ANDREW SMITH, MARINE CORPS SNIPER • CYRUS BRACKIN, LOCAL BOXER • LAUREN O’GRADY, FRESHMAN ACTIVIST • KEVIN PHILLIPS, TOURING MUSICIAN

• CLAY McCAULEY, COMPUTER GURU • CHRIS STARR, MODERNIZING RECY-CLING • MYRA SEAMAN, POSTMEDI-

EVAL AUTHOR • SIMON LEWIS, JUBILEE PROJECT • ANNETTE WATSON, ENVIRON-MENTAL GEOGRAPHER • JUSTIN PEERS, PEDICAB SCIENTIST • ANDREW SMITH, MARINE CORPS SNIPER • CYRUS BRACKIN, LOCAL BOXER • LAUREN O’GRADY, FRESHMAN ACTIVIST • KEVIN PHILLIPS, TOURING MUSICIAN • CLAY McCAULEY, COMPUTER GURU • CHRIS STARR, MODERNIZING RECYCLING • MYRA SEAMAN, POSTMEDIEVAL AUTHOR • SIMON LEWIS, JUBILEE PROJECT • ANNETTE WATSON, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHER • JUSTIN PEERS, PEDICAB SCIENTIST • ANDREW SMITH, MARINE CORPS SNIPER • CYRUS BRACKIN, LOCAL BOXER • LAUREN O’GRADY, FRESHMAN ACTIVIST • KEVIN PHILLIPS, TOURING MUSICIAN • CLAY McCAULEY, COMPUTER GURU • CHRIS STARR, MODERNIZING RECYCLING • MYRA SEAMAN, POSTMEDIEVAL AUTHOR • SIMON LEWIS, JUBILLE PROJECT • ANNETTE WATSON, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHER • JUSTIN PEERS, PEDICAB SCIENTIST • ANDREW SMITH, MARINE CORPS SNIPER • CYRUS BRACKIN, LOCAL BOXER • LAUREN O’GRADY, FRESHMAN ACTIVIST • KEVIN PHILLIPS, TOURING MUSICIAN • CLAY McCAULEY, COMPUTER GURU • CHRIS STARR, MODERNIZING RECYCLING • MYRA SEAMAN, POSTMEDIEVAL AUTHOR • SIMON LEWIS, JUBILEE PROJECT • ANNETTE WATSON, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHER • JUSTIN PEERS, PEDICAB SCIENTIST • ANDREW SMITH, MARINE CORPS SNIPER • CYRUS BRACKIN, LOCAL BOXER • LAUREN O’GRADY, FRESHMAN ACTIVIST • KEVIN PHILLIPS, TOURING MUSICIAN • CLAY McCAULEY, COMPUTER GURU • CHRIS STARR, MODERNIZING RECYCLING • MYRA SEAMAN, POSTMEDIEVAL AUTHOR • SIMON LEWIS, JUBILEE PROJECT • ANNETTE WATSON, ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHER • JUSTIN PEERS,

medianewsradiotvsalespr

Staff

Editor-in-ChiefManaging Editor

News EditorFeature EditorSports EditorDesign EditorPhotography Editor

Staff Writers

Staff PhotographerArtist

Contributor

Sarah SheaferCharles Nguyen

Nicole DeMarcoLaQunya BakerChopper JohnsonGillian SpolarichColin Johnson

Olivia CohenChristina D’AntoniHannah EvansMaddy HartmanSam JordanIan MooreChantelle SimmonsSarah StricklandLeah SutherlandTanner HoisingtonKelley Wills

Seth BurrellSarah Beth Tyrey

Take a look around you. You’re sitting in class, half-heartedly listening to your teacher’s lecture. In order to pass the time, you glance around the classroom and notice that you don’t know the majority of the names of anyone in your class even though the semester is almost over.

Take a look around you again. You don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. There’s perhaps one student asleep, a few really paying attention to the teacher and one or two doodling in a notebook. You’d think they’d be your typical college students, but you’d never know unless you took the time and asked them about their life.

They might be an ex-marine with a Purple Heart, a potential pro boxer, or a freshman already making her mark on campus by spearheading a tobacco-free initiative. We go to a school with over 10,000 students but repeatedly hang out with the same circle of friends we’ve had since freshman year.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my friends, but branching out of my comfort zone every once in a while has introduced me to so many interesting and amazing people I would have never known otherwise.

In this issue of The Yard, we decided to introduce our readers to 10 people we think you should know. While we wish we could have chosen all 10,000 students on campus, we don’t have room in our pages. This doesn’t mean that these 10 people are the only interesting people at the College. There are so many talented and unique students and faculty here. However, you’d never know unless you took the time to even talk to the person sitting next to you in class.

As journalists, we are supposed to be curious and inquisitive. I challenge you to do the same. Instead of awkwardly smiling or turning your head away every time you pass someone you see walking across the street every day, stop. Say hello and introduce yourself. They just might be one of the most interesting people you’ve ever known.

Advertising

For advertisement inquires with The Yard, contact James Grab at cisternyardsales@cofc.edu.

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Phone:

Website:

E-mail:

Cisternyard MediaCollege of Charleston172 Calhoun St., 2nd FloorCharleston, S.C. 29401

843-953-8119

cisternyard.com

cisternyardnews@cofc.edu

About

CisternYard News is the College of Charleston’s official student-run online newspaper. The Yard is its quarterly feature magazine.

Letter from the Editor:Journalists Are Curious:

You Should Be Too

Sarah SheaferEditor-in-Chief

yard

SPORTS

CONTENTSCONTENTS

News4 Rethinking Sustainability 6 Charleston’s Growing Art Scene

Sports8 Male and Female Athletes of the Year10 Top Fall 2012 Athletes

Local14 Charleston’s Best New Restaurants

Top 1016 Ten People We Think You Should Know

Campus27 New SGA President

Opinion28 Staff Editorial: Diversity29 Carnival Conundrum30 Senior Columns

16

27

10

the yard4

cartoon by Kelley Wills

by OLIVIA COHEN

Rethinking Sustainability?

5april 18

NEWS

Dr. Brian Fisher wants to increase the value of your college education. He doesn’t want you to take more classes or to earn better grades: he wants to make the College of Charleston carbon-neutral and zero waste by 2050. See the connection?

Fisher, Director of the College’s Office of Sustainability and political science professor, helped create the blueprint of the Sustainability Action Plan, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to achieving efficient, long-lasting systems.

“It’s not just about the carbon-neutrality and zero waste,” Fisher said. His plan incorporates multiple goals beyond environmental benchmarks that will target unsustainable systems. These goals include Active Engagement and Development as well as Advanced Learning.

In spite of the intimidating vernacular, these goals are deceivingly simple. Basically, Fisher will conduct the integration of business and campus affairs with academic and community affairs through a process that optimizes performance and cost effectiveness for everyone involved. The integration process will follow Fisher’s signature creation: Process Improvement and Systems Integration (PISI). PISI uses strategies such as campus integration, local and regional integration, security and welfare to unite the four other goals. It is completely unique to the College of Charleston.

At most other college campuses, sustainability plans include many small projects, such as switching to fluorescent lightbulbs or increasing the number of recycling bins, but do not change the currently unsustainable societal structure. According to Fisher, these largely fiscally-motivated changes are akin to “picking low hanging fruit.” They make a large initial impact, but after all of the lightbulbs have been switched and all of the recycling bins installed, nothing is left to improve upon within the current structures.

