07.26.2012 edition of the auburn plainsman

TJ Harlin CAMPUS EDITOR

Every year, student complaints about Au-burn are similar.

The food on campus should be better; there should be a fall break; and Scantron forms should be free.

But, perhaps, the biggest complaint year-in and year-out about Auburn’s campus is the lack of parking available to students.

Parking Services is trying to alleviate some of these complaints.

Parking Services is working on projects in addition to the Proximate C parking designa-tions.

One is a ride-share program for commuting

students in places like Columbus, Ga. and Al-exander City. This program would make it eas-ier for students to find people to ride to class with.

A second program in the works is a smart-phone application that would show students how much space is available in each parking lot.

However, Andrae admitted that Auburn’s parking situation is not perfect.

“I wish that I had a magic wand that I could wave and a deck would appear, but I do not,” Andrae said. “I do care about students and have done everything that I can to protect the parking they have and try to make it.”

Beginning this fall, parking services is modi-

fying parking on campus with the new parking designation, Proximity-C Zone parking.

PC parking passes will be given out through a lottery with 1,700 students receiving a PC pass.

As of July 20, 2,500 students entered the lot-tery for a PC pass.

The PC parking lots will be located at the Coliseum, the Auburn Arena, the lot across from Momma Goldberg’s on Magnolia Avenue, and a small lot behind the public safety office.

These parking lots have 1,500 spaces, and students with a PC pass will be guaranteed a parking spot in one of these lots.

Students who do not win the lottery will still be able to park in the West lot and the intra-

mural fields. The Tiger Transit services these parking lots as well.

This new parking system has been in the works for nearly a year.

“I have been working hard over the last 11 months to see what can be done to fix the parking situation that we are in,” said Don An-drae, Parking Manager.

“The ultimate answer is to build more park-ing, but even if that was started today we would not see anything for at least two to three years.”

Andrae visited 80 other college campuses to

INSIDE Campus » 1 | Opinions » 4 | Community » 5 | Sports » 7 | Classifieds » 8 |

The Auburn PlainsmanA SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID

Recycled paper

Thursday, July 26, 2012 www.theplainsman.com Vol. 119, Issue 11, 8 Pages

See page 3334-821-8895

Can you picture yourself here?

Auburn the GreatAuburn band Adventure the Great played at the 2012 Avondale Riverfest, a free concert benefit-ing the non-profit Black Warrior Riverkeeper in support of the Black Warrior River.

CAMPUS // 3

Up-to-date 2013 football recruiting classAuburn prepares to begin its season with 16 re-turning starters and 21 incoming high school recruits.

SPORTS // 7

Nathan SimoneONLINE EDITOR

At approximately 9 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, two pedes-trians were struck by a car at Toomer's Corner.

Hector F. Hernandez-Corzo, 23, and Kathleen L. Holt, 28, were struck by a 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser at the intersec-tion of College Street and Magnolia Avenue.

According to Auburn Police, Holt was taken to East Ala-bama Medical Center.

Hernandez-Corzo was life-flighted to Columbus Region-al Hospital.

Dawson confirmed later that both the victims were treated for non life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the vehicle has been identified as Corey A. Davenport, 23, of Auburn. Davenport was reportedly not injured.

Dawsonassertively requested that citizens refrain from assuming the cause(s) of the accident and allow police to continue the investigation.

"The investigation is still ongoing, and alcohol is not sus-pected to have played a role in the accident," Dawson said.


According to reports by WLTZ 38, an Auburn University student was killed in a multiple-ve-hicle accident that oc-curred early in the morning on Sunday, July 22.

According to al.com, the student killed has been identified as 21-year-old Benjamin Henley Carr.

Carr is reported to have died when he lost control of his 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee and struck three other vehicles before his vehile came to rest upside down off of the road.

Police are still investigating the cause(s) of the accident, which occurred at approximately 12:15 a.m. off of South College Street on Shug Jordan Parkway.

WLTZ quoted Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson con-firming the fatality.

"We had one fatality. One Auburn University student was killed," Dawson said.

Theplainsman.com will post a remembrance shortly.

Pedestrians struck at Toomer’s Corner receiving treatment

Parking Services strives to alleviate students’ parking concerns

Auburn student killed in collision

Lane JonesWRITER

Most graduates are consid-ered lucky if they have an un-paid internship awaiting them after they’re handed their di-ploma. On his graduation day, however, Chris LaPlatney was about to start a 24-yearlong ca-reer.

La Platney graduated from Auburn in 1988 with a degree in civil engineering.

Immediately following his graduation, he was commis-sioned as an ensign in the United States Navy. Since then, he has spent 24 years serving in various capacities, culmi-nating in his current position of commanding officer.

LaPlatney said he knew ear-ly on that he wanted to go into the military, but at the start of his college search, he still wasn’t exactly sure where he would go.

“I had a navy reserve office training corps scholarship, and Auburn has a Navy ROTC unit,” he said. “I decided to vis-it, and it didn't take very long to decide that Auburn is where I wanted to be. I like the com-bination of the big universi-

ty and all the opportunity that provided with the small town feel of Auburn.”

LaPlatney said his expe-rience at Auburn prepared him for his career in the navy through the value of the educa-tion he received, the technical rigor of the program he gradu-ated from and the leadership skills and training he gained from serving in the ROTC unit.

“When I went there, Au-burn had one of the largest ROTC units in the country, and I thought that was a benefit to me as well because having the opportunity to interface with as many other midshipmen as I did at Auburn helped me form lifetime friendships,” he said. “Those social interac-tions served me well during my time in the military.”

As a commanding officer, LaPlatney and his team of bi-ologists, archeologists, forest-ers, and engineers provide fa-cility support to various mili-tary commands in the north-west region.

“In my line of work now, I don't know that there is a typ-ical day,” LaPlatney said.

LaPlatney and his team of

engineers manage construc-tion projects, maintenance and facilities, environmental planning and compliance, en-ergy conservation role, and anti-terrorism and force pro-tection.

“Every day brings new chal-lenges, and I think that's one of the reasons I love my job and have continued for as long as I have in my military career,” LaPlatney said.

LaPlatney also said that many of the same principles valued in the military were first impressed upon him dur-ing his time at Auburn.

“One of the things I liked about Auburn was the guiding principles that were encom-passed in the Auburn creed,” he said. “I was impressed with those when I was a student at Auburn, and I've tried to live my life in a way that was con-sistent with those. If they take advantage of all the opportu-nities the university provides and live according to the Au-burn creed, I think it will serve them well in whatever career path they choose to follow.”

LaPlatney said both Auburn and the military taught him

the importance of tradition. “We honor traditions in the

military,” he said. “It's those tra-ditions at Auburn that not only bind us to the students of the past but, knowing those tradi-tions will continue, bind us to the students who come after us. We can talk about the fight song, Tiger Walk or Toomer's corner. It’s those shared expe-riences that we have through the honoring of the traditions that really make Auburn a spe-cial place.”

LaPlatney currently lives on the west coast in the state of Washington. Over the course of his military career, he has been stationed across the east-ern seaboard and overseas in Greece, Spain and Guam.

“Being in the military, we travel around a lot, and it's amazing how often that I'll see people wearing Auburn sweat-shirt and Auburn hats. When-ever I interact with them, I'm guaranteed to get a smile and a ‘War Eagle,’” he said. “I think it truly solidifies that Auburn is a family and wherever you go, you can always find members of the Auburn family some-where nearby.

» See PARKING, 2

Auburn alumnus embodies Navy and orange

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE 1987 GLOMERATA (LEFT) AND CHRIS LAPLATNEY (RIGHT)

Chris LaPlatney was a member of Auburn’s Chi Epsilon, the National Civil Engineering Academic Honor Society.CARR

Campus 2 The Auburn Plainsman Thursday, July 26, 2012

Summer AustinWRITER

The Auburn Alumni Center began construction on its alum-ni walk on Monday, July 23.

