9-16-2010 issue
DESCRIPTION
This is the 9-16-2010 issue of The Johnsonian, Winthrop Universities Campus Newspaper.TRANSCRIPT
Three students worked over the sum-mer to study how to inhibit the High Mo-bility Group A1 (HMGA1) protein from causing cancer in cells. They worked with Takita Sumter, associate professor of chemistry, physics and geology.
Two students worked on specific sites of the protein, called High Mobility Group A1 (HMGA1), and changed basic amino acids to create mutant forms. An-other student studied the effects of bind-ing HMGA1 with a certain protein.
The HMGA1 protein is increased in cancer cells, but is not present in regular cells, said Sumter, associate professor of
chemistry, physics and geology. Sumter was the mentor for the three students working with the protein this summer.
Chemistry majors Ashton Brock, Ron-ald Nelson Jr. and Amy Deng were in-volved in different aspects of looking at the mechanics involved in cancer initia-tion.
Nelson and Brock worked with Sum-ter as student researchers for the McNair Scholars program, Sumter said. Sumter recruited Deng to work on the research to gain experience.
Brock worked with Sumter last summer using the HMGA protein, but started on a new project involving the protein this
Faculty members and commuter students say they have found some difficulty parking within reason-able walking distances on campus this semester.
Campus Police converted the park-ing lot at Founders Lane and Alumni Drive to a faculty-and-staff-only lot 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Students and faculty received a priority e-mail from Campus Police on Aug. 24 informing them about the change.
“It is very important that all students remove their vehicles from this lot as soon as possible,” Campus Police Chief Frank Zebedis
wrote in the e-mail.Junior biology major Allyson
Schaeffer said she usually does not have a problem getting a parking spot in the commuter lot at Din-kins.
She starts class at 9:30 a.m., and the lot is usually somewhat empty, she said.
Then, last Thursday afternoon, she was late to work at the West Center because she decided to drive that day. (She said she usu-ally rides her bike to work.) She tried to get a spot in the lot by Johnson but it was full, so she went to Din-kins.
About 10 other cars were circling the lot trying to find a spot, too,
Two separate investigations that began in the spring of 2010 have ended in the arrests of two former Winthrop employ-ees.
George Walker was arrested Thursday on charges of embezzlement, procuring university credit card charges totaling $209,370.
Walker, former printing services employee, turned himself in to the police after a several-month-long investigation. Walker was charged with two counts of breach of trust totaling more than $5,000 for mishandling a Winthrop credit card.
Because the case has not gone to court yet, chief of Campus Police Frank Zebe-dis is not authorized to share evidence.
The Winthrop University Police De-partment is the arresting agency and the York County Solicitor’s Office will be the
prosecuting agency.Winthrop discovered the credit card
misuse when the budget office noticed increased costs in the printing office dur-ing a time when university offices were supposed to be reducing costs, a Win-throp release said.
Though Walker supervised the audit of the shop, it was revealed someone was defrauding the university through a Pay-Pal account, according to a police report.
Walker resigned in April after working for Winthrop for 10 years.
Walker’s attorney, Harry P. Collins of Rock Hill, said he thinks Walker will attempt to correct the wrongs he might have committed.
“If any evidence shows any wrongs, I’m sure Mr. Walker will do everything he can to correct it,” Collins said.
Zebedis said he thinks Walker will coordinate with the police, but some
CAMPUS NEWS 2-4
OPINION 5
HEALTH & SCIENCE 6
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 7-8
CULTURE 9
SPORTS 10-11
Questions? Contact us [email protected]
Serving Winthrop since 1923
INDEX
Marijuana and a hit and run. Read the Police Blotter.
See News, page 4
Renovations of Phelps and Owens continue. When will they re-open?
See News, page 3
THURSDAY September 16, 2010 WINTHROP UNIVERSITY Issue 4
WHY WAIT TILL THURSDAY? READ MYTJNOW.COM.
NEWS
Investigations lead to arrests of 2 former Winthrop employees
Students and faculty are feeling the effects of parking lot changes. Campus center staff members are now parking in the lots on either side of the center, changing the dynamics, said Campus Police Chief Frank Zebedis. Photo by Kathleen Brown • [email protected]
BY CLAIRE BYUN
See EMPLOYEE page 4
NEWS
BY MONICA KREBER
See PARKING page 2
What: The Karate Kid
When: Saturday
Where: DiGiorgio Campus CenterTheatre
Cost: $2 with Winthrop ID, $5 for public
Does your car have flames or flowers?Enter the Ridiculous Car Competition.
See Arts & Entertainment, page 8
eagle Flicks
parking
Campus center changes parking dynamics for students, faculty
A 15-minute phone in-terview determined her entire summer.
Elizabeth Miller, senior psychology major, found a rare opportunity and went for it.
“It was hard to find be-cause most internships working with at-risk chil-dren are only offered to people with a master’s or
doctorate,” Miller said. From June to August,
Miller spent time working at Youth Villages in Mem-phis, Tenn. Youth Villages is a non-profit organiza-tion that helps emotion-ally and behaviorally chal-lenged children and their families. The children are housed and attend school at Youth Villages.
For Miller, the intern-ship gave her first-hand experience in dealing with at-risk children. She said
it’s something she has al-ways wanted to do.
“I worked the morning
psychology major works with non-profit to help children
See INTERN page 9
BY ALEXIS AUSTIN
Elizabeth MillerSenior
CULTURE
See RESEARCH page 6
Students research cancer-causing proteinHEALTH & SCIENCE
BY AMANDA PHIPPS
Volleyball player serves up award
See SPORTS page 11
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
CLAIRE BYUNNews Editor
[email protected] JONATHAN MCFADDEN
Assistant News [email protected]
2
Be a part of the action.
Be a part of the scandal.
Be a part of the news.
Write for the News Section contact Claire Byun • [email protected]
By Jonathan [email protected]
Osman Ali has a very serious job.
During the late hours of the night, he watches over several hundred residents while they’re most vulner-able.
From the hours of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., Ali watches security monitors, loans out lock out keys and makes sure that everyone in the building is using the correct entrances and exits.
He is a night host in the Courtyard and, despite the peculiar hours, he enjoys his job.
He said he meets all kinds of interesting people at all hours of the night.
When Ali first started the job, he said he fell asleep in several of his classes.
“Falling asleep during your classes and having your professor look at you the whole time, that’s not a good feeling…,” Ali said.
But he soon found his balance and began to take three-to-five hour naps before his shifts.
A cup of coffee and a little Red Bull now and again also help, Ali said.
Miranda Knight, resi-dent learning coordinator for Thomson Hall, said that night hosts have some
different responsibilities than office hosts.
Knight said that night hosts are taught how to respond in certain emer-gency situations, such as a fire.
With emergency situ-ations, Knight made it known that the safety of the night hosts is just as important.
“I’m not going to say that you [night hosts] need to run out on the street and tell people there’s a tornado,” Knight said. “I need you [night hosts] to be safe too.”
Night hosts are expected to maintain at least a 2.0 GPA, act professionally and stay late and return early during breaks.