Fisher’s PISI system completely overhauls the current societal structure. The foundation for these changes lies in empowering others, especially students, by providing opportunities for high-impact learning methods, such as research and concept development. “Establishing the vision and establishing the framework for [empowering students] is the most important part,” Fisher said.

The plan relies on support from more than just students, though, citing the need for regional participation. “We can’t be sustainable as a campus in isolation,” Fisher said. “You must be connected to other systems, other entities.”

Although amassing the participation of an entire region might seem close to impossible, the process has already begun. Currently, Fisher is putting together 15 “working groups” each containing four to eight experts in their respective

fields from the College of Charleston campus and the greater Charleston community. These groups will each create a plan for sustainability in their areas of knowledge.

The working groups are clustered by fives into three categories: infrastructure, basic services and education. Infrastructure and basic services will be locally integrated, and basic services and education will be regionally integrated, creating a complex web of disciplines and ideas at the local and regional level - ideas that will turn into action.

For now though, planning is key. “There’s a lot of thought that needs to go into this process,” Fisher said. “It can’t just be slapping lipstick on a pig to make it look good.”

The amount of thought put into the plan is reflected in its timeline. It will take at least one full year for the the final draft of the Sustainability Action Plan to reach completion. Assuming the final draft is finished by the current projection of summer 2014, “That gives us 36 years from the time we put this on paper,” Fisher said, referring to his self-imposed deadline of 2050 to accomplish the goals.

Although this plan originated within the Office of Sustainability, Fisher hopes that through PISI, other people and departments will become equally responsible for the goals.

“We’re planning big,” Fisher said. “We’re planning for 2050. But really starting in 2015, this office will turn into an implementation office.” The Office of Sustainability’s changing role requires that students, faculty, staff and community members commit to achieving the goals of the Sustainability Action Plan.

Participation across local and regional levels is what will ultimately increase the value of a College of Charleston diploma. By creating a need for ongoing research, necessitating more leadership positions and developing deeper relationships with the Charleston community, the Sustainability Action Plan will provide more opportunities for hands-on experience, which prepares students for the workplace far better than any erudition.

New structures for sustainability will accomplish much more than just assisting college students. Because sustainability is intrinsically a long-term phenomenon, putting in time and effort to change the system now will result in a comfortable lifestyle for generations to come, one without the energy and water shortages that current estimates see coming in the near future. “We need to put future generations in a position not only to continue to do the right thing, but to improve on what we’ve created,” Fisher said. “That’s thinking in a sustainable way. It’s the mindset that’s the most important first step for us.”

Dr. Brian Fisher proves it’s more than just going green

the yard6

the new gaillard center

Charleston is not only a city steeped in a rich history with the fine arts, but is also a leader on the international art scene. Theater, dance, opera,

music, and visual arts are inextricably linked with the city of Charleston. The first theater in America, the Dock Street Theater, calls Charleston home, and in 1736 housed the first opera performance in America. “The Charleston,” the nationally famous 1920s dance involving quick steps and swishing arms, came from inspiration found in our own harbor.

The city has always been well known for its commitment to the arts, but Spoleto Festival USA was a main player in putting Charleston on the international cultural scene. The arts festival was originally created in the Italian city of Spoleto. It was dedicated to finding new talent, celebrating the arts, and bringing together art enthusiasts from across Europe. The creator, Pulitzer Prize winning composer Gian Carlo Menotti, wished to add a festival in America and discovered Charleston, with its unique historical culture coupled with hundreds of picturesque venues. The first Spoleto Festival USA opened in May of 1977. Since then, the festival has hosted over 200 world premieres, including works by Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. Famous artists such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma and opera singer Renee Fleming have also performed at the festival.

Spoleto USA’s 37th season will commence May 24 through June 9, 2013, featuring everything from the new Japanese opera, Matsukaze, created by Toshio Hosokawa; to the classic A Mid Summer Night’s Dream performed at the Dock Street Theatre; to Compagnie Käfig, a athletic dance troupe that brings together different styles such as hip-hop and samba, and will be performed in the TD Arena on the College of Charleston campus.

The College has also taken advantage of the opportunities Spoleto brings to its campus. The Spoleto Maymester class is offered to anyone interested in learning more about it. “It’s an introduction to the arts using Spoleto as a vehicle,” says Professor Edward Hart of the College of Charleston Music Department. “We’ll bring in guests from the festival, directors from operas and theater, opera singers… Often we’ll have opportunity

Charle!on’" Growing

graphics courtesy of the Gaillard Foundation

7april 18

NEWS

to see dress rehearsals [for Spoleto events]. What’s nice is [students] see people in these productions that they’ve met in class. It’s a great course for someone who wants to learn about the arts but has never taken an arts class. And you really don’t need a background; you get thrown in the deep end, and by the time you come out… you’ll know a lot more than when you got started.”

Charleston’s history is full of the arts, but the city is also looking to the future and continuing to grow. The Gaillard Performing Arts Center has been a huge part of the Charleston performing arts scene since its opening in 1968. Many of the original Spoleto events were held on its stage. However, the aging building is becoming a hurdle to the city’s expansion on the international stage. Problems needing to be addressed include low-quality acoustics, outdated bathrooms, kitchens, and dressing rooms, and the stage’s large size, which is an issue for small performances. The Gaillard Performance Hall Foundation, a non-profit organization, organized a massive renovation on the building, updating for the next generation of art fans around the world. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by spring of 2015. Although overall square footage will increase from 11,000 to 16,000 square feet, the stage size will actually be reduced, which the Gaillard Foundation says will create a more “intimate experience for both performers and patrons.”

The renovated Gaillard Center will also focus on the next generation of art enthusiasts. The foundation’s Future Founders program was created with the goal of reaching out to students in Charleston and sharing the love of the arts with them. Sandra Deering, cabinet member of the Gaillard Foundation and one of the forerunners for the Future Founders program, said, “Charleston is growing in ways we haven’t seen in centuries… the city deserves a world class performing arts hall and a commensurate program that encourages area-wide participation in the arts at an early level.” The program’s overall goal would also be to bring “every child in the Charleston metro area every year to the Gaillard for a world class performance.” They also hope to coordinate with schools in the area to bring performers in to schools to talk with kids about their work. Future Founder’s plans on first focusing on elementary students, but Deering says, “as the program builds we’ll be able to follow these kids as they grow and measure the impact we’ve had on their focus in the arts, and surely [see the] change in their lives as a result.”

Art Sceneby SARAH STRICKLAND

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Spo

leto

Fes

tival

USA

It’s hard to believe, but as the days get a little longer, and students have to start thinking about term papers and finals, another year of athletics at the College is nearing its conclusion.

The year has not gone quietly however: there was Friday night futbol at Patriots Point, the volleyball team beat No. 23 Miami in the NCAA Tournament, men’s and women’s basketball both found success under new head coaches, and countless other moments in all sports gave fans reason to cheer.

Yet, as the curtains close on this year in athletics at the College, two athletes stand alone as CisternYard New’s male and female athletes of the year: junior point guard Jillian Brown, who helped lead women’s basketball to the postseason under first-year Dead Coach Natasha Adair, and senior diver Peter Gibbons, who is set to leave the College as one of its all-time most decorated athletes.

One of the prevailing storylines from all things sports this year at the College is the resurrection of the women’s basketball program under Coach Adair, whose team doubled

last year’s win total from eight to sixteen and advanced to the last eight of the Woman’s Basketball Invitational in Detroit. Adair credits her leader at point guard as a key to the program’s impressively quick turnaround.

