The winners of the SGA elections for the 2011-12 academic year were announced Wednesday and, as expected, we have a run-off for SGA president.

Current SGA Vice President Colin Al-Greene is the clear frontrunner with 459 votes. Coming in second is SGA Chief Justice Troy Shephard with 348 votes. Alan Waugh did not make it into the run-offs, trailing Shephard by only 10 votes.

According to The Lowdown (505.2), “The two candidates receiving the highest percentage of the vote will participate in the fun-off elec-tion.” It is on this basis that Waugh is protesting the election results.

Waugh told The Vanguard that he filed the protest with the SGA office on Friday night, so the protest won’t be reviewed until this week.

“When the results came out, I was cordial. But I couldn’t help thinking something wasn’t

right,” Waugh said.During a conversation with some people in

the State Attorney General’s office in Mont-gomery, Waugh said he was told that he should protest such a close margin of 10 votes.

But Waugh said he wasn’t as concerned with the number of votes as he is about the percent-age. “The rules in The Lowdown say percent-age, and that’s what I’m going by.”

Waugh’s protest is based on the election re-sults that were posted on the SGA office door, which showed him and Shephard each with 30 percent of the vote. Thus, according to this printout, there is no basis for eliminating him over Shephard because they had an equal per-centage of the votes.

Waugh acknowledged that a higher number of votes wouldn’t necessarily entail a higher per-centage of votes. In reality, Shephard received a little over 30.39 percent of the votes and Waugh received just under 29.52 percent.

My issue is that they posted 30 percent for both of us,” Waugh said. “They shouldn’t have rounded it off.”

Waugh is also concerned that a number of

students told him that they never received the elections e-mail. “They didn’t have SGA e-mails or Zoomerang surveys blocked, and they voted in Homecoming elections,” Waugh said.

The elections committee can not give an offi-cial response until the protest has been reviewed, but SGA President Kim Proctor told The Van-guard that she didn’t think there were grounds to uphold the protest.

According to The Lowdown, should the Election Rules Committee deny the protest, the decision can be appealed to the SGA Supreme Court. This appeal would be problematic, since Waugh’s opponent, Troy Shephard, is the cur-rent Chief Justice who would hear the case.

The potential source of bias would disqualify Shephard from hearing the case, as well as the Attorney General Cameron Macon, who is Shephard’s fraternity brother. It’s unclear right now who would hear the case.

In the meantime, the two remaining candi-dates now have to work to pick up those votes left for Waugh and hopefully get some more voters involved. “You have three quality candi-

USA’s Japanese Student Association (JSA) has raised $3,270 for relief efforts in Ichihara, Japan, since the 9.0-magni-tude earthquake rattled the city March 11.

Just one day after another earthquake, JSA set up a donation table and infor-mational boards about Ichihara at the Spring Festival in the Student Center April 8. Students were able to donate cash, purchase a wrist band or buy a col-orful T-shirt with “love” written in Japa-nese on the front.

The Mobile Ichihara Sister Cities As-

See full SGA elections results on p. 5.

IPolice Blotter p. 2 Happenings p. 2 Campus Pulse p.6 Distractions p.18 JagLife p.19

insideOpinion | page 6

Etc. | page 8

Facebook-DepressedDoctors have begun to notice a trend in depression linked to Facebook.

Shenanigans at O’Daly’sGreat specials, great bartenders and a great night on Dauphin Street.

Sports | page Softball Going Strong

Despite a recent four-game los-ing slide, the players are com-ing back. Winning is reality.

IRS Student Tax CreditYou might be able to get money from the IRS just because you are a student.

Arts & Entertainment | page 12

University of South Alabama’s student newspaper

Serving USA students and

the University community since

1963

www.usavanguard.com

VanguardVanguardVanguardThe

April 11, 2011 |VOLUME 48, NUMBER 28

To stay up to date with campus news, friend The Vanguard on Facebook and follow USAVanguard on Twitter.

By Carey CoxSENIOR REPORTER

Jump to Success

see FUNDRAISER | 4

Colin McGee | Photo EditorJunior Lindsay Schwartz, from Watertown, Wisconsin, sets her personal best and nabs a first place finish on the high jump Saturday with a height of 1.68 meters (5’06”). Lindsay set another personal best and won another first place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.52 seconds.

Japanese students raise more than $3k

By Alex WhalenMANAGING EDITOR

Presidential election heads into runoff

see ELECTIONS | 4

Former candidate Alan Waugh appeals, demands recount after failing to make runoff.

2 NEWS VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

CORRECTIONIn last week’s Our View, The Vanguard

cited former SGA presidential candidate Alan Waugh as having been

disqualified from last year’s senate race. He was actually disqualified

from senate elections the year before last. The Vanguard apologizes for this

error.

happeningsThe BP Oil Spill, One Year LaterWhat: A year after the BP Oil Spill, a panel of expert researchers will discuss what we know about oil spill recovery that we didn’t know a year ago, what we have yet to discover and what it means for the Alabama coastline.Where: Battlehouse Hotel, Moon-light Room AWhen: April 13 at 10 a.m.How much: FreeFor more info: Contact Ben Brown, Communications Director, Coastal Recovery Commission of Alabama at (828) 508-5002.

Renowned Astrophysicist to Speak at USAWhat: Renowned theoretical astro-physicist Michael S. Turner will pres-ent “Cosmic Acceleration and Dark Energy” and “How Many Universes.” Where: Instructional Laboratory Building room 250When: April 14 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectivelyHow much: FreeFor more info: Contact the Depart-ment of Physics at (251) 460-6224.

VanguardThe

University of South Alabama’s Student Voice

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: Editor-in-Chief, editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com or The Vanguard, University of South Alabama, P.O. Drawer U-1057, Mobile, Ala. 36688. 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, Managing Editor, Associate Editor, Copy Editor, 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 a member of Collegiate Presswire and U-Wire, which syndicates to a national audience.

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.

Website:http://www.usavanguard.com

Mailing AddressThe Vanguard

University of South AlabamaP.O. Drawer U-1057 Mobile, Ala. 36688

Phone Number(251) 460-6442

Article XIV, Section 8 of The Lowdown: The editors of the student publications shall be free from any type of censorship and shall be responsible for the form, content and staff of the publication.

SPLC Statement: The Vanguard recognizes and affirms the editorial independence and press freedom of all student-edit-ed campus media. Student editors have the authority to make all content decisions and consequently bear the responsibility for the decisions that they make.

EDITORIAL STAFFEditor-in-Chief: Daniela WernerManaging Editor: Alex Whalen

Associate Editor: Cameron AdkinsAssociate Editor: Genny Roman

Senior Reporter: Carey CoxOpinion Editor: Cassie Fambro

Etc. Editor: Brett WilliamsSports Editor: Matt WeaverPhoto Editor: Colin McGeeWebmaster: Nick Griffith

DISTRIBUTIONDistribution Manager: Johnny Davis

ADVERTISING STAFFAdvertising Manager: Wesley Jackson

Advertising Representative: Mohammad Ammar Al-Zarrad

Graphic Designer: Brittany Hawkins

MANAGEMENTAdviser: Jim Aucoin

Accounting: Kathy Brannan

3/31- Burglary, 3rd DegreeA Dell laptop was reported stolen from the Engineering Classroom Building. The item was valued at $1,000.

4/1- Criminal Mischief, 3rd DegreeTwo doors were vandalized by un-known persons at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house. The damages were estimated at $300.

4/1- Possession of Alcohol, Mari-juanaFour male students were sent to University Disciplinary Committee for alcohol violations and admission to possession of marijuana.

4/2- Receiving Stolen Property, 3rd Degree, No Liability InsuranceA traffic stop was made because of a stolen license plate. The suspect was arrested, issued two citations and transported to Mobile Metro Jail.

4/2- Criminal Mischief, 3rd DegreeThe passenger side window of a vehicle was broken in the Delta parking lot. The damages were estimated at $300.

4/3- Recovered Stolen VehicleA stolen vehicle was recovered in the Hillsdale area.

4/4- Warrant- Possession of Mari-juana, 2nd DegreeA non-affiliate was arrested at the ROTC tower on an outstanding warrant with the Mobile County Sheriff ’s Office.

4/5- Theft of Article from AutoA textbook, iPod, Camelbak, hammock and prescription pills were reported stolen from a vehicle at the Instruction-al Laboratory Building. The items were valued at $292.

4/5- Resisting Arrest, Disorderly Conduct/Disturbing the PeaceA suspect was arrested during an at-tempt by a District Attorney’s Office of-ficial to serve a subpoena at the Student Recreation Center.

4/6- Property DamageA USA employee slung a piece of debris through the side wall of a residence at 6205 Fontaine Dr. on a University rid-ing lawnmower.