Marlene Ellis, a junior general communication disorders major, works as a night host in Lee Wicker and also as a day host. She said the job is not as easy as some may think it looks.
Night hosts are respon-sible for making sure that everyone in the residence halls is safe and comfort-able. They also monitor the cameras, report any suspicious persons en-tering the building and handle noise complaints.
Ellis said the toughest part of the job is staying awake.
“I bring my homework,” Ellis said. “I’ve discovered
some networks on the Internet where I can watch TV, or I’ll bring a movie or listen to music.”
Still, Ellis said home-work and TV are second priority. When it comes to her job, customer service is first and foremost.
Ellis said the Depart-ment of Residence Life has made some changes to make sure that all em-ployees are on top of their game, including a depart-ment wide training.
For this semester, she made sure she had a gap in between work and class so she can get a nap in before work.
Though she may be oc-casionally sleep deprived, Ellis said the money more than makes up for it.
Ellis, who also works at Harris Teeter, said the check she receives from her night host job is much better when compared to the check she receives from Harris Teeter be-cause less taxes are taken out.
Night hosts are paid $8.25 an hour and are paid $1 extra if they work during the breaks. The night host’s hours are 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Students who wish to become night hosts should log onto the Department of Residence Life Web page and download the online application.
Life ofa night
host
desk hours...
...late nights
but the whole lot was packed. She ended up parking illegally in a visitor’s spot and received a ticket.
This past Monday she was late for work again when she had to park in Legion lot.
“That lot is so full compared to last year,” she said. “Usually just two or three rows used to be full, but now it goes back more than six rows it seems.”
Schaeffer said, in essence, parking gets difficult depending on the time of day.
“Because of this, I’m finding myself having to stay on campus all day or ride my bike a lot,” she said.
Despite Schaeffer’s claim, Zebedis said even though there seems to be more vehicular traffic on campus, ample parking spaces still exist.
“Every day, I drive by the Legion lot and see that it remains half empty,” he said. “Therefore, I can’t say we are experiencing parking issues.”
Zebedis said there are 1,764 resident and Courtyard parking space available on campus.
In addition to those spaces, there are 733 commuter spaces, 131 visitor spaces, 91 disabled, 82 reserved and 77 faculty and staff spaces.
Zebedis also said Winthrop made some parking changes over the sum-mer to help with the opening of the Campus Center; the campus now provides more visitor spaces around McBryde and the West Center to accommodate visitors coming to the Campus Center and the book store. Visitor parking is only available to those persons not affiliated with Win-throp so therefore, students, faculty and staff are not permitted to use the visitor spaces.
“As I say every year, the problem isn’t the number of spaces,” he said. “The problem is that people don’t like
where they are expected to park.”Some adjustments also had to be
made with the closure of Phelps for the school year, Zebedis said. Traffic increased around Roddey Apartments to accommodate closing Phelps down; the Stewart lot on Stewart Avenue has been made into both a residential and commuter parking lot. Also, the Johnson lot now opens up to all Win-throp permits after 5 p.m., however, at 7 a.m. the lot reverts back to faculty/staff parking.
Mass communication professor Haney Howell, whose office is in John-son, said if someone is not in a John-son parking spot by 9 a.m. they will be parking in the street.
“There were problems at the start, but I think they’ll clear up once the gravel lot is finished,” Howell said.
Faculty and staff who once worked in Dinkins and have been relocated to the campus center have now elected to use the Johnson lot or the gravel lot at Founders and Alumni for parking, Zebedis said.
“We never dictate which lot you park in as long as the lot you choose coin-cides with the permit on your vehicle,” Zebedis said.
Zebedis also said he thinks students will understand the parking situation better over time.
“The first couple weeks of classes parking seems to be an issue,” Ze-bedissaid, “but when people find all the lots and become familiar with the rules, it seems to calm down and it all works out.”
After 5 p.m., many faculty and staff parking spots open for resident and commuter student use.
Zebedis said he encourages students and faculty to familiarize themselves with the parking rules and regulations and view the parking map that is on the Campus Police Web site.
Each parking space on campus is designated for either commuters, resi-dents, faculty/staff, or visitors. However, some faculty/staff spaces are available for anyone to use during certain times. Photo by Kathleen Brown • [email protected]
Parking • from front
THURSDAY September 16, 2010 3
By Jonathan [email protected]
Still sitting quietly and untouched, Phelps Hall is awaiting a bidder to swoop in and give it a makeover.
Phelps, which was closed down this semes-ter for renovations to the plumbing and ventilation systems, will become more handicapped accessible once the renovations are complete.
Director for Residence Life Cynthia Caseens said the plan includes relocat-ing the office closer to the front of the building and adding an elevator in the lobby.
Gena Smith, program director for students with disabilities, said she usu-ally did not place students in wheelchairs in Phelps because of the lack of ac-cessibility for them.
Smith said the feder-ally mandated Americans with Disability Act (ADA) gives college residence halls guidelines for mak-ing their buildings handi-capped accessible.
Because Phelps was not the only residence hall suited to house female stu-dents on Winthrop’s cam-pus, no ramps were added
to it. Instead, those efforts were poured into Margaret Nance, a flat building.
For every inch of rise, there needs to be 12 inches of ramp, according to guidelines by the ADA.
“Although Phelps is not new construction, there are still limits to the rise and slope that would have made constructing a ramp to the exterior doors im-practical,” Smith said.
Even if ramps were somehow put in place to allow easier access to the lobby, students in wheel-chairs would be unable to gain access into their own rooms.
Students used to be required to climb a small flight of steps to get to the first floor.
But Smith, who said she does not know too much about the plans for Phelps, is an advocate for more ac-cessibility for any building on campus.
“Increased accessibil-ity is always wonderful,” Smith said. “It’s great.”
Room amenities in Phelps will also do a little shuffle.
Sinks, which most stu-dents are accustomed to using in their bathrooms, will be in each individual student’s room, leaving
just the shower and toilet in the bathrooms.
Cassens said she thinks the students will like the new arrangement.
Before Phelps’ make-over can begin, Winthrop must obtain a renovation company’s bid through a process called South Caro-lina Business Opportuni-ties (SCBO).
Walter Hardin, asso-ciate vice president for facilities management, said the contractor with the lowest bid, as well as proper licenses, bonds and abilities, will be awarded the project.
Bids open in October and last about six weeks.
Hardin said the con-tracting community busi-ness may be very slow with the state of the economy, but he is sure Phelps will attract bidders.
Hardin said public jobs tend to generate money for the economy.
Contractors should be on site toward the end of October and beginning of November, Hardin said.
The renovation process will take about 18 months to complete. Phelps is anticipated to re-open in fall 2012.
Waiting for renovationPhelps Hall opens for contract bids in October; will re-open in fall of 2012 with handicap accessibility
From fire to construction
Above: Owens caught fire in March, which caused classes and offices to be relocated. Many professors were able to salvage some items from their offices, but several faculty lost documents, photos and other per-
sonal items due to water damage.Left: Construction on the building continues and will be finished later this semester. Photos by Stephanie Eaton • [email protected]
By Amie DetarSpecial to The Johnsonian
The total repairs for Owens Hall will cost roughly $5 million, said Walter Hardin, the associate vice president for facilities management. The insurance policy for the building will cover all repair costs.
