The Auburn Plainsman — Aug. 23, 2018

COMMUNITY: Inheriting a past of lynching in Lee County

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COMMUNITY

Recent Auburn graduate dies on kayaking trip

By CHIP BROWNLEE Editor-in-chief editor@theplainsman.com

rived at the grocery store parking lot, she was given a blindfold and told to get in a car.

She was taken to an open field with 15 hooded women, Nichols says. What she thought was a week-long process turned into a month of several nights a week.

“I would get emails from [the alias of] Katherine Cooper Cater that said, ‘You have an hour to write a three-page paper on a woman on campus in a prominent building named after her,’” she said.

Nichols said the women had to carry ChapStick with them at all times because “their lips were sealed.” This task could fall under the University’s Anti-Hazing Policy Section 6.2, “Carrying items for others for no constructive purpose.” She was tasked with writing the Auburn Creed 10 times.

She said she remembers her closest friends and family members frustrated with her absence.

A recent Auburn graduate and Valley, Alabama, native was found dead after a weekend of extensive searching.

Maranda Whitten, 24, who often went by Randi or Randy, drowned on a kayaking trip over the weekend, the Troup County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

“The search for Maranda Whitten has unfortunately been suspended,” the sheriff’s office said. “Maranda was found earlier this morning a victim of an apparent drowning.”

Her drowning is believed to be a suicide, authorities said.

Whitten majored in sociology at Auburn, served as a Community and Civic Engagement Fellow, participated in the College of Liberal Arts’ Living Democracy Program and was heavily involved in other areas on campus.

While participating in the Living Democracy program, Whitten assisted community activists at the Restoration154 nonprofit in Elba, Alabama.

There she worked with teens at Elba High School’s Interact Club to develop initiatives that had a positive impact on their community while also partnering on other projects like Elba’s Giving Garden and Pea River Outdoors.

In February, The Plainsman profiled Whitten as she met another female student at the Cam Newton statue outside Jordan-Hare Stadium. The two met and developed a budding relationship over social media, which soon became a local internet phenomenon.

“Auburn doesn’t rank very high when it comes to LBGTQ acceptance, but it seems like we have a lot of support out here,” Whitten told The Plainsman at the time.

Authorities said Whitten was last seen on Aug. 17 in a teal-colored kayak at about 2 p.m. Her kayak was found later near the Shafer Heard Campground near the dam on West Point Lake along the Alabama-Georgia border.

Search crews and community volunteers found Whitten’s body Monday after an extensive search.

When she was found, she had an extension cord missing

» See HAZING, 2

» See WHITTEN, 2

CATER SOCIETY HONORARY PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY SYDNEY NICHOLS

Sydney Nichols, second from left, is one of the women who says she was hazed during initiation for the Cater Society Honorary.

‘WHO TOLD?’

Two former students say they were hazed in the Cater Society

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

Two women say the Cater Society Honorary, an exclusive senior society of women on Auburn’s campus, hazed them during the ritual period of induction.

Sydney Nichols, a 2018 graduate and former member of the society, and Catherine Scibetta, a 2017 graduate who quit during her induction, both say they were hazed during their time with the society.

The 2018-19 Cater Society Honorary says they do not haze their members.

“Everything I had heard about Cater was about women empowering other women,” said Nichols, who first became involved with the society in February 2018 when she applied.

She says she received a note from someone in Student Involvement with a location, time and dress code. When she ar-

CAMPUS INVOLVEMENT

Greek Life conduct reports to be public

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

Student Conduct Reports for Auburn University Greek Life will now be public record and published semesterly.

“In an effort to provide transparency for potential members and parents and align with our SEC and national peers, we felt it important to publish the information,” said Haven Hart, assistant vice president for student development.

Hart said Greek Life directors at SEC institutions have discussed the idea for some time, and the hope is that other student organizations will follow suit in time.

“The Greek Conduct Report is something that will aid

in holding our groups accountable,” said Gavin McGettigan, president of the Interfraternity Council. “Furthermore, it will give our potential new members and their parents a more accurate idea of the current status of Auburn Greek chapters. The organizations will hopefully see this as a way to highlight their good behavior in the semesters to come.”

Hart said the reports will be published by the first week of classes following the next semester. The report for spring 2018 is not currently published because the Interfraternity Council is in the process of hearing an appeal from a spring semester case.

The report will be published after that case closes.

“Other institutions have had success with this in that it makes the chapters more accountable for their actions,”

Hart said. “When information is public, groups know they’ll have questions to answer and a plan for preventing the behavior in the future. That said, just because a group is under sanction does not mean they are stereotyped as a chapter with behavioral problems.”

Hart said in addition to publishing the conduct reports, Greek Life will publish a summary of successes and accomplishments.

Greek Life director Ryan Powell said he believes transparency is important to students.

“I think that it is important to share the stories about what our students are doing well and what we aren’t doing so well,” Powell said.

To access the Greek Conduct Reports, go to www.greeklife.auburn.edu/reports/

CAMPUS

Athletics announces new changes coming to gameday

By ZACH TANTILLO Sports Reporter sports@theplainsman.com

The Auburn gameday experience is one of the finer things that the campus has to offer. It is filled with excitement, tradition and football.

With the season right around the corner, Auburn Athletics announced multiple mod-

ifications and upgrades to parking and traffic problems, concessions, certain gameday weekend events and rules for the stadium.

After the renovations to Jordan-Hare this offseason, a new entry point at Gate 14 was created. For Tiger Walk Club members, there will be a new southwest end zone entrance on Donahue Drive. Gate 5 and Gate 18 will remain stroller and medical bag entries. The Clear Bag

CAMPUS Auburn University senior elected to lead National College Democrats Auburn senior Calvin Wilborn has been elected president of College Democrats of America Page 5

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Policy will also return this season.

Gate 0 will be will be used as an unauthorized bag check location where fans will be charged $5 to check the unauthorized bag. Smoking inside the stadium will also be prohibited. Auburn has been a no-smoking campus since 2013 and is joined by all other SEC schools with the nosmoking policy inside stadiums. For fans that enjoy other activities outside of the game and

are in town early, the BBVA Compass Locker Room Tours will be on home-game Fridays from 4-6 p.m. CT. The tours will give a look at the new Harbert Family Recruiting Center.

The Home Plate Tailgate located in the baseball field will return in 2018 and is free for all.

» See GAMEDAY, 2

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

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NEWS

WHITTEN » From 1

from the campground tied to her ankles and tethered to a large rock, authorities said.

“This tragedy is being treated as a suicide and as standard procedure, her body will be sent to the state crime lab for an autopsy,” the Troup County Sheriff’s Office said. “Our thoughts and prayers continue to be Maranda’s family. We appreciate all those who have gave of their time and resources during this time.”

The Sheriff’s Office has declined to release any further information.

Mental health resources from Auburn University Student Counseling & Psychological Services and The Mighty: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among collegeage students, with an estimated 1,088 occurring on college campuses each year. It is preventable. If you are feeling suicidal, there is hope and these resources can help: • You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.

• You can reach the Crisis Text Line 24/7 by texting “START” to 741-741.

• You can call The Trevor Project, an LGBT crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline, 24/7 at 1-866488-7386.

• If you are hard of hearing, you can contact the Lifeline via TTY by dialing 800-799-4889.

• You can speak to a crisis counselor in Spanish, call 1-888-628-9454.

• If you are a veteran (or your loved one is a veteran), you can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by calling 1-800-273-8255 and Pressing 1. You can also send a text to 838255.

Local Treatment services: • Student Counseling Services — (334) 844 5123 • Health Promotion & Wellness Services — (334) 844 1422 • Auburn University Medical Clinic — (334) 844 4416 • Auburn University Psychological Services Center — (334) 844 4889 • East Alabama Medical Center — (334) 749 3411 • Active Minds, an Auburn student-run organization, promotes mental health awareness on campus, and Health and Wellness provide QPR — Question. Persuade. Refer. — suicide prevention training. Those are available here.

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Maranda Whitten, left, meets another student outside of Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, in Auburn, Ala.

CHIP BROWNLEE / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Maranda Whitten’s body was found in West Point Lake near Shafer Heard Campground on the Alabama-Georgia border.

HAZING » From 1

“It interrupted your life because you were staying up until 3 a.m.,” Nichols said. “How can you focus on your classes when you get text messaged saying you have X amount of time to complete some task?”

Section 6.9 of Auburn’s Anti-Hazing Policy prohibits anything that causes sleep deprivation or unnecessary fatigue.

One night, the girls were expected to meet for a knowledge test, an intimidating and pressuring night of quizzing. Nichols said she was in the middle seat of a car blindfolded and crouched forward when the two women beside her got out.

An hour passed. Nichols said she was paranoid about this being a test and stayed crouched forward until that hour passed. She took off the blindfold to find she was sitting alone at a house on a gravel road.

“I thought, ‘Oh, they are going to come and get me,’” Nichols said. “And they didn’t.”

She scrambled around to find a phone because they had taken hers, but she couldn’t find out where she was.

Three hours passed before the women returned to the vehicle. Nichols said she considered getting out and walking.

“Instead of going to find me, they left me,” Nichols said. “They didn’t want to admit that they had messed up.”

Nichols made it through the rituals despite the anxiety and depression it was causing her. She said she believed she would be strong enough to stay in the society long enough to change it from the inside.

After induction, she finally found out what really happened that night in the car.

