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The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID • NEWS SINCE 1893
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
VOL. 125 • ISSUE 25 • FIRST COPY FREE THEN 50¢
CAMPUS
The 19th president: Leath’s installation celebrations draw crowds Auburn President Steven Leath talks with students at an event celebrating his official installation as Auburn’s 19th president.
By STEPHEN LANZI and LILY JACKSON Campus Writer and Manging Editor campus@theplainsman.com
ADAM BRASHER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Steven Leath, Auburn’s 19th president will be installed on Thursday, March 29, as part of a two-day celebration, which began Wednesday on the campus Green Space. The ceremony on Thursday is a formal recognition of Leath as president of the University, though he took office on June 19, 2017. Leath said he was experiencing some nerves, but as he tells students,
nerves are good. “They keep you focused,” Leath said. The 18th president of Auburn University, Jay Gogue, was inducted in 2007 and left office in 2017. Many students do not have the opportunity to witness the installation of a president like current Auburn students do. The theme for the installation is, “Inspire, Innovate, Transform.” “This is a great institution,” Leath said. “Anything
» See INSTALLATION, 2
COMMUNITY
CHANGING DOWNTOWN
‘Brunch bill’ to come before City Council » If approved by the City Council, the
ordinance would allow alcohol to be sold beginning at 10 a.m. on Sundays
» The Alabama Legislature approved the bill on March 22. The council could vote as early as Tuesday By SAM WILLOUGHBY Community Editor community@theplainsman.com
CONTRIBUTED BY JULIE MCGOWIN
“Dreams Coming True,” the downtown mural, is set to dry in 2008 when it was first painted.
‘Change is always bittersweet’
Sunday brunches in Auburn could soon start a little earlier. On March 22, the Alabama Legislature passed House Bill 444, sponsored by Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, which would allow the Auburn City Council to vote on an ordinance legalizing the sale of alcohol at restaurants and hotels on Sundays starting at 10 a.m. Currently, alcohol cannot legally be sold on Sundays before noon. The ordinance would not affect the sale of alcohol in stores. “We are fortunate to live in a thriving community, and the time change for onpremise sales should be a positive for our hotels and restaurants,” Lovvorn said. “We welcome a large number of visitors each year, and the increase in revenue should help busi-
» See BRUNCH BILL, 2
If massive new development takes shape, wave mural may be taken down By LILY JACKSON
“Dreams Coming True” — a message settled on by the children Fold worked with. The now-faded blue wave symbolizes the flow that takes one toward their dreams. “I noticed that there seemed to be a division of races and classes from [Northwest Auburn] to where you cross over the railroad tracks and get close to the University,” Fold said. “The mission behind the mural was from God, really. It was meant to be a symbol of unity, and it would bring people together.”
Managing Editor managing.editor@theplainsman.com
Just as waves crack and crash in the ocean, Callie Fold’s commissioned mural in downtown Auburn has begun to split with age. The idea for the mural was brought to the Auburn City Council in 2008. Fold was a senior at Auburn and was fairly involved with The Boys and Girls Club. She wanted to not only leave her mark on The Plains but help others do the same. Fold found the canvas with help from a mission-led church group, and the plan started to snowball before her eyes. Local business owners donated the supplies after Fold shared her dreams. Her small group, a sect of the Converge Auburn ministry, banded together to make her dreams come true. Kevin Beasley, former pastor and current owner of New Leaf Consignment, said the students put together their hopes and dreams and handed it off to Mayor Bill Ham.
“
It was bigger than a painting. It had a dream and a heart behind it.”
Fold gave anyone who wanted to take part in the mural an opportunity to do so. The community-wide event took place in a location Fold thought represented the aspirations of the mural. Handprints of many colors and other later additions, such as vandalized butt-cheek prints, an Aubie pawprint and
» See MURAL, 2
STATE POLITICS PAGE 2 Former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville, once a potential candidate for governor, endorses Republican Tommy Battle in gubernatorial race
COMMUNITY
Owners offer an inside look at new Collegiate Hotel, building’s history By ALEX HOSEY
Lifestyle Editor lifestyle@theplainsman.com
Kim Wirth met her husband, Brian, while attending Auburn University in the mid-’90s. After the two moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and began raising a family there, Kim began coming back to Auburn a few times a year to recruit engineering students for her job at International Paper while the rest of the family would come for as many football games as they could. The Wirths’ habit of making the pilgrimages back to the Loveliest Village on The Plains changed one day when Kim saw that the Wittel Dorm, an Auburn landmark at the intersection of Gay Street and Thach Avenue, was suddenly up
for sale. “I just happened to be in town and saw that the dorm was for sale literally the day that it went on the market,” Wirth said. Kim called her husband Brian, a building science graduate who works in hotel development, and told him her plans to buy the property as an investment. When the two entered Wittel Dorm to tour it, Brian told her that it would make an amazing hotel instead. “We’ve been trying to figure out how to get back to Auburn for the last 25 years,” Kim said. “So we put the bid in, and the rest is hopefully soon to be history, so it was definitely perfect timing.” When the Wirths acquired the property, they gave up their life in
» See COLLEGIATE HOTEL, 2
ALEX HOSEY / LIFESTYLE EDITOR
The Collegiate Hotel will soon open on the southeast corner of North Gay Street and Thach Avenue.
news
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THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
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NEWS
ELECTIONS
Tuberville endorses Tommy Battle for governor By CHIP BROWNLEE Editor-in-chief editor@theplainsman.com
Republican candidate for governor and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle received a high-profile endorsement from a prominent Auburn name this week. Former Auburn head football coach Tommy Tuberville, who last year briefly considered a run for governor himself, said Monday on a local Auburn radio show that he is supporting Battle for governor. “I think we need something different in Montgomery,” Tuberville told WANI 1400 when he was asked who his favorite candidate is. “I think we need something different in the state of Alabama. I think Tommy Battle is a very, very good candidate for this state.” Tuberville said in spring 2017 he was considering a run for governor. But later in the year, as the beginning of fundraising approached, Tuberville opted out of running for the state’s top executive position. “I got into politics, and I came very close to being in that race because I just think ... that more people have got to get involved in politics,” Tuberville said. “Not just local, but state and federal. I think we have a lot of problems, but there’s a lot of good people that can make a difference.”
Tuberville, who had recently finished up a three-year stint as the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati, said in February that he was considering the run for governor. He even loaned his campaign $100,000, but later announced in April that he was abandoning the exploratory campaign. Though Battle is an Alabama graduate, he said he was happy to receive Tuberville’s support. “We may be on different sidelines when Alabama and Auburn play each other, but Coach Tuberville and I are on the same team when it comes to moving our great state forward,” Battle said. “I want to thank him for his support. I can’t wait to see Coach Tuberville on the campaign trail.” Battle has been the mayor of Huntsville, Alabama’s third-largest city, since 2010. During that time, he has overseen numerous economic development projects including a deal announced earlier this year that will bring a $1.6 billion Toyota-Mazda car manufacturing plant to Huntsville. “It’s kind of like being a head football coach,” Tuberville said. “You put together staffs. You know people that can help you make decisions, give you advice. He’s done that in Huntsville.” Battle is in a contested race for the Republican nomination against sitting Gov. Kay Ivey, who’s seeking her first full term as governor, Birmingham evangelist Tommy Dawson and Sen. Bill
Hightower. Ivey, an Auburn alumna, is leading in fundraising totals, but Tuberville said Battle’s experience recruiting business to the state and his lack of experience in Montgomery would be an asset for the state. “Huntsville is one of the most growing parts of the country, not just the state of Alabama,” Tuberville said. “He’s had a big job up there. Of course, they have an area with the arsenal that’s beneficial for growth, but I think he’s done a good job outside of the Montgomery realm.” Ivey took office in April 2017 after former Gov. Robert Bentley resigned amid a spiraling sex scandal. When Tuberville abandoned his campaign, he was complimentary to Ivey, but now, he says he doesn’t believe Ivey should be considered the shoe-in for the post despite her de facto incumbency. “Kay Ivey is kind of interim governor,” Tuberville said. “She stepped in when the other guy had to be moved out. I think Tommy Battle is going to be the guy that people should look at.” Tuberville said Montgomery needs more outsiders like Battle. “We need new blood in the city of Montgomery to help,” he said. “It’s going to be hard for any governor. We need more money. He’s going to have to find a way to bring people in to make decisions to help us with money in the area of jobs and more tax money coming in.”
ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A student poses with a sign at the student celebration for Dr. Steven Leath's installation, on the Student Center Greenspace in Auburn, Ala. on Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
INSTALLATION » From 1
we do to build upon what’s been done over the past 100 years is a good thing. We’re not going to dramatically change who we are or our culture, we are just going to take all of that to a higher level.” The activities began as students engaged with one another and Leath on the Green Space beginning at 10
BRUNCH » From 1
nesses and the City of Auburn.” The change was prompted by business owners and the Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau in an effort to attract more morning customers. “I’ve been to local res-
a.m. There was free food and entertainment as well as T-shirts for the event. SGA President Dane Block was excited by the turnout at the student kick-off event on Wednesday. He said the event speaks volumes about the president’s focus on students as well as student engagement. “Dr. Leath is so student-focused, which is why he’s here,” Block said. “And he realizes that, day in and day
taurants in town with people standing in line waiting for noon in order to participate in a cocktail,” said Mayor Bill Ham. “As far as a positive impact for generation of sales tax or more conferences [held in Auburn], I can’t imagine how the numbers can’t be better.” Auburn would be the only city nearby to al-
out — not only him, but all the administration. To have this kind of turnout and have students come to a place where they feel welcome, and have free food and drinks, is what it’s all about.” Leath said he was unaware of whether students were ever involved in a president’s installation before, but their involvement was crucial to him. “Students are my No. 1 priori-
low morning drinks to be served. The Opelika City Council heard a similar ordinance in January but rejected it. Alcohol can’t be sold in Columbus, Georgia, restaurants on Sundays until 12:30 p.m. The mayor said he has not heard any negative feedback from Auburn residents about the potential change.
ty,” Leath said. “If we are going to do something big for the future of the University, students are going to be engaged as much as they want to be.” Auburn University welcomed Leath last year after he arrived from Iowa State University, where he was that university’s president for more than five years. During Leath’s presidency, ISU had its highest graduation rates and lowest debt for students.
“I was happy to help Rep. Lovvorn in the Senate with this bill,” said Auburn Republican Sen. Tom Whatley. “The tourism bureau says this bill will have a positive economic impact on the area.” If Gov. Kay Ivey enacts the legislation, the City Council could vote on the ordinance as soon as April
3, according to the mayor. If passed by the council, at that meeting or a future one, it would take effect the following Sunday. The council passed a request to the Legislature for the act in January, with Council Members Tommy Dawson, Gene Dulaney and Verlinda White voting in opposition.