Construction efforts are under way, and no changes are going to be made to the building’s interior or exterior.
“Construction is going well, and we an-ticipate a late fall completion for a spring semester opening,” Hardin said.
Owens Hall, a $6.5 million general-use
classroom building that opened in 2007, was damaged in a fire on March 6, 2010.
The fire destroyed most of the build-ing’s roof, and much of the interior was affected by fire containment efforts.
Each of the 21 classrooms inside Ow-ens was equipped with SMART tech-nology, and the building also housed a computer lab, two conference rooms and a student lounge.
While Leitner Construction is obtain-ing the certificate of occupancy for the building, Manning Gibson, assistant vice president for facilities design and devel-opment, will be able to move furniture in and set everything up.
“Since the building was so new, before the fire hit, it already had technology upgrades,” Manning said. “All damaged items will be replaced.”
A major issue for students used to cutting through Owens has been finding another route to take them around the building.
Teachers who used classrooms in Ow-ens had to be relocated and many were given offices in Lee Wicker Hall and
Dacus Library. Bancroft Hall was also affected by the fire containment efforts, though it has since reopened.
Though essentially a new building on the inside, Owens will have the same look and feel as it had before the fire.
“The renovated Owens will have much the same feel as it originally had,” Man-ning said.
Owens construction expected to be completed by late fall
THURSDAY September 16, 2010 4
POLICE BLOTTER
Law and Order:
www.mytjnow.com/police-blotter
MARIJUANA POSSESSION; POSSESSION/CONSUMP-TION OF LIQUOR UNDER 21; OPEN CONTAINER (LIQUOR) (9/8/10)
At 9:44 p.m., a reporting of-ficer observed a vehicle sitting in the travel lane at Alumni Drive and Cherry Road. The officer approached the driver of the vehicle, who said he stopped his car to talk to some friends.
The officer noticed the ve-hicle tag expired in May 2010.
The officer asked the driver for his driver’s license and registration. While the driver retrieved his information, the officer noticed a bottle of Seagram’s Gin sitting in the center console.
The driver quickly took the bottle and placed it under the passenger seat, but the top half of the bottle was still showing.
The driver exited the vehicle
with paperwork showing the property taxes had been paid for 2009, but wasn’t able to show anything that indicated the taxes had been paid for 2010.
The officer could also smell marijuana coming from the driver.
Another officer arrived on the scene to assist the report-ing officer.
The reporting officer took the bottle of gin and found a small amount of alcohol left inside.
The other officer conducted a search of the driver and found a clear plastic bag con-taining 0.01 grams of marijua-na and a blunt with marijuana in it in the driver’s left foot sock.
The driver was arrested and sent to Rock Hill City Jail.
HIT & RUN (9/8/10)
Between 3 and 5 p.m., a
female student parked her car in Wither’s lot in commuter parking. While she was in class, someone struck her car’s bumper with his/her vehicle.
The student did not report the incident until after she had already returned to her home.
The reporting officer checked to see if there were any cameras near the incident location, but there weren’t.
The officer made a follow-up call to the student on Thurs-day, Sept. 9, at 6:52 p.m. to see if she wished to have an accident report completed.
The student said she didn’t notice any damage to the car when she left class the day be-fore and decided not to pursue the accident report.
Compiled by Jonathan McFadden
WU
Edit
ion
questions still need to be answered. Though a court date has not been set,
Collins requested a preliminary hear-ing and thinks it will be set sometime in October.
Walker is now looking for another job because he is no longer employed at Winthrop, Collins said.
In a second, but unrelated case, Dave Rentschler was arrested Monday, September 13, on charges of breach of trust over $5000, according to an arrest warrant.
Rentschler was under investigation for misallocating proceeds raised from the sale of scrap metal, and the case has
been under investigation since early July.
“That between dates (April 7, 2008) and (February 26, 2010) the defendant while acting as Winthrop University’s Facility Management Supervisor did receive funds in excess of $5000 for the sale of surplus materials which were the property of Winthrop University and converted said funds to personal use,” the official affidavit stated.
The affidavit was signed on Friday, Sept. 10, and Rentschler was arrested three days later.
After review of approximately three years worth of business records, As-sistant Police Chief Ken Scoggins and State Law Enforcement Division found
that Rentschler was the “seller of much of this property” and the cash proceeds were “paid to the delivery person in each case,” the police report states.
“No record exists that Rentschler ever reported the sale of the property or turned in the proceeds to university of-ficials,” according to the report.
The police report indicated that the scrap metal was sold at Smith Metal and Iron on Glen Hope Road in Rock Hill.
Rentschler was released from York County Detention Center on Tuesday.
By Anna [email protected]
Two students will have the opportunity to travel to Nicara-gua next semester to survey the impact of previous Winthrop service projects on the local community.
The trip, which Winthrop’s Research Council funded, will yield the chosen juniors or seniors 12 academic credits in sociology, history and Spanish.
One of the trip’s organizers, assistant sociology professor Jeannie Weil, said the aim of the semester-long research is to create a “more constant pres-ence” in the small rural town of Rocha.
Past projects have been weeklong endeavors, including a group of Winthrop students who built a school in one week a few years ago.
Associate history professor Ginger Williams traveled to the country and found that in one community, children could not attend school at a particular time because they had no bridge to use when the river rose.
Williams raised enough money to fund the projects and a school was built for children to attend year-round.
The spring 2011 trip will as-sess how well these projects, are
working for local residents, Weil said.
Students will live in an apart-ment in the city of Matagalpa for about four days of the week. The other three days will be spent doing field research in Rocha.
Rocha is an agricultural-based town without most amenities. Weil visited the area a few years ago and said she remembers sleeping in a ham-mock on the porch.
“It’s kind of like going camp-ing,” she said.
The area is safe and the people are friendly, Weil said.
An experience such as this trip is ideal for students inter-ested in attending graduate school or participating in pro-grams similar to the Peace Corp, she said.
Residents of Rocha do not speak English, so applicants for the research trip should be comfortable with conversational Spanish.
The faculty organizers will hold interviews to judge the ap-plicants’ maturity, adaptability, ability to work independently and cultural sensitivity.
Applications are due no later than Sept. 30.
Other application require-ments include a 2.8 or higher GPA and junior or senior status.
Previous international ex-
perience and participation in a research methods course will enhance an application but are not necessary. Undergraduates
and graduate students from any major or discipline are encour-aged to apply.
For more information and an
application, e-mail Ginger Wil-liams at [email protected] or Jeannie Weil at [email protected].
