Niner Times exclusive Q&A with Margaret Cho
The Niner Times talks LGBT, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, her upcoming Charlotte show and more with Margaret Cho, comedian, author and actress. p. 12
Under our buildings and walkways is something that many of only heard stories of, while others have experienced. Get to know the underground treasures of UNC Charlotte. p. 4 A PRODUCT OF STUDENT NINER MEDIA • THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE • VOL. 27, ISSUE 24 MARCH 31 - APRIL 6, 2015
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March 31 through April 6, 2015
V O L U M E 2 7, N U M B E R 2 4
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CAMPUS TUNNEL SGA, WEATHER, CRIME NASA INTERNSHIP OP-ED: THE MELTING POT THEORY
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BASEBALL RECAP MARGARET CHO Q&A 49ER MEMES APRIL FOOLS DAY PRANK IDEAS
MARK PRICE
Nick Cropper, Salina Dickie, Alex Passannante
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Photo by Eden Creamer
Somewhere under the red brick road Going where many students have not gone before, into the system of tunnels beneath UNC Charlotte
Edward Averette
STAFF WRITER Below the sidewalks along the rolling terrain of UNC Charlotte’s campus is something that has evaded the knowledge of thousands upon thousands of students, faculty and guests walking over it everyday. “I think it would be under the bridge between Union and Lynch,” said UNC Charlotte freshman Rayshawna Hicks. The Software and Information Systems major has no clue where the relatively hidden and concretefortified location could lie on campus and has never heard anyone mention it in passing. Fellow freshman Suet-ying Wong says she heard of the existence of a ‘secret tunnel’ during a tour of the school. “They [the tour guide] said
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allegedly there was a secret tunnel at CHHS (College of Health and Human Services),” said Wong. Trevor Dunlap, a UNC Charlotte junior, first discovered the existence of this underground passage three years ago and claims he has walked through it. “I don’t know the purpose of it,” Dunlap said. “I assumed so kids don’t walk out in the rain.” According to Lee Snodgrass, director of Facilities Operations, the general purpose of the ‘secret tunnel’ is as a service corridor. The tunnel was built in conjunction with one of two Piedmont redbricked buildings, when the construction broke ground in the early 2000s, during former UNC Charlotte Chancellor Jim Woodward’s tenure.
“The chancellor didn’t want service vehicles going in the courtyard area,” said Snodgrass. Problems materialized when space constraints prevented one of the buildings from having a loading dock. The concept is if there’s any supplies needed for one building, it can be transported through the service corridor from the loading dock of another building. The eight-foot wide underground pathway serves as a proxy for deliveries where classroom materials, supplies and equipment are exchanged between two buildings. During the day, UPS delivery workers and university employees can be found walking across the pathway, from whichever building, to reach their destination on the other side. At night, the
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tunnel maintains a different kind of appeal. “It’s kind of cool; I’m not going to lie,” said UNC Charlotte sophomore Allison Blackwell, who explored the depths of the corridor after a recent club meeting. “It felt kind of like a secret.” Over the heads of passersby is a set of multi-colored tubes scaling along the 150-foot-long corridor ceiling, with each tube serving a specific purpose. “Blue pipes are chilled water supply (air conditioning); green pipes are for domestic water supply (toilets, sinks and water fountains); red is fire protection; and orange is hot water (heating),” said Snodgrass. In addition to housing utilities for the Regional Utility Plant #1, which is a group of buildings including the Student Activity
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Center and Woodward Hall, the corridor can also serve as an isolated hideout during severe weather events like tornadoes. “That is not the intent, [but] it could be used for that purpose,” said Snodgrass. Although, in most cases the corridor has a capacity of 140 people, during an emergency the capacity of the corridor could swell to fit 250 people. While UNC Charlotte’s service corridor is used for transporting supplies and utilities between buildings, the tunnels further north possess a longer and more colorful history. According to Wake Forest University’s Old Gold & Black, the school’s tunnels were built in the 1950s as a place to store steam piping for temperature control of buildings as well as for phone lines. Since its inception, Wake Forest students have used the tunnels for a variety of purposes. Over the decades, the tunnels have served as shortcuts to other locations on campus and as romantic underground getaways for passionate couples. Some Wake Forest students even took it upon
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Construction of the tunnel in the early 2000s. Photo courtesy of John Neilson
themselves to create a real-world version of the Marauders Map called “The Underground WFU Guidebook” during the ’70s. One hundred miles eastward, underneath North Carolina State University’s campus is a network of steam tunnels that run below the 2,100-acre university. One of NC State’s tunnels, Free Expression
Tunnel, allows anyone to add their own images or words to any surface. According to NC State’s student newspaper, Technician, since 1939, the tunnel has transformed from a pedestrian walkway into a place students are able to graffiti without the watchful eye of campus administrators.
