10.10.2011

VANGUARD

THE

SPORTS EDITION 8 pages of USA sports (pg 15)

“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.”

OCT 10, 2011

Tickets: Parking woe

VOL. 49, NO. 11

JAGS WIN IN DOUBLE OT football >> see sports, page 10

Parking at USA is always a contentious issue.

One of the most feared images for USA students is that of a small, yellow scrap of paper resting on the windshield of one’s vehicle. Not just any slip of paper though.

It is one that University of South Alabama students have become all too familiar with: a parking ticket.

Already this semester more than 8,000 parking citations have been issued, according to Chief of Police Zeke Aull. This number may seem very high, however about a quarter of those given at the beginning of the semester were simply warning tickets.

Ticket officers issued these warnings the first couple weeks of the semester, just until sufficient time was given for students to pick up a parking permit.

For many students, parking tickets have become just another cog in the wheel of life on campus. But for those receiving their first ticket, they may be wondering

NAME / TITLE

see PARKING, page 7

In an intense game on Saturday, the Jags worked to block the field goal that University of Texas at San Antonio was trying to make and then went into overtime. Jags ended up winning the game 30-27. It was the first time the Jags had ever made it to overtime.

iSad >>

Faculty shown appreciation

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Luncheon and faculty senate meeting highlight success, goals

BY MATT WEAVER Senior Reporter

COURTESY OF BOREDPANDA.COM

Founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, passed away from pancreatic cancer. President Obama released a statement saying the testament to his legacy was in that ”much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.” Thank you for everything, Steve.

find us on Facebook search “The Vanguard USA”

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University of South Alabama President Gordon Moulton made his annual state of the University address to gathered professors and officials Thursday afternoon during faculty appreciation day at the Mitchell Center and new faculty club house.

The fiscal year for the University began on Oct. 1 making faculty appreciation day the perfect setting for Moulton to layout his future plans and hopes for the campus moving forward.

Professors and staff from the 10 University departments dined with President Gordon Moulton and his staff in the afternoon before meeting at the club house for Moulton’s address. More importantly,

check out our digital edition thevanguardonline.com

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it was an opportunity for Moulton to give thanks to his dedicated staff.

The University currently has 5,500 employees on payroll.

Included on the agenda was introducing new professors, including 18 from the College of Medicine as well as praising the progress made on numerous campus construction projects.

“We’re thrilled to have gotten such positive feedback on our newest buildings,” Moulton recently told The Vanguard.

“We’ve set out every day to improve the student lifestyle, and this sort of feedback is only a confirmation of our effort.”

Moulton confirmed that other organizations have even asked about some of the see FACULTY, page 7

in this issue: Life (pg 11): Opinion (pg 8): Sports (pg 8)

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

PAGE three

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

editorial editor in chief associate editor senior reporter copy editor life editor opinion editor sports editor web editor

Cassie Fambro Genny Roman Matt Weaver Carey Cox Bailey Hammond Imran Mohiuddin Jayson Curry Naquita Hunter

distribution distribution manager Johnny Davis

advertising advertising manager Wesley Jackson graphic designer Brittany Hawkins

management adviser James Aucoin accounting Kathy Brannan

mission The Vanguard, the student-run newspaper of the University of South Alabama, serves its readership by reporting the news involving the campus community and surrounding areas.

The Vanguard strives to be impartial in its reporting and believes firmly in its First Amendment rights.

submission and editorial policies Send letters and guest columns to: The Vanguard University of South Alabama P.O. Drawer U-1057 Mobile, Ala., 36688. or editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com Letters and guest columns must be received by 7 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication. Submissions should be typed and must include the writer’s name, year, school and telephone number.

All submissions become the property of The Vanguard. Unsigned letters will not be published. The Vanguard reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length and clarity.

Letters will be limited to 300 words. Letters and guest columns are the opinion of the writer.

The Staff Editorial represents the consensus opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, Associate Editor, Copy Editor, Senior Reporter, and Opinion Editor. All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight during weekly Editorial Board meetings.

The Vanguard has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifications. To report a mistake, call the Editor in Chief at 251-460-6442 or e-mail editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com.

The Vanguard is published Mondays during the academic year, except for exam periods and vacations, and is published twice each summer.

The Vanguard is supported in part by an allocation from student activity fees and operates in the Student Media Department of the Division of Student Affairs. Issues are available at most University buildings and select off-campus locations. The first copy is free.

Additional copies are $1 each.

Police blotter 10-4 Theft in the third degree Jag bikes stolen Zeigler Blvd

weather forecast >> october 10 - october 16 Laser levels/construction equipment Contractor vehicle Shelby Hall constuction site

10-4 Theft of property

10-6 Theft of auto

Catalytic converter

Purse, ID, insurance card, debit card Old Shell Road, Mitchell Center parking lot

10-4 Theft of property Bike, pink 10-5 Theft

10-6 Theft

We’ll start off the school week with with a low forming in the Gulf. It should head towards the Florida panhandle, which will give us windy conditions, clouds and scattered thunderstorms.

Afternoon highs on Monday and Tuesday will be in the lower 80s with overnight lows near 60.

A front will move in by mid-week, that will bring us the chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms with highs around 82 and overnight lows around 60.

We should start to clear out by Friday and will see partly cloudy skies with highs around 80 and lows around 58. The weekend looks great!

We can expect sunny skies and highs in the upper 70s with nighttime lows in the upper 50s.

50 Carmike tickets stolen from Jaguar Productions office by deception

Forecast courtesy of student meteorologist Patrick Bigbie.

Purse, credit cards, damaged car 10-6

Have a question for USAPD? Send it to editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com and we’ll get an answer for you.

Theft from auto

Letter to the Editor

mon

82 62

tue

81 61

wed

82 61

thu

82 59

fri

80 58

sat

79 57

sun

79 56

Junk The Jungle, not the best of ideas South should not have the “Junk the Jungle” gathering at the school anymore.

I find it to be rather ill-thought out. When a place or school is tolietpapered, it creates a nuisance.

So, why would anyone purposely make that sort of mess? Not to mention that the the janitorial staff and students have to clean it up.

It really takes the fun out of it.

Last year was my first year seeing it, and I was rather and seriously disturbed.

The fact that the toilet paper was strewn about everywhere just made our campus look terrible.

Have we forgotten the infamous Mobile rain?

Rain made it so much worse. Wet, disgusting toilet paper was everywhere, on people’s shoes, cars and in the roads.

While I am not a “tree-hugger,” I feel that it is also bad for the environ-

ment and the squirrels that call those trees home.

I am not writing this to be a killjoy or to suck the fun out of it.

I just find the whole idea very silly regardless of the effort to create a tradition.

I know this probably will not make a difference this year, because I am sure that the toilet paper has already been bought.

I hope that it can at least perhaps inspire a better thought out process in the years to come.

-Concerned Junior zde901

Write letters to the editor at: editor.in.chief@ usavanguard.com

for the latest on your forecast, severe weather updates, and what’s going on in the tropics, find us on Facebook

search “StormTeam4Gamma9Wx” you can follow us on Twitter, too

CORRECTION

search “stormteam4g9wx”

In the event of a correction, The Vanguard will print a correction in this space. We strive for perfection. Let us know of any errors.

and find Patrick on Twitter

search “metwxpatrick”

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Homecoming royalty >> the prospects

COURTESY OF JOHN ADAMS

Pictured are (l-r): Heidi Harmon, Homecoming Queen Finalist; Kristen Fortenberry, Junior Maid; Amy Archer, Sophomore Maid; Marnita Stallworth, Homecoming Queen Finalist; Audri Russeau, Freshman Maid; and Christian Lee, Homecoming King. The winners of Homecoming Queen and Senior Maid will be announced during the half-time activities as USA takes on Tennessee-Martin October 15.

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Ordinance prohibiting the under 21 crowd passes in Mobile

BY ANNA STANLEY Contributing Writer

NAME / TITLE

xxx xxx COURTESY OF ANNA STANL EY

The city of Mobile confronts the issue of an ordinance prohibiting those under 21 from entering night clubs. The ordiannce passed, even with heavy local dissent.

Nearly every seat of the Government Plaza Auditorium was filled last Tuesday when the Mobile City Council voted to pass a law restricting anyone under the age of 21 from entering night clubs.

Over 20 bartenders, club owners and musicians attended the meeting to demonstrate opposition and express concern for their livelihoods.

Troy Robinson, manager of Studio 54 downtown, spoke against the proposal and asked the council members to refrain from “punishing the majority for the actions of a handful of people.”

Bob Brunson, general manager of BBob’s downtown, said the law may force several establishments to close their doors due to lost revenue. In addition to concern for how the law might affect the economy, potential safety issues were also addressed by some who attended the meeting. Robinson said he fears the ordinance will reduce the designated driver population, leading to a potential increase in dangerous activity.

No one spoke in favor of the ordinance, which the council approved by a 6-1 vote.

Exhibiting hesitation to limit the rights of adults between the ages of 18 and 20, Councilmember Jermaine Burrell was the

only one to vote against the law. Sponsored by Councilmember William Carroll, the law is only one initiative that has been proposed to decrease the occurrence of crime in Mobile.

Another proposal concerning earlier closing times for bars and night clubs was addressed but will not be voted on by the council for another seven months. Council members agreed that the proposal would require further research to determine its effectiveness.

“The ordinance was written for all the wrong reasons,” said Brunson. “Closing times should be left to the discretion of club owners.” Maelynn La, a Chemistry major, thinks the ordinance will hit the Mobile music scene hard. “Plenty of students, including myself, go downtown just to see shows. I’m 20, and I have acted as the [designated driver] for my older friends when we go see bands play.

If Mobile wants to build up downtown businesses, this is not the way to go.”

USA alum and creator of Mod Mobilian Kris Skoda also expressed concern for the music industry in Mobile, saying the ordinance, “if not remedied through special venue licenses or through fighting it, will hurt the bands, the bars/venues, downtown, and let’s not forget the under-21 adult who you could be denying an appreciation of live music.”

Seaman’s Bethel Theatre getting renovated, Honors moving The Bethel is located in front of the student center, near faculty court south. It has a rich history and has been home to the Honor’s program.

