The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID
Thursday, March 2, 2017 Vol. 124, Issue 23, 12 Pages
First copy is free. Additional copies 50 cents per issue.
COMMUNITY
Beach booze ban
Beach towns warn spring breakers about ‘zero tolerance’ alcohol policies Chip Brownlee COMMUNITY EDITOR
If you're thinking about heading down to Gulf Shores, Alabama, for spring break and want to drink, you might need to find a different vacation spot. From March 1–April 17, the Gulf Shores Police Department and the Baldwin County Sheriff's Department will deploy more officers to enforce its first year of a zero-tolerance no alcohol policy. "Thousands of college students typically come to our city for spring break," said GSPD Chief Edward Delmore in an announcement this week. "We want to make sure everyone understands those rules." During the designated period, no possession or con-
sumption of alcohol on beaches will be allowed, police said. No warnings will be issued, and violators will be subject to physical arrest or citations requiring court appearances. The Orange Beach, Alabama, police made a similar statement: Underage drinking, illegal drug use and disorderly conduct will not be tolerated. They also promised to issue no warnings, according to their announcement. "If you are looking for a party town, the city of Orange Beach is not it," OBPD said in their announcement. The Orange Beach Police Department also warned spring break visitors against sleeping in their cars, having glass containers on the beach, digging large holes and having loud music on beaches or in condo and hotel rooms.
Alcohol is also prohibited on any state beach in Orange Beach. Efforts to crack down on underage drinking and misbehavior began in 2015 when a video went viral of an alleged gang rape on a beach in Panama City Beach, Florida. A zero-tolerance, no-alcohol ban was implemented there in 2016, and it will continue this year. Many college students swapped to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in 2016, prompting Gulf Shores to pass their own no-alcohol ordinance for spring break last year. In 2016, arrests were up 800 percent in Orange Beach alone, according to WSFA. Arrests were also up in Gulf Shores. Police hope to make fewer arrests this year with their announcements, but they will if they have to.
DAKOTA SUMPTER / MANAGING EDITOR
STUDENT STORIES
COMMUNITY
Constituents ask members of Congress for town halls Sam Willoughby COMMUNITY REPORTER
The challenge requires that the selected student make a layup, freethrow, three-pointer and half-court shot in 24 seconds. Most students nominated struggle with the layup and free-throw, let alone earn a trip to the three-point arch. However, Bode succeeded in the first two shots and found himself in three-point land to attempt a straight-on jumper. Bode drilled it, setting up the all-important half-court heave. At this point, the crowd began to rise to their feet, recognizing that Bode had put him-
Close to one hundred constituents lined up in a Montgomery converted church venue on Thursday to question U.S. Rep. Martha Roby and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers about access to healthcare, immigration reform, President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to foreign powers and freedom of the press — among a number of other issues. But they didn’t receive any answers. Roby, who represents Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, and Rogers, who represents the 3rd Congressional District including Auburn, were not there. Congress is in recess this week. While many members of Congress scheduled town halls or similar public meetings in their home districts, Roby and Rogers did not. Around the country this week, citizens, as they did in Montgomery, have decided to hold their own meetings with or without the representatives present. The event was put together only in the past week, which Scott Page, one of the organizers, said may be a reason why the representatives weren’t able to attend. “We kind of were a little bit behind in inviting them, so that’s probably why they weren’t able to show up,” Page said. “I hope that’s it, anyway.” Instead, the attendees directed their questions toward a camera. Organizers live-streamed the event and said they plan to send the footage to the representatives in hopes of getting answers. “I didn’t do this to embarrass or to ambush anybody,” said Rebecca SeungBickley, one of the event's organizers and a constituent of Roby, to the camera. “That’s not why I’m here. I’m here because, good or bad, Montgomery is my home. ... You represent us. How can you speak for me, if you will not speak to me?” In the months following the election of Trump, more and more liberal groups have been forming online and organizing similar events. The Montgomery event was put together by members of the local chapters of Cafe Resistance, Together We Will and Indivisible. Some have compared the newfound energy of the left to that of the conservative Tea Party, which cropped up following the election of Barack Obama. But the White House has rejected that comparison, claiming the liberal groups are inorganic and “astroturfed”— highly organized, well-funded efforts disguised as a grassroots campaign. Early on Feb. 23, a spokesperson from Roby’s office described the Montgomery event as an illegitimate “organized liberal protest” meant to rile up animosity toward Republican members of Congress, pointing to the apparent fact organizers didn’t invite Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, AL-07, who also represents parts of Montgomery. Though the flier put out ahead of the event lists only Roby and Rogers as invitees, Seung-Bickley said they decided to invite Sewell at the last minute. Sewell was not in attendance and is also not holding any town hall events in Montgomery during the recess. However, she held a town hall in Selma on Feb. 24 and a "tele-town hall" on Feb. 18. Every attendee who spoke to The Plainsman said they were a constituent of either Roby or Rogers and denied receiving money from anyone. Organizers said the venue was provided to the group free of charge for the night. “There’s nothing fake about these kinds of meetings,” said Jerry Milner, a constituent of Rogers. “Who organizes them is irrelevant. We’re still
» See BASKETBALL, 2
» See CONGRESS, 2
IMAGE VIA VIDEO SCREENSHOT MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Ben Bode, winner of Golden Flake Tuition Shootout, on Monday, Feb. 27 in Auburn,Ala.
Moneyball
Student talks winning big in Tuition Shootout
Nathan King
SPORTS REPORTER
On Saturday night, the Arkansas Razorbacks escaped Auburn Arena with a 79-68 victory over the Tigers. The Auburn faithful remained relatively quiet for the duration of the contest. It was the entertainment that came between the on-court action that prompted the primary jubilation and eruption that the 8,098 gathered will never forget. For the halftime entertainment, Ben Bode, a junior in accounting, trotted onto the floor for the Golden Flake Tuition Shootout.
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INDEX Campus
3
Opinion
5
Community 6
Your Miss Auburn 2017
Mardi Gras comes to Auburn
Football begins spring practice
Local coffee shops showcase latte art
Sports
8
Lifestyle
11
News 2
CONGRESS » From 1
voters. We’re still their constituents. They ought to try to participate. And if not, you know what, announce your own town halls, and we’ll come to those.” Roby's office said she is planning public meetings in her district and will announce when they've been scheduled. Roby's last public meeting in the area was in 2013. Two days later, on Saturday, another group assembled 60 miles down I-85 in downtown Opelika with a similar goal. Also put together by local chapters of online liberal groups, over one hundred members of the “Polite Brigade” met in front of Rogers’ office in Opelika to ask the congressman to schedule a town hall. “We’re just here because we asked repeatedly for a town hall from our representative,” said Kelli Thompson, who helped organize the event. "It’s already hard enough to feel like your vote doesn’t count in Alabama. ... We just want a town hall. We want space to have a debate.” Members of the Polite Brigade dressed in
old-fashioned clothing and sang tunes like “God Bless America” and the theme song to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood while marching in front of the empty office. Rogers has not held a town hall in Lee County in years. The Polite Brigade say his office told them Rogers would consider holding one in August. They say that’s not soon enough. "We will be glad to talk with him in August," said Stephanie Shepherd Prater, who helped organize the event. "But we just feel like things are happening so rapidly on both the state and federal level, that we need to talking to our representatives sooner." Among the list of concerns for the Polite Brigade: the future of the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. When asked for comment, Rogers’ office told The Plainsman Rogers is planning town hall events in the future and that the congressman’s schedule this year was “especially packed with work on implementing President Trump's agenda and previously scheduled commitments." Rogers’ office did not respond to follow-up questions.
BASKETBALL » From 1
self in a position to achieve the seemingly impossible. “When I hit the free-throw, I felt pretty good,” Bode said. “I thought I had a pretty good chance at the three. So then I knocked that down. All I wanted to do was have a chance at the half-court shot. I just thought it would be fun to try it.” Bode made the three with 10 seconds left on the shot-clock, electing to use this extra time to successfully execute a patient and poised half-court attempt. Bode hoisted the ball using two hands, granny-style, sinking the shot without even touching the rim. The crowd, primarily the student-section, exploded, as Bode skipped across the floor, lifting his arms victoriously. The spoils: $5,000 toward his tuition. “[Letting go] of the shot felt really good,” Bode said. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve shot enough to know when it’s at least going to be a good one. And that one felt really good.” Bode played high school basketball in Montgomery, Alabama at Eastwood Christian School. The junior credits his shooting abilities to his former coach. “I’ve been shooting the granny shot for a while,” Bode said. “I got that from my high school coach, that’s how he shot it. He taught me how to do it as a joke, but I’ve been doing it that way ever since. I knew I had a good chance if I got to half-court.” In years prior, the athletic department had required that any student selected for the tuition shootout sign a waiver, which confirmed that student’s lack of involvement in high school basketball. The University dismissed that requirement this year.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
The Auburn Plainsman
Mark McCutcheon, CEO of Golden Flake Enterprises, was in the arena on Saturday night to witness Bode’s success. McCutcheon made his way down to the student section after halftime to extend his congratulations to the junior. Bode’s shot resounded across the sports world, included an appearance on ESPN’s Saturday night edition of SportsCenter. “I don’t even have a Twitter or an Instagram, so I never posted my video,” Bode said. “I saw it a few times on ESPN and it was so cool. One my friends posted it to Twitter, then [ESPN] tweeted him back asking his permission to use his video.” Looking back on Auburn’s home loss to the Razorbacks, Bode’s feat will stand as the most exciting part of the night in a game that featured a team well on its way to the NCAA tournament. “I’ll probably never experience that many people all cheering for me at once ever again,” Bode said. “The student section just went absolutely berserk afterwards.” The selection process for Bode wasn’t random, as some fans might have expected. “I’ve always wanted to do it, I just haven’t been able to make it to that many games,” Bode said. “One of my friends works in the athletic department, so I had asked him if I could do it and he helped get me set up. “If someone expresses interest, a lot of times [the athletic department] will just let them do it. But if no one says anything, that’s when they just pick someone from the crowd.”
