THE
SPRINGHILLIAN
March 20, 2014
Volume 98 Issue 6
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
WHAT’S INSIDE:
HANGOUT FEST MAKES ITS WAY TO MOBILE | PG. 4
ADVENTURES TO QUENCH YOUR WANDERLUST | PG. 8
GOLF SET TO BEGIN | PG. 10
Spring is FINALLY
Here!
Photo by ChelseaWALLACE By ChelseaWALLACE Assistant Editor Living in the deep South comes with learning certain cultural cues: the subtle difference between “y’all” and “all y’all,” for instance, or how to layer your clothes just right to account for both the cool morning temperatures and the blazing midday heat. We even have our own Southern delicacies like jambalaya, gumbo, poboys, King cake and boudin balls - an entire feast of warm, filling meals. However, especially in the spring, perhaps no dish is so sought after as the delicious, spicy-hot crawfish. Even as I shot the photos to accompany this piece, a handful of people walked by, and none without making some comment to express their jealousy at my bright red stash of crawfish. In
Mobile and throughout the South, the lovingly-termed “crawfish season” is finally kicking into high gear as almost every weekend seafood vendors face lines that flow out the door for boiled crawfish. On average, a person can eat anywhere from one to three pounds of crawfish in a sitting. As college students, though, can we always afford that amount of wonderful springtime crustaceans? To buy enough crawfish for a group of people to eat can put a strain on one’s bank account. What’s a financially strapped crawfish lover to do? Thanks to the Facebook page “I love FREE Crawfish!” financial worries can be allayed. With more than 1000 likes so far, the fan page gives nightly locations of
SEE FROM THE COVER PAGE 9
THE SPRINGHILLIAN
THIS WEEK
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WEEKLY FORECAST Thursday-72/46 - Partly Cloudy
Friday - 73/51 - Mostly Sunny
Saturday - 72/56 - Partly Cloudy
Sunday - 63/47 - T-Storms
HILLIAN STAFF Editors: Matthew LaBorde Chelsea Wallace Advisor: Stuart Babington Photo Editor: Kiva Talty
Design Editor: Bre Vaughn Reporters: Jacquelyn Saunée Gaillard Teague Abby Massengale Sports: MJ Connell Eric Thomas
HILLIAN CONTACT The Hillian Newswire @HillianNewswire Hillian Newswire hillian _ newswire Letters to the Editors newswire@shc.edu Read the Hillian Newswire online at newswire.shc.edu
March 20, 2014
EVENTS OF THE WEEK CPB’s Deep Sea Fishing Charter The Campus Programming Board is hosting their second deep sea fishing charter! Registration begins Monday, March 10 and the fee is $15. The event will take place on Saturday, March 22 at 4:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sigma Chi Derby Days The Sigma Chi’s of Spring Hill College are excited to be hosting Derby Days this semester from March 25-27. It will be a week of fun competitions and events all to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Institute! All are encouraged to come out to the events and help raise money to find a cure and better treatment methods for cancer patients. Girls can form teams of 8-10 and sign-ups will be in the back of the cafeteria from March 17-21.
Students for Life Welcome Dr. Fisher Humphreys Fisher Humphreys will provide an update on worldwide and national trends regarding capital punishment, giving information about the situation in Alabama in particular. He will review the arguments in support of the death penalty and offer comments on them, summarizing the arguments used by opponents of capital punishment. He will conclude with a personal statement about his own opposition to the death penalty. The speech will take place on March 26 at 4 p.m.
Christus Annual Conference Thursday - 7 p.m.: “God Is Not One: Religious Pluralism & Christian Faith” Friday - 10:15 a.m.: “The Depths of the Riches: A Trinitarian Theology for Inter-religious Learning” Professor S. Mark Heim (Andover Newton Theological School) All events will be in Byrne Memorial Hall.
THE SPRINGHILLIAN March 20, 2014
NEWS
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Students Seek Improvements to Career Services By ValentinaLARA Contributor A student forum was held on March 12 to collect opinions and discuss topics proposed by the Spring Hill College Quality Enhancement Program committee. The Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) is a requirement for all institutions of higher learning seeking the reaffirmation of accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. SHC previously implemented a mission-oriented program but must now propose a new plan to contribute to the college’s institutional development. Christopher Dodsworth, the faculty member leading this initiative, explains that “the program is first and foremost a requirement that centers on enhancing academic experiences and creating a positive learning environment.” Identifying areas that need improvement requires a campus-wide effort and profound analysis of internal assessment data, student forums and discussions among faculty. A standing committee comprised of Spring Hill representatives recognized communication, rigorous academic experiences, experiential learning and career discernment as four themes that could potentially be addressed through the QEP. Although various concerns and ideas were brought forth at the student forum, Dodsworth states that he would be surprised if career discernment is not the topic chosen for this program. He indicates that there has been ongoing discussion that acknowledges the need for a larger and more comprehensive career development curriculum that guides students through the discernment process and better prepares them for entering their respective fields. Students in attendance of the forum provided insightful commentary on the current role and services provided by the Office of Career Services. One of the main issues discussed was the office’s ability to offer internship and job opportunities. While programs such as communication arts and education facilitate internships, those enrolled in other majors perceive difficulties in finding hands-on experi-
ences through the Career Services office. Junior Andrew Cuff states that he has held two internships coordinated entirely by the communication arts department and that “these opportunities have allowed me to decide what field to enter. The most important part has been getting a sneak peak of what the career entails.” Cuff also mentions that he has no awareness of the programs offered by Career Services and has only received negative reviews. Students also perceive the office as an entity that offers little support for their professional development. Data collected by the Office of Career Services indicates that less than eight percent of students graduating in 2013 had secured jobs upon the culmination of their collegiate experience. These numbers are alarming and question the office’s capacity to truly assist the campus community. In this case, those in attendance mentioned that the office does not adequately equip students with essential skills such as crafting appropriate resumes and cover letters or building LinkedIn profiles, all essential parts of job searching. Elizabeth Dexter-Wilson, coordinator of Career Services, responds to these issues by indicating that there are many services that the office provides to students. As the sole employee of the Career Services office, she conducts internal assessments, internship courses, workshops and clinics, alumni mentoring programs, networking events, career fairs and online discussions and forums. Despite these efforts, the office struggles greatly to engage students and instill the importance of career development. Dexter-Wilson attributes the inability to reach the majority of students to a lack of adequate funding and resources. In addition, she explains that there is a changing dynamic of searching for a job and indicates that students should actively seek opportunities through social media and networking events. She emphasizes that Career Services “is not a placement center” but instead a place where students can become empowered with necessary skills to independently search for internship and job opportunities. Senior Taryn Nash is currently enrolled in a pre-law internship class offered through Career Services and has had a positive experience working at Phelps & Dunbar, LLC. Nash states, “The course has al-
The forum explains the QEP committee and its progress so far. Photo by KearneyCOLE.
