April 15, 2013 Issue of The Vanguard

“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.” VOL. 52, NO. 13APR. 15, 2013

VANGUARDTHETHE

In this Issue: Life, Page 6

Sports, Page 7Opinion, 2

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By STUART [email protected]

SGA SGA completes completes project, project, updatesupdates

The Student Government Associa-tion spent $4,905 on a Mitchell College of Business senate project at their senate meeting last Monday, April 8.

The $4,905 will be used to buy eight Acer laptop computers for students to use in the Mitchell College of Business library. “They will be readily available for students who come in…they can use those laptops for the resources that are only available in the college of business,” said college of business Senator Barry Bonner.

Some senators raised concerns about the laptops possibly being stolen if not locked down to a table in the business library.

College of business Senator Christian Traegde assured the senate that the staff and workers at the college of business li-brary are vigilant in monitoring students that leave and enter the library.

SGA President Parker Chastain spoke about the search for South Alabama’s next president at the meeting.

“We did have our fi rst presidential search committee meeting last week—it went very well. We are actually picking a fi rm and setting up a meeting with them so everything is going smoothly on our end so far,” Chastain said.

In February, President Moulton an-nounced his retirement after serving as president for 15 years. President Moulton will offi cially retire on July 1.

SGA will hold a collection date for Jags 4 Jags on April 17 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Fresh Food Company, other-wise known as the cafeteria or dining hall.

Jags 4 Jags is a meal donation program operated through the Dean of Students offi ce.

There are collection dates throughout the year where students can donate extra, unused meals to this program. Students who are struggling fi nancially can apply through the website, southalabama.edu/deanofstudents/jags4jags.html.

SHACK needs all paws on deck for animals in needSHACK needs all paws on deck for animals in need

A man walked into the Mobile County Animal Shelter carrying fi ve puppies that were barely 4-weeks-old. The man told MCAS that they needed to take the puppies or he would kill them. Shelters usually do not take puppies that young, because their im-mune systems are too weak to combat bacteria and viruses that often linger in shelters.

In addition, these puppies had not fi nished weaning from their mother, and they would need to be bottle-fed. The MCAS shelter workers took the puppies, and they immediately called the Safe Haven Animal Care Kennel (SHACK). Within hours, SHACK placed all of the puppies in foster

homes that would nurture them until they were old enough to be adopted.

While tragic, these types of things happen every day in Alabama. Dogs are discarded, abused, neglected and left to fend for themselves. The Safe Haven Animal Care Kennel of Semmes, Ala. works on behalf of the homeless dogs of lower Alabama to nurse them back to health and fi nd them forever homes. The majority of the dogs in their care are rescued from the local county shelter’s euthanasia lists. The dogs are scheduled to be euthanized simply be-cause of overcrowding. While other dogs come to them after being severely abused or mistreated. SHACK does all this work solely on donations and vol-unteers from the community.

When the University of South Ala- See SHACK Page 4

By KAITLIN [email protected]

SHACK

By JAYSON [email protected]

See CHANGE CHANGE Page 3

As the spring 2013 semester is coming to an end, many students have already fi nished their plans for housing for next fall. With the expansion of on-campus living and new off-campus apartments, the options of where stu-dents can live are growing.

After the completion of Stokes Hall two years ago and the future completion of the newest residence hall, South Alabama can house a maxi-mum of 2,100 students. According to USA housing director Dr. Chris Vinet, around 50 percent of those 2,100 beds will be fi lled by freshmen.

“Freshman housing applications are up. We have had a waiting list ev-ery summer since 2009 for housing for new students. A little more than half of our housing in total is assigned to freshmen students. And then it’s prob-ably 25 percent sophomores and then

Now known as Blaze, this puppy was once in danger of being killed.

Housing up, Housing up, returning returning students downstudents down

bama Public Relations Student Society of America, formerly the communica-tion association, learned of the work SHACK was doing for the community, they knew they wanted to help.

“I think it’s important for the orga-

nization to give back to the community in any way we can. The goal is to seek out local non-profi t organizations, like SHACK, in order to aid their com-mitment to servicing the community,”

“Get messy, make mistakes!”OOZEBALL 2013

See See OOZEBALLOOZEBALL Page 2Page 2

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR. 15, 20132

3VOL. 52, NO. 13 /APR. 15, 2013

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

Editor in ChiefCopy Editor

Life EditorOpinion Editor

Sports EditorLeft of Center

Senior ReporterWeb Editor

Staff Reporter

Cassie FambroAlyssa NewtonJake HowellNoah LoganPatrick HerringJT CrabtreeJayson CurryMatthew Strickland

Stuart Sox

Editorial

Distribution Bobby FaulkMatthew Rhodes

Distribution

Advertising

Graphic Designer

Wesley Jackson

Mohammad Al-Zarrad

Rex McKay

Advertising

Advising

Accounting

J. SellersJ. AucoinKathy Brannan

Management

MissionThe Vanguard, the student-run newspaper of

the University of South Alabama, serves its read-ership by reporting the news involving the campus community and surroun ding areas. The Vanguard strives to be impartial in its reporting and believes fi rmly in its First Amendment rights.

Send letters and guest columns to: The Vanguard

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

[email protected]

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, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, Copy Editor, Senior Reporter, and Opinion Editor. 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 clarifi cations. To report a mistake, e-mail [email protected]. 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 fi rst copy is free. Additional copies are $1 each. Freelance writers will receive payment at the discretion of the section editor and will be notifi ed.

Weather for April 15-21Weather for April 15-21

Twitter: StormTeam4g9wxFacebook: Facebook.com/StormTeam4Gamma9WxGraphic courtesy of student meteorologist Patrick Bigbie

about 12 percent juniors and se-niors,” Dr. Vinet said.

“Our capacity is about 2,100 stu-dents. There is no way we can house all for the students so we are trying to accommodate a variety of students but obviously the freshman needs are greater. Plus the parents I think feel safer and the students are more con-nected,” Dr. Vinet added.

According to Dr. Vinet, studies that have been done on campus liv-ing for students shows that students feel more connected to their school when they live on campus.

“National and university studies show that students feel more con-nected when they live on campus so we are purposely working with aca-demic affairs to incorporate learning communities on campus.

We started that with Stokes Hall when it was fi rst built but we are ex-panding that with the new building and epsilon 1,” Dr. Vinet explained. “That program is really growing and we think that is a strong base for when students are coming in to have a good connection with the univer-sity.”

“We are here fi rst and foremost for the students. We want them to b be successful and return next year

and graduate,” Dr. Vinet added. With the addition to student-direct-

ed off-campus apartments like The Grove, Campus Quarters and The Edge, students do have the option to live places other than the residence halls provided by USA.

Students seem to be split on which option is best for them but there is a consensus that each has advantages and disadvantages.

“I have lived in Stokes the past two years and I love it,” Stuart Sox a sopho-more communication major said. “But I am ready to live with more people and have more than four walls. I want to have a living room.”

“The Edge is really nice and you can pay for it with fi nancial aid and outside scholarships,” Sox added.

“There are cheaper options on cam-pus like the deltas, betas and gammas but for me, Stokes is the same price as The Edge when you take into ac-count the 12 month off-campus vs. nine month on-campus agreement.”

Some students prefer to live off-campus to avoid having to pay for meal plans and other campus related issues.

