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LIBERTY CHAMPIONTuesday, November 8, 2011

Volume 29 • Issue 09

Today: Sunny 66/39 Tomorrow: Partly Cloudy 63/46 Libertychampion.com

INSIDE THE CHAMPION

Liberty prepares to put in new commuter park-ing lot near campus. A2

Lady Flames vol-leyball team honors seniors on Friday. B1

Office of Student Conduct makes changes to the dress code. B5

SportsNews EventsLiberty WaySenior Night

NewsOpinionSportsFeature

A1A4B1B8

David Crowder Says Goodbye

B8

Deadline: November 16See A6 for more details.www.samaritanspurse.org

Justin Jonesjljones9@liberty.edu

There’s an old saying that goes some-thing like “The cost of livings high.” Then, it is usually followed up with rea-sons such as “inflation” or “that’s just the way things are.” For college students across America, investing in their educa-tion through a college degree gives them a greater chance to manage the cost that life brings.

In recent years, stu-dents have been faced with a rising cost of education rates across America. The Associ-ated Press reported on Oct. 26 that the aver-age tuition for a full-time student is near $8,000. With room and board, in-state cost reaches $17,000 a year.

According to the Executive Director of Financial Aid, Dr. Robert Ritz, Liberty’s tuition fares well against other institu-tions.

“While some schools are increasing tuition costs by double digit percentages, Liberty continues to stand by low costs for a private education,” Ritz said.

The total cost for a year of undergrad-uate studies including all fees and housing comes to an approximate cost of $25,834, according Liberty’s website. With schol-arships, grants and federal loans, the cost is significantly less for most students. Still, tuition has risen across the country, and graduates will be forced to face

See PRICES, A3

Tabitha Cassidytcassidy@liberty.edu

They fight for freedom, sacrifice endlessly and some-how find time to fit in a quality education. Liberty University military students and veterans are being hon-ored for an entire week this year in what the Office of Military Affairs calls Mili-tary Emphasis Week.

This seven day event

kicked off last week, Satur-day, Nov. 5, with the military appreciation game against Virginia Military Institute (VMI) put on by Liberty University’s athletic depart-ment. The week will round off with a trip to the Nation-al D-Day Memorial this up-coming Saturday, Nov. 12.

Military Emphasis Week strategically encompasses Veterans Day, which takes place Friday, Nov. 11, this

week year. Emily Foutz, the director

of Military Affairs, said that Military Emphasis Week is meant to help raise aware-ness of all the sacrifices that veterans make in order to serve the country.

“So many times we take them (the soldiers) for grant-ed and we don’t know how service affects their lives and their families’ lives,” Foutz said.

The Office of Military Affairs, according to their website, helps those students who are currently in the military or who have had some involvement with the military in the past handle their benefits for service. In the past, this week long event was encapsulated into one day.

See MILITARY, A3

The cost of college

Bus riders pay price for GLTC budget cuts

Military Emphasis Week kicks off

Company cuts budget and services to save $320 thousand, clientele affected by inconvenience

Student loans pile up

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

HONORING SERVICE — Sparky poses with military personnel at Saturday’s football game against VMI, at which there was a Halftime Tribute to our nation’s heroes.

Tola Adamson-Olaotanaoadamsonolaotan@liberty.edu

After the Lynchburg City Council turned down a $100,000 funding request from the Greater Lynchburg Transit Company (GLTC) in September, the bus company was forced to make major cuts that could be inconvenient for Lynch-burg bus riders starting next year.

According to a letter presented in the Oct. 25 city council meeting, GLTC al-ready set budget and service cuts, total-ing to more than $320,000 in savings.

The plan has some members of city council, such as Vice Mayor Ceasor Johnson, concerned about the financial

strain this will have on bus riders. John-son said it is not fair that bus riders would have to be inconvenienced because of the mismanagement of the GLTC budget.

“When I think about those people who ride the bus, who are going to have to ride the bus whatever y’all charge, they still don’t have any options,” Johnson said. “And when they can’t afford bus fare, they sure can’t afford taxi fare.”

The bus company plans to cut $120,000 in administration and save over $76,000 in service reduction. They also plan to generate over $122,000 in new revenue with fare increases. If approved, the new budget will be implemented Jan.1, 2012, according to the GLTC board.

A recent audit report of GLTC, re-quested by city council, revealed that GLTC management was not effectively monitoring cash balances, grant applica-tions and reimbursements. According to the audit report, the GLTC board was not receiving adequate information re-garding its finances.

Upon the fare increase and service reduction GLTC implemented Oct. 1, GLTC also wants to reduce weekday and Saturday service and eliminate Route No. 10.

In the letter to city council, GLTC Board President Lisa Dibble assured city council that their decision was not easy.

“These reductions in service were se-

lected carefully to cause our riders the least possible inconvenience,” Dibble said. “We feel these steps are absolutely necessary and unavoidable in order to ensure the financial stability of GLTC going forward, particularly in light of the expectation that our line of credit will be maxed-out again at year-end if we fail to act now.”

After noticing how much budget cuts had already affected bus riders, city council member Randy Nelson was not in favor of further service reductions.

See GLTC, A8

VOTE!

FYI Two-thirds of the

2010 college seniors gradu-

ated with loans. They carried

an average of $25, 250 in debt according to a recent report by The Project on Student Debt,

Construction

Jenna Vanden Brookjvandenbrook@liberty.edu

Bubbles erupted from the fountain in front of DeMoss twice in two weeks, and it seems to be an annual event for the pranksters on Liberty University’s cam-pus.

For the most recent bout of bubbles, Liberty’s maintenance staff acted quickly to clean it up.

It takes two men four hours to com-pletely clean the fountain of bubbles, Scott Starnes, director of building main-tenance, said.

The duo has to completely flush the pipes, clean the fountain with specialty cleaner and replace the water. The bub-bles have not damaged the fountain yet and Starnes attributes the lack of damage, at least in part, to the maintenance staff ’s immediate response to the bubbles.

“As soon as we find that (there are bub-bles in the fountain) we send a team out immediately to clean it up,” Starnes said.

Over time, damage to the fountain is a possibility, Starnes said.

Another prank that the maintenance staff has to focus a lot of time and energy on cleaning is graffiti on campus. The big-gest problem with graffiti is that it spoils the image that Liberty tries to portray through its well-maintained campus.

Starnes has fond memories of the time when a dinosaur was put on the roof of the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall for a while a few years ago.

“Every so often we find a deer by the garbage bins wearing a Liberty hoody, sitting on a lawn chair,” Starnes said. “That’s pretty funny.”

Aside from the occasional foaming fountain or prehistoric animal on the roof of the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall, the maintenance staff does not spend a lot of time cleaning up after pranks.

“We don’t have too many problems,” Starnes said. “We have a great bunch of students on this campus.”

VANDEN BROOK is a news re-porter.

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LETTERTO THEEDITORPOLICIES& INFO

The Champion encourages community members to submit letters to the editor on any subject. Letters should not exceed 400 words and must be typed and signed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Friday. Letters and columns that appear are the opinion of the author solely, not the Champion editorial board or Liberty University.

All material submitted becomes property of the Champion. The Champion reserves the right to accept, reject or edit any letter received — according to the Champion stylebook, taste and the Liberty University mission statement.

Send letters to:

Liberty ChampionLiberty University, Box 2000,Lynchburg, VA 24502

or drop off in DeMoss Hall 1035.

Ashley BollingerEDITOR IN CHIEF

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contentKate LacazeNEWS EDITOR

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photographyRuth BibbyPHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

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designersFranco SantosGRAPHIC DESIGN

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Omar AdamsWEB DESIGNER

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LIBERTY CHAMPION

A2/Liberty Champion NEWS November 8, 2011

Katherine Lacazekelacaze@liberty.edu

Liberty University is continuing its building and construction trend as work takes place on several sites on and around campus.

Construction of a new parking lot is taking place on the property beside the Extended Stay America on University Boulevard, where dirt is being moved and the ground is being leveled.

“The main goal of the project was to create 200 new commuter and employee parking spaces and also to open up the view of the campus by removing the un-derbrush and the ugly mounds of dirt on the property,” Spence said.

According to Spence, Chancellor Jerry Falwell has been looking at cleaning up the lot for several years.

“It took a lot of time to get it approved because some of the property was owned by the City of Lynchburg and some of the property was owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT),” Spence said. “We were able to purchase much of the property and obtain permis-sion to improve the portions owned by others.”

The work done for the project has al-ready begun to result in a clear view from Route 460 and Route 29.

“Additionally, the dirt was very use-ful, and cheaper, in constructing the new parking lot next to the School of Worship, also known as David’s Place,” Spence said.

According to Spence, the construction project by Extended Stay America, in-cluding the new parking lot, will be com-

pleted by graduation.Another one of the sites where crews

have been working is along the side of University Boulevard, across the street from the Liberty University practice foot-ball field and Williams Stadium. A collec-tion of grey drainage pipes sits ready to be placed in the ground.

According to Charles Spence, Liberty’s

director of planning and new construc-tion, they will be used for drainage in that area.

The small lot next to the highway will soon become either green space for tail-gating and student recreation or a parking lot, according to Falwell.

Work trucks were taking up parking spaces in nearby parking lots at desig-

nated times several days throughout the past week. Spence said that the mainte-nance department is installing some un-derground wiring for Christmas Lights at another site.

LACAZE is the news editor.

VISIT THE CHAMPION’S WEBSITE AT WWW.LIBERTYCHAMPION.COM. CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK.1 2 3

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WANT MORE? CHECK OUT THESE STORIES AND MORE ONLINE:1. BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN RAISES MONEY FOR LIBERTY GODPARENT HOME

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3. LIBERTY TO OFFER NEW TECHNICAL TRADE COURSES

Construction continues on new parking lots

Bubbles potentially damage fountain

Projects will create 200 new commuter and employee spaces and open up view of campus from Route 460

ruth BiBBy | liBerty ChaMpion

DAMAGING — What may seem like a harmless prank can actually wreak havoc and create hours of work for members of the maintenance staff.

Katherine laCaze | liBerty ChaMpion

OPEN SPACES — The construction along University Boulevard will create more parking spaces and beautify the campus.

Liberty Champion/A3NEWSNovember 8, 2011

Omar Adamsoadams@liberty.edu

Liberty University’s National Intercol-legiate Flying Association (NIFA) team claimed their seventh straight regional tournament since the team’s inception 10 years ago. The Region X competition took place at Franklin Municipal Airport in Franklin, Va. from Oct. 27 to 29.

Most of Liberty’s current NIFA team members had never competed before this tournament.

“The entire team this year did an excel-lent job,” Liberty senior and flight instruc-tor Jeff Schlaudt said. “Ten of our fifteen competitors were new to our flight team

this year, so to have such a young team and still come out on top speaks volumes about the quality of the team members and about Liberty’s aviation program in general.”

Assistant coach Kevin Lang attributed much of the team’s success to the leader-ship of team veterans.

“The older team members really stepped up and helped guide the new members,” Lang said. “The majority of our new members placed at Regionals due to the great leadership of the veterans of the team.”

Returner Eric Bell received Liberty’s Outstanding Team Member award for placing first or second in four separate

events.“Eric is a superb pilot and played a key

role in our win this year,” Schlaudt said.The win qualifies Liberty to compete in

the 2012 national championship May 14 to 19 hosted by Kansas State University at Salina. Liberty placed 15th at the last two national tournaments. According to Schlaudt, the weather last year “threw us a couple of curve balls,” but the team still placed well.

“This year’s team has the skill and mindset to place in the top ten,” Lang said. “Nevertheless, there are always fac-tors outside of our control (like the weath-er at Nationals last year) that can always change things … We will be taking it up

a notch in our practices so that the only reason we would not do well at Nationals would be factors outside of our control.”

Overall, NIFA team members recog-nize the importance of the competition to their careers beyond building skills and résumés.

“We realize that the person who is our competition today could end up being our copilot in the cockpit of an airliner a few years from now,” Schlaudt said. “It’s im-portant to establish relationships and be-gin networking at places like this.”

ADAMS is the web editor.

