1.26.12 edition of the Auburn Plainsman

Historic Civil War-era cemetery renewal see A3

The Auburn Plainsman Thursday, January 26, 2012

A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID www.theplainsman.com

Vol. 118, Issue 16, 16 Pages

Lee County fights for Board of Trustees chair Alison McFerrin COMMUNITY BEAT REPORTER

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLIPFLOPFOTO

Slade Ponder and Katie Olliver sit on a ledge of Samford Hall in engagement pictures taken for the War Eagle Wedding.

Strike up the bands Couple wins competition to marry on Samford Lawn Chelsea Harvey CAMPUS EDITOR

One couple is getting ready to experience what many people only dream of.

Slade Ponder and Katie Oliver, both Auburn alumni, have been announced as the winners of the War Eagle Wedding. “(We’re) so relieved,” Ponder said. “Because campaign, it was a job, you had to work at it, so it’s a relief that it’s over and that we were the winners.”

Ponder and Oliver will be given a nearly all-expenses-paid wedding, with the use of Samford Lawn for the ceremony and the Hotel for the reception. Other provided services include bridal and bridesmaid dresses, tuxedos, photography and food for the reception.

According to Teresa Whitman-McCall, director of campus and community events for the Department of Communications and Marketing, the War Eagle Wedding is the result of a partnership between Auburn University, the Hotel at Auburn University, the Opelika-Auburn News and WRBL News.

The wedding is sponsored by Metabolic Research Center and Prudential Preferred Real Estate.

“We decided to give away a wedding,” Whitman-McCall said.

“And we asked that any couple that was looking to get married, engaged, fill out an application or submit a two-minute video, or they could fill out or write us a letter on why they should win.”

Afterward, a committee met to narrow the applicants to five couples. From there, the committee interviewed the couples and selected three. The Auburn community was then invited to vote online for the winning couple.

“You could just tell, each of the couples that we selected, they came from long generations, third generations of Auburn men and women,” Whitman-McCall said. “You could just tell how much they loved Auburn, and they were just dynamic, young in-

dividuals who really wanted to, in some way, give back to the University, as well as make one of the biggest moments in their lives happen at Auburn.”

Although candidates for the wedding were not required to be Auburn alumni, Ponder and Oliver both graduated from Auburn in December 2010. Ponder received his degree in supply chain management and Oliver received hers in early childhood education.

The couple became engaged on Dec. 18, 2010. Slade and Ponder both grew up in Lanett, Ala., where they live now.

“Our families have known each other, we’ve both known each other, for all our life,” Ponder said. “Our dads actually went to high school together.”

Ponder said he and Oliver had originally intended to be married in the church where they grew up.

“You know, it did cross our mind to have the wedding (in Auburn), but we’re definitely glad to have it (here) now,” Ponder said.

Details for the wedding are still not complete, however.

In the time leading up to the wedding, the Auburn community will have the chance to vote online for various aspects of the wedding, including the bridal gown design, bridesmaid dress design, jewelry and reception menu.

“Having that takes a lot of the planning part off it and the stress of doing it, so we’re just happy for that part, and we’ll be glad to win anything,” Ponder said.

Whitman-McCall said several local and national vendors have agreed to provide the products that will be voted on.

Voting for the bridal dress has already begun and will continue until 8 p.m. Monday.

“We have three students from the advanced apparel design

» See STRIKE , A2

EDITOR’S NOTE

SPECIAL FEATURE

COMMUNITY // A5

Fate of Toomer’s rolling decided

Home & Garden issue

Local coffee shop owner sells storefront

President Jay Gogue has accepted the recommendation to replace the Toomer’s oaks with one or more large trees.

Check out the special feature placed in the middle of our regular edition. It features articles on decor, sustainability, home crafts and more.

Toomer’s Coffee Company to close storefront after eight years. Owners plan to expand wholesale and roasting operations.

Nine seats need filling on the Auburn University Board of Trustees.

From a pool of 170 candidates, the trustee selection committee chose 35 to advance to the interview stage.

Six of those candidates hope to be chosen to serve for District 3–Lee County.

“It’s a big responsibility,” said Denson Lipscomb, one of the District 3–Lee CounLIPSCOMB ty nominees.

The other nominees include Al Cook, Charles Pick, Joe Beckwith, Howard Porter and Robert Dumas.

“I do know that it will be an investment of time,” Porter said.

District 3–Lee County is part of the group interviewing Monday. The selection PORTER committee will announce its selections in early February.

Each candidate brings something different to the table.

Porter said the career advice from a former mentor about getting into appraisal and real estate brought him where he is today.

“If you’re going to be sucDUMAS cessful in this, you’ve got to learn a little bit about engineering, a little bit about architecture, a little bit about construction, a little bit about banking … and I took that to heart,” Porter said.

He said he thinks the range of knowledge has led

» See TRUSTEE, A2

RBD offers new text assistance Jenny Steele WRITER

There’s more than one way to talk to a librarian.

Ralph Brown Draughon Library has adopted a service that allows students to send librarians questions via text message. Implemented Friday, the new service stems from the popularity of the library’s live chat, an instant-messaging program available on the library’s homepage.

“It’s about us helping the patron as much as we can,” said library assistant Cory Latham. “The preferred method is face-to-face communication, but when you’re looking for convenience this is a great option.”

Latham, who has worked at the library for five years, said RBD began offering live chat a couple of years ago.

The new texting option began “before Christmas in a soft rollout, and we are just now publicizing fully,” said Marcia Boosinger, associate dean for public services for University libraries. “We are using a commercial product called Ask a Librarian, which is a different product than what we use for chat.”

Joe Wanders, graduate student in clinical mental health counseling, works at the RBD reference desk and answers both text and live chat questions.

“You send the question from your mobile phone, and then we receive them here at the reference desk,” Wanders said.

To ask a question via text message, students must first send “AskAULib” to 66746. This prompts

» See TEXT, A2

INSIDE Campus » A1 | Community » A5 | Opinions » A7 | Classifieds » A8 | Sports » B1 | Intrigue » B5

Recycled paper

Campus A2

The Auburn Plainsman

DUI ARRESTS IN THE CITY OF AUBURN JAN. 19 – JAN. 22, 2011 ■ Kelsey M. Miller, 19, West Lafayette, IN Duncan Drive at Po Davis Drive Jan. 19, 3:18 a.m.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

CRIME REPORTS FOR JAN. 19 – JAN. 22, 2011

■ Lucy M. Williams, 19, Anniston, Ala. North Ross Street at East Glenn Avenue Jan. 21, 2:53 a.m.

Jan. 19 — Dewey Street Burglary of one laptop computer, two flatscreen televisions, three bottles of liquor, one iPod docking station and one bottle of champagne reported.

■ John S. Andress, 19, Durham, N.C. South College Street at Southparke Drive Jan. 22, 1:56 a.m.

Jan. 20 — Over Look Court Theft of one stand-alone Kenmore dryer and one Kenmore washer reported.

■ Andrew K. Morris, 21, Montgomery, Ala. North Gay Street Jan. 22, 2:49 a.m.

Jan. 20 — Dumas Drive Theft of one refrigerator reported.

Jan. 21 — Lee Road 137 Burglary of one desktop computer, one flatscreen monitor, six deodorant sticks, one pair of hair clippers, 50 DVDs, one clothing iron and various towels reported.

Jan. 21 — East University Drive Theft of one Gucci purse and one Gucci watch reported.

Jan. 21 — Bent Creek Road Theft of one University of Alabama shirt, one red and black plaid shirt, one Columbia plaid shirt and one pair of Nike shoes reported.

Jan. 22 — West Magnolia Avenue Theft of one trash can reported.

Jan. 21 — Bent Creek Road Theft of one pair of men’s converse shoes reported.

— Reports provided by Auburn Department of Public Safety

■ Joshua A. Nickerson, 26, Chapel Hill, N.C. US Highway 29 South at Lee Road 17 Jan. 22, 8:38 p.m.

STRIKE » From A1

program within the College of Human Sciences that actually have designed the dresses,” Whitman-McCall said.

“We have those online at wareaglewedding.com.

You can also go to the Ho-

TRUSTEE » From A1

to his success and would serve him well as a trustee.

Lipscomb said his experience working on other boards, like Auburn City Council, has given him the experience he needs to serve as a trustee.

“I think one of the biggest problems most boards have … you’ve got to encourage people in the committee to speak their mind during the meeting,” Lipscomb said. “There’s so many times when people sit there silent because they’re scared to say anything, then when you get out of the meeting, people start talking …

Say what you believe, and nobody’s going to dislike you for

tel at Auburn University and see half-scale models that the students have sewn and put together of the dresses, so if you wanted to be a little closer and get a close look at them, they’re on display over at the Hotel.”

Ponder and Oliver will be married May 26.

“Katie and Slade, from our point of view, they were just a fabulous couple,” WhitmanMcCall said. “And they really went above and beyond to promote themselves to win the wedding, and it was very evident in their numbers how many people voted for them.

They’re just a great couple.”

that.”

Dumas also said background is a factor in his suitability for an Auburn trustee.

“I believe I have a background in education and business, which I would certainly love to bring to the table for Auburn,” Dumas said.

Gov. Robert Bentley announced Jan. 18 the nominees who would move on to the interview process.

Porter said he felt “sort of like the dog that catches the car: What now?”

Porter didn’t initially seek a trustee position, but a friend urged him to consider it.

“At first I blew it off and said it was not something that I thought I would be qualified for,” Porter said. “But he was

persistent.”

Lipscomb said he has put his name up to be on the board previously.

“I believe I’ve got the training experience right now to assist the board and lead Auburn and help Auburn improve and go the direction I’d like to see it go,” said Lipscomb, who specifically mentioned availability of scholarships. “I would like to make sure that we don’t get into the situation some of our neighboring schools have gotten in, and that is turning down qualified Alabama students that could come to Auburn that may get displaced because of scholarships we’re giving to all over the country.”

Visit theplainsman.com for the full story.

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Einstein Bros. Bagels closes for second Chick-N-Grill Lane Jones CAMPUS BEAT REPORTER

Students returned to Auburn this spring to find Einstein Bros. Bagels replaced by Chick-N-Grill—the only duplicate restaurant on campus.

Gina Groome, Tiger Dining marketing director, said students were not informed about the impending change because the decision was not reached until after final exams.

Jacie Coressel, sophomore in political science, said she was shocked when she realized the switch had been made without notifying the students.

“I don’t feel like my voice was heard in the process,” Coressel said. “It was really unexpected. We came back over the break and didn’t know where Einstein’s had gone. There was really no explanation for it. I think ChickN-Grill is great, but I think they should have gotten some sort of student input for that.”

Groome said the decision was a partnership between Tiger Dining and SGA. “Toward the end of last semester, we were approached about the idea and we presented it to SGA,” Groome said. “They liked it and they approved it, so we went forward.”

Einstein’s closed at 3 p.m. on weekdays, which Groome said limited the restaurant’s

TEXT

» From A1 a message with further instructions from Mosio, the software company providing the service.

All RBD librarians have been taught how to respond to text messages.

“We had to teach the librarians the general interface, but it’s easy to pick up,” Wanders said.

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ability to meet the lunch and dinner demand.

Coressel said she would have preferred extended hours, but Einstein’s food quality and service were worth the inconvenience.

“Every now and then you crave a bagel mid-afternoon around three and [Einstein’s was] closed,” Coressel said. “It never became an issue because the service was great and the people always seemed happy to be working there. It was a break from the typical sandwich on sandwich.”

Groome said the switch from Einstein Bros. Bagels to Chick-N-Grill was a response to the quad’s limited selection.

“We wanted to have a dinner option in the quad,” Groome said. “It helps reduce the peak lines in the Student Center. It still provides a breakfast option.”

Kirby Turnage, SGA president, said the decision centered around concerns that Einstein’s wasn’t drawing enough traffic. Chick-N-Grill is trying to expand its influence on campus after being introduced last fall.

