Issue 4 April 11, 2016

Editor-In-ChiefNatasha Jones

Assistant EditorsTrenton CanadaAshton Rector

Faculty AdvisorJeremiah Massengale

Staff WritersDJ Hite

Lydia JayShyann Norris

Leanne Gregory

Staff PhotographerEric Ford EdwardsJay Sanksakulchai

Editorial Review BoardLisa Bartram

Marianne Worthington

The Patr iot is t he biweekly student publication of t he University of t he Cumberla nds. Our goa l is to prov ide timely a nd or igina l

content by highlighting ca mpus news a nd v iews.

Awa rd-w inning member of t he Kentuck y Press Association.

Letter from the Editor

Don’t put your responsibilities on the back burner, but be sure to make time to get all that you can from these last few weeks of the semester, and spend what time you have left with your friends before everyone moves back home for the summer.

While college is all about learning, I think sometimes we forget that being around students who come from different backgrounds than us, and have different aspirations from us, is part of learning too. Evening out the time you have for stud-ies and the time you have for friends can also help prevent burnout or bring down levels of anxiety in this very busy time.

Our Campus Activity Board always schedules a number of fun events to help students unwind before finals, so be sure to take advantage of those events. And don’t forget to stop and have a conversation with your professors. While they might be intimidating, professors can often befriend their students outside of the classroom. Whether you’re struggling with a class, struggling with time manage-ment, or struggling to juggle your busy schedule, they’re here to help.

April 11, 2016

Sincerely,

Natasha Jones

Dear Readers,

Now that we’re three weeks away from finals, the pressure to succeed in our current semester, while also preparing for the future, is often a monumental weight on our shoulders.

While students struggle to find the motivation to stay focused and finish strong, there’s also the need to line up sum-mer jobs, internships, or even post-gradua-tion jobs for graduating seniors.

While planning for the future is in-credibly important and every decision we make now will affect us later, make sure to take time to smell the freshly planted tulips around campus.

Page 3 News

Sen. Rand Paul visited the University of the Cumberlands, on Tuesday, March 29 to host a town hall meeting. After this meeting, I spoke with Paul in an in-terview about his former presidential campaign and what voters can expect to see from him in the upcoming senate race in Kentucky.

Paul made the decision on Feb. 3 to suspend his presidential campaign; shortly after hearing results gathered from the Iowa caucuses.

“We placed sort of in the middle of the pack in Iowa, but not high enough- I didn’t think- to have the momentum to go into New Hampshire,” said Paul.

Paul placed fifth trailing his opponents Ben Carson, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and winner of the caucus Ted Cruz.

“I think by being present in the presidential debates that I added a different perspective,” Paul commented.

Paul will also not be endorsing a candidate in the 2016 presidential race.

“We, I think, put up a valiant effort,” added Paul.

Paul explains that his views on national security and debt have remained unchanged.

“I think we have to defend our country, I think we have to have a strong national defense, but I think sometimes when we attempt to choose which leader rules which country in the Middle East, it sometimes doesn’t work out for the best and sometimes there are some unintended consequences,” said Paul.

Paul also added, “We bring in about three trillion dollars in taxes, I can’t think it’s too bad or too much to ask that we just spend three trillion.”

As for the upcoming senate race, Paul said residents of Kentucky could expect him to continue to hold town hall meetings across the state and to continue ding his job as US Senator by allowing people ask questions and receive answers.

Closing the presidential campaignSen. Rand Paul recaps presidential race while visiting University of the Cumberlands

Sen. Ra nd Paul v isits t he University of t he Cumberla nds on Tuesday, Ma rch 29 to host a tow n ha ll meeting.

Photo by Ashton RectorBy AShTOn R eCTORAssista nt editor

Page 4 Features

Every spring semester the Campus Activity Board presents one of the most popular events on campus known as Spotlight. This vocal competition displays some of the University of the Cumberlands’ best talent, but the talent is not necessarily limited to the vocalists. The talent that is being referenced above pertains to those individuals that play the instruments for the Spotlight singers. These musicians can greatly impact the performance of those in the competition and generally play the piano, guitar or the Cajon, a drum the mu-sician sits on and uses to keep the beat. While the musical importance of these musicians is easy to see, they often impact the performance is other ways as well. Before student musicians became the norm, tracks or tapes of the songs were primarily used to accompany the vocalist. When student musicians came along, according to Dr. Michael Dickman, communication arts professor and Spotlight judge, “…it just changed the game, it made it much better.” With live music, audiences seemed to become more engaged accord-ing to another Spotlight judge and integrated digital communication professor Jordyne Carmack. Carmack believes the attendance also increased because

