Wednesday
Winthrop University
February 13 , 2019
Rock Hill, SC
Serving Winthrop and Rock Hill Since 1923
Cut it out: $4.5 million reduced from Winthrop’s budget
Winthrop’s Board of Trustees approved a $4.5 million budget cut in the fall.
Anna Sharpe sharpea@mytjnow.com A $4.5 million budget cut was approved during a Board of Trustees meeting Nov. 2, 2018. Justin Oates, vice president for finance and business affairs, addressed where this cut is coming from. Oates said while part of this cut is to the operating budget of the university, vacant positions are responsible for a good deal of it as well. Vacant positions savings come from faculty and staff jobs that were accounted for in the starting budget, but since they have opened up during the year and have yet to be filled, these jobs’ salaries are able to be cut from the budget. Typically, the university would try to find an immediate replacement for the vacant position. “We’re trying to do things a little differently to try and find efficiencies and ways to get by without filling it right away, by maybe asking someone else to do a little bit more and paying them a little bit but not a full salary. A lot of [the cut] is vacancy savings,” Oates said. “Every year, especially this year, we had a number of vacant faculty, and again you usually don’t hire faculty in year, you usually hire from Aug. 1 start date, so if we don’t hire them by Aug. 1, then they’re vacant. They help us because they’re in the original budget, therefore we’re not going to hire during the year, so that’s a big chunk of it,” Oates said. A loss of enrollment has led to the budget cut. With less students enrolled, the university loses out on tuition and other sources of revenue. Following a loss of state revenue support in 2008, Winthrop heavily relies on student’s tuition. “That’s the driving factor. With less students, means less revenue, which is why we’ve had to reduce the budget. It’s a revenue drop, which means we have to do the
same on the expense side to stay balanced,” Oates said. This drop in enrollment is not entirely due to lack of students coming in as freshman. In fact, Winthrop experienced a record
getting them out of here into the real world is a positive, not a negative. Over the next few years, we’ve got to look at that. We’re graduating students at a faster pace, which is positive. It means we may need to
Jordan Farrell/ The Johnsonian One reason Winthrop is cutting the budget is because of low enrollment partially caused by an increasing graduation rate. number of applicants for the fall 2018 semester. An increase in graduation rates has contributed to the lack of enrollment. More students are graduating, which means less are returning. “One of the positive things is our graduation rate is increasing. We’re graduating students four, five years,
increase our incoming class sizes,” Oates said. The budget reduction does not feature across-the-board cuts, which Oates called “detrimental.” “We really went out and met with everybody and figured out where we could reduce, again, limiting the impact on our operations
and our mission here at the university which is to educate students. We worked with them and tried to identify areas where we could reduce, again, with minimal impact,” Oates said. Areas of reduction include professional development, enrollment and natural reductions. “For professional development, we’re having to push off some professional development, supplies and stuff. So about $100,000 in my other areas which are finance, procurement. We reduced a little bit in enrollment. Luckily, the reductions in enrollment have been items that we didn’t need this year, so it’s not like we reduced what they needed. We were able to reduce because we didn’t renew contracts that we are evaluating how we want to move forward,” Oates said. “This cut should not affect student tuition or scholarships. It shouldn’t impact those things because those are tied to the students. If you have the student number, your scholarships are based on that student number. If you have less students, the scholarships naturally go down, but not the average per student. It’s operating dollars, not scholarship dollars, that we’ve reduced,” Oates continued. “I think around campus, people understand where we’re at and that we’ve been working as a team to figure out where we can make reductions without impacting the operations and the students as little as possible,” Oates said.
Winthrop loses campus pyschiatrist Madeline Brooks Special to The Johnsonian The only staff psychiatrist at Winthrop University has recently left the school, which could leave some students without affordable access to healthcare or medication. Jackie Concodora, director of health and counseling services at Winthrop, said the resignation of Aiko McGlynn came as a surprise. “We were greatly distressed by McGlynn’s resignation because of the interruption in care for our students,” Concodora said. “York County has very few psychiatrists and it is a significant issue for the entire community.” Concodora did not wish to state the reason for McGlynn’s departure. While the health and counseling department looks to hire a replacement, its therapists are trying to give students referrals to other nearby psychiatrists, according to Gretchen Baldwin, a counselor at Winthrop. However, this could be problematic, because new patients often must wait weeks to be seen by a new
doctor. “It’s horrible,” Mackenzie Sprott, a sophomore exercise science major from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina said. “These students need their prescriptions.” Cost is another concern, considering students were only required to pay $20 per visit to the in-house psychiatrist. According to Amwell, a website that specializes in connecting doctors and patients, a visit to a psychiatrist can cost hundreds of dollars for an initial consultation and around $100 for each following visit. “I told my parents about what happened and they said they just couldn’t afford it,” said Erika Roth, a junior mass communication major from Lexington, South Carolina. “I have no idea what I’m going to do when my prescription runs out.” In the meantime, according to Concodora, students are being referred to either the Saluda Counseling Center in Rock Hill or the Catawba Community Mental Health Center, which offers services in
A&C
Valentine’s Day movie reccomendations
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mytjnow.com
Photo courtesy of Madeline Brooks The Winthrop health and counseling department says its therapists are trying to give students referrals to other nearby doctors, while trying to replace its only staff psychiatrist, who recently resigned. York, Chester and Lancaster counties. Concodora said her department is also actively looking for another provider in order to have a new contact for Winthrop students.
Opinion
Super Bowl commericals: Wins and fails
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This story was a contribution from Palmetto Report writer Madeline Brooks. The Palmetto Report is an online multimedia news site written by Winthrop mass communication students for Winthrop and surrounding communities. For more stories from the Palmetto Report, visit www. palmettoreport.wordpress.com.
Sports
Eagle of the Week: Rafaela Santos
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Index: News 3 | Science & Tech 5 | Sports 6 | Arts & Culture 8 | Opinion 10
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PAGE 2 theJohnsonian February 13, 2019
A letter from the Council of Student Leaders Dear Winthrop University Community, We are writing because of our concern about a problem that does not reflect well upon us as Winthrop students. As many of you may know, our campus has recently been experiencing a repeated act of vandalism that has come to be known as “the missing Winthrop bricks.” To clarify, we are referring to the bricks that have been forcefully removed from our campus grounds in front of the DiGiorgio Campus Center, affectionately known as Digs, alongside the campus green. Theft and vandalism is not who we are as Winthrop students. As incoming students, we each get the opportunity to attend convocation where we recite our pledge, known as the dedication for excellence, to a higher standard of living as students and members of the Rock Hill community. Three components of the dedication we would like to bring to your attention include: Consideration of Others I will demonstrate a concern for the welfare and rights of others and I will respect the dignity of all persons. Social Responsibility I will actively contribute to my community through service and leave Winthrop and our world a better place for my having been here. Environmental Responsibility I will recognize the importance of environmental stewardship and will acknowledge the ecological and aesthetic consequences of my actions for future generations.
