The Auburn Plainsman 04.14.16 Issue

Sexual Assault Awareness Month Page 11

The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID

Thursday, April 14, 2016 Vol. 123, Issue 27, 12 Pages

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

EVENTS

COMMUNITY

‘Music and Miracles’ CONTRIBUTED BY JACKIE STARCK

Student dies in train accident Dakota Parker hugs his dog, Spud.

Maria McIlwain COMMUNITY EDITOR

CONTRIBUTED BY STACY BROWN

Kevin and Stacy Brown, Chicken Salad Chick founders, serve customers.

First Jordan-Hare concert is legacy for late Chicken Salad Chick founder Corey Williams

» See ACCIDENT, 2

STUDENT AFFAIRS

K

CAMPUS EDITOR

Mental Health Task Force recommends SCS increase staff

evin Brown motioned for a pen and paper from his hospital bed. The ventilator keeping him alive was also keeping him from speaking his last words.

His wife, Stacy, read Kevin’s final farewell to friends and family at his funeral a few days later.

“Live every day like it is your last,” he wrote. “I love you. You have opportunities beyond your wildest imagination.”

He died nearly five months ago. Stacy talks about him and their lives together as if he never left.

The couple created Chicken Salad Chick, one of Alabama’s fastest growing chain restaurants, from almost nothing.

In 2003, newly divorced Stacy found herself in a predicament: She had three young children, no money, no husband and no prior work experience.

She didn’t have cash to pay a baby sitter so she needed to find a job that

Corey Williams CAMPUS EDITOR

» See FOUNDER, 2

POLITICS

Meet alumna who could become governor Chip Brownlee

COMMUNITY REPORTER

If Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley steps down or is removed from office, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey — an Auburn alumna — will be sworn in to replace him, according to the Alabama Constitution.

On April 5, three Alabama representatives began the process of impeaching Bentley, filing a resolution for articles of impeachment in the House. If the process continues, Bentley could be removed from office by the Senate.

Since the scandal broke in late March, Bentley has apologized numerous times for an inappropriate relationship he maintained with one of his senior advisers, Rebekah Caldwell Mason.

In one of her first sit-down interviews, the state’s secondin-command told The Auburn Plainsman she was prepared to serve.

Dakota Parker once said something that stuck with Alex August, his best friend and pledge brother. ““Look at each person as if they have value and wealth, and you’ll find it in them,’” August, freshman in business, said. ““Even those most criticized by others.’”

Dakota was struck and killed by a passing train early Saturday, April 9. He was 19 and in his second semester at Auburn. Police are still investigating his death as an accident.

August was with Parker at 17-16 on Friday night, but he

went home early to study for a flight class. The next morning, nobody knew where Dakota was. August found out about Dakota’s death from his mother, Shannon Parker, at approximately 9:30 a.m.

“I was just in total shock,” August said. “It didn’t really seem real. I felt like Dakota was just going to walk in the door at any second. I was mad because I was there with him the night before. And I felt like it was almost my fault because I left and went home early, and I could have just stayed there and watched him. ... I was just confused

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTOGRAPHER

Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey speaks to The Auburn Plainsman during a one-on-one interview in her office April 11.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged,” Ivey said. “We’re all very disappointed in the governor’s activities and actions.

They speak for themselves. It saddens me that the highest office in the land is receiving such low marks right now.”

Rep. Ed Henry’s resolution

to impeach Bentley must first pass through the House Rules Committee.

“That’s his call [whether to resign],” Ivey said.

Bentley has repeatedly denied a physical relationship and has disputed allegations of illegal misuse of state funds to fa-

cilitate the affair. Former ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier also accused Bentley of giving him an unlawful order related to Speaker Mike Hubbard’s ethics trial.

“It causes people to erode

» See IVEY, 2

The student-led Mental Health Task Force recommended that Student Counseling Services increase its staff by 12 members and allocate funding for three fulltime psychiatrists, according to its newly released final report.

It currently employs 10 full-time counselors, fewer than half the national recommendation.

The Task Force finished its research in December and recently received approval from senior administrators and the Board of Trustees, said Vice President for Student Affairs and Associate Provost Bobby Woodard.

The University aims to meet its recommendations over five years.

“Although the report provides recommended policies and practices, it is important to note that the Task Force found that Auburn University currently ranks at or near the bottom with regard to the number of mental health counselors," the report states.

"Therefore, it is imperative that the University’s administration begin to proactively address critical needs and prevent, to the extent possible, future crises."

The force also suggests funding for substance abuse, violence prevention and out-

reach employees; a strategic location change; increased diversity among counseling staff; and a standing University Committee for Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Students suffering from anxiety and depression have a greater chance of experiencing decreased academic success as well as increased chances of withdrawing from the University, the report states.

To combat this, the force recommends further education, training and efforts to de-stigmatize mental illness on campus.

National data suggests substances such as alcohol, tobacco and marijuana continue to remain prevalent on college campuses, the report states.

But many Auburn students reported they are easily able to obtain controlled stimulants, particularly Adderall and Ritalin, from various sources without a prescription.

The force recommends a stronger campus-wide approach to substance abuse education, prevention and recovery.

The force's final recommendation is to increase resources and awareness to reduce student suicide by providing training sessions for all University employees and 24hour emergency services.

The Auburn Plainsman’s social media

INDEX

Campus...............3

Opinion...............5

Intrigue..............11

Community.......6

Sports..................8

ThePlainsman.com

TheAuburnPlainsman on Instagram

@TheAUPlainsman on Twitter

Visit our Facebook page

News 2

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, April 14, 2016

FOUNDER

DUI REPORTS

» From 1

The following were arrested and charged with driving under the influence by the Auburn Police Division from April 5-11: April 9 - Had Glover Deane, 19 East Thach Avenue at 12:09 a.m.

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

–Reports provided by the Auburn Department of Public Safety

(334) 329-7777 2059 S College St, Auburn

IVEY

» From 1 their confidence in their government and elected officials,” Ivey said. “It’s not a good time — very disappointing.”

Elective experience Ivey has served in state government in one form or another since 1979.

In 2002, Ivey ran as a Republican for state treasurer.

She was elected and served in former Gov. Bob Riley’s cabinet from 2003 to January 2011.

In 2010, Ivey initially planned to run for governor in the Republican primary, but she then decided early in the primary to run for lieutenant governor instead.

Ivey went on to defeat former governor and Democratic incumbent Jim Folsom Jr. in a statewide Republican sweep.

“I thought, ‘Lord have mercy, his family has been around for 50 years, [and] he’s got more money than I’ll ever have,’” Ivey said.

Along with Bentley, Ivey was re-elected in 2014 for a second term.

As lieutenant governor, Ivey presides over the Alabama State Senate.

“It’s a joy to be a part of progress and moving things forward,” Ivey said.

Ivey first moved to Montgomery in February 1979 to serve in then-governor Fob James’ office as the assistant director of the Alabama Development Office.

Later, she served as the reading clerk of the Alabama House and then with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.

As chair of the Alabama Job Creation and Military Stability Commission, Ivey said she works to ensure Alabama is prepared for the possibility of base realignment and closure, which would affect the state’s four military bases.

A balanced budget In 2015, it took the Legislature two extra special sessions to pass a budget. In the final budget, $80 million was transferred from the Education Trust Fund, the budget that funds the states public schools, colleges and universities.

“You need money,” Ivey said. “There is a lack of money. When you’ve got plenty of money, it’s not nearly as

hard to put together a budget.

The General Fund has a real deficit every year. It struggles.”

Since 2010, the Legislature has repeatedly refused to raise taxes, despite a request from Bentley last year that would have raised close to $700 million in revenue.

“There’s just been no appetite to increase people’s taxes here,” Ivey said. “[Bentley’s proposal] just didn’t go anywhere. At some point in time, if things get bad enough and people get frustrated enough, they may change their mind.”

On the issues In Bentley’s State of the State Address, he outlined a plan to replace Alabama’s aging prison system with four new, state-of-the-art facilities. Three of the new prisons would be men’s prisons, and one would be a women’s prison.

“Goodness knows we need to find better ways to house and manage our prisoners, as well as those who protect: the guards,” Ivey said.

According to Ivey, the corrections and Medicaid systems in Alabama continue to grow and consume increasing percentages of the state’s General Fund Budget.

“Medicaid now consumes 40 percent of the entire General Fund Budget, and we can’t afford that now,” Ivey said. “We don’t have enough money to do all that you want to do. ” During initial budget proceedings this spring, the Alabama Medicaid Agency requested $785 million, according to an AL.com article — an increase of $100 million from the previous budget.

“Have you seen anybody spell out why we need 85 million more dollars, to do what?” Ivey said. “I haven’t seen that. I’m sure there’s a need, but they haven’t [shown why].”

Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, has proposed a bill in the House that would allow students with a concealed carry permit to carry concealed, loaded pistols on Auburn’s campus. The University Senate passed a resolution last month in opposition of Butler’s bill.

“I have a pistol permit, but I don’t just go around toting it,” Ivey said. “I’m all for protecting yourself, but you don’t want to get immature folks connected with getting emotional or something.”

allowed her to stay home with her children.

Stacy has been a cook ever since she could walk to the kitchen. So she decided to earn a living doing what she loved. She started by going door to door selling chicken salad.

Just as she started to build a strong customer base, though, the health department shut her down — it’s illegal to sell food cooked in a private home.

Stacy thought her luck had run out. But her business partner and longtime friend, Kevin, wasn’t going to let a little health code violation stop them from building what he knew would be a great restaurant.

It took some convincing on Kevin’s part, but together they rented a little space on Opelika Road. They fixed it up themselves — there was no money for a contractor — and opened for business with 40 pounds of chicken salad.

For an hour and 15 minutes, nobody showed up.

“But it felt like forever,” Stacy said.

Eventually, though, customers started to trickle in.

Word spread like wildfire, and business quickly started booming. Everybody who visited came back with somebody else in tow, Stacy said. The little take-out restaurant wasn’t built to handle the success. Stacy couldn’t serve a scoop of chicken salad without stepping over at least a dozen customers.

In the middle of all this wonderful chaos, Kevin and Stacy found a deep love for each other.