The walk will be composed of inscribed bricks placed in the walkway of the alumni center’s south portico facing South College St. and the proceeds will fund scholarships through the Auburn Alumni Association Endowment for Student Scholarships.

Debbie Shaw, vice president of alumni affairs and executive director of the Auburn Alumni Association, said the project has a goal of donating $400,000 to the endowment.

According to Shaw, as of Friday, July 20, 208 pavers were sold, and 80 scholarships have been awarded for the upcom-ing 2012-2013 academic year.

Shaw said she and her affiliates are always looking for ways to raise money for student scholarships, and that’s one of the main objectives of the alumni walk.

“It’s an opportunity for alumni of Auburn to purchase a pav-er for a lot of different reasons; everything from just recogniz-ing a graduate, to a memorial, or just [ for being] a great Au-burn fan,” said John Raiford, coordinator of building opera-tions and supervisor of the building process.

“You can purchase a paver to recognize just about any event or person.”

Anyone is eligible to purchase a brick directly through Alumni Center, and three sizes are available.

A 4 x 8 inch standard brick costs $200; a 8 x 8 inch bluestone brick costs $500; and a 12 x 12 inch granite brick costs $1,000.

“I think what makes our program unique is that the paver project is open for all alumni. It’s for friends of Auburn, [and] it’s not limited. It’s for anyone who would like to have a paver engraved for their lifetime,” Shaw said.

“When you come back to campus, you’ll be able to come to the alumni center, which of course is where we want all our graduates to return, and see your name on a paver or those of friends or family.”

The project will be on-going and interested donors are still able to purchase a brick after the first phase.

Raiford said he expects the project to have three phases of completion and that the initial construction to be completed by the first home football game.

Raiford also said the construction process will be docu-mented through photographs and pictures of the individual pavers will be sent to the owner.

A grid will also be made available to help identify the area where the individual’s paver is located.

Scholarships are awarded to incoming freshmen and trans-fer students who have at least one parent or guardian who is an Auburn alumni and a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association.

The incoming student must also meet academic require-ments set by the association when entering the University.

For more information on the alumni walk, contact Project Manager Kate Larkin at (334) 844-1149 or [email protected].

Nathan Simone ONLINE EDITOR

Sushil Adhikari, assistant professor of biosystems engi-neering, recently received a $335,748 grant from the Na-tional Science Foundation to conduct bioenergy research, specifically Adhikari’s special-ity, the conversion of biomass into biofuels and products, for three summers.

Adhikari intends to set up a program titled Research Ex-periences for Undergraduates (REU), which will allow 10 stu-dents from limited research universities each summer to spend 10 weeks on campus studying bioenergy.

Adhikari agreed to tell the Plainsman more about what he intends to do with his gener-ous grant.

How will the students be

chosen for entry into your research site?

The primary focus of our recruitment efforts will be un-dergraduate students from historically black colleges and universities and communi-ty colleges in the southeast-ern United States that are in-terested in pursuing gradu-ate studies in biofuels and bio-products.

We will post advertise-ments at regional and nation-al scientific conferences and distribute emails to our col-leagues at different institu-tions. In addition to that, in-

formation about theREU pro-gram will be posted on a web page that will be developed for this project. The web page will provide an REU program over-view, information on research topics and faculty mentors, application procedures and materials, and professional development and social ac-tivities.

Any students that are inter-ested in the REU program are encouraged to submit their application materials. They will be asked to provide a two-page application form, a one-page resume, a letter describ-ing their career goals and ed-ucational and research expe-riences, copies of their under-graduate transcripts, two let-ters of recommendation, and a statement of reasons for wanting to participate in the REU program. Relevant cours-es, strong writing skills, good GPAs, and strong recommen-dation letters from teachers and scientists will serve as in-dicators of potential success in this program.

Participants who are at an earlier stage in their college experience will be given a high priority because junior- and senior- level undergraduates have typically already com-mitted to a major either in the fields of science or engineer-ing.

It is important to under-stand the main objective of this project. Our ultimate

goal of this project is to lead a greater number of students pursuing graduate studies. We hope to do this by intro-ducing participants to differ-ent research techniques, sci-entific hypotheses testing and experimental design, data col-lection, analysis, and presen-tation in an engaging, inter-disciplinary atmosphere that fosters a strong interest in the field of bioenergy.

I understand that your

area of expertise is biomass gasification. What are the main crops used in this pro-cess?

Just to clarify about my ex-pertise, I worked on thermo-chemical conversion of bio-mass to liquid and gaseous fu-els that includes gasification, pyrolysis and reforming pro-cesses.

In this project, we will be focusing primarily woody bio-mass, or pine. As you might know, two-thirds of Alabama is covered with forestry, and our primary crop is forest bio-mass.

In addition to forest bio-mass, we will focus on other energy crops such as switch-grass or agricultural residues such as pecan shells, peanut hulls and so on. We do not want use any food crops and we would like to stay away from the “food vs fuel” debate.

Are the crops utilized in

this native to or grown heav-ily in Alabama?

Yes. Woody biomass is widely available in Alabama, and pine is the primary spe-cies grown here in the South.

Do you have any collabo-

ration with companies/or-ganizations that sell or de-velop products to utilize clean-burning fuels?

Yes. Through this and oth-er ongoing projects, we have a number of industrial partners such as Rentech, Coskata, KioR, the Southern Company, Alabama Power, Alabama Mu-nicipal Electric Authority, Gas Technology Institute, Genera, the National Carbon Capture Center, and PureVision.

After the three summers

are completed, do you in-tend to renew the grant or move onto other projects?

I hope to renew this project after three years but my goal right now is to make this proj-ect fun and memorable for our REU fellows. Auburn Universi-ty through the Center for Bio-energy and Bioproducts have invested heavily in infrastruc-ture that can be used to train our young generation need-ed to fully develop and sustain biobased economy.

Is this your first major

grant? Yes, and no. I have been for-

tunate enough to get involved in number of grants that were funded through the U.S. De-partment of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation, but this is the first major grant targeted to train undergraduate students

in bioenergy and bioproducts to this magnitude.

Do you have any faculty

members or students that will be assisting you in this program?

This is a collaborative proj-ect, and we will have twelve faculty mentors participating in this project from six depart-ments representing three col-leges—the college of agricul-ture, the Samuel Ginn college of engineering and the college of science and mathematics—and the school of forestry and wildlife sciences.

The Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts will also al-low access to its infrastruc-ture for research, and Dr. Mar-garet Marshall from the office of University writing will help REU fellows with technical communication skills. Dr. Raj Chaudhury of the Biggio Cen-ter will help in evaluating the effectiveness of the project.

One thing that I would like to emphasize is that the sup-port and encouragement from our colleagues is key in getting a big grant like this. The de-partment head of biosystems engineering, Dr. Steve Tay-lor; the department chair of chemical engineering, Dr. Ma-rio Eden; and the dean of Sam-uel Ginn college of engineer-ing, Dr. Christopher Roberts are the ones who encouraged me to write this grant, and I am thankful for their support.

Professor wins bioenergy grant, fuels change

EDITORIALRobert E. Lee Editor-in-chief Melody Kitchens Managing editor Anna Claire Conrad Copy editorDanielle Lowe Photo editorTJ Harlin Campus editorRebecca Moseley Campus reporterAndrew Yawn Community editorZeke Turrentine Community reporter John Holtrop Sports editorrachel suhs Design editorNathan Simone Online Editor

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Sushil Adhikari, assistant professor of biosystems engineering, re-cently received a grant to conduct bioenergy research.

Alumni walk lets students stand on history

PARKING» From 1


Auburn alumni are able to purchase and inscribe a brick for the un-der-construction walkway of the Auburn Alumni Center

see how their parking was structured.“What we’re trying is nothing new,” Andrae said. “The ma-

jority of (schools) do a lottery for parking spaces. Their park-ing is no different from Auburn in the fact that there is none.”