“They’re more willing to work with the customer,” Turnage said. “Einstein’s has some national standards about how they do their different chains. Chick-N-Grill is much more flexible since they’re a smaller-scale oper-

ation.”

Turnage said the new location provides Chick-N-Grill with better facilities and students in the quad with more dining choices. In the long term he expects the student center Chick-N-Grill will be replaced.

“It will eventually free up some Student Center space, which is prime real estate in dining culture,” Turnage said. “It would be my hope that there would not be two Chick-N-Grills within 100 yards of each other. That was my concern, and I expressed it to them.”

Groome said Chick-N-Grill plans to provide breakfast items in addition to the lunch and dinner menu.

“We know that there’s a demand for bagel sandwiches, so Chick-N-Grill is already working on those,” Groome said. “If students just tell us what they miss the most, Chick-N-Grill is more than willing to help provide any of those items.”

Turnage said although students will miss Einstein’s, the change will open opportunities for expansion.

“I always enjoyed my dining experience at Einstein’s,” Turnage said. “I loved the blueberry muffin. It was really good. It wasn’t so much a problem with Einstein’s as it was there was a greater opportunity with Chick-N-Grill and an expanded menu.”

The library homepage states that all questions, whether by email, live chat, text or phone call, will be answered within 48 hours.

“We monitor chat all the hours we have two or more people at the reference desk,” Boosinger said.

Inappropriate questions include asking librarians to research topics, forward messages to other staff members, place interlibrary loan

requests or obtain books for patrons, according to the library website.

“The most common questions the librarians receive on live chat are about availability of resources,” Wanders said. “It’s made it more convenient, especially for distance education students.”

Additional information may be found in the “What’s New” section of the Auburn libraries homepage.

EDITORIAL Miranda dollarhide Editor-in-chief Madeline hall Managing editor Nikolas Markopoulos Copy editor Nick Bowman Associate copy editor Laura Hobbs Assistant copy editor Rebecca Croomes Photo editor Christen Harned Assistant photo Danielle Lowe Assistant photo Chelsea harvey Campus editor Lane Jones Campus reporter Becky Hardy Campus reporter Kate Jones Intrigue editor Hayley Blair Intrigue reporter Kristen Oliver Community editor Alison McFerrin Community reporter Coleman McDowell Sports editor Robert E. Lee Sports reporter Patrick Tighe Sports reporter Sarah Newman Design team leader Rachel Suhs Design team Melody Kitchens Online team leader Victoria Rodgers Online team Nick Bowman

Opinions editor

ADS Stephanie Garner, Lorenzo Lane, Courtney Marinak, Stacey McMahan, Jasef Wisener Account Executives Kate Davis, Julya Welch Advertising design

The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID Student Union Suite 1111 Auburn, Al 36849 Editor: 334.844.9021 News: 334.844.9109 General Manager: 334.844.9101 Advertising: 334.844.4130 MIRANDA DOLLARHIDE Editor-in-chief editor@theplainsman.com JENNY RIKELMAN Advertising Manager admanager@theplainsman. com JUDY RIEDL General Manager gm@theplainsman.com KIM RAPE Office Manager MAILING ADDRESS 255 Heisman Drive, Suite 1111 Auburn, Al 36849

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Campus A3

The Auburn Plainsman

Online graduate programs make honor roll ranking Lane Jones CAMPUS BEAT REPORTER

REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO EDITOR

Pinetucket Cemetery is located in the Wilson Beef Lab’s cow pasture on Wire Road. The Auburn Heritage Association has plans for a $10,000 restoration of the cemetery within the next year.

Civil War-era cemetery marked for restoration Andrew Yawn WRITER

Few are aware that, among the livestock of the Auburn Veterinary School, there lies a cemetery older than Lee County, itself.

Now the Auburn Heritage Association wants to restore this landmark for future use.

The Pinetucket Cemetery, a Civil War-era cemetery owned by H.D. and Mary Norman is located in the cow pasture of the Wilson Beef Lab on Wire Road.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Federal Wire Road, the predecessor to its modern namesake, ran from Savannah to New Orleans. Along this road, in the fledgling town of Auburn, there sat a tabernacle and a cemetery.

Federal Wire Road no longer exists, and the tabernacle is gone—in its place is the Auburn Veterinary School. The cemetery remains hidden from plain sight by groves of trees on both sides and is now visited most frequently by cows and their handlers.

“They say we got ghosts over here,” H.D. said.

Each year the AHA, with the help of the Alpha Pi Omega service fraternity, combats the weeds and overgrown brush. Mary, however, wants a permanent solution.

“We’re going to go and clean it off again,” Mary said.

“We’re going to rebuild the rock wall. We’re going to resod around it and maintain it.”

The cemetery sits atop one of the highest points in Auburn and provides visitors with a sweeping view of the town.

“It’s a very beautiful place,” H.D. said. “We want to make it memorable where people can walk in, sit down and have a picnic.”

Despite its panoramic view,

REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO EDITOR

Pinetucket Cemetery dates back to the Civil War. Every year it is cleaned by AHA and Alpha Pi Omega service fraternity.

the cemetery has faded from memory of many Auburn residents because of its secluded location.

Joseph Warren, freshman in political science, has lived in Auburn for 10 years and had never heard of Pinetucket until recently.

“They ought to restore it, if only out of respect for … the people buried there,” Warren said.

The restoration is predicted to be finished within the next year and cost about $10,000, Mary said.

The burial ground is estimated to contain about 50 people, including two Confederate soldiers and Lewis “L.A.” Foster, a key contributor to the rise of Auburn both as a city and an educational haven.

Despite being outside city limits at the time, Foster established Pinetucket as a selfsustaining community with a store, church, school and numerous factories, including the brickworks mill that produced the materials to build Samford Hall.

He is also the fourth-great uncle of Mary Norman.

Dating back to the 1860s,

the Pinetucket Cemetery preceded the establishment of Lee County and was but a small slice of the 1,280-acre Pinetucket estate owned by Foster.

Five hundred of the campus’ 1,900 acres were bought from the Foster family.

The cemetery was one of the last plots of land sold to the University, not leaving the Foster family until 1942. The use of the site as a hog pen and the subsequent desecration of the graves eventually led Auburn to close the road and provide the Normans access.

Family cemeteries usually only last about two to three generations, H.D. said. Pinetucket has lasted for eight.

“Hopefully with my help and the help of the Auburn Heritage Association, which will hopefully go on long after I’m gone, it will continually be maintained,” Mary said.

“I’ll probably be buried there.”

Despite the long tenure of the cemetery as the family grave, the Normans stress that it has been, and always will be, both a family and a community grave.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Auburn’s online graduate programs in the publication’s first Top Online Education Program Honor Roll.

“Their definition of an excellent online degree program is one where strong student services and technology are provided, the faculty have good credentials, they use teaching practices that engage students and they are selective in admissions,” said Drew Clark, director of Institutional Research and Assessment.

“If you got into the top group of at least three of those four criteria, then you get an honor roll ranking.”

Analyst Karen Battye said this is the first time U.S. News & World Report has ranked online programs.

“This is the first year they’ve done the surveys, so there was no real methodology provided to us prior to the survey,” she said. “It was just a blank survey with lots of questions, both qualitative and quantitative.”

Greg Ruff, director of engineering outreach and continuing education, said his department provided information used to help determine the ranking.

“They asked us to complete a 102-question survey that was completed by this office, a couple people in engineering, communication and marketing and some folks at the University academic side, and that’s what the ratings were based

“

The programs are good becaue the technology that we use help the students not feel that they are so distant from campus.”

—Susan Bannon DIRECTOR, LEARNING RESOURCE CENTER

on,” Ruff said. “There were three schools that were honor schools, and Auburn was one of them.”

The online graduate programs in the College of Education ranked fifth in the teaching practices and student engagement category.

“The programs are highly interactive, and I think that’s one of the things that made our teaching practices be ranked so high,” said Susan Bannon, Learning Resources Center director. “Our faculty are engaged with their distance students just as they would be engaged with their face-to-face students.”

The graduate programs in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering were ranked first in admissions selectivity and fifth in student services and technology.

“Most of the students getting a graduate engineering degree are already at work,” Ruff said. “So they’re taking the (online) course to enhance their job status and

personal career and, in a lot of cases, to glean information about what they’re already doing. Having it delivered to them is an obvious plus rather than them having to come to campus.”

The technology behind Auburn’s online graduate programs was developed in the engineering department.

“The reason it was developed here was that we tried a lot of different programs and none of them did what we wanted them to do,” Ruff said.

“The main problems were the clarity of the images, the ability to see with more than one camera and the ability for anybody to pick it up on anything they had. Most of the delivery systems could not deal with Macs. Ours does.”

Content is delivered through live streaming media so students can access lectures online.

“Because it’s accessible with almost anybody’s system, we tested it to begin with with some soldiers in Afghanistan,” Ruff said. “We figured if it worked there, it would work anywhere.”

The technology allows for easier communication between distance education students and professors.

“The programs are good because the technology that we use help the students not feel that they are so distant from campus,” Bannon said.

“The students can receive the information from their professor; they can view the lectures; they can view the class activities as though they are here on campus.”

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From right, Carol Linde, undeclared freshman, Krishane Suresh, sophomore in software engineering, and Mary Carolyn Kind, sophomore in industrial engineering and French, take a break from studying to blow bubbles on the concourse Thursday afternoon.

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Campus A4

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Professor known for collaboration with the greats Callie Ward WRITER

With a heart for music and an ear for the right note, professor Michael Pendowski is teaching Auburn students what music is all about.

Born and raised in Chicago, Pendowski attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music and his master’s in wind and orchestral conducting.

In 2011 Pendowski received his doctorate of musical arts in jazz studies and contemporary media at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. He started out playing saxophone, but it wasn’t his idea to learn to play it, Pendowski said.

“My father picked it out when I was in grade school,” he said. “He liked the instrument. He was a big Tommy Dorsey fan.

“He said, ‘Here is the in-

strument that you’re going to play.’”

Pendowski said he also began playing the flute and clarinet in college.

Pendowski worked in various career fields before arriving at Auburn. He was a high school band director, wrote and produced more than 4,000 television commercials and composed and arranged music for 25 albums, films and other media.

Pendowski has performed with some of music’s greats, such as Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole and Johnny Mathis.

Even though Pendowski has performed with a number of famous musicians, there is one musician who he wishes he could’ve played with.

“I’m sorry I never got to play with Buddy Rich,” Pendowski said. “I always wanted to play with him, but I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, unfortunately.”

McDonald’s, Budweiser, Disney, State Farm and the Madden football video game are just a few of Pendowski’s clients.

He also composed the music for the major motion pictures “Othello,” “Groundhog Day,” “Dead Presidents” and “Our Father.” “(Othello) went on for three, four months and you had to be involved 12–14 hours a day on that project,” Pendowski said. “When you got done you looked and said, ‘I can’t believe we did this.’”

Pendowski has been teaching at the college level since 2001, and he started at Auburn in August.

He currently teaches music appreciation, jazz ensemble, jazz combo, the saxophone quartet and music methods.

Thomas Harbin, senior in piano performance and Spanish, has Pendowski for jazz combo and explained his

teacher is well liked among his students.

“He is really dynamic and direct, very encouraging,” Harbin said. “If you miss something, he’ll help you and go back.”

Mark DeGoti, trumpet teacher at Auburn, said Pendowski is experienced, energetic and has an enormous amount of knowledge.

DeGoti said Pendowski’s students seem to love him.

“They like what he is doing with the program and have an overall respect for him,” DeGoti said.

Pendowski has worked in both the professional and academic world, but said he couldn’t pick one over the other.

“Each has its own set of problems, but I think each is very rewarding in its own way,” he said. “It’s apples and oranges. You always miss the thing you aren’t doing at the time.”