BY GENNY ROMAN Associate Editor The Seaman’s Bethel Theatre will receive renovations in late spring of 2012.

The Bethel, originally built in 1860, houses the USA Honors program.

Chris Willis, director of facilities management, stated that the Honors program “will move to Faculty Court West, but not until [the colleges of] CIS and Engineering move into Shelby Hall.”

According to Willis, the renovations are being made to the basement and ground floor of the Bethel. The basement will be refitted to serve as a fundraising headquarters for the Office of Developments and Alumni Relations.

The ground floor will receive minor renovations that will be cohesive with the Gothic revival architecture of the Bethel.

The newly renovated ground floor will be repurposed as a gathering area for different organizations.

The Seaman’s Bethel Theatre, or the Honors building as it’s known, is one of three historic buildings on campus, in-

cluding the Tuthill House and the Toulmin House.

The Seaman’s Bethel Theatre was originally a chapel in downtown Mobile acting as a refuge and hostel for displaced sailors.

According to James Caldwell, author of “Magic – No! Miracle – Yes!: the Founding and Early Development of the University of South Alabama,” it moved to the University in 1968 and was meant to serve as a theatre-in-the-round for the Drama department.

Eventually, the Honors program was moved into the Bethel and has since called it home. Jake Howell, a junior Biology major, said the building is one of the selling points of the Honors program. “Without it, the program loses much of its familial appeal and atmosphere,” Howell said.

Parker Chastain, a Biomedical Sciences major, echoed Howell’s sentiment. “We may not be a very old program, but we have history with the Bethel.

It was most definitely an icebreaker with the ghost stories as well as a unique selling point. It also is a different environment from anything on campus.”

NAME / TITLE

The Bethel, also known as the Honor’s building. Currently used for approximately 200 students, the university intends for it to be more widely used in the future.

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

USA officials release annual fire and safety report

BY MATT WEAVER Senior Reporter

VANGUARD ARCHIVES

Last spring, a fire occured due to a mechanical issue at the old rec center. The annual fire and safety report chronicles procedures in the event of a fire as well as many other safety issues.

USAPD released an updated campus security and fire report late last week and is urging students to glance at it as soon as possible.

There’s a lot to digest, 23 pages worth in fact.

The report has 12 chapters and contains topics including crime prevention, fire safety, University police authority, and other matters of importance related to University safety and security. University officials are considering it the goto guide for any question one may have in reference to safety and/or assistance.

“We’ve put a lot of manpower and hours into the report,” USAPD Lt. Keith West said. “But it’s worth it knowing that it’ll keep our students safe.”

Safety awareness makes up a bulk of the report and is found in chapter five. Tips include general risk reduction suggestions including using campus transit services, avoiding walking alone, and reporting suspicious persons and activities.

The report also outlines how the University plans to execute

response and recovery in the event of a disaster. The plan doesn’t cover every conceivable disaster but rather those of most importance to faculty and students.

In the reports prologue, Chief of Police Zeke Aull wrote of his desire to see South Alabama remain a safe campus and provide more information to students looking to help the cause.

The report was especially difficult for campus police to file due to changes to the federal government’s Clery Act, a law that establishes safety and security for post-secondary institutes. Institutions are required to submit their security report by Oct. 1 of each year and the USA Campus Security and Fire Report fills that requirement.

The Vanguard will have more on the report in the coming weeks as we determine how to distribute the information to our readers.

In the meanwhile, the full safety document is available for viewing or printing on the USAPD website.

Copies are also available at the University Police Station in the Beta/ Gamma Commons building or by calling 251-460-6611.

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Parking always an issue

State of the University

TICKETS, from page 1

APPRECIATION, from page 1

where this mysterious yellow envelope came from. The USA Police Department has several full-time employees who are dedicated solely to the purpose of enforcing parking rules and regulations. Recently, students have even been hired to take on the task.

“I liked the idea of bringing on students to issue citations because they’ve been there, and they know what it’s like,” Aull said.

Uniformed officers also have the ability to issue citations, though Chief Aull says it isn’t one of their main functions.

In the rare cases in which a uniformed officer does issue a citation, it is upon specific request. Tickets given by these officers are no different than those issued by ticket officers.

The most common offenses reported

by Parking Services are parking out of zone and failure to display a parking permit properly. Chief Aull believes failure to properly display one’s tag is an avoidable problem that can be easily fixed.

“Students will sometimes have their permits sitting in their passenger seat or on the console, and this isn’t the proper way to display them,” Aull said. “Just hang it on your rear view mirror or in an obvious place on your dash, and you will be fine.”

The anxiety that follows seeing the ticket on your windshield is usually followed by the displeasure of realizing that you must now pay for violating the parking policy. Students often simply pay the ticket and think nothing of it. But at the same time, some may wonder where the money is going after they pay their fine.

According to Vice President of Student Affairs John Smith, revenue generated from parking tickets is put back into the maintenance of roads around campus.

This includes, but is not limited to, resurfacing and striping the pavement, as well as general parking lot upkeep.

For those out there that believe they can just brush off a parking ticket, think again. Unpaid parking tickets come with some pretty serious penalties.

A hold will be put on your transcript, and you also cannot graduate without first paying your parking tickets.

Receiving a parking ticket isn’t the end of the line though. Students who believe they were wrongfully ticketed may appeal the ticket online on the Parking Services webpage: www.southalabama.edu/parkingservices.

On this page you can also read the rules and regulations as well as general parking information. The USA Police Department also has a Facebook page.

facilities to use as a reference for their own nationally in graduating their students. projects with the newly-constructed recre“I thought I was given a P.R. spin and ation center receiving the most inquiries. not the actual numbers and that’s someMoulton acknowledged the struggles thing we can all be proud of,” Moulton students have faced due to recent tuition said. “Kudos to the entire University for hikes, 23 percent over three years. their efforts to continually graduate stu“I hope that in the future we don’t have dents at this level.” to increase tuition,” Moulton said. “DeLastly, Moulton asked for increased spite the hikes, we’ve remained competi- support by the University’s backers and tive in the state community and region in reon both an gards to tuition emotive and and education.” financial levDespite the el, expresstuition increase, ing a vision the University of what the is still attractschool may ing incoming eventually freshman at an become. increased rate, “We’ve had 26 perdrawing over cent of our 15,000 in enrollfederal fundment for the sec- President Gordon Moulton VANGUARD ARCHIVES ing cut over ond-straight year. the last three years and we’ve been able to Especially impressive is the number of live through it.

And why?

For the reasons freshman with high-level ACT scores.

The College of Medicine continues to be we’ve just talked about,” Moulton said. amongst the most successful colleges on “We’ve been able to retain our key people.” campus with 95 percent of graduates obtaining their license on their first try. The Mitchell College of Business also earned high marks, ranking in the top 10 percent

INTERESTED IN WRITING FOR THE VANGUARD? Send us an e-mail.

Opinion Editor opinion.editor@usavanguard.com Life Editor life.editor@usavanguard.com Sports sports.editor@usavanguard.com Story ideas, letters to the editor, etc. editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

COURTESY OF PATRICK HERRING

The dreaded ticket on the windshield. We all know it’s yellow without it even being in color.

www.thevanguardonline.com

VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

City shooting itself in foot

OPINION

IMRAN MOHIUDDIN, OPINION EDITOR opinion.editor@usavanguard.com

Our view >> a staff editorial

Look through a longer lens

Looking to the future takes an objective eye. One LAM PHAM must seperate themselves from their positions or roles Contributing Writer and look to the greater good when it comes to a large body of persons affected by a decision.

Take for instance, Jag Bikes. It’s an idea to promote As a 19-year-old college student, my days a culture that is beyond driving at USA. It’s something are numbered when it comes to visiting that looks to the future and becoming a more traditional nightclubs and music venues in downtown campus.

Mobile. I’ve been to those places with my Even four years ago, the concept of football still underage friends in the past and we’ve had didn’t seem tangible. Met with fierce opposition, footlots of fun. Drinking doesn’t have to be the ball was vehemently opposed by a minority of students deciding factor when it comes to having a that believed it would be detrimental to the quality of good time. the insitution.

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the Mobile City Look at it now, it’s absolutely blown our minds with Council approved an ordinance making it how successful it is and how it has unified us as a stuillegal for people under the age of 21 to enter dent body. clubs or bars that will take effect on Nov. 1.

Meal plans were a source of continegency in years Restaurants, sports venues, and other atypi- prior. Reduced to the dingy Market of old, students cal sellers of alcohol, which operate under coming to orientation were seated in a dilapidated, different types of licenses, are exempt from cramped room. the new rule.

When Orientation leaders introduce potential freshThis new ordinance is the result of recent men to the Fresh Foods Company, their mouths hang negative headlines in downtown, the most open. principal of which was the fatal shooting by The only building that tops that is the rec-center. Auan 18 year old at Club Atlantis. While this is dible gasps from those same possible freshmen. certainly troubling news, it’s not fair to say This was once a building that was also complained that his actions are representative of 18-20 about and dreaded by a minority. year olds as a whole. His age certainly isn’t There will always be those that wish to impede the reason why he fired his gun. change for selfish purposes.

Mobile councilman William Carroll reA minority of honor students for instance, are trepedportedly said, “You need to be 21 to get into atious about the location change of the honor’s center a club, period. The legal age to drink is 21, this coming year. so the legal age to get into the club should be 21.” I and pretty much everyone I know would beg to differ.

For example music venues like Soul Kitchen and Alabama Music Box thrive because of the younger crowd; we don’t need alcohol to enjoy a show, and they can’t survive without us.

Mobile cannot afford to lose business, especially in this recession. Some places are hardly getting by, and by cutting a significant percentage of their incomes, several of them will just have to close up shop before they suffer any more losses.

The city has already lost its cruise ship enterprises to New Orleans and are heavily invested in a maritime museum that I doubt will help attract anyone to the city. Mobile is just pushing itself deeper into recession because of this new ordinance.

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Editorial Board

Cassie Fambro > Editor in Chief Genny Roman > Associate Editor

Only 200 students use their current facility intermittently when it’s a space large enough to accomodate several hundred at once.

