The Auburn Plainsman online at THEPLAINSMAN.COM
A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID • NEWS SINCE 1893
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
VOL. 127 • ISSUE 4 • FIRST COPY FREE THEN 50¢
CAMPUS COMMUNITY
A country united Looking back on how Auburn faced 9/11 By EDUARDO MEDINA and ELIZABETH HURLEY Editor-in-Chief and Community Editor editor@theplainsman.com
The chaos streamed from a television set that September morning in the Foy Cafeteria. Students and faculty gathered with their eyes locked, their hands clasped. The area was crowded and most chairs were taken, forcing some students to the floor and some against the w a l l . In photographs taken by The Plainsman on Sept. 11, 2001, the fear from that day is evident. One student pressed his hands against his face, another bit his nails. They stared at the screen and watched the World Trade Center billow with smoke and eventually fall in flames. The provost at the time, John Heilman, was walking into Samford when someone told him the news. He spoke with The Plainsman about his 25-year-old daughter, Catherine, who was on her way to work in the building next to the Trade Center.
“She saw people jumping from the building, people next to her were hit with rocks and glass, and it was a very devastating moment,” Heilman told The Plainsman in 2001. “She ran for her life.” And she survived, along with alumnus Patrick Smith, a volunteer firefighter who happened to be in New York City when the planes struck. “The overhead shot on TV in no way portrays the actual mass that the steel and concrete make up,” he told The Plainsman in 2001. His job was to sift silently through the rubble in order to hear a possible person buried beneath. He never found anyone. “As America united after attacks, Auburn students watched and prayed,” read the caption in the Sept. 13 edition of The Plainsman. In the Sept. 20 edition of The Plainsman was a story on Auburn graduate Marjorie Champion Salamone, 53, who was a budget an-
alyst for the U.S. Army. She was one of the 125 killed when the hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. “No one in her office survived,” Richard Champion, Salamone’s brother, told The Plainsman in 2001. Champion said his sister, who had worked at the Pentagon for 10 years, had just moved into her new office in August 2001. At 8:25 p.m. on Sept. 11, as Auburn and the country reeled from the terrorist attack that morning, a Plainsman photographer captured a student as he covered his eyes with his fists; someone off-frame is extending a hand and resting it on his. Near the building where many Auburn students originally saw the terror unfold, hundreds had gathered the next day to give blood in the “Blood Mobile” stationed outside Foy. Some students waited up to four hours to do so. “Not only was the turnout of donors unbelievable, but so was the support from the community that we received,” 2001 SGA member Amy Finley told The Plainsman. » See 9/11, 2
BRANTLI DENNIS / GRAPHICS DESIGNER
FILE PHOTO
Vape-related illnesses rise, cause worry By SAMANTHA STRUNK Campus Writer campus@theplainsman.com
The vaping industry has been under scrutiny the past few weeks in the wake of recent vaping-related deaths and illnesses. The Center for Disease Control published a report last Friday stating that as of Sept. 6, more than 450 people have been diagnosed with vaping-related lung illnesses — illnesses that have claimed at least five lives. This followed the CDC’s Aug. 30 warning that e-cigarettes might have negative health effects. Shelby Flores, Auburn University’s coordinator of alcohol and drug prevention, said it is difficult to pinpoint the direct cause of these ailments. She said vaping liquids can contain expected substances, such as flavoring and nicotine, but also less-known ingredients, such as formaldehyde or metals. “Up until the past month, there really hasn’t been hard and fast medical research that’s said, ‘Vaping isn’t good — stop,’” Flores said. “But it’s definitely emerging.” Flores said a fall 2018 study revealed that 17.7% of Auburn » See VAPE, 2
CAMPUS
New Tiger Transit routes disrupt commute for students By TIM NAIL Campus Reporter campus@theplainsman.com
For some students who rely on the University’s Tiger Transit system, changes in a few bus routes led to a troubling first few weeks. In response, SGA took action and redeveloped two transit lines. Members of the SGA cabinet were present at an Auburn Answers
booth on Haley Concourse on Sept. 4 to listen to feedback about the Tiger Transit issues as well as on-campus parking, which has seen its fair share of complaints in the first month of the semester. After reviewing what they received, several SGA representatives met with Parking Services
director Don Andrae on Sept. 6 to revise the South Donahue and North Auburn lines. Students at The Connection apartment complex, located on South Donahue, reported significant numbers of riders overcrowding arriving buses during peak hours. Regulars on the North Auburn route, on the other hand, said they faced long wait times due to the distance of the route, which stretches from the Mell Classroom Building to the Auburn Mall. Andrae and the SGA drew up solutions addressing both routes
to be added onto North Dean Road near the Creekside housing community.
However, because of the street layout, it would have to be located on the opposite side of the road despite there being no crosswalk in the area. The new North Auburn bus was added to the route’s fleet of vehicles on Tuesday. “The main points and complaints, concerns and com-
in the form of a new stop and an additional bus to South Donahue and North Auburn, respectively. A new bus station is proposed
ments that we’ve gotten about the transit routes are stops being taken away and routes being consolidated,” said Ashley Sat-
SPORTS An update on Seth Williams status after shoulder injury Seth Williams will be on the sidelines Saturday when Auburn faces Kent State. Page 8
www.theplainsman.com
go online
terfield, senior in political science and SGA’s executive vice president for outreach. “From the North Auburn route and the South Donahue route are the two routes people are most upset with.” Satterfield said that the routes were switched in an attempt to
route changes. “I’ve never taken the transit because it takes too long and doesn’t work with my schedule,” Biggs said. “My roommate quit taking it too, because it just takes too long.” Warren Spann, junior in business analytics and economics, lives
have fewer routes so that people in one area could all use the same route. “These routes were changed at the beginning of the year by transit, and the complaints are it’s taking students too long to get where they want to go or they’re filling up too quickly,” Satterfield said. Bradley Biggs, senior in finance, lives in Creekside and said that she’s been affected by the
at The Connection, and he said he’s aware of the transit mishap. He said he chooses to drive to school everyday. “I have a friend who lives in the garden district, and she’s always complaining about how the bus is so overcrowded before it even gets there because there’s so many people at The Connection,” Spann said. Spann added that the bus is always full and waiting for the next one is inconvenient.
News 24/7 on our website Go online to theplainsman.com SCAN ME!
@TheAUPlainsman
@TheAuburnPlainsman
@TheAuburnPlainsman
news
2
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
VAPING » From 1
students were vaping an electronic device and not planning to give it up in the next six months. The same study also showed, though, that 46% of Auburn students had never vaped. Michelle Patten, third-year Auburn pharmacy student, first arrived on Auburn’s campus in fall 2013. She said in 2013, there was a stigma around electronic cigarettes, and vaping wasn’t very common. “Electronic cigarettes were considered lame and uncool,” Patten said. “You’d see like one person with one. Now, they’re everywhere.” Patten said she believes that the amount of nicotine provided — and the convenience of modern vaping devices, such as the Juul — has sparked the sudden rush to vaping. She said traditional smoking is hard to hide, but the water-vapor based vaping trend leaves little smell and doesn’t demand the vaper go outside. “Juuls are tiny, the size of flash drives,” Patten said. “You’re able to conceal it, and you’re getting a high amount of the drug or stimulant.” Patten said that smoking is a risk factor for nearly every disease she has learned about in pharmacy school. Flores said that while vaping doesn’t have the tar traditional cigarettes do, a danger in vaping technology lies in that it’s still fairly unregulated, particularly with the quickly increasing number of people who vape juices that contain cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). She said these substances are not currently closely being monitored by the FDA. “It’s hard to know what exactly is in the liquids that you’re using,” Flores said. “We don’t necessarily know the long-term impacts.” Stephen Bradford, owner of local tobacco shops Da’ Gallery and Hippie Street, said that in the past few years he’s been selling vaping products, he has not had one customer report a related health issue. Rather, he’s seen the products help people quit traditional smoking. Bradford said many customers and several of his own employees have moved from traditional cigarettes to the Juul, from the Juul to devices with lower nicotine percentages and then from those devices to no nicotine at all. He estimated the progression to take an average of six months. “If you’re actively trying to get off smoking, that’s definitely the way to step down and get off of it,” Bradford said. “Not just trying it cold-turkey off cigarettes.” Bradford said that with vaping he sees two groups of people come into his stores: those trying to quit smoking and those enjoying a vaping fad. “If you treat it properly, it can be a medical assistant kind of thing,” Bradford said. “If you’re doing it for the right reasons and not because it’s the fad thing.” Bradford said that many fad vapers who visit his stores are discovering that juices with lower nicotine percentages have a more pleasant taste. “We see some of those people coming back and asking for 0-nic stuff,” Bradford said. Bradford said since the recent vaping-related illnesses in the media, his stores have experienced at least a 25% drop in Juul product sales, and Juul as a company is looking at potential device shifts. “They’re trying to go to a less expensive pod system and step their juices down to a lower percentage of nicotine than their 5%,” Bradford said. “Which is the proper thing to do.” Bradford said customers, too, are looking for lower-nicotine and cheaper vaping options. His 21-and-older customer base is turning more and more toward smoking, vaping and ingesting CBD products. “CBD balances your body all out and makes you not want to have some of those other things, like nicotine, in your body anymore,” Bradford said. “So that’s really where things are shifting to.” Bradford does not believe that marketing for vaping products targets youth as much as many claim. “Adults like flavors, too,” Bradford said. “It’s not just kids. Stop taking things away from adults because you think kids are buying it. Stop the kids from buying it.” Bradford said stores that sell vaping products play an important role in preventing kids from purchasing the devices. He emphasized the responsibility stores have to check identification and ensure underage users aren’t walking out with products. Flores said she asks students she meets with if they vape. If they do, their response is often reluctant. “They’ll say, ‘Yeah, but I really want to stop.’ or ‘Yeah, but I know I should stop,’” Flores said. “But nicotine is addictive, and they’ve developed a sort of reliance on it.” Flores said many students tie vaping to stress or anxiety relief. Students tell her they needed to find a way to temporarily relax, and nicotine gives them that. Patten said nicotine activates dopamine receptors in the brain, leaving users feeling rewarded. “It tells your body it’s happy, and people want more and more of it,” Patten said. “But it’s actually bad for your body.” Flores said a great deal of her work is centered around finding the root causes of issues. She said nicotine may provide an instant relief, but it fails to address the root causes of student stress. Flores pointed to areas such as academics, managing a social life, acquiring an internship and others as some stressors that might lead students to nicotine. “Auburn students are involved in five different organizations and the leader of two of them,” Flores said. “They’re balancing a major and minor and trying to do all these things thinking they should be able to do that effortlessly.” Flores called this a false narrative. “I think that there’s broader conversations around the sort of culture we have as a university,” Flores said. “And how we can make it okay to achieve and strive while taking it easy on yourself.”