CHRISTEN HARNED / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Michael Pendowski has been teaching music at Auburn since last fall. He is known for performing with some of the nation’s most wellknown artists, including Aretha Franklin and Johnny Mathis.

WEGL uses resources for variety of campus projects This week, The Auburn Plainsman continues its examination of Student Activity Projects Becky Hardy CAMPUS BEAT REPORTER

Auburn University’s WEGL radio station hopes to make an impact on Auburn and its community this spring.

WEGLfest is the station’s main spring event and is

scheduled to be held in April.

“We want to have at least two stages, bring in different bands, and it’ll be an all-day event,” said Natalie Stevenson, senior in communication and business and station manager for WEGL. “It’ll be a great way for people to relax, come out and enjoy some great music.”

WEGLfest is intended to make students aware of WEGL and the up-and-coming musicians it plays.

WEGL hosted a Halloween rave party in the fall that drew between 300 and 400 people, and broadcast associate Reed Alexander expects even more for the spring’s all-day event.

“Depending on how we pro-

mote it, it is possible we could get about 500-plus people,” Alexander said.

Not only does WEGLfest help promote Auburn’s student-run radio station, it also helps raise money for local charities.

“In the past, the last time we did WEGLfest we did it in conjunction with the local food shelters, so we raised money for hunger,” Alexander said.

“We’ve also tried to do our events with an organization.”

Earthfest, an annual event held at Auburn every spring, will also be covered by WEGL. “We help them every year,” Stevenson said. “They asked us to emcee the event this

year.”

At each event WEGL helps with various technical and entertainment aspects of the show, including providing food for special events.

“We play music. We hook up sound for the bands that come in,” Alexander said. “We do this free of charge because we are nonprofit. During events the only thing that really has cost is food. Sometimes we will get Tiger Dining to cater the events.”

Along with events, WEGL’s budget is used to purchase equipment necessary to run the station.

“Most of our money goes toward equipment,” Alexander

said. “Other money goes to staff members, such as myself, or the secretary.”

The station must also buy radio licenses, hardware, office supplies and pay telephone bills, Stevenson said.

“There is a lot of other aspects that go behind the scenes for WEGL to run,” Stevenson said.

One of WEGL’s overall goals is to connect Auburn’s campus.

“We get all this stuff from all over campus … for events to promote for them, so we help people know what’s going on on campus,” Alexander said.

The station also helps promote other organizations on

campus.

Stevenson said WEGL runs public service announcements to advertise events for organizations like Student Government Association, University Program Council and the Glomerata.

Stevenson reiterated that any student or faculty member at Auburn can become a DJ for WEGL. “I think people forget that we are here for the students,” Stevenson said. “Everything that we do is student run and student operated. We’re here for you, so if you need something you can come to us, and we are absolutely more than willing to help you.”

Community

A5

www.theplainsman.com

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Community

Local coffee shop owners selling storefront Ethan Bernal WRITER

After eight years of successful business, Sandy and Trish Toomer, owners of Toomer’s Coffee Company, have decided it’s best to part ways with their retail shop.

The couple has instead chosen to focus on expanding their wholesale and roasting operations.

“We’re looking at this point of our life,” Trish said. “How do we want to spend the next 15–20 years? Do we want to be tied down to a retail location, or do I want to be a little freer to do some things that really my heart is pulling towards?”

Toomer’s sells beans to coffee shops across the U.S., including five in Alabama. Because of the high demand for Toomer’s beans, Sandy has spent more time roasting and less in the retail shop.

“I haven’t been there one day this week,” he said. “I used to work here every day in the mornings in the shop, but what we’ve found is I can’t.

Our roasting has taken on such a critical mass to the point that it’s like every day we’re getting these big orders

of coffee.”

As a result, Trish has been left running the storefront.

“Retail is very time consuming.”

Sandy said. “It’s six days a week, 12– 14 hours a day. She’s left here all the time with the shop.”

The Toomers opened in Opelika in August 2004, but moved their coffee shop a year later to its current location at 1100 S. College St. “We built the shop ourselves, so there’s a lot of memories,” Trish said.

Before opening Toomer’s Coffee, the couple trained at Moody Aviation from 1990–93 and later volunteered at Mission Aviation Fellowship, where Trish served as hospitality coordinator.

“One of my main areas of responsibility was to handle all of the in-country arrangements for work teams that would come down,” Trish said.

Sandy was a missionary pilot and transported coffee beans from a rural city in Ecuador.

“I’d fly out, load 1000 pounds of coffee on, fly it back, we’d unload it and

DANIELLE LOWE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Meredith Harbison, a barista at Toomer’s Coffee, makes coffee for a customer Wednesday. The coffee shop, located on South College, is for sale after seven years of business so owners Sandy and Trish Toomer can pursue other life dreams.

» See COFFEE A6

City seeks citizen input for 2012

Jon Deason serves up family feel at downtown Auburn eatery

Alison McFerrin COMMUNITY BEAT REPORTER

Hope Burleson WRITER

Eleven years ago Jon Deason saw the need for a breakfast restaurant in downtown Auburn, and he fulfilled it.

Deason, who graduated from Auburn in 1999 with a degree in hotel and restaurant management, opened Big Blue Bagel in Auburn in May 2000.

However, his road to a successful business was not a conventional one.

“I left Auburn when I was 24 and still had two classes left to graduate,” Deason said.

He moved back to Birmingham and worked for his father for three years when his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

Before his mother passed away, Deason came back to Auburn to finish his last two classes and graduate—something he wanted to do for her.

“After my mom passed away, I approached my dad about opening the restaurant,” Deason said. “I was originally going to be the silent partner, but, as you can see, it didn’t quite work out that way. So, it’s just me now.”

After 10 years of successful business in Auburn, Deason opened a second Big Blue Bagel location in his hometown, Birmingham, in Jan-

REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO EDITOR

Jon Deason, owner of Big Blue Bagel on South College Street, grabs a banana to slice up for fruit salad. Deason also owns a Big Blue Bagel in Birmingham.

uary 2010.

Contrary to rumors over the past few years, he is not selling the Auburn location.

“I considered it about two years ago,” Deason said, “but not anymore.”

He is living full time in Auburn again after commuting between Auburn and Birmingham.

“Auburn always felt like home,” Deason said.

Deason said Auburn has a special,

small town feel.

“I always tell everybody Auburn’s kind of like Mayberry, everybody knows everybody,” Deason said. “I’ve been working between here and Birmingham for the last two years, so when I come back and the guy from the barber shop comes down and says he misses you or he’s glad to see you, it’s nice.”

Deason describes himself as hon-

» See PEOPLE A6

Auburn citizens will have the opportunity for their voices to be heard in the community when the 2012 Citizen Survey is distributed during the second week of February.

“It has a series of questions for them to answer, and it also has an open-ended question,” said David Dorton, director of public affairs.

Dorton called the survey a report card from the citizens.

“The way we use it and the reason we do it is just as another avenue to get citizen input,” he said.

Although other avenues for communication between citizens and the city are open—including city council meetings and open door policies for both the mayor and city manager— the annual survey allows the city to gather information and find out the community’s opinion on a variety of issues.

“It’s designed to be a scientific survey so that there’s some scientific validity to the results,” Dorton said.

Citizens’ responses are analyzed and a report is prepared by ETC Institute, a market research firm in Olathe, Kan. “We’re shooting for 600 completed surveys altogether,” said Chris Tatham, ETC executive vice president.

The firm will send1500 surveys to addresses in the Auburn city limits.

Once all the surveys are out, ETC will make phone calls to confirm people have received their surveys and offer them the option to complete it by phone.

“It takes about 4–5 weeks to administer the survey,” Tatham said.

Survey info

The 2012 citizen survey will be distributed the second week of February. The survey includes questions about specific projects and is used to develop the budget.

“The administration of the survey will be pretty much completed by the end of February. We’ll then analyze the results and prepare the report in March.”

Dorton said the report will be presented to the city during a regularly scheduled city council work session prior to a Tuesday city council meeting.

Tatham said the focus will be on pointing out trends from previous surveys and identifying emerging issues for the city.

“There are questions that ask about … specific projects,” Dorton said.

Skateboard parks have been featured on the survey for the past couple years.

According to Dorton, the results are used to help develop the city’s budget, adjust operations and set goals.

The survey covers a number of topics, including traffic flow and public safety.

“It’s a five-point Likert scale, from very dissatisfied to very satisfied,” said Chris Vessell, public information officer, “but I think there’s also a priority rating that they also match up.”

In other words, citizens can distin

» See SURVEY A6

Kids’ art program connects Auburn students to community Kendall Wangman WRITER

The Auburn CityKids Art Program is a free visual arts program for children ages 7–13.

The art classes will be every Thursday at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center from 4:30–5:30 p.m. beginning Feb. 2.

According to the City of Auburn website, the program gives children “the opportunity to learn in an intellectually stimulating and creative environment while developing meaningful relationships with peers and mentors.”

Chichi Lovett, assistant professor of the arts at Auburn, is the program’s director.

“I’m trying to make sure that every child has an opportunity to the arts,” Lovett said.

The program is also offered as an elective for all majors at the University.

Lovett said her college students will spend about 30 hours of their class time with the children each semester.

“One does not have to be an art major to be involved with the program,” Lovett said.

Allison Gair, junior in pre-elementary education and active Boys & Girls Clubs volunteer, is looking to get involved with the program.

“I want to teach the second grade, so I think the program would be a great way to introduce art to kids, as well as give me the skills necessary to teach it,” Gair said.

CityKids is a partnership with Auburn Arts Association, the City of Auburn and the University art department.

“My students have the opportunity to interact with the community,” Lovett said.

Donna Young, of Behind The Glass, graduated from Auburn with a de-

gree in art.

“It’s wonderful to hear that the University is taking the initiative to not only get kids interested the arts, but to also get more involved in the community,” Young said.

Auburn CityKids began several years ago, but went on hiatus and is now being revived.

“When I began the program there was not the emphasis on civic engagement,” Lovett said. “I just knew I wanted to bring art to the kids. I’m looking forward to it growing.”

The program has gained significant popularity and involvement since it first started.

“There are 30 children registered now, and we have a waiting list,” Lovett said. “We’re expecting 40 children in total.”

Auburn CityKids strives to reach out to all children in the surrounding area.

“In order to ensure that all of the

children in Auburn have an opportunity, information was sent to all of the schools,” Lovett said. “Project Uplift and the Boys and Girls Club were also included with program recruitment.”

Lovett promotes art as a crucial component for education.

“Studies show that art is not only beneficial for academic success, but emotional well-being as well,” Lovett said. “It’s a pity because art programs are usually the programs being cut first.”

The program exposes the children to all different forms of art, including painting, sculpture, theater and dance.

“We took field trips to the museum, theater and even the ballet in Montgomery,” Lovett said.

Lovett said past participants from Auburn CityKids have gone on to study art or be the college students involved with the program.

AUBURN CITYKIDS ART PROGRAM Who: - Children ages 7-13 - College students of any major can earn elective hours for helping What: Program designed to give children an intellectual and creative environment while developing peer and mentor relationships Where: Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center When: Every Thursday from 4:30-5:30 p.m. beginng Feb. 2

Community A6

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Auburn community reacts to SOPA, PIPA controversy Jessa Pease WRITER

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On Jan. 18, Internet users who frequent websites like Reddit, Google and Wikipedia found themselves in a protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect Intellectual Property Act. SOPA, in the House, and PIPA, in the Senate, are two bills that were proposed to increase the capability of the U.S. government to fight Internet-based piracy by blacklisting the IP addresses of websites that link to other websites that host pirated material.

Dustan Jones, senior in industrial design, noticed Wikipedia’s blackout and said he doesn’t support of the bills.

“Well, quite frankly, we would be pissed,” Jones said.

“The Internet has become a huge part of our lives and I think most of us would like to keep it that way.