POLICE BLOTTER

Letter to the EditorDear Editor,I have qualms with the legitimacy of the

year’s SGA elections. I waited during the elec-tions period for an email, but I never received a ballot. My roommate Kathleen didn’t re-ceive hers until the final morning of elections at 11:32 AM. She wasn’t able to vote because she couldn’t check her email until after class at 3:49 PM. In her email Kathleen stated,

“Because of the tardy distribution of said email, I was not able to vote. My roommate did not receive the email at all. We both had wanted to vote and are unhappy with this un-fair circumstance. We also wonder if maybe other students have had the same issues. If so, the election results will not show the cor-rect opinions of the student body. I hope that something can be done to rectify this situa-tion.”

I don’t feel that the SGA elections are valid if a large portion of the student body didn’t get to vote. The elections may not be prop-erly representing the popular majority. The voting period should have been longer. Ev-eryone should have received a ballot. Finally, they should have emailed everyone the first day of elections. This is unprofessional and unacceptable.

I approached Sean Ramsey Wednesday at 4:00 PM with my complaint and he im-mediately set about trying to address the issue. He asked me to recheck for an email from SGA or Ceclia. I checked each of my

folders including my trash. The only email I received from SGA announced when the Bell Tower Ceremony was to be held. Sean agreed to echo my complaint to the president if I was sure I didn’t receive the email. Thank you Sean! You have been an excellent sena-tor and representative for engineering!

My roommate and I also emailed SGA Wednesday at 3:55 PM. They responded to me Thursday morning stating that I sent my email at 1PM and that I had had plenty of time to vote! Obviously not! I sent them a print screen image of my sent folder with the actual time. I believe that this interaction was simply a misunderstanding and do not hold it against SGA. It was simply a paws error.

Unfortunately, these interactions came too late. Elections went through and at least two potential voters were neglected. For every stu-dent that stepped forward with a complaint, there may be countless others who said noth-ing. I should have emailed them sooner with my own complaint, but the facts remain. This should have been addressed before the new senators and officers were announced Thursday.

A disgruntled student,

Sarah Naylor.

ANNOUNCEMENTThe Vanguard won four awards at the Region 3 Mark of Excellence Awards

banquet put on by the Society of Professional Journalists earlier this

month.Photo Editor Colin McGee won first

place for sports photography for four-year university with his photo “Jags Still Undefeated.” Similarly,

former Photo Editor Simon Reinert won first place in breaking news

photography for four-year university with his photo “Car Slams Into

Campus Bookstore.”Former webmaster Rodney

Thompson won second place for best affiliated website for four-year

university. The Vanguard placed second in the best all-around

non-daily newspaper for four-year university.

NEWS 3VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

We are going to start off the school week with some showers and thunderstorms on Monday, with highs around the low 80s and overnight lows around the upper 50s.Tuesday and Wednesday will improve with mostly sunny skies and highs around the low 80s and lows around the mid 50s. Thunderstorms return for Thursday and Friday and temperatures should remain the same with low 80s for highs and mid 50s for the lows.Looking at the weekend, we should have mostly sunny skies and highs around 80° and lows around 60°.

Patrick BigbieStudent

Meteorologist

Gamma 9 Weather Research Center

Forecast for April 11 - 17

For more local weather information, visit facebook.com/stormteam4gamma9wx or follow Patrick on Twitter: @metwxpatrick.

4 NEWS VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

dates, so I expected a run-off,” Shephard told The Vanguard. “Honestly, I didn’t know I’d make it [to the runoffs].”

Al-Greene echoed this sentiment. “With three people it’s hard to get a majority,” he said.

With the field narrowed, the remaining can-didates aren’t going to dramatically alter their campaigning strategy. “I’m doing the same things I’ve been doing to campaign, just more of it,” Al-Greene said.

Editor’s note: We will continue to fol-low this story and post updates on The Vanguard’s website as more informa-tion becomes available. For a complete list of election winners, see p. 5 of this issue of The Vanguard.

Electionsfrom page 1

sociation created the shirts to raise money for the city.

Radiation leaking into Japan’s water is Japanese students’ main concern.

“We like fish and sushi, if the fish get affected and we eat the fish, we get affected,” Kazuhiro Kishikawa, JSA president, said.

Kishikawa said that Japan is all too familiar with radiation because of the atomic bomb that was dropped in Nagasaki during World War II.

“We know how scary it is,” Kishikawa said. “I don’t even want to imagine that.”

JSA members said they plan to have a bake sale fundraiser once a week for the rest of the semester.

The next bake sale will be Tuesday April 12 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Humanities Build-ing. Facebook users can get more information about upcoming fundraisers by searching for the group “Donate to JAPAN from University of South Alabama.”

Fundraiserfrom page 1Health care plan will cover older students

College students no longer have to scramble to find a job with health benefits once they graduate or search for an indi-vidual health plan when they turn 23. The recently passed federal health care reform laws extend coverage for students who wish to remain on their parents’ health insurance until they turn 26.

“In the current job market, a lot of stu-dents are struggling to find jobs, and this alleviates pressure students have,” Student Health Center Director Beverly Kellen told The Vanguard.

Until now, health plans were able to re-move enrolled children usually at age 19, sometimes older for full-time students, ac-cording to healthcare.gov.

“That is the single largest thing as far as health care reform goes,” Kellen said.

For students who are older than 26 or whose parents don’t have insurance, the Student Health Center offers plans that cover its services. The plans start at about $817 per year, according to Kellen.

Christian Smith, a 24-year-old USA graduate student, said she was kicked off of her parents’ insurance when she turned 22.

Smith said she struggled finding a suit-able plan to meet her health needs, because she has asthma, which is considered to be a pre-existing condition. She enrolled in United Allied Health Insurance right after being dropped from her parents’ policy, she said.

Under United Allied Health, Smith had to waive her right to using insurance when

she went to receive a breathing treatment at the Student Health Center. After this in-cident, she dropped her insurance and en-countered the same problem with another insurance company.

“I stayed uninsured for a couple months; the only difference between no insurance and insurance at this point was the price of prescriptions,” Smith said. “I was still pay-ing outrageous co-payments with insurance to see the doctor.”

Since Smith left her parents’ federal health insurance plan, she has not taken her asthma medications because of the high costs, even under an individual insurance plan. She also avoided going to the doctor un-less she was “gravely ill” because her co-pay was in upward of $50, she said.

“I don’t know about you, but as a college student having to pay almost $50 to see a doctor to get sinus medicine is a little ri-diculous. That’s a week’s worth of groceries for me,” Smith said.

The Affordable Care Act that was passed September 2010 made it possible for stu-dents to rejoin their parents’ insurance. Smith went back to her parents’ insurance in January 2011, but some students have yet to attain coverage because some employers’ contracts have yet to be renewed.

“Unless you have excellent insurance, such as the kind I have been allowed to go back under with my parents having insur-ance and not having insurance has been the same … I am extremely fortunate to be at the age where healthcare reform has al-lowed me to return to my parents insurance since I am still in school and do not have a job where I can receive my own,” Smith said.

According to healthcare.gov, your plan is required to provide a 30-day period—no

later than the first day of your plan’s next “plan year” or “policy year” that begins on or after September 23, 2010—to allow you to enroll your adult child. Your plan must notify you of this en-rollment opportunity in writing.

Some students are still waiting for the open enrollment time to be able to rejoin their parents’ plans.

Student Aaron Mu-noz has not been able

to rejoin his parents’ Tricare plan. Tricare’s premium costs will be announced prior to start of enrollment later this spring, accord-ing to a news release.

“[It] would be nice if they said exactly when I could enroll in this instead of ‘later this spring’ though,” Munoz said.

By Carey CoxSENIOR REPORTER

“I don’t know about you, but as a college student having to pay almost $50 to see a doctor to get sinus medicine is a little ridiculous. That’s a week’s worth of groceries for me.”

-Christian Smith USA Graduate Student

NEWS 5VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

President: To be determined this week in runoffs; see p. 1 to read more and visit www.usavanguard.com to see the candidates’ campaign information. To vote, open the elections e-mail in your Jaguar1 account April 13-14.