THEPLAINSMAN.COM
NEWS
COMMUNITY
Laws made to improve road safety By CHARLIE RAMO Community Writer
Alabama passed a road law this month that intends to increase highway safety through the penalization of drivers who slowly cruise in the left lane and drivers who don’t move over for emergency vehicles. The Move Over Act is an existing law requiring motorists to move over a lane for stopped emergency vehicles. If not possible, drivers must slow down 15 miles per hour below the speed limit while passing. The revision to the law increases penalty costs and adds to the list of vehicles that drivers should move over for while on the road. “Initially, when it was passed, it was mainly geared towards keeping first responders safe on the sides of roads,” said Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Corporal Jess Thornton. “The Move Over law now includes first responders, utility workers, wrecker service drivers; it includes pretty much anyone … doing work
out there on the highway.” The fines have increased from $25 to $100 for a first violation, from $50 to $150 for a second violation and from $100 to $200 for every subsequent violation. This is to raise awareness and caution drivers of the potential danger they may cause, he said. “Not only is it a law, it’s common courtesy encountering first responders, maintenance workers or wrecker drivers on the side of the road,” Thornton said. “Over the years, there have been some tragedies … a wrecker driver in Montgomery was killed not too long ago. He was performing his duties when he was hit and killed. We have had first responders that have been hit.” Drivers on the highway are the biggest danger to a first responder, according to Thornton, because vehicles are driving upwards of 70 miles per hour within feet of first responders performing their duties. “We’re much more likely to be killed because of some type of traffic crash than
being shot by somebody,” Thornton said. “People get tunnel vision while they’re driving … there’s a lot more distractions in the vehicle than there have been over the years.” The newly enacted Road Rage law tickets drivers who sit in the left lane without passing other motorists. This action, though not dangerous on its own, can cause a buildup of traffic and unsafe passing in the right lane. Drivers who stay in the left lane for more than 1.5 miles without passing other motorists will be ticketed. The time it takes to drive this distance on the interstate is slightly over a minute. “It literally takes seconds for traffic to back up, and it causes a lot of frustration … it also increases the likelihood that there’s going to be a crash because of the amount of congestion,” Thornton said. “If people are traveling on the highways, do not use that left-hand lane as a travel lane. It is meant to be a passing lane to pass slower traffic; when it is safe to do so, you move back over to the right-hand lane.”
9/11 » From 1
Approximately 60 students sat crisscrossed on the concourse with their eyes closed and their heads bowed in the middle of prayer. The next night, there was a “light wind,” there were tears and candles, according to a Plainsman reporter. It was one of many vigils that week. “Light in our society is a sign of life. Tonight we are holding lights. There are many who have had their lights put out, but we are still here,” Auburn student Trent Wilson told a crowd on Samford Lawn on Sept. 12, 2001. “Now, more than ever, we need to make the most of that opportunity.” The football team’s game that week against LSU was canceled by the SEC, giving the team a week to process the tragic events before heading to Syracuse, New York, to face Syracuse at a field that was only 150 miles from where the World Trade Center once stood. The interim president at the time, William Walker, said the day was one of “national tragedy.” Eighteen years later, that day of “national tragedy” is often not far from the minds of first responders, and that fact holds true for the Auburn departments’ first responders. Several Auburn firefighters participated in stair climbs in the days and weeks surrounding Sept. 11, said Battalion Chief Josh Datnoff. Off-duty firefighters pay their own way to attend the stair-climb events. They don their personal protective equipment like they would wear in a house fire, sometimes wearing old steel air packs, trying to best simulate what first responders in the twin towers would have worn. “We’re climbing to remember the firefighters, police officers and EMTs that were killed on that day,” Datnoff said. “We climb to remember the civilians that were lost.” These firefighters make one addition — cards with names, job assignments and photos of first responders and civilians who lost their lives that September day. At each stair climb, the participants are given one of those cards. Datnoff keeps each one and brings them to his next stair climb. After participating in over 15 climbs, he has a small collection of names and faces. That’s who he climbs for. “You’re not just thinking about all the people that were lost on 9/11, you’ve actually got somebody that you’re carrying up with you for that climb.” It’s not just the people on those cards that he thinks about as he climbs. His thoughts wander to his community,
VIA AUBURN UNIVERSITY DIGITAL LIBRARY
The front page of the Sept. 13, 2001, edition of The Auburn Plainsman.
which especially in the last few months has faced unprecedented events, including the loss of an Auburn police officer and 23 community members who died after at least two tornadoes struck near Beauregard, Alabama. “When we’re climbing, most recently, we’re thinking about all the families that were affected by the tornadoes that came through Lee County,” Datnoff said. “We’re thinking about our brothers and sisters that work for the police department that have gone through a lot of difficult times in recent months.” It’s those thoughts — of those lost on a national level 18 years ago and the recent local losses — that got Datnoff to the top of the Panama City Beach stair climb on Saturday and the last few climbs he’s done. “It gives everybody that extra boost of energy to push through the pain of climbing those stairs,” Datnoff said. “The exhaustion pushes you through.” The stair climbs are a way
for firefighters, police officers and sometimes civilians to put themselves in the shoes of those Sept. 11 first responders and a way to remember and honor them, he said. For former Auburn Police Chief and current City Council member Tommy Dawson, it’s also about remembering the days after Sept. 11, 2001. The country came together in the days and months following that day because no one knew what was going to happen next, Dawson, a sergeant in the narcotics division at the time, said. Many people were on edge because no one knew what might happen next. Many, including Dawson, were worried they might be the next target. Those thoughts, mixed with feelings of remembrance, united the nation, something Dawson said he truly admired because the perpetrators of the attack only unified the country. “I was very impressed with the way everybody came to-
gether,” Dawson said. “I think they did the opposite of what they intended to do: They brought America together on 9/11.” On Tuesday night, in Auburn Draft House, around 100 people were there to remember 9/11 in an event organized by Auburn University’s Student Veteran Association. Kyle Venable, a former president of the Student Veterans Association and recent spring 2019 graduate, is the veterans program coordinator for the SVA. He served in the Marines from 1994 to 2013. Venable said it’s a bit strange to think some of the freshmen he works with in ROTC weren’t alive on 9/11. “They may not have even been born, so all they have is what they’ve seen on TV, what they’ve heard from their parents, what they’ve read in books,” Venable said. “The best way that we can provide guidance is to preserve that history.”
opinion
3
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
THEPLAINSMAN.COM
OPINION
EDITORIAL
Board of Distrustees: Auburn governed in the dark By EDITORIAL BOARD Fall 2019
Following a turbulent tenure at Iowa State, Steven Leath was probably hoping that Auburn would be a soft place to land — it wasn’t. Leath, Auburn’s former president, resigned his position over the summer, only two years into the five-year contract he signed in 2017. The University announced Leath’s resignation near the end of the workday on Friday, June 21. He and the Board of Trustees “mutually decided to part ways after extensive discussions about the University’s leadership.” The vagueness of that statement hides any facts about how or why Leath left. Of course, Leath was not fired, and he didn’t quit either — powerful people are above those simplistic terms. In July, it was also announced that Leath would collect a total of $4.5 million from the University in three annual installments in exchange for not disparaging the school or discussing the details of his resignation. Given the Board’s vague language about their discussions and decisions regarding the president, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about Leath’s hiring, tenure and resignation. Since that resignation cost Auburn $4.5 million, the students, faculty and alumni deserve answers. To start, many of these questions were raised before Leath was even hired. His time at Iowa State University was under scrutiny as early as September 2016. Specifically, Leath caught a lot of flack for his use — or misuse — of ISU’s plane. In one particular incident, Leath, a certified pilot, made a hard landing on a return trip from his home in North Carolina and caused $12,000 in damages to the plane. The main concern arising from the incident was not even the damage to the plane, since that was ascribed to a simple error made by an inexperienced pilot.
LOUIS MARIN / CARTOONIST
Rather, an ISU administrator, who oversaw the flight program, said he was not informed of the damage to the plane; records regarding the incident disappeared from the university’s website and rumors of an attempted cover-up started to circulate. Leath was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing, but he reimbursed the university for the cost of four of his flights. Much of this was public knowledge prior to the Board’s decision to hire Leath, and they unanimously voted to hire him despite it. There was never a statement from the Board acknowledging these controversies, so Auburn students, faculty and alumni were left guessing. Even if Leath had gone on to have a lengthy and stable tenure at Auburn, the opaqueness surrounding his hiring would be disgraceful. However, given his hasty resignation and $4.5 million farewell gift, that opaqueness is untenable. Worse, the student body and broader Auburn community have less information regarding Leath’s resignation than they
did about his hiring. The Board mentioned discussions about the University’s leadership, but they gave no specifics regarding points where they disagreed with Leath. There was no mention about how early any disagreements appeared or what concessions either side made, and the three $1.5 million payments were only discovered after the Opelika-Auburn News filed a Freedom of Information request. To put $4.5 million in perspective, it is enough money to cover a full year of tuition for 410 Auburn students or buy 1.3 million chicken sandwiches at Chick-fil-A. To be clear, the University should not spend $4.5 million dollars on chicken sandwiches, but it also shouldn’t have to spend that much money to get rid of a president three years before his contract is up. The current Board of Trustees system is inherently undemocratic but that is understandable given the rapid turnover rate of students graduating every four years. However the system only works if students, faculty and alumni can trust that their interests are at least being considered if not put first. That trust can’t exist when Auburn is governed by a Board of Trustees that insists on hiring and firing presidents in the shadows. Of course, since Auburn is currently without a permanent president, there is a committee dedicated to finding a new one. They have a chance to do it right this time. Since their deliberations and decision process won’t be democratic, the committee at least owes it to Auburn students to make the process transparent. As the Board looks for and considers Leath’s permanent replacement, the wider Auburn community deserves to be regularly informed as to whom is being considered for the job. A two-year presidency that ends in a $4.5 million dollar non-disclosure agreement isn’t a success story, but it should be a lesson — albeit, an expensive one — in the importance of honesty and transparency.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Saturday’s ‘War Eagle’ wasn’t just a battle cry; it was a celebration By ROSS CHANDLER Contributing Columnist
This Saturday night in Jordan-Hare, I was reminded what it meant to be a member of the Auburn Family. It wasn’t the win, and it wasn’t the feeling of being back in Jordan-Hare surrounded by friends and family; it was a moment that will stand the test of time. As an in-memoriam image of Rod and Paula Bramblett, two fallen members of this family, was displayed on the jumbotron, the Auburn Family remembered them in silence. In this moment, I watched as a crowd of men, women, students and children all turned yelling and screaming into pure silence. As I looked around me, I didn’t see smiles — I saw tears.