lowed me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the role that I play in the work environment.” Nash also mentions that she would recommend the course to her peers, but their experience will depend on their placement site, which students must find individually upon enrolling in the course. The issues that Career Services now face may be overcome with additional funding, which would allow an increase in staff and events. Like Dodsworth, Dexter-Wilson explains that the administration has made efforts to make career development a priority and elaborates on plans to make it a curriculum requirement for all students. While awaiting
these changes, she invites students to schedule appointments to discuss their professional concerns. If the committee decides to implement a program to renovate career discernment, the changes will not occur immediately. A literature review will be conducted over the summer to research best practices and experiences of other colleges. Detailed planning and review is expected to take place during the next academic year, and the official implementation of the Quality Enhancement Program is scheduled for August 2015. While current juniors and seniors will not bear witness to these changes, underclassmen and future generations should benefit from the initiative.
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THE SPRINGHILLIAN
March 20, 2014
Obama Plugs Hangout Music Festival Coming to Mobile in May Healthcare on Comedy Show By GaillardTEAGUE Reporter
“Although there may be similar musical events and concerts that are located adjacent or near the ocean, only the Hangout The Hangout Music Festival will return Music Festival is able to bring the elements May 16 through 18 for its fifth year on the of a large multi-stage festival to the sand.” beaches of Gulf Shores. The highly demandThis is certainly something to take pride ed festival increased its attendance capacity in, but it also creates potential for many from 35,000 to 40,000 and is featuring more dangerous scenarios. artists than ever before. Gulf access has been a disputed topic With popular musicians like The Black amongst organizers since the birth of the fesKeys, The Killers, OutKast, Jack Johnson, tival, but ultimately has never been allowed Pretty Lights, The Avett Brothers and Modbefore. According to al.com, promoter Shaul est Mouse, the three-day festival is selling Zislin argues that gulf access is “a key to the general admission tickets for $229. This is long-term survival of Hangout.” a hefty price for most college students, but This year the festival’s organizers, speargoing to school in the same neighborhood as headed by Zislin, requested three gulf access the fest, it is no wonder many Spring Hill points with a capacity of 150 people in each. students make it a point to buy tickets year The concern for safety, however, proved after year. to be too heavy. The city council instead Sophomore Margot Schneider enjoys granted one access point with a max capacthe dynamic lineup Hangout has to offer. ity of 100 people. “Our staff believes you can “They’ll include new, small bands that are [Zislin could handle the access points] but working their way up but are so good, and they’re not certain either,” Mayor Craft tells then you have the big headliners,” she states. Zinslin. “And we’ve got 35,000 people and This dynamic lineup provides something we’re trying to make sure that they’re safe for all types of music lovers. “They do a and taken care of.” good job of catering their set lists to multiple Gulf access is only one extra amegroups of people,” Schneider informs. From nity the festival has to offer besides music. Dance/Electronic artists like Pretty Lights to Swimming pools, vendors, hammocks and Folk/Indie singers like Ingrid Michaelson, carnival rides are some other lagniappes Hangout covers all territories. provided by Hangout. For $229, you may The wide assortment of artists apjust be getting your money’s worth. peals to many festival-goers, but the locaHowever, if the festival’s costly ticket tion of the event really sets it apart from so is still far too much to consider, the local many other events of its kind. Senior Sam radio station 92 ZEW is offering a “Road Hutcheson says, “One thing I like about the to the Hangout” concert series that may be Hangout is that it’s on the beach. That’s one a little more affordable. In fact, it is free. thing that I think differentiates itself from Every Saturday from April 7 to May 12, The other music fests.” Hangout restaurant and bar will be featurIn fact, it is the only music festival in the ing many new and upcoming artists, such United States that takes place on the beach. as The Mowglis and Scars on 45, at no cover Music discovery blog OurVinyl.com says, charge. The events will last from 7 until 11 each night. Photo by MargotSCHNEIDER
By BreVAUGHN Lifestyle Editor
Barack Obama stopped by “Between Two Ferns” with Zach Galifianakis in order to plug his administration’s new healthcare program. The president urged young people to sign up for the new healthcare plan through his appearance on the show, which was posted on March 11 on the hit comic website Funny or Die. Bypassing traditional news media or even other favorite TV talk shows like Jimmy Fallon, Obama chose to be a guest on Galifianakis’ show that has a focus on reaching people 18 to 34 years of age. The video reached one million views within three and a half hours of posting, according to Funny or Die. The website was briefly the number one source of referrals to Healthcare.gov, White House Senior Communications Advisor Tara McGuinness tweeted, with about 19,000 people navigating directly from the video to the healthcare website. In six hours, with four million viewers, Obama exceeded the audience he would get by appearing on television shows hosted by Fallon, Letterman or Stephen Colbert. That’s not counting the supplementary views-- clips of the interview aired on news channels repeatedly. “So far it’s been overwhelmingly successful,” said Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett. Jarrett said she is sure the amount of hits the video received breaks all kinds of records. “More importantly than [breaking records] the traffic on our website has gone up 40 percent [between two days] and that was the goal,” she said. “The goal is to help reach that young audience and Zach and the guys at Funny or Die, they have huge followings.” So far, 4.2 million people have signed up for Obamacare. “People are signing up … [Healthcare.gov] is working just fine.” However, on Spring Hill’s campus the student body participation in Obamacare and signing up for the healthcare differs from the reports. According to a survey