Vice President: Jessica ByrdTreasurer: Nick LawkisChief Justice: Coleman WolfAttorney General: Jean-Pierre ArditiStudent-at-Large: Jason Cord FallonAllied Health Senators: Parker Chastain, Andrea Pittman, Brittany Ward, Kacie

WatsonArts & Sciences Senators: Trey Alvey, Andrew Augustine, Michael Beckenridge,

Christopher Hames, Zac Kirkpatrick, Justin Kennedy, Elizabeth McDonald, Logan Mitchell, Katie Reeves, Miranda Tevepaugh

College of Business Senators: C. David Mann, Zach Milwee, Jacob Weatherly, Nathan Wisner

Computer & Information Science Senator: Stephen PurnellContinuing Education Senator: Eric BeovichEducation Senators: Brandon M. Caten, JaMarkus Coleman, Sarah Kirby, Matthew

WiltEngineering Senators: Andrew Adams, Riley Davis, Jacqueline Gayton, Sean RamseyNursing Senators: Sarah Malone, Stephanie Pelonia, Savannah Swindle, Nina Wilson

2011 SGA Elections Results

Opinion VanguardThe

Cassie Fambro, Opinion Editoropinion.editor@usavanguard.com

6April 11, 2011

www.usavanguard.com/opinion

Social networking sites have taken over the world.

They’ve aided in rebellions (Egypt, any-one?) and there is even a movie about the most well-known site, Facebook, called “The Social Network.”

The biggest question about social net-working via the Internet deals with safety. Parents are concerned that their children are being bullied, and we’ve seen the hor-ror stories in the news about those cases that ended in tragedy.

What can you do to protect yourself from stalkers, identity thieves, child mo-lesters and the like? And can you do any-thing?

Well, you can always set your privacy to weed out the undesirables. It doesn’t hurt to be selective about who you choose to let view your profi le, and it’s best to keep personal information to a minimum just in case someone hacks into your account.

As it is, Facebook is kicking out an aver-age of about 20,000 underage users a day in order to prevent people admin consider

too young to be sharing personal details from doing just that, according to CNN.

To be a Facebook member, you have to be at least 13 years old, but there isn’t any real way of determining if someone is ly-ing about their age, since the individual selects birth year when signing up.

To add to the already bad juju surround-ing the Facebook phenomenon is the re-cent news about “Facebook depression.”

Apparently, some doctors are starting to see a trend in youth depression related to Facebook usage.

According to Lindsay Tanner of the Associated Press and her article about Facebook de-pression, the trend is worrying to the doctors who recent-ly wrote the new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines.

“Researchers disagree on whether it’s simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances or a dis-tinct condition linked with using the on-line site,” Tanner wrote in the article.

But what about the newest craze on the social networking scene, Twitter. Is it bet-ter or worse, and should it really be com-pared?

Twitter is what I call the espresso shot among social media coffee drinks. It’s a short burst of 140 characters, a Tweet, that is sent out to be read by followers and sometimes people who have never met you.

Tweets can be re-tweeted and passed along from Twitterer to Twitterer. “Trends” are the hot topics on Twitter, and those change daily.

If you’re new to Twitter, it can feel over-whelming. There are constant updates from the people you follow, which go into your feed.

Like Facebook, Twitter is a social networking site, but unlike Facebook, Twitter is geared more toward con-versations and actual

connections than bulky profi les and oodles of information.

Twitter is quick and easily addictive if you’re one of those communication junk-ies.

Twitter is handy for staying on top of certain topics, and if you need informa-tion about something, it’s a solid bet that someone who follows you or somehow saw your Tweet will have the answer you seek.

O U R V I E W S T A F F E D I T O R I A L

Th is is your chance to make a diff erence

According to the Zoomerang survey results, approximately 10.5 percent of USA students voted in this past

week’s SGA elections. That’s an optimistic way of looking at it.

What this number really means is that just more than one in 10 students voted for at least one person, and many of those votes are probably based on the person, rather than the candidate.

Given the sheer number of candidates and available positions to keep track of, however, this situation is understandable.

But it’s down to the wire now, with a run-off for the next SGA president. Here’s where we would say that your vote is im-portant, but it’s not if you’re just going to vote for a name.

The SGA doesn’t need just voters; it needs informed voters. You only have two

candidates to learn about, and all their platform information is available on The Vanguard’s website this week at www.usavanguard.com/opinion.

Next year is going to be rough – there are a lot of experienced leaders leaving and a lot of fi rst-time senators coming in.

They’re going to need leadership that is highly motivated, has realistic goals that benefi t as many people as possible, and can facilitate future SGA projects.

Use the critical thinking skills you should have developed in your college career and help decide the future of USA. Check your Jaguar1 account for the e-mail invit-ing you to vote.

The runoffs will happen April 13-14.

EDITORIAL BOARD>>editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

Daniela Werner | Editor-in-ChiefAlex Whalen | Managing Editor

Cameron Adkins | Associate Editor

Genny Roman | Associate EditorCassie Fambro | Opinion Editor

Carey Cox | Senior Reporter

see TWITTER | 10

Emily DeasNursingJunior

Sean RamseySGA SenatorEngineering

Stephen PurnellComputer Sci.

Junior

I believe the elections committee is doing a wonder-ful job. I do wish that the vandalism would cease, it’s kind of immature and rude to the can-didate to vandalize their signs, etc.

It’s not so much that two days isn’t enough time to vote, but rather the question needing to be asked is, are two days enough for people out of the loop to realize it’s going on, that they haven’t gotten their ballot? (A problem since we’re always told “it’ll come, just wait” because it may take a day of waiting before you’re even confi dent something is wrong beyond ballot-lag), and have had time/knowledge fi nd out who to talk to, to address the issue and then get it fi xed.

Not everyone received their bal-lots on time before the election actually ended. The SGA or those who handle it need to fi nd a better way to get them out, perhaps not in waves but all at once.

How do you feel about the recent SGA Elections?

Sarah KalabaPsychology

Senior

I tried to read The Vanguard about the candidates but I couldn’t get past the guy who is run-ning who wants the fresh food thing to stay open forever, or something like that!

“Doctors are starting to see a trend in youth depression related to Facebook.”

Spotlight:Bailey Hammond

“Twitter-pated”

OPINION 7VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

America prefers a blind eye to the mental health of our youth. Whether it’s the excuse of coddling or giving too much power to parents, we need to take a more vested in-terest in the mental health of our future.

Recently, an eight-year-old boy was pep-per-sprayed by police during a violent out-burst at his school in Colorado. This was the third time police were called on this child, and teachers were so scared of the

boy that they hid from him.He allegedly wielded a sharp piece of

wood and threatened to stab teachers, curs-ing them and using the “f-word.” Publicly only known as Aiden, he admitted that he wanted to hurt the teachers.

Many people across the country reacted generally negatively to the situation and blamed cops for overreacting. What those people don’t realize is that this is the same district that holds Columbine High School. They’re paying attention to him because they learned the hard way in 1999 and know that violence in schools cannot be tol-erated.

Aiden screamed at the teachers that he would kill them; teachers and police both felt that the boy was completely capable of stabbing them with that piece of wood. (I would like to know where Aiden picked that up, personally.)

Sitting with his mom, Aiden told Mer-edith Viera of The Today Show that he had already dropped the wood when police

first hit him with pepper spray. His mother is upset because she feels the police should not have pepper-sprayed her child.

He has since been enrolled in a school specializing in behavior disabilities, but Aiden’s mother also says that therapists have been unable to diagnose him with anything psychologically. In fact, she says, he only acts violently at school and not at home or with a baby sitter.

This raises several red flags to me. I want to know if the mother is lying, and I think social services should want to know, too. He could be acting out because of abuse.

He learned this unacceptable behavior somewhere. If there is a trigger at school that invoked that degree of rage within an eight-year-old, then his teachers need to be thoroughly interrogated because the abuse might have occurred at school.

A child is not born violent. At eight, Aid-en is not a genetic anomaly and destined to be trouble for life. Something has enabled him to know this behavior and act in an

antisocial manner. The video of Viera in-terviewing Aiden is chilling; in it, he seems cold and almost bemused. Not showing any remorse in his actions, it makes me think the interview could become part of a news reel in ten years when he’s on trial for mur-der.

So why can’t his therapists see it? Per-haps we are so accustomed to child violence and bullying in modern times that we are too jaded and desensitized to respond to it.

It’s normal to get suspended or fight, and it’s nothing but a phase right? Not for Aiden.

He is headed toward becoming a crimi-nal and perhaps a psychopath. It will be interesting to see if he follows the signs of psychopathy and is perhaps later arrested for arson or animal abuse.

To address the larger issue of being per-ceptive to children’s mental health, I worry about the desensitization of society. The kids that you see but avoid at Walmart be-

POINTCOUNTERPOINTShould the U.S. have involved itself in Libya’s affairs?

America Should Be Involved We Can’t Afford InvolvementThe United States’ involvement

in this conflict has been relatively low key, with emphasis directed to the roles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations rather than overt U.S. dominance.

As with the past few military interventions by the United States, opposition has been raised by those who are wary of U.S. involvement in the affairs of other nation states.

Three key arguments have been raised against U.S. intervention in this conflict, all of which are traditional arguments against military intervention.