MURAL » From 1
a scribbled scripture in silver ink, move up with the wave. At its crest two handprints transform into a bird that flies away. A dream coming to fruition. “It was bigger than a painting,” Fold said. “It had a dream and a heart behind it.” Beasley said along with the more prominent names, many members of the community stopped by that day to lend a hand for a second before continuing on their way. The mural, from the point of Fold conceiving the idea, was completed in two months and came together with the help of a majority of college-aged and younger students. The buildings have been standing since 1928 and 1929. Julie McGowin, owner of the building, pointed out the faulty areas of the structure from the cracks that had been repeatedly filled and the place on the back wall where a 10-yearold boy was found easily pulling bricks. McGowin recently sold the building for the recently proposed downtown development. “It would be a whole lot easier to tear them down and start over,” McGowin said. “There is a part of me that hates saying that, but they are old.” McGowin has photos of her sons, then young children, placing their handprints on the wall. The sale was bittersweet, but McGowin stands behind her reasoning and the future plans for the space. “It is sad to see some things going down in downtown Auburn, however, we are glad to see the city progress, and I am familiar with the development, and I think it is going to be a wonderful development,” Beasley said. “It is a bittersweet thing. Change is always bittersweet.” McGowin said not everyone loved the waves, wondering, “why in the world were waves painted on the side of a bike shop in downtown Auburn?” She said the message and those who made it happen sold the mural at the time of its founding. As debate stirs concerning the fate of the building, the wall stands and weathers away. The colors have become drastically lighter over time, losing the sharp, drastic contrast of the orange sky and blue waves. Fold said she knew the mural would not stand the test of time, as cities do change, but she is thankful it stayed put for the time it did. Fold believes the memory for those who were invovled will stick around and the heart will always be in the impact it made during it’s time. “Sometimes we have to let go of things we love to move in the next direction,” Beasley said.
COLLEGIATE HOTEL » From 1
Memphis to put into the renovation and construction of the Auburn University landmark, including selling their Tennessee home as well as their beach house. Upon moving back to Auburn, they bought the white house next door to the former dorm, which, according to Kim, was formerly inhabited by ten male college students. After renovating the house and changing it from an overinhabited bachelor pad to a welcoming home for the Wirths and their three children, Kim and Brian gave up their backyard in order to extend the hotel’s parking lot to allow for more guests while construction went underway. The Wirth’s dedication to The Collegiate Hotel’s construction is perhaps best exemplified by their desire to preserve as much of Wittel Dorm’s history into the new design as possible, even if that means sacrificing a large amount of time,
money and effort in order to accomplish that goal. “Maintaining the integrity of the property is really what drew us to it,” Kim said. “We could technically have gone up a lot higher because we’re zoned for that area, but we wanted it to feel like a kind of rebirth of the dorm, not tearing it down. ... Sometimes it’s not the most economical thing to do, but I really wanted it to feel like it had been here and then have a new life.” According to Kim, The Collegiate Hotel will retain as much of the original brick facade, copper awnings, windows, hardwood floors and fireplaces of Wittel Dorm as it can while still being ADA compliant as it undergoes the transformation from historic living quarters for women at Auburn to a boutique hotel. Aspects of the dormitory that are changing include a wrap-around driveway for valet parking, changing the par-
@TheAUPlainsman
ALEX HOSEY / LIFESTYLE EDITOR
The Collegiate Hotel is under construction and will open in summer 2018.
lor in a bar, lobby and reception area, construction of a porch on the first floor, giving each of the 40 rooms their own bathroom (as opposed to the communal bathrooms that the dorm previously had) and construction of a rooftop bar/ event space. While Brian’s contracting company completes the renovations, the architectural design of the project was done by Amanda Whitaker and Rebecca Conrad from ANF Ar-
chitects based in Memphis, the two being Auburn University graduates as well. “It’s going to be a boutique in the sense that it’s going to have a lot of style and a lot of customer focus, but we really want it to be approachable and fun for the guests,” Kim said. In this case, “fun for guests” doesn’t just include a rooftop bar, televisions to watch football games on and a golf cart taxi service to carry guests through campus on game days,
@TheAuburnPlainsman
however. The Wirths seem to have an almost unhealthy obsession with everything Auburn and are planning to collect every issue of the Glomerata to display to guests at reception (they’re currently in possession of 40), recreate Auburn’s first ever elevator into a photo booth and collect the stories and photographs of women who once lived in the dorm in order to put them on display and show Wittel’s rich history.
The Wirth’s are expecting The Collegiate Hotel to be complete this summer and are already taking reservations for guests this June. “Auburn is a great little community, and when you’re in college you try to figure out, ‘How soon can I get out and start making money?’ and as soon as you graduate you try to figure out ‘How can I get back?’” Kim said. “I feel like we’ve hopefully found that way to be here and be successful.”
@TheAuburnPlainsman
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OPINION
OUR VIEW
Council should vote yes on height amendment By EDITORIAL BOARD Spring 2018
On Tuesday, Auburn City Council will be voting on whether to amend the city’s height ordinance to allow for the construction buildings with a height up to 75 feet in the main part of downtown. Proponents of the change say it will allow Auburn a chance to progress and attract new businesses to set up shop downtown. Opponents say it’ll take away the character of downtown by having larger buildings eclipse some of the more traditional structures, believing a more strategic vision should be in place before changes to downtown are made, although a city Comp Plan and a Downtown Master Plan do exist. The debate has been active for years now, and was most recently seen at a City Council meeting on March 20 that at times turned contentious. We join in calling for the passage of this amendment. The proposal carries with it opportunities for economic growth and helps to make downtown more functional, both for students and for Auburn’s permanent residents.
We understand the concerns of Auburn losing its distinct, small-town characteristics. However, we feel it is wrong to view Auburn as a stagnant entity, immobilized by conceptions of its tradition. Auburn is a wholly functional city, and Lee County is one of the fastest growing counties in Alabama. It deserves to be able to grow in the best way deemed possible. A possible result of the amendment’s passage would be the construction of a Southern Living hotel in the area from Quixotes to Regions on North College Street. The development would include a 120-room hotel along with a bar and grill, bakery, spa and wellness center on street level and a grocery store. While a massive change to the downtown landscape, the addition of this development would bring numerous benefits to the town. A second downtown hotel means more visitors can stay downtown rather than far from the city center, eliminating the need for them to drive into town and park, reducing traffic. More shops and restaurants give students and residents more opportunities to spend money downtown, supporting local business and the local economy. A parking deck is also proposed, which will
FILE PHOTO
give much needed access to more parking, making all shops downtown more accessible. A development such as the Southern Living hotel would be beneficial to Auburn and should be sought after, along with further projects that allow Auburn to be built up. By building up, Auburn reduces sprawl and centralizes its businesses. This creates an appealing downtown area that isn’t detrimentally reliant on cars. Currently, there exists no easy place for those without cars or those who
don’t want to drive to shop for groceries, evidence of needed change. This type of progress means a better town is left for the permanent residents of Auburn and is an improvement that could recruit potential students, allowing the University to grow as well. Auburn City Council should amend the building code to allow buildings to be built at 75 feet. It will allow Auburn a chance to progress and for economic development to take place downtown.
OP-ED
Vote ‘No’ on the proposal to increase downtown height By SUSAN HUNNICUTT Letter to the Editor
Next Tuesday, April 3 the City Council will vote on extending the building height downtown by Toomer’s Corner to 75’ from the 65’ passed two years ago. The 65’ height was reached by a year-and-a-half Downtown Master Plan (DMP) study by the Planning Commission and a compromise by the Citizens who wanted 60’ building height. The height issue is an effort to retain Auburn’s identity as a small college town and preserve some of the history that has brought us to this
point. The notoriety that Auburn now enjoys from national media as one of the Top Ten Best Small Towns comes from this history and identity. There is a way to grow and preserve our identity. It takes a long-term view and strategic vision. The good thing is that we have that vision in the DMP, making downtown a destination for adult residents as well as students. For the last 3 years, the Citizens Survey has listed the top concerns as slowing down the rate of development and addressing traffic. The mayor and city leaders have not done that, but stepped up development by knocking down much that is historic.
A presentation was made last week for a proposed boutique hotel, urban grocer, and condo development on College and Glenn. This is another version of the same proposed project last summer on Gay and Glenn with a different developer. The concern with this project is that it involves a land-exchange with the developer. Last summer, it was an acre of downtown Auburn to the developer to erect the project. This time it is at least ½ acre. In 2016 at the Citizens Forum, the Student Housing Chair from Tuscaloosa spoke and said that they regretted selling their downtown land to
out-of-state developers because they lost control of their downtown. He said that there was no love for their community among them. That Tuscaloosa became only a line-item on a spreadsheet. Don’t let this happen to Auburn. Vote “No!” on the proposed land-sale to out-of-state developers. Additionally, according to the architects’ renderings, the hotel will be chrome and glass, very high-tech. Unfortunately, no effort has been made to match or coordinate with the college “feel” of Auburn. The developer’s aim is to make that hotel a destination resort. Auburn is a college town, not a destination resort. We need to
keep our identity and focus on growth that expands that. As was mentioned by General Moore’s son in last week’s Council meeting, the buildings do affect the culture. Auburn has a wonderful culture with wonderful people. Keep that culture by expanding it – not tearing it down and putting up something slick and glossy. Contact the Mayor and City Council to vote “No” to 75’ by Toomer’s Corner! Email: coagbemail@auburnalabama.org
The views expressed in columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Auburn Plainsman.
