jan. 20, 2014

“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.” VOL. 54, NO. 2JAN. 20, 2014

VANGUARDTHETHE

In this Issue: JagLife, Page 4 Left of Center, Page 7 Sports Page 9 Opinion, 4

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INSIDE

LOC: Behind-the-scenes look at the Jaguar’s basket-ball managers.

See Left of Center, page 7

►

Life: USA student fi lm wins Mod Mobilian “Moddy”award.

See JagLife, page 4

►

Sports: Basketball keeps Cajuns away, win 81-73.

See Sports, page 10

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Sports: Leitner knocks off No. 64, team loses at FSU

See Sports, page 11

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See Search Search Page 2

RYAN KELLER | GRAPHIC DESIGNER

By JAMIE [email protected]

A new website is spearheading the cause to make Mobile

more bicycle friendly and boost Ala-bama from being “ranked 49th in the nation in bicycle and pedestrian infra-structure.”

Bicyclemobile.org containins infor-mation about events, political and so-cial issues, volunteer opportunities and other important resources on biking in Mobile, Ala., all put in a central loca-tion.

Jeff Mroz, Ben Brenner and John Blanton created the website.

Mroz is a local web developer and Brenner is a bicycle advocate/media specialist. Blanton is a representative of Team Share the Road. Team Share the Road is a non-profi t organization dedicated to promoting safe access to streets, roads and highways for both pedestrians and cyclists.

The three recognized the need for better coordination between bicycle organizations, environmental and ad-vocacy non-profi ts and the city. They hope that the sport will become well known in the area and Mobile will evolve into a fi rst-rate cycling city.

“We were looking for a way to en-courage people to sign bicycle infra-structure petitions,” Blanton stated in a press release on Jan. 13, “and the idea transformed into a clearinghouse of all sorts of useful information about bicy-cling in and around Mobile.”

They worked together to create Bi-cyclemobile.org over the course of sev-eral months. During this time they also gathered information on organizations and services that are benefi cial to the cyclists of the area.

There are many features included in this website. It has a weekly schedule posted with something for every day. The schedule not only includes details like when and where the event will

occur, but also short descriptions on how challenging the event is and what should be ex-pected.

To achieve the goal

Search committee to consider new candidateSearch committee to consider new candidate

of Mobile being a fi rst-rate cycling city, there are many things that need to be done to make the city safer and easier to travel by bike.

There are categories full of political and social issues that are discussed on the website. These issues are very-well explained and easy to understand. They leave the average person understand-ing what the issue or effort really is. Some of these efforts have links that will lead to the organization, petition or donation site for that specifi c topic of interest.

The website has a section for volun-teer opportunities to help support causes and issues. This area is easily found, and there is a sign up box to the right side where one can leave their information and a message. They will

Forum to be held for new presidential finalist on Jan. 28, pending trustees’ decision

Bicyclemobile.org Bicyclemobile.org raises the handlebarraises the handlebar

be contacted with help on how to get started.

The website is easy to navigate and understand. The site is very convenient because it has a great amount of infor-mation on biking and biking issues in Mobile all in one place. It even gives names of other organizations that might be benefi cial to someone who wants to advocate a cycling cause in Mobile.

“Mobile has great potential to be-come a bicycle-friendly city,” Brenner said in a press release on Jan. 13. “To get there, we need more people under-standing the issues, signing petitions and volunteering their time. This web-site provides a convenient place to be-come involved in grassroots efforts to improve the quality of life in Mobile.”

The University announced that it will contin-ue the presidential search, with a candidate

scheduled to be interviewed by USA’s Presidential Search Committee on Jan. 27 at 1:30 p.m.

The presidential search committee and the board of trustees met for a public meeting to discuss the next step of their search. After the trustees entered into an executive session to discuss a potential candi-

date, the room was reopened. They announced that they will continue the presidential search with their next meeting scheduled for Jan. 27.

After the meeting was adjourned, Committee Chair Kenneth Simon sat down with The Vanguard and discussed upcoming plans for the presidential search.

The meeting for Jan. 27 will be an interview with a candidate the committee believes to be highly quali-fi ed for the position.

“This candidate was originally scheduled to be

interviewed by USA’s Presidential Search Commit-tee late last year,” Simon said. “Due to extenuating circumstances, the candidate was not available at the scheduled time, so the interview has been resched-uled.” Simon is also vice chair of the board of trust-ees.

The committee deemed it to be appropriate to not go beyond the original pool of candidates and to remain in a confi ned search at the moment.

By STEPHANIE [email protected]

Local collaboration inspires information hub for Mobile’s bicycle community

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 20142

By NOAH [email protected]

The Port City Chapter of the USA National Alumni Associ-

ation is hosting a very unique scholar-ship fundraiser designed to be fun for all who attend.

Legacy Bar and Grill will play host to the fi fth annual Sips for Scholarships event on January 28 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Anyone who is at least 21-years-old is encouraged to come out and enjoy red and white whine, beer, soft drinks, heavy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, a silent auction, live music and more with fellow supporters of Jag Nation.

According to Assistant Director of Alumni Relation Jessica Callahan, the chapter of the USA National Alumni Association is able to host this event

largely due to donations from supporters. People and busi-

nesses from all over donate food, bev-erages and auction items. This allows a much higher percentage of the pro-ceeds to be placed in the scholarship fund.

“The Port City Chapter actually has a scholarship fund,” Callahan said. “And this event is able to contribute to that fund annually and reward a Mo-bile County freshman with a $5,000 scholarship. The total raised to date is $20,000.” She also added that the event sells out every year and this year’s event is close to selling out as well.

Local talent Brad Robertson will be providing music for the event. Peo-ple who attend will also have a chance

to win spa packages, sports memora-bilia and more from the silent auction.

If you would like to donate to the silent auction or become a corporate sponsor for the event, there is still time to do so by contacting Jessica Callahan

at [email protected]. With donations of $150, $250 or $500, you will be included on the Sponsor Bard at the event with the bronze, silver and gold donors.

Tickets are still on sale while avail-

Following the interview, the committee will have the option to recommend the candidate as a presidential fi nalist to the board of trustees.

The trustees are tentatively scheduled to meet Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. if asked to consider the candi-date.

If the candidate is recommended by the search committee, there will also be a public fo-rum, which has been tentatively scheduled for Jan. 28 at 4:30 p.m. in USA’s Laidlaw Performing Arts Center. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, sup-porters and the public are encouraged to attend the forum. The same process that was set up for the three fi nalists last fall during the fi rst presi-dential search.

“As we have done throughout the search pro-cess, the presidential search committee and the board of trustees are eager to engage the entire University community and the people we serve,”

said USA Board of Trustees Chairman Dr. Steve Furr. “If this candidate is recommended to the board as a fi nalist, every effort will be made to solicit input from our stakeholders as we move forward to select USA’s next president.”

The search committee’s fi rst search led to three fi nalists, Dr. Sheri Noren Everts, Dr. Arthur J. Ross III and Dr. Jerome A. Gilbert. Ross with-drew from the search, the day before the board of trustees planned to make a decision.

The trustees voted unanimously to consider additional candidates after they were unable to agree on either of the other two fi nalists, and they announced on Nov. 6 that they would continue the search.