They weren’t tears for a loss of a football game, but for the loss of a mother and a father, the loss of colleagues, the loss of friends and the loss of a brother and sister of the Auburn Family. And like those around me, I also shed a few tears. Tears for their children, tears for the tragedy that shook a community to its core and tears for a purely beautiful moment on the Plains. In that silence we mourned, but we also conquered. We conquered the most incredible adversary any person can go toe to toe with: death. As over 80,000 people grieved together in a moment where you could have heard a pin drop, we came a step closer to closure and a step closer to a new day for this community. However, this grieving turned into something different when one fan screamed out two words that, in that moment, were more than just a bat-
tle cry. “War Eagle,” in that moment, meant thank you. A cheer erupted, and a moment of silence created a moment of noise and celebration. It was a celebration of moments like “Go Crazy Cadillac!” “There goes Davis!” and “It’s a Miracle in Jordan-Hare!” A celebration of a lifetime of memories. A celebration of a man and a woman that sacrificed for us all. The impacts that Rod and Paula have left in this world — and on this family — will live on forever. The time and sacrifices that Paula made for Rod to voice the moments that carried us through the battles our Tigers fought will never be forgotten and can never be properly appreciated. As Rod himself said in the tribute video, Saturday night was for all those Auburn Tigers that couldn’t be there in body but were with us in spir-
it.
Rod and Paula were there with us as God painted an orange and blue sunset on that September, Saturday night. A new day is dawning on the plains, but it is a day that comes with grief, sorrow and pain. But hey, that’s what being an Auburn Tiger is all about. When the odds are against us, we need one chance, or in this case, one moment to overcome any obstacle that lies in front of us. Saturday was a step forward in the healing process for us all, but by no means is that journey over. Our prayers are with Shelby, Joshua and the rest of the Bramblett family as they continue to weather this storm of adversity. May God bless them and the Auburn Family as this mourning process continues. Ross Chandler is a junior at Auburn University.
COLUMN
The lack of handrails at Jordan-Hare leaves some students at risk By MARY ELIZABETH LANE Contributing Columnist
I have spent my whole life in Alabama. Football is ingrained in the culture, but every week when other students get psyched about an upcoming game, I get nervous. It’s not about who will win or the parties that may happen after; it’s about the process of making it through the game unscathed myself. I was born with spastic diplegia ce-
rebral palsy, and while it’s something I don’t have to think about in everyday life, the steps of Jordan-Hare Stadium bring my worries and little insecurities to the front of my mind. Auburn’s football stadium has no regular handrails, so my natural lack of balance puts me at a higher risk for injury when sitting in the student section. If I don’t want to have to worry about it, I can always find a place in the only handicapped area for students, but then I wouldn’t be able to sit with
my friends and have that quintessential “student experience.” So, naturally, I choose to make myself suffer. I drink less water so I won’t have to get up to go to the bathroom. I sit next to people who will hold my hand if I need it on the stairs. I sit on the end so I can see when everyone is standing and stand as long as I can. I stand until I feel significant pain. This fall, I am focusing almost every Saturday on not adding myself to the fall count.
As student after student fell up and down the stairs on their way in and out of the bleachers, I started counting. The count rose to an alarming eighteen people before half-time. Why doesn’t Auburn’s football stadium provide handrails for it’s students? I am not a math major, but I know it would not cost as much to install thin handrails as it did to install the $3.5 million dollar jumbotron sitting on the south side of the stadium. It wouldn’t cost nearly as much as
the $4.7 million that is paid to Auburn’s coaching staff every year. I came to Auburn hoping that I would have a fun — yet safe — college experience. Watching football should be a part of that experience that every Auburn student can enjoy. Right now, without adequate handrails in Jordan-Hare stadium, I am having to focus on an anxiety that I shouldn’t have to. Mary Elizabeth Lane is a freshman at Auburn University.
Correction: In the previous issue of The Auburn Plainsman, Jim Fyffe’s last name was misspelled. We sincerely regret the mistake and have corrected the error for the online version of the story.
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
OPINION PAGE POLICIES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
COLUMNS & 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. Submission may be edited for grammar, style and length. Please submit no more than 600 words.
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 to editor@theplainsman.com before 4:30 p.m. on Friday for publication.
This editorial is the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is the official opinion of the newspaper.
EDUARDO MEDINA
MIKAYLA BURNS
LOREN KIMMEL
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor, Operations
Managing Editor, Standards
ELIZABETH HURLEY
STEPHEN LANZI
JACK WEST
Community Editor
Campus Editor
Opinion Editor
EVAN MEALINS
TRICE BROWN
MARIE LIPSKI
Assistant Community
Assistant Campus
Photo Editor
NATALIE BECKERINK
NATHAN KING
CAMERON BRASHER
Lifestyle Editor
Sports Editor
Video Editor
LOUIS MARTIN
SUMNER MARTIN
JADA WALKER
Cartoonist
Assistant Sport
Social Media Manager
Newsroom: news@theplainsman.com Sports: sports@theplainsman.com Opinion: opinion@theplainsman.com Editor: editor@theplainsman.com Advertising: admanager@theplainsman.com
334-844-9108
344-844-9101
campus THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
4 THEPLAINSMAN.COM
CAMPUS
INCLUSION
‘A sense of pride in being an Auburn woman’ University builds statue to commemorate 125 years of female students on Auburn’s campus By TIM NAIL Campus Reporter
Sometimes the smallest of things can have a backstory that’s more than meets the eye — and in this case, it’s a new sculpture that has greeted students, staff and visitors to the University this fall outside the Mell Classroom Building. It’s a simple silhouette of a woman’s head, but behind its metallic finish are the generations of Auburn women who have made their lasting impact on the Univeristy. The nameless statue celebrates the 125th anniversary of the first co-ed class at the University, built as a lasting memoriam to the celebration in 2017, along with the Theatre III amphitheater behind it that was added last year. “We began talking about how it would be really neat if we had a sculpture on Auburn’s campus that commemorated this and really tied with Theatre III to give an overall picture of the story,” said Angie Stephens, associate VP for constituent development in the Office of Development. Stephens was a member of the committee established within Auburn Alumni Affairs to remember the anniversary. At the same time as the celebration, the east side of campus was seeing extensive construction and renovation with the Mell building underway to open in August. This also led to a revamp of the Mell Corridor walkway. “[Tim Boosinger, who was the provost at the time,] had also talked about the possibility of having an amphitheater in conjunction with the corridor improvement project,” Stephens said. ALLISSA STANLEY / PHOTOGRAPHER With this in mind, the committee requested they take on the project for fundraising, and with support from alumni, Statue dedicated to Auburn women outside of RBD in Auburn, Ala. the idea was born to develop a corner near the Lower Quad dorms in honor of Auburn women’s history. communication. Patterson credits John Henley as the driving As the Theatre III project was being added in summer 2018, force and final designer of the statue itself. the sculpture was moving through the design process at AdAdvent initially received the offer for the statue in August vent, a design firm based in Nashville, Tennessee. Advent has 2017, and preparations and the design were complete by Ocseen involvement in numerous Auburn structures in past tober, going through three rounds of idea phases by Patteryears, such as the indoor football practice facility, Lowder Hall son’s team. and the recent Harbert Family Recruiting Center. Its lead in “We sketched out a wide variety of concepts. Our design inthe sculpture, however, would be a different, smaller-scale as- tent all along was for Auburn women to feel honored when signment than other projects from the University. they saw the statue,” Patterson said. At its helm was lead designer Lauren Duke Patterson, a vetThe winning design ended up being the brainchild of Pateran employee of the firm who graduated from Auburn with a terson herself, who marveled at the existing logo in use for the master’s degree in business administration in 2011. 125th anniversary. Designed by Alumni Affairs’s art design “When we first started, I pulled in a large group of our specialist, Heather Peevy, the woman’s silhouette caught Patteam, say 50% of that team was Auburn grads,” Patterson said. terson’s eye as a minimalist, all-inclusive choice. “We ended up whittling it down to a smaller team.” “It was funny, we were on the final round of conceptual deOther members of the Auburn Family involved were Colin sign when I received the Auburn alumni magazine in the mail Sandlin and Seth Maddox, graduates in industrial design, and and realized that the correct solution for the statue was right Abby Stevens, who earned a degree in public relations and in front of me,” Patterson said. “It seems so logical, it made the
most sense. It works with their brand, it works with their message: it represented all women.” The historical context of the logo and, in turn, the statue, lies in the enrollment of Auburn’s first three female students in 1892: Willie Little, Katherine Broun and Margaret Teague. Auburn, then the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama, was the first higher education institution in the state that allowed women to enroll in classes. “We truly anticipate that they walked across the ground on their way to class which was then in Old Main, which not only made history but also changed the course of history for every student who has followed in their footsteps,” Stephens said. “The sculpture is facing Samford Hall, which is Old Main, and we did that on purpose.” Its final location beside the Quad dorms, some of which are named for the three women, was not chosen by the anniversary committee, but Stephens expressed delight in the selected spot for that reason. Though development took just a few months, the sculpture’s fabrication would be the biggest task for both parties, taking much longer. Students and faculty might notice that the statue is the only installation of its kind in the heart of the University. While statues of famed football players surround Jordan-Hare Stadium, there were no such art pieces on display among Auburn’s institutional buildings. “We had to pave that way and get that approved,” Stephens said. “We were actually the first sculpture to go before the Auburn Art Committee for approval.” This feat of being first was also vital to Patterson and her team, who put a lot of thought into the durability of the statue knowing it would be one of the few on University property. “It’s really important, since students are going to be seeing it every day, that we made the design perfect just to ensure that everyone was happy with it,” she said. “I’m hoping one of the things we did with the base is allow you to have a spot to grab a seat or to take your photo in front of it, to connect with the statue.” With the finishing touches of plaques and lights added to the statue, Alumni Affairs will be hosting a dedication ceremony at the corner of the statue and Theatre III on Sept. 27 at 2 p.m. Featured speakers of the event will be anniversary committee chair Melanie Barstad, members Gretchen VanValkenburg and Jane Parker, Sarah Newton of the Women’s Leadership Institute and interim president Jay Gogue. “I hope the statue invokes a sense of pride in being an Auburn woman,” Patterson said. “We’re a strong network and have gone or will go on to do amazing things with the education we’ve received at Auburn.”
