Volume 81, Issue 25March 21, 2013 www.FlorAla.net Student newspaper of the University of North Alabama

INSIDEthis week’s paper

NEWS................2AIMAGES..............4AVIEWPOINTS.........7A

LIFE...............1BSPORTS...........5BEXTRA.............8B

WHAT TO DO IN YOUR 20S... 1B

INTEGRATIVE HEALTH

Council OKsland purchase

The Florence City Council unani-mously approved the sale of the Flor-ence Golf and Country Club to the Guizhou Shenqi Group at its meeting March 19. The group has partnered with UNA to build an integrative health center on the land.

The city of Florence will sell the land to the Guizhou Shenqi Group for $2.1 million. The land was origi-nally purchased for $2.03 million, said Florence Mayor Mickey Had-dock.

“We’re basically selling it for what we have invested in it,” he said.

Zhang Zhiting, chair of the group, will come to Florence to complete the transfer of the property, Haddock said.

“We don’t know for sure yet when Chairman Zhang is coming,” he said. “We believe it will be within a mat-ter of a few weeks, so we went ahead and approved this resolution so we don’t have to do it when he’s here.

“The transfer will occur soon, and then we’ll move forward.”

Councilman Barry Morris said he believes the sale of the golf and country club land will add signifi -cantly to the $280 million economic impact that UNA has on the commu-nity.

ALEX LINDLEY

STUDENT MEDIA

Flor-Ala wins top journalism awards

The Flor-Ala won fi ve Mark of Excellence awards from the Soci-ety of Professional Journalists (SPJ) March 16.

The paper won fi rst place in the Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper category. Executive Edi-tor Josh Skaggs, alongside the rest of the staff, won fi rst place in edi-

WANTING ANSWERS

photo by JOSH SKAGGS I Executive Editor

UNA parent Chris Bell asks police and student affairs offi cials what they are going to do to improve the safety and security around campus. Offi cials told parents, students and employees they were listening to their concerns.

Chris Bell spent March 13 driving from Nashville to UNA, where his daughter is a student, but it wasn’t just to visit.

The concerned parent was on his way to an open forum on cam-pus safety issues in Towers Hall, which was announced by David Shields, UNA vice president for student affairs, the morning of March 13.

The forum was organized in response to recent campus secu-rity issues, including two alleged rapes, which deeply concerned Bell.

“As a parent, I’ve made a huge investment in my child’s life,” Bell said at the forum. “When she started (at UNA), she was so excited. Then, it went from this plateau of excitement to her saying ‘I can’t leave my room.’”

More than 100 faculty, staff, students and community mem-bers attended the forum, said UNA Interim Communications Director Terry Pace. The crowd raised many questions to forum speakers UNA police Chief Bob Pastula, Assistant Director of Residence Life RJ Chittams and Shields.

ALEX LINDLEY

Community seeks answers on recent rapes

CAMPUS CRIME

LIONS FINALLY WIN AGAINST UAH

SOCCER 1B

BLYTHE STEELMAN

UNA Information Technology Ser-vices announced via email that starting March 22, UNA email services will be un-available.

Email services will not be available in any form, according to the email.

Students, faculty and staff should refer to the UNA website and social media re-garding the availability of campus email, according to the email sent by UNA IT.

UNA community members with ques-tions should contact helpdesk@una.edu for more information.

NEWS March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala2A

Wesleyan Hall, the home of offi ces and classrooms for several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences, is scheduled to receive needed renovations during the summer of 2013, accord-ing to university offi cials. The building, completed in 1856, is among the oldest on campus and is described as “the pride of the student body” on the university’s website.

“Wesleyan Hall was last renovated in 1988, and there are issues that need to be addressed in order to preserve the integ-

rity of our historical building,” said Clau-dia Vance, chair of the foreign languages department at UNA. “For several semes-ters now, there have been major signs of mold, gutters and windows not working properly — leaks, rotting wood and other issues that have been needing immediate attention.”

Michael Gautney, director of facili-ties, said the renovations are expected to cost $600,000 and will be paid for by funds provided by the facilities fee.

FACILITIES

Wesleyan to receive renovations

PACE HOLDBROOKS

photo by MICHAEL REDDING I Staff Photographer

Many of the walls in Wesleyan Hall are showing signs of decay. Offi cials have approved the funding for renovations to the historic building. Director of Facilities Michael Gautney said the renovations are expected to cost approximately $600,000.

”FOR SEVERAL SEMESTERS NOW, THERE HAVE BEEN MAJOR SIGNS OF MOLD, GUTTERS AND

WINDOWS NOT WORKING PROPERLY — LEAKS, ROTTING WOOD AND OTHER ISSUES THAT HAVE

BEEN NEEDING IMMEDIATE ATTENTION.

CLAUDIA VANCE

News Briefs

News Briefs are compiled by News/Managing Editor Alex Lindley. Email alindley@una.edu or call (256) 765-4296 to have your event featured in this section.

Students selected to present research at undergrad conference

Th e National Conference on Un-dergraduate Research (NCUR) recently notifi ed 10 UNA students from a math and computer science undergraduate re-search team that their research projects were accepted for presentation.

Cynthia Stenger, interim chair of the UNA math department, said the UNA students’ research projects were chosen from more than 3,500 submissions from more than 300 research universities for their contributions to their fi elds of study.

Th is will be the fi rst year UNA will be represented at NCUR, Stenger said.

NCUR will take place at the Universi-ty of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., April 11 through April 13.

HAVE AN EVENT?

Distance Learning to host conference on campus April 4

Th e UNA Distance Learning Advisory Committee and Educational Technology Services will host a conference April 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in the GUC Performance Center to highlight the ben-efi ts of technology in education.

David Pogue, a New York Times tech-nology columnist, will give the keynote address. Th e conference will address tech-nology use in all courses — online, hybrid or traditional.

A student panel will also discuss stu-dent expectations of education technol-ogy, and another speaker will discuss ex-emplary design practices.

Email BJ Wilson at bhwilson@una.edu for more information or to make a reservation.

Email outage expected over spring break

The recent SGA offi cer election gar-nered 308 votes from the student body, 5.04 percent, a decrease from last year’s 488 votes, said David Petty, elections committee chair. The decrease follows a drop in voter turnout from 594 votes in 2011 to 488 votes in the 2012 election, said SGA adviser Tammy Jacques in a previous interview with The Flor-Ala.

Petty said the organization did what it could to promote the election this year.

“We did our part, as far as PR goes,” he said. “And the candidates were great about getting the word out.”

Four of the fi ve executive positions were uncontested, while two candidates sought the vice president of SGA Senate seat.

With 184 of 308 total votes, Nikki Messer was elected the new vice presi-dent of Senate March 13.

Messer said she is “truly honored” to be elected the next vice president of Sen-ate.

“I’m really excited and happy that the students believe that I will represent them well,” she said.

Laura Giles was elected SGA presi-dent, Walter Hartley was elected vice president of UPC, KeKe Greer was elect-ed secretary and Elizabeth Tyson was elected treasurer.

“Laura will do a fantastic job (as president),” said Will Riley, current SGA president. “She’s working alongside a terrifi c executive board, and I think she will exceed everyone’s expectations.”

Messer said she feels like the cam-paign process was fun and has afforded her many opportunities to connect with other students on campus.

“I defi nitely don’t want to let them down,” she said. “My slogan was ‘Make It Messer,’ and my campaign team worked hard to help me.”

She said she’s looking forward to the

upcoming year.“I’m super excited for the other ex-

ecutive members that are coming on,” she said.

Greer, uncontested candidate for sec-retary, said she is also excited and hopes to keep the prestige of her position intact over the next year.

“The current secretary has done a good job,” she said. “I want to keep up the same work and make sure we’re fol-lowing the Code of Laws.”

Messer said she and her opposing candidate, student senator Sarah Emer-son, both ran clean campaigns and sup-ported each other throughout the election period.

“I look forward to working with her in Senate next year,” she said. “She really is a great leader.”