Andrae believes the new system will eliminate some of the congestion on Donahue Drive and eliminate students circling parking lots searching for spaces.

The decision to move to this new parking system was not impulsive. Parking Services held two open forums during the Spring semester to discuss the new parking system. A total of four students attended the forums.

The Student Government Association was also involved in the decision.

“We thoroughly analyzed and debated the proposal and, in the end, the resolution in support of the Proximate C-Zone parking plan was passed unanimously after senators saw its traffic efficiency,” said SGA President Owen Parrish.

Even if the new PC designation was a surprise to many, stu-dents believe the new parking structure will work.

“It was ridiculous before because I had a C-Zone pass and you honestly had to get to class about an hour before to even think about getting a spot,” said Devery Ernest, junior in ac-counting. “Being guaranteed a spot would make parking much easier.”

Parrish also predicts that the new system will benefit stu-dents.

“The new system will be successful,” Parrish said. “It is a big change, but our system of on campus parking was broken and needed serious revision.”

Rebecca MoseleyCAMPUS BEAT REPORTER

Finals make college life in-famous for its week-long re-semblance to the under-world.

However, with proper tools and planning, finals could potentially be a stress-free breeze, especially if you start the preparation trend among your friends.

Finding a conducive envi-ronment in advance to meet with others from the same class should be an initial preparation.

“I’ve gotten to where I don’t even like the library anymore,” said Carrie Coker, senior in apparel merchan-dising design and produc-tion management. “I’ve got-ten to be one of those nerds that study at the coffee shop. I tried it during midterms, and I did better on them than usual.”

If success is what you seek, plan to go above and beyond by spending time outside of the classroom in preparation of finals—not only in the library, but also meeting with professors during their designated of-fice hours, requesting advis-ing outside of office hours and seeking help from tutors where needed.

Clear communication with professors and tutors throughout the semester is beneficial by showing an in-terest and dedication as well as acquiring extra insight.

“I think my finals are go-ing to go fine because my tu-tors help me prepare by test-ing me in every session that we have leading up to my fi-nals,” said Pat Lymon, offen-sive running back and soph-omore in public administra-tion.

Professors who see that

you are putting in extra effort are more likely to share tips and any other advice needed to pass the course with flying colors.

Practice in being ahead of the curve is a winning so-lution especially when it comes down to finals week.

Students often resort to last-minute, late-night cram sessions, usually resulting in after-hours consumption of meals and beverages for that extra and desperately need-ed boost of energy.

“To prepare for finals, I make delicious coffee and acquire GiGi’s cupcakes,” said Victoria Patton, se-nior in communication. “Also, one solitary beer nev-er hurts.”

Being involved in extra-curricular activities during finals may sound exponen-tially more stressful, but by using the tools and oppor-tunities that are made avail-able for Auburn’s students, such as access to extra re-sources, collaboration with individuals who are also in-volved and individuals that could potentially lead you in the right direction that might not be clear otherwise, achieving your desired goals for finals week is possible.

“Fraternity stuff goes to the backburner for me dur-ing finals,” said Will Holladay, member of the agricultur-al fraternity Alpha Gamma Rho and junior in agricultur-al economics. “You have a re-sponsibility to the fraternity to make good grades.”

Of course, remem-ber what your parents and teachers have always told you about maintaining san-ity throughout finals, which include balancing time man-agement, healthy eating hab-its, and exercise.

Make summer exams a breeze

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On their way to perform in Nashville, Tenn. this week, members of local band Ad-venture the Great said they rocked the house during their contribution to the 2012 Avondale RiverFest on Satur-day, July 21.

The Avondale Brewing Company of Birmingham hosted this free, live music event to benefit a non-profit organization called the Black Warrior Riverkeeper in sup-port of the Black Warrior Riv-er and its tributaries.

At the festival, attendees were encouraged to contact individuals, such as the pres-ident of the University of Al-abama and other university employees, to express a desire to prevent the mining of coal from the Shepherd Bend Mine of Tuscaloosa near the Black Warrior River.

Adventure the Great dis-played its adventurous folk style on the brewery’s back-yard stage along with several local Birmingham bands and artists of a similar genre, such as John and Jacob, the Poison Kitchen and Ryan O’Connor and the Renegade of Folk.

The festival took place from noon until midnight, and it at-tracted approximately 1,500 to 2,000 local patrons, accord-ing to promoter and booker for vendors and artists, Rich-ard Harris of StompBox Me-dium Booking Agency in Bir-mingham.

“It was more than I expect-ed. So, basically, it was a huge success,” Harris said.

According to Harris, while the Black Warrior Riverkeep-er booth gained the most at-tention throughout the festi-val, Shindig Catering’s food truck seemed to have been the most popular eatery out of the event’s 13 vendors.

Food, beverages and art were also made available through the Crestwood Cof-fee Company, the Avondale Brewery Company’s new out-door bar and other local busi-nesses and artists, all of whom contributed 10% of their pro-ceeds to the Black Warrior Riverkeeper.

“For me, as a business own-er, I feel that when you com-bine so much media—includ-ing art, music and food—for a specific cause, it is more than just another get togeth-er,” Harris said. “It brings the community together by sup-porting each other through local businesses and artists. Separate local entities all un-der one roof is what I believe was the driving success for this event.”

Before the Avondale River-Fest, Harris booked Adven-ture the Great for other events around the Birmingham area.

Two years ago, Florence, Ala. native Chandler Jones said he knew he wanted to form a band with specific, un-common instruments, like the cello, and, throughout a three-week period, he sought out in-dividuals specializing in un-conventional instruments and an exceptional style of music.

After several member changes and a change in the band’s name, Adventure the Great now consists of current Auburn students and Univer-sity graduates, including its singer, Bethany Whitehead; cello player, Sean Bowman of Birmingham; drummer, Chandler “Reno” Reynolds of Hunstville; bass player, Robert Fowler of Daphne; and Jones as its songwriter.

Jones said he was also sur-prised by the amount of those in attendance.

“The whole day was really fun because the other bands were really nice, and there was

a great crowd,” Jones said. “We headlined around 10

p.m., and at that time, there were about 300 people at the stage, which was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.”

The band has a collection of about 15 original songs that they chose from during their set at the festival as to steer away from covering songs, each being longer than the av-erage song.

Adventure the Great re-corded an extended play re-cord in Nashville last Decem-ber consisting of seven songs, and it performs at local ven-ues in Auburn, including the Bloodhound and the Gnu’s Room, as well as venues in downtown Opelika and Wa-verly.

“We’ve been trying to play out of town as much as possi-ble so that our fan base in Au-burn doesn’t get tired of us,” Jones said.

Jones also said the band en-joys performing unplugged, intimate shows at least once a semester by candle light where they tell stories about each of their songs.

The Railyard is a new mu-sic venue in downtown Ope-lika located in an old ware-house where Adventure the Great will gather to perform with other local bands in cele-bration of local art on Aug. 18.

Fowler said performing at intimate locations such as the Railyard take him and his bandmates back to their roots and remind them of why they decided to play together in the first place.

“You only (perform) from your roots. The blossoms we musically conveyed for the crowd at RiverFest hopeful-ly represented the beauty of Auburn, where the earth is rich in creativity and passion,” Fowler said.

Great Adventures in store for local Auburn band

COURTESY OF ADVENTURE THE GREAT

Local band Adventure the Great began with Florence native Chandler Jones’ dream of a band with specif-ic, uncommon instruments.

COURTESY OF ADVENTURE THE GREAT

Chandler Jones (right) said he enjoys performing unplugged, intimate shows at least once a semester.

4Thursday, July 26, 2012 www.theplainsman.com Campus

OpinionsOur View QUOTE OF THE WEEK

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I decided to visit, and it didn’t take very long to decide that Auburn is where i want to be.” — Chris LaPlatney Auburn NROTC alum

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PolicyThe opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages. These unsigned editorials are the majori-ty opinion of the 9-member editorial board and are the of-ficial opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed in columns and letters represent the views and opinions of their individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.