The growth of the campus faciltates long-term responsibility and change, often met with opposition at first.

Then, the “long-term” part plays out, and we see what the vision was all about.

One can even make national comparisons, pointing to political policies that have short-term ramifications and long-term benefits. Universities play politics, too.

Each and every person at this university has a responsibility, from the student to the professor to the administrator.

Basic levels of planning and respect should always be a factor in decision making, and transparency is always a better choice to make.

SGA needs to be completely open about what they are doing because they represent us. Teachers should tell us as much as they possibly can. Administrators should always do their best to explain their point of view to us so that we can understand their foresight.

We swing through for four or five years, but they’ve been here and they’re here to stay. More often than not, the student body would apprecaite their insight.

When something that is happening upsets you, by all means, learn as much about it as you can from the sources that have the correct answers.

Stand up for what you believe in, but make sure you’re looking through a long lens and that you can explain what you’re standing for.

Embrace the roles you have, and the choices you make, USA.

Imran Mohiuddin > Opinion Editor Matt Weaver > Senior Reporter

Bailey Hammond > Life Editor Jayson Curry > Sports Editor

Jag voice >> opinion poll

What did you do over Fall Break?

“I went on a dinner date with my boyfriend, played tennis, visited home and saw the movie moneyball.”

Mercy Blalock Biomedical Sciences

“I spent the entire break catching up on my classes. I also spent a lot of time with my NASA Development. It was a really busy four days.”

“I went out with some friends Friday night then headed home for the remainder of the break. I spent most of the weekend catching up with my family.”

“I went to Birmingham for the week.

Hung out with some friends at UAB, longboarded around the city, and bought a couple of records at Charlemagne’s.”

Michael Brown Meteorology

Ramy Bolis Biomedical Sciences

Matthew Holmes Philosophy

“I used fall break as a chance to catch up on school work and rest. I took those two days as an opportunity to relax, rewind, and get ahead in my studying.”

Riley Davis Chemical Engineering

This week’s Facebook poll: How do you feel about the Alabama Immigration law?

To find us > search “The Vanguard USA”

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

POINT COUNTERPOINT Are general education courses worth their cost?

Editor’s introduction:Many people feel that colleges should no longer require students to take general education courses that are completely unrelated to their majors.

They claim that these classes are both expensive and time consuming and do nothing to help prepare students for their careers. Still, others believe that they present benefits that are useful in a lot of different ways. The P/CP explains.

Point >>

It’s about more than the class

General education classes in college not only foster a population with a wider worldview but also give direction to students who are unsure of their interests and future career path.

Starting as a freshman in college this year, I’ve realized that many of my friends at South Arslan Arshad are unsure of which career they want to pursue four to six to seven to eight years down the road.

For some, this uncertainty is the result of a lack in variety of courses offered by their local high schools.

Other schools lacked good teachers, so they weren’t able to truly and honestly appreciate the classes that they might have been curious about, and a third group had both of these things and still had no idea what they want to pursue; they realize that you can’t really plan out the rest of your life at the age of 18.

Colleges usually have a faculty driven with a zeal for what they teach. This passion is expressed in

their teaching, and they know how to incite passion in their students.

General education requirements at most undergraduate institutions offer a large number of courses to choose from, making it easier for undecided students to explore and develop an interest they might want to pursue as a future career.

Likewise, general education classes are beneficial to students because they allow them to expand upon their knowledge base, which is usually incomplete at high school graduation.

Being well-rounded is becoming increasingly important requirement for many graduate programs and for life in general.

It’s important to remember that our lives do not operate in bubbles.

No matter what the profession, it’s inevitable that we will interact with people of different backgrounds who have passions that differ from our own.

Knowing the basics in a wide range of fields allows for more effective communication, and the lessons gained extend well beyond the classroom.

Counterpoint >> Let’s get to the bottom line I think I can speak for most college students when I say that money is a major object. Despite working at the Rec. Center and being a research assistant for the Chemistry Department, I still find myself worrying about how I’ll get by. Many colleges and universities require students to take general education classes, which I see as a waste of time.

When coupling these genAj Obiako eral education courses with core classes, money becomes a major factor.

Credits are already expensive with the average cost per class for the students in the College of Arts and Sciences being $246 per class. When I add it all up, non-core courses will end up costing me $17,220 by the time I graduate, an amount I find unreasonable.

In the past, universities played a different role in society. For one, the ability to attend a university was a rare privilege, and university graduates were spread out. Because of this, the opinions of a college graduate were held very highly, and it was important that they were knowledgeable in a wide range of topics.

Nowadays though, there are more people attending college than ever

before, and the Internet allows us to find an expert opinion on just about any topic. Even though college graduates needed to know a bit about everything in the past, this need has been eliminated in modern time.

Likewise, non-core classes can jeopardize a person’s GPA. I, for example, want to be a pharmacist, and I know that pharmacists need to understand biology and chemistry.

They don’t need to know how to understand what Shakespeare was talking about, or why certain philosophers are so depressing. So why should these courses be a deciding factor in whether I get accepted into graduate school?

With me being a Chemistry major and a Biomedical Sciences minor, I must complete a number of elective credit hours in order to graduate. Factoring in the cost of classes, having electives with core classes seems like a tremendous task to pay off for college students.

Most students already know what they want to be and what they should do to achieve that goal. By only taking core classes, they will have a firm understanding of what they need to know about their majors and the opportunities that are in store for them.

>>> Opinion Editorial:Why we should watch Wall Street IMRAN MOHIUDDIN Opinions Editor Despite starting as a small protest with only a few hundred activists that the media disregarded as insignificant and mainstream America tagged as radical, the message of Occupy Wall Street has spread infectiously, proving that our generation has the nerve to challenge the established institutions that control large portions of our lives.

For those who have missed the buzz surrounding the movement, Occupy Wall Street is a political grassroots movement that started in New York City on Sept.17 and has splintered to cities all over the country, including Mobile.

Similar to the Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street is economic and political discontent distilled, a method for a number of

Americans who feel they have no voice in Washington to finally say their peace.

However, unlike its conservative counterpart, Occupy Wall Street started out as a rebellion driven by young, mostly liberal voters who feel their futures were compromised because of big bank bailouts.

Chanting, “We are the 99 percent,” and holding signs that read phrases like, “If a business is too big to fail, then it is too big to exist,” protesters are fed up with the control that the wealthiest 1 percent of people hold in this country, and it’s not hard to see where they are coming from.

Looking at IRS tax data from 1995 to 2007, the tax rates of the richest 400 Americans were almost halved, dropping

from 29.93 percent to 16.63 percent.

Likewise, even though these super affluent individuals paid less than ever in taxes, their annual salaries skyrocketed, jumping from a combined total of $6 billion to almost $23 billion, and these 400 control more wealth than the bottom 155 million Americans combined.

What’s more disconcerting is the impact that the super affluent have in Washington, being able to use their wealth and power to influence what legislation is passed. Because the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are people, and the changes that allow political action committees to raise and donate unlimited sums of money to politicians and organizations, the democratic process of Washington has been effectively

subverted .

Even now, protesters in Wall Street must deal with the financial pressures that corporations exert. Just days ago the NYPD received a $ 4.6 million donation from J.P Morgan-Chase, one of the big banks being protested against, and the effects of this money is evident in the way they are handling the situation, with unwarranted arrests and excessive brutality being cited as the norm.

Ultimately Occupy Wall Street isn’t a fad movement that will die down in a few days as protesters lose interest. Their concerns are too grave, the disparity between rich and poor is too great and the underlying need for reform is too essential for this to simply blow over.

SPORTS 10

Athletics updates

KRACHOK WINS TWICE AT UL INVITATIONAL Freshman Mariya Krachok (Kiev, Ukraine) won both of her matches and the University of South Alabama women’s tennis team earned seven victories Friday on the first day of the UL Invitational hosted by Louisiana at Lafayette.

Krachok lost just four games in her two wins and each Jaguar singles win was in straight sets.

“We did an excellent job of competing and doing damage control on a day where as a team, we did not have our best stuff,” USA head coach Jaco Keyser said. “The main concern is the fact that we were selfdestructing for big parts of matches with a lack of ball control and not making our opponents beat us.”

USA MEN’S GOLF RETURNS TO BUCKEYE STATE FOR EVENT AT FIRESTONE The University of South Alabama men’s golf team, coming off a two-week break, returns to Ohio when play begins Monday at the Firestone Invitational.

It’s the second straight tournament that the Jaguars will compete on a course with a notable history, as the par-72, 7,125-yard Firestone Country Club played host to the World Series of Golf for 22 years and is now the venue for the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational. USA carded a 304 team score in the only round of the Inverness Intercollegiate the last week of September, which was contested at the Inverness Club in Toledo.

That was also the only competitive round the Jags have played in nearly four weeks.

USA SOCCER RAINED OUT Sunday’s Sun Belt Conference matchup between South Alabama (9-3-2, 2-2-1 Sun Belt) and North Texas (10-3-1, 5-0-0 Sun Belt) was canceled due to inclement weather.

No makeup date has been scheduled.

The Sun Belt standings that determine the conference championship and the seedings for the conference tournament are based on winning percentage between the teams, not overall wins or losses.

The Jags return home Oct. 14 to take on Arkansas State at 7 p.m. before hosting Arkansas-Little Rock on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. for senior day at The Cage.

-Wire Reports

JAYSON CURRY, SPORTS EDITOR sports.editor@usavanguard.com VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Jags Outrun Roadrunners South Alabama Beats UTSA In Double Overtime 30-27, Baker Scores Game Winner MATT WEAVER Senior Reporter SAN ANTONIO - South Alabama blocked a go-ahead field goal, sending the game into overtime before Demetre Baker pushed the ball into the end zone in double overtime to give the Jagaurs a 30-27 victory on Saturday afternoon at the San Antonio Alamodome.

It appeared as if the Roadrunners would secure the victory if only kicker Sean Ianno could convert from 26 yards with three seconds remaining in regulation. But South Alabama went into their leaper formation and Clifton Crews got his hands on the ball to send the game into overtime and an eventual Jaguar victory.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak dating back to the North Carolina State loss on Sept. 17.