conducted by Kearney Cole, Springhillian advertising representative, the majority of students and their parents have not signed up for the new healthcare. Only 12 percent of students and/or their parents are currently enrolled. Senior Valentina Lara believes the plan to appear on the show was ineffective and inappropriate. She said, “The Obama administration has made young adults a main target since day one; however, using humor to advertise their polices lacks seriousness.” Some students took the “interview” light-heartedly, viewing it as an interesting way for a president to deliver his message. Junior Diego Juncadella said, “I thought it was really funny and a good way of getting Obamacare’s message out to the public. As a communication major I can appreciate humor as being a creative tool in promotion.” In the video, Galifianakis asked Obama awkward questions, like whether he will locate his presidential library in Hawaii or Kenya. “What is it like to be the last black president?” Galifianakis asked. “Seriously? … what’s it like for this to be the last time you ever talk to a president?” Obama responded. Galifianakis feigned annoyance when Obama, about halfway through the six-minute video, began urging young adults to sign up for the healthcare, sighing then muttering, “Here we go.” However, not everyone was amused. Junior Alexis Eseneault said, “[Obama] could have at least tried to be a little humorous.” With the March 31 enrollment deadline quickly approaching, the Obama administration is making a push to reach a younger audience, whose participation is vital for the success of the healthcare reform. Whether or not Spring Hill’s campus thinks it’s working, the numbers shows Obama’s appearance so far is successful.
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March 20, 2014
Revenge Porn By ChelseaWALLACE Assistant Editor Here’s a riddle for you: I’m thinking of something. It’s existence is dependent upon hate and humiliation, and it is fueled by the selfishness of others. Also, it often poses a serious threat to the physical and mental welfare of its targets. If you thought “hazing,” you’re only a little off the mark; if you thought “bullying,” you’re getting warmer. What am I thinking of? Revenge porn. Revenge porn has become a way for disgruntled exes to vent their frustrations and anger toward their ex-significant other. Usually men send in risque or illicit photos of their exes to websites that specialize in this extremely targeted form of harassment. However, unlike traditional pornographic sites, the person photographed has not given consent to their publication and oftentimes submissions include not only the name and address of the photo’s subject, but also where he or she works and phone numbers or email addresses. As the internet becomes more and more a vital part of not only the professional world but interpersonal interaction, revenge porn has been on the upswing; however, laws protecting the victims have not been. Most of the opposition to laws forbidding this type of act cite the First Amendment’s freedom of speech. The logic seems to follow: dissemination of speech and ideas should be free and uncensored. That much I can agree with. In fact, if the sites in question were simply sites where exes ranted about their breakups or relationships, where they sent in “Dear Abby”-esque letters where let their anger and frustration loose, I probably wouldn’t have a problem with it. What makes these sites so despicable stems from the actively and undeniably malicious intent. These people don’t just send in sexually explicit images as a means of revenge: they also include information that allows employers to view the image and that leads bona fide internet
psychos straight to their inboxes or even their front doors. This trend poses a serious danger to victims’ careers, future relationships and lives. Something with such drastic and irreversible consequences should be monitored, and those who choose to exploit others in this way should face consequences of their own. What about consent in this case? Let’s say that Susie Jean is truly, madly, deeply in love with her boyfriend, Tommy Joe, and decides to give him some racy photos. Automatically, a certain understanding develops. Unlike photos of a Mardi Gras ball or a date night downtown, Tommy knows without a word from Susie that these photos are for his enjoyment alone. He knows not to post them to Instagram or send them in the family Christmas card. Call it a mutual unwritten contract: these are tokens of personal and private affection, not articles to be shared indiscriminately. So, when Susie and Tommy break up, and Tommy feels hurt or cheated or whatever else, he turns to revenge porn websites. He sends in these photos meant as private mementos of love, along with Susie Jean’s full name, home address, school, email address and cell phone number. He may even include her parents’ or employers’ contact information, as well, so that visitors can share the photos with the people Susie least wants to see them. In this case, that understood contract has been viciously, irrevocably broken. Not even discussing the issue of “were they really in love” or the morality of sending nude photos (i.e. I don’t care), to expose a fellow human being in this way is akin to assault. Victims of revenge porn report feeling like their life had ended, according to ABAjournal.com, as well as fearing to leave the house and worrying that acquaintances had seen the photos. I wish I had more space for this column, as I haven’t even touched upon the issue that many revenge porn websites hack into personal computers and email accounts to find their website fodder, in some cases even photoshopping women’s faces onto nude bodies that are not their own, all of which makes the area of revenge porn even more disgusting and even more treacherous to regulate. All I can say with my remaining space is respect each other. Even if things end badly, even if she or he did something awful that hurt you to the core, nothing deserves this sort of reciprocation.
The editors went head-to-head to address the topic of legislation against revenge porn.