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The Editorial BoardRobert E. LeeEDITOR

Melody KitchensMANAGING EDITOR

Andrew YawnNEWS EDITOR

TJ HarlinCAMPUS EDITOR

John HoltropSPORTS EDITOR

Rachel SuhsDESIGN EDITOR

Danielle LowePHOTO EDITOR

Anna Claire ConradCOPY EDITOR


Ben CroomesOPINION EDITOR

Her View

His View

I work at newspaper, and you could even accuse me of writing a few news articles. However, I promise that I am not a journalist. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

I know some Associated Press style rules, but I just don’t feel like journalist. Trying to keep up with current events makes me angry to the point of stress. I look at websites like al.com, which is probably a mistake, and see how hateful-ly and stupidly people react to

seemingly benign articles; and I die a little on the inside.

Any news site that al-lows comments on their arti-cles ends up being a breeding ground for some of the dumb-est things I’ve ever read.

Sites for major news sourc-es like CNN, MSNBC and even NPR look like they are hold-ing online Klan rallies in every comment thread.

I wish I could say that these strings of insanity only be-longed to neo-conservatives and fundamentalist Christians, which are becoming harder to tell apart, but even people with liberal sensibilities are pitching in on this bonfire of idiocy.

Now, I’m not saying I’m bet-ter or smarter than these peo-

ple, whoever they may be, but I do feel like I have something they don’t—the ability to shut up.

Not every news article needs to turn into a 10,000 word de-bate on the fate of our coun-try. Just because you don’t like an article about Auburn or the University of Alabama doesn’t mean you have to spend four hours battling with faceless strangers on the merits of the 1986 Iron Bowl. Simply put, you are not accomplishing anything.

You will never convince a conservative to like President Barack Obama. You will nev-er persuade a liberal to listen to Rush Limbaugh. You are not engaging in thoughtful dis-

course with a fellow human being; you are arguing with a Facebook friend about Chick-fil-A.

What you are doing when you participate in these ridic-ulous arguments is making yourself look stupid. No mat-ter how smart or well thought out your diatribe may be, no one cares.

My father once gave me some advice after he saw a three day long fight I was hav-ing on Facebook. That’s right, I spent the at least two hours each day for three days trying to take down the tea party on the same site as Farmville. He said, “Son, you’re making your-self look like a fool.”

I want to encourage every-

one, whatever your beliefs maybe, to take my father’s ad-vice.

What does it say about our society that we would rath-er spend time arguing with stangers than work to solve the issues we disagree on. The de-bate on universal healthcare is the perfect example.

I don’t know the actual num-ber, but there is a large portion of our population that can’t af-ford to go to a doctor. The easy solution is to help them either through a government pro-gram or a non-profit organi-zation.

That is not what’s happen-ing.

Instead, Republicans and Democrats have spent almost

three years and countless amounts of money trying to get the Affordable Care Act ei-ther put into law or destroyed. Why?

Because neither side is will-ing to back down or create a useful compromise, and all for the sake of political agendas. Again, it makes my head hurt.

The United States is ob-sessed with the idea that win-ning is not enough unless the other side suffers, and I think that is where we have lost our way. I believe in free speech and healthy debate, but saying all the fans of a football team should be euthanized, which I have seen multiple times on al.com, is insane.

It’s time to shut up.

Ben [email protected]

We love working for The Plainsman. It’s an experience we will remember for the rest of our lives, especially our ex-periences from this summer.

To be honest, our first few issues weren’t what we con-sider to be our best work.

Anything newsworthy seemed to just trickle in. We had a few truly interesting stories, like our feature on lo-cal LEGO master Eric Harsh-barger, but news was sparse, particularly for the sports section.

In our meetings, we joked about how uneventful this summer would be and plead-ed to the gods of journalism for something to write.

And, they gave us exactly

what we asked for.On Saturday, June 9, our

boring summer transformed into a treacherous monster, and we had to act fast before it swallowed us all whole.

The shooting at University Heights was only the begin-ning of a summer marred by violence and tragedy. Tusca-loosa and Aurora, Colo. for us are two more indelible spots on the summer that makes being a journalist very dis-heartening.

Of course, who are we to say we feel bad about this summer. There are way too many families hurting, and way too many families who lost loved ones. We have no room to complain about a

few sleepless nights.In a concurrence that

hasn’t quite registered with us, the Auburn family has also lost two of its members in two tragic, separate car accidents. Again, we can’t imagine the pain the Garrett and Carr families are going through, but we want them to know that the Auburn family is grieving with them.

Our experience this sum-mer has definitely forced us to grow as journalists, stu-dents and people. We’ve had to put our sensibilities on hold in order to cover these events, and we have all changed a little bit because of that.

Now, this summer in its

entirety has not been dis-couraging, but we can’t help feeling like misfortune has followed us these past few months. We’ve certainly tried to convey, at least in our edi-torials, that our society needs to place more importance on humanity and intelligence. If we have reached at least one person with those ideas, then our work this summer has not been in vain.

If we learned anything from the events of this sum-mer, it would be the impor-tance of humanity, and the importance of respect.

And not in some spaced-out hippie sense, either; but in the simple fact that all peo-ple, whether you like them or

not, deserve to live their lives. There will never be a just rea-son for people to act like al-leged shooters Desmonte Leonard, Nathan Van Wilkins or James Holmes. Those are the actions of cowards.

In spite of all that has made this a summer we will never forget, we are looking forward to the fall semester.

We hope to return with a revitalized morale and a sense of accomplishment. Now that our website is pub-lishing daily updates, we hope that we can provide our readers with more quali-ty news and fulfill the respon-sibilities they expect from us.

We are the voice of Auburn, a spirit that is not afraid.

Anna Claire [email protected]

My name is Anna Claire Conrad, and I have Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disor-der; or, at least that’s what my doctor says.

Since kindergarten, I have attended some of the best schools in Mobile, Ala. I start-ed out at Council Elementa-ry School, which is an acceler-ated learning magnet school. Following my graduation from the fifth grade, I attened Phil-lips Preparatory School, which administered courses with the goal of not only preparing its students for high school, but for college as well. Then, I was an International Baccalaure-ate student at Murphy High School untill my senior year when I decided to drop down to Accelerated Placement

classes. I was trained to be an A stu-

dent, and, until I began my col-legiate career, I was, for the most part.

Adjusting to the immense class sizes and workload from my core courses was difficult, and I soon found myself over-whelmed by the inability to successfully follow through with my responsibilities out-side of the classrooms and make all As at the same time.

I learned through the new friends I made in college that taking Adderall or any kind of speed-like study buddy helped them out a lot, especially dur-ing midterms and finals. Now, I do not support recreation-al drug use, especially when fooling with drugs as serious as Adderall and other speed-like study buddies; but after witnessing the effects of such drugs on my friends, I noticed that their GPAs were on the rise while mine was on a slow decline to failure, depression

and weight gain.I thought it might have just

been that I was struggling with my core classes, and that once I got into my major I’d stop making Bs and Cs and get back on the A track. However, the fall of my sophomore year proved to be less successful than I had hoped.

Even though I dropped some of my more distracting extracurricular activities, like water polo and going out to the bars on Wednesday nights, I was continuing to struggle in the areas I convinced myself wouldn’t be an issue during round two at Auburn. It was after this disappointment that I sat my parents down and ad-mitted that I may have a prob-lem.

I met with my doctor two weeks into my Christmas break, and I came back to Au-burn with a fully-loaded book-bag in one hand, and a tightly-gripped presciption for Con-certa in the other. Santa real-

ly followed through with that one.