CAMPUS CRIME LOG Date Reported
Type of Incident
General Location
02/26/2017
CriminalTrespass Second Degree
200 Block of S Donahue Dr
02/25/2017
Duty Upon Striking an UnoccupiedVehicle
100 Block of Toomer St
02/25/2017
Duty Upon Striking an UnoccupiedVehicle
100 Block of Wright St
02/25/2017
Making False Report to Law EnforcementAuthority
100 Block of Wright St
02/25/2017
Disorderly Conduct
Wilmore Dr at W Magnolia Av
02/25/2017
Theft-Miscellaneous
100 Block of Toomer St
02/25/2017
Public Intoxication
100 Block of S College St
02/25/2017
Possession of Marijuana Second Degree
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
Possession of a Controlled Substance
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
Minor in Possession ofAlcohol
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
Possession of Marijuana Second Degree
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
400 Block of Duncan Dr
02/25/2017
CriminalTrespassThird Degree
100 Block of S College St
02/25/2017
Damage to Business Property Second Degree
200 Block of Mell St
02/25/2017
Drug Complaint
300 Block of Quad Dr
02/24/2017
Public Intoxication
200 Block of Foy Union Circle
02/24/2017
Possession of a Forged Instrument
200 Block of Foy Union Circle
02/24/2017
Giving False Identification to Law Enforcement
Pumphrey Av at Shug Jordan Pkwy
02/24/2017
Failure toAppear-Bail Jumping Second Degree
Pumphrey Av at Shug Jordan Pkwy
02/24/2017
Leaving Scene ofAccident
200 Block of Wire Rd
02/24/2017
Theft of PropertyThird Degree
200 Block of Roosevelt Conc
02/24/2017
Failure toAppear-Bail Jumping Second Degree
1500 Block of Wire Rd
02/24/2017
Theft of Property Fourth Degree
300 Block of S. Donahue Dr.
02/23/2017
Burglary-Residence-No ForceThird Degree
1200 Block of S College St
02/23/2017
Leaving Scene ofAccident
600 Block of DeKalb St
02/23/2017
Theft of PropertyThird Degree
200 Block of Wire Rd
02/22/2017
Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
600 Block S Donahue Dr
02/22/2017
Theft of PropertyThird Degree
200 Block of S College St
02/22/2017
CriminalTrespassThird Degree
700 Block of Biggio Dr
02/21/2017
Theft of PropertyThird Degree Leaving Scene ofAccident
100 Block of Roosevelt Dr
02/21/2017
Because of his knowledge about the event’s technicalities ahead of time, Bode was able to properly prepare himself for his big moment. “I practiced about two hours the morning of,” Bode said. “I did the circuit a bunch of times. I made it once or twice, so I knew it was possible. But that was out of about 50 tries.” The junior hasn’t been complacent about keeping his skills sharp on the court since high school. Bode has played intramural basketball at the University’s Recreation and Wellness Center every semester since his freshman year. Bode expressed his extreme gratefulness for how much the reward will aid in his education. Bode has plans to study in Ireland this summer with the Internship Abroad program in conjunction with the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. The trip is scheduled to last two months. Now a seasoned veteran in the art of half-court
600 Block of Heisman Dr
heaves, Bode offered his advice to students attempting the Tuition Shootout at future home basketball games. “Just make it fun,” Bode said. “Everyone was telling me not to do the granny shot. They said ‘that’s going to take too much time’ and ‘think of how stupid you’ll look when you air ball it.’ So I said ‘yes, but think of how cool it will look if I make it.’” Bode currently serves as the Student Media Treasurer, along with his membership in Farmhouse Fraternity, involvement in Beta Alpha Psi International Honorary and Service Organization and contribution as a student-athlete class checker. He will be honored at the Tigers final game of the 2017 regular season this Saturday against Missouri, where he will also be presented with his official check for $5,000. Jack Winchester, sports editor, contributed to this article.
Campus
Thursday, March 2, 2017
3 ThePlainsman.com Campus
ELECTIONS
ALL PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY ASHLEY MOATES
TOP: Ashley (left) and Anna (right) Moates celebrate Ashley’s Miss Auburn win. BOTTOM LEFT: The Moates sisters wear matching dresses during a family outing. BOTTOM RIGHT: Anna and Ashley embrace at the beach.
TOP: The young Moates sisters hug in matching shirts. MIDDLE: Anna and Ashley share a laugh on the beach. BOTTOM: The sisters prepare for Anna’s prom together.
Ashley and Anna Moates take Auburn
Miss Auburn dedicates life to improving the lives of disabled people
Lily Jackson
Lifestyle Editor
Ashley Moates, junior in communication disorders and newly elected Miss Auburn, has dedicated her life and platform to a cause that hits closer than home. Life before Auburn Moates grew up in a small town in Georgia “that no one has heard of.” She was the only student from her high school to continue on at Auburn University. Along with her parents and three siblings, Moates found herself on a farm for the majority of her life. Forty minutes away from the nearest movie theater or shopping mall, Moates said the siblings were very fond of each other and became more friends than family. “We all grew up very close,” Moates said. “We are very close in age, the oldest being 25 and Anna, the youngest, is about to turn 20.” Moates watched her older sister leave the farm and head for The Plains, a decision her father, an alumnus, greatly appreciated. Moates mother, an Alabama graduate, didn’t mind though. At the age of eight, she hadn’t thought about where she’d want to go, but visits to see her sister instilled a love for the school. “I never really cared one way or the other in terms of football,” Moates said. “Through visiting [my sister] and seeing how much she loved it and all the friends she made, my interest was peaked.” Involvement Right off the bat, Moates was sure she wanted to pursue involvement with the AU Singers, the campus show choir. Following in her sister’s footsteps, she too made the ensemble and performs semesterly. “I love singing and dancing, and I love the family it is,” Moates said. “Everyone gets so close and you have so many different people of different majors from so many different backgrounds, and we all come together because we love music.” Today, Moates is the vice president of AU Singers and received her Miss Auburn nomination from the organization.
“I loved and believed in my platform from the beginning, but it couldn’t have reached as many people as it did if it weren’t for my team and those that believed in it as well,” Moates said. During planning, Moates told herself on many occasions, “If I can just make it to campaign week.” She couldn’t wait to start talking about what she was so passionate about. Preparation and budgeting were hectic, Moates said, but nothing could outshine campaign week. Her main focus was spreading her goals and passions. Moates said her team helped more than she could have imagined and the week went off like a charm. Moates said she had never felt so loved and supported in her life. “Getting the opportunity to share my heart with people all over campus was truly exciting,” Moates said. AUsome Dreams and Anna “[AUsome Dreams] focuses on making uniquely Auburn dreams come true for people with disabilities and what that dream looks like completely depends on what that person is passionate about and what they love,” Moates said. Before elections, Moates made two of these dreams come true. Drew, a 21-year-old diagnosed with Autism, loves to play tennis. After pulling some strings, Drew was welcomed to meet and play with the Auburn Men’s Tennis team at a practice. “The team made him an honorary member and told him he would always have a place with them,” Moates said. The second dream hit home for Moates. Anna, Moates younger sister, has Down syndrome. She loves to sing and dance. Anna’s sister made her dream come true by organizing a performance with the AU Singers. “It was her dream to be an Auburn University Singer and it’s something she has seen my older sister and I do that she has always wanted to get up there and try,” Moates said. Choreography was specially made for the Singers and Anna to learn and perform together. After practice, the group changed into their
sequins or uniforms, Anna finding her own uniform to wear in performance. The audience stood cheering as the group entered for their performance of, “Firework.” “Anna had the most joyful smile on her face and I did too because it was a dream of mine to have her up there with me,” Moates said. “Seeing her do something she always wanted to do was even more of a gift for me.” Just 18 months younger than Moates, Anna has been a part of Moates life for as long as she can remember. Anna has a learning disability in mathematics and speech. Moates said she and her family understand everything Anna says, but others find it difficult at times. “Communicating with the average person is difficult sometimes and it is sad to see that sometimes people see her and automatically assume they won’t be able to understand anything she says,” Moates said. “She can tell when people don’t try.” Moates said it is difficult to watch people refuse to take the time to know her sister. This element of her life has turned into a passion, leading her to major in communication disorders and eventually work as a speech pathologist. Moates said she interacted with her sister’s speech pathologists and saw how much impact they had on Anna. “We take it for granted that you can sit across from me and understand everything I am saying,” Moates said. “Anna doesn’t have that same luxury. It’s been her biggest struggle throughout her life.” Moates said she has learned patience, hard work and dedication from Anna. Moates said Anna rarely gets frustrated with people and doesn’t mind repeating herself. She is an accomplished equestrian that competes against others who are not affected by disabilities. Moates said Anna has a witty sense of humor and loves to make her family laugh. “Whenever we are alone in the car I crank up the music—she always wants it to be louder— and we jam to Taylor Swift or something like that,” Moates said. “It’s so great. It’s one of my
favorite things in the world.” Next steps for Miss Auburn Transition teams have stepped in and Madison Rolling, former Miss Auburn, has handed the gavel to Moates. “[Rolling] has been so kind and helpful,” Moates said. “The entire process is going very smoothly.” Moates is working on finding people with disabilities that might have an Auburn dream they’d like to come true through reaching out to Best Buddies, an organization focused on enhancing the lives of those with intellectual disabilities. “They have a lot of wonderful people there, so I am wanting to start there and start making as many dreams come true as possible.” Moates said she hopes to continue spreading awareness about disabilities throughout her term. Many people don’t know how to interact with someone with disabilities or they are scared of the language barrier, Moates said. “We want to help show people that we are all more alike than we are different and people with disabilities want to interact with people their own age and show their likes and interests as well,” Moates said. Moates hopes to set up a “Disabilities Awareness Day” on the Green Space this fall to help spread awareness. Students would be welcomed to come interact with people with disabilities, play games and learn more about individuals living with disabilities. A final goal of Moates is to work toward a collegiate program for students with disabilities. “A lot of universities have programs like this,” Moates said. “Clemson University has the ClemsonLIFE program and that’s one of the best around. They have classes tailored to the disability.” Moates said students with disabilities are faced with a moment of, “What’s next?” after aging out of the public school system. A program such as this would give these people the necessary life skills to keep moving, Moates said.