HER VIEW
From disinformation to invasion of privacy, 21st Century threats are here By CAMILLE MORGAN Contributing Columnist
Cadillac has debuted their latest ad campaign in a new thirty second television spot in which they state that, “we’ve been waiting for the future for a long time,” which is followed by clips of the Jetsons’ and other imaginings of flying cars and the like. Quickly, they proclaim that, “the future is here,” and a man is seen drinking water while behind the wheel of an autonomous vehicle. The problem? The man is still behind a wheel. Sure, progress is slow and before we head into the furthest depths of Elon Musk’s imagination we must make small steps toward fully autonomous driving. But while watching this ad for the first time I couldn’t help but think that the big reveal fell a bit flat after the montage of 21st century science fiction dreams that have long been awaited. “Where’s my hover board?” kind of thing. The scenes depicted in films like Back to the Future fancied lofty expectations for a digital world. A world filled with lasers, space travel, and helpful household robots. Except, we do have all of those things. They just haven’t materialized
in a certain cinematic fashion that we were all secretly hoping for. This concept extends to other parts of our culture as well. Despite growing nuclear tensions with a certain Korean dictator, our anxieties revolving global nuclear disaster have long been relaxed in the decades following the cold war. Our battles are not being fought amongst space as some screenwriters had wagered. As far as I know, laser guns have not been manufactured for our military yet. Cadillac was right, the future is here. But perhaps, the less glamorous arrival of our future has made it harder for us to grasp what our greatest adversaries in the year 2018 actually are. Automation and AI aren’t going anywhere. Promising jobs to dying industries may serve to illicit good shortterm political headlines, but hundreds of thousands of people are headed toward job displacement. The future is here, and it’s making our lives easier. It’s also robbing people of not only their livelihoods but in many cases their source of dignity in a society that insists the pot of gold is yours with good ole American hard work. What about the American war of the 21st century? Despite our longest
one in Iraq and Afghanistan (a war that’s turned out to be an act of slow sinking quicksand) coming to a close, we are facing a new kind of war - one of disinformation and erosion of privacy. A war being fought not amongst stars and galaxies, but between 1s and 0s and on social media. Look no further than the biggest example of this digital warfare. Russia, as proclaimed by the entire American intelligence community, interfered in our 2016 presidential election. Let’s also be clear about something: special counsel Robert Mueller has yet to reach a conclusion in his investigation; but he has already either issued indictments or received guilty pleas from over 19 parties. You can believe, and may ultimately be right about, the Trump campaign not having nefarious collusion with Russian operatives. That is not the same as believing Russia did not meddle in our election. They unequivocally did. That aside, hacking and releasing the emails of one of our major political parties is an act of interference in our most sacred democratic process. That’s an act of digital warfare. The future of subterfuge is here. It may not be as sexy and glamorous as we may have been promised but here it is nonetheless.
Another sleeping gigantic adversary in 2018 is brought to you by social media, and most prominently Facebook. The latest development in their privacy sagas revolves around the data firm, Cambridge Analytica, that was hired by the Trump campaign. In reporting first issued by the New York Times, we learned that the firm gathered data first through surveys from 270,000 people, under the pretense of academic research, and then used the data from their friends to build over 30 million psychographic profiles for political purposes. Now let’s step back from the political implications and minutia of data collection and privacy terms and conditions. Take away the impact on our election. The votes were cast, congressional hearing will be held, and verdicts will eventually be issued. The looming threat comes from the nature and power of the data Facebook holds in the first place. Cambridge Analytica was successful in its targeting, not to mention the data savvy campaigns of Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, because the data was so rich in building these profiles to begin with. As explained on The Daily by New York Time’s reporter Matthew Rosenberg, these profiles could predict your
OPINION PAGE POLICIES COLUMNS AND EDITORIALS
The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from students, as well as faculty, administrators, alumni and those not affiliated with the University.
The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages.
Letters must be submitted before 4:30 p.m. on Monday for publication. 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 500 words.
This editorial is the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is the official opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors. These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.
The views expressed in columns do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Auburn Plainsman.
THE EDITORIAL BOARD CHIP BROWNLEE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LOREN KIMMEL CAMPUS EDITOR
ALEX HOSEY LIFESTYLE EDITOR
LILY JACKSON MANAGING EDITOR
SAM WILLOUGHBY COMMUNITY EDITOR
JEREMY NEWMAN OPINION EDITOR
JESSICA BALLARD STANDARDS EDITOR
WILL SAHLIE SPORTS EDITOR
INGRID SCHNADER PHOTO EDITOR
ANNE DAWSON ONLINE EDITOR
NATHAN KING ASSISTANT SPORTS
GANNON PADGETT VIDEO EDITOR
CONTACT
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
stance on gun control, sure. But that could change over the course of your life. What won’t change are your neurosis and and traits that encompass your personality. Absolutely invaluable lifetime data to advertisers, political consultants, etc. This data doesn’t need to be weaponized for it to be a modern threat to society. A major international cooperation (Facebook) has information on the majority of Americans’ personalities that is so valuable it influenced an election. The future is here, but privacy is not. When millions of us signed up for a platform that emerged as a chance to see cute photos of friends’ children or follow a musician we liked, we were unknowingly handing over an amalgamation of ourselves through data. Data that has already been issued. We have surrendered a part of ourselves unknowingly, and the genie is not going back in the bottle. The future is here; we are on this ride. It may not be a flying car but the trip has already started. The destination, or consequences, however, have yet to be seen.
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SERVICE
CAMPUS
SGA
Students, local officials address city issues at SGA town hall By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Writer
VIA HARBERT COLLEGE OF BUSINESS TWITTER
Auburn sends assistance to JSU after storm By PAUL BROCK Campus Writer
On the night of March 19, an EF-3 tornado hit Jacksonville State’s campus, damaging dozens of buildings across campus and destroying Merrill Hall. Fortunately, JSU was on spring break, and no one was killed by the tornado. At the time the tornado hit, Auburn’s Department of Campus Safety and Security was already closely monitoring the storm to see if it would pose any threat to Auburn. Chance Corbett, the interim executive director of Campus Safety, said that he contacted JSU’s emergency personnel on the same night. “I reached out to the police department there at the Jacksonville State University and their emergency manager,” Corbett said. “I asked, ‘Do you need anything, do you need any help emergency management-wise?’ and she immediately said that it was very overwhelming, and they had a lot going on, and so we immediately deployed one of our emergency management planners.” The emergency management planner was Robert Mann, who drove to JSU the next morning to assist. He was shortly followed by emergency management technician Lyn Littleton. “On my way up there, I went through the main road that goes north to Jacksonville, and the trees had already been cleared off the main road, but the devastation was very apparent and still in progress, it was bad,” Mann said. “It was initially thought to be only one tornado. It later turned out to be three tornadoes, and the impact on the university itself was overwhelming.” Mann said that his job as a certified emergency management planner is to make sure “many of the things that need to be accomplished before, during and after an emergency” are done. After arriving at Jacksonville, he sat down with JSU’s emergency manager and after having received an overview of the situation, he made recommendations on how to proceed with recovery. “When you’re in the thick of things, sometimes it’s hard to remember everything. It’s good to have an objective viewpoint,” Mann said. “(I) made myself available to them and others for the crisis action team for JSU on call, so if they needed some questions answered that my expertise could answer, then I would do so.” Mann said that this was the first time that he had been deployed to a university during an ongoing emergency, but he said university emergency managers do often meet and discuss emergency management techniques. “We just think it’s important as an institution of higher education that we support the other instituions of higher education as well,” Corbett said. “We know they would do the same if it happened here.” Corbett said he also contacted the Auburn Police Department, and they were able to send five officers to JSU the next day. “We were partnered up with officers from the JSU campus, and we assisted them in patrolling the area in order to keep people out of areas where there was severe damage,” said Lt. Jamey Presley. “It was a very rewarding experience to assist another police station and also to assist the students and faculty at Jacksonville State.” This is not the first time that Auburn has helped a school recover from disaster. Corbett said that in 2011 Auburn Campus Safety sent personnel and resources to Tuscaloosa in the aftermath of the tornado damage there. “We all have the same mission to do, if they need help we’re going to help them,” Corbett said. “Our administration said without even hesitation, ‘Give them, whatever they need,’ and we would expect the same if we ever had a tornado or some type of devastating event that happened here.” Despite the damage, JSU is scheduled to open on April 2, and students will have the option to not finish the semester.
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Auburn University students discussed issues in the City of Auburn ranging from recent heated discussion over proposals at City Council meetings to the persistent issue of parking downtown with City Manager Jim Buston, Mayor Bill Ham and multiple members of the City Council. Tuesday marked the third and final installment of the SGA town halls in the 2017–18 school year. It was held in Room 4510 in the Mell Classroom Building from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A popular topic of discussion was the proposed change to the allowable heights of buildings downtown. The town hall was held one week after a City Council meeting, which was the longest in at least the past 32 years as a result of debate over the proposal. “There is a tremendous amount of emotion on both sides of this issue,” Ham said. Ward 3 Councilwoman Beth Witten said that it was great to see people so passionate about the future of Auburn and the proposal, which would raise the limit on the height of buildings from 65 to
75 feet. “I happen to not have an issue with 75 feet,” Witten said. “I think we can create things and have as beautiful of a secondgeneration Auburn that we can all look back on and be proud of and that my children can come back and say, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ Maybe my children will be having the same conversation about 95 feet. Who knows?” Witten said she saw five or six cranes as she walked into the building and that people should be excited about this growth despite the side they take on the building height debate because it brings money that is dispersed throughout the community. Ward 5 Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine, who said she is not running for re-election, dislikes the proposal and has said for a long time that she would like the limit to be lower. “People say I’m just getting old and don’t want change,” Tremaine said. “Well, I am getting older, but I think we need to be careful that we don’t change the character of our town. We can still grow — we have exciting new businesses coming — without an overwhelming downtown.” She said it’s special to come over the railroad tracks next to Mike and Ed’s and
see Samford Tower and immediately feel at home. Buston said the discussion on the topic was a great example to the students on how to be civil in disagreement and not be confrontational. The council faced opposition, some of which was hostile, to the plan from residents at its meeting on March 20, which ran five hours long. “Even though we have a five-hour meeting, and we laugh about it, and it’s a record-breaking meeting, we heard a lot of perspectives, some that we probably didn’t think of,” Witten said. “And we do try to keep an open mind, and it’s important that we hear your voice as well.” The local officials also addressed various ways in which the City of Auburn is looking to combat limited parking in downtown areas. The City of Auburn recently purchased land on College Street, which will have a parking deck built on it. According to the mayor, the deck will have between 300400 public parking spots. “Auburn decided to become a pedestrian campus, and I have nothing negative to say about that other than that it causes a parking problem,” Ham said. “It
» See TOWN HALL, 5
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Meet Jiyeong,
a COSAM student CONTRIBUTED BY JORDAN RYLE
By HANNAH LESTER Campus Writer At thirteen years old Jiyeong (Jess) Choi moved to Auburn from South Korea. Her life was flipped upside down, and she began attending Auburn junior high. Choi learned that moving away from family and friends was difficult. Homesickness lead to depression, and Choi found her interests changing in her early teenage years. “I started volunteering, and that really affected me. So I was originally afraid of talking to people, I was very afraid, but after volunteering. I got more interactive, and I learned a lot by working, by volunteering at the shelters,” Choi said. Another new transition for Choi was the ever-scary highschool. This is where Choi found a love for science. “I think like the most important change for me is when I was in tenth grade,” Choi said. “I took physical science in high school taught by Mr. Bagwell. … I basically hated every single subject, especially science because I wasn’t able to like understand the materials really well, and he basically asked me to stay after school almost every day and said just because you have the language barrier doesn’t mean you have to hate science.” Choi then entered Auburn University as an integrated biology major with plans to attend the veterinarian school. “I discovered my passion for microbiology,” Choi said. “I thought I was interested in studying animals in general, but I got more interested in diseases, so more pathogens that cause diseases in animals and humans … and how they influences us, so that was kind of my passion until junior year.” Auburn University has hundreds of student organizations and clubs for students to become involved with, and Choi immersed herself. “I was a treasurer in [Marine Biology Club] at Auburn my sophomore year I think,” Choi said. “So I was involved in Marine biology, and that was amazing because I was able to participate in many different opportunities. We had the opportunity to go to Florida, Crystal River, and swim with manatees. … We also volunteer, we helped planting oak trees in Florida.” Choi also got involved with a group on campus called the Raptor Center as a vol-
unteer. Every Friday before home football games, the Raptor Center allows visitors, faculty and students to get up close and personal with the ‘war eagles’ and other Auburn birds. After attending a conference on plant pathology her junior year, Choi learned her passion wasn’t in human and animal disease. “There was a speaker from the [United States Department of Agriculture],” Choi said. “I got really kind of shocked that plant pathogens can infect and infect plant pathogens, but that also influences us and animals so it’s kind of indirectly, but it can also have a huge impact on us.” Choi decided that plant pathology was interesting and added it as a minor. Through her major in microbiology and her minor in plant pathology, Choi has had opportunities that many students are unaware even exist. In the summer of 2015, Choi traveled to California under a funding she received from Auburn called the “excellence in biological science research award.” At this point in her education, Choi had only completed her sophomore year of college. Choi and her traveling companions studied a plant, streptanthus polygaloides, known as the milk flour. “What’s really unique about this plant is that it’s able to take up and store high concentrations of nickel in its tissues, and a lot of plants don’t have the ability to do that because it gets really toxic to them,” Choi said. In order to have her California research experience, the trip required traveling up and down the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The four types of samples they col-
lected were separated by a huge gap and took a week to collect all together. Outside of her opportunities in California, Choi also was able to conduct research at Cornell University in New York. “We also went to a lot of field trips to a lot of farms like grapevines and blueberry farms, strawberry farms, and we talked to the farmers there, the owners there, and then we learned about what kind of problem they have to deal with plant pathogens and how they try to overcome that problem,” Choi said. Research at Cornell was unlike research at Auburn, Choi said. Although given time to adjust, most of the research at Cornell was conducted independently with less supervision. “My research experience at Auburn definitely prepared me to kind of approach a problem in a mature perspective (rather) than the immature perspective of an undergrad researcher,” Choi said. Outside of research, Choi found ways to make her experience in New York interesting. “There was me and 20 other scholars, Cornell research scholars, there,” Choi said. “So we kind of arrange, ‘Hey, do you want to go to this park on the weekend.’ So we went to a lot of parks, and we went to Niagara Falls. Yeah, so that was really cool, it was such an amazing experience.” Auburn University has provided many of these opportunities for Choi, and she will continue to work at Auburn after her graduation. “I’ll be working as a full time lab technician, starting from January to August, in a nanotechnology lab under supervision of Dr. Flores studying MRNA,” Choi said. “I’ll be studying a MRNA vaccine for a cancer cure, and I’ll be also studying MRNA induced … pesticide control against plant pest that causes a lot of … damage to the agriculture production, and so that’s what I’ll be doing as a technician.”
