July 11, 2016

JULY 11, 2016

VOL. 58 #1

A NATION MOURNS

NEWS Campus Safety

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LIFE Diversity on Campus 6

OPINION Gun Control

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JULY 11, 2016

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NEWS at a glance TRUMP ASSASINATION FAILS A 19-year-old British man named Michael Steven Sandford attempted to kill Donald Trump at a rally in Las Vegas by grabbing a police officer’s gun, with the intent to shoot Trump, according to NBC News.

LED-ZEPPELIN FOUND NOT GUILTY A jury ruled Led-Zeppelin did not plagiarize Stairway To Heaven. The copyright infringement lawsuit alleged the band copied the opening riff from the Spirit song Taurus, according to the Washington Post.

30 PEOPLE INJURED BY HOT COALS Over 30 people were injured while trying to walk on hot coals at a Tony Robbins event, according to Yahoo News.

UNITED KINGDOM LEAVES UNION In a historic referendum, the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union by a margin of 52% to 48%, according to CNN.

LGBT Communities Devastated After Mass Shooting in Orlando

By Meg McDowell Copy Editor

F

orty-nine pronounced dead and 53 injured after a lone gunman committed a mass shooting in the LGBTQ+ bar, The Pulse, in Orlando, Florida on June 13, 2016, according to CNN. The massacre is being referred to as the “deadliest mass shooting in the United States” (the previous, according to the Washington Post, being the 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech with 32 dead) and “the nation’s worst terror attack since 9/11” according to CNN News.

LGBTQ+ activists, entertainers, politicians, and local communities around the country and the world have been voicing their thoughts and mourning this tragedy, including the University of South Alabama’s own LGBTQ+ community.

Despite the distance, many of the members of South’s Spectrum, the University’s club for campus and community outreach, education, and activism, were greatly distraught and impacted by the hate crime against their community.

Oliver Karcher, a South student and transgender member of Spectrum, said that he “felt angry” when he heard about the massacre.

“I was very frustrated and also terrified for my brothers and sisters of the LGBT community,” said Karcher, “A little over a year ago we achieved marriage equality in the states, but with the antitransgender bathroom laws in North Carolina and the Orlando

Members and supporters of the LGBT community attend a candlelight vigil outside the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 2016.

(Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo-EPA)

shooting, it seems that all the progress we made was for nothing.”

Karcher urges those hoping for change to call and write your senators and to others in the LGBTQ+ stay safe in public places, “travel in groups, use the renowned buddy system.”

Jimmy Padron Martin, another member of South’s Spectrum group said, “I live in Orlando when I’m not in school and Pulse is just down the street from my house so it hit very close to home for me, it hurts even more on another front because I am someone who is also of Latino background, just as many of the victims of the Pulse shooting were. It just makes me feel that much more unsafe.”

Many members of the LGBTQ+ and people of color communities across the United States have come forward expressing similar fears to Martin’s, sharing on You-

Tube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media alike with the hashtag #WeAreOrlando, #PrayForOrlando, and more.

Hannah Oswalt of Spectrum says that despite these fear amassing among her peers, she still has one safe place.

“As a queer individual the only place that I do feel safe is at my school,” she told us.

“South Alabama has continually shown that they are accepting of the LGBTQ+ community and has made faculty aware of the fact that under title 9 we are protected on campus against hate crimes,” she said, “And since the shooting, I’m proud to say our community, that despite our differences, we have all stood in solidarity.

FBI RECCOMENDS NO CHARGE AGAINST CLINTON The FBI reccomended no charges to be made against Hillary Clinton after an investigation into private email servers she used while she was secretary of state, according to Fox 10

WEST VIRGINIA FLOODS Twenty-three people dead and many made homeless after West Virginia experienced the worst flooding in a century after up to 10 inches of rain fell in some parts of the state, according to CNN.

Thousands gather at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts to pay thier respects for those lost in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando on June 13, 2016. (Photo by Samuel Corum-Anadolu Agency/ Getty Images)

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JULY 11, 2016

Editorial Editor in Chief Managing Editor Copy Editor Opinion Editor Life Editor Staff Reporters

Jaccob Hearn

Alana Whitaker Meg McDowell Joel Goode Anna VanDerwood Albert Terry

Staff Photographer

Distribution

Distribution Alan Smith

Advertising

Advertising Spencer Schuremen Graphic Designer Alex Jackson

Management Advising J. Sellers J. 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.

