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Carson Rich (center) and Abby Hamrick (left) celebrate their election win as SGA president and vice president, winning 73 percent of the vote.

Alex Gates

REINVESTING IN RICH

Appalachian student body re-elects incumbent Carson Rich and new VP Abby Hamrick

by Nicole Caporaso

Senior News Reporter

I

ncumbent Student Body President Carson Rich was re-elected alongside Vice President Abby Hamrick on Wednesday, winning with almost three quarters of the student body votes.

Rich, junior theatre arts major, serves as current student body president, and Hamrick, junior social work major, currently serves as his chief of staff.

In order to win the election, a ticket had to receive 50 percent of the votes, plus one vote. Rich and Hamrick received 1,301 of 1,780 votes,

for approximately 73 percent of the vote.

Sam Murray and Wes Rawles, the only competing ticket, received 479 of the votes for an approximate 26 percent of the vote.

Voting was available to students on Appalnet and closed at 8 a.m. Wednesday after allowing students the opportunity to vote for a week. Campaigning began on March 16.

Of the voters, 1,231 voters were female and 575 were male, according to CSIL’s election results.

Rich said he believes the last time Appalachian SGA had a two-term president was in 2008.

“I’m just really happy to know that this year there will be less of a learning curve and more progress and action,” Rich said. “I think this next year is going to be a really good one. This sounds very cliche, how they say, ‘it’s always dark before the dawn’ or ‘it gets rough before things get better,’ but we had a rough year and I think we’re going to learn a lot from it.”

Rich said he thinks the stand-out aspect of his and Hamrick’s platform was their desire to expand the counseling center.

“One of the first things we’re going to want to work

on is diversity in the counseling center,” Hamrick said.

“Also, working with legislatures on the equality with UNC-appropriated dollars. I think we’re just going to be able to hit the ground running with things we’ve already started working on.”

Rich said although there may have been challenges in regards to reacting on and handling difficult situations the student body has been presented with, he wants to move forward while taking into account diverse opinions.

“We want to make sure that even though we’re two people, we’re able to effec-

tively adhere to over 16,000 that come from many different backgrounds,” Rich said.

Although Rich and Hamrick consider the past year at Appalachian a difficult one, they said the challenges have better equipped them to be fully prepared to take office together for the 20152016 year.

“I think as far as us and SGA, I think it can only go up from here,” Hamrick said. “I think we’re at a place where we can only rise if we do the right things. If we really work hard enough, then things are really, truly going to change for the better.”

ASU student, Bike & Build raise awareness for affordable housing

by Madison Barlow

Intern News Reporter

While many Appalachian State University students will spend their summer taking classes or working seasonal jobs, a junior sustainable development major will be spending

most of his vacation pedaling crosscountry.

Beginning in May, Vincent Burgess will begin his biking journey in Nags Head with the Bike & Build organization. Eventually, he and his team of 30 other riders will make their way across the country to their end desti-

nation of San Diego, biking an average of 70 miles a day.

The organization facilitates crosscountry fundraising cycling trips and the proceeds of their events are disbursed to affordable housing organizations to underwrite projects chiefly planned and executed by young

adults between the ages of 18 and 25, according to www.bikeandbuild.org.

“I learned about Bike & Build from a friend who was interested in doing a ride at one point, and gave me some basic information on it,” Burgess said. “It

SEE BIKE PAGE 3

news

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Renewable energy workshops offers educational topics

by Luke Weir

Intern News Reporter

Appalachian State University will host the 14th annual series of Spring Renewable Energy Workshops beginning April 10, which will run through late September.

The workshops’ topics will cover renewable energy and building science-related technologies including photovoltaics, solar-thermal, wind, hydro, energy code training, green building and certifications, indoor environmental quality and support policy, said Janet Miller, workshops coordinator for the Appalachian State Energy Center.

Miller, who has been planning the workshop series for the past three years with help from the Office of Conference and Camp Services, added that the workshops’ instruc-

BIKE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 seemed like something I might be interested in, so I looked further in to it. It didn’t take long for me to decide I wanted to participate.”

There are 10 routes going as far north as Washington and as far south as Florida that riders can choose from after they complete the application process and are accepted into the program. The only requirement for applicants is that they be between the ages of 18 and 25.

“The application process was pretty simple and straightforward,” Burgess said. “Now that I have been accepted and am officially going to ride this summer, my main focus is fundraising and training.”

Jackie Kemble, one of four leaders who will guide Burgess’ trip, said the organization requires riders to fundraise and log 500 practice miles on the bike before their orientation session.

As a part of the trip, riders stop for a minimum of one day and a maximum of three days to work with housing/building partners in several different cities across the nation. Before leaving North Carolina, Burgess and his team will visit Swanquarter, Belhaven, Greenville, Chapel Hill, Winston Salem, Charlotte, Forest City, Asheville and Waynesville.

“At the stops, riders will help with the construction of houses in low-income areas or areas in need of affordable housing,” Burgess said.

“We will also be giving presentations on afford-

tors are national experts and Appalachian faculty.

Since the first Renewable Energy Workshop series in 2002, Appropriate Technology department program coordinator Dennis Scanlin said there have been over 100 workshops with thousands of participants. Scanlin organized the first series.

Presently, Miller said each workshop tends to have about 10-20 participants, while the more popular ones can have as many as 35.

“The initial idea was to bring in national experts to augment the education we were providing students here at Appalachian, but also simultaneously provide educational opportunities for faculty and others interested in learning more about renewable energy,” Scanlin said.

This year, Miller said the

able housing, so right now I have been working on the affordable housing curriculum that our leaders provide.”

Kemble said affordable housing is an important issue to her because of how much it affects public health.

“People who live in low-income areas that struggle with housing, or live in subsidized housing, show negative mental and ultimately physical signs,” she said.