Messer and the candidates elected to other SGA offi ces will assume their new roles later this semester.

5.04 percent of students vote in SGA electionSGA

BLYTHE STEELMAN

Laura Giles, who ran unopposed in the 2013-2014 Student Government As-sociation’s offi cer elections, is the incom-ing SGA president. Giles said she sees student safety, the relationship between organizations on campus and the comple-tion of the SGA endowed scholarship as important things she wants to develop during her term.

“I feel that the whole purpose of SGA is to be the voice of the students,” she said. “I know we always say that, but SGA needs to truly represent what the students want and need on this campus. I feel like SGA has such an infl uence on (the college experience), but we take that for granted.”

She said she wants to see SGA work-ing to get student input in order to set spe-cifi c goals for the next year. This includes continuing to recruit a diverse group of people into SGA for next year.

“I know UNA and I know a lot of these students, but I don’t feel like I know what’s best for everyone,” she said. “We have to make sure that those 100 students (in SGA) are truly representing this cam-pus and what everyone actually needs. I want (every student) to know someone in SGA who they can see and talk to (about their needs and desires).”

Giles said she encourages anyone who does not feel well represented to consider joining SGA.

“If we have students on SGA from ev-ery walk of campus, you’re going to build upon every downfall that SGA currently has,” she said. “That’s what I want to see happen, but every member of SGA has to help me with that. We just assume that everyone knows who we are and what we do and why they should be involved, but they don’t know.”

Giles said she sees the completion of the SGA endowed scholarship as a per-sonal goal because of the time she and

others in SGA have put in to giving back to the student body. Giles said she esti-mates $8,000 will be raised by the end of her current term as SGA treasurer, leav-ing $10,000 to be raised.

“It’s an endowed scholarship, so once we raise $25,000, the interest drawn off of that every year would be approximate-ly $2500 that would be divided into fi ve $500 scholarships per year,” she said. “I know how passionate I am about it and I don’t want it to be slacked off on. I would love to see SGA become the prestigious group that is respected on the campus by the students.”

Giles said that other than completing the scholarship, she wants to do whatever students see fi t to improve their college experience. Giles said she would like to see new traditions that benefi t students like Lion Night continue, although she would like to see SGA accomplish more within a term in the future.

“A lot of this year (in SGA senate) has been internal work and that’s always important; we’ve done a lot of changes to the code of laws,” she said. “That has taken up a lot of our time and hasn’t fo-cused on what the students need and want. Sometimes that has to occur, but I feel like with that being behind us we can focus on new things that the students re-ally need and that they desire to make that college experience better.”

March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala 3ANEWSSGA

Incoming President Giles seeks input

file photo by KAYLA SLOAN I Chief Photographer

Incoming SGA President Laura Giles speaks at last year’s SGA debate. She was running unopposed for SGA treasurer at the time.

PACE HOLDBROOKS

STUDENT AMENITIES

Students, officials discuss puppy, nap roomsImagine a room where you can wind

down with a couple of puppies after that rigorous research paper you fi nally turned in. Or imagine a room on campus where you could sleep away your exam worries free from judging eyes and peo-ple tweeting about you. Sounds like the perfect stress relief, right?

Sadly, UNA has neither of these facil-ities yet, but other schools like Harvard University are quickly catching on to this trend to help out their students.

“In our research on students who make poor grades, lack of sleep was con-sistently mentioned as a cause of poor performance,” said Kenda Rusevlyan, testing coordinator and academic advisor for CAARS at UNA.

Though napping is not a substitute for quality REM sleep, many students

rely on naps to recharge and get through particularly stressful times.

“During fi nals I’m up here (on cam-pus) all the time; it would be nice to have a place to sleep on campus,” said Phillip Holcombe, UNA student.

Holcombe, like most UNA students, lives off campus.

“Many of our students commute quite a way to school each day,” Rusevlyan said. “It’s not possible for them to grab some Z’s before the next class or study group. This would be an asset especially to them.”

Schools like Harvard are currently working out the details like cleanliness and avoiding abuse of these facilities to make sure the space remains available to students.

Rusevlyan expressed concerns for people taking advantage of a facility like a nap room.

“The old saying ‘You give them an

inch and they’ll take a mile,’ comes to mind,” Rusevlyan said.

Another rising trend on college cam-puses are puppy rooms.

A puppy room is exactly what it sounds like.

Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the University of San Francisco are among many schools that have recently provided services like this to help their students unwind.

UNA student Liza Harrison said her dog is one of her main resources for stress relief.

“I was stressed out the other day and went home to my dog, and she made it all better,” Harrison said. “If I could bring her on campus, I totally would.”

UNA student Aleigh Pons said she would love and use a puppy room, but her main concern — as with the nap room — is cleanliness.

KAYLA SLOAN

”I FEEL THAT THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF SGA IS TO BE THE VOICE OF THE STUDENTS. I KNOW

WE ALWAYS SAY THAT, BUT SGA NEEDS TO TRULY REPRESENT WHAT THE STUDENTS WANT AND NEED

ON THIS CAMPUS. I FEEL LIKE SGA HAS SUCH AN INFLUENCE ON (THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE), BUT WE

TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED.

LAURA GILES

photo courtesy of MORGUEFILE

IMAGES March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala4A

WORK OF ARTby Chief Photographer Kayla Sloan

If you haven’t heard, The Flor-Ala and the Diorama are pretty good at the awards game. This year has been fantastic for both publications, and I’m so proud to be a part of them.

I’m just proud of our staff in general for the work they do inside and outside of the offi ce. We’ve got some talented folks.

Staff photographer Christina Coving-ton’s fi rst solo exhibit was this past Mon-day, March 18.

I have known Christina a little more than a year now and have worked with her for most of that at the paper and yearbook.

She is a talented lady. But what ev-eryone sees on these pages weekly is not a complete refl ection of Christina’s talent and work.

In her gallery there were no parking decks, no students with books and no SGA members in her photographs. It was just Christina. And that was refreshing to see.

It made me want to look at more of staff photographer Michael Redding’s personal work or something new Alli Ownby’s been working on just for herself. It’s exciting to see someone else’s work that they are ex-cited about.

I could defi nitely see that in Christina’s work Monday night.

I urge any art lover out there to stop by Christina’s exhibit. It will be on display through Friday in the Visual Arts building.

Stop by and see what we do when we aren’t too busy winning awards.

NEWSMarch 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala 5A

Bell said offi cials need to ramp up UNA police presence and called for one offi cer in every residence hall, a senti-ment echoed by many of the forum at-tendees.

“It might be that you need a bigger in-vestment in the campus police,” he said. “Maybe more patrols walking the halls. I think we need one offi cer in every dorm probably from dark until dawn.”

Pastula said fi nancial constraints lim-it the police presence he can place in the

residence halls but agreed to send any extra offi cers to Rivers Hall that night, where the most recent incident report-edly occurred.

Bell said fi nancial feasibility should not be an issue.

“I think it needs to be brought to their attention that it doesn’t matter if it’s not fi nancially feasible,” he said. “Some-one’s life is very important. That’s a good investment. And there’s a huge li-ability issue. They could be sued for mil-lions of dollars.”

Chittams informed the audience that campus security offi cials are reviewing every procedure and policy they have.

Students should immediately report any suspicious activity or concerns they have to campus police, Pastula said.

Both Shields and Pastula said that the key to preventing campus crime is col-lective thinking and communication.

“I could have a million offi cers and cameras, and that girl would have prob-ably still been raped,” he said. “But if someone would have called, it might not have happened. We’ve got to have the help of everyone.”

Many people who witness suspicious activity often think someone else will re-port it to police, Pastula said.

“I don’t necessarily think (cameras

in the parking deck or offi cers in every residence hall) will solve the problem,” he said. “What could solve the problem is if everyone would report things imme-diately to the police.”

Changing the dispatch system last year has been a big improvement to po-lice response time, Shields said.

