The Auburn Plainsman 03.19.15

Nick Offerman to perform at Comedy on the Plains April 14, A3

The Auburn Plainsman

A Spirit That Is Not Afraid

Thursday, March 19, 2015 Vol. 121, Issue 33, 12 Pages

First copy is free. Additional copies 50 cents per issue.

Ku Klux Klan throws stones

community

Online

Organization delivers recruiting notes weighed down by rocks ThePlainsman.com VIDEO: Fans welcome back basketball team inside campus

Corey Williams Campus Editor

Many Auburn residents woke up Sunday morning, March 15, to the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan fliers in their yards.

Capt. Lorenza Dorsey of the Auburn Police Division said the police received reports of the fliers in numerous yards in the Auburn area.

“No threats were made, but because of the annoyance and the alarm, the Auburn Police Division will be investigating the littering of the yards,” Dorsey said.

In the flier, the Klan called themselves “a pro-White, Christian organization.”

The flier also said the group is not a hate group or affiliated with Neo-nazis.

“We are just White men and women who unapologetically stand up for White people,” the flier said.

Mark Potok, senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said he does not agree with that statement.

“That’s absurd,” Potok said. “Of course the Klan is

» See KKK a2

gymnastics

One step at a time

“

While it’s never pleasant to see the propaganda of the Klan, this does not mean there is some sort of major resurgence.”

—Mark Potok

senior fellow at the Southern poverty law center

community

Page A3

Medical school paves over habitat community

Page A5

Remembering former police chief sports

emily enfinger / photo editor

After tearing both Achilles tendons, Bri Guy recovered and is now performing better than she ever has before.

Page A7

Profile on premier cycling team

Gymnast overcomes two torn Achilles tendons in one year

kelsey gainer / graphics designer

Sam Butler Sports Writer

intrigue

Page A10

Profile on twin women’s basketball team players index Campus Opinion Community Sports Intrigue

Graph shows the total number of certain crimes in Auburn from 2012-14.

A1 A4 A5 A7 A10

For once in her life, Bri Guy, senior in physical activity and health, said she knew her stubbornness would pay off.

Guy had torn both of her Achilles tendons in a floor routine against Alabama, but she didn’t know it immediately.

“I thought I hit a dead spot in the floor, so I was thinking I’d just go ahead and continue with the routine,” Guy said. “The first thing out of my mouth was, ‘Why am I on the ground?’ There was no indication that something to this magnitude happened.”

After she was evaluated, the doctors gave her a string of words no gymnast ever wants to hear.

“At that moment, they honestly thought I was going to be done,” Guy said.

Church raises awareness about community crime Kailey Miller

Community Reporter

Recovering from one torn Achilles is a six to eight month process; tearing both should’ve kept her out of competitions for more than a year, well past the time the senior was scheduled to graduate. But Guy said she refused to accept the prognosis despite what so many people said to her.

“They thought it was going

to be over a year before I was even doing gymnastics again,” Guy said. “But I wasn’t really giving myself any other option. I was saying, ‘This is how we’re going to get back, and I’m going to be back competing my senior year.’”

Guy’s teammates, who have seen her competitive

» See gymnast a2

On Feb. 14, a shooting on Spencer Avenue resulted in the death of Deon T. Nelms. Cornelius C. Reese was arrested on a felony warrant charging him with the murder.

Community members around Spencer Avenue have decided to march to raise crime awareness so their community won’t fall victim to another serious crime.

Stephen Faulk, pastor of Auburn AME Zion Church; and Pamela Pitts, member of Auburn AME Zion Church, decided to organize a march from

their church to Spencer Avenue.

“We are really wanting to let the community, especially those who are in that area, know that we are very, very unhappy and dissatisfied with the crime that has taken place,” Faulk said. “We are wanting the police department, the sheriff’s department and anyone else in law enforcement who can do different things in the community to understand that the community does not endorse this type of behavior.”

Pitts has been before the

» See church a2

14K pearl stud earrings

$39.99

Campus A2

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, March 19, 2015

gymnast

DUI reports

» From A1

The following were arrested and charged with driving under the influence by the Auburn Police Division from March 10-15: March 10: -Samantha Elisa Berry, 21 Lee County Sheriff’s Office, 10:31 a.m.

March 11: -Taeyeon Park, 21 Wrights Mill Road, 9:24 p.m.

March 13: -John Harrison Hood, 19 Cox Street 12:59 a.m.

-Damon Dudley Stahl Jr., 29 W. Glenn Avenue, 1:23 a.m.

-Daonilanh Yotsavath, 25 Society Hill Road, 4:11 a.m.

March 14: -Yosub Song, 23 W. Glenn Avenue,12:28 a.m.

-Karson Blain Williams, 19 Opelika Road, 1:45 a.m.

-William Mark Wortham, 37 E. Glenn Avenue, 11:44 p.m.

March 15: Caleb Agee Smith, 19 N. College Street, 3:20 a.m.

A full crime report provided by the Auburn Department of Public Safety is available online at ThePlainsman.com.

–Reports provided by the Auburn Department of Public Safety

KKK

» From A1 a hate group. The basis of its ideology is hatred of black people along with a whole lot of other categories.”

The Klan has actually been growing weaker in recent years, according to Potok.

“While it’s never pleasant to see the propaganda of the Klan, this does not mean there is some sort of major resurgence,” Potok said.

Phil Ordonez, senior in sociology, said he lives near the Glenn Avenue and Dean Road intersection where the fliers were delivered.

Ordonez said he didn’t know what he was seeing at first.

“It was in a bag of rocks, and my roommate collects gemstones,” Ordonez said.

“I thought maybe he dropped them.”

The rocks were probably attached so the flier wouldn’t fly away, according to Ordonez.

“Our neighborhood is a predominately family neighborhood, so I don’t know why they chose to do it here,” Ordonez said.

Jasmine Pettaway, presidnet of the Black Student Union, said she is extremely disappointed about the KKK fliers being passed out this past weekend.

“I know that you can’t eradicate racism, but I am disgusted that the KKK feels that it is just as easy to openly advertise and recruit hatred by passing out flyers as it is to get people to come to a new store opening or join a campus organization at O-Days,” Pettaway said.

The Klan was not able to be reached for comment before publication.

spirit so many times before, said they didn’t believe she was done either.

“Honestly, I don’t think anybody believed it,” said Megan Walker, gymnast earning her second degree in marketing. “I don’t think one person did. Not for a moment did we think that she wouldn’t be competing again.”

Surgery followed, and several weeks of zipping around campus on a motorized scooter came soon after. But once Guy was ready to take the next step on her long road to recovery, she had to relearn how to take a step.

She had to learn how to walk again.

“I’m a really stubborn person, so the whole, ‘Oh, you’re going to have to learn how to walk again,’ thing didn’t really compute,” Guy said. “That’s not the case.

It’s a whole different ballpark when you have to figure out what you need to move first to actually walk.”

Nine months later, Guy was back on the floor competing in the sport she grew to love. However, she said she knows she couldn’t have beaten her prognosis without support.

“It was motivation from my coaches, all the training staff and my teammates,” Guy said. “Really, if they hadn’t been up my case saying, ‘Hey, don’t feel sorry for yourself,’ or ‘Hey, you can do this, keep trucking, just do you,’ it would’ve taken 10 times longer.”

Coach Jeff Graba said he couldn’t have been more supportive of her speedy recovery.

“From my aspect, I think she needed a gymnastics advocate,” Graba said. “Even that night [of her injuries] we were talking, ‘What’s our plan to get you back?’

We were encouraging the doctors and the therapy, but at the same time being smart about it.”

Graba watched the entire process, from when Guy crumpled into a heap in February 2014 to when she began doing gymnastics activities again and to when she finally was able to compete again against North Carolina in January.

church » From A1

Auburn City Council to discuss their plan to march. Pitts said they are trying to pull some other people from the community, including students, to participate in the march.

“It’s not just over there on Spencer,” Pitts said. “We’ve had a number of shootings on Longleaf. We really want to step forward with the police and address the issues that are going on in the communities.”

Police Chief Paul Register said APD has officers who patrol that area daily.

“

emily enfinger / photo editor

Bri Guy is now back on the team after recovering from two torn Achilles tendons.

Graba said seeing Guy back in the gym in front of a crowd was emotional, but he had gotten his more emotional moments with her out of the way during her difficult trek back to health.