Former employees wait for trial
Nicaragua provides students chance to assess past WU projects
Last year, Winthrop was able to send one student to Rocha, but now the university has enough funding to send two for an entire semester. The chosen students will spend four days a week in Matagalpa and another three days researching in Rocha. Photo courtesy of Jeannie Weil
EmployEE • from front
Above: George Walker. Dave Rent-schler’s photo could not be obtained at press time. Both Walker and Rent-schler, both former Winthrop em-ployees, were charged with breach of trust.
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
CONNOR DE BRULEROpinion Editor
OUR SAY
About The Johnsonian
The Johnsonian is the weekly student newspaper of Winthrop University. It is published during fall and spring semesters with the exception of university holidays and exam periods.
EditorANNA DOUGLAS
Managing editorTIFFANY BARKLEY
News editorCLAIRE BYUN
Assistant news editorJONATHAN MCFADDEN
Opinion editorCONNOR DE BRULER
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Arts & entertainment editorJESSICA PICKENS
Assistant arts &entertainment editorALISON ANGEL
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Please include your name, major and year if you are a student; your name and title if you are a professor; or your name and
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Contact us if you find an error in an issue of the newspaper. We will correct it in the next issue.
As my teen years come to a close, I think more and more about the ag-ing process. I’ve always wondered just what kind of old man I’ll become.
It’s probably more appropri-ate for a youngster to worry about getting a job and becoming a “pro-ductive member of society.” But it’s much more fun to ruminate, in hypothetical terms, about my final years.
I could become a cheery, grand-fatherly type who stuffs his pockets with expensive chocolates and per-forms magic tricks for my grandchil-dren. My wife and I might live in a small cottage in central Vermont, where I could gather my own maple syrup for kicks.
I could also become an angry, withdrawn old man living in a se-cluded cabin near Appalachia. My wife might die early on or leave me for someone more interesting.
My children could disown me and never bother to call. Meanwhile, I’ll be sitting on my rickety front porch, plagued by back pain, and waving a double-barrel shotgun at passing hikers.
I can easily picture myself as a senior citizen. My skin will be creased similar to a tree trunk and my personality jaded by seventy years worth of embarrassment and social anxiety. I’ll probably wear the same clothes, though the suspenders will probably look better on me as an old man.
Of course, the possibility that I won’t live to see old age.
It’s impossible to think about aging without thinking about death. My death is a scary and simultane-ously relieving notion.
I think about possible deaths quite often. Sometimes I see myself walking down the wrong path on a nature trail and aggravating a bear. I also have a bad habit of not paying attention to where I’m walking and I have run into flag poles, concrete pil-lars, plywood signs and tree branch-
es. This absentmindedness may prove deadly.
Most elderly and middle- aged adults I speak to on the subject don’t have very much to say. They tell me I have tons of time and so many things to en-joy, but I fervently disagree.
No one is promised tomorrow or even the next five minutes. I could die very soon.
My great-grandmother was very straightforward when she turned 102. She said, earnestly, that life was no longer enjoyable for her and she wanted to die. She said she could no longer see or walk, and that everyone she had ever truly cared about had been dead for twenty years. Thankfully, she got her wish a couple months later.
I suppose the best way to go about living the remainder of my life is to simply enjoy each day as it comes. Everyone should behave as if he/she were already elderly.
Connor de [email protected]
PARKING ANGSTYouth thinksabout late life
If you’re look-ing for a trendy doorstop, no need to search the home interior isles of TJ Maxx, Crate & Barrel or Ikea. Save yourself some time, because chances are, you already have a very expensive doorstop at your dis-posal: the oxymoronic required (but never used) textbook.
Thanks to some professors there’s probably at least one in your possession right now just waiting for an opportunity to serve some purpose. So go ahead, dust that thing off and put it to some good use other
than just sitting in a dark corner.
The recipe for how these ridiculously expensive books become doorstops, paperweights and other pointless home accessories is simple. Take one professor with no regard for
how your money is spent, add one profit-driven book store or online book retailer, and blend with a syllabus instructing stu-dents to purchase the book.
Next, simmer this mixture for two to three weeks or however long it takes for the student to realize the book has not and will not ever be used and presto;
instant doorstop.With the price of textbooks al-
ways rising and “new” editions of the same book (with, at most, one new chapter of informa-tion) being printed every year, you would think professors would do one of two things:
A) actually use the required book (what a novel idea) or B)tell their students that it’s not necessary to purchase the book because most of the material will be covered in class.
But of course there’s always those professors who opt for option C, requiring a textbook they know good and damn well they never plan on using.
Do these professors find some secret hidden joy in making our
lives miserable? Do they realize how frustrating it is for some-one with little or no income to purchase books that can cost up to $180 each? Do they even care?
Apparently not.I would argue that, just as I
do many students have a certain appreciation for professors who keep it real.
If we’re not going to use the book, tell us that. We’re broke enough as it is. And if we are going to use it, that’s fine too, but for the love of education stop playing with our money and limited resources.
Requiring students to pur-chase textbooks that won’t be used is just wrong and needs to
stop.If all you’re going to do is
spen class time flying through the same powerpoint presenta-tion you’ve been using since you got your coveted tenure at the university, then at least be honest and tell us that on the first day. Then, of course, some other writer will publish a col-umn on how unfair that is but, I digress.
This is a simple plea to every professor at every university across the country.
If you’re going to require a textbook then please have the decency to use it. If nothing else point out the pretty pictures located inside.
Oh, the woes of parking. Residents hate the Legion lot. Not everyone in the Courtyard can park
in the apartment complex’s lot.Faculty and staff have to duke it out for
spots in the Johnson Hall lot.Commuters have to park on grass and
gravel behind Dinkins. It’s just terrible. But, there’s a good chance Winthrop isn’t
alone in its parking troubles. In fact, we might be better off in terms of cost.
USC students pay between $260 to 320 per semester to park in garages. Clemson students pay $134 each year.
It’s hard to judge whether the availability of parking is better here or at other colleg-es but we would venture to think no college has a perfect parking situation.
Completion of the DiGiorgio Campus Center may have shifted the parking needs of many staff members from the Dinkins
area to the center of campus. This change may be impacting faculty
members accustomed to parking in the area between Margaret Nance and Craw-ford and in the Johnson Hall lot.
So, some faculty and staff members may be walking farther but we do have a new campus center—it’s give and take, people.
In an ideal world, people who don’t enjoy walking or arrive later than usual to campus would be able to cruise into a convenient parking spot.
But, parking isn’t really ideal anywhere we go, whether it’s grocery stores, the mall or the airport.
The Johnsonian isn’t saying you shouldn’t complain about parking. We’re not fans of parking on the street or in the far reaches of the Legion lot either.
But, keep in mind it’s not Winthrop out to get you. It’s just the nature of a college campus.
Parking complaints part of college reality
Illustration by Courtney Niskala • [email protected]
...I won’t live to see old age
“”
Professors must help students, not book companies
Debra Renee [email protected]
summer. The students will continue working on the projects throughout the semester, Sumter said.
“They are studying if there is a correlation be-tween DNA binding and cancer-causing proper-ties,” she said.
Brock is working on dis-covering the pathway that exists for the protein to increase in cells, Sumter said.
