Volume 80 No. 17January 26, 2012 www.FlorAla.net Student newspaper of the University of North Alabama

A LOOK INSIDE

Offi cials recently an-nounced that new

buses will not be pur-chased at UNA.

Flor-Ala editors ex-plore local supermar-kets to fi nd the best deals for students.

The year of the Dragon is the animal for the

traditional Chinese New Year.

See page 2

See page 5

See page 5

@UNAFlorAla

@FlorAlaSports

Head Basketball Coach Bobby

Champagne brings energy to the court.

See page 9

Experts say a job search can be affect-ed by social media.

See page 3

photo by CARRIE COOK I Student Photographer

The Centers for Disease Con-trol (CDC) released its vital signs report in early January, determin-ing that binge drinking in the United States is more prevalent than it was once thought to be.

Researchers randomly inter-viewed 457,677 people across 48 states. In summary, the CDC estimated one in six Americans – more than 38 million – partici-pate in binge drinking. The high-est percentage of binge drinkers

was found in the 18 – 24 year old age range.

Binge drinking is defi ned for men as fi ve or more drinks in a short amount of time, whereas, for women, it is four drinks, ac-cording to the CDC.

Out of the estimated 38 mil-lion binge drinkers, the data suggests that participants binge drink approximately four times a month. The average number of drinks consumed per sitting is eight.

The study was released at the end of UNA’s AlcoholEdu program. AlcoholEdu started

last summer and was a required program for all incoming fresh-man. According to Dr. Kim Gre-enway, director of Student Con-duct, it was designed, in part, to gather information about fresh-man drinking habits and percep-tions as they enter college.

“(AlcoholEdu) is a unique attempt to understand what stu-dents expect about drinking and address that in a healthy way,” Greenway said. “We’re not out there to say ‘Alcohol is a terrible thing.’ We want to educate on

Study: 1 in 6 Americans binge drink

Sam Townson shows off during a game of beer pong Jan. 21 at a house party.

Under the weatherUnder the weather

University finds ways to cope with severe weather on campus

photos by MALISA MCCLURE I Chief Photographer

A UNA student gets soaked in the pouring rain Jan. 17 as he prepares to use the crosswalk on Wood Av-enue. Meteorologists predict more rain and warmer temperatures in Florence in the coming months.

Trudging through campus in the early weeks of the spring semester to avoid snow and heavy rain, UNA students can expect more unusual weather in the coming months as temperatures rise and precipitation increases, offi cials said.

Th e Shoals has experienced a mixed bag of weather conditions this month—including tornadoes, snow, unseasonably warm tempera-tures, rain and fl ooding—and those conditions are only expected to in-crease in the next few months, said Jennifer Lee, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hunts-ville.

Last spring’s snow and tornado activity prompted the university to

create a stronger weather strategy as part of UNA’s new crisis com-munication plan that is being de-veloped by Josh Woods, director of University Communications.

Woods said the weather plan will include an improved system of action for future extreme weath-er situations. For example, three

back-up systems have been added in the emergency operations center on campus so offi cials can commu-nicate with students even if power goes out as it did in Florence aft er the April 27 tornadoes last year.

“In the crisis communication plan, weather plays a major part in it,” Woods said. “Th ings have to be dealt with pretty quickly.”

When there is severe weather in the Shoals, UNA police Chief Bob Pastula keeps an eye on conditions and monitors the situation using specialized radar.

He said he gives his recommen-dation to UNA President Bill Cale, who ultimately makes the decision on whether to delay opening or close the university.

A UNA student steps onto the wet pavement on Wood Av-enue Jan. 17 after a storm.

UNA enters into agreement with Chinese university

An international agreement signed recently by UNA Presi-dent Bill Cale to build a partner-ship with Shenqi Ethnic Medi-cine College will create a Center for Integrative Health and off er a new master’s degree concen-tration to stu-dents, offi cials said.

Th e agree-ment awaits approval by the UNA board of trustees, SEMC and Alabama Commission on Higher Education, said Cale.

Zhang Zhiting, chairman of SEMC, has worked with Cale and other offi cials since last sum-mer to bring the partnership to light. He created the school in China to take a holistic approach to health, which is unique to the Shoals area and across the United States., said Cale.

Th e new center would allow local and international students to obtain a master’s degree in health and human performance with a concentration in integra-tive health. Offi cials anticipate the center will be operational and enrolling students by fall 2013.

“A degree in integrative health doesn’t just mean work-ing with medicine,” Cale said. “It means working with individuals on making life choices that lead to good health. Students would have training in nutrition, ex-ercise, child development, ger-ontology, counseling and all the elements that come together to create good health.”

Zhang Zhiting

Page 2 News Thursday, January 26, 2012 • The Flor-Ala

News BriefsMiss UNA pageant to be held this weekend

Thirteen students will compete this weekend in hopes of being crowned Miss UNA.

The pageant will take place Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in Norton Auditorium. Tickets are free to students and can be picked up in the Offi ce of Student Engagement.

For more information about the Miss UNA pageant, contact Cheryl Mathis in the Offi ce of Student Engagement at 256-765-4248.

According to offi cials in Student Financial Services, there are signifi cant changes in the FAFSA fi ling process this year.

Student Financial Services is asking all students to utilize the IRS Data Re-trival function when fi ling their FAFSA, Associate Director of Student Financial Services Amanda Sharp said.

Students can utilize this function by selecting it during the fi ling process.

Students who do not use this process will have to turn in an offi cial tax tran-script from the IRS if they do not choose this function, Sharp said.

Students with questions are urged to contact the Student Financial Services Offi ce at 256 765-4278.

News Briefs compiled by News Editor Josh Skaggs. Email jskaggs@una.edu to have your event featured in this section.

Changes to FAFSA filing process

Cale: Fundraising to begin for science buildingFinding the remaining funding to pay

for the new science building on campus is one of the fi nal steps needed to begin construction on the long-term project, said UNA President Bill Cale.

The most current building estimate— which is $41 million—will require admin-istrators to think of new ways to bring in additional money toward the project. Cale said offi cials have already secured $25 mil-lion from bonds, $6 million from a state grant and $700,000 from federal funding.

“We’re about to engage in some serious private fundraising,” Cale said. He hopes to raise the remaining money for the science building in approximately one year.

Don Lambert, one of the partners with Lambert, Ezell, Durham Architecture + Design in Florence, is the fi rm responsible for the design of UNA’s new science build-ing.

He said they have been looking to cut costs where possible through the design process and have worked to provide the most functional and cost-effective design for the university.