“This legislation could bring about mass shutdowns of sites like Google and Facebook just because they are connected to piracy sites.”

Some people, like Asim Ali, information technology specialist at Auburn, believe the bills came out of nowhere and were proposed without proper research being done beforehand.

PEOPLE » From A5

est, trustworthy and someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. His employees have even higher praise for him.

“He’s very laid back,” said Alicia Degroot, senior in education, who has worked at Big Blue Bagel for four and a half years.

It also seems that he is taking notes from the barber a few doors down whenever it comes to making people feel welcome.

“He knows everybody,” said Sara Jane Moorer, 18, who has worked at Big Blue Bagel for a year. “He personally greets ev-

Anti-SOPA, PIPA

In response to the bills, many popular websites protested. Wikipedia blacked out their site with a link for visitors to contact their representatives. Google blacked out their logo and included a link to an online petition. Other sites that protested included Reddit, Craigs List, Word Press and more.

“I think the most concerning aspect of the bills that is not getting a lot of attention is the fact that, historically, legislation has always been written as a result of research or as a result of discussions at a think-tank level,” Ali said.

Ali said the legislation for copyright protection wasn’t being written by the right, unbiased people.

“Here we have legislation being written by people who should not be writing (it),” he said. “It is written from the point of view of greed rather than the point of view of access and sharing information, which is the whole point of the Internet.”

Sites including Wikipedia and Google directed their visitors to online petitions the day of the protest, gathering more than 7 million signatures and prompting Congress to announce Friday it was shelving both bills.

According to Ali, if passed, eryone.”

“Also, he probably has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met,” said Degroot. “He genuinely cares. He’s one of the best people I know.”

Deason said there are challenges to being a small-business owner.

“It takes a lot of hard work,” Deason said. “For the first four or five years, I was here every day. I missed a lot of weddings and stuff that made people not talk to me for awhile.”

Big Blue Bagel has attracted attention across the state over the years because of several of its dishes.

The Alabama Tourism Deparment named one of Deason’s sandwiches and most popular sides one of “100 dish-

SOPA and PIPA would have virtually shut down websites like Google, Wikipedia, Youtube and Facebook for displaying copyrighted material.

“The biggest threat would be to innovation, to how information is shared,” Ali said.

“The power of the Internet is that it gives regular people … in the middle of nowhere the ability to be heard.”

Local attorney Ben Hand predicted the noise coming from the American people could be enough to send SOPA and PIPA back to the writing block.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of congressmen have backed off, especially with Wikipedia going black and several of the other sites,” Hand said.

“The possibilities of these being passed are greatly diminished. I think there is enough protection in the copyright laws that exist to protect copyright law. “ Hand said he doesn’t believe further legislation than was exists today is necessary to protect copyrights.

“I think most of these bills have some very scary aspects to it.” he said. “I think the laws that currently exist are certainly sufficient to criminally prosecute users and to slowly pursue ramifications if you need to.”

“

He probably has the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. He genuinely cares. He’s one of the best people I know.”

—Alicia Degroot SENIOR IN EDUCATION AND EMPLOYEE AT BIG BLUE BAGEL

es to eat in Alabama before you die.”

Besides running a successful business, Deason likes camping and canoeing.

His love of nature instilled environmental awareness in

SURVEY » From A5

guish between what they believe to be high- and lowpriority community issues.

The 2011 Citizen Survey revealed that citizens felt the city should focus on improving the school system. Citizens’ priorities for public safety were to enforce speed limits in neighborhoods and prevent crime.

These results are just the beginning of the 200-page report the city receives, complete with maps, tables and analyses matrices. “(We’re) just asking folks, if they get a survey, if they would just fill it out and participate,” Dorton said. “That is a way to make your voice heard in government.”

COFFEE » From A5

fly back out,” Sandy said. “I’d do like five flights a day until I got all of their coffee in. About two weeks later I’d come back and pick up more.”

After nearly a decade of serving customers, the Toomers are ready to enjoy some extra free time and embark on new challenges.

“There are some other things I’d like to do within our church, within the community and with family that I can do once I’m able to transition out of the retail,” Trish said. “It just seems like the right time. We always kind of knew when the time would be.” him, which he has integrated into Big Blue Bagel.

“We recycle a lot of cardboard and plastic and anything else we can that the City will take,” Deason said. “And we use no bottled drinks, not even for orange juice.”

He also uses biodegradable cups and boxes, which are more expensive, but worth the effort.

Deason admits that one thing he is looking forward to now that he’s back in Auburn is the more access he has to sports, specifically football and basketball.

But sports aren’t the only thing he’s looking forward to.

“I actually have a little daughter on the way,” he said smiling ear-to-ear.

Opinions

A7

Thursday, January 26, 2012

www.theplainsman.com

US race relations progress beyond EU

Our View

Community QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“

While we support copyright protections, we are also concerned about websites being shut down without their day in court … ”

—Rand Paul

REPUBLICAN SENATOR, KENTUCKY

THE PLAINSMAN POLL Vote at theplainsman.com

Kisten Oliver NEWS@ THEPLAINSMAN.COM

I’ve been thinking a lot about diversity and an individual’s responsibility to accept, or I might go so far as to say one’s responsibility to discover, other cultures.

The majority of my life was pretty sheltered. Until this past summer, I’d never left the continental U.S. I spent last summer studying at an Italian language school in Taormina, Italy.

To say it was a culture shock would be the understatement of the century.

Studying at a language school means exposure to many cultures.

We had classes with people from Germany, Switzerland, France, Australia and England. It was fascinating to see the differences between the American students and the other Englishspeaking students. Even our cultures were vastly different.

I took a class here in Auburn before the trip called Italy in Black and White. It was a film class designed to exhibit the racial prejudices in Italy.

Here’s the breakdown: Italians hate Sicilians for bringing in Africans, who they hate even more. Throughout history, Italians have idolized the idea of being “white” and considered themselves to be “white.” The irony is that many Americans would probably disagree.

The Italian prejudice against Africans has a long history that still resides today in a very real, tangible way. While there, I witnessed the struggles of minorities in Italy. Thinking about it now, it resonates with me how far our own country has moved to overcome similar prejudices.

I bought a pair of sunglasses in Taormina from a man who was from Ghana. He sold his sunglasses on the side of the road. We struck up a long conversation with him, and he was very interested in our life in America.

When we asked him if he missed his home he just laughed and shrugged.

I bought a purse from another street vender in Florence. Venders lined the streets with purses laid out on trash bags. I saw him and his friends shortly after, frantically shoving purses into the trash bags as the polizia drove by.

The purpose of this column isn’t simply to be an exposé of the racial issues of some far off land. It’s to highlight the leaps and bounds I think our own country had made. Studying abroad was an amazing experience that taught me to recognize the strengths and struggles of another culture and in turn recognize them in my own.

Diversity ought to be in the definition of American. I’ve seen a nation of people who truly look alike. I stood out like a sore thumb. That doesn’t happen as often here.

One of the locals in Taormina told me about the money he was saving for a trip to “America.” He wanted to fly into Atlanta and see “the big fish tank.” I remember laughing and telling him he was sure to be disappointed in the city. To me, it’s not all that great.

“Your life is a dream,” he said, quite seriously. “America is a dream.”

I think he taught me one of the biggest lessons I learned studying abroad. I spent the summer in wideeyed wonder at their culture, but I also learned to value my own. If you don’t care about experiencing new people and places, that’s fine. But don’t undervalue your own culture while you neglect others’. This is a dream.

SOPA teaches valuable lessons about politicians We’re happy to see SOPA and PIPA have been shelved. They were imperfect and poorly written bills that, because of their vague language and questionable definitions, were certain to be abused.

There was a good deal of confusion about whether a website based in the U.S., but which also has servers overseas or a foreign domain name, would be considered domestic or foreign.

The bill also obligated owners to monitor their sites constantly to keep copyrighted material or links to such material from being posted again after the original complaint is made to the Department of Justice.

Worst of all was the lack of due process for site owners. A complaint from any copyright holder could be quickly acted on, allowing the government to blacklist— and for all intents and purposes kill—a site.

These bills were simply heavyhanded disasters crafted with no concern for the thousands of sites that make the Internet such a powerful tool.

This is not to say we oppose all copyright legislation. We believe copyrights can be enforced online without taking a flamethrower to the whole of the Internet.

We also believe it should be enforced. Intellectual proper-

ty is just as important as physical property. The automobile, the iPod and the lightbulb were ideas before they were things.

Copyright holders have a right to protect what they created, and to such an end they must be encouraged. An idea has no value to its creator if he or she doesn’t have the power to protect it.

We recognize the fragile nature of the Internet. It’s a new and empowering technology beyond anything the world has ever known.

Never before have the people of the world had the means to defy distance and time to instantly communicate with one another.

Keeping the Internet free should be a concern equal to copyright protection in importance.

We can happily say this dodged bullet taught us, and should have taught you, a couple of things.

The first and most obvious is that politicians, like a child, require the constant observation of the people. It’s no rare thing to find a politician changing his or her mind on principles and campaign promises. If we slack on oversight, we’ll find ourselves servants to our servants.

Who knows—they could even stray far enough to sponsor a bill that transforms the free and wonderful Internet into a frustrating, beauracratized line at the DMV.

Liberals and conservatives alike supported these legislative catastrophies. Small-government conservative Marco Rubio from Florida and Alabama’s own Jeff Sessions supported PIPA before the blackout. In the House and Senate a host of Democrats and Republicans supported the bills. It doesn’t matter what a politician says. What matters is what he or she does, and to know that you must keep your eye on them.

The second is that the people are powerful not just in their voting, but in their control of their representatives. The blackout resulted in thousands of calls and letters and emails descending upon Washington from citizens concerned about their freedom—and Washington responded. We hope Americans now understand the power and responsibility they’ve always had in their hands.

Americns must understand it.

We no longer have the luxury of silent majorities, which can only be a majority on voting day. Through the rest of the year their silence is music to the ears of irresponsible and short-sighted politicians.

Outside of election season a silent majority is no different than an army of useful idiots.

Never be hesitant to phone Washington, America.

Your view: Tehran persecuting Iranian followers of Bahá’u’lláh For religious and ideological reasons the government in Iran for the past 30 years has denied members of the Baha’i religion the right to attend any Iranian institution of higher education.

It seems the Iranian government also forbids other students to take courses in higher education if they have joined organizations, expressed views or engaged in activities that are critical of the government.

The government has also tried to restrict instruction in several fields in the social sciences and in the humanities. Moreover, faculty have been fired in Iran for ideological reasons, thus denied their academic freedom.

Without any means of receiving higher education, the Baha’i Community in Iran created The Baha’i Institution for Higher Ed-

ucation in 1987, described by nobel laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President of East Timor Jose Ramos-Horta in their open letter addressed to the academic community as “a decentralized network of teachers delivering college-level classes in kitchens and living rooms across Iran.”

The Iranian government in May 2011 attacked the BIHE and has raided more than 30 homes.

In so doing they have jailed several of the BIHE administrators and faculty, some of whom are still in prison for delivering higher education to Baha’i youth.

The Baha’i Club on campus wants to initiate a dialogue in order to raise awareness of the importance of defending Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that education is the inalienable right

of every human person.

As a part of nationwide initiative called “Education under Fire” (which has started conversations around university campuses and communities to raise awareness and bring forth specific actions defending the fundamental right to education), this campaign now comes to Auburn.

To this end the Baha’i Club, in collaboration with the Office of Multicultural Affairs, invites students and faculty to attend a screening of the documentary film, “Education under Fire,” followed by a conversation to be held March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

Richard Penaskovic professor, religious studies adviser, Auburn Baha’i Club

Your view: ‘Red Tails’ misleading on airmen’s history The movie about black Tuskegee Airmen in WWII titled “Red Tails” is currently making the rounds.