there were more of the students’ friends on stage. According to Dr. Dickman, the attendance wasn’t the only thing that got better. “I think performing with people makes singers better. It makes the whole thing much more musical and it just makes it much more alive,” he says. While the Spotlight performances have benefitted from having live musicians, the musicians themselves can be rewarded in a sense as well. Al-though they do not receive any form of monetary payment opportunities do come from the event. Jay Sanksakulchai, a junior at UC, is in his third year playing as a musician at Spotlight. He also plays the piano for Immanuel Bap-tist Church in Corbin, Kentucky, an opportunity Sanksakulchai credits due to his performances in Spotlight. Sanksakulchai has played in Spotlight all three years he has been at UC. Most recently, in last year’s Spotlight, Sanksakulchai recollects playing for every one of the contestants in the fourth round of the competition. Sanksakulchai is humble for the opportunity each time and does it for the love of his craft, “I just want to play them a song,” he continues, “I just want to make them smile.”

All in a chordMusicians of UC Spotlight take the stage and transform the performance

By L A ndRy WOOdSGuest Wr tier

UC student Jay Sa nksa kulcha i plays guita r dur ing a recent Spotlight night.

UC Spotlight musicia ns nick Ba xter (above) a nd dh fa (left) ta ke t he stage w it h contesta nts to per-for m for t he audience.

Page 5 Features

The weeks following spring break are hands down some of the most difficult weeks of the college experience. You’ve just spent one fabulous week doing whatever it is that makes your heart soar. For some of you, that was a week at the beach with your friends, for others you traveled to see family members in interesting places, and for many of us it was a week at home watching endless Netflix and devouring food we didn’t pay for. Regardless of how you spent your break, coming back to school is difficult. With only a cou-ple weeks until finals it can be challenging to enjoy the time left on campus, but with these five tips you can make the best of your post-spring break college experience.

1. Start a countdown to the end of year, but keep it positive.Counting down to things can be both good and bad. While it’s awesome to see the days dwindling as time passes, it can make it more depressing when the days are moving slowly. Try making your countdown visible in your dorm room somewhere, but maybe not the center of attention. Another way to pre-vent yourself from obsessing over the fact that there are still 25 days until graduation is to make your countdown on your phone. This way when things are going well and your schedule is moving you won’t have to focus on the number of days left. You’ll only be reminded when you choose to look or when you hit certain milestones.

2. Spend time with your friends!This is the time of year when spending time with your friends may be the most difficult. At this point, you’ve been living with the same people for over seven months and it can be challenging to continue to get along all the time, but I promise you it’s worth it. College friends are the best because you’re grow-ing right alongside each other every single day. We live in this community of incredibly close peers 24/7 and when summer rolls around you’re going to miss that. Sure, the first few weeks will be fun; spending time with family and meeting up with old friends from home is always enjoyable, but before long you’ll miss midnight runs to Wal-mart with your roommate and loud dinners

with your teammates. Cherish them all while you still have them.

3. Plan ahead for all of your work.I’m not sure if it’s a conspiracy theory or what, but literally every important thing for every single one of your classes is going to be due in your last few weeks. Don’t freak out, millions of college students before us have survived, but planning is key. Procrastination is fun until you wake up at 2:30 on a Mon-day morning and realize you have four papers due in 72 hours. Take a look at all of those syllabi your professors handed out on the first day of class and write down every assignment you have due between now and the end of the semester. Prioritize them in whatever way is best for you and make a plan to get them accomplished. If you stray from your initial plan a little, that’s okay, just try to get back on track and remain calm.

4. Spend some time in the great outdoors.The weather in Kentucky is absolutely gorgeous in the spring and Williams-burg is in the ideal location for some awesome adventures. Cumberland Falls, Indian Mountain State Park and Levi Jackson State Park are all neat places to explore not far from campus. If you’re too busy to drive somewhere or can’t separate yourself from the wifi there are plenty of ways to enjoy the outdoors on campus. Find a hammock and a couple of trees and spend your afternoon reading in the shade or take a blanket and some notecards to the gazebo for some prime study time.