“They said, ‘Haha, please don’t tell anyone. We

just forgot you,’” Nichols said. “I think that was it.

Here are these women who are supposed to care about me, and they forgot me in a car for three hours.”

Section 6.18 of the Anti-Hazing Policy prohibits kidnapping or abandonment in student organizations.

Nichols said a Student Conduct investigation began shortly after she was inducted. She said she was unaware if her incident had caused it.

According to Director of Student Conduct Nick Wiard, Student Conduct could not verify whether the investigation took place from a Student Affairs’ standpoint.

“The Office of Student Conduct doesn’t currently share information about alleged policy concerns, investigations or cases involving student organizations,” Wiard said.

Wiard said student organizations will eventually implement the same system of publishing conduct reports that Greek Life has put in place recently.

According to Nichols, women in the Cater Society who had gone through the Student Conduct investigation of the Squires in 2016 began to prep those who were to be questioned.

The Squires were found in violation of Auburn University’s Anti-Hazing policy in 2016. Nichols said the women were aware of what to expect after having been through the first Student Conduct investigation and were, in theory, able to “prep them” on what to expect.

Nichols said she refused to continue going to the meetings after she realized they were preparing them for questioning.

Nichols said the GroupMe chat between the Cater women blew up the night after she was questioned with people asking, “Who told?”

She left the society in summer 2017.

“If you are really empowering women in their lives, why are you doing it in a way that strips

them of the ability to be the best leader they can be?” Nichols said.

The 2018-19 Cater Society, the group following Nichols group, says the organization does not haze.

“The Cater Society Honorary upholds a strict zero-tolerance hazing policy,” wrote the 2018-19 Cater Society in a statement to The Plainsman.

“The organization’s new member program provides a curriculum which empowers leadership in a safe environment. This new member program has been approved by the Auburn University Office of Student Conduct in the Division of Student Affairs.”

Efforts to reach the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer of the 2017-18 Cater Society in response to the hazing allegations prior to publication of the story were unsuccessful.

Catherine Scibetta, the potential member who graduated in 2017, said she did not make it through the induction period because of the pressure and exclusivity of the group.

“I ended up leaving for several reasons, hazing included,” Scibetta said.

Scibetta said during rituals they were not allowed to wear red and there was name-calling involved in the meetings. She said she never felt uncomfortable but said there were things the women said that were unnecessary.

In one instance, the women made the new society members wear all denim and berated them as they walked out.

“They made these mean comments when we were leaving wherever we were, like, ‘You should be ashamed of yourself, you all look ridiculous,’ and ‘Hope you brought something to cover up in,’” Scibetta said.

Section 6.22 of the Anti-Hazing Policy states that “Any activity that would be viewed by a reasonable person as subjecting any person to embarrassment, degradation or humiliation” is prohib-

GAMEDAY » From 1

FILE PHOTO

Fans do a rolling demonstration at Toomer’s Corner at the start of College Gameday. Auburn vs Alabama on Saturday, Nov. 25 in Auburn, Ala.

At tailgates it is also encouraged that the use of glass is limited.

To help with the long lines at the concession stands, Auburn hired a new food concessionaire, Aramark, to instill a new point of sales system in all concession stands with credit/debit card machines featured at every location. The concession stand will continue to offer $2 20-ounce bottled water along with multiple food and beverage options located across the stadium.

Not only is there a new concessionaire, but Auburn also has a new retail merchandiser named Dyehard Fan Supply.

ited and considered hazing under University rule.

She was taken places, just as Nichols was, and was completely unaware of where she was.

“I didn’t feel like we accurately represented the campus’ climate,” Scibetta said of the society.

“There was no way for us to advance the position of all women on Auburn’s campus if we didn’t represent those women.”

She didn’t see a way to change it without the group being disbanded as a whole, and that did not seem possible because of its deep roots on campus.

“It is much more than 15 powerful women on campus. It is staff. It is advisers. It is faculty,” Scibetta said. “It is ingrained in the institution of Auburn.”

Nichols added that there was negative influence from some older Cater women, encouraging the current members to continue with the hazing practices.

Scibetta said the rituals did not seem historical or native to the group’s start. It seemed as if someone along the way felt hazing was necessary to garner loyalty, Scibetta said.

The Cater Society was once called The Hearts and was created in response to the foundation of the Spades, a predominantly male society of similar influence and exclusivity.

“If you are trying to promote inclusion and diversity on a very, very white campus in a very Southern part of the country, you can’t have [exclusive societies],” Scibetta said. “It is countering everything you are doing with inclusion and diversity.”

Nichols said she became fed up with being told she was a disappointment during the “rituals,” and she did not see how their practices could be empowering women.

“If we are talking about women empowering women and equality of genders, I don’t think you can do that in the dark,” Nichols said. “You have to do that in the light.”

The new merchandiser will offer a full line of Auburn apparel and other merchandise in and around the stadium.

The gear is also sold at www. auteamshop.com.

To help counter parking and traffic woes, Auburn has partnered with the Waze app with real-time street closures and information. Waze is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app.

The app will help Auburn fans be able to update other drivers in the area with realtime traffic and road info that will hopefully save driving time for fans and other Auburn residents.

For fans entering Auburn from the interstate, Wire Road between I-85 exits 42 and 50

will be closed for the 2018 season and fans coming from Montgomery should use exit 50 or 51. The sidewalk located on College Street in front of the Auburn University Hotel will be closed because of construction of the new parking deck.

In addition, the sidewalks and curbs on Thach Avenue, south of Samford Hall, will be closed because of construction.

To secure permit parking spots, limited season and single-game parking passes are available for purchase at www. parkingpanda.com.

No. 9 Auburn kicks off the season against No. 6 Washington in Atlanta on Sept. 1 before taking on Alabama State on Sept. 8 in its first official home game at Jordan-Hare.

opinion

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

OPINION

OUR VIEW

The Auburn Family should mean the community, too

By EDITORIAL BOARD Spring 2018

Throughout the past several years, growth in Auburn has skyrocketed. The University is steadily growing, both student- and faculty-wise, and the city is no different. Large apartment complexes are popping up, and downtown is bringing in new business.

While growth in Auburn is commendable, it has inevitably created tension — primarily between University students and Auburn citizens. Downtown parking has changed, zoning ordinances regarding where students can live have been more strictly enforced and everyone has differing opinions regarding what should be done.

Auburn students, it is time to register to vote, attend City Council meetings and engage in discussions with the community at large. Auburn students have long taken issue with a city seemingly indifferent to the effects of its decisions on students.

Citizens of Auburn, it is time to welcome students into your midst, to encourage their participation and empathize with them on the very issues that have caused the rift between students and residents. But, we also realize students are not making that easy because we aren’t meeting you halfway.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that as the size of both the University and the city of Auburn grow, the populations of both are growing apart.

Decisions that will affect the near and distant futures of both populations are being made regularly without the voices of both sides being heard. Even more disconcerting is the lack of consideration or care both populations seem to have for one another.

Zoning laws are in place that restrict students from living in areas of the town within a mile radius of the school, and citizens of Auburn are quick to evict students from those affordable housing options within walking distance of campus. But, those zoning laws are in place to protect historic and family-centric areas of Auburn.

More and more oversized apartment complexes are being built downtown to accommodate the increase in the student population, while simultaneously the city seems to be pushing students from downtown.

The City Council has raised parking fees, and citizens have explicitly stated at those meetings the fees were instituted to deter students from parking there during the University school day.

While these fees are costing students more, they are also necessary to prevent students from parking downtown while they attend classes. Parking spaces that should be used by patrons of downtown businesses.

And while parking around Auburn is a contentious topic, it is the University’s burden to provide adequate parking for students, not the city. However, the city should be working with the students to help solve this issue, not against them.

Students complain on social media about the continuing changes, tweeting about zoning laws and parking fees, but they take little initiative to make change.

BRYTNI EMISON / OPINION EDITOR

Students show little care for the community at large. While undergraduates make Auburn their home for four years, they refuse to become active constituents of local lawmakers. Not registering to vote, not showing up to City Council meetings and not participating in community events. Without this participation, the city cannot take into account students perspectives, interests, or needs.

If students had taken the initiative and care to attend City Council meetings and let their voices be heard, these decisions and changes could have been made with students’ wants in mind.

It’s time for students to make a change, and have a voice in these changes, for themselves and for future generations of the Auburn family. If past Auburn students had taken the time to attend City Council meetings, perhaps the current zoning laws would be different or maybe the parking fees wouldn’t have been raised.

Auburn University is the lifeblood of this small Southern town, and that is an excellent thing. Whether the citizens of Auburn are directly affiliated with the University or they rely on Auburn’s business, there would be no town of Auburn without the University.

In simple terms, Auburn University and its student body are the city of Auburn’s main financial stream. The city relies on the university to subsist, but without the citizens of Auburn, some of Auburn’s greatest traditions would not exist.

There is no friendlier campus on a game day than at Auburn, and that is because of the family environment this University and town have worked to create. A place where families can walk downtown on a warm summer day, letting their children run around on Samford Lawn, as they’re sipping Toomer’s lemonade.

A place where students and families alike can sing the alma mater and roll the oaks on Toomer’s Corner side by side.

But, it’s time to invest in more than game days and Samford Lawn. The Auburn community must take action to invest in the interests of each citizen and student. This relationship can be a beautiful one, and gamedays are a preview of how rewarding this relationship could be.