“We have dispatchers on duty 24/7,” he said. “And switching to radio contact has made a night-and-day difference. It’s amazing now how fast we can get things out.”

Some audience members raised con-cerns about safety specifi cally in the res-idence halls, specifi cally about the role of Community Advisers (CAs) as policy enforcers.

“A CA is a young person in an au-thority position,” Bell said. “Not every-one can handle that correctly.”

CAs are held to strict rules and regu-lations, Chittams said.

“Our CAs should be following poli-cy,” he said. “If not, we will be following up.”

Chittams said students should report any issues in the residence halls to po-lice.

“All guests in residence halls must be escorted at all times,” he said. “We have a lot more residents than CAs, so if you’re concerned, dial UNA police or 911 and get our offi cers up there.”

Bell said his daughter’s safety is his chief concern.

“I want my child to be able to leave her room to go eat without fear of be-ing attacked,” he said. “We need more policemen. You drive the speed limit be-cause you know there are so many out on the roads. Fear of repercussions keeps everyone between the lines.”

In response to the audience’s con-cerns, Shields said he and other offi cials are working to make changes.

“We provide countless safety re-sources, but we still need to do more,” he said. “There is no silver bullet, no pro-gram, no one thing to stop it, but what we can do is pool our efforts and think-ing to make some changes.”

Forum: Police, student affairs officials answer community questions

photo by JOSH SKAGGS I Executive Editor

Assistant Director of Residence Life RJ Chittams looks on as UNA police Chief Bob Pastula and Vice President for Student Affairs David Shields speak to students, faculty, staff and parents during a security forum March 13 in Towers Hall.

writing. Chief Photographer Kayla Sloan placed fi rst in the photo illustration cate-gory. News/Managing Editor Alex Lind-ley and former Staff Writer Matt Wilson placed fi rst in general news writing. Lindley also placed second in general column writing.

“I’m honored that the hard work our staff puts into our publication was rec-ognized by a professional organization,” Skaggs said.

Sloan, who placed fi rst for her photo illustration with the “Can you discon-nect: Student goes on 24-hour media fast” story, said she worked for almost two hours on the illustration.

“I was running out of ideas,” she said. “I started gathering my Mac sup-plies, though, and realized I can’t let go of technology. So I wrapped him (Evan Sandy) up in cords and (computer) mice.”

Lindley, who placed second in gener-al column writing, said the opinion page is a change of pace for student journal-ists.

“The opinions page is the only page where we, as student journalists, can ex-press ourselves,” he said. “That’s why I like writing columns.”

The awards do a lot to show the hard work of the staff, said Student Media Adviser Rebecca Walker.

“I think, more than anything, these wins validate the amount of hard work that goes into The Flor-Ala,” she said. “The students don’t work with an end goal to be recognized through competi-tion, but this recognition among their peers in the profession certainly shows that they’re doing the work of true jour-

nalists.”Lindley said he feels the same way.“I’m proud of the staff,” he said. “It’s

been a collective effort all year.”The Flor-Ala submitted entries from

editors and staff writers, as well as full issues of the paper, in the medium size (4,000-7,000 students) division of six categories of the SPJ Region 3 student journalism competition earlier this year. Region 3 is comprised of schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

The group will own the entire 158 acres of property, Haddock said.

“The medical group will own the whole 158 acres,” he said. “We have a primary location there for our seniors,

and the group will be allowing us to use that 48-acre area for one year while we transfer some people out of there.”

The planned UNA Center for Inte-grative Health would train students in holistic mental, physical and spiritual medicine.

“I am looking forward to acquiring the property once the City Council ap-

proves its sale,” said Zhang in a press release Jan. 3. “The property is perfect for Shenqi and UNA to develop their join international Center for Integrative Health.”

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education approved a concentration in integrative health to be included as part of UNA’s master of science program last

September, according to the press re-lease.

Offi cials expect that the center will receive its fi rst group of approximately 50 to 100 students in fall 2014 and that it will eventually enroll mo

“There are some hazards with the car-pet right now,” he said. “We are looking to restore the existing hardwood under the carpet in some of the rooms if pos-sible. Otherwise we will have to replace the carpet.”

Larry Bates, UNA associate professor of psychology, teaches in the building and said he feels the new renovations will cre-ate a better environment for learning.

“Mainly it should eliminate some of the irritations that go along with older buildings,” Bates said. “I’m looking for-ward mostly to getting some wood fl oors. It just seems like a building built in 1855 should have wood fl oors in the offi ce.”

Romeo Gillyard, a graduate student at UNA, said he is looking forward to the

renovations as well.“There (are three main problems in

Wesleyan Hall): the paint, the air and the elevator,” he said. “I didn’t know it was going to be renovated. It needs it, though.”

Vance said faculty members teach-ing summer courses relocate during the renovations process, which is scheduled to end in August.

“The architectural team chosen for the renovation has been careful to stay true to the building’s history and has chosen interior colors that are authentic for the period in which it was built (in 1855),” Vance said. “This 158-year-old building housed soldiers on both sides of the Civil War and has a great deal of historical val-ue. Knowing that UNA is maintaining it properly for present and future UNA stu-dents, faculty and staff is very satisfying to me.”

NEWS March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala6A

photo by MICHAEL REDDING I Staff Photographer

The ceiling of Wesleyan Hall shows signs of disrepair. Offi cials are planning to renovate the 158-year-old building this summer.

As summer approaches, many upper classmen at UNA are beginning to search for internships that pertain to their major. Most majors at UNA require an intern-ship, along with academic credit, in order to graduate.

UNA provides resources for students looking for an internship that suits their needs best. The Career Planning and Development offi ce, in room 202 of the GUC, offers students one-on-one ap-pointments with Heidi Tilenius, an em-ployment development specialist.

“I recommend students start looking for an internship a semester before they want to intern,” she said.

By beginning to apply a semester be-fore the actual internship, students can have more options in deciding what to apply for and help increase their chances of getting an internship.

UNA’s Lion Jobs website posts a va-riety of internships that are available to students who have a Lion Jobs account. The Career Planning and Development staff reviews students’ resumes before they apply for jobs and internships and provide feedback on how to enhance their resumes.

“When an employer sends me a re-quest for a job or an internship, I imme-diately post it onto Lion Jobs so anyone who is interested and meets the require-ments can apply,” Tilenius said.

UNA senior and public relations ma-jor Dustin Varner used Lion Jobs to se-cure an integrated marketing internship with Listerhill Credit Union.

“I was sitting in my principles of mar-keting class with Professor (Jerome) Gaf-ford when he announced if anyone would be interested in doing a paid internship with a company doing great things,” Var-ner said. “I applied through Lion Jobs and went through two interviews to land the internship.”

Not all majors at UNA require an in-ternship in order to graduate. Kelsey Un-derwood, a fi nance major, wishes that all majors were required to have an intern-ship in order to graduate.

“I wish that all majors made students have internships and get credit for it,” she said. “Since I’m an Accounting Scholar, I got to work at an accounting fi rm a few days a week and see what it was like to practicing accounting; otherwise, I wouldn’t have any experience.”

While internships help students by getting academic credit, they are also useful in gaining experience and con-nections in a student’s fi eld of study. In 2012, 60 percent of college graduates who had worked in paid internships re-ceived at least one job offer, according to the National Association of College and Employers.

By utilizing on-campus resources like the Career Planning and Development offi ce and Lion Jobs, UNA students have access to fi nd an internship that suits their majors and interests best.