NIFA team dominates Regionals

Gov. McDonnell endorses Garrett for state senate

Flight competition team wins seventh consecutive tournament, proceeds to Nationals

Photo Provided

DOMINATION — Liberty’s NIFA team took first place in all but one event in the Region X tournament. The team will compete at Nationals on May 14 to 19.

MILITARY continued from A1

Now, according to Foutz, the event includes several events meant to in-crease awareness of military happen-ings and the dedicated servicemen around Liberty University students.

This year, events include a special convocation with guest speaker Lieu-tenant General William G. Boykin, a military panel from the pentagon at the Liberty University School of Law and a dessert reception sponsored by the Concerned Women for America for current individuals in the military, as well as veterans.

According to Foutz and Kati Eding-er, the military coordinator for the Of-fice of Military Affairs and the faculty advisor for student groups supporting the military such as Students Behind Our Soldiers (SBS), Student Veterans Group (SVS) and Silent Ranks with a Vision (SRV), Liberty University’s Of-fice of Military Affairs ranked number two in the Best for Vets survey for on-line and nontraditional colleges put on by Military Times Edge every year.

“I shouted for joy yesterday. I was very excited. We’ll be number one next year,” Edinger, who served in the Navy for 20 years as a paralegal, said.

According to Foutz, other depart-ments at Liberty also help run Mili-tary Emphasis Week and help get students interested. Other than the athletic department, which put to-gether the VMI military appreciation game, the psychology department, ac-cording to both Edinger and Foutz, is having Major General Robert F. Dees grace the halls to provide special train-ing regarding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how to help those veterans suffering from it. This free event takes place in DeMoss Hall room 1114 from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 10.

For more information regarding the events taking place during Military Emphasis Week, students are encour-aged to check out the Office of Mili-tary Affairs’ website at www.liberty.edu/militaryaffairs.

CASSIDY is a news reporter.

PRICES continued from A1

their debt soon after graduation. In an interview with the Associated Press,

President of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education Patrick Callan explained the rise in cost.

“The states cut budgets, the price goes up and the (federal) money goes to that,” Cal-lan said. “For 25 years we’ve been putting more and more money into financial aid, and tuition keeps going up. We’re on a national treadmill.”

Ritz explained that as a private university, Liberty is not impacted directly like other universities are by budget cuts.

“Most of the state budget cuts do not affect Liberty University aside from the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant, because Liberty is a private school,” he said.

President Obama has tried to compen-sate for the growing problem of excessive student debt due to the growing cost of col-lege tuition. Recently, he announced plans in which the maximum repayment amount will be capped at 10 percent of discretionary in-comes for federal student loans. The policy was not set to begin until 2014, but the Presi-dent has said that it will now begin in 2012.

President Obama also plans to reduce the time in which students are forced to pay off their student loans to 20 years. Currently, the amount of time until a loan will be forgiven is 25 years.

To support its students, the financial aid office at Liberty offers students financial aid advisors to personally look over their costs. Ritz noted the ways in which students can receive aid.

“Liberty institutional scholarships are no-tably generous with the Champion (scholar-ship) increasing annually with enrollment,” he said. “Not only does Liberty offer insti-tutional aid, we also process federal grants, loans, and state grants for students.”

In October, staff members from financial aid visited the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall in what was called “Financial Aid 2 Go.” Students had easy access to get questions an-swered without having to visit the Financial Aid office in Green Hall. Another “Financial Aid 2 Go” is planned for the spring semes-ter. For more information on how to manage your college debt, go to liberty.edu/finance-admin/financialaid.

JONES is a news reporter.

Amy Royallaroyall@liberty.edu

Tom Garrett, 22nd District Republican candidate, visited the Republican Victory Center at 3:30 p.m. Sunday to campaign for a seat in the Virginia State Senate. Gov. Bob McDonnell endorsed Garrett at the rally and encouraged supporters to urge as many people as possible to go to the polls and vote for Garrett in Tuesday’s election.

Garrett is running against Democrat Bert Dodson who served on the Lynch-burg City Council for 12 years and as Vice Mayor for six years, according to his website dodsonforsenate.com.

When asked how Garrett would com-pensate for Dodson’s heavy involvement in Central Virginia, he responded, “I plan to work hard and pray harder.”

About 200 people came to support Gar-rett at the rally — a much higher turnout than last year’s rally for Congressman Bob Goodlatte, according to Goodlatte who was at the event.

Delegate Matt Fariss, Goodlatte and Delegate Scott Garrett all agreed that one

of the reasons, if not the main reason, they support Tom Garrett is because of his strong Christian conservatism.

“Garrett is the only candidate who will put Virginia back on the right track fun-damentally,” Fariss said. “Government will never have your family as first prior-ity when making decisions and policies. Garrett, however, is a strong family man and will consider family as a large factor in every decision he makes as Virginia’s Senator. I want my children to experience the freedoms I had growing up and un-less we work to get Christian conservatives like Garrett elected, that will not happen.”

“Our opponent and I share the same end goal — we both want to increase the 22nd district’s prosperity,” Garrett said. “The difference is the path that we take to get there. We researched Dodson’s voting record and could not find one time within the past 12 years that he voted against a tax increase.”

Garrett said that he wants to work off of a “kitchen table” budget, which basi-cally means borrowing is out of the pic-ture. He also wants to improve public transportation, safety and education.

“I will work to make sure taxpayers money is spent intelligently and efficient-ly,” Garrett said.

Congressman Robert Hurt said Gar-rett should be elected because he will work for limited government.

Other prominent attendants of the

event include: Delegate Kathy Byron, Bedford sheriff Mike Brown, Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins and Delegate Lacey Putney, to name a few.

ROYALL is a news reporter.

AlyssA BockmAn | liBerty chAmPion

RALLY — Prominent Republican candidates and officials gather on Sunday, Nov. 6.

“Be still and know that I am God,” Psalm 46:10.This semester has

been crazy. Parking dilemmas, politics, wedding arrange-ments and post graduation plans have dominated my agenda. And, of course, just when I think life can’t get any crazier, a 15-page paper strategically places itself on top of it all.College is hard. Life is hard — but

no one promised that it would be easy. Coming to such a hectic point in the semester, or in life, we could throw our-selves a pity party, but pity does not fix

the situation. It is by understanding that our strength does not come through us. “God is our refuge and strength, a

very present help in trouble. There-fore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and the moun-tains be carried into the midst of the sea,” Psalm 46:1-2.As I sat completely consumed with my

“hard” life, God broke through with his purpose and plan.Psalm 46 is all about trusting in God.

It is about understanding that apart from him we have no good. When life has taken a rough turn and

there seems to be no other way to go God says, “Be still.”His purpose for giving us the Bible was

not to condemn us for our imperfec-tion, but to show us that although we are imperfect, his love covers a multi-

tude of problems, and by his strength we will survive.Sometimes it is through the roughest

of situations that we find God calling us to stop and take a moment to dwell on the fact that he is going to carry us through, no matter what happens.When I take a second to think about

how small my problems are in compari-son to mountains falling into the sea, finally, I realize that God’s grace is not that he handles my “huge” problems. His grace is in that he carries my heart through not only my minor issues, but has promised to hold me through any-thing.There is comfort in knowing that no

matter what we are facing God is there for us. All we have to do is be still and know that he is God.

FROMFROM

THE

DESKDESK

By: ASHLEY BOLLIN

GER

OPINION NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Gabe Fowlergfowler2@liberty.edu

Charles Wendell “Chuck” Colson, a Christian leader, Prison Fellowship Ministries founder and former Special Counsel for President Richard

Nixon during the Watergate era, recently wrote a col-umn about whether Christians should consider voting for a non-Christian presidential candidate.

Colson declares that there is “no religious test for pub-lic office,” and to “stop criticizing candidates for their religious convictions.”

People get wrapped up in this issue. Not to say that a leader with a strong faith in God should not be voted into office, but it is almost like Christians arguing about the color of the carpet, or the new guitar being used for worship.

A Christian leader could be the preferred choice, but Christians should not vote for a president based solely on his/her religious standards. Leadership is much more than what a person says they are. It is more about the ac-tions they take to stand for morality and integrity.

Barricading ourselves against those who may not have the same beliefs could run the risk of not putting some-one into office that would benefit our country greatly. Also, common sense tells you that not everyone is honest in their approach to power, so even “Christian” leaders can put on a front to get other votes. Politics is almost like reality television sometimes, creating a persona for the camera, perfecting every line of the prompter and practicing an Oscar speech.

We want a president, leader, captain and commander that will “do justice, restrain evil, and preserve order,” Colson said.

“When the righteous are in authority, the people re-joice, but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn,” Proverbs 29:2 says.

Even a non-Christian, moral and ethical leader has the ability to do this, and choosing them over a faith-based leader who is not competent would be a better choice.

America is a country that allows the people to vote for their leader, a privilege that other countries who are chained and shackled by a dictator do not have. Just look at the recent uproar in Libya that led to the brutal murder

of three decade long tyrannical leader Muammar Gad-hafi. Christians and non-Christians alike should cherish this privilege of chosen leaders with the utmost impor-tance, taking everything into account, not just religion.

“How soon we forget history... Government is not rea-son. Government is not eloquence. It is force. And, like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master,” Presi-dent George Washington said.

We need to pass along a sophisticated knowledge of government to generations after us so their decisions be-come focused on the real error in government before we vex our country even more. Government can either build up a nation or burn it down. Christians should value a candidate on their motive for improvement and their ability to lead or even the strongest faith can be shaken. A person of faith may be most qualified in the realm of faith, but not necessarily in the essence of leadership.

FOWLER is an opinion editor.

Choosing an American LeaderVoting strictly on religious beliefs is not always the best way to choose a presidential candidate to support

2012 ELECTORAL CANDIDATES — Candidates from all walks of life and faith fight to lead, fix and bring hope to our country.

Rachel Deasrdeas@liberty.edu

In a world where Facebook has 800 million active users, according to its website, it is easy to assume that

people’s lives revolve around that media. Most of the millennial generation cannot go longer than five minutes before check-ing their cell phone, email or Facebook pages. Society, though, rarely stops to think about the consequences of this tech-nological lifestyle. Technology changes how the world operates—how people communicate, learn and behave.

“Technology has done more harm than good,” Liberty University Communica-tions Professor Bruce Kirk said. “We can’t resolve issues because of the lack of com-munication skills.”

Kirk said that 90 percent of the cues people receive are non-verbal, meaning that people react more to what they see, such as body language, tone, etc. and only

10 percent is verbal, referring to what the person actually said. People have to learn a new way to communicate online because nonverbal skills are limited if not extinct.

Verbal communication is not the only skill that suffers because of technology—grammar and writing abilities do as well.

“Technology has had a negative impact on my generation’s skills,” sophomore and English major Lauren Jackson said. “I can see it in their writing, how much its [technology] affected them. Some of the papers I edit look like second graders wrote it,” she said.

Kirk stated that this loss of commu-nication skills may even hurt the millen-nial generation when it comes time to join the workforce. “I can’t tell you how many times I get professional emails from students, and they use texting acronyms throughout it,” Kirk said. It does not come off well and may damage the em-ployer’s first impression of the applicant

Kirk said.Te c h n o l o g y

does more than change people’s communication. It changes how we learn and pro-cess information as well. So much is done through technology now. Teachers use smart boards, post grades on-line and have students interact by using their cell phones in class to answer questions. However, with great power comes great responsibility. The technology blessings that this generation enjoys can be easily turned into a curse if misused.

Technology changed how the world

runs, in both good and bad ways. It is a double-edged sword, one that society to-day cannot live without. Technology in-fused itself with the means of how people communicate, learn and behave. The world continues to walk along a fine line with technology. However, one thing is certain. Civilization started this great bal-ancing act with technology, and it will ei-ther walk the tight rope across or fall to the wayside. Omar N. Bradley, a com-mander during WWII, once said, “If we continue to develop our technology with-out wisdom or prudence, our servant may prove to be our executioner.” Let this be a word to the wise.

DEAS is an opinion writer.

