The Auburn Plainsman — 09.06.18

GAMEDAY SPECIAL SECTION INSIDE

SINCE 1893

125

The Auburn Plainsman Years

online at THEPLAINSMAN.COM

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID • NEWS SINCE 1893

VOL. 126 • ISSUE 3 • FIRST COPY FREE THEN 50¢

CAMPUS

100 years of the Auburn ring, yet the tradition has just begun u The first Auburn ring dates back to 1918. Each year’s ring took a different design until a consistent look was developed in 2004. u The official rings reflects Auburn’s history by combining several different designs of rings dating back to the first in 1918.

CAMPUS

By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor campus@theplainsman.com

Whether it be rolling the Oaks after a win or watching the eagle soar around Jordan-Hare, Auburn prides itself on having a community steeped in long-standing traditions. The pastimes established and maintained for years on end sustain values from generation to genera-

tion.

But, entering into its 100-year anniversary, what makes the Auburn ring special may not be that it’s a 100-year-old tradition, but rather that it’s taken a full century for the tradition to fully mature.

With the first Auburn ring dating back to 1918, each year’s ring took a different design until a committee of students, faculty, alumni and administrators developed what is now the offi-

cial ring of Auburn University in 2004.

“This allows all members of the Auburn Family to showcase their love of Auburn with one traditional design,” said Pearson Alsobrook, a Balfour sales associate who works with Auburn.

The official ring tells the history of Auburn University by combining different designs of Auburn rings dating back to 1918 into one of-

» See AUBURN RING, 2

COMMUNITY

Women of academia work to shift tides of bias

By LILY JACKSON Managing Editor managing.editor@theplainsman.com

Women preparing to apply for tenure-track junior faculty positions experience the normal anxiety and excitement felt by most applicants.

But, they often feel the additional pressure of implicit practices that spawn from historically male-dominated fields, making professions in higher education more difficult to obtain for women, said Annette Kluck, assistant provost for women’s initiatives.

Malorie Hayes, graduate student and Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, is in a historically male-dominated field and looked to her career icons — three women at the top of their field — all childless.

She was discouraged at first, but an early professor of hers encouraged her by telling her she could be both a professional and a parent.

“A lot of people see that as a statement that it is impossible to be a successful scientist and a parent,” Hayes said. “That’s not true for men. You just take the kids, leave them with the wife and move on.”

In areas where men are still in the majority, social norms can force women to put in more time than their male counterparts in the same department. Kluck said those norms have constructed an expectation for women to say “yes” when men are given more leeway in saying no.

“They are not only being asked for more, but they are having to go against the gender norm more,” Kluck said.

From 2013 to 2014, Harvard’s Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education found that women at Auburn see the distribution of the teaching load more con-

» See WOMEN IN ACADEMIA, 2

CONTRIBUTED BY JIMMY HARMON

Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch in Camp Hill, Alabama, is a home for girls and young women ages 6 to 18 who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

‘A hand up in life, not a handout’ Camp Hill farm serves as home for mistreated young women

By SAMANTHA STRUNK Campus Writer campus@theplainsman.com

T

o any passerby, the 200 acres lining either side of County Road 72 may seem like any other Alabama farm.

On one side of the road, a traditional red barn stands in stark contrast to a baby blue sky, and cows mull around rich, green grass common to the countryside. On the other, there is a number of quaint houses, buildings and gardens, and a large pond sits at the bottom of a hill.

It’s a tranquil place. It’s the Tallapoosa County Girls Ranch in Camp Hill, Alabama, a United Way agency that serves as a home for girls ages 6 to 18 who have been abused, neglected or abandoned.

Jimmy Harmon, director of the Girls Ranch, said many people have false perceptions of the

CAMPUS Delta Airlines aviation program sends students to new heights Auburn’s aviation program is quickly growing , and enrollment has quadrupled since 2014 Page 5

www.theplainsman.com

go online

“

ranch. He stressed that the ranch deals with parents’ issues — not those of the young women.

“A lot of people think of the Girls Ranch as a place where the kids out here are juveniles or delinquents or kids who have been in trouble, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Harmon said. “They’re abused, neglected or abandoned kids. They just need an opportunity in life.”

Harmon said they provide as much structure for the ranch’s tenants as possible. Girls are expected to do chores around the house and the ranch, they have nightly required study time and they are given resources like tutors to help them keep their grades up.

“Last semester we had 18 kids,” Harmon said.

“Their cumulative GPA was a 3.46.”

Harmon said they also teach the girls practical life skills such as how to cook, balance a food budget and change a tire.

We want to enable them to do the things that we do here and that we do well. We want to be teachers.

— Jimmy Harmon “We want to be able to give people a hand up in life, not a handout,” Harmon said. “We want to enable them to do the things that we do here and that we do well. We want to be teachers.”

Harmon said the ranch emphasizes making the girls’ situation as normal and comfortable as possible. The staff and girls keep the ranch looking nice to give the girls a home they can take pride in, thus creating a homey environment rather than an institutional one.

» See CAMP HILL, 2

News 24/7 on our website Go online to theplainsman.com SCAN ME!

@TheAUPlainsman

@TheAuburnPlainsman

@TheAuburnPlainsman

news

2

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

NEWS

MISS HOMECOMING TOP 20

Check us out online at ThePlainsman.com for more coverage of Miss Homecoming elections

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

SGA announced the Top 20 Miss Homecoming candidates in the Student Center on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

CAMP HILL » From 1

“Because they deserve that,” Harmon said.

“They’ve never had a home.”

To further this homey feel, girls are allowed to invite friends who don’t live on the ranch to spend the night with them, they can earn a cell phone when they start high school and are given a number of other freedoms that many girls did not expect when coming to the ranch.

Harmon said another vital piece of building their “normal” is the family arrangement in each of the three houses on the ranch.

A married couple and their biological children live in each house with the girls. The couple acts as the girls’ parents and models a healthy relationship for the girls to observe.

The girls refer to their house parents as “mom” and “dad.” Like a normal family unit, their house parents are the ones responsible for granting permission to spend the night with friends, deciding punishments and assigning household responsibilities.

Harmon said this is important for the girls be-

cause many have come from situations where they weren’t taught how families typically operate and act. Though it’s crucial the girls see what healthy married relationships look like in the good times, it’s even more critical to see disagreements in relationships handled maturely.

“If there is an argument, mom and dad don’t hit, throw things or get inebriated and beat on the kids,” Harmon said. “They have conversations, and they work things out.”

Harmon gave the example of one girl who lives on the ranch whose mother and stepfather were both alcoholics. One night, her mother was at work, and her stepfather raped her. Soon after, her stepfather bragged to her stepbrother about his actions, and her stepbrother raped her, too.

Harmon said in situations like this, it’s impossible for girls to know what a father’s role in the home is.

“They don’t want a daddy. They had a daddy, and now they’re done,” Harmon said. “So it’s really important for our dads, the men on this property, to teach our kids what appropriate love is — what a dad is supposed to be.”

House parents work for 12 days on and four off.

On the off days, relief parents live in a room designated for them and serve as the stand-in house par-

WOMEN IN ACADEMIA » From 1

cerning than the University’s male faculty.

COACHE was used, updated and referenced once more through the Provost’s office in 2017. The University listed “flexible workloads and modified duties” under potential areas for improvement.

According to a paper published in an analysis of higher education in 2017, “Faculty Service Loads and Gender: Are Women Taking Care of the Academic Family?,” this service — external and internal tasks requested of faculty outside of their normal duties — can factor into performance evaluations, but does little to promote the faculty member in comparison to research that could have been done in place of such tasks.

Kluck said it is difficult for women to acknowledge inequity as it is happening.

“It’s hard to think about being treated differently,” Kluck said.

In response to this issue, Kluck said some departments are following the University of Maryland’s model of Service Desk Boards, a project that makes faculty service public to other faculty to encourage fair practices and allocation, according to Kluck.

The department of psychology and the College of Agriculture are two of the participating programs.

“The act of doing it will make everyone more aware of what tends to happen,” Kluck said.

Hayes, in her last year at

Auburn, said she sees the tides turning for gender equity, albeit there is still work to do, she said.

COACHE data stated that Auburn’s results on whether colleagues support the work and life balance for women were below the mean and performed poorly compared to other unviversities.

Ana Fraco-Watkins, professor and chair of the department of psychology said she has worked toward a more flexible work-life balance in her department.

Watkins, who is the second woman in the history of the department to serve as chair, began her career in the male-dominated field of decision-making science.

According to Franco-Watkins, psychology is traditionally more balanced in gender. In Auburn’s case, she said they aren’t quite there yet.

“It is unique being a female faculty member,” Watkins said. “There are just different expectations.”

The COACHE survey in 2014 noted that women at Auburn were more concerned with the amount of courses taught than Auburn’s institutional peers. Men tested showed no concern.

Older male faculty were far more concerned about her balance of work and personal life than they were concerned about male faculty, Franco-Watkins noticed earlier in her career.

Aside from fellow faculty, Franco-Watkins said there was data from student evalu-

ations to support students favored women less from her years as a professor.

“As a faculty member, I would get strange comments on my evals that pertain to my appearance that had nothing to do with the class,” Watkins said. “My appearance has nothing to do with how effectively or ineffectively I instruct and they learn.”

She said she was working toward tenure at the time and feared the consequences of such evaluations, but her colleagues were understanding.

“There was over emphasis on what I wear and my shoes,” Watkins said. “I’ve been called a cougar one time. I don’t think that they would ever say that to my male colleagues.”

Faculty were asked in 2014 to note “how well [they] fit” in their departments, and women overwhelmingly expressed more discomfort than their male counterparts at the University.

Hayes said she was lucky to have her adviser during her pregnancy in graduate school, but some of her peers have not been so lucky.

She said they expressed struggles with scheduling and faculty understanding during their pregnancies.

Kluck agreed there was much that could be done for graduate students looking to move into faculty positions, starting with encouragement.

“We have to make it clear to women students early on that they have what it takes, and they are valued,” Kluck said.

ents.

Christal Prater, a relief parent for one of the houses, said the house parents truly treat the girls as their own.

“Their [biological] children are like their brothers and sisters,” Prater said. “It’s pretty much one big family.”

Avery, a sophomore in high school who has lived on the ranch for three years, said she was shocked when she moved to the ranch. She said she had friends in other group homes who told her life was heavily controlled, and they weren’t allowed to be “normal teenagers.”

“It’s a lot different here,” Avery said. “It’s a very beautiful place.”

Madison, a senior in high school who has lived on the ranch for almost two years, said when she moved to the ranch, everyone’s kindness surprised her most.

“They were welcoming,” Madison said. “I never felt like the black sheep of the family.”

Ashley, also a high school senior, has lived on the ranch for eight months. She said she too was startled at how lenient, kind and friendly the ranch environment is.

