The Auburn Plainsman 02.07.2019

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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ELECTIONS

COMMUNITY

Southern Living hotel in flux As plan wavers, developer in talks for new location

By ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor community@theplainsman.com

Lifestyle + Hotel Group is actively pursuing other locations for a Southern Living hotel in Auburn, CEO and President of LHG Bill Shoaf told The Plainsman.

The hotel was initially planned for a site on North College Street that stretches from the University Inn to Regions.

LHG had been working closely with Godbold Development Partners, the firm that owns that land, to reach an agreement to put the hotel in the heart of downtown Auburn.

“That whole situation seems to be unraveling,” Shoaf said.

About a week ago, the two entities negotiating to locate the Southern Living Hotel on North College Street informed City Manager Jim Buston they

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Mary Margaret Turton, right, wins SGA President on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

PRESIDENT TURTON Mary Margaret Turton elected SGA president

» See HOTEL, 7

IN NUMBERS

ELECTIONS

Nearly 40 percent of student voters cast a ballot Tuesday during SGA elections. Turton won a presidential race without a runoff for the first time since 2016.

TURTON — 44%

Voters pass 2 amendments

CALHOUN — 35% JONES— 21%

TURTON 4,697 votes CALHOUN 3,668 votes JONES 2,246 votes

By STEPHEN LANZI and GABBY DANCE Campus Editor and Asst. Campus Editor campus@theplainsman.com

Mary Margaret Turton, junior in business analytics and public relations, will be the next SGA president.

Friends and family swarmed Turton as Bri Thomas, SGA executive director of elections, announced the results on the back steps of Cater Hall Tuesday night during traditional Callouts. “[I am] truly honored,” Turton said. “Honored is the only word I think I could come up with to describe it.”

Turton is the fourth woman SGA president ever and the first since the election of former SGA President Jacqueline Keck in 2017.

Turton said although campaign week was a fun ride, a small part of her is glad that it is over with how hectic it was.

“Two more days would have been hard,” she said with a laugh.

Turton ran against two other candidates, Daniel Calhoun and

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By SCOTT BERSON Assistant Community Editor

Brooks Jones. She won with 44 percent of the vote. A runoff is only required if no candidate reaches 40 percent of the vote. Calhoun followed with nearly 35 percent of the vote and Jones with 21 percent.

Nearly 40 percent of student voters cast a ballot.

Turton commended her two opponents and said she was proud that Auburn was able to offer three worthy and qualified candidates who would all have done a good job in the position.

“Brooks and Daniel are both two of my very good friends,” Turton said. “They both ran incredible campaigns, and they should be really proud of that. I hope to be able to work with both of them.”

Calhoun offered well wishes to Turton.

“Mary Margaret’s one of my best friends, and I’m so happy she has this opportunity,” Calhoun said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to work with her because our talents combined would be able to make an unstoppable Auburn.”

Jones expressed his gratitude toward his campaign team and also provided support for Turton.

Students passed two referendums by wide margins in Tuesday’s election, approving both a handful of general updates to the Constitution and an amendment that kicks off major changes in the way future elections will work.

Amendment Two, which will now create instant-runoff elections through ranked-choice voting, passed with 71 percent of the vote.

It is a significant change to election procedures that mirrors other systems at universities, cities and one state across the nation.

Maine uses the system in their statewide elections.

» See PRESIDENT, 2

» See AMENDMENTS, 2

community@theplainsman.com

ELECTIONS

Junior Laura Davenport elected next Miss Auburn

By TRICE BROWN Campus Reporter campus@theplainsman.com

Laura Davenport and her supporters celebrated her Miss Auburn victory Tuesday night.

Election officials announced the results on the steps of Cater Hall.

A junior in biomedical sciences, Davenport said she felt “overwhelmed, overjoyed and extremely thankful” after her election.

Davenport said campaign week had a lot of

highs and lows, but she’s grateful for her staff and excited for the doors that may open in the coming year.

Davenport’s campaign centered around the line of the Auburn Creed that reads, “I believe in honesty and truthfulness without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow man.”

She said she’s excited to be a voice for Auburn’s students.

“Part of my platform was emphasizing the relationships that you make on your day-to-

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day interactions,” Davenport said. “And I’m going to continue that and make friends with everybody across campus and just be that smiling face that they encounter when they step on Auburn’s campus.”

For other Miss Auburn candidates, it was a bittersweet night.

“I’m feeling very happy for Laura,” said Kennedye McGhee, Miss Auburn hopeful. “I’m obviously sad that I didn’t get it, but I think that we did our best, and I think Laura is going to make a great Miss Auburn, and she’s going to

do very well in her role.”

Maddie Sullivan, Macy Armstrong and Kate Dorsten also sought the position.

“Running for Miss Auburn has been the biggest honor and opportunity,” Sullivan said.

“And I’ve fallen even more in love with Auburn than I already was.”

Davenport won with nearly 27 percent of the vote. Armstrong followed in second with 24 percent.

Nearly 40 percent of student voters cast a ballot.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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NEWS

ELECTIONS

Junior Carlos Smith wins VP race

By ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor community@theplainsman.com

Carlos Smith, junior in exercise science whose platform boasted a connected and available Student Senate, clinched the SGA vice presidential election with 63 percent of the vote.

“I’m really appreciative of everybody that’s helped me out so far,” Smith said. “I can’t do this by myself at all.”

Smith defeated Riley Hambrick, junior in political science. Close to 40 percent of student voters cast their ballots Tuesday, and Hambrick followed Smith with 37 percent of the vote.

Smith cheered and celebrated with supporters dressed in pale yellow shirts bearing his campaign slogan, “Call on Carlos.”

“I’m really excited to get this started,” Smith said. “I know it’s just the beginning, and there’s really a lot more we have to do. I’m just ready to get it going. I’m ready to start tomorrow if I could.”

Smith, who has been involved with the Beat Bama Food Drive and the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs during his time at Auburn, will preside over the weekly Senate meetings and aid senators in drafting legislation among other duties within the Senate.

“I really want to thank the students for participating,” Smith said. “It’s easy to not participate and just be in the background. They’ve done a lot for me, and I want to do a lot for them.”

Student participation was key for Smith during his campaign.

One of his top priorities in his platform was including more liaisons into the legislative process.

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Carlos Smith wins SGA vice president on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

He wants to add liaisons mainly from under represented campus organizations so their interests can be better represented in the Student Senate.

Once he gets more liaisons involved in the Senate, Smith plans to form a liaison committee within the Senate in order to keep those organizations informed.

Students surrounded Smith to congratulate

him on his victory and pose for photos after his name was called out from the back steps of Cater Hall.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Reid Haughton, sophomore in marketing. “I think Carlos is definitely a well-deserving candidate. I think he’s going to do a great job for Auburn. He’s going to have the students’ interests in mind for sure.”

ELECTIONS

Hunter Short wins race for SGA treasurer

By MEGAN FERINGA Campus Writer

campus@theplainsman.com

Hunter Short barely heard the end of his name called from the back steps of Cater Hall before the green and grey-clad sea of campaign T-shirts and nerve-ridden faces erupted in ecstatic screams and surged around their victor in an enormous, leaping huddle.

Short, junior in accounting and supply chain management, defeated Abhi Gulati, junior in software engineering, in Tuesday’s election for SGA treasurer.

He won the race with 51 percent of the vote to Gulati's 49 percent.

About 40 percent of student voters cast their ballots Tuesday.

Following the victory, Short intends to expand SGA’s personal finance initiatives for financial literacy on campus by increasing accommo-

dation efforts for class availability and curriculum research.

He also said he hopes for greater transparency of funds allocated by and for SGA so that students have more influence in campus life.

But Short said his number one goal as he steps into office is keeping the SGA doors wide open.

“Getting the open door policy started, making sure students feel comfortable coming to SGA and talking about finances is key in the start before we move on to transparency and literacy,” Short said.

Despite Tuesday night's results, Gulati was appreciative of the opportunity to run and voice his ideas.

“Having your name out there and putting your platform and your vision out there is humbling,” Gulati said. “You think it’s an ego boost, and it is, but it just makes you feel like you’re trying to serve something bigger. It was an experience of a lifetime, anyway, being able to run for something

like this with so many people supporting me.”

The huddle of shouting greens and greys eased slowly, followed by elated hugging from friends and chants of “Save with Short” ringing in the tight circle of students.

Short’s parents, both Auburn graduates, stood just a few feet away after driving from Mississippi, waiting their turn to hug their son on the same lawn where they stood years before.

This time with the next SGA treasurer.

“Seeing everyone here makes it that much better, and it means the world that they would go out every day on the concourse and fight for me and share my platform and vision for Auburn,” Short said. “I expected a close race, and I think we got that. Abhi did great, and I’m just happy to have all the support I’ve had.”

The new treasurer will succeed Dixon Simmons who initiated SGA’s Personal Finance Initiative to improve financial literacy among all students, regardless of major or background.

MISS AUBURN

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

The War Eagle Girls and Plainsmen gather around newly elected Miss Auburn Laura Davenport on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019.

AMENDMENTS » From 1

The new voting method allows students to rank candidates by order of preference on their ballots, rather than just by selecting a single choice.

Students can choose to rank all candidates, just a few or still only select one.

If nobody receives 50 percent of the vote in the first round of tallies, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed to the voters’ next choice. This continues until a

candidate reaches 50 percent.

This eliminates the need to hold a separate runoff election if a candidate does not receive 40 percent of the vote.

“This system may better represent the student body as runoffs have historically had lower voter turnout, and with this system, people whose first choice does not win still have their voice heard,” the amendment description says.

Graduate School Sen. Max Zinner introduced the bill, saying he thought it was “a much better way of getting what the students want,” The Plainsman reported in January.

“Texas A&M, University of Iowa, Stanford, Duke and the University of Virginia are among some of the institutions that use a similar voting system,” SGA Vice President Schyler Burney told The Plainsman last week. “We kind of realized there was a need to reassess the way voting is done just after seeing multiple runoff elections done in the past few years.”