Bob Garfield, host of NPR’s “On the Media” asked Hunter Moore - the founder of the now shut down revenge porn website, “Is Anyone Up?’ and who was considered by Rolling Stone to be “the most hated man on the internet” - the question: “Why do you hurt people?” He exhaled a sigh of annoyance and responded: “I don’t. They hurt themselves.” Moore was once leading the revenge porn frontier with his popular website that was dedicated to distributing nude photos of both men and women that were purposefully submitted to him by, perhaps, angry exboyfriends and girlfriends who sought to get revenge against their exes. Moore’s response to Garfield’s blunt question is evidence of his horrid intentions to publically shame innocent men and women, but he is both partially wrong and right in his answer. Moore does hurt people. He breeds a sick genre of pornography that exposes average people -- without their permission -- to the harsh criticism of the Internet. According to Jezebel.com writer Charlotte Laws, “At least two women have killed themselves over revenge porn, and Cyber Civil Rights Initiative studies show that 47 percent of [revenge porn] victims contemplate suicide.” Conversely, here’s where Moore was partially right: the people (80 percent of revenge porn victims are women) who end up on these sites are actually hurting themselves. People who engage in this type of behavior must not realize that we live in a world where absolutely nothing is private. Your text messages and your emails can fall in to the hands of a bad person just as customer identities were stolen with the simple swipe of millions of credit cards at Target recently. Even SnapChat is not fully protected. Even when you think your photos are “self-destructing” after ten seconds, think again. Hackers and technology forensic experts can easily access those photos. With that being said, not all of the photos found on Moore’s website were willingly submitted to him. Moore was later indicted by a federal court and fined $250,000 on several counts of conspiracy, hacking, and identity theft. Moore was found to be collaborating with Charles “Gary” Evens, a hacker who would infiltrate Yahoo and Gmail email address for a fee to find nude photos. Somehow, Moore makes a liar out of his own sick intentions to exploit others, yet he rightfully claims that the authors of these photographs acted unwisely from the beginning. It is
By MattLABORDE Editor-in-Chief true that he and other revenge porn mavericks are in the business of ruining lives; yet, he is right because these people are the ones foolishly posing in front of floor-length mirrors with their legs spread open. I suppose I can begin to understand how a long-distance couple might justify the exchange of nude photographs, but I still don’t think it’s smart. Although there may be a mutual understanding regarding the use of those photographs, keep in mind that there are 1,000 ways that your naked body can end up somewhere other than the phone of your loved one. The fight to take down revenge porn websites is slowly gaining traction but has not gained any real power in regards to legal jurisdiction. These revenge porn websites aren’t generating the nude photos themselves, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act protects websites from being liable for content submitted by the user. Moore’s indictment is the strongest weapon in the fight against revenge porn. When you take a photo of yourself, you actually own the rights to that photo because of copyright law. So, if you do find an image of yourself on the Internet, there are measures you can take to get it removed. However, with the Internet, it is extremely difficult to get a photo completely removed because of how fast content is picked up by other revenge porn websites and other torrent sites. There is no denying the inherent danger these revenge porn websites pose to both men and women who have engaged in this behavior. But right when you think that both parties will hold the value of trust in a relationship to the noblest of standards, think again. We live in a strange society where nothing is private. You have the freedom of expression to send nude photos; but keep in mind: when push comes to shove, you don’t want to rely on copyright law to fix your life.
THE SPRINGHILLIAN
6
LIFESTYLE
THE CAF
March 20, 2014
By MatthewLABORDE Editor-in-Chief
The student center – known among students as the “caf” – is undeniably the social hub of campus. Breakfast, lunch and dinner at different times of the day provide a unique experience at every meal. Early mornings are quiet, desolate and tense. Nursing students sit at individual tables and cram for finals while the education majors eat a quick breakfast before hurrying off to their teaching internships. The 24/7 lab all-nighter crew comes dragging in, exhausted, looking to fill up on omelets and more coffee. Lunch seems to mimic the busyness of a restaurant at rush hour: stressed students dart through with just enough time for a quick sandwich and then off to some important meeting, while friend groups and clusters of Greek organizations gather around their
Some friends gather for quality time in the caf. Photo by KivaTALTY
usual tables, so regularly that you can predict where a student will sit on any given day. Professors and Jesuits bounce around, either sitting at a table with their colleagues or squeezing in with a group of their students. Around dinnertime, the caf is subdued. Tired athletes crowd together, shuffling down food from the home station while quickly draining the supply of blue Powerade. Students rush to finish last-minute night class assignments that they had put off for an entire week. Nevertheless, the caf is a place where we build relationships with our friends, our professors and our employees. Through these sometimes repetitive and monotonous interactions, we’re actually building the community that you see around campus. Since the student center is such a huge symbol of our student culture, it is subject to plenty of praise and criticism. Junior Kacie Staples is the type of student who loves spending time in the caf. For her, it’s a place to see her friends: “It is the common meeting place. It’s the perfect place to see people. Most people live on campus, and everybody has to eat, so it’s the one common place where everyone will go eventually.” However, you don’t have to look far to find criticism of our campus dining service, Aramark. Twitter seems to be the primary arena in which our students like to voice their concerns. Tonya Shackelford, an Aramark supervisor, says that their management discourages the employees
from the use of social media to address these concerns. However, the Student Government Association (SGA) has utilized Twitter to encourage students to send concerns toward the SGA, rather than to Aramark. On Wednesdays and Thursdays at common hour, secretary of campus life Taylor Hardenstein can be found going tableto-table asking students how they feel about the cafeteria. “We’re definitely advocating for fresher food, but we also have 1,200 mouths to feed,” said Hardenstein. “Aramark definitely understands that people want fresher food, but money is the issue.” The very public and in-your-face phenomena of healthy eating and food quality awareness are issues that the students are well aware of. Junior Clare Lynch finds that the food service is lacking: “I think the meat is all very bad quality, especially when they have grilled chicken breast. They also need a bigger fruit selection.” According to Hardenstein, communication is the key. “David Reiley, the Director of Aramark services always says: ‘if you don’t see it, ask, and we will get it.’” Shackelford also echoed Hardenstein’s desire for better communication, citing Aramark’s willingness to accommodate students with special food needs. “If they have concerns, please talk to us,” said Shackelford, “We are there for them. But we can’t fix something that we don’t know is broken. Although concerns come in heavily through Twitter, Reiley and his staff meet weekly with SGA representatives to address student criticisms. They meet at 12:15 in McKinneys’ and invite student feedback. Four years ago in 2010, Shackelford started her career here as a part of our community. Now, four years later, she will be watching her first freshman class graduate from college. Tonya went on to explain how her son is currently in college, and that she hopes somebody over there is making sure he is having a good day. “That’s why I tell my employees to always be friendly and social,” says Shackelford, “because these kids are miles and miles away from home, and they might not have somebody to ask them how their days are going.” Putting the issues with Aramark aside, it is undeniable that our students have a uniquely close relationship to our cafeteria employees. We know their names, and they know ours. That’s something you won’t find at other schools.