“I can’t take all of the credit because the defensive line got a good push, and that push gave me a good jump,” Crews said. “I blocked it, but [Gabe] Loper tipped some of it too. I just have to thank [defensive coordinator Bill] Clark for calling leaper.

Crews was caught on the sidelines telling his teammates that he was going to block the kick, citing his executing the same play in practice just a few days prior.

South Alabama head coach Joey Jones called for a heavy dose of ground plays in overtime featuring Baker and he answered the bell, running for 49 yards on four carries after regulation. Baker got the ball to the 1-yard line before coming up sore in the first overtime where Ellis Hill completed the drive with a one-yard touchdown rush to give South Alabama the 24-17 lead.

But San Antonio responded in their half of overtime as quarterback Eric Soza connected on a 30-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Kam Jones to match the South Alabama at 24-24. This sent the game to double overtime, starting with a San Antonio possession in which the Roadrunners could only muster a 43-yard field goal.

South Alabama immediately got the ball and unleashed a 26-yard touchdown run from Baker on the first play to win the game. Baker was the workhorse for South Alabama’s offense totaling 88 yards of offense on 11 carries, and an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Kendall Houston added 74 on 19 carries.

“We came prepared and had a good game plan,” Baker said. “Good things happen when you fight your tail off. Their defense was big and solid. I didn’t think they

COURTESY OF GEREMY HANNE

Demetre Baker

were very fast sideline-to-sideline, but they were much bigger physically.”

South Alabama opened the first half with a flurry of offense, scoring on their first drive when Houston dived into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown with 3:58 remaining in the first quarter. The opening drive touchdown was their first such since the season-opener against West Alabama.

The score was set up by a 35-yard pass from Bennett to Lamontis Gardner, which saw the Jags get to the UTSA 38 yard line. The reception was the longest of Gardner’s career.

San Antonio responded with 14:52 remaining in the second when Soza connected with flex receiver/runningback Evan Okatcha on a 50-yard touchdown pass to even the score at 7-7.

The two teams’ traded scores until the end of the third quarter where they were tied at 17-17 and stayed that way until the end of regulation. South Alabama head coach Joey Jones credits much of that to San Antonio’s preparation for Saturday’s game.

“I want to congratulate UTSA,” Jones said. “I thought they came out and played a tremendous game – it was a big game for them. The crowd was into it; it was that typical home atmosphere. They had a great game plan and great coaching, and probably deserved to win the game in some ways. But on the other side of it, we said at halftime we were not going to quit. We have a fighting spirit about us and I’m just so proud of them for fighting.”

South Alabama improved to 3-2 while

dropping Texas San Antonio to 2-4.

“We lost two games on the road, and to have another road game right behind them and to come back and win was real big for us,” Jones said. “I’m not making excuses for our play against North Carolina State and Kent State but we were tired and beat up.

Now we go back home to Mobile and have homecoming – it’ll be great for our guys to have that coming up.”

COURTESY OF GEREMEY HANNE

Demetre Baker Scores A Touchdown

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jagLIFE

BAILEY HAMMOND, JAGLIFE EDITOR life.editor@usavanguard.com VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Underhill Family Orchestra Editor’s note: Hear Underhill Family Orchestra on Jag Radio. Their album and full interview is now available for listening.

TIMOTHY BORLAND Contributing Writer The Underhill Family Orchestra have released their self-titled debut album this fall, but band members Jimmy Lee and Steven Laney are no strangers to tough times on the road.

“The worst part about touring is the smell,” said Lee. “We thought our van had air conditioning, but it just turned out to be hot air,” added Laney.

Lee and Laney’s band is called an orchestra for good reason; the “family” is seven members strong.

All members of this versatile group of independent local musicians contribute to the songwriting process. The result is an eclectic merging of folk, western and rock n’ roll.

Technology now provides free exposure previously reserved only for major label acts fueled by millions in investment dollars.

“Releasing an album is so much easier because of the internet. We’ve released our album through Band Camp and actually made some money off of it which is good,” said Laney.

Many argue the present economic situation coupled with the availability of cheap or free entertainment online has toppled the music industry.

However, the availability of free advertising, downloadable releases and recording studio software has allowed independent musicians to find niche audiences.

“A bad economy never affected anyone’s desire to go out and have a good time,” commented Lee. “The internet ruined the music industry as record execs knew it, and made it so much better as we knew it.”

Underhill Family Orchestra will perform Nov. 3 at the Blind Mule before they head back out on tour.

If you like what you hear on Jag Radio, support your local music scene with your attendance.

STAFF PHOTO

“The Night Circus” books are arranged in preparation for the event and the signing afterward.

STAFF PHOTO

Erin Morgenstern signs a book for a fan at the event held at the Fairhope Public Library on Friday, Oct. 7, 2011.

‘The Night Circus’ Enchants The debut novel of Erin Morgenstern brings magic to local venue.

BAILEY HAMMOND JagLife Editor

“The circus arrives without warning,” and so we are swept up Yet, it is about more than just the easier-found labels we give in a tale so vibrant, so fascinating, that it seems to be alive in its it. Within the story is a thousand stories, and each of those stories own right—a creation much like the circus has stories of its own. within its pages.

Much like the circus, with its winding paths “And then with the last The debut novel of Erin Morgenstern, forever leading on to more paths and tents of “The Night Circus,” has quickly become a wondrous attractions, “The Night Circus” canlines of the book, ‘You literary phenomenon in just the short time not be easily summed up with a description. are no longer quite cersince its publication.

Yes, it is a book about people and a circus of Some compare the novel—with its magia sort.

Yes, there is a conflict and a resolution, tain which side of the cal elements and complex characters—to again, of a sort. fence is the dream.’” the Harry Potter series, but it is more fitHowever, this tale of heartbreak and reting, I think, to place “The Night Circus” in demption is more than just a story to be read a category all its own. and put aside once finished. The last line is an Books of this kind do not come along every day. invitation to read it again.

We’re lucky to see a book or even a series that can impact readThe story itself is cyclical and one could almost imagine it nevers in the way Morgenstern has managed to do with “The Night er ending, but always being retold unto infinity.

Circus,” and when that book is found, we need to treasure it.

Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, saw Morgenstern attending a party in Trying to explain the plot or the premise of the novel is almost Fairhope, Ala., hosted by Page & Palette of Fairhope. impossible. It is about many things: fame, honor, love, dreams The decorations were based on the color scheme of Les Cirque and magic. des Rêves (The Circus of Dreams) and the guests, or rather pa see TNC, page 13

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer People all across the country are uniting to fight this disease and raise awareness.

JAKE HOWELL JagLife Writer The beginning of October ushers in a wave of fall colors. Reds, yellows and browns adorn the trees and the blacks and oranges of Halloween spring up in offices and stores.

Another color makes a grand appearance starting this month, though.

Oct. 1 marks the beginning of the 27th annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month and those little pink ribbons start popping up on the shirts of people all around the world.

Ribbons aren’t the only pink to be seen during October.

Several well-known landmarks such as the Empire State Building and Niagra Falls have been bathed in pink light over the years in order to raise awareness.

In 2008, even the White House gleamed pink.

Organizations across the globe take this month as an opportunity to educate people about the importance of taking “charge of their own breast health by practicing regular self-breast exams to identify any changes, scheduling regular visits and annual mammograms with their healthcare provider, adhering to prescribed treatment, and knowing the facts about recurrence” (www.nbcam.org).

Even on campus here at USA, people are rallying in support of this cause.

To wrap up Homecoming Week, the Student Government Association is orga-

mon > oct 10 Book Drive

10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the SGA Office in the Academic Support Center Rm1363

tues > oct 11

Blood Drive & Penny Drop

9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Fresh Food Company

Flash Forward mon > oct 17

“Deaf Jam” Movie Screening

COURTESY WHITEHOUSE.ORG

Being a full-time student is tough enough. Doing it with a 6-year-old son at home is even tougher.

As a mom, college is a lot different. One good part is you no longer have to use the excuse “My dog ate my homework.” Now you can say “My kid ate my homework!”

And nothing makes a college mom angrier than when your child decides your research paper needs some colors on it, or your textbook has too many pages.

The only way to stay sane is to just laugh when all you want to do is cry. After all, your child is just trying to help.

Like a working mother, student mothers miss field trips, school programs and ball games.

The guilt a student mom feels is much deeper because she chose to miss those things, not because she must bring home

4 p.m. Mobile Public Library, Toulminville Branch (601 Stanton Rd.) “Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, discovers the power of American Sign Language poetry.”

The White House is tinted pink by way of lights to show national support for Breast Cancer Celtic Octoberfest (Mithril) Awareness during October.

nizing a breast cancer awareness walk on Sunday, Oct. 16.

The 5K walk will begin at Moulton Tower at three p.m. and proceed around campus. Water, donated by Aramark, will be given out to the walkers.

Jackie Freeman, a breast cancer survivor, will also be in attendance to speak to those participating.

Another walk, the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of South Alabama walk, is set to be held on Oct. 29.

Registration for this walk begins at 7 a.m. in Bienville Square with the walk beginning at 8 a.m.

The Biology Student Association is planning to participate in this walk in order to support Elizabeth Hieb, a graduate student in the Biology Department, in her goal of raising $2,500 to help find a cure.

“I’m doing this in memory of my mom,” said Hieb, “She passed away this summer.

She had the most positive spirit, and I just see BCA, page 13

Ultimate Balancing Act: A Mom Story KALYN MCCLELLAN Contributing Writer

weekly lowdown

a paycheck, but because she wanted to go to school.

There’s a constant struggle between what the right thing to do is: stay in school to have a better education or be a stay-athome mom and take part in every aspect of your child’s life.

With either choice, there will be regrets.

For parents looking to connect with others who are facing the same struggle, www.studentparentjournal.com is a social network where parents can share stories, offer advice and give encouragement.

According to senior English major Dana Johnson, her biggest struggle is finding time to keep her house in order, cook dinner and spend time with her family.