It’s a system that has gained popularity in recent years.

Many cities across the nation including Berkeley, California; Telluride, Colorado; St. Paul, Minnesota; Cambridge, Massachusetts, and more have used ranked-choice vot-

ing for local elections for years.

In 2018, Maine became the first state to use the system in a statewide election.

Amendment One — which clarifies language within the Constitution, removes a requirement that student organizations’ constitutions be included in the Code of Laws and adds “Commendations” as a form of legislation — passed with 87 percent of the vote.

Commendations are “acknowledgements, congratulations or recognition of worthy merits on behalf of the Auburn University student body,” according to the amendment.

PRESIDENT » From 1

“Mary Margaret ran a great campaign, and she was incredible,” Jones said. “Her team truly showed out, and she’s got a passion for the Auburn Family, and I’m really excited to see what she does for the next year.”

Turton has been heavily involved with SGA during her time on The Plains. In addition to being a Lobby Board member, she is currently a College of Business senator, which has included serving on the Budget and Finance Committee as well as being the director of city relations in SGA cabinet.

Her campaign, “Turton on Target,” had three main platform points — campus life, innovation and wellness.

Turton said the reason she chose to run was the same reason she fell in love with Auburn and decided to come to the University for school. That is the people.

“Just genuinely honored — so excited to be able to serve this world, to represent the Auburn voice, to be able to listen to students — that’s been the best part of this week,” Turton said.

“It completely reinforced why I wanted to do it, hearing those stories. I’m pumped.”

One of Turton’s goals as president is for SGA to partner with other organizations to produce a biweekly podcast to spotlight a student that will share a diverse pool of stories.

“SGA’s mission statement is ‘serve, promote and unify,’” Turton told The Plainsman last week.

“So, I think it would be really cool on that ‘promote and unify’ piece.”

Turton also set out in her platform to start a student-run task force to shorten the lengths of lines at basketball games by potentially developing a lottery ticket system for conference games.

For dining, Turton would like to work in conjunction with Tiger Dining to make a system for students to donate unused dining dollars to Auburn students who are food insecure.

According to her platform, she will also look to bring popular dining options such as Italian, Mexican and all-day breakfast to campus.

It also said she will advocate for a food truck stationed in front of the Rec Center that would offer healthy, post-workout options.

Under the innovation focus of her platform, Turton would like to centralize Auburn-sponsored phone apps into a single app where students could go for all of their Auburn-related needs, from a comprehensive campus calendar to academic resources and ticket portal.

For wellness, Turton said she will look to partner with the Med Clinic to provide on-campus students with free golf cart rides to and from appointments.

She also wants to work with the East Alabama Medical Center to advocate for a team of sexual assault nurses to be incorporated into the city’s upcoming 24/7 emergency care plans.

“It’s feasible,” Turton said. “I have talked to the staff and administration that I’ve needed to talk to for the base of every single one of these platform points, and as we work together, making sure goals align, but also that it is something that we would be able to deliver.”

Turton said she is excited for the work ahead and preparing for the next year.

“It’s going to be a big year,” Turton said. “It’s going to be a year that’s full of challenges and excitement and celebrating the Auburn Family because we have so much to be proud of. Everyday I just want to work to unify that student voice.”

Turton will succeed SGA President Dane Block after transitions later this spring.

Turton will soon begin naming her executive cabinet. Last year, Block named his cabinet in late February.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

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OPINION

OUR VIEW

HBCUs deserve adequate funding

By EDITORIAL BOARD Spring 2019

This month celebrates the nation’s rich black history.

February is a month during which it is integral to look at the past and learn from the country’s failures and triumphs.

This month, especially, is a time to recognize the importance of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, their imperative role in the state of Alabama and the importance of ensuring they are well funded.

During the University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Week, Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, said, “Recognizing the past is imperative to move forward.”

This month is extremely important in recognizing Alabama’s tumultuous past and history of racial tensions so that we, as a state, can move forward.

Alabama is the home of 15 established HBCUs, and one of them is in Auburn’s backyard — Tuskegee University. Together, these 15 institutions have a $1.5 billion impact on Alabama’s economy, providing over 15,000 jobs for Alabamians.

Despite that reality, many of these institutions remain underfunded.

At the end of the 2018 spring semester, Concordia College Alabama in Selma was forced to shut its doors due to financial strain. Stillman College in Tuscaloosa is currently working to overcome debt so that it can remain open.

HBCUs were founded as places of higher education for black Americans following the Civil War and during segregation.

At HBCUs, black Americans were able to pursue the education denied to them by white-only institutions.

Today, Alabama’s HBCUs continue to serve mostly black, first-generation students coming from some of the state’s poorest communities.

Before it closed, more than 90 percent of students at Concordia were eligible for Pell Grants.

HBCUs provide a necessary route for many Alabamians out of poverty, but with inadequate funding this route is getting narrower and narrower for those that need it most.

HBCUs were key for land-grant institutions to retain their funding, as the Second Morrill Act of 1890 required states that had segregated public universities to have an agricultural and mechanical institution available for that state’s black population to attend or the white-only public institutions would be forced to forfeit the funding previously guaranteed to them in the Morrill Act of 1862.

ENIJA BIDZANE/ CARTOONIST

Both Alabama A&M and Tuskegee University were established as land-grant institutions because of this 1890 act. In this way, Auburn’s history is forever connected to Alabama A&M and Tuskegee.

The levels of federal funding for HBCUs were never comparable in Alabama to that of traditionally white institutions.

While the Morrill Act specified that black agricultural and mechanical institutions were supposed to receive equitable funding as that of other, predominately white institutions, HBCUs simply never received the funding as the act required.

Land-grant institutions, established in both the 1862 and 1890 acts, are supposed to receive matching dollars from the state and federal government to fund extension and research, but those HBCUs established in 1890 often do not.

In a 2013 study by the APLU it was found that Tuskegee only received 65 percent of matching funds from the state in the 2010-2012 period for its extension programs. While Alabama A&M, which is partnered with Auburn through the Al-

abama cooperative extension program, received 100 percent of its matching dollars for extension.

Recently, funding for HBCUs — land-grant or not — has been declining, calling the future of many of these schools around the nation into question.

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, is attempting to protect Alabama’s HBCUs. He and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, secured a 14 percent funding increase for HBCUs, and last week, he held the inaugural HBCU Summit at Lawson State Community College in Birmingham.

Jones has recognized HBCUs’ historical and economic importance to Alabama and as such, the necessity for Alabamians to protect and preserve HBCUs. The people of this state cannot allow HBCUs to close their doors. It is more important than ever to ensure that HBCUs are receiving adequate funding, and — more importantly — funding that is equitable to that of predominantly white institutions.

HIS VIEW

Dems shouldn’t support Northam after racist photo

By MICHAEL JONES Contributing Columnist

A poll released by Morning Consult on Monday shows that a majority of Democrats still support Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, after a photo surfaced of his medical school yearbook page showing one person in blackface and another in a KKK hood.

Upon the surfacing of the photo, Northam admitted that he was one of the people in the photo.

However, the next day he claimed he wasn’t in the photo, but that he has worn blackface before while impersonating Michael Jackson at a dance competition.

Additionally, after these yearbook photos surfaced, Northam’s yearbook page from Virginia Military Institute also surfaced. The page showed that one of his nicknames was “coonman.”

Northam said that he didn’t know why people called him that.

Northam then claimed that he didn’t know the photo was in his med school yearbook and didn’t know how it got there.

Though, a yearbook staffer explained to CNN why it’s very unlikely that he didn’t know the photo was in there.

In the interview, Dr. William Elwood said that photos for personal yearbook pages were chosen by the individual students and submitted to the

yearbook staff in a signed envelope with their name on it.

Elwood directly refuted the narrative that the photo may have been chosen at random by the yearbook staff.

Furthermore, Elwood said that the envelopes were kept in a locked room that was only unlocked when someone from the yearbook staff needed access to it.

Elwood also said that it’s very unlikely that someone submitted the photos for Northam, to his knowledge, no one has ever complained about a photo being on the wrong page. Overall, among all Virginia voters, Northam’s net approval ratings dropped 41 percentage points.

Among Democrats, his approval rating dropped from 70 percent to 50 percent. Among independents, it dropped from 42 percent to 20 percent.

And among Republicans, it dropped from 31 percent to 15 percent.

All this is rich coming from the candidate who tried his hardest to paint his opponent, Ed Gillespie, as a racist during the 2017 gubernatorial election.

Good on the Democrats who have called out Northam, even if it is just posturing for their presidential campaigns.

Michael Jones is a senior in business at Auburn and contributes to The College Fix, a conservative blog and the Lone Conservative.

HER VIEW

It is time for men to learn the true meaning of consent

By MAGGIE SMITH Contributing Columnist

For far too long there has been a belief among some men that if a woman is drunk, then she may as well be giving him consent to have sex with her.

This is not just a problem on Auburn’s campus, but throughout the country.

Female college students are just like male college students when it comes to wanting to have a good time. Women should not have to worry about being

taken advantage of whenever they are drinking and having fun.

I truly believe the vast majority of men attending Auburn would never take advantage of a drunk woman. However, every semester there is at least one incident of rape or sexual assault that gets reported on campus — and who knows how many go unreported.

I personally know a woman who has experienced being raped at a party by a guy she trusted. She never gave

consent in any way, and she barely even remembers it happening. I am sure there are many women who have experienced the same thing in college.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in five women in the United States will experience rape at some point in their lives, and in nearly half of rape cases, the victim knows the rapist.

These statistics are extremely

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definitely not a woman being unconscious or inebriated. Unless a woman fully agrees to wanting to have sex, she has not given permission for any kind of sexual activity.

It is important for men on campus to speak out against rape and sexual assault. After all, we are the Auburn Family, and with that comes the responsibility of supporting your fellow family members.

Maggie Smith is a junior in agricultural communications.