Anti-colonialists have claimed that this is merely a front for taking over Libya’s natu-ral resources rather than a genuine human rights issue.

Isolationists on the other hand claim it’s not in the interests of the U.S. to involve itself in the affairs of other nations.

Finally there are those who claim that in this time of economic hardship the last thing we need is another long and costly intervention in the Middle East and should instead focus on ourselves.

Libya is not a colonial adventure by the U.S. by any reasonable stretch of the imagination. If oil was the goal of the Libyan intervention, then why didn’t the U.S. intervene during the Green Revolu-tion in Iran?

President Obama has also formed a coalition of a wide variety of nations. Included in this coalition are the League of

Arab States, the European Union, and NATO.

In fact, it was the Libyan opposi-tion that called for a no fly zone, so the claim that the U.S. entered this fight merely because of oil is preposterous.

If it was merely over oil, why did the U.S. decide to attack a regime that was finally opening up to West-ern oil companies? Ultimately it is preposterous.

to think that this is a colonial adventure.

At first glance it seems like the isolation-ist viewpoint is credible. Considering that there are plenty of nasty dictatorships through-out the world, why intervene in this one and not the others?

This is missing the point. Libya has in the past been a bad neigh-bor, with Libyan intelli-gence operatives used to assassinate anti-Gaddafi exiles in various nations throughout the world.

Assassins have also hit the government of Saudi Arabia, and in the 1980s and1990s the Libyan military was involved with the civil war in Chad.

Libya has also lashed out against the United States twice in the past, both times

No one will disagree with the fact that Muammar Gaddafi is a mad man.

No one will argue that he is a force of tyrannical control, a mad man, and an ineffective leader. He should be removed from power.

He is oppressive and stands in the way of his country progress-ing in the 21st century. Libya,

however, is not our country, and we can-not afford the resourc-es that it would take to become a force of occupation.

The task of remov-ing Gaddafi would be the easy part. Once he is out of power, a substitute government would have to be formed.

Would it be the rebel forces? Would it be an Allied coalition government? Would it be an entirely new

entity? Once we set up this new government we

would then need to make sure it was up to the challenge of governing. That would require training police and military forces and establishing security.

We would also have to re-establish utility

and infrastructure throughout the nation. There would need to be new schools built, hospitals constructed, farm and timber works revamped and grain depositories constructed.

We would also need to make sure things such as water, electricity, and sewer systems were up to code.

Gaddafi has ignored the basic functions of government for years, and as a result, many of the basic national resources are shoddy at best.

An undertaking of this kind would take years to finish and would, more than likely, have a price tag in the billions.

We simply do not have that kind of money to spend on other people at the moment.

We have a national deficit in the trillions. We are currently involved in two other wars. Our main economic partner was just hit with a massive tsunami and earthquake.

One could of course make the argument that we have a moral responsibility, as a world superpower, to help less fortunate countries.

That it is our duty to protect democracy wherever it is threatened. While in a nor-mal economic situation; I would of course say we have this obligation.

But, what we have to remember is this; if we get involved in this endeavor, then there may be something later on down the line when, because of worsened economic conditions, the decision is made for us.

Could you imagine a time when we can-

Children’s Mental Health Always Matters

ottawasun.comProtestors in Libya wave Libyan and American flags. This is symbolic of some Libyans wanting American involvement to help to assist them in their plight.

see AFFORD | 13

James Fulford

Colin Al-Green

see INVOLVED | 10

Cassie FambroOpinion Editor

SMOKE ON THE WATER

Editor’s Introduction: Libya has been in a state of unrest for some time now. The debate over this issue stems from U.S. involvement in foreign affairs. Are we the “world cops” who should go and defend the defenseless? Are we just in it for the oil? Or, do we have a moral duty to protect the protestors that are being victimized by Libyan government? Some argue that this is simply not our fight and that we’re involved in so much al-ready that we’ve stretched ourselves too thin. Writers this week debate both sides.

see AIDEN | 13

Etc.8April 11, 2011

Brett Williams, Etc. Editoretc.editor@usavanguard.com

www.usavanguard.com/etc

VanguardThe

USA has finally established a school legacy.The University is slowly developing into

a clone of other campuses boasting striking architecture, like the University of Alabama. Grandiose brick portals, the masterful Moult-on Tower and the innovative Student Rec Center are pushing more money into renova-tion projects for the our school’s image.

The end of the past decade has shown USA’s tendency to emulate major South-eastern schools with the establishment of the football program and, more recently, the eco-friendly bicycle project.

USA’s copycat trends suggest an effort to transition to being a more traditional four-year school and recent SGA candidates’ platforms show this growing momentum to develop campus community and school traditions.

Alma Mater anthems and game day tailgat-ing are commonplace customs among most universities, but any unique tradition that facilitates a campus-wide community is pain-fully absent from this campus. Fortunately, the students and faculty are pioneering a solution that could distinguish the University of South Alabama from other colleges in the region.

Geography, anthropology, geology, me-teorology and biology disciplines, to name a few, are undertaking a hands-on approach to education in lieu of administrative support for study abroad programs.

“The University has several foreign stud-ies options, with many disciplines, which are poorly supported by the administration and frequently incorrectly regarded as unafford-able by students,” Earth Sciences Professor Dr. Lary Dilsaver said. “If one qualifies for a student loan, it can be applied to such a pro-gram. In the big picture, $4,500 for a multi-week trip abroad while you’re young is a small price to pay.”

Dilsaver advocated the learning experi-ence of study abroad programs, but, similar to other faculty members, he has resorted to leading field trips for his students; he and his class embarked on the annual three-day trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore March 31, of which I was in attendance.

My experience surpassed any preconceived expectations, both educationally and cultur-ally. A true eye-opener, this geographical ven-ture applied the theories and lectures from inside the classroom.

The breathtaking natural scenery of the park and Dilsaver’s expert knowledge deliv-ered the most beneficial and complete educa-tional experience of my degree. I consider this field trip a miniature study abroad program, and junior German exchange student and fellow Cumberland Island adventurer Toby Maier affirmed the same.

As a Geography major, Maier has partici-pated in study abroad programs in Austra-lia, Costa Rica, Panama, Italy, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Greece and Ireland to name a few.

When asked about his thoughts concerning the field trip to Cumberland Island National Seashore, Maier said, “The trip’s participants were amazing; the atmosphere was great.

There are a lot of benefits and breaks to being a student: software discounts, food discounts and “free” access to South Alabama football games.

There are all sorts of institutions that cut students breaks just for being stu-

dents, but did you know that the IRS was one of them?

The IRS offers students what is called an Ameri-can Opportunity Credit when filing taxes during the first four years of school.

The credit is a $2,500 tax credit for which most students can easily qualify.

Although what the IRS offers as credit to students isn’t necessarily a “break” in the same sense as food discounts, it’s defi-nitely a good thing for students who have burned through their refund checks de-spite my advice.

Most students are eligible if they ful-fill a certain criteria, which I will briefly explain.

First, the applying student must be actively “pursuing their undergraduate degree or some other recognized educa-tional credential,” according to the IRS’s Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Educa-tion. Students are only eligible for the first four years of postsecondary school.

In 2009, the credit was widened from the first two years of postsecondary school to include students who had been enrolled for the first four. Also, the tax credit is available each year of postsec-ondary school so a student may qualify as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior provided they meet the rest of the crite-ria.

Second, the student’s yearly wages must not exceed $90,000 if filing single or $180, 000 if married and filing jointly. This one doesn’t require much clarifica-tion, so we’ll move on. Third, students must have paid for “qualified education expenses” during 2010 or anytime within the first three months of 2011.

Qualified education expenses include tuition primarily, but can include related costs students incur like fees related to classes. However, gas and mileage prob-ably wouldn’t be included. The last ma-jor qualification is that the same expenses that the student is seeking to use to ap-ply for the credit have not already been covered by a scholarship, grant, GI bill or by an employer. So, if you didn’t actually pay anything, you don’t qualify.

By Brett WilliamsETC. EDITOR

Simply being a student is one way you can get money from the IRS.

Students eligible for IRS tax credit

Faculty, students pioneer new way to learnBy Nick Griffith

WEBMASTER

Photos courtesy of Cumberland Island trip studentsA view from Cumberland Island National Seashore maritime oak forest overlooks the salt marshes of the national park.

After their field trip to a national park in Georgia, some USA Earth Sciences students and faculty are advocating for more major-specific trips to enhance the USA educational experience.

see TRIP | 11see TAXES | 9

Above: Cumberland Island adven-turers (from left to right): Marine Karapetyan, geography; Gavin Carter, meteorology; Robert Spinetti, Meteo-rology; Toby Maier, Geography; Tela Vincent, geography; Nick Griffith, ge-ography; Vanna Chmielewski, meteo-rology; Amanda Nelson, meteorology; Marcus Doucet, meteorology.Left: The historic ruins of Dungeness as part of the Carnegie Estate.