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

Officials recommend applying for internships early, often

SIERRA KENNEDY

VIEWPOINTSMarch 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala 7A

JOSH SKAGGS

EXECUTIVE EDITORALEX LINDLEY

NEWS/MANAGING EDITORANN HARKEYLIFE EDITOR

MALISA MCCLURE SPORTS EDITOR JARED MCCOY

COPY/OPINION EDITOR BLYTHE STEELMANONLINE EDITOR

LAURA IVIEBUSINESS MANAGER

CORTNEY OLIVERGRAPHIC DESIGNER

ALEX GOUINAD REPRESENTATIVEMATTHEW WILSON

CIRCULATION MANAGERKAYLA SLOAN

CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHERCHRISTINA COVINGTON

MICHAEL REDDINGALLI OWNBY

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERSREBECCA WALKER

ADVISER

The Flor-Ala welcomes and encour-ages Letters to the Editor.• The deadline for submitting let-ters is 10 a.m. Monday, the week of publication.• Letters must not exceed 400 words. • Letters must be accompanied by the writerʼs name, mailing address, phone number and email.• The Flor-Ala prefers to publish your letters exactly as written, but reserves the right to reject slanderous or libelous material.• The publication of any letter is left to the discretion of the Editorial Board.• Priority is given to letters critical of The Flor-Ala, or written in direct response to an editorial, a column, or a news story.• When the editors deem it neces-sary for ease of understanding or to clarify facts, an Editorʼs Note may accompany a letter.• Address correspondence to The Flor-Ala. UNA Box 5300, Florence, AL 35632.Email: florala@una.edu. • Phone: 256-765-4364

Letters Policy

Copyright © 2013The Flor-AlaAll rights reserved.First copy free.Additional copies $1 each.

STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF

NORTH ALABAMA

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

To the UNA Community,In the wake of a 1970 tragic

airplane crash that took many lives from its community, Mar-shall University united under the call, “We are Marshall.” 37 years later, Virginia Tech responded to a violent shooting spree on its campus with the call, “We are Virginia Tech.” Recent acts of sexual violence against students at UNA should remind us that like Marshall and Virginia Tech, we are a community, and to attack one of us is to attack us all. And like Marshall and Virginia Tech, to go forward with strength against those people or circum-stances that might challenge us, we must stand together with the resolute call, “We are UNA.”

Just one week ago, the most recent rape of a UNA student was reported to the campus. Since then, various groups within the campus commu-nity have met seeking ways to protect themselves and their neighbors. In each of these discussions, enhancing physical safety has taken priority. It is natural and right that our fi rst concern should be to proactive-ly protect the community, but our efforts must not stop there. We must begin to challenge the deeply embedded ideas that lead us to speak of rape as an “alleged” event or qualify its severity by the degree to which the victim was intoxicated. We must begin to challenge the even more deeply embedded ideas that make us publically mourn the lost future of an athlete perpetrator but ignore the greater tragedy of a victim who will never fully recover from the violence done to her. We must begin to challenge the cultural ideas that lead to such thinking and seek to discover instead what it should mean to be a man or a woman in any place at any time.

To UNA students, under-stand that the faculty and staff know your fears and pain, and we are actively working to ease them. But to make our com-munity strong again, the entire community must participate in its healing, so we encourage you to take part in the various discussions taking place on campus. One of those opportu-nities involves a large group of faculty and staff members and students who will be meeting weekly for brown-bag lunch conversations, and we welcome you to join. We also encour-age you to call upon us when needed, whether it is just to talk about your concerns or to escort you to your cars or dormitory after classes. We know that you are the heart of our community, and when the heart is broken, we all experience the pain, because “We are UNA.”

Cynthia BurkheadFaculty and Staff for a Safe UNA

JOSH SKAGGS

Action needed in campus security

If you haven’t read the newspaper or have had your head in a sandbox for the past few months, there have been three reported alleged sexual attacks on campus.

Three suspects were ar-rested last week for an alleged gang-style rape of a female in Rivers Hall. Just a few weeks ago, police responded to a report of another gang-style rape in a university apartment. Additionally, last September a female was reportedly attacked in the parking deck and raped by an unknown suspect.

In my opinion, one rape (or sexual assault) is too many. Many students, faculty and staff are calling for more campus policing, additional security measures and a re-evaluation of residence hall policies.

All of these are excellent places to start, but we need to

do something as a community. We need to call for action. We need solid answers.

We, as UNA community members, should band together to put an end to the sexual violence that has been exhib-ited on our campus. This is our campus, and we have to take ownership of it.

During a recent open forum on campus, offi cials from Stu-dent Affairs and the university police department discussed the latest reports of rape on campus. Although the attendees asked great questions, I feel as though their questions were not answered and their concerns were not addressed.

Yes, the university police department added reserve of-fi cers, trained a female offi cer to investigate rapes and beefed up patrols after September’s reported rape, but I don’t think it’s enough.

The Flor-Ala reported in September that the university police department was shop-ping for cameras to be placed in the parking deck, but I have yet to see the fi rst crew putting these cameras up in the deck. Action must be taken to prevent these types of crimes from hap-pening on our campus.

Sure, all college campuses

are going to have their occa-sional burglaries and robberies. Hell, they all typically have occasional cases of alcohol and drug violations, but UNA is not known for rapes and sexual as-saults happening this often.

Campus security needs to be stepped up even more. I may be speaking too soon, but I would be willing to pay more in tuition to be safe on campus. We already pay a good deal of tuition, but if I was charged $200 more a semester so that additional offi cers could be hired and cameras could be placed around campus, I would write a check tomorrow.

Students on this campus get in an uproar over The Flor-Ala running an article on sex but don’t react when we have to run stories each week on sexual as-saults happening quite often.

The response to incidents like this should be of a nurtur-ing nature and make the victim feel like people are standing beside them to help the campus and victim get back to a sense of normalcy.

The UNA community needs to unite against sexual violence and especially violence against women. No longer should it be seen as OK to be violent toward other human beings.

Interested in writing or taking photos for The Flor-Ala?

Come to our writers meeting every Monday at 6 p.m or photographer meeting Monday at 8 p.m. Take a story, shoot a photo and get involved.

Acclaimed poet Nikki Giovanni and African-American literature scholar Trudier Harris read and spoke on cam-pus March 13 and 14 as part of the UNA Writers’ Series.

Harris read poetry and a work in prog-ress March 14 at 9:30 a.m., and Giovanni read her poetry March 14 at 11 a.m. in

the GUC Performance Center. Giovanni, author of more than 30

books, is an internationally known poet, commentator, activist and educator. She currently teaches at Virginia Tech Uni-versity.

Several of her books have been nomi-nated for NAACP awards, and her auto-biography “Gemini” was nominated for the National Book Award.

Harris has written several books on African-American literature. The native Alabamian is a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and currently teaches at the Univer-sity of Alabama.

The Writers’ Series was underwrit-ten in part by grants from the Alabama Humanities Foundation and the Alabama State Council on the Arts.

NEWS March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala8A

EVENTS

Writersʼ Series brings Nikki Giovanni, Trudier Harris to campus

photo by SHANNON WELLS I University Photographer

ALEX LINDLEY

The Student Employee Recognition Committee has selected the top three fi -nalists for UNA Student Employee of the Year. The fi nalists are Gavin Best, Am-ber Bodiford and Bailey Ellis.

Each supervisor on campus nomi-nated one or two of their student em-ployees whom they believe exhibited the criteria for the award, including reliabil-ity, quality of work, initiative, attitude, professionalism and their uniqueness of their job. Along with the three fi nalists, six other nominees received honorable mention for interviewing for the award: Amanda Abernathy, James Beaver, Cay-la Buttram, Madeleine Frankford, Noelle Ingle and David Johnson.

UNA will host Student Employment Week April 7 through 13. The 2013 Stu-

dent Employee of the Year will be rec-ognized and awarded with a $500 book scholarship at the UNA Awards Gala April 11. The winner will be submitted to the Regional National Student Employ-ment Association Organization.

Gavin Best, a senior accounting ma-jor from Birmingham, works in the Stu-dent Recreation Center as assistant to the coordinator of fi tness. Best graduates in May and plans to attend graduate school afterward, where he will complete the CPA exam and attain a master’s of ac-countancy. Best would like to work ei-ther in Nashville or Atlanta after gradu-ate school. He said his commitment to leadership and dependability enabled him to be nominated for the award.