STUDENT ATHLETES
SPORTS
Adapted sports coach makes home at AU By JORDAN BURKES Campus Writer
CONTRIBUTED BY MIKE JOYCE
David Crossland during the 100-meter backstroke.
Swimmers qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics By JORDAN WINDHAM Campus Writer
The stage for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is set. It is expected that over 11,000 athletes from more than 206 countries will compete for 339 gold medals. Auburn’s swimmers hope to represent their University on the world’s stage. “As the Tigers look towards the 2020 Olympics, I’m excited about our 16 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers and their journey to Omaha, Nebraska next June,” said head coach of Auburn Swimming and Dive Gary Taylor. David Crossland and Claire Fisch, Auburn University swimmers and Olympic Trials qualifiers, offered a glimpse into the daily routine of Auburn’s Olympic hopefuls. Crossland, a butterfly and backstroke specialist, qualified for Trials in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke events, as well as the 200-meter butterfly. “Every day when you wake up, you just have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What do I want to accomplish today? What are my longterm goals and what can I do today to get there?’” Crossland said. “That’s what keeps me motivated.” Freestyle sprinter Fisch achieved cuts in the
50- and 100-meter freestyle events. “Swimming has shaped everything about me, I think, like my attitude towards others, towards working hard, the respect I have for others,” Fisch said. Both swimmers qualified at the Richard Quick Invitational, a two-day swim meet hosted at Auburn University. Achieving cuts so early in the season was a shock to both. “I had no idea what time I needed to go,” Fisch said. “We got out of the pool, and it’s not the time that I wanted, but the coaches were like, ‘You got your cut,’ and I was like ‘Oh shoot, cool. I’m going to Omaha.’” According to Fisch and Crossland, the support that they have received over the years is an instrumental part of their journey to Trials. “Because I’m a senior, my parents are coming to every single one of my meets,” Crossland said. “Flying down from Philadelphia, going to the travel meets, they are so supportive with everything.” Fisch credits the Auburn Family for helping her become a successful student-athlete and call Auburn her home. “I think that the hardest part was getting into college and getting adjusted, but then, once you’re in, just the family that’s around you is like,
‘OK, you’re here. Now we’re gonna take care of you and you’re gonna succeed and we won’t let you fall. We’ll be there for you,’” Fisch said. Fisch said her older sister, who chose not to swim in college, is her inspiration. “I feel like me swimming in college was almost to make her proud, like ‘look what I can do now,’” Fisch said. “I was so excited, and I was going to swim for the both of us. I think one of the main reasons that I swam in college was to make her proud.” Fisch’s advice to younger swimmers is to take the season one day at a time, so it’s not overwhelming. According to Fisch, the season may seem long, but it flies by every year. Crossland advises that, though the journey is hard, they should push through to the end because it is worth it. Crossland speaks from personal experience. His senior year in high school, Crossland tore his labrum, the cartilage in his shoulder. Consequently, he chose to skip Trials, so that he would be prepared to start swimming at Auburn. “Rehabbing from that was miserable,” Crossland said. “The first year that I was on campus, every day I was swimming and there was just pain in my shoulder. It was mentally hard to push through it, but obviously, I’m glad that I did.”
Wheelchair basketballl coach Robb Taylor’s career at Auburn started with a story. A story that ended with two simple words. While Robb Taylor and his family were at Auburn for his interview for the head coach position, they met an older couple at the Auburn Hotel. The couple shared their passion for Auburn and their desire to return and retire to the Loveliest Village on the Plains. As Taylor and his family left for their room that night, the older couple simply left him with two lasting words, “Welcome home.” Those two words left such an impression on Taylor that he repeats them to every recruit that comes to visit hoping that they have the same effect. Taylor kicked off the eighth-annual Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series this past Friday with those same words. “I try to tell this story any time I speak with anyone in the hopes that if you were that couple, I want to say thank you to you,” Taylor said. “If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I’d be here.” Auburn’s adapted athletics program started in 2008, and its wheelchair basketball program started in 2009 when it had enough players to form a full team. Auburn is one of the three SEC teams to have a wheelchair basketball team and is the only co-ed team. The team is housed at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum, where Coach Taylor encouraged the audience to attend for their next home tournament. Even though Auburn is one of the newest teams to join the division, last year they finished No. 9 in the country. “The court that Charles Barkley dominated on, is now the court that we try to dominate on,” Taylor said. Taylor first came to Auburn » See TAYLOR, 5
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
PAGE 5
SPEAKER
Critical Conversations returns with Harvard sociologist By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor
The Critical Conversations Speaker Series is returning for its third year. First-generation college student, author and Harvard University assistant professor Anthony Jack will kick off this academic year’s slate on Nov. 7 at 5 p.m. in Room 2550 of the Mell Classroom Building. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jack on campus to discuss his research on the experiences of low-income students within the academy,” said Taffye Benson Clayton, associate provost and vice president for inclusion and diversity, in a news release. “The continuation of Critical Conversations Speaker Series explores how our shared values of free speech and civil discourse are being both critically discussed and thoughtfully applied at Auburn University.” Jack, assistant professor of education, is working to transform the way diversity and inclusion are addressed in higher education. His recent book, “The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing Disadvantaged Students,” looked to reframe the discussion around the relationship between poverty and higher education. “It’s one thing to graduate with a degree from
an elite institution and another thing to graduate with the social capital to activate that degree,” a statement from Jack read in the University’s press release. His book was named the 2018 recipient of the Thomas J. Wilson Memorial Prize by the Harvard University Press. In the book, Jack discusses two distinctly segregated groups. The first, the privileged poor, come from low-income, diverse backgrounds who attended elite, prep or boarding schools before attending college. The second group is what Jack calls the “doubly disadvantaged.” Students in this group come from underprivileged backgrounds without the prep schools to soften their transition to college. Although both groups come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, Jack says the former group has more “cultural capital” to navigate and succeed in college. Jack is a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. His work has been cited by The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The Huffington Post, The National Review, The Washington Post, American RadioWorks, WBUR and NPR. The Critical Conversations Speaker Series began in fall 2017 when Ivy League pro-
CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN UNIVERSITY
Anthony Jack is the speaker for the University’s Critical Conversation Speaker Series returning Nov. 7.
fessors Cornel West and Robert George, who have considerably different political views, had a moderated dialogue. The impetus of the event was to be a model of civil discourse for students. The amount of speakers has declined each
year since the series began. There were nine scheduled events during the 2017-2018 academic year, and there were three speakers in the 2018-2019 academic year. Currently, Jack is the only scheduled speaker.
RELIGION
‘I just love it’: Mormon women missionaries share faith By SCOTT BERSON Community Writer
SCOTT BERSON / COMMUNTIY WRITER
Sisters Kelsey Bacon and Lexy McConaghie serve in Auburn, Ala.
For Sisters Kelsey Bacon and Lexy McConaghie, every day begins promptly at 6 a.m. The two companions squeeze in a quick morning workout to wake up, then spend an hour studying scripture as the sun rises. Then it’s time to get together and plan out their busy day. The missionaries are in the middle of their 18-month commitment as representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon church. For now, Auburn is their adopted home. “When we reach the age of 19, we can decide whether or not we serve a mission,” Sister Bacon said. “It’s not a mandatory thing at all, just an opportunity.” Sister Bacon, a 20-year-old from Boulder City, Nevada, left home a year ago and has served in several Georgia cities, including Kennesaw, Peachtree City and Conyers. Over the summer, she moved to Auburn with Sister McConaghie, a 19-year-old from Mesa, Arizona, who had just started her trip. The missionaries don’t choose where they serve and are almost entirely self-funded. They are directed by a supervisor who arranges housing and makes sure everything goes smoothly. Throughout their trips, missionaries
are expected to live a conservative lifestyle, refraining from entertainment like parties, television and social media. Every four or five months, they may be asked to move on to a new city. “We’re called to a certain area. It’s not our choice, but where God wants us to be,” Sister Bacon said. Both said they’re loving their time in Auburn so far. “Don’t even get me started. It’s so cute,” Sister Bacon said. “People are very open and willing to talk about religion and their beliefs and everything, so it’s super cool,” Sister McConaghie added. Their roles vary each day, but usually involve some combination of outreach, study and teaching. The bedrock of each missionary is the Purpose Statement, which Sister McConaghie recited: “To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.” What that translates to for them is to help promote Latter-day Saint Student Organization, the student group for the church, and to speak to people who are interested in the church or who want to deepen their faith. To some, seeing a female missionary is a novelty. Many people may be
more familiar with male missionaries from the church, who are known for their distinctive buttoned-up look and their ubiquitous bicycles. The “Book of Mormon” Broadway play helped popularize the image even more when it debuted in 2011. But female missionaries are a growing proportion of the church’s missionary corps. The church saw a boost of more than 20,000 missionaries after it dropped the minimum age for female missionaries from 21 to 19, according to church data. Now, more than 65,000 missionaries are serving across the world, according to the church. More than a quarter of those missionaries are female, according to a 2015 ABC News report. Sister McConaghie said some people had been surprised, mostly because they were familiar with “the guys on the bikes.” Some people would come up to them and say, “I didn’t know there were girl versions!” Sister Bacon said. “Yes, we’re them! We’re honored to be the first ones you meet.” Neither Sister knows how long they’ll be calling Auburn home, but both say they are happy to be here, whether it’s while hosting a weekly Bible study or counseling a congregation member. “I just love it,” Sister Bacon said.