Avery, Madison and Ashley all shared stories

about life on the ranch with amusement.

Avery pointed out the ranch dog, a happy, medium-sized mutt named Mama Dog. A then employee at the ranch found Mama Dog with a broken paw. Now, Mama Dog has lived at the ranch longer than any of the girls.

The employee took Mama Dog to the humane society, only to have Mama Dog escape and return to the ranch. After this happened several times, it became apparent Mama Dog was determined to stay. No one has challenged the friendly critter since.

Madison told stories of mischievous ranch parents telling the girls ghost stories and hiding to scare them, occurrences that always end in laughter.

Ashley told stories of intense “capture the flag” games between houses and the healthy rivalry that exists between them.

Avery made sure to acknowledge the people they credit with these stories, the ranch employees. The girls agreed the ranch employees certainly aren’t there for the pay.

“You don’t come here for the money. You come here because God has laid it on your heart, and you love these girls,” Avery said. “You love us.”

The Plainsman has changed the names of the young women living at the ranch because they are minors.

CONTRIBUTED BY STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

AUBURN RING » From 1

ficial ring.

“Prior to 2004, there were multiple designs that had existed over the years, which made it very difficult to know that someone is wearing an Auburn ring,” Alsobrook said.

Being eligible to get a ring is simple. You must attend or have attended Auburn and have 75 credit hours, regardless of where the hours were fulfilled. Auburn graduates can also retroactively go back to get their ring. Rings can be personalized with names and the year as well.

“Not a day goes by that when someone sees my Auburn ring I don’t get a ‘War Eagle,’” Alsobrook said. “The Auburn ring is a wearable diploma that is only made available to Auburn graduates.”

The ring is one of many ways that graduates can signal belonging to the Auburn Family, but in recent years, the tradition surrounding the ring has actualized into something that aims to last years down the line.

“The Auburn ring is so special because it allows students to be apart of the special tradition of ring night and the official ring ceremony,” Also-

brook said.

In 2014, ring night was introduced as a new aspect of the tradition. At the now-annual event, all the ring recipients put their rings in a box that goes on top of the Auburn Seal in front of Langdon Hall, mimicking one of Auburn’s long-standing stories.

“Auburn’s rooted in tradition, and I think ring night just adds to that,” said Dixon Simmons, Student Government Association treasurer.

According to the Auburn myth introduced to all incoming students, if a student is to step on the University Seal, they will be cursed and will not be able to graduate in four years or find their Auburn sweetheart. The only way to remove the curse is to jump into the president’s fountain on the Leap Day of a Leap Year.

To adapt the legend to the ring ceremony, the rings are said to be cursed when the box is placed on the University Seal.

To break the curse, the current year’s ring recipients are called up three nights later and get to dip their ring in the president’s fountain, reversing

the curse.

“More and more students are buying into being a part of this tradition, which has been really cool for SGA to see,” Simmons said.

Since the introduction of ring night, sales have nearly doubled, Simmons said.

“I think it’s really cool because, for example, an alum who graduated in 2005 or 2006 is going to have the same ring as me, so if you’re walking around on a gameday or in an airport or wherever it may be, and you see an Auburn alum wearing that ring, it’s going to be the same one as yours.”

Simmons said he wants students to join in on the tradition and realize that there is tradition behind the ring.

“It’s not a graduation ring; it’s an Auburn ring,” Simmons said.

SGA also recently helped usher in the “dinner ring” after receiving feedback from many female students, who wanted a more fashionable style that can be worn for daily activities, not just more formal events.

“Ring night is a pretty new tradition,” Simmons said. “I think it’s going to be really cool to see 50 years from now, when I’m coming back as an alum, hearing about ring night and seeing where it is then.”

opinion

3

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

OPINION

HIS VIEW

OUR VIEW

Democrat theatrics plague Kavanaugh’s confirmation

By MICHAEL JONES Contributing Columnist

PETE BAKER / CARTOONIST

Have a say, cast a vote

By EDITORIAL BOARD Fall 2018

Auburn had higher voter turnout for last week’s municipal elections. Turnout was comparably high for a local election at around 20 percent of registered voters showing up to the polls­— an 8 percentage point increase from the 2014 municipal elections.

While this is a decent number in a local election, it’s minute compared to the overall eligible voting population, and to the approximately 61 percent of eligible voters across the U.S. who turned out for the last presidential election.

Historically people vote less in local elections, even though these elections have an exponentially larger impact on their lives.

A municipal election allows citizens to directly elect the people who are making decisions for their city, district or neighborhood. This is not large-scale state or federal politics where lobbyists, other representatives and other interests can overwhelm and overcome the voices of local voters.

Voting is a fundamental right guaranteed to every American through the Constitution. It is a right many Americans had to fight to receive.

Why take this right for granted?

While the last local municipal election had a con-

siderably high number of voters for a local election, it was nowhere close to full voter participation, the level it should be.

Not only is voting an essential act of participation necessary for a successful democracy. It is the key to having a successful, happy and healthy community.

Auburn is no exception. Auburn is a community where members deserve to have their voices heard.

Auburn is a community where everyone should want to have their voices heard.

If people want to live in a successful, tight-knit and happy community, the best way to do that is through increased community engagement and voter participation.

It is extremely important that the spirit that drove an unusually high number of people to vote in the last municipal election remains kindred for the runoff election. There are five weeks left to the runoff election, but this next election could have a major impact on the future of Auburn.

If you care about Auburn, if you care about the city’s future, future development, future community, future livelihood, then please vote in the runoff, election on Oct. 9. Please don’t grow tired of going back and forth to the polls. Instead, become energized at the possibility of having a direct hand in the future of your community.

On Tuesday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh had his first day of confirmation hearings in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

As expected, the hearing was afflicted with insufferable grandstanding. Within 10 seconds of Sen. Chuck Grassley’s, R-Iowa, opening statement, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, interrupted him to ask that the hearings be delayed in light of a recent document dump that the Senate received the night before, and that was just the beginning.

Harris was then joined by Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, and several other Democratic senators who shrieked that the hearings be adjourned or delayed. The initial disruptions lasted over 10 minutes, while the overall interruptions delayed the opening statements for over an hour.

Not only was it distasteful for the senators to behave this way, but it was nothing more than pure showboating. These Democrats know for a fact that these documents aren’t going to be relevant to their voting decisions.

Many of them have already vowed to vote no for Kavanaugh, even before the hearings or meetings with him.

Also, this push for more documents, even though the committee has more documents and information related to Kavanaugh than any other nominee in history, is nothing more than a ploy to obstruct his nomination and pander to their base. This much was even admitted in the confirmation hearing by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.

During the hearing, Kasie Hunt

from NBC broke a story that alleged the Democrats “plotted coordinated protest strategy over the holiday weekend and all agreed to disrupt and protest the hearing.” She then went on to state, “Dem leader [Chuck Schumer] led a phone call and committee members are executing now.”

When this issue was raised during the hearing by GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, Durbin admitted that such a call took place.

And if a coordinated effort to obstruct the confirmation wasn’t enough, Booker took it a step further, sending out a fundraising email during the committee hearing. For this, he was, rightly, scolded by GOP Senator Ben Sasse, “Sending out fundraising emails during a hearing about opposition to a Supreme Court nominee is not the job of a senator. It is cynical play-acting for a political base.”

All of this is pure partisan hackery.

The Democrats are not interested in hearing what Kavanaugh has to say, they are only interested in boosting their public image with their base to help their next elections.

They are only interested in pandering and trying to fundraise off the controversy they cause. They can’t be caught giving a President Donald Trump nominee a fair shake, that wouldn’t be resisting.

Kavanaugh will soon be Justice Kavanaugh, and there is nothing the fringe members of the Democratic Party can do to stop him.

Michael Jones is a senior in business at Auburn, the communications director for the Auburn College Republicans and a contributor to The Lone Conservative, a conservative blog focusing on college issues.

HER VIEW

Diversity and inclusion: Meet National Pan-Hellenic Council

By MAKAYLA SMITH Contributing Columnist

Auburn University prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive campus. Yet, many faculty, staff and students are unaware of what exactly the National Pan-Hellenic Council is or that it exists on our campus.

For those who are not familiar with NPHC, the “Divine Nine” as it is affectionately known by its members, is home to Auburn’s predominantly black fraternities and sororities, which share culture and experience steeped in purpose and tradition. Being a minority myself, this group of leaders and civically engaged students served as an inspiration for me to get involved both on and off campus.

First impressions are crucial to making a lasting connection — this holds true for campus organizations as well. Welcome Week was an important opportunity for NPHC to establish a valuable connection with incoming and returning students and get them involved with the service projects these organizations help provide. Although, it seems that the giving spirits of NPHC went unnoticed by most, living in the shadows of larger, more recognizable organizations. The sisters of the Kappa Upsilon chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., held a few service events during Welcome Week to kick off the school year, such as a mental health and self-care event called “Take 5,” as well as a school supply drive.

In addition, the brothers of the Sigma Delta chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., volunteered with the Tiger Retreat

Camp, held a social cookout in partnership with the Harold A. Franklin Society, named after the first African American to attend Auburn University, as well as collected donations for Preparedness Month.

Yet, I feel as though these events could have been more impactful if the presence of NPHC were more visible than it is now.

After learning what a tremendous impact these service fraternities and sororities have on a local and international scale, I was disappointed to realize what little presence they have on our campus. These organizations do not have the privilege of having luxury fraternity houses we see surrounding campus, the right to reserved dorms like we see in the village for non-NPHC sororities or even the pleasure and convenience of having apparel sold in the campus bookstore.

In the many years I have walked the campus of Auburn, I can see the overwhelming presence of Panhellenic sororities and fraternities: posters, T-shirts and bumper stickers.

I asked the brothers of the Sigma Delta chapter of Omega Psi Phi what their thoughts were on these differences. It seemed commonplace to feel as though the University leaders and administration should be more cognizant of the disparities between what Roderick Mingo described as, “Us small minority Greek life members, such as [Multicultural Greek Council] & NPHC” and the large organizations of the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council.”

As I was listening to the many educational and cultural service activities being described by NPHC members, I was outraged

to realize that all of Auburn’s Greek organizations share the same access and opportunity. It would seem that the camaraderie and personal excellence promoted by these organizations would be a highlight of the diverse campus life AU has to offer, and yet that does not seem to be the case.

Minority Greek organizations do not get the same treatment or representation on campus as the predominantly white Greek organizations do. Greek life on Auburn seems to be a numbers game, or at least that’s how Mingo describes it.

“For the NPHC organizations to receive the same treatment, representation and recognition, they would need their member counts to enter into the triple digits,” Mingo said.

Being that Auburn is a Predominantly White Institution, a numbers game already stacks the odds against these organizations.