HMGA1 is a protein that causes colon cancer, Brock said. If the HMGA1 promoter activates, the HMGA1 protein is pro-duced.
HMGA1a, another type of the protein, was shown to cause lymphoid disease that resembles cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia in mice, according to Brock’s abstract. This supports the idea that HMGA1 may have a casual role in caus-ing cancer.
“I am trying to see how HMGA1 is produced and to inhibit its production,” she said.
Brock worked this sum-mer with T-Cell Factor 4 (TCF-4), a protein that binds with the HMGA1 promoter, through the electrophoretic mobil-ity shift assays (EMSA), a process used to detect proteins and DNA com-plexes. She took promoter DNA from a HMGA1 se-quence and put it together with the TCF-4 protein. She then discovered that the protein binds to the HMGA1 promoter. She is currently looking at the in-teractions of the promoter and protein and the effects of this binding.
“We haven’t seen any ef-fects yet,” she said. “But it is really big for us to find a protein that will bind to the HMGA1 promoter, because we could not find one before.”
When the protein binds to the promoter, it is either activating, which means it is turning on the transla-tion of the protein, or de-activating it, which means it is preventing the protein from being translated, Brock said.
She is trying to find a way to inhibit this activa-tion, which will deactivate the HMGA1 protein. This will stop HMGA1 from
forming cancer cells.One way Brock is cur-
rently trying to inhibit this activation is by creat-ing a mutant form of the HMGA1 promoter. She changed the DNA bases of the promoter to see if the TCF-4 protein will still bind with it. If it cannot bind, it cannot activate the promoter and cancer cells will not form, she said.
Student Research
Nelson worked with the
EMSA process to make a mutation of the HMGA1 sequence this summer, Nelson said.
To form the mutation of the HMGA1 protein, Nel-son replaced the amino acid Arginine at the 25th spot on the protein se-quence of HMGA1 with the amino acid Lysine, he said. This is known as the R25K mutant. He used Arginine because it has similar properties as Ly-sine, and both are similar in length. Arginine is also modified in cancer cells at the 25th spot on the HMGA1 sequence.
“We can use this mutant form to see how important Arginine is at that specific site on the HMGA1 se-quence,” he said.
Deng worked with the mutant R25A, which she formed by replacing Argi-nine on the 25th spot on the HMGA1 protein se-quence with Alanine, ac-cording to Deng’s abstract.
Nelson and Deng tested with KIT Ligand, a DNA sequence HMGA1 binds to, also known as the Stem Cell Factor or steel factor. It is involved in cancer-causing pathways. Nelson and Deng bonded it with the regular, or wild type, HMGA1 protein. This binding is expressed in many types of cancerous cells, according to Deng’s abstract.
Kit Ligand binds with the regular, or wild type, HMGA1 protein, but not with the mutant forms, Deng said. They are work-ing to see if any of the mutants will induce can-cer. This is their starting point and they will con-tinue working with this throughout the semester.
They are looking for “anchorage Independent Growth in cells over-ex-pressing HMGA1,” ac-
cording to Deng’s abstract. This will help them learn about the role of HMGA1 in the transformation of healthy cells into cancer-ous cells. It will also help them understand how cancer progresses.
“We are hoping to see
that the wild type HMGA1 protein causes cancer and the two mutants do not,” Deng said.
If the mutants do not produce cancer, then the amino acid that was sub-stituted is important, she said.
They are working on making basic changes to
see the effects the work they do has on the ability of HMGA1 protein to in-duce cancer in cells. It is a small step in cancer re-search, Sumter said.
Their research was funded through the NIH-
AREA, or the Academic Research Enhancement Award, Sumter said.
Note: Each student had different experiences prior to the summer re-search. Read about how they go involved below.
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
AMANDA PHIPPSHealth & Science Editor
Above: Takita Sumter and Amy Deng are con-ducting spectrophotometric analysis of a DNA sample. They used this and other technolgy to study the HMGA1 protein. Left: Ashton Brock works on pipeting some of the HMGA1 protein into a sample to use later in her research. She worked with Sumter this summer doing cancer cell research. Photos by Amanda Phipps• [email protected]
By Amanda [email protected]
The McNair scholars program allowed chemistry majors Ashton Brock and Ron-ald Nelson Jr. to work with Sumter this summer to build their research skills.
Not having taken biochemistry, Nelson went into the lab with little background in research techniques. He said the work they did this summer required a good amount of self-reading and studying.
“It was very intense,” Nelson said. “But it was worth it in the end.” He also said Sumter, Brock and Deng were supportive and encouraging.
Brock worked with Sumter using the HMGA protein last summer, but started on a new project involving the protein this year.
Brock has worked with Sumter for two years now, she said. “The research is one of my best experiences at Winthrop,” she said. “I encourage more students to get involved.”
Chemistry major Amy Deng transferred from the University of Florida. Sumter recruited her to work on the research this summer to gain experience. She said she has had a different experience at Win-throp. “The research experience (at Win-throp) is incredible,” she said. “I enjoyed working with Doctor Sumter.”
Though the students worked on the projects on their own, Sumter helped them learn research techniques.
“I train the students in the hope that they will become more independent,” she said. “I teach them how to be scientists.”
Is there really a man on the moon?Look up at the moon during International Observe the Moon Night (InOHM).
Sponsors: The Carolina Skygazers
RESEARCH • from front
I train the students in the hope that they will become more independent. I teach them how to be scientists. Takita SumterAssociate professor of chemisty, physics and geology
“”
Programs,professor allow students to gain experience
When: Saturday, Sept.18
Time: 5-10:30 p.m.
Where: The grassy area to the left of the entrance to Manchester Meadows, Rock Hill.
A field telescope workshop will be held from 5-6 p.m.
For more information on the national event, visit observethe-moonnight.org.
For more information on the local event, visit carolinaskygaz-ers.org.
By Alison [email protected]
WINR has been the student voice of Winthrop over the airwaves for years.
Running out of a small studio in Johnson Hall, it is exclusively operated by students and open to all Winthrop students who are interested, regardless of major.
However, while WINR has both a regular online stream on their website WINRfm.com and Winthrop’s channel 99, which is exclusively dedicated to the radio station, they do not have a fre-quency on the radio.
Winthrop has never had an FM radio station said Haney Howell, mass com-munication professor and faculty advisor for the radio station.
He said the school applied for a low-powered FM license 10 years ago, and it appeared the school would get one.
However, the rules were suddenly changed.
Previously, if a school could find a frequency on the radio that did not have a station on either side, it could apply for it, Howell said.
“We found a frequency and applied,” Howell said. “Then, the commercial sta-tions jumped at it because they’re very opposed to this. This is free radio as far as they’re concerned.”
Regardless of frequency, the radio station has always been available within campus from the start.
“There was a radio station here for many years called WCRO and it was on
the electrical lines around the college,” Howell said. “It worked really well until the first hair dryer was invented. Liter-ally, it wiped the entire station.”
Howell said that because the station does not broadcast on a frequency, it can play a more eclectic blend of music.