Send letters and guest columns to: The Vanguard University of South Alabama Alpha Hall South Room 336 Mobile, Ala., 36688.

Or thevanguardeditor@gmail.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. 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. All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight. The Vanguard has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifications. To report a mistake, e-mail thevanguardeditor@gmail.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. Freelance writers will receive payment at the discretion of the section editor and will be notified.

To request additional issues at a stand near you, email: vanguarddistribution@gmail.com

Nick Grondin | Staff Meteorologist

USAPD blotter

If you SEE something 251-460-6312 SAY something!

06/25/2016 Ronald McDonald House Abandoned Vehicel An Apparently abandoned vehicle was towed from the Ronald McDonald House parking lot.

06/16/2016 Mitchell College of Business Duty Upon Striking an Unoccupied Vehicle Victim reported damage to her vehicle white it was parked in the MCOB parking lot.

06/24/2016 The Grove Amphetamine-Possess A male was arrested in the Grove Parking Lot for Unlawful Possesion of a Controlled Substance.

06/13/2016 USA Childrens & Women’s Hospital Harassing Communications A parent of a patient at USACWH is being harassed by known acquantance.

06/20/2016 Rec Center Theft of Property Fouth Degree, $499 or less Unknown person(s) unlawfully removed the victim’s property withoout having permission to do so.

06/08/2016 Stokes Hall Damaging Property of Others There was a domestic incident between two individuals at Stokes Hall that resulted in the destruction of an iPhone 6+.

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JULY 11, 2016

House holds first Bently MPD Shooting Near Campus impeachment meeting Raise Questions About Safety

By Jaccob Hearn Editor-In-Chief

By Albert L. Terry, III Reporter

A

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said there are no grounds for impeachment. (Photo be Mickey WelshThe Mongomery Adveriser/Associated Press)

T

he House Judiciary Committee held its first meeting Wednesday, June 15, 2016 on the impeachment petition against Gov. Robert Bentley.

The meeting was to address the procedures and rules by which the committee will proceed, according to a press release from the Sate Auditor.

State Auditor Jim Zeigler, a leading critic of Bentley, said the impeachment process is “way too slow.� “You’ve heard of a ‘slow boat to China?’ Well, this impeachment process is a ‘slow boat on the Alabama River,’� said Zeigler.

The committee adopted rules of procedure, agreed to conduct a search for an attorney called a “special counsel,� and agreed to set up subcommittees.

But it did not set a second meeting date and will not do so until all these preliminary tasks are completed and reported back, according to the press release. “The committee set up an awkward bureaucracy that will be a long, hard road to travel,�

Zeigler said. “The citizens of Alabama are weary of the Bentley problems. They want the air cleared on the Bentley administration soon.� “The impeachment investigation will not report its results to the full House until February, 2017, when the Regular Session starts.� Zeigler said then, “The people of Alabama do not want to wait until 2017 to clear the clouds over the governor’s office. They want something done now, or at least in the next few months.� “The Mike Hubbard investigation and legal proceedings

took three years. If the Bentley investigation takes that long, his term could be over. This is not acceptable. Justice delayed is justice denied,� Zeigler said.

The committee’s agenda said members discussed: rules and procedures; subpoena process and enforcement; special counsel; and notice of letter to investigating agencies. The committee, which will have subpoena power, will hear the allegations and conduct its own investigation to determine whether it will make a recommendation to the full House to impeach Bentley.

The committee is chaired

by Rep. Mike Jones, R Andalusia.

Other members are Republicans Jim Hill, Mike Ball, Paul Beckman, Dickie Drake, Allen Farley, David Faulkner, Matt Fridy, Mike Holmes and Phillip Pettus and Democrats Thad McClammy, Marcel Black, Merika Coleman Evans, Chris England and Juandalynn Givan.

Hearings are open to the public.

The hearings come after 23 House members signed articles of impeachment against Bentley, a two –term Republican governor.

He has been under fire after he admitted inappropriate sexual remarks to his former political advisor Rebekah Caldwell Mason.

The petition alleges Bentley misused his office in conducting and covering up the relationship with Mason, a charge the governor has repeatedly denied.

Both Bentley and Mason are the subjects of ethics commission and criminal investigations.

Mobile police officer fatally shot 19-year-old Michael Moore following a traffic stop in Mobile at approximately 6:30 p.m. on June 13, 2016, according to Mobile police.

Moore was carried to University of South Alabama Medical Center and pronounced dead on arrival.

