3.22.12 edition of the Auburn Plainsman by The Auburn Plainsman

The Auburn Plainsman A Spirit That Is Not Afraid www.theplainsman.com

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Vol. 118, Issue 14, 18 Pages

President Gogue makes smoking ban final Alison Mcferrin Community Beat Reporter

An issue that flamed up more than a year ago is nearly resolved, and that’s not just blowing smoke. By fall 2013, Auburn will join nearly 800 other higher education institutions as a smoke-free campus. “This is a complex decision for any university to make,” said Ainsley Carry, vice president of student affairs. “We have students, faculty and staff on both sides of the argument. As an administration we represent all members of the community, and we wanted to be sure every concern was considered carefully.” Careful consideration is what made this an issue that has been stretched over two years. The initiative first became a point of interest after a letter was sent to President Jay Gogue requesting a smoke-free cam-

pus in spring 2010. After student surveys, SGA meetings and other research, student governance groups made the recommendation that Auburn become a smoke-free campus. With Gogue’s stamp of approval, smoking will be restricted fall 2012 and banned by fall 2013. “It was an initial aspiration for the policy to be in effect by 2012, but that would not provide enough lead time for employees who smoke to make adjustments in their smoking needs,” Carry said. “We wanted to give people more time to adjust, and we felt fall 2012 might be too soon to go from where we are to completely smokefree.” Gogue was unavailable for comment. Beginning fall 2012, smokers will be required to remain at least 25 feet

away from doorways and buildings. In the time leading up to the full ban, Carry said there will be a focus on promoting cessation programs. Luis Rodriguez, junior in political science, said he thought the ban was a great idea. “I make the conscious decision to not smoke, and it’s sort of a burden on me … for other people to impose that on me,” Rodriguez said. Rodriguez said his work with the American Cancer Society influences his opinion about smoking, and he said he hopes it will result in people quitting. “It’ll obviously be harder for them, so if nothing else it will reduce the amount that they do,” Rodriguez said. The hope that some smokers will consider quitting as a result of the ban, a hope shared by University ad-

ministration, may be unfounded. “I’ve had friends who have been smokers and have tried to quit, and if you’re not ready to quit, you’re not going to, no matter what anybody will say or do or where you can or cannot,” said Kate Turner, who is pursuing English as her third bachelor’s degree. “It’ll be interesting to see, if they polled now and saw how many students smoked on campus, and then polled at the end of the partial (ban) how many students are smoking, and then at the end of when they instated the full—I think that would be interesting to see.” Methods for enforcing the new policies have also been part of the discussion. “There are no plans to provide additional enforcement efforts,” said Carry, calling the smoking ban an “educational policy.”

“Building managers and supervisors will enforce as they deem appropriate. For example, if someone is smoking at the front door of the Student Center, they will be asked by the building manager to move at least 25 feet from the building ... In 2013 they would be asked to put out the cigarette. Most will comply. Some may select not to comply.” Carry said he anticipates the smoking ban will function much like the alcohol ban. “All students know alcohol is not permitted on campus, and most of them comply when they are found in violation of this policy,” Carry said. “I expect us to eventually get to that point with the smoking policy. Of course that will take some time.” Carry said the focus on a healthy

» See Smoking, A2

Bookstore creates big changes to textbook services Chelsea Harvey Campus Editor

The Auburn University bookstore is on the verge of some big changes. According to Rusty Weldon, assistant director of the bookstore, the bookstore will be introducing two major modifications by the end of the semester to the way it sells and buys back textbooks. The first change is Rebecca Croomes / Photo Editor the introduction of an iPhone and An- Until the new application is released, students must check buyback prices droid application by having their textbooks scanned at that will allow stu- the bookstore. dents to scan their books and find out the buyback price without ever going to the bookstore. “And what they can do is they can use the scanning function on the back of their Smartphone or they can type in an ISBN, and that will bring up how much your books are worth,” Weldon said. “So if you’re at the library at 12:30, you know you’ve got that app on your phone, download it, you can literally scan that ISBN number on the back of each of your books, and you’ll know real-time what we’re offering.” Weldon said the application will make it more convenient for students to find out the buyback prices for their books because students can scan their books from any location. “There’s just so many spots on campus that it’s a walk, and if you’re not carrying your books to class every day, all of a sudden you’ve got to load them in your backpack, walk all the way to the bookstore to find out what they’re worth,” Weldon said. “And we realize that if it’s a wholesale value on a book, you might want to hold on to it. Or if it’s not being

» See Bookstore, A2

Big Event plans come to fruition Lane Jones Campus Beat Reporter

Something big is coming. This year’s Big Event, sponsored by Student Government Association and taking place Saturday, boasts record numbers of volunteers and jobsites. “The Big Event is Auburn University SGA’s service day, sponsored once a year in the spring,” said Kyla Wilkinson, director and sophomore in biomedical sciences. “This will be our 10th annual event. This year we will be putting over 3,000 students to work at almost 250 job sites.” Wilkinson said this has been a year of growth and expansion for the Big Event. “We continued to expand into the school system,” she said. “We increased involvement by almost 800 volunteers and 50 job sites.” Patrick Dreher, sophomore in landscape design, serves as a Big Event assistant director. “There were a lot of little things that we wanted to improve on, such as organization,” Dreher said. “My commit-

» See Event, A2

Rebecca Croomes / Photo Editor

Toomer’s Oaks have recently shown foliage growth that does not exhibit effects of herbicide. While this does not mean the trees will definitely survive, the new growth is encouraging to the community’s efforts to save the trees.

Signs of life Toomer’s Oaks encourage community with signs of recovery Coleman McDowell Sports Editor

The changing of the season has brought new hope to the oaks residing at Toomer’s Corner. Last week Gary Keever, horticulture professor at Auburn University and leader of a group of scientists working to save the trees, observed the canopies of the oaks and saw progress. “The foliage grown so far this year has not shown signs of the herbicide yet, but it’s still early,” said Keever, a longtime adviser for the landscape of Toomer’s Corner and an official consultant for the trees the last five and a half years. “Does it mean they are going to survive? Absolutely not. If there is still herbicide in the root zone, the tree is going to take it right to the new leaves. There’s reason to be encouraged, but there’s no reason to

be overly optimistic.” Minimizing the stress on the oaks involves many different facets of care, but the next step is injecting the trunks of the trees with a sugar solution. Saturday, a company from Tennessee will use a reservoir of a sugar solution with tubes running into the trunks. Keever likened the process to a human receiving an IV. The sugar will replace the carbohydrates the trees have used in their battle to grow new foliage. The sugar solution has been used before on healthy trees, but it is not an automatic fix. “The only work done on this was done in 2009 where they injected the sugar into healthy trees, and our trees are anything but healthy,” Keever said. “We will use low pressure to gently force it into the trunk. We might be able to force it a little, but not much. The question is, will these trees take on

this solution with as little foliage as there is?” After the sugar solution, Keever and his team will continue to work on keeping the trees alive—Keever’s only concern. “We’re going to inject the sugar solution; we’re going to continue to fertilize; we’re going to prune the trees,” he said. “We’re going to test the soil, and beyond that, we’re going to irrigate in any dry spells.” The committee deciding the future of the Toomer’s Oaks is not letting the new foliage change its plans. “If the trees by some chance live, then there would not be a need for us to find another location to roll, which would be great news,” said Debbie Shaw, chairperson for the Committee to Determine the Future of Rolling Toomer’s Corner. “However, since the chances are still relatively slight, it

is important we continue with our backup plan regarding the Toomer’s Corner rolling tradition.” With the uncertainty regarding the trees’ future, Shaw knows one thing for sure: there will be toilet paper flying on the corner in the fall. “We do plan to roll the trees this fall, even if the trees were to die,” Shaw said. “We have been assured by horticulturists that will be OK. But because the results of the survey we conducted this past fall showed that people feel that continuing the rolling tradition is very important, we know we must be ready for the day that the trees might not be around.” Keever said ideally the oaks wouldn’t need pruning at all, but the wood that has already died could become hazardous.

Campus // a3

intrigue // B5

Auburn researchers assist in international study

Students work together to build library

Professor Francis Robicheaux and student assistant Patrick Donnan aid in the study of antimatter at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

Blanche Alverson and Sara Beasley are combining efforts to establish a public library in Loachapoka.

» See Trees, A2

Recycled paper

Campus A2

The Auburn Plainsman

DUI Arrests in the City of Auburn Mar. 8 – mar. 18, 2012

Crime Reports for Mar. 12 – mar. 20, 2012 Mar. 12 — Opelika Road Theft of one Honda Accord reported.

■ Holly A. Spates, 21, Tallassee, Ala. Railroad Avenue at Hemlock Drive Mar. 8, 3:15 a.m.

Mar. 15 — Northwood Drive Theft of one 33-inch flatscreen television with DVD player, one pearl necklace, one silver, pearl and diamond ring, one gold ring with pink diamond, one gold ring with two diamonds and one sapphire and gold ring reported.

■ Kerry M. Goode, 27, Tuskegee, Ala. Mell Street at West Samford Avenue Mar. 9, 12:56 a.m. ■ Ikim C. Sanders, 26, Fairfield, Ala. South College Street at West Longleaf Drive Mar. 9, 7:58 p.m. ■ Courtney J. Thomas, 22, Columbus, Ga. South College Street Mar. 10, 1:19 a.m. ■ Kim Drake, 47, Tuskegee, Ala. Tucker Avenue Mar. 10, 3:33 p.m.

Bookstore

■ Leon Levett, 46, Tuskegee, Ala. South College Street Mar. 10, 9:25 p.m.

» From A1

■ Christopher M. Arrington, 33, Valley, Ala. South College Street Mar. 11, 3:59 a.m. ■ Bobby E. Chambers, 72, Opelika, Ala. Highway 14 at Waverly Road Mar. 12, 12:47 p.m. ■ Brittany A. Thrower, 21, Opelika, Ala. South College Street Mar. 12, 9:22 p.m. ■ Morgan A. Roe, 27, Lamar, Calif. West Magnolia Avenue Mar. 13, 8:13 p.m. ■ Jeffrey B. Penn, 37, Cullman, Ala. South College Street at East University Drive Mar. 16, 2:36 a.m. ■ Robert W. Goletz, 23, Elberton, Ga. Wire Road at Extension Loop Mar. 16, 9:34 a.m. ■ Rebekah R. Housewirth, 20, Peoria, Ill. West Longleaf Drive Mar. 18, 2:26 a.m. ■ Anne E. Jones, 22, West Point, Ga. South College Street at West Samford Avenue Mar. 18, 3:54 a.m.