USA’s new president will succeed the late President Emeritus Gordon Moulton, who re-tired July 1, 2013 after 15 years as president. He died on Sept. 28 after a long battle with brain cancer.

Dr. John W. Smith has been the University’s acting president since last February. In Novem-ber, he informed the trustees that he would not be a candidate for the permanent position.

able and are $45. The ticket price in-cludes the food, beer, wine and live music and they can be purchased at Legacy Bar and Grill or through the Alumni Relations offi ce by calling 251-460-7084.

Legacy hosts 5th annual Legacy hosts 5th annual Sips for ScholarshipsSips for Scholarships

SearchSearchContinued from Page One.

3VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

Editor in ChiefManaging Editor

Copy Editor Opinion Editor

Sports EditorLeft of CenterJagLife Editor

Web EditorStaff Reporter

Samantha AndrewsStephanie FeatherMeg LundbergKelly FicarelliJT CrabtreeAlyssa NewtonEmma MitchellMatthew Strickland

Noah Logan

Editorial

Distribution Bobby FaulkMatthew Rhodes

Distribution

Advertising Graphic Designer

Justine BurbankRyan KellerSheldon Hall

Advertising

Advising

Accounting

J. SellersJ. AucoinKathy Brannan

Management

MissionThe Vanguard, the student-run newspaper of

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

Send letters and guest columns to: The Vanguard

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

[email protected]

Letters and guest columns must be received by 7 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication. Submissions should be typed and must include the writer’s name, year, school and telephone number. All submissions become the property of The Vanguard. The Vanguard reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length and clarity. Letters will be limited to 300 words. Letters and guest columns are the opinion of the writer. The Staff Editorial represents the consensus opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, Copy Editor, Senior Reporter and Opinion Editor. All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight. The Vanguard has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifi cations. To report a mistake, e-mail [email protected]. The Vanguard is published Mondays during the academic year, except for exam periods and vacations, and is published twice each summer. The Vanguard is supported in part by an allocation from student activity fees and operates in the Student Media Department of the Division of Student Affairs. Issues are available at most University buildings and select off-campus locations. The fi rst copy is free. Additional copies are $1 each. Freelance writers will receive payment at the discretion of the section editor and will be notifi ed.

PATRICK BIGBIE | STAFF METEOROLOGIST

Twitter: StormTeam4g9wxFacebook: Facebook.com/StormTeam4Gamma9Wx

Weather for Jan. 20 - 26Weather for Jan. 20 - 26

USAPD Police USAPD Police BlotterBlotter01/14/2014 13:32

Theft of property third degreeEpsilon 1

Students reported that her bike was stolen

01/14/2014 09:29Theft of property third degree and criminal

mischief third degreeDelta 5

Unknown person with intent to deprive owner properties stole victim’s bicycle

01/12/2014 15:42Theft of property second degree

Food court/cafeteriaVictim reported that a known employee had unlawfully taken money valuing $2,284.70 from the business safe without permission

01/11/2014 01:42Miscellaneous offenses

The GroveOffi cers confi scated marijuana grinders,

marijuana cigarettes, homemade marijuana pipes and 80 bottle rockets while responding

to a loud noise complaint

01/10/2014 18:26Theft of property third degree

Recreation CenterVictim reported his phone has been stolen

while he was playing basketball

01/10/2014 16:38Theft of property third degree

Epsilon 1Unknown subject unlawfully removed

victim’s bicycle without permission

01/06/2014 13:49Delta 2

Burglary third degreeUnknown subject unlawfully entered into

victim’s room and removed coffee pot without permission

01/05/2014 07:11Defacing public property and theft of

propertyKappa Alpha Fraternity House

Road and street signs from multiple jurisdictions were recovered

If you If you seesee something, something,saysay somthing! somthing!251-460-6312251-460-6312

Room for rent in private home. Within walking distance of USA Prefer nonsmoking male student International students welcome Call Gordon: 689-3271

Classifi eds

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 20144

By RYAN [email protected]

USA student film wins Mod Mobilian “Moddy”awardUSA student film wins Mod Mobilian “Moddy”award

Annual MLK service day underway in Mobile Annual MLK service day underway in Mobile

In his final speech before his assassination, Dr. Martin Lu-

ther King Jr. emphasized the impor-tance of helping those around us by using a well-known Bible story, the good Samaritan. “And so the first question that the priest asked, the first question that the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he re-versed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’”

Monday, Jan. 20, USA students will have the opportunity to teach Dr. King’s philosophies through ex-ample with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

Karen Peterson, Director of USA’s Center for Academic Service-Learning and Civic Engagement and instructor in the English depart-ment, is in her fifth year of putting together the service day.

According to Peterson, the MLK

By NOAH [email protected]

Days of Service will let students par-ticipate in events such as, “painting a mural of Dr. King at the home-

USA engineering students participating in past MLK service day events.

COURTESY OF KAREN PETERSON

less shelter, repairing roofs, sort-ing clothes for donations, leading sports clinics for the kids, doing

yard work and craft projects, collecting and delivering food baskets, cleaning and helping at Ronald McDon-ald House and more.”

The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity has also built six wheelchair ramps for physi-cally disabled individuals over the course of the previous days of service. Two years ago, the fraternity built a ramp for a senior citizen who could not leave her house because of the

condition of her ramp. Shortly af-ter building the ramp, the woman’s house caught fire and because of the

The Christmas break might be the favorite time of year for

most college students, but for one group of blossoming filmmakers the recently departed holidays were even grander than normal.

On Dec. 30, 2013 local arts and entertainment publication Mod Mo-bilian released their selections for yearly awards in various categories.The winner for Short Film of the Year was “The Dreamers,” a movie created and produced by a group of five USA film students for a class project.

Jokingly calling themselves Pres-tige Worldwide (Will Ferrell fans will recognize the name from his movie “Step-Brothers”), juniors Stuart Sox, Dylan Glass, Steven Spears and Erin Weninegar along with senior Melody

Student fi lm group, Prestige Worldwide, were recently awarded Mod Mobilian’s Best Short Film Moddy award.

COURTESY OF STUART SOX

Brickhouse were understandably overjoyed and a little bit shocked to receive the award.

“It was the icing on the cake at the end of the year,” Brickhouse said, “we knew we just wanted to make something really good.”

“The Dreamers” follows a dispa-rate group of five college-aged stu-dents as their paths cross during a night at the Greater Gulf State Fair, at which most of the shoot-ing for the film took place. Sox isn’t shy about crediting “The Breakfast Club” as an influence on the film’s plot, and the homage to the overall theme of interacting cliques in teen-age/young adult society is apparent from the outset.

Being smaller filmmakers how-ever, the group experienced a few challenges that John Hughes prob-ably did not have to worry about when he shot the 1985 teen classic.

“Especially at the festival, everyone wants to wave at the camera or talk the camera,” Glass re-counted with a wry smile. One incident in particular made film-ing memorable for the cast and crew.

“We DID keep one of those people in there: the little old lady,” Weninegar said. “We even put her in the credits. She was a beautiful accident. During Dylan and an-other actresses’ con-versation she walks by and just mean-mugs the camera like ‘What

ramp built by Pi Kappa Phi, she was able to escape without harm.