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alarming. It is sad that in 2019 women are still faced with a severe lack of respect by some men.

Often times, you hear of women being raped while they were intoxicated, and the common response is “well hopefully she learned a lesson from this.” This type of comment completely misses the point and makes it seem like it is the woman’s fault for being raped.

It is time for all men to fully understand the meaning of consent, which is

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SPOTLIGHT

CAMPUS

MUSIC

Quartet qualifies for regionals

By JORDAN WINDHAM Campus Writer

CONTRIBUTED BY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

Wilson Morgan stands on the field at Mercedes Benz Stadium for Super Bowl LIII on Sunday, Feb 3, 2019, in Atlanta.

Turf management major works Super Bowl

By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor Wilson Morgan was walking back to the rest of the grounds crew a few minutes before kick-off when he noticed UFC superstar Conor McGregor hurtling toward him.

Stunned, Morgan jumped out of the way just before McGregor raced by him to pump up the Super Bowl crowd, and that moment is really when it set in

“I was blown away,” Morgan said. “That’s when it really hit me. I was like, ‘Holy cow, man. This is big time.’”

The realization of just how big an event he was a part of only kept sinking in as he continued to pass by big names such as Kevin Hart, J.J. Watt and even Adam Levine when he was getting ready to go on stage for the halftime performance.

Morgan, a junior in turf management, was Auburn’s first winner of the Toro Super Bowl Sports Turf Training competition in its 16th year of existence. For the grand prize of the contest, Morgan worked alongside the grounds crew at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for Super Bowl LIII. Morgan headed into Atlanta on Sunday, Jan. 27, a full week ahead of the actual game, to work with the grounds crew in preparation and rehearsal in the lead-up to the biggest sporting event in the United States. He stayed until Monday, Feb. 4, getting professional work experience each day.

Working for a grounds crew is nothing new to Morgan, who has worked on the sidelines for Auburn home football games. He can remember thinking how intense and crowded the sidelines were for the SEC games, but it could not compare to what he experienced Sunday.

“It was unreal,” Morgan said. “Just trying to walk through people to where I needed to be. I mean it was crazy. That’s the only word for it. It was just crazy.”

During the week, Morgan got hands-on experience with

halftime preparation, turf lining, logo painting, irrigation maintenance and preparation for media day.

“I probably watched the halftime show five or six times through all the rehearsals and everything,” Morgan said. “It was really cool to see them practicing with the empty stadium.”

Although the experience called for Morgan to be on site a full week ahead of the actual game, the rest of the crew had been in Atlanta since Jan. 9, working and preparing for the game.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into it,” Morgan said.

He added that he got to see the near-flawless work of Ed Mangan, Super Bowl field director, and George Toma, who has been on the grounds crew for each of the 52 Super Bowls.

“They work great together, they know how to bend and weave with each other and it’s almost like a show in itself watching these guys work,” Morgan said.

Super Bowl LIII was not Morgan’s first time working in an NFL stadium, however. Last summer, he interned with the Miami Dolphins’ grounds crew, doing similar work as he did in Atlanta.

“I really have enjoyed working with the NFL, and that would definitely be something I would pursue when it’s time to graduate, but I don’t want to close too many doors,” Morgan said.

This summer, Morgan will be interning with the Philadelphia Phillies, which will give him the opportunity to try an experience outside of football-field care.

“It was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and I can’t believe it’s over — it went by really fast,” he said.

Regardless of whether Morgan chooses to pursue the NFL, he is appreciative of the opportunity that the Toro Company provided.

“You can’t imagine being able to work on the grounds crew as an undergrad,” he said. “It was one of the best weeks of my life.”

ORGANIZATIONS

CONTRIBUTED BY AU RHYTHM

The AU Rhythm dance team poses in Auburn, Ala.

AU Rhythm forms family bond through dance

By HANNAH LESTER Campus Writer Students can find the AU Rhythm Dance Team at Auburn University Dance Marathon, Relay for life, Greek Sing or The Big Event. They perform in a hip-hop style and practice consistently to prepare for campus appearances.

AU Rhythm mixes their own music, choreographs their own dances and promotes a love for dancing on Auburn’s campus to both men and women, according to former captain of the team and current co-captain, Keali Hemmenway.

“AU Rhythm is a group that, even though we do ... one style of dance, everybody’s personality shows through, so everybody puts their own twist to the dances that we do,” Hemmenway said.

Being a member in AU Rhythm does not require a major in dance — social chair Charlotte Sadar is a fourthyear architecture student who has been dancing most of her life.

“You don’t need an insane amount of dance experience to become a part of this team,” Sadar said. “That’s one of the

best parts about it is, we have all different levels of dance.”

Jenny Lincoln, senior in anthropology with a double minor in Asian and women’s studies, is the current captain of AU Rhythm. She tried out for the team her sophomore year, despite originally wanting to join her freshman year. Lincoln said it was fear that held her back.

She, like Sadar, had been dancing for years before joining AU Rhythm. She didn’t pick up hip-hop, however, until high school.

Hemmenway described the team as one big family. Sadar plans events for the team to bond outside of practice, like an upcoming visit to Surge Trampoline Park.

“The most unique aspect is that we’re very diverse,” Hemmenway said. “We have a bunch of different types of people, a lot of different cultures that come into AU Rhythm.”

A regular practice includes the team chatting, laughing and catching up before any dancing starts. When the clock hits 7 p.m., it’s down to business for the dancers.

“I think AU Rhythm fosters a warm and accepting environment where people don’t have to put on a facade,” Lincoln said. “Yes, we work hard. Yes, sometimes it gets intense. But, all of that hard work is mixed with jokes, laughing and room for individual expression that we encourage all dancers to have.”

For ten to fifteen minutes, the dancers warm up and prepare for the new moves, following the warm-up with a cardio work out.

Then for the next hour and a half, students try to perfect their choreography and moves. The entire team connects and discusses practice together afterward.

Ultimately, the performances give AU Rhythm a chance to not only dance but spread their name. While tryouts are held, the goal is to find passionate members who are dedicated to dance, Lincoln said.

“That being said, there is a diversity of skill levels across the team, and the dances we do cater to a number of different styles,” Lincoln said. “I find that everyone finds their niche in at least several dances.”

The Auburn saxophone quartet will be competing in the North American Saxophone Alliance regional finals at Ole Miss on March 22.

Although the group has only been playing together for less than a year, the group sent in videos for the preliminary round before being selected as one of a handful of groups for the live round.

Nikolai Klotchkov, one of the quartet’s members, will also be competing in the regional solo saxophone competition. Klotchkov is a veteran saxophone player with over 10 years of experience.

“I need to mention that competition is not like what people usually imagine when they hear the word saxophone,” Klotchkov said. “It’s not jazz, not like popular music. It’s classical music.”

Klotchkov, who came to Auburn from Russia to study music, is also an experienced competitor. He added that he thinks it’s important to compete because when only striving for a good grade, there is not enough motivation to really be pushed into excellence.

“When you are competing with people who you know are better — you work harder, and that just benefits not just your competing abilities, but the whole idea of competing and self-motivation and applies to all aspects of life, actually,” Klotchkov said.

He has recently participated in two concerto competitions, one in Auburn and the other at the University of Mobile, competing for the opportunity to play as a soloist with a professional orchestra. He especially enjoyed the opportunity to perform with the orchestra in Mobile, thrilled for the chance to play with a seasoned orchestra under a professional composer.

“It was cool,” Klotchkov said. “You actually sound like the people on all of the recordings that you refer to.”

The greatest improvement of his musical skills, he said, has come from playing in a quartet and the evolution of his technical playing skill. Playing as a soloist means that the piano player will follow him, but playing in a band as an alto saxophone means that his role is co-dependent on the other players.

“In the quartet, you are one-fourth of the music,” Klotchkov said. “You have to play like a soloist, but at the same time, you have to follow and communicate with the other three players.”

As a senior in music performance and interdisciplinary studies, Klotchkov is planning on applying to graduate school. His interdisciplinary degree is a combination of psychology with an emphasis on neuroscience, exercise science and computer science.

“When people hear that combination, they’re like ‘that doesn’t make any sense’,” Klotchkov said.

He plans to use these degrees to study the physiology of musicians, applying science to music. The exercise science component is to understand how the body works and performs.

Klotchkov said science is already applied to sports, and musical performance is the same type of activity. So he thought there was no reason these principles couldn’t be applied to music.

An example of this that he gave would be using sensors to evaluate the biomechanics of a musician’s fingers while playing the saxophone.

The neuroscience aspect is to help understand how the brain works and interacts with music in a hope that it results in improved methods of teaching performance.

“Computer science is the tool to analyze data and use computational power to visualize results, build models and maybe produce some software as a result of research,” Klotchkov said.

His current research project is a joint study with the department of communication disorders to explore the movements of the tongue while playing the saxophone.

He may even be presenting results from this research at the conference where he will be competing in March.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 5

SPOTLIGHT

Alumna becomes new assistant to President Leath ‘I connect deeply with the statement from the Auburn Creed’

By ABBY CUNNINGHAM Campus Writer

Excluding a brief one-year hiatus, Janie Adams Boles has spent the past 24 years in Auburn. From being a student to serving in Auburn Athletics, she has loved the Auburn Family throughout.

And recently, Boles developed her relationship with the University even further when the third-generation graduate was named executive assistant to University President Steven Leath at the end of 2018.

“I’m really loving the job,” she said. “It was really just God’s timing I think to move me into a new area on campus. I really like getting to know more of this side of Auburn University as well as still staying connected in some capacity with donors and athletics. I feel like every job I’ve had up until now helped me be prepared for this role.”

Boles said she likes how her new position frees up her weekends and nights, whereas when she worked at Tigers Unlimited for the previous 18 years, she had a much different work schedule.

“I feel like I have some great skills that I can add to the team, and we can all work together to do what’s best for Auburn,” Boles said. “Anywhere I’ve been, I’ve just loved working as a team, and I feel like no one person has all the skills. We all have our different gifts and work together to make it happen when we are working toward our goal.”