This story and movies have been around a long time—with the current movie by George Lucas of Star Wars fame spending $58 million for the remake.

Is the movie factual and accurate? In its long, arduous effort to release a successful movie, Hollywood has played fast and loose with the facts. The airmen did see significant combat in Italy and North Africa in WWII. Slightly over 1,000 trained in Tuskegee with 445 seeing combat as the 332nd Fighter Group. Their mission was to escort heavy bombers into combat. Overall the unit did shoot down a total of 109 enemy planes. Yet, their records reflect that they were the only WW II unit to have actually lost more planes than they shot down! The Tuskegee group had no aces—five kills or more. Comparatively, Maj. Richard Bong alone claimed 40 enemy planes shot down.

Perhaps the most glaring misstatement about the “Red Tails” is that they never lost a plane they were escorting. This is simply amazing to the point of being laughable. The 332nd unit records document pilots witnessing 25 escorted bombers being shot down. A fairly complete and accurate essay covering the Tuskegee Airmen was published in 2008 by Dr. David Haulman.

The movie industry is notorious for embellishing the truth to maximize patrons, but it is unfair to notable groups as the Tuskegee Airmen not to state their story factually.

James Anderson Talladega, Ala.

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The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages. These unsigned editorials are the majority opinion of the 9-member editorial board and are the official opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

Community A8

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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Sports Thursday, January 26, 2012

Basketball hits the road » Page B3

TWEET US! @PlainsmanSports

B1

www.theplainsman.com

Sports

Barbee’s begging pays off

CURRENT COMMITMENT LIST: QB – Zeke Pike RB – Javon Robinson WR – Jaquay Williams

Coleman McDowell

TE – Ricky Parks

SPORTS@ THEPLAINSMAN.COM

TE – Darrion Hutcherson

The 12th win of the season is rarely a milestone for a basketball team. But for Auburn, it was a big one.

With 11 games remaining on the schedule, the Tigers have surpassed their win total for the entire 2010–11 season.

Slowly but surely, the Auburn basketball team is figuring things out.

Coach Tony Barbee has implored the team to play inspired defense, and for the past stretch of SEC games, they have listened.

Following the team’s embarrassing loss at Vanderbilt where the Tigers scored a paltry 35 points, Auburn bounced back with solid performances at the next four conference matchups, going 2–2 in that stretch.

Barbee has begged for someone on the roster to step up and become a “catalyst.”

Saturday, junior guard Frankie Sullivan responded to the challenge.

Looking healthy for the first time all season, Sullivan scored 14 of Auburn’s 24 points in the first half and kept them in the game, positioning Auburn to make a 31–10 second-half run.

This team has talent, and they’ve recently begun to play to their potential.

Junior guard Josh Wallace started the South Carolina game ahead of sophomore Varez Ward, who was mired in a shooting slump, and did precisely what was necessary for Auburn to win that day.

He constantly pressured the Gamecocks’ primary ball-handler, Bruce Ellington, and pushed the tempo of the

» See BASKETBALL, B2

Braves rolling into

Academy

OT – Shane Callahan OT – Patrick Miller OG – Robert Leff DT – Tyler Nero DE – Gimel President OLB – Javiie Mitchell PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OPELIKA–AUBURN NEWS

Valley High School star Erique Florence unzips his jacket to reveal an Auburn tie on National Signing Day last year.

National Signing Day Coleman McDowell SPORTS EDITOR

There’s no doubt Auburn is in a transition stage.

From replacing both coordinators to having the face of the program transfer—this off-season has been busy.

SPORTS BEAT REPORTER

The annual Braves Country Caravan, a meet and greet with former and current players and coaches from the Atlanta baseball team, will roll through Auburn on its tour of the Southeast.

Academy Sports & Outdoors is hosting the regional Caravan, which will stop at the store’s Bent Creek Road location Jan. 29 from 3–4 p.m.

Braves players who will be present for autographs include former Auburn players Tim Hudson and David Ross, along with Eric Hinskie, Tyler Pastornicky, Scott Fletcher and Braves radio announcer and MLB Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton.

The Braves’ fan fest that preceded the Caravan—which is in its third year—took place at Turner Field, but Braves Senior Vice President Derek Schiller spearheaded the effort to take the fan appreciation series on the road in order to reach the largest percentage of the fan base possible.

“Some version of the Caravan has been around since the Braves have been in Atlanta,” said a Braves spokesperson. “The Caravans have a lot of history; they have evolved over the years. Instead of having 25 players on one day, we will have three or four players every single day.”

The Caravan will travel through five states and stop in more than 25 cities, from Charlotte, N.C., to SEC towns like Athens, Ga., and Knoxville, Tenn.

“We try to get headliner guys on every single trip,” the spokesperson said. “On every trip there are always future stars. Last year one of the cities had first baseman Freddie Free-

» See BRAVES, B2

It doesn’t stop now, however, with the Feb. 1 National Signing Day less than a week out.

It’s the day when 18-year-olds will hold the collective attention of college football fans, analysts and coaches across the nation.

Last year, Auburn closed NSD with

a flurry of commitments, climbing the charts to No. 2 overall.

Scout.com currently ranks the Tigers’ recruiting class No. 20 with just days to go, but Auburn is poised to move up the charts with several highprofile recuits strongly considering coming to the Plains.

CB – T.J. Davis CB – Jonathan Jones CB – Josh Holsey PREVIOUS RECRUITING CLASSES: 2011 – Scout No.2, Rivals No. 7 2010 – Scout No. 6, Rivals No. 4 2009 – Scout No. 16, Rivals No. 19

TOP PROSPECT LIST: QB – Jeremy Liggins WORST MOMEMT OF NATIONAL SIGNING DAY 2011:

WR – Stefon Diggs WR – Cordarrelle Patterson WR – Ricardo Louis OT – Avery Young OT – Jordan Diamond OT – Menelik Watson OG – Alex Kozan DE – Arik Armstead

Patrick Tighe

OLB – Cassanova McKinzy

DE – Leonard Williams DT – Eddie Goldman LB – Kwon Alexander CB – Ronald Darby CB – Deon Bush

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OPELIKA–AUBURN NEWS

Florence, who grew up 26 miles from Auburn, chose Auburn over Alabama and USC.

BEST MOMENT OF NATIONAL SIGNING DAY 2011: Auburn was targeting defensive tackle Gabe Wright and running back Isaiah Crowell, but they both kept Georgia and Auburn waiting until the final day for their decisions. After Crowell used a bulldog puppy to announce he would be signing with Georgia, many thought Wright would follow him to Athens to complete the “dream team.”

Instead, Wright donned an Auburn hat with “Nick Who?” embroidered across the tiger-eyes logo on the back. Wright explained the phrase was not a shot at the coach of Auburn’s arch-rival, but a bold prediction that he would make Auburn fans forget Nick Fairley.

Five-star offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio committing to Auburn.

What’s bad about a 6-foot-7-inch, 322-pound lineman committing to your school?

When he doesn’t sign the scholarship papers after the commitment and flips to your rival three days later.

Kouandjio did just that when he verbally committed to play at Auburn, but ultimately signed with Alabama.

Loeffler named new offensive coordinator Coleman McDowell SPORTS EDITOR

When Scot Loeffler was named Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, he got a congratulatory phone call.

Pretty standard procedure—except the caller was two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady.

“It was a great conversation and he goes, ‘Scot, you got one of the best jobs in America. Go be yourself. Go be who you are, and go keep being a team guy and you’ll help Auburn,’ Loeffler said. “And that’s all I want to do is I want to help Auburn and keep the traditions that have been instilled at this place for several years.”

Loeffler, 37, began his career as a graduate assistant at the University of Michigan after playing quarterback there from 1993–96. Brady was starting quarterback for the Wolverines during the ‘98 and ‘99 seasons.

Loeffler has 14 years of experience coaching in college and the NFL. After leaving Michigan for a twoyear stint at Central Michigan University beginning in 2000, he re-

turned to Ann Arbor to coach quarterbacks for the next seven years under coach Lloyd Carr.

A one-year position with the Detroit Lions led him to his first taste of the Southeastern Conference with the Florida Gators.

At Florida, Loeffler was the position coach for one of the most decorated players in college football history: Tim Tebow.

Loeffler took the offensive coordinator position at Temple University following the 2010 season, and the Owls finished the season seventh in total rushing yards, averaging over 250 yards per game.

Loeffler has coached spread, prostyle and power-running offenses during his career. ”I like it all,” Loeffler said. “We’re going to take our players, we are going to assess exactly what they do best, and then we are going to form that offense around them.”

Loeffler’s track record has many regarding him as a quarterback guru.

TODD VAN EMST

New offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler answers questions during his introductory press conference.

He’s coached Brady, Tebow, Brian Griese, Chad Henne, Drew Henson and John Navarre—each of whom was drafted and started in the NFL.

Loeffler will have talent to work with at the position for the 2012 season: returning are junior Clint Moseley and sophomore Kiehl Frazier, neither of whom appeared to solidify their role as starting quarterback last season.

Also, true freshman Zeke Pike has enrolled early and is currently taking classes. “(Loeffler) is really great in relating with players and being able to— which was one of the most important things to me—develop a quarterback,” Chizik said.

Loeffler’s job was made easier with the return of offensive weapons Onterio McCalebb, Philip Lutzenkirchen and Emory Blake, but the fate of Auburn’s offense rests on the shoulders of whoever is under center for the Tigers.

Loeffler’s former boss believes any of Auburn’s quarterbacks will learn from him. ”He’s a great teacher,” Carr said.

“There’s not a QB out there that wouldn’t enjoy playing for him.”

Sports B2

The Auburn Plainsman

BRAVES » From B1

man and pitchers Craig Kimbrel and Johnny Venters. At the time they weren’t that well known.”

Membership costs $29.99 including a special membership card and an invitation to a “Braves Country” game with a pregame parade honoring all the members.

Hudson and Ross attended Auburn’s Home Run Derby last Halloween weekend that benefited the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County and the Hudson Family Foundation.

“Our goal is to make this into a premier fundraising event for both the Auburn baseball team and the Hudson Family Foundation,” Hudson said. “Having moved back into the Auburn area and raising a family here, we want to give back to the community as much as we can. This is a winwin for our foundation and for the Auburn baseball program.”

Hudson played at Auburn from 1996–97 and earned the Rotary Smith National Player of the Year Award.

Hudson’s statistics from that season include a 15–2 record with a 2.97 ERA, along with 18 home runs and 95 RBIs. Ross was a teammate of Hudson’s that same season.

Before his transfer to Florida, he had a .251 batting average, two home runs and 26 RBIs. In 1997, Auburn scored five runs in the ninth inning against Florida State, including a go-ahead home run from Ross to help clinch the

BASKETBALL » From B1

transition offense to avoid facing USC’s extended 3–2 zone defense.

I’m unsure if Ward’s ankle injury is still slowing him down, but he’d be an All-SEC guard if he played with half of

game and a spot in the College World Series.

Along the Caravan route the Braves will also make stops at schools and hospitals to visit and speak with students and sick children.

Braves right fielder Jason Heyward especially enjoyed the team’s stop at the Birmingham Civil Rights institute during last year’s Caravan.

As an African-American player, Heyward said he was especially moved by the experience.

“It was a pleasure and an honor,” he said. “Anytime you can go see stuff firsthand, it always exposes you to what people felt back then. It brings you closer and it gives you peace of mind on how fortunate you are today.”

After the Caravan the Braves head to Orlando, Fla., for spring training. The team’s season opener is April 5 on the road against the New York Mets.

The Braves’ home opener at Turner Field is scheduled for April 13 at 7:35 p.m. against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Kimbrel was named the 2011 National League Rookie of the Year. He set the rookie save record with 46 and had 127 strikeouts in 77 innings.

Kimbrel was also credited with a blown save when the Braves were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies 4–3 and were denied a playoff spot.