Since taking this medi-cation, I’ve noticed positive changes. I’m able to focus on separate tasks more easi-ly now and actually complete each one of them well instead of trying to accomplish a doz-en things at one time and do-ing them all poorly. I no lon-ger feel exhausted from hav-ing thoughts and to-do lists constantly running around in my head. I’ve also lost a lot of weight, which is always nice, and I’ve been able to keep it off because the medicine wipes away my appetite.

The downside to my drug use? It’s expensive, really ex-pensive. Luckily, my insurance covers most of it, but that still leaves a hefty bill for my par-ents to pay on top of tuition, books, rent, and everything else that comes with support-ing a full-time, 20-year-old col-lege student.

Although my grades have

improved, I have to wonder if I actually have this common, ex-pensive disorder.

I mean, I made it through all of my other schooling with-out any trouble. Why is it that I need this medication now, when its popularity and use is exponentially rising in soci-ety? Is this some sort of mag-ic pill that will solve all of my problems? What will happen to me and my new-and-im-proved GPA is its effects start to wear off? I’ve only been tak-ing Concerta since December, and I have already had to up my dose to 78 miligrams per day. Will I just have to keep in-creasing my dosage and my bill to manage this disorder?

I’m the kind of person that rarely gets sick, and when I do I’d much rather rely on my body’s ability to fend of a virus or a headache than pop Ibu-profen or NyQuil. I don’t like being dependent on any kind of medication, especially the kind that makes me think I’ll

flunk out of college if I don’t take it. My immune system has always pulled through for me, so why is it that my body and brain can’t beat my ADHD?

I guess this is something I’ll just have to get over because the positives heavily outweigh the negatives. Loosing weight was an unexpected surprise, and making better grades was a relief. I also realize that I should be grateful for having paretns that can afford to pay for this medication, and I am. However, I didn’t even know there were any negatives until my doctor told me so.

The old saying goes like this: if a tree falls in a forest, and there’s no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Equally so, if I was able to succeed academically without this medicine before I started taking it, but since taking it I’ve become dependent on it and fear failure without it, do I re-ally have ADHD, or have I just been convinced that I do?

Staying informed proves to be an exercise in futility

ADHD: legitimate illness or con targeting college students?

So, you think this summer will be easy?

5Thursday, July 26, 2012 www.theplainsman.com Community

Community

Nathan KellyWRITER

On Thursday, July 12, a Tus-caloosa Subway restaurant at 4416 Skyland Blvd. was noti-fied by the Alabama Depart-ment of Public Health that their business would soon be investigated for a case of pul-monary tuberculosis from one of its own employees.

Tuberculosis, common-ly known as TB, is an airborne disease, meaning that it is typ-ically spread through someone infected by the disease cough-ing or sneezing in the sur-rounding air. TB can be dead-ly, killing over 2 million people every year. The most liable per-sons to have caught TB would be anyone who was in close contact with the Subway em-ployee – close contact mean-ing anyone who works with and/or had direct physical con-tact with the employee.

Symptoms of the disease when it is in full swing include a bloody, progressive cough that lasts a few weeks, extreme

sudden weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats.

The entire Subway staff at the Tuscaloosa location is in the process of being screened if they haven’t been already.

According to Dr. Albert White, Area Health Officer for Public Health Area 3, TB is not transmitted through food or utensils. TB can be treated and prevented, but should be dealt with extreme caution be-cause of how lethal the disease can be.

The news of TB popping up in Tuscaloosa came just after a case of TB in Auburn in late June.

Approximately 70 people were tested for the disease in Auburn after the ADPH in-formed Auburn University that a student had tested positive for TB. According to Dr. Fred Kam, director of the Auburn University Medical Clinic, there were more than 160 cases of TB in the state of Alabama.

“This is the first active case of TB that I’m aware of at Au-

burn in my 15 years here,” Kam said.

The Auburn student that was infected with the disease sought out a private physician and is being treated.

Auburn University emailed students, professors and any staff members that may have been in close contact with the student from both spring and summer semesters immedi-ately after the diagnosis was released. Contacting students from the spring semester was used out of extra caution.

According to Kam, most of the 70 people being tested have already been tested for both the latent TB infection and the disease, and no indica-tors of TB have shown up in the blood tests.

According to al.com, Ala-bama was up 10 percent on its count of TB cases and has al-ready had 83 cases of TB this year. No sources have con-firmed that the Auburn and Tuscaloosa cases were in any way connected.

Zeke TurrentineCOMMUNITY BEAT REPORTER

Many students aren’t pleased each fall when they look at all the fees they have to pay the Uni-versity before each school year. After tuition, rent, books, and groceries, most people are al-ready feeling the bite even before the smaller and seemingly trivial fees come into play.

Auburn’s Interim Director of Dining Jon Wag-goner wants to make sure Auburn students know their school is not trying to make things difficult on them, but that it is doing what has been found to be the best option in their stud-ies.

While running into financial problems of his own while on the Plains, he wants students to know the current plan tries to account for stu-dents’ difficulties.

“My mission at Auburn was to do everything possible to make dining very easy and conve-nient for all of our students,” Waggoner said.

Waggoner also said it bothered him to see two students in the Lowder Lounge last week who felt they were being ripped off by the Uni-versity in relation to their meal plan and felt the best way they could use it was to save it up and give it away. He hopes in the future students will understand the meaning of the meal plan and why the University uses the option that it does.

Waggoner said some schools, like the univer-sities of North Carolina and Georgia, use what is called a board plan, which means students buy a set amount of meals - say, 200 meals for $2,100 - and lose one swipe with each entry into a tra-ditional cafeteria-style hall full of dining op-tions. These halls may have many stations spe-cializing in different types of food and usually have set hours that they are open.

A plus of this system is the obvious “all-you-can-eat” style buffet that allows the hungriest of students to load multiple platefuls of food and even take boxes home to their dorm. A down-side is the “missed meal factor,” which means the price of a meal is actually higher for those who use their cards less frequently than some-

one who used all of their meal points.Auburn uses a dining dollars plan with a

minimum of $300 required for those living off campus and $900 for those who live on cam-pus. Waggoner said these numbers were deter-mined by bringing in consultants to study Au-burn student’s dining habits. The average stu-dent was found to spend approximately $1,800 each semester on food. Assuming off-campus students will choose to stay on-campus for a meal a sixth of the time, and on-campus stu-dents will eat there half of the time, dining ser-vices came up with these minimums.

Waggoner said a big part of choosing to have a dining dollars type plan is that there is no missed meal factor, and studies show stu-dents who spend more time on campus while in school are quicker to graduate and generally make better grades.

Schools like UNC and UGA that do have to deal with a missed meal factor would, in theo-ry, have to raise their meal plan prices signifi-cantly if each student used all of the meals they purchased, because not enough food is made to feed each student on a daily basis. Because of this, Waggoner said all of the money left on Au-burn students’ cards revert to the University, as opposed to an outside contracted provider.

“We’ve put trucks in their path with really good food,” Waggoner said. “The taco truck and gelato truck are very popular. We’ve opened all these new restaurants.”

The 2009-2010 academic year saw Auburn students leave $219,332 unused, which meant the University “swept” the money and used it in the dining program to help do things like pay down debt on the Village and Foy. The money represented about 2.4% of the total dining dol-lars Auburn students purchased that August.

In 2010-2011, 2.58% was left unused and swept and this year’s sweep is expected to be about 2.7% when it happens on Wednesday, August 1. This year’s sweep is going to help pay for the Lowder Lounge and other food related renovations in Lowder. Waggoner said the best-

case scenario would be a sweep of 0.0% across the board.

Because of Auburn’s many non-tradition-al students and large off-campus population, Waggoner said he fields many questions about why people are forced into buying meals that they may never use.

“There are two things I say to that: one is that everybody is benefited by this plan according to these studies that are showing higher retention and graduation rates for schools with good on-campus dining. On top of that is the fact that at a school like Auburn that is not a commut-er school like UAB or Georgia State, you have to have ways of getting people to eat on campus by having attractive dining halls with good food and the only way of paying for that is either a tu-ition hike or meal plans.”