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At UNC Charlotte, not many visible signs of student excursions exist amongst the ivory concrete walls, charcoal-black doors and clinically gray floors that wait on one side of the tunnel. Beyond an open door and a nearby stream of blue light is a pair of signatures along an interrupted block of concrete at the halfway point of the corridor. Above the signatures is an Internet-inspired comment, “First Post Ever,” along with two time stamps at the bottom right-hand corner of the block. Beyond student stories, these scarce signs of graffiti are the lone pieces of evidence involving student excursions in the service corridor. “There’s not a police officer standing there … it’s not special, it’s just a corridor,” said Snodgrass. “So I don’t know what anybody would do in there.” While UNC Charlotte Police Lt. Brian Thomas has not heard of any incidents happening in the tunnel and little in the way of police presence exists, it should be noted that the tunnel is a service and utility corridor and is a potentially unsafe location for students.
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POLICE BLOTTER MARCH 21-26
ACCIDENT MARCH 21
• Student Union Parking Deck, vehicle was over 7 feet tall and struck concrete supporting beam causing damage to vehicle and minor scratches to the beam.
MARCH 25
• Lot 19, driver of vehicle one struck vehicle two damaging the front right quarter panel. Driver of vehicle one left a note on vehicle two claiming responsibility.
ARREST MARCH 21
• Atkins Library, officer took a report regarding a stolen iPad. After further investigation subject was arrested for larceny.
ASSAULT MARCH 23
• CRI Deck, victim reported seeing a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed. The driver struck him with the vehicle at a low rate of speed, got out of the vehicle, punched him several times and threw him to the ground.
MARCH 26
• Near Lynch Hall Tunnel, victim reported being assaulted by an unknown male while walking. For more information on Mecklenburg County arrests, visit arrestinquiryweb.co.mecklenburg.nc.us
weather.uncc.edu UNC CHARLOTTE METEOROLOGY PROGRAM
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ASST. NEWS EDITOR The following is a recap of the Student Senate legislative meeting held March 26. Nominations for positions in Senate Nominations for several different positions on Student Senate opened up this week. During the meeting, members of SGA were able to nominate those that they felt were qualified to take the position. After receiving a nomination, Senators could accept or reject the offer. Senators were also allowed to nominate themselves. Senators were allowed to accept nominations for several different positions on SGA. Some of the positions include: President Pro-Tempore, Parliamentarian, Sergeantat-Arms and the chairperson positions for the different committees. There were also nominations for Webmaster and Chronicler, which were two positions that SGA did not have this year. Nominations close April 2. At the next meeting, senators will vote on who is appointed to these positions. Publicity and Outreach Committee Members of the Publicity and Outreach Committee
TUESDAY
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Nick Cropper
Mostly sunny. Low of 41.
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Mostly sunny. Low of 52.