When the design was originally draft-ed in 2005, it included a total of 179,885 square feet of fl oor space, but the most cur-rent design has been scaled back to 163,824 square feet, Lambert said.

Since the original design, the total num-ber of teaching laboratories has been re-duced down from 41 to 30, while faculty and research labs have also been reduced from 32 to 13. A total of 13 instructional classrooms and 41 faculty offi ces will exist in the new building.

“We have been doing our due dili-gence throughout this whole process to do our own value engineering of the project as we develop plans for the science build-ing,” Lambert said. “If we can still provide (UNA) with a fi nished product and we can do it in an economical fashion, then that’s what we’re looking for.”

Lambert said the science building de-sign aims to recreate the feel of the older buildings on campus. Instead of using lime-stone, which is more expensive, offi cials are planning to use a less costly calcium silicate manufactured stone masonry and brick ex-terior to harmonize with the classic design of historic buildings at UNA.

Offi cials will also use a composite slate shingle roof with a 50-year warranty that will cost half the price of the imported Spanish black slate that exists on compa-rable buildings at savings of approximately $10 per square foot, Lambert said.

“This is a very complicated building in that there are some stringent criteria that you have to follow that must be integrated into a state-of-the-art science building,” he said. “In a lot of cases, our hands are tied with respect to cost savings.”

Dr. Brenda Webb, chair of the Depart-

ment of Physics and Earth Science, said constructing the new science building at this time allows UNA to align its academic emphasis with the national goal of increas-ing interest, support and participation by the citizenry in Science, Technology, Engineer-ing and Mathematics (STEM).

“President Cale is addressing the long-identifi ed need for an updated science building,” she said. “Students and faculty will interact in a physical environment that is more conducive to learning, teaching and research. New facilities will provide specif-ically designed spaces that better meet the needs of students who take science courses in their general education programs and those students who select science majors and minors.”

Lambert said offi cials plan to begin the bidding process for the new science build-ing this summer.

photo courtesy of Michael Gautney

The proposed new science building from the outside. The new science building has yet to break ground, but according to offi cials, fundraising efforts will begin soon.

Officials say ʻno goʼ to proposed buses

The decision to purchase two new 44-passenger buses for the university has changed. The university is not currently seeking the purchase of the two buses after it was decided the buses were not what was best for the UNA community.

The Strategic Planning and Budget Study Committee approved the request to purchase the two new buses Oct. 12, 2011. However, at the committee meeting Dec. 14, 2011, Vice President for Student Affairs David Shields reported that offi cials decid-ed to postpone the purchase.

“As the university expands, there is a greater need for buses and transporta-tion for over-the-road trips for all student groups, not just the athletics department,” Shields said.

The buses being considered would not meet the needs of the athletic teams, and currently there is not enough need outside of athletics to make a purchase, Shields told the committee members.

“One of the reasons we chose not to go ahead with the purchase of the new buses was that there would be no bathrooms on board for the athletic teams,” Shields said. “Overall, the potential buses just weren’t going to work.”

Vice President for Business and Finan-cial Affairs Steven Smith also said the po-tential buses would not be a good fi t for the university.

“At this point, we’re just looking,” Smith said. “We’re studying the situation closer to see which specifi c groups would use the buses and if there is enough demand for them.”

The university is looking for buses that are designed for over-the-road trips, as well as buses that complement the university’s current set of shuttle buses, Shields said.

“The current shuttle buses are not com-fortable for longer trips, especially for ath-letic teams,” Shields said. “We’re continu-ing to look at buses that would serve all of our purposes.”

The university currently owns 10 shut-tle buses for use on campus and in the sur-rounding community. Eight of these buses are used in the day-to-day operations of the university. The shuttle buses are not un-safe, but they are not built for longer trips, Shields said.

“One of our biggest concerns is if an

athletic team or student group takes one or two of our shuttle buses on an over-the-road trip, it has the potential to break down,” Shields said. “If two of our buses break down, we have to use two more to go pick students up. At that point, we are down four buses and cannot properly maintain our shuttle service on campus.”

photo by KAYLA SLOAN I Staff PhotographerStudents board a shuttle bus in Harrison Plaza on campus.

University postpones purchase of passenger buses

Baseball players named to preseasonall-conference team

UNA baseball players J.P. LaMun-yon, Michael Schmidt, Josh Cyr, Josh Carpenter, Jake Sloan and Chad Bough-ner were named to the preseason all-conference teams by the Gulf South Conference Tuesday.

These players will be representing the Lions Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. at Mike Lane Field on UNA campus.

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Page 3Thursday, January 26, 2012 • The Flor-Ala NewsSocial media can affect future, job search

Companies are now taking notice of how easy and convenient it has become to check employees’ online status updates and pictures. More than 79 percent of employ-ees use social media to screen possible em-ployees and check up on current employees, said Jennifer Smith, career development coordinator for UNA Career Planning and Development.

If not careful, what someone posts on-line could potentially lead to a pink slip, she said.

“Employers don’t like to see profanity, negative comments, talking about employ-ers and underage partying or drinking,” Smith said. “It gives them a negative view of you.”

Smith explained that 69 percent of hu-man resource professionals recently re-jected applicants based on what was dis-covered on their social media sites. Social intelligence employees perform these legal background checks on social media and inform companies of the negative aspects found.

Activating high privacy settings isn’t enough to keep one’s account unsearchable.

“They know ways to get around that sort of thing,” Smith said.

Employers usually perform a simple Google search. If little is found, they then create a “shadow” profi le and request to be friends on Facebook or follow people on Twitter.

Employers aren’t the only people using social media to perform screen checks. Pro-fessors also use social media to check up on students.

“As competitive as the work world is, why not?” said Dr. Beth Garfrerick, a pub-lic relations and journalism professor at

UNA. “It’s a part of who you are. One of my previous bosses once said, ‘I can teach you certain skills, but I can’t teach you to be a team player.’ A lot of your personality comes out from your online self.”

Garfrerick said she has been troubled by some of the inappropriate items she has seen students post. Professionals have also been known to cross the line when using so-cial media by posting comments that are “to the point of being creepy,” she said.

One of the controversial issues with social media checks is the unknown factor. Employers are legally able to check social media without informing the employee they are doing so.

“I think it comes with the time,” said Jake Brasfi eld, a public relations major. “It comes with the new generation of how people determine if a person is good. I think it’s ethical because we have the power to control what people see on our pages.”

People should keep their profi les clean

and professional for proactive reasons, said Smith.

“I would say most employers don’t search for the negative,” said Jeremy Brit-ten, web communications manager for UNA. “They just want a feel of the person’s personality.”