“I lived on campus for a year and then moved off campus. For me, it is much cheaper, not to mention, I can cook for myself instead of paying the

expensive required meal plan. I can have guests over at any time I please for whatever amount of time I please,” Taylor Brown said. Brown is sopho-more chemistry major at USA.

Sean Ramsey, a graduate student in mechanical engineer at USA says he wasnted enticed by the off-campus apartments but he does prefer living off campus after living in Epsilon for three years, two of which he was an RA.

“I would have been happy living on campus, and in fact, was for most of my undergrad, even if I did pay slightly more but being forced to have a meal plan, with no choice or options did not make me happy,” Ramsey said. “It was South’s own treatment of their resi-dents that made me leave,” he added.

Dr. Vinet agreed that there was a dip in returning student applications for on-campus living and that the new student-focused apartments were an obvious factor but according to her, “We can’t be everything for all stu-dents.”

Dr. Vinet did point out some of the plans USA has for residence halls that could attract some students who have looked to live elsewhere because of the age of some residence halls.

“We are building a new building,

and we have plans to renovate epsilon 1 and we are hopefully going to reno-vate the bathrooms and living room furniture in the beta complexes,” Dr. Vinet explained.

“Those are some for the plans we have moving forward. We have general maintenance that we will do through-out the housing areas and we plan to paint the interior of delta 3 and 4 and the exterior of delta 2, 3 and 4. Those are different things students will see when they come back next years.”

A few important things for stu-dents to remembers is that returning students who apply on time at USA get fi rst choice of where they would like to live on campus.

If a returning students misses the deadline they lose their chance of choosing their residence hall and may have to change from where they previ-ously lived.

Also, the new residence hall being constructed now will be for freshmen only. All of the current and future construction plans mentioned previ-ously in the article are planned to be completed by the start of the fall 2013 semester beginning in August 2013.

Housing: “We can’t be everything to all students”Continued from Page 1

PAGE three

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR. 15, 20134

said Daniel Moran, PRSSA secretary. The PRSSA held a supply drive benefi t-

ting The Penelope House, Mobile’s lo-cal non-profi t organization last semester. Once they saw the outpouring of support from faculty and staff, members knew they wanted to continue the tradition of the supply drive benefi tting a local charity ev-ery semester.

“When I heard that the PRSSA chose to host this supply drive for SHACK, I was overjoyed,” said Olivia Casey, a student at USA and a regular volunteer for SHACK. “Despite the tragic circumstances these dogs come from, they are still so happy and hopeful. People would be amazed at how much a blanket or a bone means to these dogs. They are so grateful, and that is something we can all learn from,” said Casey.

SHACK houses up to 50 dogs at one time, and supplies can go very quickly. PRSSA is seeking to collect donations on behalf of SHACK such as dog toys, leash-es, collars, laundry detergent, dish soap, blankets/sheets (new or used), bleach, food bowls, multi-surface cleaner, toilet paper, gardening gloves, brooms/mops, sponges, garbage bags, towels/washcloths (new or used), sponges or spray cleaner bottles. SHACK does rescue cats as well, so cat supplies are welcomed and needed.

SHACKcont from Page 1

Those wishing to donate supplies can do so by placing items in the red box in the department of communication lobby by May 3. The PRSSA is willing to pick up the items if individuals are unable to drop them off.

“These individuals in charge of SHACK com-mit and devote everything they have to take care of the animals,” said Nadia Bush, department of communication faculty member and PRSSA ad-visor. “Our drive is such a small part of what it takes to run the organization and these donations go quickly. Our donations can change the heart-breaking situation these precious animals need.”

Students and faculty that have questions can email [email protected] or visit the USA PRSSA Facebook page. Monetary donations can be made to SHACK via their Pay-pal account, [email protected].

“Donating to the supply drive is a small task for students and faculty,” said Moran. “Helping others accomplish something wonderful is some-thing all individuals should take part in, and I be-lieve that is something PRSSA is doing through this drive.”

Shared reading to impact both students and staffShared reading to impact both students and staff

5VOL. 49, NO. 13 / APR. 13, 2013

“Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn has been selected the Common Read/Common World book for the 2013-2014 inaugural year of the program.

The Common Read/Common World program, a new endeavor shared between the offi ces of aca-demic affairs and student affairs, is a new university-wide initiative to encourage shared learning among students, staff and faculty at South Alabama through reading the same book.

Kristof and WuDunn, both Pu-litzer Prize-winning journalists for the New York Times, wrote the book based on the Half the Sky movement.

The co-chairs of the Common Read/Common World program are Dr. Peggy Delmas and Dr. Krista Harrell.

“The purpose of the program is to bring students and faculty to-

gether to discuss universal topics… so we chose a book based on a social justice issue,” Dr. Harrell said.

“Half the Sky” shares the story of oppressed women throughout the world and the inequalities that they face in ev-eryday life.

“The book focuses on raising aware-ness on women’s issues globally and con-necting it back to us… it inspired me to take action,” Dr. Harrell said.

“We also want to be sure that all stu-dents are involved regardless of gen-der…although it’s about women it affects men, too—they are part of the solution and not the problem,” Dr. Delmas said.

Although it is a non-compulsory pro-gram, professors are encouraged to incorporate “Half the Sky” into their classes next year.

“Many other universities have a Com-mon Read/Common World program—this is something we think will go well for our university too,” Dr. Delmas com-mented.

Dr. Nicole Carr also serves as faculty support for the Common Read/Com-

mon World program. “As a faculty member, it gives me another tool to use in class…watching the enthusiasm as more

groups become involved in the program is very inspiring. This is prob-ably the fi rst time I have seen such diverse constituencies come together over a shared idea,” Dr. Carr com-mented.

Student organizations interested in sponsoring a screening and/or a dis-cussion of the "Half the Sky" book and documentary on USA's campus should send dates and event informa-tion by Tuesday, April 30, to Dr. Krista Harrell at [email protected] or to Dr. Peggy Delmas at [email protected].

Anyone who wants to know more about “Half the Sky” can visit half-theskymovement.org.

By STUART [email protected]

A recent report of broken equipment in the Fresh Food Co. dining hall was a cause of concern for South Alabama students. We spoke with Michael Brown, the marketing manager for ARAMARK, who explained how these issues are usually handled.

One of the machines that was reported out-of-order was a milk dispensing machine.

“The milk issue happened several weeks ago and was resolved within a couple of days. The milk machine itself was never ac-tually out-of-order, our local milk supplier, Brown's Dairy, actually ran out of milk in the container that our milk dispenser uses a couple of weeks ago,” Brown said. “We had to use normal gallon and half-gallon containers like one would buy at the super-market and keep them in the refrigerators at the salad bar for a short while.”

“There was signage at the milk dispenser indicating where milk was available during

that time,” Brown added.A different and more serious issue in-

volved one of the dining hall’s dishwashers. “The dishwasher's conveyor motor broke

which, because of its design, made the dish-washer unusable,” Brown explained. “Unfor-tunately, there were no suppliers in Mobile which had the part we needed in stock and the nearest place that even had the pieces to build the part was in Atlanta. It took much longer than anyone would've liked for the dishwasher to be repaired because we had to wait for the necessary part to be fabricated.”

According to Brown, the machine was re-paired when the new part arrived a week ago and is currently operational.

“As far as how things like this are handled, USA handles the maintenance and repair of the large equipment used by dining. If some-thing breaks, we use the same process that any department of the university would use,” Brown added.

Courtesy of K. Peavy

Students want to know: What is up with broken machines in the Fresh Foods Co.?