“My emotional stuff with her was the first day she was able to do gymnastics again, and the first day she was doing all these tricks,” Graba said. “There were milestones along the way that I had already invested my emotions in at that point. (Her first event) was a big moment for me too, but it wasn’t as emotional for me as some of the other ones, the practice days that nobody else saw.”

This season, Guy has led the way for an Auburn team that is currently ranked No. 8 in the nation, setting a career-best in uneven bars against then-No. 12 Arkansas, and helping the Tigers to some of their highest scores in the program’s history.

When all is said and done, Walker said the lessons Guy has imprinted on the members of the team will pay dividends down the road. One lesson, however, has stood out among the rest. “(The biggest lesson is) self-motivation,” Walker said. “There are plenty of days when it’s hard to come to the gym, when it’s hard to work out. But you can’t say it’s hard for you, when the girl with two Achilles tears is coming back and doing it.”

Senior Night took place Friday, March

Register said their officer was the first person to arrive at the scene the night of the shooting on Spencer Avenue because they were a few blocks away patrolling when they heard the gunfire. The officer responded before anybody called.

“The only disappointing thing I’ll say about that night is that nobody called us about that shooting,” Register said. “We were there because that officer heard the shooting.”

Register said he has not been contacted by any churches but said he invites the public to talk to him personally if they have any issues.

If I hadn’t been sticking with it and telling myself that I’m going to reach this goal by this time, then I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

—Bri Guy

gymnast

13, and it wasn’t too long ago where Guy could’ve been sitting on the sidelines, watching her teammates go out on a high note.

Guy said she knows she should have been done competing.

If Guy didn’t have the drive and determination to get back to where she is today, her last memory of gymnastics would’ve been at a meet lying on a mat, unable to walk.

Instead, Guy can hang her hat on being stubborn.

“If I hadn’t been sticking with it and telling myself that I’m going to reach this goal by this time, then I don’t know what I would’ve done,” Guy said. “Appropriate stubbornness, I guess. You’re going to have those days where you’re more stubborn. I think I’ve learned when to be stubborn and when to push it and when not to.”

Faulk said the march will start at AME Zion Church and go to Spencer Avenue, where they will rally, sing and pray, and then march back to the church.

“If this had been a white person killing a black person or shooting a black person in the neighborhood, you know everybody would have been up in arms, but this is black on black,” Faulk said. “Black on black crime is just as bad as even a white person killing a black person or a police killing a black person because we need to start valuing life regardless to whose life it is and who

takes the life.”

Register said police patrolling in that area are visible, but since the incident, they have made sure they were even more visible.

“I’m wanting to pull in pastors of all the churches in the community, parents of children who attend the school, University, everybody I think needs to help send a message that we value life and regardless to who does the killing, who does the shooting, it is wrong,” Faulk said.

The march will take place Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m. if it is approved by the council.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Auburn Plainsman

Campus A3

Building paves over habitat

entertainment

construction

K yle N azario

Contributing Writer

contributed by Sasquatch Film Festival

Nick Offerman will perform in the old Student Activity Center on April 14.

From Pawnee

to the Plains Nick Offerman will be UPC’s spring comedian Corey Williams Campus Editor

Nick Offerman, known for his role as Ron Swanson from “Parks and Recreation,” is UPC’s spring comedian.

Amanda Hurite, UPC president and senior in industrial engineering, said she expects a positive student reaction to the Comedy on the Plains announcement. “‘Parks and Recreation’” is just wrapping up and Ron Swanson, Nick Offerman’s character has been pretty big in the media right now,” Hurite said. “I think students will really love it.”

Miranda Marty, UPC director of speakers and comedians and junior in public relations, said picking the spring comedian was a process.

“We all bring to the table a list of people we think students will want to see,” Marty said. “Then we narrow it down to three people. From there we just check availability and check

price ranges, and Nick was just a lucky winner. We happened to luck out.”

Marty said she is hoping for a sold out crowd.

“Last year’s comedian, BJ Novak, was a huge success,” Marty said. “We’re hoping it will be at the same level, if not better.”

UPC reserved more than 1,000 tickets in the hours after the announcement, according to Bethany Bittinger, assistant director of speakers and comedians and sophomore in aerospace engineering.

Offerman will appeal to Auburn students, according to Bittinger.

“He became an Internet meme and he is very recognizable to people,” Bittinger said.

Offerman will perform at the old Student Activity Center on April 14, at 7 p.m. Students can reserve tickets for free at cws. auburn.edu/upcTicket and tickets are $20 for the public.

Auburn University shattered a rare ecological system when it gave land for a new medical college, leaving only “fragments,” according to John Kush, research fellow in the school of forestry and wildlife sciences.

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine building, which began construction in February 2013, sits atop 15 of 21 acres in a plot of land which Kush said was managed by the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences since the 1950s.

“Most people didn’t realize (the site) had a remarkable amount of what an ecologist might call residual biodiversity,” said Sharon Hermann, assistant professor of biological sciences. “The natural native ecosystem was not really intact, but there were a surprising number of individuals scattered around, of both plants and animals, that were once there 200-300 years ago.”

Hermann said the VCOM site was useful because it showed the Southeast as it existed in the past. The site held animals and plants such as trillium, mayapple, cardinal flower and the southeastern five line skink.

Hermann said she and her students also found eastern kingsnakes on the property. According to her field notes, her undergraduate students spotted the snakes four times between Oct. 28, 2012, and June 30, 2013.

The eastern kingsnake is a protected species in the state of Alabama, according to Craig Guyer, professor of biological sciences and the herpetologist who positively identified the snakes found by the students. Guyer said the blackand-white-banded serpents have been hard to find in the Southeastern United States since the early 1980s, though they are not federally protected.

Kingsnakes are considered useful, Guyer said, because they generally leave people alone, are not venomous and eat venomous snakes.

The University announced in October 2013 its plan to give the land to VCOM for development.

Becky Barlow, professor of biological sciences, and Kush said despite a letter-writing campaign from themselves and students who had used the area for research projects, the University still used the land.

“The site had tremendous potential,” Hermann said. “It was hard to lose that site, even though I understand the University needed someplace to put that building and that there’s a lot of money involved.”

ellen jackson / photographer

Construction on the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine building began in 2013.

Auburn University architect Jim Carroll said the Office of Facilities Management recommended the site because of its advantageous location.

“Long term, we are master-planning that for the health sciences sector,” Carroll said.

Carroll said his office selected the site because of its proximity to campus and the research park could encourage collaborative research between the College of Osteopathic Medicine and the planned nursing school.

“It’s our job to evaluate the highest and best use of every piece of property the University owns,” Carroll said.

“You could argue that we could have had that on Wire Road or it could have been down by the veterinary school, but that did not have the strength of having it adjacent to the health science sector.”

Mike Kensler, director of the Office of Sustainability, said the University has been working with VCOM and contractor Brasfield and Gorrie to develop the building in an environmentally friendly manner.

Kensler said, if done properly, developing campus land did not have to affect the stormwater runoff and remaining habitat.

Kush, who worked on the VCOM land for 12 years, said he doubted the contractors could handle the flooding.

Kush also said the building would inevitably impact the environment.

“You’re taking something that was 21 acres and paving over most of it,” Kush said. “What they left were little fragments that couldn’t support the whole variety [of species].”

Kush said the exact spot where Hermann found the rare kingsnakes is now a parking lot.

No one who spoke to The Auburn Plainsman said they knew what happened to the eastern kingsnakes found on the VCOM site.

Guyer said it is “virtually certain” the snakes stayed on the site through construction in spring 2014 because they had begun reproducing.

Carroll said the Office of Facilities Management commissioned a study by BioResources, LLC., an outside contractor, to check the site for federally listed plant and animal species.

Carroll said though he knew kingsnakes were on the property, he did not know if they lived on the 15 acres occupied by the VCOM building.

Roger Clay, marine biologist for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said his department would need proof of the kingsnakes being killed during construction to pursue action against Auburn University.

Clay called chances of any legal consequences “slim to none.” With the VCOM building almost complete, Guyer said it’s too late to save rare species such as the eastern kingsnake on that particular site.

The best plan for the future, according to Guyer, is to map every plant and animal species on campus.

“I’d love to see it,” Guyer said.