Some people have grown up with social media and may have less than mature con-tent fl oating around the web. Not all hope is lost, because there are ways to clean up social media to help fi nd and keep employ-ment.

Smith suggests students start posting positive comments and eliminate posting profane language. Reputation.com can also be used to control what other people com-ment on one’s page.

Combine all that with setting Google Dashboard to control the order of what comes up during a search, and people’s so-cial media should check out fi ne.

Facebook, Twitter cause employers to think twice

Employers are using Facebook regularly to take a closer look at potential employ-ees, according to many experts.

photo by MALISA MCCLURE I Chief Photographer

Grant to reduce gun violence

UNA recently received a grant to estab-lish a project that will focus on reducing gun crime in the 31 counties of the North Alabama district, said university offi cials.

Project HOPE, which stands for Help-ing Our Partners Excel, will be funded by a grant from the state in the amount of $272,939, which must be used by the proj-ect’s deadline of Sept. 30, 2012 or it will be returned to the state.

HOPE, which is directed by UNA’s Director of Continuing Studies and Out-reach Lavonne Gatlin, will focus on three main areas: training existing law enforce-ment to better handle gun crimes, teaching 5th graders in Alabama’s North District about the dangers of gangs and gun crimes and establishing a system of support for released inmates to reduce their number of gun crimes.

“We are currently in the fi nal stages of recruiting and hiring staffi ng for this project,” Gatlin said about the status of the project. “We now have to pull together the focus groups for this project. We’ll have at least four groups of focus groups for law enforcement offi cers, prosecutors, educa-tors and citizens.”

According to Gatlin, at least four stu-dents of the Department of Criminal Jus-tice at UNA will assist in creating and carrying out the curriculum on anti-gun violence to approximately 500 students in at least four different school systems in the district.

“This grant was awarded as a com-munity grant,” said Director of Sponsored Programs Tanja Blackstone. “It’s largely to reduce gang and gun violence, so an advantage to students is a safer environ-ment.”

Blackstone said her offi ce administered the grant for Project HOPE, which includ-ed handling all administration forms, and will continue to help Gatlin with the proj-ect when needed.

“We assist with pretty much anything that comes after,” Blackstone said about the help that the Department of Sponsored Programs offers. “Sometimes they have extra money, so we help them determine how to spend it.”

Blackstone also said some parts of the project, including the fi fth grade cur-riculm, will begin by March, though Gat-lin said several parts of the project includ-ing who exactly will participate and where it will take place are still being decided by the Department of Justice.

“With this grant, we’re just trying to implement it,” Gatlin said. “Our goal is to just get this project underway. But with re-sources available here at UNA and all the people that support this program, (this is) why it’s going to be successful.”

”Itʼs largely to reduce gang and gun violence, so an advantage to

students is a safer environment.” -Tanja Blackstone

SGA has set several goals to meet in the coming year. One of those goals is to im-prove regulation of safer pedestrian cross-ing on Pine Street for students.

SGA has made it a goal to promote pe-destrian safety for UNA students who park near or on Pine Street, either on the road beside the communications building, Greek row, or Kilby School, and take risks to cross the busy street to classes. Some students have noted the danger of this situation.

“People cross that road like they own it or won’t get hit,” said UNA junior Molly Killen. “I never park on Pine Street. I’m afraid I’ll get hit.”

Killen said one of the main factors that cause this problem is the limited parking on campus that leaves many without anywhere else to park. The problem increases with the growing number of students at UNA.

“All the parking spaces are taken up, and our school is growing bigger as it is,” Killen said. “This year’s freshman class is bigger than mine was two years ago.”

Nothing offi cial has been proposed, but ideas have been expressed by both SGA and

UNA police Chief Bob Pastula. “If SGA doesn’t care enough (about

parking on Pine Street), then we may not do anything about that,” Pastula said. “If someone has an accident, then we may have to make some changes.”

Pastula’s idea is to repaint the desig-nated parking spaces on Pine Street, limit-ing student parking on the road in order to reduce jaywalking across that street to the communications building.

“It should make it easier to see across the street,” Pastula said. “I haven’t made a proposal yet.”

SGA member Tyrie Fletcher notes a problem with the idea due to students who claim the UNA shuttle buses do not pass by as scheduled.

“The problem is that the buses don’t come as often as they should,” Fletcher said. “Students have told me this last semester. I don’t know if that has been brought to (Pas-tula’s) attention.”

Pastula said he has not received com-plaints about the buses from students.

“I haven’t had any complaints about buses being late,” Pastula said. “Usually, kids will call me and complain about it, but I haven’t received any yet.”

Other SGA members disagreed with

Pastula’s idea and have thought of other so-lutions.

“I think it would be more effective by requesting a crosswalk or fl ashing lights with pedestrian crossing,” said SGA mem-ber Austin Brass. “But I don’t think chang-ing the parking on Pine Street will work.”

Some students suggest increasing park-ing on campus to improve pedestrian safety.

“If (UNA) could put another parking deck (at the end of Pine Street), it could solve a lot of problems,” said UNA student Dustin Cahoon.

The idea to paint a crosswalk across the street would be up to the city, Fletcher said.

“I think it is a good idea,” he said. “It would be up to the city to (add any cross-ing options). They said they would not be in favor of that.”

SGA is aware that the movement toward pedestrian safety may not change jaywalk-ing right away, but the group intends to meet its goals to help make crossing Pine Street safer.

“We know that it won’t be popular,” Fletcher said. “We have to think about the students’ safety at the cost of it being un-popular.”

SGA, UNA police continue work on pedestrian safety

One of the first things I say to a guy on a first date is “I’m not looking for a boyfriend, just someone to have fun with.”

Why do I say this? Well, firstly because it’s true. I’m not looking for anything serious. Having recently gone through a breakup after spending near-ly three years with someone, I know I can’t make that kind

of commitment again anytime soon. But it’s more than that.

I realized that during those three years, I forgot the difference between dating and

monogamy. Suddenly single again, something occurred to me: I had been monogamous for so long that it had become synonymous with dating. Watching people my age and even younger (I’m only 21) get married and have babies, I’m beginning to see it as a common misconception.

It’s not surprising that we have this miscon-ception –we’ve been hearing about the “happy

ending” since our parents were reading us to sleep as children. However, being that we are a generation that watched our parents’ mar-riages fall apart, you’d think we would be a little more cautious when it comes to dating.

Urbandictionary.com has 26 definitions of dating. They range from “when you’re boy-friend/girlfriend” to “when two people go some-where on a romantic visit” to “the act of entering into the domain of hell where the lost and the lonely go to get laid.”