As it relates to these three commitments, we want to remind this community that it is our choice and privilege to call this university our home. It is our duty to respect and protect this campus. It is true what they say, first impressions do make an impact. Please be mindful and respectful of your future classmates, prospective students and professors and regular guests that Winthrop hosts. What message are we sending with holes in the walkways? Replacing the bricks comes with a cost. As a public institution, many of us fund our own education, please be mindful that damaging our campus grounds effects each of our students and the cost of maintenance to our campus. We encourage you to contribute to serving as an active member to the Winthrop community by practicing what it means to be an active bystander. If you see something, say something. This just as much effects you as it does the members of Winthrop’s faculty and staff. We’d also like to take this time to remind you that if you feel strongly about having a brick of your own, our admissions department sells personalized brick that are placed permanently on scholars walk for $100each. As committed and proud members of this university, we, The Council of Student Leaders, wanted to take time to remind each member of our community of the responsibility we have to our campus, our home, that sets us apart from the rest. Thank you for reading this and holding yourself and your peers accountable. Yours always in service, The Winthrop University Council of Student Leaders
About The Johnsonian The Johnsonian is the weekly student newspaper of Winthrop University.
CONTACT INFORMATION Our offices are located in suite 104 in the DiGiorgio Campus Center. Phone: (803) 323-3419 Email: editors@mytjnow.com Online: mytjnow.com
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your name, major and year if you are a student; your name and title if you are a professor, or your name and profession if you are a member of the community. Letters, cartoons and columns reflect the opinion of the authors and are not necessarily the opinions of The Johnsonian Staff.
Editor-in-Chief Téa Franco francot@mytjnow.com Managing Editor Cheyenne Walsh walshc@mytjnow.com
Sports Editor Greta Conboy Assistant Sports Gabby Gardner
A&C Editor Ad Manager Dillon Oneill Victoria Howard howardv@mytjnow.com News Editor Anna Sharpe Assistant News Oriana Gilmore S&T Editor Mikayla Mangle
Assitant A&C Caleb Hinkley Opinion Editor Erin Streetman
Layout Editor Carmen Little Graphic Designer Jordan Farrell Photographers Sam Ross Camille Riddle Copy Editors Casey Smith Matt Thrift Haleigh Altman
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NEWS theJohnsonian February 13, 2019
Jordan Farrell/ The Johnsonian The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School sparked gun control advocacy.
Advocacy in the Aftermath Ivy Schamis reflects on her experience and what her and Marjory Stoneman Douglas students message is one year following the deadly Feb. 14 shooting. Savannah Scott scotts@mytjnow.com
When Feb. 14 comes to mind, most think of Valentine’s Day, a day of love. For the survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, it brings up the reminder of the pain many suffered that grueling day. Feb. 14 marks one year since one of the deadliest shootings ever in United States history. 17 innocent people lost their lives to the hands of a high school student with the access to a gun meant for killing. The names of the victims are Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang. Ivy Schamis, a social studies teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, has been teaching at the school for 18 years. At the time of the shooting, she was in Room 1214 on the first floor teaching a lesson on the history of the Holocaust. She was teaching her students specifically about how to combat hate on college campuses. As her students were finishing up an activity on this subject, she heard shots ringing out. Before she and the students could process what was happening, the gunman was shooting bullets through the window of her door, wounding four of her students and killing two, Helena Ramsay and Nicholas Dworet. Since the shooting, Schamis has been an advocate for her students and the country to speak out on the fatal event that affected her that day. She ties in
her teaching of Holocaust their stories and share their meseducation and the shooting sage, so my message is to really she survived when spreading pass along the information that her message. I got from Holocaust survivors. Schamis also goes on to deIn fact, one of the slogans I use scribe her winning a Bear Award all the time is, ‘Pain should not for the Brady Campaign. The be wasted.’ You need to listen Brady Campaign is a campaign to what other people have gone to prevent gun violence. through and take that informa“I definitely am a big protion and use it for your own benponent for gun control, but efit. I would say that the commy message has actually been munity in Parkland and around Holocaust education. I won the the country, support has been Bear Award for the Brady Camunbelievably fantastic,” Schamis paign for helping the students find their voices in gun conYou need to listen to what trol,” Schamis said. One of Schamis’ other people have gone students attended through and take that inforthe State of The Union address on mation and use it for your Feb. 5 and later own benefit.” spoke to Congress -Ivy Schamis , about gun control. “People are reTeacher at Marjory Stoneman ally listening to the Douglas High School kids, so my role as an educator is really has been to help the students said. find their voice. My role as an Schamis has attended multiple advocate has been to speak about events to spread her message, inthe importance of being stroncluding one recently held in Noger than hate, about teaching vember. She went to the Shoah tolerance [and] about teaching Foundation in Los Angeles with Holocaust education. The ad12 of her students. She spoke at vocacy on my part has been to the event, which is dedicated to spread the message of Holocaust the remembrance of the Holoeducation but in addition to join caust, where she won the Inauguorganizations to get out their and ral Stronger Than Hate Educator to make people aware that it’s not Award. ok to give mentally ill people acAs Schamis said, the support cess to guns especially AR-15s,” from other communities has Schamis said. been immense. Last year, WinShe explained a message she throp held a March For Our wants many to take from her as Lives event to honor the victims well as the positive effects since and bring awareness to this issue. the event took place. The event was held Mar. 24 “I look at [Holocaust survivors] after the shooting where supwho are ridiculously resilient porters met at campus green and and have been through hell and walked to Lindsey Graham’s ofback, and they continue to tell fice, holding signs and walking in
Anna Sharpe | News Editor sharpea@mytjnow.com
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honor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivors and for those that have suffered from shootings before. Juliet Isaacs, a sophmore, was the main organizer for this event. Lauren Mueller, sophomore human nutrition major, was the public relations organizer for the event. Mueller explained why she and many others wanted to organize the event, as well as what she wanted others to take away from this. “The main reason why we decided to do this march is the majority of us have younger siblings, and we just thought of it as what if that was our family member that would have been affected by it, just to raise awareness for the situation. The ultimate message is that it’s important to raise awareness when situations happen that could be so close to us in our community,” Mueller said. Sarah Jackson, a sophomore social work major, was the social media organizer for the march. She explains why she wanted to help and the respect she has for the Parkland students. “My parents raised me on this form of compassion and caring about people and it hurts me to see the world in the state that it is. It was really inspiring to see the Parkland students putting themselves together. I can’t imagine the turmoil they were going through, and they didn’t even have a month to prepare [for the March For Our Lives event], but they were doing this after all the trauma that they went through. I mean, if anything I want to back them up and show them that little old Rock Hill [is] backing them up,” Jackson said.