Without the citizens of Auburn, the great tradition of the Auburn family would go by the wayside, without the students at the university the businesses and financial security in the city would be lost in a similar manner.

For the Auburn community to reach its full potential both the students and the citizens must work together to form a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship- instead of the hostile, parasitic one that they appear to have now.

Auburn City Council meetings are held every first and third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at 141 N. Ross St. Municipal Elections will be held Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018.

HIS VIEW

Celebrating 125 years of history at The Plainsman

By CHIP BROWNLEE Editor-in-chief

PETE BAKER / CARTOONIST

Auburn is a place full of rich tradition and a history of excellence.

The Plainsman is a prime example of that.

This year, we’re celebrating our quasquicentennial. That’s a pretentious way to say we’ve been around for 125 years.

The last four years at The Plainsman have been a time of change.

Going back further, editors and the staffs of The Plainsman have spent the last decade trying to bring our paper —which in many ways hadn’t changed all that much since it first started publishing as the Orange and Blue in 1893.

When a group of students started publishing Auburn’s student newspaper back then, there were no dorms, no “War Eagle,” no Aubie the Tiger and fewer than 500 students enrolled.

Needless to say, The Plainsman has been a part of the fabric of Au-

OPINION PAGE POLICIES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

COLUMNS AND EDITORIALS

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

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

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

CHIP BROWNLEE Editor-in-Chief

MATHESON ELLER Assistant Campus ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor EDUARDO MEDINA Assistant Community NATHAN KING Sports Editor

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

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

334-844-9108

LILY JACKSON Managing Editor JESSICA BALLARD Standards Editor JADA WALKER Online Manager STEPHEN LANZI Campus Editor

This editorial is the majority opinion of the Editorial Board and is the official opinion of the newspaper.

The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors.

These opinions do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

Print revenues were declining and despite our sizable online reach, online advertising rates hadn’t quite caught up to balance the scales.

For years, we were running massive deficits, held up only by the fact that the heydays of print journalism in the ‘90s and early 2000s gave us a big pot of money to pull from.

But last year, we were able to make a profit for the first time in years. And we’re on track to do even better this year.

So despite our struggles, I feel confident — confident enough to put my words in print — that students will still be reading The Plainsman in another 125 years and hopefully as long as Auburn remains.

I feel confident in saying that because I know editors and staffers like me and my staff are sure to follow after us.

Chip Brownlee is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman. You can reach him at editor@theplainsman. com.

THE EDITORIAL BOARD

CONTACT

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

burn University since before what we think of today as “Auburn” had even matured into the outstanding institution it is today.

The Plainsman, in many ways, has matured alongside the University. We’ve grown and changed and adapted, and we continue to do that today.

As recently as last year, we were worried, if not terrified, that The Plainsman would become insolvent like so many other small papers have.

We don’t take money from your tuition. We don’t take a chunk of your student fees. And we don’t charge you a fee to pick up our paper or subscribe.

Our financial independence comes from our commitment to cover Auburn fairly and independently.

But our reliance on print advertising as our primary source of revenue has made the last decade particularly the last three years quite difficult.

344-844-9101

campus

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

CAMPUS

DINING

First week of classes tests dining’s overhaul

By MATHESON ELLER Assistant Campus Editor

Tiger Dining’s new contract with Aramark has made room for extensive renovations — both in dining plans and restaurant options — across campus.

With the first week of classes underway, the new changes to campus dining are in full swing.

Renovations have been taking place since the summer and the completed projects now up and running include Wicked Eats and Salad Works in the Student Center, Panera in the library, Village Dining Market, the brand new Foy Dining hall and the Steak ’n Shake, Starbucks and Crepe Myrtle food trucks.

Foy Dining is allocating specific focus to individuals with allergies, dietary restrictions and those striving for healthier alternatives with varying stations that offer solutions to meet these accommodations.

Cameron Bernard, a sophomore in Industrial Engineering, said the Foy Dining facility was fairly priced for the available options but that the lines to enter during prime lunch hours were long.

“On the side that I went in, there seemed to only be a few employees scanning cards and letting students in,” Bernard said. “I think that was

part of the hold up.”

Caroline King, a junior in Marketing, said she was pleased with the visual appeal of the new dining hall in Foy, but the layout might not be entirely practical for the crowds.

“I think the renovations are super nice, and it makes it look more modern, but there wasn’t as much seating as I thought there would be,” King said.

According to Director of Campus Dining Glenn Loughridge, there were over 800 total visits to Foy Dining on the first day of classes.

“By and large, [Monday] was a great first day.

We’re aiming to be better tomorrow and the next day and the next,” Loughridge said.

Loughridge noted that the Panera was “wiped out,” and the Crepe Myrtle, Amsterdam and Steak ’n Shake food trucks were especially successful, as well.

However, there are some additional food trucks across campus that were not quite as booming as the more centrally located ones.

“I think the problem with the limited business of our other food trucks was that students just weren’t sure where they were,” Loughridge said.

“Our main challenge now is making sure students know where all of the new dining options are located, including the food trucks. We want to incentivize students to patronize some places

MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR

Foy Dining on Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

that are less crowded and spread the love, which will also limit long lines.”

The Tiger Dining team said they are grateful for the feedback received thus far about all of the dining changes, and they request patience and understanding from the student body as

they continue to work through possible bumps in the road.

“We make it our goal to do something every year to make it the best year yet,” Loughridge said. “I love this place and want people to have the same experience I did when I was a student.”

SAME CREPES, NEW WHEELS Crepe Myrtle comes to campus

By KAYLA KELLY Campus Writer

Auburn welcomed the Crepe Myrtle food truck to campus this week with a smaller menu than at the brick and mortar location.

This past spring, the popular restaurant closed its main location on South Donahue Drive.

Some of the familiar choices making a return include breakfast crepes, chicken salad crepes, and Mexican crepes. The food truck will also be promoting a weekly special crepe that will highlight some of the best from the original menu.

Jake Norwood, senior, said he was a frequent customer at the South Donahue and

College Street location, but he wasn’t aware of the new option on campus.

“I just walked out of class and just saw the Crepe Myrtle truck, and it was really encouraging because it was kind of a staple, and it was a great date spot and stuff, so it was really impactful, and they have great food,” Norwood said.

The purpose behind keeping a smaller menu is to allow the truck to have enough room to store the fresh foods used in all of the crepes as well as to help with the accountability required to be fast enough for students to pick up and go between busy schedules. In addition to the menu remaining relatively unchanged, frequent customers of the previous location will also recognize many of the same faces that

brought them their crepes.

The Crepe Myrtle truck will be making its way around to many different locations on campus throughout the semester every weekday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The changing locations will serve to provide an equal opportunity for the other food trucks that will be a part of this year’s dining options. The places on campus that food trucks will call home will be the same as the past semester, but campus will also welcome two new spots on the Mell Concourse. The Crepe Myrtle truck is one of the many ways it has aimed to do so.

By contributing an unconventional alternative to the other food options around campus, students can experience the local favorites from off campus while they’re on campus.

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

PAGE 5

SERVICE

A look inside Auburn’s ROTC programs

By KATIE DUNNE Campus Writer

Auburn has a rich tradition of producing military leaders through some of the highest rated Reserve Officer Training Corps, ROTC, programs in the country.

One of the reasons Auburn’s ROTC program is distinguished is because it includes all three branches of ROTC programs on its campus.

Here is a look into what the members of each of the three branches have to offer.

The Air Force ROTC program is home to 125 students, 16.8 percent of whom are female. The most common majors that Air Force ROTC students adopt are engineering majors.

Forty-one students are aerospace engineering majors and 30 are mechanical engineering majors. “[Auburn’s Air Force ROTC program] has a 100 percent pilot selection rate and commissions 15 lieutenants a year from pilots to missileers,” said Capt. Michael Brueder, assistant professor of aerospace studies. “The men and women that dedicate their time and efforts to Auburn’s Air Force ROTC program are geared

toward success in whatever their futures hold for them from the moment they step on campus.”

Auburn’s Army ROTC program has 199 students currently enrolled in the “War Eagle Battalion,” 15 percent of whom are female.

“Sixty-five percent of our cadets are either in engineering, business or math and science degree fields,” said Chad Fisher, senior military science instructor. “About 25 Auburn students complete the Army ROTC program and earn presidential appointments as Army officers a year. Auburn’s Army ROTC students continue to use the skills they learn at Auburn after they leave in order to defend their country to the best of their abilities.”

Auburn University’s Navy ROTC program is specifically distinguished because it is comprised of students from Auburn as well as students from Tuskegee University.

This combined program has a total of 176 students.

Lt. George L. Hirner Jr. said that 142 of these students attend Auburn, and 34 attend Tuskegee. Thirteen percent are female. He added that the most common majors these students enroll

FILE PHOTO

ROTC cadets and midshipmen lead Tiger Walk for Military Appreciation Day.

in are mechanical, aerospace, electrical, industrial systems and software engineering along with physics and aviation management.

“Auburn’s Navy ROTC students are well prepared to serve their country at the highest capability once they complete the program,” Hirn-

er said.

Less than 1 percent of Auburn’s student population is made up of members of these three programs.

These high-achieving students go into fields in the business world as well as service fields.

SUSTAINABILITY

buzzing with enthusiasm

For the Bees brings environmental awareness to campus

By TRICE BROWN Campus Writer

For the Bees is a new student organization on campus spreading awareness of the importance of bees in the environment. Members volunteer to spread awareness and to support beekeepers.