CONTRIBUTED BY JORDAN RYLE
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
PAGE 5
GREEK
Passing the candle, passing the tradition Sorority members keep tradition of announcing engagement through ceremony By LILY JACKSON Managing Editor Pass, pass, pass and the candle, adorned with pastel flowers and ribbons, is blown out. She’s getting married. Brooke Buckles, senior in communications and member of Alpha Omicron Pi, kept her engagement a secret until her closest sisters formed the traditional circle for passing the candle. “It was important to me because I have seen the [AOII] girls support me in so many other aspects in life, and I have been able to do the same thing for them,” Buckles said. “Being able to have that time with them before it was public knowledge was great.” She waited as the candle came to her, and with a subtle huff, she announced her engagement in a centuries-old tradition. Buckles’ fiancé proposed on March 10, and the two waited through spring break and announced the engagement on Sunday, one of the two days of chapter the girls are able to perform the ceremony. “I couldn’t wait until Wednesday,” Buckles said. “There is an email sent out, and it’s tradition for everyone to come. It’s a secret who is getting engaged, but everyone knows that’s why they are coming to the chapter room.” Laurie Harris, AOII advisor and friend of Buckles, also got engaged over spring break and had her candle pass ceremony shortly after during her time as an Auburn student. She encouraged Buckles to continue the tradition and wait to spread the news. She was present for Buckles’ announcement and values her choice to continue the tradition. Harris graduated in 2008 and an-
CONTRIBUTED BY BROOKE BUCKLES
nounced her engagement with two other sisters that night. A song is sung by the members of the group, the candle is passed hand-by-hand three times until the last round when the lucky lady blows out the candle. Buckles said some women place their engagement ring down the candlestick, but she was worried about the wax and decided against that. Buckles’ bouquet was pink, white and purple. She said some women chose to go with the sorority’s colors, which would have been red and white for Buckles. She was sold on a classic bridal color scheme. According to the Collegiate Chapter Operations Manual, a book of ritual instructions is required. There are other traditions that are not as common now, but were many years ago. First, women would be “pinned,” meaning their significant other, a member of a fraternity, would give her his fraternity pin in the sorority chapter room. Next, the fraternity man would give the woman his lavalier, or necklace with his Greek letters. Finally, the candle pass ceremony would announce the engagement. “I had always said I wanted to stick to tradition because I have been super involved with AOII,” Buckles said. “I just spent so much of my college time with those girls and with the chapter. I told my,
CONTRIBUTED BY BROOKE BUCKLES
now, fiancé that I wanted one, but because it was before spring break, we waited.” The proposal was out on the dock of Buckles’ grandparent’s house. They fished and hung out by the lake with her family until dinner time when the family got ready to go out. Peter Berryman, senior in industrial systems engineering and the man of the hour, walked her down to the dock — her special place. He proposed after two years of dating. The two met at Auburn. After announcing her engagement through the whisper of a candle, Buckles stood in front of her sisters and told the story of their relationship and engagement. “I was shaking,” Buckles said. “I hadn’t really told anyone, and I was finally getting to share those emotions — the excitement and nerves — with all of my friends. I was kind of freaking out.”
TOWN HALL » From 4
The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art presents
Strokes of Nature : Plein-Air Painting in the Nineteenth Century
a student curated exhibition.
puts cars in places they haven’t been before. Long story short, we have a parking problem, and we realize that.” City Council also plans to place an additional 100 spots behind Auburn Bank on the corner of Gay and Magnolia streets, which will be intended for employees of businesses downtown. The city plans to lease the land for 3–5 years. “What’s the impetus of downtown business?” Ham asked. “Obviously, it’s to serve the public but to make a profit. So, if we got employees parking in the places that could be utilized by customers, then we got a problem.” Witten added that Tiger Transit is a great resource for students that can reduce the number of cars parked downtown. “We get in conversations with our own non-University residents that would love to be able to use Tiger Transit and ask why they can’t use it,” Witten said. Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders said that parking is an issue, but he wants a high influx of people downtown. He said the largest revenue for the city is sales tax. “Understand that we’re not the old folks wanting to point the finger at you saying, ‘You’re causing all the problems downtown,’” Anders said to students. “We want you downtown. Those businesses need you.” Ham recounted a recent incident in which a student was working downtown and had received multiple parking tickets. He was able to help her find a free parking spot that she
was not aware of. Ham said many of the issues can be solved with communication, and he encouraged students to reach out to the City Council with issues or concerns. Students asked the panel questions relating to safety precautions being taken in lieu of such large growth as well as prospective business investments near Opelika Road. Council members cited plans to address safety concerns by increasing street lighting throughout the city as well as widening sidewalks. Throughout the event, the city officials showed appreciation to those in attendance and encouraged more civic engagement. “I’m just so impressed with you all,” Tremaine said. “When I was a student here, I did not get involved at all with anything with government. I didn’t think about things going on like you all are, and I’m so impressed all the time.” Director of Town Halls for the 2017–18 SGA, Julianne Lyn, junior in pre-public relations, hopes SGA will attract a higher attendance for the new town halls going forward. “Overall, I think it’s a really good opportunity, and I really wish more students would get involved,” Lyn said. “We’re going to push to make them bigger because they’re so new. It’s hard to get students here now. Our main goal is to increase our numbers and letting them know this is an opportunity they need to take advantage of.” The first two town halls focused on sexual assault and diversity and inclusion, respectively. The newly appointed 2018–19 SGA will hold at least two similar town halls.
SUSTAINABILITY
On Display
Little Art Talks
March 27 –
When: March 29 5-5:45p.m.
April 4th
Where: JCSM Auditorium
th
th
Auburn’s community garden flourishes with students’ help By NATALIE BECKERINK Campus Writer With the arrival of spring, the Auburn Community Garden re-blooms with the help of students and community members. Auburn Community Garden has been a part of Auburn since the 1970s when it was founded by an agricultural fraternity. The facility was at first only available to faculty and staff but was eventually opened up to anyone who wished to buy a plot. The garden is currently managed by Jeremiah DeVore and two other garden crew members. DeVore’s main job is to oversee the property and make sure everything is running smoothly. “I oversee plot assignments, collecting the rent payments,” DeVore said. “Right around now is when I’m busy with all of that.” DeVore said the garden requires a decent amount of maintenance from the staff. Some of the tasks include keeping the shed clean, maintaining the pathways and making sure the spigots work so gardeners have access to water. DeVore mentioned that this year the staff will put together a display garden to show people who are looking to garden what a plot should look like. All the crops grown
in the display garden will be donated to the University. “People will rent plots, so they pay the fee to get it for the full year,” DeVore said. “They can manage their plots however they want, grow whatever they want, but ultimately, it’s theirs to do whatever they please.” Currently, the garden has five undergraduate renters and nine graduate students out of 61 total renters. Out of the 61, there are also around 20 faculty and staff members. The rest is made up of community members from the Auburn-Opelika area. Adler Salem, freshman in poultry science, is one of the five undergraduate renters. Salem said he first heard about the community garden from his boss and became interested in the idea and signed up. “I was like, I want to garden [but] I live in an apartment, so I just looked (the community garden) up online,” Salem said. Salem, like many others in the garden, is currently growing a wide variety of crops including strawberries, broccoli, cabbage and beats. When asked if the garden was going to continue to expand, DeVore said the amount of land would not expand, so whatever plots get rented are what define the garden each year.
community THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM
POLITICS
COMMUNITY
CRIME
Attorney general campaign to hold Auburn-Alabama rivalry week By OLIVIA WILKES Community Writer
The Auburn-Alabama rivalry is one of the nation’s fiercest battles — so fierce that even members of the same political campaign team have split along university lines. Alabama Republican attorney general candidate Alice Martin’s campaign teams in Lee and Tuscaloosa counties are planning to hold a rivalry week April 4-11 to see who can reach the most voters through campaigning. Zach Bowman, political director for Martin’s campaign, will be in charge of the Lee County group. “I came through Auburn myself,” Bowman said. “Honestly, just from going to school here in Auburn, you see all the different Beat Bama canned food drives, just coming off of the basketball tournament you saw all the different Auburn-Alabama stuff, and [we were] trying to think of a way to incorporate the school rivalries,” Bowman said. Martin’s campaign manager Nathaniel White will be leading the Tuscaloosa team. “I’m a very competitive person, and I thought it’d be a good way of getting college kids involved in the political process in a constructive way,” White said. “Also kind of bringing out the competitiveness of the two universities.” The campaigners will be phone banking and canvassing to reach as many potential voters as possible. Teams will be composed of both university students and citizens who live in the two counties. “We use a program called I-360, and with that program we’re able to pull together universes of different phone banking books for different counties,” Bowman said. “We also put together walk books where we can pick neighborhoods to send people into.” Primary elections will be held June 5. Martin is a former federal prosecutor and chief deputy Alabama attorney general who served as acting attorney general for one day following Luther Strange’s appointment to the U.S. Senate. She is competing for the Republican nomination against former AG Troy King, Chess Bedsole and incumbent Steve Marshall.