A boardwalk sign guides nature adventurers through the exotic interdune scrub ecosystem to the pristine beaches of Cumberland Island National Seashore.

Students who take out loans for school do qualify, but must not have received a refund of all their expenses. However, the credit is good for up to $2,500 so it’s my understanding that partial credit can be received if scholarships and grants only covered a part of a student’s tuition expenses.

Moreover, students seeking to claim the credit must not attempt to use the same expenses as deductions elsewhere in their tax document - otherwise they won’t qualify.

Other noteworthy qualifications include that you not file your taxes as married filing sepa-rately and that you are not a nonresident alien who did not elect to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes, but it’s best that you speak with whomever files your taxes to explain these cri-teria.

Failing to meet just one of these qualifications means that you are unable to claim the Ameri-can Opportunity Credit, but it’s a worthwhile venture this year if you haven’t already filed your taxes.

If you have, then try again next year.

How effective the “One Day without Shoes” campaign was on campus is something that’s subjective to students, but it’s entirely objective when you look at which students helped by simply walk-ing barefoot for a day. The website behind the One Day without Shoes campaign, www.onedaywithoutshoes.com, gives us a look into the campaign.

The site talks about Maria, a 10-year-old Guatemalan girl, who has never owned a pair of new shoes. Her feet were exposed to possibly contracting infectious diseases, intestinal worms and other illnesses.

The goal behind the “One Day with Shoes” campaign was for people around the world to experience just one day of what Ma-ria’s life was like trying to farm on mountainous landscapes and rugged terrain.

The campaign centered around Ethiopia, where in some ar-eas just wearing shoes is a strong preventative measure to protect from fatal illnesses. Illnesses contracted such as podoconiosis, which causes swelling of the feet and legs due to prolonged exposure to irritant soil, could be prevented by just wearing shoes to keep street children from stepping on broken glass and sewage.

Sophomores Andrew Bradshaw (left) and Brian Egan (right) chalk out awareness for children without shoes next to the Humanities Building Tuesday.

By Brett WilliamsETC EDITOR

Colin McGee | Photo Editor

USA’s participation was part of a worldwide movement to help millions in underprivileged countries stave off injuries from walking barefoot.

While working with Auburn’s sea lab on Dauphin Island, ju-nior Biology major Catharine Weber learned about how much of Alabama, like many states along the Gulf Coast, depends on the possibilities for employment that can come from jobs like oyster harvesting. When Weber dug a little deeper, however, she learned that it wasn’t as easy as dropping a line or a bucket into a body of water.

Weber spoke frankly in our interview and expressed her con-cerns about all the red tape surrounding trying to rejuvenate oyster farming in Alabama. Oyster farming brought in about $3.5 million in revenue to Alabama in 2005, according to We-ber, before the state stepped in.

Weber’s blog, “theoystercolumn” cites “uncontrolled harvest, drill predators and a desire to use shells for concrete decimated the productivity of the public beds.”

Alabama spent $1.6 million attempting to regulate and con-trol harvesting. The state used that money to move oysters from where they grew naturally to the mouth of the Mobile Bay where it had noticed better growing conditions. Weber says that was a missed opportunity to bring jobs to the bay area as well. Last year, Alabama reported that oyster harvesting brought in only $76,000 in revenue according to Weber’s blog.

“The state has continued to foot the bill for an oyster industry instead of increasing the economic freedom index on private oyster rights.”

Aside from moving the bivalves, Alabama has in place an extensive permit process for oyster harvesting that Weber says “isn’t encouraging.” However, Alabama may just be afraid to go beyond what similar states like Texas and Maryland have done to promote oyster harvesting. In Maryland, their extensive harvesting permit process has made news when U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) described it as needing to be “streamlined.”

Weber says she feels as though the state should be cultivating individuals’ interest in oyster farming instead of making it so much more difficult to harvest because harvesting has “more upsides” than negatives. Senators Cardin and Mikulski told Army Corps of Engineers in Maryland something similar in a letter written in March.

“Harvesting oysters creates jobs,” Weber said. “The farmer sells the oysters to local markets and then markets can buy them

and sell them to customers. Weber says she likes the senators “one-stop shop” system idea that would allow farmers to go di-rectly to the state to obtain all the permits they’d require includ-ing their general permits because Alabama has a similar system that is full of the proverbial hoops to jump through.

“We believe that oyster [harvesting] has the potential to yield numerous benefits in the Maryland portions of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal waters,” wrote Cardin and Mikulski.

In Alabama, the rules are complex. In order to become an oyster farmer, applicants must lease water bottoms or have the rights to grow oysters in an area conducive to farming. There can’t be any underwater vegetation. Prospective farms can’t be built on sea grass beds. Plus, the prospective land must be sur-veyed which costs thousands of dollars. The thousands of dol-

lars alone serve as a deterrent to potential farmers. Then, they still have to buy the gear needed to farm.

Aside from the obvious economic implications, oysters are also filter feeders that remove nitrogen, phosphorous, and car-bon from the water which makes the water less green. So, the more oysters the better. This is a hidden economic benefit of harvesting oysters, Weber said: “It affects tourism.” It also helps the environment because it prevents more algae blooms in the water.

Oysters also act as reef systems by creating structures that become habitats for fish hatcheries, crabs, lobsters and other water creatures. Right now, farming’s costs and hassle outweigh its potential benefits however and until that changes Alabama may miss out on a million dollar industry year after year.

No diving into oyster industry; Water’s too shallow By Brett Williams

ETC EDITOR

Grown in a hatchery at the bottom of Mobile Bay, these oysters were mentioned as "the best Gulf oysters I've eaten lately" in a food blog written and published on www.robbwalsh.com, a website that chronicles the blogs of food critics from Texas.

greenascot.com

In a Blog post with the same title, South Alabama Biology major Catharine Weber expresses her concerns about the drastic revenue plummet in oyster farming over the past five years after conducting research on environmental policy, oysters and state practices.

One Day Without Shoes campaign explainedTaxes

from page 8

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April 11, 2011

10 VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

For one, Twitter is chiefly a business site. Why business?

Well, it is fun and easy to use, but it makes self-promotion so easy. That’s why so many actors and musicians are on Twitter.

It allows them to connect actively with their fans—thus making the fans feel special—and keep everyone updated on their new movies, CDs, etc.

When Charlie Sheen finally lost his last marble, Twitter blew up like it was hit with a bomb.

Something interesting that I found while trolling the blogosphere was a video on technabob.com of a Mercedes Benz engineer, Werner Scherenberg, actually controlling a car with Tweets.

Mercedes Benz is working on a project where cars can be controlled via Twitter and the company even hosted a “Tweet Race” in February won by Team S. The entire race can be viewed at mbtweet-race.com.

It’s insane to think that 50 years ago, we were communicating mainly via home phones, and the Internet was some sort of vague government conspiracy that was supposed to control minds.

These days, we thrive on the network-ing sites available to us and communicate in so many ways that it’s easy to see how Facebook can cause depression and cars can be controlled with 140 characters or less.

It’s not just the communication though, that makes the networking sites attractive. It’s the ease of using them.

It’s just too easy to stay in touch these days. That’s a good thing.

Twitterfrom page 6

directing its attacks towards targets of ques-tionable military value.

The April 5, 1986, bombing of a West German discotheque and the December 21, 1988 Lockerbie bombing were both directed against U.S. civilian and military targets.

Combined with the fact that Gaddafi’s regime has open fired upon those who protested against him and would massacre the rebels if he won, the U.S. has a vested interest in seeing that he does not achieve in his goals.

Financially, war is never in the vested interest of a nation. Forget the myths you were told in history class, World War II was costly in resources and manpower for every nation involved in it.

Instead of producing consumer goods or getting people back to work, the war merely delayed the continuing effects of a global economic downturn.

Interventions like the one in Libya should never be turned down merely because of fiscal costs.

If the regime of Gaddafi had been al-lowed to successfully destroy the opposition forces, the U.S. would have to once again spend money and resources monitoring a regime that has shown great abuse towards its citizens.

Allowing Gaddafi to stay in power would shift the financial burden onto a future gen-eration at a greater cost in both money and human rights.

All three arguments also ignore the fact that from the very beginning of the conflict

the U.S. had openly backed the anti-Gadd-afi protestors in Libya.

We had called for restraint by the Libyan dictatorship and had demanded that they respected the human rights of its citizens.

Time and again the Libyan government ignored peaceful demands by the U.S. and other nations, leading to an inevitable choice for those opposed to such senseless violence.