Obviously, there is no one way to define dating. Contrary to popular belief, a date (or three or 10) does not imply monogamy. And it shouldn’t have to. When two people go on a date (or three or 10), they need to discuss what their intentions are. There’s nothing wrong with not wanting a relationship, just as there is noth-ing wrong with wanting one. However, it would be unfair to continue to see someone without revealing your intentions—and perhaps danger-ous to go into it not knowing the other person’s.

Another misconception that needs address-ing—not every girl is dreaming of her perfect man and perfect wedding followed by perfect children and a perfect family life (ick!). Frankly, I feel too young to even consider it. Why not enjoy my twenties while they last?

No matter what you’re looking for, just remember that cute guy (or girl) sitting across the table from you at Sweet Magnolia may or may not be looking for the same thing. The only way to know (and to prevent unnecessary heart-break), is to state your intentions from the begin-ning. Uncomfortable or not, it’s a conversation every dater should have. Lastly, don’t change your needs for anyone else, no matter how much you think you like him (or her).

To contact Malisa, follow her on Twitter at @MSM_FlorAla.

Page 4ViewpointsThursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Students complain to wrong people

In my position as news editor, I get the oppor-tunity to sit in on a large number of meetings on campus where huge decisions are made. Many of these decisions affect the entire UNA campus, and the decisions can last for a lifetime.

My No. 1 complaint—or shall I say observation—is that many students who complain about the issues on campus are never at these meetings to state their opinions to the people who need to hear the complaints.

Someone famous once said, “If no one ever complained, nothing would ever change.” Well, they were right—partially.

Although UNA doesn’t have a complaint department, the university does have ways to let your voice be heard. For example, students can go to SGA meetings, board of trustees meetings and even meet with the president or vice presi-dents.

I see it every day: students walking around complaining about parking, student fees, lack of food options on campus and the list goes on, yet I never see any of these students in the important meetings on campus to voice their concerns.

There are times during all of these meetings that people from the general public can voice their concerns, whether it be at a Florence City Council meeting, UNA board of trustees meet-ing, SGA meeting and many other meetings like this.

Students need to know there is an outlet for their complaints—other than Facebook and Twitter—that will actually get something done. Just taking the time to bring a complaint to the proper person’s attention will not only help one

student, but it could also help many. Yes, I see many adults at the city council

meetings, but there are never any students at these meetings to voice their concerns about downtown, the city or to just plain be in the know about what is going on in their local government.

The generation that most college students are in is the generation that will soon assume respon-sibility for many of our local governments, uni-versities, businesses and many other important institutions. College-aged students have got to do better to be informed and involved in local decision-making processes.

I admit it, I complain about things on campus and see issues that could be addressed, but I typi-cally bring these issues up to the proper people. Everyone could do a better job to “complain” or voice his or her concerns to the proper people.

To contact Josh, call 256-765-4296 or you can follow him on Twitter at @joshskaggs.

Student newspaper of the University of North Alabama

LUCY BERRYEXECUTIVE EDITOR

JOSH SKAGGSNEWS/MANAGING EDITOR

ANDY THIGPENLIFE EDITOR

TOMMY BOLTONSPORTS EDITOR ALEX LINDLEY

COPY/OPINIONS EDITOR JORDAN BRADLEY

ONLINE EDITORDEVIN KENNAMER

AD MANAGERSAVANNAH COMER

GRAPHIC ARTISTJULIANN LOSEY

CIRCULATION MGRMALISA McCLURE

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERKAYLA SLOANBARRY MINOR

DARRICK DAWKINSSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS

REBECCA WALKERADVISER

EDITORIAL BOARD: LUCY BERRY

ALEX LINDLEY

The Flor-Ala welcomes and encourages Letters to the Editor.• The deadline for submitting letters is 10 a.m. Monday, the week of publication.• Letters must not exceed 400 words. • Letters must be accompa-nied by the writer’s name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail.• The Flor-Ala prefers to publish your letters exactly as written, but reserves the right to reject slanderous or libelous material.• The publication of any let-ter is left to the discretion of the Editorial Board.• Priority is given to letters critical of The Flor-Ala, or written in direct response to an editorial, a column, or a news story.• When the editors deem it necessary for ease of understanding or to clarify facts, an Editor’s Note may accompany a letter.• Address correspondence to The Flor-Ala. UNA Box 5300, Florence, AL 35632.E-mail: florala@una.edu. Letters may also be submit-ted through our website at florala.net.• Phone: 256-765-4364

Letters Policy

Copyright © 2011The Flor-AlaAll rights reserved.First copy free.Additional copies $1 each.

Diff erence between dating, monagamy

Have your own cartoons? Want to get published? Send us your stuff at fl orala@una.edu!

Cartoon of the Week

Congrats to Staff Writer Jacob Wallace for being named Writer

of the Week for The Flor-Ala. Also, great job to Student

Photographer Carrie Cook for having Photo of the Week in the

last edition of The Flor-Ala.

SHOUTOUT!

Letter to the EditorDear Editor,

I would like to sincerely apologize to David Johnson, the campus, the Shoals community and anyone else affected by a text message I sent out in early November. I should have re-alized that sending out a text message using a derogatory term would do a lot of harm. My actions were impulsive, and I should have thought twice about the consequences that would follow. I know I offended several people by it, and I am deeply sorry for it. I hope that this apology can make up for some of the damage I have caused.

Sincerely,Jennie Sun

Editor’s Note: According to Director of Student Conduct Kim Greenway, Sun sent the text message to a select number of her fellow sorority members. Students can respond to this letter on our website at www.fl orala.net.

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Just send us a small

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Relationship Column

Life Page 5Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Chinese legend has it that long ago a large-mouthed monster by the name of Nian preyed on people at night before every New Year.

The beast had the ability to swallow multiple people at once. The Chinese peo-ple were very afraid of Nian. One day an old man emerged, offering to control the monster. After rebuking Nian, the dragon began to swallow only the beasts of prey on earth.

The old man was later revealed to be an immortal god, and he vanished riding Nian into the distance. With the monster gone, people began to live normally once again. However, before the old man left, he told the people to place the color red on their doors at each year’s end. In case Nian ever got loose, red was the color that the monster feared most. Guo Nian, once meaning Survive the Nian, now means to celebrate the New Year.

This legend, told by Linlin Zhang at an honors program Chinese New Year lun-cheon, is one that reminds people of the origin of the Chinese New Year. This holi-day—also called Spring Festival—is con-sidered similar to the American Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“We celebrate in many of the same ways as people do here in America,” said Zhang, instructor of Mandarin at UNA. “We have so much in common; people just don’t know it.”