Springhillian Facebook Survey Results What is your favorite meal in the caf? “When avacado is in the sandwich line” “cookies”
What is your least favorite meal in the caf? “baked fish” “meatloaf”
Is there enough variety in the caf?
“Enough is a relative term; there’s definitely some variety, but I guess not as much as I would probably like. But when there is variety, they often choose things people don’t like. There should just be a better variety, not necessarily more variety.”
How often do you eat in the caf? “not enough to spend $5000 a year on it” “all meals, every day”
Is there room for improvement?
“Absolutely - I think the food (mainly vegetables and things they try to make healthy) should be less oily/ greasy. For the money we pay, we should be given healthier options constantly, not just occasionally. They’ve really stepped up their fruit game, which I appreciate, but there is so much more left to do.”
Photo courtesy of KatieSETTON
Photo courtesy of CarleeSINKUS
Photo courtesy of MaggieBROWNING
Photo courtesy of TrentHAYES
Hooligans On The Hill
Photo by KivaTALTY
Photo by KivaTALTY
TOP LEFT: Katie Setton dresses her pup up for St. Paddy’s Day. TOP CENTER: Carlee Sinkus and Kat Jakuback celebrate with Sister Hazel, who performed at O’Daly’s Photo courtesy of mjCONNELL Saturday, March 15. TOP RIGHT: Riley Johnson and Maggie Browning ABOVE RIGHT: Maggie Victoria poses in O’Daly’s cutout, giving her best leprechaun face. pose by a Mobile fountain dyed green. ABOVE: Students set up an Irish field day on Dorn to celebrate the saint’s day, complete with lawn ABOVE: Alex Sierra dresses to the part on Monday. chairs, cornhole and plenty of green. ABOVE CENTER: Arianne Stallings and Lennsey Hanchey get a touch o’ luck from Trent Hayes’ hands.
FEATURE
8
March 20, 2014
When Wanderlust Strikes... By JacquelynSAUNEE Reporter
Suddenly, the beloved bubble of Spring Hill seems to cave in. The Avenue of the Oaks no longer seems like a getaway destination. The trek from Skip’s to the caf ceases to satisfy the desire for a long journey. Days are filled with daydreaming of a day at the beach or obsessing over the Italy students’ hundreds of Facebook pictures. Wanderlust: “a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.” This instinctual feeling always looms below the surface, but sometimes it cannot be contained. As the weather warms up, the sun shines even brighter, and spring officially begins, the “travel bug” is in full swing. The bug strikes everyone at some point: however, here at Spring Hill, it seems to bite even harder. Junior Treston Tyrues says, “I’ve been here for three years and every time I do leave campus I end up getting lost because no one else will leave the bubble with me. I want to leave, but it seems like no one else does.” Sophomore Chris Portie agrees. “The Spring Hill bubble is definitely a real thing. I don’t find myself leaving campus much - about once a week or so to go out,” he says. “I know a lot of people go to the beach, but most people don’t go anywhere out of state or go on road trips or anything. You have to live on campus, so we all pretty much just stay here and stay close.” Students agree it’s easy to get sucked into the “bubble,” but just beyond the Dauphin
Photos courtesy of LauraHADGRAFT
Street gates is a whole new world waiting for exploration. Mobile itself has much to offer in terms of entertainment and natural beauty. Red Square Agency launched the “Mobile Bay - Secretly Awesome” campaign in 2012 for the Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau. This cutting edge campaign focused on re-branding Mobile based on what so many locals already know: Mobile is a hidden gem. Through the use of interactive social media, the campaign showcased Mobile’s unique culture and “flavor.” A recent Huffington Post article, “Five Free Activities in ‘Secretly Awesome’ Mobile,” provides some suggestions on how to experience the “secret” side of Mobile including visiting Mobile Bay, the Oakleigh Garden District downtown and Bayou la Batre, where much of “Forrest Gump” was filmed. From the LoDa (Lower Dauphin) Art Walk, complete with free food and wine in various art galleries, to countless plays and shows, there is plenty to do in this “secretly
awesome” town . To stay updated on upcoming events around town, visit cityofmobile.org/calendar. For those who want to truly quench their wanderlust, there are many options just beyond the clearly underrated Mobile, but within realistic weekend driving distance. The Mobile-Tensaw Delta is the largest river delta and wetland in the state of Alabama. Along the Delta, there are plenty of opportunities to catch a beautiful sunset or kayak for a day. Five Rivers: Alabama’s Resource Center offers kayak and other boating rentals, a service which Viragh’s “Outdoors Pod” utilized earlier this year. “We went kayaking and had a blast. The weather was great and it was really fun to do something like that off campus,” says freshman Victoria Wepfer. One thing Alabama is not lacking is state parks. There are 22 state parks, several of which are relatively close. Meaher State Park, located along the Mobile
Bay wetlands and approximately a 30-minute drive from campus, offers a scenic boardwalk perfect for fishing. Historic Blakely State Park in Spanish Fort contains a variety of hiking trails amidst a preserved Civil War battleground. Whether you just enjoy the park for a day of picnicking and relaxing, or choose to pack up for a weekend of camping, the state parks are a perfect and very affordable getaway. Besides enjoying the beauty of the great outdoors, there are several options for experiencing city life just outside Mobile. Located four hours north, Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, provides a bustling city life, complete with a growing art and music scene. Another naerby city with a booming art and music scene is New Orleans. Many students headed to the city to enjoy Mardi Gras; however, New Orleans has much more to offer than the beads and booze of Carnival season. The French Quarter is just as much fun during the day as it is as night. Exploring the French Market, walking along the Mississippi River, and grabbing a delicious meal are all in a day’s work. The Spring Hill bubble is both a blessing and a curse. However, leaving the bubble for an afternoon or a weekend makes coming back that much sweeter. As they say, “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and driving down the Avenue of the Oaks definitely regains its charm after a weekend adventure filled with interstate driving.