spent the past week tabling for the Student Body President Elections. They focused on getting members of SGA to help with the tabling and getting the student body interested in voting. Act of Registration Revising Bill It was brought to the attention of the Organizational Ways and Means (OWAM) Committee that many organizations struggle filling out grants for events and travel. In response, OWAM decided to create the Act of Registration Revising Bill. This bill was made to make sure that organizations do not have their funding taken away for not following procedures after they have already received funding. If passed, this legislation will require one of the three officers of each organization to attend a workshop each year that would teach the organizations how to correctly fill out grants and receive funding. The Attorney General Act The Attorney General Act would allow for the creation of an Executive Branch member to sit in on the Judicial branch. The Attorney General’s role in government would be to work with the Board of Elections FRIDAY APRIL 3
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SATURDAY APRIL 4
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Chairman in imposing regulations and sanctions defined by the elections committee. The Attorney General would also make reports between the branches of government. This legislation was created in response to bill that was proposed several meetings ago that would remove the Judicial Branch from the Constitution. The Removal of Sustainability Bill If passed, this bill will remove the position of Secretary for Environmental Sustainability from government. Once this position has been removed, the responsibilities of the secretary will be moved to the entirety of the Executive Branch. The Student Affairs Secretary Act This bill allows for the creation of a Student Affairs Secretary. The duties of the secretary position include being a liaison between the Student Affairs committee and the Executive Branch. The Student Affairs Secretary will also assist members of the Executive Branch with their duties. The Student Affairs Secretary will also be a liaison between the Student Affairs Committee and the student body. SUNDAY
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UNC CHARLOTTE STUDENT ACCEPTS INTERNSHIP INTO NASA ACADEMY DAVID VUTETAKIS GIVEN 10-WEEK INTERNSHIP WITH NASA
Chester Griffin
STAFF WRITER After going through a series of finalists and an intense week of email exchanges, David Vutetakis, a masters student in Applied Energy and Electromechanical Systems, has been accepted into a summer internship at the NASA Aeronautics Academy in Hampton, Va. “It was almost too good to be true, I was like ‘Alright I made it this far, it’s not actually going to
happen’ and then it finally did and I got the confirmation and I was really excited about it,” said Vutetakis. Since a young age, Vutetakis has always been obsessed with flight and space. For his Senior Design Project, Vutetakis worked with the 49ers Miners team in the NASA Robotics Mining Competition. “Ever since I was little, I’ve always been kind of interested in engineering. I used to come up with my own inventions, I didn’t really know how they would work at that age when your like 10 years old, but I knew what I wanted it to do so one of my main things; was creating a jetpack,” said Vutetakis. “It was my main thing, I had all different versions of it and different designs, I was just obsessed with flight in general, it’s been up my alley ever since.”
David Vutetakis. Photo courtesy of the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management
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While NASA Academy has been quiet about the work involved with the internship, Vutetakis has an idea of what he will be doing. “I do know that I’ll be working on vertical takeoff and landing, unmanned aerial systems, that includes either design and build and test a system from scratch or they have existing systems in place that I could be conducting further research on for NASA to use in real applications,” said Vutetakis. Vutetakis originally planned to graduate in the fall, but because of this internship he is pushing his graduation back until Spring 2016. As a fan of both theoretical and practical work, Vutetakis loves the satisfaction he gets from an end result. He looks forward to this satisfaction during the internship, which he is able to get from designing, building and testing part of the project. While he is a little worried about the difficulty of the internship, Vutetakis welcomes the challenge. “It’s going to be 10 weeks; it’s going to be a very fast paced project to be designing and building it and testing
it, like I’ve said that the robot I’ve built for the mining competition, that was almost a year’s worth of work, this is 10 weeks so it’s going to be very accelerated,” said Vutetakis. Vutetakis has thanked a handful of people that have given him nothing but support including his father, UNC Charlotte Professor and his mentor Aidan Browne, his friends, God and all of the faculty in the Engineering Technology department. Ideally, Vutetakis’s dream job would be getting hired by NASA, but after completing his Masters he plans to pursue a Ph.D. first. “As I mentioned before about eventually working for NASA, but it wouldn’t be soon, probably because I will be applying to Ph.D. programs and depending on where and if I get accepted, I will definitely pursue that route first because what I really want to do is research, and I feel that a Ph.D. will give me the tools needed to do that because for me I’m not really going to school or pursuing any of these degrees for the money. Money helps and money is cool, but I’m doing it because it’s what I love to do and is something I take pride in,” said Vutetakis.