In preparation for the New Year, it is considered important to clean the house thoroughly, sweeping away any bad luck that lies in the home. Red decorations such as lanterns, paper cuts, and paint cover the doors and window panes of many homes in China.

Another tradition for Chinese families during the New Year is the preparation of food. Dumplings are among the most com-mon foods eaten at this time. The older gen-erations sometimes place a coin in a dump-ling, and whoever receives that one is said to have good luck for the coming year.

On the night before a New Year, fami-lies gather together and take part in eating the festive foods, playing games such as Chinese poker, watching the Chinese New Year program and lighting fi recrackers, which are all red. Children usually receive a red envelope full of money and other gifts from older generations. The night is also celebrated by cheering and popping a bottle right as the clock strikes midnight.

“My favorite part of the New Year as a child was receiving the red envelope,” said Xuetong Li, vice president of the Chinese Student Organization. “Now that I am older and I don’t get an envelope anymore, my favorite part is probably the many shopping sales going on during this time.”

According to both Li and Zhang, the start of Chinese New Year changes every year because it is dictated by the lunar cal-endar. This year, the New Year fell on Jan. 23. Every year is associated with one of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. This year is the year of the dragon, and people born

ʻThe year of the dragonʼ welcomed with tradition

While dragons are considered a source of fear in American culture, Chinese cultures believe them to be symbols of luck and power.

The price is rightEveryone knows college life can get

expensive. From textbooks and rent to nights out and necessities, things can add up fairly quickly.

In order to fi nd some of the best deals, we picked fi ve grocery items that you might fi nd in any apartment, house or dorm room and compared local grocery

stores to fi nd the best prices. For our pur-poses, we went for quantity over quality, because in the life of a college student, ev-ery cent counts.

The local stores we chose were Big Star, Hometown Market, Food World, Foodland, ALDI and Wal-Mart.

What we found may surprise you. What was the cheapest?

Well, it wasn’t Wal-Mart.Note: the specifi c brands pictured

may not be pictures of the cheapest.

Finding food to fi t your budget might not be as hard as you think

Breakfast Best Homestyle Waffl esSize: 10 count, 12.3 oz.Where: ALDIPrice: $1.29

Always Save CoffeeSize: 11.5 oz brick, 9.9 oz.Where: Hometown MarketPrice: $2.49

Friendly Farms 2%Size: 1 gal.Where: ALDIPrice: $3.19

Mama Cozzi’s Pepperoni Pizza Size: 21.1 oz.Where: ALDIPrice: $1.99

Food Club King Sandwhich White BreadSize: 26 slice, 20 oz.Where: FoodlandPrice: $0.99

photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com

Page 6 Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-AlaImages

View more photos at florala.netExposureBy Kayla Sloan - Staff Photographer - kbsloan@una.edu I could go on for 300 words explaining what these pictures mean to me and what message I’m trying to send, but honestly, I’d be BSing you. The truth is, I took these picture with a plastic, red 120mm camera when I was out with friends at bars, parks, restaurants and lake houses. The camera was casually strung around my neck and I casually snapped away. That’s not to say that I don’t think these pictures have some aesthetic value, because I defi nitely think they do. They please my eye for no specifi c reason—or for a million reasons that might not make sense to you at all. I didn’t take a picture of a cat with a red fl ash to convey some deeper message about society and consumer culture; I took the picture because it made me happy. I liked it. And I don’t feel that always has to be explained. I like candid. I like color. I like journalistic. I

like spontaneity, passion, mistakes and the ir-regular. These things are art for me.

Art doesn’t have to be preten-tious. And artists don’t have to have tortured souls. You don’t always have to understand what someone is trying to say with their work for it to be important. I believe in what it means to you; how it makes you feel. I’ve always thought it was a lost cause

trying to attach a certain meaning to a work. Its irrational to think it will always mean the same to everyone who experiences it. I try to let my art be simple, uncomplicated and welcoming. I just want to make things that are fun to look at. I want to make art that I enjoy. My artist’s statement: I do what I love, and I LOVE what I do.

Kayla Sloan

To shoot photos for The Flor-Ala, email Chief

Photographer Malisa McClure at msmcclure@una.edu.

Feature Page 7Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

photo courtesy of TATE HIPPS I UNA Student

Snow fell on UNA’s campus Jan. 12 during the fi rst week of classes, causing traffi c prob-lems for commuters. The weather caused UNA offi cials to delay opening the university by two hours the following day.

Pastula said he submitted the paper-work last week to the National Weath-er Service for UNA to become a storm ready university. “We do our best to monitor the weather and road conditions and make sure that everyone is safe in getting to campus and around campus,” he said. “If students are afraid to venture out in severe weather, we recommend they not. If they’re uncomfortable with the weather, then by all means stay home.” This month, temperatures have been above average and the amount of rain in the Shoals and across the Tennessee Valley has been higher than normal, according to Lee. She said there has been more than six inches of rain in Northwest Ala-bama this month, which is more than 2.5 inches above normal. She also said temperatures in the Shoals have been several degrees higher than the aver-age in January. Dr. Richard Statom, assistant pro-fessor of geology, names meteorology as one of his research focuses. He said the Shoals is experiencing the La Nina

weather pattern, which occurs due to unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacifi c, unlike El Nino, which includes unusually warm ocean temperatures. “We’re going to be looking at a little wetter weather and temperatures that are higher than normal,” he said. “It’s where we are in the country in where our weather patterns occur that put us in an inclement weather area where the southern air from the Gulf meets the cold air from the north.” Lee said students should improve their own emergency preparedness for severe weather to cope with future ex-treme weather on campus and in the Shoals. “The best thing to do is to make sure you’re educated in terms of knowing what to expect in the forecast,” she said. “Be aware that if we’re expect-ing a winter storm to come in, that you know what to do and how to prepare for winter weather. You need to have things prepared for severe weather ahead of time so you’re not running around at the last minute.”