“Someone has to step up and do something on this campus, and I guess it should be me,” said Kressie Kornis, the founder and president of For the Bees.

Kornis said she first became aware of how important bees are from a suggested video on her YouTube feed two years ago.

After being made aware of the importance, Kornis contacted Geoffrey Williams from Auburn’s entomology department, who runs the Auburn Bee Lab. “He was a big help in teaching me everything I needed to know,” Kornis said. “So that’s why my goal is to educate oth-

ers of the importance, as well. People do care; they just don’t know about it yet.”

Members of For the Bees volunteer in the Auburn Bee Lab by helping build apiaries or by painting. There is also a lot in the Auburn Community Garden that members help care for.

“The lot in the Community Garden is a big thing we are really trying to push,” said Madeleine O’Donnell, vice president of For the Bees. “We are trying to encourage people to care about and work with it.”

The organization also has fundraising efforts for beekeepers and their education program, Beeducation.

The Beeducation program visits local Auburn schools to teach kids about the environmental role of bees. Beeducation is spearheaded by Hannah Burke, the director of education at For the Bees.

“I’ve always had a lifelong passion for advocating for those who cannot advocate for themselves,” Burke said.

Burke said she saw For the Bees as an opportunity to live by her life motto: leave things better than how you found them.

She added that she saw the organization as an opportunity to both have fun and make a difference in her community.

“Coming into this, I didn’t realize how big an effect bees have on our lives,” O’Donnell said.

She said her experience with For the Bees taught her the important benefits bees provide to society.

As a part of its awareness campaign, For the Bees will be on the concourse on Aug. 29 and 30 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The leaders of the organization encouraged all types of students to become members, regardless of major or year.

“Anyone can take the time to learn about bees and help our community,” Kornis said. “I just think it’s an awesome extracurricular activity that anyone can do.”

Editor’s Note: Kressie Kornis was once a staffer for The Plainsman; however, she is no longer on our staff.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Student elected National College Democrats president

By LILY JACKSON Managing Editor Auburn student and former campus College Democrats President Calvin Wilborn has been elected president of the College Democrats of America.

The national position will put Wilborn at the forefront of political issues in the college sphere during the heat of the 2018 midterm elections.

“It is my wish to show our party and the nation how an Auburn student and members of the Auburn Family can continue to empower our peers across the country,” said Wilborn, who served last year as the National College Democrats vice president.

He said he was grateful for the opportunity to highlight work done by young progressives in heavily Republican states.

He said many of his peers felt like their work was overlooked until the election of Sen. Doug Jones, Alabama’s first Democratic senator in two decades.

Wilborn turned his focus to the 2018 midterms when campaigning for the presidency.

“Having served as vice president of CDA, president of my state federation and as a field organizer

on campaigns, I felt I had the experience to lead college democrats across the nation,” Wilborn said.

“I wholeheartedly believe that if we are going to see a blue wave in November, we’ll have to put in the blue work now.”

As president, Wilborn said he will be overseeing the official youth branch of the Democratic Party.

Beyond his involvement with students, Wilborn is also a member of the Democratic National Committee.

Wilborn will spend his term making in-person visits to different states and chapters in the United States.

He encourages students to find issues they are passionate about whether local, national or statewide and lead the charge on finding smart solutions.

“With an administration that has a track record of alienating people — from separating children from their parents and placing them in cages to attempting to ban members of the transgender community from performing their most basic right to protect and preserve the liberties we all hold dear ­— now, more than ever, we need young people involved in the political process,” Wilborn said.

CONTRIBUTED BY CALVIN WILBORN

Calvin Wilborn, third from left, an Auburn student and former president of the Auburn College Democrats, was recently elected president of the national branch.

community THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

6 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

COMMUNITY

HISTORY

Inheriting a past of lynching in Lee County The National Memorial for Peace and Justice remembers those lives lost to terror lynching, including four men in Lee County

By ELIZABETH HURLEY Assistant Community Editor

MONTGOMERY — Beyond the slight crackling of gravel, not much is heard, yet there is a deafening scream visitors can’t help but register while walking toward the black statue of a woman on her knees, chained around the neck, screaming and staring at the ground they walk on.

This ground is in Montgomery, home of The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a site founded by Equal Justice Initiative and dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people who, after emancipation, were terrorized by systemic racial lynching. Over 4,400 African Americans were hanged, burned, shot, drowned, stabbed and beaten to death, according to EJI. EJI also notes that many of those killed will never be known.

In Lee County, four men’s lives were ended from lynching. Their names, etched across rusted steel, await the gaze of visitors whose eyes speak more than their mouths ever could when looking at the monument.

It’s 89 degrees that with “a touch of Southern special humidity,” as one security guard put it, makes it feel 98. Sweat crawls all over the skin like nagging insects, and the grey shirt of a lit-

tle boy becomes darker as he swipes away mosquitoes. There is no shade before walking up a slight hilltop that houses steel structures with the lynching victims’ names. Each steel monument represents a county in the South.

Downtown Montgomery can be seen from the memorial, and the monuments loom above like an overcast sky. On trek, visitors can see hints of what the monuments represent.

Perhaps the anguish felt when seeing those dangling steel structures is best expressed by the boy in the grey shirt. He looks up, pokes his mother’s hip and asks, “Mommy, why did they hang them like this?”

The symbolism is clear enough for children to be cognizant of what happened in this country and seemingly powerful enough to make your own throat tighten with grief.

There are over 800 steel monuments, according to EJI. Finding a specific county requires sifting through a rustic maze of solidified murder and hatred. Silver plaques alongside a black wall tell of hundreds of people being present for the lynching, and in other instances, thousands.

A photograph shows black legs suspended in the air as men and their sons look on with casual faces. There’s no look of disgust, no creases on their forehead or squint in their eyes — just a point-blank stare. In fact, one man in the back-

VIA EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE

The steel columns at the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice represent the 800 counties in the United States where a lynching took place.

ground of the picture is smiling.

Lee County’s remembrance monument is located near the entrance of the memorial, closest to the unshaded area. From a distance, the rusted structure looks clay colored. Only up close can the various reds, browns and oranges be seen.

The monument is hollow, casting a darkness within that illuminates the four punctured names:

POLITICS

JOHN HART – 11.03.1886 GEORGE HART – 11.05.1887 CHARLES HUMPHRIES – 03.18.1900 SAMUEL HARRIS – 11.03.1902 Because of information available at American Lynching Data, which uses a historic newspaper database from Tuskegee University and Proj-

» See LYNCHING, 7

SPORTS

Opelika, Auburn build new pickleball courts

By PAUL BROCK Staff Writer

As the election approaches, longtime Mayor Bill Ham gets ready to leave office.

A look at Mayor Bill Ham’s 32 years of city service

By ELIZABETH HURLEY Community Editor

As the Auburn community gears up for the Municipal election Tuesday, Aug. 28, the community is also readying itself to see a new face sitting at the center of the City Council.

Mayor Bill Ham Jr., 64, has decided that 32 years on the City Council, 20 of which were as mayor, is where he will cap his “civic rent.”

He was encouraged by then-Mayor Jan Dempsey and several other community members to run for City Council.

“I felt like it was something I needed to do, as she (Dempsey) said to pay my civic rent,” Ham said.

Ham served 12 years, or three terms, as a city councilman. During his time as a councilmember, the Council worked to grow the community, which included adding funding for the city schools, Ham said.

Then in 1998, Dempsey and a team of Auburn citizens once again began talking to Ham to encourage him to run for mayor.

Now after 20 years as mayor, Ham said he has decided to retire in hopes of bringing more youth to the City Council.

“I’ve got a number of business interests,” Ham said. “I’ve got grandchildren. I’m 64 years old. I don’t look at 64 as old, but I know some mayors that are 80 or older. I think you need youth on the City Council.”

Four years ago, Ham talked with Ward 2 Councilman Ron Anders Jr. about the possibility of his fifth term being his last.

Ham told Anders he would only leave if the council was able to pass a number of initiatives, Ham said.

Ham said he believes he has accomplished what he wanted to accomplish and he has a candidate for mayor to support.

“About four months ago I said, ‘Ron, I need a commitment from you,’” Ham said. “‘I feel good about your ability to serve this community. There are no guarantees about who will be elected, but if you really want to run, then I’m not going to run. But if you tell me you’re not going to run, then I feel compelled to run again.”

Ham said Auburn’s job growth and creation, upholding the quality of public education that Dempsey started and the new parks and recreation plan are some of his biggest accomplishments from his five terms as mayor.

Ham is also proud of his part in boosting the military community in Auburn. When he was first elected mayor, he felt the military branches were under appreciated in Auburn.

He had a large part in creating the Auburn Veterans Committee in 1998, which hosts the Mayor’s Memorial Day Breakfast, the Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony and the Annual Veterans Day Ceremony.

“I think putting an emphasis on show-

ing appreciation to those that actually gave us the freedoms we enjoy is pretty important,” Ham said. “That’s one of the very first things we did.”

As Ham wraps up his 20-year stint as mayor, he is starting to look toward his future. He said he is looking forward to traveling and working on various business ventures.

He’s not ready to take it easy. He plans to shift his energy toward other activities while remaining involved in the community, Ham said.

“It’s been an incredible, humbling experience to be the mayor and be involved in local government in the hometown that you grew up in,” Ham said. “I’ve meet so many unbelievable people.”