Trees

» From A1 Keever said the oaks have been through a plaza renovation and one major limb removal a few years ago and have been regressing for a number of years. “This tree has been declining for many years,” Keever said, “and we’re going to have to take a lot of wood off of it. And if you go up there now and photograph this tree, you’ll see there are quite a few limbs with no leaves on them. In most cases, that wood is dead.” Keever said the trees may become “aesthetically dead” if too much is removed, and at that point his hand will be

Smoking » From A1

lifestyle is a main factor for the initiative. “Both smokers and nonsmokers will benefit in the long run,” Carry said. “Some smokers will elect to quit smoking and thereby reduce our insurance costs. Nonsmokers will be able to walk around a campus free of secondhand smoke.”

forced. “Let’s say we remove 80 percent of the canopy,” Keever said. “I would be inclined to make the recommendation the tree be removed. It’s no longer an asset, but a liability.” Keever thinks any other oaks would have been removed by this point. “Anywhere else on campus that tree probably would have been taken out already,” Keever said. “But because it’s one of the Toomer’s Oaks we haven’t really considered (removing) it. “With special trees, it’s about more than the appearance of tree. It’s about what it means and the symbolism of the tree.” Turner also said she sees both sides. “I’m a smoker, (and) it’s not necessarily fair to ban that completely,” Turner said. “I feel that there should be designated areas, of course, because this is a huge campus. “But also at the same time, I feel like everybody does have the right that if they don’t want to breathe it they shouldn’t have to.”

bought, obviously you don’t want to go to the trouble of bringing it all the way to campus.” Weldon said the application will also inform students of how many more books the bookstore is willing to buy back at any given time. “It will give you warnings like, ‘The bookstore only needs five more of these,’ which I think is always a source of contention when everybody’s taking a final and there’s this big rush to get to the counter,” Weldon said. “You can actually go through there and scan to find out, ‘Hey the bookstore’s almost full on this, it might be better if I got that to them today rather than trying to wait

Event

» From A1 tee now has two directors in charge of job sites and tools.” Robert Powers, also an assistant director for the Big Event and sophomore in building science, said the job sites this year consist mainly of simple yard work. Earlier in the year, commu-

— Reports provided by Auburn Department of Public Safety

nity residents applied to have a team work at their house. “We sent out an application in the water bill, so pretty much everyone in Auburn, Opelika and Notasulga gets an application,” Dreher said. Unlike other outreach projects, Big Event is not a needbased service project, and anyone can apply. “It’s just a way for us to say

thank you to the community for being a great place to live,” Powers said. “It’s not need-based. If you apply, pretty much everyone who applies will have volunteers at their house. It’s not need-based, but we do have a lot of people who are in need.” Wilkinson said the Big Event will be a way to give back to a community that has given

students a great place to live and go to school. “As an Auburn student, we love this community we live in so much, for more than just football,” she said. “We love Auburn because of the Auburn spirit and the people we surround ourselves with while we study here. This is our chance to thank them for putting up with us.”

Opinions editor

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

Stephanie Garner, Lorenzo Lane, Courtney Marinak, Stacey McMahan, Jasef Wisener Account Executives Tiffany Middleton, Julya Welch, Ashley Selby, Allison Braund Advertising design

Live, learn, and work

with a community overseas. Tuesday, March 27th Peace Corps Information Session Student Center, room 2218 Starts @ 7pm

Peace Corps is actively seeking Auburn University’s students and alumni who are interested in gaining international experience.

o Attend this information session to learn about the volunteer

experience, have your questions answered, and receive insider tips to become a more competitive applicant. Peace Corps still has agriculture and environment positions departing in 2012. Send us your resume or scan the below QR code for immediate consideration.

Kim Rape Office Manager Mailing Address 255 Heisman Drive, Suite 1111 Auburn, Al 36849

Email: atlinfo@peacecorps.gov Phone: (404) 562.3456

www.peacecorps.gov/apply/now www.peacecorps.gov

3/31/12

Auburn

Mar. 20 — Lee Road 191 Theft of one 32-inch television, one 7-foot artificial Christmas tree, one queen-size bed, one cordless drill, one portable sewing machine and one metal tool box reported.

dents. “But this, I think, will hopefully help explain to students how we feel about our role in the process,” Weldon said. “We know that books are expensive, and we’re fighting it tooth and nail. It’s just that we realize that we can’t win in every single circumstance.” Weldon said the new website should be running this week so students can use it when they register for summer classes. The application should be available in April. “Books are just way too expensive for students to not have somebody fighting for them,” Weldon said. “We talk about being a family here at Auburn. Isn’t it time that students could say that part of that family was truly standing up and fighting for them?”

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Mar. 17 — Casey Avenue Burglary of one Ruger rifle, one Remington rifle, one Winchester rifle, one Remington shotgun and one gun safe reported.

Mar. 20 — Lem Morrison Drive Theft of one Taurus handgun reported.

side Auburn’s prices. The new design will also allow students the option of purchasing textbooks from a different company without having to go to that company’s website. “And what happens if you put all of our classes in here, and say you bought one from us, two from Amazon (and) you wanted to get one digitally, you actually have one spot to check out,” Weldon said. “It will take you to all three places from this site to check out, so you don’t have to go over to Amazon; it’s going to present the checkout pages for those to you, so literally you can get all of your books in one spot.” Weldon said the changes have been made as part of the bookstore’s ongoing effort to lower textbook prices for stu-

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

Mar. 16 — South College Street Theft of one leather ring box with CEG initials on top, one Memphis University class ring with CPJ inside, one 2009 Memphis University football championship ring, one 2008 Memphis University football championship ring and one Xbox 360 reported.

until the end of finals like a lot of people do.’” The other major change the bookstore will implement is a makeover for its website. “We’ve partnered with a company called Verba … and they’ve created a way for us to basically show you our price, and then show you prices throughout the Internet, both that will be rental, digital, even down to the e-chapter level, where you can buy by chapters,” Weldon said. “One of the most difficult things with all the different options for students is that you’ve got to go to five different websites to make the best purchase decision.” Weldon said the new website design will show price options from different companies, such as Amazon, along-

Editorial

3/31/12

Thursday, March 22, 2012

3/31/12

How does technology enslave and liberate us? What do we owe to the Greeks and Romans? How did the scientific revolution begin? Can science explain human nature? What is the structure of the universe? How are human beings related to the world?

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In this class you will examine the relationship between the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences throughout human history. Students who entered Auburn in the Fall 2011, the fall Human Odyssey classes receive Humanities credit and the spring classes receive Social Science credit. For students who entered Auburn before Fall 2011, the course provides History Core Curriculum credit.

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For more information contact Gerald Elfstrom, elfstga@auburn.edu or visit https://fp.auburn.edu/hop/.

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Campus A3

The Auburn Plainsman

Researchers participate in international study Bradley Roberts WRITER

Auburn researchers, in collaboration with the Antihydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus team in Geneva, Switzerland, are helping make breakthroughs in the study of antimatter material and its properties. Francis Robicheaux, professor of theoretical atomic physics at Auburn, has been working with ALPHA, an international collaboration of experimentalists and theorists, for the past six years along with student assistant Patrick Donnan, sophomore in physics and music performance. “I’m a theorist and I’m mostly doing calculations,” Robicheaux said. “We do calculations to say, ‘Here is what you should expect to see if you are to do certain operations.’ It kind of helps the experiment to know what you might want to try to make antihydrogen so you can hold on to it.” For every type of matter identified in the universe, there exists an equal, but op-

positely charged, form of matter called antimatter. When the two meet they are destroyed in a burst of energy, making the study of antimatter difficult. ALPHA’s purpose is to trap and study antihydrogen atoms, the antimatter counterpart of the simplest atom. The experiments are conducted at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN’s, particle physics lab using vacuum tubes and powerful electromagnetic fields. Robicheaux said he works with different formulas to calculate the conditions necessary to capture antihydrogen atoms to study their properties. He sends them off to CERN headquarters, where the experimentalists take over. “We are a small part of the project, and even though we aren’t experimentalists we can still help out,” Robicheaux said. Robicheaux said his, Donnan’s and the ALPHA team’s research was published in the most recent edition of Nature magazine.

“In some ways this is just what we do,” Robicheaux said. “It just so happens that for some reason antimatter is a lot sexier than something else, so it has caught other people’s attention. In some ways this is just practice for research scientists.” The article focuses on the steps the group has taken to make the first measurements of antihydrogen properties. “It’s a really big deal to get a Nature publication,” Donnan said. “I was super excited about that. It’s the second publication I’ve gotten with (Robicheaux). It’s the highlight of my scientific career so far for sure.” Donnan said the experience of working with the ALPHA team has been beneficial. “It was really a lot of fun to work in a group where theorists were working hand-inhand with experimentalists,” Donnan said. “You learn what their limitations are and what you have to do to accommodate that. We are like a support team for them.” Robicheaux said he makes a

trip to ALPHA’s lab every summer to witness some of the experiments and toss around new ideas. “We teleconference all the time, but if you are actually hanging out with the people and having a beer or pizza you find out what is actually important to them or what calculations may be most crucial at that time,” Robicheaux said. Jeffrey Hangst, professor of physics and astronomy at Aarhus University in Denmark and ALPHA researcher, has been working at CERN on antimatter research since 1993. “The focus of my research has been to produce, trap and begin to measure the properties of the atom antihydrogen,” Hangst said. Hangst said their research would be a monumental breakthrough if they were to discover any discrepancies with the current school of thought. “If we find that antihydrogen is even slightly different in its behavior than hydrogen, that would be a small rev-

CHRISTEN HARNED / ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR

Francis Robicheaux, professor of theoretical atomic physics, works with international researchers on antimatter studies at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland.

olution that would require all of the textbooks to be re-written,” Hangst said. “If they are the same in all the ways that

we can measure, it would be consistent with the basic ideas that we have about the nature of space and time.”

New Media Club brings Adult Swim carnival to campus Becky Hardy CAMPUS BEAT REPORTER

CONTRIBUTED

History professor David Carter is known for his activism in the community, including involvement with the Presbyterian Community Ministry.

History professor juggles writing, teaching and community service Robert E. Lee SPORTS BEAT REPORTER

David Carter has found time to write a book and serve his community, all while teaching history. “I really like to interact with students and play with this idea that the past isn’t dead,” said Carter, professor of history. “There’s a William Faulkner quote that says, ‘The past is never dead, it’s not even past,’ so I enjoy talking to students about the ways in which this history that on one hand was before any of you all were alive, but on the other hand, the echoes of that history are still very much with us.” Carter’s book, “The Music has Gone Out of the Movement: Civil Rights and the Johnson Administration, 1965-1968,” examines how President Lyndon B. Johnson failed to respond to the challenges of the Civil Rights Movement in the last years of

his administration. “I got interested in the last few years of his term when most people oversaw LBJ’s preoccupation with Vietnam,” Carter said. “I was interested in thinking about how LBJ was responding to this series of urban rights that were breaking out then and just trying to argue against this interpretation that suggests civil rights ends in 1965. “I saw a lot of things happening all through 1968 that were worth looking at.” Carter’s background in history began because his father was a historian. “I also had a high school history teacher that really influenced me a lot to think I might want to teach history as a career,” Carter said. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Carolina and his doctorate from Duke, which he said “led some people to ac-

cuse me of schizophrenia because of the basketball rivalry up there.” His 12-year tenure at Auburn began in 2000, and history professor Joseph Kicklighter said teaching comes naturally to Carter. “We teach a lot of people, and it’s not like you can be just a great scholar and teach all these folks and do a good job,” Kicklighter said. “He did such interesting research. I have known him since the day he got here. He has a very dynamic personality and he’s the kind of person that’s easy to talk to and easy to get to know, and I knew the students would love him.” Kicklighter said Carter is involved with numerous political groups in Auburn, including his role as adviser for the College Democrats. “He’s very active personally and professionally as a historian and as a citizen,” Kick-

lighter said. “This is an individual who is very involved with his community, state and party.” For the last six years Carter has served on the Presbyterian Community Ministry, which helps provide access to better housing and, more recently, utility assistance to low income Lee County residents. He is currently teaching two classes, one about the Civil Rights Movement and the other an honors section of world history. Marian Royston, junior in history, said Carter is engaging and informative. “I am working on my honors thesis under Dr. Carter, so I’ve gotten to know him a little more than the average student,” Royston said. “I have never questioned his expertise, and he doesn’t intimidate students like other professors.”