By JAYSON [email protected]

Oozeball 2013: Just Ooze It!Oozeball 2013: Just Ooze It!

On Saturday, April 13, one of the dirtiest, muddiest and

glorious University of South Ala-bama traditions returned to campus. That’s right, Oozeball in all its mud-dy glory was back in full swing.

Organized and orchestrated by the Southerners, the official ambas-sadors of USA, Oozeball is one of the longest running spring semester traditions in USA’s history. This was the tournament’s 25 year anniversary.

The game is, essentially, volley-ball played in mud and water that can sometimes be waist deep and which seeps its way into socks, shoes, nos-es, ears and more.

Freshman chemistry major and member of the “Bad Acids” team, Catherine Zivanov said, “I got mud in all my nooks and crannies, but it was definitely worth it. Everyone at South should play at least once. I’m definitely playing again next year.”

The Southerners spend the bulk of the week before each Oozeball tournament preparing the courts.

Rachel Juck, a Southerner, said, “The courts are prepared the entire week of Oozeball normally starting the Tuesday after the captains meet-ing. Without the maintenance crew at USA, the Southerners would not be able to host Oozeball. They help out tremendously every year by dig-ging and filling the courts. This year they even got us a dirt donation so the courts would not be as deep as

last year.”Upon entering the sunken Ooze-

ball courts, teams half-crawled and half-waddled into position, trying to find a somewhat solid place to stand. The mud evens the playing field in Oozeball, allowing students and fac-ulty, old pros and complete novices to play on the same level.

Oozeball, despite its popularity, always has a group of students who’ve been at USA for years and never ventured into the muddy depths. All it takes, though, is one game for them to be hooked.

Senior biology major and mem-ber of the “Evol-OOZE-tion” team, Brittany Wallace said, “I had a won-derful time. I’ve been missing out all these years.”

Wallace’s teammate and fellow

senior biology major, Christina Weaver echoed her statement saying, “I can’t believe I’ve been here this long, and this is the first time I’ve played.”

All throughout the tournament, fun and upbeat music was played and raffle prizes, such as t-shirts and gift certificates, were given away. Just like last year, dance battles and group dances broke out in between games.

In addition to being incredibly fun for everyone participating, this year’s tournament took on a charita-ble accent. According to the South-erner’s president, Joel Ponce, “This year we made a leap forward and de-cided to raise money for Children’s and Women’s Hospital. I’m proud to say that we were able to pull it off and at the same time put on a great tournament for all.”

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR. 15, 2013 6

JAKE HOWELL, JAGLIFE [email protected]

By JAKE [email protected]

WEEKLY LOWDOWN

7:30 p.m. - USA Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert at the Laidlaw Recital Hall. $5 for USA Students/Faculty/Staff.

7:30 p.m. - “The Rising Phoenix” Spoken Word Performance in the Mitchell Center, Room 1101.

2 p.m. - “WOW” Leadership Forum in the Library, Room 181.

7:30 p.m. - USA Wind Ensemble Spring Concert in the Laidlaw Recital Hall.

8 p.m. - “Coffee for a Cause” Open Mic Night at Java City.

7:30 p.m. - USA Theatre Production of “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

7:30 p.m. - Science Cafe: Are There Really Such Things As Missing Links and Living Fossils? at True’s Midtown Kitchen.

Monday, Apr. 15

Tuesday, Apr. 16

Wednesday, Apr. 17

Thursday, Apr. 18

Friday, Apr. 19

Want your event featured in the Weekly Lowdown? Email the name, date, time, price, place and a brief ta-gline (under seven words) to [email protected].

►

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5 - 8 p.m. - Free STD testing and Education at Java City.

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7 p.m. - Visiting artists Dante Marioni and Janusz Pozniak glass blowing demonstration at the Glass Arts Building.

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6:30 - 9:30 p.m. - USA Political Science Club presents “Mobile in Black and White” in the Humanities Building, Room 150.

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JAKE HOWELL | JAGLIFE EDITOR

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR 15, 20137

USA to go shoe-less for ‘One Day Without Shoes’USA to go shoe-less for ‘One Day Without Shoes’

Many students are familiar with TOMS, the company behind

the lightweight and environmentally friendly shoes that come in a variety of colors and styles.

A small group of students passionate about the mission of the popular com-pany is looking to form a new campus organization.

David Imber, freshman advertising and brand communications major, hopes to see lead the new organization.

By SANDRA [email protected]

“I love the mission statement behind TOMS, and when I decided to come to South I knew it would be the perfect place to bring this club. South is very family and community-oriented; I knew it would catch on quickly,” said Imber.

“I did not go on a mission trip with TOMS, but I have been on two, both to an orphanage in Mexico. That is where my passion for TOMS and their vision really sparked my interest,” Imber added.

One of TOMS’ most popular events is “One Day Without Shoes.” This year, the event will take place on Tuesday, April 16.

This day has been brought to campus in the past through the Center for Aca-demic Service-Learning and Civic En-gagement (CASLCE).

“We [CASLCE] started the awareness campaign when we attended the Gulf South Summit on service-learning and civic engagement in 2011. We heard a keynote speech by TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie about the wonderful work that his company was doing addressing the needs of children worldwide who did not have shoes,” said Karen Peterson, direc-tor of CASLCE and senior instructor of English.

“We all agreed that the ‘One Day Without Shoes’ was a great way to pro-mote awareness of the need for shoes and the health and educational problems children without them face,” Peterson added.

Students may participate in this event, but participants must sign a liability release waiver. To do so, please check calsce.org or contact Karen Peterson ([email protected]) for any questions.

The TOMS Campus Club at South Alabama, an organization in the process of being approved through student activ-ities, is also seeking interested members. Those interested in helping South Ala-bama’s TOMS Campus Club grow are encouraged to join the group on Face-book at facebook.com/usatoms.

When I first got my driv-er’s license, I knew that I

wanted to be an organ donor. I never knew how meaningful

that choice would be until I was per-sonally impacted by organ donation.

Last semester, my younger broth-er, Tyler Huynh, was in a fatal car accident.

When the doctors asked me if I thought Tyler would’ve liked to be an organ donor, I knew immediately that he would.

He was the most selfless person that I’d ever known.

Tyler’s story had a tremendous impact on the community, and I tru-ly believe that he fulfilled his life’s purpose by giving three people a sec-ond chance at life.

According to the Alabama Or-gan Center, there are approximately 3,667 patients in Alabama that are on the waiting list to receive an or-gan transplant.

Over 116,900 people are current-ly on the waiting list in the United

Donor Dash 5k comes to USADonor Dash 5k comes to USALazy Magnolia Brewery to visit USALazy Magnolia Brewery to visit USABy ASHLEY [email protected]

The USA Professional Sales and Marketing Club (PSMC) brings

the Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company to campus on Wednesday, April 17, to share their award-winning marketing secrets.

Christianna Craddock, Southeast Brand Manager, will have an interactive presentation on beer branding strategies, market segmentation, customer analysis and market growth strategies.

Cody Mason, the PSMC president stated, “A major part of our agenda for this semester has been to provide our members with a real world encounter with a professional marketing executive, and I could not be more excited.”

The presentation will be at 3 p.m. in the Mitchell College of Business, room 270.

Lazy Magnolia (lazymagnolia.com) is a microbrewery based in Kiln, Missis-sippi. This unique company creates beer from whole roasted pecans, sweet pota-toes, honey and citrus products.