“We’d like to provide that so that the campus will be armed with that when they think about developing in the future.”

outreach

SGA’s BIG Event makes a ‘big’ impact at Auburn K ris M artins

Campus Reporter

The BIG Event kicked off at 8 a.m. Saturday morning, March 14, when approximately 2,050 volunteers rallied in the Student Center Ballroom before being sent to 200 work sites in the Auburn community, according to Michael Waldrum, junior in business and director of The BIG Event.

Behind the scenes, 165 team members worked to recruit volunteers and job sites among other tasks leading up to the event.

“Every year is unique in its own way,” Waldrum said. “We’re visiting all types of people, and everybody is kind of different every year.”

Waldrum said he has met people he would never have known without the program.

“It’s such a cool experience to get to know someone who lives right around the corner from you or just in the neighborhood that you might not have known before and to hear their story and get to know them,” Waldrum said.

Leighellen Morrison, project coordinator for The BIG Event and sophomore in elementary education, supervised three work sites: St. Michael’s Catholic Church and two residents’ homes.

Morrison rotated to each one, assisting the teams as necessary.

“We stay focused on our college, our classes, everything we’re doing here, but it’s so cool to take this day and focus on the other parts about Auburn that we love and the community around us that we’re taking over all the time,” Morrison said. “I just love that we get that opportunity.”

Shelby Means, freshman in undeclared science and math, was team captain over St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Her team of 10 cleaned inside the church and around the playground.

Means said she decided to participate after hearing positive comments about The BIG Event.

Means said she was ready to be involved and contribute as much as possible.

“

It’s really great to see that every year we do have an impact more than just raking leaves and painting. We do touch people’s lives.”

—Katelyn Ahern

director of publicity for the big event

“I was so excited when I found out we had the church because there are so many churches in Auburn,” Means said. “I feel like that’s something that’s neglected a lot of times. They do so much for us, so I’m excited to do a lot for them.”

After the project finished at 1 p.m., Means said she enjoyed her experience working at the church.

“The people there were super nice,” Means said. “It wasn’t them telling us what to do and then just leaving us to it. They helped, and they had as much of a part in it.”

Means said she looks forward to participating again next year.

“Everybody in my group did what they were supposed to do, and we had a lot of fun,” Means said. “It didn’t feel like we were working. It felt like we were having fun and talking while getting all of this done too.”

Katelyn Ahern, director of publicity for The BIG Event and senior in biochemistry, said the event went smoothly this year thanks to the event staff and the faithfulness of the volunteers.

During the day, Ahern received texts from and photos of the volunteers.

One of the homeowners even sent a poem about the event and meeting the volunteers, according to Ahern.

“It’s really great to see that every year we do have an impact more than just raking leaves and painting,” Ahern said. “We do touch people’s lives.”

photos by Adam Sparks / Photographer

TOP: Aubie gets BIG Event participants ready for the day.

BOTTOM: BIG Event participants at St. Michael’s load boxes.

Opinion

a4

Thursday, March 19, 2015

ThePlainsman.com

Opinion

our view

A Pearl of a postseason Topic:

SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PLAINS

Auburn men’s

Responses to “OPINION: New scoreboard might be unnecessary”

basketball made it to the sec semi-finals despite losing season

Dave Detterming “Might?”

Jennifer Mason Dailey “This upgrade is really more for recruits than for fans.

Imagine being given a tour of the stadium and seeing yourself running onto the field on a HUGE screen. It’s might seem minor to fans, but to a recruit, it could be a huge selling point.”

Viewpoint:

bruce pearl has improved the team; seasons will only improve

The Auburn men’s basketball team surprised us at the SEC tournament when they beat Mississippi State after struggling into the tournament with a six-game losing streak.

We were even happier when they beat Texas A&M. We were astounded and ecstatic when they beat LSU after KT Harrell’s buzzer beater forced them into overtime.

While the tournament ended after a loss to the unbeaten No. 1 team, Kentucky, the basketball team had successfully proven they are well on their way to improvement.

Auburn’s basketball team hadn’t won a game in the SEC tournament since 2009 and had only won two games in the tournament since 1999.

For the last decade Auburn has been essentially irrelevant on the hardwood, despite former coach Barbee outspending Kentucky on recruiting in the 2012-2013 season. According to USA Today’s findings, Auburn spent about $464,000 while Kentucky averaged $400,000.

It was still a losing season. It was also coach Bruce Pearl’s first losing season in his 21 years of coaching. Auburn ended with 15 games won and 20 games lost.

There was not much change in the regular seasons win-to-loss ratio and Pearl has a long road ahead to make the team a regular threat to other teams in the SEC. Pearl as made it abundently clear the team can’t improve until the talent does, but he needs to continue to strive to get the best

Vaughn Street “Why not shut up and let us have the new scoreboard without the Plainsman stirring up unnecessary crap. We Alumni give plenty and we want it. We tolerate a substandard stadium, let us have at least something that’s better than anyone elses.”

Joey Falcon “Great, Good for you. But there are tons of students that don’t have parents paying for their tuition that have to deal with continuously rising prices. Don’t get mad at a student run publication for choosing topics that affect student wallets, especially considering the publication is mostly meant for other students.”

kelsey gainer / graphic designer

out of the players he has.

However, improvement in the team was evident in how they performed at the SEC tournament. Pearl has gotten a lot from players he did not recruit and is expected to have success during recruiting season.

This year he has gotten six recruits ­— five commited with letters of intent and one, Danjel Purifoy, who is expected to sign a letter of intent before the end of the summer.

Three of them are four-star recruits. Trayvon Reed has already joined the team and Horace Spencer will come next year. The others are three-star recruits.

Also, despite the mediocre season, Pearl changed and renewed the atmosphere around Auburn’s men’s basketball program.

He spent more time than any other coach on campus hyping up the basketball season, visiting classes, buying lunch for students at Mama Goldberg’s and taking pictures on the concourse. His promotions filled the stands with record-breaking numbers of fans in attendance.

The team seemed excited to play under Pearl, a drastic change from Barbee.

Pearl did well motivating his team to

question of the week:

Tracy Tidwell “Student tuition rates are more greatly affected by the wonderful Alabama politicians, not the stadium scoreboard or any other stadium expansion. Athletics pays for itself and has no bearing on student tuition.”

Do you believe Bruce Pearl has made a noticeable improvement in the basketball team?

Kyle IckyBob Gissendaner “Good to see the money I worked hard for going to such a terrible investment. How about building a new Parker building instead? This is just nonsense. Why do you need a big screen for the game when you are already at the game?!?

Smh....”

Yes, we’re only going up from here

Drew Adkins “This person must have inside knowledge about the inner workings of the finances of Auburn athletics. Thanks for the insight! #sarcasmheavy”

No, we had a losing season I only care about our football team

Will Caldwell “What they should spend money on is building us more parking close to campus”

Vote online at ThePlainsman.com keep playing through the SEC tournament despite low expectations. He will have to keep up that motivation to keep fans in the stands next year.

With Pearl’s performance this season we fully expect him to have a stellar recruiting class and a much better season next year.

Responses to “A female student on a bike collided with a Tiger Transit bus at the Mell Street Loop.

Updates to come. @AuburnU” @ThenTylaSaid “‘@TheAUPlainsman @AuburnU What in the world?!

How?!”

her view

@jthuber96 “@TheAUPlainsman @AuburnU @JimWLittle free tuition for everybody now”

Rank didn’t influence my school choice Tracy Awino campus@theplainsman. com

I would say most people who were looking to attend college looked at a website’s ranking of the universities at least once.

The search title would probably be something like, “Top ranked universities in the U.S.” or “Best universities in America.” But what exactly are we saying defines “best?”

“Best” is such an ambiguous adjective especially when it comes to rankings, such as those for schools.

A research team may set up different criteria for ranking the schools, but once again this does not really define what “best” means.

Auburn was recently ranked as No. 1 public university in the state and No. 52 nationally by American City Business Journals.

Some of the criteria were how selective the admissions processes were graduation rates and prestige.

However, besides making us — the students, faculty and administrators — feel a

sense of pride, there is nothing else these rankings do in terms of swaying the minds of potential students.

Rankings stand to promote a school’s popularity, per se, but besides that, they are subjective and are limited to the research team’s criteria.

U.S. News and World Report ranked Auburn as the No. 48 public university in America. There is no benefit from such a survey, besides telling me the school I attend is in the top-50 best colleges in the United States,.