They were polar opposites that balanced each other out perfectly in business and in life.

The first restaurant opened in January 2008. They were married by November.

Gradually, but not too gradually, their little chicken salad business grew into a bunch of little chicken salad businesses.

Today, Chicken Salad Chick has 52 restaurants across the Southeast and has sold 141 franchises.

The company’s franchising success is largely because of Kevin’s business savvy, Stacy said.

He detailed every little thing that happened in the restaurant — from when the lights switched on in the morning to when they switched off at night — so new owners knew exactly how to run a successful business.

Kevin wasn’t feeling well as the couple prepared for Chicken Salad Chick’s first owners’ convention in Destin, Florida. He thought he was most likely suffering from a gallbladder disorder. His symptoms worsened during the trip, so he went straight to the doctor when he returned to Auburn.

A few days later, Stacy received the call: Kevin had stage 4 colon cancer. It had already spread aggressively to his liver. He would never again know life without chemotherapy.

“At that moment, every ounce of energy in my body left me, and I collapsed to my desk,” Kevin wrote after receiving the news. “Like so many that hear this type of

ACCIDENT » From 1

more than anything.”

Growing up, Dakota was an avid Alabama fan, according to Shannon. He even painted his room crimson, gray and white.

But all of that changed on a college visit with a high school friend.

“He called my husband on the way home and said, ‘Father, I’m going to Auburn,’” Shannon said.

Dakota was one of the first people August, an Indiana native, met at Auburn at the beginning of their pledgeship at Sigma Phi Epsilon.

“He was one of the first people to reach out to me and extend real friendship,” August said.

However, August said he didn’t like him the first time they met, remembering their first interaction with a laugh. But when they had a chance to hang out and have a conversation, they “clicked,” according to August. Dakota was always with people. He never wanted to be alone.

He’s even the reason Emmy Leberte, freshman in journalism, stayed at Auburn.

“I was going to leave school, and he made this group message and was like, ‘These are going to be your friends, you’re going to stay [at Auburn], and you’re doing everything with these people,’” Leberte said. “And it worked.”

August described Dakota as “a matchmaker for friends.”

“He started a GroupMe called ‘Rage Gang,’” August said. “We all got to know each other through the GroupMe and through hanging out and through Dakota.”

Leberte said before Dakota, her only friend was her roommate Jackie Starck, freshman in graphic design. Starck and Leberte met Dakota during their first semester at Auburn, and were fast friends who went to concerts.

They saw “bizarre and different” bands together, and their favorite was STS9.

Starck and Leberte kept his dog, Spud, at their house because he couldn’t have him

DAKOTA SUMPTER / PHOTO EDITOR

Stacy Brown poses for a photo at the a Chicken Salad Chick location on Opelika Road.

diagnosis, the thoughts of mortality rush through your mind. Reflections of what I could have done differently, how I could be a better husband, father, leader and Christian filled my thoughts.”

But Kevin, ever the optimist, resolved to make the best out of the heartbreaking situation.

“It was at that point that a voice spoke to me and said, ‘This is your opportunity for much greater things,’” Kevin wrote. “‘Use this in ways that will impact those around you.’”

The company’s board of directors was looking to start a charitable foundation before the diagnosis, but they hadn’t yet settled on a cause.

They were leaning toward contributing to the fight against hunger in the United States. It seemed a natural fit for a restaurant.

It was decided they would remain committed to their original idea, but they would also work to help those who are fighting cancer and those who are fighting to find a cure.

Kevin never stopped working, Stacy said, no matter how bad the pain got.

The foundation raised more than $50,000 during its first “Teeing Off On Cancer” golf tournament.

But Kevin wanted to do more.

He decided there would be a concert. But it wasn’t going to be just any old concert — it would be the first concert held in JordanHare Stadium. And he wasn’t going to settle for just any old singer. He wanted Kenny Chesney.

Earlon McWhorter, former Auburn trustee and vice president of market development for Chicken Salad Chick, said he “looked at Kevin a little bit strange” when he heard his plans.

But, McWhorter figures, cancer only increased Kevin’s drive and passion to give back to the community.

“You don’t beat stage 4 cancer many

“

Look at each person as if they have value and wealth, and you’ll find it in them. Even those most criticized by others.”

—Dakota Parker

AS REMEMBERED BY ALEX AUGUST

at his apartment.

Dakota got Spud off Craigslist for free, according to August. He laughingly said Spud was a weird dog that liked to sit on top of people, but Dakota loved him.

August never went to a concert with Dakota, but they went on several spontaneous road trips to places such as Birmingham; Pensacola, Florida; and Little Grand Canyon in Lumpkin, Georgia. “[Spontaneity] made him so unique,” August said. “He’d always be looking to do something, no matter what time of day it was.”

Shannon said Dakota was so spontaneous because he loved challenges.

“Throughout high school, our house was always full,” Shannon said.

Dakota’s door was always open for anyone but especially his friends. He was hardworking and selfless, according to Starck and Leberte.

“He was always the life of the party,” Starck said. “He was always smiling, always included everyone.”

During severe weather approximately one month ago, Dakota invited several of his friends to spend the night with him at the fraternity house. They cuddled in his room with their dogs and ate pizza while riding out the storm.

“He texted us, and he was like, ‘I need to make sure all of my people are safe,’” Leberte said.

Earlier that night, August was in another friend’s room when he had a seizure. It happened suddenly, and August said Da-

times, so Kevin was a man in a hurry,” McWhorter said.

After a little work and negotiation, Kevin announced Music and Miracles Superfest at a press conference last September.

Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion will perform at Jordan-Hare’s first concert, which is set for April 23. The organizers set a fundraising goal of $1 million.

Barclay Smith, Chicken Salad Chick Foundation director and inspiration for the “Buffalo Barclay” chicken salad flavor, said the concert’s themes will be “big dreams, high hopes and tremendous impact.”

She hopes the message will do Kevin’s character justice.

“He had no boundaries,” Smith said. “He had no sense of ‘too much.’ He always felt like there was a way.”

Two months after the announcement, Kevin, Stacy and the children went to stay with family in Georgia for an early Thanksgiving celebration.

Kevin became extremely ill during the visit and was rushed to the hospital. It was far from the first time Stacy had to call an ambulance for her husband, but it would be the last.

There were just too many complications at one time, Stacy said.

Kevin slipped away, surrounded by friends and family, on Nov. 21.

These days, Stacy spends most of her time with her children. She believes her kids, and her faith, have kept her on her feet the last few months.

Grieving Kevin is going to be a long and tough road, but she knows she can do it. He taught her she can do anything.

“I always said he had slightly unreasonable expectations,” Stacy said. “He demanded excellence from everyone around him. Because of that, he got more out of people than they ever thought they could give.” kota was there almost immediately to take him to the hospital.

Dakota had big dreams and plans, they said, but his friends and Spud were always part of them.

“They had the best relationship of dogowner,” Starck said. “[Spud has] been looking for him. It’s really sad.”

August said the pledge class and fraternity as a whole have grown from Daktoa’s death.

“He was always looking for ways that he could better the fraternity and bring people together,” August said. “Dakota was always looking for ways to break down barriers between older guys and younger guys.”

Dakota played football and baseball at Priceville High School in North Alabama.

Dirk Strunk, Priceville’s varsity football coach, coached Dakota his senior year.

Strunk said the starting safety was a “big brother and mentor” to his son, David.

“My son really looked up to Dakota,” Strunk said.

Leberte said she learned many lessons from her friendship with Dakota.

“He’s taught me so much about friendship,” Leberte said. “You could be the weirdest human in the world, and he would be hugging you the minute he met you.”

Shannon said she is having people bring photos of themselves with Dakota so she can “experience his experiences.”

Starck and Leberte said they will remember him as an animal lover and by his smile and curly hair. They had plans for the future with Dakota, but are thankful for their time with him.

“At first, we were like, ‘This isn’t fair, this isn’t fair, this shouldn’t have happened to him,’” Leberte said. “But we were thinking about it on our car ride home, and we were like, Dakota’s purpose, all he ever wanted in life was for his friends to be together, and he fulfilled his purpose. We’re all going to be together through thick and thin, and that’s not going to change. We think Dakota came here and did his job, and that was for all of his friends to find each other.”

Campus

Thursday, April 14, 2016

3 ThePlainsman.com

Campus

HISTORY

Alum remembers ‘70s racial barriers at AU Andria Moore CAMPUS REPORTER

When Ernest Boyd graduated from Auburn University in 1976, he was the only AfricanAmerican in his graduating class in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.

The youngest of seven children, Boyd was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, and went to high school in North Alabama. He attended Auburn on an ROTC scholarship.

Boyd is extremely proud of his undergraduate success.

“I still have my diploma displayed, and every time I go into my office I look at it and smile,” Boyd said.

Boyd always knew he wanted to be in forestry. He had his entire life planned out after graduation.

“I was just doing what came naturally,” Boyd said. “Just going to school and trying to get a job.”

Boyd absolutely loves his university, but he said it wasn’t always “music and roses” to become accepted.

“A lot of my teachers didn’t know how to act

at first, with me being the only black student in the class,” Boyd said. “But they learned pretty quickly I wasn’t going anywhere. Mom taught us never to give up or to give in, and I know if she was here today she would be smiling and so proud.”

Race relations have improved since Boyd attended Auburn. However, he still remembers how difficult it was to be the only person in a major representing an entire race.

“I had this friend in school that wanted to study with me one day,” Boyd said. “So he invited me to his house, but he said, ‘You’ve got to come through the backdoor. My landlord, he doesn’t like black people,’ but I said, ‘No, I’m a front door man.’”

Boyd said this same friend invited him to meet his father who was the grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

“He wanted me to meet his parents to prove to them they were wrong,” Boyd said. “All of the things he had been taught his whole life about black people … he found out they weren’t true.”

Boyd is a firm believer in having conversa-

EVENTS

tions with people of different backgrounds and races. He said this is the only way to learn that people aren’t so different.

“If I cut myself, we are all going to bleed the same,” Boyd said.

After graduation, Boyd was in high demand with more than 10 job offers. He chose to work for Hammermill Paper Company. After only seven months on the job, Boyd was commissioned into the army as a second lieutenant.