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The ‘melting pot’ theory only serves to sweep minority issues under the rug Sean Grier
STAFF WRITER I went to Jamestown – Jamestown Elementary School, that is. I sat in Mrs. Orr’s class as a hyperactive student, and it was quite difficult. Third grade was interesting for me, mainly because of the racial tension I experienced, but more interesting in hindsight is how my teacher resolved the incident. She gathered the class to discuss how the United States of America is a great melting pot. I didn’t know what privilege was, and I had not experienced racial tension until then. Here’s what I now know: The melting pot theory, as it is now known, is a farce – a complete lie. The melting pot, like many ideologies created by the United States, probably ranks as one of the worst ideas in existence. Essentially, my teacher told us to be nice to one another and to respect each other because we are all American and we all bring something to the table – some more than others. Coincidentally, her mini history lesson forgot to mention the slave trade or how the “European ancestors” even made it to America or any other “how” question a student could come up with. What is important according to the theory is respecting each other in this melting pot, and the fact that we identify as Americans makes us one. I didn’t hear this theory outside of a history or sociology class until college, when I realized it had
blended into the following phrase: “I do not see color.” Apparently, Satan tells nothing but truths because that is the only way that phrase can be true. To not see that my black is beautiful or that her nose is wide or that your neighbor’s butt does not exist – to remove a portion of someone they cannot rid themselves of, at least naturally, is astonishing. The concept of the melting pot is a ploy created by those who created every other system we operate in. It makes us believe that we are all one. We are of many, one. That is how we should treat each other. It is also difficult and interesting to watch minority groups fighting with Tribune News Service
EDITORIAL POLICY Niner Times is written and produced by students at UNC Charlotte. All unsigned editorials are the expressed opinion of the editorial board and do not represent the views of the University. Views expressed in signed editorials are solely those of the author. Niner Times is published on Tuesdays during the regular academic year except during holidays and exam periods.
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each other, especially when history shows us the oppression and violence faced by every minority group in this country was started or propelled by the same majority group – no shade. My unproven impression is that the melting pot is nothing short of a game played by those in power and those who write the rules. We can look to most movements and see that they only succeeded when we ignored the majority and when factions came together for an ultimate goal. Today, we can look to the LGBT movement, voting rights and reproductive rights – essentially, the same groups that fought for rights just 60 years ago. Now, we can witness the
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missteps of these movements. Women, racial minorities and the LGBT community have much to gain by investigating the melting pot theory. Picture it with me: The majority is controlling this huge pot called the United States. The majority (whoever comprises it) is in charge of not only the ladle but also the fire. Inside of this pot, the majority has dumped every minority, from every race, religion and socioeconomic group. No longer are we separate heterogeneous groups. Now we are supposed to be one – American? That’s not how this thing called life works; that’s not how any of this works. Instead, we should see this game as they do. We cannot allow institutions and ways of life to stir our pot; we must stand together for the betterment of not only ourselves but also our country. In order for the country to move forward after the incidents at Oklahoma University and every other racially insensitive situation, we must understand where the hate and ignorance are rooted and analyze how to move forward. Only then can we “get over it” and “move on.” Until then, it will always be a conversation, and who wants to talk about this for the rest of their lives?
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MARK PRICE JOINS CHARLOTTE 49ERS
Photo by Chris Crews
Alex Passannante