There simply aren’t enough minority students in general, and even fewer who want to be Greek, in order for NPHC members to meet the suggested membership numbers.

A major concern is having to accept everyone into these organizations. Mingo believes that a more concentrated focus on increasing membership would ultimately result in the decline of the true “essence and meaning behind [NPHC organizations’] principles and beliefs.”

The Sigma Delta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated was the first African American fraternity to be founded on the campus of a PWI in the state of Alabama. Yet, Auburn continues to take NPHC for granted. Omega Phi Psi is a piece of his-

OPINION PAGE POLICIES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COLUMNS AND EDITORIALS

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

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

Letters must include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification, though the name of the author may be withheld upon request. Submission may be edited for grammar and/or length. Please submit no more than 500 words.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD CHIP BROWNLEE Editor-in-Chief LILY JACKSON Managing Editor JESSICA BALLARD Standards Editor JADA WALKER Online Manager STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor

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.

CONTACT

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

tory, but Auburn University hasn’t yet recognized or celebrated this.

There is an apparent need for change, and the start of a solution is naming the problem. I will start by saying that our “inclusive” Auburn Family, needs to extend that vision and strategic plan for diversity and inclusion to the members of NPHC. To deny these Greek organizations the same privileges as Panhellenic and IFC simply because of the number of members (or lack thereof), is unacceptable.

The school needs to take a good look at its own diversity ratio in order to consider how it affects minority organizations such as NPHC or BSU. In the meantime, it will not hurt to offer apparel for all Greek organizations on campus and offer spaces for NPHC to fellowship and create a substantial presence on campus as well.

It is one thing to write in a syllabus or on a website that we are an inclusive and diverse campus; it is another thing to consciously, intentionally and actively be one. It starts with us going out and supporting one another and seeing the different cultures and traditions our great institution has to offer.

NPHC offers festivities full of history, service, music, food and even the tradition of “steps and strolls” that one may not find in other Greek organizations.

As you plan your various school activities, don’t forget to include a diverse AU family experience by participating in a NPHC event.

MaKayla Smith is a senior in communications at Auburn.

ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor EDUARDO MEDINA Assistant Community NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Newsroom: news@theplainsman.com Sports: sports@theplainsman.com Opinion: opinion@theplainsman.com Editor: editor@theplainsman.com Advertising: admanager@theplainsman.com

TYLER ROUSH Assistant Sports MIKAYLA BURNS Lifestyle Editor BRYTNI EMISON Opinion Editor MADISON OGLETREE Photo Editor JENNIFER FARNER Video Editor

334-844-9108

344-844-9101

campus THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

4 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

CAMPUS

AVIATION

‘AUBURN SELLS ITSELF’

Delta Airlines aviation program sends students to new heights

By MEGAN FERINGA Campus Writer

With the student enrollment having nearly quadrupled since 2014, a $10 million Delta Airline Aviation Building set to finish by November, a newly added stop on the transit loop to the airport facilities and at least three more aircrafts expected by the end of the semester, the aviation program has quite a year set out for them.

“It’s an exciting time. It’s fun,” said Bill Hutto, Auburn Regional Airport director and Auburn aviation alum. “We have to remind ourselves, you know, this is good. It really is.”

In 2014, the aviation program had just 88 declared students within it, with a little over half pursuing the professional flight degree and the rest pursuing the aviation management degree, the same degree as Hutto. In fall 2017, the program had 270 students enrolled in the program, and this fall, there are 349, nearly four times the number of students from four years prior.

Hutto pointed out that being a part of the Harbert College of Business in 2014 rather than the College of Liberal Arts inhibited the number of declared students from including freshmen and sophomores as it does now; still, even doubling that number leaves a near 200 student increase in just four years.

“It’s a big jump however you look at it,” Hutto said.

Hutto owed the big jump to a combination of increased marketing and promotion on the

program’s part as well as a dire need in the industry — Delta Airlines alone will need to hire 8,000 new pilots in the next 10 years, according to Hutto.

“Of course, Auburn sells itself,” Hutto added.

“Who wouldn’t want to be at Auburn?”

The increase in students lends itself to an increase in resource demand, a challenge Hutto and the rest of the aviation faculty have become aware of, particularly in keeping up with the number of airplanes and flight instructors to support the student growth.

“It’s kind of like an airline. You have to have enough capacity on the flights, enough certified instructors to teach and enough maintenance personnel to ensure that the aircrafts get into the air safely,” Hutto said.

Out of the 349 students in the program, 240 are pursuing a professional flight degree. With only 27 aircrafts for student use, some students have yet to fly this semester, but Hutto guaranteed this would change, especially with the three new aircrafts being purchased this semester and

the few being leased from a local company.

“It’s not a bad problem to have,” Hutto said.

“There was a time when we didn’t have this problem, so we’re grateful for it and appreciate the students being patient with it as we’re getting everybody in the air.”

Just five years ago, the aviation program faced a very different problem: a potential closure.

“The numbers were down, and there was a thought of whether this program was worth continuing,” Hutto said.

With the industry’s stagnation post Sept. 11, 2001, still wreaking havoc on the aviation job market and the lack of student interest in the program posing a threat to the program’s benefit to the University, closure came up for consideration.

“It was a wakeup call to realize that we couldn’t take what we have for granted and a lot of our alumni got energized through that,” Hutto said. “They really spoke up for the program, and many of those who spoke are putting their money where their mouth is and giving back.

We’re grateful; not everyone is in the position in life to do that.”

After the 2013 scare, the aviation program moved around several times before finding its current home in the College of Liberal Arts.

The change in home and the new support from University leadership and program members re-energized the program.

“We have a very passionate team of staff, faculty and alumni so we gathered people around and said, ‘OK, we’ve been presented a great opportunity to make this thing grow the right way. How can we do that?’” Hutto said.

On the program’s list of plans is a new aviation building.

“We knew the 1950 building needed to be replaced,” Hutto said. “It was too small, the walls leaked, all kinds of stuff.”

They began a fundraising campaign, and once the trustees approved the new depart-

» See AVIATION, 5

INVOLVEMENT

Emerge executives share changes to the freshmen leadership program

By NATALIE BECKERINK Campus Writer

Auburn’s Emerge, a freshman leadership organization, takes its program to the next level for the 2018-2019 school year.

Emerge made its debut last August to the class of 2021. It’s a leadership organization with approximately 1,000 freshmen, who participate in weekly meetings and monthly speaker series.

After the first year, or phase one, students have the opportunity to either apply for a team leader position or continue with a phase two program.

Trevor Spengeman, junior in mechanical engineering, is the current president of Emerge. Spengeman described a vision for Emerge that included a focus on the future.

“This is my second year part of the organization,” Spengeman said. “Last year, I was the vice president, and as the president, I oversee the direction that Emerge is taking and kind of make the decisions as we go through our second year that will kind of set the course of where we’re going for the next five to 10 years down the road.”

Bri Thomas, senior in political science, is the vice president

of curriculum for Emerge. For her first year in an executive position, she has been working specifically with the curriculum and making sure it was ready for this new group of freshmen.

“In my role, I oversee the layout of the curriculum,” Thomas said. “ I work with our advisors really closely to take the topics that they give us and flesh them out and make sure they’re the best fit for the curriculum, and I also work very closely with our vice president of teams and our team coordinators to make sure that team leaders are prepared to deliver the curriculum.”

Emerge hosted their kick-off for the 2018-2019 school year on Aug. 26, 2018, in the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

Spengeman described the experience from the perspective of a leader in the organization.

“Kick-off was great. We really love working with the company that we work with that hosts the event, Elevate,” Spengeman said. “We think it’s not like any other on-campus organization’s event just because it is such a big event that we host. It’s really just to get the participants, the team leaders and everyone really excited about the year ahead and hopefully keep that excitement throughout the year.”

Over the summer, Emerge executives worked on bettering

ORGANIZATIONS

IMPACT to resume service this week

By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor

Last year, IMPACT, Auburn’s largest student-run volunteer organization, reached its goal of completing over 10,000 combined service hours. Following the record-setting year, the organization is looking to build on the success.

With the 16 project sites resuming this week, the 55 volunteer opportunities through IMPACT are once again open to Auburn students.

“If you don’t like kids, we also do stuff outside,” said Claudia Casanova, president of IMPACT. “You don’t have to like one specific thing to be a part of our organization, and it’s a great way to definitely reach different parts of campus that typically aren’t as involved.”

Students can pick from a number of different volunteer sites with varying issues, ranging from hunger to child services. Casanova said IMPACT strives to have enough sites for every student to be able to find something they are passionate about. A full list of the volunteer sites and IMPACT’s schedule can be found on its AUInvolve page.

One of the organization’s main goals for the year is to focus on getting the freshmen population as involved as possible. Casanova said that making a connection early on goes a long way to forming a long-term relationship with a project site.

Casanova, now a senior in biomedical sciences, was a project coordinator for the Hu-

mane Society as a sophomore. With her major being related to the medical field, volunteering with IMPACT provided professional experience as well as an outlet for serving communities she is passionate about.

“That was a great way for me to have a home away from home because I have four German sheperds and four cats back home,” Casanova said. “So I got to spend one time a week volunteering with animals, which I really loved.”

Casanova said students will see familiar volunteer sites as those in the past since the sites have not changed over the past few years. But she added that the organization recently formalized a process for the possibility of introducing new sites.

“That’s so important that we have that consistency, that we keep going back, that students are really enjoying IMPACT and wanting to come back and forming those relationships with our project sites,” Casanova said.

She also said the organization is planning other collaborations and partnerships to get more of a variety of volunteers.

As the president of the organization, Casanova has made it a mission to foster a culture among the 71 project coordinators of fellowship that she hopes will have a ripple effect out to the student volunteers at Auburn.

All students looking to volunteer with IMPACT are required to fill out a consent form, and all the volunteers meet at the intramural fields prior to going to the site.

the program using feedback given to them from last year’s participants. Thomas mentioned how this year, Emerge switched away from the company that they worked with last year, and Spengeman elaborated on how this change affected the students.

“The reason we kind of went away from that company is to focus more on Auburn,” Spengeman said. “Because they were a company out of Atlanta, there was sometimes a disconnect from what Auburn students wanted, so we really heard that, and that was pretty good feedback that we really needed to focus on what Auburn students specifically wanted in a program.”

The two also mentioned how Emerge leaders have really focused on finding the purpose of Emerge, which will make a difference not only on campus but also the entire community of Auburn.

After the kick-off wrapped up, Emerge meetings immediately began the next day. Thomas provided feedback from the team leaders on the student’s responses. “[The team leaders] keep telling us that they have been amazing, they love their first year students, and they are so, so, so happy, and that really does my heart some good,” Thomas said.