“I was really disappointed because I loved that job,” Boyd said. “I had planned to serve four years and then return to civilian life, but I spent my entire adult life with a professional career in the U.S. Army.”

After retiring from the military, Boyd became an elementary and intermediate school teacher, which he loved. Boyd uses “War Eagle” as his mantra because to him it is a means of breaking down barriers and getting to know others.

“It can be an ice breaker,” Boyd said. “If you take the time to break the ice and listen, you don’t know how much you have in common with men.”

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTOGRAPHER

Ernest Boyd, School of Forestry and Wildlife Science’s first African-American graduate, is honored at a luncheon on Thursday, April 7.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tuition increase and engineering fees approved Corey Williams CAMPUS EDITOR

LILY JACKSON / COMMUNITY WRITER

Former first lady Laura Bush spoke about her life at the Women’s Philanthropy Board Spring Symposium Monday, April 11. Read the full story at ThePlainsman.com.

The Board of Trustees approved a 3 percent tuition increase per credit hour at its April 8 meeting.

Auburn University currently has the secondhighest tuition rate of any Alabama public senior institution at $10,424 for residents and $28,040 for nonresidents.

The increase will raise the annual number to $10,736 for residents and $28,881 for nonresidents.

The increase will begin in fall 2016.

The board also approved the establishment of engineering student fees.

There has been a significant increase in engineering enrollment over the last 10 years, according to Dean of Engineering Christopher Roberts, but not an increase in resources available to the college.

In fall 2016, these fees will be $400 per semester for freshmen and $700 for sophomores, juniors and seniors. Beginning in 2017–18, these fees will be tied to the rate of increase in resident student tuition, said Provost Timothy Boosinger.

Campus 4

GREEK LIFE

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, April 14, 2016

TRADITIONS

‘Eat at Luther’s’

Fraternity chef impacts students for almost three decades Lily Jackson

COMMUNITY REPORTER

Homestyle meals are considered a commodity in a college setting after too many nights of pizza and take-out Chinese food.

Auburn Phi Gamma Delta brothers do not miss out on hearty meals, thanks to their house chef, Luther Ford.

Ford is 78 years old and will have been employed by the FIJI fraternity house for 28 years this June. To Ford, the job is convenient and keeps him learning. Ford has always been around young adults, which makes FIJI a good fit for him, he said.

"My favorite job so far, in the course of my career, has been working in this fraternity," Ford said.

He began working in food service management for a company called Service America. He worked in cafeterias in LaGrange, Georgia. Along with working with FIJI, Ford cooked for the Navy, highclass country clubs, nightclubs and roadside eatery joints. "(Cooking) is all I've ever done," Ford said. "I did 26 years of it with the Navy, and when I left the Navy, I continued to work around restaurants and food service operations."

When he first started, he said there were no menus or plans made. It was a meal service based off what the cook felt like serving that day. According to Ford, that usually meant a hamburger and a slice of chocolate pie. Today, Ford serves breakfast, lunch and dinner almost every day of the week.

Joe Timberlake, junior in accounting and chapter president, said Luther's poppyseed chicken, a regular dish, is his favorite.

"It's always entertaining to talk to Luther," Timberlake said. "I'm pretty sure we drive him crazy, but he's been putting up with us for a long time, and he's great at it."

According to Timberlake, brothers typically move into the house their junior year and live until the end of their senior year at Auburn. Although not all of the members live in the house, practically all of the 190 brothers stop in for breakfast, lunch

ARMAND DE LAUREAL / PHOTOGRAPHER

A bee rests on an azalea near Cater Hall on Tuesday, April 5.

The Auburn Azalea:

a campus tradition Claire Tully CAMPUS WRITER

ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Luther Ford, 78, has been the chef for the FIJI fraternity house in Auburn for 28 years.

and dinner weekly.

For special holidays and events, Ford pulls out all the stops to serve the brothers a special meal. The Christmas and Thanksgiving meals bring the brothers together for the holidays.

The most popular meal is the GPA dinner held semesterly. Brothers with a 4.0 are given a 10–12-ounce ribeye steak, baked potato, beans and a dessert. Those with a 3.9–3.0 receive a steak, potato and beans. Lastly, those with a 2.9 and lower are stuck with a bowl of beans. Ford laughed and said members with a 2.9 or lower don't usually show up for dinner that night.

Life in a fraternity house is interesting to say the least. Ford spends more time in the FIJI kitchen than his own home. Hanging in the kitchen is an Auburn jersey from 2006, signed by the team members from that year. He said he typically cooks what the brothers request and enjoys getting to know the guys.

"You deal with a lot of kids just leaving home that don't know how to live on their own," Ford said. "You kinda' stand over them and say, 'Hey, don't do it that way. Do it this way,' and you get used to the life with them."

Before Ford, the members of FIJI would

cook what they could get their hands on at any specific time.

According to Ford, some of the brothers have somewhat of a tradition of making fried pickles and leaving the kitchen covered in flour. Ford said those who help in the kitchen do a fine job when he's around. Nonetheless, they are lucky to have his skills.

"If I'm standing right there they do an outstanding job, but turn your back, you come back in there and food might be at the top of the ceiling," Ford said.

Porter Martin, junior in building science and kitchen manager, said working with Ford has been a great experience.

Martin's favorite dish is fried catfish, and he recommends everyone try some if the chance ever arises. While doing dishes and closing up the kitchen nightly, Ford helps make working in the kitchen a bit more enjoyable.

"He's always got some good stories, and he keeps the job lively," Martin said.

Luther Ford has been around the FIJI house longer than anyone else currently living there, which makes him a big deal to those who are a part of the fraternity. According to Martin, one tradition that hasn't changed is the gift of a pack of Marlboro Lights cigarettes on Ford’s birthday.

FREE COFFEE

LIVE M

On Saturday, April 9, the Donald E. Davis Arboretum on Auburn’s campus hosted an azalea sale, featuring the Auburn Azalea series, making it possible to plant native Auburn flowers anywhere.

Patrick Thompson, Donald E. Davis Arboretum specialist, said the sale features special cultivars such as Samford Sorbet, Tiger, Aubie, War Eagle and Plainsman.

“The Auburn Azaleas series is prominently displayed here at the Davis Arboretum, but we also have all of the native species and plants that we hope one day will be in the Auburn Azalea series,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the colorful flowers are resilient and can withstand intense heat once they’ve been planted and watered properly.

“Anytime you come out, there’s going to be something in flower, but if you come during the growing season, you’ll see azaleas,” Thompson said. “They’ve been there for years and years and years, and it’s often that people don’t realize that they’re these beautiful orange bushes flowering around them until they leave Auburn’s campus.”

The Auburn Azalea series is a native azalea species planted throughout Auburn’s campus in places such as Samford Lawn, the President’s Mansion and the arboretum, according to Thompson.

“By hybridizing those late-blooming orange species with our earlier ones, we’ve managed to fill the gap where you can bring orange flowering shrubs into your landscape throughout the year,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the azaleas are sold in the fall and spring arboretum sales and online in between these sales.

“It’s a unique thing, so part of our efforts to get that Auburn tradition out into the public’s reach, so people can plant a little bit of Auburn wherever they go across the country,” Thompson said.

!

USIC

!

FREE MAGAZINES

SNAPS ! !

!! !

!

an Coker with musical guest Nath April 19th 7– 9PM The Coffee Cat 124 Tichenor Avenue

! !

Opinion

5

Thursday, April 14, 2016

OUR VIEW

ThePlainsman.com

Opinion

Doctor, doctor,

SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE PLAINS

you’re making Alabama sick

Spring Editorial Board 2016

Back in 2010, Gov. Robert Bentley campaigned on the promise that he would cure Alabama of its problems, a herculean task.

In particular, he wanted to focus on cutting unemployment, even going as far as declining a salary until he accomplished this.

Being a dermatologist and a former general practitioner, Bentley seemed to be wellsuited for handling a state that obviously has many woes.

To capitalize on his medical degree, Bentley bypassed a state election law stating candidates cannot put their titles on election ballots by legally changing his first name to “Doctor.”

We believe Bentley has shirked his metaphorical medical duty to Alabama.

Bentley has violated his oath of Primum non nocere (first, do no harm) by destroying the trust between himself and the people of Alabama.

Throughout recent years, Alabama has been continually embarrassed by some of its highest elected officials.

Just this week, John Oliver included a segment on his show “Last Week Tonight” that tore into the deficiencies of Chief Justice Roy Moore, Bentley and Auburn’s own: Speaker Mike Hubbard.

Alabama has been put into and embarrassed in the national spotlight yet again.

Disenchantment lingers in any conversation in which state politics can butt its ugly, little head.

Alabama deserves better.

It does not deserve a governor who tells the state’s highest ranking law enforcement official to lie.

Response to “Three Auburn University Students named Goldwater Scholars” Faye Jones “Congrats, ladies!!”

Response to “Plains to Plate becomes nation’s first certified gluten-free, on-campus restaurant” Derek Herscovici “Because this is really what Auburn needs right now.”

Response to “University receives STARS Silver Rating for sustainability achievements” Dana Vallett “Yeah but they also cut down one of the only three short leaf pine trees on campus, which are very endangered so...”

STERLING WAITS / GRAPHICS DESIGNER

It does not deserve a governor who attempts to whitewash an obviously inappropriate relationship with a former staffer.

But it is not enough to say, “We deserve better!” Alabama has to decide collectively what action it wants to pursue.

We believe Bentley should be impeached and removed from office.

Bentley is the head of the Board of Trustees. Can Auburn students hold good faith in his appointments?

Dishonesty is a damning quality in a leader, and it is an unacceptable quality in a state’s highest administrator.

It’s been argued that impeaching Bentley would be silly because many politicians supposedly carry out affairs of their own, so essentially they should all just be ignored.

This belief is morally dubious and deserves the highest scrutiny.

If it were carried to its logical end, it would be OK if elected officials committed murder, so long as other elected officials were doing the same.

Obviously, this is a ridiculous and potentially chaotic sentiment to hold.

Bentley must answer for his moral ineptitude and his alleged illegal behavior.