“She’s the coach on the floor,” Adair said of Brown. “We don’t have the success we had this year without her being a leader and floor general. To have that when you take over a program, I was excited, because that’s the first position you want to build your team around, so to speak, is your primary ball handler.”

As the leader of the Cougars on the floor, Brown has the skill to put teammates and ultimately her team in a position to succeed that all great point guards must have. Over the course of this past season, Brown accumulated an amazing 206 assists, good enough to break the program’s record for assists in a single season, which has stood for nearly forty years. Brown will start next season as a senior with 416 career assists and in position to surpass the College’s all-time woman’s Division I record for assists in a career currently set at 460. Yet, after spending just a few minutes

the yard8

by SAM JORDAN

athletes of the yearmale and female

phot

o by

Tan

ner

Hoi

sin

gton

9april 18

with Coach Adair and Brown as they reminisced about their successful first season together, it is clear their focus is not on individual accomplishments.

“We’re a team,” Adair said. “We talk about our depth, we talk about our bench, we talk about every vital person on this team and how they have a role, and I think that just became contagious.”

As a team, the Cougars earned a postseason bid for the first time since 2009 to play in the Woman’s Basketball Invitational where they advanced to its final eight. For many players on the roster including Brown, it was their first taste of a postseason tournament.

“I was really excited, it was something I never had a chance to do my first two years,” Brown said. “I think it was just another time for us to pull together and work hard and make each other better.”

In a season of change for the program that was not without its adversity, Adair admired her team’s desire to fight late in the year to keep the season alive.

“This time of year,” Adair said, “you either want to play or you don’t. You want to be around each other or you don’t. And they were still hungry about playing.”

Although Brown quietly acknowledged a feeling of honor towards winning female athlete of the year, she quickly deferred credit for her success to her teammates and coaches. But Adair insisted, “Jill’s humble, she’s not going to toot her own horn, but I will. We wouldn’t be here without her.”

Just as Brown has the responsibility of orchestrating her team to victory in every game, senior diver Peter Gibbons approaches each event with success or failure riding on his shoulders. Perhaps what’s most interesting about the male athlete of the year, is that he arrived at the College without the intention of even competing as a student athlete.

“It’s pretty unbelievable to think about for me (being named male athlete of the year) because I came into the College of Charleston not even thinking I was going to dive,” Gibbons said. “I kind of decided halfway through my senior year of high school that I love diving but didn’t really want to take it to the next level, and then I got to the College and realized they had a program here and I just wanted to see what it was about and the coach said that I was more than welcome to be a part of the team.”

The then-curious freshman has now become arguably

the most successful individual athlete in the history of the College. Gibbons broke his first school record his freshman year in what would be his most successful event, the one-meter dive. Since his sophomore year, he has been named the Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association Male Diver of the Year each season. In that stretch, he has been virtually unbeatable in the one-meter dive, winning the CCSA championship in the event each year. He finishes his career with school records in the one- and three-meter dive and a conference record in the one-meter dive, set most recently as a senior, with a score of 320.45 points.

“Peter has earned this title (of male athlete of the year),” diving coach Steve Julka said. “It is not only a recognition of his effort but also his ability to draw an often overlooked sport into the spotlight. An award like this by his peers demonstrates how his hard work has caught the attention of those around him and it may be more meaningful than any of the titles bestowed upon him by those in the diving community.”

Similar to Brown, Gibbons too got his first taste of the postseason this year as he became the first diver in the College’s history to qualify for the NCAA Zones meets. Gibbons admits he was a bit intimidated by a field sprinkled with Olympians and the world’s elite, but looks back fondly on the experience.

“It was definitely the cherry on top of a season,” Gibbons said. “It was really cool.”

When reflecting upon Gibbons’ career, Julka envisions his accomplishments to have a lasting influence on the program.

“Peter has left an incredible legacy at the College of Charleston,” Julka said. “He is the best diver in the program’s history. He introduced the College of Charleston to the national diving community and his contribution may be the spark that allows our diving program to develop into a regional powerhouse. The NCAA Zone meet was a fantastic way to end an exceptional career.”

This year in athletics at the College of Charleston has been as exciting as any in years past. Brown and Gibbons stand together as athletes of the year not only because of their personal success, but the influence they have on their respective programs and institution.

SPORTS

photo courtesy of CofC Athletic Communications

fall 2012top athletes

by CHOPPER JOHNSON

VolleyballIn 2009, Darcy Dorton led Penn State to a national title. After transferring to the Col-lege of Charleston as a red-shirt junior, she led the Cou-gars to only the second NCAA Tournament win in their his-tory, and their first win over a ranked team, when she registered 27 kills against No. 23 Miami. She was named an AVCA All-America honorable mention, and set a school re-cord with 529 kills.

Men’s BasketballIn press conference after press confer-ence this season, new men’s basket-ball coach Doug Wojcik has come back to one simple refrain: “When Willis plays well, we win games.” Willis Hall does not have the most gaudy stats on the team, but his gritty devotion to team success helped the Cougars to 24 wins this season. He was the team’s second-leading rebounder with 6.4 per game (7.1 in SoCon games), and had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three as-sists in a tournament semifinal win over Elon.

Men’s SoccerIn a season filled with injuries, there was one constant for the men’s soc-cer team: Sean de Silva. The senior All-SoCon and All-South Region selec-tion led the team in goals (7), assists (5), points (19), shots (55), and was tied with Ralphie Lundy for game-winning goals (2). De Silva, who has already played internationally for his native Trinidad and Tobago, led his team to an undefeated record at the 2013 USL Pro Combine.

SEAN DE SILVA

DARCY DORTONWILLIS HALL

the yard10

photo by Colin Johnson

photo by Colin Johnson

11april 18

SPORTS

Women’s SoccerThere were players on the women’s soccer team who had more goals or more assists than Michaela Herrmann, but the freshman seems to have a flair for the dramatic. She only scored twice this season, but her first goal was an 88th-minute game-winner against Wofford early in the season that snapped a four-game losing streak. Her second goal was another late game-winner, this time coming in the 83rd minutes as the College upset No. 2 seed Samford in the first round of the SoCon Tournament.

SailingWhat do you do after placing ninth in the Olympics? If you’re Juan Maegli, you come back to the College of Charleston and win a national title. Maegli won the collegiate Men’s Singlehanded Nationals, which had an 18-boat field, by winning 10 of the 18 races contested. Of the 18 races, there were only three in which he did not finish in the Top 3. After he graduates, it will be back to international scene, as he prepares for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Men’s Cross CountrySophomore Mackenzie Johnston has posted top times for the Cougars in several distances this season, including posting Charleston’s top finish at the SoCon Championships with a 26 minute, 27.3 second time over eight kilometers, and a team-best 5k time of 16:00.50. He’s kept it up this spring, breaking the school record for 800 meters, at 1:57.51.

michaela herrmann

juan maegli

mackenzie johnstonph

oto

by E

mily

Bra

dbur

y

the yard12

photos courtesy of CofC Athletics

Women’s Cross CountrySophomore Hayley McMahon posted the Cougars top finish at their final Southern Conference championship, when she crossed the finish line of the five-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 25.31 seconds. Earlier in the season, she had posted an 18:08.4 5k time to place fifth in The Citadel’s Will Wilson Invitational, four seconds off her personal best and the Cougars top 5K time this season.