VIA THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Reconstruction of the Opelika baby Jane Doe.
VIA ALICE MARTIN’S WEBSITE
Former U.S. Attorney Alice Martin is running for the Alabama attorney general Republican nomination.
DA announces reward for unsolved Opelika murder By KAILEY BETH SMITH Community Reporter
The Democratic candidates for AG are Chris Christie and Joseph Siegelman. The race is expected to be a competitive one. “It’s going to be an interesting primary season,” White said. “The attorney general’s race is definitely going to be the most competitive race. It’s got a pretty deep field.” In 2014, the Republican Strange captured both counties on his way to a landslide victory over Democrat Joseph Hubbard. The general election will be held on Nov. 6, concurrently with the elections for other offices around the state and nation. White said campaign experience is great for anyone interested in politics and wants to get as many people as possible involved in the rivalry. “I try to tell people if you’re interested in politics, regardless of whether it’s the policy side or the campaign side or even if you want to run for office yourself one day, you’ve got to work a campaign to understand kind of the mechanics of how policy and politics kind of come together in that fashion,” he said. “So this is a great experience for everyone.”
A $10,000 reward is now being offered by the Lee County District Attorney’s Office for information regarding an unsolved murder case. The case concerns the identification of remains of an unnamed child, known as “Baby Jane Doe,” which were found in 2012 near an Opelika trailer park. District Attorney Brandon Hughes announced the $5,000 reward, donated by Gov. Kay Ivey’s office, on Thursday for anyone able to provide information in the 6-year-old case. According to the district attorney’s Facebook page, a second anonymous donor matched the amount, raising the reward to the current amount of $10,000. “A local citizen has generously and graciously offered to match the governor’s reward,” read the post. “We wish to thank the individual for
their kindness and much-needed help,” Hughes said. The department was first notified of the remains on Jan. 28, 2012, and has been working to find out as much information as they can since then. The child has not yet been identified. “This has been the continued, concerted effort on the part of several law enforcement agencies,” said Opelika Police Department Chief John McEachern at Thursday’s press conference. OPD Sgt. Alfred White has been involved since the investigation’s initiation. “It may be difficult to pick up the phone and call and say something – but it is the right thing to do,” White said. Hughes referred to it as a “dogged investigation” by OPD. The Associated Press reported there is strong evidence to suggest that the child was malnourished for most of her life.
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
The Auburn Plainsman
PAGE 7
EDUCATION
Org. aims to enrich the lives of local Hispanic children By EDUARDO MEDINA Community Writer
Kid-size sneakers parade the Auburn Public Library’s carpet floor as volunteers greet children with smiles as radiant as the setting sun seen by the windows, farewelling with flashes of pink and red — the same colors on the kids’ shoes. The children are a part of Esperanza House, a non-profit organization aiming to help Hispanic families with education, mental health and youth development programs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5 p.m., the organization holds an after-school program to help kids with their homework and catch up on how their week is going. By 5:10 p.m., the volunteers, made up of Auburn students and teachers, intently sit with their buddies who sit crisscross with a pencil and a sheet of homework. Karlyn Bartley, senior at Auburn University in global studies, is graduating in May and interns with Esperanza House. After seeing a flyer advertising a position to intern with the organization, she applied for it right away. “I knew there was a Hispanic community in Auburn but wasn’t sure how to get involved, but when I saw the flyer, I got so excited,” Bartley said. Bartley got the internship, a chance to build fruitful relationships with local Hispanic families and many new responsibilities. “A lot of emails, administration work, non-profit paperwork and time management problems made it difficult at first,” Bartley said. “But I love having the chance to nurture strengths in others and see them thrive.” Once settling in, Bartley flourished. She looked forward to mentoring the children each Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, she said, because of their engaging intelligence, so the volunteering fit dead center on the Venn diagram of rewarding and inspiring work for Bartley. Hundreds of kids knew her name, and she knew theirs. But Esperanza’s outreach wasn’t always in the hundreds.
Carolyn Fichtner is a board member for Esperanza House and recalls the days when the program had 15 kids and met at an apartment after cookouts and church. Her Spanish may not be perfect, she said, but her commitment to improving the lives of Hispanic families in Auburn is a prolific one she aspires toward achieving with Esperanza House. Each Thursday, Esperanza supplies dinner to the families, and each August, Fichtner and her friend, founder and executive director Odalys Silvera find sponsors and donors that provide the kids with school supplies. In the summer, the organization funds several scholarships to older children so they can go to a summer camp. Kevin Bonilla was given this opportunity last summer because of his excellent grades. “The camp was really fun; we played games, made new friends,” Bonilla said. “It was great.” The parents of kids like Bonilla are extremely involved, Fichtner said. “They love their kids, they work hard and they want their kids to do well, and we try to help them as much as we can,” Fichtner said. Fichter and Bartley said more volunteers would be a huge help, and that building lasting relationships, along with hugs and high-fives when walking in, makes the experience a joyful one. “A few of the kids will come in early, so we’ll talk about their day, and it really reminds me how amazing it is to make connections with kids,” Bartley said. At 6 p.m, the tutoring ends, but the giggling and smiles continue outside the library as the kids wait for their parents to pick them up and the volunteers keep them company. Kids jolt around the grassy area with jamboree and games, warming the otherwise cool March afternoon. As the parents pick up their children, the volunteers high-five and hug them goodbye. “When the kids are healthy and happy, it’s benefiting all of us,” Fichtner said. “The kids are happy — the community is happy.”
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
Students in the Esperanza House program study at the Auburn Public Library on March 20, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
A student in the Esperanza House program studies at the Auburn Public Library on Tuesday, March 20, 2018.
SAFETY
CRIME
Police release sketch of bank robbery suspect By STAFF REPORT
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTOGRAPHER
A walkway at Auburn High School on Thursday, May 31, 2017, in Auburn, Ala.
School board hires third-party firm to assess safety in public schools By KAILEY BETH SMITH Community Reporter
Auburn City Schools has hired an Ohio-based safety and security organization to review the school system’s safety policies and procedures. Superintendent Karen DeLano announced at the March 20 board meeting that she had contacted National School Safety and Security Services to assess the city schools’ campuses and to make recommendations of necessary safety measures. Daniel Chesser, public relations specialist for ACS, told The Plainsman that the company was recommended by Auburn Police Divison Assistant Chief Will Mathews. The company will be brought in to assess and evaluate the schools’ crisis management and prevention policies. In light of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that claimed the lives of 17, some Auburn parents have become more worried about their children’s safety, especially at Auburn High School where the exterior is comprised of large glass panels and classrooms also have win-
dows. Some have said that the city has been idle in responding to parents’ concerns, and uneasiness has grown among the community of parents as another school shooting occurred in Maryland the morning of March 20. At the March 20 Auburn City Council meeting, residents once again addressed growing concerns over the glass walls in Auburn High. Mayor Bill Ham said the city has tried to avoid stepping on the toes of the school system in dealing with school security. “They have these children at heart and are concerned,” Ham said of ACS. “This seems to me to be a logical approach — hire professionals who do nothing but school safety, and let’s assess the situation.” The school board is hoping to have the service conducted later in the spring or during the summer with the intention of placing more resource officers in the schools before the start of the 2018–2019 school year, Chesser said. Auburn resident Bill Caskey spoke his concerns to the council over the glass walls in the school for the second time in recent months, following a proposal made
by Ward 8 Councilman Tommy Dawson, and he emphasized the need for student protection in the schools. Dawson said he wanted to keep the issue fresh on people’s minds and asked City Manager James Buston to organize a meeting between the council and the superintendent. In February, Dawson called for increased officer presence in Auburn schools. Dawson worked for APD for more than 26 years and spent three of those as police chief. Caskey said he decided to attend the City Council meeting to appeal to council members about the walls, instead of attending the ACS board meeting that was occurring simultaneously. Auburn students have also gotten involved in the conversation. Students from AHS staged a walkout the morning of March 20, spending 17 minutes in the school’s courtyard in remembrance of the victims of the Parkland attack. According to the Auburn Villager, Delano said that she was in support of the walkouts and has encouraged principals to allow them, so long as the necessary precautions are taken to ensure the safety of the students.
On Monday, the Auburn Police Division and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency State Bureau of Investigation released a forensic composite drawing of the man suspected of robbing the South College Street PNC Bank on March 16. Police said the drawing is a forensic artist’s rendering of what the man would potentially look like without wearing a hat and the fake beard he used as a disguise. Officers responding to the robbery were given the description of a white man, between 25–35 years old, between 6 feet and 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing around 250 pounds. He was
dressed in a blue and white colored plaid button down long sleeve shirt, tan pants, light-colored baseball cap and a fake brown beard. The suspect fled the scene driving a gray four-door Hyundai Elantra. Police said the suspect entered the bank, demanded money in a threatening manner and fled with an undetermined amount of cash. No weapon was produced and no injuries were reported. The case remains under investigation by Auburn police. Police have asked that anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information on the case call detectives at 334-501-3140 or at the anonymous tip line at 334-246-1391.
VIA THE AUBURN POLICE DIVISION
One of two sketches of the March 16, 2018, PNC Bank robbery suspect the Auburn Police Department released on March 26, 2018.
sports THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
8 THEPLAINSMAN.COM
SPORTS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Greene: Pearl a ‘tremendous blessing for the Auburn Family’
New Auburn AD ‘absolutely’ plans to keep Pearl at the helm of basketball program
ADAM BRASHER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Head Coach Bruce Pearl reacts during Auburn Basketball vs. Vanderbilt at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018.