“Gavin knows the job so well and he knows what I need,” said Glenda Richey, fi tness coordinator. “I don’t have to go back and double-check his work because

he knows what he needs to do and he does it.”

Amber Bodiford, a senior computer information systems major from Foley, works in Student Conduct and Student Affairs Assessment. She is the fi rst point of contact and does general secretary du-ties in the offi ce. Bodiford graduates in July and wants to pursue a career with the FBI’s Cyber Security Division or work as a bomb technician. Bodiford feels that her work ethic in conjunction with being in tune with students enabled her to be nominated.

“To be nominated for this award is awesome and a blessing in its own,” she said. “Even if I don’t win, to be nomi-nated is an honor to me.”

Bailey Ellis, a senior secondary edu-cation and English major from Ozark, works at Business and Financial Affairs. Ellis is a documents specialist working

in Financial Affairs and the Controller’s offi ce. Ellis graduates in the fall after her internship and plans to teach in inner city schools. She said her assertiveness, cha-risma and ability to work well with oth-ers enabled her to be nominated.

The UNA Student Employee of the Year is a relatively new tradition that be-gan three years ago by student employ-ment coordinator Stephanie Smith.

“Student employees bring so much value to this university,” she said. “I would not be able to accomplish most of my tasks throughout the day without hav-ing a student employee. They are very vi-tal to this campus community. It’s very important not only for them to gain skills that they’ll take into the workplace but also for us as the supervisors to groom and train the upcoming workforce.”

Student Employee of Year finalists selectedRECOGNITIONS

TRISTA IRVIN

LIFE March 21, 2013• The Flor-Ala • Life Editor: Ann Harkey 256-765-5233SECTION B

What are your 20s for? Parties, education, marriage, starting

a family, fi nding yourself – there’s re-ally no right answer when it comes to the question “What are your 20s for?”

Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Car-rie Bradshaw on the popular movie “Sex and the City: The Movie” said they’re for enjoyment.

“Enjoy yourself- that’s what your 20s are for,” she said. “Your 30s are to learn the lessons. And your 40s are to pay for the drinks!”

While Parker’s character may have been right, some UNA students said they don’t feel the same.

Junior business major Carleigh Brown said she stays away from the party scene, choosing to use her 20s to develop and cultivate relationships with those around her.

“I’m really using these years to in-vest in other people and learn about them,” she said. “I’m striving toward a career and lasting friendships.”

Meg Jay, clinical assistant professor at the Uni- versity of Virginia, recently gave a TED Talk o n making the m o s t of your 20s.

“Claim-ing your 20s is one of the simplest things you can do for work, happiness, love, maybe even for the world,” she said during the talk. “We know your brain caps off its second and last growth spurt in your 20s as it rewires itself for adulthood. Which means what-ever you want to change, now is the time to change it.”

While changing things and dis-covery of one’s self could be a theme of your 20s, one UNA student said he has a different outlook on the decade.

“Your 20s are about discovering who you won’t be,” said Brian Mulack, a 28-year-old graduate student.

Figuring out what you don’t want out of life or the type of person you don’t want to be is sometimes easier than the alternatives, he said.

“You meet people in their 30s and 40s who still don’t know what they want,” he said. “It’s easier sometimes to fi nd out what you don’t want, rather than determining what you want 20 years from now.”

Jay explained during her presentation that many 20-somethings are too relaxed about what they do during their 20s. She said they develop intimate relationships without meaning, take on jobs unrelated to careers they wish to pursue later in life and they garner the wrong message from the media, looking at their 20s as an “ex-tended adolescence.”

“When a lot has been pushed to your 30s, there is enormous 30-some-thing pressure to start a family, have your career, pick a city,” she said. “Many of these things are incom-patible to do all at once.”

Mulack said he thinks your 20s are also open to change and anything could happen.

“You make plans, but you nev-er know — things happen and they change,” he said.

Using your 20s to “own your adulthood” and invest in “identi-ty capital” that will make you who you want to be later in life is a key part to mak-ing the most of your 20s, Jay said. She also said allowing for opportunity or change is impor-tant.

BLYTHE STEELMAN

Students discuss college years

photo illustration by CHRISTINA COVINGTON I Staff Photographer

A star-studded cast and high-end visual effects accompany an interesting new prequel to a classic story that reveals the man behind the curtain

in Disney’s “Oz the Great and Power-ful,” directed by Sam Raimi. The movie stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, a magician and con artist who, after being trapped in a hot air balloon during a tornado in Kansas, fi nds himself trans-ported to smack dab in the middle of the merry ol’ land of Oz.

Shortly after a crash landing, Oscar (also known as “Oz”) meets a lovely young witch named Theodora, played by Mila Kunis, who believes Oscar is actually the fulfi llment of a prophecy that anticipates the arrival of a power-ful wizard who will save the land of Oz from impending doom. Oscar, always quick with the slight of hand, lies and schemes his way into the hearts of Theodora and various other characters (including a talking monkey who can fl y, voiced by Zach Braff of “Scrubs” fame) until he seems to convince even himself that he is the wizard.

The plot thickens when the young witch guides Oz to the Emerald City to

meet her sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who acts as the kingdom’s steward until the rightful heir to the throne (the wiz-ard from the prophecy), can appear and kill the Wicked Witch that terrorizes the land. Evanora tells Oz he must fi nd this witch (who we learn is named Glenda, played by Michelle Williams) and break her wand.

It is during Oz’s confrontation with Glenda that true intentions are revealed, and the con artist realizes he is in way over his head. The ensuing story is one of heartbreak, hope, destiny and the art of getting over yourself.

Or at least, that’s what Disney wants you to think. The truth is, there’s noth-ing that great or powerful about this movie, unless you’re under the age of fi ve (in which case you’re easily bored by things anyway; so, the movie’s effect will be about the same).

It’s not that “Oz” isn’t entertaining; it’s just that I’d be more entertained watching afternoon soap operas with my grandmother (although, the plot would lead you to believe the movie is a soap opera, especially when trying to explain how the Wicked Witch of the West became so wick-ed).

The special effects in this movie do for the land of Oz what Tim Burton did to Wonderland in 2010; that is, create a place of magic and mystery that is made overly epic and too fantastical to look good on screen (to put it simply, the CGI moves from spectacular to horrible in a matter of moments).

What’s amazing is that some of the best acting in the movie comes from computer generated, supporting charac-ters, such as the talking monkey, Finley, who steals the show with comic relief and warm-hearted lines of ooey-gooey sweetness.

What’s even more amazing is how mediocre Franco and Kunis are as two of the main characters. Oz the wizard goes from being cheesy and sneaky, to being cheesy and sneaky with a little more character; while, Kunis’ Theodora is unconvincing and ... well, you’d have to watch the movie.

To put it simply, picture a really good high school play where the most attractive kids are cast in the big roles. Then, give that play a $300 million budget and you’ll have this movie. Hon-estly, I’d pay more to see a high school play of just about any caliber before I’d pay to see this one again. It’s not the worst — and there are some great mo-ments for 3D audiences — but at best, I’d recommend waiting to just rent it.

LIFE March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala2BMOVIE REVIEW

ʻOz the Great and Powerfulʼ not so greatPACE HOLDBROOKS AT THE BOX OFFICEAT THE BOX OFFICE

• GROSSED $144.1 MILLION DOMESTI-CALLY

• CURRENTLY NO. 1 MOVIE IN U.S.

• 62 PERCENT ON ROTTEN TOMATOESʼ TOMATOMETER

• PRODUCTION COSTS APPROXIMATELY $325 MILLION

w

LIFEMarch 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala 3B

A crime that often goes unnoticed or unwarranted as one that deserves im-mediate attention is stalking. Stalking is considered a crime in all 50 states because nearly 6.6 million people are stalked every year in the U.S.

“Stalking is unwanted attention in an overabundance of attention that one in-dividual places on another,” said Wayne Bergeron, interim chair and instructor of criminal justice. “It becomes a problem when the object of that attention be-

comes uncomfortable.”According to Safe Horizon, women

are three times more likely to be stalked than raped. Coincidentally, like rape victims, three out of four stalking vic-tims previously know their stalkers.