It offers a wide variety of craft beers including Golden Honey Ales, Sweet

Potato Cream Stout, Deep South Pale Ale and Traditional IPA’s.

Michelle Robinson, a PSMC club member said, “Craft beers are my favor-ite, and I absolutely love Lazy Magnolia’s Golden Honey Ale.”

Lazy Magnolia products are sold throughout the South and recently won awards for their Indian Summer and Jef-ferson Stout Beers at the US Open Beer Championship, as well as the bronze medal in the World Beer Cup in the spe-cialty beer category.

This event offers a stellar opportu-nity for students to integrate marketing concepts and practice. Attendees will enjoy learning the mechanics of design-ing and executing innovative beer mar-keting strategies that work in competi-tive markets.

In addition, attendees may offer their own suggestions on creating memorable and effective beer strategies.

Come early, get a great seat and net-work with Lazy Magnolia marketing professionals.

COURTESY OF LAZY MAGNOLIA BREWERY

Lazy Magnolia Brewery is unique Southern brewery that produces beer from pecans, sweet potatoes, honey and citrus products.

By CHINA [email protected]

States. To honor Tyler’s life and to edu-

cate others on the need for organ donation, I will be hosting the Do-nor Dash 5K on April 27 here at the University of South Alabama.

When asked about the upcoming 5K, sophomore elementary educa-tion major Jordan Neely said, “Or-gan donors are people who give oth-ers the gift of life, and I believe this run is a great way of promoting the need of organs in order to help save others.”

Freshman nursing major Kellie Mosner echoed Neely’s statement saying, “I think that it is a wonderful idea. It is very good for the cause in general. More and more people need to realize the importance of how organ donation benefits people who need it. I’m totally for it.”

The race will begin at 8 a.m. at the intramural fields.

To find out more about this event, or to register to participate or volunteer, contact co-supervisor April McGuff at [email protected] or myself at [email protected].

SANDRA HUYNH | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOMS shoes have made a world-wide impact with their “One-for-One” campaign that provides a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair bought.

JagLife Spotlight: Mortar BoardJagLife Spotlight: Mortar Board

JAKE HOWELL | JAGLIFE EDITOR

On April 12, the Azalea Chapter of Mortar Board inducted its newest set of initi-ates. These initiates (above) included honorary member Dr. Cindy Stanfi eld and a Chapter Citation for Mrs. Geri Moulton.

8VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR 15, 2013

A person who assumed the days of independent book-

stores were long gone may be sur-prised to find one such establish-ment right here in the Port City, offering second hand books at bar-gain prices.

Bienville Books’ story began with the popular Mobile destination The Haunted Book Shop that closed in 1991 after fifty years of business.

Many locals were fond of the business and felt sad to see it go. One resident, Russ Adams, decided there was a need in the community to keep such a location open, so he opened Bienville Books in the same spirit of the original.

“I have worked in book stores before….I just like the location and the combination of the two would be good,” says Adams.

The original bookstore was named after a 1919 novel by Chris-topher Morley. In tribute to both the book and the original store, Bienville Books has dubbed their upstairs area ‘The Haunted Book Loft.”

Despite the tribute, the owners

Bienville Books offers local charm and bargain pricesBienville Books offers local charm and bargain pricesassure there are no actual ghosts present in the building.

The used books are obtained from a variety of sources including thrift stores and estate sales.

The majority of books are sold for half of their internet value, with some going for as little as $2-6.

There are also several first edi-tions of popular books, which may interest serious collectors.

“Bookstores don’t really make a lot of money...It’s a treasure hunt,” says Adams.

As a wholesaler, the store makes two to three orders a month. Ad-ams offers over 2,500 of the most expensive collectible books for sale online.

When possible, Adams is willing to search for requested books.

The store collection is replete with an eclectic mix of popular au-thors, such as Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut.

“I was pleasantly surprised. They have a bunch of random but unique things. I feel like I could spend hours in there. You never know what you could find,” says communications major Alyson Stokes.

Surprisingly, Bienville Books has benefitted from the growth of digi-

By TIMOTHY [email protected]

tal eReaders. When technology forced several

mainstream bookstores in town to close down, Bienville Books re-mained as one of the few local bas-tions of print.

A large part of the reason the store survived is also because Ad-ams’s father owns the building, and as a result the rent is not nearly the expense as other people on the same street.

The store also survives off the sale of hand-made items such as post cards, book bags, posters and Mardi Gras memorabilia.

The bookstore’s popular Face-book page often features literary trivia questions. Bienville Books also offers many brand new books that are currently best sellers.

The store is also an important part of Mobile’s Friends of the Li-brary.

Through partnerships like these Bienville Books has become an in-tegral part of the local community and an excellent independent busi-ness to stumble into and discover downtown.

Bienville Books is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

TIMOTHY BORLAND | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Bienville Books is one of the few independent bookstores left amidst the large chains like Books-a-Million and Barnes and Noble.

After a long, drawn out debate over the establishment of two

new entertainment districts, the City Council voted Tuesday, March 5, that LoDa (lower Dauphin St.) deserves them.

Since March 14, patrons and partiers of downtown Mobile have been al-lowed to bring their beverages out of bars or restaurants and onto the side-walks within the districts.

This new ordinance allows people to sit outside, stroll or barhop along the most popular and vibrant part of the city with an open container.

These containers, however, must be designated paper or plastic cups that have the “LoDa” logo or the restau-rant/bar’s logo on them. No cans or bottles are allowed.

This radical new allowance is effec-tive from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., seven days a week.

Junior English major Travis Jackson has taken advantage of the new ordi-nance.

“It makes for a better atmosphere. I

Downtown debuts new entertainment districtsDowntown debuts new entertainment districtsdo enjoy a drink with my friends and we all have different places we want to hit up. Now, we can go from bar to bar without having to interrupt the merri-ment,” Jackson said.

Junior nursing major Brandon Flynn shared Jackson’s enthusiasm. “It’s nice that it’s legal now, you don’t have to hide it anymore. It makes it more relaxed.”

The fi rst and smaller district begins at Bayou St. and ends at Cedar St. In bar-hopping terms, that is from O.K. Bicycle Shop and the Union down to O’Daley’s.

The second and larger district be-gins at the east side of Franklin St. and extends all the way to the west side of Water St. To be on the safe side, one may want to think in terms of the front of the Cathedral all the way to the Ser-da’s and Veet’s area.

Controversy has ensued over the three blocks left out of the districts. The opposite sides of Franklin St. and Cedar St. are omitted from the district along with all of Hamilton St. and Law-rence St.

This excludes the Haberdasher and the beloved Alabama Music Box.

Though many people, including

By BRENTT [email protected]

Council President Reggie Copeland, Haberdasher owner, Naude Gouws and Alabama Music Box owner, David Matthews, wanted these blocks to be included, it was fi nally decided that the area was a more residential section.

The public parks, such as Bienville Square and Cathedral Square, are omit-ted from the district as well.

In an effort to prevent future drunk-en nuisance, there are additional police offi cers downtown, every night. The two districts, however, have been estab-lished for about three weeks, and seems to be going better than anticipated.

Littering, panhandling, vandalism and obscene behavior have yet to in-crease, while patrons are more than grateful they can now get their libations to-go.