ACTIVITY

FILE PHOTO

A jazz band plays for swing dancers in Opelika, Ala.

Let’s get swinging, Auburn

By SETH MCGRAW Campus Writer

The Swing Dance Association is hoping to shake things up the traditional way. For those who may not know anything about swing dancing, it is an old-fashioned dance style that originated in the early 1920s alongside swing-jazz music.

Swing is a smooth style of dance where the lead spins, twirls and sometimes lifts their partner.

Jake Cady, the organization’s representative, said his appreciation for the art form started the moment his feet hit the dance floor. Cady, a veteran swing dancer, gave deep insights into his love and dedication to the art. His start was simple and everything he could have hoped for.

“I was coming just to visit a friend from high school and managed to get hooked enough to where I wanted to keep trying to get better at it,” Cady said. “Swing dancing initially was just going to be a hobby.”

After the small jump into it, he found himself returning, and before long, he discovered a passion that would later take him to places around

the world.

“It’s allowed me to make a lot of friends both in Auburn and while traveling,” he said.

It’s a natural way to make connections, Cady said. He said while dancing you learn about the other person — their mannerisms and quirks.

Cady stressed that swing dancing has not only given him a passionate hobby, but it’s contributed to his growth as a person.

“Kind of like when you fall in love with somebody, how you can see the world through rose-colored glasses — swing dancing allows me to be like that,” Cady said. “When I hear swing dancing music or jazz, the world’s a little bit different because I know how to dance to that.”

While Cady’s level of dedication is certainly on the higher end, it’s not required to make it a fulltime job. You just have to get out there and dance, he said. He said swing dancing is for anyone who wants to try something new and have a great time while doing it.

The swing dancing group gets together at Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center on Fridays from 6-9 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

The Auburn Plainsman

PAGE 5

STUDENT LIFE

CONTRIBUTED BY DARBY DWYER

Darby Dwyer (far right) junior in biomedical sciences, moved from Houston, Texas, to Auburn, Ala.

Out-of-state student finds a home in Auburn

By REAGAN DAY BERG Lifestyle Writer

As a quaint city in the Deep South, many consider Auburn home.

But to a student coming from out of state, it can feel unfamiliar and distant.

Jess Huibregtse, senior in agricultural economics and business, grew up near Boston, but she wanted to attend college far away. Walking on campus for the first time, she said she immediately knew Auburn was right for her.

Once here, though, it was a bit different.

“I remember feeling very alone because all of a sudden, I was 1,800 miles from home, and it was the first time living on my own,” Huibregtse said.

To get connected, she found the Sailing Team at O-Day and decided to join. Now, she is the

club’s president.

Huibregtse also bonded with her roommates who were from different states.

“We would sit in our dorm and ask each other what we called this and that. I would call it a ‘cart,’ and they would call it a ‘buggy,’ or I would call it ‘sneakers,’ and they would call it ‘tennis shoes,’” she said. “You meet people from all over, so the culture shock is less because everyone is going through it together.”

Now in her final year, she has taken a lot away from her college experience.

“It has taught me how to live alone and how to be an advocate for myself,” she said. “I have always been proud to say that I go to Auburn, but around sophomore year, it started to feel like home.”

Phil McDonald, senior in building science, also moved from the East Coast. He lived in Phi-

lidelphia before moving to Auburn.

“One of the big things that pushed me down here was avoiding the cold and the snow,” he said.

During recruitment, he accepted a bid from Phi Sigma Kappa and found a “sense of brotherhood and people to fall back on to,” he said.

While people noticed that his accent and clothes were different, McDonald said that he never felt like he was unaccepted.

Other students from his area, like D.C. and New Jersey, decided to transfer after the first semester, but he stuck it out.

“It is important to stay for at least a year because it takes time for people to understand who you are and for you to understand who they are,” he said.

Darby Dwyer, junior in biomedical sciences, had less of a culture shock moving from Hous-

ton to Alabama, but she still faced challenges as an out-of-state student.

She said it is easy to get caught up in the idea people create in their heads as high school students of what college will be like. Adjusting and identifying your goals early, though, will help the transition, Dwyer said.

“It is going to be hard sometimes, [but] it does not mean you are failing; it means you are experiencing life,” she said.

Dwyer met people through the Freshman Leadership Program, church and mutual friends.

“Be bold, get plugged in, even if it is not permanent,” she said. “You will start to find your footing.”

Ultimately, she believes that moving to Auburn from Texas is her most valued life lession. “[I am] proving to myself that I can do this and that I am doing well,” Dwyer said.

HOW-TO

‘Directions, please?’ Camp counselor gives tips to navigating campus

By JORDAN WINDHAM Campus Writer

Matthew Ragan, a former Camp War Eagle counselor, knows his way around Auburn, and he is here to help the newest members of the Auburn Family learn how to go about navigating campus.

Ragan is a junior from Senoia, Georgia, and is double majoring in finance and business management.

As part of his training to be a counselor, Ragan had to memorize a map of campus and take tests every week to ensure that he knows where each building is and what is in it.

One good way to learn your way around campus is to reach out to counselors from Camp War Eagle and Successfully Orienting Students, Auburn’s orientation programs, who are accessible to everyone, Ragan said.

“Just ask anybody, really, because we’ve all been lost on this campus at one time or another, and we all know what it’s like — except for Haley,” Ragan said.

Ragan repeated a refrain common among both current students and graduates: Haley will be confusing until the day you die.

“Learn your route to class and walk that same route every time, and you do not venture,” Ragan said of the Haley Center. “You just walk to it and

walk right back out.”

Another resource that Ragan recommended for navigating campus is Google Maps’ walking feature, which he used to find classes as a freshman.

He also suggested the Auburn Guides app, in which students can download different guides and maps of Auburn.

Being from out of state, Ragan had a difficult time adjusting to campus. He learned his way around by finding specific routes to his classes. He made the Student Center his starting point because it is in the center of campus.

“And there’s also a lot of food here (the Student Center), so if you get lost, you can just stop and eat because why not?” Ragan said.

He would learn his way from where he lived to the Student Center and from there, to Parker Hall, where he had a calculus class.

After learning these routes, Ragan started to connect them, wandering campus to become familiar with the layout.

“When I had a long break between classes, I wouldn’t take the quickest route,” Ragan said. “This may sound crazy because the Haley Concourse can be overwhelming, but I loved it. Sometimes it was not on my path at all, but I would walk down the Haley concourse just so I could see people and say hey and get free stuff.”

DEPARTMENT

A look at Auburn Cares

By ANNA CATHERINE SMITH Campus Writer

The sixth verse of the Auburn Creed is the first thing visible when visiting the Auburn Cares page online.

“I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all,” the line reads.

This program, now located in Suite 1115 of the Student Center, was created with the goal of helping students through difficulties during their time on campus.

Auburn Cares was started in 2011 and is free to students. Katherine Hettinger, manager of Auburn Cares, worked as the sole student advocate and case manager until 2017, when she was joined by Sarah Grace Walters, Auburn grad. Hettinger manages the 24-7, on-call critical incident response team.

Walters received her master’s degrees and education-specialist degrees in mental health counseling from Florida State University.

“We want to be helpful to students, and really, my main goal is that if you are having an issue that you get the support that you need and get connected with whatever supports and programs that are available to help you.”

Walters said.

She said she hopes more students will become aware of Auburn Cares in the coming years.

Walters has worked to increase campus awareness of Auburn Cares by leading presentations featuring student-led panels. Her presentation to Auburn’s new faculty focused on student’s struggles.

The office maintains relationships with colleges across campus, so that when any new faculty comes in, they can become aware of the resources that Auburn Cares provides.

Campus Safety and Security as well as the Auburn Police Division are also in connection with the program, so if any student is involved in things such as a car accident, they can reach out and provide any assistance they might need.

“Most of the time when students are referred to us, I am actively reaching out to them to say, ‘Hey, someone told me about what happened, so how can I help? What’s going on?’”

Walters said. “Like in the case of a student who recently had a parent pass away, I reached out and talked to them about counseling services and let them know if they are going to be out from classes I can help with that.”

Students and faculty can make anonymous reports online and get more contact information for Auburn Cares at aucares.auburn.edu.

LILY JACKSON / MANAGING EDITOR

Haley Center, built in 1969, earned its title of “The Labyrinth” after hoards of students have struggled getting to their classrooms.

AVIATION » From 4

ment and new degrees, it caught the attention of alumni, one of them CFO of Delta Paul Jacobsen.

“He was really instrumental in bringing Delta to the table, but not just Delta, his family foundation, too, which he has been very generous to use,” Hutto said. “That helped a lot.”

The $10 million Delta Airlines Aviation Building is set to be finished in early November and will be a nice modern facility for flight operations — flight planning and weather checks — as well as three classrooms and a specialized testing facility for the Federal Aviation Administration exams.

Hutto said what’s really key is the flight simulators, which will also be located within the building.

In just five years, the program went from potential closure to nearly quadruple in size, but Hutto gave ample credit to the University leadership, state government and alumni support in ensuring the aviation program remained in tact and thriving at Auburn.

“We’re really trying to cultivate that culture of giving back to Auburn,” Hutto said.

The new aviation building and the growing number of students interested in the program is an exciting beginning for the aviation program’s 2018-2019 school year, but Hutto made it clear — it’s just that: a beginning. And despite the advances and increases, the program’s goals have remained clear.

“Our goal is always to provide a second-to-

none aviation education,” Hutto said. “We think we’re the best, and we say that with pride and arrogance, I guess. But we want to run a program that people want to be at.”

Another of Hutto’s goals is tailored more toward the professional flight students to challenge them to not just be pilots, but leaders.

“We want them to understand what happens outside that cockpit and how what they do in the cockpit affects the bottom line of the industry as a whole,” Hutto said. “And that’s no different than the Auburn Creed. That’s essentially what we’re trying to do but through aviation.”

Hutto’s final goal is outreach, particularly toward a more diverse audience who may not know the opportunities within the aviation field because of lack of exposure.

“Part of what our outreach goals are is to get the different parts of the state to share aviation,” Hutto said. “Even if you can’t fly — like me, I’m not a pilot — I found my role in aviation, and now, I want to help other people achieve their dreams.”

Hutto acknowledged that with the increase in students, he has noticed an increase in diversity among them, particularly with women, who make up 17-18 percent of the program.

“But we need more,” he admitted. “Aviation, it’s not a secret, it’s historically been white male dominated, and we at Auburn and the industry as a whole are trying to flip that.”

As the 2018-2019 school year begins, Auburn’s aviation program plans on taking to new heights to reach their goals, and with the help of alumni and the University, Hutto said the potential is there.

community THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

COMMUNITY

GOVERNMENT

City Council takes legal action against The Hub

By OLIVIA WILKES Community Reporter

At the Sept. 4 Auburn City Council meeting, the Council moved to take legal action against the apartment complex The Hub for not paying business license taxes. The Council also renewed the downtown parking valet service, among other matters.