HER VIEW

Plus should be subtracted from plus size Anne Dawson INTRIGUE EDITOR

When you walk into most stores, you see your main sections: men’s, women’s and plus size.

There you have it folks — sizes 10 and higher put in their own little section, all the way across the store, suggesting that the people who wear those clothes are different and should be separated from everyone else.

Everyone is made differently, and because of this, I am a fan of making separate clothing for those who are above a size 10.

These women have a different body type than that of a size 0 woman, so we should not stick them in unflattering clothes tailored for those body types.

Instead, we should tailor the same clothes we allow “straight”-sized people to wear to fit the unique bodies of those in larger sizes, just like women who are petite have clothes fit to them, as opposed to wearing clothes for those who are taller.

However, there is a way to do so without isolating these personalized clothes in their own separate section of the store, with a giant neon sign hanging above it labeling the

clothes as plus or too much, and also, without limiting the variety of clothes these sizes.

By labeling these clothes as plus size, we are slapping a negative connotation on the wearers, implying that they are something like too much human.

Have you ever seen a woman who wears a size 10? She is not obese; she is healthy.

There is nothing wrong with wearing a larger size than someone else, so why should the name imply that there is?

One celebrity who has recently spoken out about the issue of plus size is Amy Schumer. Schumer was placed in Glamour Magazine’s plus-sized-only issue without her permission, according to CNN, and was rightfully pissed off.

“I think there’s nothing wrong with being plus size,” Schrumer said to Glamour. “[They] put me in their plus-size-only issue without asking or letting me know, and it doesn’t feel right to me. I go between a size 6 and an 8 — young girls [are] seeing my body type thinking that is plus size.”

What Schumer is saying is that this negative label not only affects those who wear it, but those who will wear it.

Young girls see the negativity toward those who are plus sized and fear having to wear those clothes themselves.

It should not be this way.

In actuality, they should be embracing

who they are and dressing the way they want, regardless of their size.

On that note, everyone should be allowed to express themselves through what they wear.

So allowing for certain sizes (00–8) to have a wider variety of apparel is unfair.

Just look at the women’s section in any store compared to the plus-size section — there is much more to offer in women’s.

By offering the same clothes those in smaller sizes are offered, without separating the two, everyone would be allowed to wear what they want without feeling embarrassed or ashamed.

One store that does this correctly is Ann Taylor LOFT. When you walk into LOFT, you see section after section of beautiful, organized clothes.

If you see something you like, you simply go to that item and look for your size. Carrying sizes 00–18, there’s no walk of shame or isolation — if you see something you like, you just grab your size.

This is how it should be. It’s 2016, people are starting to embrace others more and more, so it’s time we stop separating larger sizes from smaller sizes.

Emily Esleck MANAGING EDITOR Kris Martins COPY Weston SimS OPINION

Corey Williams CAMPUS Maria McIlwain COMMUNITY Sam Butler SPORTS

Response to “Defense dominates A-Day” Lee C. Parker “When your opponent can’t score they can’t win...WDE!”

Response to “Board of Trustees approves 3 percent tuition increase, engineering student fees” Brent Butts “Decrease spending, or make student once again pay more.

Dang that must have been a heart wrenching decision for them to make.”

Gabi Marie “Like we don’t pay enough” Zach Kirito Thompson “Seriously?”

Response to “The Auburn Tigers lead their fans in a verse of ‘War Eagle’” @aubie177 “It’s GREAT to be an Auburn Tiger!”

Response to “The Auburn infield meets in the pitching circle during a timeout” @hjskelton “@cali_beebe this could be you!” @suzannebsims “Great game! We enjoyed being there!”

255 Heisman Drive, Suite 1111, AU Student Center Auburn, AL 36849 Newsroom - (334) 844-9108 Advertising - (334) 844-9101

Kristen Keeter SOCIAL MEDIA Kris Sims MULTIMEDIA Anne Dawson INTRIGUE

Submissions

Policy

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

Tom Fleming “Gained 15 lbs eating his food one summer. Respect..”

The Auburn Plainsman

Dakota Sumpter PHOTO

Editor-in-Chief - Jim Little

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.

Managing Editor - Emily Esleck

NEWSROOM

ADVERTISING

CAMPUS

OPINION

Editor - Corey Williams Reporter - Andria Moore Writer - Claire Tully Writer - Ameera Steward Writer - Rachel Sprouse Writer - Jake LeGrone

Editor - Weston Sims

COMMUNITY

Letters must be submitted before 4:30 p.m. on Monday for publication.

Vicki Henderson Hawkins “My Bradley Prichard sure loved to eat Luther’s cooking.”

Anne can be reached at intrigue@ThePlainsman.com

The Editorial Board Jim Little EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Response to “‘Eat at Luther’s:’ fraternity chef spends almost three decades with students”

Editor - Maria McIlwain Reporter - Chip Brownlee Writer - Liz Maddux Writer - Lily Jackson

SPORTS Editor - Sam Butler Asst. Editor - Evan McCullers Reporter - Emily Shoffit Reporter - C.J. Holmes Writer - Nathan Deal Writer - Bailey Rogers Writer - Andrew Monson Writer - Jonathan Hefner

INTRIGUE Editor - Anne Dawson Writer - Marissa Luckie Writer - Amanda Myles Writer - Ben Ruffin Writer- Rachel Williams Writer - Grayson Temple

COPY DESK

ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ADVISER

PHOTO AND GRAPHICS

Elizabeth Snider advertising@auburn.edu

Editor - Kris Martins Photo Editor - Dakota Sumpter Staff Photographer - Adam Sparks Staff Photographer - Ellen Jackson Staff Photographer - Jordan Hays Photographer - Megan Endt Photographer - Armand de Laureal Photographer - Matthew Bishop Photographer - Madison Ogletree Graphics Editor - Gurden Smith Graphics Designer - Sterling Waits

SOCIAL MEDIA Editor - Kristen Keeter

MULTIMEDIA Editor - Kris Sims Reporter - Parker Aultman Reporter - John Lee

EDITORIAL ADVISER Alec Harvey adviser@ThePlainsman.com

ADVERTISING MANAGER Caitlin Griffith admanager@ThePlainsman.com

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Lacey Gossett Lauren Bagby

DESIGNERS

Grant Peterson Montana Cole

DISTRIBUTION Dakota Sumpter Jordan Hays Zack Clark

Community Thursday, April 14, 2016

6 ThePlainsman.com

Community

CONSTRUCTION

Bridge replacement could begin this month

Chip Brownlee

COMMUNITY REPORTER

Construction may begin as early as this month on the long-awaited replacement of the Moores Mill Bridge that crosses Interstate 85.

The bridge replacement is intended to alleviate bumper-to-bumper traffic for hundreds of citizens who use Moores Mill Road every day to get into the city in the mornings.

According to Jeffery Ramsey, Auburn’s director of public works and city engineer, construction is expected to begin within the next month.

“We don’t have an exact date yet,” Ramsey said. “We’re still waiting on the Notice to Proceed to be issued by the state. Our best guess is probably within a month.”

The Auburn City Council approved a resolution March 1, authorizing Mayor Bill Ham, Jr. and the office of City Manager Charles Duggan to execute an agreement with the state to construct the bridge replacement.

Funding for the project, according to City Council documents, will be provided in-part by the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program, state road and bridge funding and advance bridge construction funding.

Eighty percent of the funding for the $10 million–11 million project will be provided by the state of Alabama with more than $8 million in funding sourced from ATRIP. The state is also providing more than $600,000 in funding from

the state Road and Bridge Fund and the Advance Bridge Construction Fund.

The city will provide between $2 million–3 million in funding, according to City Council documents and Ramsey.

Construction on the new five-lane bridge connecting the Moores Mill and Ogletree neighborhoods to downtown Auburn is expected to take between 18–24 months to complete, Ramsey said.

The contract to build the new five lane bridge was awarded to Scott Bridge Company, a contractor based in Opelika.

Construction of the bridge will take place in phases, according to Ramsey. A new, twolane bridge will be built adjacent to the existing bridge. Once construction of the new bridge is complete, the existing bridge will be torn down and replaced by three more lanes of bridge.

“We won’t have any detours,” Ramsey said.

“There will be times when traffic will be delayed because of equipment moving back and forth across the road. We’ll actually be able to use that same route throughout the whole construction.”

David Dorton, director of public affairs for the City of Auburn, said the bridge will help alleviate growing pains for the Moores Mill and Ogletree neighborhoods.

“The Moores Mill project will improve traffic flow on this well-used route to and from the Moores Mill and Ogletree area,” Dorton said.

“This project has been a long time in the mak-

JORDAN HAYS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Moores Mill Bridge passes over Interstate 85 between Auburn and Opelika.

ing. We’ve been talking about it for a number of years and thought we had federal funding for it back in the 2010–12 timeframe, but that funding fell through.”

In the morning and afternoon rush hours, traffic can be seen backed up for miles along Moores Mill Road as commuters struggle to cross the two-lane bridge, according to Ward 5 Councilwoman Lynda Tremaine.

The Moores Mill area constitutes a large portion of Tremaine’s ward.

“The idea is going to be five lanes,” Tremaine said. “So going from two to five lanes with some turn lanes will certainly help get the traffic flowing. That area of town is growing more and more.

It is a quagmire in the early morning, and I avoid going out that way at quitting time in the evening.”

POLITICS

Prosecutors file motion to introduce new evidence in Mike Hubbard’s ethics trial Maria McIlwain COMMUNITY EDITOR

Prosecutors in Mike Hubbard’s felony ethics trial filed a motion April 8 to introduce evidence of Hubbard’s “other crimes, wrongs or acts.”

The Alabama Rule of Evidence 404(b) states these actions, which are not necessari-

ly illegal, can be used to show proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident, according to the Alabama judicial system website.

According to the filing, the prosecution will introduce evidence that Hubbard funneled

THE

money through “various entities” to himself or businesses he is associated with and used his position as chairman of Alabama’s Republican Party to benefit himself or businesses he was associated with.

The prosecution also plans to argue Hubbard solicited lobbyists and received things

of value to himself, other elected officials and his businesses. They also state Hubbard provided things of value to lobbyists.