During his 32-years of city service, Ham worked with a number of Auburn community members and outsiders that invested in the community.

Ham said he hopes to see the Auburn community continue to grow and prosper as a new mayor takes over.

“I hope my legacy would be a progressive community that believes in an excellent quality of life and excellent public education,” Ham said. “A community that is doing everything possible to take care of its citizens from all socio-economic backgrounds and provide the best services possible for everyone that lives here, and certainly that would include those that are here for four years of college.”

Pickleball has been overshadowed for decades by the similar game of tennis and has been thought of by many as just another racquet sport, but in recent years, the sport has seen significant growth in popularity.

Opelika’s Parks and Recreation Director Sam Bailey has been playing pickleball for several years, including tournament-level play and said 18 million people are expected to play pickleball this year. According to the USA Pickleball Association, the number of pickleball locations has doubled since 2010.

“Pickleball about 10 years ago started getting some momentum, and now it’s blowing up, and not just here — it’s all around the country,” Bailey said.

Pickleball, like tennis, can be played between two players or two pairs of players. The sport uses a plastic ball with holes in it, paddles and nets that are slightly different from tennis nets. According to the USAPA, no one knows for sure how the sport got its name, but one story says it came from the name of a founder’s dog, pickle.

“It’s not like a power game,” Bailey said. “It’s not like you’ve got somebody just wailing the ball at you. The ball moves slowly, and you can kind of progress at your own pace.”

In anticipation of pickleball’s growing popularity, the City of Opelika is constructing a new pickleball facility with 12 courts, and this new facility will be entirely covered by a massive pavilion. According to oanow.com, the Opelika City Council agreed in June to a $161,000 project bid from Lower Brothers Co. for the courts themselves, and the pavilion will be purchased from ClearSpan Fabric Structures International for $349,747.

“Our goal is to build a set of courts here that will be set up for tournament-style play, and we plan to host tournaments, and we feel that we will be very successful in doing that,” Bailey said. “I’ve played all over the Southeast in tournaments, and what we’re building will be nicer than anywhere I’ve ever played.”

Bailey said an advantage of being at the Opelika Sportsplex is tournament players who will be there all day will have access to the main sports building, which has vending machines, air-conditioning, showers and even a whirlpool.

Opelika currently has only one pickleball court at the Calhoun Tennis Center, and Bailey said they have had to improvise and use the tennis courts there with taped lines for past tournaments. Bailey said the biggest problem with using tennis courts is that there’s too much room for the ball to go, and players are allowed to play balls that have bounced off walls or fences.

Construction has already begun on the new pickleball facility in Opelika, and Bailey said he hopes to see them ready by the end of October.

The City of Auburn already has 14 public courts in various locations, and according to oanow.com, more courts are scheduled to be built within the next budget year at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.

According to the USAPA, pickleball was created in 1965 by congressmen Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell. The two men wanted to play badminton with their families, but they could not find any equipment. They had a court available, though. They decided to improvise and use Ping-Pong paddles and perforated plastic balls, and a new sport was born.

“It is very easy to play comparatively when you look at something like tennis or even Ping-Pong,” Bailey said. “If you already have any kind of racquet skills, you’ll pick it up quickly and be able to have fun rapidly.”

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

LYNCHING » From 6

ect HAL, we know why these four men were brutally lynched in Lee County. John Hart was wrongly accused of murder; George Hart was wrongly accused of murder; Charles Humphries was wrongly accused of attempted rape; Samuel Harris was wrongly accused of murderous assault, all according to American Lynching Data.

Various people pause to reflect, one of whom is Robin Levinson. She is from Dothan, Alabama, but lived in Auburn for a while, she said.

She wanted to visit the memorial with her husband before they leave for California in a few weeks. Her grandparents and mother are from Lee County, and she has uncles and cousins living there now, she said.

“It’s really shocking. I didn’t have any concept of this history when I lived there,” Levinson said. “If I had to guess, I doubt my family has any idea, so I want to make sure they know what I saw here today.”

And that vision surrounds her. There are people pointing at each individual name on the structures, trying to tally up the number of people slain by racial terror. On some counties the list is so long, people lose track and start again from the top.

To David Carter, associate professor of history at Auburn, those names must make one ask: what kind of culture tolerated this?

“While this was primarily a southern phenomenon, there’s no doubt that horrific choices were made across the country, so really, this is a

national crime,” Carter said.

The written text at the memorial does not shy away from telling this crime.

“The language doesn’t mince words. It uses this phrase ‘terror lynching,’ and it clearly conveys that lynching is a form of terrorism,” Carter said.

Carter acknowledges that some people will see this memorial as an act of political correctness or America picking at its scab of national history, but he doesn’t see it that way.

“People will tell me, ‘oh that stuff isn’t pleasant to think about; won’t we be better of as a nation if we focus on making the present better and making the future better?’ But I’m just of that mind, like archbishop Tutu of South Africa, that you cannot look forward to a multiracial future unless you’re willing to acknowledge the past you’ve inherited,” Carter said.

The past echoes when leaving the memorial.

On the ground are replica steel monuments resembling caskets. The monuments “await to be claimed and installed in the counties they represent,” as it states on the EJI website. Those interested in bringing the monument back to Lee County can go on eji.org and fill out the memorial monument inquiry form.

For now, the steel hangs as a testament of terror, and the Lee County monument awaits to be taken across the state, across historic confederate markers scattered throughout, across oak-bordered highway and Camellia-covered land. It hangs in the shade, awaiting Alabama’s scorching sunlight to shine these four names: John Hart, George Hart, Charles Humphries and Samuel Harris.

VIA EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE

The Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice honors the victims of lynching.

PAGE 7

PARKS & REC

CONTRIBUTED BY PIVOT SKATEPARKS

An animated proposal of a skate park.

Future skate park design to be determined by public vote

By PAUL BROCK Staff Writer

Auburn and Opelika residents can now vote on Auburn Parks and Recreation’s website between two different designs for a new skate park. The new skate park is a joint effort between the cities of Auburn and Opelika and is set to replace the municipal Indian Pines Golf Course, which rests on the border of Auburn and Opelika.

Auburn Parks and Recreation Director Rebecca Richardson said they talked to several skate park design companies but narrowed it down to two companies, American Ramp Company and Spohn Ranch Skate Parks. Both companies sent representatives to talk about their designs and answer questions at two public meetings in June.

Richardson said 30 to 40 showed up at each meeting and said a good variety of serious and casual skaters came to each.

Richardson said the first skate park was not successful, and he thinks this is because there was not enough ownership from the skating community.

“We thought [a vote] would help maybe elicit some ownership in the project,” Richardson said.

Richardson said they are pleased with the amount of feedback they have received so far with the vote.

One such voter is Parker Gilliland who grew up skating in Auburn. Gilliland said when he

was growing up in Auburn, there wasn’t a place to skateboard, and they would just skate around town.

“People weren’t too excited about us skateboarding around their property,” Gilliland said.

Gilliland said if either skate park is built, it would be a great improvement to the local skateboarding scene.

“I like both of them a lot, but in my opinion, the [American Ramp Company] design had more to offer diversity wise for kids who have never skated before and need somewhere to learn,” Gilliland said. “Growing up skating at the skating park in Columbus, I would be really intimidated because there wasn’t one thing I could just practice on. It was go big or go home, and in that case, I would just go home most of the time.”

The vote is set to end on Aug. 19. Richardson said after the vote, they will need to make a schedule with whichever company is chosen, and he said demolition should begin on the golf course in early September.

Richardson said they are considering forming a committee to oversee the skatepark and said anyone interested is welcome to apply for a seat.

“I’ve been all around skateboarding, and the relationships you build through skateboarding are lifelong friendships,” Gilliland said. “Any sort of skate park in Auburn would be a safe place for people to go and meet up and hang out and do something they all enjoy together.”

This notification provides a brief description of students' rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

There are four important facets to FERPA. As a student you have: 1. The Right to Review Your Education Records.

FERPA affords a student the right to inspect and review his or her records.

Students can view these records electronically, at any time, by using AU Access.

2. The Right to Seek to Amend Inaccurate and Misleading Information.

Students should contact the Office of the Registrar to correct inaccurate information or to clarify misleading information.

3. The Right to share Directory Information.

Information from a student's educational record that may be disclosed under FERPA without the student's permission is called "directory information." In accordance with best practices set forth by accreditation standards, Auburn University has designated the information items listed in the box to the right as directory information. Note that only "name" and "email address" are displayed in the University Directory - People Finder).

Directory Information Items Name Local Address Permanent Address Email Address Local Telephone Number Permanent Telephone Number Dates of Attendance Program of Study (college, major, & campus) Classification Previous Educational Agencies/Institutions Attended Degrees, Honors, and Awards Received Participation in Officially Recognized Activities and Sports Weight and height of members of intercollegiate athletic teams Full or part time Enrollment Status DISCLOSURE OF EDUCATION RECORDS IN

If you choose not to not have your directory information shared, you must

HEALTH AND SAFE TY EMERGENCIES

request to block this information by completing a form in the Office of the

Should Auburn University determine that there is an articulable and significant threat to the health or safety of a student or other individuals, FERPA allows disclosure of information from education records to appropriate parties whose knowledge of the information is necessary to protect the health and safety of the student or other individuals.

Registrar, in the basement of Langdon Hall.