“Everybody from President Obama to our University President Gogue has focused on retention rates and trying to get everybody through college as quickly and at the lowest

cost as is possible,” Waggoner said. “What we’re doing with food service is trying to keep stu-dents near their studies and their teachers.”

As for pricing, the national franchises that operate on campus look into the region’s mar-ket to see what the average price for each ingre-dient or item is, and then the University allows them no more than a 5 percent markup to help cover the shipping and other labor costs that are higher on a college campus than they would be at your average restaurant franchise.

Again, the sweep will be done Wednesday, August 1, which means if you have any money left on your card, make sure to use it by Tuesday, July 31, or it will not be reclaimable. I might also just help build our next on-campus restaurant.

One such project is a new cafeteria-style Wellness Dining Kitchen in the works by Plains-man Park and the new parking deck that will specialize in healthy food options and a high protein diet to cater to the athletes’ needs while also being open to other students.

AU Dining keeps students’ stomachs and wallets in mind

Auburn and Tuscaloosa try to contain TB outbreaks


Jonathan Howald, junior in wireless engineering, uses his tigercard at Chick-fil-A in the Student Center.

Community 6 The Auburn Plainsman Thursday, July 26, 2012

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Lee County farmers receive aid to help with extreme droughtZeke TurrentineCOMMUNITY BEAT REPORTER

The state of Alabama and the federal government are their extending offers of aid to farmers who have been affect-ed by the record drought that large portions of the country are experiencing.

Low-interest emergency

loans are part of the plan to help make the drought more bearable for farmers.

Lee County is one of 33 counties in Alabama that have been declared disaster ar-eas because of the drought, which has reached the “severe to extreme” levels. The Unit-ed States Department of Ag-

riculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack made the declaration last week, according to the an-nouncement made by Gov. Robert Bentley’s office.

The area has experienced abnormally dry conditions for about two years now.

“Farmers across Alabama are suffering through what has been an extended drought from last year. We appreciate Secretary Vilsack’s response to this critical situation that affects so many (of) Alabama families,” Bentley said.

A primary natural disas-ter area is declared when a drought has occurred for at least eight consecutive weeks or extreme drought condi-tions have occurred during the growing season. Thirty-three of Alabama’s 67 counties are in

the disaster area, while a fur-ther 12 are “contiguous disas-ter counties,” meaning farm-ers there may also apply for the loans.

Farmers have eight months from the announcement to apply for the loans, meaning March is the deadline set for now.

Farmers in a disaster area must have lost at least 30 per-cent of a major crop or com-ponent of their business com-pared to their average annual yield, said Farm Service Agen-cy loan manager Danny Lind-sey. Because of this, farms will probably have to wait un-til winter, after the harvest, to have an accurate assessment of their losses that were caused by the drought.

Loans can increase up to

$500,000, and have a rate of 2.25%, compared to the usual 3.75%.

Farm operation loans are available as well in case the emergency loans do not cover all losses.

The USDA lists most of southern and eastern Ala-bama as under the emergen-cy drought, while designating much of the rest of the state as close behind.

Lee County joins Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Bull-ock, Butler, Chambers, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Cone-cuh, Coosa, Covington, Cren-shaw, Dale, Dallas, Elmore, Es-cambia, Geneva, Henry, Hous-ton, Lowndes, Macon, Mont-gomery, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Talladega, Tallapoosa, and Wilcox counties as prima-

ry natural disaster areas.The 12 “contiguous disaster

counties” are Calhoun, Cher-okee, Clarke, Hale, Jefferson, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe, St. Clair, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, and Washington counties.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said farmers should talk to their lo-cal USDA Farm Service Agen-cy offices for more information about the loans. The FSA offic-es will consider, among other things, the applicants based on production losses, credit and ability to repay the loans.

There is a small light at the end of the tunnel as the U.S. Drought Monitor and National Weather Service suggest that over the next three months the drought will become slightly less severe.


After Mayor Bill Ham called a city council meeting, sever-al business owners with estab-lishments along Magnolia Av-enue expressed their concerns regarding Fan Fest. which will take place on August 25.

The original plan for this event hosted by the Auburn Downtown Merchants, Au-burn University Athletics and AuburnArt.com involved clos-ing the Toomer’s Corner inter-section to erect a 25-foot-long movie screen.

“This group can speak for themselves, but I don’t think anyone is interested in deter-ring your business because you’re bringing in tax dollars,” Ham said.

However, members voted to have the event as planned while exploring an alterna-tive to the large screen, such

as finding a power source to move the event to the corner of Gay Street and Magnolia Av-enue or to Samford Lawn.

Once Ham closed all com-munications, a representa-tive of the Moore’s Mill com-munity spoke against the re-moval of the requirement to construct a pass within phase four of the Moore’s Mill Golf Club. Several other concerned citizens also stood in opposi-tion of the road construction that would take place south of Moore’s Mill Road and west of Ogletree Road and would con-nect the multi-family area to a commercial area.

The committee denied the motion.

“For planning purposes, that connection has been re-moved but there is another more formal step to actually effectuate it,” said City Plan-ner Charles Duggan.

The next issues tabled at the meeting included the annexa-tion of property located on the west side of Heath Road and south of Lee Road 086 as well as the possession and con-sumption of alcohol at an es-tablished entertainment dis-trict.

Duggan initially addressed the issue of possession and consumption of alcohol. First, he mentioned that the council had previously allowed four events per year where alcohol is allowed. Due to past suc-cess, there has been a request to increase the preestablished quota to eight events per year. Secondly, Duggan proposed the establishment of an enter-tainment district that would create boundaries where citi-zens can openly drink alcohol-ic beverages.

“There’s a difference be-tween the arts crowd at an art

exhibit walking around with a glass of chablis and somebody walking out of Skybar with a drink of whiskey,” said Bob Norman, city council member. “We have a large population of potentially irresponsible con-sumers of alcohol.”

He went on to say he thinks Auburn should be cautious about this, and consent will be denied while he mulls it over in the coming weeks.

Next, the establishment of a “no turn on red” sign at the intersection of North Do-nahue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive passed. Tusca-ny Village Drive’s name was also changed to Tivoli Village Drive.

Finally, Sarah Brown and Matt Rice were voted onto the Planning Committee and Al-ice Moore Buchanan and Jack Walls were voted onto the Greenspace Advisory Board.

Fan Fest challenges top City Council discussion

7Thursday, July 26, 2012 www.theplainsman.com Sports

Sports

Nathan KellyWRITER

The Auburn Community Tennis Association is helping tennis grow as a sport for all ages in the surrounding area.

The main facility for the ACTA is the Yarbrough Ten-nis Center located on Rich-land Road off of Shug Jordan Parkway. The facility is also the official home courts for the Auburn University men and women’s tennis teams.

Having both the City of Auburn and the Universi-ty take part in building and funding the Yarbrough Ten-nis Center gave the facility an edge over others since stu-dents and local residents area use it.

The facility was built in 13 months, and it now has 34 indoor and outdoor courts with different surfaces. USTA Southern Section Executive Director John Callen said the facility is great for everyone whether they play tennis or not.

“It’s a perfect tennis facil-ity and a testament to what can happen when a city and university work together,” Callen said. “It will bring add-

ed revenue to local restau-rants and stores. It’s good for everybody.”

The director of the Yar-brough Tennis Center, Tra-vis DeBardelaben, is the en-gine that keeps tennis tour-naments for the Auburn area running.

DeBardelaben is also re-sponsible for heading up the Bullfrog Tournament, which is a youth tennis tournament that brings kids from all over the South to compete and im-prove their techniques.

DeBardelaben expects more than 400 people to par-ticipate in the next Bullfrog Tournament.