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Mark Price is a well-known name in the basketball community; his 12-year NBA career was full of awards and accolades, including allstar games, first-team selections and the second best career free throw percentage in NBA history (.904). Price isn’t just a well-respected name in basketball, but he’s also the new head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team. In order to revive a once thriving team and fan base, a high-profile name like Price is a hire intended to spark a positive fire in the national spot light. Price is most well-known recently for completely reconstructing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s jump shot. Price has coached in the NBA since 2006, spending time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors and most recently, the Charlotte Hornets. On accepting the position, Price mentioned that he was in the right place at the right time. “The first good and right opportunity for me was in Charlotte,” said Price. “I didn’t know the job was open and Judy Rose called me. We began discussions a couple of weeks ago and I saw the potential here. Many of you will go home and watch the Sweet 16 tonight, and my hope is that we’ll be seen in the Sweet 16 and on TV shortly.” Price also talked about how it was a perfect fit to allow his family to stay in the Charlotte area with his son finishing out high school. Both Rose and Chancellor Phillip DuBois were adamant that Price was the right guy for the job. Despite Will Wade from University of Tennessee Chattanooga and LeVelle Moton from NC Central being rumored as candidates, only one person was the right choice. “He’s the only person we offered the job to and the only person that accepted the job,” said Rose, who hired the 10th men’s basketball coach in the history of Charlotte. Price’s only head coaching experience comes from the Australiasian National Basketball League where he coached the South Dragons for one season. Besides that, Rose and the
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49ers have given Price his first chance at a true head coaching experience. Former head coach Alan Major and Price are distinguishable in many ways. Price had an incredible playing career in the NBA with accolades of being a four-time all-star, first team all-NBA, part of the Dream Team II and having his jersey retired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Price is also a big name that gets people excited, whereas Major was virtually unknown by nonbasketball junkies. It was apparent from the start of the press conference that Niner Nation is happy with the hire, with Price getting a 15-second standing ovation. In taking over the program, Price is inheriting a 49ers team in a completely different state than when Major took it over. In 2010, Major took over at a school that thrived on basketball and played in a conference, the A-10, which was basketball based. Fast forward to 2015, and the 49ers have a football team and are in the weaker basketball conference of Conference USA. It’s a challenge to recruit players to play in half empty arenas at Rice and Middle Tennessee compared to Temple, UMass, Virginia Commonwealth University and Butler. Something Price will immediately have to deal with is players transferring. Willie Clayton and Mike Thorne Jr. are rumored to be leaving and were not at the press conference today. The only other player missing was Keyshawn MARCH 31 - APRIL 6, 2015
Woods, who had a successful freshman year shooting 47 percent from 3-point range this season. Another concern for Price and his staff is rejuvenating the fed up fan base that has dealt with 10 straight seasons without going to the NCAA Tournament. Halton Arena saw record-low attendance numbers under Major and multiple games of empty upper-bowls. Regarding student attendance, Price said that it’s a huge point of importance for him. “We need a product on the floor that’s exciting and we need to add some defense and identity. I want to go out and meet the students and walk around. The facilities you have here are tremendous. This is a hidden gem in Charlotte.” Major, who came from Ohio State and developed several lottery picks like Greg Oden, Evan Turner and Mike Conley, was a good candidate on paper. He struggled with keeping players on the team, having key athletes transfer out after every failed season. Major also personally struggled with his health, taking two medical leave of absences including surgeries on his eyes and heart. Price confirmed on The Fan 610 WFNZ that he has hired two coaches for his staff, Chris Ferguson from Oklahoma State and Houston Fancher, most recently at Appalachian State.
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49er baseball sweeps LA Tech in weekend series With three victories over LA Tech this past weekend, the 49ers look into a two-week stretch of away games
Scott Gordon
STAFF WRITER
Taylor Welsh
STAFF WRITER
The Charlotte 49ers baseball team welcomed the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs into the Queen City for a three game series. After Friday’s game was postponed due to rain, the Bulldogs and 49ers were slated for a Saturday double-header. The first game was nationally televised on the American Sports Network, marking the first time in 49er history the program played a game at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium before a national audience. GAME 1 Sean Geoghegan got the start for the 49ers in the first game and pitched 7.2 innings of shutout baseball in the 5-0 victory over LA Tech. After Louisiana Tech went down quietly in the bottom of the first, Eric Eason led things off for the 49ers with a walk. Next up to bat was sophomore Zach Jarrett who opened up the scoring with a tworun blast giving Charlotte an early 2-0 lead. Brett Netzer would ground into a double play to end the inning, but the damage was done. Game 1 starting pitcher Sean Geoghegan pitched 7.2 innings of shutout baseball. Charlotte was not able to get much else going until the fourth when Logan Sherer got a two out single to left field. Hunter Jones followed with a single of his own. After a balk from LA Tech pitcher Tyler Clancy, the 49ers had runners on second a third. Sherer would come in to score from