Auburn’s New Media Club will host Adult Swim, Superfly Marketing and Electronic Arts for the Adult Swim Carnival Tour. The Saturday event will be held from 6–10 p.m. and will be a showcase for Adult Swim’s new shows airing throughout this year. “One of (Adult Swim’s) key demographics is college students and young adults,” said Nathaniel Simone, webmaster for the New Media Club and junior in journalism. “By coming to Auburn’s campus and hosting a carnival, they hope to showcase all their new ideas and get students to watch Adult Swim.” The Adult Swim tour will include free giveaways, said Alessio Summerfield, brand ambassador team leader and junior in radio, television and film. Simone said the event will also include live music. “Dan Deacon will be playing the event as far as the musical act, and there is a strong possibility that there will be a local DJ duo opening for Deacon,” Summerfield said. Summerfield said the purpose of the carnival is to have a good time and help expose Auburn’s New Media Club to students and faculty on campus. “Adult Swim wanted to give cool stuff away to college campuses, and the New Media Club wants to let itself be known to the student body, so this is really a win-win and should be a blast to put together,” Summerfield said. The carnival’s official sponsors are covering all the

“

Keep an eye out, because the New Media Club has some great promotional shenanigans planned for the AU campus.” —Alessio Summerfield ADULT SWIM BRAND AMBASSADOR

event’s costs. Superfly initially contacted Auburn University and sent emails to organizations looking for a team leader. Summerfield said he quickly responded. “The interview process took all of a week, and I was completely blown away to know that I’d be team leader for such an exciting event,” Summerfield said. “I put together the rest of the team shortly after that.” He said there was no problem getting permission for the carnival to be held at Auburn. “As far as preparations, Auburn University, Adult Swim, Superfly Marketing and Electronic Arts have all been really great about making sure that everything is running smoothly, so the logistics of the event haven’t been stressful at all,” Summerfield said. The carnival will be held in the Poultry Science Building parking lot. “Keep an eye out, because the New Media Club has some great promotional shenanigans planned for the AU campus,” Summerfield said.

Art faculty allowed chance to show off at museum exhibit Rachel Cooper WRITER

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is presenting a diverse collection of ceramics, drawings, paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures and videos by the studio art faculty at Auburn. The faculty exhibition is Friday at 6 p.m. Dennis Harper, curator of collections and exhibitions at the museum, is organizing the event. “The museum organizes an exhibition featuring recent work by the studio art faculty at the Department of Art every three years,” Harper said. “We

do this in cooperation with the art department and the College of Liberal Arts.” Professors do not have to have a piece of art to display to be part of the presentation, but can conduct lectures at the museum instead. “All faculty members in the department of art who teach studio classes including painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics and digital media are invited to participate,” Harper said. “That includes full professors to adjunct instructors. Art history instructors do not generally include art in the exhibition, but they often partic-

ipate by lecturing at the museum during the course of the exhibition on their current research.” Andrew Kozlowski, assistant professor of printmaking, will be presenting his Dear Tree Hugger pieces. “This tree hugger piece came from musing over the question: what if all the horrible things environmentalists say are happening is really true?” Kozlowski said. “Where I lived in Philadelphia, my bus stop used to be a corn field and now it’s the corner of a small Mcmansion development.” Chuck Hemard, assistant professor of photography,

has a similar inspiration for his work, Bishop Mudpuddle, which he will present in the JCSM auditorium. “The lecture is on a new body of work where I’m photographically exploring landscapes of cites which have old growth longleaf pine trees,” he said. Hemard explained the longleaf pine’s nickname is “the tree that built the South.” “What sparked my interest in that is that Auburn in the school of forestry has a center for the study of the longleaf pine ecosystems,” Hernard said. “The longleaf pine ecosystem was the majority of the

forest. It covered from Virginia to Texas90 million acres, and now there’s less than 3 million. I see it as trying to contribute to an ongoing conversation from the perspective of art.” Hemard’s project focuses on subtle changes in nature by photographing one area from 2003 to 2010. “I hope this work collectively embodies an attempt to listen to the land and reflects on the possibility to define a sense of place in the tireless pace associated with progress in American culture,” Hemard said. Kozlowski also brings nature awareness to the public

through his work. “Certain things feel wrong, so when I make work there’s information in it,” Kozlowski said. “There is a bit of politics and some of myself in it. This inspiration is why one of my works begins with the beginning of a presidential speech to a tree hugger.” Harper encourages students to come to the faculty show. “It gives students the opportunity to see the work of their professors who are not only teachers, but active professional artists who practice what they preach,” Harper said.

Campus A4

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Best Buddies strives to decrease ‘r-word’ use Lane Jones Campus Beat Reporter

The word “retarded” has gone from a clinical term to a word of derision. During the month of March, Best Buddies and the Special Olympics are sponsoring a national campaign called Spread the Word to End the Word. “It’s a national campaign to remove the use of the r-word as a derogatory comment,” said Lauren Swindle, vice president of event coordination for Best Buddies and sophomore in special education. “A lot of negative comments have come and people are saying, ‘Why the r-word?’ “What our campaign is all about is removing the use of ‘retard’ or ‘retarded’ in reference to objects or your friends.

Even if you’re trying to be silly or funny, it’s offensive. The campaign is just trying to promote awareness for that.” Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization, establishes friendships between college students and individuals suffering from intellectual and developmental disabilities. “It is one of the most rewarding experiences ever,” Swindle said. “I describe it to people as the definition of unconditional love. “These people have mental and physical handicaps and intellectual disabilities and they overcome adversity day by day. Some of them don’t know that they’re different. My buddy doesn’t know, but she is so full of joy and just wants to be treated like everyone else is

treated.” Swindle said even if it’s unrealized, use of the word is offending someone directly or indirectly. “I was talking to a girl on the concourse who was so excited to sign her name because she has a little sister who has Down syndrome,” Swindle said. “The girl said she gets so upset when people use that word. For people who have someone that’s very special to them dealing with that, it can be really offensive.” Patrick Marsh, sophomore in biomedical sciences, said the campaign is about respect. “If we had a significant problem in our lives that was labeled by a certain word, we wouldn’t want that word used loosely,” Marsh said. “It’s not

“

What our campaign is all about is removing the use of ‘retard’ or ‘retarded’ in reference to objects or your friends.” —Lauren Swindle Vice President of event coordination, best buddies

something that they can help; it’s something they struggle with. Throwing around the word ‘retarded’ is making light of the fact that retarded means held back, and they do have something holding them back

intellectually. Calling people who aren’t retarded by that word is very disrespectful.” This is the first year Auburn’s Best Buddies chapter has promoted the campaign on campus. Joy DeShazzo, treasurer and junior in Spanish, helped plan the event. “We had a huge banner out on the concourse that people could come by and sign to pledge to stop using the word in a derogatory way,” DeShazzo said. “We also had a blurb in This Week at AU so we could get the word out. We had little wristbands we would give out to people when they came by and signed.” DeShazzo said the campaign attracted more attention than expected. “We had lots of positive

feedback,” Swindle said. “We counted and we had around 2,000 signatures on the banner, which is awesome. It was a huge success and our buddies had so much fun getting to love on this campus. They call everyone here their buddy.” Marsh said he hopes awareness continues even after the month of March ends. “Even though our campaign is done, their problems don’t go away,” Marsh said. “The problem is still there so the use of the word is still disrespectful. I know it’s just something that slips out, but students should really make the effort, even getting involved in Best Buddies. After getting involved, I don’t ever want to say that word again.”

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Community

Kiesel Park caters to dog owners Jenny Steele Writer

Dog owners are invited to learn more about their furry friends at Responsible Dog Ownership Day Saturday at Kiesel Park. Booths featuring information about dog first aid, dental care, local vet hours and other pet safety tips will be set up near the pavilion from 9 a.m. to noon. “We’re going to have some giveaways available that are people and pet friendly,” said Melissa Weldon, youth enrichment manager for Auburn Parks and Recreation and director of the event. Students from the vet school and local veterinarians will host the booths. “They’ll have information on topics that are health related to help make your dog’s life better,” Weldon said. These students will also have another booth set up showcasing important vaccinations and “ooey-gooey samples from the vet school of what heartworms actually look like,” Weldon said. Booths about household dangers

“Seeing firsthand the needs of so many companion animals, I was excited to hear that an event like this was being organized,” King said. The event will also feature demonstrations from local business owners. Weldon said Karlene Turkington of Karlene’s K-9 Academy will be present. “She’s going to be doing some canine good citizen testing and will have information about dog training.” Veterinarians from Tigertown Veterinary Hospital will host demonstrations showing owners how to properly clean their dog’s teeth as just one of the many health-related booths. “We’re going to have a veterinarian out there that’s going to be doing some microchipping and another that will be giving rabies shots,” Weldon said. The Lee County Humane Society will be present to share information about volunteer opportunities and adoption. Some of the dogs available for adoption will be at the park. “You might not have a lot of mon-

Event info

Responsible Dog Ownership Day at Kiesel Park will be set up near the pavilion from 9 a.m. to noon. It will include booths with information about canine first aid, dental care and other tips. will be there, “whether it’s different foods around your house that may be all right for people but are harmful to your dog’s health … or different medications or plants,” Weldon said. “I think everyone, including college students, can benefit from learning the most up-to-date training techniques and health information that will allow us all to be more responsible pet owners,” said Jessie King, a volunteer for the event. King said she is most excited to visit the household dangers booth. “Education is the key to keeping my four-legged friends safe and healthy,” she said. King and her husband serve as a foster home for Paws Rescue, a group of volunteers who rescue pets, rehabilitate them and get them ready for adoption.

Christen Harned / Assistant PHoto Editor

Rachael Colley, pharmacy student, takes her dog Luke for a walk in Kiesel Park.