Campus tours are an opportunity for potential students to determine whether they feel as though they fit in with the surroundings of the campus.

Regardless of whether a university was ranked as the No. 1 university in America or if it was ranked in the bottom 10, how a student feels adjusting to the campus is what matters. There have been several freshmen who have transferred from “top” universities within their first two semesters simply because they didn’t feel like they fit in.

Instead of rushing to Google to search what a website thinks of the school, it is more efficient to take a trip to the school itself.

Look at the institution’s surroundings, the

overall well-being of the students there and pros and cons of being in that school.

Additionally, if a school has been consistently ranked as a top 10, 15 or whatever the quantity, by several websites then this can further help a potential student narrow down their choices based on what he or she is looking for in a university.

However, if a school has low rankings, then there may be an indication that there are problems with it.

A student who may be interested in going to a school that has a bad reputation may refer to the rankings and use that as a possible deciding factor.

Overall, rankings are like a popularity contest. They don’t take into account preferences of various students.

They are there, however, to make the people attending those schools to have great conversation starters after graduation when they say they attended a top-ranked university.

But what people fail to ask is, “top ranked according to who?”

Tracy Awino is a campus writer at The Plainsman. She can be reached at campus@ThePlainsman.com.

Ashtyne Cole

Editor-in-Chief

Jim Little

Maddie Yerant

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Sports

Online

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Corey Williams

Opinion

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campus

@becky_lynn__ “@smp0002 I think we need to make a trip to Auburn!” @smp0002 “@becky_lynn__ yes!!! This would be so much fun!!!”

Managing Editor - Maddie Yerant

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The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages.

SPorTS

These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

@hollybug089 “@cassy.grace change of plans for my day of birth”

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The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from students, as well as faculty, administrators, alumni and those not affiliated with the University.

The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.

Responses to the photo “Nick Offerman will perform at UPC’s Comedy on the Plains on April 14.””

CAMPuS

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Letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification, though the name of the author may be withheld upon request. Submission may be edited for grammar and/or length. Please submit no more than 400 words.

@pamfree74 “@TheAUPlainsman @AuburnUPC PLEASE not Nick Jonas! Lip sync - mark my word. #nickcantsing”

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Community Thursday, March 19, 2015

A5 ThePlainsman.com

Community

Remembering Chief ‘Buddy’ MEMORIAL

city

Community mourns the loss of former Auburn Police Chief Frank DeGraffenried Kailey Miller

community reporter

The community is mourning the loss of former Auburn Police Chief Frank “Buddy” DeGraffenried who died Thursday, March 5. As his nickname “Buddy” implies, DeGraffenried was a friend to many.

DeGraffenried served the Auburn Police Division for 33 years. He became police chief in 2003 and retired in 2010.

“He was as good as they get as a police chief; he was the finest man I’ve ever known to wear a badge,” said Tommy Dawson, former Auburn police chief and current Ward 8 city councilman.

“He was a good man who cared about the citizens of Auburn, especially Auburn students. He was really concerned with their safety.”

Paul Register, current Auburn police chief, said DeGraffenried was still extremely involved in the community after he retired.

Register said DeGraffenried was involved with United Way, a local school board, Alabama Association of Chiefs of Police and attended state legislature meetings to bring awareness to issues during these sessions.

DeGraffenried was Register’s boss before he retired.

“Even when things would be difficult, I can just always remember him being very relaxed and not worrying about anything,” Register said. “I can remember serious cases that we’ve worked, and he just never would get rattled or bothered by it. He was just always able to be calm and confident.”

Dawson said DeGraffenried taught him you could find a purpose in everybody and to be more patient with people.

Dawson said he considered DeGraffenried to be one of his true friends he could always count

“

Contributed by the city of auburn

Blue shows some areas where parking will be free.

Free parking during break

The way he lived his everyday life was one of my favorite things about him. It’s hard to find a more caring man. He was the type of individual that if you couldn’t get along with him, you couldn’t get along with anybody.”

Jim Little

COMMUNITY EDITOR

—Tommy Dawson

auburn ward 8 city councilman

on.

“He’s going to leave such a big legacy it’s unbelievable,” Dawson said.

After DeGraffenried retired, he spent a lot of his time with his family and on his farm in Notasulga. Register said it was obvious family was very important to DeGraffenried.

“Up until the very day he passed away, he enjoyed his farm, you know, being on his tractor, being with his animals, his grandchildren, his wife,” Register said.

Bill James, director of public safety for Auburn, said he worked with DeGraffenried every day, starting in 2004 until the time he retired.

James also said DeGraffenried smiled or laughed every time he saw him.

“He did everything the right way, treated everybody fairly, wanted the best for people and helped in anyway he could,” James said. “He was very professional and fair.”

Dawson said no matter who showed up and wanted to see DeGraffenried, even if they had

contributed by renee delaney

Former Chief Frank DeGraffenreid died March 5.

a problem, he would take time out of his day to make sure he could talk to them.

“The way he lived his everyday life was one of my favorite things about him,” Dawson said.

“It’s hard to find a more caring man. He was the type of individual that if you couldn’t get along with him, you couldn’t get along with anybody.”

A memorial service for DeGraffenried will be held Thursday, March 19, at the Auburn United Methodist Church at 3 p.m.

“I have a hard time accepting that he’s actually gone,” Dawson said. “I’m thankful I know where he’s at. I know he went to heaven.”

For those staying in town over spring break, free parking will be available in downtown Auburn.

The city code of Auburn allows for parking holidays, usually tied to when the University is out, according to David Dorton, public affairs director for the City of Auburn.

Meter-free parking will begin on Monday, March 23, and last until Friday, March 27. The city does not charge for parking on the weekends. Electronic parking meters will not accept payment when parking is free, according to the city’s newsletter.

“At the end of the day, the reason why we have meters is more to make sure parking turns over and is available,” Dorton said. “But during spring break, we’re not enforcing the meters, so folks can hopefully be encouraged to come downtown.”

Dorton said downtown businesses encourage the city to publicize the parking holidays.

“I do think (the downtown businesses) get a benefit out of it.” Dorton said. “(The free parking) gives people a chance to enjoy things while they’re quiet.”

Community A6

Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Auburn Plainsman

awards

Yarbrough Tennis Center receives national recognition Pierce Ostwalt Community Writer

The Professional Tennis Registry recently awarded Auburn’s Yarbrough Tennis Center the Public Tennis Facility of the Year.

“We basically received this award for growing tennis,” said Travis DeBardelaben, Yarbrough Tennis Center director. “In doing our service to the local community and holding a lot of events, as well as working with the University, we have been bringing in local people as well as a lot of people from outside the area.”

The registry gives their award not only based on the events held at the center, but also on the support of the crowds that come for each event and the growth of community tennis programs. “(The registry) recognized that we were growing locally in our programs,” DeBardelaben said.

“I think the first year we had 13,000 or 14,000, and we’ve grown since then. Last year, we had about 55,000 people come through.”

These numbers not only include the players in each event, but also the parents, families and friends who come in support.

Locally, the Auburn Community Tennis Association helps promote events for the Auburn area and hosts them at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

The ACTA’s goal is to promote, develop and enhance tennis at all levels in the Auburn area by providing programs, events and services, according Sandy Krietemeyer, ACTA president.

“We promote the [United States Tennis Association] as well as recreational tennis to bring

more people in at different levels of play,” Krietemeyer said. “We have an event on the first Friday of every month called Friday Night Mixers. It’s $5 and people come in and play at different levels of round robin play.”

The ACTA also hosts many other events in addition to playing tennis, such as carnival nights for junior team tennis, cookouts and a viewing party for the U.S. Open.

“It’s a real draw to have different types of events that people want to come out and see, including people that come out to see the University teams play,” said Rebecca Richardson, parks and recreation director.

The Yarbrough center hosts several events each year for all ages and levels of tennis play.

This year there are 16 main events planned, with an estimated economic impact of $2-$5 million expected to be coming into the Auburn community for local vendors, hotels, food and shops downtown, according to DeBardelaben.

“We are recognized nationally now,” DeBardelaben said. “In the past, we have hosted the SEC Championships for both men and women, a women’s pro tournament and national junior tournaments.”

The Yarbrough Tennis Center is also the location of tennis play for the Auburn University men’s and women’s teams.