When I asked Bier Garten co-own-er, Matt Golden, about any noticeable changes since the ordinance passed, he said, “Patron behavior really hasn’t changed. Business really hasn’t changed. It’s a welcoming environment down here; it’s a great place to hang out. To be honest with you, there are really no negatives to it. You’re not going to get hassled for walking around with an al-

coholic beverage.” Surfi ng from Club 5’4 to Buck’s

Pizza to Serda’s to Booradley’s is fi ne. Checking out the Music Box or Hab-erdasher, however, requires patrons to chug it or trash it by the time they get to the Cathedral, or else they may fi nd themselves casualties of such a great, new dynamic to the downtown scene.

Just do as Budweiser suggests, “Drink Responsibly,” it’s not as crazy as it sounds.

For the JagLife Spotlight in last week’s edition of The Vanguard, a photo of this year’s Relay for Life was chosen. The Luminaria pictured, however, were mistakenly captioned as being lit only to remember those who had lost their battles with can-cer. In actuality, these symbols are also used to celebrate and honor those who are still fighting.

CorrectionCorrection

STAFF ILLUSTRATION

PATRICK HERRING, SPORTS [email protected]

9VOL. 52, NO. 13/ APR. 15 , 2013

Sophomore Beard pitcher perfect for South Alabama

Beard winding up for a toss against LSU on Mar. 27. The sophomore pitched 4.1 innings and struck out 8 Tiger batters in the outing. COURTESY USAJAGUARS.COM

There are some combinations in the world that are just meant to

be. Peanut butter and jelly. Cookies and milk. Popcorn and movies. And more recently, Farish Beard and the University of South Alabama. The Fairhope native has been on campus for less than two years, but has already made a name for herself.

Beard is a pitcher for the South Alabama softball team, which is in the midst of its best season in the program’s short history. The team is currently ranked inside the top 25 in the country and has put together a 38-7 record. Their success is due in part to the Beard’s efforts on the mound. She sports a 17-0 record, having yet to tarnish her stat sheet with a loss this season.

Just two short years ago, Beard was pitching for Fairhope High School, a mere 30-minute drive from campus. While playing for the Pirates, she put together quite a prep résumé. In 2011 she led Fairhope to an Area 3 tournament championship, a runner-up spot in the 6A regional tournament and a third-place fi nish in the state tournament.

Over her high school career, Beard threw 23 no-hitters, recorded 1,461 strikeouts and had an ERA of just 0.78. Her play quickly caught the attention of USA head softball coach Becky Clark.

“We felt like Farish had the physical tools to become a front-line pitcher and just needed some mechanical work in order to develop,” Clark said. “She has a tremendous amount of movement. You don’t see pitchers everyday who can spin and move the ball the way Farish can.”

Lucky for Clark and USA, Beard was as interested in South Alabama as they were in her.

“Getting offered to play at USA was a dream come true,” Beard said. “Knowing that I would be so close to home and my family would be able to see me play was really important to me.”

With Clark still in the process of building the program, Beard also saw a chance to help get the ball rolling for South Alabama softball.

“The idea of being a part of such a young program and being able to make something big happen was a great opportunity for me,” Beard said.

So Beard committed to play for Clark at USA, setting the wheels in motion for her to become the pitcher she is today.

In her freshman season, the softball

program had its best season to date, going 41-17 and making it to the NCAA Regional Finals after winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. In her limited role, Beard compiled a 7-2 record. She only allowed 33 hits and 8 earned runs in 58 innings of work, good for an ERA of 0.97. In thirteen plate appearances Beard pitched 3 shutouts, including a one-hitter in her fi rst collegiate start against Southeastern Louisiana.

The success of last year’s team helped get Beard some experience playing under the spotlight, something Clark believes has helped her to mature as a player.

“She has defi nitely grown and matured as both a person and a player. Her mental game has matured and is much more consistent now,” Clark said. “The big game experience she got at the end of last year and throughout this year has helped her gain confi dence and realize what she is capable of from a performance standpoint.”

The big game experience Clark is

referring to was a semi-fi nal contest against Georgia Tech last year. In that game, Beard pitched all 5 innings of a run-rule shortened game, allowing only 1 run on 1 hit and striking out 9 Yellow Jackets in the 10-1 victory.

Now in her sophomore season, Beard has taken on a bigger role in the pitching rotation alongside junior Hannah Campbell. The duo have accounted for 35 of the team’s 38 wins this season. Though Campbell is only one season the elder of Beard, she has been very helpful to her younger teammate.

“It is great having Hannah there for me, I’m very fortunate,” Beard said. “When one of us is down, the other is up. We both know that if one of us is having an off night, the other will be right there to pick up the slack.”

Clark likes what she is seeing out of the pair thus far this season.

“Hannah and Farish make a great combination because they are so different with what they do to a hitter,” Clark said. “I am extremely proud of

both of them for their attitude and how well they have worked together. I think that is something that needs to be pointed out because they both support each other and realize how much they can help this team when they work together.”

Through seventeen starts in 2013, Beard has pitched nine complete games. In those seventeen games, she has only allowed 34 runs on 59 hits in 110.1 innings of work, giving her a 2.03 ERA. She has also recorded 147 strikeouts.

Though she has yet to absorb a loss this season, Beard refuses to take all of the credit for her unblemished record.

“The defense behind me is playing great and the team is hitting the ball great,” Beard said. “It’s a credit to the team and the bats that we are where we are at this point.”

According to Beard, the high point in the season for her came in the contest against twelfth-ranked LSU on Mar. 27. She started the game and pitched 4 scoreless innings, striking out 8 before giving up 5 runs in the top of the fi fth

inning, but at that point the Jags were already up 11-0.

“The LSU game was a huge game for us,” Beard said. “Hitting like crazy in front of a huge crowd at home was a great feeling. We really showed what we’re made of. As a team it was our best effort.”

As good as this season is going for Beard and the Lady Jags, it’s far from over and there are still goals they hope to accomplish.

“Our goal has always been to get to the post season, which we did last season, so this year our goal is to get farther than we did last season,” Beard said. “You want to get as far as you can, so of course our goal is to make it to the World Series.”

The Women’s College World Series is a long way away and there are plenty of games yet to be played between now and May 30. Beard is still young, but she is a proven winner, and if she has anything to say about it, the Jaguars will be booking their trip to Oklahoma City sooner rather than later.

By PATRICK [email protected]

10VOL. 52, NO. 13/ APR. 15, 2013

Upcoming Jaguar athletics home games

Want us to follow you? Tweet us @USAVGSports

@USAVGSports

Brandon Bridge @Air_Canada_7:Quarterback

Mobile lights terrible. Been waiting for 5 minutes no lie

Blair Johnson @BlairBear_2:Infi elder/Outfi elder

Watching Ole Miss vs Miss St on ESPN at BWW & realizing we beat both teams..South AL deserves an ESPN debut! #GoJags

Ryan Onkka @Big_Onk:Tight End

I never end up watching what I came to YouTube to look for #distracted

Jereme Jones @j11jones:Wide Receiver

I wish I was going to AU..idk what they even having but everybody going..