The Moore shooting has attracted attention not only because of the rare case of lethal force from an officer, in what many perceive to be a somewhat benevolent police department, but also because of the wide array of conflicting details surrounding the shooting.

The incident occurred outside of University of South Alabama’s jurisdiction, but for some students the shooting draws parallels to the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Gil Collar in 2012.

Students had some thoughts on how the USAPD would react to a similar situation and whether or not it would be

handled properly, particularly given Collar’s death. “I definitely do not think it will be handled properly.�

Student Sydnee Rocker said. “In the case of Gil Collar it was not. ‌ I’ve heard far too many negative stories involving USAPD and students. In my opinion it takes one of those incidents combined with an unprepared, trigger happy cop, and there you have it. Another Michael Moore, Gil situation.â€?

Concerns with the USAPD have also brought up questions of general campus safety.

According to a study from Business Insider Magazine crimes reported on USA’s campus from 2008 to 2011 have ranked USA as the 8th most dangerous college campus in the United States as of 2012.

Students also had thoughts on campus safety in and whether or not safety has improved since the Business Insider report in 2012. “There have been multiple cases of rape in the parking lots at South. If university police fail See Campus Safety pg. 5

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JULY 11, 2016

Campus Safety Continued from Page 4

to protect students from rape on their own campus, yet are apparently granted immunity in the unnecessary killing of others, I feel that their presence is more of a threat than an assistance.”

Thomas Lewis, a biomedical sciences major, said, “Perhaps if campus police understood that the population of a university campus is not equitable in criminality to the general population, they would feel more at ease to serve with a mentality of protecting students rather than fearing them.”

“I think things are better [than 2012],” Rocker said. “However they could do better. Safety phones on campus, bicycle and walking patrols day and night, alarms for the dorms. I think USA has a long ways to go before I say definitively it has improved.”

South could not comment on the incident since it did not occur on campus property.

Violent crime incidents per year: 14 Property crime incidents per year: 238 University of South Alabama reported one killing and two forcible rapes in 2011, among other violent crimes.

We averaged FBI crime data per capita from 2008 to 2011 for schools with enrollment over 10,000. Schools were ranked based on a combination of the violent crime rank and property crime rank (weighted 4:1). Violent crimes include murder/ nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Property crimes include burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Business Insider’s info and more can be found at their website.

USA REC Center Offers Fun for Children while Parents Workout

By Jalen Jean Contributing Writier

The University of South Alabama’s Recreation Center offers a service for busy parents looking to stay in shape: the Kids’ Play Zone.

The program started about five years ago when the new USA Recreation Center opened on campus. The program is for dependents who have a membership at the recreation center.

Though there is a limitation of five children at a time who can be in the Play Zone, first-come-first-serve, participants are only allowed up to 2 hours in the Play Zone. This allows for more parents and children to take advantage of the program while still allowing for a decent amount of time to workout.

The Kids Play Zone is available every day of the week, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. as well as 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday from 8 a.m.

Children at play in at the Kid’s Play Zone at the USA Rec Center. (Photo courtesy of southalabama.edu)

to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. In the Play Zone, children are able to watch movies, play games, color, draw, and do homework. But, if a child should get bored with these activities, during dependent hours patrons who want to roam around the recreation center are allowed to Fridays from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 1p.m. to 9 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday.

There are of course levels of access for each dependent age group allowed in the recreation center. These are meant to be preventative measures to keep children from disturbing members during their workout or from getting injured.

To enter the Play Zone, children must be between the ages of 3 and 10-years-old and be potty trained in. From ages 3 to 15-years-old, dependents are permitted to participate in

several activities in the recreation center with direct supervision.

This means a guardian must be in the same room as the child and no further than 20 feet away.

Dependents ages 16-years-old and older are permitted to all areas of the recreation center without direct supervision from parent or guardian.

Some of the employees at USA Recreation Center say they enjoy the experience of watching and playing with the youngsters throughout the day.

“It’s fun,” says Terry Willams, Recreation Center employee, “each kid has their own personality and I understand that kids will be kids, so that’s what makes it fun.”

But, not all people share William’s positive experience. There are people oppose having young folks roam around the recreation center at certain times. Justin Rander, Mobile citizen and patron

of the Recreation Center, is not as convinced that it’s appropriate for children to be running free while adults exercise.

“Kids shouldn’t be able to roam around the rec,” Rander says, “because they cause a distraction to my workout.”