Modern dance comes to Opelika

Tipi Colley Miller gives back, keeps Opelika beautiful

Sydney Callis Writer

Abigail O’Brien Writer

Working with her husband and two young children in their vegetable garden, shooting an elk in Colorado with her dad or cheering on the Auburn Tigers at a home football game are just some of the things Tipi Colley Miller might be found doing. Miller’s love for the outdoors and her community are exercised weekly in her position as executive director of Keep Opelika Beautiful, a nonprofit organization that provides numerous programs to educate people about cherishing and cleaning up their community. A native of Opelika herself, Miller graduated from Auburn in 2001 with a degree in logistics. Miller was taught from an early age to love nature and of the importance of preserving it, and said taking the position “just seemed like a perfect fit.” Faye Ford, president of Keep Opelika Beautiful and senior vice president of BancorpSouth Bank in Opelika, said Miller’s love of community is her driving passion. “Tipi is the glue that holds everything together,” Ford said. Ford said Miller’s experience in growing up in the Opelika area and being taught to give back plays a role in the way she looks at things. “She just really stepped right in and didn’t miss a beat,” Ford said about Miller becoming executive di-

» See Kiesel, A6

Kristen Oliver / Community Editor

Tipi Colley Miller, executive director of Keep Opelika Beautiful, strives to give back to the Opelika area as an Opelika native herself.

rector three years ago. Miller said her interest in giving back began during college when she was involved in Project Uplift, the food bank and other local nonprofits. “That’s where I found my love for the nonprofit world,” Miller said. “And that’s where I really decided that I wanted to wake up every morning and make a difference, even if it was a small difference.” Miller said her parents made a point to encourage her and her two siblings to enjoy the outdoors. “Now I find myself saying the same things to my children,” Miller

said. “So it’s kind of funny how that works.” Miller and her husband, Wes, who is a landscaper in Auburn, have two children: Colt, who will turn 4 years old next week, and Annie, 2. Miller said she wants her children to understand the importance of sustainability so they can pass on the knowledge to their children. “When they go to the woods and they see how pretty it is and they see … how God made our creation just so intricate, I think that they will appreciate it and in turn they’ll not

» See People, A6

Pilobolus Dance Theatre will perform at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Matt Kent, associate artistic director for Pilobolus, said it is a program everyone can enjoy. “If you’ve never seen dance before, this is the show to go see,” Kent said. “It’s diverse and it’s accessible.” Kent said because Pilobolus does not focus on traditional ballet and modern dance vocabulary, it appeals to a wide range of people. “There’s a lot of athleticism and a lot of humor,” Kent said. “You’re going to laugh. You’re going to feel something and be amazed with some of the illusions.” Tickets are $40 for adults, $35 for seniors and $26 for students, but discounts for students are available from the OCPA’s office. Founded 41 years ago at Dartmouth College, Pilobolus has achieved international recognition and has been featured in Hyundai’s Santa Fe car commercial. The show was also involved with the music video for the song “All is Not Lost” by the band OK Go, which led to a Grammy nomination. Phillip Preston, director of The Arts Association of East Alabama, works to bring a variety of national and international touring groups to the OCPA. Each season the AAEA plans a schedule of performances including dance troupes, Broadway musicals and symphony orchestras to bring to the region, Preston said. Preston attended Pilobolus performances at the Joyce Theater in New

“

There’s a lot of athleticism and a lot of humor. You’re going to laugh. You’re going to feel something and be amazed with some of the illusions.” —Matt Kent Associate Art Director of Pilobolus

York City last year and saw many of the different routines. “That was very helpful when it came time to customize the program that they will do for us here on (Saturday),” Preston said. The Pilobolus performance in Opelika will feature a routine choreographed in collaboration with the students and faculty at the Distributed Robotics Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The routine, named Seraph, includes remote-controlled flying robots for a combination of technology and art, Preston said. “It’s not your mother’s ballet,” Preston said. The collaborations with choreographers and people outside the dance world lead to different types of productions, Kent said. “We like to work with a lot of different kinds of other groups that aren’t necessarily in the dance world,” Kent said. “If you collaborate with people in your own field, you just do what

» See Pilobolus, A6

Community dance classes encourage involvement Heather Allen Writer

Auburn Parks and Recreation is encouraging the community to get out and dance. The Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center in Auburn hosts a variety of dance classes available to people of all ages and skill levels. Classes range from square dancing, salsa, belly dancing, tango and ballroom dancing. “We have been offering these classes for 12 years,” said Sarah Hand Custer, cultural arts director for Auburn Parks and Recreation at the JDCAC. “We also have visual arts classes, theatre classes and even music classes.” A beginner’s dance class meets Monday through Friday from 8–10 a.m. at the JDCAC. Participants of all

skill levels are welcome at no charge. Instructor Wartan Jemian has been teaching the class for 13 years, but his attendance has dwindled to only one student, Linda Weidenbach. “It is a two hour session,” Jemian said. “Generally we start off with some line dance. And then sometimes we do some ballroom afterward.” The pair has worked to master the cha-cha, foxtrot, West Coast swing, American tango and many others. “We dance mostly for fun,” Jemian said. “We both want to learn, and so we are working on it together.” Weidenbach attends the class each morning. “I have been coming for about two and a half years,” Weidenbach said. “It keeps me from just sitting on the couch watching the ‘Today’ show.

And I have always wanted to dance, and my husband is not a dancer, so I had to go find one.” Jemian said they dance to CDs of 20 songs during the two-hour class, which provides plenty of exercise. “If you put the CD on and dance all the way through … you get an hour of really aerobic exercise,” Jemian said. Jemian said he started dancing 13 years ago after he and his wife attended his son’s wedding and did not know the dances at the reception. “We could do some waltz steps, and we could do some slow steps, but that was it” Jemian said. “Everybody else was having a great time with swing dance, and we were out of it. And that was very sad.” Jemian decided to learn to dance, but ran into a problem when he and his wife did not have enough room in

their house to move. “We started learning dancing and then we started to practice, and we couldn’t move the furniture around too easily at home,” Jemian said. “So I arranged to have (JDCAC) available at 8 o’clock in the morning; no one else wanted that time.” While Jemian and Weidenbach enjoy dancing each morning, they are hopeful more people will join them each week. “Last summer we had a number of people who joined,” Jemian said. “Anybody can walk in and join. There is no charge.” Jemian said he is ready for his class size to grow so others can learn. “I think it will change, and I am ready for them when they come,” Jemian said. “I never get tired of showing the steps.”

Jan dempsey dance classes Square dancing Swing dancing Salsa Belly dancing Tango Ballroom dancing Line dancing Beginners’ dance Intermediate dance

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want to litter,” Miller said. “And they’ll do what they can to maintain that environment for their children.” Miller said she has fond memories of visiting her grandparents and their garden. “During the summers we would go visit them and work in the garden, and then throughout the year they would give us peas and corn … My favorite was always their pears that they canned,” Miller said. “So I grew up on fresh vegetables and fresh fruits.” Miller has practiced giving back overseas as well. As a young girl her family lived on a farm in Bangladesh for a year and a half as

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Thursday, March 22, 2012 missionaries. Jere Colley, veterinarian at Opelika Animal Hospital and Miller’s father, said every morning Miller and her sister would get up to collect hundreds of eggs from their farm to give to the village’s residents. “I think that time that was spent with her outside growing up is starting to come back and pay dividends right now,” Colley said. He said he’s proud of the connections his daughter has made in Opelika. “I’ve been a vet here 33 years and Tipi knows more people than I do,” Colley said. Colley agreed with Ford in saying that one of his daughter’s strongest attributes is her “deep love for Opelika.” “She’s my pride and joy,” Colley said.

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» From A5

you always do.” The performance in Opelika will also feature a collaboration with an expert in Japanese dance. “Even when you work in the dance world, the collaborations create something interesting and unique,” Kent said. Pilobolus has also collaborated with writers, including Steven Banks, the lead writer for “Spongebob Squarepants,” and other musicians and artists. Amy Whittemore, junior in radio, television and film, said she is excited about the performance. “I love all types of dance, and this just looks so unique,” Whittemore said. “Plus, the performing arts center in Opelika always has good productions.” Pilobolus is scheduled to perform at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts for one night. Tickets are available online at eastalabamaarts.org or by phone at 334-749-8105.

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ey, but you have time,” Weldon said of the chance to volunteer for the LCHS. The event is the first of its kind for the park and is sure to be useful for dog owners of all ages, Weldon said. Will Powers, junior in industrial engineering, has recently started taking his 9-month-old dog, Leela, to Kiesel Park. “My vet told me not to go until she was about this age because of diseases,” said Powers. “Now I probably go one or twice a week.” Kiesel regulars and any other dog owners are encouraged to attend the free event, Weldon said. “You’ll be taking away more than you came with,” she said.

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Opinions

Thursday, March 22, 2012

www.theplainsman.com

The ecstasy and agony of lying to people

Our View

Rebecca Croomes photo@ theplainsman.com

Mike Daisey told the world he went to China, and I believe him. He told the world he stood at the gates of Foxconn, the factory where Apple products are made, and I believe him. Everything else that happened is what I have a hard time believing. Daisey was recently recorded performing his one-man show, “The Ecstasy and the Agony of Steve Jobs,” by Ira Glass of the famous Public Radio International show “This American Life,” which airs on most NPR stations. Daisey tells of his trip to rural China to meet and greet those who make the Apple toys he so much adores. He claimed to have interviewed a myriad of people who were ready to talk about the working conditions, which were terrible at best. He talked about being so close to the place where our technology is pumped out, but the ones making it are flinging themselves off the roofs of the factory. The episode was the most downloaded podcast of “This American Life.” Ironically, I still have it on my iPod. Glass, who has won gobs of awards for his journalism, was made to look a fool when another NPR reporter began to unravel Daisey’s story. And Daisey didn’t deny it. He freely admits there are things he dramatized in the monologue. He admits he is in the habit of never taking notes or recording. It isn’t the practice of his job as a monologist to do so, Daisey said. But in this case it certainly would have helped. Daisey said he’s sorry for fabricated elements of his story, but not sorry the show reached the size of audience it did on NPR. The point of the story is to create an emotional tie to the people who are suffering while they make technology we take for granted, and I agree with that sentiment. We should care, but I don’t agree on building that emotional connection on a faulty or sensationalized foundation. A rookie mistake is what Daisey called it. He said he couldn’t bring himself to tell them to stop telling his story, because he thought the overall theme was too important to drop. The problem with this line of thinking is a misunderstanding of how the world works for journalists. Everything has to be correct, double-checked and copy edited. Daisey should have listened to his misgivings about not having all his facts straight, because if it goes to print, if it goes on air, then not only does Daisey look bad, but respected people like Ira Glass are put to shame. We all know when a journalist messes up it can be the end of a career. The spirit of journalism is what drove him to go to China, Daisey said, not the intention to be a journalist. If he just wanted to make something up, he would not have gone, and I believe him. It just stands to reason if someone was going to be telling a story with implications that could affect the lives of other people, they would think to either make records or call it by another name than nonfiction. I don’t want to come across as the “pics or it didn’t happen” type of person, because Daisey said he didn’t want the controversy to take away from the plight of workers in China. I agree, but I also believe the undeniable truth shocks people as much as composite truths.