Drew Dearman @DrewDearman:Offensive Lineman

Can’t believe I’m about to be in the library on a Friday. No telling the type of characters that dwell in the library on a Friday

Rush Hendricks @_RusHen_:Tight End

If a girl still likes you emerging from the cold tub... #wifethatgirl

Ben Whiteside @B_Whiteside88:Wide Receiver

I often wonder how much chef boyardee ravioli I’ve eaten in college

Trey Fetner @Tfet16:Quarterback

Lucky charms in the cafe!!!! Winning!!!! #merica

Trey Anderson @UnoDosTrey123:Guard

I may look foolish carrying this umbrella now but I’ll have the last laugh soon enough...Sunday, Apr. 12:

Baseball vs. Western Kentucky1 p.m. at Stanky Field

Saturday, Apr. 20:

Baseball vs. Western Kentucky6 p.m. at Stanky Field

Friday, Apr. 19:

Baseball vs. Western Kentucky6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field

By JT [email protected]

Baseball sweeps Red Wolves, move to 27-10

Softball downs Mean Green, extends win streak to eight games

BY BOBBIE MCDUFFIE / USAJAGUARS.COM

Left fi elder Nick Zaharion went 4-for-5 with 2 homeruns and 5 RBI on Saturday.

By PATRICK [email protected]

There’s no place like home. That statement is especially

true for the USA softball team who took two games this weekend at Jaguar Field against conference foe North Texas. The wins helped the Lady Jags improve to 37-7 on the season, including a 16-3 mark at home.

The Lady Jags took the weather-shortened series in a Saturday doubleheader. In the fi rst game, the Mean Green kept things interesting when they scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning to knot the game at 2-2.

An inning and a half later, sophomore Blair Johnson stepped up to the plate. She knocked the second pitch she over the right fi eld fence for a walk-off homerun to end the game, giving USA the 3-2 victory. Johnson went 2-for-3 with an RBI in the game.

Junior Hannah Campbell pitched a complete game for USA, allowing no earned runs on seven hits and striking out 8 Mean Green batters. It was her eighteenth complete-game effort of the season. Campbell’s record now sits at 17-7. Her 0.94 ERA, 156.2 innings pitched and 6 saves are all good for the conference lead.

Game two was a tad less interesting, for the visitors at least. Junior Julie Moss homered with one on in the bottom of the fi rst to give USA a quick 2-0 lead. Then Haley Fagan scored on a Clara Bowen RBI single to put the Jags up 3-0. Moss is tied for the Sun Belt lead in hits this

season with 48.The game was still within

manageable reach until the bottom of the second inning when the Lady Jag bats caught fi re. With the bases loaded, Fagan hit a single to right center to bring in two more runs. First baseman Meghan Collins came to the plate next, also singling and sending in two more scores to put USA up 7-0.

Later in the inning, with the bases once again loaded, senior outfi elder Britany Campbell jacked one over the right fence for a grand slam to put the game out of reach early, 11-0 in favor of the Jaguars.

North Texas would homer in the top of the third inning to score their only point of the game. The contest was called after the Mean Green failed to score another run by the middle of the fi fth, giving USA its eleventh run-rule victory of the season by a score of 12-1.

Sophomore pitcher Farish Beard got the win to move to 17-0 on the season. She struck out 9 of the 15 batters she faced in 4.1 innings of work, only allowing 1 run on 2 hits.

The fi nal game of the series was cancelled due to inclement weather in oft-rainy Mobile.

South Alabama softball is back in action next Saturday when they travel to Louisiana-Monroe to take on the Warhawks in a Sun Belt doubleheader. The Jags will come into the game with a one-game lead on Western Kentucky for fi rst place in the conference standings. Louisiana-Monroe sits at second to last in the conference with a 3-11 record in the SBC. They are 17-23 overall.

The Jags bats came alive this past weekend, outscoring Arkan-

sas State 30-5 while sweeping the Red Wolves in a three series.

The Jags rode the arm of Jarron Cito to take game one 6-2. Cito (3-1) allowed only two runs off fi ve hits in seven in-nings of work, while striking out fi ve and walking one. Dylan Stamey pitched 1.2 innings, striking out four and walk-ing one to record his second save of the season.

Pitcher James Traylor fi nished with an interesting line. While not giving up a hit or walk and striking out two of the four batters he faced, Traylor was record-ed with only one out due to an error and a dropped third strike allowing the batter to reach base.

“Cito was outstanding tonight,” said head coach Mark Calvi. “He matched up with the best Friday night guy in the league. He outpitched him and just did a fantastic job.”

First basemen Jordan Patterson led the way for the Jags, giving South an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run--his forth of the season-- in the fi rst inning while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Nolan Earley and Nick Zaharion both fi nished 1-for-4 with two RBI’s and a run scored. Zaha-rion added a double while Earley added his fi rst triple of the season.

“You need your guys to show that a pitcher is not invincible,” Calvi said. “To-night it was Patterson. He stepped up and hit a home run through the wind. I am proud of Jordan, he had a great night tonight. And I’m extremely proud of Nick Zaharion. He had some great at-bats, and Nolan Earley came up big with a triple.”

In game two, the Jags pummeled their opponent, mashing 21 hits on their way to a 20-2 victory.

Matt Bell (5-0) tied a career high with nine strikeouts in a career high eight in-nings pitched. Bell also walked one batter

while allowing two runs on fi ve hits.“Bell was really good,” Calvi said.

One of the things I was most impressed with was his ability to go back out and get his leadoff hitters out after some long innings in which we scored him some runs.”

Nick Zaharion fi nished 4-for-5 with two doubles, two home runs, fi ve RBI’s and four runs scored. Jeff DeBlieux fi n-ished 5-for-7 with two triples, three RBI’s and two runs scored. Graham Odom fi nished 3-for-6 with a double, an run and a career high fi ve RBI’s. Nolan Ear-ley went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Robby Campbell went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI’s. Brent Mitchell hit a solo home run, and Drew Cofi eld added two RBI’s. Jordan Patterson added four runs scored.

“They all showed up today ready to play,” Calvi said. “And they have for the most part this year. These guys know that we haven’t done anything special yet, and we have to show up everyday and not take one pitch, at-bat, inning or game off. I’m proud of these guys.”

Game three was again highlighted with a great job by the Jags pitching staff in a 4-1 victory, completing the sweep. Jacob Noble gave up only one run off three hits in seven innings of work while no issuing a walk and striking out fi ve.

Kyle Bartsch picked up the save, striking out two while giving up two sin-gles. With the save, Bartsch tied Blaine Dollar for the all-time career save record (18) at South Alabama.

Nick Zaharion fi nished 1-for-4 with two RBI’s. Hayden Jones added two RBI’s to his 2-for-3 day. Cole Billingsley, Whitt Dorsey, Dustin Dalken and Jordan Patterson each had one hit and one run scored on the day.

The Jags will play Florida State on the road on April 16 before returning home to face Western Kentucky for a three game series on April 19-21.

JT CRABTREE, LOC [email protected] OF CENTERLEFT OF CENTER

11VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APRIL 15, 2013

Only two weeks after being named head men’s

basketball coach, Matthew Graves has added the fi rst member of this coaching staff.

Graves announced on April 8 that Butler director of basketball operations Darnell Archey will join his new staff as an assistant coach. Archey played four years of collegiate basketball at Butler from 1999-2003 and has served on Butler’s coaching staff for the last four seasons.

“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be a part of Coach Graves’ staff at the University of South Alabama,” Archey said. “Matthew is a man of high character and a tireless worker. Under Coach Graves’ guidance you will see a basketball program that will stress academics and will be a hard-working and selfl ess team on the fl oor that the South Alabama community will be proud of.”