5. Take time every day to do something you love.If you’re an athlete, focus at least once a day on your sport and use it as a stress reducer. Find a coloring book and channel your inner kindergartener. Blast some music and dance around your room. Grab a camera and document campus. Go watch a sporting event. Rent a movie with your friends. Watch an episode or two of your current Netflix obsession. Take time to breathe and focus on something you love at least for a little while.

Post-spring break survival 101

By Sh A nnOn COLeM A nGuest Wr iter Photo cour tesy of Flick r’s Collegedegrees360. Used w it h per mission.

Page 6 Features

Walk through the lobby of Grace Crum Rollins on a given Monday night, and you will most likely hear words like “critiques,” “structure,” “ev-idence,” echoing off of the walls, all radiating from room 202, home to the University of the Cumberlands’ debate team practice. Long nights and intense rounds are a common thing for members of this team, but hard work and ded-ication truly pay off, as the UC debate team brought home the title of national debate champions for their division in the national tournament. The UC debate team is a nationals team, as described by both its mem-bers and director, Jay Bourne, meaning that every practice, every assignment and every competition is done in preparation for the national competition, the National Christian College Forensics Invitational, which occurred in Califor-nia back in March of this year. Though, the accomplishments that this team has made throughout the entire year aren’t to be taken lightly. Collectively, the team has been given over 60 awards for this year alone. UC sophomore and debate member Jordan Floyd explains, “It’s truly rewarding to get to the end of the season and to look back on what you’ve done. It’s an interesting perspective to get to the end and see how not only you have transformed throughout the season but also how others have trans-formed. I can say that we are leaps and bounds above where we were.” Leaps and bounds are nothing new for this team, as they have had to fight for what they have earned in their history at UC. The team boasts a small

number when compared to many other universities. In fact, only six mem-bers--Caleb Stoffle, Jordan Floyd, Anna Poynter, Bethany Wilson, Esmeralda Garcia, and Heather Greene-- qualified to travel to California to compete in nationals this year, painting them as the underdogs of the collegiate debate world. Team caption and UC senior Caleb Stoffle says, “We’re up against teams that have close to 20, 30, 40 members, and for us to be as successful as we have been really speaks to the team and the effort everyone has put in.” True, their number may be small, but this team of fierce competitors knows how to achieve their goals. “What we really shoot for is the quality award,” Stoffle continues. The quality award, as defined by the NCCFA is calculated by adding all of the points that a university’s entries earn during the tournament and then dividing that by the number of entries. Floyd offers, “We go to the tournaments knowing that we aren’t going to win the sweepstakes, because sweeps are based on numbers…When they were announcing the winner of the quality award and the margin of victory, it’s almost like everyone on the team thought we weren’t getting it because there were other teams that had entries of over 40 and had more winners than I could count on one hand. But sure enough, it was the University of the Cum-berlands! We won by 18 points per person.”

Champions of debateUC Debate wins big at nationals and takes time to reflect on a great season

By TR en TOn CA nA dAAssista nt editor

The UC debate tea m beca me cha mpions in t heir div ision at t he nationa l competition t his yea r. Tea m members Jorda n Floyd, Ca leb Stoff le, Bet ha ny Wilson, A nna Poy nter, esmerelda Ga rcia, a nd heat her Greene pictured above.

Photo prov ided by A nna Poy nter

Page 7 Features

While that margin of victory is rare to see, what’s rarer still is the accomplishment achieved by the novice debaters on the team, Bethany Wil-son and Heather Greene. This was their first major tournament in collegiate debate, yet both walked away as co-champions for the novice division. “I’ve never heard of the happening before,” states Floyd, “so it’s un-precedented that that happened.” Going into the national tournament, Heather Greene’s hopes were simple. “I just hope that all of these Monday night, late night practices pay off,” she explains. “I just want to show what I have learned and what my cap-tain and coaches have taught me. I want to represent them as well as UC. I just want to present the opportunity that UC has to offer.” Junior debater Anna Poynter walked away from the national tourna-ment with the title of junior debate champion as well, proving again that this team has paid its dues. Yet, now that nationals are a thing of the past and the season comes to a close, the team finds themselves at a bittersweet crossroads. “We’ll still have the majority of our team here for the fall,” Floyd offers, “but we are losing our captain.” Stoffle is set to graduate this May, meaning that his time spent on the