Campus 4
The Auburn Plainsman
Thursday, March 2, 2017
SENATE
MADISON OGLEETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
LEFT: Justin Smith, SGA vice president, celebrates his election victory surrounded by friends. RIGHT: SGA Treasurer Frank McEwen embraces a friend after winning the race for treasurer.
Smith and McEwen strive to serve ‘alongside’ students rather than ‘above’ Justin Smith, SGA vice president
Romy Iannuzzi CAMPUS REPORTER
Justin Smith, SGA vice president, is bringing a unique set of talents to the VP position. Smith, junior in chemical engineering, said while his degree program may not be as political as some of his colleagues, his education has still prepared him for the position. “Engineering majors are very detail-oriented,” Smith said. “We like to schedule and plan things out so that we can be as efficient as possible. Actually, the last vice president [Brandon Honeywell] was a STEM major as well.” Smith said his attention to detail could be an asset to SGA, particularly in regards to legislation. “We’re overseeing legislation, and we have to make sure everything is detailed and right so that when it goes to the president of the University the next morning, it reflects well on the student body and our Student Government Association,” Smith said. Smith said he prioritizes representing his student body over the prestige of the vice presidential position. “Initially, I had no desire to serve in an executive position because I was a senator and I was doing it well, you know?” Smith said. “I remember though, there was one night up here in the involvement office where I was
Frank McEwen, SGA treasurer
talking with a few cabinet members, and we were talking about the future of SGA and who would be serving next term in the executive positions. They were like, ‘Justin, you should run for vice president.’” Smith said encouraging moments like those from his friends and peers in SGA motivated him to run for the position. “Until someone said that I had not even thought about it,” Smith said. “When they started talking about it, I was like, ‘Well, I guess I do have these qualities, I guess I can serve Auburn in this manner,’ and that’s when I started going for it.” Smith said he prefers to take action and set an example for his peers. “I think growing up I was always the ‘lead by example’ type person. Never really outspoken, never really the one to step in the front of the pack,” Smith said. “But people used to commend me on my hard work and my work ethic, which is something that I’ve always strived to perfect and be really diligent about. I think that the office of vice president suits me on those capabilities and qualities.” In the coming SGA year, Smith said he is excited to serve. “It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of organization skills, a lot of detailed thinking, and I think it’ll be fun doing that this year,” Smith said.
Romy Iannuzzi CAMPUS REPORTER
Frank McEwen’s bid for SGA treasurer came with a bit of soul-searching. “My faith was a huge thing in my decision to do this,” McEwen said. “I wanted to make sure that if I was going to go out for this position that I wasn’t going to do it for me, that I was going to do it to serve the Lord and to serve others.” McEwen said he was sure to question his own motives to be sure his heart was in the right place. “I wanted to make sure that my intentions were in the right place and that I wasn’t doing this for me,” McEwen said. McEwen said his previous work in organizations such as the Oaks Retreat has helped him build leadership skills for the position. “It was absolutely monumental in me finding community at Auburn, and hopefully I was able to have a similar impact on incoming freshmen that I was able to encounter through that,” McEwen said. McEwen said his time at Auburn has fostered his leadership skills. “I wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m definitely a leader,’” McEwen said. “I’m by no means that, but I’d say that Auburn has been an incredible place for me to grow in leadership skills and interacting with people. If I’m seen as a leader, then I think it’s strictly because of the people who have poured into me and just helped me to ma-
ACADEMICS
Science pub: drinking to save a species
ture as a person.” McEwen, who served as a senator for the college of business this year prior to his victory during SGA elections, said he’s rubbed shoulders with SGA service as early as his freshman year. “That helped me to meet some people in SGA and kind of realize that that was something I was interested in,” McEwen said. “This past year I got back into SGA, being a senator and an AVP [assistant vice president].” McEwen also served as assistant executive director of The Big Event, previously an SGA-affiliated organization, in his sophomore year. He said he was attracted to the more humble nature of the treasurer position as opposed to other SGA offices. “It’s something that I was interested in, being that I’m a finance major, and also it’s somewhat more of a behind the scenes job,” McEwen said. “It’s not a really upfront position, like say, SGA president or something like that. While I am representing the students, it’s not about the position for me. It’s about the service.” McEwen said he hopes to work alongside, rather than above, his peers. “My big thing about leadership is that you’re not leading from above somebody,” McEwen said. “You’re leading alongside somebody and leading by example and doing work with people. That is what I think Auburn has taught me about leadership more than anything.”
ORGANIZATIONS
Dylan McGlamry CAMPUS WRITER
The College of Science and Math hosted a Science Pub event at the Red Clay Brewing Co. in Opelika as part of an ongoing series of guest speakers the college has invited each month. The event took place on Feb. 23 and is a new extension of their growing Science Café events. The focus of the evening was COSAM’s guest speaker, Jason Bond, and his family-oriented talk “Do Spiders Really Have Superpowers?” The event also celebrated a new partnership between the Alabama Natural Heritage Program and the Red Clay Brewing Co. to help reintroduce the Eastern Indigo Snake to Alabama. The project to reintroduce the snakes involves several members Bartenders pour beers for the COSAM event. of faculty from COSAM along with graduate students and members of the reproducing on their own,” Steen said. Alabama Natural Heritage Program. “We’ve already released a hundred David Steen, assistant research pro- snakes and we have plans to release two fessor in biological sciences, said the hundred more over the next five or six Red Clay Brewing Co. created a new years.” beer named after the snake. Jim Godwin, Alabama Natural Heri“A portion of every sale comes to our tage Program member, said the organiefforts to re-establish the animal,” Steen zation is in the 11th year of the project. said. Godwin said he’s been with the projSteen said it’s been a long process so ect from the beginning. far, and those behind the project don’t “The longleaf pine ecosystem is very know how long it will continue to take. rich and the Alabama Gulf Coastal Plane “We only have success when the ani- is a biologically important area,” Godmals establish a population and they’re win said. “What we’re doing is putting
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Envy DuVal performs during ‘What-A-Drag!’
CONTRIBTED BY CANDIS BIRCHFIELD
back a piece of our natural heritage, reinstalling an ecological piece of the puzzle.” Sara Piccolomini, University graduate student, said she’s been involved with the project and is working to release the snakes in Florida. “For my masters work I’m going to be releasing Indigo snakes in Apalachicola,” Piccolomini said. “We have captivebred animals at the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. There are a lot of people involved. It’s one step towards restoring their population.”
SENATE
SGA discusses office hours, elects president pro tempore Romy Iannuzzi CAMPUS REPORTER
SGA held its weekly meeting where they discussed new expectations of senators and chose a new president pro tempore. President Jacqueline Keck encouraged senators to be proactive in as many oncampus events as possible. “This is our role, this is our job, this is what we’re called for. Please don’t take this lightly,” Keck said. SGA also selected a new president pro tempore. College of Liberal Arts Senator Schyler
Burney won the position against At-Large Senator Hannah Clarke and College of Agriculture Senator Emily Stone. Burney’s responsibilities will include heading the executive committee, keeping track of absences and planning various senate events. “I’d definitely like to streamline communication between the vice president and whoever ends up being secretary, just to make things clear and concise and to just make the senate effective and efficient,” Burney said. During the president pro tempore selection process, Vice President Justin Smith
addressed the senate regarding their new responsibilities for the coming year. Smith said instead of each senator being required to serve one office hour a week in their college and one hour a week in the involvement office, senators will be expected to either serve four office hours a month or four hours a month on the concourse participating in Auburn Answers. Smith said though these are the basic requirements, “great” senators would have to go “above and beyond,” including regular meetings with their schools’ councils and contact with their college’s administrators.