“I don’t get a lot of sleep because I spend the evenings with my kids, and don’t start homework, reading assignments and research papers until after they go to bed. see MOM, page 13

7:30 p.m. Recital Hall of the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center Tickets at brownpapertickets.com

tue > oct 18 USA Adult Degree Program Information Sessions

Noon in AHE Rm 210 6 p.m. in Alpha East Extension Rm 101 “Find out more about USA’s Adult Degree Program!”

RSVP to 251-460-6263 Celtic Octoberfest (Mithril)

7:30 p.m. Recital Hall of the Laidlaw Performing Arts Center Tickets at brownpapertickets.com

sat > oct 22 “Deaf Jam” Movie Screening

2 p.m. at Space 301 (301 Conti St.)

Want your event featured?

E-mail the name, date, time, price, place and a brief tagline (under seven words) to life.editor@usavanguard.com.

Include “Weekly Lowdown” in the subject line. E-mails must be received at least seven days before the event.

KALYN MCCLELLAN

It’s a child versus the enormity of textbooks a college student must acquire to gain that coveted degree.

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

‘The Night Circus’ Enchants

Making Strides

TNC, from page 11 trons, were attired in black, white and red to fit the theme.

Erin Morgenstern mingled with the guests, gave a reading from the book, answered questions and signed books.

There were palm readings and tarot fortune telling, jugglers and acrobats, a silent auction of red reveur scarves and the joyous sound of book lovers discussing the brilliance of “The Night Circus.”

It was a night that recalled to mind the Midnight Dinners of the financial backer of Les Cirque des Rêves, Chandresh Lefèvre; it was a night of revelry and entertainment; it was a night to remember.

All throughout downtown Fairhope, music filled the night air, and people took to the streets in anticipation of the Grand Festival of the Arts to take place on the fol-

lowing morning.

The white tents, though not striped with black as those in the book, lent the town a sense of mystery that Les Cirque des Rêves has upon the populations it visits in “The Night Circus.”

The twinkling stars looked down and the future of art and music and laughter could be seen clearly in them, shining brightly across the world’s stage for all to see.

Like the circus, like Erin Morgenstern and all who believe in the beauty of language and art, the future is something worth dreaming about, if only for the pleasure of the experience.

And then with the last lines of the book, “You are no longer quite certain which side of the fence is the dream.”

THE EXTRA STUFF BAILEY HAMMOND JagLife Editor

Homecoming Lowdown

October Tunes on Campus On Monday and Tuesday nights, Oct. 11 and 12 respectively, the USA Concert Choir and University Chorale Fall Concert will be held at the Recital Hall of Laidlaw Performing Arts Building.

The show will start at 7:30 p.m. both nights and is directed by Dr. Laura Moore.

The seasonal music will include selections from Lauridsen, Vaughan Williams, Gesualdo and other composers, including a group of four songs with texts from Shakespeare plays.

Other songs will be included as well, so expect the unexpected.

Tickets for the performances will only be sold at the door, so be sure to arrive early if you want a seat.

General audience members pay $8, USA students, faculty and staff, senior citizens and youth under 18 pay $5.

Monday Wear Red Day, Book Drive in the SGA Office (ASC 1363) 10:00 a.m.5:00 p.m.

Tuesday Wear Blue Day, Junk the Jungle (Traffic Circle) 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Wednesday Wear White Day Thursday Wear “Your Organiza on’s Colors” Day, Pep Rally (Moulton Bell Tower) 7:00 p.m.

Friday ”Show Your Spots” Day, Homecoming Parade (South Drive) 6:00 pm, Magician Adam Trent (Mitchell Center) 8:00 p.m.

Saturday Jags vs. UT-Mar n Homecoming Football Game (Ladd-Pebbles Stadium) at 2:30 p.m.

want to keep that going. That’s what this is all about.”

Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Making Strides walks around the country brought in over 800,000 people in 2010, according to the Making Strides website (main.acsevents.org).

Visit the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of South Alabama walk’s Facebook page for more information on how you can help.

The Biology Student Association and the Biology Graduate Student Organization are holding bake sales in the Humanities Courtyard on Tuesday, Oct. 25 and Wednesday, Oct. 26 to raise awareness as well.

Ultimate Balancing Act MOM, from page 12 I’m always tired,” Johnson said.

Other than the emotional struggle, parents have to worry about childcare. Until a child is school-aged, finding a daycare can be very challenging.

Many of the good childcare providers charge extremely high rates.

According to a poll on parentsincollege. com, 47.8 percent of those surveyed said childcare costs were hardest to manage.

The next closest expense was tuition, which only 13.4 percent struggle with. The other 38.8 percent was made up of textbook costs, healthcare and legal issues.

For parents in need of assistance in paying for childcare while attending school, www.in.gov offers information about the Childcare Development Fund.

Finding good childcare is also difficult.

Universities across the U.S. are realizing that more and more entering students have children and are beginning to offer on-campus childcare facilities.

According to the Department of Education’s website, over 900 universities are now offering these facilities, including several schools in Alabama, such as Bish-

op State Community College, University of Alabama and Troy State University.

The University of South Alabama does not currently have a childcare program.

Information on childcare availability in any city can be found at www.childcarefinder.org, a website that provides a list of accredited childcare providers across the U.S. No one can give you the right answer about going back to school. You must make up your own mind, and it’s not easy.

Every time your child looks at you and says, “Everyone else’s moms came to the class Christmas party,” and begins to cry when he asks why you weren’t there, your heart will break and you’ll want to give up the college dream.

But hang in there because the biggest reward will come for both you and your child when you walk across the stage and receive your diploma.

Your child will be proud of the struggle you went through because it was a struggle for them as well.

It will be well worth the sacrifice when your child wants to go to college “just like mommy did.”

Hey.

Hey, you.

Yeah, you.

Interested in writing for the JagLife section?

Send a sample of your writing in an email to life.editor@ usavanguard.com to get started on your own path to greatness.

(Come to the JagLife side. We drink coffee.)

VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

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SPORTS

JAYSON CURRY, SPORTS EDITOR sports.editor@usavanguard.com

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

Special Edition

Inside USA Fall Sports

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

USA football defensive backs lead by example The ability, attitude and performance of the defensive backs is contagious JAYSON CURRY Sports Editor In the short existence of the USA football program, defensive coordinator Bill Clark and the Jaguar defense have been stellar. This season has been no different even with two loses. One factor in the success of the USA defense this season lies with the defensive back group. From top to bottom this is one of the deepest and most talented groups on the entire team.

At cornerback, the Jags have senior Anton Graphenreed who has been at USA since the birth of the program and has worked to make himself and the program what it is today.

Starting at the other cornerback position is Western Michigan transfer Damond Smith. Smith has the size, speed and swagger that is needed to succeed at a position like cornerback.

“I transferred from a FBS school but at South I have some big shoes to fill,” Smith said. “I’m just going to do what I do best.”

The cornerbacks aren’t the only defensive backs that have been impressive.

“This year is great because we have four guys that can play three positions,” Clark said. Those three positions are free safety, strong safety and the Sam position.

The free safety position is filled by Alabama transfer B.J. Scott. Scott comes to USA after being rated as a top 20 player

coming out of high school and spending three years at Alabama, where he started as a receiver before moving to defensive back.

Charles Harris starts at the strong safety position where he has had a great season so far and piled up the tackles half way through the season. Harris transferred to South Alabama from Coahoma Community College.

The other two players that will switch in and out with each other at the strong safety or Sam position are East Central Community College transfer Gabe Loper and Ken Barefield.

Barefield came to USA from Hoover High School in Alabama and has started almost every game since arriving on campus. He has played most of his snaps as strong safety but now starts at the Sam position.

“Our motto is play with a cape. If a defensive lineman messes up there is a linebacker behind him, and if a linebacker messes up we are behind him, but if we make a mistake, it is six points for the other team,” Barefield said. “We have no wiggle room, we can’t make any mistakes.”

Loper has come in and made an impact in the secondary, even though he didn’t even participate in spring football with the Jags. And it’s obvious the veteran Jags have already rubbed off on him with their mindset.

COURTESY OF GEREMY HANNE

Defensive back BJ Scott, #1, takes down UTSA player #36.

“As a group we want to be ranked nationally in turnovers and defense,” Loper said. “We want the field to be a no-fly zone.”

It is almost impossible to know how many immeasurables this group of players brings to this team. Their confidence in each other and their own abilities spreads through the defense and the entire team.

They not only bring their physical ability

to the field every game, but the way they carry themselves adds so much more.

With a program that has just started, it is imperative for success and getting the program in the right direction to have great players, and for those players to be great leaders and teammates. That is what these defensive backs give to this team, and this football program.

South Alabama’s Greg Gregory calls all the shots JAYSON CURRY Sports Editor

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

South Alabama offensive coordinator Greg Gregory.

Greg Gregory has made a career on making the right call. As a football coach, Gregory has had many years of experience, starting as a graduate assistant in 1980.

From then on Gregory has had a very successful career and is currently calling the shots for the USA offense.

Gregory has created a lot of success for himself, but as all football coaches will tell you, they have learned all they know from other coaches. Gregory is no different.

“I was fortunate enough to coach under a man named Jim Young who was a coach at Arizona, Purdue and West Point,” Gregory said. “He is in the College Football Hall of Fame, and he was a big believer in repetition and concentrating on yourself and not your opponent. That’s what we do.

You take things from everybody. What I learned from Coach Young is ultimately you have to cater your offense to your per-

sonnel. And when I got here, coach Jones told me he wanted to be a power team, and that’s how we want to be going into the Sun Belt. It’s not what you know as a coach, it’s what the players can learn and absorb.”

Gregory has learned much over the years about football, and his experience has shown in controlling the ins and outs of the Jaguar’s offense on and off the field. He has shaped the philosophy of the offense and the types of players that play in it.

“We just want to be a tough, hard-nosed, attacking offense. That’s what we tell them at the beginning of the season. Philosophically, we want to be balanced. We have to be able to run the football, but we want balance,” Gregory said. “When we talk about balance, we mean we want to be able to do what we want, when we want anywhere on the field.

“At receiver, you are looking for somebody who can catch the football and somebody who has a lot of athletic skill. Can he run, jump, does he have body control?”

Gregory said.