Community

Ravi deserves immediate deportation, not jail time Tyler Clementi decided to take his own life after being filmed being romantically involved with another man by his Rutgers University roommate Dahrun Ravi. He jumped from the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22, 2010. Dahrun Ravi was convicted on multiple charges, including invasion of privacy, evidence tampering and biased intimidation, March 16. Ravi has been living in the United States with his family since he was 3 years old. He was in the US on a green card. He faces prison time and deportation, pending his appeal. Ravi’s actions were deplorable. He ruined the life of a student who hadn’t acted maliciously toward him. He acted only out of his contempt for gays and lack of appreciation for another person’s privacy and well-being. He wasn’t charged with leading Clementi to commit suicide, which we think is a just decision. No matter how despicible Ravi’s

actions were, Clementi chose to take his own life. Ravi did not push him from the bridge. Ravi will have to live with his guilt for the rest of his life. We believe guilt is worse than any lifein-prison sentence or similar sentence he would have received if convicted of manslaughter or murder. His guilt will be enough. This is not to say we disagree with the convictions. Ravi definitely acted out of his hate for gays and received just convictions. We disagree with the sentencing when it comes down to prison time. We believe that to spend American dollars feeding, clothing, housing and caring for him— only to deport him at the end of his sentence—is a waste of resources. His punishment should be immediate deportation back to his home country of India. American prisons—for those not on death row and without life sentences—are places of reformation. They’re places where criminals can learn the skills and the

habits of decent, law-abiding citizens. What will Ravi learn there? If anything it will be to the benefit of India, or wherever he chooses to reside. The United States will not benefit from their thousands invested in keeping him alive. He will spend his time dreading his eventual deportation while devouring the tax dollars of American citizens. Prison is not the answer. It’s not the place for Ravi. Anywhere but America is the place for a man like Ravi. The jury, in essence, proved Ravi guilty of lacking a moral compass. He’s being sent to prison for the crimes related to not being able to tell right from wrong. He couldn’t see Clementi as a person equal in worth to himself, and acted like the worst of the worst bullies in the schoolyard. The Clementi family will continue life without their son. Ravi will continue life with his guilt. America should continue life without Ravi.

Ward innocent until proven guilty Brandon Miller senior, journalism

Innocent until proven guilty has become almost as outdated as the geocentric model. With nationally prominent cases like those of O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony and Charles Manson, none of which were found guilty of murder, in the understanding of most of society all three are killers. This effect hit closer to home two weeks ago when Yahoo reported Auburn point guard Varez Ward is being investigated by the FBI for point shaving. Once the shocking news sank in, the jokes began. Being the first investigation involving an Auburn athlete since Cam Newton, fans could not have handled the two situations any more differently. With Newton, “Stand with Cam” was the big motto. With Ward, there is no motto. Basketball coach Tony Barbee silently reinforced that logic by offering three-star guard Brian

Greene Jr. a late scholarship. Whether Ward is guilty of the alleged point shaving or not, there’s no happy ending for him. Even if he is found not guilty, there’s still no chance of him ever putting on an Auburn uniform again—all over a rumor. And with the Auburn family not having Ward’s back, it raises the question of when the Plains became so cynical. After superstar center Rob Chubb returned from his suspension, which was actually for being arrested, he became more popular. There wasn’t any smoke there. Everyone saw the bloody mugshot that revealed the truth. Ward isn’t the first player from Auburn to receive similar treatment, though. After Michael Dyer was suspended, allegedly for failing a drug test, and when news initially broke of him transferring, there were groups of this great “family” that were fine with his departure. Hopefully remembering correctly, it was because Auburn doesn’t need a thug. Society’s perspective has been skewed over the years because of laziness and ignorance.

In a world that has become all about image, people are quick to judge and, obviously, are willing to put those in power down. Survival of the fittest is taking place here and now. For instance, what happened when Tommy Tuberville couldn’t hang with the SEC in 2008? Saying that, people also don’t want to be associated with those being judge. That’s one reason why Ward is being left hung out to dry. As the investigation continues, if the Auburn family does not begin to support Ward, it clearly shows how dysfunctional this family really can be. The best word to use is conditional. Ward isn’t needed like Newton was. Dyer wasn’t needed like Newton was. So, they can leave. It’s the epitome of a contradiction. If nothing else, Auburn should support Ward simply to avoid any repercussions that it may experience if Ward is found guilty. If that’s the case, Auburn basketball will continue to struggle for years to come.

Your view: close call is great lesson On March13, I almost lost my 14-year-old son. He’s a great kid. He plays sports, is an A-B student and has been voted class favorite for three years in a row. Teachers have always commented on what a fine young man he is. At his age peer pressure can be tough, but he’s always seemed to stay level headed—until last Tuesday in Panama City Beach during his and Auburn’s spring break. He and his friends went to the Spinnaker. He told me he was going somewhere else because he knows that is off limits during college spring break. He apparently decided to drink. He had an Auburn backpack on and received drinks from Auburn students. It was his choice. In just three hours he collapsed with alcohol poisoning. An ambulance was called and another group of Auburn students stayed

by his side until the ambulance arrived. Hearing over the phone that he was being rushed to the hospital was a harsh reality not knowing if he was going to be OK. It’s news a parent never wants to hear. When they got him stable they tested his blood alcohol level. A .25, three times over the legal limit. They also told me he had started to asperate before the paramedics got to him. I am grateful he survived this awful mess and wanted to share this to thank the students that helped him. I have no way of knowing who they are, but appreciate their strength and courage to help my son. He made a really bad decision that could have devestated a mom, dad, grandparents, friends and and the entire beach community. The ER was full of young college

students in the same shape my son was literally lining the hallways. I felt overwhemed for their families. A young man had overdosed just a few weeks before. We all have choices that we can make. We are all human and in our lives will make both good and notso-good choices. There are consequences to all our actions both good and bad. My son now has to walk through the consequences of his own actions. Hopefully it will build his character. It is ultimately his choice. Because he is minor, I choose not to share his name. Keep coming to the beach and have a great time, but please remember to be safe and responsible.

Beth Casey Auburn aulmna, 1986

Quote of the Week

“

“Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into Molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.” –Dahrun Ravi Defendant

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The unreal attracts readers Kristen Oliver news@ theplainsman.com

I’ll admit it—I bought a midnight ticket to see “The Hunger Games” tonight. I took my fandom a step further than those of you going to see it here in Auburn. My sister and I bought tickets in Columbus, which means we get to see the movie a whole hour earlier. Yes, we are really that excited. Since I’ve been able to stay up past midnight, I’ve also seen all the Harry Potter movies at midnight and (I’m reluctant to admit) most of the Twilight movies as well. Entire theaters sell out to cater to rabid fans like me. People dress up in costume; they camp out to get the best seats. While I consider myself one of the biggest Hunger Games fans and possibly the biggest Potter fan, I can’t help but wonder what it is about these series that reel in so many readers and viewers. Let’s just throw Twilight out of the discussion—frankly it’s nothing more than a poorly written story about why you should lie to your parents, never talk to your mother again, become the undead and drink blood, all for your boyfriend. But Harry’s story is one of life and death, virtue triumphing over evil. Katniss is a strong-willed, 17-yearold who does unspeakable things to protect the people she loves. Are these the things that reel readers in? Are we attracted to flawed but virtuous characters? Personally, I doubt it. If that was the factor that reels in a huge audience, how is Twilight so popular? I think what makes these stories so appealing is the idea of the unreal. Vampires, wizards and witches, and technology so far in the future it can do things we only dream of now— these are things we’ll never have and

» See Readers, A8

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

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can only find in literature. I appreciate the stories like J.K. Rowling’s and Suzanne Collins’ that include lessons. I’ve already been over the valuable lesson that can be learned in Twilight. In contrast, Harry teaches us to trust our friends, never be afraid of death and be brave enough to protect the people we love. Collins makes no mistake of hiding the dangerous direction she thinks today’s society is headed toward. She paints a picture of the ridiculous-looking people in the capital, but how different is that from the plastic surgery done today? Will that be normal one day? She said in the last book, “Mockingjay”: “We’re fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for selfdestruction.” People respect stories that challenge what is normal. That’s why we are attracted to vampires and magic and our futuristic dying world. We want to escape to a world that doesn’t exist, and the movies are the epitome of that escape. We don’t have to imagine that world, we can see it.

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Your view: end of racism calls for cooporation As a 22-year-old white female from South Alabama, I don’t appear to be diverse or multiculturally affiliated. When most strangers see me, they probably assume that I’m a privileged, dumb blonde with nothing more on my mind than who’s going to buy me my next shot. I know this because when I pass a blond, white girl I assume they’re a closed-minded sorority girl with an IQ half of her weight. As a white girl, I know firsthand that not every white girl fits this description, and with friends in sororities I know that not every sorority girl is closedminded with a small IQ. Everyone is guilty of stereotyping. We do it every day, usually without even realizing it. As a white person in the South, I have seen racism from many different aspects. I will admit that as a white person in the South, I have

an advantage. I’m not saying it’s right, and I am definitely not saying I agree with it, but I’m saying it’s time to be honest about what’s going on. Growing up I was enrolled in a public school system where more than 60 percent of the students were African-American. Until the fourth grade, I never considered anyone’s skin color when interacting with other kids and assumed that, like hair, everyone just had different colored skin. In fifth grade, I moved into the city limits and outside of my county school zone. I transferred to a closer private school, only 10 miles away from the elementary school that had taught me everything.… Anna Grafton junior, environmental science

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Sports

Tigers chase title » Page b4

@PlainsmanSports

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Coleman McDowell SPorts Editor

While Auburn students relaxed during spring break, it was just another week for student-athletes. Catch up on what you missed last week in Auburn athletics.

in a tie for sixth in the SunTrust Women’s Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostic Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. Sophomore Marta Sanz led the Tigers with a 7-over total of 217, finishing tied for ninth. Coach Kim Evans said the team never recovered from a tough first round and has work

B1 Sports

While you were out....

Golf squads look for team effort The No. 2 men’s golf team finished in the top-three for the sixth time this season with a 17-under showing at the Schenkel Invitational at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga., tying for third place with the No. 25 Florida Gators. Despite the strong finish overall, coach Nick Clinard wants to see more consistency going forward. “Blayne (Barber) played very well, as did Niclas (Carlsson) and Will (McCurdy),” said Clinard. “We need to have more production from the rest of the team though. It is going to be an interesting week to see who will make the lineup for our next tournament, and it is wide open at the moment.” Barber, who finished 15-under, was the only player in the tournament who managed to avoid a bogey during the entire tournament. He finished second overall. Auburn’s next match is Monday at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in Awendaw, S.C. The No. 5 women’s golf team recorded a final round 12-over for a total score of 292 to finish

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to do before its next match at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga., March 30. “We had a tough tournament this week and never got our great energy back from the first round,” Evans said. “We have a lot of work to do over the next week or so to get ready for another tough tournament at Georgia.”