‘What-A-Drag!’ raises funds for LGBT organizations Loren Kimmel CAMPUS WRITER
Spectrum hosted their annual charity fundraising event, “What-A-Drag!” where individuals and groups come to perform and raise money for LGBTQ+ organizations. Spectrum Director of Social Affairs Dylan Clark said What-A-Drag! has gone beyond a charity event and become “a major opportunity for those interested to see how people defy gender concepts themselves by performing in drag.” “What-A-Drag! features people coming, often extravagantly, as the character opposite of their gender identity,” Clark said. “We’re proud to consistently have newcomers to drag onstage alongside professionals from Auburn and around the state.” Clark said there’s a variety of talent at the fundraiser. “They sing, dance and lip sync to songs of their choice in a variety of styles, whether it’s fast-paced and flashy, lighthearted and silly or artistic and mesmerizing,” Clark said. Planning for this year’s event began in the beginning of January, Clark said.
A committee of 14 volunteers formed at the start of February and proceeded to work on putting together this year’s event. Members of Spectrum voted to donate all of this year’s proceeds to Magic City Acceptance Center, a Birmingham organization for LGBTQ+ youth that coordinates a variety of programs and awareness campaigns. The Magic City Acceptance Center is an affiliate program of Birmingham Aids Outreach has been providing services for gender, sexual and romantic minorities of Alabama for over 30 years. Spectrum Director of Event Planning Traven Le’Nard said the organization wanted to do something different this year by giving the show a theme: “Cirque du Spectre,”or the Circus of Spectrum. “Since giving it a theme, our volunteers have overhauled What-A-Drag! 2017 into a fully fantastic circus that we can’t wait for everyone to see,” Clark said. “Spectrum hopes to raise upward of $1,500 for MCAC through what is looking to be our most exciting show yet.”
Opinion Thursday, March 2, 2017
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Opinion
OUR VIEW
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Jacqueline Keck is the third female SGA president in Auburn history.
Electing a diverse SGA signals student progress Spring 2017 Editorial Board
Since Auburn University was founded more than 160 years ago, its student body has elected only three female presidents — Cindy Holland in 1988, Lauren Hayes in 2009 and Jacqueline Keck in 2017. It’s no secret that diversity on SGA’s executive team has been lacking in recent years. Before this year, the last time a woman even ran for a major position was when Chelsea Crooks was defeated
by Harrison Mills in 2013. The last time an African-American student held any major position was in 2014 when Olabode Anise was elected vice president. Last month, however, a woman campaigned for every major office — Keck ran for president, Sarah Beth Cape for vice president and Gabrielle Pollard for treasurer. Keck, a woman, and Justin Smith, an AfricanAmerican man, hold the two most important po-
sitions in student government. The Auburn Plainsman’s editorial board believes a wide range of perspectives in our leaders is vital to ensuring all students’ voices are heard, not just a select few. No matter how well-meaning they may be — and we think they have been, for the most part — a small group of white men in fraternities cannot possibly relate to the experiences of more than 27,000 students of various backgrounds.
Every member of the Auburn Family deserves to feel like their voice matters. We commend the student body for electing a group of men and women who represent a diverse Auburn. Editor’s note: Weston Sims. opinions editor, is a member of SGA. He did not contribute to this editorial.
HIS VIEW
Letter to the editor: A cautionary Note 7
After the new Leader of the Free World maligned a living civil rights legend, reduced funding for the United Nations and advocated for an invasion of Iraq (again), your Facebook news feed probably missed Samsung’s timid announcement on Jan. 23, 2017. The company finally released an official report on the Galaxy Note 7 debacle. My iPhone tells me that demand for the Note 7 broke pre-order records, its features including water resistance, iris recognition and a USBC port. It also included poorly placed electrodes that were susceptible to contortion. This led to a short circuit within the battery, followed by combustion and criticism. Because many consumers found the phone’s self-destruction to be an unfavorable feature, Samsung was forced to recall its sure-fire contraption. However, Samsung isn’t the only peddler owing an explanation. Today another product is being pushed with unfounded hype and undisclosed hazard. It’s conversion therapy – the broadly debunked and widely disowned transfiguration of one’s sexual orientation or gender identity. One defect of conversion therapy, notwithstanding religious hype, is its futility. Like any good pseudoscientific practice, such therapies actually gained prevalence under the Nazi regime. And although most procedures of the Third Reich have been eradicated, this ignominious vestige reveals the outstanding work to distance evangelical ministers from the Führer. You know the saying: conversion therapy makes strange bedfellows.
In the aforementioned pursuit of complete eradication, the American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973, adding that any attempt to “cure” one’s love is unethical and counterproductive. Furthermore, United States Surgeon General David Satcher declared “no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed” in 2001. In 2013, Exodus International, then the preeminent network for Christian conversion therapies, dissolved itself, publicly apologizing for the “false hope,” pain and trauma it caused LGBTQ individuals. The scientific community, the White House and a religious group agreed; forging such consensus is tougher than finding the “Gay” tab on ChristianMingle. In Luke 5:31, Christ proclaimed, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Nevertheless, physicians formerly associated with Exodus International continue to operate on the healthy. Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, a conversion therapist in California, warns his colleagues of the typical client who “does very well during the months he’s with you. Then five years later, you find out that he’s been elected president of his college’s Gay and Lesbian Club…to your dismay.” The good doctor proceeds to exalt his work as “the privilege of working in the most intimate way with idealistic men who are determined not to follow their unwanted feelings, but to fulfill their dream of a traditional marriage and family.” Much like the Note 7, conversion therapy markets a lifestyle. But the promotion of that lifestyle rarely culminates in its provision.
Another deficiency of conversion therapy is its intrinsic hazard, particularly among minors. Prior to treatment, LGBTQ youth already face uniquely systemic adversities. The Trevor Project, an organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth, states that “the rate of suicide attempts is four times greater for LGB youth and two times greater for questioning youth than that of straight youth.” The Williams Institute, a public policy think tank within the UCLA School of Law, posits that “40 percent of the homeless youth serviced by agencies” identify as LGBTQ, though Gallup estimates this community to account for only 3.4 percent of the American population. But societal stigmatization and domestic desertion justify such injustices. Tougher to explain are the findings of the American Psychological Association, which attribute an 890 percent increase in suicidal ideation and a 590 percent increase in depression among patients of conversion therapy. Ron Smith, a survivor of electroshock conversion therapy, asserts that his doctor’s “machine never recorded anything when [he] saw all those pictures of women. It was horrific, and it didn’t work.” Smith spent 16 years in therapy. Ren Amaya, a fellow survivor currently diagnosed with PTSD, avers that her experiences were “comparable to what prisoners of war experience – mock executions, exorcisms and creative forms of punishment, such as eating the Bible.” Amaya’s treatments were administered by her mother. Anthony Venn-Brown, another courageous survivor, now pursues “a wonderfully ful-
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filling, moral life as an openly gay man and still [has his] faith.” Venn-Brown was prescribed marriage to a woman; he’s now divorced. The Oxford English Dictionary defines therapy as “treatment intended to relieve or heal,” but therapies of conversion only exacerbate the institutionalized maladies into which LGBTQ youth are already born. Such therapies seem to be misnomered. Proponents of conversion therapy often situate their support on nonscientific, anecdotal claims of being straightened out. And while it is true that approximately 3 percent of patients report conversion, it is also true that not every Note 7 detonated. I still wouldn’t buy one for my kid. Samsung’s imprudence serves as a cautionary exemplar of hype and hazard, though refunding a phone is much easier than rectifying the damages of conversion therapy. If my ethos wasn’t established by the words “electrode” and “ideation,” you should know that my experience with conversion therapy is firsthand. You should know that the day I left conversion therapy was the same I left the closet. And you should know that from Stonewall to Pulse, my community will sustain and surmount any shame or strike levied upon it. The Hippocratic Oath contends that “warmth, sympathy and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife” – a poignant prescription for today.
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Community Thursday, March 2, 2017
CRIME
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Community
EVENTS
No contempt for Updyke A lex H osey
COMMUNITY WRITER
Harvey Updyke was found not in contempt of court at his hearing Wednesday but was ordered to increase his monthly restitution payments to Auburn University. Lee County Circuit Judge J a c o b Wa l k e r i n c r e a s e d Updyke’s monthly payments from $100 per month to $150 per month until April, when he’ll then be expected to pay $200 per month. Walker issued a warrant to hold Updyke in contempt of court after he failed to show up to a hearing Jan. 3. According to Andrew Stanley, one of Updyke’s defense attorneys, his failure to appear at his hearing was due to “complete miscommunication.” A budget form detailing U p d y k e ’s e x p e n s e s w a s requested at a hearing Oct. 6, 2016, and has since been received. Prosecutors asked for Updyke’s monthly payments to be raised to $500 per month, arguing that the amount was fair considering Updyke has a reported income of over $40,000 annually. Defense attorneys presented several reasons why the monthly payments should not be increased, including medical expenses Updyke has incurred from heart issues and a head injury he sustained in November, an increase in rent from $800 to $1,100 per month after Updyke and his family moved because of flooding damage in their old home, and Updyke being the sole provider for his family. Updyke is currently unable to work because of health issues and memory problems, according to his defense attorney. He receives all of his income from retirement and social security. None of the community service required of Updyke has been completed since last fall when the flooding to his former home was sustained. Updyke pleaded guilty in 2013 to poisoning and killing Auburn University’s historic Toomer’s Oaks in 2010. He was ordered to pay $796,731.98 to Auburn University in restitution fees, which would help cover the expenses of removing the trees and replacing them.