She said her new position is extremely fast-paced, which is just the way she likes it.

Boles, originally from Marietta, Georgia, has a deep history on Auburn’s campus.

She attended the University from 1995 to 1999 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and sports management.

“A long line of my family went to Auburn, so growing up I’ve always been an Auburn fan,” she said. “I never applied for anywhere else because I just loved Auburn.”

Boles was an Auburn Tiger Paws dancer in 1996 and had the special opportunity to perform with her fellow Tiger Paws at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

“It was a lot of fun,” she recounted. “I really enjoyed performing growing up and decided to join the Tiger Paws. It was neat to engage with alumni and fans as well as perform at football and basketball games.”

She also worked for the Auburn Athletics Ticket Office as a student from 1996 to 1998.

She said she believes that this job helped open her eyes to other areas in athletics she could work in. She also said serving people in this position strengthened her love for Auburn.

A year later, she became a student athletic trainer for Auburn Athletics. Boles worked with football, swimming and diving.

“It was really amazing,” Boles said. “I’ve always been a fan of football but never really knew what took place on the field. It was really neat to see. You focus so much on the athletes and the coaches, but there are so many other support staff that are doing things behind the scenes to make it work.”

She added that she didn’t continue in this field because of the required hours. Boles knew she wanted a family in her future, and the job required arriving early and going home late at night.

During her final year as a student, Boles was an intern for Auburn executive suites.

“That’s when I learned about the hospitality side of athletics, and just in general, I feel like everyone should strive to see what their strengths are, and one of mine is serving others,” Boles said. “I really enjoy serving others, and I think that was a really good fit for that strength. So once I found that internship my senior year, I knew that (was) what I hoped to do post-college.”

After graduating and marrying her high school sweetheart, Boles moved back to Georgia.

She took on a part-time job with the Atlanta Braves as an executive suites coordinator.

In the same year, she took on a job at the Georgia Dome as an executive services coordinator.

“It was definitely, in my opinion, a job for someone who is either newly married or single,” she said.

“I got to learn everything about monster trucks to concerts. I was also there for the Super Bowl in 2000, where there was a big ice storm. Some of us had to spend the night in our offices to make sure that we were there for our job the next day.”

Boles fondly stated that she has a lot of memories from working there, and she feels as if she was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work there.

But she couldn’t stay away from Auburn for too long.

In 2000, Boles and her husband came back to Auburn.

She then took on a job at the Tigers Unlimited

CONTRIBUTED BY TODD VAN EMST

Janie Boles on Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

Foundation.

She took on the job as assistant athletic director until 2018, when she became the newly appointed assistant to the president.

Whether she is on campus or off, Boles keeps the Auburn Creed close to her heart and lives by it in her everyday life. She said that two specific lines stand out to her.

Boles believes the line that states, “I believe in work, hard work” stands out the most.

“I’ve always believed in hard work and that we are not meant to have things given to us and that we need to put forth the work to make Auburn better as well as our country better,” she said.

She has also internalized the line that urges that people can best serve their country by “doing justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with my God.” “Through the various ups and downs I have lived through, I connect deeply with the statement from the Auburn Creed above,” Boles said. “It is due to walking humbly with my God that has enabled me to be where I am blessed to be now in life.”

Boles feels as though her many years of serving the Auburn Family have been a dream come true, and she is looking forward to the many memories that will be made in her future.

community THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

COMMUNITY

ADMINISTRATION

GOVERNMENT

City manager contract renewal causes tension

Who is Auburn city manager, Jim Buston?

By CORY BLACKMON

By JACK WEST

Community Reporter

Community Writer

Mayor Ron Anders extended City Manager Jim Buston’s contract for an additional year without official approval from the City Council, creating tension between councilmembers during the Council’s meeting Feb. 5.

Buston had previously planned on retiring several years ago, before pushing the date back to 2019. He will push that retirement date again after a request from Anders and a $20,000 per year pay raise.

Councilmember Kelley Griswold asked the Council to consider amending the 2018-19 budget ordinance by adding a statement that would require the Council to approve any changes the mayor makes regarding the city manager’s terms of contract.

“I was hoping to add a single sentence to that ordinance saying that any modification should be approved by the Council as a whole,” Griswold said. “As the contract is between the Council and the city manager.”

The ordinance in question gives the mayor executive right to modify the contract agreement of the city manager. While this matter was brought up, Anders approved of a contract modification, extending Buston’s contract to end in 2020 instead of 2019.

“The majority of the Council agreed at the last committee of the whole to discuss this tonight,” Griswold said. “But unknown to me and the Council as a whole, a contract modification granting a salary increase and contract extension had already been signed prior to our last meeting.”

With a one-year extension, the contract modification also approved a $20,000 per-year increase to the city manager’s salary. Councilmember Griswold brought this up at Tuesday’s meeting.

“I don’t know if others have seen the contract, I haven’t, but I’ve been told the contract changes far exceed the $15,000 threshold over the 2018-19 budget,” Griswold said. “Procedurally, I’m not sure how this action could have been taken at that amount without City Council approval.”

Griswold requested the city staff research how to change or add to an existing policy or enact an ordinance to ensure the contracts between city manager and City Council are reviewed for approval by the entire council.

“I just thought the Council ought to have a role to play,” Griswold said. “It’s not a matter of Mr. Buston, it’s not a matter of the term, it’s a matter of the Council should have a role, but the city’s interpretation of the ordinance says the mayor can do it on his own.”

Griswold said he read through the ordinance and found it to be unclear. He wants to clarify the ordinance for future use.

“I got a copy of the ordinance, and to me, it’s not that clear,” Griswold said. “It says he can sign it. It doesn’t say he can negotiate it. It doesn’t say he can determine the terms, so I want to clarify it.”

Buston spoke about his side of the matter, saying he had planned on retiring in the end of 2019 until Anders asked him to stay another year.

“I had actually planned on retiring two years ago, but things happen, and I told everyone that by the end of 2019 I was go-

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Auburn City Manager Jim Buston speaks with The Plainsman on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

ing to retire,” Buston said. “The mayor asked if I would consider staying at least one year more, so I agreed.”

Buston said that officially in Auburn, the city manager’s contract doesn’t have a set end date, and the manager can continue their work until they decide to leave or the City Council dismisses them.

“The ordinance doesn’t give the mayor the authority to create a contract,” Buston said. “But it gives him the power to amend it, so that’s what he did, and in this case that happened to be an increase in salary.”

Anders explained his reasoning for extending Buston’s contract for a year was to provide a cushion of stability for the Council, which is comprised of several new members and for himself as a new mayor.

“My intention was to get Mr. Buston to stay until December of 2020, and I felt like the Council, with all of us being new, with me being a new mayor, that we needed him here to get us through that point,” Anders said. “Which would give us, the Council, a couple years to really understand the kind of person we want to take his place one day.”

Anders said he asked multiple councilmembers for their opinion on the matter and felt the right thing to do was to proceed with extending Buston’s contract to the end of 2020.

“I received a positive response from the majority of the councilmembers, so I moved forward with signing the contract,” Anders said. “It’s my opinion that it is in the best interest of the city for Mr. Buston to be here and stabilize the process the entire way.”

Councilmembers Tommy Dawson, Beth Witten and Brett Smith each expressed their approval of Anders’ decision.

Each of the members said they believed Anders was well within his right to approve the contract and that councilmembers should trust the leadership of the mayor.

On the other side, councilmember Bob Parsons said he agrees with Griswold and thinks there is still room for discussion.

“I was looking forward to discussing this Council’s further participation in matters that affect everybody,” Parsons said.

“I think there is still room for language to be created, plus, also some calm, thoughtful opportunity for us all to deliberate.”

PETS

Shelter animals get weekend stays

By TIM NAIL Community Writer

Pets can come as a great responsibility, but the Lee County Humane Society is taking a creative approach to the decision process of welcoming a furry friend into the family. The shelter has started a temporary form of adoption called the Weekend Warriors program.

Though the Humane Society’s usual trial time for deciding whether to own a pet is two weeks, the new initiative allows prospective pet owners to stop in on a Friday or Saturday to take on an animal for one or two nights and determine the feasibility of taking care of a dog, cat or other pet.

“A lot of other shelters do it, and they’ve seen really positive results,” said Bailey Ray, LCHS foster programs coordinator. “We’re actually trying to become part of a larger study with Maddie’s Fund to see if we can help them get more information on how our program is doing so they can make [it] even better.”

Maddie’s Fund is a nonprofit family foundation based in California. Its mission is to transform the U.S. into a “no-kill nation” through financial support toward small animal shelters, according to its website.

The funding is used for creating and sustaining life-saving programs such as Weekend Warriors.

LCHS has run the program for two weekends and feels it has already been successful in its endeavors to promote happier adoptions between both pet and owner.

Josh Mitchell, the shelter’s health coordinator, shared a testimony about Jake, a dog who was known to have behavioral troubles with other animals.

“He went to a foster home this weekend, and when he came back Monday, he was a completely different dog,” Mitchell said. “He was play-bowing and engaging with the other dogs, running around with some of the other dogs he didn’t have anything to do with the first time. It’s night and day with him the last two days.”

Before time in his foster care residence as part of Weekend Warriors, Jake wore a basket muzzle when being sent out to the Humane Society’s play area.

Mitchell feels that only one person giving the dog attention instead of several at the shelter allowed him to decompress and learn what life in a real home is like.

DUBRAY MCNEAL / PHOTOGRAPHER

Kittens waiting to be adopted at Lee County Humane Society in Auburn, Ala. on Jan. 29, 2019

While the shelter has seen great results with the concept, LCHS Director T.J. McCullough said the shelter can’t take credit for the idea; other organizations on social media inspired LCHS to pursue the idea, such as Shelby Humane Society in Columbiana, Alabama. “[It] was one of the ideas they had mentioned, so we did our own investigation and research to initiate this and get it going [to recruit more foster homes],” McCullough said.