Baseball opens SEC with series win; softball falls to Georgia Coleman McDowell SPorts Editor

The Auburn baseball team took its opening series of SEC play from No. 12 Ole Miss with a 3–2 win in Oxford Saturday. “The whole weekend was back-and-forth where one pitch or one play could have made the difference,” said coach John Pawlowski. Auburn continued its winning streak against South Alabama with a 7–0 victory Tuesday night and will host LSU this weekend. The Tigers look to win the two opening SEC series for the first time since 2003. The No. 20 ranked softball team couldn’t hold on to a late-game lead on the road at No. 8 Georgia, losing the game 4–2 and the series to the Bulldogs. “This was a disappointing loss,” said coach Tina Deese. “We got beat on the little things today. We can’t make the type of mistakes we made today and expect to win. This is a tough loss, but we are going to have to learn from it and move forward.” Softball returns to Auburn this weekend to host the Kentucky Wildcats.

Vanderpool-Wallace defends championship

Todd Van Emst

Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace won her second-consecutive national championship in the 100-yard freestyle at the James E. Martin Aquatic Center March 17 in Auburn. “It was just emotional,” said swimming coach Brett Hawke. “I really didn’t see her pulling it off. She’s just tough. She dug down, and I just stayed out of her way tonight. I tried not to give her too much advice. I just said, ‘Go have fun. Go race and see what happens.’ That last 10 yards, she just dug down and wanted it real bad. It was a great win for her.” The Tigers finished the meet tied for seventh with a score of 249. Auburn finished the championship meet with 31 All-American honors, seven from Vanderpool-Wallace. The Tigers broke six previous school records at the meet.

Freshmen to transfer Coleman McDowell SPorts Editor

Freshmen Willy Kouassi and Bernard Morena were granted their unconditional release by coach Tony Barbee last Monday. “Obviously, I am disappointed that they decided to leave Auburn, but I have always said in this business, it is not about me or this program, it is about these players and what is best for them,” Barbee said in a statement. “Sometimes things don’t fit, and I am disappointed that they felt that this wasn’t the right fit for them.” Morena was redshirted the 2011–12 season due to a hand injury, while Kouassi scored 1.5 points and grabbed 2.6 rebounds a game in limited action. “They decided to try to transfer and find a better

fit,” said Darien Knox, the players’ Amateur Athletic Union coach and guardian. “(Auburn) granted them a full release without restrictions, so that was a blessing.” The players’ exit marks the fifth transfer during Barbee’s tenure, adding to last year’s departure of Ernest Ross, Andre Malone and Ty Armstrong. Kouassi appeared to regain Barbee’s confidence toward the end of the season, averaging over 15 minutes a game in the Tigers’ final three contests, and he seemed a prime candidate to fill in for senior Adrian Forbes next season. The high school teammates from Central Park Christian in Birmingham plan to transfer together, but their destination is unknown.

Danielle Lowe / Assistant Photo Editor

Auburn gymnasts prepare for the upcoming SEC Championships where they will compete against six other nationally ranked teams.

Gymnastics finishes with win Coleman McDowell SPorts Editor

Todd Van Emst

Freshman Willy Kouassi attempts a jump shot over a Vanderbilt defender. Kouassi averaged 1.5 points in 10.2 minutes per game this season.

Auburn defeated the BYU Cougars by 3.375 points in the final home meet of the season March 16. The Tigers won with senior Kylie Shields participating in only two events, resting for the SEC Championships Saturday in Duluth, Ga. Even with the victory, coach Jeff Graba wasn’t pleased. “I’m not happy about how the meet went,” Graba said. “We looked a bit sloppy. We didn’t look sharp. We didn’t look great; we just looked alright.” Auburn enters the SEC Championships as the No. 15 ranked team nationally. The Tigers join Florida, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Arkansas as SEC teams in the top 15. Auburn finished sixth in last year’s SEC Championships.

Sports B2

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Auburn Connects! THE COMMON BOOK PROGRAM

Presents Author Tracy Kidder

APRIL 2ND • 7:00 P.M. AUBURN ARENA Danielle Lowe / Assistant Photo Editor

Auburn track team’s first outdoor meet will be the Alabama Relays this Friday and Saturday.

Track travels to Tuscaloosa for opening outdoor meet Callie Ward Writer

HearTracy Kidder, bestselling author an winner of the Pulitzer Prize, discuss Mountains Beyond Mountains in the Auburn Arena.

The event is open to the general public. Tickets are available at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and the Auburn University Student Center.

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Auburn’s indoor track and field season came to an end before spring break, leaving the team to make a quick transition for its first upcoming outdoor meet. The Alabama Relays, the first event of the outdoor track season, takes place Friday and Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Coach Ralph Spry said only select athletes will compete. The following weekend the team will split up. Half will travel to Austin, Tex., March 29–31 for the Texas Relays, and the other half will travel to Jacksonville, Fla., March 30–31 for the North Florida Invitational. Spry said he is feeling good about the team’s transition from indoor to outdoor, and he said they actually perform better outdoors because of Auburn’s lack of an indoor facility. Although most members of the team compete in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, for some athletes, such as the javelin throwers, spring is the first chance they get to compete this year, Spry said. Spry also said the team will focus every meet in the outdoor season on preparing for the SEC Outdoor Championship in early May. “It doesn’t do you a lot of good to run fast early and then burn out,” Spry said. “We try to pace ourselves so that our sharpest point of the season is when we’re competing at the conference and the national championship. We call that peaking in our sport.” Senior indoor All-American high jumper Monica Carney said she is excited and ready for the first outdoor meet, adding that she stayed in Auburn over spring break to prepare. “This week since we don’t have a meet we’re

Danielle Lowe / Assistant Photo Editor

After the Alabama Relays, the team will split up to participate in both the Texas Relays and the North Florida Invitational.

harder training, kind of more conditioning and laying off the jumping for a little bit,” Carney said. “Then next we’ll start throwing in more jumps and bring down the running and less conditioning.” Senior All-American sprinter Neil Danville said the team is prepared for outdoor competition after having a few weeks off to transition. “Indoor is to get ready for outdoor, so everyone is ready for outdoor and just anticipating it,” Danville said. “So right now we’re just all anxious to get to the first outdoor meet.” The athletes competing in the Texas Relays and Florida Invitational have yet to be decided.

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

Sports B3

The Auburn Plainsman

Crossing the net and crushing borders

“

Ashley Mundy Writer

For Plamena Kurteva, tennis was not always the No. 1 sport in her heart. “Actually, I’m not from an athletic background, but my brother played soccer,” Kurteva said. “We have four years different—he’s older than me—so I was looking up to him.” She wanted to follow in her brother Georgi’s footsteps, but there were cultural norms blocking her. Kurteva, a junior on Auburn’s women’s tennis team, is from Plovdiv, Bulgaria. “Soccer in Bulgaria is not for girls,” Kurteva said. Growing up, all Kurteva could do was watch her brother play the sport she loved more than any other. “Right next to the soccer facility there were tennis courts; I tried it a few times and I loved it,” Kurteva said. “And I was 5 years old when I first started playing tennis, so it’s a lot of years already playing.” The sport came easily to her, and her parents, local farmers in Bulgaria, encouraged her to pursue the new hobby. “They both loved us doing athletics since they never did athletic,” Kurteva said. “They were encouraging both of us to do well. We both did pretty good.” Her tennis skills encouraged Kurteva’s parents to send her to the Schiller International School in Barcelona, Spain, at age 14. Spain’s more moderate temperatures certainly made for a better training climate, but the country presented its own difficulties. Kurteva spoke neither Spanish nor English when she moved to Spain, and for the first two of five years she was there, she trained as hard at

The main difference that I found is that in Europe you play tennis just for yourself. And here … it’s (about the) team.” —Plamena Kurteva Junior tennis player

linguistics as she did at tennis. She is now fluent in both languages. Kurteva ultimately decided to play tennis in the U.S. “While I was in Spain I heard more about college tennis, and a few of my friends went to play tennis in college (in the U.S.) … and they all loved it so I decided to look for colleges,” Kurteva said. Kurteva ended up at Auburn thanks to fellow Bulgarian and former tennis player Fani Chifchieva. “I got in contact with her and she told me all the great things about Auburn athletics,” Kurteva said. “I was lucky to find out about Auburn.” Women’s tennis coach Lauren Meisner said this method of discovery is common for international athletes. “It’s very common where you’ll have a girl from a country be not so much recruited by the other girl, but they’re friends and they talk,” Meisner said. “So a lot of international girls are more comfortable … when (they) know that there’s other people they may know or there’s shared interest with your countries.” Kurteva’s doubles partner, junior Paulina Schippers, is from Guatemala and no-

ticed the differences between her and Kurteva’s styles due to Kurteva growing up playing on clay courts. Despite their technical differences, Kurteva and Schippers enjoy sharing one common bond: the Spanish language. “We never talk in English,” Schippers said with a laugh. “We talk to each other in English when we’re around the team, just so everyone understands, but it’s really weird. I don’t like to talk to her in English.” Kurteva has certainly bought into the team mentality that she said was lacking in Spain. Whether yelling “vamos!”—Spanish for “let’s go!”— across the courts to Schippers, or shouting “Go Tigers” to her other teammates, Kurteva is always supporting her team. “It’s awesome because sometimes you struggle, you’re tired, but there is always at least one of your teammates to pump you up, to tell some funny joke that you’re going to laugh at,” Kurteva said. “And then you can perform better; you can practice better; you have more motivation to do well.” It is that personal bond which Kurteva loves about the game. “I have had great moments while I was on the team,” Kurteva said, “but one of the good, good days for me just happened against Southern Methodist University. I had a very close match and all my teammates were right next to me and they were all cheering on for me. “It was just great to see them and very inspiring. It was a great experience and definitely one of the matches that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Contributed by media relations

Plamena Kurteva moved from Bulgaria to Spain at age 14 and moved again to Auburn to play tennis.

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Sports B4

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Ryal contributes to softball success Patrick Tighe Sports Beat Reporter

Danielle Lowe / Assistant Photo Editor

Auburn will send 12 athletes to the NCAA Championships in Federal Way, Wash., beginning Thursday.

Tigers swim to Seattle for NCAA Championships Ethan Bernal Writer

The Auburn Tigers men’s swimming and diving team will send 12 swimmers and divers to the 2012 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Federal Way, Wash., Thursday through Saturday. Auburn coach Brett Hawke, named 2012 SEC Men’s Coach of the Year, will lead 11 swimmers and one diver in the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center against the top 270 swimmers and divers in the nation. “We’ve got a great team going out there,” Hawke said. “We have a lot of swimmers with multiple swims. Our relays are very strong; we feel great about that. We’re just happy with the number that we got.” The group of swimmers is highlighted by junior Kyle Owens. Owens, named SEC CoMale Scholar-Athlete of the Year along with Ryan Helms

of Tennessee, will swim in a team-high seven events. Owens will race the 100-meter backstroke, 200-meter backstroke and the 200-meter individual medley. He won took the SEC title in the 100and 200-meter and finished second in the 200-meter individual medley. Senior Drew Modrov will join Owens in the 400-freestyle relay and swim in four other events. Modrov will race the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle along with the 200-meter freestyle relay. Karl Krug will swim in the 200-meter freestyle relay with Modrov and against him in the 50-meter freestyle. The senior will also race in the 200-meter medley relay and the 100-meter freestyle. Senior Max Murphy will race the 100- and 200-meter backstroke. Murphy was named to the 2012 SEC Second Team. Auburn’s lone diver, John Santeiu, will participate in

three events. The sophomore is set to dive in the one-meter, three-meter and platform events. Even though Hawke said the competing field will be tough, he feels good about his team’s chances. “I feel really good about where the men’s team is,” Hawke said. “It’s a very competitive meet across the board with really solid teams in the top 10. Anyone can take a run at trying to win this thing. I don’t know that there’s any real standout favorites. “Every team has their own strengths and weaknesses, but we feel pretty good about where we’re at right now.” Hawke said he wanted his seniors to finish their careers at Auburn on a positive note. “Our seniors—Karl Krug, Drew Modrov and Max Murphy—I want them to finish strong so we can send them out the way an Auburn swimmer should be sent out,” Hawke said.