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Hunter Jones, 33, at bat during Sunday’s final game of the weekend series. Photo by Linnea Stoops
third on a wild pitch which moved Jones to third. Jones would then also cross home plate following another wild pitch from Clancy, extending the 49ers lead to 4-0. The 49ers would tack on more runs in the seventh thanks a triple from Luke Gibbs who eventually scored on a fielder’s choice. The five runs scored by the 49er offense were more than enough as Geoghegan was mowing down the Bulldog batters. He totaled six strikeouts and only gave up six hits in the 7.2 innings he was on the mound. This was his second longest
appearance of the season behind his eight inning outing at FIU on March 20. Sophomore righty Brandon Vogler came on in relief to close things out and sat down all four batters he faced to seal the 5-0 49er victory. GAME 2 In game two, redshirt sophomore, J.D. Prochaska got the start for the 49ers. Prochaska sat the Bulldogs down in order in the top of the first bringing the 49ers up to bat. The 49ers picked up right where they left off in the first game as Danny Raley led things off with a double to right
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center. After Zach Jarrett grounded out, Brad Elwood singled to score Raley. LA Tech got the run back in the top of the second on a solo home run by catcher Brent Diaz. After the 49ers went down in order in the bottom half, the Bulldogs were back up to bat. Philip Perry led off the third with a triple for LA Tech and was brought in on a RBI groundout by Chandler Hall to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the series at 2-1. The 49ers would respond in a big way in the bottom half. Hunter
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Jones led off the inning for the 49ers with a double. Nick Daddio came to the plate and was able to reach first on a throwing error by LA Tech, which moved Jones to third. After Raley flied out, Jarrett reached on a bunt that scored Jones and moved Daddio to second. Elwood was then able to get aboard on a throwing error which scored Daddio and moved Jarrett into scoring position. T.J. Nichting grounded out to first but it was enough to move Jarrett to third and Elwood to second. Netzer then doubled down the third base line scoring Jarrett and Elwood. Sherer followed Netzer’s double with a double of his own to score Netzer before Gibbs grounded out to end the inning. In all, the 49ers sent nine batters to the plate and scored five runs in the bottom of the third to give them a 6-2 lead heading to the fourth. Neither team was able to get anything going in the fourth. In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs tacked on a run thanks to a wild pitch and a couple of hits to cut the 49er lead to three at 6-3. In the bottom half of the fifth, the 49ers again plated a couple runners. Jarrett led off the inning with a hitby-pitch and moved to second on a passed ball before being driven home by a Nichting double. Sherer then singled Nichting home to give the 49ers an 8-3 lead. The Bulldogs plated a run in both the sixth and the seventh to cut the 49er lead to 8-5. In the eighth, Daddio led off with a walk and was moved to second on a sacrifice by Eason who was pinch-hitting for Raley. Elwood then singled Daddio home to give the 49ers an insurance run at 9-5. That would prove to be
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the final as the 49ers swept the Saturday double-header. “We did a good job today all the way around,” said 49er head coach Loren Hibbs following the second game. “We’re making some improvement.” GAME 3 The Charlotte 49ers ended the weekend with a win against their conference foe LA Tech, sweeping them in a three game series thanks to a momentum-changing home run by Zach Jarrett on Sunday afternoon. The Niners outscored LA Tech 19-8 throughout the series on their mission to scale up the conference rankings. During the third game on Sunday, the 49ers outscored LA Tech 5-3, reaching a climax in the fifth inning. The 49ers began to coast after gaining the lead on the Bulldogs, focusing on their defense and making sure that LA Tech had no chance at a comeback. The next couple of innings were scoreless as both teams got three easy outs in the seventh inning and played some great defense in the eighth inning to make sure no runners got on base. Jones, who was recruited as a pitcher, threw a zinging out at first from third base, showing off his arm. In the ninth inning, the first batter for the Bulldogs almost got to first base, but was out-ran by Charlotte’s closer and former first baseman, Logan Sherer, for out number one. Jarrett added on to the out tally as he caught a fairly difficult hit to center field and after the next batter, Charlotte got the third and final out to end the game.