After participation in the Weekend Warriors program, foster families can complete report cards that are placed in each animal’s file that indicate qualities like whether or not a pet is good with sharing toys.

After the weekend stay, LCHS will leave it up to them whether they’d like to make the animal a permanent addition to their home.

From a tall, well-lit office in City Hall, the man who runs the city of Auburn works.

His door is across the hall from the office of the mayor. He serves for an indefinite term and is not directly elected by the people of Auburn. In fact, many citizens probably do not know his name.

Jim Buston is the Auburn city manager, and his job title is fairly descriptive given that he manages the city.

Auburn has a council-manager form of government. This means that while the citizens of Auburn elect a city council and a mayor, those elected officials then appoint a city manager who runs the dayto-day operations of the city. Buston described it like a business.

“The city council acts as a board of directors for a corporation,” Buston said. “The board of directors set priority, and they set vision for the organization. The city manager is like a CEO of a company, and that CEO answers to the board of directors, but the CEO then is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the organization.”

While many citizens may have concerns about an unelected person making the daily decisions for the community, council-manager governments are intended to be less corrupt than their predecessors.

Buston referenced how some politicians in “the old days” may have used their elected positions to give kickbacks to their friends and family. He called it “the good-ole-boy network.”

“The whole reason for the council-manager form of government is to be a more transparent, less political organization,” Buston said.

Citizens may also be concerned that the person making decisions does not answer directly to the people.

“I think some people misunderstand that just because an elected [official] is not making the day-to-day decisions, doesn’t mean that elected [official] has no political authority or power,” Buston said.

“Where all the power is, is in the money — is in the budget, and [the City Council] control(s) that.”

There are also checks and balances that apply to Buston’s position.

Even though he cannot be voted out by the general population, the City Council can remove him from office whenever they see fit, according to the city code.

“

The whole reason for the councilmanager form of government is to be a more transparent, less political organization.

— Jim Buston “I’m not saying [corruption] can’t happen in a council-manager form of government,” Buston said. “But it is much, much harder.”

Buston’s career has wound through both the public and private spheres.

He attended undergraduate school at Oregon State University and intended to become a marine biologist. After having second thoughts, Buston joined the Peace Corps for two years.

After that, he was asked to serve as the civilian technical advisor to the government of Honduras, a position he held for three years.

This is the point in his life Buston said he “started to see into the profession of managing in a government organization.”

Buston moved on to Auburn’s graduate school, graduated and began working for a small software start-up company. That company was eventually sold.

Then, 22 years ago, the city manager of Auburn at that time asked Buston to form an IT department for the city. Buston agreed and ran the organization for three years.

Twelve years ago, he was hired as the assistant city manager, and in 2017, he became Auburn’s city manager.

Now, as a man with considerable power over government functions in Auburn, Buston’s opinions on certain issues are worth considering.

Perhaps the most well-known issue in Auburn has been the height of buildings downtown. This was brought up when developers began proposing high-rise block apartments like West & Wright, 191 College and The Standard at Auburn. For many citizens, this was a debate about raising the height limit from 65 feet to 75 feet.

Buston disagrees.

“It really wasn’t about building height,” he said. “It was more about buildings that had the aesthetic to fit into the environment, and building height was easier to grab onto as an issue.”

He made his point by saying that of those three buildings, only two are 75 feet tall; one is still only 65 feet tall.

“You can’t tell which one,” Buston said.

The other issue that many Auburn residents are becoming aware of is the zoning problem in Ward 1. Since it is a historically residential and African-American part of town, many in the city are resistant to developers building apartments there.

Buston said that the city government set up zoning restrictions, which would require single-family detached houses. The intention was to prevent developers from building duplexes and apartments, but some developers have found a loophole.

“They build a single house but put five bedrooms and five bathrooms inside,” Buston said. “So, it looks like a single-family detached, but it is basically a student dorm.”

The city has started calling these five-bed-five-bath houses “academic detached dwelling units.”

Some people in the Auburn community have suggested that some of the citizens selling their property in this district are being cheated, that the developers are taking advantage of them. Buston responded by saying “that is a real discredit” to the people selling their property.

“To me, it is a slap in the face to the people in that neighborhood,” Buston said. “There are some people that may not have understood, but I think you don’t discount a person’s intelligence just because of where they live or their economic status.”

Buston then turned to the issue of homelessness in Auburn.

“We don’t have a good idea of what our homeless population is,” Buston said. “If [a city] has a homeless population, you want to get ahead of it before it becomes a crisis.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 7

BUSINESS

Mama Mocha’s An inclusive spot for everyone

By ELLIE FALCONER Community Writer

The Mama Mocha’s coffee shops, known for their eccentric decor matching “your weird aunt’s living room,” strive to foster an inclusive community for people of all religions, sexual orientations, political preferences, careers and ages in an otherwise conservative, Southern state.

“I hate to use the term safe space,” said Sarah Barnett, owner of Mama Mocha’s in both the Auburn and Opelika locations. “I feel like it’s so overused. People know I’m very accepting, and Mama Mocha’s is a business who loves everyone.”

Mama Mocha’s employee Sydney Brown described the community at Mama Mocha’s as open, accepting, generous and kind.

“We also don’t put up with boo-boo attitudes,” Brown said. “So if you’re going to be boo-boo, you get out, you know? It’s a place of love and acceptance, and we don’t tolerate intolerance. It’s beautiful.”

Auburn resident and long-time Mama Mocha’s customer Katie Hanna described Auburn as a one-size-fitsall type of town, and she said Mama Mocha’s is a breath of fresh air. “[Mama Mocha’s] is one of the few places where you see different kinds of people,” Hanna said. “It’s spunky, and it’s not very pretentious.”

She said she moved to Auburn from another state and made all her friends in Auburn at Mama Mocha’s.

Barnett said her goal in owning the shops isn’t financially driven. She’s motivated to foster a community in which everyone is safe from judgment and where intolerance is prohibited. This is what makes her feel fulfilled.

“There aren’t a lot of places in town, especially in the

HOTEL » From 1

had reached an impasse, Buston said.

Mayor Ron Anders said the hotel would have replaced a dilapidated portion of downtown, including the old University Inn. “I thought it was a two for one,” Anders said. “We would get a great project with great businesses in downtown Auburn, and we were going to take away maybe downtown Auburn’s greatest eyesore.

So for all that I’m very disappointed that apparently it’s not moving forward.”

Shoaf said he could not speak to what Godbold will do, but LHG has given Godbold notice of the active search and still plans to build a Southern Living Hotel in the downtown urban core.

Godbold did not respond to a request for comment.

“We’ve just run out of time, so we’re actively looking at alternative sites,” Shoaf said.

LHG hopes to lock down a location soon, Shoaf said.

“We’ve been ready to go for going on eight months,” Shoaf said. “We’re having some very good preliminary conversations with different people.

I’m confident we’re going to be able to find a great site in the downtown core of Auburn to do our project.”

Regardless of the location, the Southern Living hotel will still feature the same amenities as the plans for the North College Street location did, which include a rooftop lounge and a restaurant in coordination with Bo Jackson.

“We’ll have all the things we were going to have on College Street,” Shoaf said. “We’re just going to pick all that up and find a new home for it.”

In October 2018, the City Council approved a memorandum of understanding among the city, LHG and Godbold.

The memo includes an outline for what each party would be responsible for, as a way to direct the conversations to a binding agreement.

Because the negotiations between Godbold and LHG are falling through and the MOU is non-binding, the outline for what each party is responsible would not need to be followed if LHG partners with another developer.

Also a part of the Southern Living hotel plan for North College Street is a public parking deck, which is going to

be built regardless of the hotel, Buston said in an October 2018 interview.

Since receiving notice about two weeks ago that negotiations to locate the Southern Living hotel on North College Street reached a dead end, the city began to look at going back to their original plan for a public deck with 300-350 spaces, Buston told The Plainsman on Wednesday.

“It seems like now that it’s been long enough that [the developers] probably will not [reach a deal],” Buston said.

“We have not made a decision but we are close to making a decision to just go back to our original parking deck plan.”

As outlined in the MOU, if the hotel is built on North College, the city would get 386 for 586 total spaces. The initial plans for the parking deck, which were created before the idea for the Southern Living hotel was introduced to the city, included approximately 300-350 public spaces.

The city will finalize plans for the deck in the coming weeks in hopes of starting the project soon. Their initial plan was to have the deck completed in August 2019, however the city is now looking at a significantly pushed back start date, Buston said.

“We’re running behind schedule,” Buston said. “We need to make a decision as to how much longer are we going to wait to see if they can remedy their differences, or do we just go back and do our regular parking deck.”

This is not the first time a deal for a new, large structure involving a parking deck has fallen through.

In 2016, plans for a six-story boutique-style hotel, urban grocery and parking deck in the location of the current North Gay Street Municipal Parking Deck were scrapped.

The difference between the two projects is that the 2016 plans involved a public-private partnership on city land.

This year’s project is a private-private partnership with some public involvement.

The 2016 deal fell through when the city was unable to reach a deal that met the Council’s conditions with the developer.

Officials have said the current Gay Street parking deck will need to be replaced within the next 10 years.

The 2016 project would have saved the city more than $10 million on a new, larger downtown parking deck.

South, that are like this,” Brown said. “You can be anybody [at Mama Mocha’s] — any age, any genre of person, old, Southern, young, liberal. It’s a wonderful melting pot of personalities.”

Barnett described Mama IRELAND DODD / PHOTOGRAPHER Mocha’s as “kind of the Mama Mocha’s on Jan. 22, 2019, in Opelika, Ala. weirdos” in comparison to other local coffee shops and gathering places.

Brown said if she sees someone “messing with” a cus“We are LGBTQ friendly, and we have pretty openly tomer, she will tell them to stop or they will be asked to gay employees,” Barnett said. “We try to represent a lot of leave. different races with the employees, as well.”