team and his time as captain for the past three years is coming to a close. “My brother was captain of the team before me,” Stoffle says, “so I had to step into that role when he left here. Debate is absolutely incredible, and if I had to have one thing on my resume for the rest of my life, it would be that I was a part of debate. It just opens so many doors for you.” Greene says of Stoffle, “Caleb has just been very influential. He has a lot of valuable information to give and is always willing to help you get better, so he will be missed.” Beyond the loss of Stoffle, the team is left at the end of this season reflecting on the experience, on the journey to victory and on how to maintain the momentum into the fall season. “I think what keeps our team so inspired is that debate gives you fire,” says Floyd. “It gives you a feeling that you have something you need to do. It’s meaningful.” The team has solidified their standing as both champions of campus and champions of debate, riding the high of an incredibly successful season into the start of a new one. Only time will tell of the team can outperform themselves, though given the highlights of this past year, it can be sure that this team is up for a challenge and will work with vigor to secure victory.

I just want to show what I have learned and what my captain and coaches have taught me. I want to represent them as well as UC. I just want to present the opportunity that UC has to offer.

“

”-Heather Greene

Tea m capta in Ca leb Stoff le spea ks to t he debate tea m as Jorda n Floyd ta kes notes for t he nationa l tour na ment.

Bet ha ny Wilson, who beca me co-cha mpion for t he nov ice div i-sion at nationa ls, practices her sk ills in front of t he tea m.

esmera lda Ga rcia pa r ticipates in a mock debate, prepping for t he nationa l competition.

Photos by Trenton Ca nada

Page 8 Features

Whiffle Ball ESS010Former UC baseball coach Terry Stigall introduces the fundamentals of the game of whiffle ball. Emphasis is placed on skill development, knowledge of the rules and basic game strategy. If you enjoy baseball but you are not on the baseball team, then this is the class for you to take for some good college fun. Plus earn an hour credit swinging for the fences.

Religion and Film MSMN/COMM 402 Dr. Bob Dunston and Dr. Keith Semmel combine their resources and exper-tise for this course to examine the relationship between American religious culture and American film culture during the twentieth century. Many individ-uals come to University of the Cumberlands for the religious feel, plus who doesn’t like a good movie? So if you are someone who fits into that category, add some religious themes into your movie watching for a very exciting class.

Interviewing COMM 232This course is designed to introduce students to the professional interviewing process. The focus is on interviews in a business and professional setting with special emphasis given to the employment interview. Units of instruction in-clude: interviewee strategies, interviewer strategies, appraisal interviews, exit and discipline interviews, survey interviews and persuasive interviews.This class sets you up for real life situations when you interview for jobs for your career. Extremely informative. This class isn’t designed to make you work much outside of the classroom, the main goal is improvement in inter-views.

Officiating Games ESS 227This course is outlined for preparing basketball, softball and baseball officials. Field work in officiating is required. Optional state examinations in basket-ball, baseball and softball for certification. Everyone involved with a sport has been mad at an official at some point in their life, it comes with the territory. But, here is a chance to get an idea of what they have to go through, what they have to learn and decisions they have to make in the blink of an eye. A fun and informative class for any sports guru, if nothing else we gain some humility.

Exploring Special Topics in Religion MSMN 330This class is a study of a particular issue, discipline, or area of concern within Biblical, theological, or religious studies such as American denominations or Christian apologetics. The course can be repeated as long as the subject matter

is different. If you are a student who wants to get some credit for a Bible study you are in the right place. A student in Dr. Keith Goforth’s Special Topics course Spiritual Formations of Men, said that this class is so fun it is like fight club. The first rule is you do not talk about it. The second is that you DO NOT talk about it. But, we think it’s pretty great, so talk about it.

Yoga ESS 014This course covers the fundamentals of yoga including basic yoga poses, breathing and relaxation. It is designed for beginners as well as experienced students with modifications demonstrated for all poses. Yoga is beneficial for “any body” in areas such as stress management, flexibility, focus, strength, endurance, and for one’s overall health. Upon completion, the student will be able to continue a yoga practice on his/her own. This class is an opportunity to relax and gather your thoughts while still exercising. It is good to take if you have a stressful schedule; it just calms you down. It is challenging, but in a positive and fun way, it is also a very refreshing activity. Learn poses that you can use for the rest of your life to relax and remove stresses. Sorry every-one waiting for “handstand scorpion pose” picture (just look it up, yikes) no photography is allowed within the walls of yoga class, because we must “put away the rest of the world.” Namaste.