These reports are true when looked at through UNA freshman Elizabeth Higgins. Higgins was stalked her fi rst semester of college at work by a former high school classmate. Her stalker fol-lowed her to work to sit and stare at her while she was working. The stalking ended when Higgins’ coworkers noticed the situation and warned her.

“I was kind of scared to go out to my

car after that,” she said.Higgins said the boy had exhibited

the same sort of behavior while the two went to school together.

“He would turn around in class and just stare at me the entire period,” she said.

Bergeron said stalking can occur in relationships, at the workplace or among family members. He said what defi nes stalking is the behavior.

Stalking can be classifi ed in various degrees for law enforcers.

According to Alabama’s Stalking

A creative spunk of a new restaurant, Café 106 has teamed with On the Rocks to add a splash of big city livin’ to down-town Florence. With a friendly

staff and bohemian treats raging in New York pomp, this not-so-classic eatery welcomes metropolitan and rural guests.

Perfectly squeezed between On the Rocks and Mefford’s Jewelry, Café 106 is the new inhabitant to the ambiance and vivacity of the downtown area. With my foot in the door, I observed the elongated coffee bar stretching the length of the room, fi lled with beans and grinds that would shame the almighty Starbucks. With a slogan like “We appreciate your addiction,” it’s obvious the place has prime character and charisma.

I spoke to Jedidiah Perry, cook ex-traordinaire, who told me the café was about to experience some changes in different areas.

“The menu is solid, but I know these guys (the owners of On the Rocks) are looking to create some new things,” Perry said. “Customers can begin to see some more seating and possibly some new signs to spice up the venue.”

The menu includes various sand-wiches, soups, salads, bagels and scones to satisfy each meat, veggie and bread lover. Available daily from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., classic ham and sausage biscuits are freshly made. The café eas-ily appeals to the early bird crowd seek-ing a cup of Joe and a side of dough.

After feeling how the lively atmo-sphere jolted my interest, I couldn’t wait to eat. I scanned the menu, tossing choices here and there as if it were a multiple choice assessment. Finally, my instinct told me to pursue the “Cadillac Club,” which ended up ranking in the top 10 of my positive life choices.

Anything with the name “Cadillac” is bound to be top of the line, hide-your-wife-hide-your-kids, eye candy, wipe-the-drool-off-your-face kind of good, right? That’s how I envisioned my lunch to be.

Speaking of Cadillac, my stomach groaned louder than the old, beat-up and barely running DeVille my mother drove when I was a kid. And yet, as grill master Perry brought out the panini stacked higher than the Sears Tower with ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, and bacon and drizzled lavishly with honey mustard, all I could think was, “I am about to devour.” The panini, paired with a heaping cup of Greek pasta salad infused with fl avorful chunks of feta cheeses, sent me into a realm of satisfaction.

Without a doubt in my mind, I give Café 106 a thumbs up.

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Café 106 adds variety to downtown

ANNA GRACE USERY

photo illustration by KAYLA SLOAN I Chief Photographer

Stalking is considered a crime in all 50 states because nearly 6.6 million people are stalked every year in the U.S.

Stalking more common than rapeCORINNE BECKINGER

Look behind you

LIFE March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala4BCAMPUS

Self-defense workshop teaches techniques to escape violence

The Center for Women’s Studies hosted a self-defense workshop March 14 for the campus community in order to teach what to do in a compromised situ-ation.

Lauren Fulmer, a senior health, phys-ical education and recreation major, led the workshop for 30 girls interested in be-

ing able to rescue themselves in the case of burglary, assault or sexual violence. She began the workshop with packets of information including The RAPE Strat-egy (remain calm, alternatives, plan of action and escape) and prevention tech-niques that seemed redundant to most.

“There’s a reason you hear the same things over and over again (regarding safety),” she said. “It’s because they work.”

Fulmer went through numerous sce-

narios involving chokeholds and arm grabs, discussing what to notice and how to get out of the positions as quickly as possible.

“I hope no one has to go through these situations,” she said. “But I also hope that if you’re in them, you can get away. This isn’t Hollywood — this is Florence and the good guy doesn’t always win.”

A mass email sent to all students on campus caught the attention of many of the girls who brought expectations that were both met and raised.

“I came expecting that I would learn moves and gain confi dence,” said Katie Dansby, a junior. “Now I know that I can defend myself against someone bigger than me.”

The students were given opportuni-ties to practice scenarios with each other. Fulmer encouraged students to practice in the daytime.

“Normally the situations you’re put in occur at night, such as getting a fl at tire,” she said. “So pick a sunny day to go outside and practice changing a tire normally so that when you’re in a bad situation, you know what to do.”

These self-defense classes do not excuse men from committing heinous crimes against women but instead give females a sense of ability to defend themselves.

“The reason that we do these kinds of events is because we’re working on changing the attitudes of men toward women,” said Emily Kelley, Women’s Center coordinator.

Sexual assaults occurring on campus impacted numerous students who attend-ed the workshop.

“I would have gone even if those events hadn’t occurred,” Dansby said. “The fact that they did happen defi nitely affected my decision to come.”

Other students were not fazed by the events and were simply interested in the idea of self-defense.

“As far as I know, all of the assaults

on campus have been alleged,” said Em-ily McCann, senior attendee of the work-shop. “That doesn’t mean much to me. Not to downplay what has happened, but there is no hard evidence. The bot-tom line is that it’s your life and it’s in your hands. It’s up to you to get away — women should know how to defend themselves.”

Men as well as women could learn techniques from the workshops led by Fulmer, who frequently used “him or her” to refer to a potential assaulter rath-er than just “him.” Many of her examples could be uniformly applied between the sexes.

KALI DANIEL

photo by COURTNEY WATKINS I Student Photographer

Senior Lauren Fulmer teaches a class of women how to break a neck hold from behind with partner Vanessa Gerig

”I HOPE NO ONE HAS TO GO THROUGH THESE SITUATIONS. BUT I ALSO HOPE THAT IF YOUʼRE IN

THEM, YOU CAN GET AWAY.

LAUREN FULMER

Resource Center, stalking in the fi rst degree is considered a Class C felony and the most punishable of the various degrees. Stalking in the fi rst degree in-volves a person who “intentionally and repeatedly follows or harasses another

person and who makes a threat, either expressed or implied, with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm.”

“A lot of people like to stereotype that stalkers are these closet geeks, but what we fi nd is that both men and women are as likely to be victims as they are to be stalkers,” he said. “Generally, you have to look at what the behavior is and what the characteristics and relationship is to tell what stalking is.”

Often, calling attention to the issue will help to end stalking, Bergeron said.

Putting notice on the strange behav-ior Higgins’ stalker exhibited helped to promptly end the situation. When co-workers called attention to the young man at work, he disappeared and has yet to reappear at work.

Higgins, however, said she wishes she had gone to an authority fi gure on her own but appreciates that others close to her looked out for her.

“You need to be watching out for other people because I would have never know about it if my co-workers hadn’t told me,” she said.

Students who feel they are being stalked on campus can report the behav-ior to university police or to the Offi ce of Student Conduct and Assessment. In both instances, the stalker can be identi-fi ed and put on notice and allow for more serious actions to be taken.

STUDENT PROFILE

SGA secretary mixes it up, starts own DJ businessSophomore KeKe Greer, better

known to some as DJ KG, has spent the last two years establishing herself as a leader and friendly face on UNA’s cam-pus.

“When I came to UNA, I didn’t know anyone,” she said. “UNA wasn’t my fi rst choice. I had a scholarship to a school about seven hours away from home. I came to SOAR, though, and I just fell in love.”

Already an active member of SGA, Residence Life, LaGrange Society and Phi Mu, Greer can also add DJ to the list.

“One of the things that people don’t know is the DJing started in high school,” she said. “Music has always been a part of my life.”