UN Security Council Resolution 1973 was not the first option we took, but it was the only option we had when Gaddafi continued to ignore the international com-munity.

Ultimately, the U.S. has approached Libya properly given the circumstances involved. Outright intervention was thrown out, and a UN Security Council resolution was sought instead. U.S. intervention is both internationally legal and a moral necessity at this time.

Imagine if we had allowed the Libyan rebels to be massacred after publicly sup-porting their resistance against such a heinous regime.

Imagine the tarnish on our international reputation and image, and imagine how future dissidents would view U.S. statements of solidarity if we had allowed the regime to brutally slaughter its own people without retaliation.

Fortunately for the U.S., it has chosen the right path.

Involvedfrom page 7

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April 11, 2011

Remember the good ole days, when you could leave all your frustrations with the referee for making a bad call? Well, Cam-pus Intramurals subjected its staff to your gripes and complaints Saturday morning.

While engaged with the Intramural staff, I found it appropriate and slightly comical that they were getting so much animosity from teams of people who had signed up to participate in a tournament meant to help stave off violence.

Teams gathered from all over the city in costume and some also in guise to take part in this year’s first Sexual Assault Awareness Event sponsored by the Rape Crisis Family Counseling Center of Mobile.

It was all in good fun. Because of some early morning confusion, several teams were made to forfeit their games without even stepping foot on the fields because they either didn’t know where they’d be playing

or had no idea it was their turn. However, it was probably hard to take many complaints seriously when the guy complaining was wearing Aztec face paint or a pair of pink and yellow long stockings.

So, they left their frustration with Intra-mural staff as opposed to leaving it on the field. Still, eventually everyone played be-cause in a double-elimination tournament, even the losers can win.

Last year’s champion, the Inferno, re-turned and was victorious in their first game, but the losers didn’t seem to mind.

“Great game! You guys won even though you lost,” one Inferno member shouted as the two teams shook hands after the game.

Others came to spectate and cheer on their family and friends. The games began at 9 a.m. and continued through Saturday afternoon until around 4 p.m.

Student Services and the Student Gov-ernment Association provided food and water for participants and the Rape Crisis Center gave participants a free T-shirt.

The Grasskickers and mascot Juno caped and cowled before finding out that their first tour-nament opponent had forfeit.

Brett Williams I Etc. Editor

By Brett WilliamsETC EDITOR

Tournament kicks off week of Sexual Assault Awareness events with crowd at Intramurals

Brett Williams I Etc. EditorDozens of teams took part in the friendly, double-elimination kickball tournament Saturday hosted by the Rape Crisis Center of Mobile.

Tripfrom page 8

Shockwave engine becomes reality

Do you hate pistons and camshafts, but love driving automobiles? Do you wish the explosion that your automobile’s en-gine uses to create propulsion could be a little more awesome?

Well, it seems people at Michigan State University (MSU) have worked out a mo-tor that utilizes shockwaves to accomplish all those things you’ve been dreaming about.

NewScientist magazine reports that Dr. Norbert Müller, one of the developers of this engine, claims that this new design could make a vehicle 20 percent lighter and more fuel-efficient by removing some mechanical parts.

MSU said the engine would use 60 percent of the fuel to move the vehicle

forward, compared with 15 percent that a normal vehicle uses.

The new engine is designed to be used in hybrid cars, as it uses fuel to generate electricity.

So don’t expect to see this engine at drag races or monster truck rallies any time soon. Sorry.

The heart of the new engine is a rotat-ing disc called a “rotor,” which has curved fins radiating outward from the center.

Around the disc are two curved metal pieces that serve to block the escape of gases. These metal pieces don’t complete-ly encircle the rotor, so gases are allowed to escape at certain points.

The way it works is pretty simple: the air-fuel mixture enters the rotor disc through an inlet, and the rotor spins to cut off the escape of said mixture.

This causes the mixture to be com-

pressed, which creates a shockwave that moves from the outer edge of the rotor disc toward the center.

Just as the shockwave is about to reach the center or the rotor disc (where the in-lets are located), the rotor spins to close off the inlet.

The compressed mixture is then ignit-ed as the rotor spins to open the escape area, and the escaping gases push on the curved fins as they leave, causing the ro-tor to spin and generate electricity.

Air-fuel mixture comes in, rotor spins, mixture gets compressed, shockwave, ro-tor spins, mixture gets ignited, explosion turns rotor.

Like most internal combustion engines, this engine isn’t overly complex once you see how it operates.

By Gabe GrimesSTAFF WRITER

“I’d say that field experience is irreplaceable. As much as we’ve learned and studied in class, it is of greater worth if combined with the ex-perience of our field trip,” he said.

Educationally, Maier said he believes study abroad programs provide an unparalleled ex-perience beyond classroom education; the ul-timate benefit of his travels are the community he develops with his peers, and my personal experience reflects Maier’s sentiment precisely, he said.

“There is no comparable educational expe-rience,” Dilsaver said. “Seeing the reality, the issues, the landscapes of any place, especially with someone who can explain the story be-hind the scenery, far outweighs lectures, read-ings and any other classroom experience.”

Dilsaver was right. The park experience was incredible, and he would know – he wrote a book about it.

The eccentricities we experienced of the four habitat mixtures were bizarre: maritime oak forest, interdune scrub, salt marsh, and sublime beaches were emotional to witness first-hand. Exotic Spanish Moss, an epiphyte, swung lackadaisically from the branches of ev-ery live oak tree as far as the eye could see. Na-tive Sabal palmetto flourished across the forest floor, bursting upright into fully matured trees near the interdune and beach ecosystems. Wild horses trotted throughout the maritime oak for-est, venturing down the untouched beaches of Georgia’s largest barrier island.

The historical ruins of Dungeness, built by the immediate family of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, are beautifully preserved in comple-ment with the remains of the Carnegie Estate. And the unique legislative situation of Cum-berland Island National Seashore exemplifies the national values that compete against laws of ecological management, historic preserva-tion, and recreation policy governing the na-tion’s national park system.

The park’s overwhelming beauty and uniqueness has improved my benefit from class lectures and has ignited new friendships within my discipline.

Each student participant developed a close friendship during the trip, and we continue to be friends. This fresh community of Earth Sci-ence majors highlights the lacking unification between USA students. No prevailing USA tradition currently connects all students of any discipline to other South Alabama Jaguars.

From my affiliation as an Ole Miss alum, there is no experience like football game day on the Oxford, Miss. campus. School tradition mingles thousands of Ole Miss students in a massive tailgating experience that leaves social barriers behind; a tradition that bonds all Ole Miss Rebels.

Last week, numerous SGA candidates cam-paigned to facilitate these types of student tra-ditions that could unify every South Alabama Jaguar into a connected college community.

Hopefully, USA administrators and newly elected SGA officers will listen closely: disci-plinary-based field trips and study abroad pro-grams can incorporate hands-on education and community development that will allow USA to offer a unique school experience.

Heed the advice of Professor Lary Dilsaver, “I believe that field trips can be used in most departments in the university if constructed to demonstrate and reinforce other forms of edu-cation. It already happens in the international programs.”

Study abroad and associated programs should be facilitated to give every USA stu-dent a complete education. The administration should transition these minor research trips into an integral part of USA education -- for the sake of school tradition, campus commu-nity, University credibility, and our future.

Arts & Entertainmentwww.usavanguard.com/a-e

12April 11, 2011

Vanguard Staffeditor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

VanguardThe

As the last exams of the semester pile up, term paper procrastination builds, and final exams loom, we students feel the need to release a little bit of stress.

Some people have different ways of doing this, but most normal college kids - at schools other than South - gener-ally find themselves unwinding in a bar (Buffalo Wild Wings & the bar formerly known as Fabacher’s do not count).

This week, if you feel the need to drop some money on liquid courage, I feel you should head to O’Daly’s Irish Pub on lower Dauphin Street - diagonal from Wintzell’s Oyster House, in between Warren and Cedar streets.

This bar has it all: hot, well dressed bartenders (that includes you too, Snead), great beer on tap, comfort-able bar stools, intimate settings, $4 car bombs all the time, an indoor no-smok-ing atmosphere, and a back patio area where you can smoke, drink, and play cornhole.

Every week they come up with inven-tive drink specials or parties.

They have repeating nightly drink specials as well. For instance, Thursdays are pint nights, where if you are kind and drink enough, you can keep your pint glass.

For those of you in the service indus-try Tuesday is your night, with half off

for those in their work outfits.Another great fact about this bar is

that it is a “membership-only” bar.Which, as most any downtown fre-

quenter knows, they can stay open until as late as they want. The specials and bartenders are not the only aspects that give this bar the spotlight this week.