SERVICE
New service allows students to treat professors to lunch By STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor
Students can now go to office hours with professors for lunch. Flunch is an SGA initiative that allows students to meet with professors, administrators or other faculty and staff in a more relaxed setting. “I think it will be an incredible opportunity for students to foster those relationships outside the classroom,” said SGA President Mary Margaret Turton. The impetus behind the initiative is that students get more out of college when they have relationships with faculty and staff members. Turton referenced a Gallup poll that found a direct correlation between the two, and Flunch aims to help form those relationships.
TAYLOR » From 4
University in 2016. He came with a mission to build the program to new heights, which he believes he’s done, but he said he still has a great deal in mind for its future. According to Taylor, Auburn has been getting some express interest from some female high school students with an interest in forming a women’s wheel-
“I’m so excited about this,” Turton said. “I think this is going to be huge to connect students with those resources to make the best next step.” At this point, students can only have the lunch in the Foy Dining Hall or at Tiger Zone in Village Dining, but Julianne Lyn, executive vice president of initiatives, said students will also be able to have the lunch in the central dining hall, which is scheduled to be finished in fall 2020. Flunch cannot be used at off-campus locations or at on-campus food vendors such as Chick-fil-A or Starbucks. Students can request two lunches per semester as long as they are an undergraduate student taking at least nine credit hours, and it is completely paid for by Tiger Dining. Students can also have two other guests under
chair basketball team. There has also been talk with the United States Tennis Association about creating a wheelchair tennis team at Auburn, as well as some interest from current students about starting power soccer and adapted waterski teams. Taylor has won two gold medals as an assistant head coach at the Paralympics, and he is hoping to get a third in Tokyo. His first was in Beijing with the woman’s team and his sec-
the reservation. “You can bring up to two friends if you want to, because I know some people wouldn’t be comfortable sitting with just them and their professor,” Lyn said. “I know if I were a freshman, I probably wouldn’t be that bold.” Lyn worked on the program as an assistant vice president of initiatives last year and said the program has been a few years in the making as SGA has worked with Tiger Dining to discuss logistics. SGA also worked with the Office of Information Technology to launch a website specifically for the program. When students go to the website, they can select the professor and three preferred dates and times, as well as the reason for the lunch. The faculty or staff member can then ac-
ond in Rio with the men’s team. “Coaches do not receive medals at the Olympic or Paralympic games,” he said. “The golds that I’m wearing are definitely not mine. I had to give them back to the guys that won the medals, but they were kind enough to let me wear them for two minutes.” Taylor ended his presentation urging the audience to attend their first home tournament of the season from Oct. 12-13, and of course, by saying “Welcome home.”
cept, deny or request another time, so students don’t have to figure out the time beforehand. At the lunch, the student will have to present their student ID and the confirmation email. Turton said she hopes students see Flunch as an opportunity to get more than the normal student-teacher interaction. “A lot of times when you go to office hours, it’s for an extension on a project or to round up that 0.5 % on a final grade or maybe to take a test early,” Turton said. “I think that this will establish that relationship, so that way students and teachers understand the personal side of that relationship.” Turton has seen firsthand how these relationships with professors can play a huge role in a student’s
journey through college. “Tracy Richards has been such a mentor to me,” Turton said. “Through her knowledge and her experiences and our friendship, she’s empowered me to make educated decisions that I think I’ll be happy with after college.” Even having just one person that you can lean on as you transition out of college and look to for guidance can make a huge difference as you’re making decisions that will have impact for years down the line, Turton added. “I think that there’s going to be so many opportunities just for relationships, which is the most important thing,” Turton said. “This is the Auburn Family. To see that mentorship from faculty or staff to a student is going to be really impactful.”
JORDAN BURKES / CAMPUS WRITER
Robb Taylor speaks during the Family Friday speaker series in Auburn, Ala.
community THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM
COMMUNITY
LEGISLATION
Click it or Ticket, Alabama Revisions made to Alabama’s seat belt laws take effect By TARAH YEAGER Community Writer
Drivers and passengers in all vehicles must be buckled up, according to the revised Alabama seatbelt laws. This is a revision to existing legislation, in which only those in the front seat of a vehicle had to wear a seatbelt. The revision extends to include all passengers, and took effect Sept. 1. This Alabama legislature approved the revisions during their last session. Sen. David Burkette, D-Montgomery, and Rep. Chris Sells, R-Greenville, sponsored the bill, which was brought to the governor’s desk and signed after passing in the House 76 to 17. Representative Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, urged the passage of the bill on the House floor. “The Roderic Deshaun Scott Seat Belt Safety Act puts a human face on an issue that’s long overdue to be addressed,” Hatcher said. “This is an important step in strengthening the safety culture in Alabama by requiring seat belt use by back seat passengers.” Scott was a student-athlete at Robert E. Lee High School in Montogomery. He was not wearing a seatbelt when he died as a result of a car accident. “It is my hope that voluntary compliance with this new law will save thousands of lives in the years to come,” Burkette said. “I am saddened that it took such a tragedy to serve as the impetus for passing this law, but honoring Roderic Scott is an appropriate way to preserve the memory of this special young man.” Further support for amending this bill came from data found by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
According to this data, rear seat passengers are three times more likely to die in a car accident if a seatbelt is not worn, and motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 19. The average usage rate of a seat belt in front seats is about 87 %. The data the NHTSA presents said that if the seat belt usage rate for passengers in the back seat matched that of front seat passengers, there could be up to a 50% reduction in fatalities and injuries. “The Alabama Legislature is to be commended for amending Alabama’s seat belt law to include rear seat passengers,” said Tony Harris, Government Relations Manager at the Alabama Department of Transportation. “Sixty percent of the people dying on Alabama’s roadways are not wearing a seatbelt, especially those riding in rear seats. Many crashes are survivable with the use of a seat belt.” Amending the seat belt law to include backseat passengers was a way to plan for the future as ride-hailing apps become more popular, said Drive Safe Coordinator Allison Green. This law is a secondary violation, so a ticket can only be issued if the driver was pulled over for another reason, said Auburn Police Division Assistant Chief of Police William Matthews. “Front seat occupants usage and child restraint usage are primary offenses, while back-seat passengers will be evaluated after another primary violation has been observed,” Matthews said. “We work daily to improve the safety of the Auburn community, both on and off of the roadways.”
KATHRYN MUSSELL / PHOTOGRAPHER
New seatbelt laws take effect Sept. 1.
DEVELOPMENT
Decorative crosswalks nearly completed downtown By MY LY Community Writer
The construction of the decorative crosswalks on North College Street is mostly finished and on full display for all tourist and pedestrian crossing. Construction on these crosswalks began on Aug. 26. These expansions are only the beginning of a much larger plan of remodeling the pedestrian accommodations in Auburn, said Assistant City Manager Megan McGowen Crouch. “The decorative crosswalks are done mainly in the downtown area,” Crouch said. “You see them on Magnolia and on the vicinity of campus.”
Crouch spoke about the significance of the new crosswalks. “A lot of the reasons to add these are to make the crossings obvious to passing drivers and make them more aware of people crossing over, especially in areas with high pedestrian activity,” Crouch said. The new sidewalks are raised as a means of drawing attention to pedestrians that are crossing the street. The other reason the City decided to install the decorative crosswalks is simply the aesthetic appeal. The lights around the crosswalks were designed to have a nicer look. “The decorative mast arms ... they have a little more architecture to them compared to
the plainer ones, so they look a little nicer than the wire or regular metal ones,” Crouch said. These new additions will also aid pedestrians in walking along the sidewalks at any time during the day or night. “People think they’re street lights but they are decorative,” Crouch said. “They are all up and down College Street. They’re the short poles with the globe lights on them, and those aren’t meant to light the street for cars, but more for lighting the sidewalks for pedestrians while also making pedestrians more visible for passing traffic.” All of these aesthetic improvements in the City are attempting to create a safer environment for pedestrians around Auburn and
RETAIL
Opelika. Makenzie Moore, a freshman in the exploratory program, says she walks most places. “The traffic in Auburn on most days makes it difficult to drive everywhere you go, and when you do drive you spend so much time searching for parking,” Moore said. Because of this, Moore walks to all of her classes, and walks to her destination every time she goes out. “Sometimes cars don’t notice the crosswalks or me walking, so adding these new crossings to make [pedestrians] more obvious will make it safer when crossing streets,” Moore said.
GOVERNMENT
NW Auburn Task Force taking shape By TARAH YEAGER Community Writer
KENNEDY GOODEN / PHOTOGRAPHER
The location of the Auburn Mall pop up shop on Aug. 23, 2019 in Auburn, Ala.
Contest helps decide holiday shopping season By CHARLIE RAMO Community Writer
The Auburn Mall is running a contest to bring out the community’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. For the first time, the mall will provide one business applicant with retail space for a pop-up shop, advertising and $1,000 to customize their space, said Coles Doyle, marketing director for Hull Property Group who owns the mall. The winning business will occupy the space from Nov. 25 to Jan. 7, which will give them access to the mall’s high levels of holiday foot traffic. The space is 2,000 square feet, but the back portion can be walled off to make a 1,200 square-foot space if requested. There are no restrictions on the type of business that can apply, Doyle said.
“We’re looking for someone who has a vision for a brick-and-mortar store,” Doyle said. “[The mall is] pretty open to different ideas.” The only requirement for the winning business is to merchandise and pilot the store for the full six-week period. The pop-up shop owner has the option to rent the space after the six-week contest period, if the business proved to be successful in the brick-and-mortar environment, Doyle said. The concept of a pop-up shop in itself is a relatively new concept. It allows for businesses to test markets and concepts without paying for a permanent location, said Franz Lohrke, professor of entrepreneurship at Auburn University. “One major obstacle that most startups face is the ability to pay ‘fixed costs’ like rent,” Lohrke said. “An entrepreneur doesn’t have
to sign a multi-year lease for a retail space.” Many pop-up shops, much like in the one in the Auburn Mall’s competition, are seasonal. This allows for the business to get the high foot traffic of a mall without having to pay a monthly rent. The temporary shops can also afford to offer a more fun or interesting experience. They also utilize the customer’s fear of missing out, since the shop stays for a finite amount of time, Lohrke said. “Entrepreneurs need to take the customer feedback and decide if it’s worth making a major investment in a business,” Lohrke said. “They generally are a stepping stone toward starting and growing a firm.” Those wishing to enter the pop-up shop contest can visit dreambighere.com/auburn to apply by Sept. 13. The winner will be announced on Oct. 1 and begin transforming the space soon after.