By NATHAN KING Assistant Sports Editor
It’s been just over a month since new Auburn Athletic Director Allen Greene’s official installation at the University, and it seems as if Auburn’s board made the right choice in the 40-yearold. Greene has done everything that a new face of a program should: be friendly, be present and have a clear vision. His plan for success atop Tigers athletics was explicitly stated in his introductory press conference Jan. 19. “We don’t all look alike, we don’t all act alike, we don’t all talk alike,” Greene said in January. “We don’t all believe in the same things, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be teammates. That doesn’t mean we can’t be partners, brothers or sisters. So we will embrace a culture of diversity. We will embrace different beliefs. We will challenge one another to think differently, all to make
Auburn a better University.” Greene’s partnerships at Auburn were going to be tested early and often, with multiple athletic programs under national scrutiny over scandals at the time of his arrival. At the forefront was the men’s basketball program, which won an SEC title in the 2017-18 season in its fourth year under head coach Bruce Pearl. On Wednesday, Greene announced his intentions to “absolutely” keep Pearl as Auburn’s head coach if there are no new issues that arise from the FBI investigation regarding the program. “Bruce feels like he’s done nothing wrong,” Greene said on the WJOX Roundtable radio show. “He and I have talked about that. I don’t have a reason to do anything other than what we’ve been doing and supporting him and his student-athletes.” Pearl had been previously bashed for his “lack of cooperation” with the FBI in their probe into the Chuck Person investigation, in which two Auburn players — believed to be Austin Wiley and
Danjel Purifoy — were found to have accepted corrupt bribes and other funds in conjunction with Person’s agent services. “I know our fan base is incredibly excited about the job coach Pearl and his staff has done,” Greene said. “I got a chance to watch a couple games in person, and to watch our student athletes compete it made me really proud to be an Auburn Tiger. That’s the type of competition and drive and fire we want the fan base to see.” After Wiley was ruled eligible for 2018-19 in January, the NCAA declared earlier this month that Purifoy will be allowed to return as well after serving a “30 percent” suspension, which should amount to nine or 10 games. “We didn’t get that way overnight, and we won’t fix things overnight,” Greene said. “But knowing that the process of the FBI and NCAA investigation is — who knows how long it’s going to be?
» See GREENE, 10
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
The Auburn Plainsman
PAGE 9
BASEBALL
No. 9 Auburn dominates again in Capital City Classic By SUMNER MARTIN Sports Writer
Will Holland hit a pair of solo home runs, and Eduardo Julien hit a three-run homer as Auburn beat Alabama 5-2 in the 10th Capital City Classic at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery on Tuesday night. Jay Estes shined defensively, and Calvin Coker closed the Tide out as the Tigers won their ninth Capital City Classic in 10 tries. Auburn’s Butch Thompson won his first matchup against former assistant, now Alabama head coach, Brad Bohannon. “Man, Will Holland, those two swings he had tonight were beautiful,” Auburn coach Butch Thompson said. “Jay Estes changes the whole course of the ballgame with the three plays he made defensively. “I thought Calvin Coker did great work for us and was pretty efficient.” Freshman left-hander Jack Owen got the start for Auburn and pitched four scoreless innings, giving up one hit and walking two, to earn his first-career win. Welby Malczewski came in for relief and gave up a run on three hits in one inning. After Elliott Anderson walked the only hitter he replaced, Coker took over.
Coker, who pitched Friday and Sunday at Kentucky, pitched the last four innings, giving up two hits and one run to earn the save in front of the largest crowd in Riverwalk Stadium history. “We didn’t play Auburn baseball in Lexington. We didn’t execute,” said Holland of the team losing two of three at Kentucky last weekend. “We just came out here tonight to try to get the train rolling. We ended up doing that. I think everyone in the lineup hit a ball hard tonight.” The Tigers jumped out early, scoring four runs in the second inning. Conor Davis doubled and Jake Estes singled, setting the stage for Julien, Auburn’s freshman designated hitter. He drove a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence to give Auburn a 3-0 lead. One batter later, Holland drove a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for his first home run of the game. Holland wasn’t done yet. The sophomore shortstop came out swinging again in the seventh, leading off with a home run over the left-center field fence for his second bomb of the night. The Tigers now have 27 homers on the season, after only having 30 all year.
» See BASEBALL, 10
ADAM BRASHER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Will Holland receives a fist bump from coach Gabe Gross at third base a home run vs. Georgia.
FOOTBALL
Tiger defense impresses in opening scrimmage By PETER SANTO Sports Writer
FILE PHOTO
Daniel Thomas (24) celebrates after making a stop in the first half. Auburn vs. Mississippi State.
The Auburn defense appears to be picking up right where they left off last season, as they won the line of scrimmage and forced five turnovers in the Tigers’ first scrimmage of the spring. The scrimmage took place inside JordanHare Stadium and lasted about 100 plays. It included live special teams reps in addition to the offense vs. defense plays. “The defense really stood out to me today,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “They won the line of scrimmage and forced five turnovers, which is good from a defensive standpoint. Offensively, they need to do a better job of protecting the football.” With Jarrett Stidham still out with a shoulder injury, Malik Willis took snaps with the firstteam at quarterback. Four of the five turnovers were interceptions, and Malzahn continued to stress the importance of protecting the football. “(Willis) did okay. Our expectations for him are pretty high due to the fact that he’s been here before,” Malzahn said. “Offensively, the big takeaway is we need to protect the ball better. There wasn’t a lot of penalties like there would normally be when you play everybody on offense. The penalties were down, but the negative was protecting the football.” Daniel Thomas stood out on defense as the junior defensive back had at least one interception. Malzahn was impressed with Thomas as he looks to take the next step in his third season on the Plains. “Daniel is a guy that, he’s got a lot of experi-
SOFTBALL
ence and he is starting to turn into a veteran,” Malzahn said. “You can kind of just sense it out there when you’re going 11-on-11. So expectations are very high for him.” As Auburn looks to rebuild their offensive line in 2018, Saturday’s scrimmage was an important step as the Tigers continue to evaluate that position. “It’s very valuable. (Offensive line coach J.B. Grimes) rotated some of the guys with the (first and second team offense). He wanted to see how some guys would react with the first group. So we did a little bit more of that than we’ve done the first six practices, but that was by design. [Grimes] just wanted to create some competition.” As is common in the first scrimmage, Malzahn said the offense ran the ball 75-80 percent of the time, and each of Auburn’s six running backs got a chance to carry the ball. “[Running the ball that much] is by design. That’s the way we usually start out,” Malzahn said. “They rotated the backs pretty evenly. Kam Martin, Devan Barrett, JaTarvious “Boobie” Whitlow, Asa Martin, Malik Miller and C.J. Tolbert all got between 5-10 carries. We wanted to really give those guys a chance.” The kicking game was another bright spot for the Tigers as Anders Carlson went 3-for-3 on field goals with a long of 52 yards. Auburn will likely have two more scrimmages this spring, including the A-Day spring game on April 7. The Tigers will open the 2018 season on Sept. 1 against Washington at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
BASEBALL
Greenhill, Mitchell progressing for Tigers By WILL SAHLIE Sports Editor
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
The Auburn softball players sing the Auburn fight song after defeating Kentucky on Sunday, March 25, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.
No. 11 Auburn softball completes sweep of No. 19 Kentucky By JOHN KOO, ZACHARY PIKE and COLE MCCAULEY Sports Writers
After dropping its first four SEC games by a combined five runs vs. LSU and Alabama, Auburn has rebounded ideally with five consecutive conference victories. The Tigers built on their two wins over Alabama with a sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats over the weekend. Auburn opened the series against Kentucky with a 3-1 victory Friday night. Makayla Martin gave up one run on five hits in 6.1 innings before Kaylee Carlson got the game’s final two outs to earn the save.
While the pitching was impressive, Auburn head coach Mickey Dean was particularly pleased with the Tigers’ performance defensively. “We played great defensively,” Dean said. “It couldn’t have been much better. We made some great plays, got some double plays out of them when we needed them.” Victoria Draper made history by breaking the Auburn single-season steals record with her 34th stolen base of the season. Draper knew she’d be asked to steal bases this season, but even she couldn’t have predicted this. “It’s definitely fun,” said Draper. “[Dean] said that I’d be running a lot before the season started, but I never imagined this much.”
Dean was quick to praise the hard work that got Draper to this point. “She’s earned it,” said Dean. “A lot of times, you get a record, and sometimes you don’t have to work to get it. She’s worked really hard. She’s been a great teammate to these young ladies. She plays through pain every day, and she’s amazing to coach. The game was an even contest early on, as both teams struggled to adjust to the opposing pitcher. Auburn opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a solo home run by Courtney Shea, and the Tigers extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth when Victoria Draper’s RBI single scored Morgan Podany.
» See SOFTBALL, 10
Down a pair of its key relievers the last few weeks, Auburn has struggled a bit, falling in four of its last six games. However, the injury situation for the Tigers is starting to look up. Reliever Cody Greenhill, who has been out since March 10 with mononucleosis, could return for this weekend’s series against Missouri. The freshman will undergo another blood test on Wednesday. He is 1-0 with three saves and leads the team with a 0.49 ERA. “I’ll be disappointed if Cody Greenhill is not ready for us this weekend, but the doctors, him, me, nobody’s in control of that,” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson said. “That test Wednesday will answer that. “He says he feels better than he had for like his last two or three outings that he had, but he’s not a robot. He hadn’t pitched for a period of time just being back in a ballgame. Do I just throw him into the biggest game on the line when he hasn’t pitched in two or three weeks? That’s going to be the million dollar question.”
Andrew Mitchell, who has been out since Feb. 27 with forearm tightness, threw a bullpen without any issues last week and will throw one more at the end of this week to test his injury. If the left-hander’s bullpen goes well, he could return for a key series next week at No. 6 Arkansas. “Andrew threw great,” Thompson said. “He definitely will not be on our 27-man with Missouri this week … and hopefully we get him back the next weekend. If nothing changes, I think this will be his last weekend out.” Mitchell hasn’t allowed a run and has struck out 16 in 9.1 innings. “That would be huge,” senior infielder Luke Jarvis said about the return of the bullpen pieces. “It’s definitely big having those guys in the bullpen, especially with what happened this weekend. “You know you’re going to get a lot of strikes. You’re not going to do a lot of standing out there waiting around. I’m looking forward to it.” Auburn returns to SEC play this weekend vs. Missouri. First pitch Friday is set for 6 CT. Saturday and Sunday’s games will start at 6 and 2, respectively.