Projects like these allow students to spend one of their scarce days off in a way that helps others around them and gives back to the commu-nity that has helped this University reach the level it currently sits at.

When asked about his memora-ble moments from past MLK Days of Service, Pi Kappa Phi fraternity member Chase Bolt responded, “I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many different people, each with their own stories and struggles.”

Former USA student Stephen Purnell recounted his memorable moment as well. “I recall from one year a resident at Sybil Smith Family Village said to me, ‘I really did not think anybody cared about us.’ That hit home to me and brought out the true magnitude of the impact that we are making on the lives of these people,” Purnell added.

Karen Peterson has noted that the University will be providing

EMMA MITCHELL, JAGLIFE [email protected]

See Student fi lm Student fi lm Page 6

See MLK service day MLK service day Page 6

5VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

STAT Association to coordinate Jag Run 5K and fun runSTAT Association to coordinate Jag Run 5K and fun run

By KATHRYN [email protected]

The Students Today Alumni Tomorrow (STAT) Association is hosting its 7th

annual JagRun 5K Saturday Jan. 25. Individuals can pre-register online or during the registra-tion period between 6:30 and 7:30 in the morn-ing at the Alumni Hall. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Moulton Tower and Alumni Plaza, where it will also end. The net proceeds from JagRun helps fund book scholarships for STAT members. This event is the association’s premier fundraiser of the year.

The STAT association was established to fulfi ll the mission of connecting South Ala-bama students and alumni. There are currently over 140 members. All University of South Al-abama Students are eligible to join STAT, which provides many opportunities for students to become involved with alumni and the alumni association early on. STAT’s objective is to give students the opportunity to experience life as an alum by interacting with some of USA’s over 67,000 alumni. Associate Director of the USA National Alumni Association, Nick Law-kis, says, “It never hurts to begin your profes-sional network long before you graduate. You just never know who you might meet that will one day become your future employer. And by networking and getting involved with the USA Alumni Association through STAT, you will defi nitely gain access to knowledgeable alumni and valuable experiences and relationships that will last a lifetime.”

University of South Alabama students can receive a discounted rate by registering on www.eventbrite.com/e/jag-spirit or by printing off the form and turning it into Alumni Hall. Entry fees are $20 for pre-registered adults, $15 for youth who are 12 and under, and $18 for

USA students. Registration fees on the day of the run will be $25 for adults, $15 for youth, and $20 for USA students. A post-race af-ter party held directly after the race will offer music, food, drinks, and prizes. Top male and female overall, Masters, and Grandmasters will be awarded in designated age group divisions. Registered teams may win awards for having the largest number of participants, being the most spirited, or being the fastest group. Fun Run fi nishers will receive ribbons.

STAT member, Connor Read, says “Ever since last semester, I have been looking forward to the JagRun after hearing all of the positive comments from past participants, students, and faculty. It just sounded like one of those events that left a positive infl uence on every-one and it is awesome to have people appreci-ate events that South Alabama’s organizations open for the community. This is one of STAT’s largest events and it could not have been pos-sible without the STAT Advisor Nick Lawkis, President, Kristi Williams and offi cers. JagRun is fairly new to South Alabama and going on its seventh year. I cannot wait to see how much it will grow in the future.”

All students, family, and friends are encour-aged to attend and participate in this worthy event. USA alumni and former STAT member, Jessica Houston, said, “The JagRun is a fantas-tic way to support the student alumni organi-zation. Taking part in a fun and healthy event made me feel as if I was supporting my jaguar community in a positive way.” South student and STAT association president, Kristi Wil-liams, said, “As a runner of last year’s Jag Run, I encourage everyone to get out and participate. Whether you are a seasoned runner or not, there is a true sense of community throughout the race. It’s the perfect environment for a great time!”

South students, Associate Director of the USA National Alumni Association, Nick Lawkis and STAT offi cers along with USA mascot at past Jag Run event.

COURTESY OF STAT ASSOCIATION

Participants of a past Jag Run running along the on-campus run path.COURTESY OF STAT ASSOCIATION

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 20146

Student filmStudent film

MLK service dayMLK service dayContinued from Page 4.

Participants of a past MLK service day working with community children.

COURTESY OF KAREN PETERSON

Continued from Page 4.

are you doing?’” In between the laughs, there was hard work

and a shoestring budget. For the eighteen-min-ute movie, Sox estimated that the crew spent over 100 hours of work in preparing, shooting, and editing the film. The filming, of course, had to be done within the time frame of the fair.

“We were there until it closed the entire week,” Bricklayer said.

The filming was greatly aided by the coop-eration of the Fair itself. “They were actually nice enough to give us free admission so we

didn’t have to pay,” Sox said, “just admission for the people involved would have forced us to do a fundraiser.” The budget for the film was essentially whatever was in the crew’s pockets at the time, and rife with ad-hoc pur-chases as needs arose.

Prestige Worldwide (now shortened to PWW) has other films that Sox urges film fans to check out on the “Stuart Sox” Vimeo page. Although no longer working together in class, the Communications majors have an upcom-ing film, “A History of Lies” that the group looks forward to debuting soon. As for the film class? “Yeah, we made an A,” Weninegar divulged with a wide smile.

on-site projects for volunteers at 126 Mobile Street but will not have enough opportunities for all volunteers. However, those who are not able to work on site are encouraged to help those in the community who need it and join for lunch at the Dumas Wesley Center at 12:00 to share experiences.

Pre-registration is highly encouraged so the event organizers will know how many volun-teers to accommodate for. Students are en-couraged to bring work gloves or yard tools, if they have them available.

Transportation will be provided to students who wish to volunteer at the Dumas Wesley Center through JagTrans starting at 9:00 am. They will make runs from the Beta/Gamma commons throughout the day. Students simply have to register at www.caslce.org/now.

7VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

ALYSSA NEWTON, LOC [email protected] OF CENTERLEFT OF CENTER

To have a fi ne-tuned machine, all of the gears and parts have to

be in sync. In the machine that is South Alabama’s basketball program, those gears are known as managers.

Being a manager is a seven-day-a-week, year round responsibility.

The management team consists of graduate assistant Jordan Surenkamp, junior Casey Dyess and freshmen Cole Tarver and Harrison Graham. What they do consists of many small but important jobs that in the end keep the basketball program running effi ciently.

Head Coach Matthew Graves appre-

ciates all the work that the managers do on a daily basis.

“The managers are an extension of the coaching staff,” Graves said. “They do a lot to make sure that we (the bas-ketball team) have things prepared come game time. It might not be the most glamorous job at times, but they are vital to helping us to compete at our best.”

So what exactly happens during a week in the life of a basketball manager?

Junior Casey Dyess gave a little piece of what managers do.

“During the week we make sure practices and drills run smoothly,” Dyess said. “We also do things such as laundry, making sure the players are taken care of

and do anything the coaches ask.”The biggest chunk of their week is

consumed during game day.“Gameday lasts all day for us,” Dyess

said. “We spend about 12 hours up here at the Mitchell on gameday.”

So what could they possibly do to spend 12 hours at the Mitchell Center?