“Hubbard had an express or implied agreement with lobbyist(s) or principal(s) that Hubbard would receive thing(s) of value in exchange

for Hubbard’s official action on specific legislation,” the filing reads.

The prosecution will argue Hubbard’s intent to evade Alabama ethics law reporting requirements and “misrepresented guidance” from Ethics Commission officials.

On March 29, Judge Ja-

cob A. Walker denied the defense’s motion to dismiss because of prosecutorial misconduct.

Hubbard was indicted on 23 counts of felony ethics violations in October 2014.

Hubbard’s trial has been delayed multiple times and is scheduled to begin in May.

G LO M E R ATA AND

THE

AU B U R N C I R C L E DISTRIBUTION

A PRIL 1 9 TH- 2 2 ND

LO C AT I O N S :

F R E E F O R AU S T U D E N TS H A L E Y CO N CO U R S E W I T H T I G E R C A R D T H AC H CO N CO U R S E

S T U D E N T C E N T E R T R A N S I TS

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Community 7

The Auburn Plainsman

LOCAL SPOTLIGHT

BUSINESS

‘The club that beats the street’

Opelika native returns to invest in Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County Lily Jackson

COMMUNITY WRITER

ELLEN JACKSON / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Carie Tindill, owner of the first University-licensed bakery, decorates a carrot cake at Cakeitecture Bakery.

Bakery combines architecture with baking Kris Martins COPY EDITOR

At approximately 10 a.m., the smell of butter and vanilla looms as fresh cakes rise in the oven of a 9-month-old bakery tucked around the corner from Moe’s Southwest Grill on Magnolia Avenue and beside Alley Glass Company.

Twenty sticks of butter lie on the counter as they come to room temperature — the first step to starting any cake at Cakeitecture Bakery.

At the front of the bakery, an upright Aubie the Tiger cake stands at attention, one hand gesturing the same number on the tiger’s jersey, No. 1, while the other holds an Auburn flag.

Its creator, Carie Tindill, is no stranger to making Aubie cakes, or anything Auburn-related.

That’s because she runs Auburn’s first University-licensed bakery.

Opened in August 2015, Cakeitecture Bakery forged a partnership with the University’s Office of Trademark Management and Licensing to replicate Auburn University trademarks and logos such as Samford Hall, Aubie and the interlocking Auburn University logo.

Every time an Auburn-related pastry is sold, a portion of the profit is returned the University’s general scholarship fund, which Tindill said is a way of saying “thank you” to Auburn.

Jennifer Blackmon, director of the University’s Office of Trademark Management and Licensing, said being officially licensed by the University lends credibility and authenticity to the business.

“We appreciate the fact that Carie respects the Auburn brand and was more than willing to work with our licensing office,” Blackmon said in an email. “The royalties generated by AU licensees support student scholarships. What two better things can you imagine coming together — awesome cakes and supporting AU students.”

Home in the Pacific Northwest The pink and brown sign that dangles above the bakery now was first familiar to another state.

Cakeitecture first opened about 2,700 miles across the country from Auburn in Olympia, Washington.

Tindill and her husband lived in the Evergreen State for five years, toting equipment to and from a rented space every day to run the business.

“Every bit that we made, we put right back into the business,” Tindill said.

However, two desires drew Tindill back to Alabama: She wanted to be closer to family as she raised her 2-year-old daughter, and she knew there were no licensed bakeries in Auburn.

“We knew that if we didn’t open this up, somebody else was going to do it, and we were going to kick ourselves for not being the ones who did it first,” Tindill said.

Architecture-baking fusion The bakery’s name, a hybrid of the words cake and architecture, was coined by Tindill’s former professor Linda Ruth after Tindill used AutoCAD — a 2-D and 3-D computer-aided design software used to create blueprints and models — to draw a guitar cake for Ruth’s son during her time as an architecture student at Auburn.

Tindill graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture and put her education to work on her cakes.

To this day, Tindill applies architecture techniques to make other cakes to scale, to fashion internal structures for cakes shaped like a yellow minion or the Batmobile and to show clients digital designs of their orders before they’re created.

Adobe Photoshop and constant use of color theory are other architecture skills she applies to her pastries, but constructing the scaffolding for sculpted cakes takes a different set of tools.

“We own a lot of power tools,” Tindill said.

“To make Aubie, it takes five power tools. …

That’s probably the most fun to me — the fact that we had to buy power tools in order to operate our bakery.”

The bakery even has its own 3-D printer to print custom cookie and fondant cutters in shapes ranging from Aubie’s head to a loaf of sandwich bread the size of a cracker.

A week ago, a Star Wars Millennium Falcon toy rested near the counter, a model for what will become an 18-inch cake replica of Han Solo’s ship.

“You just never know what to expect from week to week,” Tindill said. “I think that’s what I find most fun. It’s always different.”

From the President’s Mansion to Toomer’s Drugs In less than a year, Tindill has baked anything from 1,400 cake pops for President Jay Gogue’s Christmas party to a 200-pound cake for the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Though most customers call or email their specific orders, Tindell said the bakery has a consistent order at the start of the week: shortbread Aubie cookies for Toomer’s Drugs.

Kelly Oslick, the only other “cakitect,” heads cookie orders and decoration alongside helping with cake orders.

“I like that I feel like I’m using my education — that’s probably the best part,” Oslick said. “[Using] the things I learned as an art student like color theory and designing.”

A native of Washington, Oslick came to know the Tindills after she took a course from Tindill’s husband at The Evergreen State College in Olympia.

After Oslick visited The Plains during last spring’s A-Day, she trekked from the Pacific Northwest to the South, following Cakeitecture to where its name originated.

Now, Oslick stands in the shop she moved across the country to work in, shaving the rounded top of an orange velvet cake to make the layer flat.

Two tiers later, she has the shape of an Aubiethemed cake: the bottom tier covered in green fondant to mimic a football field and a top tier with an edible Aubie figurine.

Across the kitchen, Tindill starts the process of transforming stack of butter into soft, whipped buttercream, all while the air smelled of their progress. “(The smell) kind of seeps into your skin,” Oslick joked.

Each week the variation of the orders keeps the bakery fun, and Tindill said she’s open to all types of orders.

“We don’t replicate cakes. … We always change it,” Tindill said. “We just don’t want to do the same thing over and over again. We’re not a grocery store cake shop. We always want to outdo ourselves from the time before.”

Habits aren’t always bad, especially when serving the community becomes habitual. Michael Johnson, information technology worker for Chambers County Schools and Boys & Girls Clubs worker, has made it a habit to invest what time he has into the local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Johnson is an Opelika native, graduating from Opelika High School in 1992. He grew up in a single-parent home with one sister.

Before the Boys & Girls Clubs, there was nothing to occupy time while Johnson was growing up. Mike Anderson, the unit director during Johnson’s childhood, was said to drive down the streets of Opelika recruiting youth to join the club.

“He recruited each and every child that was in the club at that time, and because of that we had something to do,” Johnson said.

Johnson was deemed the Youth of the Year for the Lee County Boys & Girls Clubs in 1991.

This award is given to a student that exemplifies all of the valuable lessons that are taught in the clubs.

“Back when I was in the club, the slogan was ‘The club that beat the street,’ and I took that literally,” Johnson said. “I had a lot of friends that didn’t make it, a lot of friends that went to jail, a lot of friends that just took the wrong path.

Meeting the positive people at the club kept me on the right path.”

Johnson also won the slam dunk contest that year. He spent time playing basketball for fun at the club, but when challenged, the group of boys beat the Opelika High School varsity basketball team. After showing off his skills, the coach asked if he would like to join the team.

“I had bragging rights thanks to the Boys & Girls Club,” Johnson said. “I got on the team even though so many guys tried out and didn’t make it. That was really the first step.”

After Johnson graduated in 1992, he re-

LILY JACKSON / COMMUNITY WRITER

Michael Johnson plays basketball with the children of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County.

ceived his first paid job at the club. He continued working at the club until he enlisted in the military in 1994. During his service, he was stationed for training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, and Fort Campbell in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Today, Johnson has a wife and three children.

He is excited for his two youngest to become of age to participate in Boys & Girls Clubs events, following in his steps. His 22-year-old daughter was a member of the club and played basketball, just like her father.

Johnson hopes to continue working with the students at the club. Mentoring is one responsibility Johnson has picked up over the years, and speaking with the children one-on-one gives a different perspective while working with the children. Living just down the road from some of these kids makes the job a full-time commitment, Johnson said.

“These kids, they grow on you,” Johnson said. “One wrong decision for these kids and their life is over, so we watch out for them.”

Coming Home to Memphis for Summer Break?

It’s a great time to get extra credit.

Enroll in Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Summer Session.

• Quality Transferable Courses • Classes Begin May 31 • Wide Range of Courses to Choose from • Small Classes • Low Cost

For more information visit southwest.tn.edu/recruitment, or call 901-333-4399.

Another Reason Why Southwest is Your Best Choice

Sports

8

Thursday, April 14, 2016

SCOREBOARD

FOOTBALL

BASEBALL (15-18, 3-9)

ThePlainsman.com

Sports

Quarterback quandary

AUBURN ATHLETICS

LAST WEEK vs.Georgia State (W, 7-4) at Missouri (W, 11-9; L, 2-0; L, 4-3) at Kennesaw State (L, 6-5) THIS WEEK April 14-16 vs. Tennessee (6 p.m., 6 p.m., 1 p.m.)

SOFTBALL (37-4, 9-3)

ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

John Franklin III (5) uncorks a pass during Auburn’s A-Day game on Saturday,April 9. He, Jeremy Johnson and Sean White are still vying for the starting quarterback job.

Franklin, Johnson, White still on equal footing after A-Day Sam Butler SPORTS EDITOR

FILE PHOTO

LAST WEEK vs. Troy (W, 8-1) vs. Longwood (W, 2-1; W, 5-2; W, 6-5) THIS WEEK April 14 at UAB (4 p.m.)

April 15-17 at Arkansas (6 p.m., 1 p.m., 1 p.m.)

WOMEN’S TENNIS (20-5, 8-3)

A-Day, an event when the dense fog surrounding the makeup of the Auburn Tigers for the fall was supposed to become even marginally clearer, provided no such resolution.