Introduction to Mass Media COMM 131This class is an introduction to American popular culture from 1945 to the present. This course examines the role of television, film and popular music in shaping and reflecting contemporary American history and culture. Every-thing you ever wanted to know and more about American pop culture. Learn about some of the greatest moments in TV, film, and music history. Seriously, this is a great way to earn 3 hours of credit; it’s like the “Here is what you need to watch on Netflix and buy on iTunes” class.

Radio Broadcasting COMM 338Dr. Keith Semmel the General Manager for the Campus Radio station, WCCR 94.5 FM has designed this course to teach students the skills necessary to an-nounce for radio. The focus will be on programming, underwriting, scripting, and radio interviewing. Participation with the campus radio is required. Basi-cally this class requires you to be on the radio for one hour a week. Play the music you want, talk about what you want and really do whatever you want as long as it is UC appropriate. Who hasn’t ever wanted to rock out a bit on the radio?

8 Classes you should take before you graduate

By eR iC edWA R dS, JOSh K iddeR, A nd L A ndRy WOOdSGuest Wr iters

Page 9 Features

In the land of Grace Crum Rollins lives a complex community of multi-talented individuals known as the Communication, Theatre and Jour-nalism arts department that make up what is referred to as the Communica-tion department. In this building which houses the gorgeous grand staircase of the Joan Day Foyer is a radio station known as WCCR, a newspaper named The Patriot, a TV station named the Digital Media Studio as well as the Kohn Theatre. While a simple inquiry could inform one that over the years the de-partment has been graced with many talented students but there are still a few things that you might not know. Here are 6 things you didn’t know about the Communication Department of the University of the Cumberlands:

1.) We have our own lingo!When you spend a lot of time with someone, their language soon becomes your own. A group of professors and their students are no different. The easiest way to spot someone who’s not a part of the Communication department, is to see if they know what you’re referring to when you say the “Comm” department or where “Kohn” is located, or if they know the distinguished difference when one says they’re going to “Theory” or “Theories”. Communication department regulars will know what you’re talking about!

2.) GCR is a magical place with many unique features.It’s not only gorgeous and houses the classrooms to so many talented students but the fine arts building itself has its own special wonders. Out of the way hidden staircases, fake windows, light booth, and an audio lab are just a few of the unique things you can find if you spend enough time in the building.

3.) The department really is like a second home to its students.With a kitchen, conference room, and a lobby equipped with comfortable

benches and chairs, some students really do nearly live in GCR. When you spend so much of your time there for school and work, and it’s the meeting grounds for your friends, sometimes it’s hard to live and why would you want to when it has everything you need? It’s not uncommon for students to take power naps in the lobby between classes or make themselves comfortable to power through some homework or make meals or bake goodies in the kitchen.

4.) We love The Beatles. No, really.From an entire course solely devoted to The Beatles to memorabilia strewn throughout the GCR, they are truly our go-to band. Sure, other music groups are great but they are hardly up to par with “Abbey Road” or “Let it Be”. Need-less to say, we have pretty high standards.

5.) Our classes are seriously fun!How many of your classes watch The Andy Griffith Show, DJ on the radio, or make films as a part of your daily curriculum? Of course we have lectures, but they are put to use with immediacy. As a student of this department, you will take the information learned and produce a creative work all your own.

6.) A majority of your classes will have the same people. This equals life-long friends.Many students have nightmares about being in a classroom full of people they do not know, but here in the communications department that’s not the case. You will see familiar faces often as you progress further through your major or minor. Also, our classes are relatively small so you get to know your class-mates much better. Need to a quote for a journalism piece or an actor for your latest film project? Don’t worry; your friends have your back.

6 Things you didn’t know about the Communication department

By nATASh A JOneS A nd AShTOn R eCTOReditor in Chief a nd Assista nt editor Jour na lism major Ashton Rector poses w it h a ca mera, one