“We have mixers, fundraisers and many events,” DeBardelaben said. “We also have (Auburn) University and they have matches there routinely. It’s just a cutting-edge kind of situation

Amelia Johannes / Photographer

Auburn’s Yarbrough Tennis Center is the Professional Tennis Registry’s 2015 Public Tennis Facility of the Year.

that is two in one and has worked out very well.”

Though the University tennis teams have court priority for their matches, when available, the courts are open to Yarbrough Tennis Center’s events and the public’s use.

“It’s kind of a unique concept,” Richardson said. “We were selected for our facility and the concept of the facility, building it as a partnership with Auburn athletics, and thereby being able to provide additional things to the public.”

The center has 34 courts including hard court, indoor and clay, which allows for a range of pos-

sible events that can be held at the facility.

DeBardelaben said he hopes to host more college tournaments or even a professional tournament.

“The one thing about breaking in for hosting a regional for NCAA is that you have to be in the top 16,” DeBardelaben said. “Our facility is definitely able to host, but our Auburn team(s) need a higher rank in order to do that. We will also be looking at trying to host a men’s pro tournament in the future and we have hosted a regional event every year for the past few years.”

City Council

Police partners with U. S. Marshals Kailey Miller

Community Reporter

The Auburn City Council voted to execute a memorandum of understanding with the United States Marshals Service during their meeting Tuesday, March 17.

“What we’ve agreed to do is have one of our investigators work in an as needed part-time role with this task force,” said Paul Register, police chief.

“What it will do is give us the ability to have more knowledge about fugitives that may be in this area, in our region, even if they’re not fugitives related to our cases.”

The mission of the task force is to investigate and arrest people who have active state and federal warrants for their arrest, according to city documents.

Register said the APD already works with the Marshals any time there is a fugitive in close proximity to

Auburn, but this arrangement will be a more formal partnership. It will give the police division more insight as to who is in the area, and additional resources.

Register said this partnership is not the result of any sort of present fugitive problems occurring in Auburn.

“It’s best to form those relationships when you don’t have anything big going on,” said Bill James, public safety director. “If you do have something big going on, then you contact somebody that you’re already familiar with, that you’ve had contact with, and it’s not basically a cold call when you need their assistance.”

James said the Marshals have the latest technology and capabilities for finding fugitives, which will help make the Auburn community safer.

Dustin Holt, detective with the Auburn Police Division, will be allowed to act as a part-time member of the

U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force. vThe work that needs to be done in Auburn will come first, and Holt will assist the Marshals on an as-needed basis, James said.

“We will be addressing fugitives that will be more involved in violent crimes, working with them to deal with fugitives that commit crimes of violence involving weapons and drugs and gang affiliation,” Register said.

“That will just give us the ability to further guard our community against those types of situations.”

Register said Holt is the first person they have assigned to the Regional Fugitive Task Force, but they have had other agents on other types of task forces in the past.

“He already has a relationship with the Marshal service so it’s a good fit,” said Charles Duggan, city manager, in regards to Holt being chosen for the

jim little / community editor

The parternship with the U.S. Marshals gives the police more information about fugitives.

task force. “We are partnering with them so that if they’re working in the Southeast and they need multiple personnel we have one identified to work with.”

Holt began working for the City of Auburn as a patrol officer in 2009, and was promoted to detective in 2012.

Register said Holt’s position with the task force is open-ended, but said he feels it will be a long-term arrangement.

“I think it’s a good partnership for us,” Register said. “We’ll get a lot of benefit with being affiliated with that group.”

politics

Women voters host prison reform speaker Kendyl Hollingsworth Community Writer

A member of the Southern Poverty Law Center brought up several points about the problems Alabama prisons face in a talk given at Auburn First Baptist Church on Monday, March 16. The event was hosted by the League of Women Voters of East Alabama.

Maria Morris, managing attorney in the SPLC’s Alabama office, stressed the need for improvement in areas, such as overcrowding, victimization and lack of proper resources in adult prisons across the state.

“I knew when I came here that Alabama’s prisons were extremely overcrowded, and I came from California, where we worked on overcrowded prisons there, but there’s no other place in the United States where prisons are running at these kinds of levels,” Morris said.

According to Morris, one facility is operating at more than 300 percent capacity; Kilby Correctional Facility, a men’s prison built for 440 people, has been housing more than 1,400 inmates for years.

Morris also said Alabama prisons are mostly full of disadvantaged people.

Besides the majority of African-American inmates in Alabama prisons, there is also a high number of mentally ill inmates because of the closure of several mental health facilities, according to Morris.

Alabama has the third high-

est incarceration rate after Louisiana and Mississippi, but is ranked 23rd in the nation in violent crime rates, according to Morris.

Another point Morris touched on was the severe underemployment of prison guards and widespread lack of professionalism on the job.

There is also underemployment of health care professionals in the prison system, which factors into the need for better medical and mental health care for inmates.

“We are trying to run a professional organization, and that’s one of the things that is critical for the Alabama prison system to get better,” Morris said. “It needs to happen that the wardens and all of the people underneath them see that it’s good and respected and rewarded to be professional in the way they run their prison system.”

The audience asked several questions and provided their own input throughout the talk as well.

One member of the audience, Martha Leonard, said she enjoyed the talk.

“I think it was very beneficial to everybody that’s got loved ones in prison, and I feel like people are trying to help the inmates and help their loved ones improve their life when they do get out, and improve their life while they’re in prison,” Leonard said. “The public needs to get more involved in the prison systems.”

Sports Thursday, March 19, 2015

scoreboard

A7 ThePlainsman.com

Sports

Cycling

Baseball (14-7, 0-3)

RECENT Win vs. UAB, 6-4 Loss at Texas A&M, 6-1 Loss at Texas A&M, 10-4 Loss at Texas A&M, 6-4 UPCOMING March 20-22 vs. Vanderbilt

No. 9 softball (29-2, 3-0)

Starting a vicious cycle contributed by the auburn flyers

The 2015 Auburn Flyers pose for a team photo. Additional members have allowed the Flyers to become more competitive in 2015.

‘New direction’ boosts Flyers Derek Thompson Sports Reporter

RECENT Win at Ole Miss, 10-2 Win at Ole Miss, 7-3 Win at Ole Miss, 14-3 Win at Troy, 2-0 UPCOMING March 20-22 vs. Kentucky

no. 8 Gymnastics (6-5)

RECENT Win vs. North Carolina 197.100-194.025 UPCOMING March 21 - SEC Championship April 4 - NCAA Regional

equestrian (6-6)

top Contributed by Auburn Flyers & amelia Johannes / photographer

TOP: The Auburn Flyers compete in a race with Georgia Tech and the University of Alabama. BOTTOM: Auburn Flyers Frank Whittle (left) and Nathan Spence (right) pose in front of Samford Hall. Spence said he wants his new direction to encourage more people to join the Auburn Flyers.

After delivering Jimmy John’s sandwiches on his road-racing bike for a few months, Adam Hauser, senior in chemical engineering, joined the “premier cycling group in the Auburn-Opelika area for college students.”

The Auburn Flyers used to not welcome beginning cyclists, such as Hauser, because they wanted a team with only the fastest cyclists, according to Flyers president Nathan Spence, junior in civil engineering.

Since Spence took charge of the Flyers in 2012, the group has headed in a new direction.

“I kind of wanted to take it in a direction that the past Flyers had not gone,” Spence said. “They were mostly about racing and being as fast as they can. I didn’t want to do that. We try to encourage cycling in all forms and all levels. We definitely try to encourage everybody to ride no matter how strong or how fast they are.”

This welcoming approach has helped the cycling group grow and become more successful throughout the past three years, according to Flyers coach James Wenzel, professor of clinical sciences.

“We have off and on had a competitive team,” Wenzel said. “Now we are one of the bigger clubs that has been at Auburn University. We have riders in four out of six categories.”

Spence said they expect to move into the top 3 of the Southeastern Collegiate Cycling Conference standings after their

gymnastics

Football

Mats and Music

Stevens ready to step into offense

Musically-inclined Graba builds gymnastics power

David McKinney

assistant sports Editor

Andrew Monson sports writer

LAST WEEK Loss at Texas A&M, 12-7 Win at NMSU, 11-8 UPCOMING March 27-28 SEC Championships

Men’s basketball (15-20, 4-14)

LAST WEEK Loss vs. Kentucky, 91-67 Win vs. LSU, 73-70 Win vs. Texas A&M, 66-59 Win vs. Miss. State, 74-68 Season Complete

performances in Clemson, South Carolina, from March 6-8 are tallied.