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OPEN!

Mark Ryal has a plethora of playing experience from his days in Major Leauge Baseball. Ryal has used this experience to help improve the Auburn Tigers softball team in his four seasons as an assistant coach. Ryal arrived at Auburn in 2009, and statistics have shown team-wide improvement since then. Before Ryal arrived at Auburn, the Tigers were struggling offensivley. In the 2008– 09 season, opponents outscored the Tigers 138–84. Ryal said he was hired by the Tigers after a job opening was posted online by Auburn softball coach Tina Deese. Ryal was coaching a junior college team in Okalhoma and came down for an interview. During the 2010–11 season, Ryal helped the Tigers set Auburn program records, including a team batting average of .279—the programs fifth highest—the fifth-most runs scored with 272 and fifth-most RBIs with 235. Ryal and Deese have meetings periodically to set up what they want completed each day. “Basically, coach Deese puts a practice schedule together,” Ryal said. “We sit down and look over it and decide if there is anything we need to work on for the weekend series. We just try to get in the desired plan as much as we can.” This season Ryal hopes the team can improve in certain categories.

Contributed by media relations

Assistant softball coach Mark Ryal brings experiences from the Philadelphia Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Offensively I would like for us to hit .300 … as a team and maybe lead the SEC in doubles like last year, “ Ryal said. “The bottom line is we want to win. We got to get into the SEC tournament and hopefully we can get into the regional and take it from there.” Baseball has been passed down to the younger generation in the Ryal family. Ryal’s son, Rusty, is an infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. “It’s cool to have that connection, to have someone there to talk to and an ear to hear your complaints and your success stories,” Ryal said. Ryal, who spent 10 seasons in the majors with clubs like the Philadelphia Phillies and

Pittsburgh Pirates, tries to stay connected with his former teammate. “I keep in touch with a lot of the guys,” Ryal said. “I ran into a couple of them this weekend down in Orlando. Just seeing some them brings back good memories.” Ryal tries to impart as much knowledge from his professional experiences to his players. “I try to cross some of that over into the softball world and try to teach them the mental part of the game,” Ryal said. “Because at that level things happen differently. We have a great group of girls here and some of them are really good students of the game.”

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Intrigue Thursday, March 22, 2012

Packing for abroad

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» Page B7

» Page B8

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B5 Intrigue

Trading basketballs, batons for books Leighton Lindstrom Writer

When basketball player Blanche Alverson and majorette Sara Beasley met their freshman year at Auburn, they had no idea similar interests and passions would later unite them to make a big difference in a small community. Being in the same sorority recruitment group brought the two women together. However, they would go their separate ways until more than two years later when Beasley decided to put her passion for education into action. As a junior in elementary education, Beasley said her belief in the importance of reading and the impact it can have on all ages encouraged her to devote her efforts to establishing a public library for the Loachapoka community. Beasley has known about the lack of library resources in Loachapoka for a while. She first noticed it as a senior at Auburn High School when she took the ACT at Loachapoka High School and realized there wasn’t a library in the town to use for research. “It just made me really sad to know that Auburn had a really nice public and Uni-

versity library, and Loachapoka didn’t have a public library,” Beasley said. Four years later, she would begin her quest to bring books and higher levels of literacy to the people who live in Loachapoka. Meanwhile, junior guard Alverson was focusing on making three-pointers and foul shots. Since her freshman year, Alverson, who was recently named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, has had to learn to balance demanding basketball practices with her academics. Now in her junior year, she has added community service to the list. Alverson decided to help Beasley with the library in Loachapoka because she desired to support a community that has supported her and her teammates. “I’ve done a lot of community service with the team, but I wanted to do something where I felt like I was making an impact,” Alverson said. That’s when Alverson decided to lead Ballin’ for Books, a book drive that would be held before the Alabama and Ole Miss

» See Books, B6

Todd van emst

Blanche Alverson has been campaigning for an increase in community literacy with friend Sara Beasley. They have collected computers, DVD players and books for a public library in Loachapoka.

Southern food not so traditional Kristen Oliver Community Editor

Contributed

JP Dailey and Michelle Knowles, senior in communication disorders, continued to see each other after their first date at an Auburn football game in 2008. They are now engaged to be married.

Here come the brides Katelyn Gaylor Writer

JP Dailey and Auburn senior Michelle Knowles are both Italian, or as JP puts it, “always late.” This is how both of their families landed seats in the last pew of Holy Infant of Prague Catholic Church every Sunday morning.

But this year, the Trussville couple will redeem their families after years of back-pew church sitting when they profess their vows at the front of their home church. And just in case one wedding doesn’t do the trick, between the two families there are three

» See brides, B6

Most people don’t know what truly historical Southern food is. Food staples like fried chicken, okra, sweet tea and lemonade aren’t the most historically traditional Southern foods. “What I can tell you about is ( food) from the 18th century, particularly from the lower South: Georgia, the Carolinas, the Indian nations in that time,” said Kathryn Braund, Hollifield professor of history. “It’s quite different from what we eat today in many ways.” Braund said chicken, the most stereotypical Southern meat, wasn’t what early colonists were eating in the South. “What most colonists were eating was a lot of venison and things like that, and along the sea coast a lot of fish and birds and things,” Braund said. “It’s only later— and by the 18th century they do have cattle coming in— that you get beef. Braund said meat consumption has changed throughout the course of history. “Of course the beef wasn’t as nice as what we have, and the venison was primarily what they were relying on up through the American Revo-

“

A lot of what we think of as quintessentially Southern developed from things earlier on, but then it’s been exaggerated by the modern period.” —Kathryn Braund Hollifield professor of history

lution,” she said. “There is a later shift to cattle and hogs and chickens and things like that.” According to the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, the per capita rate of chicken consumption has increased markedly in the South since 1900, outstripping demand for beef and pork. Some current preparation techniques for Southern food were also handed down from other methods and can be traced to cooking activities that began in the 18th century. “I think the origin of barbecue, and particularly of ribs, goes back to Native American customs of having feasts of bear ribs,” Braund said. Braund said the bears in-

habited the same areas that would later become inhabited by pigs, leading to these traditional feasts being altered. “The same kind of ecological niche the bear had, the pigs take over,” she said. Braund said the most interesting aspect was the way the bear was replaced by the pig in Southern cuisine and native environment. The two animals ate many of the same types of foods and were prepared by Native Americans during feasts in similar ways. Braund said she’s also researched the 18th-century Southern traveler William Bartrop, who was often served honeyed water in his travels through South Carolina, Georgia and Native American territory. “Sometimes honeyed water had rum in it,” Braund said. “It was sort of an early mixed cocktail.” By the late 1600s, cheaply imported rum had confirmed colonial preferences for hard liquor. Scottish and Irish immigration in the mid-1700s widely popularized whiskey making, according to the Encylopedia. Braund said honey became an important commodity as it made its way up the coast

» See food, B6

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Intrigue B6

FOOD

» From B5 from Florida, where the Spanish acquired the honey bees. “In fact, that was one of George Washington’s favorite snacks,” Braund said. Many of the ingredients typically used in Southern dishes were imported from Europe. Braund said the Spanish brought watermelon and oranges to Florida, marking the beginning of a large fruit market for the state. The French also brought fig trees to Mobile. “The way watermelons and

BOOKS » From B5

basketball games to benefit the Loachapoka library. Being an Auburn basketball player helped Alverson because she could reach a large audience and have the support of her team at the same time. And just as on the court, her teammates had her back. “Everyone was excited for Blanche’s Ballin’ for Books project,” said sophomore guard Courtney Strain. “We all tried to help out the effort by telling our family and friends to donate their used and old books as well.” Alverson’s experience with various community service projects with her team and Beasley’s planning of the alumni majorette reunion last November helped prepare them for this new task. “I had never really planned a huge event before,” Beasley said. “I learned how to network and get in contact with people and stay organized, which taught me a lot.” Beasley has been working on this project since speaking with Loachapoka Mayor Jim Grout last fall. Grout was skeptical at first because of the existing library at Loachapoka High School and the bookmobile that comes around

The Auburn Plainsman peaches and things like that got spread throughout the South was by Indian agriculturalists,” Braund said. Peach trees, which originated in China and were brought to Persia and Spain, were so commonly seen in the South that early botanists and settlers thought the plant was indigenous to the continent, according to the Encyclopedia. The foods that were brought to the South laid the foundation for cooking techniques that would evolve as technology developed and as more ethnicities entered the country. “You have a wonderful com-

bination of Indian crops and food ways of African influence and then European stuff coming in to create unique food ways,” Braund said. Braund said while there is a specific idea of what Southern food is today, those foods are not the truly traditional foods of the South. Preparations such as frying and breading derive from modern influences. “A lot of what we think of as quintessentially Southern developed from things earlier on, but then it’s been exaggerated by the modern period,” she said.

the town on Tuesdays, but after considering the educational benefits it would bring to the community, he said he couldn’t help but come on board. “The more I thought about it I realized, ‘Now that is a darn good project,’” Grout said. “I thought Sara would probably succeed.” Along with gaining contacts and keeping everything in order, Alverson said leading a service project of this magnitude takes communication and leadership skills. According to Alverson, the main task is to convey one’s ideas effectively to others so they can believe in the mission. She said she has learned effective leadership skills which have helped her persuade people to donate books to her campaign. Strain knows the impact Alverson can have both on and off the court. “Blanche’s leadership is what I believe makes her the great player that she is,” Strain said. “She leads by example and has earned the respect of her teammates during her time at Auburn.” In addition, time management is a skill that both Alverson and Beasley have learned well through the experience of earlier pursuits.

“I just have to focus on practicing a lot for majorette, but also make time to study,” Beasley said. “That was something that I really had to learn freshman year. I’m sure Blanche had to learn that, too, for being a basketball player.” Although Alverson and Beasley have given back to the University through their involvement, they have still made the effort to give to others outside of Auburn. They will soon see all their hard work pay off when the library opens to the public in midApril. “I’m just excited to see all the kids and citizens of Loachapoka that will be using this library,” Beasley said. “Hopefully it will make a really big difference in their test scores at school and in the literacy rates in Loachapoka.” As donated computers, DVDs, books and educational materials are moved into three empty rooms of the Loachapoka Community Center, the people of the town can look forward to seeing their public library come to life. “Having this available to the community without any restrictions on age will be a winwin situation,” Grout said. “It will be good for the public; it will be good for Sara; and it will be good for the town.”