The second you walk in, you are greet-ed by a rich smell of hops and an air of dark, masculine hardwood - O’Daly’s is planked in dark hardwood which covers every wall and the bar itself.

The bar may be intimate, but it is not necessarily small.

This intimacy is achieved from the relatively narrow, continuous long hall that spills out into the back patio.

For those non-aesthetic needs, black, plush bar stools are provided, and a few

flat screen televisions entertain you in the corner of your eye when that girl/guy you are talking just isn’t that inter-esting.

Depending on the night, you can usu-ally be prepared for either some kick-ing Irish drinking music, a bartender/patron’s playlist, or if it is the weekend one of the favored local artists playing up front.

You can usually find me there, drink-ing an Abita Andygator or Sweetwater Blue on a Thursday, Friday, or Satur-day.

These days, however, I am a good stu-dent, and I won’t be going out until after exams.

Drink up, study, and enjoy.

Whether you seek a reasonably priced car bomb or conversation with friends on comfy bar stools, O’Daly’s Irish Pub in downtown Mobile offers a welcoming social atmosphere where you can escape campus for a while.

Shenanigans await at O’Daly’s

By Colin McGeePHOTO EDITOR

Courtesy of Matt LeMond, O’Daly’s co-owner.For a good time, head out to O’Daly’s in downtown Mobile, diagonally located across from Wintzell’s Oyster House.

April 12:2nd Tuesday feat. Underhill

Family Orchestra (presented by 92 ZEW)

The Blue Gill Restaurant6 p.m.Free

Spring Gala: USA Percus-sion Ensemble & World Music Group

Laidlaw Performing Arts Center Recital Hall

7:30 p.m.$8 for USA students

April 13:Les Hall + 1The Blue Gill Restaurant6:30 p.m.Free

Beer, Bands, and Bingo (pre-sented by 92 ZEW)

Tacky Jack’s on the Cause-way

7 p.m.Free

Cary Laine BandFelix’s Fish Camp6:30 p.m.

Free

Sugarland & Matt Na-thanson

Pensacola Civic Center7:30 p.m.Tickets start at $21.50

April 15:James Gregory “The Funni-

est Man in America”Saenger Theater8 p.m.Tickets start at $20

Doug BensonSeville Quarter in Pensacola8:30 p.m.Tickets are $15

April 16:Less than JakeSeville Quarter in Pensacola5 p.m.$15

St. Mary’s Knights of Co-lumbus Crawfish & Bluegrass Extravaganza

St. Mary’s Catholic School4 p.m. - 9 p.m.Tickets are $20 in advance,

$25 at event

April 17:Fitz & The TantrumsSoul Kitchen7:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $9.21 in ad-vance, $13 at the door

Crawfish & CocktailsAlabama Music Box5 p.m.Free

Now through May 27:

"Giants Insects"Gulf Coast Exploreum

Editor's note: These listings were compiled by Staff Writer Madison Murphy.

Events Calendar

USA’s Concert Choir performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra at Mobile’s historic Saenger theatre to an enthusiastic crowd April 9 - 10.

This pairing of professional and collegiate talent occurred for the first time at the Holi-day Pops Concert last December; and last weekend’s well-received performance may further solidify this collaboration as an annual tradition.

Many USA students and alumni are not aware of the crucial role USA has shared with the preservation of Mobile’s historic Saenger theater. J.H. and A.D. Saenger of New Orleans commissioned renowned architect Emile Weil to design “Alabama’s Greatest Showplace.”

The building took over a year to construct and cost half a million dollars. When the Saenger opened Jan 19, 1927, the elegant design inspired many to bestow the title “the most beautiful playhouse in all of Dixie” upon the building.

By the early 1970s, this “movie palace” was destined to become a parking lot until USA purchased the landmark on the eve of its de-molition to function as a recital hall for the University’s various performing arts.

On Oct. 1, 1999, the City of Mobile pur-chased the Saenger Theatre from USA and created the non-profit org Center for the Liv-ing Arts, Inc to operate the facility and per-form a nearly $6 million-restoration partially funded with donations from the local commu-nity.

The Saenger is now a world-class perfor-mance venue hosting notable recording artists such as Wilco, Robert Plant, and Buddy Guy. Robert Cray was so impressed by the venue that he filmed his first DVD there Feb. 21 2010.

For upcoming events and ticket info, visit SaengerMobile.com. The box office is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 251-208-5600.

Concert Choir revisits local symphony

By Timothy BorlandSTAFF WRITER

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April 11, 2011

not repair our interstates because we are financially insolvent?

Will governmental offices have to go to a four-day workweek because we cannot pay the power bills?

Or, will we continue to borrow and print money until our dollar is of such poor quality that it takes a barrel full to buy a loaf of bread?

ing screamed at and beaten are also fighting in school.

Violence breeds violence, hitting causes hitting, and screaming leads to more screaming. Teachers and schools may want to promote a privacy policy of not asking the tough questions, but for the future of America’s children I sincerely hope that we all recognize that we need to start asking how they got those bruises and speaking up at Walmart.

Aiden is only eight years old and al-ready cursing and threatening adults with murder. Many other children dis-play behavior problems at this age no where near as severe and they perme-ate throughout their school careers, maybe leading to expulsion.

Addressing the issues early with pre-ventative psychological intervention such as anger management and other counseling is key to curbing much of the violence in our culture today.

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14April 11, 2011

Matt Weaver, Sports Editorsports.editor@usavanguard.com

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Remember when Kobe Bryant was the lead-ing NBA Most Valuable Player candidate?

And Lebron James? And then Dwayne Wade? Me, too.

Derrick Rose is the current hot choice among those with an opinion to share. While Rose has done an incredible job in leading Chi-cago to the number one seed, his choice selec-tion is part of a larger problem in the world of sports: Bandwagon jumping.

I have no problem with people making their predictions about who the MVP will be at the end of the season, or those who predict the Su-per bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, etc., but it really drives me insane when people hop on the bandwagon when a team is doing well and neglect them when they lose.

It’s even worse when people all of a sudden become fans of a team because a certain A-list player joins the roster.

A perfect example was when Lebron James and Chris Bosh joined Wade in South Beach. Their fan-base increased tenfold overnight. Fans wanted nothing to do with the Heat fol-

lowing their 2006 NBA Finals Championship. They were washed up and mediocre as evi-

dent by their first round playoff exit in 2007.And the following season was more of an

embarrassment, with the Heat winning only 15 games and losing 67.

The next few seasons were par for the course, barely making it over .500. Fans were nowhere to be found in the always-busy Miami enter-tainment scene during their team’s hard times.

Following the addition of James and Bosh, fans began coming out of nowhere claiming their lifelong loyalty to the Miami Heat and Dwayne Wade. Such bandwagon jumpers are a joke and an eyesore to professional sports.

I wish people would stop lying to themselves and just admit they are only a fan because their team is winning.

Another bandwagon incident was in the NFL when Randy Moss was unceremoniously booted off the New England Patriots roster and traded back to the Minnesota Vikings.

People who were dismissing the Vikings after a slow start all of a sudden praised Moss as the key to getting Minnesota back into the playoff picture.

Softball Prepares for Tournament RunSouth Alabama Concluding Best Season in Program History

Bandwagon-jumping plagues sports

Becky Clark always had high hopes for this year’s softball team and it’s showing on the diamond this year.

Clark, who stated in a previous inter-view, “This may be the best team I’ve coached since I have been here,” has lead South Alabama to its best record in program history so far this year.

Despite the four-game losing slide, the Lady Jags are making a strong surge to-ward the end of the season. The Lady Jags have posted a steady (27-11, 7-6) re-cord this season, which has the Jaguars sitting in the fourth spot of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Jaguars posted a 15-game win-ning streak this season including wins over Louisiana-Monroe, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss, and Florida A&M.

The Jags, even with their 27-11 record, have 13 more games left in the regular season, 11 which are Sun Belt Confer-ence games. These 12 games left in the SBC could put USA higher in the SBC Tournament rankings.

The Jags are led by Meghan Collins and Brittany Fowler offensively this year. Collins hitting a team best .427 at the plate generating 41 hits, three home runs, 19 RBI’s, and scored on 26 runs.

Fowler, USA’s second best percentage hitter, is hitting .402 on the season. Along with a great hitting percentage, Fowler has also hit seven home runs, 43 hits, 45 RBI’s, and has scored on 30 runs.

The team as a whole look to be click-ing together.

“The girls are all business when it comes to the game,” Clark said.

The Lady Jags have come together this season to hit 38 homeruns, scoring 239 runs, and have come away from the season with 310 hits.

As the regular season is only a couple weeks away, look for the Lady Jaguars to

keep a strong work ethic and snap their losing streak.