The quarterback competition — a three-way race between Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and newcomer John Franklin III — is still at a virtual deadlock. White performed the best of the group at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday with a combined 125 yards between the two teams, but coach Gus Malzahn put little to no stock in the numbers of a glorified practice, saying the staff puts more emphasis on “the body of work and evaluations” in the dozen practices the Tigers have already undergone.

It’s a good thing that’s the case, because the offense didn’t look particularly impressive in the closest thing to game action the Tigers have seen since dismantling Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl in December.

A combined 1 for 22 on third down is concerning, but Malzahn cautioned everyone to pump the brakes on declaring 2016 a lost cause after a spring game.

“The challenge is, when you rotate three quarterbacks with different groups and you got different receivers and all that, that is a challenge,”

Malzahn said. “You’ve got to give our defense some credit on that. As far as concern, I’m not concerned at all. I thought the defense did an outstanding job, and they made them earn it.”

Franklin received the first snaps of A-Day and, like Johnson and White, rotated between the ones and twos.

He finished with 61 passing yards and a score on the day, a touchdown that receiver Marcus Davis deserved most of the credit for.

Franklin lofted up a 40-yard prayer that went 37, but Davis undercut his route and snaked in between the pair of defenders covering him to reel in Franklin’s first touchdown as a Tiger, not counting the ones he scored as Florida State’s version of Nick Marshall on the scout team prior to the 2014 BCS National Championship.

But for Franklin, who has had all of four months with his new team, the experience was one he was looking forward to.

“Coming in, I was getting used to the pace of the offense, not so much the playbook but as far as the tempo, how fast coach wants us to go,” Franklin said. “I can see a big difference from when I first came in to now. The game’s starting to slow down for me. [I’ve got] a long way to go before I snap the ball, but things are starting to come quicker to me so I’m more comfortable now, so that’s the biggest thing.”

Johnson, the heir apparent to Marshall in 2015 who suffered from a crushed confidence and unmet expectations, threw a touchdown of his own as he works to regain the starting spot that slipped away last season.

He finished 6 for 13 with 35 yards and a touchdown — a nicely placed ball to running back Roc Thomas, who flashed his skill as a receiver out of the backfield late in the third quarter.

Despite not dazzling everyone in attendance like he was expected to do the year before, Johnson remained contrite and humbled by his experiences in that tumultuous season.

“Like I tell everybody all the time, life is about obstacles,” Johnson said. “You’re gonna face them, you’re gonna go through it. I went through it, that’s fine, that’s okay. I tell people: I haven’t been starter for three years. That was my first year starting. It happened. At the end of the year, I got better, got my confidence back, and now I feel even better where I’m at as a person, as a player.

Your character — how you handle things — takes you a long way, so I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Auburn has roughly six months until Clemson and potential Heisman front-runner Deshaun Watson visit Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 3. By then, maybe some of those answers ideally will have presented themselves.

For their sake, the Tigers better hope they do.

BASEBALL AUBURN ATHLETICS

LAST WEEK vs. South Carolina (W, 4-3) vs. Florida (L, 4-0) THIS WEEK April 15 at Vanderbilt (TBA) April 17 at Kentucky (11 a.m.)

TRACK & FIELD

AUBURN ATHLETICS

LAST WEEK Tiger Track Classic Seven gold medals as a team THIS WEEK April 16 at Texas Invitational

Former Tigers see spring training action Emily Shoffit SPORTS REPORTER

There are 14 active former Tigers who dot the professional baseball map, from Rookie league all the way up to the Majors.

Five of them, excluding Josh Donaldson and David Ross, continued fighting their way to the top this spring, earning playing time among the names and big shots of their parent clubs.

Dan Gamache The 5-foot-11 Newport, Rhode Island, native was one of the best hot corners to ever come through The Plains, posting a career .337 batting average with 16 home runs and 77 RBIs in three years at Auburn.

He hit .300 or higher every season, even through injuries.

Damache managed 13 spring training games this year as a nonroster invitee with 16 plate appearances.

He batted .125 with two runs, two

SHOE ROOM

hits, four walks and seven strikeouts. Now the first pick of the sixth round of the 2011 draft is playing for the Indianapolis Indians, the TripleA club for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Casey McElroy A three-year starter, McElroy made his mark during his junior year, leading the Tigers with a .372 average, nine home runs and 53 RBIs. He was a career .330 hitter at Auburn with 25 home runs and 131 RBIs. The second baseman played only three games in spring training with the San Diego Padres this year with one huge at-bat, where he knocked in a three-run homer for 2 RBIs and a 1.000 batting average.

Drafted shortly after Gamache, the 2011 draftee is with the TripleA El Paso Chihuahuas this season.

Trey Cochran-Gill Tallassee native and three-year

Auburn veteran Cochran-Gill was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 17th round of the 2014 draft.

He signed with the Mariners in June 2014 and made his way all the way up to Triple-A for one start in a single season.

He spent 2015 with the Mariners’ Double-A affiliate Jackson Generals before being traded to the Oakland A's in the offseason.

The right-hander went 0-1 in three games with the A's this year in spring training, allowing four runs and posting a 3.86 ERA in 2.1 innings.

He'll start the 2016 season with the A's Double-A team, the Midland Rockhounds.

Garrett Cooper A career .346 hitter in college, Cooper was a sixth-round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2013 draft.

The 6-foot-6 hot-corner-turnedfirst-baseman spent the past 2 1/2

seasons in between Rookie and Single-A ball before finally reaching the Double-A level in 2015.

Cooper played in three games with the Brewers at spring training with only two at-bats — one resulting in a walk — for a .000 batting average.

He returns to the Double-A level for the 2016 season with the Biloxi Shuckers and should see time at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery.

Grant Dayton An 11th-round pick in 2010, Dayton has spent the past three seasons of his minor league career transferring between Double and Triple-A. Originally drafted by the Miami Marlins, Dayton found his place with the Dodgers in 2015, but only saw 0.1 innings in spring training, issuing three walks and no strikeouts.

He returns to the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate Tulsa Drillers for the 2016 season.

Voted #1 Great Brands & Best Prices Hundreds of Brands Thousands of Shoes $19.99 or Less Save 35% - 80% off of Dept Store Prices 941 Opelika Road, Auburn, AL 334.821.5367 w w w. t h e s h o e r o o m . c o m M-F 10-7 :: Sat 9-6 :: Sun 1-5

You’re Going to Love our New Shoe Brands

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Sports 9

The Auburn Plainsman

NBA Hall of Famer makes stop in Auburn NBA

Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins presents signature court to Auburn student Jonathan Hefner SPORTS WRITER

On Wednesday, April 6, Auburn fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha welcomed NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins to its grounds to unveil his signature series basketball court.

Earlier in the year, Luke Barden, freshman in mechanical engineering and a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha, saw a billboard advertisement in Atlanta for the chance to win a basketball court by just texting a keyword to a five-digit number.

Soon enough, Barden received a call from the Atlanta Hawks franchise congratulating him on winning a court courtesy of CBA Sports.

Barden opted to dedicate the court to his fraternity.

Luckily for Barden and the brothers of Lambda Chi, the court to be implemented was the first of Dominique’s signature series court.

The court features Atlanta Hawks colors, as well as Dominique’s personal logo in the paint and autograph at the top of the key.

CBA Sports, a sports construction business based out of Norcross, Georgia, built the court with a “sport-court” surface, a sort of layered padding meant to improve traction and safety for athletes.

The sport-court surface features state-of-theart shock absorption specifically designed and tested to prevent head trauma, specifically concussions, and to provide accurate ball bounce and traction.

The court has gained popularity as of late.

Nike uses it for its basketball tournaments, and the surface will be used in the newly introduced Olympics 3-on-3 basketball event.

In addition to equipping multiple universities in the state of Georgia with basketball courts, CBA has also provided courts for rappers 2 Chainz and Ludacris Dominique and his wife, Sunny Wilkins, are joint partners with CBA Sports. This partnership made the court possible.

Sunny is not only Dominique’s wife. She is

CONTRIBUTED BY DON BARDEN

The Dominique Wilkins signature court was presented to Lambda Chi last Wednesday, and features the Hall of Famer’s insignia.

also his agent and business partner.

“I do all sorts of things,” Sunny said. “I’m his attorney, his agent, I negotiate contracts …

I go find deals and make sure they benefit him in the best way possible.”

Dominique spoke to the brothers of the fraternity upon his arrival, highlighting his path to greatness and what it takes to become successful.

“People who tell you that you can’t do something are obstacles in this world to slow you down,” Dominique said. “You go over or around them. You do not stop. Once I mastered becoming a man in my life first, I got to go set some goals and simply used basketball as a

stepping stone for those goals.”

One of Dominique’s passions is giving back to the community, which he has shown across the country by raising health care awareness.

He and CBA Sports are fueling that passion with their product.

In a joint effort with the Atlanta Hawks Foundation, they are actively bettering communities with public basketball courts.

“We’re retrofitting 20 community courts in the Atlanta area,” said CBA executive Jay Tilley. “Kudos to the Hawks because they understand the significance of kids being healthy and fit, as well as their safety.”

Tilley also pointed out that Dominique was

making history.

“Michael Jordan has his Jordan shoes,” Tilley said. “Kobe has his Nike shoe line. Dominique has always had his own signature shoe too. But for the first time ever, an NBA player has his own signature court.”

Dominique became famous particularly from his 12-year stint with the Atlanta Hawks, earning the nickname “The Human Highlight Reel” for his ridiculous slam dunks.

Dominique has since been hired by the Hawks and currently serves as the organization’s vice president of basketball and special adviser to the CEO, as well as the chairman of the alumni board.

FOOTBALL

Defense turns in dominant performance at A-Day Sam Butler SPORTS EDITOR

Sean White scanned the line of scrimmage, held his hands up and called out his cadence.

The ball reached his hands, and he began his dropback.

One, two, three, four steps.

That fifth step didn’t happen, because Carl Lawson was already on top of him. If the quarterbacks hadn’t been wearing orange noncontact jerseys, Lawson would’ve left an emphatic mark on his first-ever A-Day. The defenses forced a combined 1 for 22 on third down from the Blue and White team offenses, as Lawson, Montravius Adams and company constantly flummoxed the quarterbacks into hurried passes and, for the most part, corralled the rushing attack.