DAKOTA SUMPTER / MANAGING EDITOR
A woman’s face is framed by a set of beads being thrown to the crowd, during the Krewe de Tigris Mardi Gras parade in downtown Auburn,Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.
Mardi Gras parade comes to downtown Alex Hosey
COMMUNITY WRITER
The first Mardi Gras parade in Auburn since 2012 drove through downtown Saturday. Groups of both families and college students had already begun to form an hour before the parade began. As a beige Mercedes 560 SL convertible rounded the corner of College Street and Thach Avenue at 5 p.m., people formed a corridor of open hands directed toward Aubie as he threw beads from the back seat. The Tuskegee University Marching Band was perhaps the loudest participant in the parade and followed soon after. Clad in red and gold, the band members played their horns and drums, accompanied by dancers wearing orange and black tiger-printed outfits. Krewe de Tigris, a local social organization that emphasizes the Mardi Gras season, organized the parade and were right behind the marching band in a yellow-gold, oversized, flat-bed truck adorned with the Krewe’s handpainted symbol of a roaring tiger. The truck bed was packed with bead-throwing members of the Krewe, who were wearing orange sports coats and black masks. Other Auburn businesses and organizations that participated in the parade included Dimensions Hair Salon, whose float was decorated with black and purple and accompanied by local DJ Chris Teel; Big Blue Crawfish, which pulled its orange and blue food truck through downtown by a man in a large, multicolored jester’s hat; and the
CALEB HOOD / PHOTOGRAPHER
Children reach for beads and candy during the Krewe de Tigris Mardi Gras parade in downtown Auburn,Ala., on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017.
Lee County Humane Society, which featured a banner and several dogs up for adoption. “I think it was great, and it was fun for all of the kids that were here,” said Jennifer Keller, an Auburn resident. Nathan Pace, a young boy accompanied by Keller, gave the parade a thumbs-up. He said his favorite part of the parade was toward the end, when he received what he called “the jackpot”: a plastic purple necklace in the shape of a king’s head that flashed lights whenever he pressed it. Auburn student Emily Stevenson watched the parade go down College
Street from the tent where she was selling T-shirts for Stamp, the custom tee shop in downtown Auburn. Stevenson thought the parade was great overall and beneficial to Auburn businesses, but thought that downtown parking was blocked off too early. “They started blocking these parking spots off at, like, one o’clock, and they don’t close the street until four, so people couldn’t come and shop more,” Stevenson said. Natalie Yates, an Auburn resident accompanied by five children, said her favorite part of the parade was the Tuskegee University Marching Band.
She wished that the parade had lasted longer. “Living in Auburn not as a college student, it’s fun to have stuff to bring your children to,” Yates said. “We do the Christmas parade and the Homecoming parade, so this is always fun.” When asked if her children had enjoyed the parade, Yates laughed and said, “What do you think?” as they ran around her and played with the numerous beads they had collected. The parade ended no later than 5:45 p.m., and by 6 p.m. traffic had already begun to move through downtown Auburn once again.
RELIGION
Auburn students and community members begin Lent season Com Gabby Dance
COMMUNITY WRITER
The Auburn community is beginning the season of Lent, a period of 40 days when many Christians fast and pray to prepare for Easter. Lent bean on Ash Wednesday, March 1, the seventh Wednesday before Easter, and ends on the Thursday before Easter. During this time, many Christians fast and reflect on Jesus’ life by attending church services, abstaining from eating meat on Fridays and giving up certain luxuries as a form of penance. According to Father Bill Skoneki, the pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Lent serves as a time to form habits that exemplify Christian living. “Lent really is spring training and is a great time to get ourselves back into what we should be doing all of the time,” Skoneki said. “It takes six weeks to form a habit, and Lent is six weeks long.” Some of Auburn’s local churches, including St. Mi-
chael’s Catholic Church, Trinity Lutheran Church and Auburn United Methodist Church, will be holding Lent services throughout the season. All three of these churches, along with many others, will be held Ash Wednesday services. In addition to these services, St. Michael’s will be holding Stations of The Cross, a service where the church tries to recreate and reflect on the story of Jesus’ passion and death, every Friday during Lent at 5:30 p.m. Many Auburn University students are preparing for Lent by committing to cutting out their favorite indulgences for 40 days. “I’m giving up dessert for Lent and also making an effort to read the Bible a little each night,” said sophomore Megan Hackett. “I like to do that because I give one thing up that I like and try to do an extra thing that makes me better.” Most Christians who observe Lent do not eat meat on Fridays during the season, but
sophomore Victoria Tucker is giving up meat for the entirety of Lent. “I feel like it’s a harder thing to give up because we live in such a meat-dependent area, so
I felt like it was a good sacrifice for Lent,” Tucker said. Some college students, like freshman Alyssa Parfrey, see Lent as the perfect time to reconnect with their faith.
“In college it is hard to stay close to your faith, as I have realized, and having something to ground me back is great,” Parfrey said. “The main purpose is to relate to how Je-
sus abstained from food for 40 days, but it’s also just a great way to cut out bad things from your diet and connect with God, and that’s why I do it and encourage others to try.”
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Community 7
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PARKS
City plans to continue local park renovations
Kailey Beth Smith COMMUNITY WRITER
The Parks and Recreation department is gearing up for another full year of improvements to local parks. Sam Harris Park, located at 850 Foster Street, closed Feb. 6 to allow for construction and will remain closed into next month. Before renovations began, a playground, a pavilion and a walking trail were added to the park. Plans for Sam Harris Park include repaving parking lots to add more spaces, erecting a basketball goal, placing new playground equipment and adding a new water fountain and sidewalk for resident use. These renovations are efforts to abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed July
1990. The act seeks to provide equal opportunity and equal outcomes for disabled citizens. Becky Richardson has been the director of the Auburn Parks and Recreation for more than 20 years. “The Parks and Recreation department has been going through all … parks, doing evaluations for ADA,” Richardson said. “We’ve been working on other areas in which we see the need for improvement.” In addition to ensuring that all park areas are ADA compliant, the Parks and Recreation has also been working to ensure the outdoor experience is not only accessible but also enjoyable for all. Sam Harris Park is not the only one receiving a major face-lift; other local parks are undergo-
ing both minor and major changes. These include the following: - Kiesel Park: new restrooms, new paving trails for accessibility - Town Creek Park: the addition of a dog park, placement of parking bumpers - Martin Luther King Park: new restrooms, paving for ADA - Samford Pool: renovations to the bathhouse, locker rooms, lobby and concessions area - Dean Road Recreation Center: bathrooms, entrances and sidewalks According to Richardson, the majority of the funding for these projects has come out of the Parks and Recreation budget, with the exception of some of the larger projects such as the upcoming Boykin Community Center project,
which are being funded by both block grants and city money. The 2017 projects being funded by the specific city budgets they have set aside for projects such as these. “We are hoping that we will be finished by the end of April, if we do not run into any unforeseen problems,” Richardson said concerning the changes to Sam Harris Park. There are currently no plans for any type of grand re-opening of Sam Harris. “In Parks and Recreation, you get to work with a lot of different age groups and a lot of different activities and interests, so it is something that can be very challenging and very intriguing because it is never the same,” Richardson said.
LEGISLATURE
Bill that would allow hunting deer and feral swine over bait passes Alabama House Chip Brownlee COMMUNITY EDITOR
MONTGOMERY — A bill that would allow Alabamians to hunt feral swine and whitetail deer over bait passed the Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jack Williams, R-Montgomery, passed the House by a vote of 69-18. It will now head to the State Senate. Williams’ bill would amend Alabama’s hunting laws to allow hunters to take deer and hogs using shucked and shelled corn, wheat, salt or other baits. Under existing Alabama law, there is a “reputable presumption” that any feed or bait located beyond a hundred yards and not in the line of sight of the hunter is not a lure or attractant and is not illegal. But anything within that area of definition is considered a bait or lure under Alabama law. Williams said he was proposing the bill because feral swine are becoming a nuisance in Alabama. The bill, he said, would allow hunters to kill more feral swine. Whitetail deer are included because Williams said game wardens will not be able to tell if hunters are taking swine or deer.
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
A bill passed the Alabama House of Representatives on Tuesday that would allow hunting deer and feral swine over bait.