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THE SPRINGHILLIAN
March 20, 2014
FROM THE
COVER By ChelseaWALLACE Assistant Editor
Junior Ginny Kosteck gets ready to dive into a pile of delicious crawfish! Photo courtesy of GinnyKOSTECK.
Mobile and Baldwin county-area restaurants and bars that serve free crawfish. Some such generous locations include O’Daly’s, Moe’s BBQ and Patches. Jennifer Jernigan, who runs the fan page, says she created it as a way to spread the word about free crawfish. “I just noticed there were a lot of places that offer free crawfish, and I just thought it would be easier to put it online for everyone,” she says. “I’ve been to most of these places just out of curiosity.” The mother of three from across the bay who runs the Facebook page on the side says input from fans has helped
make the schedule even more comprehensive. She says, “When I started it, I only knew of a few places. It just expanded from there by Facebook and by casual conversation.” The schedule in the About section of the page lists each day of the week and the location and time when free crawfish is available. While Jernigan says she mainly posts the free events, sometimes she will also post about charity or low-cost events in the area. Some are worried about the size of the crawfish thus far. At this point in the season, the “mudbugs” have usually hit a fairly decent size, sometimes up to six inches long including the ginormous claws. However, this season the bugs have been rather small. Why so? Apparently crawfish hate the same cold weather that most badgers do. According to Louisiana news site WAFB.com, cold temperatures mean fewer and smaller crawfish come with a bigger bill. WAFB quotes a Louisiana crawfish farmer, who says, “The colder it is, [the crawfish]
just can’t move. You can actually stick your finger in them, they can’t pinch you. They’re just not strong. They’re very weak. If they don’t move that means they don’t eat, they don’t grow, they don’t molt and it’s just kind of a slow process.” As the weather begins warming up for good, many expect the crawfish to get bigger and tastier. The WAFB farmer even wonders if the normal crawfish season this year will be longer than previous years because of the recent cold fronts. Until then, be sure to call ahead to secure your batch before they’re all gone! So, as businesses and seafood retailers gear up for crawfish season, the question is: who does it best? Junior Ginny Kosteck recently went to Mudbugs on Government St. to enjoy some steaming crawfish with some family. “It was three pounds of crawfish with sausage, corn, and potatoes, the perfect size for $18,” Kosteck explains. “It was really good and I got to see my brother eat it for the first time!” What about for those
badgers without wheels? Lucky for you, our very own Rouses also sells crawfish for around $5 per pound. In addition, Rouses also offers pre-packaged pounds for easy traveling, just an added convenience for any pedestrians. R&R Seafood, located on the causeway between Mobile and the Eastern Shore, charges around $4.50 to $5 per pound of crawfish and is always a crowd favorite on the Hill. Other seafood retailers that are currently selling crawfish include DIP Seafood on the Dauphin Island Parkway and J&B Seafood on Airport Blvd. If you’re looking for a good night out with some buddies that’s light on your wallet, check out Jernigan’s Facebook page and find out where you can get a nice drink and some spicy crawfish. So, whether you’re making the drive or just walking across the street, there seems to be something to satisfy every crawfish lover.
Buzzfeed Quiz Craze on a High By EricTHOMAS Reporter Most of us have heard the saying “Due tomorrow, DO tomorrow.” It’s a timeless phrase that has caused countless people to push back working on an assignment they have due, which only means that their final grade will suffer for those few stolen hours of leisure. Procrastination gets to a lot of people. Whether it’s putting off an important homework assignment or delaying that business report that you were supposed to submit to your boss yesterday, there’s always that small belief that we always have more time to get things done than we actually do. One of the newer trends in the world of procrastination is online quizzes. There are a multitude of random online quiz sites just waiting to aid any willing participant in hours of procrastination. These sites include Sporcle, Brainfall and the
ever popular Buzzfeed, just to name a few. Facebook also provides a large amount of quiz topics that lead our workweary brains astray. So, what is it that possesses us to find out what celebrity couple we resemble most? Why is it so imperative that we take these quizzes? Aside from the fact that people tend to gravitate toward the “more fun” option over doing undesirable work, many students have different motivations for participation in the huge time-suck. Sophomore Nico de Cordoba is a frequent Buzzfeed quiz taker and prefers to keep a very simple outlook on the quizzes. When asked why he likes taking the quizzes so much, de Cordoba responded simply: “It’s funny.” However, not all those who take these quizzes are quite so disinterested in the results; in fact, plenty of people are genuinely curious. Junior Raven West also enjoys taking the numerous quizzes online and admits to finding a few with fairly interesting topics. “The major-
ity of the time I take them out of boredom. But sometimes I’m actually interested in the topic of the quiz and the outcome after I take the quiz,” says West. Another factor that plays into the extensive use of these online quizzes is how they seem to relate to the person who is taking them. Think about it: after you finish taking one quiz, what do you always find at the bottom of the page? Four or five more suggestions for additional quizzes that “You may also like.” When you see these other quizzes at the bottom of the page, it can be quite hard to ignore them. You’ve already learned that your ideal celebrity husband is Ryan Reynolds, so you may as well figure out your dream honeymoon location, right? This appeal to interest greatly affects the people taking the quizzes. For instance, given the current situation with Justin Bieber, who wouldn’t want to take a quiz titled “How many Justin Biebers could you take in a fight?” Sophomore Andrew Christensen is an avid Buzzfeed reader and spoke about why he
looks forward to their quizzes so much. “I just like the way the quizzes are structured, and the topics. They are really diverse and it’s fun to see what your results are compared to those of my brother, friends or girlfriend,” says Christensen. Going off of that, everyone does not find the same enjoyment in taking the online quizzes. Junior Hayley Vierling spoke about why she always decides against taking the online quizzes. Vierling says, “I don’t
think they’re accurate so I don’t want to spend my time doing something that is going to give an undesired response.” One thing is certain: online quizzes aren’t going anywhere, meaning that they will be around to enable generations more of school and work procrastinators. So it’s left up to the individual to decide which is more important at any particular moment: writing that English paper, or finding out what type of food you should be. Photo by BreVAUGHN