EquestrianEven though the Zone 5 championships weren’t until early April, sophomore Eliza Hay clinched the College’s regional top rider award in February, securing a spot at nationals with more than a month left in the season. She dominated Open Flat and pen Fences this season, and also took High Point Rider honors in the College’s final meet of the year, when they locked up yet another region title.

Women’s Swimming and DivingSophomore Sarah Graif has been setting records since she got to Charleston. She set two individual records and helped to set four more relay records as a freshman, and added records in the women’s 100 freestyle and the 200 free relay to her record catalog at the CCSA Championships in Feburary. She also became the first CofC woman to hit an NCAA “B” qualifying time with her leadoff leg of the 200 free relay.

hayley mcmahon

eliza hay

sarah graif

Check out Chopper’s picks for the top athletes of Spring 2012 on cisternyard.com

Photos without credit are courtesy of CofC Athletic Communications.

the yard14

Best New RestaurantsThe Frugal Foodie’s

STARS ROOFTOP AND GRILL ROOM495 King Street$$$$

Stars was rated this year’s best new restaurant by the Charleston City Paper. Naturally, I decided I needed to go taste and see what had City Paper buzzing. As I was seated at my table at Stars, waiters in white jackets brushed past to the big band music, reminiscent of the 1930s. The menu was largely seafood based with Lowcountry classics like Lobster and “Big Grits” alongside their meat based dishes. I had heard about the Mini BLT’s on their Tap Wine Tuesday Menu ($3 from 5 to 7 p.m.) and tried them with the Heirloom Apple Salad. I was especially pleased with the BLT’s. The cured tomato, crispy

vegetable slaw, and slathered spicy mayo made me forget they were served on a pretty basic hot dog bun. As an entrée, I enjoyed the scallops served with chicken just gastrique.

After dinner, I headed up to the rooftop bar to see what had everyone talking. As I reached the top and stared out onto the Charleston skyline and up into the sky, I was pleasantly surprised. So this is why it’s called Stars! The large umbrellas, heat lamps and stocked bar create a rooftop experience that will definitely make you want to stay a while.

Although dining is a splurge, anyone can go to Stars their way. Dine downstairs for a nice dinner and live music after 10 p.m. or skip the meal and head right on up to the rooftop to meet friends for drinks and great views.

stars

by CHRISTINA D’ANTONI

Stars food photos by Christina D’Antoni

LOCAL

15april 18

fire street food

FIRE STREET FOOD293 King Street$$

293 King Street has seen its fair share of restaurants come and go, but Fire seems here to stay. Ele Tran has brought her Asian fusion menu from Savannah to Charleston with takes on Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai dishes. I’m typically the first one to criticize Asian restaurants that “do it all,” but I really enjoy the different dishes I’ve tried here, from the Pad Thai to the Stir Fried Noodles. Also, it’s frugal. Almost everything is under $10.

the ordinary

THE ORDINARY 544 KING STREET$$$

Tired of hearing everyone go on and on about FIG? Try The Ordinary, a new seafood hall and raw bar from the same team that brought Charleston FIG. The Ordinary’s menu traverses the east coast from southern cuisine like gumbo and BBQ shrimp to New England fare such as clam chowder and lobster rolls. As the team’s acronym promises, the food is good.

photos by Tanner Hoisington

people we think you should know10

TOP 10

One of the most prominent and controversial issues that has rocked the College of Charleston this year has been the campaign for a tobacco-free campus. The campaign has been spearheaded by 19-year-old Lauren O’Grady, a freshman hailing from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Despite trepidation within the College’s community, O’Grady found herself determined to ban smoking on campus after admittedly being “shocked at the amount of people that smoked here in Charleston.”

O’Grady’s timing was impeccable; MUSC’s status as a tobacco-free institution was attained just last year. Additionally, Healthy South Carolina had recently bestowed a grant upon the College to aid in the fight against smoking on campus. After garnering support from Student Body President Erica Arbetter, O’Grady met with faculty members and MUSC health educator Susan Johnson to initiate the process. She proceeded to draft a proposal that mimicked the policies recently implemented at MUSC for submission to both the Student Senate and the Faculty Senate.

When the time came to present the bill to SGA, O’Grady reminisces, “there were about 50 very agitated, riled up students who showed up to protest what we had to say,” filling out the typically sparse gallery. Following approximately 2.5 hours of debate, the proposal was passed by a vote of 14 to 8, a resounding

success for O’Grady’s campaign.However, the proposal did not fare as well in the Faculty

Senate. The bill, although promising, was prevented from passing by a single vote; the final tally was 15 to 14. According to O’Grady, “the faculty’s concern was that they did not want to be responsible for turning to another faculty member and asking them to put their cigarette out.” Although sympathetic to the faculty’s qualms, her determination to affect change was not diminished.

O’Grady realized that although smoking could not yet be eradicated on campus, she could instead raise awareness on the issue. According to the College’s current policy, there are 24 designated smoking areas on campus that qualify as the only locations where smoking is allowed. Many are not informed of this policy, so it remains largely disregarded and unenforced. Taking this into consideration, O’Grady proposed to utilize the Healthy South Carolina grant to fund new, visible signage to better indicate these designated smoking areas. Dan Dickinson will be developing an image for this proposed signage that will then be submitted to President Benson and the Board of Trustees for approval.

Although the process has been tedious, many steps have been taken toward the attainment of a tobacco-free campus. Needless to say, great things are in store for Lauren O’Grady.

lauren o'gradyTobacco-Free Advocate: Undaunted by Controversy

story bysarah beth

tyrey

photos by Tanner Hoisington

the yard18

Tension and anticipation filled the room, as Cyrus Brackin approached the ring. The gymnasium was dark, but the ring was lit up. It was his first boxing match. He was nervous and didn’t know what to expect.

“As soon as I stepped into the ring, I saw my opponent. He was a big dude,” Brackin said. “But as soon as I hit him, I could tell I was better trained than him.”

Before the first round even finished, Brackin knocked out his opponent. The tension became palpable. The opponent’s towel was thrown in, and at that moment, the room erupted. Brackin officially became a boxer.

The story begins before his first fight back in early September 2011. His father brought him to a boxing gym when he was 10 years old. However, Brackin took a break from the sport when he was 12 and started playing football. He ended up getting an athletic scholarship at Dickinson College.

Brackin’s football career ended suddenly after his freshman year of college as a result of a back injury. He decided to transfer to the College of Charleston, but found himself feeling lost without an athletic activity.

“It was hard at first, transferring schools,” Brackin said. “My whole life I’ve been in sports and when I didn’t have football anymore, I didn’t know what to do. I was looking for something that I’d wake up for.”

This prompted Brackin’ decision to re-enter the boxing ring and begin working with Al “Hollywood” Megget, a legend who’s worked with world boxing champions, at the Charleston Boxing Club. Ever since then, Hollywood has worked closely with Brackin.

“I met this young man, Cyrus, and he reminded me so much of [Hector “Macho” Camacho],” Hollywood said. “He’s got that thing about him. That’s what drew me to him.”

Although Hollywood established the Charleston Boxing Club back in 1983, the city still has not produced a world champion. Hollywood attributes this to several issues. “(Boxers) were bogged down by segregation, so they went to other places,” Hollywood said. “A lot of boxers, great fighters, had to go North.”