“You can’t keep the deer out of the corn, either, so the wardens would not be able to enforce the law because there’s always deer coming to it,” Williams said. “We actually did a test. We put the corn out and put a sign up, and the deer still came to it.” Several Democratic legislators held the bill up for several hours in the
House over concerns that hunting over bait would hurt the whitetail deer population and harm the spirit of the sport. “My issue is that we are kind of watering down the sport,” said Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, House Democratic Minority Leader. “I don’t think there’s an issue with deer in the state of Alabama. It’s taking the fun
POLITICS
CHIP BROWNLEE / COMMUNITY EDITOR
Aubie poses outside the Alabama State House at Higher Education Day on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Students, Aubie rally for higher ed funding Chip Brownlee COMMUNITY EDITOR
MONTGOMERY — Students and representatives from 14 of Alabama’s public universities, including Auburn, gathered in Montgomery last week to push legislators for more higher education funding. More than 50 students from Auburn traveled to Montgomery for the rally and to meet with legislators. Aubie the Tiger tagged along as well. “It’s so important to have a student presence at Higher Education Day, which is one of those opportunities for hundreds of students across the state to convene at the Legislature and rally around something that we all believe in and support,” said Calvin Wilborn, SGA’s director of governmental relations. The rally Thursday featured speakers like Gov. Robert Bentley, Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey and Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, who chairs the Senate Eduction Ways and Means Committee. Bentley said higher education is vital for the state in
terms of economic development and vital for students who want to get a job. He said he met with Aubie, but the mute Tiger wouldn’t talk to him. “We have great universities in this state,” Bentley said. “Funding for universities has to be adequate. It’s never enough, but we really need to continue the increase that we’ve tried to do. In fact, every year, in the budgets that I’ve submitted, we have increased it every year for the past seven years.” Bentley said he would ask for a raise for universities in this year’s budget also. Last year, the Legislature allocated state universities $1,082,061,686 for the 2017 fiscal year, an increase of about $32 million, or a little more than 3 percent, from the 2016 fiscal year. The governor ’s budget proposal for this year calls for no increase in appropriations. I n f a c t , t h e g o v e rnor’s proposed budget for FY2018 matches the actual FY2017 Education Trust Fund appropriations exactly:
$1,082,061,686. Public colleges and universities also receive nearly $6 billion in earmarked funds, which the Legislature has little to no control over. Gordon Stone, executive director of the Higher Education Partnership, reiterated calls from years prior: The Legislature should raise higher education appropriations to one-third of the Education Trust Fund budget. Stone said universities suffer when state appropriations go down or don’t rise to meet increasing costs, which, in turn, results in higher tuition rates for college students. In between speeches from Bentley and others, bands from Jacksonville State University and Alabama State University performed. “We talked about higher education continuing to be a priority,” said Rep. Joe Lovvorn, R-Auburn, who sits on the education budget committee. “Finding funding for the programs and continuing to look for ways to evolve higher education for our changing generations to come are priorities.”
out of the sport.” The deer population in Alabama right now is plentiful, Williams said, and his bill would not change laws that limit the number of deer that a hunter can kill during any one hunting season. The bill would only apply to licensed hunters on privately owned or
leased land. The hunter would have to purchase a bait privilege license from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The privilege license could earn an additional $15 per year, and Williams said the funds raised could be put to use by the department to hire additional game wardens to enforce the state’s hunting laws. The bill could provide an additional $1.5 million to $2 million in revenues for the game wardens. “Plus, it’s going to create a lot of money for the state without a tax,” Williams said. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.” Rep. Elaine Beach, D-Chatom, the House Minority Caucus Chair, said she supported the bill because she believes deer and feral swine have become a nuisance because of over population. “When I have to spend money every year to replant my shrubbery at my house because these deer are eating the shrubbery to the ground, it’s worth something to me,” Beech said. “The hogs are tearing up our pine trees when we plant them. The deer, they’re a nuisance.”
Sports
Thursday, March 2, 2017
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Sports
MEN’S TENNIS
Tennis takes third Will sahlie ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The Auburn men’s tennis team (8-5) took third place in the 69th annual Blue Gray National Tennis Classic at Lagoon Park in Montgomery over the weekend. The Tigers were 2-1, with 4-2 wins over Princeton and Virginia Tech and a 4-1 semifinal loss to South Carolina. The Tigers began tournament play Friday with a 4-2 win over Princeton, capturing the doubles point and getting singles wins from Max Hinnisdaels, Edward Nguyen and Olle Thestrup. South Carolina defeated Auburn 4-1 in the semifinals Saturday morning with Edward Nguyen providing Auburn with its only point, winning 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3 sin-
gles The Tigers took third place overall, winning the consolation match Saturday evening over Virginia Tech by a 4-2 score. Hinnisdaels, Nguyen, Carles Sarrio and Thestrup were singles winners for Auburn. In the latest Oracle/ITA rankings, Hinnisdaels, the SEC player of the week, is No. 59 nationally in singles, improving 32 spots from the previous ratings. In doubles, Hinnisdaels and Huertas del Pino are No. 17 nationally. Following the Blue Gray Classic, Auburn opens the SEC portion of its schedule Sunday, March 5, hosting Mississippi State at 1 p.m. All home matches are at the Yarbrough Tennis Center and admission is free.
TRACK AND FIELD
Auburn turns heads at SEC Championships Jack Winchester SPORTS EDITOR
Gus Malzahn gives instructions at Auburn football spring practice on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 in Auburn,Ala.
WADE RACKLEY / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Football begins
Tigers open 2017 spring practice Will Sahlie ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Year five of the Gus Malzahn era began Tuesday as Auburn opened spring practice. “We’re excited to start spring practice today,” Malzahn said. “Our team is in a great spot. We had some very good mat drills, and we had some leaders step up. I know they are excited to be out there with their coaches.” Malzahn said his three goals for the spring are for his players to have a full understanding of the base offense and defense, to identify the strengths in all three phases of the game and for each individual player to improve. Malzahn also announced several player updates prior to the start of practice. Running back Stephen Davis Jr. and Markell Boston are both no longer part of the Auburn program. Wide receivers Darius Slayton (hernia surgery) and Kyle Davis (personal business) are both out through spring break. Quarterback Sean White will also be out for the spring as he recovers from his broken arm that occurred in Auburn’s 3519 Sugar Bowl loss to Oklahoma. Freshman linebacker K.J. Britt is also out for the entirety of spring after a “pro-
cedure done on his leg.” Jayvaughn Myers and Jamel Dean will also miss spring practice as they recover from injuries. Cancer survivors Brodarious Hamm and Tashawn Manning have both been cleared to participate in spring practice for the Tigers as they begin their college careers. Malzahn said that all five quarterbacks, Jarrett Stidham, John Franklin III, Woody Barrett, Tyler Queen and Malik Willis will begin spring practice dividing reps, but they will be narrowed down as the spring progresses. “That is going to be the challenge early on, to make sure to give all of those guys reps so that Chip can properly evaluate those guys,” Malzahn said. “Obviously, you can’t go through spring with five quarterbacks; you have to narrow things down and I know that is part of (Lindsey’s) plan.” Malzahn said that Franklin will begin the spring as a quarterback, but he did not rule out a position change for him. “John is open to helping the team with whatever, but we just felt strong that he should start out and try to win the job at quarterback, and so that’s what we’ll do,” Malzahn said. Malzahn also discussed Auburn’s offensive line plans as they enter the spring.
Braden Smith will start at right tackle, while Mike Horton will begin at right guard. Marquel Harrell and Darius James will anchor the left side at guard and tackle, respectively. Austin Golson will remain at center for the Tigers. Malzahn also noted that Tyler Carr, Prince Tega Wanogho and Prince Michael Sammons will be ready to contribute. Malzahn also spoke about how new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey will add to the Auburn offense. Although he plans to add new dimensions to the playbook, Lindsey knows that Auburn has to effectively run the ball, Malzahn noted. “He’s just going to add some bells, whistles and flair to what we’re doing,” Malzahn said. “I really expect our offense to start taking on his personality. At the same time, he knows we have to run the football effectively. We’re going to keep what we’ve done very well, and he’s going to add to it. Our goal is to be more balanced. We needed that over the last two years.” Auburn will continue spring practice throughout March and conclude on Saturday, April 8 with A-Day. Kickoff inside Jordan-Hare Stadium is set for 1 p.m. CST.
EQUESTRIAN
Tigers shine in road victory Jack Winchester SPORTS EDITOR
The No. 4 Auburn equestrian team picked up big road win and defeated No. 8 South Carolina, 10-8, at One Wood Farm in Blythewood, South Carolina, Saturday afternoon. With the win, Auburn improved to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in Southeastern Conference competition. “This was a great road win,” head coach Greg Williams said. “We rocked along in complacency most of this year and I even shrugged off a couple losses, which is very uncharacteristic. I am so proud of the way our team has banded together and are riding to win. From what I’ve been seeing, this is only the beginning. We haven’t seen anything yet.”
Heading into the final event of the day, Reining, Auburn led the Gamecocks, 9-5. That was when sophomore stepped up. Betsy Brown sealed the victory in the opening match, scoring a career best 75 points to earn MOP honors. The Tigers went into intermission with a comfortable 5-3 advantage over South Carolina following a solid showing from both the Equitation on the Flat and Horsemanship riders. The Tiger Flat corps finished 3-1 overall and were led by an MOP ride from sophomore Ashton Alexander, defeating Sydney Smit, 87-84. The award was her second of the season in the event. Teammate Hayley Iannotti picked up her sixth win in Flat with an 88-85 victory and senior Ashley Foster followed with another 88 points
in her victory. Tiger sophomore Caitlin Boyle tied Lauren Fabiano, 82-82. Hannah Stephens led the Horsemanship unit as the Tigers finished 2-2 in the event. Her ride earned 75 points and gave her MOP honors. Kara Kaufmann was brilliant once again, securing a 73.5-71 win over Bailey Mierzejewski to remain undefeated at 7-01. The Tigers went on to earn the victory and gained momentum for next weeks trip to Texas. The Tigers will close out their regular season traveling to No. 2 Baylor and No. 1 Texas A&M. Auburn will host the 2017 SEC Equestrian Championship, March 24-25, at the Auburn University Horse Center.