4. The Right to File a Complaint if the University has not Addressed Your Concern Appropriately.

All complaints concerning alleged failures by the University to comply with the requirements of FERPA should be directed to the Family Policy Compliance Office, U. S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW Washington, DC 20202-4605

Auburn University's policy on the confidentiality of student records, as established according to T he Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, can be found on our website. http://www.auburn.edu/administration/registrar/ferpa.html If you have questions, please contact the Office of the Registrar at 334-844-2544.

sports THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

8 THEPLAINSMAN.COM

SPORTS

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL

WRs Stove, Hastings ‘don’t have bad days’

TODD VAN EMST / AUBURN ATHLETICS

Eli Stove (12) at practice on Wednesday, March 6, 2018 in Auburn, Ala.

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor Will Hastings and Eli Stove may have four outstanding freshman receivers to thank for filling the gaps in production opened by their ACL injuries. But the pair isn’t going to lay down and sulk while they do.

All throughout the Tigers’ preseason, coaches and teammates have endlessly praised the rehabilitation of Hastings and Stove, who both suffered torn ACLs in spring ball. The duo has been limited, yes, but has shown encouraging quickness in drills since the first day of fall camp.

No one appreciates that more than their position coach, Kodi Burns.

“I’m excited and impressed with how they’ve trained,” Burns said Aug. 16. “I think their mindset from Day 1 has been ‘I want to get back. I want to be back for this entire season’

» See RECEIVERS, 9

BRING ON THE BIG DOGS

SOCCER

Tigers soccer hosting

UAB after 2-0 start

By STAFF

FILE PHOTO

Darius Slayton (81) celebrates after a touchdown catch in the first half. Auburn vs. Georgia on Saturday, Nov. 11, in Auburn, Ala.

AP POLL: TIGERS-HUSKIES IS TOP-10 MATCHUP

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

The votes are in: Writers across the country believe Auburn will be a talented squad this season.

After a top-10 ranking in the summer’s coaches poll, Gus Malzahn’s Tigers found themselves at No. 9 in the seasonopening AP Poll, announced Monday morning.

Like in the coaches poll, Auburn is the third-highest ranked team in the SEC behind defending national champion and national runner-up Alabama (No. 1) and Georgia (No. 3), respectively. Auburn’s Week 1 opponent, Washington, remains a top-10 opponent at No. 6.

“The next day, day and a half, we’ll have some personnel

meetings and all that and we’ll start preparing for Washington,” Malzahn said Sunday. “We already have a good idea of what we’re going to do, but it’ll give us a day to catch our breath during the off day and just strictly focus on them.”

The No. 9 spot is the highest preaseason ranking for Malzahn’s team since 2015, when Auburn began at No. 6. Auburn’s other 2018 opponents in the poll include Mississippi State at No. 18 and LSU at No. 25.

Following SEC Media Days, the Tigers were slated to finish second in the conference behind Alabama, which Auburn beat 26-14 in last year’s Iron Bowl to highlight a 10-4 (7-2 SEC) season. Malzahn and company ended the year at No. 10 after an SEC Championshiploss to Georgia and a Peach Bowl loss to UCF.

Stidham ‘more explosive’ in his second fall camp

FOOTBALL

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Second-year

Auburn (2-0-0) finished off its opening week with a 2-1 win against No. 18 South Florida (1-1-0) Sunday afternoon at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

Jessie Gerow scored for the second straight game while Jaelyn Gadson netted her first goal of the season. Treva Aycock tallied her first point as a Tiger with an assist, and both Bri Folds and Rocio Sanders pitched in on Gadson’s goal.

Nineteen Tigers saw action in the match, including five that went the distance. Goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau made eight saves with six coming in the first half and led a defensive unit that nearly pitched a shutout against 20 shots.

“I liked our resiliency and our willingness to battle,” head coach Karen Hoppa said. “South Florida is strong, physical and experienced, and it threw us off for a while as a young group. I felt good about our group growing into the game and keeping our composure. Obviously to get two goals, we’re really happy about that as well.”

Gerow got Auburn on the scoreboard with her second goal of the season in the 21st minute of the match. Aycock fired off a shot inside the box but goalkeeper Sydney Martinez knocked it away. However, Gerow was there for the rebound and put it into the back of the net to give the Tigers an early advantage.

“We definitely strategized a little bit before the game as to what we were going to do, and we did a good job of settling the ball down and seeing what we had,” Gerow said. “We worked really well off each other. It’s a good start. We all did it together.”

Coming out of halftime, Gadson doubled Auburn’s lead in the 59th minute when she got her right foot on a pass from Sanders and flicked it past Martinez. The goal was Auburn’s third of the season off a set piece and Folds and Sanders played a nice giveand-go off the corner kick.

With time running out on the Bulls, South Florida was able to get on the scoreboard in the 89th minute as Kelli Burney scored on a header off a corner kick.

Auburn remains on The Plains and hosts a pair of games next week. The Tigers will take on UAB Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT before closing out the week vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday at 2 p.m.

starter

Jarrett

Stidham and No. 9 Auburn will clash with No. 6 Washington on Sept. 1 in Atlanta (Todd Van Emst / Auburn Athletics)

Kam Martin and Jarrett Stidham probably thought this was going to happen in Texas, not Alabama.

Entering the 2018 seasons as juniors, the duo will likely be Auburn’s starters at running back and quarterback, respectively. But in 2016, both weren’t sure what their gridiron futures held.

After signing his letter of intent with Baylor, Martin, along with several other players, were granted NCAA release without penalty from the Bears program after head coach Art Briles was suspended with intent to terminate amid the school’s now-infamous sexual assault scandal.

The former No. 1 running back in the Lone Star State chose to sign with Auburn and contributed immediately as the No. 3 back in 2016.

Stidham distanced himself from the program’s toxicity earlier. After the 2015 season, the Texan

transferred from Baylor to McLennan Community College. He didn’t officially play football there but was still heralded as the No. 1 JUCO prospect. Stidham chose Auburn over Florida and Texas A&M. Stidham quickly stood out in the quarterback race and earned the starting job for 2017, while Martin again was the third tailback behind Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway.

Now, the teammates — and close friends — will trot out as starters together for the first time.

“It’s really exciting,” Martin said Sunday. “Me and Jarrett have always been tight. I was one of the main reasons he came over here (from Baylor). Even at Baylor, I helped him get over there, then I helped him get to Auburn. It’s pretty cool to play in the backfield with Jarrett.”

Gus Malzahn, along with multiple other coaches on Auburn’s staff, have reiterated since the spring that Martin will be the first running back on the field when Auburn takes on Washington on Sept. 1 in Atlanta. Off 74 attempts, Martin returns as Auburn’s top rusher at 453 yards and two scores, as well as a receiving touchdown. After a shoulder injury held him out of spring ball, Stidham is back at the forefront of the Tigers offense.

» See STIDHAM, 9

The Auburn Plainsman

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

PAGE 9

FOOTBALL

D-line easing Driscoll’s transition

TODD VAN EMST / AUBURN ATHLETICS

Jack Driscoll (71) on Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018 in Auburn, Ala.

By ZACH TANTILLO Sports Reporter

The storyline that has continued to build steam over the offseason has been the potential dominance of Auburn’s defensive front.

The most experienced member of the line, Dontavius Russell, is going into his fourth season as a starter and has seen dominant fronts in his time at Auburn, including one of the best units in the country last year with a front four consisting of Jeff Holland, Russell, Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson.

Even with the loss of team sack leader Holland, Auburn is bringing back three starters from last year’s unit and some key depth pieces along the line. With all of that and an offseason to mesh even more, Russell believes that the experienced unit can be just as good, if not better than last year’s group.

“We’ve been progressing,” Russell said.

“We only lost Jeff, but you got to think [T.D. Moultry] played really well last year. Big Cat also moved to Buck, so we have depth at that position… we returned the three main defensive tackles that played, [Tyrone Truesdell] is coming back, we got a new freshman coming in, Coynis [Miller], he’s been progressing. Nick Coe and Marlon [Davidson] always play really well and I think if we keep progressing then we can be better than last year.”

STIDHAM » From 8

With the second 3,000-yard passing season in program history under his belt, Stidham has been given more offensive freedom — in terms of checks and audibles — by Malzahn and offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey.

And with less than two weeks until the season opener, that freedom has paid dividends for the improvement of Stidham’s game.

The shear amount of talent along the defensive line does not only affect the defense or the unit solely — going up against a group with multiple future NFL players makes everyone around them better, from the linebackers to secondary, and even helping new starters on the offensive line get better assimilated to elite front fours.

New offensive lineman Jack Driscoll was one of the more highly touted grad transfers in the nation when he transferred to Auburn. Though starting at UMass against occasional tough competition (five starts against SEC teams), Driscoll never has had to play against top quality defensive units week in and week out.

Driscoll is relishing how much going against Auburn’s stout defensive front this fall has improved his game.

“It’s one of those things, it’s obviously a challenge but it gets you a lot better and I can already tell I have become a better player and I hope I’m making them better players as well,” Driscoll said. “It’s fun, as a competitor that’s the kind of stuff you like is getting to play the best every day.

“When you’re going against a front seven like we have, there are not going to be many more fronts better than them in the country. So, getting to work with them day in and day out is something that has made me more confident going to the week-to-week grind.”

“He’s more explosive this year,” Martin said. “He’s taking the charge. He has the remote to the offense, more power this year.”