The managers come an hour early before practice to set up for the oppos-ing team to practice. Once both teams are done practicing they go and eat a pregame meal with the team. While the players have a few hours off to relax, go home and get zoned for the game, the managers spend those hours doing laun-dry for the team.

By ALYSSA [email protected]

Basketball managers vital to Jaguars’ program Basketball managers vital to Jaguars’ program The four guys behind the scenes that make players’, coaches’ jobs a little easier

ALYSSA NEWTON | LOC EDITOR

Two hours before the game the team arrives back to everything set up and ready for them to practice before the game starts. This allows the team to focus on the only thing they should on gameday: the game.

“Our small jobs build up,” said sports management major Cole Tarver. “What we do, the players don’t have to do. That allows them to focus on prac-tice and the game. We have a lot of small jobs we take care of, but in the end it makes a big impact.”

As for gameday duties, it varies be-tween managers.

For Tarver and Dyess, they help with warm-ups and sit on the bench behind the team and provide towels and water during the game. For Harrison Graham, he spends gameday behind a camera.

At Decatur High School Graham spent four years fi lming football prac-tices. His sophomore year he began fi lming basketball and keeping stats for the basketball team. He now sets up a camera and does what he does best: work with fi lming.

As for graduate assistant Jordan Su-renkamp, his management position deals more with the coaching side of basketball.

As a graduate and former Division III college basketball player at Wabash College in Indiana, Surenkamp couldn’t imagine doing anything else other than basketball.

“When I graduated I realized I didn’t want a normal 9-5 job,” Surenkamp said. “I wanted to do something I loved. Bas-ketball had always been my life, it’s what I love. So it made the decision easy.”

Surenkamp came to South Alabama along with head coach Matthew Graves and Coach Darnel Archie.

“I’ve always wanted to coach,” said Surenkamp. “I knew Coach Graves and Coach Archie from when they coached up at Butler. I worked camps at their col-lege campus and got to know them really well. They knew that once I graduated that I was interested in coaching. Graves called me in the summer and said he has a grad assistant position available and asked if I was interested. I said ‘sign me up!’ and came straight down here.”

On gameday you can fi nd Suren-kamp looking through fi lm, doing proj-ects for coach Graves or meeting with the other coaches. You’ll fi nd him during the game with a clipboard full of stats on the bench next to the coaches he’s learned from the past few months.

“I love it here, it’s awesome. I played Division III basketball, and learned a lot from that experience. But it’s completely different here at South. I’ve learned so much and continue to learn more each day. I just love it.”

Although the managers differ from one another, they all have one thing in common: the love of the game.

“I love the experience of being around college basketball,” said Tarver, who suffered a torn ligament his junior year of high school that kept him from playing college basketball.

The same goes for Dyess.“I love basketball,” he said. “There’s

no better job I could ask for.”To the South Alabama basketball

program, the managers are not only part of the Jaguar basketball, they are family.

Former Jag signs with Winnipeg Blue Bombers Former Jag signs with Winnipeg Blue Bombers Interview with Gabe Loper on time at South Alabama, Canadian Football League

The Vanguard was able to inter-view former defensive back/

wide reciever Gabe Loper who recent-ly signed with the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. We asked Loper about his time at South Alabama and his plans for his future in the CFL.

VG:After transitioning to WR, what did it mean to you to wear the number of Courtney Smith, a guy who helped lay the foundation of the program and gain such early glory?

GL: I felt honored that the coaches

had enough faith to intrust me with it after they had a player of great mag-nitude in Courtney; but the true rea-son for wearing it was not to take on the appearance of a star, but because it was my brother’s number and I always wanted to walk in his footsteps.

VG: What is your favorite memory while playing at South?

GL: I have so many that it’s hard to tag any one with that title. But I will say a lot of my favorite memories were made in Room 1814 with Ellis Hill, Bryant Lavender and Corey Waldon, of whom I still consider my brothers/best friends and keep constant contact with!

VG: Talk a little bit about the touch-down against FAU that tied the game that would eventually lead to USA’s fi rst FBS and Sun Belt Conference victory. How did that feel?

GL: This moment is something I re-live every time I look at the pictures. I knew the ball was coming to me because of the success we were having against one-on-one coverage all evening. As I saw the ball falling from the air, I knew that I would either make the catch or receive a defensive pass interference so I took a risk that paid dividends. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world!

VG: How did South Alabama pre-pare you and help you to get to where you are today?

GL: South taught me to not only rely on the talent that I wielded, but to use the minor principles we obtained in training & apply it to the fi eld in order to have full success.

VG: Looking at South’s program to-day, how do you feel it is evolving/growing?

GL: It is amazing how the program has seemingly taken on a life of its own...large part do to the great recruit-ing and players such as TJ Glover, Sha-varez Smith, Brandon Bridges, as well

as others and the reformation of the coaching/strength staff. It’s no doubt in my mind that they will be the top of the Sun Belt before long!

VG: At South Alabama at one point in 2012 you played every position in the secondary. You’ve played cornerback, DB, WR and so on. What are your thoughts of being moved from a posi-tion on the defensive side of the ball where you saw signifi cant action, to a situational role on the offensive side of the ball and more limited action?

GL: I saw it as a blessing in disguise, even though I knew I could’ve been


Manager Cole Tarver (second left) and GA Jordan Surenkamp (far right) look on from the bench during the ULL game

See Loper Loper Page 8.

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 20148

another huge presence in our second-ary, being moved to receiver allowed me to familiarize myself with the positions once more and provided me with the confi dence to take on any position on any level.

VG: Do you believe playing so many positions gave you an advantage? How did it help you as a football player?

GL: Oh yes, defi nitely. Not only did it get me in phenomenal shape; but it gave me the ability to take calculated risks when determining, “What would I do if a corner shaded me like this?”, or “How would I release against an aggres-sive coverage like the one I’m playing?” The concept of my thinking was the same on special teams as well.

VG: What position are you hoping to play for Winnipeg?

GL: I am comfortable in any, but am willing and open to playing any po-sition that they feel will make the team better, because football isn’t a selfi sh game no matter how much your name gets highlighted; it’s a team thing.

VG: Can you tell in your own words what you hope to see for yourself come out of playing with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?

GL: I am looking to prove to others, as well as myself, that I am still able to compete with the best of them no mat-ter how long it has taken me to get this far in my journey. I’m praying that ev-erything taught to me. And all the train-ing we do will not only make me a top notch player, but a better man as well.

VG: What do you believe allowed you to make it this far in your football career?

GL: All glory goes to God. If not for grace and mercy there’s no way I would have accomplished most of the things that I have thus far. Knowing that that’s the main thing, it allowed me to embrace the words and constructive criticism of my family and teammates as well.

VG: What do you think the differ-ences will be playing with a Canadian league?

GL: Just by studying the rule book and some games off of the internet I can tell you that the fi eld will be the most drastic change; other than that football is football.

VG: Former USA QB Myles Gib-bon is a prospect for the CFL. How do you feel about the chance to play against a fellow former USA player?

GL: I’m elated! Gibbs is like family. I think it will be fun and entertaining having the opportunity to see an elec-tric QB that is Myles Gibbons in action!