“I can’t say it’s something that I’ll get over,” Kimbrel said, “but it’s something that’s going to push me and something that’s going to make me strive to do better next year.”

Wallace’s intensity.

Regardless, Wallace’s willingness to challenge every opposing point guard is fun to watch, and from the look of Saturday’s game, Barbee’s frequent rants on his team’s nonchalance toward defense appear to have sunk in.

The Tigers forced 23 turn-

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Ward determined to fight back Robert E. Lee SPORTS BEAT REPORTER

Varez Ward hasn’t been in the starting lineup for long.

“Everything is up for grabs,” said coach Tony Barbee in a press conference late last year. “I told these guys they’ve got to earn it on their performance on the floor.”

Ward made the starting lineup his sophomore year of high school while playing under coach Terry Posey at Jefferson Davis High School in Montgomery.

“Varez is a very intelligent kid,” Posey said. “He really understands the game of basketball. He picks up on things.

He’s very coachable and very talented. You don’t teach talent.”

Ward also played on the 2005–06 Alabama 6A state championship team.

“His junior year, he is one of the main reasons we won the state championship,” Posey said. “We beat Huffman in the state finals and they had three very good players. (Ward) was a main force for us.”

After high school, Ward had his sights set on an outof-state college.

“I had originally committed to Cincinnati, then I decommitted,” Ward said. “Later on in the recruitment I opened it back up whenever more schools started to open, so I took a visit to UTEP where coach Barbee was coach. overs. They played with the type of constant intensity necessary to be a good defensive team. They seemed to have lost the demeanor that they could step on the court and win on talent alone.

I think this team is one offensively skilled big man away from leaving the bottom rungs

UPC

Around the World Cooking Workshop

CHRISTEN HARNED / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Varez Ward transferred from Texas last season to be closer to his mother. Ward suffered a season-ending injury his sophomore year at Texas and was redshirted last season at Auburn.

“I enjoyed the time out there. I went to Kentucky. I went to Texas. And it came down to it, and I love Texas so that’s where I chose first.”

After playing 32 games as a freshman, he suffered a season-ending injury, rupturing his right quadriceps tendon three games into his sophomore year.

In fall 2010, Ward transferred to Auburn to be with his mother.

“She was sick and, you know, I was twelve hours away,” Ward said. “And it was hard going back and forth, so I wanted to be close to her.”

His decision was also swayed by prior relationships.

“I already had a relationof the SEC. Junior center Rob Chubb has improved tremendously from last season, but he still has to be considered a work in progress.

Maybe freshman Willy Kouassi could be guy, but currently he’s more offensively challenged than Chubb.

ship with the coaching staff,” Ward said. “Because I already had a visit to UTEP, it made it an easy decision for me to come back and play for coach Barbee.”

Ward was a redshirt his first year at Auburn and didn’t see any action until 2011.

“Sitting out was horrible for me,” Ward said. “That was one of the hardest things in my life to do—to sit out of basketball for two years, because I have been playing all my life.”

That’s when Barbee announced to his team that starters had to earn their spot.

“I’ll never let (sitting out) stop me from going out Barbee has the team improving, and that’s the most important thing in my mind.

While I’ve yet to decide if I view Barbee as a guy who finishes what he starts at Auburn or leaves for a more attractive job in a few years, he has been exactly what Auburn needed: a fresh face to recruit high-pro-

there and getting out there and competing,” Ward said.

“That’s where I get my motivation from, because this game can be taken away from you at any time, so that’s where I look for motivation.”

This is Ward’s first season starting since 2009, but he isn’t letting his prior absence keep him from reaching his own expectations.

“Sitting out all these years, it’s been kind of hard to come back,” Ward said. “I’m just now getting back to where I used to be as far as my explosiveness. It’s been a kind of up-and-down year for me, but you know, the season isn’t over, and I’m still trying to get better.” file athletes and invigorate a student body that had grown indifferent to Auburn basketball.

Judging by the packed student section at recent games, all that’s holding up a fully packed arena are the scholarship seats which remain halfempty game after game.

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Sports B3

The Auburn Plainsman

Vanderpool-Wallace earns swimming accolades Bradley Roberts WRITER

Senior swimmer Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace was recognized last week in the conference and nationally by being named both SEC and National Swimmer of the Week.

These add to the long list of accolades Vanderpool-Wallace has earned during her four years at Auburn.

Her performance at the Jan. 11 meet against the University of Texas won Vanderpool-Wallace player of the week status; she won all four of her events in the 167–133 win over the Longhorns.

Vanderpool-Wallace is an 18-time All-American who was named the SEC Women’s Swimmer of the Year in 2011 and earned the SEC Commissioner’s Cup as the high scorer at the SEC Championships in Gainesville, Fla. During the 2010–11 season, Vanderpool-Wallace helped Auburn land its first NCAA championship in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle.

It is the third time this season she has been awarded SEC Swimmer of the Week honors.

“It’s really nice to be recognized by people in the SEC and other people in the nation,” Vanderpool-Wallace said. “It helps you know that your hard work is paying off.”

Vanderpool-Wallace said she attributes her most recent string of success to the support given to her by her teammates.

“The team has become more of a family lately,” she said. “So, just kind of coming together makes me want to swim faster.”

She said she trains hard throughout the week, hitting the weight room Monday, Wednesday and Friday and

swimming for two or three hours daily.

In the days leading up to a meet she tries to alleviate stress by focusing her mind on other things.

“Right before, I try to not really think about the race because it can kind of overwhelm you a little bit,” Vanderpool-Wallace said. “The day of, I’m going to think of anything other than the race.”

Vanderpool-Wallace said she doesn’t follow any specific rituals or superstitions before a race, but she will always listen to music.

“I usually listen to rap music,” she said. “Lil Wayne mostly.”

The senior hasn’t let her training and workouts interfere with her studies; she will be graduating in December with a degree in hotel and restaurant management.

“My life is swimming and school,” she said. “I swim and I go home and I do schoolwork.”

Vanderpool-Wallace participated in the 2008 Olympics for the Bahamas national women’s team and looks to do the same in London in 2012.

“I just qualified for 2012 in July,” she said. “I’m excited to go again and give it a shot again.”

As team captain, Vanderpool-Wallace leads best by example.

“She always comes in with the right focus every single day for practice,” said Haley Krakoski, sophomore sprint swimmer. “She’s definitely always the hardest worker we have on the team.”

Krakoski said she has learned a lot from VanderpoolWallace about improving her technique and trying to maintain the right mindset, adding that her teammate has always

DANIELLE LOWE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace is an 18-time All-American and led Auburn to it’s first NCAA championship in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle last season. Vanderpool-Wallace has been named SEC Diver of the Week three times this season.

been there to help her fellow swimmers.

“She’s just someone that it helps us to look up to and always try to get to the same level as her,” Krakoski said. “We are all together collectively trying to be just as good as her.”

Krakoski said VanderpoolWallace has handled the pressures of success with ease.

“There is a lot expected of her this year, being the senior,” Krakoski said. “She was named our captain for this year. She has a lot on her plate, and she has a lot to live up to, but she does a great job at it.”

Brett Hawke, men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach, said having an athlete of such high caliber makes his job much easier.

“She’s consistent from the start of the season,” Hawke said. “She brings the right attitude and makes everyone around her better.

Hawke, a former Auburn sprint swimmer, is experienced working with superb athletes.

“I’ve raced at the Olympics myself, so I have a very good

DANIELLE LOWE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Recently named SEC and National Swimmer of the Week, Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, senior in hotel and restaurant management, prepares Friday morning for a meet.

connection with kids with a lot of talent,” Hawke said. “So, I feel comfortable coaching her.

“It makes you feel good knowing you’ve got someone you can rely on. She’s one of

Tigers hit the road for two Coleman McDowell SPORTS EDITOR

Following a solid home victory against South Carolina, the Auburn Tigers are on the road for two conference matchups.

“We have a tough week,” said coach Tony Barbee. “Obviously, playing on the road in college basketball is a tough task, and as good as the coaches and teams are in this league, it is even tougher.

“Going to Arkansas and then to Tennessee—two teams coming off big weeks for them beating Michigan and UConn, respectively—it is going to be a tough task.”

The Tigers have enjoyed the home court of Auburn Arena this season, posting a 11–1 record thus far.

“We have been playing well at home and not so well on the road, even though our last outing against LSU we gave ourselves a chance,” Barbee said.

“We will be prepared and we will go in there with a game plan that will give our guys a chance to win.”

After scoring 14 of Auburn’s 24 first-half points against South Carolina, junior guard Frankie Sullivan led the Tigers with a season-high 22 points.

“Frankie is playing well,” Barbee said. “He is still not back 100 percent in terms of the speed and quickness.

Frankie’s game is never measured by that—it was by his toughness and the size of his heart and his leadership ability—so that is what he has brought back to the team. ” Barbee also commented on Sullivan’s desire to fight through his recent lack of offensive production.

“There is nobody who has worked harder to get his game back than Frankie has,” Barbee said. “He is one of the guys who deserves to play well because of what he puts in the game. He works hard in practice, but when he is on his own time, he will come in an hour early, stay an hour late,

DANIELLE LOWE / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Senior forward Kenny Gabriel throws down a dunk against the Gamecocks Saturday. The Tigers defeated South Carolina 63–52 at home.

come back after study hall and stay an hour and work on his game.”

The Tigers were scheduled to take on the Razorbacks Wednesday night, and the team will travel to Knoxville Saturday to take on a Tennessee squad that has had an upand-down season.

The Volunteers have defeated No. 11 Connecticut and No. 14 Florida this month, but they also lost to unranked Vanderbilt, Georgia and Memphis.

Both of Tennessee’s January wins against ranked opponents were at home, while four of their five losses have come on the road.

The Volunteers have gotten a spark from early enrollee Jarnell Stokes, who forewent his last semester of high school to join the team earlier this month.

The 6-foot-8-inch, 250-pound freshman has shown the ability to hold his own against the best big men in the nation.

Against premier shot-block-

er Anthony Davis of Kentucky, Stokes scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds in his 17-minute college debut.

Against Alex Oriakhi of Connecticut, Stokes filled the statsheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks and no turnovers.

The Tigers will rely on junior center Rob Chubb to contain Stokes, and Barbee said he thinks Chubb’s improving play has helped the Tigers establishment themselves during games this season.

“He is a guy who gives us an interior presence that can compete in this league,” Barbee said. “He is definitely a key for us.”

With Saturday’s win over USC, the Tigers surpassed their win total from last season.

“We are just going to build it the right way, and each year we want to keep taking the steps in the positive direction,” Barbee said. “We are kind of on track of where we want to be in year two.”

All Auburn Opelika Locations

the toughest competitors I’ve ever met. It’s good to walk into a meet knowing you’ve got a girl that can take down any other girl in the country.”

The Auburn men’s and

women’s swimming and diving team lost to the No. 13 Florida Gators Jan. 21.

They are now preparing for the SEC Championships, which will be held Feb. 15–18.

Sports B4

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Auburn to send two riders to WEF

Upcoming events Thursday Women’s basketball vs. Kentucky, 6 p.m.

Friday Men’s tennis vs. Middle Tennessee, 11 a.m.

Women’s gymnastics vs. Alabama, 7 p.m.

Saturday Women’s tennis @ Troy, 12 p.m.

Women’s equestrian vs. Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.

Men’s basketball @ Tennessee, 7 p.m.

Sunday Women’s tennis vs. Alabama A&M, 10 a.m.

Men’s tennis @ Georgia Tech, 12 p.m.

Women’s basketball @ Ole Miss, 1 p.m.

Women’s tennis vs. Southern Miss, 2 p.m.

Monday Men’s tennis vs. Illinois and North Carolina, TBA

COURTESY OF ANTHONY HALL

Sophomore Jennifer Waxman will be competing in the equitation over fences in the WEF Collegiate Equitation Challenge.