As for Burgess, his interest in affordable housing comes from a personal response to his sustainable development and regional planning courses.

“From this trip I really just hope to gain a deeper meaning and respect for so many less fortunate,” Burgess said. “I have not had to face these realities personally, as I grew up in suburban Raleigh, and I think that’s why I am so excited to participate in Bike & Build. I will get firsthand experience, and get to further raise awareness for the cause.”

Bike & Build requires each rider to raise $4,500.

The money goes toward operating costs of the organization, and is also redistributed as grants to the other organizations the riders will work with along their journey.

“At the end of the trip, the riders and leaders will get together to decide how to distribute the money that they have raised collectively,” Kemble said. “It’s pretty neat because the riders will pull from their personal experiences at building sites to decide which organizations they felt a connection with, and ul-

Appalachian State Energy Center received a grant from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to host two workshops free of charge for K-12 teachers. Teachers will receive a $50 stipend for completion of the workshop.

“We hope this workshop will make it easy for teachers to work renewable energy into their curriculum,” Miller said.

Miller said the series is geared toward professionals who need continuing education credits.

“It is a great way for them to stay up to date on current [green] technologies and stay competitive in their field,” Miller said.

Some of the workshops, however, such as the photovoltaic, solar-thermal, wind and hydro workshops, are suited specifically for stu-

timately who they want to donate to.”

As of press time, Burgess has raised 95 percent of his fundraising goal. He said he feels overwhelmed with the support of family and

dents.

Miller suggested interested students look into the Introduction to Photovoltaic System Design and Construction workshop. Photovoltaics is a method of converting solar energy into direct current electricity. “[The workshop] is a crash course in photovoltaics, where participants learn the basic concepts, tools, techniques and materials needed to design and construct photovoltaic system,” she said.

Registration costs and times vary for each workshop. Specific information can be found on www.energy.appstate.edu.

“The goal is to help educate people about energy related technologies,” Miller said. “[Participants] learn how they can incorporate it into their profession, and make the world a better place.”

friends, and is excited that so many people think that affordable housing is a worthwhile cause.

“Vincent is a model rider,” Kemble said. “He is very passionate, respon-

sive and responsible. I am very proud of how he has fundraised and learned the curriculum, and am really excited to have him on this trip. It should be a good one.”

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CRIME LOG BOONE

March 22 2:30 a.m. | Underage consumption of alcohol March 24 Cannon Hall 4:59 p.m. | Larceny An arrest was made for Hoey Hall underage consumption of This incident is under inves- alcohol. tigation.

March 21 March 23 11:30 p.m. | Possession of 2:49 p.m. | Found marijuana marijuana Wooded Area Near Appa- Durham Park lachian House An arrest was made for the The leads for this disposipossession of marijuana. tion were exhausted.

March 22 6:50 a.m. | Intoxicated person- ban Sanford Hall Prosecution was declined and the investigation has been closed.

March 21 9:50 p.m. | Underage consumption of alcohol Appalachian Panhellenic Hall An arrest was made for underage consumption of alcohol.

March 20 11:35 p.m. | Consuming Tax paid liquor Appalachian Heights An arrest was made for the consumption of tax paid liquor.

March 20 11:20 p.m. | Possession of marijuana Rivers Street An arrest was made for the possession of marijuana.

March 19 4:05 p.m. | Damage to property Holmes Convocation Center Prosecution was declined and the investigation has been closed.

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LIPS’ upcoming zine to focus on sexual language

by Casey Suglia

Intern A&E Reporter

Social activism and female sexuality club LIPS is accepting submissions for its “fuck, screw, nail” themed zine until March 29. The club publishes bi-annual zines and the upcoming one will be its seventh issue since coming into fruition in 2012.

It will be released officially April 20 at the club’s annual Slut Walk event.

“It’s about all the words and the languages we use surrounding sexuality, whether that be sexual orientations and different labels, anatomy, different words we use for genitals – words that we use for sexuality and what those mean to the people who are sending in submissions,” Amelia Thomas, LIPS president and junior sociology major said.

The topic had been circling around for the past couple semesters, Thomas said, and the club unanimously decided to bring it back this semester. LIPS uses a democratic method of voting on the topics and events in order to give all members the opportunity to be heard.

A zine is defined as a “small circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images usually reproduced via photocopier.” The LIPS zine is assembled by club members

at a meeting using printer paper and magazine cutouts and is photocopied using funds raised through club fundraisers.

“We are not super critical of the submissions,” Thomas said.

“We publish almost anything we get unless we think the content will be too triggering for people. I think it is all about the person’s individual experiences and we want to represent that as much as we can. We really love getting art and get a lot of writing and photography.”

Megan Gatts, LIPS member and former Appalachian State University student, is submitting an art piece and said she believes in the zine’s mission.

“Normalizing this sort of thing will help people have a better understanding of safer sex practices because people will be more willing to talk about it,” Gatts said. “It helps people understand that all sex is good sex as long as it’s safe, sane and consensual. I want to be a part of anything that helps bring about a society that happily shares this kind of information and doesn’t make it all some kind of shameful secret.”

LIPS started in spring 2012. and meetings focus on having an open space to talk about sexuality and social justice.

“We are welcoming of people of all identities,” Thomas said.

“We get kind of a reputation for

Courtesy of Amelia Thomas

LIPS, a social activism and female sexuality club publishes biannual zines, including ‘Sexual Mythology’ in fall 2014. The club’s next zine will be officially released April 20 at the club’s event.

being a white, female, feminist club but I think that we do make a lot of efforts to be very inclusive and we really do try to do programming that is more intersectional, and we really want to hear the voices of everybody. So I think that we just want people to feel like we’re a safe and welcoming environment for them.”

Senior women’s studies major Amy Stenzel has been attending meetings since 2013 and agreed

with Thomas’ analysis.