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
SOFTBALL » From 9
Casey McCrackin’s 16-pitch at-bat in the fifth inning gave Draper time for her record-breaking steal, and McCrackin eventually brought her home with an RBI double. The Wildcats broke the shutout in the seventh and brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate, but Carlson got Katie Reed to pop out to end the game. Kaylee Carlson’s career performance on the mound in game two of the series ended with joy as Tannon Snow hit a walk-off home run to beat Kentucky 1-0 in 12 innings. Carlson was terrific for the Tigers Saturday night as she pitched a complete game shutout over 12 innings of work. She allowed just six base runners the entire night. Dean was impressed with her and the team’s performance in the field. “She was a monster,” Dean said. “She wants the ball and she got it and did her job. She had great defense behind her. How many times do you see three balls hit to the fence and you hold the other team to a single? That’s the difference.” Tannon Snow’s late-inning heroics led the Tiger offense. Her walk-off home run cleared the left-field wall with ease. The situation, according to Snow, wasn’t too much for her. “You just have to slow yourself down,” Snow said. “I slowed myself down and told myself it’s just another at-bat. I’ve had a few walk-offs this season, and it’s nice.” Both teams struggled to find much offense throughout the majority of the game. The Tigers and Wildcats combined for just 11 hits in 12 innings. Auburn threatened in both the sixth and seventh innings but could not push across any runs. Alyssa Rivera started off the sixth with a leadoff triple but the Tigers failed to score her. Kendall Veach had a leadoff double in the seventh to get Auburn in scoring position but couldn’t score the game-win-
ning run. The lack of run support didn’t impact Carlson. “You have to have three parts for a team,” Carlson said. “Defense, pitching and hitting. We had to have great defense and that is what they are doing. They are picking up the slack.” Auburn notched its 31st victory of the season in the team’s first SEC sweep of 2018 on Sunday, downing the Wildcats 6-4 in the final game of the series. After a stagnant offensive performance in game two of the series, the Tigers looked to get their offense back on track early. On her first pitch, McCrackin launched a ball over the centerfield wall in the first inning to get the Tigers started on the board. “The past two games, I was kind of cautious,” McCrackin said. “I didn’t really swing at the first pitch, but it was a good pitch, and I just put a good swing on it.” A strong third inning for the Wildcats capitalized by a two-run home run by shortstop Katie Reed gave Kentucky its first lead of the three game series, but it didn’t last long. After three innings from Chardonnay Harris, which included five total strikeouts and three in her first four batters faced, Martin came in to relieve the freshman. Before Martin took to the circle, Auburn got another RBI from McCrackin and a double from Veach, which gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead going into the fourth. A few key Auburn runs and clutch situational pitching prevented Kentucky from capitalizing late in the game. Auburn’s six runs were the most the team has scored in SEC play this season. “It was important for us to win all three games, we knew that coming in,” Dean said. “It wasn’t about winning one game and it wasn’t about winning two games, our mission was to win all three.” The Tigers now turn their attention to a road trip to Oxford, where they will face Ole Miss on March 30 at 6 p.m. CST.
GREENE » From 8
“It’s going to be lengthy — so I think it’s in our best interest to stay the course.” To put the cherry on top, Pearl’s troublesome antics have apparently subsided. Greene praised Pearl in an in-house podcast on March 24, calling the coach’s efforts with the FBI “excellent.” “The FBI investigation is a long process, and we’re going through that process to make sure that we, as a university, are doing what it is that we’re supposed to do to comply,” Greene said on the podcast. “Coach Pearl has been excellent in that regard, and I look forward to continuing to work with him as we continue to do the very best that we can to support he, his staff and the student-athletes of Auburn University.” The world of NCAA basketball has found itself in limbo, waiting on official rulings at numerous big-name programs across the country. Fans have caught wind of the rule breaking by schools like Duke and Arizona but have yet to see action taken. The same goes for Auburn. Wiley and Purifoy’s reinstatement paired with Pearl’s
PAGE 10 apparent cooperation is positive news, but the possibility remains of the NCAA taking further, more cut-throat action with head coaches. Despite the vague void ahead that could implode the program, Greene remains optimistic and says he will continue to work tirelessly alongside Pearl and Auburn basketball. “We want to work incredibly hard to make sure we clean up the game, that it is as pure as it can possibly be so that our student-athletes can enjoy the experience and the intercollegiate athletic experience,” Greene said. “One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that the state of college basketball is not in a good place right now, and I’m a little bit disappointed, obviously, that Auburn basketball is involved in that, but that doesn’t take away from the excellent job that Coach Pearl has done. “You think about our basketball program, we’ve got the highest Academic Progress Rate in program history, we have eight student-athletes with a 3.0 GPA — and Coach Pearl is enthusiastic and as welcoming and exciting as he is, he’s been a tremendous blessing for the Auburn Family.”
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
Bruce Pearl celebrates after Auburn’s win over Alabama Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.
BASEBALL » From 9
Holland, Steven Willams, Davis and Estes each had two of Auburn’s 13 hits. “I definitely had a chip on my shoulder,” said Coker after giving up five runs including two
home runs in two appearances at Kentucky. “I was ready tonight. I was locked in. I was definitely ready and it’s tough to lose when you’ve got a defense like that behind you.” The Tigers improve to 21-5 going into a weekend series against Missouri at Plainsman Park. Alabama falls to 16-10.
JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER
Kendall Veach (24) swings during Auburn softball vs. Kentucky on Friday, March 23, 2018.
STUDENT AFFAIRS spotlight
Office of Greek Life
ADAM BRASHER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Will Holland raises his arms in celebration as Brett Wright heads home vs. Georgia Tech.
SOFTBALL
Dowell named Freshman of the Week By NATHAN KING Assistant Sports Editor
The Office of Greek Life serves as a resource to the Greek community, including 53 Greek affiliated organizations. In addition to leadership opportunities and personal development, Auburn’s Greek organizations actively raise funds for philanthropies and participate in community service.
Starting in place of the injured Taylon Snow, Auburn freshman Makenna Dowell was masterful in the Tigers’ 4-0 past week, earning her SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Tuesday. The infielder entered Auburn’s tune-up win over Alabama State with only four hits on the season, but doubled that mark with a 4-for-9 showing in the next four games, including four runs scored and two RBI. In Auburn’s sweep of Kentucky, Dowell finished 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles.
“We always talk about being ready when your name is called, and by receiving this honor Makenna has truly proven that she is that definition of being ready when your name is called,” head coach Mickey Dean said of Dowell. “She did an outstanding job both offensively and defensively last week. She was ready when she was called upon.” Dowell is the second Tiger to be honored by the SEC this season, joining senior Victoria Draper. Auburn (31-6, 5-4 SEC) brings a five-game win streak to Ole Miss this weekend for a three-game series in Oxford, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. CST.
For more information visit auburn.edu/greeklife or call 334-844-4600.
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
Makenna Dowell (32) catches the ball on Sunday, March 25, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.
auburn.edu/StudentAffairs facebook.com/AuburnStudents
lifestyle
11
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
THEPLAINSMAN.COM
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
Auburn-based app claims to be the next Snapchat By JACK WEST Lifestyle Writer
Recently, Auburn’s campus has become dotted with stickers bearing an enticing headline. “Get paid to party” is an attention-grabbing logo, and, luckily, that is exactly the kind of reaction that the creators of the app uParty are looking for. Emmett Deen, Bryan Andress and Ben Dempsey, respectively the CEO, CMO and CTO of uParty, Inc., said that while this pitchline seems too good to be true, it is totally legitimate. “If you’re inside the geofence with the app running in the background for the set time, money gets transferred from the event host to your Paypal,” Deen explained. First launched the week before spring break, uParty works by giving users a list of promoted events in their area where they can receive money based on how long they go there. “It provides the Auburn community with a go-to resource on specials at restaurants, bars and other local events,” Andress said. “It’s a platform that businesses, promoters, artists and student organizations can use.” Some of the biggest names in Auburn’s entertainment scene have already joined on, including places like Skybar and the Draft House. The uParty team hopes to further expand their reach by working with the on-campus dining options as well. According to Deen, the app saw 250 downloads in the first week. “It was a great initial response,” Andress said. However, he also knew that success needed to continue because “if there are no events on the map, no one is going to use the app.” While this app was launched a few weeks ago, the idea was conceived by Deen much longer ago in the dead time following a freshman rush season. A few years later, after having competed with earlier versions of the app in the Harbert Business School’s Tiger Cage event, Deen added Andress and Dempsey to the team. This new group of three worked long hours over this past summer adding innovative features to the app to help it stand out. The main addition being the aforementioned geofence as well as its Facebook integration. The geofence is a boundary set by the event promoter that checks with your phone’s location systems to ensure that you are actually in the event. According to Deen, this is the feature that “sets uParty apart.”
JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER
A sticker advertising for the app uParty sits on a bench next to the Auburn University Student Center on Sunday, March 25, 2018.
The other new technical addition was connecting users through Facebook. Everyone signing up for the app must sign in through Facebook and must have a Facebook account. The app then uses data obtained from a user’s Facebook page to give information to both event promoters and other users about the demographics of potential events. “Before you go to an event you can click on it and see how many guys are there, how many girls are there and their average age,” Deen said. According to the company’s website, this information is used to enhance the online experience of app users for marketing and promotional purposes and to demonstrate business operations or performance to third parties. When asked about potential ethical troubles since this process seems similar to recent discoveries about the company Cambridge Analytica, Andress said that they play by the same rules that the other tech giants like Snapchat and Instagram do. The sharing of this information is “agreed upon by everyone who uses the service when they accept the terms and conditions,”
Andress said. He then added that “Facebook has made billions and billions of dollars on people not reading those terms and conditions.” When asked specifically how they felt about displaying this information, Deen stated clearly that all of the data is presented anonymously and that their intention was always to “offer the best service possible.” Looking toward the future, these three have large aspirations for their app. “We are here to be the next Snapchat,” Deen said. “We think we have the virality of that.” With this potential success, they also hope to expand to other college towns. “Auburn, to us, is a great incubator where we can launch an app to a localized community,” Deen said. “Auburn’s where we are starting, but it’s not the end for us.” When asked why they want to expand, Dempsey said that “the same kind of value that this app gives to Auburn, we believe we can give to every college town.”