The Federal Communications Com-mission (FCC) does not regulate the station, but he said they still follow and abide by all the FCC rules.
“It (the station) is the only place left where you can learn the basic skills of running a board, timing out a show and learning to put a (radio) show together,” Howell said.
Caroline DuPree, sophomore broad-cast major, is the WINR studio manager.
DePree enjoys the fact that WINR is strictly on campus and the online stream.
That way, the studio can be very in-volved in studio activities, she said.
“I feel like our exposure is good,” Du-Pree said. “With online streaming, we are able to reach out to people outside the Rock Hill limits.”
Junior broadcast journalism and psychology major, Kathryn Scott is the general manager for the station.
Scott agrees that the exposure they get, even without a frequency on the radio, is enough.
“I feel like we get more than enough exposure without the frequency,” Scott said. “It’s a great thing to not be limited to a frequency because I can have my sister in Virginia listen or my friends
on campus and that is a whole big spectrum of people we are reaching.”
Students can listen to WINR Sunday through Saturday on WINRfm.com’s live stream or chan-nel 99 on-campus.
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
JESSICA PICKENSArts & Entertainment [email protected]
ALISON ANGELAsst. Arts & Entertainment Editor
7
WU radio station exclusive on campus, online
Jessica [email protected]
They call it “sound puppetry” and other times just plain “it.”
Senior broadcast major Zade Patterson and his brother Ted Patterson, sophomore broadcast major, have an unusual craft.
“We have been doing it since we were born,” Zade said.
The brothers pantomime with unusual sounds and create funny storylines.
“When we were kids, we would play with action figures
and watch movies,” Ted said. “We would make sounds for that and have been doing it ever since.”
After seeing two Australian brothers performing a similar form of comedy on Jay Leno, the Pattersons wondered why they weren’t doing the same thing.
“We took that skit and added our cartoony actions and sound effects,” Zade said.
The brothers take a setting and then add comedy to it.
“We start off with a basic set-ting, like a grocery store,” Ted said. “Then, we go from there
an add ridiculous stuff that has the potential to be funny.”
The brothers compliment each other. One can make some sounds, and while the other can’t he can add something else.
They have had success in high school performing at church camps, high school talent shows and Miss Wildcat at Lexington High School, hosted by the infa-mous Miss Teen South Carolina Caite Upton.
But their greatest success was as the opening act for Las Vegas act, magician Tim Gabrielson last fall for a DSU event.
“I was the comedy chair last year for DSU and had to call Tim Gabrielson and arrange his performance,” Zade said. “Tim called me back and said Boyd told him I did a com-edy skit. I thought I was being Punk’d.”
The Patterson brothers also opened for well-known come-dian ANT last spring with DSU. They were interviewing ANT for Winthrop Closeup, when he found out Zade and Ted did comedy skits.
“He thought that our skits sounded great, and then he said, ‘You have five minutes,
and then I go on,’” Zade said. Zade and Ted are always prac-
ticing new noises and finding new sounds and ideas.
The brothers said they get their stability from their mom and craziness from their dad.
“We are like a nuclear bomb with a lock on it,” Ted said.
Their mother always makes sure their routines are family friendly.
“Mom is always asking if little kids can listen to it,” Zade said.
“We have a Shakespearean taste; everyone dies in the end,” Ted said.
We are like a nuclear bomb with a lock on it. Ted PattersonSophomore broadcast major
“”
Sound puppetry: brothers share the stage
Adrian Price and George Nguyen perform their WINR show “Live with the Prynce” on Mondays from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. WINR does not have an FM or AM station. Students can listen to the radio show on WINRfm.com or channel 99. Photo by Paul Ricciardi • [email protected]
Zade and Ted Patterson started making odd sounds as chil-dren playing with action figures. Now, they use the sounds in comedy skits, opening for DSU acts like TIm Gabrielson and ANT. Photo by Paul Ricciardi • [email protected]
825 Riverview Road I-77, Exit 82-B Rock Hill, SC 29730 Right off Cherry Road 803-329-1177
Radio lingo:
Slot - time a person airs on WINRPhoner - telephone call on airRemote -program from a remote location
Winthrop band records album over summer
By Jeremy GatlinSpecial to the Johnsonian
Every once and a while, a band comes along and surprises listeners with its amazing talent that seems to be beyond the band members’ years.
Polar War is that band.Band members Will Thompson, vocals
and organ; Andy Shaffer, guitar and background vocals; Michael Linog, bass and background vocals; and Dave Rich, drums, went to New Windsor, N.Y., dur-ing the summer.
The band recorded its first full-length album, “Gun,” at Nada Recording Stu-dio.
The band also recently won “Scene S.C’s Next Big Thing” competition.
Any skeptic might expect the produc-tion values of an indie album by a group of college students to lack a professional sound.
However, doubters’ minds will be changed once they have a listen to the new CD.
The first track, called “Intro,” comes in loud and clear with the instruments playing slowly until they build to an-them-like heights with the band mem-bers singing passionately, “Follow me,
leave the dead to bury their own dead.”It is evident the members of Polar War
know how to craft songs that are catchy, diverse and don’t run together.
The songs are unified enough that they create a solid album.
All the songs are unique in their own way, showcasing the band’s ability to write mature lyrics.
The dynamic songs make you think are so hauntingly beautiful they will play in your head for days.
For example, “Mother” is an acoustic ballad that allows the tender side of Thompson’s vocals to shine as he croons, “Everyone gathers round to pay respects, but it’s still just you and my ghost.”
I think the best track on the album is “Gun Named Kindness,” which displays the heavier side of the band.
The song starts off moody with guitar effects, a trippy drum beat and Thomp-son crooning before turning into an assault of crunching guitars, rollicking drums and Thompson screaming at the top of his lungs.
South Carolina has been known to crank out some really talented artists, such as Emery, Hootie and the Blowfish and Edwin McCain.
Polar War could be similar to one of these performers.
To get a copy of Polar War’s album, go to one of their shows. Go to www.myspace.com/polarwar for tour date information.
THURSDAY September 16, 2010 8
CROSSWURD PUZZLE
Across3. Last name of the faculty advisor for WINR.4. What special day is on Sept. 17?6. What object wiped out the first WU radio station? (two words)9. What is one of the cities in Nicaragua Winthrop students will stay in on the research trip?10. How many months does WU think it will take to renovate
Down1. Non-profit organization Elizabeth Miller worked with. (two words)2. The process Phelps’ has to go through to get a construction company bid. (acronym)5. Last name of The Johnsonian’s managing editor.7. What website was former WU employee George Walker using to misuse funds? (two words)8. The protein that is increased in cancer cells and isn’t present in
Polar War CD impressesRidiculous Car ContestDoes your car have flames on the sides, a dragon head painted on the hood or a portrait of your dog Molly on the rear bumper?
The Johnsonian wants to see whatever modifica-tions you have made to your vehicle.
Through the month of September, the Arts & Entertainment section is hosting a contest for the Winthop student’s car with the craziest paint job,
most modifications or that stands out the most.