“Our culture is very limited when it comes to portrayals of female sexuality, and LIPS offers a chance for a diversity of experiences, lifestyles, bodies and sexualities to be expressed,” she said.

If production allows, Thomas said the zine may release early but will still be officially released at the Slut Walk event April 20.

Students share ideas, perspectives with peers at ‘Panorama’

by Molly Flinchum Intern A&E Reporter

Students gathered in the Blue Ridge Ballroom of Plemmons Student Union on Tuesday to participate in AppSpeaks’ second annual TED Talks-inspired event, Panorama. Seven student speakers shared ideas, perspectives and personal stories in relation with social issues.

The evening began with Kelly Bayha, a senior public relations major, who discussed women leaders in the career world.

“Society taught me to be the leader, I had to be the bitch,” Bayha said.

Bayha encouraged the audience to drop the ste-

reotype of an assertive woman being a “bitch” and a man being a “boss” and embrace the idea that a woman can also be the boss, while also being kind and helping others.

The next speaker was Chappy Cottrell, a senior sustainable development major with a concentration in fermentation science and finance. Cottrell discussed passion and its place in one’s career.

He used himself as an example of focused passion: wine. Cottrell talked about his curiosity with wine – how it got from the vine to the bottle, as well as the hard work he put in to working at a vineyard and writing a wine blog in his spare time.

“Our passions are curiosities that grow over time,” he said.

Curtis Varner, a senior advertising major, discussed the idea of deception. He used the example of former Appalachian student Anna Smith’s death from earlier this school year to show his view on deception and crisis communication.

Following this was Mary Claire Grube, a religious studies major, who talked about queer theology.

“I was curious about why the church reacts to the LGBT community in the way that it does and I was interested to see if there was a middle ground,” she said.

“So many people lose God, lose faith and lose community over these issues,” Grube said.

Next, Victor Moore, a senior graphic design major, spoke about the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

Moore discussed racial profiling, describing Michael Brown and Trayvone Martin as black martyrs in what he believes is today’s civil rights moment.

In order to be black on this campus, he said, one has to have thick skin.

He used social media to show the racial stereotyping that happens in Boone.

“Our lives matter, our presence matters and our future matters,”

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Moore said.

Jessi Lancaster, a senior apparel design major, then spoke about introversion in the workplace.

Lancaster encouraged employers to “let the introverts shine,” and used peronal stories to make her point.

Nick Sands, a senior global studies major, ended the event by talking about making a home anywhere, and dedicated his presentation to his grandmother.

Sands explained that home can be established anywhere, from a building to a person. He said he hopes this encourages others to go out of their comfort zone and explore new places.

Natalie Gaviria, one of the co-founders of the event, said she wanted to create a space for students to share the ideas and passions they each had that often don’t get expressed in a classroom.

“I felt that so many people on campus had amazing stories to share, but no universal space to come together and do so,” Gaviria said.

This event was free and open to the public.

The date for next year’s Panorama will be set later in the year.

The women of

App State

Gerrit Van Genderen

Self-confidence leads to success for Wallace

by Gerrit Van Genderen Managing Editor

Reflecting on her career journey up to this point, Cindy Wallace believes she has broken every mold of a planned path – something she does not regret.

Wallace is currently serving her 11th year as the vice chancellor of student development at Appalachian State University. Her first 20 years at Appalachian were spent in Academic Affairs working with federal grants for low-income, first-generation students, as well as the learning assistance program and enrollment services.

“I’d love to say that my life has been incredibly serendipitous and wonderful opportunities have opened for different reasons,” Wallace said.

March is Women’s History Month, and Wallace said it serves as a reminder of where the American people have made progress and where they have also been regressive to certain extents.

“That big question for all of us – gender and race – have we made progress? Do we need a month or a commemorative time to say, ‘We need to talk about this and we need to think about this?’” she said. “One of my great awakenings as a college student was how and why did it take this long for me to read about these remarkable people in the history of the United States?”

Wallace thought she would enroll in law school after completing her undergraduate degree at Baylor University, despite being involved with writing and student life work additionally. But by the time she graduated, she was deeply committed to higher education and went to graduate school at UNC-Chapel Hill, thinking she would become an academic.

“I think my heart went more into the world of learning and education as opposed to one discipline,” Wallace said. “I ended up moving to Knoxville to work [at the University of Tennessee with] admissions and then academic advising and started teaching first-year seminar and it has been my heart ever since.”

As an undergraduate, Wallace was very captivated by the advent of the women’s movement in the ’70s and understanding of the need for more equality and the equal rights, as well as women’s leadership.

“I felt that was fascinating, and that was really a place of looking historically where women are and how that influenced my past as a woman in the ’70s and the ’80s as I started my career,” Wallace said.

The lack of equality for women was a relevant issue for Wallace early in her career of higher education, specifically concerning her salary and merit-based pay, she said.

“I have never been terribly conscious of salary, always thinking that I would prove myself and I would be paid what I was worth, and that was a bit naive of me, to say the least,” Wallace said.

The notion was brought up to Wallace that, because she was married – her husband being a lawyer with the university at the time – it was more important to a male colleague that he received the bigger raise out of a larger need. Wallace said she discussed the matter with her superior and voiced her disagreement, which resulted in a reevaluation of the pay raise.

“I think it was very important that I did [have that discussion] because

1

it wasn’t just me that was at stake there, it was the way all of my female colleagues were worked and how they were rewarded,” Wallace said.

Around the same time of Wallace’s discussion, Harvey Durham, former Appalachian provost of 24 years, decided it was important to launch equity studies at Appalachian and look at faculty and staff to see if they truly were providing fair salaries. Wallace said this was a huge step despite still having income inequalities in today’s society based on gender, race and other social constructs.