This is where Brackin fits in. Hollywood hopes that he’ll have his first world champion from Charleston. But it’s up for Brackin to decide which road he’ll take.

Hollywood said Brackin has the potential to go pro, but Brackin has not made up his mind yet. He said he wants to focus on school at the moment. However, he does have one goal in mind, which is to win Golden Gloves, the largest national amateur boxing competition to be held in June this year.

If Brackin wins at Golden Gloves, he said he’d definitely consider going to the Olympic trials. He’s already become somewhat of a local celebrity, being recognized by local boxing fans in restaurants or on the beach.

Brackin isn’t in it for the fame though. He’s motivated by the love of the sport and the life skills he’s learned while training. “It teaches you how to be a leader, but inadvertently,” Brackin said. “It’s not about boxing for me. It’s about what I get out of it and the life skills I learn.”

Regardless of whether Brackin decides to go pro or not, Hollywood said, “He’s going to make his mark.”

cyrus brackinstory by

seth burrell & sarah sheafer

King of the Ring: Bringing Boxing to Charleston

photos by Sarah Sheafer

19april 18

TOP 10

Readers may not expect a researcher from the Political Science Department to make our cut as one on the College’s

most interesting people. However, as far as research goes Doctor Annette Watson stands a cut above the rest. As a human environmental geographer Watson’s studies take her to the fringes of modern science.

An ecologist may understand a poison in the soil killing trees, and a sociologist may understand the plight of indigenous people to weigh unfavorable farming practices over a rapidly shrinking arable landscape. Only an environmental geographer has the interdisciplinary clout to link the two happenings and understand that socially constructed norms are often overlooked as the cause of environmental troubles.

Watson’s research links the people and the landscape of the Lowcountry to that of the Yukon River in Alaska. Watson

spends her summers there studying the sustainable habits of indigenous salmon fisherman. She has even taken students from the College on her excursions. While in the Lowcountry she turns her efforts to the native Gullah/Geechee people of the Southeastern coast. The indigenour people of Sout Carolina fish for subsistence. They pull their lives out of the waters. Watson discussed the conflict between South Carolina’s native peoples and the Department of Natural Resources.

“The primary goal is a sustainability fishing license” says Watson. Our societies often conflict with the habits of indigenous peoples and Watson works to iron out these conflicts.

Watson was driven to the College by “the desire to bring local research here to Charleston.”

“So often research is viewed as a dirty word to natives, it’s often used to penalize people and to allow the state an excuse to be nefarious” Watson said.

Watson possesses an innate desire to “help folks.” Academia holds potential to improve the world around us and in Watson’s own words she hopes to “bust out of the ivory tower.”

Watson said “Researchers have a responsibility to people and to value a better life for everyone,” and it’s clear that Watson is doing her part well.

Some people enter their careers knowing they will have to oversee many people and events. No ringleader, conductor or PR manager, Simon Lewis is a professor at the College.

Since 1996, Lewis has been teaching African and Third World Literature at the College of Charleston and also serves as the associate director of the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World (C.L.A.W) program at the College. The purpose of C.L.A.W. is to promote a greater understanding of the role the Lowcountry plays in the global community and bring that understanding back into the classroom.

From C.L.A.W. the Jubilee Project was launched. As a collaborative project tying culture and academics the Jubilee Project is a massive undertakng for anyone, and Lewis is humble. “I’m really just the coordinator,” Lewis said.

The Project celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of public education in South Carolina. Lewis wants the community to ask themselves, “how come [these two events] are 100 years apart, and what happened in those 100 years?”

This semester, students can find Lewis bouncing between Sweetgrass Festivals and lectures on southern hospitality, all of which are events that make up the Jubilee Project. But if students and other faculty at the College had a chance to sit down and talk to Lewis about what he hopes the greater community gains from the Project, he’ll say that he wants people to see past the “glamorizing of the South.”

“This is a great place to be, but it isn’t always a great place to be for everybody,” Lewis said. Through the Jubilee Projects and advocates behind the scenes, such as Lewis, the South will become a greater place for everyone.

Enacting change through celebration and commemoration

simon lewis

story bylaqunya

baker

story byian

moore

annette watson

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Si

mon

Lew

is

phot

o by

Ian

Moo

re Going Beyond Research

the yard20

Andrew Smithis a junior at the College of Charleston. He’s a history major

and loves racquetball and sailing. Like most students, he’s busy attending classes, hanging out with friends and planning his transition from co-ed to professional with his sights set on law school and working with his father’s firm. Unlike most students, he is a trained Marine Scout Sniper.

Smith started at the College in 2005. After struggling to keep up with classes and friends while working the late shift at Pita Pit, Smith decided his time would be better spent fighting in the Iraq War. There was a sense of restlessness, and the desire for a physical challenge.

“I found I didn’t like my Poli Sci major, and a lot of guys my age were in Iraq while I was in college,” Smith said. “There was definitely a sense of guilt.”

Smith joined the Marines in 2008, and went to Afghanistan in 2011. As a Marine Scout Sniper, Smith was one of only 850 snipers in the Marine Corps. In May 2011, Smith was injured in a Taliban attack on a partially finished Marine base. His injuries were extensive to his lower legs and Smith received a Purple Heart for his military merit.

Returning to the College was always Smith’s plan after his time in the military. Leaving the College a young man, Smith said he now feels like an old man on campus (for the record, Smith is only 25). Smith said he is more knowledgeable about the world and himself, and the experience and perspective he gained was one of the best things about his time in the Marines.

“Before I’d joined the Marine Corps I had never left the South. Gaining life experience outside school is invaluable, and I feel I now have a lot more to offer to future employers. I’d always planned to come back to the College, but I’ve been able to hit the reset button; I took a step back for four years and was able to focus.”

Youngest Old Man on Campus: Sniper to Civilian

story byleah sutherlandandrew smith

phot

o by

Col

in Jo

hnso

n

photos courtesy of Andrew Smith

21april 18

Justin Peers may not look like an alien, but he is out of this world. Peers, a senior Geology major, has more knowledge and experience when it comes to outer space than almost anyone else at the College. His research on the relationship between the magnetosphere, exosphere and surface geology of Mercury has made him something of a expert on the effect that solar radiation and wind have on volatile elements.

Before taking his first geology courses, Peers was less interested in research than in learning about the natural world. “I was ready to dedicate my life to teaching children outdoor survival skills,” he said. Peers’ interest in geology began not as a scientific supernova, but after spending a semester training for outdoor leadership education with North Carolina Outward Bound.

Luckily for the future of scientific knowledge, Peers has since changed his mind. Under the tutelage of life changing Geology professors such as Cassandra Runyon, Robert Nusbaum, John Chadwick, and many others, Peers decided to switch his focus from the tree-line to the Karman line. His research will increase our understanding about planets in general, and specifically the effects of solar radiation on different atmospheres.

While his research is literally out of this world, Peers spends a large chunk of his time on the ground during his job navigating downtown Charleston on a Pedicab. “I love the job,” he said. “I love the kids. It’s the most tight-knit group of friends I’ve ever had...It’s a good thing, especially since I want to be a field geologist, this is a good way to stay in shape.”

However, Peers isn’t in the bicycle cab business for the long term. “Come December, I’ll be applying for a bunch of different graduate programs,” he said. He is still a

little fuzzy on what he wants to focus on in grad school, but one thing is crystal clear: Peers has already made a tremendous contribution to his field, and since he is still only an undergraduate, his trajectory is definitely one to watch.