“It’s important that the people here feel safe and happy She said she believes this helps customers feel comfort- and drink their coffee,” she said. able with who they are in her shops.

Most of the Mama Mocha’s customers are open to talk Barnett said she enjoys the other coffee shops in the to anyone and the sense of community happens organiAuburn and Opelika area and doesn’t want to discredit cally, Barnett said. or vilify them.

Brown said customers tell her regularly how thankful “Everyone has their own flavor, and I love that,” Bar- they are for the inclusive attitudes fostered at Mama Monett said. cha’s.

She said she maintains her inclusive haven by being ex“Because we foster that sort of open communication tra specific and careful when hiring employees. and loving atmosphere,” she said.

“We know what kind of dialogue [in the shops] we ac“[Mama Mocha’s] has already influenced a lot of peocept and the kind of dialogue we shut down,” Barnett said. ple,” Brown said. “Every single person who walks in here “I think in that philosophy it enables my staff to kind of be gets to be touched by that feeling.” the gatekeepers of culture.”

She said she can reach people in this small way, and Hanna said the owner hires vibrant, eclectic and bril- they can go out and spread “the good word.” liant employees.

“Any progression toward a more open-mindedness in “This attracts such a wide variety of people,” Hanna Auburn will in one way or another be led by Mama Mosaid. “For me, it is kind of the counter-culture of Auburn. cha’s,” Hanna said. “Because the owner believes in making You can go there and expect to meet a wide variety of changes that many consider progressive. But really, bepeople and connect on a deeper level.” cause she wants to help people and is a forward thinker.”

Now Hiring Delivery Drivers at our Auburn and Opelika locations Must have good driving record and valid DL.

Apply at www.pjunited.info

sports

8

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

SPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

76

62 MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Bryce Brown (2) hangs on the rim after a dunk during Auburn Men’s Basketball vs. Florida on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.

HANGING IN THERE After 3-game skid, Tigers reverse course with trio of wins at home

By BRYCE JOHNSON Sports Writer

The temperature on The Plains wasn’t the only thing that felt like spring.

On their way to a 76-62 victory, the Auburn Tigers had to face every defensive scheme imaginable from the Florida Gators in a game that gives a glimpse of what this team will look like come March.

It’s no secret Auburn wants to play fast. The Tigers’ philosophy is to force their opponents to play at a high tempo and force uncharacteristic turnovers that lead to transition threes.

This is not lost on Mike White, who coaches the slowest team not only in the SEC, based on possessions, but the 302nd slowest team in the nation out of a possible 353 teams.

White’s four out offensive sets usually only leave a couple seconds left on the shot clock every time down. Safe to say the Gators play with no sense of urgency.

It was clear from the opening tip that White preached to his team that on defense they had to bring Auburn down to their level. The Gators cycled through a variation of fullcourt presses, zone defenses and ball screen traps to stifle the Tiger’s offense. Ultimately, they succeeded.

“They threw the kitchen sink at us,” said Coach Bruce Pearl. “It does muck it up. We talked to the point guards before the game, ‘Look, you’ve got to have your calls in your bag because I can’t always get you those calls in a shorter clock.’ I thought we did OK with that.”

Auburn had just 66 possessions in the contest which is two lower than Florida’s average. The Tigers weren’t able to get as many shots off and were relegated into being a halfcourt scoring team, yet none of it mattered.

What’s gets lost in the headlines and the excited announcer’s comments is that Auburn statistically isn’t a fast-paced team. It is true that they prefer to run their opposition off the court due to their lack of size, but once they get set up on offense, they’re as slow as they come.

Oddly enough, Auburn isn’t that dissimilar to Florida. Both teams rely on switches to free up their high scoring guard tandems and are willing to wait till the last possible tick on the shot clock to find an open three. What separates them is the “early offense.”

Early offense is exactly what it sounds like. When Auburn gets the ball the plan is to run. This forces the defense to react quickly, resulting in them being on their heels for the rest of the possession.

Coach Pearl instilled this into his team as far back as training camp because most of the

team’s points come off plays like these. This is what Mike White wanted to minimize.

The second a team lets up a couple of shots from early offense in Auburn Arena, there’s a good chance the Tigers go on a double-digit run without the opposing players knowing what hit them. To prevent this, White had his team start out defensive possessions in either a 1-3-1 zone press or a box and one. What these zones do is prevent immediate penetration from a player dribbling downhill, while also protecting the wings from a quick three.

It forces the Tigers to set up their offense. If the Tigers tried to use a down screen to free up their guards bringing up the ball, Florida would trap the ball handler and leave a nonball dominant player in charge of restarting the offense.

Once the Tigers made the transition to halfcourt, the Gators would switch to man-toman defense mid- possession in order to account for all of the shooters on the floor.

This defensive strategy along with a rolled ankle, played a role in Jared Harper having one of his quietest nights of the year. Harper tied his lowest amount of assists on the season with three and scored under 10 points for the second time in SEC play.

Despite having to play in an unfamiliar situation, Pearl made adjustments for his team to succeed. The Tigers maximized the few possessions they did get by scoring an average of 1.15 points every time they touched the ball. In comparison, the Gators only scored .954 points per possession.

In addition to finding good looks, the reason why Auburn was able to utilize its time with the ball was their lack of turnovers — an emphasis it’s had all year.

“Mike [White] said after the game that we were really hard to guard,” Pearl said. “I sure appreciate the compliment from him. I think so much of him and his program.”

The Tigers passing this test is a welcome sign for fans that want to see them do well in March. Teams that have success in the tournament tend to play slower and try to dirty up games with zones.

Both Villanova and Michigan, last year’s championship matchup, play at a pace that’s in the bottom 50 of teams nationally. If Auburn can figure out the trouble the team has shooting on the road, it can prepare for almost any team in the country. Pearl demonstrated his level of preparation when Chuma Okeke stole the ball off a popular Florida inbound play to kill any chance at a late-game comeback.

From here on out the Tigers need to have what’s ahead of them come springtime on their mind.

“You know, yeah, we were at home,” said senior forward Horace Spencer. “But we can take this same energy, this same confidence on the road and just use this as momentum, and just try and go on a streak.”

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 9

FOOTBALL

National Signing Day recap CHARLES MOORE Defensive end Former Miss State commit 6-foot-4, 270 pounds No. 4 prospect in Mississippi

MARK-ANTONY RICHARDS Running back Nation’s No. 4 athlete 6-foot-1, 195 pounds No. 11 prospect in Florida

KAMAAR BELL Offensive guard Top 50 OG in country 6-foot-3, 320 pounds Projects as center at Auburn

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

A few hours into Auburn’s 2019 National Signing Day, Gus Malzahn’s early exuberance seemed dead wrong.

Auburn entered the day confident it would land most of its uncommitted signee targets, let alone its committed ones.

Malzahn was so confident that he posted a GIF on his Twitter account of himself cheering during a game with the caption, “It’s going to be a great day!”

But 30 minutes after the Tigers missed out on three-star defensive tackle LeDarrius Cox, who was committed to Tennessee and flipped to Ole Miss instead of Auburn, the collective heart of the Auburn faithful was ripped out.

George Pickens was Bulldog-bound.

Pickens, a five-star wide receiver and No. 1 overall prospect in Alabama, had been committed to Auburn since June 2017. But since his commitment, the Hoover product had been flirty with other programs, taking visits across the country.

The narrative evolved from month-tomonth. Around Christmas, speculations were that LSU had become the primary threat to Malzahn’s Tigers. Recently, it had been Tennessee. Georgia was thought to be on the outside looking in.

Still, no matter how often Pickens visited elsewhere, Auburn assumed Pickens’ relationship with incoming freshman quarterback Bo Nix, along with the fact that Malzahn was one of the first to offer Pickens when he was a three-star, would keep Auburn in front.

Then the five-star donned the red and black cap.

“I told Gus Malzahn I made a different decision,” Pickens told WBRC FOX6 News in Birmingham. “He was down, but it’s a decision I had to make” Auburn fans and players were equally upset. Rising sophomore Anthony Schwartz, who would have played alongside Pickens, had the most cryptic message, tweeting, “Just know we know.”

The Tigers quickly recovered, however, landing highly coveted Mississippi defender Charles Moore.

Moore, a former Miss State commit, is the No. 4 prospect in the state. After his decommitment from the Bulldogs, Auburn defensive line coach Rodney Garner made a massive push for Moore, who projects as a defensive end.

“If I was to go to LSU, me being the person that I am, I probably could’ve got in trouble or something could’ve came up,” Moore told The Clarion-Ledger. “Things just could have happened.

“When I woke up, I knew. When I went to bed, I asked God, ‘Place it upon my heart where I should go.’ Then when I woke up this morning, there was no stress. It wasn’t Auburn or LSU or Mississippi State. It was all Auburn.”

The Moore signing was the day’s biggest for the defense, but a massive offensive target remained — four-star running back Mark-Antony Richards.

The Wellington, Florida, product is rated as the No. 4 athlete in the country and No. 11 prospect in the nation.

At his high school signing day event, Richards chose the Tigers over Miami, Penn State, Florida and Georgia. Malzahn landed the elite running back he so desperately coveted.

Instead of putting on an Auburn hat, Richards’ little sister jumped into his lap wearing an Auburn cheerleader outfit.

An hour later, Malzahn shored up another area of need on offense when he signed threestar offensive guard Kamaar Bell (Colquitt, Ga.).

With the Tigers likely set to start five seniors on the offensive line next season, the pickup was paramount to Auburn’s future.

However, Auburn batted only .500 on its offensive line targets at four-star offensive lineman Ira Henry chose FSU over Auburn.

Bell was an elite high school guard, but Auburn projects him at center, he told reporters last month.

“That’s fine with me,” Bell said of playing center. “I can get down and get it done.”

Auburn went to its defensive area of need for the final signing with three-star linebacker Octavius Brothers (Brevard, Fla.). The Tigers also offically signed Kameron Brown, younger brother of Derrick Brown, early in the day.