theJohnsonian February 13, 2019
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Wins for the Winthrop Plan
Two targets of the Winthrop plan involving unrestricted giving and six-year graduation rates, were met far in advance Anna Sharpe sharpea@mytjnow.com
Two more targets of President Daniel Mahony’s Winthrop Plan were recently met. The 2025 target goal for unrestricted giving was set at $700,000. As of Dec. 2018, unrestricted gifts were recorded at $714,212. The 2025 target goal for six-year graduation rates for first time freshman was set at 61 percent. As of Dec. 2018, the percentage of those who entered the university as freshman in 2013 and graduated this past fall was recorded at 61.4 percent. These achievements come after the 2025 goal for faculty diversity was met at 21 percent. Unrestricted gifts are gifts from
alumni and donors that go into the Winthrop Fund. These gifts come with “no strings attached” and give the president greater flexibility to meet various needs around the university, according to Evan Bohnen, vice president for university advancement. “The Winthrop Fund is our highest priority for the university. We designate that to the Winthrop Fund scholarships for students, it also helps run our alumni operations and foundation operations and other university wide priorities,” Bohnen said. The online degree programs that were made available beginning in the fall 2018 semester were made possible using the Winthrop Fund. “That is something that has been on the university’s wish list for a couple years. If we had had more of the WInthrop Fund dollars available to us, we would have been able to jumpstart that initiative sooner than having to wait until fall of 2018,” Bohnen said. In an email to faculty and staff, Mahony praised donors for giving to the Winthrop Fund. “We will continue to build off of this year’s success, and support and implement initiatives that create a
culture of giving on campus and in our community. Our generous donors have provided critical scholarship support to our students, and we can’t thank them enough for their continued support of Winthrop,” Mahony said. Scholarships funded by the Winthrop Fund support many students, one example being students who are “caught in the middle.” “They’re not eligible for some of those awards that are made specifically to families with high need. So they’re kind of stuck in the middle. Winthrop Fund scholarships are a great way to continue to support those students coming from middle class families and help them get an education,” Bohnen said. Bohnen said one reason the target goal was reached six years ahead of schedule was an increased focus on encouraging donors to give to the Winthrop Fund. “I think we’ve done a better job this past year of talking about the Winthrop Fund, and we will continue talking about the Winthrop Fund and how important it is. If a donor wants to designate to the english department, any college, any program across the university, I certainly want to encourage that. But as we’re
having conversations with alums, if they ask us what’s the highest priority, I do have to talk about and lift up the Winthrop Fund. It provides us the greatest latitude to meet needs that we’re trying to do to move the students forward,” Bohnen said. Bohnen said some of the contributing factors to the increase in six-year graduation rates are the commitment from faculty and staff and working to decrease student debt. “I think it’s amazing in so many regards. It just underlies the commitment of our faculty and our staff to the support of students and helping them graduate. That’s why you’re here: to get your degree and then to go on from Winthrop. I think it really helps to think about student debt and what we’re doing to best manage student debt and keeping it to a minimum while they are going through Winthrop,” Bohnen said. “I’m very pleased about this goal and I look forward to what the team’s going to accomplish this year and the coming years to support their students,” Bohnen said.
Ask an officer
Winthrop police had an open question and answer session for students to address their concerns about campus safety and the current relationship between students and campus police Oriana Gilmore gilmoreo@mytjnow.com One in six women and one in 19 men have experienced stalking at some point during their lifetime, said Sgt. Julia Taggart at the Ask an Officer campus safety event Thursday. Winthrop University Police gave students information about campus resources when dealing with stalking or harassment and allowed students to ask questions pertaining to stalking, harassment and student-campus police relations. Taggart said stalking laws can differ from state to state, but they all have a common foundation. “While legal definitions of stalking vary from one jurisdiction to another, a good working definition of stalking is according to the conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear,” Taggart said. Taggart said stalking is a “fixation” on another person and stalkers are unpredictable. There are three types of stalking: intimate or former intimate, acquaintance and stranger. Intimate or former intimate stalking is usually between a couple that is divorced or has broken up. An acquaintance stalker is usually someone the victim knows, not romantically, like a coworker or classmate. Stranger stalking is someone who the victim does not know. Anyone can be a stalker, but according to the Jane Doe voices for change, 87 percent of stalkers overall are men, regardless of the victim’s gender, Taggart said. About 6.6 million Americans are stalked each year; 55 percent of females and 48 percent of males reported stalking to the police. Two myths about stalking are that it is harmless and ignoring the stalker will make them go away. Taggart said these are both dangerous myths and the more a victim resists, the more the stalker will continue to be fixated on the victim. Taggart said students should report cases of stalking and harassment to campus police or the Office
of Victims Assistance. Taggart is the victim advocate for campus police and she shares this role with the OVA’s new victim advocate, Itali Jackson. In addition to reminding students to contact campus police, Taggart gave students some off-campus resources to go to for assistance including Safe Passage, Inc., the National Center for Victims of Crime, local law enforcement, York County Solicitor’s Office and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Taggart reminded students of the campus police escort system available for students, faculty members and visitors on campus to use for safety purposes. If a student is at the library at 2 a.m. and they need someone to escort them to their car or back to their dorm, campus police will “safely maneuver you from point A to point B,” Taggart said. Campus police escort services can send escorts during the day for health and counseling services if a student is too ill to walk to Crawford building. However, some students voiced concern with the reliability of the escort service due to wait times. Taggart said students who call for an escort may have to wait 15 to 20 minutes until an officer is available if officers are dealing with a crime or emergency. “The dispatcher should be telling you, ‘it’s going to be about 15, 20 minute wait because I have this and this… They should also be verifying your phone number, telling you to stay put and that they’ll call you as soon as they have an officer available,” Taggart said. Campus police Lieutenant Charles Yearta said the dispatcher should also ask if the student is safe before continuing with the call. “I do not have a fully staffed department right now,” Yearta said. Yearta said escort times may be delayed because the department’s few night shift officers have to lockdown all academic buildings which usually takes about three hours. However, Yearta said based on call
Oriana Gilmore| Assistant News Editor gilmoreo@mytjnow.com
logs and recorded calls, the average wait time for an escort within the past three years is 10 minutes. Some students feel that the campus police escort system is effective. Ariel Smith, junior social work major, said she has used the escort services a few times and has had positive experiences with the officers. Smith said she feels like Ask an Officer was “very open” and good opportunity for conversation between students and campus police. “Personally, I’ve only had good experiences so I don’t have a lot negative to say besides what I’ve heard from other students,” Smith said. Other students continue to feel wary about their safety. Brianna Atkins, a sophomore social work major, said she felt like the event was informational for some, but the officers’ responses were “restricted.” “I really don’t feel reassured at all. That’s just my opinion. I felt like the two people who did talk to us seemed kind of nonchalant and tried to make it seem like they cared, but in my opinion they didn’t,” Atkins said. Atkins said she recently filed a suspicious person report after closing at work one night in the DiGiorgio, but she was never updated on what happened after the report was filed. Atkins said campus police showed up after her manager escorted her to her dorm which made her feel like campus police did not care about her report. “It may be steps taken, but I feel like it either might be postponed, or the steps might be short term and it may not be a long lasting effect,” Atkins said. Atkins said she wants the officers to show that they care by communication with students, about incidents, so students can feel safe and have closure. Yearta said the department is working to improve how they convey messages to the student body, improve response times and customer service. “There is at no time that someone
should be made to feel disrespected [or] that someone should be made to feel that we don’t care,” Yearta said. Campus police is working to improve communication and trust between students. Yearta said because students may not know the information that officers investigate after reports are filed, there is a barrier between students and campus police. “Our job is to do a better job of bridging the gap of communicating the back end of the story,” Yearta said. Yearta and Taggart want students to call or email them to notify the department of any issues or complaints they have had with dispatchers or officers so those problems can be addressed and corrected. “In [students] fear of not wanting to come forward, they’re not giving us a chance to listen and see what we can or cannot do for them,” Taggart said. Taggart and Yearta said they do not want students to feel as if they cannot come to campus police for help or safety. “When you see something call us then… I would much rather y’all call us 10,000 times a day and 9,999 of those calls were absolutely nothing that we’re even going to put pen to paper on,” Yearta said. “But at least you feel better because we’re responding to your complaints. You are the community we patrol. You are the taxpayers.” Students who have been in any traumatic situation should report all incidents to campus police but they are able to go to other resources for assistance. The OVA can be used as a liaison between students and campus police. OVA counselor, Beverly Holbrook, said students can visit their office to cope with lingering fears and to find out more information about their reports. Campus police also suggest downloading the LiveSafe app which allows students to call, text and report crimes to the police anonymously.