Submit your photos and they will be placed on The Johnsonian’s Facebook page. The car most “liked” on Facebook will win a $25 gas card.
Winners will be announced in the Oct. 7 issue.
E-mail your pictures to [email protected].
Graphic by Paul Ricciardi • [email protected]
When they were youngSome of you might remember the “Winthrop as a Movie” feature from last year.
This year your Arts and Entertainment editors have started a new fea-ture where students can see what their professors looked like during their college days.
Want to give your co-workers a good laugh? Want to see what your professors looked like when they were younger?
Send us professor ideas or your college photos to [email protected]
Upcoming on-campus films:
Saturday, Sept. 18: “The Karate Kid”- The remake of the 1984 movie stars Jackie Chan and Will Smith’s son, Jaden Smith.
Wednesday, Sept. 22: “Toy Story 3”- The third installment in the series shows how the toys deal with Andy going to college.
CD REVIEW
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
ALEXIS AUSTINCulture Editor
Special day focuses on America’s past, future By Alexis [email protected]
It is the reason why people can worship, speak and live freely.
The United States Constitution and its amendments are the foundation for Ameri-can government and the rights of its citi-zens. On Sept. 17, America will celebrate the signing of the Constitution.
Since 2005, Winthrop has celebrated Constitution Day with various events.
“Public high schools and those receiving public funding are expected to do some-thing in remembrance of Constitution day,” Karen Kedrowski said.
Kedrowski is the chair of the political sci-ence department and director of the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy.
The John C. West Forum, named after the former governor, is a non-profit organi-zation that promotes civic engagment. The orgnaization was founded in 2002 at the University of South Carolina. In 2008, it was moved to Winthrop. The John C. West Forum hosts the Constitution Day events.
This year, the focus will be on the 26th Amendment and young adults’ participa-tion in politics.
Bobbi Gentry will be the keynote speak-er. Gentry received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and political science from Win-throp in 2004. She is currently an associate professor at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.
“Dr. Kedrowski asked me to speak at the event since I have participated in youth vot-ing,” she said.
While Gentry attended Winthrop, she be-came interested in youth voting and politi-cal activity. At the time, Winthrop students were not allowed to vote in York County. Gentry helped get the laws changed so stu-dents would not have to go home to vote.
“Because of Bobbi and her efforts, we dis-covered that students couldn’t vote in York
County. We are very grateful to her,” Ked-rowski said.
Gentry said Constitution Day is impor-tant, especially at Winthrop.
“It’s a good initiative for Winthrop. It’s another way to get students involved,” she said. “It’s an interesting thing we need to think about. There are still things in the Constitution that we are debating.”
Kedrowski also agreed. “The Constitution is the fundamental law
of the U.S. I agree with what Sen. Robert C. Byrd said: ‘In order to be good, effective citizens, we need to understand the Consti-tution,’” she said.
The 26th Amendment, which allows citi-zens to vote at the age of 18, is especially important for young adults, Gentry said.
“Before the passage of the 26th Amend-ment, young people were dying in wars but couldn’t vote on leaders who made deci-sions on who would go to war,” she said. “It gives people a formal voice.”
She also said that without the Constitu-tion and the 26th Amendment, the U.S. would be in disastrous state.
“We’d be totally lost,” Gentry said. Other ways to get involved in politics ex-
ist besides voting, Gentry said.“Addressing human rights and commu-
nity issues are ways to get involved,” Gentry said. “More importantly, getting an educa-tion is the best way to be involved. Students need to know how politics work to fully par-ticipate.”
The 26th Amendment and Young Adults’ Participation event is at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17 in Kinard Auditorium. A reception will fol-low. It is an approved cultural event.
Here are some interesting facts about the Constitu-tion:
•The Constitution has 4,400 words. It’s the shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world.
•Benjamin Franklin was the oldest person to sign the Constitution. He was 81.
•James Madison and George Washington were the only presidents to sign the Constitution.
•The word “democracy” does not appear in the Constitution.
•The Constitution has been changed 17 times since 1791.
•The Constitution is not written entirely in English. Latin is used in various parts of the document.
•Pennsylvania is an example of the many spelling errors in the Constitiution. It is spelled “Pensylvania.”
•Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution. He was in France serving as a U.S. Minister.
•George Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 26, 1789. The holiday was to give “thanks” for the Constitution.
Source: www.constitutionfacts.com
Did you know?
Student teaches at-risk children
shift,” she said. “This gave me chance to work with children of all ages.”
Miller was responsible for relieving teachers during their break times.
“The kids attend school year-round, so I had the chance to teach them lessons and participate in rec-reational activities with them,” she said.
Although the children may be housed for a specific disorder, she said she learned it’s more to a child than what’s in his/her chart.
“There is never a kid with just one problem,” Miller said. “Every kid is 100 percent unique.”
The internship required her to attend three weeks of training before working with the children.
“They do a lot of stuff to prepare you,” Miller said. “The situations that they use in training are events that have taken place.”
One technique Miller learned taught her how to re-spond to the children in situations as they continue to escalate. She said she also learned that when working with at-risk children you are there to help them but not be their friend.
“There are days where the kids that loved you the day before hate you and the ones that hated you love you,” she said.
She was also required to work 40 hours per week. Miller’s day usually began before 5 a.m.
“Even though we had to work 40 hours a week, we had the opportunity to go to events that would count toward our hours for the week,” she said. “For exam-ple, we went to Graceland and the Civil Rights Mu-seum. The time that we were there counted toward my 40 hours for that particular week.”
Though every day brought something new, Miller said she loved working with the children.
“I love Youth Villages,” she said. She said she was offered a position after graduation
but may attend graduate school.“I’m looking at graduate school but I would love to
work at a Youth Villages outside of Memphis,” Miller said.
INTERN • from front
Elizabeth Miller (third from right) was one of three interns from South Carolina. Overall, about 80 interns worked at Youth Villages during the summer. Photo Courtesy of Youth Villages • youthvillages.org
Summer internship brings hands-on experience
THURSDAYSeptember 16, 2010
CHRIS McFADDENSports Editor
Matt Stinson has acquired quite a few accolades in his soccer career, and the freshman mid-fielder recently added another.
Stinson discovered he was cho-sen for collegesoccernews.com’s yearly list of the Top 100 Fresh-men to Watch in a fairly peculiar way.
“I saw the list in the locker room; no-one really told me about it,” he said.
Stinson said he was “surprised” about the honor because he was unaware that any organization had even done research on fresh-men.
In fact, College Soccer News was established only 10 years ago, in hope of “increasing the coverage of college soccer throughout the country,” accord-ing to its editor Bob Bradner.
Although not part of the NCAA, the orga-nization main-tains a wide network of as-sistant coaches and coaches, who, as well as the schools and clubs themselves, send information and statistics to the website.
The staff then develops the top freshmen list according to a list of criteria that must be met, such as leadership on a team, experience and potential.
Though its nice to be reconig-zed by the organization, Stinson refused to let the honor go to his head.
“If you perform wherever you
are people will notice you, and while I appreciate that they know about me, I’m not going to show off now,” he said.