“I thought the defense was outstanding,” said coach Gus Malzahn. “I think one thing that really stands out this year is the depth.

We’ve got more depth this year, which is great.”

With the changeover of three defensive assistants in the offseason, the defense is expected to understandably go through growing pains.

But with Lawson, Rudy Ford and SEC AllFreshman cornerback Carlton Davis return-

ing, those pains might not be as excruciating as they could’ve been.

The group recovered a fumble, dropped an interception and by all accounts should’ve reeled in another on, as a pair of defenders misplayed an errant John Franklin III throw to Marcus Davis.

But despite the missteps, the defense was by far the dominant unit at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, capitalizing on a sluggish quarterback race that is yet to yield a clear winner.

“The defense showed out,” said running back Jovon Robinson. “It was energetic coming out. I feel like the defense is putting it together, putting it together really well. They was able to stop us for the first part of the scrimmage.”

Depth was a major issue in 2015, with a handful of starters or rotation players succumbing to injury, primarily in the secondary.

This year, however, that won’t be the case.

“I feel like if we keep putting in the work, then we will be an overall better defense this upcoming season,” Adams said. “When the starters go out, then we have backups that could be starting. They go in and make the same plays. It’s just good for us that we don’t have a dropoff.”

ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Jeremy Johnson, along with the three other quarterbacks who participated in A-Day, couldn’t get much going against the defense, as both teams combined to go 1 for 22 on third down.

ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Linebacker Deshaun Davis (57) wraps up Jovon Robinson (carrying the ball) during A-Day on Saturday,April 9.

Sports 10

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, April 14, 2016

ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn talks to his team after A-Day on Saturday, April 9.

CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN ATHLETICS

Mark Rubalcaba runs in the 100-meter race at the Tiger Track Classic.

This Week in Auburn Sports Softball

pitched a career-high 3.2 innings and struck out a career-high five batters.

“We got to a sluggish start and I thought the difference in the game was the first inning and the fourth inning,” said Auburn coach Butch Thompson. “With two outs, they knocked in their runs. The guys stayed in there. Izaac Yarbrough really gave us a chance to get back in it. We really battled to get back in it.”

Auburn falls to 15-18 on the season with its next game coming on Thursday at home as the Tigers start a three-game series against the Tennessee Volunteers.

April 6 vs Troy W, 8-1 Just one day after Auburn softball made history by earning its highest ranking of all time, pitcher Lexi Davis made some history of her own. The senior led the No. 2 Tigers (34-4, 9-3 SEC) to an 8-1 victory over Troy on Wednesday night to earn the 61st win of her career, the most in Auburn history. Davis improved to 5-0 this season.

Davis broke the record in impressive fashion, allowing just three hits while striking out seven Trojans in a complete game.

Thanks to the Tigers’ high-powered offense, Davis never faced much pressure from Troy (23-12). Auburn earned all eight of its runs in the first two innings, scoring four in each.

The scoring began with a two-RBI single

by Jade Rhodes, which was followed by a two-run home run by Madi Gipson.

In the second inning, Whitney Jordan reached base on a walk and scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-0.

Later in the inning, Emily Carosone hit a two-RBI single before scoring on Rhodes’ second double of the game.

After jumping out to the quick 8-0 lead, Auburn nearly posted its 17th run-rule victory of the season, as the margin remained at eight going into the fifth inning, when the runrule goes into effect.

Troy’s Heather Johnston briefly gave the Trojans some hope, however, with a solo shot to cut Auburn’s lead to 8-1.

The Trojans couldn’t get any closer, however, as Davis solidified her place in Auburn history.

April 10 vs Longwood W, 6-5 Twelve up, 12 down. The No. 2 Auburn Tigers continued their hot streak against Longwood on Sunday, winning 6-5 to push their win streak to a dozen and complete their third consecutive series sweep.

The Lancers (21-15) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third inning on an RBI double by Carly Adams and an RBI single by Glenn Walters.

Auburn (37-4, 9-3 SEC) responded in the bottom of the inning, however, by walking in a pair of runs.

With the bases loaded and two outs on board, Madi Gipson and Courtney Shea drew

Track & Field

April 9-10 Tiger Track Classic

CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN ATHLETICS

Lexi Davis throws a pitch in Auburn’s 8-1 win over Troy. Davis’ 61st win is a program record.

walks to score Kasey Cooper and Carlee Wallace, respectively, to tie it at two.

Longwood allowed four walks in the inning.

Auburn took the lead in the fourth on an RBI single by Emily Carosone.

It was Carosone’s only hit of the game, but she reached base in all four of her at-bats, drawing two walks and her 74th career hitby-pitch.

The fifth inning proved to be the difference, as the Tigers scored their final three runs in the frame.

Shea’s RBI base hit provided Auburn its first run of the inning.

A sac fly by Jenna Abbott drove in another run before an RBI by Kendall Veach put Auburn ahead 6-3.

Longwood drove in a pair of runs in the final two innings, but that was ultimately not enough to top the nation's second-ranked team.

Senior Lexi Davis (5-0) earned the win in a relief effort, throwing 3.1 innings to extend her school record for wins to 62.

During the Tigers' 12-game winning streak, they've outscored opponents 68-24.

Baseball

April 12 at Kennesaw ST. L, 6-5 The Auburn baseball team traveled to Kennesaw, Georgia, on Tuesday for some midweek action against the Owls of Kennesaw State University. The Tigers walked out of Sitwell Stadium in defeat after losing 6-5.

Junior outfielder Anfernee Grier had a career night, racking up five hits, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Tigers to a victory. Jordan Ebert contributed three hits to Auburn’s total of 13.

The Owls scored three in the first inning and held the lead throughout the rest of the game. Auburn got on the board in the second inning and once in the sixth inning.

The Tigers entered the top of the ninth down 6-2 with one shot left.

They scored three in the ninth after RBIs from Grier and Cody Nulph, the final run scoring after Damon Haecker grounded into a double play. Daniel Sprinkle started the day on the mound for the Tigers, allowing four runs in 1.2 innings pitched.

Izaac Yarborough came in for relief and

After the dust settled at the Tiger Track Classic, the Auburn track and field team had collected seven gold medals, including a facility record.

“Overall, I’m pleased with the weekend,” said Auburn coach Ralph Spry. “We had a lot of people win events, but some of our marks were short of where we want them to be. It was windy, so that was a factory on the oval races. We competed well and felt good about our efforts.”

Senior Rachel Dincoff took home a gold medal in the discus throw with a distance of 54.07 meters, and she finished third in the shot put with a throw of 16.83 meters, a personal best.

Senior Samantha Scarlett took a gold medal in her first outdoor competition of the year, as she finished the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.22 seconds.

In the 400-meter hurdles, junior Sashel Brown claimed another gold medal with a time of 58.58 seconds. Jessie Johnson, who is the school record-holder in pole vault, cleared 4.15 meters to win the event.

Veronica Eder finished first in the 3000-meter, breaking a facility record with a time of 9:35.92 — a personal best. Rachel Givens took home the gold in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a mark of 10:50.81.

Kylee Carter added yet another gold with a 48.55 meter mark in the women’s javelin throw Friday night.

All-American Teray Smith finished second in the men’s 200-meter with a time of 21.01 seconds, but he was the first collegiate finisher.

Compiled by Nathan Deal, Bailey Rogers and Sam Butler

2 B R / 1 B O n ly $ 5 1 5 . 0 0 !

[

[

Pet Friendly On-site Management Tiger Transit Water & Garbage Included 4 Blocks from Campus

CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN ATHLETICS

Daniel Sprinkle uncorks a pitch in Auburn’s 7-4 midweek win over Georgia State on April 5.

We Rent Apartments, Bed Not Bedrooms

RENTING NOW FOR SUMMER & FALL!

w w w . l e m a n s s q u a re . c o m

Intrigue

Thursday, April 14, 2016

11 ThePlainsman.com

Intrigue

Sexual Assault Awareness Month OUTREACH

Resources to combat sexual assault on campus Amanda Myles INTRGUE WRITER

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an annual movement to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate people on how to prevent sexual violence.

Sexual assault is a serious and widespread issue as nearly 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men experience rape or attempted rape and approximately 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men experience sexual violence victimization other than rape, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

The slogan for this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month is “Prevention is Possible.”

With increasing numbers of resources becoming available, there are many steps communities, schools and individuals can take to prevent and deal with sexual assault.

For parents concerned about college campus safety and sexual assault, the organization Keep Her Safe provides support to help parents and students evaluate an institution’s outlook and policies on sexual assault for campus safety ahead of time.

Sheri Heitker Dixon, founder of Keep Her Safe, said she started the organization when she came across the Huffington Post article, “Why Are So Many Boys Leaving High School Thinking Rape is Funny?”

Having a teenage daughter, Dixon found the article disturbing.

“I wanted a vehicle for parents to really engage,” Dixon said. “I just felt it was a big void in addressing the whole issue.”

Dixon said the overall mission of Keep Her Safe is to push colleges to create and implement programs using the resources they already have.

Dixon said Keep Her Safe works individually through chapters in which parents are encouraged to work with other people in their community.

Dixon said her area, the Orlando chapter, works together to contact the admissions department, ask questions, provide feedback and make requests to the administrators of the nearby universities.

“What we’re doing is really trying to put pressure on those colleges by letting them know that parents are concerned,” Dixon said.

Dixon said she encourages parents to look at selecting schools and make needs known from a consumer perspective just like any other purchase.

The Affirmative Consent Project is another resource aimed to educate people about sexual assault.

Alison Morano, co-founder of the Affirmative Consent Project, said it is an umbrella organization that raises awareness and offers all kinds of information and resources, which has a 2,000-page-deep website and a policy report outline of more than 500 schools.

“I’m a big believer in showing everybody their resources,” Morano said.

Morano said the problem is so many colleges hid that anything bad would happen on their campuses because they feared people would not want to go there or donors would not want to support the college.

However, Morano said people are now talking about it and not hiding it anymore.

She said schools are addressing it and claiming responsibility, instead of sweeping it under the rug.