BOLLINGER

Technology is the devil in disguiseAs technology continues to develop, the level of education, knowledge and communication dwindles.

DaviD S. Holloway MicHael DalDerJuStin SullivanSteve GoocH

FYI According to

CTIA.org, 2.12 trillion text messages were sent between June

2010 and Julne 2011.

In the same year, there were 2.25 trillion minutes of

wireless phone use, as listed on CTIA.org.

Liberty Champion/A5November 8, 2011 OPINION

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LIBERTY CHAMPIONTuesday, October 18, 2011

Volume 29 • Issue 07

Today: Cloudy 76/57 Tomorrow: Cloudy 59/44 Libertychampion.com

H o m e c o m i n g w e e k e n d

INSIDE THE CHAMPION

Lynchburg participants donate canned goods for local food bank. A3

Avery Warley gets selected for Pan-American games. B1

Psych. Club, nursing and SGA present winning floats at parade. B8

SportsNews EventsZombie Walk ParadeRepresent

NewsOpinionSportsFeature

A1A4B1B8

New state-of-the-art facility to honor late Dr. Jerry Falwell

FARISSWALLBRENNAN

Ruth BiBBy| LiBeRty Champion

FOOTBALL FUN — Cheerleaders run out onto the field of William’s Stadium on Sat., Oct. 15, before the Flames football team wins its Homecoming game against Coastal Carolina 63-27 in front of a record-breaking crowd. See B1 for full story.

Candidates for Virginia House of Delegates, District 59Independent Linda Wall Republican Matt FarissDemocrat Connie Brennan

Jenna Vanden Brookjvandenbrook@liberty.edu

Connie Brennan is using her community involvement and health-care background as the basis for her campaign for the 59th District Vir-ginia House of Delegates seat.

Brennan is campaign-ing against Republican Matt Fariss and Inde-pendent Linda Wall. The candidates seek to replace retiree Watkins Abbitt Jr., who has held the 59th seat in office for 25 years.

Brennan involved

herself in committees ranging from a poverty agency to the Jefferson Area Board of Aging, where she is currently ac-tive. She also worked on the Nelson County Child Care Center Board, the Sexual Assault Resource Agency and the Planning District 10 Workforce Council. She served on the Dental Advisory Board and volunteered in her community crimi-nal justice system, Bren-nan’s campaign website said.

Brennan is in her 10th year as a member of the Nelson County Board of Supervisors.

“I’m the kind of per-son that if I don’t know something then I have to volunteer to be on some committee that is related to that because it’s how I learn,” Brennan said.

See BRENNAN, A6

Businesswoman Linda Wall seeks to reform the nation by reintroducing biblical truths and action into government begin-ning with running for the 59th District seat in the Virginia House of Del-egates.

Wall is an Independent whose opposition is Re-publican Matt Fariss and Democrat Connie Bren-nan. Although Wall does see a challenge in running as an independent as op-posed to being attached to a party, she has prepared

to run for political office since the mid-1990s. She worked for the House of Delegates, lobbied and fought for laws and amendments and testified in committee hearings.

The Virginia native believes that the focus of the United States govern-ment and citizens should be to turn their focus back to God.

“It’ll be 50 years in 2010 since prayer was taken out of schools,” Wall said.

Ultimately, Wall be-lieves the solution to the nation’s problems, par-ticularly those of the eco-nomic crisis, starts with obedience to God and prayer. Wall referenced recent history and stories from the Bible explaining that, often, the result of

See WALL, A6

Matt Fariss’ business ex-perience and conservative values define his campaign for the Virginia House of Delegates.

Fariss is the Republican candidate in the race for the 59th District delegate and is a self-proclaimed “common sense conserva-tive.”

Fariss is running against Connie Brennan, Demo-crat, and Linda Wall, Inde-pendent.

Some of the most sig-nificant focuses of Fariss’

campaign are lessening government regulations, lowering taxes and fighting against excessive govern-ment spending.

Fariss approaches the economy with a pro-busi-ness mindset believing that incentives for entrepre-neurs, investors and farm-ers will stimulate business growth which will, in turn, increase job availability, he said.

“We can foster a pro-business environment right here in Virginia by keep-ing effective tax rates low and fighting back against the big government regu-lations breaking the backs of small businessmen and women,” Fariss said.

Fariss’s stances on the economy and job creation stem from his business ex-perience. The Campbell County native was involved in various

See FARISS, A6

Liberty Godparent Home uses Homecoming fun and festivities

B8

Chancellor announces new library

Katherine Lacazekelacaze@liberty.edu

Chancellor of Liberty University Jerry Falwell Jr. announced Friday, Oct. 14, that Liberty University will soon begin construction on the Jerry Falwell Library.

The library is part of Liberty’s cam-pus makeover and “will make a state-ment about our commitment to academic excellence,” Falwell said.

“(The) new freestanding library will be the academic hub of Liberty’s campus,” the Liberty Journal states. “It will over-look a new lake behind the Vines Center.”

The Board of Trustees met Tuesday, Oct. 11, to finalize details about the library. According to Falwell, because of the capital investment being made for the library, as well as the fact that it will become a focal point of the campus and the center of student life and academic programs, he suggested it be called the Jerry Falwell Library to commemorate his father and Liberty’s founder.

“They (the Board of Trustees), for years, have been looking for the right structure, the right opportunity to honor his memory,” Falwell said. “They all decided it should be named in his honor, because of the sacrifices he made to make Liberty a reality.”

See LIBRARY, A8

Baby Bottles for ChangeB6

Jasmine Martin jmartin14@liberty.edu

Throughout years of history classes, teachers have taught students about the liberation of people in Ameri-ca and the gaining of their Constitutional rights. Animal rights activists group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) feels that animals should also overcome oppression and “slavery” and gain their constitutional rights. This is a ridiculous notion because animals would not know the difference between living with Constitu-tional rights or not, because there is no constitution for animals in the first place.

PETA activists feel that SeaWorld is holding orcas against their will, therefore infringing on their 13th Amendment right. The five plaintiff orcas, Tilikum, Katina, Kasatka, Corky and Ulises are all residents at Orlando and San Diego SeaWorld locations. They were “captured” by SeaWorld and have been enslaved by the large corporation.

“Slavery is slavery, and it does not depend on the spe-cies of the slave any more than it depends on gender, race, or religion,” general counsel to PETA, Jeffrey Kerr, said in the news release “PETA Sues SeaWorld for Vio-lating Orcas’ Constitutional Rights” on PETA.org.

The activists are fighting to free the orcas back into

the wild, where they will gain all of their Constitutional rights such as free speech, bearing arms and even the right to vote. Being animals, however, they would not be able to recognize or execute these rights. The most they would be able to understand is the unfortunate truth that they would find themselves in a new home where they’d have to adapt to new surroundings.

Even as PETA files a lawsuit against SeaWorld, the corporation and its employees patiently continue to help the animals that have been saved by their staff.

“SeaWorld employees are currently treating more than 50 rescued wild animals and preparing them to return to their natural habitats… We’re left to wonder how many animals in need could’ve been helped with the thousands of dollars spent on PETA’s latest exercise in theatrics,” SeaWorld’s vice president of communications, Fred Ja-cobs, said regarding PETA’s expensive protests in the ar-ticle “SeaWorld Responds To PETA Protest” on Orlando news website, WESH.com.

PETA is just trying to raise a fuss and show how much they have done for the animal community. Realistically, the radical PETA members are notorious for throwing red paint on beautiful fur coats or making people feel guilty for eating delicious food. Now they threaten to shut down a wonderful theme park that helps animals and provides education and entertainment. If PETA were to succeed in this case, what is next? Shutting down national zoos and all other wildlife resorts?

MARTIN is an opinion writer.

PETA sues SeaWorld on ‘slavery’ charges

European Union seeks way to solve euro-crisis

SeaWorld.com

SAVE THE WHALES — Animal rights groups aim erroneous accusations against animal-saving organiza-tion.

Clint Hayesrhayes4@liberty.edu

The European Union is caught in a seemingly inescapable economic quag-mire, and at the root of it is the country of Greece.

After much debate and international economic scrutiny, European leaders agreed on another bailout of debt-ridden Greece. The first bailout, which occurred in May 2010, was predicated on an agree-ment which included austerity measures for the Greek government, according to a BBC article. However, austerity ended up killing economic growth in Greece. Social unrest followed suit, causing protests and government infighting.

Most of the responsibility for buying up Greece’s debt falls upon Germany, Eu-rope’s strongest economy.

Germany has more government debt exposure to Greece than any other coun-try in the Eurozone. German lawmakers voted by a large majority to authorize Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, to negotiate an increase in the emergency bailout fund to $1.4 trillion, more than double the current $610 billion, accord-ing to a New York Times article, “Europe Agrees to Basics of Plan to Resolve Euro Crisis.”

However, in a move that shocked in-ternational economic leaders, the Greek Cabinet unanimously supported Prime

Minister George Papandreou’s plan to call a referendum on the country’s finan-cial crisis.

The decision was widely criticized, even within Greece’s own government. A referendum will push the decision back until at least early Decem-ber, and many fear the insta-bility within Greece can-not be sus-tained for that long, possibly causing the country to abandon the euro. Greece’s re fe rendum appeal comes at a rather inopportune time, as the G-20 summit is scheduled to be held on Nov. 3 and the world’s eco-nomic lead-ers are eager to hear a definitive plan on how Europe intends to handle its financial woes.

To muddle matters further, at the Nov. 3 meeting Papandreou made a complete about-turn and announced that he had no plan to go through with the referendum. The result of this, according to a Daily-Mail.co.uk article by James Chapman and Graham Smith, is the fact that the unusu-al move simply pushed Papandreou’s op-position to hurriedly move to support the euro bailout.

As if matters could not get worse, Greece is not the only European coun-try in trouble. Spain, Portugal and Italy – Europe’s third strongest economy – are also feared to be on the verge of economic meltdown, according to an article in the Toronto Sun.

With all of this uncertainty magnified by Greece’s impending referendum, many are looking outside of Europe for a solu-tion to the crisis. Many look to China.

It seems like a reasonable option. China’s economy has grown by nine per-cent each year and currently holds a war chest of $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves, according to BBC Beijing cor-respondent Damian Grammaticas in a BBC.co.uk article.

Despite some talk in Beijing concern-ing stepping in to help Portugal, Italy and Greece, China has done little in the way of action. The risks seem to outweigh the potential benefits. China invested less than one billion euro last year, which amounts to about one percent of Europe’s foreign

investments, while Europe invests five times as much in China. Germany is the only European country involved in serious trade with China, according to the Gram-maticas article, and Germany’s economy is already strong. China is wary, to say the least, to invest in Europe in the middle of an economic crisis.

“China can neither take up the role as savior to the Europeans, nor provide a ‘cure’ for the European malaise,” The state-run Xinhua news agency said.

The fact that China is truly being con-sidered, even propositioned, to buy out Europe’s debt indicates that it may be time for Europe’s leaders to step back and evaluate the current state of the European Union.

If Europe’s southern periphery drops their use of the euro, banks across the world could take a major hit. Greece went on a virtual spending spree when it ad-opted the euro and the bailout it accepted only tightened the chains on its spending to the point where the fiscal blood supply of its people was cut off. Any solution to this crisis must be agreed upon by 17 dif-ferent European governments and ratified by 17 parliaments, an incredibly slug-gish process. Perhaps the economy must weather the storm, rather than defer to a repressive communist giant.

HAYES is an opinion writer.

As other countries follow in the footsteps of Greece’s economic collapse, world leaders seek a resolution

Resident orcas are not able to utilize their rights to free speech, bearing arms or voting

FYI According to BBC’s

article entitled “Euro-zone approves massive Greece bail-out,” the 2010 bail-out plan for

Greece was a 110 billion-euro three-year

financial package.

European banks were willing to take a 50 per-cent loss on their loans to Greece in an effort

to relieve the struggling country’s financial

burdens, according to a New York Times page

dedicated to news about Greece’s

economic situation.

Congratulations Andrew Anderson! Please come by the Champion Office to pick up

your $25 gift card to the Sundae Grill.