Having a humble disposition is a learned trait for the Toronto native.
Stinson has been the captain of his Toronto youth team and the MVP of the Canadian Summer Games. He was also called up for the U-20 Canadian National
men’s team at the age of 17.“Teammates always keep you
humble, especially when receiv-ing awards, but I’ve learned over the years that it’s something I’ve gotten used to and deal with in a good way,” he said.
Stinson’s Eagle teammates will be glad to have the freshman grounded in order to focus on the season ahead.
The young Canadian will be tasked with keeping the Win-throp defense clear to aid their offense, which has only converted two goals from 42 shots in their first two matches.
Winthrop (1-1) will travel to North Carolina and Tennessee for 3 crucial nonconference matches, hoping their young squad can rebound from a 3-0 loss against the Mercer Bears on Sept. 5.
Stinson said he’s not concerned with playing for the glory outside Rock Hill.
“Going to North Carolina is a good opportunity,” Stinson said, “but I’m going there to win games. We have to bounce back, so we’re worried about moving forward.”
Athletes of the week announced
Junior volleyball player Rebecca Toor and ju-nior ross country runner Adam Freudenthal were named athleletes of the week.
Toor received All-Tour-nament honors for her performanced during the 2010 Carolina Challenge. She had 36 kills and 11 blocks during the tourna-ment.
Freudenthal help the Eagles to a second place finish at the Western Car-olina Invitational. He fin-ished 11 seconds behind the leader.
Soccer teammates score conference reco-nigtion
Women’s soccer players Tricia Vensel and Kylie Long were named to the Big South Conference top 20 players to watch list.
Vensel is the team’s leading scorer, while Long is third on the team in shots on goal. The con-ference ranked Vensel 11th and Long 14th.
Baseball team begin preparation for 2011season
A new era for the Win-throp baseball team be-gan September 13 as new coach Tom Riginos and the team opened fall camp.
The team will practice Monday-Saturday until Oct. 21-23 when the Win-throp World Series will take place.
SPORTS BRIEFS
Freshman nets accolades
Matt Stinsonjunior
MIDFIELDER NAMED TOP 100 TO WATCH
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College Soccer News listed Winthrop mid-fielder Matt Stinson as one of America’s Top 100 Freshmen to Watch. Stinson is from Canada and played on the country’s national under-20 team. Photo by Stephanie Eaton • [email protected]
Just because you have strong love for a sport, that does not mean someone cannot have a just as strong love for a different sport.
Senior volleyball player Kaley Viola is proof of this.The outside hitter intially fell in love with softball,
but soon volleyball took over that spot in her heart.“My first love was softball.” I started playing tee ball
at a young age,” Viola said. “I really loved it up until I found volleyball.”
The change in heart has been successful for Viola. She was recently named to the Big South Conference pre-season All Conference team.
Some athletes may have celebrated this accomplish-ment or bask in the notoriety such an achievement can bring, Viola took it all in stride and shared the spotlight with her teammates.
“It’s a great honor but individual rewards like that are never on my mind or a goal that I have,” she said. “I could have never gotten this honor if it wasn’t for my teammates and my coaches.”
The good of the volleyball team is some-thing that is important to Viola as she sees it, because being a team is the only way they will be successful.
“Our main team goals are to come to-gether as a team and become one unit, also we want to prove that we can win a confer-ence championship,” she said.
An honor such as this might also keep an athlete from striving to continue to try to improve as a player.
Viola is not that athlete; she knows she has areas that need work.
“One weakness I possess as a player is that I can struggle when things are out of my control,” she said.
With this being Viola’s final year, she wants to be remembered for the way she played the game.
“I would like to be remembered for be-ing a player that was there for my team-mates, and as an individual who worked hard on and off the court,” she said. “I want to be remembered as someone who had fun play-ing a great sport.”
Viola has developed into one of the team’s leaders and will be counted on as the Eagles make their run to the conference title.
THURSDAY September 16, 2010 11SPORTS
Hearing that another col-lege athlete is involved in some academic scandal does not make most college fans so much as blink now today.
It has come to be accepted and some might say expected.
The latest academic scandal involves members of the Uni-versity of North Carolina Tar Heels football team. Appar-ently, some players received help from a tutor on their tests.
You hear stories of colleges bending their academic admittance standards so players, who otherwise would not be admitted into college, can be admitted into that school.
Is it any wonder these students need extra help to pass their tests?
On the other end of the spectrum are schools such as Winthrop, where the term student-athlete correctly describes its athletes.
Ask any coach if education is a prior-ity for their athletes and they are likely
to give the standard “education is the most important thing” answer.
These are coaches giving the expected, politically correct answer, when in reality their players aren’t making the grade (only 8 percent of the University of Maryland basketball players earn their degree according to the NCAA).
Winthrop coaches, on the other hand put their money where their mouth is. According to the NCAA Winthrop men’s basketball team had a 75 percent gradu-ation rate).
Winthrop men and women’s tennis teams were just named All-Academic teams by the Intercollegiate Tennis As-sociation.
Not to be outdone, the Eagle volleyball team earned the Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season, which is given by the American Volleyball Coaches As-sociation.
Overall, according to the NCAA, Win-
throp teams have an 85 percent gradua-tion rate.
The graduation rate and the academic awards are something Winthrop ath-letes, coaches, faculty, staff and students can, and should, be proud of.
Winthrop has persuade the novel idea that a university’s main goal is the edu-cation of its students, student-athletes included.
The university set its athletes up to succeed in the classroom as well on ath-letic fields.
Winthrop provides a learning assis-tance center, a language learning center, a math lab and a writing center for their student athletes. In addition, athletes have tutors and academic mentoring available to them.
While these types of services may not be unique to Winthrop, the proof is in the pudding that our athletes actually take advantage of the help available to them.
The situation in UNC is neither the first nor will it be the last of these types
of academic scandals involving student-athletes.
The next time you hear how colleges across the country have student-athletes flunking out of school left and right, take solace in the fact that the student-athletes at your school are representing you just as well in the classroom as on the athletic battlefield.
Academics come before athletics at Winthrop
Overall, according to the NCAA Winthrop teams have an 85 percent graduation rate .
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Volleyball player puts team before individual awards
Kaley Viola is looking to lead the Eagles to a Big South title. Photo by Stephanie Eaton • [email protected]
By Chris [email protected]
Intramural DatesDisc Golf Sept. 17 2:00 p.m. Register at disc golf course @ 1:30 p.m.
Co-Rec Softball Sept. 20 N/A Register Sept. 9-Sept. 16 West Center
Raquetball Sept. 20 N/A Register Sept. 9-Sept. 16 West Center
Punt, Pass, Kick Sept. 21 6:30 p.m. Register on recreational fields
Co-rec softball and racuquetball require pre-registration. Go to the
recreational services website for registration forms. For more information on any
sport, contact Neil Ostlund at [email protected] or call 803-323-2354.
Chris McFaddenSports Editor
12THURSDAY September 16, 2010 THE JOHNSONIAN