“At running back, we are looking for guys who are really tough, hard-nosed runners. We are looking for guys who can run between the tackles and really punish the defense,” Gregory said.

“At quarterback, we have to have guys that can really pass the football. If you find a guy that can pass and run, that is really a bonus. You have to have guys that can pass and guys that are great leaders back there,” Gregory said.

“On offensive line, we want guys that are big enough to not get overwhelmed and we want guys who have athletic ability. We want linemen that can run. We do a lot of pulling with our linemen and we get them out in space,” Gregory said.

“Tight end and fullback is probably the most important position in our offense.

They have to be offensive lineman, they have to be pass receivers, and they have to be in the back field. With a guy like Paul see Greg Gregory, page 20

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

Bigger, Inside USA: Augustine Rubit faster, stronger South Alabama Basketball’s Rubit Gives An Insight On Himself And The Team JAYSON CURRY Sports Editor

BY MICAH CAFFEY Sports Reporter As fans, we idolize athletes because they can do things that only a small percentage of people can do. They are usually stronger, faster and bigger than most people.

And in some cases, they are all of those things combined. And in certain cases these athletes can compete at the highest level in more than one sport.

A few immediately come to mind when talking about this, like John Elway, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson and the late, great Jim Thorpe.

Often times, collegiate head coaches are concerned with the situation of a player wanting to play more than one sport in his or her career. Here at the University of South Alabama, that problem is more of an afterthought than reality.

The Jaguars football team has a handful of players that not only buckle a chinstrap and tackle, but also star on the USA track and field program, led by head coach Paul Brueske. Five players—Anton Grephenreed, Demetre Baker, Ken Barefield, Tyrome Bivens and Bryant Lavender are key members to both the track and field and football teams.

I asked both coach Brueske and head football coach Joey Jones about the benefits of competing in more than one sport on the collegiate level, and both seemed to repeat the same term—competitiveness.

“Track certainly helps quickness, speed and power,” coach Brueske said “However, one of the main benefits I see for our football guys at this level is that track keeps them in a competitive mode. There is nothing like competition to keep an athlete sharp. These guys are competitors and leaders on the football and track teams.”

Coach Jones added, “It keeps them competitive; we would rather that our guys be in that competitive mode all year long, whether it is in the weight room or in another sport.”

Both of the coaches encourage multiple sports for their athletes, but that does not mean they are not trained hard every day at practice. The stamina players must acquire playing multiple sports at a collegiate level is remarkable, and South Alabama has many of these athletes on campus.

see Bigger, page 21

Last season Sophomore Augustine Rubit had an outstanding season for the Jaguar basketball team. Coming into this season he will try to improve, which will be hard to do after finishing the season as the Sun Belt conference freshman of the year. If the Jags do well this season it will center on him. We had a chance to catch up with Rubit to get to know him a little bit better.

How do you feel about last season, and how does that affect how you feel this season?

Individually, I feel like I accomplished some things, I found out some things I needed to work on and, as far as the season, it wasn’t a good year, and I want to turn that around this year. And I feel like we have the team to be successful.

What was it like to win an award like Freshman of the Year in the Sun Belt last year?

I never just focused on that. I want to be first team all-conference at the beginning of the year. That’s my goal.

Looking at my numbers, I thought I had a good chance of winning it, but that wasn’t my goal.

What is it like to have six siblings?

It’s fun. I have a big brother I look up to. All my older siblings were tough on me but I’m bigger than all of them now.

What are some things that are different from your hometown of Houston to Mobile?

It’s smaller. And at home there is always something major going on. There are always big events with celebrities.

It’s relaxing here. Everybody is going to be at the same place here, so you don’t have to worry about finding people to hang out.

Being such a big Lebron James fan, how do you deal with him being criticized?

A lot of people criticize him that don’t know anything about basketball.

And they try to compare him to people like Jordan and Kobe, and he isn’t even that type of player. He is a three that is 6’8”, 270 lbs. That’s a post player.

I think they just need to learn a little more about basketball.

How do you see yourself as a person?

I’m just a good guy. A lot of people think I’m stuck up or I’m bad because of my accomplishments, but I’m just a quiet guy. I don’t talk much.

Can you talk about a few of the new guys on the team this year?

COURTESY OF AL.COM

South Alabama Basketball’s Augustine Rubit

Freddie Goldstein, combo guard – he is really quick and really good defensively. Xavier Roberson – very experienced.

I know him from Houston. He is used to playing against the best. Trey Anderson – really good passer and knows the game, and he can finish well in traffic. Mychal Ammons – he is the strongest kid at that age I’ve ever seen, very athletic. And Wendall Wright is another guy that is very athletic.

How do you feel you fit into the USA offense and defense?

As far as offense, I fit in perfectly. We are fast-paced unless we don’t have anything open, and then we can set something up. We focus on defense the most though because defense wins games.

What did you try to work on in the off season?

Number one was defense. I feel like

I didn’t play good defense at all last season. If you came up with a game plan, you would want to come right at me. You can see that on film. But I worked on defense and ball handling.

What do you like to do other than basketball?

[I] just play the game with my teammates, watch movies and hang out with friends.

Do you have a pre-game ritual?

[I] just listen to music and sit back and be thankful for my opportunities and remind myself I have to go out and play hard.

What are your expectations for this season?

I definitely think we can win more games, and I want to make All-Conference, and we want to make the tournament.

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

Big fan on campus JAYSON CURRY Sports Editor It’s hard for some people to understand what sports mean to the big fans. It is more than a game. It is a way of life, and, for some, it is their life. At South Alabama there is a student that is this kind of super fan. His name is Afro Man. Afro Man has always been a sports fan, a trait that comes from his family and their love for sports. His family members did have a favorite sport, that sport being baseball, so of course he played the game and became a fan of it.

“I played baseball in high school,” Afro Man said. “My whole family is just a big sports family. It’s deeply rooted.”

But as many realize, when you live in the south, there is one sport you have to be a fan of, and that is football. Luckily for Afro Man, when he started his career at USA it was the inaugural season for the USA football team, and he was also coming to a school with a rich baseball history.

“It’s always in my head. I’m down here, it’s football. It does take away from other sports, but I respect the other sports,” Afro Man said. “But with football and basketball I can just let go.”

When talking to Afro Man, his enthusiasm and passion for not only sports but USA sports comes across right away. Afro Man was very excited to enroll in USA when he did because it was just before legendary baseball coach Steve Kittrell was going to retire, and the USA football program was

about to start its first season ever.

“My freshman year was the first year of the football team, and I jumped on it,” Afro Man said. “I wanted to be one of those guys who said I was there from the start.”

But what made Afro Man actually start dressing up and doing the crazy things he does at games? There are few fans that go that far for their teams, but this fan is one of them.

“I do crazy stuff all the time. Halloween was the first year I lost a bet, so I had to be saran wrapped for the football game, and it just kept escalating. I could do something else. My first idea was to get a big red afro and red hulk hands but I couldn’t find the hulk hands,” Afro Man said. “I got the ‘fro and I was going through my closet and I found an old ski vest and a tie and aviators.

And then I found the dry erase board, and I thought this is perfect because I can write on it and erase and put whatever I want on it.”

Afro Man has become a staple at every football, baseball, basketball and a number of other events around campus. One thing that is missing for USA sports and Afro Man though is more fan support. With football there is usually a very large crowd, but with other sports like basketball and baseball there is always an almost empty stadium or arena.

“It bothers me because my first year there were still fans and there were still

COURTESY OF JT CRABTREE

Afro Man at a USA football game, sign in hand original outlaws, and last year I felt like the only guy showing up sometimes,” Afro Man said. “I was the only guy to show up for one game. It is disheartening at times.”

Afro Man is now managing the outlaws, a tailgating and USA sports fan group. This year Afro Man and the other outlaws have been attempting to drum up more support for their beloved teams on campus. “We came up with the idea that maybe we could use football as a way to get more people to join for the basketball games,” Afro Man said. “I guess we will find out in November if that worked.”

Looking to the end of some sports seasons like football and the beginning of other sports season like basketball, Afro Man feels optimistic. “I think we will win out the rest of the year in football and basketball will be tough to open the season, but it will calm down when we get to conference play,” Afro Man said.

So if you decide to attend any sporting events this year at USA, look or listen for Afro Man. He will surely be there cheering on his Jags and hopefully with a group of other crazed fans screaming his catch phrase, “Read the Sign!”

USA Cross Country prepares for conference JAKE WASDIN Sports Reporter

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

USA’s Daniel Cooper

Already into the season, the Jaguar cross country team is steadily improving and finding their stride. The Jaguars are young and finding the will.

“The team is very, very young so we are steadily improving,” USA cross country Coach Mike Barbee said.

On the women’s side, sophomore Tori Lawson leads the way for the Jaguars.

Lawson has three consecutive meets in which she has led all Lady Jag runners.

Lawson has also been named the women’s Sun Belt Conference Runner of the Week this season.

Freshman Crystal Wachob has also run well for the Jags this season. Wachob finished fifth in the Troy invitational and finished second, just behind her teammate Lawson, at the Azalea City Classic.

On the men’s side, Justin Housely and Daniel Cooper are leading the way. Just

behind them are Ronny Wilson and Alex Shields.

“There are a lot of guys challenging each other out there every race,” Barbee said.

Alex Shields is the only returning runner from a year ago, and the youth on this team has shown early. Shields, a junior, and Cooper, a senior, are the only upperclassmen on the men’s team. The seven other runners are all true freshmen. Experience plays a key role in any team’s success, and the first three meets have allowed the young group to gain experience that will pay off once the team heads to conference.

“The cross country teams are improving each meet,” head track and field coach Paul Brueske said. “They are training hard and the results are starting to show.”

The Jaguars are also preparing for the Sun Belt Conference Championship. To prepare, South Alabama is finding weaknesses in opponents.

“This week [at Choctaw Open] we will see competition from the Sun Belt Conference,” Barbee said. “We have to find their weaknesses.”

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranks the nation’s cross country and track teams.

The ranking system sets up the country into regions; each region has its number of teams and ranks the nation that way.