USA looks to finish strong in the Sun Belt with 11 more conference games left to earn a top seed in the SBC Tourna-ment which begins May 11.

By Jake WasdinSPORTS REPORTER

usajaguars.comThe South Alabama softball team dropped a series to Sun Belt leading Louisiana-Lafayette at Jaguar Field. Despite the losses, the Lady Jags are still 27-11 and 7-6 in conference play.

By Ryan FranklinSPORTS COLUMNIST

greenascot.comBulls guard Derrick Rose has garnered a lot of

support in leading his team to the top seed.

Commentary

LEEDS, Ala. -- I like race cars and mo-torsports. I don’t even try to hide it. Maybe it’s my Southern heritage and love of paint schemes.

Regardless of why, I found my Shambala this past week while in Birmingham for the IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Alabama.

It’s called the Barber Motorsports Mu-seum and it’s located just off the grounds of Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala.

Home to the world’s largest collection of motorcycles, the Barber Museum is a celebration of life through motorsports. Opened in 2003, the museum was devel-oped alongside the 2.38-mile road course just off downtown.

The track itself has been called the most beautiful course in North America and the museum follows its example. The rear of the museum sits just off turns 8 and 9 of the race course and offers a stunning view of track action when cars are turning laps.

Despite all of that, the motorcycles are still the top draw.

The museum features machines from every era of development and is even the home of a replica of the original Harley Davidson manufacturing plant – a one room shed that produced bikes for over 15 years.

A second-floor room mimics the high banks of Daytona International Speedway and displays all of the track’s most famous race-winning machines. Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and many other makes are appro-priately hung on a 30 degree-banked wall.

Another floor celebrates motorcycles in World War II and how its technology helped win the war for the Allies.

The bottom floor even acts as the resto-ration floor for the damaged and donated cars and bicycles.

An eclectic group of employees and vol-unteers spend hours a day, restoring these vehicles to their former glory. Afterward the cars are rented out and put on parade before the track’s multitude of events.

Barber Historic Museum also hosts a large number of Lotus race cars. Lotus, a British nameplate, has an extensive history in Formula One and IndyCar, most re-cently with Lotus Renault and KV Racing Technology respectively.

George Barber envisioned the facility as a part botanical garden and animal sanctu-ary, and his dream looks fantastic.

No trip to Birmingham or the race track would be complete without a visit to this amazing building. The IndyCar Series Honda Grand Prix of Alabama was won by Team Penske’s Will Power (29 years old) and celebrated the future of the motor-sports.

Juxtaposed against the history of the mo-torcycle museum, Power’s victory and the promise of racing’s future completed this writer’s weekend.

Matt WeaverSports Editor

CHARGING THE MOUND

Barber Motorsports Park

see WAGON | 15

That didn’t happen, and Moss failed to stay with Minnesota for even a full month. He was later traded to Tennessee, and we all know how that turned out.

Speaking of the NFL, who could forget the infamous duo of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.

When the Bengals signed Owens, analysts and bandwagon jumpers were quick to predict a Super Bowl ring for the Bengals.

They completely missed the fact that Carson Palmer is still quarterbacking that team. They’ll never win a championship as long as he’s under center for Cincinnati.

The Bengals finished that season with a mea-sly record of 4-12.

Either you like a team or you don’t. Not say-ing it is wrong to give credit where credit is due, but stay with your team if you’re a fan and stay with your initial prediction if you’re a pundit.

Get off the bandwagon, be a true fan and stick with your team through thick and thin.

Follow the Vanguard Sports Section on Twitter @USAVGSPORTS

SPORTS 15VanguardThe

April 11, 2011

NCAA Men’s Basketball

4153Connecticut Denies Butler, 53-41

Bulldogs Shoot Just 18.8 Percent in Men’s Basketball Championship

Louisiana-Lafayette Sweeps South Alabama Softball

The University of South Alabama softball team fell Sunday afternoon in the series finale to Sun Belt Conference leader Louisiana-Lafayette 10-2 in five innings at Jaguar Field.

With the loss, the Jaguars are now 27-11 overall and 7-6 in conference play. With the series sweep, the Ragin’ Cajuns maintain their lead in the conference and improve to 32-6 and 10-2 in the league.

“We had a tough weekend,” USA head coach Becky Clark said. “When games like this happen, you make adjustments and I know what adjustments that need to be made. My job is to figure out what we need to differently and work on those things. This is a very tough conference and you have to be tough with it.”

ULL junior pitcher Ashley Brignac (18-3) was credited with the win after going five innings in the circle, striking out six and walking only two.

South Alabama Baseball Drops Drops Two to Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic used a six-run second inning and added multiple runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings to defeat University of South Alabama baseball 12-10 Sunday afternoon at Stanky Field.

FAU (19-13, 7-5 SBC) took a 6-0 lead in the top of the second inning with the big blast coming in the form of a three-run homer off the bat of Colby Gratton.

The Owls added three runs earlier in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Sean Bukovich and RBI singles by Mike Albaladejo and Andy Mee.

Florida Atlantic added two runs in the top of the fourth inning on an RBI single by Mee and sacrifice fly off the bat of Gratton to extend its lead to 8-0.

Alvarez (4-2) earned the win in five innings pitched for the Owls, allowing six runs on seven hits while striking out three and issuing one walk. Hugh Adams pitched two innings and allowed one run on three hits with a strikeout and a walk to earn his third save of the season.

Hook (1-3) suffered the loss in 1 2/3 innings, and allowed six runs on five hits while issuing one base on balls.

Power Wins IndyCar Series Honda Grand Prix of Alabama

Will Power extended his lead in the fi-nal laps and finished 3.38 seconds ahead of Scott Dixon on Sunday to win the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama in Birmingham.

Dario Franchitti was third on the 2.38-mile road course at Barber Motorsports Park.

The Australian Power became the first IndyCar driver to lead wire to wire since Franchitti did it at Sonoma’s in 2009.

Power dominated in practice and qualify-ing rounds the past two years at Barber, and stressed how badly he wanted to win after a pit strategy backfired and cost him the lead in 2010 — and perhaps the IndyCar points championship.

-Wire Reports

Sports Briefs

What a bummer?What began as a defensive masterpiece by

both teams quickly turned into a low-scoring blowout. How is such a thing even be pos-sible?

I’ll tell you.Butler shot just 18.8 percent from the floor.

In their previous five games, Butler had shoot-ing percentages of 40.7, 46.2, 42.2, 40.0, and 35.6.

Not that Connecticut shot any better in victory -- they only managed to shoot 34.5 percent.

The end result was the third-lowest shoot-ing percentage in NCAA Championship his-tory and one of the least dramatic contests of recent memory.

Bummer.-Matt Weaver, Sports Editor

Wagonfrom page 14

There would be no magic and no re-demption for Butler following last year’s one-shot championship loss to Duke.

Butler again found themselves in the National Championship but were un-able to upstage Connecticut, getting out-scored 34-19 in the second half of Mon-day’s championship finals.

Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun fought his team back from an early defi-cit, moving Kemba Walker and his Hus-kies in the second half as if they were chess pieces.

While I predicted a UCONN victory, I expected Butler to pose a greater threat. The game was a complete disappoint-ment from both competition and enter-tainment perspectives.

-Jake Wasdin, Sports Reporter

March Madness came to an end on April 4, but it was hardly a finish worth waiting for.

Most disappointing was that the game be-gan with promise, but fell apart from the start of the second half.

This was due to a terribly low score caused by an extremely low field goal percentage from both teams. Butler made only 12-of-64 shots, which may be the worst championship statistic that I have ever seen.

Connecticut’s Kemba Walker still managed to score 16 points – gargantuan by Monday’s standards. His teammates’ defense stifled But-ler throughout the contest. UCONN had their way on offense.

Maybe next year’s Final Four, already full of promise, won’t repeat as such a bummer.

-Ryan Franklin, Sports Reporter

Colin McGee | Photo EditorSouth Alabama shortstop Logan Kirkland tosses the ball to second baseman Trey Sorrels to at-tempt to turn a double play. The Jags lost to Florida Atlantic, 12-10 on Sunday.

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Caption Contest Results

Winner: “Wilsoooooon!”-Marie Claire

Caption Contest

Do hilarious things come to mind when you see this photo? E-mail your funniest caption to editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com. The winner will be published in the next edition!

SudokuRules: Fill each row, column, and square of nine boxes with the numbers one through nine without repeating any. Answer keys provided at www.usavanguard.com/distractions.

Sudoku puzzles brought to you by USA’s Student Health Center. To make an appointment, call 251-460-7151.

Distractions18April 11, 2011

Vanguard Staff editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

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Jag Life A Comic by Ben LewisFollow VanguardJaglife

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