This weeks question: What sport does the Liberty club team called “The Huxtables” play?

*Please submit your answer at the Champion Office (DeMoss 1035) by 1:00pm Thursday, Nov. 10 for your chance to win!

sundae~GRILL

A6/Liberty Champion NEWS November 8, 2011

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Be in Good Health

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Jennifer Palmerjrpalmer3@liberty.edu

Former Patriots defensive back and two-time Super Bowl champion Don Da-vis spoke at Liberty University’s Williams Stadium tower Tuesday, Nov. 1.

The pro-football star mixed jokes and stories about his life to share his advice to students on how to overcome life fears and be successful for God. He elaborated on topics such as how to find self-identity, the effects of substance abuse and main-taining Christian principals in a non-Christian environment.

“Never put passions ahead of princi-pals,” Davis said.

Davis’ speech mainly focused on what he calls the four C’s to achieving greatness — commitment, confidence, character and consistency.

Davis said American’s are growing up in a culture of fantasy, where commitment is rare. He also explained how students can gain confidence through recognizing who they are and who they are not and being okay with both of those.

Davis said consistency is a “long obedi-ence in the same direction” and that be-ing consistent will help students achieve their goals.

“Overnight success is a myth,” Davis said.

For his last C-word, Davis gave students three ways they can improve their char-acter.

“You need to speak better, get a better group of friends and read some books,” Davis said.

He gave examples of the identity crisis he experienced from growing up in two

different areas.“I grew up in the city with folks that

looked like me, then moved to the ‘burbs with folks that didn’t look like me,” Davis said.

The event was organized and put on by Liberty University’s Department of Psychology and Health Sciences Depart-ment. Psychology Department Chair Dr. Dan Logan met Davis five years earlier at an event in South Florida and was im-pressed with Davis’ decision to keep liv-ing a Christian life among non-believing

friends and NFL team members. “Davis is very easily approachable and

always willing to do events like this one,” Logan said.

Davis’ two role models are Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner and legendary In-dianapolis ex-head coach Tony Dungy, he said. According to Davis, Dungy men-tored him and is a sincere believer and fol-lower of Christ.

Davis said he is continuing to always mentor younger athletes as best as he can,

even though it “gets overwhelming some-times.”

Davis said he is very impressed with Liberty and though he doesn’t normally follow Liberty football, he will now.

“Liberty exceeded my expectations,” Davis said. “Everyone is very warm and kind hearted here.”

Logan co-hosted the event with Davis, keeping the question-and-answer time flowing smoothly by handing off the mi-crophone from student to student. While answering a student’s question about Tom Brady’s faith, Davis said Brady feels as if there is something missing in his life.

After the speech and question-and-an-swer time, students received prizes given out by the Health Sciences Department. Davis was also given a Liberty University sweatshirt as a gift donated by the Liberty Bookstore.

All students were able to meet Davis and get his autograph and pictures taken with him. He even brought a Super Bowl ring and allowed guests to see it up close. Josh Matherlee, a sophomore biblical studies major at Liberty, said he really en-joyed getting to hear Davis speak.

“I loved what he said about the four C’s,” Matherlee said. “I even got to have him wear my Redskins hat, which was funny because in my town all the Redskins fans hate the Patriots and all the Patriots fans hate the Redskins.”

Matherlee said he hopes to see more of Davis and will keep up with him on Face-book.

PALMER is a news reporter.

Deadline:November 16

DROP-OFF LOCATIONS:

Main CampusLiberty Champion Office

DeMoss 1035

Green HallCampus Pastors Office

Green Hall 1875

For more information go to:www.samaritanspurse.org

Super Bowl champion addresses studentsFormer defensive lineman Don Davis gives life success tips to crowd at Williams Stadium

Bekah Lohr | LiBerty Champion

UP CLOSE — Pro football player Don Davis gives out autographs and takes pictures with students at an event hosted in Williams Stadium tower on Nov. 1.

At the Liberty Champion we strive to glorify God with all that we do. Each issue of the paper represents an opportunity for us to do our best in providing accu-rate and excellent information to our readers.

There were a few mistakes that were made in past issues that I would like to correct.

In the Nov. 1 issue of the Champion, the “tunnel vi-

sion” picture credited to Les Schofer was actually taken by Kevin Manguiob.

Also, the picture of Demoss Hall that is featured on the front of the homecoming section in the Oct. 11 is-sue was taken by Alyssa Bockman.

In the same issue, there was a picture on B6 that ac-companied the article “Liberty culture continues to grow in diversity” and it was taken by Candace Glad-felter.

We are sorry for any inconvenience or misrepresenta-tion this caused to those who were credited to the pic-tures. It is our goal to continue to improve and provide better material each and every week.

Sincerely,Ruth BibbyPhotography editorThe Liberty Champion

Champion Corrections

Liberty Champion/A7NEWSNovember 8, 2011

Omar Adamsoadams@liberty.edu

Liberty University employs many mili-tary veterans. One of them, Director of Commuter Affairs Sgt. Larry Provost, is currently serving his third overseas de-ployment in Afghanistan.

Provost wanted to join the Army since he was in the third grade. He credits his upbringing, and a family history of mili-tary service dating back to the Civil War, with instilling his sense of patriotism and service.

He said one of the first quotes he learned remains in the forefront of his mind — President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address in which he famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

Growing up, Provost said he was taught the role the U.S. Army played in ending slavery, liberating concentration camps and protecting the U.S. and other nations. He learned that “in America, we have been given so much and service to our na-tion is not just a job but a calling.”

Provost said that while no one wants war less than the soldier, and he or she will never forget the horrors of it, it is some-times necessary because of “the fallen na-ture of the world we live in.”

“Evil exists and the worst thing to do is for good men to stand by while innocent people are being killed,” he said.

His three combat deployments — Af-ghanistan from 2002 to 2003, Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and now Afghanistan again — have all been very different, but each had their lighter moments.

“In 2002 we were teaching baseball to the kids in the village we lived in,” Provost said. “It was the highlight of the week for them and for us.”

Hundreds of people would come out to watch the games, and American

soldiers used their body armor for umpir-ing gear, Provost said.

“We showed the kids many movies in-cluding ‘Cat in the Hat,’ as well as the 2000 World Series,” he said. “The kids came by the hundreds, and they would chant your name as you went through the town. That really made you feel a part of something special.”

Provost said he is honored to be serving his country. His unit, the 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, is basically “in charge of one of the Provinces.” His du-ties mainly involve working with members of the Afghan government. Provost said his unit is “an amazing group of people, most of whom are from the Common-wealth of Virginia.”

One difference Provost noticed be-tween his first and second deployments to Afghanistan was the shift in Americans’ view toward the conflict.

“I will say this, I really appreciated that America remembered the events of Sept. 11 in the first year or so after the attack,” he said. “That was the time I first de-ployed to Afghanistan. I do worry that we are getting apathetic as a people and are forgetting why we are fighting this great conflict.”

Provost hopes to be off active duty in March so he can return home and resume work at Liberty. His father, Larry Provost Sr., is a Liberty grounds employee and Vietnam War veteran, and his wife, Lori, is a Liberty alumna who is an adjunct pro-fessor in the Theatre Arts Department, currently on educational sabbatical study-ing dance education at New York Univer-sity and American Ballet Theatre.

“We are absolutely impressed and hum-bled to work with the greatest students in the world,” Provost said.

He asked people at home to pray for him and the rest of the 116th and, “as Christ said, pray for those who persecute us.”

“Pray that we would absolutely be suc-cessful in this fight and that our enemies would lay down their arms, go home in peace and turn from their ways,” he said. “Also, it is absolutely vital that people back home not only support the troops but sup-port the mission. There are few things worse than fighting for a nation you love dearly but does not understand or support your mission.”

Views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the U.S. Government or Military.

ADAMS is the web editor.

Sgt. Larry Provost: Third combat deploymentLiberty University’s Director of Commuter Affairs serving in Afghanistan

Photo Provided

REBUILDING — Provost works with the Afghan government to rebuild their nation. He is on his second deployment to Afghanistan and hopes to return home in March.

A8/Liberty Champion NEWS November 8, 2011

Tola Adamson-Olaotanaoadamsonolaotan@liberty.edu

As several political candidates fix their eyes on the news and hope for victory in their race, one Republican delegate can sit back and relax as she is running unop-posed this election cycle.

Kathy Byron has been a Republican member in the House of Delegates since 1997. She represents the 22nd district, which includes Lynchburg, Campbell County and part of Bedford County.

This is the second time she has run unopposed, and Byron is enjoying not having to deal with the stress that comes with running a campaign.

“The best way to run is unopposed,” Byron said. “It has been a great opportu-nity to focus on other things. I have been currently engaged in some of the other races, but it still doesn’t have the mental fatigue from stress you get from running your own campaign.”

Although Byron has spent 14 years in the House of Delegates, she never had an interest in being a politician and actu-ally declined when a former delegate first asked her to run.

“I always liked working behind the scenes, and my husband thought it was my destiny and he kept on encouraging me and we prayed about it,” Byron said. “There’s been a couple things in my life that I’ve known I really felt like it was something God wanted me to do in my life, and you can’t shake it when that hap-pens, and this was one of those times.”

Along with her conviction from God, Byron felt that she had the administrative skills and the right values the district was looking for, so she decided to take the position.

“I’m pretty bold. I’m not afraid to stand up for things that I think that are right,” Byron said. “I was a lot more fearful in the beginning of things, but now I’m a little bit bolder. I think if I don’t stand up, I’m just as guilty.”

During her 14 years as a delegate, Byron has had plenty of issues to stand up for. According to Byron, some of her greatest accomplishments have helped fight against identity theft and protect children.

“I had the first law that made iden-tity theft a crime. That was very big for me,” Byron said. “I also had the first law that made it illegal to use the internet as a means for child pornography. We also took social security numbers off of driver’s licenses and school I.D.’s.”

Despite her accomplishments, Byron’s passion is business. She and her husband owned a call-and-mail center, which gave her first hand experience to know what business owners want.

“As a business owner, I used my busi-ness experience to vote for policies that would promote business rather than kill business,” Byron said. “It’s a very big thing when you look 14 years down the road. That’s all we talk about, jobs and the economy.”

As part of her job, Byron serves as a member of the Tobacco Commission. The commission gave $12 million to Liberty University for the upcoming school of health sciences.

“I was very excited over the possibil-ity of the people of the Southside to have such a world- class facility so close by,” Byron said. “It’s such a tremendous opportunity, and I think it’s going to be one of our signature investments that we and the Tobacco Commission will make.”

As Byron gears up for the next session, she said she looks forward to continuing to work on workforce training. Although her job as delegate brings along a busy schedule, she has no plans to retire soon.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity and a journey for me to meet so many won-

derful people and for me to experience some things that I would have never expe-rienced before.”

ADAMSON-OLAOTAN is a news reporter.

Brittany Lairdbhlaird@liberty.edu

As the time for State Senate elections approaches, the stress level of the politi-cians who are running for office continues to increase.

Over the past few months, several Republican politicians have unexpectedly begun to change places of residence as they run for State Senate in the upcom-ing election. The politicians’ increased need for realtors is a result of the decen-nial redistricting that took place near the beginning of the summer.

“Every 10 years we have to redistrict based on the census,” Republican Tom Garrett said.

The changes in the district lines are made by the political party which controls the State Senate. This year the decision belonged to the Democratic Party. These changes are preceded by well thought through plans and strategy.

“They try to district out the oppos-ing party,” Political Director for Steve Newman and Liberty Senior Zach Martin said.

These changes in residency have caused a great stir among some of the politicians’ opponents, specifically in Garrett’s case.

In May, Garrett and his wife worked through marital problems and reconciled. He returned to live with her and their two daughters. Opponents have claimed that he moved back in order to be allowed to run for the 22nd District.

It is not unusual for political candidates to move from one district to another to avoid losing as a result of gerryman-dering, as it has been done in the past. According to the Roanoke Times, this

was Republican candidate Ralph Smith’s response to the redistricting.

“Smith moved into the 19th District after his Botetourt County home was drawn into the same district as Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg,” the Roanoke Times states.