South Alabama softball catcher Alex Breeden has been surrounded by the game her entire

life. At the age of fi ve she started playing baseball and, by being around her dad, Joe Breeden, a rov-ing catching instructor for the Atlanta Braves, she naturally gravitated towards the love of the game.

In high school, Alex lettered all four years in softball and was the varsity captain since her fresh-man year. Nowa psychology major at the Univer-sity of South Alabama, Alex still has a passion for the game. The Vanguard sat down with Alex to fi nd out more about her decision on choosing South, life as an Atlanta Braves coach’s daughter, and her expectations for the upcoming season.

The Vanguard: Looking back on your recruit-ment process, what made you choose the Univer-sity of South Alabama?

Alex Breeden: One of the main reasons that I chose South Alabama was because of something that a player said to me while I was on my recruit-ment trip. She told me that if you come here you

better love the game, otherwise don’t waste our time. From that moment on, I knew this was where I was meant to be. I wanted to be a part of a program that loved this game as much as I do because once our four years are up, that’s it, there’s no turning back.

VG: Do you have a pregame ritual?AB: Before games, I try to get as relaxed as

possible. I’m addicted to oatmeal so I have a huge bowl of that and probably go through a pack of gum a game, or more, depending on how close it is.

VG: How did it feel to be a part of winning the Sun Belt title last year?

AB: Last year’s Sun Belt win was different than the fi rst because it was expected, at least in our eyes. We expected to win and having that mindset day-in and day-out isn’t easy: it’s mentally exhaust-ing. So, to achieve it, after a year of hard work and dedication, is one of the most rewarding experi-ences.

VG: What is it like having your dad work for the Braves?

AB: My dad’s job is one of the biggest bless-ings that I have in my life. Since I was a little kid, I’ve always had a live-in coach. It’s not easy (we fi ght like cats and dogs actually) but he tells me what I don’t want to hear and helps me see what I don’t want to see. It’s helped mold me into not the only the player that I know I can be, but also the person.

VG: Are you excited about the new softball complex and hitting facility?

AB: I am so excited! Not just for how it is go-ing to affect this year’s team, but how it will affect all of the alumni and future teams. To see where this program has come in such a short period of time, I know, means a lot to past players and seeing what they helped build is incredible. For the future, this is going to help so much with recruitment and getting the sort of athletes that this program, and the staff, deserve.

VG: What is your favorite aspect about the

University of South Alabama?AB: My favorite part about the university is the

people that I have met here. They are my family and I don’t know the person that I would be with-out my teammates and coaches. Being at South is a part of my journey and I’m excited for my next year and a half here!

VG: What are your individual goals for the up-coming season?

AB: Softball is a team sport, so my individual goals don’t really mean much. I want this team to live up to our potential; I want a third conference title and I hope that this is just the beginning.

Adventure is out there, USA Adventure is out there, USA Outdoor Adventures offers unique trips to students

When is the last time you went white water rafting in north-

ern Alabama or swam with Florida’s gentle giant manatees?

USA Campus Recreation offers trips like these and more through their program Outdoor Adventures. These trips are a chance for students to get out of their everyday, ordinary routines and experience nature through water sports, camping and more.

Outdoor Recreation Coordinator Randy Hunter sees over all of the trips and events that Outdoor Adventures offers to students. He helped to launch

the program in 2006 and has been pro-viding students with adventure oppor-tunities ever since.

“For those who take the time out it’s really worthwhile,” said Hunter. “You forget about all the problems hanging over your head, like your test in calculus next week. You get lost in the moment. It’s a great way to take a break from work, school and your everyday respon-sibilities.”

Most trips allow seven to 16 people per event. Hunter suggests signing up with a friend or a group of friends and experiencing an adventure together. But if you want to fl y solo, they take many solo signees as well. Trips can range from one day to four days, depending

on the outing. If you’re weary, Hunter ensures stu-

dents won’t be going out in the middle of a river on their own. Each outing has trained personnel to help to oversee and ensure safety for the participants.

The benefi ts of going on these ven-tures add up. Trips range from $20-$70, mostly in the $20 range, saving students money in various ways. South Alabama also provides transportation, all equip-ment and trained staff.

“It’s a great program, we just want more people to take advantage of it,” said Hunter. “Our trips are geared to those without experience. We want to give students new and fun experiences. It’s a great opportunity for students to see the wilds of Georgia, Florida and Alabama.”

Outdoor Adventures sends a news-letter that goes out in emails included with student recreation. This includes events and activities that will be going on through the spring semester.

For more information you can check out their website at southala-bama.edu/outdoor. The next event will be the Perdido River on February 1.


COURTESY OF OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

A few of the upcoming events for Outdoor Aventures

Left of Center’s player profile of the week: BreedenLeft of Center’s player profile of the week: Breeden

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS

LoperLoperContinued from Page 7.


9VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

JT CRABTREE, SPORTS [email protected]

USA creates Jaguar Sports PropertiesUSA creates Jaguar Sports PropertiesSouth Alabama drops IMG, creates own sales and broadcasting department

The University of South Alabama announced the staff

of the new Jaguar Sports Properties, as well as the end of their partnership with IMG College after fi ve years.

JSP will be responsible for athletic corporate and multimedia sales as well as all radio and TV production, including game broadcasts and coaches’ shows.

J.D. Byars has been named Director of Broadcasting/Corporate Sales Executive. Ashley Ehlert has been added as the staff ’s Account Executive and Mike Giedlin has been named Assistant Business Manager. In addition to these hires, local newscaster Pat Greenwood will join the staff as Director of Mulitmedia/Corporate Sales Executive on March 1.

JSP will be overseen by current Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs Travis Toth.

“These hires refl ect well-seasoned

and superior professionals in their fi eld of expertise,” Erdmann observed. “The mission of Jaguar Sports Properties is to generate revenue through sponsorships which are paid directly to the department while expanding our awareness, growing our fan base and solidifying our brand. The broadcast assignments for applicable sports — including current radio personality Lee Shirvanian — will be announced later this semester. We anticipate a tremendous broadcast team promoting several sports and the department as whole using radio, television and ever-growing on-line content.”

Byars comes to South Alabama after spending the past three-plus years at the Univerity of North Alabama, where he was the Director of Broadcasting and Corporate Sponsorships. Byars was responsible for producing, engineering and served as play-by-play announcer for more than 90 UNA athletic events

each season. Byars was responsible for creating the UNA radio network, including all FM affi liates, hiring and managing on-air support staff.

Greenwood, a Mobile native, has been with Local NBC 15 WPMI-TV since 1997. Starting in 2007 2007, he served as NBC 15’s weekday morning anchor from 5-7 a.m. Greenwood also served as pre- and postgame host while holding sidelines and halftime duties on the South Alabama Football Radio Network. He has also contributed on men’s basketball and baseball broadcasts.

Ehlert joins JSP after spending seven years as Senior Account Manager for Clear Channel Media in Mobile. Ehlert was responsible for customizing well-rounded campaigns through six-stations along the Gulf Coast as well as coordinating off-site live broadcasts.

Giedlin comes to USA after sending two-and-a-half years as Assistant Atheltic Director/Fiscal Operations at Northern Arizona.