Wallace credited phenomenal mentors and colleagues like Durham in motivating her to work hard and seize opportunities in a career where she found herself “in roles where everyone else at the table was a male.”

“I had a huge comfort level in the work that I was doing and that I was well-informed about who I was representing,” Wallace said. “A lot of it was from doing your homework and working incredibly hard and feeling confident that you could prove your mettle.”

One of Wallace’s biggest accomplishments as vice chancellor of student development has been the start up of the ACCESS Program – Appalachian Commitment to a College Education for Student Success – which is a subdivision of the Learning Assistance Program and works to ensure students from low-income families in North Carolina can attend Appalachian debt-free, according to www.lap.appstate.edu.

Wallace, who said she grew up in a very traditional family in the deep south that was horribly segregated, said her upbringing in that situation has been part of her story as a woman and wanting everyone to have the same opportunities she has had.

“I look at the world and I say, ‘What about this isn’t fair and what should we do to make it more just for everybody?’” Wallace said. “To me, if you work in education, I think that needs to be part of our message everyday – it needs to be what we do.

Wallace learned from Maya Angelou, who has visited Appalachian three times, of the importance of paying it forward for those you may never meet.

“Someone else has paid and paved your way to where you’re at, and you might not even know who they are,” she said.

A major change Wallace believes is coming with today’s young adults entering the job force is a flatness of leadership across the board. She said this change will be key in helping all voices be heard – including women’s.

“The experience I’ve had with women working as a team in contrast of men working as a team – I do think there are some fundamental differences in the way we all approach situations,” Wallace said. “Some of it may be gender-specific, and some of it may be far more complicated.”

Wallace said she hopes this change will give all people in the workplace the confidence to have and practice leadership and show different angles to solving the nation’s issues.

“That richness in every field, [can] lead to a creativity that is limited when you don’t bring everyone to the table,” she said.

At its core, Wallace said these changes can only start to be made with self-awareness and each individual understanding where he or she needs to be a better person, before pointing the finger at someone else.

“Knowing and appreciating one another is so important,” Wallace said. “Being able to say, ‘It’s great to be different,’ can help us so much.”

ANGEL ELDERKIN

Angel’s Ascent: The road to Boone

by Chris Warner Sports Reporter

Angel Elderkin’s lifelong journey from her hometown in East Providence, Rhode Island, to becoming the head women’s basketball coach at Appalachian State University has been one marked with both trials and triumphs.

Elderkin, a former star student-athlete in Maine and now firstyear head coach at App State, said her lifetime commitment to the sport of basketball didn’t even begin on the court.

“When I was younger, it was the playground, it was walking, it was riding your bike, it was this open thing,” Elderkin said. “We used to play basketball against the street signs. We didn’t even have a hoop.”

Elderkin grew up with an older brother who was actively involved in sports as well, and the majority of the sports she played were with him and his friends.

“There weren’t a lot of opportunities for females at that time, so it was always like ‘Hey, go play with your brother,’” Elderkin said.

“Now, it seems like there’s less of the playground but there’s more of the organizational stuff for girls today, which is great.”

But the absence of opportunities didn’t stop Elderkin from becoming a decorated Division III college athlete at the University of Southern Maine.

From 1995 to 1999, Elderkin helped lead the Huskies to a 104-15 record and three Little East Conference Championships, even finishing as the national runner-up in the 1998 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament.

She was also an accomplished collegiate softball player for the Huskies, lettering three times during her career.

Elderkin said in her time at Southern Maine, her team’s success, most notably in basketball, did not get overshadowed by the other sports teams in the area, which happened to many collegiate women’s programs during that time.

Elderkin said it was during her time as a student-athlete that she realized that throughout her entire life in organized sports, her coaches had been males.

“There weren’t a lot of females to empower other females,” Elderkin said, “so when I stepped out and had my first coaching job under Karen Kemp at [East Tennessee State University], it was so impactful.”

Elderkin said her time coaching under Kemp from 1999 to 2001 made her realize how good it was to be coached by a female, and cemented her decision to pursue being a coach herself.

Elderkin’s career has since crossed the paths of some of the greatest coaches in NCAA women’s basketball history.

From 2005 to 2007, Elderkin was the video coordinator under Hall of Famer and former University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt.

From 2007 to 2011, Elderkin was assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Hall of Famer and University of Virginia coach Debbie Ryan.

And with many other coaching stops along the way, most recently as an assistant coach at LSU for the 2013-2014 season, Elderkin has always been in respected company.

Elderkin is now using her opportunity as a head coach to make an impact in the lives of her female student-athletes, both on and off the court.

“I think part of empowering women is making them confident, making them strong, making them believe in themselves,” Elderkin said, “so the more I can make them feel good about themselves every day, I feel like, ‘check mark,’ I’ve done my job.”

Elderkin said that through a variety of techniques, she seeks to ensure that her athletes’ “tanks are full” with positivity and belief when they leave practice.

Senior forward Maryah Sydnor said Elderkin’s affect on the team this season was unquestionable.

“Everything she does just breeds confidence in us,” Sydnor said.

“She has all the faith in the world in anything that we do and anything that we say we’re going to do, or talk to her about, she’s all for it and all on our side. So it just brings the best out of us.”

Senior guard Katie Mallow shared a similar sentiment.

“I think off the court especially, she doesn’t take any crap from anyone,” Mallow said. “She has respect for everyone, and she makes us have respect for everyone, but she also puts that confidence in us to not let anyone think they’re better than us.”

The Mountaineer women’s team finished Elderkin’s first season with a record of 14-16 (9-11 Sun Belt), losing in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Women’s Championship Tournament to Arkansas State University.

And although it is only the beginning of Elderkin’s tenure at App State, she is making a mark, continuing to give the gift she was given

by Kemp when her career began.