“We’re doing anything and everything to get our name out there,” DeBardelaben said. “We have a great facili-ty over off Richland Road, but hardly anyone knows about it.”

DeBardelaben wants to keep the growth of tennis coming in Auburn. His asso-ciation has added more than 3,000 participants in their leagues since DeBardelaben became director.

“Tennis works great with a lot of people’s schedules be-

cause it’s a year-round sport, unlike everything else that has seasons,” DeBardelaben said. “We’ve got 34 courts with tri-level leagues that last all year, and it’s a safe envi-ronment for kids.

According to DeBardela-ben, The United States Tennis Association runs the leagues

“We have to thank the Au-burn-Opelika Tourism Board and the City of Auburn for helping us grow as large as we’ve become,” DeBardela-ben said.

DeBardelaben also said Auburn is one of the largest tennis communities per cap-ita.

“With the little amount of people we have in Auburn, it’s great to have so many kids and adults come out and learn about tennis,” DeBarde-laben said.

DeBardelaben, a former Auburn student, moved back to Auburn after the ACTA and the city of Auburn con-tacted him for his work in Bambridge, Ga.

“I was playing at Auburn from 1988 to 1990,” DeBarde-laben said. “After six years in Montgomery and Georgia,

faith had it that I went in a circle and wound back up at Auburn.”

DeBardelaben said he wants to make an easy envi-ronment for people to meet other tennis players, which inspired his idea for the Yarbrough Tennis Center monthly Friday mixer. The ACTA has also hosted foot-ball tailgates.

Since DeBardelaben be-came the director of the Yar-brough Tennis Center, he has made a name for him-self in Alabama’s tennis com-munity. Information about the ACTA has become more readily available by adding a website, t-shirts and hosting area-wide tournaments such as the Bullfrog Tournament.

With its growth in the last four years, the ACTA was named the Alabama Com-munity Tennis Association of the Year in 2009. In 2010, De-Bardelaben was named the Alabama Tennis Profession-al of the Year.

There’s plenty of talent and leadership within Auburn’s tennis community. Now, De-Bardelaben just needs more players.

If there was ever any ques-tion on the motives and goals of Mark Emmert’s tenure as NCAA President, he made himself undoubtedly clear af-ter Monday’s punishments to Pennsylvania State University and its football program.

Emmert came down with the hammer of Thor, leaving the Nittany Lions in a situation just short of what the dreaded death penalty would accom-plish.

In no particular order of most damaging, PSU must pay out $60 million (equivalent to one year of football revenue), a four year postseason ban, vacate all wins since the 1998 season (112 to be specific re-moving Paterno from the No. 1 spot on the all-time coach-ing wins list), the reduction of scholarships to 20 per year over a four year span, and all current players may transfer within the Football Bowl Se-ries with the ability to play right away.

They were also put on a five-year probation and will be un-der the watchful eye of an ath-letic-integrity monitor to be chosen by the NCAA.

The Big Ten Conference also got a piece of the action by using the proceeds that PSU would have received from four-years worth of Big Ten bowl revenues, estimated at $13 million a year, to charita-ble organizations dedicated to protecting children in Big Ten communities.

All of the penalties cannot be disputed and have been ac-cepted by PSU, according to President Rodney Erickson.

The closest example there is to these penalties were the ones given to the University of Southern California’s football and basketball teams for im-proper benefits to Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo, respectively. USC vacated all wins that Bush participated in, including the 2004 National Championship as well as a three-year scholar-ship reduction.

USC appealed the scholar-ship reduction, giving them two years to stock up on re-cruits. They will face these re-ductions after the 2012 sea-son, a year in which they are allowed to return to postsea-son play.

In fear of facing the death penalty, PSU waived their right to appeal all sentences, leaving them to reap what they sowed. Even though no one men-tioned in the Freeh Report re-mains at PSU and have almost all been punished accordingly.

The fundamental difference between these two instances is that USC broke the rules to win football games. Therefore, the football program was pun-ished. In PSU’s case, four mem-bers of the University, only one directly involved with the foot-ball team, participated in the cover up of the heinous and disgusting crimes of Jerry San-dusky.

And yet players, coaches, re-cruits, fans, and so many more must face the admonishment of the NCAA. Of the five men involved in the scandal, Pater-no is deceased; Sandusky will likely spend the remainder of his life in jail; and Gary Shultz and Tim Curly are facing per-jury charges.

Emmert said this situation is an unprecedented one that warranted unprecedented punishments. But these pun-ishments are setting the wrong precedent by punishing indi-viduals who were not involved.

It will take years beyond the

condemnations for the PSU football program to recover. It is not the vacating of wins, even though some games such as the 2010 game versus Ohio State and 2006 Orange Bowl versus Florida State that tech-nically never happened, that bothers me. Nor is it the $60 million fine, including Big Ten fines and individual victims suing Penn State, which both-ers me.

The postseason ban and loss of scholarships go a little too far, but are somewhat rea-sonable.

The NCAA crossed the line with the open-door policy that allows PSU players to leave and join other FBS teams with-out taking a year off. Players have been given a guilt-free ex-cuse to leave the PSU football program in ruins.

With only days before two-a-days start, teams across the nation are encouraged to rum-mage through the PSU roster and pick it dry like vultures. Do not be surprised if at least one, if not a dozen current Nit-tany Lions will be sporting ri-val colors in the 2012 football season. This includes junior running back standout Silas Redd who has reportedly spo-ken with USC.

Paired with the lack of 20 scholarships and promise of no postseason for four years, PSU must now attempt to put together a halfway decent team. Not only will some of their current players who have bonded and come together during this terrible ordeal be absent, the recruiting process will look something like a has-been mountain lion trying to hunt with three legs. The only four-plus star recruits they will bring in will most likely be life-long PSU fans looking to fulfill a dream.

Granted, it isn’t the death penalty, which would have damaged a town as well as a university. But, it is the next-worse thing.

The one phrase that has echoed throughout this or-deal is the idea that this is not a football issue and it goes above and beyond the results between the pylons. Still, the PSU football program has been stripped of anything and everything that could possibly lead to a successful season.

If this is not a football issue, why is the football team bear-ing the burden?

Though this issue is more than 850 miles away, Auburn coaches, players and fans should not put it in the back of their heads. We live in a cul-ture where football is more than just a pastime; it is a way of life. When so much empha-sis is placed on a football pro-gram, those involved should now take extra precautions in protecting its program, but never at the sake of what is morally right.

A recent example is the 2010 Cam Newton “scandal” that never panned out. Cecil New-ton was found guilty of seeking money form Mississippi State, but no proof was ever found that Auburn offered some-thing similar.

If found guilty, Auburn may be in a situation similar to USC’s. The Tigers would have one less national championship and one less Heisman winner.

Let it be known that big brother is watching and ready to lay down the law, be it fair or unfair.

Emmert had the goal of sending a message to the NCAA. Mission accomplished.

The now not so Happy Valley

John [email protected]

ANDREW YAWN / NEWS

EDITOR

Colt Ponder, senior in an-thropology, and Carl Fox, junior in fitness, perfor-mance and conditioning practice serves at the Yar-brough Tennis Center.

Auburn city tennis serving aces

The 2013 football recruiting classWith the 2012 summer semester coming to an end, Auburn University football prepares to begin its season with 16 returning starters and 21 incoming high school recruits. Only a year away from making headlines on the Plains, the 2013 recruiting class has kept the offseason exciting in all the right ways. Below is a

top list of 2013 verbal commits, ranked No. 8 nationally by Rivals.com.