“We’ve had a win and a few top-5 finishes,” Hauser said. “The first weekend we had two fourth-place finishes.”

The most experienced Flyer besides Wenzel is Spence.

Spence had two top-10 finishes this year and won the men’s category “B” omnium his freshman season.

Wenzel has been cycling since 1975 and has more than 30 competitive races under his belt.

What the veteran cyclist said he likes most about racing is winning.

“I’m not like most cyclists,” Wenzel said. “Personally, I wouldn’t be riding my bike if I wasn’t going to compete on it. But it is enjoyable to go out and see the countryside moving along at a rapid rate of speed. There’s a bit of the thrill of going fast with nothing between you and the road except a carbon fiber bike.”

Wenzel said they have 10 riders who participate in most races and five more who do not compete as consistently, but the team hopes to keep adding cyclists of all skill levels so the Flyers can remain competitive.

“I would be tickled to death to have five or more riders in all of the categories,” Wenzel said. “They would graduate up through the categories while they are in school with us. I would like to see riders come in and train with the team, get experience and become great riders so they can compete with the really good guys before they graduate.”

Since coach Jeff Graba’s arrival on the Plains in 2010, the Auburn gymnastics program has slowly improved year by year.

Now, he’s a two-time SEC Coach of the Year, and the program has been firmly entrenched in the national top 10 all season.

Senior Bri Guy, who was part of Graba’s first recruiting class, said she has enjoyed the process.

“It’s crazy really,” Guy said. “Getting 195’s and 196’s our freshman year was a big deal, but now we’re getting 197’s and we’re like, ‘That’s not good enough, we’ve got to do better.’ It’s a huge leap for us. It’s really great.”

Graba came to Auburn with a plan to change the culture around Auburn gymnastics. He said he knew it would not be quick, but the results have been rewarding.

“We’ve been preparing them for this for three or four years,” Graba said. “Gymnastics is a long process.

We changed a lot about how we train here from the first day that I got here, and a lot of that was just laying the groundwork for when we finally became talented and deep.”

Though he has certainly found his niche, gymnastics was not in Graba’s initial plans growing up.

Starting his sophomore year in college, Graba’s band played for approximately 10 years at bars in the Minneapolis area.

Though the band never advanced from there, Graba said he enjoyed the time and considered them a success.

“You can’t define success in the band industry by how much money you make, but we didn’t lose a whole lot of money,” Graba said, laughing.

contributed by auburn athletics

Gymnastics coach Jeff Graba (right) coaches senior Brittany Webster in a meet earlier this season. A two-time SEC Coach of the Year, Graba’s Tigers have set many program records in 2015.

Graba said he doesn’t have as much time for it as he used to, but he said he hasn’t lost his love for music.

“It’s a love/hate relationship with music, and if anybody’s ever been in a band, they know there’s definitely a love/hate relationship with music,” Graba said. “I love to do it, and it’s sort of a release for me at this point, a stress reliever.”

With coaching, recruiting and his family, it is difficult for Graba to find time for his old hobbies, but he said he hopes he will be able to return in the future.

“It’s nearly impossible to balance,” Graba said. “In gymnastics in particular, we joke that it’s a lifestyle, not a sport. It’s a year-round thing for us, coaching and recruiting and managing a program. I don’t get as much time as I’d like for the other things, but right now I get enough time for my family, and we hang out with the girls, and I’m enjoying watching them grow. I don’t miss the other things right now, but at some point I’ll get back to them.”

Gus Malzahn and Auburn football have a talented collection of wide receivers ready to make an impact this fall.

Players, such as Ricardo Louis and Duke Williams, seniors with on-field experience, will no doubt be the leaders among the group.

But there are a few players who are looking to have breakout years in the absence of top wide receiver Sammie Coates.

One of those players is receiver Tony Stevens, rising junior out of Florida, who so far in his Auburn career has six catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

Malzahn said the coaching staff expects Stevens to have more of an impact on the field in 2015.

“He’s one of the guys (where) we’re ready to take that next step,” Malzahn said. “He has shown signs of being able to do that, it’s just a matter of being consistent.”

Malzahn said if Stevens wants to become a bigger part of the Tiger passing attack in the fall, he’ll have to prove himself in the spring practices.

“This spring is going to be very big for him,” Malzahn said. “We’ll give him a lot of opportunities, quite a few with the ones, just to see what he can do. It is just a matter of being consistent.”

Something else Malzahn said he is looking for out of Stevens is maturity, and a visible desire to be a better player.

“A lot guys mature,” Malzahn said. “A light will click on and they’ll just turn into a different player and they want the ball. That’s what we’re really hoping for him.”

Sports A8

Thursday, March 19, 2015

The Auburn Plainsman

Men’s basketball

A run to remember Historic SEC Tournament performance leaves optimism after Pearl’s first season David McKinney

Assistant Sports Editor

Kenny moss / assistant photo editor

TOP: Fans cheer as the Auburn men’s basketball returns from the SEC Tournament. MIDDLE/BOTTOM: KT Harrell celebrates with fans who showed up to greet them on their return from Nashville,Tennessee.

Bruce Pearl’s first season at Auburn ended in a way nobody thought it would.

After a 12-19 regular season mark, and a four-win struggle through conference play, the Tigers showed up in Nashville, Tennessee, with a point to prove.

They did just that in a four-game tournament run that saw the Tigers end seasons of futility at the SEC Tournament with a three-game win streak.

From stifling defense against Texas A&M to senior guard KT Harrell’s buzzer beater against LSU, the Tigers’ fight earned a rousing response from fans, who greeted players in front of the Auburn Arena upon their return.

In game one, the Tigers handled Mississippi State 74-68.

The story of that game was the career night for Alex Thompson, who scored 16 points.

League-leading scorer Harrell added 19 points, while senior KC Ross-Miller dropped 21.

The next day, Harrell and the Tigers

faced off against No. 5 seed Texas A&M, who beat the Tigers soundly in College Station, Texas, earlier in the year.

The Tigers came out firing, but found themselves in a 10-point hole at halftime, down 33-23.

But the Auburn defense smothered the Aggies in the second half, allowing only 26 points while scoring 43 of their own, effectively ending the Aggies’ NCAA Tournament hopes.

Of those 66 Tiger points, 25 of them came from the hands of the senior Harrell, who also added five rebounds in the victory.

The following day, Auburn won what was arguably the most exciting game of the tournament.

Down 64-61 to LSU, Harrell buried a three-pointer with less than one second to go to push the game to overtime where the Tigers eventually won 73-70.

The Tigers would fall to No.1 and undefeated Kentucky 91-67 in the semifinal.

Harrell averaged 21.5 points over the four-game stretch, and was named to the All-Tournament team.

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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Sports A9

The Auburn Plainsman

Adam sparks / photographer & contributed by auburn athletics

LEFT: The softball team celebrates Kasey Cooper’s (13) home run against Appalachian State. RIGHT: KT Harrell shoots while being fouled in an SEC Tournament game against LSU on Friday, March 13.

This Week in Auburn Sports Softball

Softball has already been established as a powerhouse with an impressive 2015 performance, but after sweeping Ole Miss in an away series on March 14-16, the Tigers have reached recordbreaking heights.

For the first time in the program’s history, Auburn has made the first top-10 ranking with their 26-2 record.

The achievement is not to be overlooked, and is likely based on the team’s batting record and ability to shut down the opposing offense in a matter of mostly five innings.

This season alone, the offense has hit 34 home runs, led by Emily Carosone, Kasey Cooper and Jade Rhodes, with four in two games against Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi.

The offense is statistically one of the best, not only in the SEC, but in the nation.

On defense, the Tigers have four explosive pitchers, Rachael Walters, Marcy Harper, Lexi Davis and Jenna Abbott, who can be switched out at any time to strike out the opponent’s toughest batters.

Fans will hope Auburn will continue their winning streak and climb higher in the rankings as they face their second SEC opponent, Kentucky, on Jane B. Moore Field on Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m.

Men’s Basketball

Senior guard KT Harrell, the SEC’s leading scorer, has been named to the All-SEC Second Team by the Associated Press.