SPORTS
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March 20, 2014
Golf Works Hard, Takes Second By MjCONNELL Sports Reporter
From March 9 to March 11, the Badger’s golf team played in the Wolf Pack Invitational hosted by Loyola New Orleans, taking home second place honors. After placing ninth in the FSAC Tournament in February, SHC bounced back into second place to show that they are a force to be reckoned with. The team had a few things they wanted to work on and certainly accomplished these goals in New Orleans. Freshman Wesley Hunter of Mobile, Ala., won the tournament overall as an individual, in a tournament that consisted of 34 golfers. He shot for -2 under par with a final score of 142, shooting 72 in the first round and 70 in the second. “It felt pretty good [to win], all the hard work we put in really paid off and it felt really good to get my first win,” says Hunter. Senior Spencer Lane was proud of the freshman coming in strong in his first season. “The coolest thing about it was how focused [Wesley] was,” says Lane. “He was in the flow and it’s very important to get into that flow because once you get that, nothing
can get in your way. I’m very proud of him,” states Lane. Besides Hunter placing in first, a few of the other golfers performed at a high level. Junior Jordan Portal finished in fourth place shooting 72 and 74, while freshmen Grant Luisi and Sheldon Statkewicz took eighth and fifteenth places respectively. Senior Phil Dugan was happy with his team’s effort in this invitational. “I think we did really well. We had a really good first round and overall all the guys showed a lot of maturity and all the dedication and hard work is starting to pay off,” says Dugan. “The top four guys really picked up a lot of the slack and played great… hopefully we can all play that well next time and win it as a team,” says Dugan. Members of the team went into the tournament with a lot of confidence because of how well their practices were going the week before the tournament. “I think we went into this invitational with a better mindset,” says Hunter. “We had a really good week of practice before and we were focused and well prepared.” Lane also said the importance of the high level of play in the qualifiers really helped the team out. “Everyone that played in the qualifiers that played
MARCH IS HERE
and with March, comes basketball... By MjCONNELL Sports Reporter
Photo courtesy of SpencerLANE
in the tournament played extremely well… and when you have really good qualifiers, that boosts your confidence because you know you’re playing well and you know you can compete,” explains Lane. In the upcoming tournament, the William-Carey Invitational in Hatties-
burg, Miss., the golfers look forward to keeping up their torrid play. “I’m looking forward to those guys playing their hearts out,” says Lane. “They all know that they’re playing good and when you know you’re playing well, that is key for getting into the flow.” Dugan also adds, “This
Hmm… March. Arguably one of the best months of the year when Irish folks celebrate their heritage and one of the biggest athletic competitions in the United States takes full stage on all sports media. March Madness is a special time of the year where the 64 best college basketball teams in the NCAA battle for the National Championship. Teams play throughout the year, all trying to earn a spot in the top 25 rankings. In the beginning of March, all the teams face off in conference tournaments to secure what could be their final chance to make it into the big dance. This year’s contest looks to be as thrilling as ever with teams rightfully grabbing the one-seeds, like Wichita State
is a fun tournament. I played in it last year. It’s on a great course and a lot similar to the one we just got back from so I’m looking forward to it.” The tournament takes place March 17 through 18, and the progress can be tracked on shcbadgers.com.
who is undefeated at 34-0, Arizona (28-3), Virginia (25-6) and Florida (29-2). There have been some other teams that have been “snubbed” according to experts in terms of their seeding, such as Louisville who is a fourseed and Kentucky who is an eight-seed. Another interesting thing about the Madness is how certain companies and organizations have contests such as who can most accurately fill out one of these brackets. In 2012, Fox Sports offered $1 million to the person that could fill out a perfect bracket. Now this year, famous American businessman Warren Buffet has even said he would pay $1 billion to whoever fills out a perfect bracket, which has never happened. The odds of actually completing a perfect
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March 20, 2014 FROM PAGE 10 bracket randomly are one in 9.2 quintillion, and if you have basketball knowledge those odds are one in 128 billion, according to DePaul University math professor Jeff Bergen. Now after Selection Sunday, the matchups have been set in stone and Badgers around campus have been doing their basketball homework in hopes of filling out the best bracket. Sophomore Julian Legido of Miami, Fla., has been filling out brackets since he was in fifth grade and thinks this year’s tourney is going to be a tough one to pick a winner. “Honestly, I have no clue who I think is going to win,” says Legido. “Two teams that are coming in strong are Florida, who hasn’t lost since December,
THE SPRINGHILLIAN and Wichita State hasn’t lost all season. They’re the favorites but it’s hard to pick because they haven’t lost in so long and I feel like if they’re in a close game they could lose.” Legido also adds that people should keep an eye on Michigan State to make a deep run in the dance. Senior Brett Williams, who has also been completing brack-
ets since middle school, thinks the Florida Gators are going to bring home the hardware. “I have Florida in the championship game playing Louisville,” says Williams. “I think they
[Florida] have the best all-around team. They have a great point guard play, a post presence, and are very good defense… it would be a close one against Louisville but I think they’ll win.” Williams also says that Harvard could be this year’s bracket buster based on their defense. Another Badger who likes to participate in the March Madness craze is
11 junior Zachary Ward. “I’m not the biggest basketball guy… but I would still like to see Wichita State pull it off. It would be a pretty magical season if they could pull it off,” says Ward. With all of this debate going on around the Hill and elsewhere in the country about this year’s March Madness tournament, it sure seems like it’s going to be very exciting. A lot of teams will be playing with chips on their shoulders because of their seeding and others may make it through with ease. Will a powerhouse team like Florida win it all or will a Cinderella team with a little bit of luck take everyone by surprise? You’ll just have to watch to find out as the tournament, which began on March 18, continues until April 7.