Reuben Foster lb

Carl Lawson db

Dee Liner de

Trey Johnson lb

Earnest Robinson wr

Jordan Wilkins rb

Tashawn Bower de

Jarred Davis lb

Jahmere Irvin-Stills db

Jeremy Johnson qb

Lemond Johnson ath

Kamryn Melton db

Jason Smith ath

Cameron Tony lb

Auburn High School Auburn, ALAlpharetta High School Alpharetta, GAMuscle Shoals High School Muscle Shoals, ALCentral Gwinnett High School Lawrecneville, GAPinson Valley High School Pinson ValleySt. Benedict High School Cordova, TNImmaculta High School Somerville, NJCamden County High School Kingland, GAEastern Christian Academy Elkton, MDLovejoy High School Hamptson, GACooper City High School Cooper City, FLDothan High School Dothan, ALMcGill Toolen High School Mobile, ALHuntsville High School Hunstville, AL

5 Stars5 Stars5 Stars4 Stars4 Stars4 Stars3 Stars3 Stars 3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars3 Stars

Sports 8 The Auburn Plainsman Thursday, July 26, 2012

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS:

All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination. We will not know-ingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.

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EMPLOYMENT

AmeriCorps OpportunityFull-time and Part-time posi-tions available from Septem-ber 1, 2012-August 31, 2013 in Alabama (Auburn, Opelika, Phenix City, and Sylacauga). Receive a living stipend and education award for college. Engage in the community by serving non-profits, schools, American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs, SAFE in Sylacau-ga, Cora Reid Greene Home for Children, and/or Employ-ers’ Child Care Alliance. In-terested applicants should attend an information ses-sion on July 27th 9-10 a.m. OR 2-3 p.m. at 510 S. 7th Street Opelika.e-mail: [email protected]

FOR RENT

Nice 1BR Apartment At-tached to a House.Unfurnished garage apart-ment in a quiet, wooded sin-gle-family neighborhood. High ceilings, walk-in closet. Everything included. Look-ing for quiet, responsible student. Aug. 1st. 1-yr lease.Email [email protected]

Trailer for Rent. 50 Lee Road 952 (Off Wire Road) Saddle-brook I Trailer Park. (Ap-prox. 4 ½ miles from Vet School) 2Br/2Ba. W/D.Avail-able Immediately $450.00 Deposit/$450.00 per month. Call (334) 319-2082

Mobile Home For Sale

• Nice trailer in good condition• $22,600• 3 bed 2 bath• New carpet and counter tops• Some furniture• Great view of a pondCall Justin Wiley 205-451-8002

$500 RENT except elec-tric.1999 trailer 3bd,2bthAll Appliances,All Electric.FOR SALE$15,000 OBO.PETandHORSE friendly!!Quite neighbor-hood.10 min drivetoAUonHwy280.Email:[email protected], (334)-695-3028

ROOMMATE WANTED 2012/2013 Looking for Male Roommate to share 2BR, 1BA ap’t. Just $295 + utilities, Just 2 blocks from Campus and Downtown. Great Shape--Full Kitchen, separate dining + large living area. Call 757-848-3774 or email [email protected] Email [email protected]

Roommates wanted2 males needed to share 3br furnished apt near AU. Own room + shared bath :$250/mo + utl. Own room +own bath: $300/mo + utl. Con-tact Andrew: 310-702-6152; [email protected] [email protected]

Manuscripts wanted! Prof ’l. editor & writer: thesis/dis-sertation, APA, MLA. Expert tutor: English, writing, es-says, grammar. Email [email protected]

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Your Auburn Alumni Association is here to help you prepare for graduation. For everything a graduate needs, go to:

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A week of Auburn SportsMen’s Basketball- Coach Tony Barbee hired University of Mis-souri assistant Ryan Miller to be an associate coach at Auburn. Miller was recently hired by Missouri and spent only two months in Colum-bia. Miller, a Northern State Univer-sity graduate in Aberdeen, S.D., is the younger brother of Miami Heat guard Mike Miller.-Former forward Kenny Gabriel played with the Sacramento Kings in the 2012 NBA Summer league in Las Vegas, July 13-22. In five games, Gabriel only saw action on the court once. He played 15 minutes, and scored eight points with one block. He dressed for all games with excep-tion for the final game where he was scratched as DNP.

Football- Former linebacker and graduate assistant Travis Wil-liams is entering his first season as a position coach at the Universi-ty of Northern Iowa. Williams was previously living in Atlanta work-ing as a recording artist and pro-ducer in 2011. He played for Auburn from 2001 as a redshirt until 2005. He spent one year in the NFL with the Falcons.-Senior running back Onterio Mc-Calebb was named to the 2012 Doak Walker watch list. The award is pre-sented to collegiate football’s top running back and is given by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum. The Fo-rum’s Board of Directors will an-nounce the finalists on Nov. 19. Highlighting the list is 2011 final-ist Monte Ball from the University of Wisconsin.-Fan Day, put on by Golden Flake, will take place Sunday, August 12, from 2-4 p.m. at the Auburn Are-na. Admission is free. The event gives fans the opportunity to inter-act with players and coaches. Along with coach Gene Chizik and select players, cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, the soccer and volleyball teams will

be available for autographs. Aubie will also be available for pictures. Each fan may only bring one item to be autographed, and items are not restricted as long as the can be car-ried by one person without holding up the line. Doors will open at ap-proximately 1:30 p.m. Posters and schedule cards will be provided at no charge.-At the SEC Media Days from July 17-19, the Tigers were picked to finish fourth in the Western Divi-sion, receiving six of 222 first-place votes. Louisiana State University was picked to win the division while Georgia was selected to win the East. The media voted senior tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen to the pre-season first-team offense while ju-nior defensive end Corey Lemoni-er was named to the first-team de-fense. Sophomore center Reese Dis-mukes, junior punter Steven Clark and senior running back Onterio McCalebb made the second team. McCalebb was added as a kick re-turner. Junior defensive end Nosa Eguae, senior wide receiver Emory Blake, senior cornerback T’Sharvan Bell and junior kicker Cody Parkey were named to the third team.-Four-star running back Jordan Wilkins verbally committed to Au-burn last Wednesday. Wilkins is en-tering his senior season at St. Bene-dict’s in Cordova, Tenn. Wilkins is set to join the Tigers in 2013 and brings their list of verbal commits to 17.-Wireless Internet access will be available upon purchase for the 2012 season in Jordan-Hare Sta-dium. Fees are set at $7.95 for 24 hours, $9.95 for 48 hours, $11.95 for 72 hours and $17.95 for a month. Tablets and laptops will be allowed upon entry. Auburn joins Mississip-pi State and South Carolina as the only SEC schools that allow Inter-net access either at a cost or free of charge.

Men’s Golf- Former golfer Jason Dufner finished tied for 31st place at three-over at the Open Champion-ship at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s July 19-22.-Senior Dominic Bozzelli captured his second consecutive New York State Amateur Tournament Cham-pionship last Thursday at the Elmi-ra Country Club in Elmira, N.Y. Boz-zelli held a one stroke lead head-ing into the final round, but surged on the back nine after an eagle and three birdies to defeat Jamie Sinde-lar by five strokes.-Senior Michael Hebert finished in third place at the Players Amateur at the Berkeley Hall Club in Bluff-ton, S.C. The Orlando, Fla., native finished eight strokes behind Dan-iel Nisbet. The finish marks his sec-ond top-three finish this summer in prestigious amateur events.-Former Auburn golfer Will Clax-ton finished tied for fifth at the PGA Tour’s True South Classic at the An-nandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss. Claxton finished at 18-under. Women’s Basketball- The Auburn women’s basketball team concluded its first week of prepara-tion for next month’s trip to Austra-lia last week. The team will now take a weeklong break before resuming practice on July 31.

Equestrian- Former Auburn rider Anna Schierholz will join the Kansas State equestrian coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2012-13 season, announced KSU head coach Kasie Lisabeth. Gymnastics- Incoming fresh-man gymnast Kait Kluz was named the top senior gymnast in the state of Michigan by USA Gymnastics on Tuesday, July 17. The award is giv-en annually to the top senior gym-nast from the state of Michigan by the USAG.

07.26.2012 edition of the auburn plainsman

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