As well as his time on Butler’s

By JT [email protected]

Graves names Archey assistant on new staffGraves names Archey assistant on new staffFollows new head men’s basketball coach from Butler after four seasons with Bulldogs

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COMGuard Antoine Allen will be one of eight returning players at Graves’ disposal in the 2013-14 season

Disc golf Disc golf finishes finishes tenth in tenth in nationnation

staff, Archey has coached for fi ve years as a high school coach in Indiana, three of those years as a head coach. During his time as a head coach, Archey coached two McDonald’s All-Americans and several future all-conference players in the ACC and Big 10 Conference. The two McDonald’s All-Americans were Josh McRoberts and Yogi Ferrell.

McRoberts was named 2005 McDonald’s All-America Player of the Year, the award given to the best high school player in the nation. During his time at Duke, McRoberts ACC All-Freshman Team in 2005 and ACC All-Defensive Team in 2006. McRoberts is currently in his sixth year in NBA.

Ferrell was named a McDonald’s All-American just last season. He played 28.1 minutes per game at point guard for Indiana this season, where he helped lead the Hoosiers to the Sweet 16. He was also named Big 10 All-Freshman Team for the 2012-13 season.

During his playing days at Butler, Archey set the school record for career made 3-pointers with 217; he currently stands third. He also set school records for free throw percentage in season (97.3) and career (95.1). Archey also set an NCAA record for consecutive free throws made, sinking 85 straight from Feb 15, 2001 to Jan. 18, 2003.

After his playing days, Archey was a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and part of a touring Australian basketball team.

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

By STEPHEN NEWHOUSECONTRIBUTING WRITER

The University of South Alabama’s disc golf team

captured its second consecutive top 10 fi nish last week at the National Collegiate Disc Golf Championship. The Jags shot a team score of 568 to fi nish tenth in the fi ve-day tournament in Augusta, S.C.

“We fulfi lled our expectations, and we saw this season as a rebuilding year,” said team captain Adam Morrow. Morrow was an All-American on last year’s team that fi nished in second place.

USA fi nished 13 shots back of eventual tournament winner Tennessee Tech. “This year was easily the strongest fi eld that it has ever been,” said Morrow. “At least 10 teams could’ve won this year, including us.”

Shaun Turner led the Jags with an individual fi nish of 21. Turner was the only USA player to make the individual fi nals and shot 159 over three days. Phillip Tait and Travis Reynolds fi nished 45 and 59 with scores of 121 and 123 over two days, respectively.

“I played through a rough patch earlier in the week, but I was able to bounce back,” said Tait. “Overall, the team played and performed really well despite the heavy competition.”

The University of South Alabama has been a prominent player in the Mobile disc golf community. USA is one of the few schools in the nation to have a full 18-hole disc golf course

COURTESY OF STEPHEN NEWHOUSE

on campus. The course was opened in 2004 with SGA and campus recreation funds. USA campus recreation and the Mobile Disc Golf Association worked in conjunction to form the team last season.

“Our goal is to be a consistent top 10 team every year,” said Morrow. “We just need to prepare a little earlier next year, and adjust to the format better.”

USA’s disc golf team has fi nished in the top 10 in the nation the last two years COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR. 15, 2013 12

NOAH LOGAN OPINION [email protected]

OpinionOpinion

JagPulseWhy do you live on-campus or off? Have new apart-Why do you live on-campus or off? Have new apart-ment complexes enticed you to leave campus?ment complexes enticed you to leave campus?

Lindsay Byrne: I live off campus because I have family that lives in a house very close to south and it’s cheaper. I have no utility bills and I feel more comfortable. Plus you don’t have to worry about noisy college students at night.

Ashton Howe-Aley: I’m moving off campus because it’s cheaper, you have more space and you aren’t forced to buy a meal plan.

Nick Grondin: On campus, it is cheaper. I enjoy having a meal plan and that fact I won’t get roped into paying rent for a month or two when I’m not even going to be in the room

Lindsey Passauer Vázquez: Having lived in the dorms as an undergrad, I really didn’t mind. They were generally clean and well-maintained. As a grad student I was forced to use off-campus apartments

because South Alabama, unlike more competitive universities, does not allow family housing (not even at the Grove!)

Briana Barr: I live on campus for convenience, and I fi nd it a lot easier to get involved with activities... like Jag Jam tonight!

The only reason I would want to live off campus is to be able to have pets.

TheTheEditorialEditorialBoardBoard

Editor in Chief Opinion Editor Life Editor Sports Editor LOC Editor

Cassie Fambro >Noah Logan >Jake Howell >

Patrick Herring >JT Crabtree >

thevanguardonline.org

The Vanguard ViewpointThe Vanguard ViewpointUniversity vehicles need to mind rules

This newspaper has put forth much effort this school year into showing stu-dents the importance in participating in elections.

First there was the tiresome and drawn out presidential election of 2012 and then SGA elections were put in the spotlight this March and April. Nation-al elections are obvious for media cov-erage as well as the student governing body for our university but local politics and elections always seem to be on the outside looking in.

On April 26, mayoral candidate San-dy Stimpson hopes to take to the fi rst steps in changing that with a town hall style meeting put on by the political sci-ence department.

A town hall meeting allows mem-bers of the audience to submit ques-tions to a moderator or to the speaker directly. The meeting will take place at 6:30 in the Humanities Building Audi-torium, room 170.

The city of Mobile, and Alabama in general, is easy to rag on.

With fi nancial websites such as 24/7 Wall St. listing Mobile as the “third most miserable city in America,” stu-dents are quick to express discontent with the city. I encourage all the stu-dents who relish the security of the

computer screen to show up and become participating members of society instead of members of the internet troll army.

I am not trying to advertise and endorse Sandy specifi cally but in-stead show students the importance of being politically aware in our home city.

Any candidate that cares enough to participate in a free town hall meeting on campus should at least have the opportunity to explain and defend his or her policies that stu-dents feel are vital.

Students at USA would be foolish to pass up such a rare opportunity to making their voices heard.

This a perfect opportunity to ex-press why a decrease in state and fed-eral funding is hindering your educa-tion and pitch ideas you think would be benefi cial for Mobile.

If students hold themselves ac-countable as citizens of Mobile and participate in fi nding the right candi-dates for elected positions, maybe we can help Mobile refrain from show-ing up in any more lists of composed of America’s worst cities.

Students, pay attention to local mayoral election By Noah Cole [email protected]

University vehicles would be the target of ambulance-chasing lawyer billboards if USA had them. Driving as erratically as a tired 18-wheeler driver on the interstate, USA main-tenance, departmental and even Jag-Trans treat the campus as an obstacle course where speed wins trophies.

Last week, a Vanguard employee witnessed a bookstore van driver texting while turning outside of UCOM.

Two students reported JagTran drivers texting while driving and we’ve since encouraged them to take photographs the next time they see it so we can publish those pictures. Maintenance vans seem to believe that they can park in the middle of any given road and unload equip-ment or just sit and park from what we can tell.

Putting their flashers on, we’ve seen them idling in the middle of Jaguar Drive with no apparent rea-son in sight.

Two years ago, this never hap-pened. The former Facilities Direc-tor told The Vanguard in 2011 that vans were not allowed to drive on pedestrian sidewalks. We’d like to

openly invite facilities to comment on the current policy. So for now, students are reduced to playing leap frog with pick-up trucks and vans.

Last year, USAPD encouraged students not to text and drive after a 7-car pile-up in the Humanities parking lot allegedly caused by that action.