And there are others who have a more neutral opinion of the program. Donald Bankhead, a USA student, said, “I don’t mind the kids in the rec, as long as they don’t play around with any equipment, or they aren’t running around while I’m working out.”

Despite some opposition, the program pros seem to far outway the cons and will remain inside the Recreation Center for the time being. Parents looking to partake in exercise with their children, or have their children supervised while they do so, are encouraged to give the Kid’s Play Zone a chance.

LIFE

ANNA VAN DERWOOD LIFE EDITOR akv1323@jagmail.southalabama.edu

University of South Alabama Boast Diversity

By Teddie Taylor Contributing Writer

Diversity spans many categories: gender identity and expression, ethnicity, race, nationality, sexual orientation-identities that everyone can take claim to. And in an age where diversity is at the forefront of every political dialogue, the University of South Alabama is actively working to bring students of every background to its campus.

This university is a microcosm of the melting pot called the United States of America. The trend can be seen on a smaller scale in other colleges and universities across the country, but USA in particular maintains great diversity in multiple areas among its 16,462 students. The campus reflects the personality of Mobile: a quickly growing, diversely populated southern city.

According to National Center for Education Statistics, 11.5 million females and 8.7 million males attended a college

during the fall 2015 semester.

These numbers suggest that 57 percent of all fall enrollment nationwide are female. USA, however, was above this average in 2014, with 61.4 percent of its fall 2014 enrollment comprised of female students. Throughout the years of statistics reported

by USA’s Institutional Research Department, enrollment has been majority female. These numbers are staggering, considering the struggles women have gone through to make a place for themselves in higher education at all.

Further diversifying college campuses, males and females are asked to describe their ethnicities upon admission.

Most forms include categories for white, Hispanic, AfricanAmerican, and Asian-American/ Pacific Islander. In 2014, the University of South Alabama’s student body was 63.92 percent white and 20.78 percent AfricanAmerican. The remaining 15.3 percent of the year’s enrollees described themselves as Asian,

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Hispanic, Native American, Multiracial, Non-Resident Alien, or Pacific Islander.

Of the thousands of students at USA in 2014, 5.7 percent were studying from 76 countries outside of the U.S. The majority of South’s international student body is comprised of students from Saudi Arabia, India, Kuwait, China and Nepal. These students make up 40 percent of the international student body on USA campus. A further 8 percent of the 2014 international enrollment was European and 7 percent called Central America and South America home.

Information from U.S. News & World Report shows that USA is more internationally diverse than the University of Mobile and just less diverse than the University of West Alabama.

Dr. Delwar Hossain, a native of Bangladesh and professor in the Department of Communication, is faculty leader of the study abroad program to his home country. He says the variety of ideas and opinions presented by a diverse society add dimension.

“If you look around in nature, you see different things; so, diversity is the rule of nature,” Hossain said.

“From a psychological standpoint, diversity is critical for proper group functioning,” says Dr. Ryon McDermott, assistant professor and associate director of clinical training in the Department of Professional Studies. “It reduces groupthink and ensures that decisions made by the group reflect a wide variety of perspectives. From a social justice perspective,” he says, “diversity is important to making sure all people have a voice in the conversation, especially those who have been marginalized by larger social systems.”

In a state where schools have been integrated for only a little more than 50 years, the extent of diversity seen in these statistics and in daily events at the University of South Alabama is an indication of a continual successfully diversified community in the South.

Events of the Fall

July 7-21 Freshman Orientation #1-10

July 25 15% of all tuition and fees including housing and meals due

Aug. 10 Balance of tuition and fees including housing and meals due

Aug. 13 Residence Hall Check-in for new students

Aug. 16 Classes begin

OPINION

JOEL GOODE OPINION EDITOR jdg908@jagmail.southalabama.edu

The Virtuous Step for Gun Owners

By Joel Goode Opinion Editor

When it comes to the issue of gun violence, owners, reformists and abolitionists alike must develop a mutual understanding of the problem.

Here at The University of South Alabama, the community has engaged in a debate over whether students and faculty should be allowed to carry concealed firearms on campus.

I understand the position of the group Students for Concealed Carry, which says, according to the group’s website, that guns are meant for personal protection.

Students for Concealed Carry assert that South is denying a civil right by denying registered gun owners the right to possess their own chosen form of self-defense.

All students want safety from gun violence. Proponents of gun regulation want an environment with less guns. “A good guy with a gun” may be better than “a bad guy with a gun,” but a stranger without a gun is preferable to both.