There are nine total regions, and USA is slotted in the South region. The teams are ranked one to 15 in their region, and, as of now, the USA men’s and women’s team are not in the rankings. After racing against great competition this past week at the Louisville Classic, Barbee and the Jags know what level they need to be at to be ranked and to compete.

“We hope to break into the top 15 before the season end,” Barbee said.

The Jaguars have only one meet before they head to the Sun Belt Conference Championship.

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

USA Lady Jag Basketball 2011-12 preview HANNAH BLACKBURN Sports Reporter The squeaking of sneakers, the swish of a net, the chirp of a whistle; this could only mean one thing— basketball season is right around the corner, and head coach Rick Pietri alongside assistant coaches Bobby Brasel and Aisha Stewart are sure to have plenty of new tricks up their sleeves for this upcoming season.

Last season the Lady Jags finished 17-13 including going 8-8 in conference and being 11-3 at the Mitchell Center. The Jags will look to improve on their record this season and hopefully continue the great play at home.

“I felt good about last year,” head coach Rick Pietri said. “We had a very good showing in our non-conference portion of the season.”

The Lady Jags will start off the season with tough out of conference games, and that can hopefully prepare them for a great run in conference. The Jags’ first home game will be against Central Florida on Nov. 12.

“Our biggest non-conference game this year will be our first home game,” Pietri said.

This year, the Lady Jags will have four seniors who will all play a role in leadership.

Sarda Peterson, from Ft. Meyers, Fla., playing the two- guard position, is coming back from having a great season last year. Peterson recorded 28 starts out of 30 games.

She had 10.8 points per game, ranking her 23rd in the conference, and second overall for the club. Peterson also had 56 assists

COURTESY OF AL.COM

South Alabama’s Mitchell Center and 20 steals, and also shot 75 percent from the free-throw line. Peterson was also one of the top three shooters from behind the arc making 55 out of 152 attempted.

With Peterson comes Lauren Walker, a guard from Cabot, Ark. Last year she recorded her best numbers with the Jags. She played in 29 out of 30 games, missing only one due to injury, but she has come back healthy and will surely be putting up more big numbers. She averaged 5.5 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. Walker was also third in the conference in three-point shooting by knocking down 42.7 percent of her

shots behind the arc. She shot 42.5 percent from the field, recorded double figures in six games and led the team in scoring twice.

Next is Cylenthia Kennon from Chalkville, Ala. Last year the forward played in 27 games, and started in 10 of those. She missed three games due to a shoulder injury. Kennon averaged 1.9 points and grabbed 3.3 rebounds per game.

Be sure to keep a watchful eye on the ball though, because she will take it from you before you realize it. Last year, she was tied for second on the team in steals having 22.

Kennon also crashed the boards quite well,

leading the Lady Jags three times last year in rebounds, and had 13 games with four or more. Kennon is a smart player both on and off the court. As of last year she was named to the Sun Belt Conference Academic Honor Roll.

Taylor Ammons, the fourth and final senior from Vicksburg Miss., will be back in the forward position. Last year after playing a major role off the bench, she was moved into the starting lineup and continued as a starter for 20 games. She averaged 7.3 points and 7.7 boards, and was ranked sixth in the conference in rebounding.

“My goal is to average a double-double,” Ammons said.

She also recorded double figures in scoring seven times, having made 45 percent from the field.

“There are a lot of new faces on the team, so we all have to learn how to gel together.

Last year we just couldn’t put two and two together,” Ammons said.

The rest of the team will also help play a big role in the team’s success. This includes Amanda Toliver, Rachel Cumbo, Ronneka Robertson, Breanna Hall, Camille Reynolds, Veronica Cherizol, Kierra Johnson, Mary Nixon, Jennifer Johnson and Mansa El. “We were really up and down last year, but we leveled out to .500 in the conference,” El said. “There are a lot of new people on the team, so we all need to learn how to work together and everyone needs to contribute. I think that we will do well this season.”

The Lady Jags season is only a month away, and it will hopefully be a great one.

South Alabama Men’s 2011-12 basketball TIM GOULD Sports Reporter

South Alabama basketball Head Coach Ronnie Arrow

There will be plenty of new and unfamiliar faces on the floor for the Jaguar Men’s Basketball team this season. After the departure of Tim Williams and Gary Redus due to graduation, as well as two players transferring, head coach Ronnie Arrow and his staff have brought in eight new players to make up for the disappointing 12-win 2010-11 campaign.

One face that hasn’t changed on the roster is now-sophomore Augustine Rubit.

Rubit averaged just over 13 points per game a season ago, tallying 14 double-doubles, which was second in the country among freshman. For his efforts, Rubit was selected as the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of The Year, as well as Third Team All-Sun COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM Belt, along with making it on to two Freshman All-American teams.

“Augustine has had to work even harder going into this season because of the attention he will bring from opposing defenses,” Arrow said.

Along with Rubit, the Jags are bringing back four other post players. Players like juniors Javier Carter and DeAndre Hersey, along with sophomore Andre Gowins, and senior Antione Lundy, who missed all but seven games last year due to a knee injury.

Most of the newcomers to the program are at the guard position, a lot of which are junior college transfers but have experience at the Division I level.

“We’ve brought in some very good guards that have college experience, but they will have to learn the physicalness and the quickness of the game at this level.” Arrow added.

Trey Anderson (Neosho County CC), Wendell Wright (Paris Junior College), Xavier Roberson (Santa Ana CC) and Freddie Goldstein (Motlow State CC) are juniors see Men, page 21

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

USA Soccer headed in the right direction The Lady Jags Have Started the 2011 Season Better Than Any Season In History JAYSON CURRY Sports Editor After three consecutive losing seasons, including a 5-14-1 record last year, Head Coach Scott Varga and the Lady Jags soccer team have turned things around. This season they have started off with a 9-2-2 record, the best starting record in the history of the program.

“From day one the team has come in and worked very hard starting in preseason,”Varga said. “We have a good mentality. We set some goals that we have pretty much accomplished to this date.

Things are going well so far.”

The Lady Jags have much to be proud of with this season and their success has not come from one thing or one person.

Head coach Mike Varga has done another great job coaching his team and the players have responded exceptionally well.

Also the team has grown with experience and talent from last season’s team.

“We had 18 freshmen last year. You can’t really do anything about experience other than just get them out there and play games,” Varga said. “Our freshman played a lot of games and they have gelled with our upperclassmen this year. The experience of playing last year has paid off. They know what to expect now. They knew what to expect coming in to preseason and they have done very well.”

After losing their first game of the 2011 season the team has really gained some momentum heading into conference play.

The Jags opened the season with a 0-4 loss to Louisiana Tech but has rebounded with a 9 game winning streak and are now 9-22 after two tough out of town conference games. The Lady Jags have now managed to outscore their opponents 28-13.

“Winning is contagious. We know we can win games. Sometimes we have played well in games and other times we haven’t played well and we have had to grind them out,” Varga said. “But we have found a way

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

USA’s Brandi Smith dribbles the ball.

to win this year. We know we can win and I think that is something we carry with us. “ Varga said he hasn’t changed much from any previous season to this season.

One major change on this year’s team however is that instead of electing captains, generally seniors, Varga has created a team leadership counsel. “We have representation from all the classes,” Varga said. “We talk about any problems we might have from missing class to how we are feeling physically and it seems to be working this year.

And our seniors have done a great job being leaders even though they aren’t captains. They have done a great job leading by example. We have representation from all the classes.”

Other than young players gaining experience, the team has gotten better in all facets of their game. When you look at the statistics of scoring and you only allow six goals in 10 games, your defense is stopping your opponents offense and you

goalie is doing a great job as well.

“Our team defense is a lot better. We work hard. We’re organized, we know where we are supposed to be to make up for another person’s mistake,” Varga said.

“The key to this year is when there is a mistake we work hard to fix it. Our back line has been great when they have gotten to our back line and Mel has come up with some big saves she needed to. “ Also, with most sports teams your team has to be great to win, but you also have to have leaders that can take over when they need to. These leaders are almost always veterans on the team and have the respect of all their coaches and teammates as well as their opponents. The Jags have a few of these players including senior forward Brandi Smith. Smith has scored a total of 24 goals before this season and has been a constant presence for the Jags since arriving on campus. This season has been no different. “Last Sunday as soon as we gave up the goal to Monroe, Brandi answered

right away and she took on a few defenders and she created the penalty that Clarissa scored on,”Varga said.

With the way the Lady Jags schedule has played out this far might make some think it was an easy schedule and it was made that way purposely. Either way the lady Jags have responded like they needed to and beat almost every opponent put in front of them.

“I’ve never wanted to shy away from tough schedules and the way it sort of worked it was a little bit lighter schedule than we’ve had in the past but we had a game against Alabama that got moved to next year and we had another SEC match that got cancelled,”Varga said. “So the schedule ended up not as difficult but I think that it has built confidence heading into conference this year.”

The Jags have a tough road ahead and will play more conference games in the coming weeks. Hopefully the momentum will continue for the rest of the season.

South Alabama’s Greg Gregory from page 16 Bennett, it’s hard to find guys like that who almost true fullbacks are. And with Paul he plays harder than anyone I’ve been around in 30 years. He plays as close to all out on every play that I have ever been around,” Gregory said.

During the week before a game there is a lot of preparation. The coaches have to get the players ready, and they have to get themselves ready. With Gregory, he meets with his assistant coaches and graduate assistants, and sometimes head coach Joey

Jones to put together an offensive game plan. After all the preparing is over, it’s game time, and Gregory calls all the shots.

“When we go into a game I call the plays.

What coach Jones does is sit in periodically and make suggestions and we look at them.

Sometimes we put them in and sometimes we don’t,” Gregory said. “That is one thing I love about working with coach Jones: [it] is that he has a lot of faith in me. On game day, that is my job, and it’s pretty much down on paper what we are going to do.”

And as an offense, Gregory believes his players and his coaches never panic. “Our

offense believes the game is never over, and we will find a way to win,” Gregory said.

That couldn’t be more obvious after last year’s come-from-behind win against UC Davis and this season’s game against Kent State where the Jags were down 33 and scored 25 unanswered points at the end of the game. Also, possibly the most impressive comeback win came against UT San Antonio this weekend where the Jags won in double overtime.