However, Garrett’s response to accusa-

tions that his move was made solely to run for office is simple. He had begun to pur-sue reconciliation with his family months before the districts were drawn.

A picture was taken of he and his family back in Dec. 2010, according to Garrett.

“The district didn’t even exist in

December,” Garrett said. Garrett said that he will continue to

work hard, regardless of what is being said about him.

“The primary issues in the race are jobs,” Garrett said.

LAIRD is a news reporter.

Republican Tom Garrett addresses accusations

Meet the candidates: Kathy Byron

Photo Provided

BYRON — Republican incumbent Kathy Byron keeps the seat she’s held for 14 years.

GLTC continued from A1

“That 33 percent increase is a huge burden on persons who can least afford it and I don’t think this council has ap-proved any increases of this nature for something that is probably a necessity,” Nelson said. “Our businesses need it, our employees need to get to work, our fami-lies need to shop and eat, they need medi-cal attention and some of them need to get to church on Sunday. Until GLTC can get their house in order I would like to look at some short term funding so GLTC can lower the fare to what it was before Oct. 1.”

GLTC will hold public hearings in No-vember and take final action in their De-cember board meeting.

ADAMSOM-OLAOTAN is a news reporter.

Photo Provided

MAKING THE MOVE — State Senate candidate Tom Garrett answers accusations by political opponents and states that his reconciliation with his wife came before redistricting and running for office.

Bekah Lohr | LiBerty ChamPion

BUDGET CUTS — GLTC, the provider of bus transportation on Liberty’s campus, has cut its budget and increased fares, affect-ing those who rely on the bus to get from place to place.

Byron runs unopposed for Virginia House of Delegates, 22nd district

Andrew Woolfolkalwollfolk@liberty.edu

The Flames had a job to do, and quite sim-ply, they got it done.

There were challenges, sure, but in Saturday’s 37-31 win over vis-iting Virginia Military Institute (VMI) for every leak, the Flames had a patch.

“Every single Saturday (the team has) dealt with some ad-versity,” head coach Danny Rocco said.

Exhibit A, first quarter. Just in-side the 10-minute mark,VMI’s quarterback Eric Kordenbrock launched a 55-yard touchdown to receiver Tracy Hairston, si-lencing the crowd of 17,226. The Flames executed a nine-

play, 74-yard touchdown drive in response.

Exhibit B, second quarter. Liberty faced a third-and-thir-teen on their own 35-yard line, down 17-9. Senior slinger Mike Brown hit Chris Summers for a 14-yard reception, reviving a scoring drive.

See FOOTBALL, B4

Changing of the Guard—four seniors bid farewellKyle HarveyKharvey@liberty.edu

Liberty volleyball bid a fond farewell to four seniors Satur-day as Rebecca Warren, Court-ney Boggs, Kelly Haseman and Courtney Cooper played their last regular season games in the Vines Center.

Together the four players have been crucial in what has been one of the best four year periods of Flames volleyball in Liberty history. Liberty posted an 84-43 record over the last four years, in-cluding an impressive 49-9 record in the Big South. Under their

leadership, the program has post-ed three straight 20 win seasons. Each player was given a bouquet of flowers and framed photo in a pre-game presentation.

On the court, the Flames ex-ecuted a nearly flawless match, winning in three straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-21) to send their senior class out with their 35th career home victory. The Lady Flames’ offensive output far ex-ceeded the season average in every calculable category as five different players recorded at least eight kills. The team’s .279 hitting average nearly doubled the previ-

ous season average of .181. Despite it being a night to

honor seniors, the underclassmen made a point of showcasing the young up and coming talent that will be replacing the graduating players. Of the five players with at least eight kills, four of them were underclassmen.

Freshman Melissa Racz paced the group putting down 12 kills with a .500 average. Racz has re-corded double digit kills in four of her last five games, including the last three.

On the defensive side of the ball, junior Loren Thomas con-

tinued her record setting season, adding ten total blocks over the weekend to bring her season total to 131, which sets a new school record for the rally scoring era.

With the win, Liberty moves to 11-1 in conference and so-lidifies their position atop the Big South. The Lady Flames will close out its regular season on the road against Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville next weekend. The Big South Championship Tournament will begin Nov. 17 in Charleston, S.C.

See Related Story, B4

Jessica GriggJgrigg@liberty.edu

Liberty hosted a men’s lacrosse tournament against Virginia Military Institute (VMI), George Washington (GW) and Southern Virginia University (SVU) on Nov. 5. Liberty kicked things off with an 8-3 win over VMI and finished the day with a 12-8 win against SVU, losing only to GW with an 11-3 loss.

“We’ve spent the past few weeks working on a lot of differ-ent offensive and defensive sets and trying to get the team togeth-er over the fall,” senior Michael

Zumpano said. Junior Mike Strappelli empha-

sized the fact that fall is used as a time for working on fitness and preparation for the spring season.

“Staying healthy and in shape is of most importance to me per-sonally because lacrosse asks a lot of you,” Strappelli said. “We’ve got a very diverse team and ev-eryone is putting forth a lot of work.”

“Our biggest challenge is hav-ing unity because we have a lot of talented athletes,” head la-crosse Coach Kyle McQuillan said. “Practice only tells a coach so much about a team. You have

to put them in game situations to know how they’ll perform.”

In its second game of the tour-nament, Liberty went up against George Washington. The Colo-nials pushed out to a quick 4-0 lead. However, the Flames an-swered back with a goal by soph-omore Andrew Walters, bringing the lead to 4-1 in the first period.

With momentum shifting the Flames made an effort to keep up with the Colonials. But a much bigger and faster Colonials squad pulled away outscoring the Flames 7-2 in the final three pe-riods.

The game against SVU got

off to a quick start. Junior Derek Haywood put the first points on the board for Liberty. SVU an-swered quickly to put them on the board.

After a one minute penalty against Liberty, sophomore Jim-my Spearman began what was a scoring streak for Liberty.

Freshman Will Perkins added to the scoreboard followed by sophomore Skyler Sipe, putting the score at 4-1 after the first pe-riod.

Just as the second period began, Perkins put another point on the board for Liberty, followed quick-ly by a point scored for SVU.

Sipe returned the favor for Liberty as he added to the score-board.

The third period began with an assist from Walters to Perkins who scored yet again, but SVU answered by scoring two consecu-tive goals.

A final goal by Spearman end-ed any threat of a comeback by SVU.

GRIGG is a sports reporter.

SPORTS NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

RIDING HIGH — Lady Flames stay toward regular seasons end.

r e d , w h i t e a n d b l u e

Nate Brownnbrown4@liberty.edu

This article is dedicated to the 173rd Airborne Rangers who died on Nov. 8, 1965 in Bien Hoa, South V i e t n a m . Four hun-dred Ameri-can and A u s t r a i l -ian Rang-ers fought in bloody hand-to-hand combat with over 1,200 Viet Cong rebels for over 30 hours. Forty-eight Americans were killed. Hundreds more wounded. Severely wounded Lawerence Joel received the Congressio-nal Medal of Honor for sav-ing multiple lives that day.

This article is dedicated to the remembrance of not only the 173rd, but to the thou-sands of Americans who have fallen in combat in answer of their country’s call.

Liberty’s engagement with Virginia Military Institute cel-ebrated the men and women who have served, whom are serving and those who have died wearing an American flag on their shoulder.

It became clear at the half-time festivities that the score was irrelevant. The end result — Liberty outlasting VMI 37-31 in a blow-for-blow thriller — was simply a backdrop, a vehicle to honor those who

have served in the Armed Forces.

A contingent of Liberty’s Eagle Batallion Army ROTC, National Guard Liberty stu-dents, Air Force and Marine ROTC students formed a camoflauge block amidst a swath of bright red T-shirts.

No one stood out more.A company of blue and

white clad VMI cadets filled a section opposite the Liberty student section.

The Batallion waved an American flag and dropped onto the railing to knock out some pushups when Liberty scored. What’s a military function without a little moti-vational PT, right?

As the lonesome, haunting notes of Taps came floating over a silent 17,266-person crowd and an honor guard gun-salute rang out, I could not feel more proud of my father, my grandfather, his father and grandfather, my brother and the thousands of others who have worn the uniform.

It made the game of foot-ball seem meaningless in com-parison to their sacrifice.

To the men and women of our Armed Forces, this re-porter and this publication salute you and your sacrifice.

Thank you.

Brown is the sports editor.

sportsTALK

BROWN

Liberty men’s lacrosse goes 2-1 against the the competition of this past weekend Liberty lacrosse host four team tournament

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

SUPER HOOAH — Students from Liberty’s ROTC and SMP programs came out in their digicam uniforms to cheer the Flames.

5-0 in conference, Flames look to face Stony Brook Conference Perfection

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

A CLOSING NOTE — Mike Brown (10) and the rest of the Flames defeated the VMI Keycadets 38-31. For the seniors, it was their final regular season home game.

Honor Due

B2/Liberty Champion SPORTS November 8, 2011

Lady Flames open season against Spartans

Volleyball Seniors leave behind a legacy of accomplishments

JaQuayla CameronJccameron@liberty.edu

After weeks of preparation, the Lady Flames will officially kick off their 2011-12 season on Nov. 11 against the UNC-Greensboro Spartans. Their last meeting was in 2009 where the Lady Flames defeated the Spar-tans, 60-42.

According to Libertyflames.com, the Lady Flames have made an appearance in Col-legeInsider.com Women’s Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll for their second consecutive sea-son. They will start their season against UNC-Greensboro with the ranking of No. 20.

The Lady Flames’ will have four of their starters return from the 2010-11 season. Among the four includes the Big South Pre-season Player of the Year, red-shirt senior center Avery Warley.

Although the Lady Flames are returning four of their starters from last season, they will have to open this year without sopho-more point guard Emily Frazier.

“We’ve had some injuries and things that continue to throw us off as far as preparing,” Lady Flames head coach Carey Green said. “So it’s always some chal-lenges that we have in front of us but we’ll be prepared for the game. You have to be prepared to face the challenges that the game may bring up from an unknown opponent. We’ll be prepared in every aspect and in all aspects of the game to be suc-cessful.”

Although Frazier is not expect-ing to play in the game against UNC-Greensboro, Coach Green has prepared back up freshman Reagan Miller and senior Dan-ika Dale, both Texas natives, to transition in the point guard po-

sition for the Lady Flames. “I’ll be sharing the point guard

time with Reagan until Emily gets back,” Dale said. “Hope-fully I will be focused to be that leader. I’m more aggressive than before. I’ve been pushed to the extent of doing more than what I was asked to do.”

Miller, a graduate from Sanger High School, will be among the five freshmen to play in their first collegiate game against UNC-Greensboro.

“I’m very excited, but nervous at the same time,” Miller said.

After facing UNC-Greens-boro, the Lady Flames will re-turn to face Virginia Common-wealth University on Nov. 15 as the first of their 14 home games.

CAMERON is a sports reporter.

#2 Rebecca Warren

Virginia Beach, Va. Elementary Education

Career Highlights:

Recorded 14 kills against Vir-ginia Commonwealth University

Nov. 28, 2009

14 career aces

Warren on Liberty :“In high school, I thought that I want-

ed to go to a secular school. I’d been in a Christian school all my life, but I came to one of (Liberty’s) games and I sent out my recruit packet and I ended up com-ing to play for a summer at a camp and just fell in love with the girls ... I’ll never forget the moment in (Pinder’s) office freshman year when he challenged me. I

could just hear that for once in my life, some-one other than my par-ents truly cared about my life.”

Pinder on Warren:“It’s been amazing

to see her grow as a young woman. When you talk about all these seniors, I can say with-

out a doubt as they walk out of here that they are going to be champions for Christ somewhere. This young lady has a passion for people, has a passion for the ministry. Don’t be surprised to see her doing some pretty amazing things out there for God. My favorite memory of Becca has been her humor on the bus. She’s headed up the fight song cheer for the last year. Once we saw the stadium we’d hear her, whether it was two in the morning or whatever time it was, telling everyone to get up the second they see the stadium and then we’d start hearing, ‘fan the flames, fan the flames’ headed up by her. I’m a pretty serious guy but she had a way of just bringing the right type of humor.”