Giedlin was responsible for operations prep and program budgets, and reviewed and authorized all purchases and expenditures. He also prepared and submitted fi nancial data to both the NCAA and Big Sky Conference.

“This is a very exciting and important time for our department,” explained Erdmann. “Approximately fi ve years ago we entered into a partnership with IMG College which gave them the rights to manage our sponsorship and multi-media sales. That partnership was a prudent decision as working with IMG helped us in navigating the birth of an FBS football program. We deeply appreciate IMG College for that guidance and support. The decision to go in a different direction and create an internal unit was amicable in nature and primarily based on our desire to have complete control of our advertising inventory, our audio and video productions, our sales strategies and stewardship of our sponsors.”

VANGUARD ARCHIVES

With JSP, South Alabama will now be able responsible for it’s own sponsorships and broadcasts

By JT [email protected]

Follow us for news, updates and play-by-play tweets: @USAVGSports

Becky Clark @BclarkUSASoftball head coach

A huge THANK YOU to our South Alabama construction crew for working early mornings and late nights to make sure our fi eld is ready by Feb 6!

Drew Dearman @Drewski72_:Offensive lineman

Jesus Biloxi, at least take me to dinner fi rst.

Sharon Sanders @SomeSerious_:Guard

Gah I hate having classes that I don’t know anybody in

Derek Westbrook @thedwestbrook25:Men’s Cross Country

You know you’re at the rec pool doing rehab too much when the old guys start asking how my family is doing #GoJags

J.A. Harville @jonharville1:Pitcher

I can’t believe I’m talking to a young lady about poop on twitter. #lifecouldnotbebetter

Antoine Allen @TweezMrNutty Guard

I need my feet rubbed ugh I been working so hard man

Austin Cole @AustinCole61:Long snapper

Is it frowned upon to change the music at a fraternity party from 2 chainz to hardcore rock!? I guess we’ll fi nd out

@USAVGSports

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 201410

USA senior Garrett Schumacher broke his own school record in the hep-

tathlon when the Jags visited the Birmingham CrossPlex, location of the Samford Stand Alone Competition last Wednesday and Thurs-day.

Schumacher, the only participant from the Jaguars’ men’s team, totaled 5,084 points over two days, breaking his previous school record by 54 points. His 5,084 points put him in sec-ond place at the meet and eighth overall in the NCAA.

Schumacher set personal bests in shot put (11.89m) and in the 60-meter dash (7.14s). He also posted a 6.46m in the long jump and 1.83 in the high jump.

Schumacher also had the highest clearance in the pole vault (4.64m) and had times of 8.84 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles and 2:53.71 in the 1000-meter run.

For the Lady Jags, Noelle Jones, Jasmine

Ferguson and Leah Hixon were the only three competitors.

Jones fi nished highest of the group, with 3,429 total points, fi nishing seventh overall. Jones record personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles (9.27m) and long jump (5.27m), and tied her personal best for the shot put (13.33m). Her 3,429 was the fi fth-best pentathlon total in school history.

Ferguson fi nished with 3,370 points, a ca-reer best, to fi nished eighth. Hixon placed ninth with 3,300.

“This was a pretty good start for our multi-event athletes,” said head track and fi eld coach Paul Brueske. “Three personal-best overall scores this early in the season is a really good sign. We have also identifi ed some things that we will continue to work on, so we should con-tinue to get better in the combined events as the season goes on.”

USA returns to action with a trip to Jones-boro, Ark., for the Arkansas State Invitational Jan. 24.

Schumacher sets school Schumacher sets school record at heptathlonrecord at heptathlon

Jaguar basketball keeps Jaguar basketball keeps Cajuns away, win 81-73Cajuns away, win 81-73By SAVON [email protected]

South Alabama men’s basketball team clinched their fi rst conference win

against Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 16, winning 81-73.

The win snapped a six-game losing streak that started Dec. 17 against Arkansas. Four of the six games were against a conference oppo-nent, games the Jaguars needed to stay alive in the hunt for the Sun Belt Conference champi-onship.

Jags lead at the half against ULL, like their two previous games at Arkansas State and UALR, and nearly lost a 15-point lead with less than three minutes remaining, when the lead shrank to just two.

“Tonight I was anxious to see how we would come back on a quick turnaround after a tough loss to Arkansas-Little Rock,” Jaguar head coach Matthew Graves said. “I was really disappointed in our shot selection early in the game. We talked about being strong with the basketball and getting the ball inside, either through passing the ball or on the drive and try to make plays at the rim. We settled way too many times and we felt like we were playing from 8-to-10 points down all night.”

The Jaguars came onto the fl oor with a new found swagger against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

In the fi rst half, Jaguars claimed with authority, leading the Cajuns 39-30 going into halftime. The Jaguars shot 60 percent from the fi eld and 40 percent behind the arc. The showering of three’s kept the Jaguars in the lead.

Sharpshooter Ken Williams started the ar-senal of three pointers. He fi nished with 3-7 for 18 points.

The fi rst 15 minutes in the second half were a dog fi ght. ULL guard, Elfrid Payton gave life to the Cajuns in the second half. Payton was in Alaska in the fi rst half, going 2-6 from the fi eld with only four points. Payton’s elusiveness and quick feet brought the Cajuns back to a two-point game. But the Jaguars unleashed the beast. Senior forward Augustine Rubit shifted the momentum for South Alabama. He shot four clutch free throws, extending the Jags lead back to 10.

Rubit fi nished 7-10 for 21 points to lead the Jaguars to their fi rst victory in over a month.

“I’m really, really excited about our win here tonight,” Graves said. “It just shows that if you have a team that stays together and works really hard, there’s complete buy in. Guys are starting to understand what we want to do offensively and defensively. The thing I was most pleased about tonight was that we held them to below 40 percent fi eld goal percentage defense.”

The Jags committed 26 turnovers, the most by the school since Nov. 18, 2001.

Augustine Rubit fi nished with a team-leading 21 points against ULL.ALYSSA NEWTON|LOC EDITOR


11VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

Leitner knocks off No. Leitner knocks off No. 64, team loses at FSU64, team loses at FSU

University of South Alabama junior Daniel Leitner earned his fi rst win

over a nationally-ranked opponent this season, but No. 36 Florida State went home with the tournament after a 5-2 win on January 12.

The Jags are now 1-2 this season. Florida State moves to 3-0.

“Finishing our last match so late last night and sleeping only six hours hurt us a little this morning,” said head coach Nick Brochu. “We didn’t have the same spark as usual. FSU played very aggressive and we were playing ‘catch up’ in doubles. Our level was better in singles.”

Leitner, ranked No. 117, earned his third win of the season with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 61 Benjamin Lock as the No. 1 seed.

“Great mention to Daniel,” said Brochu. “He played so hard and beat Florida State’s No. 1 player, who is also ranked in the top 65 in the country.”

Florida State claimed the fi rst three singles points with wins in the Nos. 5, 3 and 2 seeds. Cristian Gonzalez Mendez defeated junior

Manuel Belda (Posadas, Misiones, Argentina) 6-0, 6-4, followed by Blake Davis’ 6-3, 6-1 win over senior Shayann Vaezzadeh (Bavent, France).