Winter weather ‘mixed bag’ during month of January

photo by CARRIE COOK I Student Photographer

Students hang out at a house party Jan. 21. The new survey from the CDC suggests that 18 to 24 year olds engage in the most binge drinking.

what the misuses of alcohol can cause.” While the executive summary of the data is not scheduled to be released until the end of January, Greenway released some num-bers showing that UNA may not align with national trends observed by the CDC. According to Greenway, 58 percent of incoming freshman have had at least a sip of alcohol. Out of the same population, 61 percent said they have never participated in binge drinking and 70 percent said it’s never acceptable on school nights. The statistics, according to sophomore Lauren Esslinger, aren’t surprising. Drink-ing, for Esslinger, has not been seen as a problem before or during college. “I just thought drinking would be more prevalent in certain places,” Esslinger said. “If you wanted to partake in it you could, but it wouldn’t be shoved in your face if you didn’t go looking for it.” Senior and history major Stephen Jack-

son agrees with Esslinger. “I fi gured it would be tame here because it’s a small town,” Jackson said. “Publi-cally stating that you’re drinking is kind of taboo around here because it’s the Bible Belt. I fi gured there would be parties, but I thought they would be at parties off cam-pus. I never thought of it like you would in a big city, or a big party school like LSU or Florida.” UNA police Chief Bob Pastula credits the university with the attitude toward alcohol. “It’s everybody’s part,” Pastula said. “It’s not just the police or any other department. It’s everyone’s participation.” Pastula gives students credit for knowing when not to binge drink. “Most students are responsible to know enough is enough and to designate a driv-er,” Pastula said. “I think our students take it more seriously than they do at other uni-versities.”

Share your thoughts about binge drinking at UNA by visiting our website at florala.net.

Dr. Tom Coates, chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recre-ation, said the new master’s degree concen-tration will consist of 30 hours with a thesis or non-thesis option and will be similar to other graduate programs in the department. Although courses have not yet been de-termined for the new master’s degree con-centration, graduate students who enroll in the integrative health program will take 12 hours of required courses conducive to the master’s degree, 12 hours of concentration

requirements and six hours of electives, said Coates. “This is a rather unique program and it’s moving quickly, but we want to make sure we get it right the fi rst time,” he said. “There’s been a lot of interest on campus about the program, and I believe it will be a very positive thing for the university.” Coates said the university will have to hire more faculty, build new offi ces and implement additional classroom space once the program is under way. He said the

money used to have resources for the pro-gram, bring in personnel and faculty and purchase equipment will be justifi ed given the anticipated number of students expect-ed to enroll in the program. He said there may be a misconception about the master’s degree concentration in that it’s only available to international stu-dents. “This program is not just designed for Chinese students,” he said. “Any student who wants to apply and meets the criteria can enroll.” A location for the Center for Integrative

Health has not yet been chosen, but Cale said offi cials are scouting for potential properties in Florence to build the program. UNA will be responsible for developing, implementing and operating the new pro-gram, while SEMC will purchase the land, construct the facilities and providing seed money to hire faculty and staff, according to Cale. Once enrollment is full, salaries of em-ployees of the center will be funded through tuition dollars.

Students discuss alcohol consumption at UNA after CDC results

Everyone is talking about Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who has led his team to several victories this season.

Some students believe Tebow is one of today’s most respected faces in the sports world and is looked up to by many, but he has also raised a signifi cant amount of controversy in the media.

Many students think of Tebow as a novelty item due to the way he shows up in the news more than others. When the Green Bay Packers were chasing an undefeated season and the New Orleans Saints were break-ing all sorts of off ensive records, somehow Tebow still managed to be topic of discussion.

“I think Tebow has always been considered the golden boy

even throughout his college ca-reer in Florida,” said UNA of-fensive guard and senior Kyle Th ornton. “I believe that the media puts more focus on him instead of other teams.”

Th e 6’3” 235 lb. quarterback is known for his skills on the football fi eld, such as his passing and rushing abilities, but he is also known for his faith.

“He is a genuine guy and a good role model,” said lineback-er Tyler Addison. “He practices what he preaches and stays true to himself no matter what. He doesn’t try to be a Tom Brady or Drew Brees type of quarterback, and he doesn’t try to be what people want him to be.”

Even though Tebow is con-sidered a role model to many and has been successful throughout his entire college career all the way up to his stardom in the

NFL, he has also faced major criticism.

“As a quarterback, I think he struggles a lot with his throwing technique and his reading of de-fenses,” Th ornton said.

He is also famous for ‘Tebow-ing,’ in which he kneels and prays before a game.

“I believe that Tebow is an inspiration to us all,” said Richie Mata’Afa, UNA junior linebacker. “He is very admirable as a person and as a player. What makes him stand out the most is that he has such strong faith and he shows no fear when on the fi eld.”

Tebow attended the Univer-sity of Florida in 2006, where he spent his freshman year as a backup. Even though he served as a backup, he still played a ma-jor role in helping the Gators win the National Championship.

Th at following year, Tebow

became the starting quarterback for the Gators. He was also the fi rst sophomore to ever receive the Heisman Trophy. In 2008, the Florida Gators won the Na-tional Championship again.

In 2010, Tebow was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fi rst round of the NFL draft . Since then he has been going in and out of the starting lineup.

He has been criticized and analyzed more this year as he continues to win games despite his poor statistics.

“Tebow makes the Broncos a better team,” said Christopher Coff ey, a running back and soph-omore. “He works hard and puts eff ort in everything that he does.”

Tebow and the rest of the Broncos were recently defeated by the New England Patriots, so for now the Tebow Mania should die until August.

The UNA Lions basketball program has been run by Coach Bobby Champagne for the past nine seasons with an overall re-

cord of 1 4 0 -113.

Along the way before becom-ing head coach for the Lions, Champagne has been an assistant coach for Georgia State, Loui-siana Lafayette, Oklahoma and Washington State under coaches Kelvin Sampson and Lefty Dri-esell.

He has used their coaching techniques and others to prompt his coaching style, but there is also a different side UNA fans have become accustomed to: his energy on the court.

Q. What made you want

to be a college basketball coach?

A.“I wasn’t smart enough to do anything else,” Champagne said. “Grow-ing up, I had a lot of good coaches, and it was like a natural progression at South Alabama. I got lucky with guys offering me jobs and giving me a chance to coach and put my foot in the door.”

Q.What is your best

memory so far as a coach?

A.“Being in coaching 29 years has all been good memories,” he said. “The long bus rides and building relationships with the play-ers are probably the best part about it. I mean, I still keep in touch with players that I coached at Washington State 20 years ago.”

Q.What is your favorite

part about coaching?

A.“The players are my

favorite part of the coach-ing,” he said. “I have either met or coached players from all over the world and Unit-ed States. Coaching has al-lowed me to visit every state in the union and some nice destinations like Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Alaska.”

Q. Do you have some

hobbies that you do away from coaching?

A.“I used to try to play golf, but I don’t do that any-more,” he said. “My golf

game is like my basket-ball team: I try to put up

as many shots that I can on the golf course. My hobbies are being with the kids now because they are active do-ing their thing. I enjoy going to minor league ball parks with them.”

Q. What is some of the

music that you listen to?

A.“Oh, I listen to every-thing,” he said. “Well, let’s see what we got. We have Barry White, a little Rolling Stones, Mark Brossard and Matchbox 20. It’d probably be more on your classic rock and on Sirius Radio Classic Vinyl.”