Harrell was also named to the Coaches’ AllSEC Second Team.

After an impressive performance during Auburn’s four-game run at the conference tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, Harrell also received All-Tournament honors, averaging 21.5 points over the four games.

Gymnastics

Auburn gymnastics fell one spot to No. 8 nationally in the Regional Qualifying Score rankings with an RQS of 197.025, breaking the program’s RQS record it set last week.

Auburn raised its RQS with a score of 197.100 against North Carolina on Friday, March 13.

This is the highest the Auburn program has been ranked this far into the season in the program’s history and the first time it has been in the top 10 leading into the SEC Championship.

Auburn is the fourth-highest ranked SEC team behind No. 2 Florida, No. 3 LSU and No. 5 Alabama.

Auburn is now tied for eighth nationally on floor (49.315), eighth on beam (47.240), eighth on vault (49.340) and 11th on bars (49.250).

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Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team took the court Sunday, March 15, against Mississippi State two days after losing to Alabama 4-1.

The Bulldogs were too much for the Tigers, as they won 4-0.

The Bulldogs took the doubles point by earning wins at both first and second court doubles.

On court one Mississippi State beat the Auburn pairing of junior Marko Krickovic and sophomore Oliver Plaskett by a score of 6-3.

Senior Lukas Ollert and junior Joseph Van Dooren lost on court two to the Bulldogs 6-3.

The Tigers started strongly in singles, winning the first set in three of their matches, but Mississippi State killed the momentum by coming back and winning matches on courts one, three and four.

Ollert lost his match 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, despite leading 5-2 in the first set.

Sophomore Maxime Hinnisdaels lost on court three by a score of 6-1, 6-2, while fellow sophomore Dante Saleh lost 7-5, 6-3 on court four.

After the match, coach Eric Shore said the team is more than capable of winning, but the

Tigermarket

Line Classifieds

Attention

The Tigers compete in the SEC Championship at 5 p.m. in Duluth, Georgia, on Saturday, March 21.

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confidence levels aren’t where they need to be.

“It gets to be a confidence factor at some point, and I think we’re just battling some demons right now,” Shore said. “We’ve got to get it figured out, but the unfortunate thing is you know you have four out of your first five at home, now we have to go on the road. ” This latest loss for the Tigers is the fourth in a row, and also their fourth SEC loss of the season.

Auburn’s next match is against Ole Miss on March 20 in Oxford, Mississippi, at 2 p.m.

Equestrian

Equestrian fell to sixth-ranked Texas A&M to close out the regular season Saturday afternoon, March 14, at College Station, Texas.

With a slow start for the Tigers in fences, Demi Stiegler claimed the first victory for the team, 8280, after Elizabeth Benson and Jacqueline Shilen fell to the Aggies. The Tigers then continued to struggle as the next two contenders failed to keep up with their opponents, putting Auburn at a 1-5 in fences.

The Tigers were defeated in all 12-7, and will now prepare for the SEC Tournament from March 27-28, in College Station, Texas.

Compiled by Eric Wallace, Andrew Monson, Patrick Lucas and Lauren Christopher

Print Deadline Noon three business days prior to publication

Intrigue

A10

Thursday, March 19, 2015

ThePlainsman.com

Intrigue

Women’s basketball

Ellen jackson / photographer

Twins work as a team on and off the basketball court Jessica (left) and Jazmine (right) have been playing basketball since they were 10 years old. Both play on the women’s basketball team.

Andria Moore Intrigue writer

If peope look closely at the women’s basketball team, they may be confused by the numbers 15 and 23, thinking their eyes are deceiving you.

They aren’t. There are, in fact, twins on the team.

Jessica and Jazmine Jones are freshmen, with Jessica majoring in psychology and Jazmine in communication, and forwards on the women’s basketball team.

Jessica said she and her sister have been playing basketball since they were 10 years old, but it wasn’t until high school when they knew they wanted to play in the big leagues.

“Growing up, we didn’t really know what sport we wanted to play,” Jazmine said. “We rode horses and unicycles and played YMCA ball, but didn’t take basketball seriously until high school.”

Coming from an athletic family with a father who played basketball at UNC-Asheville and Brevard College, it’s no surprise the Jones twins’ other siblings are also tall.

The twins have two older brothers and two older sisters.

“Everyone in our family is 6 feet or over except our sisters … they’re only 5’8,” Jazmine said.

Between basketball practice and academic, the sisters spend almost all of their time togeth-

“

It’s kind of cool to have someone there who knows your strengths and weaknesses. Although sometimes, I do wish I could do more things on my own.”

—Jazmine Jones Auburn basketball player

er. Luckily for the pair, they get along well most of the time.

“We will sometimes argue, but then we’ll be over it in the next second,” Jessica said.

The twins said they mostly finish each others’ sentences.

“Because we think of something funny that we both remember, and then we start laughing,” Jazmine said.

During basketball season, practice can be a maximum of 20 hours per week. Off the court, the sisters also share an English and communications class, but the amount of time they spend together doesn’t seem to bother either of them.

“It’s kind of cool to have someone there who knows your strengths and weaknesses,” Jazmine said. “Although sometimes, I do wish I could do more things on my own.”

A common theme with twins is difficulty in telling them apart, especially with twins such as

these, who look so much alike.

During games, announcers sometimes mistake the pair. Wesley Todd, assistant communications director for women’s basketball and women’s golf, said an announcer once miscalled a foul during a game.

“I think it was during the LSU game when they called a foul on Jessica when it was supposed to be on Jazmine,” Todd said.

Both sisters are supportive of each other’s successes and feel happiest when they succeed together. The twins said signing with Auburn was one of their proudest shared moments.

“The happiest moment we’ve had together might have been when we both signed with Auburn,” Jazmine said.

On or off the field, the twins strive to make each other better in everything they do.

“We aren’t really upset if one of us does better,” Jessica said. “Sometimes she’ll have her

kenny moss / assistant photo editor

The twins cheer each for each other on the court.

good days, and sometimes I’ll have mine.”

In the future, the Jones twins’ career goals primarily include ones for their entire team.

“I’d like us to go to the NCAA Tournament — not just being in it, but to actually make it far,” Jazmine said. “Also to upgrade the women’s basketball program in general and get it back to where it was.”

campus

The women who support the men who defend America Anne Dawson Intrigue writer

Most long distance relationships are difficult no matter what the circumstances are. However, that difficulty can be multiplied when one member of the relationship is in the military.

Despite struggles, couples have managed to overcome the obstacles and make their relationships work.

Allison DiVicino, senior in psychology, and Emily Kreh, freshman in elementary education, are in relationships with members of the military.

“It takes a special relationship, and a special kind of person to make it,” DiVicino said.

DiVicino said she and her boyfriend, Vincent Manganello, who have known each other since they were 12 years old, have been dating for almost a year and half.

At the end of their high school

years, DiVicino said they went their separate ways, but rekindled two years ago when Manganello sent her a message on Facebook. A month later they flew out to his Marine Corps base in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

DiVicino said their relationship has worked well because Manganello was never deployed.

“I was lucky he never got deployed while we were together because I couldn’t imagine him being in a war zone for both his safety and not getting to talk to him,” DiVicino said.

Manganello spent time in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, but because he tore his ACL the first year of training, he stopped travelling.

According to DiVicino, Manganello joined the Marine Corps to go to Afghanistan, and never got to because of paperwork and his injury.

Manganello was recently released

because of his injury. However, DiVicino said he could be called back at any time if he was needed.

Another aspect that has helped the relationship, DiVicino said, is FaceTime. On nights the couple couldn’t be together, they talked on FaceTime, and have even set up their cameras and watched Netflix together.

“You take what you can get,” DiVicino said.

On top of FaceTime dates, DiVicino and Manganello would see each other fairly often, according DiVicino.

Manganello would drive nine and a half hours on Fridays once a month to see DiVicino, and leave on Sundays.

“The worst part is having to drive 18 hours in a weekend just for a day together,” Manganello said.

DiVicino said while the distance and the not knowing are difficult, the time spent with Manganello and

contributed by Allison DiVicino

Allison DiVicino and her boyfriend, Vincent Mangenello, have been dating for almost a year and a half.

watching his passion for what he does makes the relationship worth it.