Wednesday Men’s basketball vs. Georgia, 7 p.m.

Robert E. Lee SPORTS BEAT REPORTER

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The equestrian team is sending two of its top-ranked riders to the third annual collegiate equitation challenge at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Fla. Auburn has had success at the WEF in the past, with senior hunt seat rider Maggie McAlary placing first in the competition’s inaugural year and second last year.

Sophomores Christine Lin and Jennifer Waxman will ride south for this year’s Feb. 10 challenge.

Lin said the competition is different than the team’s average meets.

“It’s about the same caliber, but it’s a little bit different,” Lin said. “It’s not really like our nationals, per se, because I’m not here with my whole team, but I am representing my school.

It’s special.”

The competition consists of riders from 16 U.S. universities.

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New to the tournament this year is equitation on the flat, or flatting, in which only four schools—including Auburn— were chosen to participate.

Flatting is judged on how well an athelete handles her horse on the ground with no jumps.

“It’s actually new to the tournament this year,” Lin said. “Before it was all jumping, and there’s 16 schools that are participating. The four schools that are doing the flatting are randomly selected for this year because its a new format they want to try it out.”

Waxman will compete in equitation over fences, which consists of jumps up to 3-feet6-inches high.

“It’s a little nerve-racking,” Waxman said. “The course will probably be a little harder than our regular competitions, but the one thing that makes me feel better is that the people we’re going against are in the same position.

“It’s hard for everybody. It’s

not just hard for us.”

Waxman has been riding for 14 years and credited the coaching staff for the team’s continued success.

“Our coaches do a really good job on stressing the importance of the team,” she said. “And we know wherever we go we always have each other’s back, and it’s always nice to know that everybody is working hard.”

Coach Greg Williams began the equestrian program in 1996, with Varsity status coming in 2002.

Lin said the coaching staff has motivated them all year, and working as a team has been a cornerstone of their success.

“We’re putting in a lot of hard work. We’re also really working together as a team,” Lin said. “You do ride for individual points, but at the end of the meet they all go toward the team.

“We’re all just trying right now to put in as much practice

as we can. We’re riding when we’re outside of school. We do as much riding as we can.”

Riding on unknown territory is something Lin and Waxman are familiar with, as the team competes in similar situations at regular competitions.

“We get on and ride a course that we have never ridden before,” Lin said, “so there is only so much practicing that we can do because we’ve basically been doing this our whole lives.”

The competition follows the National Collegiate Equestrian Association head-to-head, bracketed format, and the first round will start at 2 p.m.

The eight losing teams from the first round will compete in a consolation bracket.

The overall winner will receive a trophy sponsored by the South Florida Hunter Jumper Association,.

The competition will be held at the International Arena of the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center.

Adams sets world record at Auburn Indoor Invite Coleman McDowell SPORTS EDITOR

Junior sprinter Harry Adams came to Auburn as a wide receiver, but he will leave one of the fastest sprinters in Auburn track and field history.

At the Auburn Indoor Invitational in Birmingham, Adams finished the 60-meter in 6.55 seconds, the fastest time in the world so far this year.

Adams’ world record finish ranks him second all-time in Auburn history, just .05 seconds behind Coby Miller’s 6.50 in 2000.

“I’m really impressed with what Harry was able to do today,” said coach Ralph Spry.

“He’s been solid for us from the beginning, but he worked hard all fall and he’s looked good in practice. I thought he would be ready to run fast today.

“It was a very impressive win, and I couldn’t be happier for him to get rewarded for all his hard work. I’m looking forward to seeing him get faster the rest of the season.”

Adams came to Auburn in 2008 as a wide receiver.

He was recruited by former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville and switched to defensive back before leaving the team in 2009.

He then joined the track team in 2010 and earned AllAmerica honors for his performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Adams also was a 2010 NCAA Outdoor All-America for his role on the 4x100m Relay.

For his performance in the Auburn Indoor Invitational last week, Adams was named SEC Runner of the Week and a Primetime Performer of the Week by College Sports360.

Adams is the first track athlete to earn an SEC weekly honor this season.

Even though the meet didn’t have team scoring, Spry

CONTRIBUTED

Adams was recruited in 2008 as a wide receiver before he joined the track team.

CONTRIBUTED

Adams poses beside the scoreboard of his world record run.

thought the team made the necessary strides in the shorter indoor season.

“I feel pretty good with what we were able to do as a whole,” Spry said. “We made a big improvement over the course of one week, and that is what you want to see. It’s a short indoor season, so you have to make improvements like that.

“I’m pretty pleased overall. We had a lot of big performances. This was a very competitive meet with some of the best teams in the country competing. This was a good measuring stick of where we are at as a team.”

The team travels to Blacksburg, Va. for the Virginia Tech Invitational Feb. 2–3.

Intrigue Thursday, January 26, 2012

The physics of fitness

Wii’s health benefits

» Page B7

» Page B8

www.theplainsman.com

B5 Intrigue

REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO EDITOR

Asim Ali, adviser for the Muslim Students’ Association, came to Auburn with his father at age 10.

All-Auburn Muslim Despite being a minority group at Auburn, Muslims find community with one another

Hayley Blair INTRIGUE BEAT REPORTER

Now a postdoctoral researcher in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, Idris Cerkez came to Auburn in August 2008 through a scholarship program.

As a Turkish Muslim, Cerkez said students and professors alike have been accommodating and supportive of his Islamic beliefs.

“You really do have freedom in terms of religion, I think, here,” Cerkez said. “I can pray in my lab. We have prayers that we need to attend every week, and if I have any course or need to do something in the lab, my advisers and professors are always OK when it comes to religion.”

Cerkez recently earned his Ph.D in polymer and fiber engineering, but became more interested in chemistry because he

Relax with home spa treatments Heather Allen WRITER

The hurried, stressful pace of college life can make it difficult for students to find inexpensive ways to relax at home.

Jana Gwin, owner of One Eighty Wellness Spa in Auburn, said students are stressed trying to keep up their grades and balance extracurricular activities.

“Stress can affect your skin because the stress hormone cortisol can cause more oil on your skin, which clogs your pores,” Gwin said.

Gwin recommends professionalgrade products with the active ingredient salicylic acid, which kills acne bacteria, and facials to oxygenate pores.

“It is also beneficial to get your skin regulated with vitamin A products and treatments like facials to help control breakouts,” Gwin said.

College students also complain of neck pain, back strain and muscle soreness from carrying backpacks

» See SPA, B6

felt he could help more people in to do is just to see the signs of your creator, your God—we call that field.

“I decided to have a chemis- it Allah—everywhere you look,” Cerkez said. try-related ac“ We h av e ademic life befive pillars of cause you can and difproduce prodI feel that we have so faith ferent things ucts useful to humanity and many commonalities, you need to do, but that’s develop solu- and that’s the thing the main tions to globthing a Musal issues such we need to focus lim should as pandemics on. That’s how we do I think.” and epidemcan keep the society Cerkez ics,” he said. also said the Cerkez said together I think.” word Islam Islam teach—Idris Cerkez i s derived es its adherPOSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER from the Arents that all abic root Slife should be appreciated and respected, as L-M, which means peace.

Asim Ali, adviser for the Museach living thing contains a part lim Students’ Association, said of Allah.

“I don’t want to generalize about 20 percent of the Muslim anything, this is just how I view population on campus use the it, but the only thing you need MSA to meet with one another.

“

There are only about 80-100 Muslim students at Auburn, but many non-Muslim students participate in events hosted by the organization, as well.

MSA hosts many lectures, and Vice President Emad Mansour recently spoke on the prophet Abraham’s role in Islam.

The group also goes on outings together, such as bowling nights. Ali said there are many reasons a non-Muslim student might attend one of the MSA’s events.

“If it’s a speaker it’s generally because of extra credit for a class, and if it’s a social activity then it’s usually because they want to have fun with some of their Muslim friends,” Ali said.

Cerkez said he has a lot friends from different religious denominations, and he is happy to discussreligion with all of them.

“I have lots of Christian friends. I used to go to their Sunday school,” Cerkez said. “We would study the Quran and the Bible together, and I feel that we have so many commonalities, and that’s the thing we need to focus on. That’s how we can keep the society together I think.”

Though Islam isn’t as prevalent as Christianity in this area of the world, Cerkez said he still has a place to worship.

“There is a small masjid, or mosque, nearby,” Cerkez said.

“We have different denominations, different Muslim people, but we all go there and pray together. There’s a good harmony there.”

Though religious differences can at times be polarizing, Cerkez said he hasn’t experienced intolerance from other re-

» See RELIGION, B6

Not down with depression Kristen Ward WRITER

Feeling down and tired isn’t always a sign of a college student’s lifestyle.

Brandy Smith, psychologist at Auburn Student Counseling Services, said students need to be more aware of the signs of depression, which could be feelings of sadness, loss, anger or frustration strong enough to interfere with everyday life for weeks or longer.

Smith said decreased interest in activities, changes in weight, sleep patterns or appetite and feelings of worthlessness or guilt are all symptoms of depression.

“You do not have to have all of these signs at once to be considered depressed,” Smith said. “Some students may just have one or two of these symptoms.”

Smith said Student Counseling Services normally addresses one of two types of cases.

“We have some cases where the student is just feeling down because of relationship problems, school, work, family or because of other situational problems,” Smith said. “This type of case can normally go away after a short period of time, but we also have cases where there is an intense feeling that can’t just go away. These types of cases can be related to biological reasons.”

Smith said she tries to help students understand that although depression is not always related to problems in day-to-day life, one’s daily routine can have an impact—students should be aware of the amount of sleep they are getting, their eating habits and the

amount of physical activity they perform each day.

Brett Sullivan, junior in prepharmacy, said antidepressant medication is used to bring into balance brain chemicals that can cause depression.

“I do believe depression is com-

mon in a college town,” Sullivan said. “However, I think it depends on the student’s situation. College is a major adjustment for a lot of students.”

Michael Hansen, a pharmacist in Birmingham, said most mental health experts agree that medication can help with severe depression. The role of medication comes into play when therapy, exercise or self-help strategies do not work.

“Some common side effects of

» See DEPRESSION, B6

HAVE A SUPPORT SYSTEM FIND A WAY TO MANAGE DAILY ACTIVITES & REQUIREMENTS FIGURE OUT AN OUTLET FOR STRESS GET ENOUGH SLEEP KNOW YOUR LIMITS & WHEN TO ASK FOR HELP

Intrigue B6

The Auburn Plainsman

DEPRESSION

Kerry’s recipe of the week

Skinny Eggplant Rollatini

Ingredients: 1 large eggplant, peeled and cut 1/4 inch wide, lengthwise salt and pepper, to taste 24 ounces low-fat cottage cheese 10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed free of water 2 eggs pinch of fresh nutmeg, grated 8 ounces (2 cups) reduced fat mozzarella cheese, divided 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, divided 2 cups marinara sauce, divided

» From B5

Directions: Preheat oven to 400° F. Place the sliced eggplant onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly spray the surface of the eggplant and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 10 minutes and immediately lower the oven to 375° F. In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, spinach, eggs, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Mix until combined. Coat the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish with 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Cover the surface of each eggplant with the cheese mixture. Roll up the eggplant lengthwise and place into the casserole dish, seam side down. Repeat this process for all remaining eggplant slices. Top the rollatini with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 40– 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbling.

antidepressant medications are nausea, insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, dizziness, weight gain, dry mouth, diarrhea, constipation and headaches,” Hansen said. “Some side effects go away after a few weeks of drug treatment, others will continue and even get worse.

Thursday, January 26, 2012 “Along with side effects, there are health risk factors for people over 65, pregnant women, teens and young adults and people who may have bipolar disorder.”

Hansen said changes students go through in their college careers could result in more students being depressed.