Greer said she fi rst became interested in DJing after exploring a computer pro-

gram at a church youth function in high school.

“Music is my get-down,” she said. “People can care about what you do and be excited for you, but you’re your own biggest fan.

“DJing puts me on a different level. It’s all about the high you get from doing something you love.”

After buying her own equipment and learning more, she started DJing several parties and campus events.

“It’s not just me,” she said. “I have a huge support team. And God is number one. I do have the skills and talent, but without him, it’s not possible.

“What people didn’t see was the year I spent shadowing other DJs and ask-ing questions. It all happened before the equipment and programs.

“The team of people around me keep me going. The circle isn’t huge at all, and DJing doesn’t happen overnight. They helped me get here.”

A marketing major, Greer said she’s often asked why she doesn’t major in something more closely related to music or DJing.

“I try to keep my DJ life and my per-sonal life separate,” she said. “I want to be happy, and I don’t want to come to hate what I love as a hobby.”

Greer said her campus involvement has contributed a lot to the person she’s become since starting at UNA.

“You get what you put in,” she said. “I always recommend living on campus, because then you get the community feeling.

“As far as Phi Mu goes, it blew my mind. It was spring 2012, and I got talked into going to a skate party during spring recruitment. They say ‘When you know, you know.’ I knew.”

She said the rest of her undergradu-ate experience has just been up from that point.

photo courtesy of ALLYSON BERRY

Greer performs at the Dance Mara-thon in the GUC Banquet Hall March 4.

BLYTHE STEELMAN

SPORTSMarch 21, 2013• The Flor-Ala 5B

Men, women drop regional tournament

UNA women’s basketball head coach Terry Fowler was named the 2012-13 Gulf South Conference Coach of the Year March 6.

This season, Fowler led the UNA women to a fi nal record of 20-11 and two tournament appearances.

Fowler has led the Lions to the Gulf South Conference for seven years in a row, including an appearance in the semi-fi nal round of the tournament in 2011.

After the 2012-13 season, Fowler holds an overall record of 115-87 at UNA.

This is the second time in three sea-sons Fowler has recieved the award, the fi rst time being in 2011 after UNA ad-vanced to the NCAA Division II tourna-ment.

BASKETBALL BASKETBALL

Both the men’s and women’s Lions basketball teams got knocked out of the NCAA Division II South Region Tour-nament in the opening rounds March 15-16.

The women’s team fell 51-41 to Del-ta State March 15.

In the game, the women committed 25 turnovers. The Statesman, who shot at only 27 percent from the fl oor, took 18 more shots than the Lions, getting most attempts off turnovers and offensive re-bounds.

At the half, the Lions had 14 turn-overs and trailed 23-15.

“We started a little slow, but I thought we were in good shape at the half,” said UNA head coach Terry Fowler in a March 15 press release. “We scored fi rst in the second half, then just couldn’t get things going.”

In the second half, the Lions would not come closer than fi ve points behind Delta State.

MALISA MCCLURE

photo by MALISA MCCLURE I Sports EditorMekena Randle is fouled during the UAH game earlier in the 2013 season. The Lions made it to the fi rst round of the NCAA Division II tournament before end-ing their seasons 20-11 (women) and 19-9 (men).

Fowler receives conference coaching award

MALISA MCCLURE

Lions take two of three against ChargersMATT WILSON

photo by MICHAEL REDDING I Staff Photographer

Outfi elder Jake Ward narrowly makes it back to fi rst base against UAH March 16.

BASEBALL

The Lions took two of three against the UA-Huntsville Chargers over the weekend in a conference series that saw the Lions’ bats come alive.

UNA opened Saturday’s doublehead-er with an 8-6 win behind Chad Bough-ner on the mound. Boughner went 8 1/3 innings in the opener to get the win, de-spite giving up 12 hits. The win brought Boughner’s career win tally to 28.

The Lions went down early to the Chargers in game one, falling behind 3-0 in the second inning. UNA’s bats woke up slowly, getting a run back in the bot-tom of the second and another in the third.

UNA took the lead during a huge four-run fourth inning with all the runs coming with two outs. Jake Ward’s triple brought in Josh Carpenter to start the lead-taking rally. Big hits from Dylan Boston and Andrew Almon polished off an important inning for the Lions. An-other RBI by Boston in the sixth and a run scored on an UAH error in the eighth put UNA up 8-3 before having to fend off a seventh inning charge by UAH. The three runs plated by the Chargers includ-ed a two-run homerun before Boughner was able to get himself out of trouble.

Third baseman Almon said the team knew it was going to be an important weekend.

“Coming in, we knew we were go-ing to have our hands full,” Almon said. “UAH was leading the conference in hitting. I think they were batting around .350. But we had been working hard on our hitting, and the weekend before against Delta State and this past week-end against UAH, it came together for us.”

The second game Saturday turned into a pitcher’s duel. A far cry from the opener, game two saw Michael Watkins pitch a 1-0 shutout. Matthew Tittle was brought home on a Bradley Noland dou-ble in the second inning to set up a tense seven-inning battle from the mounds.

Watkins not only had some of his best pitching working for him, but he also combined with fi rst baseman Josh Cyr and Almon on a couple of big defensive plays to get himself out of a jam. Right fi elder Josh Doyle also made a sliding catch in the sixth inning to preserve the one-run lead.

“We expected the second game to be kind of like the fi rst with both teams swinging the bats well,” Almon said. “Wat-kins had

his best stuff on Saturday, and we all played well on defense to keep it going.”

After scoring the fi rst run early in the game, Almon said it began to get a bit tenser as the innings wore on.

“There are always some nerves in a game like that,” he said. “We just want-ed to play good defense and try and help our pitcher out.”

The series fi nale did not pan out the way the Lions would have liked as they dropped game three 10-8 after having an 8-1 lead in the sixth inning. The Lions gave up nine runs on 14 hits to the visi-tors over the last four in-nings, dur-ing which both dugouts made their dis-satisfaction with the

umpires known.“Over the course of the whole week-

end I would say the calls weren’t very consistent,” Almon said. “It’s frustrating when he calls it a ball at one at bat and then calls the same pitch strike three at the next at bat.

“We know we can’t let up, and losing a game like that is tough for us, but we have another huge weekend series com-ing up down at West Florida.”

The two wins over the weekend bring the Lions up to 5-4 in the GSC and

13-10 overall. UNA faces West Flor-

ida away this weekend. West Florida is 6-3 in conference play and

currently third behind UAH and Delta State.

SPORTS March 21, 2013 • The Flor-Ala6B

UNA hosts inaugural ProGrass BowlFOOTBALL

The fi rst ProGrass International Scout Bowl was held at UNA’s Braly Stadium March 15, with the South team winning 26-14.

The ProGrass motto was “The Road to Pro Football: A Second Chance at a First Impression.”

The all-star game included Division I and some Division II players who were trying to show out for NFL scouts before the draft in April.

70 athletes were divided into North and South teams, each with a coaching staff of prominent fi gures of NFL and NCAA D-I football.

The ProGrass International Scout Bowl was a success, according to Ma-jors. Players from the University of South Carolina, University of Florida, Purdue University, University of Colo-rado, Rutgers University, University of South Florida, University of Pittsburgh, Villanova University, Clemson Univer-sity, University of Alabama at Birming-ham and the University of Alabama par-ticipated in this all-star game.

Legendary Tennessee Volunteers coach Johnny Majors coached the South team.

“It was one of the most interesting all-star games I have been involved in,” he said. “Both teams gave great effort on

D.”The South side went up 13-0 at the

end of the fi rst half, but the North fought back in the third by scoring two straight touchdowns to go up 14-13.

“Both teams fought hard,” he said. “They had great attitudes.”

The South scored the last two touch-downs of the game to get the win. Mike Gottfried and Rey Dempsey were assis-tant coaches on the South team.

Gottfried, Dempsey and Majors have known each other for many years.