COLUMN
Best hikes and outdoor activities to do near Auburn By SARAH GAILLARD Lifestyle Writer
With temperatures climbing and summer on the way, the urge to get out in the sun is higher than ever. Although a spring break spent at the beach gives you a taste of summer like no other, weekends spent outside are a great break from school to keep you motivated for the last couple of weeks left in the semester. The perfect way to enjoy the spring weather and get in a workout while you’re at it is by going on a hike. Grab some friends, pack a lunch and explore some of these hikes around Auburn this spring. CHEAHA STATE PARK Located in Delta, Alabama, Cheaha State Park is a bit of a drive but well worth it. The park spans over 2,799 acres and includes Cheaha Mountain, which happens to be the highest point in the state. It was established in 1933 and has been a place for picnicking, swimming, fishing and hiking ever since. The park features the Pinhoti Trail system with overlooks and observation decks all along the way. This hike is more strenuous, but it proves to be a great day trip op-
INGRID SCHNADER / PHOTO EDITOR
The entrance to Chewacla State Park in Auburn, Ala., on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018.
tion for some fresh air and a change of scenery. CHEWACLA STATE PARK Chewacla State Park is always a great choice for hiking that is close to campus. Founded in 1939, this park has
well-established trails for hiking and mountain biking. Covering around 696 acres, the park has plenty of space to explore and spend the day. Chewacla is open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., perfect for a morning,
midday or evening hike. An Auburn staple, Chewacla is a bucket list item to check off during your time in town. SWAYBACK BRIDGE TRAIL Located in Wetumpka, Alabama, Swayback Bridge Trail is a closer op-
tion for a day trip off campus. Perfect for biking, running and hiking, there are plenty of things to do to enjoy all that the park has to offer. The park is made up of five different trails, each ranging from 2.5 miles to 11.2 miles. They are easy to navigate and provide options, so you can assess the difficulty of each and factor in the time you have left to spend at the park. Swayback Bridge Trail is the perfect day getaway for groups and is great to bring dogs to. RED MOUNTAIN PARK A park filled with action, Red Mountain Park is the place for you if you love the outdoors. Although it is located in Birmingham, it is a great option for a weekend or day trip. Since it opens at 7 a.m., this is a great option for visitors traveling from farther away to get an early start. Red Mountain Park covers around 1,500 acres with 15 miles of scenic trails, historic mines, zip lines, overlooks and a dog park. Sure to keep you busy the whole day, a trip to Red Mountain Park is a perfect way to stay active on a day off.
COLUMN
Money matters: How to choose a student credit card By MOLLY STEWART Lifestyle Writer
Student credit cards are explicitly designed for students who have limited or no credit history. A primary reason you might want a student credit card is to begin building your credit history. Companies that offer these cards are trying to help students get ready for the real world. Most cards have a low credit limit, so lenders do not risk much if you mess up on making payments. Paying your bill each month can help you establish proper credit and show just how responsible you can be with money. There are so many student cards out there, it can be overwhelming deciding which one to pick. You should always choose a card that has
no annual fee. Some cards that offer rewards and perks require a yearly fee. There are some exceptions, but most student credit cards don’t offer rewards. So a good student credit card will not have an annual fee. You should pick a company that offers credit-monitoring tools. The main reason you are getting a card is to build up your score, so it would be pointless not to choose a company that allows you to monitor your credit score for free. A smart person would take advantage of this to track progress and see areas of improvement for a better credit score. You should choose a company that has no foreign transaction fees. Some credit cards charge a fee (usually 3 percent of the transaction) to use a card in a foreign country.
They always say college is the best time to travel, so if you plan to study abroad or backpack across Europe, this is a big one. You should choose a company that offers incentives. A lot of cards will pay you cash for having good grades. Some may even reward a higher credit line once you’ve made several payments on time, which will increase your credit score drastically. A few commonly chosen student cards are Discover it for Students, Citi ThankYou Preferred Card for College Students and Journey Student Rewards from Capital One. As with any credit card, you should be careful to make your payments on time and keep your balance low. Don’t charge more to your account than you could reasonably pay back. That could end up being a detriment to your credit history when the goal is to make it bet-
ter. If the thought of getting a credit card scares you, then there are alternatives. You can become an authorized user on a parent’s card. You will get the benefits of your parents’ credit history, but you aren’t legally liable for paying the bill. You could also get a secured credit card, which allows you to make a security deposit that becomes your line of credit. After you have earned the trust of the company, the card issuer may upgrade you to an unsecured card and return your deposit. Whether you apply for a student credit card or go another route, building a credit score now can set you up for a stable financial life. Building your credit in college can teach you so much about the world of money before you actually get thrown into it in a few years.
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018
PAGE 12
REVIEW
‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ is no replacement for original film By PRICE EVERETT Lifestyle Writer
When viewing the first “Pacific Rim” movie, the expectation was to see a film with a dumb plot that was there just to be the excuse for a giant robot to fight a giant monster. The first movie surprised audiences and critics with actual character development, emotional depth and an interesting world in which the characters inhabited. Expectations going into its sequel, “Pacific Rim Uprising,” weren’t spectacularly high either. Guillermo del Toro wasn’t returning to direct, but it was still expected that some care would be given to the aspects of world building and character development that the first one surprised viewers with. Unfortunately, “Uprising” falls flat and delivers what was expected of the first movie. It’s a dumb, basic plot that serves merely as an excuse to see giant robots fight each other and an even bigger monster than was present in the first. While the film does succeed in some areas, it isn’t nearly as good as the first film. John Boyega, known primarily for his role as Finn in the new Star Wars movies, stars as Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba’s character Stacker Pentecost from the first film. Jake is a former Jaeger, or giant robot pilot, who left the program in order to become a scrapper and party in California. Boyega does a good job with the role because of his charm and
humor, but the problem is that he’s the only truly convincing character in the whole movie. The only other character to get any substantial development is Cailee Spaeny’s Amara, a young orphan who is good with machines. While her character arc is stereotypical, the character does grow and change in the movie. While the other characters aren’t poorly acted by any means, they lack depth and feel incredibly sidelined compared to Boyega. Boyega is a certified star in the film, but it would’ve been nice to see some of the side characters, like Scott Eastwood’s character, Nate, get more development in the movie. The score for the movie is underwhelming compared to the first, which was bombastic and in your face. The score here is much more generic and stays out of the way of the movie, which is disappointing. Ultimately, this movie boils down to the robot fights. The CGI for the movie is consistently good, and in the first two acts, the fights are really fun to watch on screen. They are dynamic and are pure eye candy for the viewer. The stakes during the fight feel more real, and it never gets so cheesy to where it feels out of place in the world of the film. Mild spoiler ahead, there is a big fight at the end of the movie. While this fight is a giant spectacle and looks great on behalf of the CGI of the film, it doesn’t quite have the energy of the previous fights in the movie. It becomes almost cartoonish and feels out of place from the rest of the movie. While the fight is still fun, it does draw the viewer out of the film.
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The end of the movie really feels like a set up for future films. If more Pacific Rim movies end up being made, they should follow more of the example from the first film. Ultimately, if you want to see a movie about giant robots fighting other giant robots and giant monsters, then you will enjoy “Pacific Rim: Uprising.” If you want a more interesting movie that also features giant robot fights, watch the original film.
COLUMN
Tips to getting back on track after spring break By COURTNEY SCHELL Lifestyle Writer
We all know that once spring break hits, the semester is coming to a close. Everyone goes on their exciting, fun-filled beach trips and comes back more unmotivated than ever. Unfortunately, there are still plenty of exams, projects and events that have to happen before summer comes up. Here are some helpful tips that will help everyone get back on track and finish the semester strong. USE YOUR PLANNER After being gone for over a week, you forget about anything and everything that is due in the upcoming weeks. Use your planner to write out any assignments or exams that are in the next month or so. This helps with organization and procrastination, which every college kid is familiar with. TURN YOUR PHONE OFF FOR ONE HOUR A DAY I know this may seem impossible to most, but if you can man-
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age an hour without checking Instagram and Twitter stories you will be 100 times more productive. During this hour, work on homework, read a book, have some “me” time or anything that will help you create a more productive environment for the day. CLEAN YOUR ROOM This may seem irrelevant and small, however, with a clean room comes a clean mind. Even if it’s just a quick make of the bed each morning, walking into a clean room will promote productivity and motivation to get things done. WORKOUT No matter if you are a marathon runner or an “I hate cardio” type of person, a quick workout can make anyone feel like a million bucks. It could be as simple as going for a walk or a short and sweet jog around campus. Anything that gets the heart pumping and blood flowing will brighten your mood and help sweat out any of the “toxins” taken over spring break. CREATE PLANS WITH FRIENDS The weeks following spring break can be stressful and full of
hectic, chaotic days. Creating plans with friends either during the week or on the weekends helps motivate you to get through the day. It could be grabbing a bite to eat or a coffee during the week or planning something fun on the weekend. DRINK WATER After spring break wheen most might have had a few cups of water total for the week, H2O is important. Try to always carry around a reusable water bottle around with you to classes and activities to keep you hydrated throughout the day. After a big glass of water, coffee is allowed. EAT FOODS THAT MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD Whether this is a healthy meal with protein, greens and healthy carb or a greasy double cheeseburger, eat food that makes you feel good. It is all about balance. Make sure to eat something every couple hours to keep your energy up for classes and extracurricular activities.
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RELEASE DATE– Thursday, March 29, 2018
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
SPRING 2018
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
COMMENCEMENT SATURDAY, MAY 5, 2018
ACROSS 1 “... __ a puddy tat!” 5 Bygone 26-Down rival 10 Limit Level: Small rodent Level: 113 2 14 Bold alternative 116 Have 2 a mortgage 3 4 17 “... two fives for 3 __?” 4 Complete the grid 18row, Helix-shaped so each Complete the column grid and row, 3-by-3 box pasta so each column (in bold borders) 19 Pince-__ and 3-by-3 box contains every digit, (in bold 20borders) Surprisingly little, 1 to 9. For strategies contains every digit, pricewise on how to solve 1 to 9. For strategies 23 Picasso’s Sudoku, www. birth on how tovisit solve citywww. sudoku.org.uk Sudoku, visit 24 Desertlike sudoku.org.uk SOLUTION TO 27 Superfast WEDNESDAY’S PUZZLE SOLUTION TO 32 RR stops MONDAY’S PUZZLE 35 Healthy drink 36 Immigrant’s subj. 37 Maxim about frugality 42 Comic strip cry 43 “Deadliest Catch” narrator Mike 44 View from Catania © 2018 The Mepham Group. Distributed by 45 It’s learned the © 2018 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved. hard way Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved. 50 Put away 51 Split up 54 Confusing statements ... and a hint to the circled letters 60 MSNBC’s “Morning __” 62 Add value to 63 Avian digestive system part 64 Brewpub order 65 School bud 66 Singer Horne 67 “Not __” 68 Bond and others 69 Macron’s state
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DOWN 1 Nobelist Pavlov 2 Revered emblem 3 Singer/songwriter __ Ray Joel 4 Followed the crowd? 5 European dumpling 6 Not exactly hummable
7 Post-WWII alliance 8 Settled on a branch 9 Ho Chi __ City 10 Harmonious 11 Leave openmouthed 12 Candy with an Emoji dispenser set 15 VI x XVII 21 Flat-topped cap 22 Editor Talese with a Doubleday imprint 25 “Show time!” 26 Co-founder of the SkyTeam alliance 28 Skin care name 29 “That is sooo cute!” 30 Wasikowska of “The Kids Are All Right” 31 Engine starter: Abbr. 32 DNA lab items 33 Unspoken 34 Call for an appointment
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53 “Strawberry Wine” country singer Carter 55 Gen-__ 56 First family grandson? 57 Let go of 58 Actress Rogers 59 Rescue team acronym 60 Word with hawk or walk 61 “¡Viva el matador!”
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