TOP 10

story byolivia cohen

justin peers

Scientist and Pedicab Cyclist:

A Justin of All Trades

photos by Tanner Hoisington

the yard22

As a freshman, it was about a year ago when acceptance letters started arriving in the mail. I made it into the three colleges I applied for, but instead of going out-of-state, I chose to travel a whole five minutes across the bridge to go to school in Charleston, and that decision was largely because of the school’s computer science department and its department head: Dr. Christopher Starr.

Starr has helped the Computer Science department accomplish a great deal this year, including welcoming in 100 new majors to the program and helping establish the newest study abroad locations for majors: Tartu, Estonia. But to narrow it down to one example that has the potential to affect all students at the College, Dr. Starr has lead a team to develop smart recycling bins.

Like many products in Computer Science, the idea for a smart recycling bin came from a desire to solve a problem. “I had observed a couple of annoying issues that I wanted to solve for me. I would go by the recycle bins in the Computer Science department and I would see them overflowing and wonder ‘what am I going to do with my stuff now? Am I going to have to throw it away in the regular trash now?’ and then I saw a bin with juicy stuff coming from the bottom and thinking ,‘This is not appropriate.’ So what can we do to solve the problem?”

The answer was a combination of an Arduino board and an acoustic sensor. After coming up with a prototype, Starr and some of his students were joined by lead implementor Francois Dupont. A transfer student from La Rochelle, France, Dupont lead students to build a server where they could host a database that the Arduino could “talk” to and update the height of the waste in the bin every five seconds. From there they wrote artificial intelligence for the bin so that it could predict and inform those who empty the recycling bin when it would be full with 99 percent accuracy.

Starr said, “It would be exactly the optimum level of pickup without wasting their time. Likewise bins that were not full wouldn’t be on the route so they wouldn’t have to look at those bins. So it was solving a local problem. We had a need, we solved our problem, and it turns out the problem we solved is common across the nation.”

While this technology is limited to a single bin in JC Long, Starr and his students are ready to move to the next stage of the process. “Now we are going to take the prototype and scale it across multiple bins and let the system handle many bins talking at the same time … and the third phase will be [to] outfit an entire building with this and decide either to patent it or to put it in the open source.”

During the course of the 25 years Starr has been at the College, he has helped the Department of Computer Science not only become one of the best programs the College has to offer, but the best in the state. When asked if he could come out and call it such, Starr did not hesitate, “Definitely, I can say best in the state. [The department] was awarded a Commendation of Excellence for Computer Science, and no other program in South Carolina that was evaluated earned such a commendation, including our big boys upstate.”

Like the first time I sat in his office to talk about the school last year and every time I get the chance to pull him away from his busy schedule, it was a highly enjoyable and informal experience talking to Starr. My final question was what he did in his spare time to get away from all of the electronics at work.

He answered, “On my sailboat. A former faculty member and I own a fairly large sloop that we can go in the ocean with. So sailing is one way to get unplugged. Although, [pause] it’s a fully digital sailboat. But we can still unplug it when we want to and do everything manually.”

christopher starrComputer Science Starr improves campus sustainability

story bytanner hoisington

photos by Tanner Hoisington

Kevin Phillips is a non-traditional student if we’ve ever seen one. He is a 30-year-old junior at the College with the hopes of one day attending law school. However, it isn’t Phillips’ present that makes him so interesting, it’s his past.

Phillips grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta, making music with his neighbors and just “messing around” with whatever instruments they could find. Phillips’ instrument was his voice and little did he know that his growing interest in music would lead to a career.

“After high school, shows started getting bigger and bigger…we really solidified the band, and we called it Fight Paris,” he said. Just like that Phillips and his other band mates cut a record deal with 720 Records in Sacramento. Suddenly their garage practices and hard work had transformed into a reality, a paying job. They spent the next year playing up and down the coast of California.

“Everywhere we went we met cool people and it made us feel good about what we were doing,” Phillips said. Life on tour was everything that is typically associated with it. According to Phillips, “We had seven people living in a two bedroom apartment, so it was pretty rock n roll.”

Some disagreements with 720 Records caused Fight Paris to pull out of their record deal, but they pooled their money to produce their first album, and soon signed with Trustkill Records. The band toured for the next two years, playing gigs in every continental state. “We got to see the country through the windows of a tour bus,” Phillips said, “What I learned was how beautiful and awesome this country really is: we have everything you could want.”

Like most young bands, Phillips and his band mates soon found themselves disagreeing over their direction, resulting in a “stereotypical band break up.” At the time, Phillip’s also found himself questioning what he was supposed to do next.

Phillips held a few different jobs at that time, working as a groundskeeper and with stocks and bonds for a local business in Atlanta. “I didn’t even think about college. I didn’t think about anything but being a rock star,” he said.

When the opportunity arose, Phillips decided to move to Charleston. He began his education at Trident, taking

the maximum level of classes, so that he could transfer to the College. Now a member of SGA and president of Phi Delta Phi, Phillips has arrived.

“I’ve always liked to be involved. It’s important to influence and improve the environment you’re in,” he said. Phillips plans to stick around and not only work to better the campus environment, but to improve the city as well.

“I remember playing shows in Charleston. This is coming from someone who’s seen every city and every state, and this is the best one,” he said, “I think Charleston is very special and I want to help it maintain that.”

TOP 10

23april 18

kevin phillips

Former rockstar takes on the College of Charleston

story bynicole demarco

phot

os b

y C

olin

John

son

the yard24

Dr. Myra Seaman is a teacher committed to making history real and accessible for her students. A scholar of Medieval England, she teaches two classes at the College of Charleston, “British Literature” and “Medieval Textualities,” but her career spans many areas. She is also a co-editor of a magazine called postmedieval, which is one of the leading journals in its field. It deals with making connections between medieval history and different modern fields. For example, the last issue centered around neuroscience. “The journal makes it clear how the present is part of the past, and vice versa… People from separate fields are always proposing different ideas for issues. It’s always different, and always provocative,” Seaman said.

She will be on sabbatical for the 2013-2014 school year to work on her book entitled Objects of Affection: The Book and the Household in Late Medieval England. The book focuses on “decentering the human” through concentrating on how human insight and values fit into larger circles of study. She co-edited the book Dark Chaucer, published by the non-profit Punctum Books, which delves into the famous medieval writer known for his wit and irony,

and highlights the darker moments he presents that are sometimes overlooked. Seaman is also involved with the Babel Working Group, a conglomeration of medieval scholars that come together at yearly conferences with the purpose to encourage “new themes in writing about things they wouldn’t normally do, such as the relationships between Medievalism and the environment,” according to Seaman. “We focus on bringing many different topics together, and getting people to think about the bigger thematic questions.”

While growing up, Seaman never expected that medieval literature would become her life. “I was a biology major my freshman year of college,” she says. “I gradually moved toward English… What I didn’t realize then was that I was moving away from fields with one truth to fields that focused on creating new ways of thinking.” From there her love of medieval literature grew, along with her desire to share what she’s learned. “Of course [what I do] is a lot of work, but it’s clearly rewarding, every aspect, not just writing and editing… Without teaching, I would be asking myself, ‘Where’s everything else?’”

myra seaman

story bysarah

strickland

Dr. Myra Seaman brings history to the present

photos by Sarah Sheafer

25april 18

TOP 10

While the technology isn’t new, 3D printing has exploded in the last year thanks to start-up company MakerBot and their appearances everywhere from The New York Times and Wired to TV shows like the Colbert Report. But 3D printers haven’t just invaded the public mindset; they have also found their way into tech enthusiasts’ homes, and at the College of Charleston, into the Department of Computer Science system administrator Clay McCauley.

