VANGUARD
THE
VOL. 53, NO. 1
“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.”
JUNE 3, 2013
INSIDE
Hangout Fest’s fourth year rocks Gulf Coast New SGA
gearing up for summer By STUART SOX editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com
W
► News: New
student living quarters, The Edge, solves parking concerns. See News page 4.
COURTESY OF PATRICK HERRING
By STUART SOX sgsox@att.net
Heading into summer with grades released and the stress of spring semester finally in the past, many college students needed some sort of reward for all of the hours spent toiling over books and notes from finals week. Since 2010, many college students have done just that by descending upon Gulf Shores, Ala. to kick off their summer with the annual Hangout
Music Festival, an eclectic blend of famous and talented musicians from all over the world. Each year the Hangout Music Festival, more commonly known as “Hangout Fest” by many of its attendees, attracts all kinds of fans with bands and artists that can be appreciated by many generations of music lovers. This year’s edition, held from May
16 to 19, was no different with headliners like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stevie Wonder and Kings of Leon performing on stages situated along the ivory-white beaches of Gulf Shores. While the headliners demand attendance from all kinds of people at the event, many of the other lesser-known bands and artists that performed at See Hangout Music Festival Page 5
Undergraduate research gives students a leg up By NOAH LOGAN nlc1101@jagmail.southalabama.edu
► News: Starting
running back dismissed from team. See News, page 4.
►
Life: Farmers’ market experience comes to USA as Market on the Hill. See Life, page 6.
For South Alabama students, gaining experience in a field of work before graduating can be one of the most rewarding aspects from their college experience. Junior Computer Science major Ellis Hicks shows his appreciation for independent research; saying “It gives me a certain element of personal responsibility as I must coordinate with my mentor personally in order to form schedules, requisition the proper items and to clear up any misconceptions. I feel this is fairly similar to common boss-employee relationships and is much different than a classroom setting where there is less of a personal touch. It may be intimidating at first, but once you find the right mentor and project the experience is very enjoyable and rewarding. ” The University Committee on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) gives students the opportunity to be exposed to basic research and scholarly activities that help introduce them to the real
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world before the real world has a chance to knock students off their feet. Fortyfour students are currently enrolled with the UCUR summer funded program; and according to the program director Dr. Anne Boettcher, this number grows almost daily. Alabama Space Grant Consortium, the University of South Alabama Academic Affairs and the University Colleges and Departments provide funding for the program. The UCUR program has been using these funds to support students in a number of
ways that include summer fellowships with South Alabama faculty, as well as overseeing volunteer internships during the school year and serving as a source for information for students interested in undergraduate research. Outside of the opportunities for research on campus, research programs are also offered for the Center for Lung Biology Undergraduate Research Program and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Research Experience for Undergraduates. While UCUR does encourage students to reach out to a faculty See UCUR Page 4
UCUR veteran Sandra Huynh had a very in-the-field experience for her project.
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COURTESY OF SANDRA HUYNH
ith the new senate and executive council sworn in as of April 29, South Alabama’s Student Government Association is looking forward to undertaking new projects in the upcoming semesters. The first SGA senate meeting of the summer semester will take place at 8 p.m. at the Fresh Food Company, otherwise known as the dining hall, on Monday, June 3. At this meeting, the senate will tentatively discuss possible summer senate projects. Each semester, all SGA senators must team up with the senators in their respective colleges to complete a senate project that will benefit the USA community. The senate projects that will begin in the summer semester will also serve as a platform for projects for the fall semester, according to the recently elected SGA President Riley Davis. “I feel like this will give the new senators and their colleges time to really figure out what the school needs from a senate project,” said Davis, who is a criminal justice major and a senior at South Alabama this year. At the June 3 meeting, the senate will also begin nominations for various senate committee chairs and nominate a senate pro tempore for the summer semester. Because the new SGA Vice President Will Pearson is on leave this summer for an internship, the new senate pro tempore will assume the responsibilities of vice president for the summer semester. Another senator will also be selected to assume the responsibilities of the senate pro tempore. At the beginning of the upcoming fall semester, the senate will vote again to decide which senator will serve as senate pro tempore for the fall and spring semesters. SGA President Riley Davis has been part of SGA since her freshman year at South Alabama, and she believes that her vast experience will be vital in helping the new senators learn their responsibilities quickly. “I know it’s hard to take directions from someone who has never See SGA Page 4
In this Issue:
Life, Page 5 Sports, Page 7 Opinion, Page 9 Left of Center, Page 11