“I think that a lot of students don’t realize signs of de-

pression because they think it’s a part of the college lifestyle,” Smith said. “I want to emphasize that depression will not look the same for every person and that there is nothing wrong with acknowledging what is going on.”

Student Counseling Services is located in the Auburn Medical Clinic and offers free individual or group counseling sessions.

Serves: 6 Contributed by Kerry Fannon

Stefan Brockett

RELIGION

SPA

ligious groups on campus.

“It doesn’t matter if you are Muslim, atheist, Hindu or whatever,” Cerkez said. “I think it is totally the same. Everyone is really accommodating. It may not be the same around all the University, but that’s what I’ve experienced, and it’s been great.”

Living in an educated community plays a role in how Muslims are treated, said Ali, who came to Alabama at 10 years old when his father was hired as a professor at Tuskegee University.

“For me, personally, it’s been very comfortable,” Ali said. “I guess the advantage of living in an educated community is there are people who are willing to appreciate a diverse community.”

Without a doubt, the tradition of rolling Toomer’s Corner with the Auburn Tigers after football games was my favorite part of being at Auburn University,” Cerkez said.

full of textbooks across campus.

“I am a big advocate of taking very warm soak baths in Epsom salt, which relieves stress, strains and sprains from your muscles and joints,” said Sonya Hildreth, owner of Create A Spa in downtown Auburn. “And consistency is key with that technique.”

Students can soak away aches and pains by purchasing a container of Epsom salt at a local pharmacy for about $2 for a 16-ounce container.

Another tip for soothing backaches can be as simple as sitting straighter.

“Students spend a lot of time over computers, and you have to be careful with posture,” Hildreth said. “That can cause a lot of strain, and good posture is vital.”

Hildreth said she often reminds her clients take frequent stretch breaks when spending hours hunched over a laptop studying.

Rather than purchase products to use for a relaxing spa experience at home,

» From B5

» From B5

junior, architecture

some students are making their own.

“Last year, I made homemade body scrubs for my friends for Christmas,” said Alysha Ledbetter, junior in nursing. “It was inexpensive and a great way for them to treat themselves after finals week.”

Ledbetter found the recipe for body scrubs on Pinterest, a popular do-it-yourself website.

She said she would recommend the body scrubs recipe to others because they were easy and quick to make, only taking about 10 minutes, and because they made her kitchen smell amazing.

“College students aren’t expected to spend a lot of time and money on their skin,” Gwin said. “But you can prioritize and use what you have and incorporate that into an overall wellness.”

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FACIAL TREATMENT 1/2 avocado 1 tbsp plain yogurt 1 egg white 1/3 tspn lemon juice MIX TOGETHER IN A BOWL AND APPLY MIXTURE TO DAMP SKIN. RINSE OFF AFTER 10–15 MINUTES.

BODY SCRUB RECIPE 3 cups white sugar 1 cup plus 2 tbsp extra light olive oil 10 drops scented essential oil MIX TOGETHER IN A MEDIUM-SIZED JAR & ENJOY IN A WARM BATH TO MAKE SKIN SOFTER AND HEALTHIER

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

B7 Intrigue

Physics determine efficient exercise Hayley Blair ASSOCIATE INTRIGUE EDITOR

Physics may not be the first thing people think about when it comes to fitness, but it may actually be the most important aspect of exercise.

Joe Perez, physics department head, said its important for athletes to use physics to their advantage if they want to win.

“If you watch sprinters now, they run with their hands in a very special place with a special rhythm and everything,” Perez said. “All that is to get this last little bit out of themselves, and that has to do with the biomechanics, weight distribution and wind resistance.”

Wendy Weimar, director of the Sport Biomechanics Laboratory, said she’s studied everything from the physics of flip-flops to the biomechanics of Auburn’s athletic teams.

“When you watch the gym-

nastics team do flips or the diving team do flips and twists and things like that, it’s really the application of Newton’s laws which allows them to exercise those movements,” Weimar said.

The data gathered from Weimar’s research with athletes is relayed to coaches who use the information to improve the athletes’ performance.

“We believe that coaching is an art and a science,” Weimar said. “We know how to watch the athletes and identify things, but they know how to talk to their athletes.”

Gravity is the only force working on this gymnast, and tight control is needed to keep her form in the air.

Kylie Shields performs on the beam.

The study of biomechanics can be applied to individual fitness as well.

“Exercising incorrectly is just as dangerous as not exercising at all, maybe more,” Weimar said. “Our goal is to teach people to train appropriately and effectively so they enjoy it, and it becomes a lifestyle for them.”

Joey Young, owner of World Gym, said he sees many people lifting weights incorrectly in the gym.

“When you see people slinging weight that is obviously momentum-driven, that momentum can take you further than what you might be able to bend or what your muscles might be able to stand,” Young said.

“When you’re swinging weights, you’re inviting injury.”

Young said a priority for

World Gym is to make sure clients exercise safely.

“One of the things we do is help anyone who seems to need it or asks for it,” Young said. “Everyone who works here has a pretty good idea on how to stay safe in the gym.”

The flip of a gymnast or the brick-breaking of a martial art-

ist can all be explained by physics and the study of biomechanics, and Weimar said she never ceases to wonder at the results of her research.

“We study those things, and that’s why we think we have a really cool job,” Weimar said, “because we’re stunned by the capability of the human body and what it can do.”

The circles represent the forces the batter is exerting on the ground. The force the ground exerts on him is transferred through his body and bat to the ball.

Of interest biomechanically are his bat velocity, joint angles and rotational timing.

Casey McElroy bats against South Carolina on March 27, 2010.

TODD VAN EMST

Stretching appears left behind for personal health Austin Lankford WRITER

Many people lift weights and jog to improve their physical fitness, but the importance of stretching and flexibility is often overlooked.

“Improving your flexibility is just as important as cardio and strength workouts,” said Valerie Lee, graduate teaching assistant in kinesiology and aerobics and yoga teacher.

Lee said it is important to do some basic stretching before a workout or any activity that requires a lot of movement. She also said stretching reduces the soreness that occurs after a workout.

Kent Games, doctoral fellow in the Neuromechanics Research Lab and nationally certified athletic trainer, said stretching and flexibility are as important as cardiovascular fitness and weight training in a person’s overall health.

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“Stretching not only helps you for a workout, but it can help you do daily activities more easily,” Games said.

“It also decreases the risk of injury and the likelihood of a muscle strain or tear.”

Games said stretching also helps improve posture, which can provide long-term health benefits down the road.

“If you didn’t stretch, then your muscles would remain tight, and that makes it harder to sit up straight,” he said.

Games said no matter the activity, whether basketball, football, soccer or ultimate Frisbee, stretching can improve an individual’s athletic ability.

Games said there is a greater range of motion with a flexible body.

“When you are flexible, you are able to move in ways and do things that you would not be able to do if

you are not flexible,” he said.

Games suggests two stretching methods for before and after physical activity. One method is static stretching, or basic stretches such as touching your toes for 10 seconds. The other is dynamic stretching involving movement.

“To do the inchworm stretch, you start standing up and walk your hands forward until you are in a push-up position and then walk your feet back to your hands,” Games said.

“You can do both dynamic and static stretches before and after your workout to improve flexibility and reduce injury.”

Lauren Thomas, junior in physical education, teaches a body pump class at Max Fitness on East University Drive.

“The classes I teach require movement from the entire body, so it is important to make sure everyone’s mus-

“

“Stretching not only helps you for a workout, but it can help you do daily activities more easily.”

—Valerie Lee KINESIOLOGY GTA

cles are warmed up before we begin a class,” Thomas said. “We spend about five minutes before and after each class to stretch and warm up.”

Thomas said the five most important components of wellness are flexibility, body composition, aerobic fitness, muscular strength and muscular endurance.

“If flexibility was not important, it would not be on that list,” Thomas

said.

Games said flexibility is one of the most overlooked things in people’s health because they rush into activities without taking proper time to stretch. He also said it is the easiest thing to improve.

Games said it’s easy to feel tense and tight while studying for long periods. If a break is needed, he suggests taking a minute to strech your legs and loosen up.

Stretching is good not only for the body, but also the mind, Lee said.

“A great way to relieve stress is by doing yoga,” she said.

Though it may seem difficult to get started at first, Games said the results of stretching regularly can be realized almost immediately.

“If you just take a few minutes every day to stretch, you will be able to see and feel results within a week,” Games said.

Intrigue B8

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Wii controller no replacement for dumbell Robert E. Lee SPORTS BEAT REPORTER

Wii Fit may be more interactive than most video games, but whether it provides superior health benefits than a trip to the gym is yet to be determined.

Danielle Wadsworth, assistant professor of kinesiology, said fitness-related video games cannot replace the benefits from participating in a sport, but have yielded positive results.

“Playing a sport or actually doing it would be better than the video game,” Wadsworth said. “What we’ve found in our lab with the fitness-based games is if you spend 45 minutes doing it, you'll get about 30 minutes that would be equal to if you went and did a typical exercise.”

Wadsworth mentioned studies relating the symptoms of prolonged gaming to drug and alcohol addiction.

“If your’re spending a large

amount of time in front of the screen, you really need to think about how it’s going to affect your health,” Wadsworth said.

“There’s been multiple studies that show that cognitive ability, or the ability to think and process information, actually decreases in terms of advanced-level game play.”

Vanessa Ocasio, fitness coach and owner of Fitness Together Auburn, believes fitness games, while not for everyone, are beneficial.

“It seems like when they have done the fitness type of games, especially the boxing, that they seem to actually get a workout,” Ocasio said. “Now, this is coming from people that maybe you wouldn't consider in shape, but for them they get a workout.”

Wii Fit includes four training modes: yoga, balance, strength training and aerobics.

The hands-free Xbox Kinect is another alternative to fitness video games. The Ki-

“

If your’re spending a large amount of time in front of the screen, you really need to think about how it’s going to affect your health.”

—Danielle Wadsworth ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, KINESIOLOGY

nect resembles the Wii model of gaming, but uses a sensor to record players’ movements rather than a controller.

Kris Dixon, personal trainer at Fitness Together Auburn, believes fitness video games can’t accomplish what a disciplined workout in the gym can.

“I don’t believe that playing Kinect or Wii would be even close to a good alternative to going to the gym,” Dixon said.

“I do, however, see it as a supplementary tool for exercise. If you were to do Wii yoga to help with flexibility, or maybe even Wii fitness for the conditioning component of your workout, it would be OK. Not great, just OK.” Dixon said the Wii is insufficient because of its static workout regimen.

“There is no way to increase strength past a certain point with those types of games, and you will plateau in your progress in a few weeks if done without a gym setting,” Dixon said.

Casual gaming can impact fitness as well, Ocasio said.

“Anything where you’re sitting down for long periods of time, it’s unhealthy for you, and unfortunately that includes having a desk job,” Ocasio said. “So, if you happen to have a desk job and then go home to play video games, that’s a double whammy there.”

CHRISTEN HARNED / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Xavier Beasley, senior in supply chain management, plays “Just Dance” on Wii.

Weekly Drink Specials Monday:

17-16: Happy Hour 5–9 p.m., $4 pitchers Quixotes: $2 tallboys 7–9 p.m.

Tuesday:

17-16: Happy Hour 5–9 p.m., $2 tallboys Skybar Cafe: $2 tallboys Quixotes: $2 Mexican beers

Wednesday: 17-16: Happy Hour 5–9 p.m., $2 24-oz. wells, $4 after 9 p.m.

Skybar Cafe: $3 32-oz. wells 7–9 p.m.

Quixotes: $3 32-oz. wells 7–9 p.m.

Thursday: 17-16: $3 wine by the glass, $2 tallboys Skybar Cafe: $2 tallboys Quixotes: $3 everything Friday:

17-16: Happy Hour 5–9 p.m.

Skybar Cafe: $2 20-oz. wells 7–9 p.m.

Quixotes: $2 20-oz. wells, $2 Landshark tallboys