On June 2, 2016, only 10 days before the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, President Barack Obama was featured as a guest on an episode of PBS Newshour. After an extensive interview with host Gwen Ifill, the president took a question from gun shop owner Doug Rhude.

Rhude asked why, given how we hold drunk drivers responsible for their actions without restricting cars from “the rest of us, the good guys”, we continue to limit gun access to “the good guys” without “holding the bad guys accountable?”

President Obama responded to Rhude’s question about gun-control regulations.

“There have been more guns sold since I have been president than just about any time in U.S. history,” Obama replied.

“There are enough guns for every man, woman and child in this country. And at no point have I ever, ever proposed confiscating guns from responsible gun owners. So it’s just not true.”

Gun-control arguments have done little to sway people who believe that regulations are a pretense for abolishment. Ac-

cording to a study conducted by The Washington Post, every time legislation is proposed, firearm sales go up.

Modern gun violence cannot be stamped out, but perhaps it can be greatly diminished. As executive-in-chief, Obama has attempted to pass reform bills to gun-control legislation in response to the numerous mass shootings that have plagued the U.S. since he first entered office.

Every piece of legislation Obama has brought to Congress has been rejected.

According to an article published by the non-profit Connecticut newspaper the CT Mirror, one reform bill Obama attempted to pass through Congress - Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s bill to block people on terrorist watch-lists from legally purchasing weapons - was killed by the Senate on July 20, eight days after the Orlando massacre.

The same day, Sen. Chris Murphy proposed a bill sanctioning an expansion on background checks to the floor. His bill was likewise rejected by the Senate.

According to the White House public records, the most significant reform Obama has successfully enacted is an executive action requiring that gun shows and firearm retailers possess vendor licenses and conduct background checks.

Gun-control reformists have argued that the assault rifle, Pulse shooter, Omar Mahteen purchased legally may not have fallen into his hands had more restrictive regulations been put in place. They cite an incident a few years prior when Mahteen was briefly put on an FBI watchlist for suspected terrorist affiliations, as reported by CBS in an interview with FBI director James Cromey. According to Cromey, suspicions were laid to rest and the intelligence community became “highly confident that this killer was radicalized at least in part through the Internet.”

In other words, there are no direct links found between Mahteen and any official terrorist organization including ISIS, the group he claimed allegiance to during the shooting. According

to an interview conducted with his ex-wife by The Washington Post, Mahteen had a history of domestic violence, but charges were never pressed and this information did not become public until after the massacre. Prior to the shooting, the publically-visible Mahteen was a normal and well-adjusted citizen.

A focus on legislation alone can feel suffocating. In his essay “The Gun-Control We Deserve,” writer Patrick Blanchfield theorizes that the inability of the gun-control debate to move forward masks a deeper repression.

“The vehement singlemindedness of the pro-gun and anti-gun labels when considered alongside the historical record, suggests that they, and debates over guns more broadly, are proxy battles for deeply ingrained tensions over race, class, and rural versus urban ways of life,” says Blanchfield.

Between gun-control proposals boosting firearm sales exponentially and the utter failure of Congress to pass legislation, there is no suggestion that of substantial change in the legal system for the foreseeable future.

On top of the fact that the introduction of restrictive legislation has been linked to an increase in gun sales, well-meaning laws can be appropriated to target vulnerable low-income communities already subject to invasive police practices.

Here at South, we must take clear-eyed view of what, exactly, the members of Students for Concealed Carry envision.

Their goal is nothing less than a world of peace achieved by way of mutually-assured destruction, wherein guns are owned by licensed carriers who serve as a counterbalance to unchecked violence. Our perspective is distilled down to “good guys with guns” and “bad guys with guns” in such a way that can be delineated by a piece of paper.

South is a well-funded public space with a high police presence. If we assume the normalization of on-campus student and faculty gun possession acts as a deterrent against shooters (many of whom are suicidal), then we are blindly opening a door which leads to a more dangerous world. The members of Students for Concealed Carry advocate neither real deterrence nor vigilantism, but rather personal protection.

On some level this makes sense.

As an individual you are betterable to defend yourself with a firearm. However, the normalization of public gun possession has the potential to make gun violence more commonplace.

Students for Concealed Carry will compromise the safety of the University for their own personal protection, and will thereby foster an environment in which they will be more likely to have to pull the trigger.

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JULY 11,2016