2

Justin Perry | Appalachian State Athletics

CHANCELLOR SHERI N. EVERTS Making History:

Everts creates new legacy

by Laney Ruckstuhl News Editor

As a prominent woman in leadership with a long resume and list of achievements, Appalachian State University’s chancellor, Sheri N. Everts, has a lot to be proud of.

Everts, who has been working her way up the ranks of higher education since 1994, has held a number of leadership positions, including being named Appalachian’s first ever female chancellor last year. Before that, she was Illinois State University’s first female provost.

She has also received many prestigious awards and honors, including being named one of Illinois’ Most Powerful and Influential Women by the National Diversity Council of Illinois in 2010, and receiving the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2008.

But while Everts takes pride in these accomplishments, she considers something else to be her biggest success so far: raising her children.

“I’ve raised two kind, intelligent, talented young adults,” she said.

“I’m very proud of them. They’re great people.”

Everts’ children are her 28-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and her 30-year-old son, Justin. She also has two stepsons since marrying her husband, Jay Noren, who are ages 36 and 41.

“I think time management is one of the most difficult issues for any particularly busy person to handle,” Everts said. “How do you juggle a lot of balls in the air? How do you keep a lot of plates spinning? How do you focus on what it is you need to focus on at that particular time?”

While in the middle of her career and the formative years of raising her children, Everts said staying focused on whatever she was doing at that particular time kept her grounded.

“If I was reading a book to my children at night – which I did every night – then that’s when I tried to be present in that moment,” she said. “If I was running a meeting on the new search for a provost, then I tried to be present in that moment and not worrying about the homework assignment that my son needed to finish for science.”

In November 2014, Everts gave a lecture on leadership and diversity as a part of a Women’s Studies Distinguished Lecture Series, during which she said she has felt objectified and perceived as unequal to her male counterparts at times throughout her career. But Everts said she does not like to focus on these moments, but instead what she’s learned from them.

“Each and every challenge has provided me with a learning opportunity,” she said, “whether it’s how could I handle that better in the future, how could I be part of the solution and how could I respectfully disagree with someone who may have a different opinion.”

Everts said she encourages young women pursuing roles in leadership to believe in themselves.

“That’s absolutely key,” she said. “Everyone has challenges, but can you find a way to learn from those and to be better as you move forward?”

But for those who may not yet believe in themselves, Everts said mentors play a key role in formulating confidence and success. One of her personal role models is Nancy Belk, who was the chancellor at Illinois State University during Everts’ time there, and was also the first female chancellor at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in 1994. “[She was] someone who told me that I had characteristics that were exactly what were needed in a chancellor,” Everts said. “That was really helpful to me. I know now a little better what her schedule must have been like.”

Everts also believes in the power of informal mentors, such as faculty mentors, who may not even know they’re mentoring you. She recalls an English professor who taught her as an undergraduate who she “wanted to be.”

“I remember how warm and welcoming she was, how much she wanted me to succeed,” Everts said. “And it wasn’t just me, it was everyone in her class.”

Everts said she thinks diversity in the workplace – and on campus – is important because it reflects society, though is by no means limited to diversity of gender. She is currently heading the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Committee for Diversity Recruitment, started to address Appalachian’s lack of racial diversity and how to improve upon this.

“We live in a diverse world and I think it also enriches our learning opportunities when we sit next to a person who is different from us in some way, shape or form and we learn from and with each other,” she said. “I’ve learned so much from people who are different than I am and if I don’t spend time with them, how will I do that?”

File Photo

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TITLE IX Title IX keeps the ball rolling for women’s collegiate sports

by Nicole Caporaso

Senior News Reporter

Appalachian State University has storied periods of athletic history, with many teams having varying degrees of success throughout the years dating back to the early 1900s.

A large difference between the history of women’s athletics and men’s athletics at the university is that women’s sports teams did not begin until the 1960s, with the first official team being the women’s field hockey team in 1968, said Debbie Richardson, senior associate athletics director.

“There were women playing on teams, basketball teams probably, in the 1930s and 1940s,” Richardson said. “They only played three or four games and they definitely didn’t have scholarships. That didn’t happen until sometime in the 1970s that women were even allowed to have scholarships.”

In 1972, Title IX was passed, prohibiting any discrimination based on sex in all federally funded educational programs and activities, which includes, but is not limited to, athletics.

“Title IX is a lot broader than people think it is,” said Bindu Jayne, associate vice chancellor for diversity. “Title IX really is focused on gender equity as it relates to every aspect of education. I think a lot of the misconceptions are the assumptions that it only relates to sports.”

Before the implementation of Title IX, women participation in intercollegiate athletics hovered around fewer than 32,000 participants, but has increased to over 193,000 today, according to the National Women’s Law Center.

It is required by Title IX that Appalachian and other universities financially aided by the federal government treat male and female athletes equally by demonstrating fulfillment of one of three possible prongs that show the university’s effort to create evenly matched opportunity.

Jayne said universities typically abide by prong one or three of Title IX, which requires the percentages of male and female athletes to be about proportionate to the percentages of male and female students attending the school, or requires the university to have an athletics program that effectively accommodates the underrepresented sex, respectively.

Though she has not received notice of any formal Title IX complaints from students regarding the athletics department, Jayne said she has had a few informal inquiries regarding athletic concerns. Richardson said she also is unaware of any Title IX athletics complaints regarding the university.

According to “Debunking the Myths about Title IX and Athletics” by the National Women’s Law Center, despite Title IX’s success, women’s programs trail behind men’s, with women receiving 28 percent of the total money spent on athletics and 42 percent of the total athletic scholarship dollars.

“While more than half of the students at NCAA schools are women, they receive only 44 percent of the athletic participation opportunities,” according to the publication. “At the typical Division I-FBS school, for every dollar spent on women’s sports, about two and a half dollars are spent on men’s sports.”