Similarly, Kreh and her fiancé Jerred Smith, who have been engaged for six months, have faced difficulties in their relationship.

Kreh and Smith have been dating for three years, and according to Kreh, hit a hurdle last month when Smith left for basic training for the Army.

Smith will be in basic training in Missouri for nine weeks, and then Advanced Individual Training in Texas for five weeks.

Because Smith is in basic training, he and Kreh have only been able to communicate through letters. Kreh said her letters to Smith have been random because they do not correspond with his, but she usually just tells him the details of her day.

“It helps to act like I’m just talking to him at the end of the day,” Kreh

said.

To help with the lack of communication, Smith wrote out phrases he said daily on strips of paper before he left, and put them in a mason jar for Kreh to draw a new one each day.

Despite the occasional lack of communication, Kreh and Smith are planning to get married in September 2015.

However, this could change, Kreh said. After his training and AIT, Smith will move on to airborne school, followed by active duty.

Kreh said because of this, if the wedding is not quick enough, it will have to be postponed because he could be deployed to Korea for two years.

While the situation is frustrating, Kreh also said the relationship is worth it because he is doing what he loves.

“I love seeing him happier than he’s ever been, and I know he’s doing this for himself,” Kreh said.

contributed by Emily Kreh

Emily Kreh and her fiancé, Jerred Smith, have been engaged for six months.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Intrigue A11

The Auburn Plainsman

music

Student sets out for country stardom Ashtyne Cole Intrigue Editor

Before meeting Jessie Lynn Nichols, only hearing her voice would be enough to conclude that she is a seasoned country music performer.

She takes it as a compliment when she is told she sounds like one of her idols, Wynonna Judd, when she speaks and sings. Nichols is a junior in college and balances running a business, a music career and the life of a full-time student.

For Nichols, singing runs in her blood.

“I started singing when I was 3 years old,” Nichols said. “I guess it comes from my greatgrandma, who I was named after. She sang with the Blackwood Brothers and so did my grandmother and her twin.”

When Nichols turned 6 years old, she began classical training that centered on a Broadway style with a goal of going to New York City.

“I cut my first demo when I was 11 in the studio and was offered several contracts,” Nichols said. “My parents didn’t want me to sign right away, but wanted me to have a childhood. They didn’t want me to end up like a Bieber of the music world.”

Nichols fostered another passion in her life, riding horses. She took her love of horses and started her own business, Alabama Extreme Equine Productions.

“I was 15 when I started the business and trained horses,” Nichols said. “I actually stopped singing for a while and just focused on the horses.”

After entering her first year at Auburn, Nichols said she knew that she had to start singing again.

“I had gotten bored with classical music the past few

years, but my first year at Auburn, I had this gut feeling to just go for it and it hit me full force,” Nichols said. “From that first August I worked with a private producer and within a year’s time my own stuff was flourishing.”

During that first year, Nichols juggled her agriculture communications classes and said she realized country music was what she wanted to pursue and moving to Nashville, Tennessee, someday was the dream.

Nichols worked on an EP, which was finished by April of 2014. It contained a song she had written and two from a Nashville writer. She said attending Auburn helped her through that first year.

“I had told my mom since 4H club that I wanted to attend Auburn someday,” Nichols said. “I’m living a dream within a dream and I’m very blessed. Being able to do what I love and love what I do without it being work is amazing.”

Nichols is a sophomore by age, but a junior by hours. She categorizes her time at Auburn as a chance of a lifetime.

“I have so many friends in the agriculture department and we all go out and ride horses together,” Nichols said. “I enjoy every minute of it and there’s not a week or day I regret being here, even on the worst day.”

Nichols said her schedule is hectic, but credits her ability to multitask to her high school days of running a business.

“I don’t know which direction I’m going sometimes, but training horses and 4H taught me that it’s as easy as just choosing what is the highest priority at the time,” Nichols said. “Most of the time school is the highest priority because I paid so much for it.”

Lemans Square A P A R T M E N T S MANAGED BY: DELVIEW PROPERTIES LLC

contributed by jessie lynn nichols

Jessie Lynn Nichols balances being a full-time student and a music career.

As for her music style, Nichols classifies it as traditional country, with that mix of rock and contemporary new country. Nichols ususally performs at large events around Auburn and the Montgomery area, but also travels all over the state.

“This past November, I performed for the Ag Roundup, the largest tailgate before the Louisiana Tech football game,” Nichols said. “I’m scheduled to perform the full four hours this upcoming football season.”

While Nichols usually plays at open invitation events, governmental affairs and rodeos, she said her album work is her main priority.

According to Nichols, she channels a lot of her musical in-

fluence from many of the great women of country music she has listened to.

“I should have been a redhead,” Nichols said. “I grew up listening to Reba (McEntire), Wynonna (Judd) and Jo Dee Messina. My all time favorites that I listen to most are Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn.”

As for the future, Nichols has applied for an internship at CMT and spends her time in the studio working with other local artists by coming in on their albums. She is also planning three or four trips to Nashville this summer.

“If it wasn’t for my Auburn Family supporting me so well, it would be too hard to manage,” Nichols said.

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Thursday, March 19, 2015

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contributed by william pope

Miller, the oldest therapy dog, enjoys visiting the residents of Arbor Springs and Oak Park nursing home.

Nursing professor starts dog therapy program Andria Moore Intrigue writer

It is often said the love of a dog can work wonders on the human heart. Whether people believe in this or not, there is no denying the extraordinary work that can be accomplished through dog therapy.

“Let me ask you a question,” said William Pope, founder and director of assisted dog therapy and associate clinical professor in nursing. “When’s the last time you walked up to somebody in a wheelchair?”

Pope said those in society with mental or physical ailments are oftentimes exiled or excluded by others for being different, but dogs can act as a “social lubricant.”

“You put a golden retriever with somebody in a wheelchair, and then all of a sudden, you have something to talk about,” Pope said. “You find out that person in a wheelchair is just a normal person.”

Pope started a program called CAREing Paws approximately five years ago when an alumnus approached him.

“I started animal assisted therapy about 13 years ago when my mother was terminally ill,” Pope said. “I had a little dog and I used to take him to visit her, and I saw the effect he had not only on my mother, but on other people in the nursing home.”

Twice per week, Pope takes therapy dogs to Arbor Springs and Oak Park nursing homes, as well as the veteran home in ADVERTISEMENT

Union Springs. He is often joined by nursing students who are eager to assist him.

“It’s really neat to watch,” Pope said.

“The residents can’t wait for us to get there and they always ask about the dogs.”

The program Pope started has grown into a thriving one and said it opens the eyes of students and inspires them to involve themselves in other forms of therapy.

Sara Lowry, junior in exercise science, is excited with the study she is working on through the CAREing program.

“We are working specifically with veterans who have PTSD,” Lowry said. “When we visit, we bring the dogs with for two weeks, and then don’t bring them for two weeks so that we can prove the benefits of animal assisted therapy on mental health.”

Lowry said it is already obvious to her the incredible impact the dogs have on the veterans.

“When we walk in, the veterans automatically ask, ‘Where are the dogs?’” Lowry said.

The three dogs currently used for the program all belong to Pope, and two he trained himself. Besides the normal commands for dog training such as sit, stay and lie; Pope also has to, bathe and groom the animals every week.

“You have to start as a puppy socializing them,” Pope said. “Then you have to teach them to let you clean their ears and paws,

and teach them not to bite.”

Miller, one of the oldest therapy dogs who is named after the nursing building, is trained one-on-one for 15-20 minutes a day, three times per day.

Kathryn Moseley, senior in rehab services, goes to Union Springs once per week because she said there is no greater feeling than the one from making someone’s day.

“It’s hilarious because I go there and do these things for these people, but I’m really helping me,” Moseley said. “I’ve had days where I’ve felt like crying, but when I take (a dog) there, it makes my day better.”

Besides the CAREing program Pope started, he also teaches an animal assisted therapy class.

Moseley said Pope allows students liberty to adapt the program to the type of work they want to do.

“I had a friend that worked with children with autism, and she would bring the dogs so that the kids that had speech problems could practice reading to the dogs,” Moseley said. “Dogs don’t judge you the way people do.”

Pope said the experience is rewarding not only for those intended for the therapy, but also sometimes the participants.

“The human-animal interaction is a bond that’s hard to define and may be even harder to describe,” Pope said. “But when you see it you know it.”

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