The Hub, which provides housing chiefly for university students, has not paid the city their business license taxes since 2014. Penny Smith, the city’s finance director, said at the Council meeting that the city has been trying to collect the taxes since The Hub was delinquent for their 2014 licenses. As the city had exhausted all other efforts, the next step is to take legal action against the apartment complex.

With the approval of legal action against The Hub, the city will try to collect one more time. If that is unsuccessful, they will put a lien on the property and the apartment complex’s business license will be withdrawn, said City Manager Jim Buston.

Ward 7 Councilman Gene Dulaney asked what would happen to the apartment complex residents if The Hub’s license were withdrawn.

“I would assume if we have to shut the business down, they would have to find another location,” Buston said.

Smith said shutting the business down is a last resort, and they likely wouldn’t reach that stage.

Linda Dean, a citizen present at the meeting, asked why the city waited four years to take legal action in collecting the taxes from The Hub. Smith said the collection process and going back and forth with the business takes time. Buston said that the city tries to give the business owner every opportunity to remit what they owe the city.

“It has always been our position that what we try to do is to get compliance,” Buston said. “We understand sometimes there are some issues that happen, [so] instead of just lowering the hammer right away, we try to get compliance. In most cases it works. In some cases, as this one, it doesn’t.”

RENEWED VALET SERVICE The Council also approved a contract with a new valet company, Park Inc., to provide downtown valet parking services on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Ward 3 Councilman Beth Witten said there had been some issues with the current valet company.

“Hopefully with the new company they’ll finesse their customer service a little bit,” Witten said.

Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders asked if the city should consider re-evaluating the valet service in light of the new downtown parking ordinance, which limits metered parking to two hours and raises the fee per hour from 25 cents to $2.

Buston said the city did re-evaluate the service during the last contract period and reduced valet parking to Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Buston said they could extend the service in the future if there was demand for it.

Witten said she initially considered taking the position of doing away with the valet service entirely but has since changed her mind.

“I think what we have done [in regard to the new parking ordinance] has worked because students aren’t parking downtown, and we’re seeing more open spaces during lunch hour and the morning hours,” Witten said. “So hopefully more locals will start coming downtown, but I personally am not ready to walk away from the valet.”

Witten and Buston agreed that the city needed to advertise the valet service better.

“You actually can park in the valet on Thursday, Friday, Saturday when it’s operating for a longer time frame than just two hours,” Witten said.

“So if you need to be downtown for longer than just two hours, you can utilize the valet, and actually, it’s more economical. So I think it’s a well-kept secret, and I hope more people learn about it because I think it’s a great service.”

OTHER BUSINESS

ments for 227 Miller Townhomes, a five-lot townhouse subdivision, and The Avenue, a multi-family residential development. The agreements concern the installation of pedestrian lighting and sidewalks.

For the Miller Townhomes subdivision, the developer will pay for the sidewalk and lighting adjacent to his property, but the city will reimburse the developer to install sidewalks and lighting beyond his property line along Miller Avenue from Armstrong Street to Gay Street. For The Avenue development, however, the developer will pay the full cost of the sidewalks, including those that extend outside his property lines along North Gay Street.

Ward 2 City Council candidate Kelley Griswold, who will run off against Todd Scholl on Oct. 9, asked the Council for clarification on why the city was paying one developer for the sidewalk and lighting and asking the other developer to pay for the improvements.

Assistant City Manager Kevin Cowper said the city was reimbursing the Miller Townhomes developer due to the small size of the project.

“In that manner, we’ll have sidewalk and pedestrian lighting on the entire stretch of Miller from Armstrong to Gay Street,” Cowper said.

On the other hand, the city asked The Avenue developer to contribute to new sidewalks outside

» See CITY COUNCIL, 7

The Council approved two development agree-

ENTERTAINMENT

DEVIN PAVLOU / PHOTOGRAPHER

Kenny Heard performs songs for the ages

By ELIZABETH HURLEY

T

Community Editor

he Auburn University Hotel’s resident piano man, Kenny Heard, likes to enliven his audience with beloved, fan-favorite tunes. One of which is Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis,” which he opened one of his recent Auburn shows with.

“Like ‘Walking in Memphis,’” Heard said. “That’s one of those songs that everyone wants to hear.”

Then, he likes to take requests. He said it involves the audience more and gives him a more enjoyable show.

“I try to cover the originals that a bunch of other original, major artists did,” Heard said. “So Beatles, TCR and a lot of the Motown stuff.”

Heard, 35, has a special spot in his heart for Motown classics, he said.

He’s performed as the opening act for renowned names like BB King and The Commodores and even played a tour with Michael Warren.

Now, he travels the country performing with a band, but he always finds time to perform for in the community he has rooted himself in.

“This room (The Piccolo at the Auburn University Hotel) is known for having some of the greatest players play here,” Heard said. “Me and my wife, every time we come

out, we come here. There’s always going to be some really good musicians, and we always like the company here.”

Heard is not from the Auburn area. He was born in California and moved to Alabama at a young age where his father served as a church pastor.

He grew up in music as he helped with the church music ministry playing drums and other instruments. Throughout his time in the music ministry, he never took any formal music lessons. He learned by listening to others play.

During his high school years, the music ministry was in need of a piano player. Meanwhile, Heard’s first instrument, the drums, had a line of musicians waiting to perform with the music ministry. So he started playing piano.

“I didn’t start playing [piano] until I was 16,” Heard said.

“I didn’t take it seriously until I got a scholarship for it.”

Heard took his first formal music lesson at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College where he attended school on a music scholarship. He studied piano full time and graduated in 2001.

“Piano players are rare, especially around here,” Heard said. “I knew I could make a living playing piano.”

Several years after college, while Heard was moving between Nashville and Atlanta, he met his wife while playing at the Irish Bread Pub in Opelika. Once they were married in 2014, he decided to move to her hometown for her and his music career.

“Auburn is on the circuit of agencies,” Heard said.

“There are a lot of agencies that book throughout the Southeast for private events and the bar and club scene.

I knew that this place was in the middle of New Orleans, Nashville and Atlanta. I knew you could make a good living here.”

During this time, Heard also decided to begin singing and playing. He said it would make him more marketable as a performer.

It worked. Heard landed a contract with Crescent Moon Entertainment, who he still works with today.

But Heard doesn’t chalk it all up to his singing ability.

He thanks the Auburn football program and their national championship in 2010, too.

“Everything was crazy,” Heard said. “Everyone was partying, everybody needed music. All those agents were here at that time. If it weren’t for Cam Newton, there probably wouldn’t be Kenny Heard.”

It’s not just a job or a career for Heard, it’s his life’s passion. Heard said he has always enjoyed playing, and it’s all he’s ever been good at.

It’s not the idea of fame or fortune that gets him to the piano every day, it’s the love of performing, Heard said.

“It’s in me,” Heard said. “It’s in my DNA, that’s what I like to say. Even if I wasn’t getting paid to play, I’d play every day.”

SERVICE

Opelika man inspires youth through ‘I Run Opelika’

By MOLLY REILLY Community Writer

Andre Marcus found his calling to mentor and empower the local youth through his own personal experiences as the son of a working single mother.

As the founder and executive director of Young Empowered Students, I Run Opelika, Marcus works directly with Opelika students to develop leadership skills, spread awareness on critical issues that face youth and prepare them for a promising future.

Marcus is a true believer in the old

African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

“In a sense, we believe that we can be an instrumental resource to the youth in our area, however, we are not an allin-one or one-stop shop,” Marcus said.

“Our goal is to partner with other organizations in our community to meet the needs of our youth.”

On top of working jobs involving service to youth, such as being a youth sports coach, teaching piano and being a preschool teacher for a few summers, the inspiration stemmed from Marcus’ childhood.

“My brother is 10 years younger than I am, and we were raised by a single mother,” Marcus said. “She often worked two and three jobs just to make ends meet. This pushed me into a greater role in our house.”

Marcus said this often put him in a guardian role — taking care of his brother and other neighborhood children while their mothers also worked.

In the early 2000s, Marcus started organizing runs and health expos to raise money for students in the program as well as Cornerstone of East Alabama Medical Center.

Cornerstone was a crucial resource for his family after a serious car accident in 2016. During the recovery process, the family received generous assistance from Cornerstone. Through his gratefulness, he decided to give back by donating a portion of the “I Run Opelika” event proceeds. “‘I Run Opelika’ began as just having a few runners and vendors for the health expo, however, it quickly blossomed into a community-wide event to promote not only Cornerstone, but also the Opelika community,” Marcus said.

He said that more than 100 individuals participated in their most recent health expo and 5K run in August.

In the future, Marcus hopes to continue organizing more community-wide health-awareness events while also growing his impact on the youth.

“Our end goal is to have a brick and mortar building for our youth,” Marcus said. “They will be able to receive things from leadership training and mentoring, to financial assistance with career prep and living an active lifestyle. We also want to continue to work on diversity.”

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

PAGE 7

BUSINESS

Eddie’s Calzone’s moves to new downtown

By TIM NAIL

Community Writer

The arrival of football season means the likely arrival of another annual boom in business for Auburn eateries like Eddie’s Calzones, which is relocating to a lot on North College Street, down the sidewalk from Toomer’s Corner.

The proprietor and namesake of Eddie’s Calzone, Eddie Southworth, said he’s looking forward to transitioning.

“With the increased foot traffic all year round, I think it’ll be a more sustained, 12-month-a-year business rather than the seasonal semester-time business,” Southworth said.

While he noted the Auburn location of Eddie’s, one of three existing shops across the Southeast, has experienced success since its opening, Southworth said its biggest customer base is the late-night crowd. By moving, he hopes families and visitors to Auburn will be more inclined to eat at the restaurant during more idle times of year as a result of greater awareness of its presence downtown.

Southworth also mentioned the shop performs a “substantial number” of deliveries, and by having a more centralized space, there could be a higher potential for daytime diners.

The location is also aiming to be more sturdy to avoid instances of property damage, he

CITY COUNCIL » From 6

their property because it’s a much bigger development.

Buston said it’s a much better deal for the city to reimburse the Miller Townhomes developer to install sidewalk outside of their property lines along Miller Avenue instead of bidding that section of the sidewalk out to another company.

The Lee County Special Olympics team came before the Council at the meeting, and Mayor Bill Ham commended them for their victories and medals won in the National Special Olympic Games in Seattle, Washington.

IN OTHER BUSINESS:

KATHERINE MILLER / PHOTOGRAPGER

Eddie’s Calzone’s is moving to downtown Auburn.

said.