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theJohnsonian
Winthrop talks food February 13, 2019
The World of Food Conference is coming to Winthrop, bringing about interdisciplinary perspectives and discussions on food and culture Mikayla Mangle manglem@mytjnow.com From student/faculty research presentations and panels to local brewery tours, Winthrop University will be hosting the 2019 World of Food Conference as a way to bring an interdisciplinary conversation about food to the table. The conference is set to take place from Thursday, Feb. 21 to Saturday, Feb. 23. This conference was put on by Winthrop’s interdisciplinary program with the help of about 20 different co-sponsors that range from the department of human nutrition to the college of visual and performing arts. According to Winthrop professor Ginger Williams, the department of interdisciplinary studies hosted a water conference in 2015 which, much like the food conference plans to do, brought a conversation throughout multiple disciplines. “At that [water conference] we asked people what would be a good idea for the next conference and the idea of food came up and so [interdisciplinary studies] would like to put on an interdisciplinary conference every 3 years,” Williams said. As some may think food is only a
topic within agriculture or nutrition based studies, the World of Food Conference sets out to disprove that. This conference will showcase that food touches every discipline and many parts of people’s lives and cultures. “Food crosses every discipline,” Williams said. "Its politics, its nutrition, its health, its psychology.” The idea of food crossing every discipline is seen just by looking at the World of Food Conference Program. There will be presentations on how food relates to the economy, how food relates to Southern culture, the history of food, food in international settings, food in religion and much more. However, research presentations and panels will not be the only aspects of the food conference. There will be speakers, dinners and brewery tours going on throughout the entire weekend of the food conference. “On Thursday night [of the conference] we’re having a reception for the keynote speaker [John T. Edge]. Dan “The Pig Man” Huntly whose somewhat famous in his own right locally, he’s a big barbeque man, is going to be doing a reception for John T. Edge our keynote speaker at the Rock Hill
Brewery Company downtown and everyone who is registered for the conference can come to that. This is highlighting a local brewery and Rock Hill is a new beer scene,” Williams said. In addition to the keynote speaker and barbeque reception Chow Club, an organization from Atlanta, will be coming to the conference on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. at Oakland Avenue Presbyterian Church to serve an Ethiopian dinner. Chow Club is known to cook meals highlighting international cuisines. This dinner is not included with registration for the conference. Those who wish to go must register separately for this and it is an extra $40. Also, on Saturday after the conference there will be a local walking Rock Hill brew tour. The cost is $20. The conference kicks off on Thursday night, Feb. 21 with Edge, a Southern food expert and author of the “Potlikker Papers”, as the keynote speaker giving a talk about Southern food at 7 p.m. in Plowden Auditorium. This keynote speech is free to the public and Winthrop community and is a cultural event for students. Registering for the conference will get you in to the reception
on Thursday night at the Rock Hill Brewing Company led by Huntley, a lunch on Friday and a reception in the art gallery on Friday night. Registering for the conference is $15 for students. The interdisciplinary studies department urges students, faculty members and community members to register for the conference to be able to experience and learn about the ways food affects everyone’s lives both locally and internationally. “It’s important to talk across disciplines. I think that’s the most important thing to do and so you have to find a topic people can talk about across disciplines because I don’t think we usually think that we have that much in common… this [food conference] gives us something to talk about. Other than that, food is just such an important topic because we have to have it to live and the way we eat it affects our minds, our bodies, our policies…it’s just an important topic that touches everyone,” Williams said. Ultimately, the food conference looks to be a big hit throughout the Winthrop and Rock Hill community, bringing up a topic that everyone is connected to.
Register for the World of Food Conference at www.winthrop.edu/interdisciplinary. The registration cost is $15 for students.
The struggle for representation Zuri Anderson Staff Writer “African Americans and Hispanics are underrepresented across all [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] job clusters,” according to a 2018 study by Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank. These job clusters include health-related professions, math, computerrelated fields, physical science, engineering and life sciences. The latter two accounts for the lowest percentages of African American employees and professionals. Winthrop students in various STEM fields share their perspectives on African American representation and how that influences their insights and motivations. “It is disheartening to see the lack of people of color in this field,” Alexzondrea Harrison, a senior environmental studies major said. “I understand that there are many stigma or stereotypes about the environmental field but it is important to encourage African Americans and people of color to become more educated on this subject.” Issues like gentrification and environmental racism continue today in people of color’s neighborhoods. Lack of education on these subjects perpetuates them, according to Harrison. Harrison also said there is a lack of African Americans as STEM educators, calling for more professors and advisors that represent other races. “It is important for African
American students to see “As an African American Muslim professionals that look like them woman I find that I will always have in this area. It is a majority white, to work hard towards becoming male-dominated subject but I a better scientist. I am constantly feel as though aiming to we can shift improve myself, that narrative,” learn from the Harrison said. “I challenges I am would especially faced with, and enjoy seeing to show others multiple black like me that women at the it is possible forefront.” to become Chandani whoever they Mitchell, a senior aspire to biology major, become. I have said that voices been honored from people with the of color are opportunity to suppressed as a do things now result of under that I did not representation. think I would be Diversity can doing in the open a lot of past, and I hope It is a majority white, opportunities for that others can male-dominated subject perspectives. see that they “Diversity but I feel as though we can too are capable allows new ideas of studying in to be formulated, shift that narrative. a hard science different skills field. What sets to come it takes is Alexzondrea Harrison together and dedication, and Senior environmental studies allows problems a lot of hard major to be looked work,” Mitchell at through said. different lens and from different Ta’Niss Robinson, senior backgrounds,” Mitchell said. “And psychology major, said it was really by having underrepresentation hard for African Americans to enter of African Americans, we are not the psychology field several decades giving voice to other perspectives ago. and experiences that may be “Then a couple broke the barriers. valuable to the STEM field.” Two black psychologists are behind Despite these obstacles, Mitchell the research that helped Brown said she feels empowered to v. Board of Education,” Robinson perform better and exceed in her said. profession. These individuals were Kenneth
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Mikayla Mangle | Science & Technology Editor manglem@mytjnow.com
and Mamie Clark, who created the Clark doll experiment in to illustrate the impact of segregation on African American children. Demographics on participants in psychological studies were mostly white, unless these studies were geared toward African American populations. Robinson said trends today are improving with more diversity in sample size demographics. “It’s getting better little by little. It wasn’t there in the beginning, but as the years have gone by, people are picking it up,” Robinson said. “People are being called out about certain samples being too generalized or unrepresentative. Researchers are having to look outside of their normal sample ranges to find more representative people.” Robinson is also the president of the Psychology Club, a student organization for psychology majors, minors and anyone interested in the field. The organization hosted a mini-event on Feb. 7 about the contributions of African American psychologists to the field, society and even history. Before the event, Robinson looked forward to learning a lot about black history in the field. “This is in honor of Black History Month, and it’s to bring awareness,” Robinson said. “We’ve included people like the first African American male and female to get their doctorates in psychology, the first African American president of the American Psychological Association, and others. We’ve done a lot of great things, and people just don’t know about it.”