#4 Courtney Boggs

Marysville, Ohio Government/Pre-Law

Career highlights:Recorded a team high 686 as-

sists in sophomore 2009 season

Has registered seven career double-doubles

Three 60 assist matches

Reflections on her decision to attend Liberty:

“Ever since I heard about Liberty, that it was a division one Christian school, I knew I wanted to come here. Coming here for the first time (on a

recruiting visit) I met (Pinder) and the girls on that team and I just knew something was different about this place. Not only are the people differ-ent, but what you play for is different. I’m so glad I came here, I couldn’t have made a better choice.”

Pinder on Boggs:“There’s not a better picture of a

young woman that day in and day out did things with high integrity, high morals and high character. It’ll be something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. She’s probably taught me more than what I’ve taught her over the years. I’ll miss the little swag she has. She’s probably one of the premiere trash talkers in the nation right now and she’s got one of the best stare downs.”

#10 Kelly Haseman

Three Rivers, Mich.Kinesiology

Career Highlights:Liberty’s all time leader in career digs, currently 5th in Big South

history

First ever Liberty player with back-to-back 500 dig seasons

2008 Big South All-Freshman Team, 2009 Big South All-Tour-nament Team, 2010 Big South All-Tournament Second Team

Haseman on memories and mo-tivation:

“I’ll definitely remember being able to win the Big South. That was such a huge celebra-tion, being able to watch the TV and see who we were going to play and then being at Nebraska was just a great experi-ence. I’ll always remem-ber that. My motivation has been the girls. I don’t end a play so when they terminate a ball or hit

somebody in the face, that just gets me fired up and keeps me going wanting to make more plays for them.”

Pinder on Haseman:“She’s a fierce competitor. She keeps

grinding and gets it done. There’s no greater testament to that than being the all time career leader in digs at Liberty. ... One of my fondest memories to date ... is her match against Nebraska. I go back to that tape quite often just to see her against All-Americans on a team that went to the final four and in moments when balls were just ripped and there’s Haseman and the ball’s coming up. I’ll never forget that memory of that mo-ment together.”

#15 Courtney Cooper

Forest, Va.Business Management

Career highlights:Recorded 111 digs in each of

her first two seasons

Registered 21 digs against Radford, Sept. 23, 2011

Named to Big South Presiden-tial Honor Roll three times

Cooper on Liberty career:“I wanted to come to Liberty

regardless of volleyball. Volleyball has been such a blessing and oppor-tunity, but ultimately I just wanted to be a part of Dr. Falwell’s school

training champi-ons for Christ. A favorite memory would be as a freshman, coming onto this team and being a part of it and winning Big South. (That) was awesome. Just be-ing able to be with such a great team over the years has

been the neatest experience.” Pinder on Cooper:Here’s another senior with

unbelievable character. To see her consistently grow in her role and never back down, it’s kept growing and it gave her the opportunity to play and contribute to this program – her determination, true grit and hard work every day is something that this senior has taught me and really challenged me in. We’ll miss that.

HARVEY is a sports reporter.

Taking on any competitors willing to play

WARREN BOGGS HASEMANCOOPER

Liberty’s club ultimate team participated in a six team co-ed tournament Derrick BattleDbattle@liberty.edu

Even during the off-season, teams still compete. The Liberty University’s club Ultimate Frisbee team hosted a co-ed tournament Nov. 5-6 and will also host a men’s tournament Nov. 12-13.

“We wanted to have a tournament for the girls this weekend, but several things didn’t work out,” head coach Jason Jar-rett said. By doing a mix we were allowed to get the girls some playing time. We al-ready had the fields and I definitely want-ed the girls to play a lot.”

Coach Jarrett created and also played in the six-team tournament that included the Big Lake Ultimate Disk a team from Roanoke, Huckstables, Llamas, both are from Lynchburg and High Point Univer-sity.

With High Point accepting an invita-tion to play in this year’s tournament Jar-rett hopes to gain even more interest to teams outside the state.

“I sent out a ton of e-mails to try and get interest and they (High Point) responded because one of their tournaments didn’t work out and thy wanted to see if we had openings and we did so they accepted the invitation,” Jarrett said.

Liberty featured two teams, one of which went to the second round. But the Big Lake Ultimate Disks went 8-0 and won the tournament. The Huckstables from Liberty took second.

Jarrett also used this tournament as an opportunity to recruit future players to join the Liberty’s club team.

“Because of College for a Weekend we actually had some CFAW come out and join next years team,” Jarrett said.

With the response from local teams the Ultimate Frisbee teams looks to keep competing until their season begins in the spring.

BATTLE is the asst. sports editor.

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

FRISBEE ANYONE?— Liberty club ultimate team hosted its second annual co-ed tournament. An all male tournament will be held at Liberty Nov. 12-13.

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Julie Gonzalezjngonzalez@liberty.edu

With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner, and regular season play over, all eyes of the Lady Flames wom-en’s soccer team were on one thing — the playoffs.

“The best way to pre-pare for post-season play is to begin preparing for it immediately after the sea-son ends the year before,” head coach Jessica Hain said.

For the Lady Flames, the playoffs meant re-demption. An early exit from the tournament last season left the wom-en hungry for a second chance at the Big South Championship.

“We (prepared) for the Big South Tournament by reviewing where we (had) been this season and in past seasons, training with focus and creating ‘pressure situations’ that (prepared) us to experi-ence the pressure of the tournament before we (began) tournament play,” Hain said.

The Lady Flames knew that the playoffs were their chance to shine and they were motivated to train harder than ever.

“For example, during practice we (trained) with situations like being a goal up or one goal down with

10 minutes to play — but we have been training like this all year,” Hain said.

All of the prepara-tion throughout the sea-son paid off as the Lady Flames bested No. 4 High Point University in a 2-1 overtime win Thursday night. With the win, Lib-erty advanced to play No. 1 Radford University.

“Our Liberty team will need to play its best game of the season,” Hain said before the match. I be-lieve the girls are ready to embrace the pressure and rise up.”

However, after 90 min-utes of play, the Radford University Highlanders came away with the 4-1 victory to advance to the finals.

With the season over, the Lady Flames will look to improve in the off-season and attempt an-other run at the Big South Championship next year.

GONZALEZ is a sports reporter.

Derrick Battledbattle2@liberty.edu

Their mission is to provide supe-rior entertainment, while practic-ing what they preach in partner-ship through community outreach. They are here to entertain. This is the message that forward Fayid Williams stressed about the profes-sional local basketball team formed in Lynchburg.

It took two years, but a profes-sional basketball team will be un-veiled Nov. 12 at the Lynchburg Armory. For team President and CEO Derek Polly, that day couldn’t come fast enough.

“Two years ago, I came across this opportunity at a semi-pro league in Maryland and the owner of that team let me know that there was not a professional team in Vir-ginia,” Polly said. “At that time, I stayed in contact with the CEO of the ABA to see what it took to start a franchise. It took me a year and a half before I was able to start the Lynchburg Legends.”

The Lynchburg Legends are a team comprised of athletes that are dedicated to promoting a high-oc-tane run-and-gun style of play.

Polly, a recent graduate of Liber-ty University, noticed in 2009 that Virginia didn’t have a professional basketball team. That is when the process of placing a team in Lynch-burg became a priority.

Over the summer, the Legends held tryouts for those in the City of Lynchburg and the surrounding areas. Head Coach Aaron Smith picked the 16 best players to mold into a team. Of the 16 was a mix-ture of those who played in college, overseas and street basketball tour-naments.

“In Lynchburg you would not think you would be able to find a lot of talent in a small area. This town has a lot of great players,” guard Lloyd DeLoatch said.

“We have players from a differ-ent walks of life, we have some that played in different countries, some played in college, some people did neither,” Williams said.

Under Coach Smith the Legends are looking forward to making an impact not only on the court but off the court. In the America Basket-ball Association (ABA) the Legends will be playing teams out Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina for the 2011-12 season.

“Our goal is to be competitive and to win our division. We want to finish the season with no injuries and we really want to get the com-munity involved,” Coach Smith said.

A strong commitment of the Legends is to have a strong bond with not only themselves as a team, but also with the Lynchburg com-munity.

“We believe in each other. We preach a commitment to excel-lence, not just in basketball but in life. We don’t focus just on the bas-ketball court, but in the community as well,” Polly said.

BATTLE is the asst. sports editor.

Kyle TerMarschKtermarsch@liberty.edu

Coming off back-to-back week-ends of hard fought games against Davenport University and Adrian College, a stretch in which the Flames went 1-3, Liberty swept Big South rival Stony Brook, winning 8-5 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday.

Junior forward Andrew Mc-Combe was invaluable to the suc-cess of the team this weekend, scoring four goals, including a hat trick on Saturday, and dishing out two assists. Handy attributes Mc-Combe’s breakout weekend with a slight tweak in practice this past week.

“‘Comber’ has had to battle this year with some health issues and stuff like that. One thing we did with (McCombe) this weekend was move him,” Handy said. “He has been playing center and we moved him to the wing, and that really helped him out and freed him up. The move ended up being key for us too.”

Junior forward Brent Boschman netted two goals and assisted on four goals, while sophomore for-ward Rick Turner continued his home rampage scoring two goals and dishing out an assist.

Goaltending was crucial, espe-cially on Saturday night. According to Handy, the goaltending is getting better because the team as a whole is getting better.

“Goaltending is a team effort,” Handy said. “It’s the defensive men, who for the most part this year, have played pretty strong and our forwards, who have played bet-ter two-way hockey this year.”

Freshman goalie Clayton Brown allowed only three goals Saturday night in 60 minutes of action.

“The goalie is obviously back there stopping them and (Brown) made some big saves. On the pen-alty kill — the first one, when we were on it for five minutes — he made some big saves and stopped a break away. He was definitely solid for us,” Handy said.

Handy also touched on his team’s ability to kill power plays and keep the puck out of their net.

“Here’s the deal on the penalty kill, we have some guys willing to block shots. We have guys who are willing to make big plays that help

out big time for us,” Handy said. “It is not always the guys that put the puck in the net, it’s other guys who are strong role players for us who get their body in front of the puck and limit shots that could get through.”

The Flames focus on another top ACHA team that will enter The Cube this weekend in the Univer-sity of Delaware.

“They are a strong team, I be-lieve No. 5. We have to come out and play good hockey,” Handy said. “We need to have the same ef-fort we had here this weekend and increase that a little bit.”

Liberty will take on the Univer-sity of Delaware this Friday and Saturday night inside LaHaye at 7:30 p.m.

TERMARSCH is a sports reporter.

Pro basketball in the BurgThe NBA is still locked out. The ABA is only growing.

No.1 seeded Radford knocked off the Lady Flames, 4-1

Women’s soccer falls to RU in semifinal round

FYI The Lady Flames finish the regular season with a 9-8-3 overall record and 5-4-1 in

the Big South.

Flames earn sweep of Seawolves

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

TWICE AS NICE — Liberty earned two victories against Stony Brook.

Les sChofeR | pRomotionaL puBLiCation

FORWARD — Sophomore midfielder Megan Warner pushes the ball past a defender.

The Radford Lady Highlanders finished the tournament winning the Big South

Championship over the Campbell Camels. Radford will be the first Big South representative

in the NCAA tournament since 1997.

B4/Liberty Champion SPORTS November 8, 2011

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libertychampion.com

Liberty 9VMI 7

Key play:When Nick Sigmon stepped in front of

Eric Kordenbrock’s pass over the middle, it set Liberty up with favorable field position to take a 9-7 lead over a surging Keydet offense.

Key player:Eric Kordenbrock went 7-10 in the first

quarter, throwing for 141 yards, including a 55-yard bomb to Tracy Hairston.

Key stat:Before Saturday, the Flames had never

been trailing to a Big South opponent in the first half in 2011.

Liberty 16VMI 17

Key play:On 3-13, Mike Brown found Chris Sum-

mers for 14 yards, extending a drive that would later put Liberty within one point of VMI.