“We have a term in my line of work: you have to ‘drunk-proof’ everything” Southworth said. “You have to make things indestructible, everything from the doors, to the bathroom to the hinges on the door. People can be a little aggressive with things, and we’ve had to replace tables and chairs and booths and all that stuff.”

Though originally targeted to open on North College Street before the beginning of the semester, the restaurant encountered some delays early on. The new location, however, is expected to open within the next sev-

eral weeks.

“We’re going to try to get everything over before the next football game,” Southworth said.

The West Glenn location will be closed for one to two days during the move, he said, adding the restaurant aims to have “as little layover” as possible with a 24-hour transition anticipated at most.

Their followers on social media can expect to be notified about an opening date. Eddie’s will retain its 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. schedule for both dine-in and delivery orders after the move is complete.

The purchase of two Dell data protection appliances for $123,000. A contract with Bearlander LLC to install landscaping and an irrigation system at Memorial Park Cemetery for $28,000.

A renewal of tenant leases of the Boykin Community Center. The tenants are Auburn Day Care, Boys and Girls Club, Joyland and LRCOG Senior Center. Legal action to protect the city’s interest in the alley behind and to the west of 101-119 N. College St. An easement vacation of a sanitary sewer on South College Street to Talon Group.

BUSINESS

Award-winning Acre owner David Bancroft opens Tex-Mex Restaurant

By ABBY DRIGGERS Community Writer

The newest fast-casual restaurant, Bow and Arrow, is bringing Texas-sized heat to The Plains.

David Bancroft is owner of Acre, the award-winning restaurant recently named to Southern Living’s top 10 restaurants of the South.

His long-time friend and business partner Caleb Fischer is the new executive chef and pit master of Bow and Arrow. They were both raised in the hearty meats and savory flavors of Texas. Together, the “it” factor of Bow and

DEVIN PAVLOU / PHOTOGRAPHER

Kenny Heard plays at the Piccolo Lounge in Auburn, Ala. on June 21, 2018.

Arrow is achieved, they said.

Located on East Samford Avenue, across from Auburn High School, the restaurant will soon be the home of Southern barbecue meeting Alabama potluck.

The menu will pay homage to both Fischer and Bancroft’s Southern roots, with a mission of incorporating fun into the menu while utilizing the whole animal.

“The menu is protein-packed, filled with rich smokehouse barbecue with all your Southern favorites,” Fischer said.

Fischer said the atmosphere of the restaurant brings a unique feel that he and Bancroft are offering

FREE PROGRAM FOR COUPLES!

Join us for a FREE six-week education program for couples who wish to make their relationship the best it can be!

Come and learn in an interactive environment about effective communication, mindfulness-based stress reduction strategies, and the keys to successful relationships.

Receive a total of $50* per person for completing program surveys.

Classes Meet for Six Mondays

Dates: Monday, October 1st to November 5th Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM Location: Auburn University Research Park

Dinner Provided!

Call 334-844-8711 to Pre-Register Registration is Required and Spots are Limited! *Program Bonus: You have the opportunity to earn $100 as a couple, or $50 per person. You will receive $25 for filling out the “Entrance Surveys” at the beginning of the program and $25 for filling out the “Exit Survey” at the last class meeting. Compensation will be distributed by check. All checks will be mailed by Auburn University and can take up to 3 weeks for processing.

Funding for this project was provided by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Grant: # 90FM0082. These services are available to all eligible persons, regardless of race, gender, age, disability, or religion.

at Bow and Arrow.

“Everything about Bow and Arrow is memory drawn — the concept, design and the food all coming together,” Fischer said.

With the fast progression of Bow and Arrow also comes a sense of thankfulness to the Auburn-Opelika Community, he said.

“We love this area. The community, the food scene is unique to Auburn,” Fischer said. “Auburn supports local farmer’s markets, local artists, local chefs. … The focus on community is huge here.”

Bow and Arrow’s grand-opening is set for later this month.

sports

8

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

CHRIS EASON / ABELL IMAGES FOR CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF

Auburn back JaTarvious Whitlow (28) scores the go-ahead touchdown against Washington on Sept. 1, 2018, in Atlanta.

‘I COULDN’T GO DOWN’

Malzahn wants improvement from ‘thunder’ Whitlow, ‘lightning’ Martin

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Last Saturday, JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow called it “hurricane and earthquake.” Tuesday, Kam Martin called it “thunder and lightning.”

However you spin the moniker for Auburn’s top two running backs, both serve well to describe the tandem’s skill sets shown in the Tigers’ season-opening victory over then-No. 6 Washington in Atlanta.

Martin, Auburn’s leading returning rusher from last year at 753 yards off 74 attempts, was considered a fleet-footed threat the past two seasons behind SEC leading rushers Kerryon Johnson (2017) and Kamryn Pettway (2016). Martin admitted that Auburn’s coaches advised him to add power in the offseason to carry the workload of an every-down SEC back.

So the junior added 15 pounds to crack 200 on the scale, thanks in large part to his summer diet (protein shakes and sandwiches before bed) and commitment to the weight room.

That bulk-up allowed Martin to shoulder the responsibili-

ty of a career-high 27 touches against the Huskies for 112 total yards. His tendency to bounce outside remained, but Gus Malzahn’s takeaway from Saturday echoed something Auburn coaches touched on previously in the offseason: Martin’s intangible veteran presence.

“Kam Martin, what you have, is a veteran,” Malzahn said Tuesday. “Kam Martin, he would press the line of scrimmage and cut back. He knows all the little things. He made a couple things bounce to the outside. Then the big fourth-and-1 run, I thought was really good, too. He’s a veteran guy.

“He gives you kinda a calming experience out there when he’s out there. I thought he did a really good job running, and then he did a really good job protecting the football.”

While Auburn’s offense revolved heavily around Jarrett Stidham’s third-most attempts as a Tiger (36), Martin still outrushed preseason AP All-American Myles Gaskin (80 yards on 22 caries vs. 75 yards on 17 carries) against Washington’s stingy unit, which ranked No. 2 in the nation in rush defense last season.

But if Auburn is going to beat the likes of No. 11 LSU, No. 18

SOCCER

Mississippi State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama during its painful SEC gauntlet, the ground game will need to continually improve.

“Really, what stood out to me is we’ve got to run the football better,” Malzahn said. “Give Washington credit. Great run defense. But we need to improve in that area.”

As Martin’s more physical counterpart, Whitlow rushed for only 28 yards on eight carries. But half of those yards came on two of the most clutch plays of the top-10 showdown.

On a 10-yard touchdown heard ‘round The Plains, Whitlow galloped through a huge opening created by center Kaleb Kim’s effort at the line of scrimmage and right guard Marquel Harrell’s block at the second level of the defense.

At the goal-line, the redshirt freshman Whitlow, playing in his first college football game, met 2017 All-Pac-12 second-teamer Jojo McIntosh, who “Boobee” proceeded to bounce off, then bull over for the go-ahead score.

“Man, Boobee’s a baller,” Martin said. “That was his first

» See RUNNING BACKS, 9

VOLLEYBALL

Auburn heading to KU Classic

By OLIVIA HUSKEY Sports Writer

DAKOTA SUMPTER / AUBURN ATHLETICS

No. 10 Tigers putting undefeated record on the line vs. Cincinnati

By JAKE WEESE Sports Writer

No. 10 Auburn soccer (6-0-0) will look to keep its undefeated record intact against the Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0-2) this Sunday at the Auburn Soccer Complex at noon CST. Auburn, coming off a West Coast road trip with wins against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. The 6-0-0 record for Auburn ties for its third best start in program history.

Cincinnati is coming off a close loss against Notre Dame and will face No. 16 Kansas at home before heading to Auburn.

“It doesn’t get any easier. Cincinnati is a good team. They barely got beat at Notre Dame, and it’s gonna be another tough matchup for us,” said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa. “We always make our schedule tough. We don’t want to get the easy wins; we want to get hard wins to prepare us for NCAAs and SECs, and this game will be a perfect tune-up to get ready for the SECs.” On the offensive side of play, Auburn has

outscored its opponents a combined 19-2 this season. Bri Folds leads the team in goals with four.

On the defensive side of things, Auburn goalkeeper Sara Le Beau was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week and defender Alyssa Malonson was selected to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.

This is the third straight week Auburn has had a player represented on the team of the week.

Le Beau, a senior from Illinois, had six saves against Long Beach State in the Tigers’ 1-0 win. The effort handed Long Beach State its first home loss of the season. Auburn would also shut out Cal State Fullerton over the weekend.

This was the first time that Auburn recorded two consecutive shutouts since 2015.

The second-to-last nonconference game against the Bearcats will kick off Auburn’s three-game homestand.

To begin SEC play, Auburn will host Mississippi State on Sept. 14, then LSU on Sept.

20.

Auburn volleyball’s season began the season with a promising start.

The Tigers are 3-2 overall, having played two matches at home and three on the road.

Auburn began the season hosting the War Eagle Invitational, where it faced off against High Point and Michigan. The Tigers swept High Point 3-0 in their first match of the regular season, but the tables turned against Auburn when UM swept the Tigers.

This past weekend, Auburn traveled to Indianapolis for its first away matches of the year against Butler, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois.

Auburn swept both Butler and Eastern Illinois but lost 1-3 against Illinois State.

“As a group, I think we showed some really promising moments,” head coach Rick Nold said on the This Week in Auburn Volleyball podcast. “It’s just a matter of being more consistent with that.”

Through the start of the season, senior outside hitter Brenna Mcilroy has been a consistent key player for the Tigers. She has 53 kills and 47 digs for the season thus far. Against Illinois State, she had a season-high 13 kills. She logged her 1,000th career kill during the previous match against Butler.

Also playing major roles for the Tigers are freshmen Mica Allison, Bella Rosenthall and Taylor Rowland.

The setter Allison had 175 assists, 14 kills and 28 digs during the team’s first five matches. Rosenthall, a libero, has been a major part of the team’s defense so far with 62 digs, while outside hitter Rowland has contributed 44 kills to the Tiger’s offense.

This weekend, the Tigers will play Loyola Marymount, Kansas and American at the Kansas Classic in Lawrence, Kansas.

“A lot of talent, all three teams are very talented,” Nold said. “You are gonna have a lot of variety with the three teams.”

LMU has a 5-1 record with its only loss coming against No. 22 Cal Poly. Leading the team

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Mica Allison (1) and Anna Stevenson (22) wait for the ball to be served during Auburn volleyball vs.

Michigan on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, in Auburn,

offensively are senior Sara Kovac with 88 kills and outside hitter Savannah Slattery with 87 kills. On the defensive side, Kekai Whitford leads the team with 90 digs, averaging 4.09 a set. Tess Reid, a setter, has 287 assists on the season.