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SPORTS theJohnsonian February 13, 2019
EAGLES OF THE WEEK
Rafaela Santos
Rafaela Santos Earns First Big South Freshman Of The Week Honor
Picture Provided by Winthrop Althletics
Santos represents her home country and eagle pride. Allison Thomas Staff Writer Winthrop women’s tennis freshman Rafaela Santos has been named Big South Freshman of the Week. Santos started her collegiate career by receiving this honor and representing Winthrop tennis. “It means a lot to me. I know how prestigious this program is,” Santos said. “I am constantly working hard to represent our team the best way possible.” Santos expressed that she was surprised to receive this award so early in her career, but feels very honored and excited for the teams growth. Santos came to Rock Hill from São Paulo,
Brazil and has been playing tennis for 13 years. “In the beginning, it is not easy to be away from home and my family,” Santos said, “But it’s a matter of getting used to the new routine.” Head coach Cid Carvalho is also a Brazil native. Santos says that this makes her feel more at home and appreciated the connection they have. “I have a really special bond with my coach, Cid,” Santos said. “We have really good chemistry, and my teammates are just as great. They have been helping me in my transition to college, and I feel really lucky to have them supporting me every step of the way.” In her season debut, Santos drew the winning match in the Eagles’ 4-3 home season-opening win over William and Mary team. William and Mary were champions last year for their
UPCOMING HOME GAMES TONIGHT Mens Basketball vs. Presbyterian
FEB. 15 Womens Lacrosse vs. Liberty
Men’s Baseball vs. Toledo
FEB. 16 Women’s Basketball vs. UNC Asheville Baseball vs. Toledo
FEB. 17 Baseball vs. Toledo
FEB. 19 Women’s Basketball vs. Radford
Greta Conboy | Sports Editor conboyg@mytjnow.com
conference, the Colonial Athletic Association. The Eagles opened the action by taking the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. Santos helped the Eagles win the doubles point, partnering with Alisa Soloveva for a 6-2 win. “Rafaela is an amazing player, she competes on a high level and she always tries her best each match,” doubles partner Soloveva said. “Besides the tennis aspect, she is also an awesome teammate. We love having her in our team and hopefully, being Freshman of the Week is just a beginning of her successful tennis career in college. We all are really excited to start the season together.” “I’m very excited for this season. I hope that we can continue to do well and hopefully win the conference,” Santos said.
theJohnsonian
February 13, 2019
Patriots Rock the Rams
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Patriots earn their sixth ring during the lowest scoring Super Bowl in NFL history Mathew Shealy Staff Writer
Super Bowl LIII was played on Sunday, Feb, 3 in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game resulted in the New England Patriots defeating the Los Angeles Rams by a score of 13-3. The low scoring event got off to an exciting start as New England’s quarterback, Tom Brady, threw an interception on the first drive. However, the Rams were unable to capitalize off Brady’s blunder, and were forced to punt the ball back to the Patriots. New England gained 60 yards on their next drive but came up short again when their kicker, Stephen Gostkowski, missed a 46-yard field goal attempt. He redeemed himself early in the second quarter though, hitting a 42-yard field goal to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Patriots. Although both teams had possession of the ball three more times during the first half, the score remained the same at halftime. The Rams became the 13th team to be held scoreless in the first half of a Super Bowl. The second half continued to lack productive offense as both teams began with two punts each. Near the end of the third quarter, Rams’ kicker Greg Zuerlein hit a 53-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. For many football fans, hopes of another Super Bowl going into overtime (just as in Super Bowl LI) began to form as the teams remained tied for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Those dreams were stifled when Patriots’ running back Sony Michel punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown, and Stephen Gostkowski’s extra point gave the Patriots a 10-3 advantage. The Rams’ next drive seemed promising but was unproductive, as their quarterback, Jared Goff, threw an interception. The Patriots drove down the field once again, and Stephen Gostkow-
Greta Conboy/ The Johnsonian
Patriots win Super Bowl with a 13-3 win over the Rams ski nailed a 41-yard field goal to give his team a ten-point lead. The Rams’ last hope for a comeback was silenced when Greg Zuerlein missed a 48-yard field goal attempt. The Patriots took a final knee to run the clock out before hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in three seasons. Patriots’ wide receiver Julian Edelman was voted Most Valuable Player for his 10 reception, 141-yard receiving performance. The Super Bowl Champions included two former Rock Hill standouts. Wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson recorded two carries for seven yards, two receptions for 14 yards and one kickoff return for 38 yards. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore logged five tackles, three passes defended, and
the team’s only interception. This was New England’s 11th Super Bowl appearance which is the most by any team. It was also their sixth Super Bowl victory and ninth appearance led by head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady. “[The game] was super boring and had very little action,” Matthew Ervin, a freshman and Philadelphia Eagles fan said. “It further shows that, and it hurts to say this, Tom Brady is truly the best to have ever played.” The final score of 13-3 set the record for lowest scoring game in Super Bowl history, but the Patriots 10-point win is the organization’s largest margin of victory in a Super Bowl, as their previous wins had all been by six points or less.
Four Eagles Inducted Into Winthrop Hall Of Fame Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame now has a total of 87 members.
Allison Thomas Staff Writer The 2019 Winthrop Hall of Fame Class was officially inducted last week. Four members were honored in the 15th induction class. The ceremony was held inside the Richardson Ballroom. The four members include former softball head coach Mark Cooke, former women’s basketball standout Ashley Fann, former baseball player Heath Rollins and former men’s basketball player Michael Jenkins. Mark Cooke (2018) Cooke coached softball in college for 33 years and spent 29 seasons leading the Winthrop program. Cooke was honored Big South Coach of the Year honors three times. He then guided the team to the Big South championship game 11 different times. He also won the Big South Championships four seasons in his career. In 2007, Cooke was the second Big South coach to obtain 50 wins in a single season. Cooke is one out of two coaches to do so. He ranks first in the Big South Conference history for all-time victories (757) and conference only victories (217). He has coached the Eagles to over 40 wins against programs from the Power 5 Conferences. Ashley Fann (2009) Fann graduated from Winthrop in 2009. Her 1,603 career points currently rank fifth all-time in the athletic program. She ranked second all-time in rebounds, second in games started, third in games played, third in minutes played,
Photo courtesy of Winthrop Althletics
The four members include Mark Cooke, Ashley Fann, Heath Rollins, and Michael Jenkins. third in free throws attempted, third in free throws made and third in career points. Fann is a three-time All-Big South selection. She was also honored as the 2005 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year and a threetime selection to the Big South All-Academic Team. Fann helped guided her team to the program’s first ever 20-win season in the 2007 season. Heath Rollins (2006) Rollins spent two successful seasons with the Eagle baseball program. He earned All-Big South honors both years he attended Winthrop and was named the 2006 Big South Conference Player of the Year. In 2006, he won 13 games on the mound and led the team with 143
strikeouts as a pitcher. In just two seasons he made the program’s alltime top 10 in on-base percentage, triples, stolen bases, lowest opponent batting average, strikeouts per nine innings, wins and strikeouts. Rollins represented the program well as he earned All-American honors in 2006 by three different national publications. When he was on the team, the Eagles made NCAA Regional appearances in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, he was selected in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Michael Jenkins (2008) Jenkins was a two-year starter and was a member of four Big South Championship teams. He was the 2008 Big South Conference Tour-
nament MVP. Jenkins was honored with All-Big South honors twice. He earned Big South All-Tournament Team honors twice set both a Big South and Winthrop record for most points in a championship contest in 2008. He became the first Eagle in program history to hit 100 or more threes in a single season. Jenkins tied the school record for threes in a game with 12 and ranks 5th all-time in made threes. He is one of just five players in the history of the program to score 40 or more points in a single-game. He still holds the program record for most threes in a conference tournament game with six. Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame now has a total of 87 members. Their honorable plaques are on the walls of the Winthrop Coliseum alongside the other inductees.