Auburn track and field closed out the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championships in Nashville, Tennessee with six medalists and 10 personal bests throughout the weekend. “I thought we had a pretty solid weekend overall,” Auburn head coach Ralph Spry said. “We posted some solid national level times this weekend, but we still have some things to build on heading into the outdoor season.” The Auburn men sprinters took control early on the final day and scored 34 points, which was a conference best. After running an Auburn best 6.62 in the prelims of the 60 meter, Odean Skeen topped his previous mark with a 6.60 to win silver in the finals. Fre shm an R ah e em Chambers finished fifth in the event with a 6.70. Wellington Zaza tied a personal best with a 7.72 in the 60 meter hurdles finals. Zaza’s mark currently ranks seventh nationally. Akeem Bloomfield improved on his school record from the prelims of the 400m with a 45.49 to win silver in the finals. The Freshman’s time ranks as the No. 2 time in the nation this season, and he’s the only freshman in the top 20. Tiger senior Teray Smith wrapped up the scoring for the men’s sprinters, finishing in fifth place in the 200m.
Smith ranks 14th nationally with a 20.75. On the women’s side, Jasmine Manigualt came through for Auburn as she finished second in the weight throw. After throwing a personal best in the prelims, Manigault won silver and improved on her school record with a mark of 709.75/21.58m on her fifth throw of the day, which ranks in the top 15 nationally. “Jasmine Manigault has continued to get better and better each week and she showed it today with a huge PR,” Spry said. “Her mark currently ranks in the top 16 in the nation, and I’m excited to see what she can do at nationals.” Veronica Eder posted the second best time in school history with a 16:07.74 in the 5000m, winning silver for her second medal of the meet. Eder led Auburn in scoring with 14 points. “Veronica came up huge for us this weekend,” Spry said. “She had two great races this meet and came away with two medals. I am proud of how hard she’s competed this season and this is a great way for her to end her indoor career.” Overall, the men finished ninth with 40 points, while the women finished in the 11 spot with 26 points. The Tigers will return to action for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
WOMEN’S GOLF
Hualde leads Auburn over Volunteers Jack Winchester SPORTS EDITOR
The Auburn women’s golf team defeated Tennessee by six strokes at the Auburn vs. Tennessee Challenge. The Tigers carded a 17-over 292302—594 on Sunday at the AU Club. Freshman Elena Hualde won medalist honors at 4-under 68-72—140. “I think the fact that we got a win over a team that’s ranked higher than we are is a great thing,” head coach Melissa Luellen said. “There were a lot of big numbers out there for us, which I think sometimes playing on your home course can certainly be an advantage but can also offer troubles, too. We play here a lot, but then you get all these people out here watching and the environment completely changes. I think it was really good for them, but we’ve got a few things to clean up.” Hualde began the round with a 4-under 68 that included six birdies on holes 1, 4 and 6 on the front nine and 12, 14 and 16 on the back. She followed with another trio of birdies in the second round to push her total to nine. The victory marked Hualde’s second tournament win of her freshman season.
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The Auburn Plainsman
“I feel pretty happy with my game today,” Hualde said. “It was pretty good in the morning, but it was not that good in the afternoon. I did stay in the game, so I’m happy to win the trophy.” Auburn’s Mai Dechathipat finished in second at 1-under 71-72—143. Dechathipat tallied seven birdies over both rounds while competing as an individual. Her two rounds today were her two best since arriving on the Plains. “I’m really happy for Elena, and I’m really happy for Mai having a great tournament,” Luellen said. “She’s been struggling with scoring and that was just a great breakthrough for her.” Juniors Michaela Owen (75-77—152) and Kelli Murphy (76-76—152) tied for eighth at 8-over while freshman Kayley Marschke finished a shot back at 9-over 73-80—153 to tie for ninth. Tennessee (303-297--600) was led by Blakesly Warren who finished third at 2-over 75-71— 146. The Tigers return to action at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, this weekend at the Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MADISON OGLETREE / THE AUBURN PLAINSMAN
Katie Frerking (13) looks to make a pass during Auburn Women’s Basketball vs. Mississippi State
Katie Frerking earns three Southeastern Conference honors Jack Winchester SPORTS EDITOR
DAKOTA SUMPTER / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Elane Hualde putts during the second round of Auburn’s match against Tennesee on Sunday Feb. 26, 2017.
Comeback falls short
Auburn women’s basketball senior Katie Frerking was honored with three awards from the Southeastern Conference as the league announced its annual women’s basketball awards Tuesday. The senior from Johns Creek, Georgia, was named the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year in addition to being named to the All-SEC Second Team and the SEC All-Defensive Team. After the regular season, Frerking leads Auburn in scoring (16.0 points/game), rebounding (6.4/game), steals (2.5/game) and is tied for the team lead in blocks (0.9/game). In SEC games, she finished the conference regular season 10th in scoring (16.3), 12th in blocks (0.9/ game), 14th in assists (3.0/game), 12th in field goal percentage (.404) and fourth in steals (2.0/ game). Frerking has six double-doubles this season and two games where she topped the 30-point
mark. The double-doubles came against Louisiana Tech on Dec. 14 and at Texas A&M on Feb. 5. She scored her 1,000th career point at Florida on Jan. 1 and is one of two players in Auburn history with 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists and 200 steals. Frerking has also shined in the classroom, earning back-to-back nods on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and three straight selections to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. She is also a member of the SEC Community Service Team. First-team and second-team All-SEC honorees, All-Freshman team, All-Defensive team, along with Player, Coach and Freshman, Defensive Player, 6th Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year were chosen by the league’s 14 coaches. Frerking and Auburn begin SEC Tournament play at 11 a.m. Thursday as they face Georgia in Greenville, South Carolina. The game can be seen on SEC Network.
BASEBALL
Will Sahlie
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
After an up-and-down freshman season, Daniel Sprinkle’s sophomore season has not started the way Auburn hoped. Sprinkle entered Auburn’s tilt versus Samford with a 9.64 ERA. That ERA would only climb Tuesday. Sprinkle allowed six runs on four hits in just one third of an inning as Samford jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning on its way to a 7-6 victory over Auburn. After climbing out of a 7-0 hole just six days ago against Florida A&M, the six-run deficit proved to be too much on Tuesday. Samford sent 10 batters to the plate in its six-run first inning. Troy Dixon, who entered the game with a .056 batting average, smacked a two-run double over Auburn center fielder Jonah Todd’s head to start the scoring barrage for the Bulldogs. Jordan Fucci followed with a two-run single to extend the lead to 4-0 and chase Sprinkle from the game. Corey Herndon relieved Sprinkle and allowed a sacrifice fly to Anthony Mulrine. On the fly ball, Todd appeared to forget the number of outs in the inning, which allowed a second Samford run to score from second. “Samford was ready to play, and we were not. They punched us in the mouth really good,” said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. “I like the makeup of our club. We kind of rallied and hung in there.” “We had four to five disadvantaged counts, and ball hit hard has been a theme to this point in our pitching staff. Love everyone of them and believe in them, but it’s not happening for them right now.” Auburn would fight back with five runs in the fourth, highlighted by a two-out, three-run double by Daniel Robert, who finished the day 3-for-4 and boosted his average to .462. The Tigers had a base runner in four of the final five innings, but could never push across the game-tying run. “Once you give up six in the first, you’re basically under the understanding, as a pitching coach, we cannot give up any more runs,” Thompson said. “We did wind up giving up one more in the seventh with two outs, two strikes, and we didn’t execute a pitch and I tip my cap to their guy.” Trailing 7-5, Jay Estes and Robert started the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back singles, setting up what looked like a potential ninth-inning comeback for Auburn. The Tigers never got the tying run into scoring position, as Samford closer Wyatt Burns picked up his third save of the season.
Auburn’s bullpen performed magnificently, giving the Tigers 8.1 innings and allowing just one run. Herndon held the Bulldogs scoreless over a career-high 3.2 innings. He allowed three hits and struck out two. Gabe Klobosits bounced back from his one inning, three run outing against Florida A&M with 2.2 innings and allowing just one run. He gave up five hits and struck out three. Calvin Coker completed the day for Auburn with 2.1 hitless innings while striking out two. Dixon and Fucci finished the day with two RBI for the Bulldogs, who improved to 3-4 this season. Tristan Widra picked up the win out of the bullpen for Samford. “A club that wanted it more won the ballgame today,” Auburn’s second-year coach said. Auburn (7-2) will look to return to its winning ways when it opens a weekend series with Lipscomb on Friday. First pitch from Plainsman Park is set for 2 p.m. Auburn ace Keegan Thompson (2-0) will be on the mound for the Tigers.