The Affirmative Consent Project also offers

consent kits, which students can use as guides on how to have discussions about affirmative consent and saying yes to each other and being responsible.

Morano said the Affirmative Consent Project has a campus ambassador program, which encourages students to organize on their campuses.

Another resource for sexual assault is the free app, I’ve-Been-Violated, which works to help victims after a sexual assault.

By turning the app on after a sexual assault, victims can tell their stories while the app records the audio and video.

According to the We-Consent website, an encrypted record of the story is created and stored for future retrieval through the proper channels, and when the victim is ready to do so, they can contact the appropriate authorities, and they can access the video recording.

Recordeding after the violation helps maintain the victim’s credibility.

Michael Lissack, executive director of WeConsent, said 85 percent of victims are not ready to talk to authorities in any kind of a timely manner, and they have no tool to help them until they’re actually ready to report.

“We are not trying to provide another resource for the 15 percent,” Lissack said. “We are trying to provide a resource for the 85 percent.”

Lissack said the app is designed to help victims deal with the second trauma of having their credibility challenged.

Lissack said victims have every right to decide when they are going to go through that process, so the app is there to help them when they are ready.

VIA I’VE-BEEN-VIOLATED APP

Students can use the app after sexual assaults.

Including sexual assault punishments on transcripts Amanda Myles INTRIGUE WRITER

The occurrence of sexual assaults on college campuses is a prevalent issue, as devastating stories continue to make news headlines.

In an effort to combat this problem, there has been a push for colleges to include sexual assault punishments on transcripts.

However, I do not think this is the right step to take in an effort to prevent sexual assault.

It seems noting sexual assault punishments on transcripts is a way for colleges to deal with the issue temporarily rather than trying to stop it from happening.

It only adds to an already confusing system, and it creates the potential for innocent students to have their transcripts permanently marked.

Virginia and New York are the only states so far to require this.

Virginia enacted legislation in May 2015, and New York passed a law in June that requires students of public and private colleges to have their transcripts noted if they are found responsible for sexual assault or more specifically, “suspended/expelled after a finding of responsibility for a code of conduct violation.”

If a student withdraws pending charges, their transcript will mark that as well, in hopes of preventing them from transferring to avoid charges.

Students can appeal to have their transcript cleared one year after completing a suspension.

In February of 2015, California and Maryland attempted to pass similar legislation.

The California bill was vetoed by the governor eight months later, and the bill failed in committee in Maryland.

TWITTER POLL

STERLING WAITS / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Some colleges have to note on transcripts if students are suspended or expelled over sexual assault.

For two decades, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers has recommended that schools manage information about students’ disciplinary actions, but not include it on academic transcripts.

But in the 2016 Academic Record and Transcript Guide, they changed that from saying that including disciplinary violations on transcripts is “not recommend” to “optional.”

I think noting sexual assault punishments on transcripts can lead to many problems.

Like many heated issues, the topic of sexual assault in general is not transparent. From false accusations to defining consent, sexual assault is

not clear cut.

Enforcing new laws could make the topic even more confusing and the system less efficient.

In “‘Enough is enough’: Colleges don’t need more sex-assault legislation,” Kevin Kruger, president of NAPSA — Student Affairs Administrator in Higher Education, wrote that while the new law has a lot of good qualities, he is still concerned about the broader implications of stateby-state legislation to deal with sexual assault.

“I must stress that colleges aren’t courts of law,” Kruger wrote. “We may soon have a stateby-state patchwork dictating what are very complex campus processes.”

INSTAGRAM OF THE WEEK

With varying disciplinary suspensions among institutions, the system becomes unclear.

Another point to make against noting transcripts of sexual assaults is that when it comes to sexual assault cases, many times the situation is ambiguous, so we should not create laws that could alter a potentially wrongfully charged student’s life.

But for those who are correctly found guilty, the new laws might not do much to prevent future sexual assaults anyway.

Psychologist David Lisak from the University of Massachusetts completed a study, which found that the majority of students who commit rape on a campus are serial rapists.

On college campuses, repeat rapists account for 9 out of every 10 rapes, his study showed.

Just as criminals will find ways to obtain guns despite laws that prevent them from doing so, passing legislation to deter and punish those found guilty of sexual assault will not necessarily stop them from doing so again.

Also, while the legislation might be intended to stop the cases of potential sexual assaults from occurring, many times the situation in which they occur involves drinking and a lack of awareness.

In 1 in 3 sexual assaults, the perpetrator was intoxicated, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

Ultimately, the progress that we are seeing with dealing with sexual assaults on college campuses proves that we have made great strides, but we should not force harsh legislation.

That does not mean colleges shouldn’t continue to push boundaries to prevent sexual assaults.

But a limit exists as to how much colleges can control the situation before they start to create an entirely different problem.

Amanda can be reached at intrigue@ThePlainsman.com.

FAB FINDS at

ANGEL’S Vintage Auburn Prints WE DON’T JUST DO ANTIQUES

www.angelsantiqueandfleamall.com 900 COLUMBUS PKWY. • OPELIKA, AL 36801

334-745-3221

Intrigue 12

The Auburn Plainsman

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Music and its effects on studying LIFESTYLE

Ben Ruffin

INTRIGUE WRITER

Every day, students face distractions competing for their attention while they study.

One tactic typically used to drown out those distractions is music.

While some types of music are used to boost efficiency, other types do the opposite, causing work to be unorganized.

Nancy Barry, professor of music education in the department of curriculum and teaching, cited a study that proved music is effective in raising productivity in repetitive work such as checking emails or filling out a spreadsheet.

“Some types of music go well with certain types of work, just as that study shows,” Barry said. “There’s also music that can cause poor study habits that people aren’t even aware of because they’re so into their music.”

When it comes to tasks that require more brainpower, finding the right genre or playlist can be difficult.

According to Barry and a number of different professional studies, songs that include nature, instrumental music and songs a person does not care too deeply about are the types of music that provide the largest boost in efficiency.

Barry, who has numerous publications in journals such as “Psychology of Music”, said her re-

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BEN RUFFIN / INTRIGUE WRITER

search has led her to find songs that include nature ease the mind and allow for an improved attention span.

“Adding a natural element could improve moods and focus,” Barry said. “Each type of music is going to do something different to a student’s study habits, and natural music seems to bring the studier back if they’ve wondered off.”

One test Barry mentioned was a mountain stream test in which researchers made their subjects listen to a mountain stream.

Researchers found the stream did not distract the subjects.

While listening to songs that include nature boosts concentration and worker satisfaction, listening to music a person likes too much can be

distracting and hamper productivity, according to research from Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan.

In this study, Barry said researchers found when workers strongly liked or disliked the music, they became more distracted by it.

“If you like the music you’re listening to, you might sing along and lose focus,” Barry said. “If you’re listening to music you absolutely despise, you are going to be miserable and lose focus.”

On the other hand, listening to music that a person has mixed feelings about draws out more productivity.

However, perhaps the music that draws out the most productivity is instrumental music, or those that lack lyrics.

Barry cited research from Cambridge Sound Management, which claimed noise in general isn’t to blame when it comes to a lack of productivity.

Rather, it’s how intelligible the words are that forces people to shift focus from their work to figuring out what someone is saying.

“If a student can’t understand the words in a song, they may spend the next few seconds or minutes trying to figure out what the singer just said,” Barry said. “And those few seconds of distraction take away from the student’s productivity.”

TECHNOLOGY

Driving green: a glimpse at electric cars Rachel Williams INTRIGUE WRITER

The past two decades have been a coming of age story for technology.

Wild sci-fi-type ideas filter into common acceptance as we become more and more high-tech.

Yet another innovative character to develop into a reality is the electric car.

In light of the exciting March 31 release of the Tesla Model 3 fully electric sedan, consumers, automakers and the government have heightened

their interest in evaluating the future of electric vehicles.

While many may envision a society where the replacement for cars may come in the form of a bicycle, that scenario may not hold true in countless communities in America where daily distances may be too far to cover without a car.

For these places, including Auburn, electric vehicles, which have become affordable and fully functional, truly could be a wise choice and not just a cultural badge.

A large concern with fully electric vehicles is the driving range.

Unlike hybrid vehicles, electric ve-

To Place an Ad, Call 334-844-9101 or E-mail admanager@theplainsman.com

BUY . SELL . TRADE -Retro Video Games -Vinyl Records -Comics, Collectibles - Magic Cards -Posters &Art -Phones, IPads & Laptops (we buy broken phones/laptops)

334 - 741 - 0808 221 S. 9TH ST. OPELIKA, AL 36801 NEXT TO LEE COUNT Y COURTHOUSE

4 pm - Close $2.50 / Glass $8 Bottles

In addition to the group of electric vehicles that run for moderate ranges are the “200-mile” electric vehicles, including existing pricey models from Tesla achieving 250 miles or more. The longer range gives customers more confidence and flexibility with their vehicle.

With the Tesla Model 3, expected for market in 2017, and Chevrolet Bolt, expected in late 2016, 200 miles will be offered with lower price points starting at $35,000.

The current high price of a longrange electric vehicles is a possible culprit for what may be deterring a greater adoption of electric vehicles.

Tigermarket

ALMOST ANYTHING

Wine Night Wednesday

hicles do not have an internal combustion engine to fall back on as a regenerative charging or power source.

The range of the battery truly determines how far one can drive. Most electric vehicles currently available give a range of 62–107 miles.

When charging is needed, customers can find charging stations, which are increasing with vehicle sales.

To fuel the adoption of electric vehicles, the manufacturers invest in charging infrastructure to accommodate communities driving fuel-free.

Auburn has a set of Tesla supercharging stations located in the Auburn Mall parking lot.

The Tesla Model 3 preorder price of $35,000, before a $7,500 federal tax break, is significantly lower than the maker’s other models priced at $75,000 or more.

The benefits of electric vehicles, including lower emissions, lower driver expenses and reduced foreign oil dependency are now available to a wider market.

Perhaps 10 years from now, as the story unfolds, traditional fuel cars will be the minority, and electric motors will be the norm.

Rachel can be reached at intrigue@ ThePlainsman.com.

Print Deadline Noon three business days prior to publication