Dominic Cotrone picked up the win for FSU when he topped freshman Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) 6-4, 6-0. Sophomore Gerhard Gruindelingh (Pretoria, South Africa) put the Jaguars on the board when he outlasted Marco Nunez in a tiebreaker 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7) at No. 4. Jose Garcia dropped sophomore Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) 6-5 (7-4), 6-3.

“Gerhard made a great comeback to win the match at No. 4,” said Brochu.

In doubles, Lock and Nunez downed Belda and Gruindelingh 6-1 and Leitner and Troglia fell 6-2 to Cotrone and Davis.

“The problem today was that we were not consistent with our level of play,” said Brochu. “You can’t expect to beat a good team like FSU by playing two good games and one bad game. They took advantage of it and ran away with the win.”

South Alabama is back in action Saturday Jan. 18 as they host Nicholls State at 2 p.m.

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COM

Leitner, No. 117, defeated Benjamin Lock, the No. 1 see at FSU, on Jan. 12.


VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 201412

South Alabama’s men’s basketball team was attempting to extend their season-long

conference winning streak to two on Saturday night. It did not happen as Louisiana-Monroe de-feated the Jags 64-58 to earn their fi rst win at the Mitchell Center since January 15, 2011.

The Jags led 34-27 at halftime, but saw their lead quickly dwindle as they shot only 22.2 percent in the second half, including 1-11 (9.1 percent) from 3-point range. Antoine Allen converted the Jags only 3-pointer in the second half with less than a minute remaining in the game.

“Unfortunately, offensively, we didn’t do a good job of attacking,” head coach Matthew Graves said. “We settled for a lot of 3-point shots when we had an advantage on getting the ball in-side to Augustine (Rubit) and Mychal (Ammons). Our guards continued to shoot shots and you try to sub guys in and out and they keep doing the same thing. It’s very frustrating that we’re not learning from some of the mistakes that we’ve made in previous games.”

As a team, the Jags struggled mightily from 3-point range all game as they converted only 14.8 percent (4-27) of 3-point attempts.

Augustine Rubit led the Jaguars with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Aakim Saintil was second on the team with 11 points.

Ken Williams, who had 18 points in Thursday night’s 81-73 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, was held scoreless in this game. Williams fi nished 0-5 including 0-3 from 3-point range.

Williams wasn’t the only Jaguar to struggle on the night. As a team, the Jaguars fi nished with a 32.2 fi eld goal percentage (19-59).

Tylor Ongwae led the Warhawks with 19 points and 4 rebounds. Amos Olatayo added with 12 points and 4 rebounds.

“[Ongwae]’s their best player and he certainly did a good job, but three or four of the baskets that he got in the second half were, to be quite honest, just really bad defense on our part,” Graves said. “It wasn’t anything that he was doing or not doing, it was that were latched on to guys and feel-ing sorry for ourselves because we weren’t making shots. That lack of energy and effort really affected him. He made a couple of nice moves, but it was really a collection of our poor defense.”

By SAMUEL [email protected]

Jags can’t Jags can’t hold off hold off ULM rallyULM rallyUSA shot a miserable 32.2 percent for the

game, lose 64-58

Aakim Saintil (left) fi nished with 11 points against ULM.ALYSSA NEWTON | LOC EDITOR

The Vanguard is in need of new

writers. Interested individuals

should email their contact info and

sampled writings to Editor in Chief

Samantha Andrews at [email protected]

Despite being out-rebounded 34 to 46, the Warhawks made up for this by out-shooting the Jaguars 42 percent to 32.2 percent.

South Alabama falls to 7-12 and 1-4 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Louisiana-Monroe im-proves to 6-7 and 3-2 in conference play. The Jag-uars are now 0-4 when they score 50-59 points. The Jags Saturday record on the season now falls to 1-7.

South Alabama’s next game will be on Saturday, January 25, as the Jaguars will travel to Arlington, Texas to take on the Texas-Arlington Mavericks at 7:30 p.m.

13VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 201414OpinionOpinion KELLY FICARELLI, OPINION EDITOR

kfi [email protected]

Treat vapors like secondhand smoke until proven safeTreat vapors like secondhand smoke until proven safe

EDITORIAL BOARD Samantha Andrews | Editor-in-ChiefKelly Ficarelli | Opinion Editor

JT Crabtree | Sports Editor

Stephanie Feather | Managing Editor Alyssa Newton | Left of Center Editor

Emma Mitchell | Life Editor

By KELLY FICARELLIkfi [email protected]

Embrace COPS in Prichard Embrace COPS in Prichard By JASON [email protected]

In and around Mobile County recently there have been a growing number of fi lm crews.

Most of these crews are shooting Hollywood movies, but as of January there has been another type of fi lming taking place. The documentary/reality series COPS has come to the city of Prich-ard. The show shadows police offi cers and sheds light on the dangers they face when on duty.

Prichard’s new police chief, Jerry Speziale, says he hopes the exposure from the show will help highlight the effort his offi cers put forth daily. He told WKRGNews 5, “It's a very positive situation where this is not about the negative of Prichard, it is about a new Prichard and the police department that is moving forward in a progres-sive direction to make a safer Prichard.”

True to Prichard’s tainted reputation as a high- crime city, the fi lm crew has been kept busy. They have already fi lmed a car chase that took place in Prichard Jan. 8 involving a drug bust. The fugi-tive tried to escape police in a vehicle, and while doing so, almost ran over an offi cer. The offi cer fi red a shot at the suspect but didn’t hit him. The suspect then tried to fl ee on foot before being caught by police.

The high profi le chief of police has already said before, when being introduced for the job back in October, that he hopes to make the com-munity a part of the effort to clean up Prichard’s streets. This will be no easy task considering year’

of high crime rates and deep poverty levels that often drive new businesses away from the city. Couple that with a population that has had little to no faith in local government in recent years, and it’s clear Chief Speziale has a lot of work ahead of him.

One of his most diffi cult tasks will be getting the community rallied behind the reorganized po-lice department. If the department fails to win over the confi dence of the people of Prichard, it could make Speziale’s job that much harder. Of-fi cers can’t do much if the people they are trying to protect do not trust them.

Chief Speziale no doubt knows this and is betting the show will have a positive effect on the way people view the department. The show will give citizens a chance to step into the shoes of a police offi cer and see things from a different per-spective. People will watch and see what their lo-cal law enforcement have to battle every day, the situations they are put in and the kind of people they must deal with. In my view, one of the most important things a law enforcement agency can have is the support of the people they are sworn to protect. Without trust, it becomes much more diffi cult to do anything.

Never underestimate good PR. Of course COPS is going to show the gritty side of Prich-ard and the criminals that give the city its dirty reputation, but for the fi rst time in a long time, the people of Prichard will not just be seeing that side, they’ll be watching the other.

You see people using them ev-erywhere now, on campus, in

restaurants, in grocery stores and in various other public places. The trend is growing stronger by the day. As a former cigarette smoker, I applaud people for quitting smoking danger-ous tobacco products, but I person-ally fi nd public use of electronic ciga-

rettes as visually offensive as being subjected to secondhand smoke from cigarettes. Some users have claimed that the secondhand vapors are irri-tating to their eyes, noses and throats, cause nausea and make breathing dif-fi cult. Scientists at the University of Athens, Greece, conducted a study which determined e-cigarettes cause an instant increase in airway resistance lasting more than 10 minutes. Long-term results have not been tested. A Harvard research study reported that a 5-minute smoking session caused immediate airway constriction and in-fl ammation in the lungs. Additionally, some brands produce a slight odor that many people fi nd offensive.