We’re sure USAPD would extend the message to University employ-ees. Speaking of USAPD, we all understand that officers have im-portant reasons to speed and drive rapidly through parking lots. So, get out of their way.

To everyone else, the University is indeed not an obstacle course. We don’t believe maintenance vehicles should block roadways when they can pull off to the side.

We don’t think they should be on frequently traveled sidewalks and we certainly don’t think that their driv-ers should be operating their cell phones.

If the University wants to hold students to a higher standard than they should lead by example.

Buckle up and pay attention, USA.

Facebook.com/thevanguardusa

VOL. 52, NO. 13 / APR. 15, 201313

POINT COUNTERPOINTShould South Alabama be a wet or dry campus? Should South Alabama be a wet or dry campus?

Editor’s Introduction: Being a dry campus has drawn considerable praise from some and harsh criticism from others. Whether it be for ethical reasons, economic reasons or the rights of an individual, do you think South Alabama should remain a dry campus or should it make the transi-tion to a wet campus?

EDITED BY NOAH LOGAN

While I doubt that South Ala-bama has anything but the best of intentions in banning alcohol from campus, it is a policy that denies re-ality. If their concern is with safety, how is it any safer to release the drinkers of the student body (both legal and not) into the general popu-lation of Mobile?

Alcohol can be purchased right across the street from campus and instead of bringing it back to their rooms (and staying there), students are instead urged to take their booze elsewhere. Among legal adults, prob-lems arise when even people who are well old enough to know better have a few too many spirits. The same happens to student-age drinkers across the country. Inadvertently, in-stead of dealing with these problems on our own campus, South Alabama simply exports the problem to the police force of the City of Mobile, whether that is at one of our excel-lent downtown bars or, God forbid, on the streets of our city.

In addition, every single underage drinker in the world has a hookup for alcohol. In college, that pipeline (maybe funnel is a more appropriate word here?) is likely going to be an upperclassman that is legal. That is wrong, irresponsible and incredibly prevalent. Instead of ignoring that trend, why doesn’t South Alabama tacitly acknowledge that it happens and at least let these activities take place in a quiet dorm room instead of in downtown on a crowded Sat-urday night?

Instead of banning alcohol out-right, the administration should al-low it to be a privilege to be earned and kept by the student body. If the students are aware that their alco-

holic license is contingent on their good behavior, I believe they will self-police their actions, at least to some extent.

This, in addition to the preventa-tive policing work of our own US-APD, should keep alcohol-related incidents to a level that is no higher than the number that currently in-volve students off-campus. Make the academic punishment steep for vio-lators; something like a two-strikes rule should be sufficient.

Finally, I think the university should go one step further and cre-ate a lounge area that serves alcohol for legal students. An on-campus pub would add a significant amount of culture to the campus, give the students a reason to hang out on-campus that doesn’t involve sports and be yet one more carrot to entice the legal-age drinkers to police both their own behavior and that of the underage students in their dorms, apartments and frat houses.

Besides, why shouldn’t USA make some of the money that students spend on alcohol? It certainly would be enough to maintain the new lounge and maybe provide funding for more measures designed to en-courage a healthy and adult atmo-sphere about drinking on the South Alabama campus. Whatever one may think about having our own lounge, the administration at South should at least take a step to treat the students here a little more like adults, and give us the chance to have a wet campus.

If we as men and women who will soon be on our own as grown-ups prove incapable of handling that responsibility, so be it. But let our own behavior make that decision for us.

RYAN [email protected]

S h o u l d we allow alcohol on campus? This is one of those issues where students and faculty might disagree. Most students would more than likely say, “We do it anyway, just make it legal!” While school administrators would argue, “Allowing alcohol on campus will only increase underage drinking and thus cause more crimes to be committed.” I would have to agree with the school administrators.

In the state of Alabama, the legal age of drinking is twenty-one. How-ever, on the University of South Alabama, the legal age of drinking is, well, doesn’t exist. Being a dry campus hasn’t seemed to stop crime right? Well, this much is true.

However, this leads back to the same argument of “will a criminal obey the law?” The answer to this is no. So, why do we even have a policy that states that no alcohol is allowed on campus?

I believe that the school adminis-trators understand that in the college environment, people are pressured into doing things that they normally would not do. This would cause peo-ple who would normally not break the law actually break the law by drinking because their ‘friends’ are drinking. But, won’t that just hap-pen off campus? Perhaps it would! But, what if they are on the campus grounds? The policy is no drinking. But, once again the idea that people

who want to

MICAH [email protected]

drink will do it whether there is a policy or not. So, what good is the policy if it does no good?

Number one, the policy keeps public drinking out of the Univer-sity of South Alabama.

Number two, it prevents acci-dents and crime from happening on the campus grounds. Not all is pre-vented of course, but the amount is reduced because the drinking is generally forced off the campus grounds.

Number three, the university is a learning environment, not a party environment. Though many of us would like to believe it is, it is not. The number one reason the univer-sity exists is to educate. Alcohol has been proven to prohibit the maxi-mum ability to learn, it also kills brain cells, causes liver disease etc.

All of this to say that alcohol does not help education and thus the USA administration has created the policy of no alcohol allowed on campus.

Ultimately it comes down to the risks involved, the costs involved, and the likely hood a student would pass their final exam with an alco-hol subdued mind. In most cases, alcohol has not benefitted college campuses nationwide. Therefore, the University of South Alabama should stay a dry campus. Dry cam-pus or bust!

Point:Point: Dry campus or bust! Dry campus or bust!

I believe that the school administrators un-derstand that in the college environment, peo-ple are pressured into doing things that they normally would not do.

“”

Point:Point: Give young adults adult freedoms Give young adults adult freedoms

If the students are aware that their alco-holic license is contingent on their good be-havior, I believe they will self-police their ac-tions, at least to some extent.

“”

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Mental Health Tip: Self Esteem

Courtesy of Dr. Robert Hanks

It is widely recognized that having healthy self-esteem is a key to mental health. People with healthy self-esteem have a relatively stable sense of per-sonal worth and confi dence in their abilities.

While recognizing their imperfec-tions, they tend to be accepting of themselves and relatively satisfi ed with who they are. Low self-esteem is as-sociated with a wide range of mental health problems such as anxiety and de-pression and can contribute to poorer academic, social, career, and health out-comes.

Those students who are suffering from low self-esteem can take steps to improve it and the fi rst step is to accept responsibility for doing so.

Fundamental to strengthening self-esteem is to become aware of one’s in-ternal dialogue or self-talk. When self-critical thinking occurs, it is a good idea to challenge these negative thoughts and try to replace them with more ob-jective or positive ones.

For example, after not doing well on

a test, a student with low self-esteem might think things like, “I’m so stupid,” “I don’t belong in college,” and/or “I might as well drop out and get a job at McDonalds.”

To challenge these thoughts, one would ask, “What is the evidence that what I’m telling myself is true or not true?”

That might lead to more realistic thoughts such as, “I made a 25 on the ACT, I can’t be that stupid,” or “I grad-uated in the top 10% of my high school class and besides, I didn’t really study that hard for this test.”

Other strategies for building self-esteem would include writing down and regularly refl ecting on positive self-affi rmations, learning to make choices that are consistent with one’s values, and setting challenging but realistic goals and celebrating one’s successes.

Students desiring help in improving their self-esteem are invited to contact the Counseling and Testing Services of-fi ce at 460-7051.

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