An original member of Mayor Ron Anders’ Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, Ward 1 Council Member Connie Fitch Taylor decided she wanted to do more to tackle the issues facing her ward. Taylor introduced the Northwest Auburn Task Force in August to supplement the agenda of the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in the Northwest Auburn Community. “I fully support the Northwest Auburn Task Force,’’ Anders said. “Ms. Taylor felt that her ward needed a more precise focus of her time. The Diversity Task Force will continue to represent all of Auburn.” The Diversity Task Force began shortly after Anders took office in November 2018. He established this task force as well as three others. The group is working to plan a spring event and fall festival to encourage and promote diversity in Auburn, Anders said. The festival was put on hold for a year to allow the task force more time to plan the event. They plan to have the event up and running for fall 2020, Anders said. The task force was created as a way to bring the Northwest Auburn community together, Taylor said. In addition, membership to the task force is not limited to local government officials. The task force is also comprised of concerned citizens, business professionals and developers. Anyone interested in creating a lasting impact and helping the task force meet its goals is encouraged to participate, said Taylor. First on the agenda for the task force is affordable housing and job creation that affect the Northwest Auburn community. The task force goals are to create jobs, manage affordable housing, develop more children and senior programs and create programs that will bring people within the community together, Taylor said. The task force is already well on its way to achieving some of these goals. A task force meeting held Sept. 10 featured four guest speakers who discussed job training, housing development and censors, Taylor said. The Northwest Auburn Task Force will continue to meet each month and meetings are open to the public.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
The Auburn Plainsman
PAGE 7
FOOD
CAMERON BRASHER / VIDEO EDITOR
Local businesses partner to benefit Gulf Coast By ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor
Red Clay Brewing Company and The Depot are teaming up once again to present the second annual Oyster Fest to benefit the Alabama Coastal Foundation. The event will feature craft beers and oyster dishes for guests to sample while listening to live music. After moving the event to a larger location, organizers expect the event to be bigger and better than the previous event. “We were expecting 50 [people], we ended up with about 200,” said Josh Corbin, co-founder of Red Clay Brewing. “Now we’re close to passing our 200 mark, and we still have a few weeks to go before the event.” The idea for this event came when Corbin and his partner and co-founder of Red Clay, Kerry McGinnis, were enjoying a meal of oysters and other seafood at The Depot. They wanted to create an event that matched their love of The Depot’s seafood with
their passion for brewing. They also wanted to give back. They both agreed the best organization to benefit with their seafood event was the Alabama Coastal Foundation, which works to improve and protect Alabama’s coast environment. “We were thinking why not partner with a restaurant that we love to eat at that sort of utilizes the water and the seafood, oysters, things like that to create an event that we can raise some funds for the Alabama Coastal Foundation,” Corbin said. Proceeds from the event will go to the foundation. They will also take the used oyster shells from the half-shell oysters to place in their oyster shell recycling program. “They give the shells to us, and we try to get them back into the Alabama waters,” said Alabama Coastal Foundation Executive Director Mike Berte. “The outside of an oyster shell is the favorite place for a new oyster to latch onto. It helps to improve our environment and, for our oyster reefs, provide a habitat.” The Depot’s Executive Chef Scott Simpson said he hopes to
not only feature good food and beer, but also raise awareness of the difficulties the Alabama Gulf Coast faces and how to help. Simpson has created the menu for this year’s event which will include some favorites from last year’s event such as Oysters Rockefeller and Michelada Oyster Shooters. The menu also features several new dishes and entrées that Simpson hasn’t prepared since last year’s event. He said he has made some modifications to dishes so they can be more easily prepared since Simpson and his team from The Depot will be preparing the food in the kitchen at Red Clay. “Knowing that audience, we had the fun of making a menu that is specialized and featuring these great oyster products in a number of different ways that we don’t always have the opportunity to do in the restaurant, certainly not in one night,” Simpson said. Tickets are still on sale for the event, which will take place Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Red Clay Brewing in Opelika, Alabama.
EVENTS
Community set to celebrate Pagan Pride on Sept. 21 By JORDAN WINDHAM Community Writer
Pagan Pride Day, an event organized by the Church of the Spiral Tree, will be held Saturday, Sept. 21, at Kiesel Park from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The event begins with an opening blessing and will feature classes, vendors and the annual membership meeting of the Church of the Spiral Tree. This event is free to attend. Robert Von Allmen is the event’s organizer, a position he took over from Linda Kerr this year. In the past, he has served as the event’s treasurer.
“Pagans of all different beliefs and paths [attend], as there simply are not a lot of us, and events like this give us a chance to meet and connect with each other,” Von Allmen said. The Church of the Spiral Tree is a non-profit, nondenominational pagan church in Auburn. Its purpose is to unify the pagan community, but they encourage anyone who is curious about their beliefs to attend and learn more, Von Allmen said. “We have even occasionally had parents come with their pagan teenager to try and understand about our community,” Von Allmen said. While Kiesel Park is a city park, which means
any sales must be made by those with a City of Auburn business license, all are welcome to display their wares, especially pagan-themed ones. There will be no food vendors, however, so the church will be giving away bag lunches on a firstcome, first-serve basis. Organizational tables must be pre-approved, but all are welcome as long as they are not political. All religions are welcome too, as long as their purpose is outreach and education. “There [are] always a few Fundamentalist Christians who show up and try to witness to us, but usually, they have been very polite and re-
spectful of others, asking to witness, but not forcing themselves on anybody,” Von Allmen said. As long as the witnesses are respectful, Von Allmen said, he engages with them, but if they try to cause a scene, they are asked to leave. Auburn’s local Pagan Pride Day was started by Cliff Landis, an Auburn alumnus who was president of Pantheon, the Auburn student pagan group to unite like-minded pagans and showcase their beliefs to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item to be donated to the East Alabama Food Bank.
sports
8
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
THEPLAINSMAN.COM
FOOTBALL
SPORTS
FOOTBALL
AU up to No. 8 By MATT JOHNSON Sports Writer
TODD VAN EMST / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Seth Williams (18) catches the game-winning touchdown against Oregon on Aug. 31, 2019, in Arlington, Texas.
Seth Williams out vs. Kent State By BRYCE JOHNSON Sports Writer
Seth Williams, who was on the receiving end of Auburn’s game-winning touchdown against Oregon in Week 1, will be on the sidelines this Saturday when Auburn faces Kent State. Williams injured his shoulder going up for a jump ball near the end zone last week in the matchup with Tulane. Currently, he is second on the team in receiving yards and has become one of Nix’s favorite deep threat targets. As far as next week’s showdown with No. 16 Texas A&M, head coach Gus Malzhan is still speculative whether Wil-
liams will be ready. “We’ll see where he’s at about his availability for the next week,” Malzhan said. “I think it’s kind of a day-to-day deal.” With Williams’s absence, Auburn will look to supplement the lost production with an increase of plays for both Sal Cannella and Matthew Hill. Tight end Jay Jay Wilson and former walk-on James Owens Moss saw playing time in the second half after Williams’ injury. “It’s the next man up,” Cannella said. “At the same time, we’ve got an opponent to face this week, and we’re going to go out to battle with the guys we’ve got, and I’m confident that we’ll get the job done.”
After coming off an impressive victory over Oregon, Auburn had its home opener Saturday against Tulane. Auburn’s defense was effective and the offense was able to hold on to capture a 24-6 victory. The Tigers continue to climb the ladder, as Auburn heads into the third game of the season ranked as the No. 8 team in the country, jumping up two spots in Sunday’s AP Top 25 poll. JaTarvious Whitlow was held to only eight rushing yards in the first half, but in the third quarter the sophomore from LaFayette, Alabama, was able to rush for 54 yards on a key scoring drive, giving the Tigers the lead going into the fourth quarter. The defense looked happy to be at home as Tulane’s quarterback Justin McMillan completed only 10 of his 33 passing attempts, finishing with a QBR of 40.7. Auburn is still the fourth-highest ranked SEC team in this week’s AP Top 25, behind No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Georgia and No. 6 LSU. Auburn remains ranked ahead of No. 9 Florida and No. 16 Texas A&M, both teams that will provide difficult road challenges when SEC play begins in a couple weeks. Auburn will face Kent State at home in the third game of their 2019 campaign on Saturday at 6 p.m. CST. The Tigers open up as heavy favorites against Kent State, a team that allowed Arizona State to gain 455 yards of offense in its season opener.
SOCCER
MARIE LIPSKI / PHOTO EDITOR
Auburn celebrates Sydney Richards’ goal during Auburn vs. Troy on Sept. 8, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.
Auburn closing out noncon play at home By CALEB JONES Sports Writer
W, 2-0
Led by senior Bri Folds and sophomore Hailey Whitaker, the Tigers scored two goals in the second half to shut out the Orange, 2-0. After a physical first half in which both defenses played well, the score heading into halftime was tied at zero. Auburn had nine shots in the first half
By KENNEDY AUSTIN Sports Writer
W, 3-0
The Tigers took a bite out of the Trojans with a 3-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. Thanks to freshman forward Sydney Richards and senior midfielder Bri Folds, the Tigers managed a shutout, with all three goals scored in the first period. Richards managed to score in the first few minutes, and later scored anoth-
but could not come up with a goal. The Tigers’ best scoring chance in the first half came off of a corner kick by Riley Petcosky but stalled when Syracuse’s Lysianne Proulx made multiple saves near the goal. The Tigers came out as a new team in the second half, showing a burst of energy and wearing down Syracuse. The Tigers had 17 shots in the second half compared to the four shots that Syr-
acuse had. “I thought our team connected passes better in the second half,” said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa. “That’s what we talked about at halftime — we need to not overcomplicate the game and just connect our passes”. This led to the first goal, when the midfielder Folds connected with Whitaker, who kicked the ball through the left side of the goal for the score.
er goal with 18:50 left in the first period. Folds’ score came off a penalty kick in the first period. “Being a freshman and coming out there hitting two really nice goals in the first half to get the good start to the game felt really good,” Richards said. Auburn’s defense stayed aggressive and kept possession of the ball for most of the first half. By halftime, the Tigers had attempted 12 shots compared to Troy’s two.