Q.You are very animat-

ed on the sidelines. Have you always been that way with basketball?

A.“I have always been enthusiastic, and I like our players to play with a whole lot of energy,” he said. “I think sometimes the players can take on the personality of the coach out there on the fl oor.”

Q. What coach or play-

er did you look up to grow-ing up?

A.“My favorite player was Andrew Toney of the 76ers,” he said. “Growing up in Southwest Louisiana, I went to every home game the Ragin’ Cajuns played. I try to steal stuff from coach-es all the time by reading books and learning some of their styles and techniques that I could use.”

Q. What is your favorite

restaurant here in town?

A.“Oh no, you can’t do that because I would have people get mad at me,” he said. “I try to eat at as many of the local establishments as possible. I’m a big Food Network type of guy, but I like going to Bunyan’s, Ricatoni’s, Rosie’s and Staggs. At home, I like my cooking, but I don’t know if anyone else does or not.”

Q. March Madness is

coming up soon. Do you get to watch any Division I ball?

A. “I try to watch a lot at night once everybody goes to bed at my house and I’m done with what I need to do with my team,” he said. “I watch a lot of college bas-ketball.

“I think Syracuse and Kentucky are the two best teams in the country. I’m a classic North Carolina fan, I guess. I fi ll a bracket out with my kids every year, and usually my youngest son does the best.”

Page 8 Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-AlaSportsPlayer of the week

Warrick Mastin

Hometown: Muscle ShoalsMajor: Physical EducationPosition: GuardStats: Mastin had a team high 17 pts. in the team’s victory over Delta State.

Week At A Glance

Women’s BasketballWhen: Saturday, 1 p.m.

Where: Flowers Hall

Who: UAH

Be sure to follow @FlorAlaSports on

Twitter for live updates on UNA sports.

Champagne brings energy to court

W

photo by CARRIE COOK I Student Photographer

Sports fans participate in Tebow Mania

Men’s BasketballWhen: Saturday, 3 p.m.

Where: Flowers Hall

Who: UAH

UNA men’s basketball brings something diff erent to the fl oor. Coach Bobby Cham-pagne and the team have four players that are from overseas, adding somewhat of a ‘melting pot’ outlook and international ex-perience to the court for UNA.

Nathan Spehr, a freshman point guard, is from Adelaide, Australia and is one among four international players. Senior Sam Buxton, a teammate and fellow inter-national player from Gibraltar, UK, said Spehr is a mature player, and it’s obvious he has played basketball overseas because he has a European fi nesse about him.

Q: Will you state your name and hometown for the record?

A: “My name is Nathan Spehr, and I’m from Adelaide, Australia.”

In response to his answer, I said, “I

know your name and where you are from. I just wanted to hear the way you would say it; I love the accent!”

Q: What was the biggest culture shock moving to Florence from Aus-tralia?

A: “First of all, I had to get over the jet-lag—that was really the only thing. Australia is sort-of like Ameri-ca, and most people don’t know.”

Q: Who is a basketball player you

love to watch, and why that player?

A: “J.J Barea, because he’s 5’10” just like me and played really well in the playoff s last

year and plays similar to the way I play.”

Q: Burger King or McDon-ald’s?

A: “Probably McDonald’s—we don’t have Burger King in Austra-lia.”

Q: If s o m e -one de-c i d e d t o make a movie about y o u , w h o

would t h e cast di-r e c t o r hire to play you in the movie?

A: “Th at’s a tough one. Adam Sandler—I guess—because he’s funny.”

Q: Th at’s my next question, actually: Adam Sandler or Will

Ferrell?

A: “I’d say Will Ferrell, but he has an afro,

so he can’t real-ly play me in any movies.”

Q: Tell the readers a little about yourself.

A: “Nor-m a l l y , when peo-ple meet me I’m quiet, but as you get to know me I talk a lot more. When I’m

with my friends, I’m

not shy at all.”

Q: What’s you favorite ath-letic brand name to wear?

A: “Nike. When I wear shoes, I wear Nike—the Kobe Bryant’s, that’s my favorite shoe.”

Q: So, I guess my next question’s answer will be obvious: in the LeBron and Kobe war, which player is your choice?

A: “Yeah, I like Kobe. I don’t like LeBron at all.”

Q: We mentioned earlier that you are one of the four international play-ers on the team, and having played overseas, what does that bring to the UNA table?

A: “We all have international ex-

perience, so I guess we just bring something diff erent from the other players. We’ve traveled a little more than they have and have seen more players play.”

Q: What has been your best made memory at UNA so far?

A: “Probably going to the football games, and (when) we all painted our bodies.”

Q: What are your goals for the sea-son as a team?

A: “To win it all. I think that’s what everyone’s goal is.”

Sports Page 9Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Spehr makes transition to new territory

photo by MALISA MCCLURE I Chief Photographer

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Page 10Thursday, January 26, 2012 • The Flor-Ala NewsDepartment of Criminal Justice receives grant, recognition

The Department of Criminal Justice is the recipient of a three-year $237,000 grant from the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention to begin a program that will assist in research and

prevention of child abuse in Alabama.

“The main thing we will be doing with the grant money will be provid-ing this online resource,” said Dr. Phil Bridg-mon, chair of the criminal jus-tice department. “ C o m m u n i t y

professionals—such as judges, attorneys, teachers and social workers—will be able

to access the resources relating to juvenile and family justice.”

The kickoff of the program will take place Feb. 3. State, local and university dignitaries will be present to view a dem-onstration of the online resource. The name of the program is Child Defend, and it will be a replication of Texas Loves Children, which is an award-winning organization in Texas that has been a resource for child abuse and neglect cases.

“This project is very much a program of UNA,” Bridgmon said.

He said he hoped students would get in-volved with the program through assisting with research for the site.

“The resource is no good if there is no

research,” Bridgmon said. Students have plenty of opportunity to

get involved, he said.“Part of our mission is fostering col-

laboration in order to get professionals to work together, so if students are looking at service learning opportunities or interested in working with children or youth services areas, we have many partner agencies we can help them get in touch with to work on projects,” Bridgmon said.

Bridgmon said this program is not just for the criminal justice department, but it is a campus-wide effort. He said students of all majors are encouraged to get involved.

“Our ultimate goal is improving the lives of children and families,” he said.

• Grant to help with child abuse and neglect program, research

Bridgmon

SGA: DVD kiosk not making money, leaves campus

After approximately six months of be-ing in service, the DVD kiosk in the GUC Atrium has been removed from campus.