Mike Flynn, assistant athletics director, said there is a total of 447 student athletes for the 2014-2015 year, with 277 males and 170 females according to the current rosters, though these numbers do not reflect the final numbers for the year.

When it comes to what sport is played and the sex of the athletes, Richardson said the athletes at Appalachian are taken care of equally.

“They all get what [they’re] allowed to have and what’s needed for their sport,” Richardson said. “Golfers may need to have their own golf clubs, for softball and baseball they might have to buy their own gloves, but for the most part everyone’s got everything they need, whether they’re a walk-on or a scholarship [athlete].”

Regarding Title IX, Richardson said there is at least one project the

university needs to take up fixing, but Appalachian has been making every effort it can to treat all athletes the same.

“We have some women’s locker rooms that don’t have walls in them, their lockers are their walls right now,” Richardson said. “Field hockey didn’t have their preferred surface for a field, but that was finished this fall and they now have their own field, and it’s the surface the NCAA prefers them to play on.”

Additionally, Richardson said not all Appalachian sports teams, both women’s and men’s, are fully funded to the maximum amount the NCAA allows.

While athletes, no matter their sex, are treated by the university equally, there is one inequality Richardson noticed.

“I would say it’s very frustrating to me to see as many people come to watch men’s games and not come...to watch women,” Richardson said.

“We have a new marketing director who is doing a really good job of marketing all of our sports, not just football and men’s and women’s basketball.”

Mackenzie LaSure, junior journalism major and member of the women’s tennis team, said her experience as a college athlete at Appalachian has been rewarding and that gender equity is prevalent regarding the university’s athletics.

“I think that has to do with the fact that students realize that no matter what your gender, you are seen as an Appalachian athlete representing the school,” LaSure said. “You are held to higher standards than most because of that as well, no matter which team. Yes, some sports teams may be seen as more important by certain people based on an entertainment level, but for the most part, all athletes are seen as one.”

While LaSure said the university has always treated her fairly and equally as an athlete, society sometimes has a different way of treating women who participate in athletics.

“To me, many view women in sports as sacrificial and participating in sports as a female means burdens put on your life where men in sports is more of a lifestyle,” LaSure said. “It isn’t necessarily frowned upon to be a woman athlete, but not being a male athlete is often thought of strange and can be frowned upon.”

Hailey Kerr, senior psychology major and member of the women’s volleyball team, said that when it comes to athletics, she believes gender stereotyping is becoming less frequent among the younger generations, but she does experience a rare circumstance of pushback outside of the university setting.

“When I go home and lift at my old fitness gym, I have to lift before 5 a.m. to avoid the men who approach me trying to correct my form, workout program, or how much weight I’m lifting because I am not running on a treadmill with all the other girls,” Kerr said. “As a female athlete, it’s expected that I don’t know how to lift correctly, should not lift as much weight as I do and should not attempt olympic lifts outside of back squats.”

Kerr refers to these instances as ignorance, but said the Appalachian athletic community has always been respectful of one another’s efforts and pursuits.

“Overall, any challenges I face as a female athlete are centered around the idea that I do not have any ownership over the sports domain and am a guest relying on men’s good will,” Kerr said. “Where in fact, I am an intelligent, ambitious, tough athlete who happens to be female, a perspective encouraged and persistent in my time at App State.”

While Appalachian student athletes have a combined GPA of 3.0, Richardson said, it is the female athletes that “tend to outshine the men’s teams academically.”

According to a Fall 2014 Team GPA report from Richardson, women’s volleyball had the highest GPA of all athletics teams, with a 3.54 semester GPA for Fall 2014. The top four teams with the highest GPA for that semester, were all women’s teams, following volleyball with women’s soccer, women’s golf and field hockey.

Of the top ten Appalachian athletics teams with the highest semester GPA for Fall 2014, nine out of the ten were women’s teams.

Check out TheAppalachianOnline.com to read an in-depth feature on the Women’s Center.

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opinion

5

Women need better representation in media Michael Bragg

Enterprise Editor

When a month comes along dedicated to a prominent issue, such as March’s Women’s History Month, it’s common for us to take a moment and encourage increased diversity and understanding of that issue to others in business management, leadership, politics and so on.

But this time, I want to focus on the media. We need to step back and take a look at ourselves as an entire industry and what we can do better when it comes to women’s representation in journalism today.

According to the Women’s Media Center’s 2014 report,

women accounted for only 36.3 percent of the gender representation in newsrooms in 2013, up only 3.6 percent since 1999. The statistics in radio and broadcast aren’t better.

Gawker took a look into the numbers of columnists of The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal — along with other notable syndicates — to find only 38 out of 143 columnists in 2013 were women.

Clearly, we can and need to do better with representation in the newsroom.

Having a more inclusive environment of people reporting on the news is crucial to a well-rounded news organization. If the world around us is a diverse place, why are our newsrooms filled with so many people from so many similar walks of life?

Yes, unbiased reporting is something that should exist re-

gardless of who the journalist is, but it’s strange to think that the group of people who are responsible for reporting on all events and interests around us are mostly of one mindset and worldview. The more diverse a newsroom, or any organization for that matter, the greater the depth of ideas and perspectives that can come from it.

Am I saying we should force women to take on more media roles and place them above their male counterparts for the sake of diversity and inclusion?

No, but what I will suggest is that we find ways to empower women at an early age who are interested in media to not only get involved, but to stay with it.

The Student Press Law Center has a project introduced by media attorney Nabiha Syad called Active Voice, a program “that aims to help young women who face challenges in speaking out,” which she hopes

will also “empower women in journalism to act as mentors and to share their stories of censorship and self-censorship,” the SPLC reported.