Former Basketball Player Goes Fortune 500 S
By MjCONNELL Reporter
“When I got to college I took some economic classes and I started working at NCR Corporations and I got exposure to how businesses work and I completely shifted my interest.”
ome students may be working for a local company, organization, or law firm, but senior Nick Grant works for Sun Trust Bank, a Fortune 500 company. Grant, who resides in Atlanta, Ga., has been working for Sun Trust for 10 months under Tom McDermott, who has held several positions at a number of other banks. Grant and McDermott started working together after Grant began using social networking to his advantage for job searching. “You can leverage LinkedIn to keep in touch with people, I try to keep a list of people I’ve spent time with through my networks,” explains Grant. This past summer, Grant used these networks to do a lot of ground work to meet more people. “Over the summer I tried to meet someone new every day. I never wanted to eat lunch alone and I was trying to set calls up with people in the financial services area,” says Grant. The 22-year-old also says that his boss has been a great role model for him. “Tom and I really hit it off and I’ve really been able to learn a lot from him about business strategy, and he’s held various roles at many different financial institutions, so it makes him a great individual to learn from,” says Grant. When Grant first began his college career, business and finance were not what he wanted to make a career out of. “I was never really sure about what I wanted to do, but in high school I was interested in business but I wanted to be an attorney at the time,” says Grant. “When I got to college I took some economic classes and I started working at NCR Corporations, and I got exposure to how businesses work, and I completely shifted my interest.” Grant also adds that his experience with pre-law does help him with knowing the way the business industry works. The Atlanta-native also enjoys the thrill of how business works, which is a key reason for his change from law to finance. “I think the financial service is a very interesting field. It’s very competitive and it’s really a tough environment now if you look at the regulations involved… It’s also fun to look at the way banks are adapting to today’s technologies to greater serve your clients,” explains Grant. In terms of what the young businessman does for Sun Trust, Grant is an analytics analyst and looks at all the
things the bank uses to serve its customers. “I look at the strategy about how we serve our customers across our different channels in terms of mobile banking, online banking and of course your biggest piece which is your branch structure,” says Grant. This job then leads to making sure Sun Trust has the most profitable structure and having enough resources for their customers to use. Besides just helping out Sun Trust as a whole, Grant also assists McDermott a lot in his field of work. “I’ve been able to do a lot of his analysis work and kind of trying to support the different ideas he has with data to back that up and that helps him when he is presenting different materials,” states Grant. Looking into the future, Grant hopes he can make a big leap straight out of college. “My biggest thing early on in my career is to develop various different skills and have experience in different lines of business,” says Grant. “I got some operations experience early on. I was able to do the investment banking which I learned a lot about financing, which is great… now I’m kind of tying the finance and other business knowledge together with a more strategic role.” Grant hopes to work on more groundbreaking things in the future. “I feel like there’s still a lot of deficiencies in e-commerce and especially with the high level analytics that companies are able to leverage now. I think it would definitely be cool to pursue a somewhat disruptive innovation in the area of e-commerce and how goods are transferred across the web,” explains Grant. While trying to make it big in the business world, Grant looks up to certain financial juggernauts just as a young athlete looks up to a professional in their sport. “In the area of banking, I think of a certain CEO, Jamie Dimon… he’s been a strong CEO and throughout the financial crisis, I really like the way he’s handled it and done a great job of positioning JP Morgan-Chase to expand and become a stronger financial institution,” says Grant. Working for a Fortune 500 company is quite an accomplishment and Grant has done a great amount of work to get ahead of the game. Using social networking to his advantage and making the most of his own time to meet up with them is a great example of what one should do to get a jump start in front of the competition.
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HILL YEAH!
s i o h W
March 20, 2014
? s m e l b o r P r e g d a @B Students around campus address their #firstworldproblems to one specific Twitter account: @BadgerProblems This anonymous Twitter account has entertained the Spring Hill College community for years. Despite its vast popularity, this mysterious badger has sparked rumors about his or her true identity. Is it a current student? An alumni? Ms. Juanita? Speculation is endless as to who the person behind the account is, but there is one thing all badgers can definitely agree on: everything @BadgerProblems tweets is true… and comical. However, this still does not help solve the question…who are you? From the tweets that @BadgerProblems has tweeted, one could make an attempt to narrow down some information in hopes to possibly get an accurate identification. First, this person has knowledge of infamous badger Thursday night hotspots such as Bojangles and Pat’s (may it rest in peace). Or the fact that this anonymous badger enjoys their morning omelet, as well as being an eyewitness to Ms. Gwen, the beloved marker of the omelets, dancing in the caf. Whoever you may be, @BadgerProblems, know that you have single-handedly managed to captivate this entire campus by giving students a place to rant, rave and laugh at the place all badgers hold close to their heart.
We compiled some of the best recent @BadgerProblems. Compiled by AbbyMASSENGALE