Due to a lack of profi t and student use, the kiosk’s owner Kenny Porter of Vendisk LLC asked members of SGA to remove the

kiosk, according to SGA President Ralph Akalonu.

“Apparently, (the kiosk) was not profi t-able enough and the vendor was not making any money,” Akalonu said. “We were not making any profi t after all the expenses (as-sociated with the kiosk).”

Akalonu cites lack of student use as the main reason the DVD kiosk did not survive.

“Students were actually willing to drive to Redbox rather than to just walk to the GUC to get movies,” Akalonu said. “It pret-ty much had the same movies that Redbox had—it was only about 25 cents more.”

Akalonu and former SGA President Cory Hamilton placed the kiosk on campus last summer for students to rent movies,

while still staying on campus.“We saw it as an added advantage that

we had a DVD kiosk on campus, but on the business side, it really wasn’t profi table and it wasn’t hurting us.”

In the month of October, 55 movies were rented and two movies were pur-chased, according to Akalonu.

“Not enough students were renting movies, for what it was going to cost,” he said.

SGA was using the profi t generated to go into their endowed scholarship fund, and only received $3 from the endeavor, Akalonu said.

“It didn’t kind of hurt us, it kind of hurt (the vendor) because of all the capital ex-penses went on him,” Akalonu said.

SGA will be working to raise money in alternative ways such as utilizing its 5k run and a letter writing campaign to continue to raise money for the endowed scholarship SGA sponsors, he said.

”Students were actually willing to drive to Redbox rather than to just walk to the GUC to get movies.”

-Ralph Akalonu

Kiosk in GUC atrium removed due to lack of profit, student use

The Shoals’ Only TrueCustom Design Jeweler.

Featuring on-site designers andstate-of-the-art computer-aided

design technology.

Look for the Big Purple Awning in Historic Downtown Florence!

Creative Jewelers owner Billy Hammock gives a showroom tour for Brandi Lewis, Miss UNA 2011.The store has the largest custom and brand name jewelry selection in Northwest Alabama.

choose your stone. design your masterpiece. realize your vision.

216 N. Court St., Florence, AL 35630 • Mon.-Fri.: 9-5, Sat.: 10-3256-766-7650 • www.CreativeJewelersOnline.com

Title Sponsorof the

2012 Miss UNAPageant

Life Page 11Thursday, January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Check out what’s coming up this weekend in the Shoals.

Friday, Jan. 27th

Saturday, Jan. 28th

Gabe Allen and Friends On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 26thGabe Allen and Friends On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Archie Hubbard Swampers Bar & Grill 5 - 7 p.m.

The Pollies DP’s

The Flannels On the Rocks

Jeff and Jordan On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Archie Hubbard Swampers Bar & Grill 9 p.m. - midnight

Workin’ for the

Weekend

Evan Chuck DP’s 6 - 8 p.m.

Jon Davis Swampers Bar & Grill 5 - 7 p.m.

Shane Baker Swampers Bar & Grill 8 - 11 p.m.

Billy Smart & Jacob Lovell DP’s 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Angela Hacker & James Leblanc Swampers Bar & Grill 9 p.m. - midnight

Scott Boyer, Calvin Holly and MC Thurman DP’s 8 p.m. - midnight

during this year are said to have the characteris-tics the dragon represents. The dragon signifi es stateliness, luck and power.

“We perceive the dragon differently than Americans do,” said junior Lu Hao. “We do not see him as dangerous or scary, but rather pow-erful and lucky.”

The Chinese believe the gods and goddess-

es have blessed the dragon.The year of the dragon comes once every

12 years, just as all of the other years from the Chinese zodiac.

The Chinese New Year is celebrated in many ways that are similar to those of Ameri-can traditions. Chinese students at UNA will be bringing in their New Year by celebrating Feb. 15 at 6 p.m. in the GUC banquet hall. Anyone wanting to experience the Spring Festival is welcome to attend.

The Department of Health, Physical Edu-cation, and Recreation wants to take the learn-ing experience out of the classroom and into the mountains of Boone, N.C.

“Skiing and snowboarding classes are two of several lifespan activity courses that the de-partment is now offering,” said Dr. Lee Renfroe assistant professor in the HPER department. “These classes exist to give students out-of-the-box experiences that they would never be able to do otherwise.”

Students may have noticed the skiing and snowboarding classes listed in this year’s and last year’s spring catalog and the fact that nei-ther time did the classes make it off the ground.

According to Renfroe, lack of participation was the only setback.

“For the last two years, we have offered the skiing and snowboarding classes, but we have to have at least 10 people signed up in order to justify going,” Renfroe said. “Last year, only

six people signed up, and this year, only three.”The HPER department is looking for an-

swers to why the class has low numbers.The package, which includes ski lift tick-

ets, hotel room, equipment, textbook and in-struction for four days, costs $380.

Both courses fall in early January during the week before spring semester classes start.

Renfroe believes this should be a conve-nient time for most students—even those with full schedules, because the course is over by the time other classes are just starting.

The course is open to skiers and snow-boarders alike. Those of all experience levels are welcome to participate, and instruction is customized to fi t each student’s ability, accord-ing to Renfroe.

“I guess we will try next year, but a lot of effort goes into offering the class,” Renfroe said. “The department would love any feed-back from students.”

Feedback or interest in the course can be sent to HPER Department Chair Dr. Tom Coates at tecoates@una.edu.

Skiing, snowboarding classes fail to hit slopes again this year

Shoals Blues Band with Mrs. Judy Tony DP’s 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Page 12 January 26, 2011 • The Flor-Ala

Tweets of the week DISCLAIMER: The tweets below are public tweets found on Twitter by searching hashtags involving UNA, Florence, Shoals and other uni-versity-related topics. Want to see yours on here? Be sure to hashtag

UNA and Shoals in your tweets.

START CHALLENGING YOURSELF.

START RAISING THE BAR.

START MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

START EARNING RESPECT.

START TAKING ON CHALLENGES.S.

START PUSHING YOURSELF.

START BUILDING CONFIDENCE.

START DEVELOPING SKILLS.

ASK ABOUT OUR SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND SIMULTANEOUS MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM!Visit our office at Wesleyan Hall Annex Room 142. Contact Major Leslie Nelson at

(256) 765-4458 or lnelson@una.edu or visit our web site at www.una.edu/rotc

©2008. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.

There’s strong. Then there’s Army Strong. Make Army ROTC part of your University of North Alabama experience and be eligible for a full-tuition scholarship, fees for books and a monthly stipend. When you’re finished, you’ll earn the rank of Second Lieutenant. Register for an ROTC elective today.

START STRONG.SM