BRIDES » From B5

weddings in the works for this year, and a fourth one is on the way. Melissa Knowles, Michelle’s sister, and David Gilmore will have their wedding March 17. Michelle and JP will marry July 21. David Dailey, JP’s brother, and Melina Knight will marry Aug. 24. Sean Dailey, JP’s other brother, and Jordan McCulley are now engaged, but have not yet decided on a wedding date. JP and Michelle didn’t have much in common but a church pew at first, especially with a four-year age gap getting in the way of a relationship. “This is funny, but I can actually remember when her mom was pregnant with her,” JP said. So other than the occasional “peace be with you” at church, JP and Michelle remained apart. That is until Aug. 30, 2008: Auburn’s first football game of the season against Louisiana-Monroe and the first time JP and Michelle went on a date. “I was a freshman in college, so I guess he decided it was the right time to call me,” Michelle said. “It’s the motto our families live by: better late than never.” Two years, four months and 21 days after their first date, JP led Michelle to a familiar spot: the back pew of Holy Infant of Prague Catholic Church, where he asked for her hand in marriage. The couple will soon be married at the church’s altar, as will other members of the two families. “I’m in five weddings this year,” Dailey said. “I think it just became trendy.” Although exciting for the families involved, hav-

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Thursday, March 22, 2012

When I say I have a big Italian family, I mean it’s really big. I really think that there will be at least 200 to 300 people on my side alone that will show up, so we have to cut that list and really get the people that we want to be there.” —JP Dailey GROOM

ing three, and possibly four, weddings in the same summer means three times the stress, Michelle said. The extra competition between wedding parties for the same locations, color themes and decorations also posed a problem. “It’s hard,” she said. “When we began planning, Melissa and I liked all the same things. We fought over colors and venues, but it all ended up working out.” Maria Knowles, mother of Melissa and Michelle, said planning the weddings simultaneously has actually been beneficial. Though the sisters will share the same DJ, photographer, florist, cake baker and church, they have found ways to personalize their wedding days. “Melissa was all antique and lace oriented, and Michelle goes more for the princess look, so it’s been funny to see how close they are in age, but how different they really are,” Maria said. “The weddings will be the same way; they will be close together, but they are going to be entirely different.” The Daileys and Knowleses have more factors to consider for all four weddings: crowd and wallet control. “When I say I have a big Italian family, I mean it’s really big,” JP said. “I really think that there will be at least 200 to 300 people on my side alone that will show

up, so we have to cut that list and really get the people that we want to be there. “These things do cost money, I’ve learned.” Maria agreed, but said she could see a bright side in the situation that made all of the extra effort worthwhile. “It is very expensive,” she said. “But, in the grand scheme of things, it was going to cost us this much anyway, so we might as well just get it all over with in one year and then try to recover.” Maria said when searching for photographers, caterers and florists for her daughters’ weddings, she tried not to let prices rule her decisions, saying a few hundred dollars saved just wasn’t worth it to her in the end. “We went with people who had really good reputations,” she said. “Now I’m going to step back and let them do their job because I am confident they know what they are doing.” Despite the cluster and chaos of “wedding season,” a term the two families have redefined, Maria said everything is under control, and everyone is prepared. The only thing that’s worrying the families now is making sure they arrive to the weddings on time. “Oh gosh, I’m very worried about that,” Maria said. “I’m wondering if both families can’t just spend the night there the night before.”

Travel

B7 www.theplainsman.com

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Smart packing helps travelers while abroad Kendall Wangman WRITER

Packing for a study abroad trip can be challenging, and it can come down to an exact science for some. Meghan Gaudet, Auburn alumna in psychology, took her packing seriously when she decided on a trip to Italy the summer after her junior year. “I even used space bags,” Gaudet said. “They’re vacuumsealed and you can fit probably three times as much than you would when just packing normally.” Gaudet also said the way you position and pack clothing in the suitcase can allow for more room. “Definitely roll your clothes and put heavier items, like denim, at the bottom of the suitcase,” Gaudet said. She said the key to smart packing when studying abroad entails bringing clothing items that can mix and match and which can be used in multiple situations. “I brought a lot of clothes that I could hand wash in the sink and hang dry so I could maximize my options and suitcase space,” Gaudet said. Jordan Montet, senior in Spanish and sociology, went to Salamanca, Spain, this past summer. “The suitcase weight limit was definitely a pain, so I packed items you could layer and things that were lighter in weight,” Montet said. Despite a limit on how much she could pack, Mon-

REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

tet and her friends got creative with what they had. “The girls on the trip would exchange clothes since we couldn’t bring as much,” Montet said. “The girl I lived with was the exact same size as me, so that was really convenient.” Montet said coming back to America was the biggest challenge in packing. “I had to put my stuff in other people’s suitcases because I didn’t anticipate how much stuff I would buy on the trip,” Montet said. “I went a little crazy at the European H&M.” Montet’s group took weekend excursions during the trip, which presented another challenge in packing a bag. “We were staying in a hotel, so you never knew what to bring exactly because half the day would be exploring cathedrals and the other half we would be going out,” Montet said. “I didn’t pack any toiletries because you could buy pret-

ty much everything there. By the end of the trip you’d use up pretty much all of the toiletries, so you could just throw it away.” Although Montet bought the majority of her toiletries on the trip, she said Spain lacked one essential item. “The one toiletry necessity they did not have in Spain was hair conditioner, so definitely make sure you bring some,” she said. Trey Singleton, junior in geology, forgot dress shoes, so he wore electric blue tennis shoes everywhere he went. “Yeah, it kind of sucked only bringing one pair of shoes,” Singleton said. “Especially when we went to a super nice vineyard and here I was in bright blue sneakers. Needless to say, I looked ridiculous.” Success in packing requires creativity, but it’s important to stick to the basics and cater what you pack to the country you visit.

Travel Safety Tips Katelyn Gaylor WRITER

1. Stay hydrated “You are a lot more susceptible to the sun when you’re dehydrated. Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water; alcohol isn’t the same as water for your body. Also, eating fruit instead of other snacks will help with hydration. Fruit actually has a lot more water content in it.” – Alpha Chi Omega’s risk management chair, Caroline McGill 2. Use the buddy system “Always know where every member of your group is. Don’t let anybody wander off by theirself with someone they just met. It’s just not a safe situation. Always make sure you’re at least in pairs, and know where everyone is.” – McGill 3. Lather up “Make sure you’re putting on SPF. You need to have at least an SPF 15. A lot of the people you see who have older-looking skin is actually not because of their age; it’s because they’ve had extreme exposure to the sun just over their life that’s accumulated. So many girls don’t realize it because it’s not affecting their skin, but 20 years from now it’s going to be really bad. Also, the UV rays that you can collect can cause melanoma, blotchiness and wrinkles.” – McGill 4. Plan ahead for sober and alert drivers “Always have a designated driver. Another thing that’s interesting is when you’re out on the beach all day, you get really tired from the sun. You need to make sure your driver is rested …You don’t want the person who is supposed to drive you home after you’ve been at the beach all week to be extremely tired and falling asleep. You need to make sure you have at least two people for back up.” – McGill

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Intrigue

Intrigue B8

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Kerry’s recipe of the week

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients: 4 bell peppers (any color) 1 cup quinoa 1 ½ cups water 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 zucchini, grated 2 carrots, grated 2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 (15-oz.) can diced tomatoes, no salt added 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce, no salt added ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled salt and pepper, to taste 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 400° F. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem, ribs and seeds. Wrap all of the bell pepper halves in aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then, place the peppers in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray and set aside. Bring the quinoa and water up to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, stirring occasionally. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil, grated zucchini and carrots, spinach and garlic. Sauté for 5–8 minutes or until vegetables are softened. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, cooked vegetable mixture, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, feta cheese, salt and pepper. Stir all of the ingredients together until combined. Spoon mixture into each pepper until filled to the top. Top each pepper with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Bake for 25–30 minutes or until peppers are soft and tops are golden brown.

Tom Ford

SaingGon Rho senior, English

Lacoste

“I love my bag; it’s Marc by Marc Jacobs.”

Vintage

Nudie

Converse

Serves: 8

Contributed by Kerry Fannon

MODELS NEEDED for the Art Department drawing classes

Please contact Professor Lewis at

lewisjs@auburn.edu lewisjs@auburn.edu

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REBECCA CROOMES / PHOTO EDITOR

Leman's Square and Chateau Apartments

Joe McDonald, right, senior in aviation management, checks the oil of a single-engine propeller plane with instructor Matt Jones. Auburn Aviation offers discounted starter lessons to those interested in earning their wings.

Piloting program takes off Students can scratch one item off their bucket list thanks to the Department of Aviation Management and Logistics’ $80 introductory pilot lessons

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An Auburn department is giving people the opportunity to be the pilot instead of the passenger as it makes aviation lessons available to all. The Auburn University Department of Aviation Management and Logistics is offering an introductory flight lesson for $80. Dale Watson, director of aviation education at Auburn, said the introductory lesson is to give people a chance to experience flying and learn about the program without having to make a huge financial commitment. “Some people are a little anxious and aren’t sure if they’ll like it or not, so this is a really economical way to see if they enjoy it,” he said. Watson also said it provides an opportunity for people who have always wanted to fly, but have not had the means or know-how to go about learning. “A lot of times people go through life and never have the opportunity to give it a try,” he said.

The lesson includes learning about the airplane, pre-flight inspection, pre-takeoff engine checks and about 30 minutes of flight time. Watson said learners are taught to pilot a Cessna 172 single-engine aircraft that takes off from the Auburn University Regional Airport. He said the goal of the lesson is to give the learner the experience of being a pilot with instructors there to guide and assist, primarily during takeoff and landing. “The person actually flies the airplane,” Watson said. “It’s not just riding along.” David Petrovich, junior in aviation management, said the introductory flight lessons give him an opportunity to give back to the aviation community and to share the gift of flying with others. “I’m taking benefits from people who want to give, and this is my chance to give back,” he said. “This is my opportunity to share my passion and love of flight.” Petrovich said there is no specified route for the introductory lesson. “It’s up to the individual,” he said. “Typically we’ll fly over campus and see the

buildings, or if the person wants to fly over their house, we can do that. We’re at a high altitude, so there’s not a lot of noise or interference for neighbors.” Petrovich said people usually have some safety concerns, and occasionally individuals are very nervous. “It’s just a matter of calming them down and assuring them I’m a professional,” he said. “Flying is very safe. Safety is always the number one goal.” Watson said those who really enjoy the introductory flight lesson can take additional lessons and work toward becoming certified pilots themselves. “Most people are just turning flips they’re so happy,” he said. “They say it’s the most fun they’ve ever had and want to keep doing it.” The introductory lesson is open to the public. Watson said University students can also take the flight orientation class which includes approximately six ground instruction classes and four flights. Anyone wishing to book an introductory flight lesson can call 334-844-5766 for more information.