Key player:Mike Brown engineered a 12-play scoring

drive to pull the Flames back into the game. Brown went 6-7, passing the ball for 64 yards to five different receivers. Brown found Brandon Apon in the back of the endzone to cap the drive. Brown also rushed for 18 yards and created five first downs.

Key stat:By halftime, quarterbacks combined for

29 passing attempts, 288 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.

Liberty 30VMI 24

Key play:Senior Kevin Fogg made up for fumbling

the opening kickoff of the game by showing off his 4.3 speed, returning a kick 90 yards for a touchdown — a touchdown put Lib-erty on top for good.

Key player:Pat Kelley caught three crucial third-

down conversions for 77 yards in Liberty’s first drive of the third quarter.

Key stat:Fogg’s kickoff return-for-score was his

third of the season and of his career, a Big South record. Fogg is also the only player in the NCAA to return three kickoffs this year.

Liberty 37VMI 31

Key play:Mike Brown’s pass to Chris Summers on

a 22-yard streak with 6:43 left in the game gave Liberty the distance they needed to slip past a swinging VMI squad. Kevin Fogg’s forced fumble on the ensuing VMI drive took enough time off the clock to make the win happen.Key player:

Kevin Fogg’s forced fumble, fumble recov-ery, two solo and two assisted tackles in the fourth were huge in securing the Flames fifth Big South victory.Key stat:

After Saturday, the Flames have won 15 consecutive Big South games in Williams Stadium. This makes Liberty one of only seven FCS teams to remain undefeated in their respective conferences out of 124 FCS programs. Stony Brook, Liberty’s next opponent, is one of those programs.

Quarter ReporterBreaking down the Game

FOOTBALL continued from B1

Another answer, and another reception for Summers, who now has 178 for his ca-reer — a school record.

“It feels real surreal….It’s a great ac-complishment for me to have all these records when I leave. I just want to give thanks to God and all my teammates, who knew that I had what it takes and my coaches who help me every week and get me ready to play,” Summers said.

“It’s been fun to watch him grow and mature,” Rocco said.

Exhibit C, third quarter. After allowing a long VMI touchdown drive, which in-cluded a 24-yard run on fourth-and-one, senior corner Kevin Fogg did what he does best, returning the ensuing kickoff for a 90-yard touchdown. That’s the third of his career and of this season — a Big South record.

“That was definitely a turning point,” Brown said. “After Fogg’s kick return, we were able to get breathing room.”

Thirty minutes later, the case was closed, the game was over and the Flames record stood at 7-3 and their conference record remained unblemished at 5-0.The hard way

But, Liberty didn’t make this win easy on themselves from the start. Fogg fum-bled the opening kickoff, giving the Key-dets the ball in Flames territory.

Linebacker Chase Griffiths misjudged

a short, blooper kickoff, allowing it to bounce right off his numbers. A few min-utes later, the Flames found themselves in a 17-9 hole and desperately in need of momentum before halftime.

Mike Brown orchestrated a 78-yard drive, going 6-7 for 44 passing yards and a touchdown, while adding another 18 yards on the ground during the drive.

Still, Liberty went into halftime trailing a 1-7 VMI team.

Liberty’s offense came out to play in the second half, boosted by the performances of receiver Pat Kelly and running back Aldreakis Allen.

While Summers kept the defense’s at-tention on his side of the field, Kelly made three critical catches for 77 yards on the Flames first drive of the third quarter. All were on third down plays and put the Flames in position for Brandon Apon’s back-of-the-endzone catch.

“We have a great group of receiv-ers across the board who can step up and make plays,” Summers said. “We’ve shown that throughout the season, any one of us can step up and I love that feel-ing.”

Allen was key in the Flames success in the second half. After halftime, he carried 12 times for 73 yards and provided a key block out of the shotgun to give Brown a fraction of a second more time to find Summers wide open in the end zone.

“We got Aldreakis going in the second

half, that shows great resolve by our kids,” Rocco said.The outlook

Summers and Brown said they will spend their time during the break getting back to full strength.

“The bye week will help a lot of people, including myself, get healthy,” Summers said.

The Flames will control their own des-

tiny in their matchup with Stony Brook on Nov. 19, with the winner being crowned conference champions.

“That’s the best way to have it,” Brown said. “We wouldn’t have it any other way. We go up there 5-0 against 5-0 (Stony Brook). That’s a championship game right there.”

WOOLFOLK is a sports reporter.

Converting crucial third and fourth downs, perfect redzone numbers and 420 total offense yards earns a solid grade.

Championship teams find ways to win. If the defense isn’t clicking, the offense must. The Flames found a way to win, earning this grade.

The right plays were called at the right times to give the Flames a chance. Ultimately, the win secured this grade.

The defense allowed over 400 yards and 30 points. VMI’s Kor-denbrock was not sacked.

Once again, there were fantastic plays and costly goofs. Two spe-cial team turnovers were offset by a blocked field goal and Fogg’s

Grawng Flames Football

Coaches:

1 2 3 4

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

IN YOUR FACE — Aldreakis Allen finished the day with 100 all-purpose yards, his fourth consecutive 100-yard all-purpose game.

A Overall: Offense:

Spec. Teams: Defense:

AA

C B-

Liberty Champion/B5FEATURENovember 8, 2011

Liberty Way says okay to nose ringsA change in the dress code now allows small studs to be worn in the nose

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Abigail Koppenhaverakoppenhaver@liberty.edu

The latest change in school policy which has Liberty University students talking is that nose piercings are now acceptable for students to wear.

The Liberty Way, which once stated that only piercings of the ears were al-lowed, now has been changed to state that “small studs may be worn in the nose.”

The allowance of nose piercings has been met with both positive and nega-tive reactions by the students.

“I think it’s good that they are loosening up some on the dress code,” junior Randi Garrett said.

Freshman Katie Tomson agrees that the new change is positive for students.

“I think it’s a good way for people to express their style, and I think it gives us the liberty to be a little more rebel-lious, in a good way,” Tomson said.

While some students were surprised by the change in policy, Tomson was more confused about why it was changed.

“I didn’t think they would change it because of the culture. I thought they would just change it because everyone already had one,” said Tomson. “It is a little bit weird, though, that you are allowed to have your nose pierced but no other facial piercing.”

“I think that if they are going to allow one type of facial piercing they need to allow all types, and maybe just have a limit on how many you can have,” senior Josh Farnham said.

“I mean, I don’t see any moral difference between a nose piercing or a lip piercing or an eyebrow pierc-ing,” Garret said. “It’s not necessarily unfair, but people who want a facial piercing other than one on their nose are probably upset about it. It’s just sort of weird that the new rule is so specific.”

But with every positive reaction comes a negative, or snarky, reaction.

“I do not believe that Liberty should have lifted the restriction. I believe that it may lead to a slippery slope and that other Liberty policies and/or dress code policies may be lifted as well in order to please the students,” senior Brittany Truax said.

Truax also said that she doesn’t think any facial piercings should be allowed and that because nose piercings are al-lowed, eventually Liberty will probably conform to allowing others.

Truax did mention that she thought it might be a good idea if a rule was created prohibiting certain majors from wearing nose rings, although she does recognize that it would be very difficult to enforce.

“Certain majors, such as business or education, will not be able to go into an interview with a nose ring due to the lack of professionalism. However, I think that would be the situation for most majors,” Truax said. “College is to prepare us to get real jobs and the reality is, most employers will not be fond of nose and/or facial piercings.”

KOPPENHAVER is a feature reporter.

Victoria Pearce | Liberty chamPion

POSITIVELY PIERCED — Before the change in dress code, female students were not allowed to wear nose rings at any time or place on or off campus. But as a result of the recent change, many female students have been sporting small studs.

“I think it’s a good way for people to

express their style, and I think it gives

us the liberty to be a little more rebellious,

in a good way.” - Tomson

B6/Liberty Champion FEATURE November 8, 2011

Poppies for Remembrance

The bells will ring once more

UPCOMING EVENTSNov. 11- 13

Little Shop of Horrors

Nov. 12Valley View 5 Mile Trail Race

Performances will end this weekend for the Theater Department’s second show of the semester. This comedic musical tells the story of a florist who discovers a bloodthirsty plant and the downward spiral he faces after trying to appease its morbid appetite. Tickets can be purchased at the Vines Center Box Office or online at www.ticketreturn.com. Call 582-7328 for

more information.

The second race in the Liberty Mountain Trail Series starts at Snowflex at 9 a.m. For more information and to register, contact

studentactivitiesinfo@liberty.edu.

Nov. 28Christmas in Lights

In keeping with one of the newest Liberty traditions, a giant Christmas tree will once again be lit in the front of DeMoss to bring in the holiday season.

The festivities will begin at 7 p.m.

Nov. 18-20Winter Market

The Liberty Godparent Foundation will be hosting a shopping expo in the Schilling Center with dozens of vendors selling everything from clothing, to jewelry, to gift items and more. Admission is $5 and $3 for students. All proceeds benefit the Liberty Godparent Ministries. For more information, call

592- 4407.

Dec. 7-12Virginia Chrismas Spectacular

This year’s production of Thomas Road Baptist Church’s annual Christmas play will be titled “Let There Be Light.” Tickets cost $8-$12. Call

888-244-2178 for more information.

Canadians distribute pins to honor veteransShelanne Jenningssnjennings@liberty.edu

“My heart swells when I see other Canadians in Lynchburg wearing a poppy,” senior Ashley Liddell said. “I think it brings us together in re-membrance of what a great country we come from.”

Liddell, a Liberty Student hailing from Red Lake, Ontario, is one of many Canadians who attempts to unite Canadians on Nov. 11 by hav-ing boxes of poppies shipped from home to distribute to her friends and fellow countrymen.

While the United States will be honoring the American troops for Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, many Ca-nadians will be pinning their lapels with red, fabric poppies to further their country’s sentiment.

“The poppy is a pretty vivid sym-bol,” Liddell said.

The poppy made its mark on Canadian culture with the publish-ing of John McCrae’s In “Flander’s Fields” in 1915.

“We all grew up learning ‘In Flan-ders Fields’ by John McCrae,” Lid-dell said. “That poem always struck me as being so tragic, because I thought of the young men and wom-en whose lives were cut short.”

McCrae was a Canadian physi-cian and poet who enlisted in WWI. He was then ranked Major and ap-pointed brigade-surgeon to the First Brigade of the Canadian Forces Ar-tillery, according to his biography on flandersfieldsmusic.com.

During the second battle of Ypres, while still on the battlefront, Mc-Crae formed the lines of his famous poem, urging whoever who reads it to “take up the quarrel with the foe.”

That poem was then published in Punch magazine the same year. Since then, the poem has become one of the most popular poems of remembrance in Canada and Eu-rope.

“Almost every person in Canada grows up hearing the poem ‘In Flan-ders Fields,’” sophomore Rebecca Noble said. “The grounds of many grave yards during WWI and WWII had poppies. The poppies soon be-came a symbol of those soldiers who had died.”

These poppies that bloom in that once-bloody field of Flanders in Ypres, Belgium, are now adorned by Canadians every Remembrance Day, Nov. 11.

“I think of that poem every time I wear the poppy and realize that it’s up to us to carry on the legacy of the men and women who fought for us to be able to live in the freedom we enjoy today,” Liddell said.

For Noble, who serves in the Ca-nadian Military, seeing others wear a poppy brings a sense of pride.

“Having served with various parts of the Canadian military, when I see a Canadian wearing a poppy, I smile and know that it is their way

of saying thank you,” Noble said. “The poppy is Canada’s symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians, and allies who have fallen in war and military operations.”

Even in a country other than their own, Both Liddell and Noble find it important to pin their poppies as a sign of remembrance.

“Even though Canadians live and go to school in other countries they should still wear a poppy because it physically shows people that they take the time to remember,” Noble said. “Even though most Americans don’t know what it means to wear a poppy, it gives Canadians a moment to encourage those who ask about it to do the same for their troops.”

JENNINGS is the feature editor.

Kassandra RoeddingKroedding@liberty.edu

The familiar ring of the Salvation Army bells is back to kick off the Christmas season.