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Photo by Kyle Christy
CHOP IT UP WITH CHO Comedian Margaret Cho talks upcoming Charlotte show, LGBT and more
Hunter Heilman
STAFF WRITER
Perhaps I may be a bit biased, but Margaret Cho is the queen of everything. Okay, let me regain some journalistic props and re-state that. Margaret Cho has been a driving force in my life, and one that has kept me going since middle school when I was an insecure, closeted homosexual boy. Cho was the first public figure I had come across that had validated my existence and made me hurt from laughter at the same time. She drove my confidence up enough to be myself publicly and apologetically in high school. Needless to say, when the chance to interview Cho came along, I snatched it up so quickly heads spun, and my nervous anxiety about the forthcoming interview spiked as I tried to come up with what I would say. It was all for naught, as Cho was the sweetest, and most easygoing interviewee ever. Coming off her skit as a North Korean journalist during this year’s broadcast of The Golden Globes and a hosting job on TLC’s new show “All About Sex,” and with her upcoming show in Charlotte on April 9, 10 and 11, Cho had much to talk about. Expect all new material where Cho talks about the death of her mentor, Joan Williams -both Robin Williams and Joan Rivers. “But it has a lot of the parental thing and family element ... Comedians do feel a sense
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of aloneness in the world, just like a lot of LGBT kids do, so you find your community and you create family with your community.” Cho performs at the Comedy Zone from April 9-11 at 8 p.m. What can new fans expect who have maybe seen you on The Golden Globes or TLC’s “All About Sex” expect from the show? Well, it’s a lot of jokes, it’s pretty raunchy and it’s pretty tight. There’s a lot of stuff that flies by, which is great to be able to talk about the moment and talk about everything that’s happening in the world, and it’s just the way we process information now too, comedy is a lot faster now. It’s great to get into the social aspect of how I want to be the new host of “Fashion Police” since I actually do smell like pot and patchouli, stuff like that, being of and in the moment, that’s what I want to be a part of. Can you talk about how your skit at The Golden Globes came about? Because that’s something people are still discussing today. Tina Fey is my old friend and she just told me a few weeks before to keep that day free, that she wanted to do something at The Golden Globes. I came in the day before and I was talking to Tina and Amy Poehler,
Seth Myers and Eric Gurian and we were writing out what we were going to do and I wrote out the joke of the character and on Sunday we got the uniform together in the dressing room with Amy, Tina, Eric and Seth and you’re sectioned off from the celebrities. When you look out into the audience at The Golden Globes you see every single person in the audience and these people aren’t famous, they’re ultra famous. You have Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth, and I’ve noticed the British actors crowd near the front. But it was so fun to do, and there was a lot of controversy; I don’t know why. I’m Korean, and my family has been affected by the split of the Koreas for 65 years, and the only weapon I have against it is comedy, so I think it was a very good thing to do. How has the entertainment industry changed since your 1994 television sitcom “All American Girl?” It’s a whole new entity and a whole new way we process information and distribute entertainment. In the age of the internet, there are so much more options for people. I was doing show business back when there were four channels, and that was all you had, but now we have so many channels, with so many shows and so much material that we need to
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create for different entities that are out there. I work a lot more now, which probably would’ve happened anyway since I’m a lot older, and comics tend to work more when they’re older, so we’re here. Being quite the LGBT icon yourself, who are your personal LGBT icons? Dan Savage, in a major way. I think he’s an incredible force in my life. I definitely look up to Armistead Maupin, who wrote all of the “Tales of the City” books and was someone I knew as a child with Robin Williams, one of his best friends. As far as women go, Rosie O’Donnell has always been a great champion of mine and a big hero. And Taylor Negron, who also just passed away, was a huge force in my life. It’s hard to live without some of these people around you, it’s really shocking to see them gone. How has your humor about the LGBT community changed since these wonderful advancements towards equality? I’ve never really changed my message or position, it’s how the world has caught up to what I’ve always felt and believed. I think it’s such a wonderful thing. We’re finally seeing people talk about gay rights and you’re seeing a lot of people coming