OCTAVIUS BROTHERS Linebacker Tigers fight off Miami, UNC 6-foot-2, 210 pounds AU’s 3rd linebacker in class

AU B R N

CARES

KAMERON BROWN Linebacker Brother of Derrick Brown 6-foot, 225 pounds Only committed signee

FINAL CLASS RANKINGS Rivals: #12 overall, #6 SEC

Auburn Cares works with students and parents to help them navigate challenging issues, critical incidents, hardships and emergencies by providing support and resources. Additonally, Auburn Cares runs the Campus Food Pantry to assist students struggling with food insecurity.

Visit Auburn Cares in the Student Center, Suite 1115, or visit aucares.auburn.edu to learn more.

247Sports: #11 overall, #6 SEC ESPN: #13 overall, #6 SEC

From Auburn Student Affairs @AuburnStudents

*rankings as of publication deadline. Head to ThePlainsman.com for full coverage.

auburn.edu/StudentAffairs

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

PAGE 10

FOOTBALL

‘It’s going to be a party’: Tigers’ Big 3 hoping to make D-line elite

By ZACH TANTILLO Sports Reporter

Despite a disappointing 8-5 season that fell under expectations, spirits among the Auburn players returning and head coach Gus Malzahn radiate optimism.

At Monday afternoon’s press conference, players who decided to forgo the NFL Draft and return to school gathered to talk with the media about expectations for next year and what made them come back for one last ride.

The most notable returnees are the “Big 3” of defensive linemen Marlon Davidson, Derrick Brown and Nick Coe. All three boasted NFL draft buzz after being a part of one of the more dominant defensive line units in the country the last couple of seasons.

Their decision to all return was a surprising one for many Auburn faithful and NFL scouts.

But with three out of the four starting defensive linemen from last year’s squad – minus graduated senior Dontavius Russell – coming back, this year’s unit is poised to match the success of Clemson’s defensive unit that returned its whole unit before leading the way on a dom-

inant run to the national championship.

Or at least they think so.

“That there changed the game, what Clemson did last year,” Davidson said. “What we just did this year changed a lot.

“We just said, ‘Let’s do it together.’ This year is going to be fun. I keep telling everyone else, ‘It’s going to be a party.’ It really is. I just can’t wait for y’all to see it, because what I see is different.”

With the trio of Coe, Brown and Davidson returning, Auburn brings a force on the defensive line that has an impact in almost every category for the Tigers. The three ranked No. 1 (Coe), No. 2 (Brown) and No. 5 (Davidson) on the team’s sack list last season while accounting for nearly a third of Auburn’s tackles for loss production.

Davidson led the team in quarterback hurries and field goal blocks, while Coe was tied for the team lead in forced fumbles. Brown’s position does not usually offer the flashy stats, but he still doubled his career sack total in 2018.

An emphasis on making a lasting impact on Auburn and unfinished business was a reoccurring statement from the three as a driving force

for their decisions to return.

“Our class can change Auburn, future and now,” Davidson said. “We are going to take care of business. This year, we are going to put it up. We are going to do it well for Auburn, we are going to be real Auburn men.”

The return of Brown, Davidson and Coe offers Auburn a chance to maintain its level of excellence on defense but there still is a big hole to fill with the departure of Dontavius Russell.

Returning contributors Coynis Miller, Tyrone Truesdell and Daquan Newkirk will likely step into the role but as it is looking right now, it will likely be a rotation and not one taking majority of the snaps.

“I think they are going to be great,” Brown said. “Those are guys that have kind of tampered with the surface, but I mean just everyone’s mindset this year is crazy. When we sit down in meetings and stuff, everything is so much more business.”

Another reason for returning was the talk of improving on their already elite repertoire.

“Communicating with others, so we will all be on the same page and not making as many mistakes,” Coe said when asked about what he

could improve on going into next season. “For my skill set, I could get better on my pass rush.

From a pass rush standpoint, I need to get more sacks and more pressures.”

Despite being graded as a first-round prospect in the upcoming draft, Brown will be working on his game, as well.

“Since I’ve been here, coach G has talked to me about my pad level and stuff like that,” Brown said. “Those are things I want to be better at. I want to be better. I want to take care of all the little things now, so when I get to the next level it won’t be a problem. Also, just putting myself in position to win national awards.

I also know that, in doing that, I can only be beneficial in improving myself by helping all these other guys out, being one on defense and being one as a team.”

Leading the team in quarterback hurries with 11 is something most defensive linemen would be proud of, but Davidson sees it as a big point of emphasis to improve on in the offseason.

“I gotta finish on the quarterback this year,” Davidson said. “I took all my work last year to get there, I got there, but now I gotta finish.

FILE PHOTO

Derrick Brown (5) gets the Auburn crowd up and loud in the second half. Auburn vs UCF on Monday, Jan. 1 in Atlanta, Ga.

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lifestyle

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

LIFESTYLE

INCLUSION

ORGANIZATIONS

Humans of AU aims to provide community

By KENSLEY SANDERS Lifestyle Writer

Spectrum

A safe place for all VIA UNSPLASH

By CARMEN MCCRACKIN Lifestyle Writer Having safe spaces on campus or in the community can be an area for advocacy and education that is open to all members of the community, Spectrum Advocacy Chair Raven Le’nard said.

“The community is stronger with allies,” Le’nard said. “It’s not just about us fighting our own cause or self-advocacy, but having people around who will fight on behalf of the community as well.”

Spectrum is Auburn University’s official gender and sexual minority advocacy and support group. Le’nard said having safe spaces like this organization is more about including people than excluding others.

Spectrum’s goal is to promote mutually supportive relationships for all students in the hopes of advancing campus and community diversity.

Spectrum chose to be a gay-straight alliance group instead of strictly pertaining to only members of the LGBTQ community.

“One reason is for safety,” Le’nard said. “The point of the gay-straight alliance is that some people aren’t necessarily out, so having that alliance was a way for people to be in the closet but still have a space.”

One way to ensure safe spaces on campus or in the community is through confidentiality within the group or organization.

Spectrum has a privacy policy, so whatever happens there stays there, Le’nard said.

No pictures or direct quotes can be taken unless given permission, and Spectrum keeps their member roster as private as possible.

Spectrum does this for the privacy and safety of its members and to make sure that no one is “outed” or misrepresented, Le’nard said.

Having safe spaces on campus allows students to explore or express themselves without judgement.

“I feel it’s important to have a space for LGBT people or LGBT people of color because what I felt when I was growing up is that I couldn’t relate to many people,” Le’nard said. “[It’s]mostly because of this facet of myself that I didn’t know I could talk about because there weren’t many designated spaces to do so.”

Le’nard said because of this they did not talk about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“It led to a lot of conflict internally and externally,” Le’nard said. “So I feel that having a space like [Spectrum] is important because people get to talk about those things that are on their minds.”

Unable to have conversations about gender and sexuality identities or express themselves growing up, many LGBTQ individuals were not able to experience relationships that matched with their identities.

This can lead to individuals having trouble recognizing what it means to have a healthy relationship, Le’nard said.

Although Spectrum is welcoming towards everyone in the community, Le’nard recognizes that individuals from different communities have specific needs and different experiences.

“Spectrum has certain programming that’s geared towards LGBT individuals because some things are just different,” Le’nard said. “We have a healthy relationships talk every year, mostly because a lot of the time in the LGBT community, people will not date for a long time.”

Le’nard said there wasn’t people in high school they could talk to.

“If I’m not out in high school, there was no one to date so that happened later on in life,” Le’nard said. “And a lot of people, when they enter relationships they didn’t know what it meant to be in a healthy relationship, especially because it was their first one and it was in college.”

Having programming detailed and geared toward a specific group is a way to get other people to at least think about ways in which we can better all of our lives, Le’nard said.

“What I would like to see would be more people educating themselves on the topic,” Le’nard said. “Especially doing research on their own.”

Le’nard said it has been nice to be able to talk about their experiences, hold panels for different classes and talk about the experience of being LGBTQ on campus.

“But at some point, it starts to become self-advocacy to where a person is expected to explain their whole identity at many different points and times,” Le’nard said. “So people educating themselves on the topic would definitely help a lot because it wouldn’t be up to the marginalized community to advocate for themselves.”

RESOURCE

Influence of Myers-Briggs personality test

By CARRIE JOHNSON Lifestyle Writer

The online Myers-Briggs 16 personalities test presents much controversy concerning its accuracy and helpfulness.

In 1962, Katharine Cook Briggs and daughter Isabel Briggs-Myers created a personality survey from which they eventually developed the popular personality test called the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory.

The results of this test are one of 16 personality types. According to this personality test, almost every person on the planet falls into one of these 16 personality types.

Personality types are determined through four categories: extraversion or introversion, sensing or intuition, thinking or feeling and judging or perceiving.

The test determines which traits out of each of the four categories someone possesses.”

Like many college students, Auburn students often find themselves in a period of self-discovery as they try to understand their own personalities and decide what career path will best suit them.

Caroline Scott, junior in public relations, said reading up on the different traits assessed by MBTI has helped her better understand which of those traits she possesses.

“I think knowing these things about my-

self has helped me channel my strengths when it comes to searching for a job and narrowing down career paths,” Scott said.

She believes that regardless of the accuracy of the results, the test offers helpful information in its articulation of personality traits.

“I’m an ENFJ,” Scott said. “Meaning that I am mainly extraverted, my mind processes things based on intuition, I make decisions based on feeling and my lifestyle reflects judging.”

Scott said this means she is an organized planner.

“I’ve always known that I was extroverted,” Scott said. “But it has always fascinated me to see how I perceive, process and implement information in my life.”

The MBTI personality test has proven to be a popular resource for Auburn students, as some believe it provides excellent insight and clarity for students, enabling them to realize the best social and professional circumstances in which they may thrive.

However, others view the results of this test as a generally inaccurate description of each person’s personality as there is no way to narrow down the eight billion personalities in the world to a list of 16.