“On offense we don’t panic. We get behind, and we start slow but we don’t panic.

I think coaches sometimes don’t want to

give the opponent credit, but they have great coaches and players too,” Gregory said. “And that’s one thing when you get in games that are close that you can just keep grinding away. We are ultimately going to find an answer as a coaching staff, and when we do, the players can execute it.

I think we are right where we need to be. In our opinion, we should have won the last two footballs games but we didn’t.

We had opportunities so we know abilitywise we have enough to win those games.

But I think we have learned we are good enough.”

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

No one wants to be “That Guy” Some Sports Fans Take Their Fanhood Way Too Far Giving All Fans A Bad Name And A Bad Reputaion J.T. CRABTREE Sports Reporter I’m known by a few names around campus. JT, John, Bromandude, but most people have heard of me as Afro Man. Along with Toga Man and Jag Man, we are South Alabama’s “super fans.” We live and breathe South Alabama sports, mainly football, basketball and baseball.

While what we sometimes do or say may be dumb and/or funny, we always enjoy the time spent at these events, win or lose.

But as “super fans,” our job is to get in the other teams head. May it be making fun of their name, their hair and their mascot.

We make it a goal each week to give our Jags an edge the best way we can, by being distracting.

Now it is one thing to be distracting, provide a little entertainment and support your team. It is a whole other story when you start bashing the other team for no reason, going out of your way to try to demoralize someone is just wrong. You don’t want to be THAT guy; no one does.

We have come across a few “opinionated” fans over the years, but none topped this past week.

Enter The Rowdy Fan. Over the past week, a fan from the University of Texas-San Antonio, known simply as The Rowdy Fan, decided to throw some hate via Twitter at several members of the football team, like CJ Bennett, Bryant Lavender and Jereme Jones, to name a few. Seeing this, Toga Man and I took it upon ourselves to stand up for USA, and some simple smack talk ensued. What

Men cont. from page 19 with two years of eligibility left. Dallas Jones (Lon Morris CC) is a sophomore with three years left.

If there is a new face that could resemble Augustine Rubit from a season ago, freshman Mychal Ammons (Vicksburg, Miss.) could be that. “We are expecting a lot of good things out of Mychal this year,” Arrow stated. “He’s a man-child.”

The new Jaguars will have to learn quickly and will have to be ready for a tough schedule in 2011-12. “This by far is the most demanding schedule I have ever dealt with,” Arrow said.

Demanding might be an understatement with the level of competition the Jags will face in their non-conference portion of their schedule. They will travel to Mississippi State, Florida State and LSU all before Thanksgiving, along with a meeting in Las Vegas against San Diego in December

COURTESY OF GEREMY HANNE .

One UTSA young lady does not apparently know she’s being photographed. What would mom say?

happened next surprised us. The Rowdy Fan quickly turned from supportive to downright vulgar. For five whole days, this guy persisted on having the last word, however asinine they may have been.

Most of his comments were unwarranted and immature and not appropriate for this article (Search @AfroMan_USA for the whole conversation).

It quickly became obvious this guy just wanted attention, and after having some before traveling to Middle Tennessee right before the new year to open conference play.

Sandwiched in between those games are Conference USA’s UAB and Southern Miss.

Both of which will be at the friendly confines of the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars will also have home games against Alabama A&M, Alcorn State and Georgia Southern in December.

“I think it will help us get where we want to be quicker, rather than playing a softer schedule,” he added.

The new as well as returning Jags will have to mesh together quickly to take on this daunting but exciting schedule this season. One thing will be for sure: they will know how to play in a hostile environment on the road once the Sun Belt Conference season comes around.

The Jaguar men will play two exhibitions against Spring Hill and Dillard before opening their season for real in Starkville, Miss. against Mississippi State on Saturday, Nov. 12.

fun with him, such as asking “Do you wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy?” the solution to this fan was simple. Ignore him.

The Rowdy Fan is an example of how super fans should not act. His behavior gives the rest of us fans a bad reputation.

We fans at South Alabama pride ourselves on not going too far with what we do in the stands. The Rowdy Fan went as far as asking to fight me if I were coming

to San Antonio. Really? Are we in second grade, and I took your lunch money? He just made himself look like an ass. You are in college and you should act like it, have a little respect for your opponent. But going out of your way to harass someone like The Rowdy Fan did is clearly not the way to go. It’s one thing to support your own team. It’s another to support a team just to hate on its opponent every week. Don’t be THAT guy.

Bigger, faster, stronger from page 17

Strength and conditioning coach Justin Schwind is responsible for training the athletes to their full potential on the track, using sprint mechanic and technical work, as well as relay hand-offs and block starts, which improves reaction time and overall quickness.

But it is just as important not to overtrain the players, and coach Brueske stresses this. “The vast majority of the work these guys do is with the strength and conditioning staff. We coordinate our efforts with coach Schwind to make sure the guys are not over-training. That is very important.”

The Jaguars’ head football coach understands firsthand the situation of playing multiple sports in college. He starred on the track team at the University of Alabama as well as the football team,

only leaving track to focus more on football during his sophomore year under the direction of legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

Athletes are encouraged by their coaches at USA to play the sports that interest them and to be the very best in whichever sports they play.

There is no doubt, then, that coaches will train these players to compete at a very high level.

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VOL. 49, NO. X / XXX, 2011

Jags not afraid of big stage The Bright Lights And Big Crowds Fuel The Jaguars Play MATT WEAVER Senior Reporter SAN ANTONIO - A major part of college athletics is taking one’s brand to the most historic venues in sports. For South Alabama’s young football program, the current season has featured several historic arenas across different regions of the country.

Kent Dix, Carter-Finley, the Texas Alamodome and on Oct. 21 the Georgia Dome will host South Alabama football.

This is in addition to home games at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, a historic site in its own right – the home to some of the most exciting high school football rivalries as well as the Under Armour Senior Bowl, college football’s most elite, all-star game.

It would be easy to get intimidated by the bright lights and bigger cities of major college football, but South Alabama isn’t buying into it.

“It’s not something that I really think about,” freshman running back Demetre Baker said. “I actually enjoy playing at those stadiums. I’m not intimidated by their fans or the noise because I use it as motivation to play harder. It’s those environments that make me want to be a football player.”

Baker added that it’s not too different from playing at home since Ladd Stadium routinely draws over 20,000.

“It’s a loud 20,000,” he added.

This comes nearly three weeks after South Alabama’s Division I-FBS debut against North Carolina State at CarterFinley Stadium where cornerback Damond Smith, a defensive captain was quoted as saying he “wasn’t scared” of FBS football programs, and that he sometimes needed to reel in his younger teammates from being too impressed with their first Atlantic Coast Conference stadium.

“We ain’t here on vacation – we’re here

COURTESY OF GEREMY HANNE .

The Jaguar Football Team On The Bench During Saturday’s Game

to work,” Smith shouted to his teammates upon entering Carter-Finley on Sep. 24.

For the coaches and staff, the 2011 season has been special for other reasons. On Saturday night against Texas San Antonio, head coach Joey Jones found himself standing across the field from and matching wits with Larry Coker, the 2001 National Championship winning head coach from Miami. Coker was hired in 2009 to helm the first-year Roadrunners and recruited what most observers have noted is a FBS-caliber team.

“I have all the respect in the world for Coach Coker, first of all as a man and secondly as a coach,” Jones said. “He’s a great coach, and it’s an honor to take the field on the opposite side against him. His team was well-coached and played hard-nosed football, and I expected nothing else.”

The Jags run practice drills on the field in preparation for Saturday’s game against UTSA.

Jones will also reacquaint himself with Georgia State head coach Bill Curry, formerly of the University of Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia Tech and one of the most revered coaches in the southeastern college football. South Alabama beat Georgia State at home, 39-34 on Oct. 30 last season and will travel to the Georgia Dome on Oct. 22 for the return trip and rematch.

Jones spoke of the same respect for Curry last fall as he has for Coker, representative of the humility Jones has for his chair and the game of football.

Much like their head coach, South Alabama has a world of respect for the legendary coaches and stadiums of college football but they will not be intimidated by them.

COURTESY OF GEREMY HANNE

UnoDosTrey123 Trey Anderson- I guess Jesus will be the first person with the iPhone5. RIP Steve Jobs. #legend #genius DrewPac72 Drew Dearman-I feel like Im writing down just nonsense on this paper. It’s like Zebra stripe gum; Looks good until actually chew on it for a bit UnoDosTrey123 Trey Anderso-Just walked past a girl with a pikachu backback...am I in college?

ShelbyOwen22 Shelby Owen- ready for Denver and North Texas this week. i just know were going to go in and surprise the whole Sun Belt Conference! #dontunderestimate Bj_Scott_1 Bj Scott- Just remember they all feel sorry for the man wit the hurt ankle til they see the man wit no feet lol #jussayin maleki33 Maleki Harris- If u know its tha 20 items or less line why u gone walk up with a buggy full of stuff? #commonsense J11Jones Jereme L. Jones -So im the only one that type words in google to make sure they spelled correctly...

CJBennett15 cj bennett- Flacco got the meanest unibrow in the game jgeezy54 jon griffin -@CJBennett15 most people fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing or crickets singing, but you my friend fall asleep to the food network!

Olivia_Mohler12 Olivia Mohler -I seriously can not believe I broke ANOTHER phone. This can’t be real life! Ahhhh DrewPac72 Drew Dearman -I hope this workout will stimulate my mind so I can finish my paper and make it to wing night.

GetWrightwitit Wendell Wright -I could really go for some roscoes, in & out and chipotle,and some of moms and grandmas cooking ..I ain’t starving but I’m not eating good CJBennett15 cj bennett -Watching @Brandiii_19 kill these dance moves on the wii right now.... she lucky I ain’t on the sticks though King_Carter32 J.D.C- The mindset of a winner, when y’all thinkin what’s fa breakfast I’m heatin up my dinner!

SouthAlabamaSoc South Alabama Soccer- Can we rent a boat in Denton?

Field is under water so we are headed home without playing.

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VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

Check out our new website. thevanguardonline. com

VOL. 49, NO. 11 / OCT. 10 2011

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