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Photo by Todd V Wolfson
out and people being conscious of their language now. It was so easy for comics in the past to make gay jokes, and now they really are questioned for it and I think that’s important and powerful. If you can, how could you describe this tour in one word? Scintillating. These next two questions are a bit off the grid, but here we go. You were a guest judge on season three of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Have you been keeping up with this season? If so, who are you rooting for? I haven’t started it yet! I can’t wait between the weeks, I have to binge watch it in a continuous block. I get so frustrated having to wait. I watch it all at once because I get so into it. I will watch every episode with each episode of “Untucked,” and I haven’t started it but I know I’m gonna love it and I’m gonna freak out. I love the show and it’s something I’m always truly excited about. I find myself too impatient to wait between the weeks but too impatient to let the season pass. I used to have to wait because I used to live in Atlanta and they didn’t carry LOGO, which I thought was homophobic! In Atlanta, instead of LOGO they had this weird Atlanta church station, where you just have people making recipes. It became just a weird Georgia cooking channel instead of LOGO. You recently tweeted about “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Who
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is your favorite character? I love Titus! But Kimmy is so cute, and I love Carol Kane and the whole show is just so phenomenal. I appreciate Titus for being a feminine gay man without succumbing to the stereotypical gay character. It’s all so surprising and Tituss Burgess is so great and so is the show. I was working on another show with Tina Fey last year around the same time as that was filming called “Cabot College,” that unfortunately didn’t go forward, so I’m equally grateful and entertained that Kimmy Schmidt did. There was a joke at The Golden Globes where your character says “I host next year.” Are you hosting next year? I hope so! They haven’t told me no, so I’m currently planning on doing it simply from that. Is there anything else you would like to add before you go? I’m currently doing a homeless outreach program called “Be Robin” in San Francisco where I collect money, clothes and food for homeless people and homeless people come and take it. It’s a big charity thing because I don’t have to save any receipts, I just stand there and perform with a bunch of other people. It’s such a spectacle to see people getting haircuts and eating, it’s like a big street festival for homeless people and I’m very proud of it. There’s no real way to find out about future dates without following me on Twitter, I will announce future dates and places where we’ll be.
70 Ear piece? 71 __-slapper
ACROSS 1 Dash gauge 5 Pawn at a shop 9 Vague shapes 14 Height: Pref. 15 Saintly glow 16 Sportscast rundown 17 *Pest-control device 19 Hersey’s bell town 20 Like paradise 21 Go round and round 23 “Tao Te Ching” poet __-tzu 24 “Yummy!” 25 *Off-the-wall game? 27 Grant-granting gp. 29 Soul automaker 30 *Simple garment 36 Aerobic exercise aid 40 Woodlands man-goat 41 Campus URL suffix 42 Serious 43 Old Russian ruler
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44 *One given to flights of fancy 46 Short-lived Egypt-Syr. alliance 48 Drunkard 49 *Hidden explosives activator 54 Overthrow 59 Farm female 60 “__ o’ your throats”: “Measure for Measure” 61 Phobic 62 “Alas and __!” 64 Figuratively, where some wild ideas come out of; literally, a hint to a word and its position when paired with the starts of the answers to starred clues 66 In need of a chill pill 67 Mystery writer Gardner 68 Colombian city 69 Beer holder
DOWN 1 Got under control 2 Words after “crack” or “live by” 3 Pitiless 4 Mubarak of Egypt 5 Came out of one’s shell? 6 “Days of __ Lives” 7 Attend uninvited 8 Letter after iota 9 Chastain of women’s soccer 10 Guided 11 City NW of Orlando 12 Unoriginal 13 Thread dispenser 18 Ex-Disney CEO Michael 22 Printer cartridge contents 26 Iraqi port 28 Neighborhood 30 FDR’s last vice president 31 Western defense gp. 32 Actress Hagen 33 IHOP condiment 34 Ice cream maker Joseph 35 Brewski 37 Bagpiper’s topper 38 December 24 or 31 39 Each 42 Exit the bus 44 Tap concern 45 Went round and round 47 Greet the day 49 “__ Life”: Sinatra hit 50 Rented again 51 Silly 52 Romeo and Juliet, e.g. 53 Apply, as pressure 55 Puncture with a pin 56 Song of praise 57 City in northern France 58 Comic Izzard 63 TV forensic drama 65 __ shot
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11 MEMES MEANINGFUL IN THE LIFE OF A 49ER Amanda Duke
LIFESTYLE EDITOR
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Sean Grier
STAFF WRITER
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Tweet us your ideas for 49er memes @niner_times Photos by: Ben Coon, Chris Crews, Amanda Duke, Sean Grier and NT File Photos
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