In addition to the secondmost passing yards ever in a single season, Stidham touted the SEC’s highest completion percentage (66.5) by season’s end. The explosiveness that Martin alluded to began taking shape toward the end of year, when the QB took more read options himself, resulting in

back-breaking rushing scores against Georgia (Nov. 11) and Alabama.

“I’m extremely excited about it,” Stidham said at SEC Media Days of his offensive freedom.

“They’ve kind of promised me, ‘Hey you’re going to have more freedom at the line’ ... I think now with playing for a year, having experience, I know a little bit more football this year and I know what to expect and I know what the coaches are looking for.”

RECEIVERS » From 8

The fact that they’re this far along right now has been really impressive for me to see.”

Stove saw action last season as the Tigers’ primary “flanker,” receiving jet sweeps to the tune of 315 rushing yards and a pair of scores. He also emerged as a weapon in the passing game, grabbing 29 receptions for 265 yards. The junior underwent surgery on March 13.

Sixteen days later, Hastings, a senior who began his Auburn career as a walk-on kicker, had a similar surgery after injuring his knee in the team’s first spring scrimmage.

As Auburn’s starting slot receiver in 2017, “White Lightning” had 26 receptions for 525 yards and four touchdowns.

“It speaks to their character and the type of kids they are. It’s easy to get down in rehab,” Burns said. “They don’t have bad days.

They always come in bright-eyed and ready to go with a smile on their face, trying to rehab and trying to get back with their team. I expect to see them here pretty soon.”

Gus Malzahn said at SEC Media Days that he is eyeing a midseason return for at least Hastings. At the beginning of fall camp, the

coach added that, while the two have been “progressing very well,” he’s not ready to announce a concrete timetable.

“It’s not my job to push them back,” Burns said. “I want them to come back when they’re ready to come back.”

With more available reps than maybe anticipated when they signed, Auburn’s true freshman quartet of Seth Williams, Matthew Hill, Anthony Schwartz and Shedrick Jackson have embraced their roles in fall practices. Williams is a big-bodied target, Hill is “savvy” in space, Schwartz burns defenders with sheer speed and Jackson uses his experience from spring practices to be fundamentally sound.

And until Hastings and Stove are welcomed back, Burns will rely heavily on his youngsters.

“I’d be shocked, to be honest, if all four of them aren’t on the field in some capacity, at some point,” Burns said. “They’re very special. I think this is one of the most talented groups I’ve had as far as true freshmen.

These guys can absolutely go. It’s just about being more comfortable and confident and picking up the offense.”

FOOTBALL

WALK-ON NO MORE QB Devin Adams awarded scholarship

FILE PHOTO

Devin Adams (16) warms up before Auburn’s A-Day game on Saturday, April 7, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Devin Adams is a walk-on no more.

The reserve quarterback has been awarded an Auburn football scholarship, the team confirmed via its Twitter on Sunday evening.

A senior out of Mobile, Alabama, Adams began his collegiate career at Mississippi Delta Community College before transferring to

FILE PHOTO

Auburn prior to the 2016 season.

Adams’ decision to become a Tiger was heavily influenced by former linebacker Tre’ Williams and current linebacker Deshaun Davis, two lifelong friends of the quarterback.

“Tre’ and Deshaun paved my way and helped me every step in getting to Auburn,” Adams said in a story by Auburn Athletics.

“They said it best – make sure you’re with family. And now that means not just Tre’ and Deshaun, but the whole Auburn family.”

Adams ran with the scout team in his first season before working his way onto the depth chart in 2017. In Auburn’s season-opening win over Georgia Southern, while the Tigers were dealing with former backup Sean White’s suspension, starter Jarrett Stidham rode the bench in the second half and thentrue freshman Malik Willis was held out in hopes of preserving his redshirt.

Thus, Adams ran the offense for a few drives in the 41-7 victory, completing one pass and rushing for six yards.

“At the end of the day, I came to Auburn to let people know that I can play football,” Adams said. “I think I’ve proved that point.”

FILE PHOTO

FOOTBALL

Harold Joiner ‘trying to run guys over’ during fall practice

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Gus Malzahn and his staff aren’t quite sure what to do with 6-foot-4, 214-pound true freshman Harold Joiner.

Joiner has been heralded as a “unique specimen” since arriving on campus. The Mountain Brook product (Birmingham, Ala.) was recruited as an H-back, but Malzahn and company always had a multi-faceted role envisioned.

Auburn had the former No. 4 player in the state in the running back room in the summer, then moved him to receivers, where he’d been for all of fall camp. That was, until the second scrimmage, when Joiner received ample carries as a tailback.

“He’s a versatile guy,” Auburn running backs coach Tim Horton said Aug. 16. “Yesterday he did get some carries at running back. We’re probably going to tinker with him and make sure he’s

homed in on what to do at running back, because he really did a good job.

“He’s got a really interesting skillset because he’s so big; he can run the ball, he’s got ball skills, he can run routes. That’ll be someone who will be interesting to just see how his role evolves, because I don’t know if we know for sure what it’s going to be.”

In addition to standard handoffs, Joiner worked with JaTarvious Whitlow, Chandler Cox and Malik Willis as a Wildcat quarterback, according to Horton.

Cox has the experience, having taken direct snaps since 2016.

Whitlow was a high school quarterback who has displayed tremendous athleticism, and Willis is one of the quickest offensive players. Joiner brings pure power and size.

“When he carried the ball in the scrimmage, he was trying to run guys over,” Auburn receivers coach Kodi Burns said. “And it was really impressive how physical he’s trying to be.”

Burns said when Joiner is with his group as opposed to Horton’s, he lines up in the slot behind tight end Sal Cannella. The Tigers are expecting lost production there for a portion of the season as 2017 starter Will Hastings continues to rehab from an ACL injury.

Auburn might not require Joiner’s ability right away, opening an opportunity for him play four games or less and redshirt. But after Cox graduates this year, the Tigers will need a replacement at H-back, and Joiner’s raw skillset will continue to be molded into a weapon that Auburn hopes proves problematic to gameplan for.

“That’s exactly what you want is versatility,” Burns said. “That’s what Harold Joiner brings. He’s right at 6-4, 215, and he’ll be 225 when it’s all said and done. The fact that he can play running back and play receiver is scary for a defense, I think, because that’s a matchup nightmare … you can do multiple things with him and he’s going to bring it.”

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

The Auburn Plainsman

FOOTBALL

PAGE 10 SOCCER

Soccer enters Top 25

By TYLER ROUSH Asst. Sports Editor

TODD VAN EMST / AUBURN ATHLETICS

Mike Horton (64) at Auburn football practice on Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2018 in Auburn, Ala.

Junior Bri Folds led the Tigers to a 2-0 start last week and has been named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week, announced by the group Tuesday.

Folds notched her first career brace and matched a career high with four points in the season opener at Samford, then assisted on the game-winning goal vs. No. 18 USF in the home-opener Sunday.

The National Team of the Week is the second selection for Folds in her three-year Auburn career.

And thanks in large part to Folds’ efforts, Auburn soccer is being nationally recognized.

Auburn soccer is now ranked at No. 24 and No. 25 by the United Soccer Coach-

es Poll and the Top Drawer Soccer poll, respectively. The team has started the 2018 season with a shutout victory over Samford and a 2-1 win over then-No. 18 South Florida.

Auburn joins Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Tennessee as one of five SEC schools in the polls.

Additionally, the team earns its highest ranking by NCAA Women’s Soccer RPI at No. 22.

The four goals scored in Auburn’s home-opening win were the most by the Tigers in a season opener since 2010.

During its ranked victory at South Florida, goalkeeper Sarah Le Beau had eight saves while Jessie Gerow and Jaelyn Gadson added goals.

Auburn continues the season at home with UAB Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT and Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday at 2 p.m.

‘Plug ‘em in, let ‘em charge their batteries’ J.B. Grimes, Auburn zeroing in on starting offensive line

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Like the nut of an oak tree, or one of its many relatives, Auburn’s probable starter at right tackle, Jack Driscoll, is an acorn.

Please, allow J.B. Grimes to elaborate.

“If we had to play today, it would be Jack Driscoll being backed up by Austin Troxell,” Grimes said Thursday at Auburn’s annual assistant coaches interview session. “My daddy said a long time ago, ‘A blind hog will find an acorn every once in a while.’ I think we found us an acorn in that one, getting a grad transfer from UMass that probably had no stars coming out of high school.

“He was a 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end that now, after watching him on tape, is an SEC football player. He belongs here.”

Translation: Grimes and the Tigers lucked out when they signed Driscoll as a Massachusetts graduate transfer in late April.

Driscoll was brought into a crowded right tackle spot — redshirt freshmen Austin Troxell and Calvin Ashley made for a jam-packed unit — that has since slimmed down in fall camp. Ashley has been moved to right guard, where the former five-star tackle prospect is still growing.

“He’s still a young guy,” Grimes said of Ashley. “I said this back in 2013, but you don’t just throw an offensive lineman into the grease and pull him out like you do a piece of fried catfish. You gotta put him in the oven and bake him a while.

And then you pull him out.”

Troxell, a former four-star hailing from Madison Academy (Kerryon Johnson and Malik Miller’s former school in Madison, Alabama), surely looks the part of an SEC tackle, what with a 6-foot-6, 305-pound frame. He worked through the first week of fall practices with the “orange” first team but has been supplanted by Driscoll as of late.