Gabby Gardner | Assistant Sports Editor gardnerg@mytjnow.com
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A&CtheJohnsonian February 13, 2019
Artist Spotlight: Kasey Sears In the midst of working on a senior project, Kasey Sears is unveiling some amphibious friends in Old Town Rock Hill. Dillion O’Neill oneilld@mytjnow.com Kasey Sears once put puffy paint in her carpet. She was very young and got in all sorts of trouble for it. Her mother could handle the constant doodling and altering of Barbie dolls, but this had gone too far. No matter how much trouble she was in, this moment would stick with Sears for years and plant the seed of her artistic passion. That passion was switched into high gear when she transferred to Winthrop to pursue an art major. Previously she had only taken a few art classes in high school and was terrified to go full time. “My first art class here was an 8 a.m. drawing class and afterwards I went up to the professor and said, ‘Look I’m not very good at art,’” Sears said. “And he said, ‘Well you’ll just get better.’” She did get better. Sears is now a senior, sculpture major who has developed a love of exploring materials and how they can be worked with. In her time at Winthrop, she has developed an affinity for working with wood and further explored her love of antiques. “I’ve always loved things that were old and broken,” Sears said. “My favorite Disney movie growing up was ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ and it was because Belle fell in love with something ugly and her love made it beautiful.” Sears is currently developing her senior project which will look at the ideas of lost and found. She combines old photographs of strangers with wooden boxes filled with sentimental items that have been nailed shut. “The idea is that you can’t get back into the box,” Sears said. “The items aren’t lost, they’re right there, but you can’t see them. Another massive endeavour of Sears’ began last summer. She was chosen by a professor to help Old Town Rock Hill begin a new project that will live on forever. It was pitched to be like Greenville’s Mice on Main, but with frogs. “At first I thought it was a competition, so I thought I had to make the best model frog to be chosen,” Sears said. “I was very confused in the beginning.” All Sears needed though was a proposal of her
plan for the future frogs. As she worked on them throughout the summer, she researched different types of frog breeds and emulated them in her models. She let this, inform what each frogs short bio would say. “It sounds really weird, but as I was working on them they sort of told me their names,” Sears said. In total there will be 10 small frog statues placed strategically around Old Town Rock Hill. Each frog has a short bio that tells a bit about their personality and gives a few clues as to where they’re located. Sears has three young nephews who served as inspiration to her during this project. “They come to Rock Hill all the time, and Photo courtsey of Kasey Sears I can’t wait to take Sears created ten frog sculpture to be placed around Rock Hill them out and see all the frogs,” Sears said. “I want people to look at my art and say, ‘She Eventually Sears hopes that, like the Mice on took this really ugly thing and she made it beautiMain, the frogs’ story can be continued. She just ful and worthy and valuable,’” Sears said. needs to find the right writer and illustrator. The Old Town frogs are being announced one“I do want to get somebody to write a book like by-one every few days. Photos of each frog and a children’s book to tell the story of the frogs,” all bios can be found on onlyinoldtown.com/ Sears said. oldtownfrogs and seen on social media with the Sears’ work always explores the two main hashtag #OldTownFrogs. Sears’ final project of themes are love and redemption. She looks at the the lost and found boxes will be displayed in the redemption of people, their worth and their value senior art showcase at the end of April. but also redeeming materials.
In This House
The theatre and dance department has kicked off it’s spring season with In This House, a dance show themed around relationships that is infused with multimedia, that is student filmed and student directed by Jacqueline Cron. Caleb Hinkley hinkleyc@mytjnow.com Winthrop’s theatre and dance department prides itself on giving students the opportunity to direct their own shows. The department kicked off it’s spring 2019 season with “In This House” a multimedia and dance performance show directed by grad student Jacqueline Cron. Cron is going for her master’s in dance education at Winthrop. This was her first time directing a show. “I learned a lot about directing and editing film,” Cron said, “and focusing on little details within a full production.” “In This House focuses on one main character, a girl, who is looking back on past relationships and trying to find meaning in each one and how it shaped her into the person she is at the end of the show. The end focuses on the girl finding a feeling of content within herself and her current life,” Cron said, “The setting is her home and most of the “stories” occur within her own space and that kind of influences who she is. “she has this want to create happiness within the space, whether it is with these relationships or on her own.” Cron proved her directing skills and represented Winthrop’s theatre and dance department well with In This House. She also had her appendix taken out the day before opening night and that did not stop her from being there for her production cast and crew. After college she wants to “get a teaching job at a middle or high school and find a small company to join or have other experiences in performing.” Photo courtsey of Jacqueline Cron
Jacqueline Cron, a Winthrop grad student, filmed, edited and directed her first multimedia and dance production at Winthrop
Dillon O’Neill | A&C Editor oneilld@mytjnow.com
theJohnsonian
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February 13, 2019
Six lovely recommendations for Valentine’s Day
With Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s helpful to have movies and TV shows to watch if you’re not spending a night on the town, with or without a date. The Johnsonian has youcovered with six modern and classic movies and shows. Joseph Calamia Staff Writer
Grosse Pointe Blank: If you’re looking for a romantic comedy with a bit of edge and action, then look no further than this ‘90s classic. Martin Blank (John Cusack) is a disillusioned hitman heading back to Grosse Pointe, Michigan to attend his high school reunion and carry out a hit. Martin tries to rekindle a romance with the girl he left on prom night (Minnie Driver), tussles with his rival (Dan Aykroyd) looking to start an assassin union and generally stay alive amid the numerous attempts on his life. This one’s a crowd pleaser for both fans of crime and awkward romances. West Side Story: This movie’s an absolute classic musical inspired by Romeo and Juliet. Based on the the Broadway musical, the film details the love between an American teenager and a Puerto Rican teenager that have relation to two rival street gangs. The bright atmosphere of New York City and peppy music helps bounce the feelings of the musical to audiences. The memorable performances and musical numbers are sure to give you the appreciation of the catchy music and romantic themes. Love and thrills are at the heart of this film, and it’s recently been added to Netflix. Roman Holiday: Released in 1953, “Roman Holiday” is one of the best all time romantic movies with a minimum budget of $1.5 million. The story follows a struggling reporter (Gregory Peck), who unknowingly bumps into a crown princess (Audrey Hepburn) while on an assignment in Rome, and he doesn’t recognize her. Upon
discovering her actual title, the reporter sees this as a chance to to gain an exclusive interview and give her the chance to see the sights without the stuffy meetings of royalty. If you liked classics like “West Side Story”, you’ll be at home with this old timey romance movie. A quick heads up: There is a really good improvised moment at the Mouth of Truth. The Princess Bride: A moderate success in 1987, The Princess Bride has received a legend of classic with its interesting story and loveable characters. The film centers a story of Princess Buttercup, who is kidnapped by a gang of bandits Jordan Farrell/The Johnsonian and hunted by the prince she is Yuta Sakurai, who has a surprising relation to forced to marry. Her childhood her in the game. With a combination of charming friend, Westley, embarks on a quest to save characters, comedic and satisfying moments and Buttercup and fight off monsters, a giant and a a look on how adults with stress cope with stress, six fingered swordsman. With such memorable this series is an adorkable good show showing performances from actors like Cary Elwes, the helpfulness of video games. “Recovery of Wallace Shawn, and Andre the Giant. Along An MMO Junkie” is available to stream both in with a harrowing action, you’re bound to fall in English and Japanese on Crunchyroll. love with this classic. By the end of watching the You’ve Got Mail: movie, you will be able to quote one of the film’s Often considered a good romance of the ‘90s, most quotable lines. this movie concerns use of romance in the Recovery of An MMO Junkie: growing times of the internet. The plot concerns “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” is a Japanese Tom Hanks as Joe Frank, the owner of a mega anime that features horror comedy with a bookstore, and Meg Ryan as Kathleen Kelly, the dash of social satire. The series starts off with owner of a small bookstore in New York City. protagonist Moriko Morioka, a 30-year-old While the two are at odds with each other in corporate dropout who returns to her hobbies of person, the two seemingly hit it off on an AOL playing online games, as a guy character named chat room where they open up and offer advice. Hayashi. While playing, she begins a friendship With two fantastic actors with amazing chemistry with an adorable mage in-game named Lily and and charming moments, this will offer you feelchats with a young, shy businessman named good time with your friends or loved ones.