“It was extra special to see (Gott-fried) and (Dempsey) again,” Majors said. “We have been friends for a long time. We had a lot of laughs.”

Khiry Robinson from West Texas A&M had 101 yards on the ground on 17 carries for the South team. The North team was led by Purdue University re-ceiver Antavian Edison. He returned a

punt 90 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter that put the North side up. His one reception was for 36 yards.

Khiry Robinson is ranked 48 out of the 192 running backs in the 2013 NFL Draft Class, according to nfl draftscout.com.

“Khiry Robinson and Antavian Edi-son could play for any team I coach,” Majors said.

JAMES DUBUISSON

”IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING ALL-STAR GAMES I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN. BOTH

TEAMS GAVE GREAT EFFORT ON D.

JOHNY MAJORS

FINAL SCORESOUTH - 26NORTH - 14

St. Xavier quarterback James Coy III, playing for the South team, looks downfi eld in the ProGrass International Scout Bowl in Braly stadium on March 15. The ProGrass Bowl featured top players from NCAA Divisions I and II as well as play-ers from around the world.

photo by ALLI OWNBY I Staff Photographer

The loss to DSU broke a two-game winning streak against the Statesmen and ended the women’s season with a 20-11 record.

The men lost 90-84 to Florida South-ern March 16.

After leading by four at the half, the Lions opened the half with a three-pointer from Rashaun Claiborne.

The Mocs, however, responded with the 14-2 run, including 10 straight points.

The Mocs led by as many as 11 points late in the game before the Lions made one last push. Behind 79-68, UNA used an 11-3 run to cut the defi cit to just three points in the fi nal 2:04 of play.

Claiborne scored 10 points dur-ing the run, but the Lions could get no

closer than 82-79 after his jumper at the 2:04 mark.

A 12-1 run by the Mocs brought about the fi nal score of 94-80.

“I kept being aggressive and kept shooting the ball,” Claiborne said. “My shots were falling.”

The loss ended the men’s season with a record of 19-9.

“I am extremely proud of this team,” said head coach Bobby Champagne in a March 16 press release.

“All year long, they have played hard. We were picked to fi nished fi fth in our conference, and to make the NCAA Tournament is a tremendous accom-plishment for us. We have a lot of guys coming back and are excited about the future.”

SPORTSMarch 21, 2013• The Flor-Ala 7BPLAYER SPOTLIGHT

Mason Rogers is a sophomore at UNA who plays for the golf team.

Rogers developed a love for golf as a child and became more competitive when he was 10. He showed his talent and his passion for golf through the golf team at Boaz High School under coach Eric Whaley.

“It’s really challenging,” Rogers said. “You’re not always good and not always bad.”

He was given an offer to play for Au-burn University but turned it down to be a part of a smaller community. UNA was able to provide that for him along with a better scholarship.

At UNA, some of his great accom-plishments include tying for fi fth in the TVA Credit Union Invitational, 11th at the Kiawah Island Invitational in South Carolina and 12th in the AFLAC/Cou-gar Invitational.

Rogers pledged to Kappa Sigma and is studying sports management. Outside of class, he is devoted to golf.

“I’m either on the golf course or on campus,” Rogers said.

Rogers works at the Turtle Point Country Club, the No. 2 private golf course in the state. Rogers is confi dent the job will bring him to a great future career, stating that “it will look good on offers.” He works for a master profes-sional at the course.

Rogers’ goals include working as a swing instructor at a teaching facility where he can teach rising golfers the fundamentals of the sport, and playing on a professional level as well.

“I always concentrated on golf be-cause that’s what I want to do in the fu-ture,” Rogers said.

BRANDON ANERSON

Rogers devoted to golf, classroom

The UNA Lions football team split up into two squads to play in the spring game March 16. The Purple squad de-feated the White squad 17-7.

The seniors picked the teams earlier in the week.

“I can’t remember ever at West Ala-bama or here being able to divide up into two teams and two good teams,” said Bobby Wallace, head coach.

The game was free for fans and stu-dents and it appeared as if everyone en-joyed themselves.

“We had a lot of enthusiasm and we had a lot of fun,” Wallace said.

Wallace spoke about his fi rst impres-sions for the team to come.

“My fi rst impressions are that we have good depth, not at all positions, but at some positions,” he said.

The receiver position is the major concern for the coaches.

“We need more depth behind the three guys,” Wallace said. “I really didn’t see anything today that was to the point where I was excited.”

Offensive coordinator Cody Gross agreed with Wallace about the depth at receiver.

“We still have to have some folks step up at receiver,” he said.

Depth at running back is the exact op-posite as four players can play.

“We all know what LaMonta Thom-spon and Chris Coffey can do,” Wallace said. “Diamond Simmons is an outstand-ing player.”

Wallace and Gross were impressed by Will Minor’s performance.

“Will Minor made some really good runs,” Gross said.

“I thought Will Minor had some pret-ty good runs in the second half,” Wallace said.

There were no serious injuries during the game.

“The biggest win of the day was that we did not have anybody seriously hurt,” Wallace said.

Gross enjoyed the unusual situation of being able to go for the defense.

“It was good to root for the defense, because during the spring, you never get to do that,” he said.

Gross said the team needs to work on turnovers and its mentality before its game against Miles College at the start of the fall season.

“We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” he said. “We have to get mentally tougher.”

Wallace is looking forward to the fall season.

“I am excited; we had an excellent spring,” he said.

JAMES DUBUISSON

FOOTBALL

Purple defeats White in UNA spring game

With celebrities like Megan Fox, Jes-sica Biel and Matthew McConaughey following a paleolithic diet, people may wonder if it is a good lifestyle for them-selves as well.

The paleo diet, also referred to as the caveman diet, is similar to how it sounds. When following a paleo life-style, people aim to eat the way human ancestors ate during the Paleolithic era before the Agricultural Revolution. This means eating a diet of grass-fed meats, seafood, nuts, vegetables, eggs, healthy oils (such as olive or coconut oil) and fruits, while eliminating dairy, grains, processed foods, salt, potatoes, refi ned sugar and refi ned vegetable oils, accord-ing to thepaleodiet.com.

Jill Englett, UNA human environ-mental science instructor, said that while she likes how the paleo diet encourages more fruits and vegetables, she would question any diet that cuts out an entire

food group.“Any time a diet leaves a food group

out, you’re going to miss vital nutri-ents,” she said.

Stephanie Holmes, a personal train-er, said the paleo diet is healthy if you are not an athlete or extremely active person.

“Athletes need more of the simple carbohydrates that we get from our pro-cessed grains and sugars, so if you are an athlete that would like to commit to the paleo diet, you would need to make some modifi cations to the diet such as bringing in starchy tubers, like sweet po-tatoes,” Holmes said.

Because modern people do not live the same lifestyle as Paleolithic ances-tors, the paleo diet takes careful plan-ning. For example, very few people today have wild game availability, and even produce is processed when it is picked and shipped, Englett said.

UNA student Demarcus Anderson said he is too used to eating dairy prod-ucts and grains to live a paleo lifestyle.

“The only way I could see myself trying to do something like that is if someone was offering me some good money, because eating like that’s a chal-lenge,” he said.

For people wondering whether the paleo diet is right for them, Holmes said to begin by cutting out prepack-aged foods and to shop only around the perimeter of the grocery store, avoiding the middle aisles.

“Grocery stores are set up so that if you were to shop only on the outside walls you can get everything your body really needs,” she said.

The best way to lose weight is to make small, sustainable changes, En-glett said. Losing more than one to two pounds per week begins breaking into lean body mass (a metabolic driver), which will slow the metabolism.

For more information on healthy eating, Englett suggests going to the website choosemyplate.gov and enter-ing your information for a personalized plan.

Paleo diet dangerous for athletes, restrictiveLYNN ECCLESTON

LIFESTYLE

photo courtesy of Sports Information

Mason Rogers, a sophomore at UNA, is devoted to being a golf player, a stu-dent, and a member of Kappa Sigma.

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