Kansas is sitting at 3-2 for the season. Standouts for the team include Ashley Smith who has 67 kills and Lacey Angello with 98 digs. Gabby Simpson has 95 assists while Annika Carlson has 80 assists of her own.

American is 3-4 overall. Senior outside hitter Aleksandra Kazala has 89 kills and is averaging 3.30 kills per set. She also has 70 digs. Setter Kennedy Etheridge also has 234 assist for the season.

The Tigers will face Loyola Marymount Friday at 10 a.m. CST to kick off the tournament.

They will also face the host Kansas the same day at 7 p.m. Their last match of the weekend is Saturday against American at 11 a.m. CST.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

PLAINSMAN PICK ‘EM ASU-Auburn

Miss. St.-KSU

UGA-S. Car.

Clemson-A&M

USC-Stanford

Joshua Fisher Photographer

Nathan King (2-3) Sports Editor

Tyler Roush (3-2) Asst. Sports Editor

Zach Tantillo (2-3) Sports Reporter

Jake Wright (3-2) Sports Writer

PAGE 9

RUNNING BACKS » From 8

college game. He’s just going to get better. I feel like both of us, we’re going to be a great one-two punch. Boobee brings a lot of thunder. I’m going to bring a lot of lightning to the game.”

After Auburn forced a turnover on downs with a 4thand-17 all-out blitz of Jake Browning on the next possession, the Tigers found themselves one first down away from breaking their two-game skid in Atlanta.

Malzahn called Whitlow’s number again. Facing a 3rdand-2, Whitlow took the direct snap in the Wildcat. He was hit short of the line to gain, then extended to the marker with another powerful second effort. McIntosh had to bring him down.

“It’s a blessing that they can trust me now,” Whitlow said.

“I’m more fluent in the offense now. You can put me in the mix now, and I’m not going to fail you. I’m going to show you that I need to be in right here.

“Me and Kam Martin, we’re going to go on. Everybody said Thunder and Lightning. Like I told him, we’re Hurricane and Earthquake. That’s how we’re going.”

The Tiger tandem might see bigger running lanes this Saturday against FCS Alabama State. The only other running back to receive a carry against the Huskies was true freshman Shaun Shivers. That should change in Auburn’s home opener.

The Hornets allowed 273 rushing yards in a season-opening overtime win over Tuskegee. Auburn has sleep-walked through two of its past three FCS contests, committing five turnovers last season in a 24-10 win over Mercer and taking Jacksonville State to overtime in a 27-20 victory in 2015.

However, the 2016 blasting of Alabama A&M, 55-0, allowed a true freshman Martin to tease the future of Auburn’s running game with a 176-yard, two-touchdown performance.

Youngsters like Shivers, whose 7-yard run against Washington featured a broken tackle and quick juke move to net a first down, and true freshman Asa Martin could use the playing time against ASU to do the same and make good on their four-star credentials.

“He’s a guy that definitely will be in the mix more throughout the season as long as he keeps progressing in practice,” Malzahn said of Asa Martin. “Definitely, he has a chance to play.”

Sumner Martin (3-2) Sports Writer

Bennett Page (3-2) Sports Writer

Signature Wraps

CHRIS EASON | ABELL IMAGES FOR CHICK-FIL-A KICKOFF

Savory Rotisserie-Style Chicken Caesar

Flavor-packed with double meat

Chipotle Southwest Steak & Cheese

Turkey, Bacon & Guacamole

Double Meat based on average 6” sub.

Subway® is a Registered Trademark of Subway IP Inc. ©2018 Subway IP Inc.

submul_32427_W2_Signature_Wraps_Support_Materials_NP_4c.indd 1

Or make any sub a Signature Wrap 334 W Magnolia Ave, Auburn 600 Webster Rd, Auburn 1888 Ogletree Rd, Auburn 1791 Shug Jordan Pkwy, Auburn 7730 Alabama Hwy 51, Opelika

1550 Opelika Rd, Auburn 1017 Columbus Pkwy, Opelika 2101 Frederick Rd, Opelika 1599 S College St, Auburn

1/19/18 3:17 PM

THE PLAINSMAN AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Congratulations to the 2017–2018 Plainsman staff for being selected as a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize. The Pacemaker is widely considered the top award in collegiate journalism.

The Plainsman has won more than two dozen Pacemakers since 1967, making it the most decorated newspaper in the contest. ACP inducted The Plainsman into its Hall of Fame last year.

lifestyle

11

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

LIFESTYLE

HEALTH

Life behind the weights How a student channels her energy into weight training

By ABIGAIL MURPHY Lifestyle Writer

CONTRIBUTED BY MCLELLAND-RAE JOHNSON

While a chore for some, going to the gym is a passion for others — a way of life.

McLelland-Rae Johnson, personal trainer and student at Auburn, has a passion for weight training. She started dancing from ages 3 to 18 and did cheerleading throughout high school.

But senior year, she realized she wanted a new way to keep in shape.

In Daphne, Alabama, where she grew up, her mother took her to the gym and introduced her to a friend who did weight training. She began by working out with her mother’s friend, and during that time, she found a love for it and decided that weight training would be her new sport.

One thing that appealed to Johnson about weight training is how it tests and explores the power of the human body, she said. She enjoys the opportunity to push her limits and see how far she can go.

In an average week, she works out

Monday through Saturday. She starts by waking up at 5 a.m., getting to the gym at 6 a.m. and working out for about an hour and a half.

Each week may vary on what she does on a day-to day basis, but overall, Johnson tries to do at least two days of leg workouts and some upper body and ab workouts every day. She takes Sundays off to relax and rest her body.

With all this exercise, Johnson tries to maintain well-rounded eating habits to keep her energy up and to feel healthy.

“I think it’s just a good balance of fueling your body with healthy nutrition-dense foods, pushing your body to the limit, using what’s given to you with muscles and the ability to push them to work out,” Johnson said on how she upholds a healthy lifestyle, In her last competition, Johnson competed as a National Physique Committee bikini competitor. To prepare, she went through four months of preparation, which required intense cardio, lifting and a specific diet plan.

Her workout time doubled and went

to about three hours a day.

“It taught me a lot about myself and what I can handle mentally,” Johnson said.

Although it was a lot to handle, she enjoyed the experience overall and plans to do another competition in the near future. For now, she is sticking with her usual regimen.

For Johnson, working out is a part of her daily routine. She does not see it as an obligation; it’s just something she genuinely enjoys. She even has it written into her calendar. She said it’s like her “me-time.” She uses weight training to better her mind and body.

“I just think it’s very important for people to understand that we are given one body, and we might as well take care of it while we have the chance,” Johnson said. “It’s not just about looking the part and getting that bikini body, but just making sure that from the inside out, you are healthy — training your heart, training your lungs.

You know your muscles need training too, and that comes with working out.”

ART

Local artist gives back for Childhood Awareness Month

By REAGAN DAY BERG Lifestyle Writer

September brings autumn and the excitement of gamedays, but it also embodies something much greater.

It is the month of childhood cancer awareness — a disease that 175,000 kids worldwide are diagnosed with each year, according to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Christy Cochran, cancer survivor and local Auburn artist, is using her passion to give back.

On Sept. 1, she displayed her art at The Local Market and donated 22 percent of her sales to St. Jude’s.

So far, she has raised $400 and hopes to continue this throughout September.

“My craft making is a form of free therapy,” she said, making an assortment of cards, handsewn and crocheted toys, headbands and bibs.

Cochran has recently started crocheting hats for children with cancer through the group Hooked on Homemade Happiness.

At age 2, she was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and treated in Norfolk, Virginia. On Nov. 11, 1995, Cochran was officially cured.

This year will mark her 23rd anniversary, and she said there is much to celebrate.

Today, more than 80 percent of children with cancer survive five years or more, according to the American Cancer Society.

In the mid-1970s, only 58 percent of children were expected to have this same survival rate. “[Children with cancer] are resilient,”Cochran said. “They might not understand why they have to go through these tests that hurt, but they are strong.

They deserve everything that we can give them.”

Still, pediatric cancer isn’t defeated. It is the second leading cause of death in children from ages 1 to 14.

Survivors may also suffer long-term effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatment and are at a higher risk of having cancer later in life.

“It is important for people to be aware and help out if they can,” Cochran said. “There has always been cancer, but it is becoming more and more prevalent in our society.”

Cochran’s goods can be found at The Local Market, located inside J&M Bookstore, or on her Etsy store, “ADashofExcitement.”

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Artist Christy Cochran shows off some of her work during an art sale at J&M bookstore on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018.

FOOD

Here are some late night eats to discover in Auburn

By MARY GRACE VINSON Lifestyle Writer

Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, it’s inevitable that, as a college student, there’ll come a time when you’re up at 2 a.m. needing food. After a night at Quixotes or a chemistry cramming session, take the time to sample some of Auburn’s best late-night spots.

For those who find themselves up studying after midnight, eating on campus used to be impossible. However, the new Panera Bread in the library is open 24 hours Monday through Thursday, giving students an extra option to stay energized while studying.

When it comes to 24-hour restaurants off campus, there are three primary options: Waffle House, Sonic and McDonald’s.

The Sonic and McDonald’s both have drive-thrus for those looking for a quick bite.

Those looking for drive-thru options should also keep in

mind Cookout and Taco Bell, which both close at 3 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

For earlier night that end by 2 or 3 a.m., spots like Little Italy and Jimmy John’s are easily accessible in downtown Auburn.

Another restaurant that offers late hours on Fridays and Saturdays is Pieology, which stay open until 3 a.m. These later shifts are a change from Pieology’s former hours that were made last year, and employee Michael O’Key said the change has paid off.

“It definitely has skyrocketed business,” O’Key said. “All of those late nights, they are very successful, probably the most profitable of all the shifts we have here.”

Pieology offers customizable pizzas, allowing students to construct a pizza fitting whatever their personal craving might be.

“The idea was to be open an hour later than all of the bars,” O’Key said.

Pita Pit also has late-night

hours as it is open until 2 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday, 3 a.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 1 a.m. on Sundays. Unlike many restaurants that stay open late, Pita Pit places a focus on healthy options with their customizable pitas.

“It’s a fast-casual restaurant, so our goal is that we want to get the people in and out, but we have a big focus on fresh ingredients,” said regional manager Josh Gossett. “So we like that we’re open late so people have that option of somewhere fresh late at night versus somewhere more fast food-y.”

From downtown Auburn to Opelika Road, there are many options for Auburn students who find themselves up and hungry after midnight.

Whether it’s all about getting a burger as quickly as possible or keeping up with your healthy diet even after hours, you’ll find late night food to satisfy any craving.

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Burgers and fries are a popular late night snack for Auburn students.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

PAGE 12

CULTURE

What comes next?

CAMERON BRASHER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Women flood out of the Auburn Arena in excitement on Bid Day, August 17, 2018.