Some scientifi c research and medi-

cal professionals are in agreement that these vaporizer cigarettes are effective smoking cessation devices, as effec-tive as nicotine patches or gum, but no one truly knows if they help smok-ers quit.

Manufacturers market them as harmless, but more and more stud-ies are coming forth with information that some brands are harmful and do contain carcinogens, with some car-cinogen compounds found in higher quantities in e-cigarettes than in regu-lar cigarettes.

Other issues with the e-cigarettes is that they are not regulated by U.S. tobacco laws since they contain no tobacco. The FDA is trying to label them as a drug-delivery device so that

they can be regulated, but they recent-ly lost a court case against two manu-facturers in the District of Colum-bia. Another U.S. Court blocked the FDA's attempt to label them as drugs in an effort to cease importation.

In many places, especially online, there are no age restrictions so they can be purchased by any person of any age. While they aren't necessarily marketed to children, they are appeal-ing to them because of their attractive colors and fl avors, such as chocolate, watermelon, strawberry and bubble gum. We all know young people look up to celebrities, and with a grow-ing number of celebrities endorsing them, this only adds to their appeal.

Also, since they're not regulated, it

isn't known if manufacturers are dis-closing all the chemical ingredients or if the amount of nicotine advertised on the label is the amount actually contained inside the vaporizer. At this point in time, you have no idea what you're inhaling and exhaling, or how much.

While many see them as a healthi-er alternative to tobacco products, the truth is, researchers and agencies do not yet know if they are. More stud-ies must be done to discover possible side effects of inhaling pure nicotine vapor and other added ingredients. Until they are adequately tested, regu-lated and deemed safe by an unbiased agency, they should not be allowed to be used in public.

RYAN KELLER | GRAPHIC DESIGNER

15VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 2014

Point pCounterpointppShould Mobile city employees receive promised raises?

Editor’s Introduction: Last September, the Mobile City Council voted in favor of a 2.5 percent pay raise for city employees starting Jan. 1 under Mayor Sam Jones. When newly-elected Mayor Sandy Stimpson refused to enforce the raise, a group of city employees fi led a temporary restraining order against him and fi nance director Paul Wesch, which was denied. A new preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 29.

A promise is a promise Cuts are best for Mobile

Ryan Wallace

Brianna Ervin

Balance school and relationships carefullyBalance school and relationships carefully

Mobile public service workers are fi ling a lawsuit against the city of

Mobile. Workers are upset by Mayor Sandy Stimpson withdrawing pay raises for city employees after being promised a 2.5 per-cent increase during 2013. That should let the mayor know that the workers are seri-ous.

The pay raise was included in the 2014 budget introduced by former Mayor Sam Jones and adopted by the council in Sep-tember. The raise was for all full-time city employees and was long overdue. City workers haven’t had a raise in seven years, and with the cost of living steadily rising, they deserve one. How would you feel if you had been promised a raise and then it became invalid with no reason as to why?

The lawsuit fi led in Mobile County Circuit Court requested a judge to issue a temporary restraining order against the mayor and fi nance director for not adhering to the 2.5 percent pay raise

that they were promised.Then, to only heighten matters, Circuit Judge Sarah Stewart denied the request "because there is no evidence of immediate and irreparable injury," but scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for 9 a.m. on Jan. 29, which will hopefully put things in a better perspective.

The decision not to implement the raises at this time was dictated by the discovery of major shortfalls in the current city budget. However, it is not the employees’ fault that the city spent more than what they had. These workers were promised a raise in 2013 for the New Year and that’s what they should get - point, blank, period.

These workers were promised

a raise... Brianna Ervin

“”

Unlike our national leaders, the mayor and his offi ce cannot sim-

ply wink and nod at the city running a defi cit. The reality of the situation is that Mayor Stimpson has been left holding the bag after former Mayor Jones wrote checks that the city’s fi scal posterior can-not cash.

It’s certainly easy to sympathize with the workers who looked forward to their raise only to have it revoked immediately over the holidays. Several of them prob-ably made vacation plans or bought new items they planned to fi nance with their increased paycheck, actions the majority of us would probably take in the same situation. But such is the bitter fruits that sometimes fall from the tree of respon-sibility.

This is simply another manifestation of the managerial maladroitness which characterized Mayor Jones’s tenure. As one current city worker (and USA stu-dent) told me, “Maybe these workers should be suing Sam Jones. He is the one that promised raises. I am sure he knew the city could not afford it.”

I have the feeling she is correct. After all, an AL.com article quoted the city’s fi nancial manager as saying that the defi cit “is the result of the city spending more money than what revenues gener-

ated from Sept. 30, 2012 to Sept. 30, 2013.”

Sandy Stimpson was not the may-or when all of this money was spent, but he is the man tasked with clean-ing it up. If anything, city workers should be thankful. As I said earlier, a defi cit at the city level has to be fi xed and fi xed fast lest the city risk sliding into deeper and deeper debt.

If the workers won their lawsuit to keep their raises, which is more likely to happen next: cuts to the ser-vices of thousands of Mobilians, or a reduction in the same (smaller) work-force whose ill-timed raise forced the cuts and whose union supported the campaign of the very man who caused their misery?

S o it’s f inally happened. You’ve found that special

someone that makes your hear t melt. Not a minute goes by that

you don’t think about them and you can’t bear the thought of letting them out of your sight. Every moment with them gives you an unexplainable high of joy and happiness. Congrats, you’ve official ly entered the cupcake stage.

You’ve forgotten about how imperative putting your educa-tion first is. You spend more time with your significant other and less t ime focusing on your schoolwork. Your grades are slowly but surely sl ipping, but it ’s OK as long as you get to spend quality t ime with the love of your l ife, r ight?

No. Your sole purpose for go-ing to college is to pursue a de-gree. Don’t let being in a rela-tionship deter you from that. Don’t be that student at the end of the semester pleading with your professor for an extra cred-it assignment to bring up your borderline D average. The innu-merable nights you spend talking to your boyfriend or girlfriend unti l 3 a.m. isn’t going to help you excel.

The goals that you once had and cared about, such as main-taining a high GPA to increase the chances of getting into grad-uate school, slowly fade away.

You star t asking yourself, “Does it really matter if I g raduate with honors?”

As young adults, we tend to get so caught up with the perks of dating we lose focus on what’s important. If your spe-cial someone was a treat in the beginning and a trick now, let it go. Well , not completely, but do find some sort of balance. Save al l the “lovey-doveyness” for the weekends and get back to study-ing hard and focusing on those papers that are due.

College is temporary. It doesn’t last forever, so make the best of it while you’re there.

By STARR [email protected]

Expres

s

Yourse

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Email Kelly Ficarelli at [email protected] to write for The Vanguard

Opinion section

VOL. 54, NO. 2 / JAN. 20, 201416

jan. 20, 2014

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