Eagles spread the love
Winthrop University Students have unique ways of celebrating and spreading the message of love on Valentine’s Day whether they have a special someone or are flying solo.
Caleb Hinkley/The Johnsonian
Students had the opportunity to participate in Valentines for Vets, as a way to say thank you Veterans Caleb Hinkley hinkleyc@mytjnow.com Feb. 14 is dreaded by many, whether someone is in a relationship or not. For those in relationships, there are the societal pressures of going all out to show someone you love them. For those who are single Valentine’s Day might as well be hailed as “Single’s Awareness Day.” However, Winthrop University hosts several themed events around this season of love to get everyone involved and students have their own unique ways of celebrating this special day. On Feb. 5, Winthrop got an early start on Valentine’s Day festivities. The office of Military, Adult and Transfer services hosted “Valentines for Vets” in Digs. The office of Military, Adult and Transfer services hosts a variety of events to make transfer and nontraditional students feel more at home at Winthrop but every student is welcome to attend. This event allowed students to create a valentine for a former service member to thank them for their service.
Caleb Hinkley/The Johnsonian
Students were provided an array of art materials to make each valentine for Veterans unique and special
Renee Holliday, who is on staff at Winthrop, helped host the event. “It’s a yearly event to say thank you to vets,” Holliday said, “We have been doing it for four years now.” The cards will be on display in Digs until they are delivered to veterans. For those still looking for some fun Valentine’s Day themed events on campus, Winthrop has some great opportunities. From Feb. 11-14, students can visit Scholar’s Walk from 10:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and write what love means to them on a heart shaped cut out and then add that heart on a poster titled “What Does Love Mean to You?” Fear not singles; Winthrop will also host a speed dating event on Feb. 13 at 7:00 pm in Richardson Ballroom. The event will feature a discussion on the struggle of dating in college and where Valentine’s Day came from. On Feb. 14, the French club will host a Valentine’s Bake Sale in Digs during common time and will feature classic french pastries for students to indulge and embrace their love of food. The DSU will also host an animal stuffing event for a small price. The event will be in
Richardson from common time until 1:30 p.m. Of course, some students have their own traditions for Valentine’s Day. A popular way for groups of female friends in particular to celebrate and empower themselves during this time is Galentine’s celebrations. This can include going for a girls’ night out or attending some actual Galentine’s events around the area. Some start at the beginning of the month and celebrate through Feb. 14. Sam Lee is a senior theatre major, and this year was her first time celebrating Galentine’s. She has made several posts on her Instagram each day giving thanks for her friends and encouraging them. “My friend group on campus usually does Galentine’s day posts and I usually never jumped on the wagon,” Lee said, “This year I actually have a boyfriend I’ll be spending Valentine’s day with, but I wanted my friends to know they are special to me, too. Even though some may not have someone to spend the holiday with, I wanted them to know they are still loved and appreciated.”
Caleb Hinkley | Assistant A&C Editor hinkleyc@mytjnow.com
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OPINION
theJohnsonian
Valentine’s Day: yay or nay? February 13, 2019
What are Winthrop students’ thoughts about Valentine’s Day?
Jordan Farrell/The Johnsonian
Katelyn Miller Staff Writer Valentine’s Day is different for everyone. Some people hate it, some love it and some simply don’t care. Many people think that Valentine’s Day is too commercialized, that large corporations use it as an excuse to sell things at a high cost. For those that enjoy the holiday, they feel that it is an opportunity to show their love and affection towards their family, friends and significant others. Some people just enjoy the discounted candy the day after Valentine’s Day. “We shouldn’t rely on a single day in the calendar year to remind us to show love to those who are near and dear to our hearts,” Jessica Shealy, a
freshman English major said. This perspective shows Valentine’s Day should not be an excuse to show affection towards loved ones. It should be the little things one does everyday to show your appreciation for them. “Valentine’s Day turns the concept of love into this commercial competition of how exgravantly can I show love to my significant other individually and/or as a public profession of my love that is the strongest and best ever on social media?” Shealy said. Some people see the holiday as a competition to see who is the cutest couple. This goal can be detrimental to a relationship, because it makes everything more about how the relationship looks from the outside, instead of how the individuals are
treating each other or how they feel together. Freshman psychology major Sonny Dodds said that it is important to always show your love and devotion. “You should treat your significant other as special as you do on Valentine’s Day,” Dodds said. This point about how people in relationships need to treat each other with the same appreciation as they would on Valentine’s Day every day of the year. However, there are still some good things about Valentine’s Day; it is a great opportunity to make friends feel loved, Junior integrated marketing communications major Laura Munson said, “The decorations are really cute, and I use it as an opportunity to give my friends some extra love.”
“I like it because you can be romantic without getting judged,” Roy Mcmillan, freshman hospitality major, said. Despite this, there still seems like there is judgement for some people in relationships showing their affection to each other. However, Valentine’s Day provides a way to be romantic with less judgement than any regular day. Though people do resent this holiday, they should not let their negative energy affect other people’s happiness. No matter what people’s opinions are of Valentine’s Day, there should be nothing but love all around campus every day. Appreciate others and make them feel good about themselves. Little things do matter, people do notice them and it can make so much of a difference.