Life after pledging, withdrawing or getting released from a sorority

By LAUREN PIEPER Lifestyle Writer

Aug. 11-16, 2018, marked this year’s largest sorority recruitment for Auburn University with 859 outof-state women and 807 Alabama residents participating.

At recruitment kickoff, the girls were told about 90 percent of them would receive a bid, while the other 10 percent would either be released or would eventually withdraw from the process.

This year 88 percent of the 1,645 women participating received a bid.

The percent of women who withdrew was between 10-11 percent, and 2 percent were released.

The amount of women receiving bids this year was 1,476, with roughly 54 percent of that group out-ofstate and about 46 percent in-state.

In the group of women who withdrew, 95 were out-of-state and 96 instate, and for those released, 60 percent were out of state and 40 percent in state.

About 85 women signed up for continuous open bidding, making the COB list of interested participants estimated to be 300.

Some participants feel as though they faced harsher cuts because they do not have as many connections.

Other girls feel as though maybe they did not fit a certain mold the sororities were looking for.

“Sometimes it just kind of depends. Chapters have the oppor-

tunity to invite back whoever they want, so they get to invite back a certain number, and whoever they decide to invite back, they invite back.

There really is no rhyme or reason to it. It’s just up to the chapter to invite back whoever they want that round,” said Lindsay Ollis, Panhellenic advisor, in regards to why and how cuts are made.

Rumors about chapters having a set list of girls they plan on giving bids to tend to rise frequently during recruitment.

“I would say that is definitely a rumor,” Ollis said. “All our chapters keep an open mind during recruitment. Sure, there might be some legacies coming through that they know they are going to give bids to, maybe a sister. For the most part, all of our chapters keep an open mind to meeting all of our potential new members.”

Despite all the rumors and withdrawals, the majority of participants pledged one of the 18 Panhellenic sororities Auburn has to offer.

Since Bid Day 2018, girls have been buying apparel with their letters on it, getting their outfits ready for upcoming swaps and socials and bonding with their new sisters. College life has become sorority life for those women.

In the 88 percent that found their new home, Grace Plagge accepted a bid from Sigma Sigma Sigma and is loving it.

“I liked that they wanted me, and I

wanted them,” Plagge said. “It is nice to have a place to belong, and they have been really welcoming. They want us all to get to know each other, and on bid day, we went bowling together. They are doing their best to get us all involved even though we aren’t initiated yet.”

Plagge is an out-of-state, fourth-generation Auburn student from Maryland. She barely knew anyone at Auburn beside her twin brother, so joining a sorority has given her a home away from home.

“I did find a few a girls in (Sigma Sigma Sigma) who (were) from the same place as me, and my bid day buddy from from southern Maryland like me,” Plagge said. “Coming from out of state I would highly recommend doing a sorority because it is a great way to get involved.”

So far Plagge has not found her life as a new sorority member overwhelming and leaves time to get involved with other aspects of campus life.

“I don’t think it has been overbearing. I thought it would be more of a time commitment,” Plagge said.

“The days I go to the sorority events gave me something to do instead of being in my dorm. I have enjoyed it because for the fall, as of right now, I just have sorority events but am thinking about other clubs. I will be doing athletic management in the spring.”

One new member of Kappa Delta is Lady Frances Hamilton. She

has had nothing but a positive experience, especially from their new member retreat and making lots of friends.

“We got to go to the lake and just be goofy with our friends that we have started to make,” she aid. “I just got to hang out and get to know girls I have not really had a chance to yet.

The weather was awesome. We ate Taco Mama, and it was just a chill day.”

After making all her new friends, Hamilton said that walking around campus and seeing other Kappa Delta women “makes Auburn feel smaller.”

For one potential new member who went through recruitment and withdrew, Auburn life looks a little different.

Claire, PNM who is an Alabama resident, discussed what her Auburn lifestyle looks like post recruitment.

“I got involved with Emerge and with a club for my major, which is global studies. I am excited at about it,” she said.

Claire also mentioned she is still very open to joining a sorority, even though she left on her own will, and has signed up for COB. She wants to do COB to meet new people and learn more about the sororities she was dropped by early.

It is not uncommon for a PNM to be dropped by a lot of sororities early on in the process.

“It is more common not to receive a full schedule, and I know that

Tigermarket

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

is shocking to some people, but it is more common for you to get a notfull schedule than it is for you to get a full schedule back in any round of recruitment,” Ollis said.

Besides those who pledged or withdrew, the smallest group is the PNMs who were released, meaning all 18 sororities did not invite them back at any given time or they did not receive a bid due to not maximizing their options.

Mary Lamar Dudley falls in the 2 percent category of girls who were released after being strongly encouraged by a family member to go through recruitment.

Dudley was released after attending the philanthropy round. She said she “really did not care about it [being released] so much” because after going through it, she realized it just wasn’t for her.

Dudley is planning on getting involved with other organizations and clubs in her pre-vet/animal sciences major. Also, going through recruitment helped her make new friends.

“I still talk to two girls from my Pi Chi group,” she said.

Women who have gone through recruitment have varying opinions on what comes next, but students involved with Panhellenic are happy they joined a sisterhood.

Editor’s note: Claire last name was omitted because she did not want her involvement with this story to affect her future endeavors within Panhellenic at Auburn University.

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Printspeaks Deadline Abbigail Hickey, Auburn Universitys campus dietitian with The PlainsNoon three business days man on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in Auburn, Ala. prior to publication

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, August 23, 2018

Release Date: Thursday, September 6, 2018

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

Furthermore Five-time US Lewis 51 Sampled ACROSS Edited 3by Rich Norris and34Joyce Nichols 1 Massage 4 Lake Itasca, for Open champ 54 “Get real!”

49 with a light 37 Crime show with 3 Turow ACROSS therapists’ the Mississippi 39 Checks out 55Alters __ pool biographical title 1 Seething spin-offs workplaces 5 Laundry cycle 41several Org. with a 57touch?

Thickening agent 65Jaguar weapons 46Not working 51 38 “You obviously “Fiddlesticks!”

Three-letter five-ring logo 5848-Down Rock and Roll 11 a dance 5 Fleur-de-__: composer depend on Level: 10Half Used room product with two 42can’t Stringed Hall of Fame 14 Stinger ingredient Quebec flag 54 “__ told”: me” service periods instruments songwriter Laura 1 2 15 player image “That’s the 39 Fetches 15Superman Largest city on 7 Animosity 44 Swing wildly 60 Stable Cavill 6 Poolside chair rumor” stud 43 Most junk mail Hawaii’s 8 Feel yesterday’s 46 Airport parking 61 Clickable image 3 4 16 “The Last largest Jedi” 7 Debate 55 Designer Wang 45 Comic book islandKylo yoga class, facilities 62Name “Hey, in you!” villain equipment 56 boxy personnel 16 Terminix target maybe 49Change Piano trio Abe Lincoln’s Complete the grid 17 Alpine airs 8 Get under one’s 47 symbols, 64cars?

17 Piquant 9skin “Stop pouring” 50inProtective youngest so each row, column18 Broken out, in 58 Higher ed. son test math 18aTakes 10 Spring bloomer way on a new coating 65Cardinal’s Dundee denial and 3-by-3 box 9 Small songbird 59 48 Opera with responsibility, as 11 Yellow bill in 19 Days gone by, in (in bold borders) 10 Letters on a letters Desdemona of leadership classic baggage Monopoly days gone by contains every digit, Qantas ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 21 Indigenous New 20 Capital on the 12 Event that may 1 to 9. For strategies tag Zealanders Volga on how to solve feature family ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 11 Like many tees 22Suppress, Kind of artery as a Sudoku, visit www. 21 heirlooms 12 Greek Key in a PC sudoku.org.uk 23story 13“... “__etturn up” 13 cetera” reboot combo 22 Punching tools 14How Dmitry’s SOLUTION TO 14 somedenial tickets 24Suffix Evenly matched 23 with fruct19may Roamed (around) MONDAY’S PUZZLE 26 Mosquito be sorted 24 Hall of Fame 20Scented At a frenetic pace pouch repellentStengel 21 manager 25Put Saw-toothed on 28Sal “Guys and Dolls” 22 25 of “Exodus” rangein many 24 Plant showstopper 26 Waters down 27Road Kuwaiti ruler Runner 34Taiwanese Sporty ’60sPC 28 28cartoons Big name in Pontiac brand games 25 Dunderhead 35Rita __ out a win 29 awarded 29What Animal behavior 27 Marcie calls Presidential 36the Biopic about specialist Patty Peppermint Medal of Charles 30Distance New __: runners MLB 29 37Freedom “So that’s it” baseball cap 31 Cultivates 30 38Hankering Threw a fit supplier figures 32 40Depilatory Capital of cream Oman 33 Monastic © 2018 The Mepham Group. Distributed by 3/6/18 35 State 31Golden Deli choice 34 42Historic Musclespan: Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

32team Staircase pillar 43Abbr.

Superficially 36 35 Impediment 33Christ Work the the __: bar Rio highbrow 08/23/18 landmark toTocreativity ...

44 and __ 09/06/18 1902 Waverly Pkwy, Opelika and each set of 45 “So that’s it!” circles 47puzzle Orchestrated 3 br/ 1 ba 38 letters in 48Big Shelf for trophies, family-owned - screened porch maybe 52supermarkets Cruising, say - carport 40 53Troubadour’s Stealthy warrior strings 54 Movie SFX - C/H/A 41 Uncle 56 Prince__Harry’s 42 Codes - wood floors motherof conduct 44 Christian 59 Word onwith the - $850/ mo. style street 46 Venerated one 63Adorkable Complex types 50 reasoning that A clean, quiet home for 51 Lets off steam occurs literally at 52 JFK posting serious students, business the endfinale? of three 53 “Psych” persons, or retirees near 54 Islong afteranswers 66Field “Inside the NBA” the EAMC. 55 mice analyst 57 Area 51 craft 67Singer In the with back 58 68Lawrence Love god Smoking and Pets 69Accept, Dweebswith “for” 59 70Greek “Sameorg.

Time, not permitted.

60 Next Year” has 61 Lyft passenger only two 62 Difficult tasks 71Hosp.

Not a parts good 63 Contact impression 64 Mideast bigwigs ifmypeople2chr714@ 65 Will Rogers prop DOWN yahoo.com DOWN 1 Pretense ByJeffrey Roger Wechsler and Kathy Wienberg 1 Work up town By for more information 2 Tuscany 08/23/18 09/06/18 ©2018Tribune TribuneContent ContentAgency, Agency,LLC LLC 2 Risky proposition ©2018

CHECK US OUT ONLINE! Get the latest news on Auburn!

Home For Rent

New Student Housing Opening Fall 2019!

See office for details.