There are many issues with this test, both in the design of the measure itself and in how an individual’s type is determined, said Seth Gitter, lecturer in the de-

partment of psychology.

“It uses a categorical system, which basically says you are either this or you are that,” Gitter said. “This is problematic because when we look at personality characteristics, like extroversion/introversion, most people fall in the middle of that dimension.”

He said the scoring method results in people who are mildly introverted being considered the same as those who are extremely introverted and vice versa.

“What the MBTI does is take the mean of the dimension,” Gitter said. “It says that if you are below that point, you are introverted, and if you are above that point, you are extroverted.”

He explained that modern day personality theories do not put people into types like the MBTI does and that it is better to think of people as having a personality profile made up of where they fall on several continuous dimensions of personality.

Gitter said this is the most valid approach for measuring personality, like the method used by Big Five personality inventory.

“If you are undecided of the academic or career path you want to take, assessing your personality with the assistance of a professional could be helpful,” Gitter said.

“But how helpful that will be is dependent on the measures being used.”

Humans of Auburn aims to bring awareness to diversity in the community.

Humans of Auburn — based on the more widely known social media organization, Humans of New York — is a student-led organization that began in 2014 and seeks to share the stories of individuals within the Auburn community.

Members of the organization interview individuals throughout the community and allow them to take the conversation whatever direction they choose.

Nikki Panzica, president of Humans of Auburn, said the organization allows for people to reach others through social media in ways they couldn’t before.

“We are focused on the genuine reality of the lives of those around us to encourage a sense of community that Auburn has never seen,” Panzica said.

She said her hope is that through this organization, students, adults and everyone in between can see the organization’s page and see themselves in other people.

Hannah Holifeild, member of Humans of Auburn, said interaction and feedback with their account are beneficial to interactions between members and students.

The organization helps to bridge the gap between groups and types of people that typically wouldn’t know one another or interact, Holifeild said.

HEALTH

Combating colds this flu season

By ABIGAIL MURPHY Lifestyle Writer

During the winter season, it can be common to experience sore throats and runny noses, but here are some tips to help keep colds at bay during this time of year.

Both Katilya Ware, assistant professor in the department of nursing, and Brooke Bailey, director of infection prevention at East Alabama Medical Center, said hand washing is an effective way to help prevent the common cold.

Bailey said avoiding touching around the eyes or mouth and abiding by cough etiquette is important.

Ware clarified that coughing etiquette is to cough into the elbow instead of a hand to help stop the spread of germs to other people.

If at all possible, try to stay away from people who are sick, Bailey said.

Bailey said to be mindful in public places, and make sure to wash your hands after being around germheavy areas.

As far as what places are germ-heavy, both Ware and Bailey said doorknobs are a big one of which to be aware.

Bailey said grocery carts, remotes or any surface area touched by multiple people should also be avoided if possible.

For students, Ware said the surface of your desk is also a big, germ-infested area.

One myth surrounding catching the common cold is that cold weather can cause someone to get the cold. Ware denied this and said it is just as common to catch colds around winter as in springtime.

The cold is a virus and is often already in someone’s system before they start showing symptoms.

“Technically, the common cold is a virus, and a virus has to run its course,” Ware said. “There are no antibiotics available to treat the common cold.”

Bailey said since the virus cannot be cured with medications, their purpose is to ease symptoms.

When trying to figure out what medicine to take, sometimes looking up the ingredients and what they treat can give a clearer answer, Ware said. This can be more effective than just reading the symptoms on the box.

Ware’s recommendation for non-medication methods to relieve cold symptoms include throat lozenges and warm saltwater gargles.

“Increase your fluid intake,” Ware said. “Always when you get the common cold you want to increase your fluid intake to make sure you’re getting adequate hydration.”

Bailey agreed with this recommendation, stating that drinking fluids and resting will help fight a cold.

“The common cold does mirror influenza,” Ware said. “The big thing there is knowing the difference between the common cold and the flu.”

Because of this, Bailey advocated the importance of getting a flu shot to help reduce the risk of getting that illness.

Both Bailey and Ware agreed if a fever arises, there is a possibility of it being the flu, and they both recommended seeking medical attention.

Ware said another reason to check with a doctor is the possibility for infection.

The cold generally does not extend past ten days, Ware said, so if there are still symptoms, that is another sign to check with a doctor.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019

PAGE 12

FASHION

2019 coined the year for sustainability for clothing

By MADELINE MUSCAT Lifestyle Writer

Because of the production methods exercised by the fast fashion industry, mass amounts of waste have damaged the environment.

Fast fashion is the making of clothes by large retailers at a low cost in order to respond to trends as they are happening.

Fast fashion has been a part of the clothing industry for a really long time, said Dawn Michaelson, lecturer in consumer and design development.

“People have gotten very used to the fact that they can go and sometimes every two weeks there’s new clothing in the stores,” Michaelson said Many people, however, are beginning to see the negative impact of the fashion industry.

“Now people are thinking, ‘what’s happening to all these clothes,’ and that’s why we are starting to see a change,” Michaelson said. “They are going in the landfills.”

A lot of the clothes being thrown away — because they go out of style so quickly — are made from synthetic fabrics. These materials can take hundreds of years to biodegrade.

Decomposition of clothing also emits methane, a damaging greenhouse gas.

Some companies are utilizing recycled fabrics in an effort to promote sustainability.

“There are some places that are actually reusing the fabrics and re-breaking them down back to the fiber level, and then taking those fibers, putting it back into a yarn and then making a fabric,” Michaelson said.

Clothing made from recycled materials is marked on the tag with a symbol.

“The quality of the garments in a lot of places is not as good as it used to be,” Michaelson said. “They knew that the clothing needed to be at a lower price point and that person was only going to be using it for

PHOTO VIA PIXABAY

FILE PHOTO

Morgan Downey shops at a thrift store for vintage clothes on Thursday, March 22, 2018 in Auburn.

maybe a year.”

Some people think clothes are disposable, and others are more sustainably minded, Michaelson said.

There is now a growing trend of “slow fashion,” which produces clothing with sustainability, quali-

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ty and working conditions in mind.

“You see fast fashion slowing down,” Michaelson said. “[But] we are always going to have some level of fast fashion.”

People are now more willing to purchase more expensive invest-

ment pieces that they will wear more rather than trendy, poor-quality clothing, Michaelson said.

He believes people are more aware of the waste and prefer to not throw away their clothes.

“Companies are being more con-

scientious of it,” he said. “You’re going to see a lot more fashion brands coming out and letting their consumers know how they are being sustainable.”

Jen Morse, Office of Sustainability’s communications and outreach coordinator, said fast fashion negatively impacts nature because pollutants go into the air and the water.

She said it negatively impacts individual’s well-being because workers receive low wages and the working conditions are poor.

“Auburn’s apparel merchandising program is promoting sustainability by keeping students informed on current environmental strides in the industry,” said Lauren Dunn, sophomore in apparel merchandising and design production.

Dunn said they are encouraged to implement these strides in the classroom.

“Specifically, in my apparel production management class, we were given a project where we built a brand extension off of an existing company,” Dunn said. “We worked those sustainable technologies into our business model.”

She emphasized the importance in the fashion industry evolving.

“As consumers become more informed and transparency is increasing, it is imperative that the fashion industry evolves and makes strides towards reducing its waste and lessening its overall environmental impact,” Dunn said. .

Morse recommends researching the company and the product you are looking for before purchasing.

“Make sure it falls in line with your values,” she said.

According to a blog released by the Office of Sustainability, shopping at secondhand stores is an effective way to reduce one’s personal consumption.

“Secondhand stores are a great option,” Morse said.

She said shopping online through secondhand retailers is also beneficial to the environment if one selects standard shipping as opposed to two-day shipping.

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Abbigail Hickey, Auburn Universitys campusPrint dietitian speaks with The PlainsDeadline: man on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in Auburn, NoonAla. three business days

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Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Correspondence sign-off 5 Musical series set at McKinley High 9 “Wealth of Nations” author Smith 13 Pot for paella 14 Speaks up?

15 Bit of folklore 16 Mature gentle treatment?

18 B’way hit signs 19 News letters 20 “Have some” 21 Decides not to dele 22 Bodega miss 25 Roe-producing fish 26 Mature sprightly piano classic?

30 Canaanite deity 32 Half a cocktail 33 Handler of “Sex and the City” 34 Costa del __ 35 Mature young infatuation?

39 Taking a sick day, presumably 40 Trivial, as talk 42 Versailles ruler 43 Mouselike animal 45 Mature news newbie?

49 Salty margarita glass spots 50 Low-alcohol beverage 54 Dries gently 56 French menu word 57 Singer Grande’s perfume brand 58 “__ move” 59 Mature “Agnus Dei” translation?

63 Air 64 Word with offering or officer 65 “Who __ knows?”

66 Scandinavian literary work 67 Lie next to 68 Wedding couple?

DOWN 1 Phony 2 Run secretly to the chapel 3 Dispatched, as a dragon 4 Ankle pic 5 Cavern 6 Brit’s facilities 7 Bud on a spud 8 Snaky curve 9 On the line 10 Stunt performer, say 11 Boatloads 12 Food in a hall 14 Braid 17 Notable Ford of the ’70s 21 “__ Persisted”: children’s book about inspirational women 23 Andean tuber 24 Pit-digging insect 25 Handmade blade 27 Eastern “way” 28 Second-oldest Ivy 29 NBC show since 1975

30 Portend 31 Versatile 34 Bro or sis 36 Rich rocks 37 Political initials since 1884 38 Exceedingly 41 Asmara’s nation 44 Poetic sphere 46 Rental ad abbr.

47 Veto 48 Brownish gray 51 Birdie topper

52 Jagged, as a leaf’s edge 53 Carnival attractions 54 Data unit 55 Musician’s forte?

59 Place for a chemical peel 60 Lang. of the Torah 61 __ minérale: French spring supply 62 Gratified

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Paul Coulter ©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

02/07/19

02/07/19