Frank LoMonte, director of the SPLC, said that while the statistics for female journalists in high school and college news organizations aren’t available, he said they “dominate high school journalism, particularly in the highest levels of management,” the SPLC reported.

The early interest seems to be there, but we’re not seeing that translate to representation in the professional world.

Perhaps a few years from now, with some effort and awareness, the Women’s Media Center will have a more positive, improved report to share.

Bragg, a senior journalism and nonprofit public relations major from Lillington, is the enterprise editor.

Emily Howard | The Appalachian

app news

6 Submit Announcements App News is a service of the Division of Student Development. Email dycheab@appstate.edu.

Submissions should not exceed 100 words and must include the event title, date/time, location and cost, and a contact email, phone and/or URL. Announcements will be edited as needed and will run as space allows. Preference given for events that are free or have a nominal cost.

Honoring university leadership award winners At 2 p.m. April 24 in the Parkway Ballroom of PSU, the Division of Student Development will honor the recipients of the 2014-2015 Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges, along with the recipients of the Ronny L. Brooks Award for Outstanding Leadership, the Bobby L. Dunnigan Award for Outstanding Service and the Gregory S. Blimling Award for Outstanding Graduate Student in Student Development.

The reception is open to recipients, their families and friends.

Free tax assistance ASU’s Walker College of Business will provide free tax assistance for individuals or families with a combined household income of $60,000 or less. Anyone can prepare and e-file their own federal and state income taxes for free using www.myfreetaxes.com.

The Free Tax Help Lab, will be held 5-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, through April 15, room 2014, Peacock Hall. Email hofmannma@ appstate.edu.

The Wellness Workshops Presented by the Counseling Center, The Wellness Workshops: Feelin’ Good in the Neighborhood. Call 828-262-3180 or visit counseling. appstate.edu • Talk to the Paw: Come Destress with Allstar, the Dog, 4-5 p.m. March 26, Three Top Mountain, PSU • Reducing Stress with Mindfulness, 12:30-1:30 p.m. April 15, Three Top Mountain, PSU Appalachian Allies The Appalachian Allies program promotes an open, affirming and inclusive environment on campus by establishing a recognizable network of trained Allies who provide support and information to the LGBT community. Faculty, staff or students who complete the 2.5-hour training program successfully will be offered membership in App Allies. Two trainings will be offered this semester: 2:30-5 p.m. March 27, and 5:30-8 p.m. April 20, location TBA. Register by visiting the AppSync portal. For more information, email kellyek1@ email.appstate.edu.

UREC jobs Camp UREC is hiring programmers and counselors for the summer. Programmer application materials are due March 27 by 5 p.m. and counselor application materials are due April 10 by 5 p.m. Find out more at campurec.appstate.edu.

Book signing Appalachian State faculty member and former N.C. Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti will be signing books in celebration of the release of his new novel, “The Life of the World to Come,” 3:30 p.m. March 30, The

Scholars Bookshop. Free and open to the public.

Expressive Arts Group for Veterans Open to any faculty, staff and student veterans at Appalachian State University. The group’s purpose is to allow for the establishment of community amongst veterans and to offer creative outlets to explore through multiple modes of expression. Email falckms@appstate.edu or call 828-262-2696. All sessions will be held at 5:45 p.m. in room 306, College of Education. The dates are: March 31, April 14 and April 28.

Transfer Connect Open to transfer students, and presented by the ASU Counseling Center. Call 828-262-3180 or visit counseling.appstate.edu.

• Stress Management: Finish the Semester on a Strong Note, 5:306:30 p.m. April 8 and 9, Rough Ridge, PSU History lecture David Johnson will present “New Delhi: Last Imperial City,” 7 p.m.

April 9, lecture room, Belk Library.

Johnson will be connecting themes in British and Asian history, imperialism, representations of political authority and consent, and the power of ideas and their material symbols.

Global Opportunities Conference Scheduled for April 10, the event will explore the potential for innovative businesses to solve global social and environmental problems.

Doc Hendley, founder of Wine to Water who was hailed as a CNN Hero of the Year in 2009, will be the

keynote speaker. Also featuring a panel discussion on the role of innovative business in solving social and environmental problems, and Appalachian students will share their experiences on COB study abroad programs in Belize working on a sustainable cacao farm and in Costa Rica learning the dynamics of “fair trade” in the coffee industry. For more information, visit www.goc.appstate.edu.

GSAS 5K Race for the Cup The Graduate Student Association Senate (GSAS) is sponsoring a 5K, beginning at 7:45 a.m. April 11, Kidd Brewer Stadium. A portion of the proceeds will go to Mountain Alliance to offset expenses for the high school experimental learning program. A circulating trophy, currently held by the Biology graduate students, is up for grabs. Prizes go to the top three finishers of each gender as well as the academic department with the highest representation. To register, go to www. eventbrite.com/e/gsas-5k-race-forthe-cup-tickets-15442881073.

Buy a Meal fundraiser A group of students taking the Principles of Fundraising Course is holding a Buy A Meal fundraiser for the FARM Cafe. The event will be held April 12 at Lost Province, off King Street, and will feature dinner and live folk music. The group will be selling FARM Cafe meal tokens for people in need: $8 buys one meal at FARM Cafe for a person in need. All other donations will be accepted as well.