What about Palentine’s Day? We asked Winthrop students about their perspective on how to spend Valentine’s Day Zuri Anderson Staff Writer
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For Valentine’s Day, I almost always spend it with my friends. I think it’s fun, and we’ll also buy each other gifts, like chocolate. We mostly just hang out and have a fun girls’ night.”
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Valentine’s Day is about love. If you love your friends, you can’t be stopped from celebrating Valentine’s Day. Brady Black sophomore physical education major
Haleigh Altman junior english major
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A lot of people feel left out because Valentine’s Day is supposed to be for the couples… but friends can show love to one another. Just give love to anyone, even if it’s your mom, dad, brother or sister… Spread the love around, even if you don’t know them La J’ai Reed sophomore mass communication major
Erin Streetman | Opinion Editor streetmane@mytjnow.com
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I treat Valentine’s Day like any other day, and I’ve treated a lot of holidays that way. There’s a lot of hype behind it. I never really bought into it. Cashton Christensen junior computer science major
theJohnsonian
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February 13, 2019
The history of Valentine’s Day A look at the legends and previous festivals that served as inspiration to the present day holiday of Valentine’s Day. Joseph Calamia Staff Writer
If you thought Valentine’s Day is nothing more than sending chocolate hearts and casual dates with your loved ones, then you’d be mistaken. Before the modern day concepts of Valentine’s Day were prevalent, there are roots of this holiday that can be traced back to ancient Rome and the customs of Medieval Europe. According to History.com, the earliest holiday that occurred around Valentine’s Day was celebrated with a pagan ceremony in Ancient Rome called Lupercalia. Celebrated from Feb. 13-15, the festival was one of fertility. Where Romans would sacrifice a goat and a dog in the cave where the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus were supposedly born, along with a matchmaking ceremony where men would pick a name of a woman from an urn that would pair off into couples. A strange custom of the festival was that women would take the hide of the goat and parade around being gently tapped or whipped
in town, which they believed it would make them more fertile. The name of Valentine’s Day originated from one of the legends of a Christian martyr in Ancient Rome named Valentinus or Valentine. Valentine was a Christian priest who lived in the time of Roman Emperor Claudius II, who banned marriages for young men believing they would make better soldiers if they were single. The priest married young couples in secret, but was eventually discovered and executed by the Roman authorities. This action would cause the Catholic Church to canonize Valentine as a Saint in the church and ban the holiday of Lupercalia in the 5th century, replacing it with St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14. In France and England, the holiday is called a day of love to coincide with the start of the mating season of birds. Most Valentine’s Day greetings were spoken, with the first written Valentine’s Day greetings dating back to the 1400s. One of the first Valentine’s Day messages was sent from Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while we was captured in the Battle of Agincourt. Another report of the first written Valentine’s Day message was of the English King Henry V who hired a writer, named John Lydgate, to write a message to Catherine of Valois. By the 17th century, the holiday became popular in Great Britain. In the middle of the 18th century and 1900s, people of various social classes would exchange handwritten notes and gifts of affection, later having printed notes of love. This would also be a popular tradition in America
Jordan Farrell/The Johnsonian during the 1700s, which would later be popularized by Esther A. Howland. Howland was famous as the “Mother of the Valentine,” who created a mass reduced Valentine’s Day cards with laces, real ribbons and colorful pictures decorated on the cards. Overall, it’s interesting to see the events and previous celebrations that would inspire the Valentine’s Day we know today. You wouldn’t expect a holiday about hearts to have originated from pagan ceremonies of fertility and the origins of spoken valentines before mass printed ones. Maybe it would impress your friends or have them reflect on how Valentine’s Day could be weirder than it actually is.
Proposed DUI-E bill could spell trouble
The DUI-E bill currently in the SC Statehouse does not take minorities and other issues into account. Victoria Howard Staff Writer A habit many people have could soon become just as dangerous as drunk driving in the eyes of the law, and this could mean a serious impact on those who are pulled over. The proposed bill is called Driving Under the Influence of an Electronic Device and is currently under committee review in the South Carolina Statehouse. The bill would make driving while being distracted in any way by an electronic device illegal. This includes texting, talking on the phone, adjusting music and scrolling through social media. Under the bill, drivers would only be allowed to touch their phone once, to make a call or to change music, and they would have to make phone calls through Bluetooth devices in the car or headsets. The current texting while driving law in South Carolina calls for a $25 fine, the DUI-E bill also would fine offenders between $25 and $300. Under the current law, a person cannot be pulled over for texting and must first do another offense.
Even then, the driver only has to say that they weren’t texting, they were switching music and the fine will be dropped. The new bill would treat using a cell phone while driving as a much more serious offense that drivers can be pulled over for. The aim of the DUI-E title of the bill is to bring more awareness to the problem, but how much would this actually help? According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, 990 people died on South Carolina roads in 2018. This number is an increase from that of 2017. South Carolina also has almost double the national average of DUI related deaths as of 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported. With these facts in mind, it makes sense why South Carolina lawmakers would want to create laws that could possibly change these numbers, but this bill could affect some more than others. Older cars, which are often owned by lower class people or students, do not come equipped with built-in Bluetooth technology. In order to use the phone while driving, these people would have to buy a headset, which they might not be able to afford. The bill should allow people to talk on the phone while using the speaker phone setting. It should allow room for people who simply have no other option. Bills like this unintentionally put lower class people in an unfair position, especially since they are less likely to be able to pay the fine. It is dangerous that cops could be allowed to
Jordan Farrell/The Johnsonian pull a person over for even having something that looks like an electronic device in their hands.People of color are already more likely to be pulled over, a study out of Stanford reported. Should we be giving police more of an excuse to pull people of color over? Would police be more likely to be suspicious and pull over a black man than a white woman? The DUI-E bill could help the number of deaths on South Carolina roads to decrease, but when discussing legislation like this, it is important that we keep in mind other issues, which have caused damage to minority communities in the past.
Super Bowl LIII commercials: wins and fails WU students share their favorite Super Bowl commercials Gweneshia Wadlington Staff Writer
Jordan Farrell/The Johnsonian
Annually, the first Sunday in February is reserved for one of the biggest football sporting competitions: the Super Bowl. For two teams to compete against each other, they must beat everyone else in a series or games and brackets called the playoffs. This game is usually a huge deal for many of us who enjoy watching every year and betting the end result. But for some of us who aren’t football fanatics, we only watch for the funny and cool commercials. John Muller, sophomore sport management major, and Leana Lemon, sophomore exercise science major, both said that their favorite commercial this year was the Pepsi commercial
starring rapper/songwriter Cardi B and actor Steve Carell. Lemon also said she “enjoyed the Bubly commercial starring Michael Bublé”. Rodney Gibson, sophomore theater design tech major, said “I like the Chance the Rapper [Doritos] commercial starring the Backstreet Boys and their hit single “That Way,” the “Captain Marvel” trailers and the “Twilight teasers.” But not everyone who watched for the commercials was satisfied. Danielle Walker, sophomore fine arts major, said “The only one I remember was the Doritos commercial with Chance the Rapper and it was trash.” Gibson also had a least favorite. “My least favorite commercial would have to be the Bud Light commercial.” Some have said that the commercials this year were similar to the actual game, not so great, and others thought the commercials were gut busting funny.
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theJohnsonian
February 13 ,2019