“We wanted to pick up where we left off Thursday, and the first half was tremendous,” said Auburn head coach Karen Hoppa. In the second period the Tigers attempted six shots but did not score thanks to Troy’s goalkeeper, Haleigh Mercer, and a few overshot kicks. The Trojans attempted two shots but came up short with each one. Auburn attempted 18 shots for the game to Troy’s four.
vs. S. Miss
Friday — 6:30 p.m. Auburn Soccer Complex
vs. Samford
Sunday — 6 p.m. Auburn Soccer Complex
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
PAGE 9
FOOTBALL
Bo Nix ‘frustrated’ with his play By JAKE WEESE Sports Reporter
LOGAN ELLISON / PHOTOGRAPHER
Bo Nix (10) rolls out during Auburn vs. Tulane on Sept. 7, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.
Coming off the Oregon game, where Bo Nix led Auburn on a game-winning drive in the final seconds but also threw two interceptions, the true freshman quarterback was looking for his home debut to feature more consistency. In No. 8 Auburn’s 24-6 win over Tulane, Nix finished 19-for-37 for 207 yards and a touchdown. For Auburn, a win is a win but the Tigers know that they will need much more from their quarterback as they get closer to the SEC opener at Texas A&M on Sept. 21. Stats do not tell the whole story for Nix’s performance against Tulane. Though he finished the contest without any interceptions, he had a number of errant throws that were nearly turnovers. The former Alabama Mr. Football and Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year was happy to get the win but knows he’s capable of more. “Obviously winning the game, that’s important,” Nix said. “So at times I made some good plays, I moved the ball at certain points, and I made some
pretty good throws just to move the chains once in a while, but I just have to be more consistent.” Auburn struggled to run the ball in the first half, and as a result, Nix was forced to throw it more than planned in the first half. He had attempted 29 passes by halftime. Gus Malzahn complimented Nix but also acknowledged that forcing his quarterback to throw 29 times in a half isn’t what he wanted. Auburn got the run game going in the second half, and because backup quarterback Joey Gatewood played the final six minutes, Nix did not have to throw it much. Nix knows that he has to be more consistent with his play. Teammates like Will Hastings, who caught Nix’s lone touchdown pass Saturday night, have faith that Nix will play better week in and week out moving forward. “I thought he (Nix) played decent. I think he can play a little bit better,” Hastings said. “I’ve seen him, and I know him very personally. He’s frustrated about his play, and so I know that fire in him, he’s gonna come back next week and be even better. He’s young, he’s gonna keep getting better and better each week, so I’m not too worried about him.”
FOOTBALL
TODD VAN EMST / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Eli Stove (12) scores a touchdown during Auburn vs. Tulane on Sept. 7, 2019, in Auburn, Ala.
Malzahn: ‘Capable’ offense will improve By SUMNER MARTIN Assistant Sports Editor
No. 8 Auburn enters Week 3 of the 2019 college football season undefeated after defeating Oregon, 27-21, and Tulane, 24-6, with Kent State visiting Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. In both victories, however, slow starts have been the story in the first half and have raised questions on whether or not the offensive line, which returned all five starters from last year, has actually improved from an inconsistent 2018 season. The Tigers have a combined 90 yards rushing in first halves this season, finishing with 70 before halftime against Oregon in Week 1 and just 20 last week at home versus Tulane. Auburn carried the ball eight times for 55 yards in the first quarter against Oregon in the season opener, but managed just 15 yards in the second quarter on nine carries. The offense took a step back against Tulane in Week 2, running the ball seven times for just five yards in the first quarter against the Green Wave defense and six times for 15 yards in the second quarter. In both games, the offense performed better in the second
half but head coach Gus Malzahn has emphasized getting off to faster starts, especially on first down. “Just really, you know, getting in second down-and-6 or better, really just getting some positive plays where you can run or throw in those situations. Really, that’s been my main focus,” Malzahn said. “We got to do better on first down, so that will be the goal this week. If we can do that, it’s going to help us in a lot of different areas, and it’ll help our young quarterback too. That’s going to be a focus.” Apart from the rushing attack, the offensive line has struggled to protect true freshman quarterback Bo Nix consistently, which has affected Nix’s ability to sit in the pocket and make accurate throws downfield. The freshman completed 13-of-31 pass attempts in the season-opening win over Oregon, but the majority of his incompletions were throwaways. Malzahn was asked at his Tuesday press conference if he would consider any changes up front. “No. I think our offensive line, if you really look, really the positives, both second halves, we played really good football and finished really good,” Malzahn said. The Tigers have, as Malzahn alluded to, finished games
strong. The offense rushed for 206 yards against Oregon in Jerry World and 172 yards in the home opener against Tulane. “The evaluation is the first half, we’ve struggled a little bit,” Malzahn said. “Second half, like I said, we’ve played really good football. And some of that’s on me, now, too. We’ve got to do a better job as far as everything goes in the first half, as far as everything goes running-game wise. But I think we’re capable of being a good running team. There’s no doubt in my mind that we are. And we’ll get better. So that’s how I see it right now.” Malzahn, whose team just climbed two spots in the AP Poll from No. 10 to No. 8 after covering the spread in back-to-back weeks, is taking the positives from a 2-0 start to the season but also knows that they need to clean up their execution versus Kent State with an SEC-opening road test at Texas A&M fast approaching. “After this game we’ll have a really good idea of where we’re at and what we need to do as far as getting into conference play and all that,” Malzahn said. “That was kinda really our goal all along. We’re capable of being a good offense, there’s no doubt in my mind. It just takes the little things to start clicking and my experience is when those little things start clicking, that’s when you have a chance to be pretty good.”
ENGAGING THE AUBURN FAMILY.
WE ARE PARENT & FAMILY PROGRAMS. WE ARE AUBURN STUDENT AFFAIRS.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
The Auburn Plainsman
PAGE 10
WEEK 3 PLAINSMAN PICK ‘EM Kent St-Auburn
Nathan King Sports editor (9-3)
Sumner Martin Asst. sports editor (10-2)
Jake Weese Sports reporter (7-5)
William Finney Sports writer
Kennedy Austin Sports writer
Caleb Jones Sports writer
Carl No. 1 Kent State fan (3-9)
Wash St-Houston
Iowa-Iowa St
Stanford-UCF
Tex Tech-Arizona
TCU-Purdue
lifestyle THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
11 THEPLAINSMAN.COM
LIFESTYLE
ARTS
Downtown coffee shop showcases bands By MIRANDA SHAFFER Lifestyle Writer
Coffee shops and live music go together like cheese and fine wine, a wonderful age-old combination that just makes sense, and students won’t have to look far to find this experience as Auburn’s very own Coffee Cat is starting a new monthly Open Mic Night that will please people’s musical appetites while they sip on lattes and cold brews that will please their palate. An Open Mic Night might sound reminiscent of karaoke amateur hour, but thanks to Elephant Barn Productions, a local Auburn grad-run business, the talent lined up for these events will be nothing less than spectacular entertainment. “It’s technically an Open Mic Night but we like to line everybody up a little in advance, so that we can curate the show and make sure that everybody has a great time and can come appreciate the music,” Erin Redd, Coffee Cat’s event coordinator, said. This is a great opportunity for students to experience a variety of music and hear up-and-coming bands, as every month will hold a new lineup of fresh musicians. Tuesday, Sept. 10 marked Coffee Cat’s first Open Mic Night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. as they partnered with Elephant Barn Productions to bring in six exciting acts. The lineup included local Auburn and Opelika bands: Sky Bells, Kaniya & Miss Unique, Freddie Lane and Fong7 as well as two traveling bands, Height Keech from Baltimore and Mister from Detroit. The lineup offered unique sounds from a diverse group of bands, so there was sure to be something for everyone to enjoy. “We want to start to cultivate a musical community here in downtown Auburn so we can have musicians come and appreciate other musicians and have people who
want to come appreciate the music, not just have sound while they’re having a beer,” said Redd. The night opened with Auburn alum, Marie Robertson, the owner of Elephant Barn Productions, who is a musician herself as well as an independent business owner. Robertson was a part of the music program at Auburn University and after graduating, her musical talents gave her the opportunity to perform all over and meet a variety of other artists in the industry. Robertson’s personal connection to the music industry has given her a long list of contacts which is how Baltimore-based band Height Keech became the headliner of Coffee Cat’s first show. “The headliner, Height Keech; I knew him from playing shows. We met on the road, and he was booking his current tour that they’re on, The Raw Roots Tour 2019, and was looking for a venLOGAN ELLISON/PHOTOGRAPHER ue in this area, so he contacted me,” said Robertson. Kaniya & Miss Unique perform at Coffee Cat on Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2019 in Auburn, Ala. Robertson framed the lineup around Keech and hand-picked some local acts she ing Kaniya & Miss Unique, a female singHeight Keech is the stage name of Baltiknew would fit well with his work to create er-songwriter duo with amazing har- more rapper and hip-hop artist Dan Keech. a nuanced selection of talent for the night. monies, an electro vibe and inspired lyr- Keech said of his music, “It’s hip-hop with Both headliners, Height Keech and Mis- ics. Following Kaniya & Miss Unique was a bunch of rock and roll and R&B and othter, are hip-hop artists which added a fun Freddie Lane, who brought slower track er stuff thrown in there.” twist to the typical sounds people expect to beats while also combining that electro Keech played two new songs that he hear at a coffee shop. sound with original pop. mentioned being especially excited about Robertson and her boyfriend, DanIn between sets, Auburn DJ Fong7 called “Desert Racers” and “The Joy You iel Webster, opened the night with their played some of his original beats to keep Made Will Never Fade.” These songs were acoustic folk band, Sky Bells. With its soft the night one of organic music all the way slower ballad type melodies and added a tunes and chill vibes, Sky Bells was more through rather than playing the usual mis- variety in genre to his normal repertoire along the lines of what people might expect cellaneous Spotify playlist songs while while also tapping into that coffee shop to find in a coffee shop environment before transitioning. mood. transitioning into something a little more Mister came out with the unique hip-hop This event showcased talent from near hype with Height Keech and Mister later sound the night had been leading up to. His and far, and Coffee Cat is excited to contininto the evening. songs incorporated alternative hip-hop and ue holding these events each month as they Next on the lineup were the two lo- rap which created a perfect segway into the strive to build a venue for artists to share cal openers of the night with the first be- music of the main headliner, Height Keech. their works with the Auburn community.