McCauley, age 38, has been working for the College since he graduated in 2000. For someone who didn’t begin his college career in Charleston, McCauley is engrained in the school. His wife Nan works for the School of the Arts, and their five-year-old daughter Lela goes to school at the Early Childhood Development Center on campus.

Somehow between the big role he plays at the College and a family at home, McCauley finds time for a wide range of hobbies. Those hobbies, including photography, blogging, cars, and occasionally video games, all share a central thread, computers and electronics. “I’ve been into electronics since I was a little kid,” McCauley said, “plugging things into my parent’s outlets and blowing fuses and nearly starting fires. That’s what got me interested in computers originally. “ That tinkering of McCauley’s developed since a early age carries over perfectly into the philosophy of the 3D printer: hands-on experimentation.

While you may be overwhelmed by looking at a 3D printer, especially DIY printers like McCauley’s, the way in which they work is not that hard to grasp. The easiest way to think of it is comparing it to how a standard inkjet printer functions, which works by making passes utilizing two dimensions of movement. 3D printers add an additional dimension, the x-axis in printing, that allows the dispenser to move diagonally and create the cross sections that form each layer. The other difference is 3D printers replace the ink pad with something that melts plastic. McCauley said, “I kind of liken it to a 3D glue gun, because you are basically taking something similar to the way a glue gun works, it takes a stick of plastic in one side, in this case a spool, melts it and makes a really small thread out of it and then kind of moves it around as it oozes out of the tip.”

While McCauley knew about 3D printers before, another member of our top ten sparked the idea. “Dr. Starr mentioned it. I had seen one at POSSCCON [Palmetto Open-Source Conference]. I think that was the first time I actually saw one in action.”

Besides being a fun toy, the 3D printer has its academic

uses. “It’s good because we do teach robotics so this is a perfect example of practical robotics. It’s also fully open source so we could get the students to hack on the software,” McCauley said.

3D printers can serve many different purposes. They can build toys and missing parts at home. They have been traditionally used to build prototypes. The medical field is buzzing about its use in prosthetics (search for “3D-Printed Magic Arms” on YouTube if you want to cry), while others are concerned about its potential to make guns and ammunition.

At the College, there is one object in particular that is in high demand. When asked what was his favorite object from the printer, McCauley said, “Probably the Cubes [referring to Companion Cubes, an object and lone friend in the video game Portal, because those have been so popular. I think we have probably printed off at least 20 of those cubes.” When suggested that he start selling them to the Department, he laughed saying, “We really could, I might have to get on that.”

story bytanner

hoisington

clay mccauley

McCauley steps forward with do-it-yourself 3D printer

phot

os b

y Ta

nner

Hoi

sing

ton

the yard26

27april 18

Jordan Hensley, rising senior and current Student Body Secretary, was sworned in as the 2013-2014 Student Body President on April 16. She is proud of the campaign that launched her and her running mate, Chris Piedmont, voice’s across campus this spring. While social media was an asset for both her and Piedmont, personal interaction won the election. Both Hensley and Piedmont addressed a variety of student organizations, asking students what they wanted. For Hensley, collaboration between and the intersection of different spheres are vital to campus growth.

Last year, Hensley wrote goals for herself as secretary, and she recently revisited her first goal: to bring 20 student organizations to campus. New on campus this year are 21 organizations and counting. In her last weeks as secretary, Hensley is focusing her vision for the Student Government Association (SGA) and the College in the upcoming year.

Her internal agenda for SGA includes retention and perception. The last time SGA had a full Senate was 2009. “I want [the senators] to care as much as I do,” Hensley said. The Senate agenda often includes only student

organization affairs and the allocation of funds, though it has a more broad capacity. Senators often get burnt out. The problem? “People don’t bring [SGA] what they want.”

Her solution centers on diversifying SGA and changing the perception of SGA. An upcoming campaign will focus on filling senate seats next year. Letters of intent for chair positions on the Executive Board will now be open to the whole campus rather than limited to senators. In fact, Hensley would prefer these positions to be filled by passionate students otherwise not in SGA. She seeks to “bring diversity to Senate.”

Platform areas of Hensley and Piedmont include: collaboration, safety, location, and diversity. She seeks to achieve improvement in these areas by proposing concrete, feasible actions to improve student life.

Hensley said that the pressing focus of action is safety, which has generated favorable response from many students. Cougar Shuttle, while a useful resource, has only one unmarked van with a slow response time, and emergency blue-light call boxes on campus are too few and unreliable. Hensley emphasizes that a school in a city has an obligation to provide adequate safety measures for its students.

While the College’s location in Charleston is unparalleled, the city has a responsibility to its college students. What does Hensley think of Coming and St. Philip becoming two-way streets? “Easier for drivers; dangerous for students.” Safety is paramount in the heart of campus; “pedestrians have the right of way.” A letter-writing campaign and a City Hall visit are possible SGA actions against the proposed two-way streets. She jokes, “A sit-in on St. Philips Street?”

With this city-central location and promise of sand and sea, students do not have to be directly immersed in college life all the time. While a nontraditional campus has its benefits, Hensley said, “a unified campus is the strongest campus.” She suggests measures such as collaborations between organizations holding similar events and an increased celebration of diversity on campus to increase campus unity. Increased diversity and an awareness of diversity require action, collaboration, and involvement.

But, is this leadership? Only next year will answer that question. It isn’t solely the responsibility of Hensley to grow the campus — it is the responsibility of students to tell their newly elected officials what they want and what they want to improve. To steal from Abraham Lincoln, SGA should be the government of the students, by the students, for the students.

Introducing our new student body president...

Jordan Hensleyby hannah evans

phot

o co

urte

sy o

f Jor

dan

Hen

sley

CAMPUS

the yard

Staff Editorial

28

As students at the College, we are typically told to think that diversity is based on the color of one’s skin. In October 2009, the College implemented a ten-year Strategic Plan with a diversity component. In the plan, the Board of Trustees intends to target minority recruitment, addressing the fact that our school is “overwhelmingly white, female, middle class, and traditionally aged.”

While we recognize the validity of that demographic description, we shouldn’t always think of diversity as something that can be categorized. If that’s the case, how should we define “diversity?”

We see “diversity” as a culmination of life experiences, different interests and cultural origins. Perhaps “diversity” isn’t a term that can be defined by words on a page, but by varying intrinsic values and interests that make each of us who we are. It differentiates those who prefer social studies to socializing, two equally important skills that support a functioning society.

In this magazine issue, we celebrate 10 individuals who create a sense of diversity on campus based on their wide range

of accomplishments. Each of them has passionately made a contribution to their field and the community. We chose these students and professors through departmental referrals and word of mouth. While we have narrowed this list to 10 people, we wish that we could include 10,000. We recognize that there are many people who could have easily made this list, and we ask you, as readers, to help us become aware of other students who deserve recognition, possibly through features online at CisternYard.com.

We hope that by focusing on a different definition of diversity, reaching a certain “benchmark” percentage of minority students won’t be more important than making currently enrolled students feel comfortable with their decision to attend the College.

