help the professors identify the high school students in class and in case of emergency. This argument I can understand to some

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level. I’m certain there are legal stipulations behind it saying the high school students must be looked after ﬁrst in case of emergency. Still, even administration always looked like they didn’t believe their own argument when they told us this. Lastly, the “equality” argument was completely ridiculous. The students were allowed to purchase any brand or style they wanted as long as it met the code. I found most of my clothing at Goodwill, but others wore Polo, Abercrombie and Fitch, Southern Tide, etc. The lines were pretty clear, even when all the students were technically wearing the same thing. All in all, a uniform is not harmful. I see no problem with requiring a uniform. I think the best answer administration could have when asked why the students wear a uniform in school is the answer we all hated as children: “Because I said so.” Instead of coming up with little excuses, just say “That’s what we do here. Tuck in your shirt.”

Opinion Editor BRITTANY RAUCH

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theJohnsonian

March 2, 2016

What can future teachers do? Lindsey Feder Staff Writer Did you know that 17 percent of the children living in York County live in poverty? That means there are children living down the street from Winthrop University who are going hungry, living on the street or are sick and unable to go to the doctor to get the help they need. That is unacceptable to a future educator like me. I went to a cultural event called “I Ain’t Got No Lunch” in Plowden Auditorium in Withers last Thursday, Feb. 25, where Ms. Jessica Lynn from SC Campus Compact spoke about the global, national, state statistics on children in poverty and it was shocking to see the huge numbers of children who lived in poverty in South Carolina alone. There are hundreds of thousands of children all around the state who only get “proper” amounts of food when they go to school; that means all those children could go the entire weekend before getting to eat again at school.

homeless shelters, and a fundraiser that was How awful is that? It makes me feel horrible started here in Rock Hill called “Back the Pack.” when I think about all the times I have “Back the Pack,” is a permanent fundraiser complained about eating late or missing dinner when there are children and food drive that gives down the street from me There are children malnourished students a backpack full of food for them to take home for who have not eaten in two or living down the weekend. three whole days. And “Back the Pack” is a way we As a future teacher that the street from makes me feel ill, because can help children in poverty now; for Winthrop University two weeks starting on Monday, Feb. according to statistics one in every five kids lives in 29 all the residence halls at Winthrop who are going poverty, which means in any will have boxes in their main lobbies hungry, living on of my future classes I could that people can put fruit snacks, have four or five students pudding cups and other kinds of the street or are who go hungry when they food that can be put into backpacks leave my classroom on Friday sick and unable to for students to take home on Friday afternoons. go to the doctor to afternoons so that they will not have There are ways we can to go hungry for the whole weekend. get the help they help these children; there So help out on Monday on put are programs out there some snacks in the “Back the Pack” need. for people in poverty like boxes in your residence hall lobby. federal and state assistance You should want to help these programs, SNAP, which is a program that gives children, because these children are our future students in poverty the option of reduced or free and they deserve to be taken care of. lunch, local non-profits like food pantries and

What’s it all about, Alfie? Dave Birley Staff Writer The original 1966 movie, “Alfie” from which the above title was the theme song, starred Michael Caine and Shelley Winters. Many of you folks here at Winthrop may never have heard of either of them, but fortunately this little item isn’t about the film anyway. It is about the core of the question. What is it all about? Many of us come to college with the only background to the learning process being what we have experienced in school. For a significant majority of us that was a public school in the United States. Others of us may have had the privilege of attending a private school, and a few may have had the unusual experience of the Montessori type system. For the majority of us, the learning experience was built around coming to learn what the teacher thought was “right” and becoming skilled at sending back those same ideas to the teacher during the times of testing. Where governmentally mandated tests were looming on the horizon, the teachers, being knowledgeable

of the nature and type of content of such tests, would carefully coach us in being prepared for those specific tests. “Teach to the test” is the popular name for this style of instruction. Then we arrive on a college doorstep. It may take us a while to adjust to the difference of the learning environment. We are exposed to classes are less about what we remember from earlier instruction, and more about what we think. We are allowed to form our ideas. We are encouraged to “think outside the box”, to be original, even “quirky”. And we discover that “homework” has a whole new perspective. We learn that studying is not merely memorizing facts, it involves research, and it involves thinking. Then we learn, at a very early stage, that merely studying the research materials is not the end, it is the beginning of the path. We learn about “citing sources”, attributing to their rightful owners the origins of our referenced materials. We learn that “borrowing” ideas, let alone complete chunks of text, from others must either be respectfully acknowledged or considered in the possible field of plagiarism. Oh my! My thoughts are important? My little insignificant ideas about the anthropological evidences of the origins of species matter? Indeed they do. In the wonderful world of academia all thoughts are important. Perhaps a small analogy might help explain that. I do genealogy – that is I do it

Our Say Editorial Board Brittany Rauch Opinion Editor

Jacob Hallex Managing Editor

Jay Grice Assistant A&C Editor

Emily Gill Sports Editor Thomas Calamia News Editor

Althea Holenko Head Graphic Designer

Althea Holenko / The Johnsonian

when I can ﬁt it into my otherwise overloaded schedule. Genealogy involves researching ancestors and families. In a number of environments it is now given the less threatening name of “Family History”, While doing Family History research we learn early on, that much of the information we have to go on, is hearsay. “According to great-uncle Jed, great-grandma was born in 1873”. We do some digging through census records and vital statistics registers, and discover that she was actually born in 1872. We do not then delete all references to her being born in 1873, because great-uncle Jed may have told a lot of people she was born

Winthrop has been here for years and with each passing year a little bit more is added. Whether it’s a building or a new art project, Winthrop’s growth does not go unnoticed by students. Along with growth comes upkeep and it seems as though some parts of Winthrop are falling to the wayside in favor of prioritized projects. The state of some of the Winthrop facilities are in deﬁnite need of some

then, and many of them may believe great-uncle Jed more than they believe us, because they know him, and they don’t know us. What we learn to do is make his statement part of a note attached to our information, and carefully attribute it to him. After all, it is possible that he is right and all the records that we found were based on some other person’s hearsay statements! So, what you think, what you believe is important – even if eventually it is satisfactorily proven to be wrong. What’s it all about? It’s all about learning to think for ourselves. And may the Force be with you!

attention. Some buildings experience frequent leaks that result in even more damage that will later need to be repaired. Fixing the buildings that need repair sooner rather will help deﬂect further damage and might even keep the cost of repair down. Though we know it will take some time and eﬀort, we love our school and hope that the state of the facilities will soon be improved.

theJohnsonian

March 2, 2016