S TUDE NT A F F A IR S
S P OT L I G H T
Student Involvement
A P P LY F O R L E A D E R S H A P E ! LeaderShape is a weeklong program taking place on May 7-12 in Rome, Georgia. Prepare for an intensive, energy-packed, and unique six days as you build experience that focuses on developing leadership skills and promoting self-discovery. All Auburn University students are eligible to apply, with 60 students to be chosen. Selected participants will receive free admission. Visit http://wp.auburn.edu/involve/leadershape/apply/ to apply. auburn.edu/StudentAffairs
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CATHERINE WOFFORD / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Daniel Robert (20) runs to tag first for an out.
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Thursday, March 2, 2017
The Auburn Plainsman
This week in Auburn sports
CATHERINE WOFFORD / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LEFT: Gracie Day celebrates after her bars routine.Auburn vs LSU on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017, in Auburn,Ala. TOP: Samantha Cerio performs on bars.
CATHERINE WOFFORD / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Taylor Krippner performs her beam routine.
DAKOTA SUMPTER / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Elana Hualde lines up her putt in the second round of the golf match against Tennessee on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2017 in Auburn,Ala. Hualde placed first overall.
DAKOTA SUMPTER / AUBURN ATHLETICS
Mai Dechathipat shoots from a bunker during the second round of the golf match against Tennessee.
KAE HENDERSON / PHOTOGRAPHER
Jared Harper (1) lines up for a shot during Auburn’s game against Arkansas on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, in Auburn,Ala.
FOOTBALL
Former Southern Mississippi quarterback joins Tiger staff Nathan King
SPORTS REPORTER
Auburn added former Southern Mississippi quarterback Cole Weeks as a graduate assistant for the offense, first reported on Tuesday afternoon.
Weeks worked under Tigers offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey in 2014, starting in two games and passing for 761 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Lindsey guided the Golden Eagles offense to an average of 40 points per game in 2015 as offensive
coordinator, including a mark of 50 points per game in nine wins. Lindsey then landed the same position with the Arizona State Sun Devils the next season, followed by his recent return to the Plains. Weeks will replace Austin Tucker, who recent-
ly accepted an offer for a graduate assistant role with the Memphis Tigers. Gus Malzahn is expected to announce other alterations to the Tigers staff on Tuesday ahead of Auburn’s first practice of the spring.
Lifestyle Thursday, March 2, 2017
11 ThePlainsman.com
Lifestyle
Leaves lead in latte art at local Auburn coffee shops CULTURE
The Bean
Momma Mocha’s
Coffee Cat
Prevail Union
Ben Nichols, barista at The Bean, has been serving coffee for two years. “We try to do latte art; sometimes it’s a lot more successful than others,” Nichols said. “That’s one of the fun parts of the job is trying to master that, it’s an ongoing process. You can pour lots of really good art and then suddenly pour one that looks like you’ve never poured liquids from one container to another. It’s one of those things that the more you do it, it just takes tons and tons of practice.” Nichols said the difference between one coffee and another is the beans.
Joey Falcon, barista at Momma Mocha’s, has been working toward the perfect latte for just over three years. “Whenever we’re making drinks, or me personally, I kind of just get into this mental zone where I block everything out and I’m just all about the espresso, all about the coffee,” Falcon said. “I kind of just ignore everyone else, it’s a little bit shady but it happens. You have to focus on the craftsmanship to really get good latte art. It’s a little bit of a struggle when you’re in a high-volume coffee shop and there’s lots of people making noises. That’s something we’re very known for, it’s very loud here, but it’s kind of fun making sure you can get something in a moment of chaos.”
Austin Arias, barista at Coffee Cat, has been dishing out the brew for a year and a half. “I think the most important thing in making latte art, obviously having a good shot pulled of your espresso, but more importantly than that I think is the milk steaming, getting the right consistency in the milk,” Arias said. “It just comes down to an order of operations you start to get down pat after a good while.” Arias said making latte art took time and practice but after a couple months he was successful. The product depends on how hard you want to work, Arias said.
Winchester Hagans, barista at Prevail Union, has been working since the beginning. Prevail, previously Wake Up Coffee Company, was closed for two years and reopened with a new name. “I think the secret to good latte art is having milk steamed that’s the right consistency and the right temperature,” Hagans said. “The milk is really important, if you end up with super foamy milk it’s gonna be globby. I hate forming coconut milk, it’s almost like steaming water. It’s hard to pour with. I mean you do anything five or six hundred times you’re gonna be good at it, so definitely practice is important.”
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Auburn baristas show their skills through latte art.
COLUMN
A guide to surviving a career fair and getting the dream job Karl Hackmiller Lifestyle Writer
If the thought of your future and the increasingly desperate pressure to find post-grad gainful employment by your mom, dad and the system of Capitalism as a whole have you feeling nau-
seated, then know you are not alone. You have two options: Click “Yes, I am still watching” on your open Netflix tab and pretend like watching season one of “The Office” for the ninth time will help your situation or iron your button down and get ready for the Auburn University Career Fair, where dreams come true. I know what you are thinking, can I
wear the same Nike shorts I’ve worn every day for the last week? What about my Adidas flip-flops that make every situation feel sort of like a communal shower? The answer is a resounding no. The dress code is business professional, so when picking your clothes think “classy.” Ask yourself, what would James Bond wear if he was a
middle-aged dad hosting a church donor barbecue. Wear that. Preparation doesn’t end with picking out and ironing your nicest slacks. It is important to research the fair and the potential employers that will be there. Peruse the website and find which companies fit where you see yourself in the future. Researching the compa-
nies grants you opportunities to ask pointed questions and differentiate yourself from the flock of fellow students. That being said, there will be plenty of students at the fair, and it is easy to feel like just another scared, young face in the crowd. If you want to survive and land that dream job, it is important to stand out.
Lifestyle 12
Thursday, March 2, 2017
The Auburn Plainsman
CULTURE
Spring Break dieting done right Kressie Kornis Campus Writer
When preparing for spring break, the internet will tell you to start running bleachers, only eat cabbage soup or go on a juice cleanse. That sounds terrible, so here are three ways to prepare for spring break without wanting to die.
Skip the transit or Uber and walk
Not taking a transit to class or an Uber home from downtown for a week adds up. Add a heavy backpack to the walk, and you’ve got yourself a low-intensity workout. Walking also gives you energy by boosting circulation and oxygen supply to every cell in the body, which can make you feel more alert and alive. It also tones your legs, abs and glutes. Not to mention, you’ll also save a lot of money (for spring break) by avoiding Ubers and taxis.
Places to walk in Auburn:
Chewacla State Park Toomer’s Corner Donald E. Davis Arboretum Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve
Pick your poison wisely
Most diet infographics on Pinterest will tell you to completely cut out alcohol, but that’s easier said than done. A good rule of thumb when drinking is to pay attention to the sugar content in drinks. Sugary drinks like margaritas have around 500 calories, but vodka sodas have 96 calories. If you drink around five drinks downtown, that’s a good 2000 calories saved.
Better drink choices:
Champagne: Most glasses of champagne have around 85 calories. Plus it feels fancier to
sip champagne than to sip a Natty Light. Sea Breeze: A simple but yummy drink with grapefruit juice, cranberry juice (nutrients!) and vodka. It’s also a well drink, ranking in around 180 calories. Vodka Pineapple Diet Sprite: A better alternative to a piña colada if you still want the pineapple flavor. It’s also a well drink, and around 100 calories.
Life is short; eat the pizza
Skipping meals won’t help you lose weight. Our bodies need food to function, so it’s better to have a slice of pizza in your stomach than having nothing at all. However, there is a way to make that slice feel a little more guilt-free. Try dabbing your midnight slice of Little Italy’s with a napkin before you eat. Dabbing a napkin to soak up pizza grease before eating reduces the fat content by 4 1/2 grams per slice, which is around 40 calories per slice. If you’re more of a 2 a.m. Waffle House person, the same can be applied to other greasy foods like sausage and bacon.
Late night eats:
Pita Pit (10 to 4 a.m.): Most options at Pita Pi are healthier than other late night eats, and you can choose your veggies. Taco Bell (7 to 4 a.m.): Soft tacos, the Chalupa Supreme and the Nacho Supreme are good examples of low calorie items that won’t cost you more than a few bucks. Jimmy John’s (10:30 to 3 a.m.): Some of the subs can be high calorie, but they’re extremely filling so you’ll be less likely to snack later. Bonus: They deliver. Waffle House (24 hours): Hash browns aren’t the healthiest choice, but potatoes are high in potassium. Potassium helps maintain normal blood pressure, which is enough reason for anyone to order hash browns.
PLAINSMAN PICKS PLAYLIST:
this week, the plainsman editors chose their favorite rainy day songs. listen to their picks and follow the auburn plainsman at spotify.com/the_auburnplainsman.
"Times Like This” by Edie Brickell Corey Williams, editor-in-chief “It’s the perfect rainy day song. ”
"Miss Misery (Early Version)” by Elliott Smith Jessica Ballard, copy editor “The music fits the mood. ”
"Rain Is a Good Thing” by Luke Bryan Weston Sims, opinions editor “This song illustrates how rain is a central force in the circle of life. And specifically, how it perpetuates humanity.”
"No Rain” by Blind Melon Jack Winchester, sports editor “No rain for me. ”
Adoptable pet of the week
Check out The Dank Dishes cooking show on The Auburn Plainsman’s Youtube channel.
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Azalea, an unadopted dog at Lee County Humane Society on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017 in Auburn, Ala.