While we commend the College for adopting the diversity component of the Strategic Plan, we want to remind people that diversity extends beyond racial boundaries and we are all an intricate part of the student body. Regardless of appearance, you never know the passion and talents of the person sitting next to you until you ask.

Redefining Diversity:Addressing More Than Skin Color

cartoon by Kelley Wills

29

OPINION

april 18

photo by Colin Johnson

In the classic film “Casablanca,” Claude Rains’ crooked police captain shuts down Humphrey Bogart’s bar by announcing that he is “shocked – SHOCKED! – to find that gambling is going on,” as a croupier hands him a pile of money he’s just won at the roulette table. Sitting in a recent international symposium on the impact of cruise ships on local tourist economies, I was baffled at the number of Charleston residents who seem to be shocked – SHOCKED! – that cruise lines are in business to make money.

The symposium, hosted by the Preservation Society of Charleston, invited speakers to discuss how cruise ship passengers differ from “land tourists,” and how cruise lines work to maximize profit. For a city like Charleston, which is contemplating footing the bill for a new terminal for Carnival Cruise Lines, the question becomes, “is it worth it?” That depends on who you want to believe.

In a 2010 report, the State Ports Authority touted job growth, increased tourist spending and a chance of repeat visitors to the city as plusses for the proposed terminal. But most of the SPA’s math was based on estimates, best-case-scenario math and speculation. A 2012 report commissioned by the Historic Charleston Foundation argued that the SPA’s numbers were completely wrong, and that their estimates, worth-case-scenario math and speculation were much more accurate.

What is the truth? Well, cruise lines have gotten rich by scaring cities into building and handing over terminals, with no long-term contracts in place, and then doing everything they can to keep their passengers on board. And, because they are not paying for hotel rooms, cruise ship passengers spend notably less per night than land tourists. But, there is a very good chance that the passengers who come through Charleston to board cruise would not otherwise be here at all, and money they do spend on food, drinks and Market Street

souvenirs does not strain the limited number of hotel beds on the peninsula. The symposium did not address how much this actual effect has been, because to the best of my knowledge, no one from a downtown restaurants association, or a representative of the Market Street retailers, was invited to speak. If you live downtown in the summer, you know we have already mortgaged the city to the almighty tourist dollar. It’s interesting that the Preservation crowd draws its line in the sand at cruise ships, and not at, say, a Wet Willie’s in the historic district along East Bay.

I have nothing against cruise ship passengers (well, no more than I have against the other 4.2 million tourists that walk past my front door in a given year), but I do believe Carnival wants something for nothing. Lock in a long-term contract, mandate that the ships not serve full meals while they are in port (which causes more money to flow into local restaurants and bars) and institute a voucher system in which each passenger receives, from and paid for by Carnival, a $25 or $50 voucher to spend at local shops. The cruise lines have acquiesced to all of these stipulations before, and they could all work for Charleston if the SPA isn’t afraid to take a hard line.

The bottom line is simple: If the figures don’t add up in favor of the city’s economy, don’t be afraid to let Carnival sail its way down to Savannah or Jacksonville. But, in a town that has made its recent fortune by carving up and selling off little pieces of its own culture, don’t pretend to be shocked that other people are just as cut-throat about making a profit as you are.

Carnival Conundrum:Who is shocked by the cruise ship debate?by Chopper Johnson

the yard30

I hate the phrase, “it’s just a game.” Sports are so much more than that to me and have been since I was a kid. My mom used the popular consoling phrase every time my favorite basketball team lost, and far from making me feel better. It only made it worse.

Looking back, it should have been obvious that there was no career better suited for me than being a sports writer. I mean honestly, what could be more fun than watching sports all day, every day?

CisternYard News (CYN) has given me the kick-start I

needed to get into the journalism industry and without the opportunity, I would never have been fortunate enough to be accepted into five out of five graduate programs that I applied to.

From the time I started contributing at CYN as a volunteer writer two years ago until now, I have learned to love sports I never thought could even hold my attention.

Volleyball went from being a sport I had watched during the Olympics and a few times in high school to a sport I would not miss a match of. Though, with the caliber of athletes on our squad, it’s really no surprise.

As much as I have enjoyed watching our Cougars on every kind of court/field, college basketball is, and will forever remain, my one true love. Having the chance to cover our two teams has been invaluable to me, but admittedly, the highlight of this basketball season was interviewing the Cougar’s legendary coach, John Kresse.

When I leave the College for a new, more sports centric adventure, I will never forget that CYN gave me the push I needed to get started in an industry where females are still few and far between.

But don’t worry fellow Cougars, I plan on becoming not only the first female sports writer to make it big out of the College of Charleston, but the first sports writer from Charleston to take my talents all the way to the big time. Watch out Dick Vitale, I’m gunning for you.

Senior Column:From CisternYard to ESPNby Madison Hartman

31april 18

OPINION

I’ve always been great with goodbyes. Mainly because I know that goodbye hardly ever means forever, and usually when I walk away from one thing, I tend to run toward something even more amazing.

During my senior year in high school I had an advisor who told me the College of Charleston would be a good fit for me because it would be easy for me to stand out as a leader on campus. I can’t say that this journey has been easy, but I do hope that I’ve left an impression on a few of the hearts that have connected with my own.

As I’m writing this, I’m trying not to think back on the moments that have defined my experience at the College, but instead I’m trying to put myself mentally and physically back into those moments to relive every emotion that made them memorable.

It’s 2009. I’m 18 years old, and a freshman at the College. I’ve just been told that I’ve been appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff for the Student Government Association and I will be the only freshman on the Executive Board and the only African-American.

It’s 2010. I’m 19 and rising sophomore. I’ve just been voted as the 2010-2011 Student Body Secretary. I’m the only female on Executive Council and the only African-American. I’m now the chair of 160 student organizations at the College.

It’s New Year’s Day, 2011. I’m fresh off the plane in Kenya looking into the faces of a dozen Mbitini orphans, and I’m falling in love with life and God all over again.

It’s March of 2011 and

I’m at the Excel Awards with Student Body President Emeritus, Isaiah Nelson. I’ve just won the Presidential Legacy Award for Outstanding Public Service.

It’s the summer of 2012, and I’m studying the Atlantic Slave Trade at the University of West Indies in Barbados. For the second time in my college career I’m studying abroad while having the chance to experience what it feels like being a part of the majority.

It’s New Year’s Day, 2013, and I’m walking through Times Square. I’m taken back by all there is to see, from the Empire State building to the Brooklyn Bridge. But what takes my breath away the most are the gusts of wind and 20 degree weather…

I’ve tried to give so much to the College’s community over the years, but after all of the community service projects, tabling events and panel discussions I still don’t feel as though I’ve given nearly as much as I’ve received from this campus.

One night freshman year, my pet gold fish died. I had become so attached to him, so instead of flushing him down the toilet to a watery morgue, my friends and I buried him in the Cistern Yard. We wanted him to be present for graduation and be a part of our journey from beginning to end.

Like my gold fish that I’m sure has disintegrated and become one with the campus, I too will forever be connected to the Cistern Yard.

I may have lost my mind some night in Barbados. And pieces of my soul undoubtedly remain in Kenya. My breath was taken away in New York City, but my heart will always remain somewhere on the corner of George and St. Phillip Streets.

I can’t say I’ll never look back. And I can’t say that it’ll be easy to move forward. But this May, along with many of my peers, I’ll have to say goodbye.

Senior Column:Journey to the center of the Cisternby LaQunya Baker