March/April

sunday

monday 22

tuesday 23

wednesday 24

Free Tai Chi at 5 Tuesday at Turchin, 5 p.m.-5:50 -p.m., Turchin Center, free (students only) Panorama 2015, 7 p.m., Blue Ridge Ballroom, PSU, free Track and field apparel/shoe sale, 6:30 p.m., Owens Fieldhouse, Kidd Brewer Stadium

25 “Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1

friday

thursday 26 “Interstellar” screening, 7 and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer, $2

“Tribal Seeds” and “NOUN,” 8:30 p.m.- “The Movement,” 9 10 p.m., Legends, p.m.-midnight, Leg$3 ends, $12 (advance/ students), $15 (door Global Film Series: and public) “Two Million Minutes,” 7 p.m., I.G. Think Like A Man, Greer, free Think Like A Woman ... and Everyone In Between, 6 p.m., Crossroads, PSU Robert Jensen lecture: “We Are All Apocalyptic Now,” 7 p.m., Blue Ridge Ballroom, PSU, free

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30

Mozart’s “The Mar- Faculty Follies, 8 riage of Figaro,” 2 p.m., Rosen Concert p.m., Rosen Con- Hall, free cert Hall Mitch Townley Student Trumpet Recital, 4 p.m., Recital Hall, free Alex Sidwell Student Percussion Recital, 8 p.m., Rosen Concert Hall, free

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1

Dr. Grant Wacker presents “Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation,” 7 p.m., room 124 B & C, Reich College of Education, free

Daniel Bukin Student Composition Recital, 8 p.m., Rosen Concert Hall, free

2 Blood Drive, 10:30 a.m.-3:45 p.m., Blue Ridge Ballroom, PSU

Matthew Dickson Bombadil with Student Trumpet Bootstrap Slick, Recital, 6 p.m., Re9:30 p.m., Legends, cital Hall, free admission: $6-$8 “Mighty Ducks” screening, 7 p.m., “Mighty Ducks” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1 Greenbriar, PSU, $1

saturday 27

“Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey” screening, 7 p.m., Greenbriar, PSU, $1

28 “Interstellar” screening, 7 and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer, $2

Paul Cranfill Student Piano Recital, “Interstellar” noon, Recital Hall, screening, 7 and 9:30 p.m., I.G. Greer, free $2 Josh Kwan StuContra Dance with dent Piano Recital, Skillet Gap, 7:30 2 p.m., Recital p.m., Legends, ad- Hall, free mission: $3-$5 R.J. Wuagneux Allen Simpson Stu- Student Guitar dent Guitar Recital, Recital, 6 p.m., 6 p.m., Recital Hall, Recital Hall, free free

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game day

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SOFTBALL MARCH 28-29 @ UT ARLINGTON (17-15, 2-4 SUN BELT)

PREVIOUS GAME

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

The elusive first one After a tough weekend series against Sun Belt foe South Alabama, the Mountaineers (9-16) are still without a conference victory and have fallen to 0-9 in such contests.

It looked like App State could steal one in the second half of a Saturday double header, but was edged 3-2.

The other two games didn’t go well for the Mountaineers, either, as the team lost the other two road games 6-1 and 8-0, respectively.

Runs, runs, runs It seems like a simple concept, but indeed, when the Mountaineers pour on the runs, the wins come, too.

In the month of March, App State has scored more than three runs only twice, one of which was in a 6-5 loss at ULM and the other was a thrilling 12-9 comeback win over UNC Charlotte.

Obviously, 12 runs goes a long way in helping do the little things like letting pitchers afford mistakes and settle into grooves.

Swing the bats and see how it goes. Pouring runs on UT Arlington in Boone might allow the team to truly settle into a groove for the first time this season.

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1 0 0 1 0 3 X

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0 3 1 5 9 1

THE MOUNTAINEERS HAVE LOST 3-STRAIGHT GAMES.

SEASON LEADERS

AVG

OBP

Dani Heichen

Dani Heichen & Sarah Warnock

PITCHING Hitting

Sports Editor

.274

0-9 9-16

Search for success

by Cory Spiers

AVG

CONF OVL

.360

ERA

Vanessa Ciocatto

4.35

HR

RBI

Haley Stewart Heather Josey

.400

4

14

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W

AVG

Alissa Shoelkopf Vanessa Ciocatto & Alissa Shoelkopf Kathrine Johnson

44

3

.281

12

BASEBALL

CONF OVL

AVG

2-7 7-18

.255

MARCH 27-29 VS. UALR (7-12, 4-4 SUN BELT)

MARCH 31 @ HIGH POINT (11-11, 2-1 BIG SOUTH)

APRIL 1 VS. N.C. A&T (3-17, 1-7 MEAC)

PREVIOUS GAME 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 7 0 1

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1 0 2 2 0 3 0 0 X

Momentum is critical

by Cory Spiers

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APP STATE'S SERIES WIN OVER ULM WAS THEIR FIRST IN THE SUN BELT.

PITCHING Hitting

SEASON LEADERS

AVG

OBP

HR

Brandon Burris Michael Pierson Dillon Dobson

.359

ERA

.329

W

Taylor Thurber Taylor Thurber

1.71

3

6

AVG

RBI

Dillon Dobson

17

K

Taylor Thurber Jeffery Springs

.191

38

Sports Editor

Forget the ACC The Mountaineers had a tough back-toback against ACC foes UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest over the past two days, but the results of that don’t mean much.

Certainly, it is always good to see how App State stacks up against other conferences in the country, but those games, which include a 9-0 loss to the Tar Heels, shouldn’t be allowed to affect the Mountaineers’ confidence.

After a Sun Belt series win over ULM that saw the Mountaineers take two out of three games, things seemed to be going in the right direction.

Things can still continue in that direction, despite the mixed outof-conference results.

The Mountaineers head to the road to face UALR for three games this upcoming weekend.

It’s always tough to win on the road, but considering how App State handled ULM, it’s not unrealistic to expect a win or two.

Lucky Sevens Seven seems to be a lucky number for the Mountaineers, at least recently.

In the series win over ULM, the Mountaineers posted seven runs in the two wins before being held to just two in the Sunday seriesw finale.

There might be more to seven than just occurring twice in wins – it also seems to be a safe number to secure an App State victory.

The Mountaineers have scored seven or more runs five times this season and have won all five of those contests.