The Red Kettle Bell Ringing Campaign for the Salvation Army began in San Francisco in 1891 and, today, is a seasonal tradition. Accord-ing to The Salvation Army’s website, last year’s campaign raised $142 mil-lion to provide aid for those in need. Liberty has helped sponsor the cam-paign over the years and will once again staff the food entrance of the Wards Road Walmart from Nov. 11 to Dec. 24.

“I feel this is an important cause for several reasons,” Liberty’s Sal-vation Army committee representa-tive Darren Wu said. “Collectively, it demonstrates to the community that Liberty cares about them and is an active part of the community. Individually, participants get an op-portunity to be reminded that there are real needs out there that can be met by sacrificing just a little time.”

Last year, over $220,000 was raised locally with all kettle locations combined. At Liberty’s location, $11,700, about 18 percent of the total amount, was raised. All kettle donations go directly to the local Sal-vation Army to provide holiday help for families in need and support for their annual budget in housing, food and health care.

Not only do the red kettles support a great cause, but they also unite the Liberty community. This year, 17 dif-ferent departments have volunteered for kettle duty. This is in addition to the athletic departments that are involved. By the close of the cam-paign, about 300 different Liberty participants will have endured the cold weather to give back to the com-munity, according to Wu.

“Standing in the cold for a few hours, ringing a bell, is a good trade to give someone a warm meal and a festive holiday,” Resident Assistant and Liberty senior Lisa Youngerman said.

For Academic Associate Dean of the College of General Studies Dr. Bruce Bell giving back to the com-

munity is very important. He was involved last Christmas and will help again this year.

“The satisfaction that comes from being part of the Red Kettle Cam-paign is the best part of giving an hour of my time, and it was encour-aging to see the generosity of people in the community who reached deep into their pockets to contribute,” Bell said.

Administrative Assistant to Dean Akers of the Helms School of Gov-ernment Shirley Jena Henderson re-members a particular family bundled up for winter. One of the children asked Henderson if she could ring the bell. When an elderly lady came to drop money into the kettle, the lit-tle girl responded, ‘Wow daddy, that grandma just put some dollars in my bell.’”

“(These parents) were teaching their children at an early age how important it is to contribute to oth-ers,” Bell said.

Although students help, the cam-paign at Walmart tapers off during

Thanksgiving and Christmas break when Liberty stu-dents disperse. For this rea-son, many staff and faculty are needed.

“Volunteers show up with the love of Christ, their smiles and the willingness to serve,” Wu said.

Help is still needed Nov. 23, Dec. 16-17 and Dec. 20-24. If interested in volunteering, contact Wu at 592-2416 or dcwu@liberty.edu. To learn more about the Red Kettle Cam-paign or the Salvation Army, visit www.salvationarmyusa.org or visit the local Salvation Army on 2215 Park Avenue.

ROEDDING is a feature reporter.

AlyssA BockmAn| liBerty chAmpion

SHOWING SUPPORT — Canadian students at Liberty bring down boxes of poppies to distribute on Nov. 11. These fabric poppies are pinned to lapels to honor war veterans.

Archives| liBerty chAmpion

A HOLIDAY TRADITION— The familiar Salvation Army kettles will take their place outside of shops such as Walmart starting Nov. 11.

FYI Help is still need-ed Nov. 23, Dec. 20-24. Contact Darren Wu at

434-592-2416 or dcwu@liberty.

edu to volunteer.

Liberty Champion/B7FEATURENovember 8, 2011

Emily DavisEldavis3@liberty.edu

“Passionate, loyal, determined, focused and loving.”

These are the words that fu-ture 2014 Winter Olym-pic hopeful Jay Panther used to de-scribe himself. Panther is a 27 -yea r-o ld compet i t i ve freestyle mo-gul who last

year, joined the United States Ski Team. In February 2014, he hopes to represent the U.S. in the Winter Olympics, which will take place in Sochi, Russia.

Growing up in Lake Tahoe, Panther fell in love with the free styling motion that moguls bring to a ski course, he said. Moguls are a sequence of bumps made up of snow on the ski course, Panther said.

“I was nine years old skiing with my dad, and they had just started a free style mogul team on our home mountain,” Pan-ther said. “ I saw the course and was like ‘that looks awesome’ so I skied the run and hit the jumps and instantly fell in love with it and I have loved it ever since.”

Panther left Lake Tahoe at the age of 12 when his family moved to Louisville, Ky. He attended middle school and high school there until he was accepted into Vanderbilt University where he was awarded a full scholarship for baseball.

After his freshman year, Pan-ther moved back to Lake Tahoe

to return to his one true love— skiing.

Nearly 10 years later, Panther is now a member of the U.S. Ski Team and has competed in the World Cup and the U.S. Nation-al Championship.

Panther has been training at Liberty University’s, Snowflex, for the past three weeks and has been offering free lessons to those who were interested.

“I am here to train. Snowflex is an amazing facility,” Panther said. “As an athlete there are se-rious amounts of training to be done here and a lot to be gained from this facility.”

According to Panther, he had never heard of Liberty Univer-sity or Snowflex until this sum-mer, when his pastor mentioned the school. Intrigued, Panther, his mother and his little brother drove from Louisville, Ky. to spend a few hours on the slopes.

“Instantly I showed up and realized the value of this place. I didn’t know exactly what it was that I was going to be able to ac-complish here,” Panther said. “I knew that it had endless possibili-

ties because of how it all just fell into place. God had his hand in it and wanted me here, so I was just trying to be faithful to him.”

Panther’s time at Liberty has quickly drawn to a close. On Nov. 8, he will be leaving for Park City, Utah, to train at Olympic Park.

“Having Jay here is definitely a blessing for us. Having

someone at that level train here confirms what we’ve been marketing the past two and a half years,” Snowflex general manager Drew Sherwood said. “This is a top notch training facility and even somebody who is trying to qualify for the Olympics can train here.”

For more information on Panther and his journey to Sochi

in the 2014 Winter Olympics, visit www.teamjaypanther.com, or Facebook at www.facebook.com/jay.panther. Or check out his web series on YouTube.

DAVIS is a feature reporter.

Olympic hopeful trains at Snowflex Pro-skier Jay Panther discovers the artificial ski slope

PANTHER

Ruth BiBBy | LiBeRty Champion

GETTING SOME AIR— Mogul skier Jay Panter does a jump off of a ramp at Liberty’s Snowflex. Panther is currently trying to qualify for this year’s U.S Ski Team and to compete for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

“As an athlete, there is serious

amounts of train-ing to be done

here and a lot to be gained from

this facility” - Jay Panther

FEATURE NOVEMBER 8, 2011

Sodexo and Liberty hold food drive to help food banks

Shelanne Jennings snjennings@liberty.edu

Hours before the doors opened to the 7 Tour’s Lynchburg concert, students, College for a Weekend (CFAW) visitors and Virginia residents gathered together to brace the cold, eagerly awaiting their favorite bands and artists.

“We came to see the David Crowder Band (DCB) and Chris August,” visitor Kelly Robey, who waited in line for more than an hour after driving from Charlottesville to see the show with friends, said. “I want to hear 7x70 by Chris August. It’s my favorite.”

The 7 Tour, which started Sept. 28 in Austin, Texas, has continued to play for sold out crowds across the U.S., stopping at Liberty University’s Vines Center Nov. 4 to play for another full house.

The tour features artists Chris August, John Mark McMillan and Gungor, but the main act that has caught the attention of audience members and fans is DCB, who has chosen to make this their last tour.

“It’s sad that they are breaking up because they are a really great band,” Robey said.

Crowder and his band have been making music together since they became a band 11 years ago at University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.

In a recent interview with Kyle TerMarsch on Liberty’s on-campus radio station, 90.9 The Light, Crowder said that they never thought they would make the impact that they have on the Christian community.

“We tried to keep it really simple and make music for the people that were in front of us and use our music to articulate what God was doing among us,” Crowder

said. The fans who came to see DCB looked

forward to seeing and worshipping together with him.

“I like David Crowder’s originality. He’s okay with just being David. He doesn’t try to go crazy with it,” 17-year-old fan Cameron Lilly said. “What I really like about David Crowder, though, is that he really has a heart for worship that is evident.”

As Chris August opened the concert, the lights flashed, music boomed and hands slowly lifted around the auditorium.

“The most amazing part is how many people are in the same room when they are singing,” CFAW visitor Eva Shell said. “It’s exciting to see everybody singing and worshipping together.”

After August, McMillan and Gungor wowed the crowd with their hits and new singles. DCB then took to the stage to play songs from all of their albums, using the lyrics projected on the screen to lead the crowd in worship.

“Most of everything we write comes from some aspect of church history or some passage of scripture or some sermon series, but I guess most of it roots there,” Crowder said. “As far as inspiration goes, usually I find, it’s really having scripture take on a personality, suddenly scripture takes on flesh and blood. Those moments that are relational are the ones I relate to the most. Life is what brings some spark to your music.”

The bands ended the night with a collaborative performance of the song “How He Loves,” first written by John Mark McMillan but popularized by DCB. Although he had changed the words “sloppy wet kiss” to “unforeseen kiss” in his rendition for the album, Church Music, the bands performed it as

McMillan originally wrote it. Although many fans are disappointed

that DCB will soon end their career as a band, Crowder said the group is excited to see where God leads them in the future.

“As life twists and turns and kids arrive and priorities shift and change, this is a tough thing to be doing for 11 years (that’s how long we’ve been at it.),” Crowder said. “It felt like all of us were ready

for something different and that we are supposed to be doing something different, so that’s a beautiful thing.”

For information on the 7 Tour’s next show dates and locations, visit davidcrowderband.com/schedule/.

JENNINGS is the feature editor.

d a v i d c r o w d e r b a n d

Soonwook Lee | Liberty Champion

GIVING A HAND — Sodexo and the Blue Ridge and Southside Virginia Food Bank have joined together to support “Helping Hands Across America” in the fight against hunger.

ruth bibby | Liberty Champion

LUCKY 7 —The David Crowder Band, along with Chris August, John McMillan and Gungor, led a sold out crowd in a night of worship.

7 Tour brings DCB career to completion The David Crowder Band says goodbye in a farewell tour featuring Gungor, Chris August and John Mark McMillan

Brittany Lairdbhlaird@liberty.edu

Liberty is constantly look-ing for different ways to reach out and help the com-munity in the surrounding areas. This year, Sodexo and Liberty have decided to part-ner together.

Liberty and Sodexo kicked off their contribution to the Blue Ridge and South Side Virginia Food Drive on Oct. 17. Sodexo is accepting any early donations at the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall during their normal operation hours and students can also bring non-perishable food items to convocation Nov. 16, the fi-nal day of the food drive.

“Every year Sodexo does a food drive, typically in Oc-tober,” Sodexo Marketing Manager Julia Pfeifer said.

The Christian Service (CSER) Office was also plan-ning on holding a food drive during the fall semester. After the two organizations discov-ered that they were holding the same event, they agreed to work together. Both were interested in specifically tar-geting the south area of the community.

“We’re really excited to partner with the school,” Pfeifer said. “I feel we’ll get even more participation by partnering.”

The timing of this food drive gives students the

chance to reflect on how much they have been blessed with in their lives.

“It’s been a tough year across the nation,” Christian Community Service Coordi-nator Darren Wu said. “As we approach this Thanksgiv-ing season, we have a lot to be thankful for.”

Approximately 12 students have brought in early dona-tions so far. Some of these students have come bear-ing boxes of non-perishable foods, Pfeifer said. Every do-nation that is made, no mat-ter what the size, is accepted and greatly appreciated, she said.

“Some kids are bringing in one or two packages of

Ramen,” Pfeifer said. “That one package of Ramen can feed somebody.”

Pfeifer and Wu are looking forward to seeing how many participate in this particu-lar effort. Both hope to see many donations from staff, faculty, residential students and commuters over the next few weeks and during the collection at convocation.

LAIRD is a feature reporter.

ruth bibby | Liberty Champion

A FINE FAREWELL— After 11 years of creating music as a band, DCB has decided to retire, looking forward to what lies ahead.