WEATHER
AGRICULTURE
Crops to be more lush this month
VIA NASA ON UNSPLASH
By FIELDER HAGAN Community Writer
Meteorologist shares hypothetical impact if hurricanes were to hit Auburn By ABIGAIL MURPHY Lifestyle Writer With hurricane season active until December, there are a few things to keep in mind for how tropical systems can affect Auburn. John De Block, the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Birmingham, said the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Dec. 1, with the peak statistically being Sept. 12. De Block said it’s rare for hurricane conditions to come as far inland as Auburn, but tornadoes and tropical storms are a possibility. “A possible condition is tornadoes forming from the feeder bands of a hurricane,” he said. “Tornados associated with tropical systems tend to be weaker and not long-lasting, but they can be harder to detect on radar.” Depending on where the tropical system moves within the state, the chances of a tornado can either decrease or increase, De Block said. “If it moves up to the west of the state, there’s definitely a chance for
tornados,” he said. “Whereas if it is to the east of Auburn, your chances go down.” Tropical storm conditions include winds between 39 and 73 mph and heavy rainfall, he said. De Block said heavy rainfall is a concern to consider with tropical storms. “Between the storm surge and inland flooding, 74% of all fatalities are related to water for tropical systems,” he said. The worst-case scenario for Auburn during hurricane season would be for a strong tropical storm to come up I-65 and to be on the west of Auburn since these conditions would be a favorable spot for the strongest winds, tornado possibilities and heavy rain, De Block said. “It’s uncommon for tropical storm conditions to make this far north, but it’s always good to be aware just in case,” he said. Emma Pitcock, a junior in marketing, is from Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Texas. She said she remembers for hurricanes they would put wood on their windows to protect from the strong winds and heavy
rain and fill up all their bathtubs in case the water stopped running. During Hurricane Harvey, her friends had to evacuate because they were predicted to get 6 feet of water. Some of her friends’ dads bought boats to help rescue people in the flooded streets, she said. When she moved to Auburn, she realized even though the weather may feel similar, with it still being the south, that doesn’t mean the severe weather would be the same too, Pitcock said. “I feel prepared for what I experience from my hometown, but not necessarily for what I’m experiencing where I live now,” she said. To keep updated with the weather and follow the directions from the campus safety officials,The National Weather Service in Birmingham works closely with campus safety to give weather updates and information, De Block said. “The most important thing, especially students, can do is to continue to watch the weather and then rely on the campus safety to issue timely alerts,” he said.
According to the Alabama Crop Harvest Calendar, September is a month full of fresh and colorful fruits and vegetables. Nancy Adams is a teacher, mentor and grower of her own produce for her friends and family. “I’ve got tomatoes, peppers, melons, potatoes, purple hull peas, turmeric, spaghetti squash and a bit of cotton for decoration,” she said. “I grew brussels, cabbage and broccoli, but the sudden surge of heat has cost me some plants.” Another crop that Adams grew was sweet baby watermelons, a rounder and smaller variety of watermelon. “I recently pulled up my watermelon crop to make space for my fall plants,” she said. “Plants know what season it is, how much daylight there’s gonna be; it’s all something they have figured out,” Adams said. “Today’s Homeowner” says tomatoes grown in hot summers with temperatures hitting above 90 degrees need special care. Today’s Homeowner also advises planting more flavorful and “heat tolerant” varieties compared to others that lose their natural flavor as the plant gets stressed. “Tomatoes are doing well, but only because of the shade cloth I put over my tunnel to make sure they aren’t receiving too much heat,” Adams said. To properly store tomatoes, Popsugar Food recommends keeping ripe tomatoes at room temperature, away from the sun. Originating in Ethiopia, okra is a fruit that thrives in hot, tropical climates. Smart Gardener says okra grows from May through Septem-
ber and is ready to harvest in a short 70-to-80 day growing season. According to Southern Living, every southerner has their favorite okra dish, and now is the time to bask in its delight. Beans are found in many southern dishes. The Urban Farmer said Alabama’s climate can support many varieties to grow, such as pole beans, bush beans and lima beans. These legumes grow, give or take a few weeks, between June and October in Alabama. Eggplants grow from July through September in many different shapes, averaging 60–85 days till maturation. Farmers’ markets in Opelika, Alabama, carry long, round and even short varieties. Herbs like basil, thyme, oregano and parsley grow well in the summer. Gardener’s Supply Company says these plants thrive in days with six or more hours of sunlight, and herbs with thinner leaves, like rosemary, can withstand longer periods of time without water. “I love bread with oil and herbs. One of my favorite things to do is go out in my beds and pick my parsley, my thyme, my oregano, and make my bread and oil. Tastes so much better,” Adams said. Bonnie’s Plant Company says all peppers share a preference for long and warm seasons. “Jalepeños, poblanos and bell peppers are doing really well,” Adams said. Summer squash comes in multiple shapes and sizes. According to Gardener’s Path, Zucchini and yellow crookneck are the most popular varieties due to their thin skin and volatile flavors. These varieties produce squash in around 40–55 days.
The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
PAGE 12
ENTERTAINMENT
TOP works of
LITERATURE By Craig Bertolet, professor of British literature
THE COMPLETE WORKS OF
1
THE CANTERBURY TALES
2
FILE PHOTO
Attorney, author and activist Bryan Stevenson’s novel “Just Mercy” is becoming a motion picture.
‘Just Mercy’ coming to the big screen
by
By NATALIE BECKERINK Lifestyle Editor
THE DIVINE COMEDY
3
by
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
4
by
5
Right Ho, Jeeves
by
To Place an Ad, Call 334-844-4130 or email admanager@theplainsman.com
For the 2016-2017 school year, Auburn chose the novel, “Just Mercy,” by Bryan Stevenson as the common book for the year. In September 2019, it was announced that this New York Times Bestseller on criminal justice reform would be turned into a movie. Stevenson graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 and began working as a public interest lawyer. A few years later in 1989, he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, an organization focused on ending mass incarceration and wrongful punishment in the United States. “EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced or abused in state jails and prisons,” according to the EJI website. “Just Mercy” was written in 2016 and was based on personal experiences of Stevenson while defending incarcerated individuals. “Just Mercy” focuses on the early days of EJI when they had a small staff trying to combat racial inequality in prisons. The movie will star Michael B. Jordan as Stevenson and tell the story of Walter Mc-
TIGERMARKET
Line Classifieds
Display Classifieds
15 words................$6 Extra Words............40c Bold Outline.....$1 per ad
Local.......$11 per col inch National..$16 per col inch 1col x 4 min to 1col x 8” max
Millian played by Jamie Foxx. As part of the Critical Conversations Speaker Series hosted by Auburn at the beginning of the year, Stevenson was invited to speak to students on the importance of remembering our history and the lingering effects of racism in America. “My genuine fear is that they don’t remember,” Stevenson said. “That we actually haven’t created a culture, a nation that requires people to remember the damage we have done to one another as a result of this history of racial inequality.” During his speech, Stevenson also discussed what the country should do in order to create a more just society. “The narrative has to change if we want to be free, and because we have been practicing silence for so long, it can seem hard and scary to begin this conversation about how we overcome the history of racial inequality,” Stevenson said. “And on the other side of it, I actually think something wondrous is waiting for us.” As to differences between the book and the movie, the EJI website states the book included more historical context and detail in cases, but the movie will still follow the story similarly. It will be in theaters in December 2019. JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER
Abbigail Hickey, Auburn Universitys campusPrint dietitian speaks with The PlainsDeadline: man on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018 in Auburn, NoonAla. three business days
prior to publication.
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
The Auburn Plainsman is not responsible for the content of the ads. Ads that seem too good to be true usually are.
P The Auburn Plainsman admanager@theplainsman.com
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
ACROSS 1 Gull relatives 6 Spots to fastforward through 11 Cleopatra’s killer 14 Sharply inclined 15 Trip odometer function 16 Chinese steamed bun 17 *Realtor’s client 19 Category 20 Rural stopover 21 __ d’Alene, Idaho 22 “Well, gosh!” 24 Social reformer Jacob 26 *Surface for slicing rye, say 28 Body ink 30 Eye part that may become detached 31 Golf’s Slammin’ Sammy 32 Karma 35 Vegas’ “onearmed bandit” 36 *Vehicle’s rear warning lamp 39 Head or tooth pain 42 Pick out with care 43 Aficionados 47 “Ye Olde” retailer 49 Lose its fizz, as soda 50 *Feline metaphor for an empty threat 54 Pâté de __ gras 55 Goodnight woman of song 56 “The __ Wears Prada”: 2006 film 58 “__ you awake?” 59 Vied for office 60 Certain brain tissue, or what each half of the answers to the starred clues can be 63 Pre-marital (just barely) promise 64 Parisian love 65 Reagan attorney general Ed 66 After taxes 67 Easy victories 68 Medicare Rx section DOWN 1 Tops with slogans
9/30/19
By Roland Huget
2 Ian Fleming or George Orwell, schoolwise 3 Get the old gang together 4 Old Nintendo game console: Abbr. 5 Job detail, briefly 6 More accurate 7 Change of __: trial request 8 Stars, in Latin 9 Lousy grade 10 Flasher at a disco 11 1797-1801 first lady Adams 12 City near Naples 13 Prodded 18 Stereotypical boxcar hopper 23 1979 Donna Summer hit 25 Local govt. prison 27 Bit of wine sediment 29 “Ghost” psychic __ Mae Brown 32 Winter malady 33 “__ My Children” 34 Shop __ you drop 37 Rapper/actor whose name sounds like a summer drink
Saturday’s Puzzle Solved
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
38 “Westworld” network 39 Pill for pain 40 Pantomimed act in a parlor game 41 “Sure wish that doesn’t happen” 44 Pool noodle, e.g. 45 “... who is the __ one of all?”: Evil Queen 46 Manned the helm
9/30/19
48 Like the Great Depression, timewise 49 Like the Reaper 51 Figure of speech 52 Hop out of bed 53 Activist Medgar 57 Tanning device 61 Medical ins. plan 62 Scone go-with