Driscoll’s 20 FBS starts at UMass could be a factor. Grimes said Troxell

is talented enough to be a starter in the deadly trenches of the SEC but needs to continue to get stronger. Tigers strength and conditioning coach Ryan Russell will be counted on to play a part in that.

“Austin Troxell, he’s an SEC-caliber player, but we’ve got to get him stronger, get him better fundamentally,” Grimes said. “Austin belongs. He belongs here. Is he strong enough yet?

No. I have so much confidence in our strength coach. I believe that, in November, we’ll be stronger than we are in August. And that’s the key. You either get worse or you get better.

“What’s that saying, ‘You don’t want to fight an old man because he’s got that old man strength? That old man could cheat.’ It’s kind of like that. Jack’s just got some maturity. Austin will continue to progress. But right now, more than anything else, it’s a strength thing with Austin.”

Driscoll has that strength, the right demeanor and the drive to become a key contributor for Auburn’s unit next season, according to Grimes.

“This kid is a gym rat,” Grimes said of Driscoll. “Jack is a pro before he’s a pro.

He’s a very, very serious guy. He’s serious about being a good football player.

It isn’t happenstance that he understands things when you talk to him. And he knows our offense, right now, as good as some of the guys that have been here before.”

In addition to Driscoll, the rest of Auburn’s starting five along the offensive line is coming into focus. In fact, Grimes knows exactly what combination would take the field against Washington if the season-opener were to be played tomorrow.

“If we had to play today, I know who I would want to jog out there for that first play,” Grimes said. “It would be (Prince Tega Wanogho) at left tackle, (Marquel) Harrell at left guard, (Kaleb) Kim at center, (Mike) Horton at right guard and Driscoll at right tackle, if we had to play today. But we’re still a work in progress.”

Kim, a junior, is working with the

starters for the first time as a Tiger.

His position at center as been the other question mark for the offensive line in camp, as Tega, Harrell and Horton have had their spots all but locked up since the spring.

Kim suffered a leg injury in spring ball that held him out the team’s A-Day spring game and is not yet 100 percent healed, per Grimes.

All during camp, teammates have praised Kim for his football IQ, claiming he doesn’t get rattled and has an invaluable knack for pre-snap reads and overall communication. That understanding mixes well with Grimes’ system.

“He’s been on our “blue” team, which is our second unit, for three years now,” Grimes said. “He brings experience. I’m probably one of the more simple line coaches in the country … I want to keep it simple so you can play fast and play physical. I think Kaleb has benefited from that — helping get everyone lined up and heading in the right direction.”

While Kim has been viewed as the natural fit to start at center, Gus Malzahn and Grimes created a contingency plan with Horton receiving snaps at center, despite never playing that position at any point in his football career.

Horton embraced the challenge. But Grimes’ confidence in Kim has grown, considering Horton has slid back to right guard in recent practices.

Malzahn said early in camp that he wants to name his O-line starters “as early as possible,” but the sixth-year coach has yet to officially do so after two scrimmages. Grimes may have revealed his five guys, and if that’s the combination, he plans on sticking with it for the long haul.

“I want to try to get five guys playing next to each other, and the next five playing,” Grimes said. “I believe there’s great rewards in continuity, in a double team where guys are working together.

“I’m not into mixing and matching — plugging this guy here or this guy over here. I want to plug them in and let them charge their batteries.”

JOSHUA FISHER / PHOTOGRAPHER

Folds (4) matched a career-high with four points in the season-opener at Samford before assisting on the game-winning goal vs. USF.

FOOTBALL

Tigers pick up 16th

2019 commitment

By NATHAN KING Sports Editor

Auburn football’s 2019 recruiting class just keeps picking up steam.

After Gus Malzahn added 4-star athlete Zion Puckett and 3-star defensive end Colby Wooden to the class last week, 4-star athlete Cam’Ron Kelly (Chesapeake, Va.) became the 16th commitment for next year’s group. Kelly took to Twitter for his announcement.

According to the 247 Sports composite, Kelly is the No. 13 athlete in the nation. At Oscar Smith High School, he primarily plays defensive back and projects as a safety or nickel for Auburn.

Kelly joins 4-stars Jashawn Sheffield, Jaylin Simpson and Puckett as Auburn’s defensive back prospects in the 2019 class.

BASKETBALL

Basketball alumna named WNBA Comeback Player of the Year

By OLIVIA HUSKEY Sports Writer

On her 31st birthday, former Auburn women’s basketball player DeWanna Bonner was named the WNBA’s Comeback Player of the Year by AP. Bonner currently plays for the Phoenix Mercury.

Bonner missed the 2017 season because of pregnancy. On July 30, 2017, she welcomed twin daughters with her wife, and former Mercury teammate, Candice Dupree.

In her return during the 2018 season, Bonner averaged 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She was also named a WNBA All-Star for the second time in her career.

Through her 2005-2006 season at Auburn, Bonner led the Tigers with an average of 13.5 points per game, the first time a freshman player led the team in scoring since the 1980-81 season. She was a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team as well.

During her last year as a Tiger, Bonner was named the 2009 SEC Player of the Year and was

a National Player of the Year finalist. She led the SEC in scoring that season, the first Auburn player to achieve this, and set the Auburn single-season scoring record by scoring 716 points, averaging 21.1 per game.

In 2009, she scored a total of 2,162 points and had 1,047 rebounds during her time at Auburn and is one of three players to have over 2,000 points and over 1,000 rebounds as a Tiger.

The Phoenix Mercury drafted her fifth overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft. Bonner has won two WNBA Championships with the team, once in her rookie season in 2009 and another in 2014.

During her first eight years with the team, she averaged 13.7 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game in 267 appearances, 165 of which she started. She made her first All-Star team in 2015.

She led the Mercury in scoring in 2012 and 2015 with 20.6 and 15.8 points per game, respectively.

Bonner won WNBA Sixth Women of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2011 as the only player to receive the award multiple times in league history.

On Feb. 13, 2018, the Mercury re-signed her for an undisclosed length of time.

lifestyle

11

THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018

THEPLAINSMAN.COM

LIFESTYLE

CULTURE

10,0000 reasons to open a record store OPELIKA

By JESSICA BALLARD Standards Editor

Records line the walls and fill countless bins as music plays from a record player in the corner of one of downtown Opelika’s newest storefronts, 10,000 Hz Records.

Inside the store, the brick walls and industrial piping complement the more modern touches, like the accent wall that features scattered orange dots to mimic frequency. The design is a nod to the store’s name and was done by local tattoo artist Ryan Freeman, who also painted the floor at Coffee Cat. From Phish to Kendrick Lamar to Alabama Shakes, Russ and Hannah Baggett, owners of 10,000 Hz Records, have stocked the store with records new, old and from all genres.

“I try to bring stuff into the shop that I like, that I think our customers will like or that I think they should like,” Russ Baggett said. “We try to have a little bit of everything.”

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JESSICA BALLARD / STANDARDS EDITOR

As with most record stores, the records in stock are always changing, and there are new ones continuously being added. Keeping up with new releases and keeping older, more iconic albums in the store is one of owners’ priorities.

“This week, there’s a new Interpol record, there’s some demo collections from Mac DeMarco,” Russ Baggett said. “There’s a kind of psychedelic man named White Denim, kind of a garage band. This week’s not a huge release week. There’s a ton of reissues recently, though.”

Baggett said music is an essential part of his day. He spends his mornings checking out new artists and music on Spotify or online, and he listens to music all day at the shop. This cultivates a wide range of knowledge and interests in different artists and genres, which, in turn, creates a place in the shop for a wide variety of community members who may have vastly different music tastes.

“There’s a lot of (Auburn) faculty; there’s a lot

of people who are in their 20s or 30s or older,” Russ Baggett said. “We’ve gotten a lot of collectors coming from Montgomery and Columbus and LaGrange. A guy came who works at a record shop in Florida. It’s a little bit of everything, and we’re selling a little bit of everything.”

Ultimately, the Baggetts want the space to be a place where people can gather, listen to music and hang out. After walking through the large room of records, there is a small staircase that leads to another room with a couch and chairs surrounding a few coffee tables.

On one wall, there’s a projection screen that Russ Baggett said he hopes to use to show films and documentaries, maybe some of them made

by Auburn students.

“We have space, so we want to promote or assist creative endeavors,” Russ Baggett said.

“We’ll have bands every so often. I’m trying to bring in some touring bands, to bring in some stuff that’s sort of outside of the confines of who usually comes through [Auburn and Opelika].”

Baggett is also working to obtain an ABC permit so they can sell beer. They want to give visitors one more reason to hang out, Baggett said.

On Friday, Aug. 24, 10,000 Hz Records is having a grand opening that will feature local band Dogwood Lung. The Baggetts have invited friends, family and community members to support the new shop, browse through the records and listen to live music. The store is at 717A First Ave., Opelika, and the grand opening will begin at 5 p.m.

After moving to the Auburn-Opelika area a couple of years ago for Hannah Baggett’s job, Russ Baggett said the pop-up shop turned brick and mortar store has not only provided him with something to do here — it has paved a way for him and his wife to make friends in the community and to connect with people who are interested in similar things.

He hopes the store can provide that same sense of community based on shared interests for 10,000 Hz Records’ customers.

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Print Deadline Noon three business days prior to publication

RELEASE DATE– Thursday, August 23, 2018

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