of t he ma ny sk ills students utlize w it hin t he communica-tion depa r tment

Photo by natasha Jones

Page 10 Entertainment

Page 11 Entertainment

In the words of Lex Luthor, “Batman v Superman” billed itself as “Fight night. The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world. God versus man. Day versus night! Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham!” And though it which did not spend much time on fight night, it’s still a worthwhile action film. The not-so-sequel-Justice-League-set-up film begins, quite literally, in 2013’s “Man of Steel” as Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne travels into Metrop-olis to try and save workers from the Wayne office building. But alas, if you saw how “Man of Steel” ended, you know that Metropolis was all but de-stroyed and Wayne swore vengeance for the victims of the city. While Affleck may not be Christian Bale, he plays the moody, brooding Batman pretty well. The film continues as Amy Adams’ Lois Lane continues to work at the Daily Planet and get in over the top incidents where Henry Cavill’s Super-man/Clark Kent swoops down to save her. Things go poorly for Superman after that. Framed for the murder of an innocent African village, Holly Hunt-er’s Kentucky (woot!) Senator Finch is out to keep Superman in check, calling into question whether he should save the world just because he can (not so woot). This is where Jesse Eisenberg’s chaotic Lex Luthor comes into play,

with the knowledge and sole ownership of Kryptonite, seeking to persuade Finch to use said knowledge and start the fight of the century. Director Zack Snyder returns to DC films after directing “Man of Steel,” and continually shows that he can handle a visually stunning action film, especially with his cinematography. His debut film “Dawn of the Dead” in 2004 and subsequent action films “300,” “Watchmen,” and “Sucker Punch,” have gotten more stylistic with each go. Every scene is set up so beautifully to where it looks like it could be a postcard that you send to your mom when you are backpacking through Europe. The story itself, is the perfect set up for the upcoming Justice League film that is coming out in 2017, but not before we get to see the amazing Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in her own film. After all, it sets up not only the holy trinity of superheroes, but we also get a super small glimpse of other he-roes like Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg and can speculate as to why they just might get together to save the world one more time.

4/5 stars

Mixed reviews for “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”

“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” had all the potential but sad-ly fell just a little short of expectations. The greatest gladiator battle in the history of the world was the greatest flop of the year. Director Zack Snyder brought to us one of the most beautifully filmed movies in recent times, but where the real problem lies cannot be fixed with smoke and mirrors; the issue comes from its core. Like Kryptonite to Superman, the plot of this film is what slowly drained the life from it. It is no secret that many fans were already worried about the film long before it premiered; just look back at the initial reactions to Ben Affleck being cast as Batman. With Marvel setting the bar incredibly high for superhero movies in general and DC cranking out a subpar movie with “Man of Steel,” things seemed stretched thin. While, there are some good things about “Bat-man v Superman,” there’s a lot more wrong with it. The biggest positive has to be Ben Affleck’s portrayal of the Dark Knight; he seemed to really buy into the role and it brought out the best in him. He plays the cynical, angry, and frustrated Bruce Wayne that Frank Mill-er created in the “Dark Knight Returns” graphic novel, which this movie is very loosely based off of, as best as anyone could have asked for. Batfleck silenced his critics in a big way by creating one of the most honest renditions of Bruce Wayne since Michael Keaton. Something else has to be said for ev-eryone else in this film too; not a single member of this cast tried to phone in their performance, they all succeeded in their performances. However, if you watched any of the trailers you pretty much could al-most tell the entire story of the movie without ever paying the money to watch it. One of the most notable examples of this is the scene where Batman and Superman humorously ask who Wonder Women is with, since you already

saw it in the trailer the moment isn’t so memorable. The whole film was like this. Also, in order to have such a visually appealing movie, they obvi-ously forgot that dialogue and character development is what drives the story along, not the action. This film produces major cringe worthy lines. Holly Hunter plays Senator Finch, who just happens to be from Kentucky, and has a conversation with Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) in which she says something like, “I grew up on a farm, I know how to wrestle a pig.” It’s a shame that peo-ple from Kentucky always seems to be reduced to hillbillies who have always wrestled some form of farm animal. The biggest failure for this film was the plot. Was this movie about Batman fighting Superman, taking on Doomsday, or was it just a bunch of really great comic books from history taken and rolled into one poor interpre-tation? Warner Brothers, DC, and Zack Snyder obviously had way too much to try and accomplish here, and with the film already being two and a half hours long, there was no way they could cover all that ground. And in trying to do so they left so many inconsistencies; the most notable is Batman’s frus-tration about how many lives were lost when Superman fought Zod in “Man of Steel,” yet he mows people down all throughout the film. “Batman v Superman” had a real chance of producing one of the most revered superhero movies of this generation and it fell very short of that. What should be the dawn of great things to come may be the DC Universe’s greatest injustice.

1.5/5 stars

By BROdy nOL A nGuest Wr iter

By K ASey M A LOneGuest Wr iter

Wa r ner Bros.