“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.” VOL. 51, NO. 7SEPT. 10, 2012

VANGUARDTHETHE

In this Issue: Life, Page 6

Opinion, Page 12Sports, Page 9

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INSIDE

Opinion: Politics, something everyone has an opinion on. So how was the RNC per-ceived by the student eye?See Opinion, page 8.

►

Life Spotlight: You’ve seen the ads, but what is the career expo all about and how can it help you?See Life, page 6.

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Sports: The Jags won their sec-ond game of the season against Nicholls, but it was considered an ugly win. See Sports, page 9.

►

Next game: NC State

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On August 27, an unknown num-ber of students at the University of South Alabama received multiple mys-terious phone calls from an out-of-town area code.

Students received a message from a man introducing himself as Ray Cor-tez. The unsettling aspect of this mes-sage is that Cortez identifi es himself “campus police” and warns of a dan-gerous situation.

“He described a suspect wearing all black, around 5’6” and Hispanic, who had escaped custody while still in handcuffs,” USA student and Van-guard Left of Center Editor J.T. Crab-tree said. “It went on to say that if I had any information I was to call him at campus police, but he never said US-APD or gave me his number.”

Crabtree was just one of several students on campus to receive the call

according to Lt. Keith West of US-APD.

“We got several reports on this. Our investigators looked into it last week and determined that it was from another college in Texas,” West said.

The Vanguard discovered that somehow, Laredo Community Col-lege in Laredo, Texas had called USA students with this alert. Cortez is their community college’s chief of police.

“Somehow their notifi cation sys-tem experienced a glitch and some of the phone calls were routed to lo-cal numbers,” West added. “We don’t know anything more about the glitch but hopefully this was just an isolated anomaly and won’t happen again.”

USAPD advises students that if there is a legitimate USA alert that it will come from USAPD directly. Stu-dents are also encouraged to call US-APD at 460-6312 to verify any suspi-cious alert.

The idea that student phone num-

bers are fl oating around in other states did not sit well with some. USA pro-fessor and CASCLE director Karen Peterson received the call. “Scary,” was how she described it. “How did some-one tap into our alert system?”

Peterson echoed the sentiments of several, including USA psychology stu-dent Tyler Bell. Bell pointed to com-munication being crucial in alerts like these.

“If the USAPD Facebook was as active as The Vanguard’s Facebook, I’m sure that would allow for the US-APD to be quickly notifi ed by non-offi cial sources. I would defi nitely not be okay with having a non-University source telling me fi rst,” said Bell.

In fact, USAPD did not respond to a comment on their Facebook page asking about the call for 11 days.

The Vanguard attempted to get in contact with Mr. Cortez but did not receive a reply by deadline.

By JAYSON CURRYjayson-curry@hotmail.com

Student phone numbers compromisedStudent phone numbers compromisedA serious campus alert reached the ears of many students; but wasn’t meant for USA, or even Alabama

Editor’s Note: Cassie Fambro contributed to this report.

HUMB HUMB undergoes undergoes major faceliftmajor faceliftBy KALYN MCCLELLANkbm1001@jagmail.southalabama.edu

During the summer, the humanities building underwent much-needed ren-ovations, improving the aesthetics of the classrooms and hallways. But were these renovations necessary, and where did this money come from?

According to Wayne Davis, vice president of Financial Affairs, the total cost of these renovations was more than $1.2 million. However, this amount also includes renovations to fi ve bathrooms in ILB.

“The funding came from several sources,” Davis said.

“$500,000 came from the offi ce of the senior vice president of academic affairs, $150,000 from the offi ce of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and the re-maining $599,000 came from Central University Accounting,” Davis stated.

The renovations include replace-ment of ceiling tiles, new fl ooring and freshly painted hallways and class-rooms.

All that remains to be done is the replacement of classroom doors. “The doors alone cost $214,000,” said Davis.

Some students fi nd the renovations a welcome investment in the appear-ance of the University of South Ala-bama, while some students think the money could have been better spent.

Erika Mims, senior creative writing student, is happy about the improve-ments.

"Everything seemed bigger and brighter," Mims said.

"I defi nitely like the new look and I think it's done wonders to the whole atmosphere of the building, making it less dreary, more lively," Mims contin-ued.

Recent USA graduate Heather Worley, bachelor of psychology, agreed with Mims.

"Making improvements are a must

See HUMB HUMB Page 2

USA Marching Band rings in Shelby Hall Dedication

Cassie Fambro | Editor-in-Chief

Courtesy of South Alabama Dining

Starbucks Opens in Shelby Hall!

The full photo album for the event can be found on facebook.com/thevanguardusa.

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 20122

3VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

Editor in ChiefManaging Editor

Copy EditorLife Editor

Opinion EditorSports EditorLeft of Center

Senior ReporterWeb Editor

Cassie FambroAaron EtheredgeBailey HammondJake HowellNoah LoganPatrick HerringJT CrabtreeJayson CurryNaquita Hunter

Editorial

Distribution Manager

Bobby FaulkDistribution

Advertising Manager

Advertising Graphic Designer

Wesley Jackson

Mohammad Al-Zarrad

Rex McKay

Advertising

Advising

Accounting

James AucoinJ. SellersKathy Brannan

Management

MissionThe Vanguard, the student-run

newspaper of the University of South Alabama, serves its readership by re-porting the news involving the campus community and surroun ding areas. The Vanguard strives to be impartial in its reporting and believes fi rmly in its First Amendment rights.

PAGE three

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The Vanguard University of South Alabama

P.O. Drawer U-1057 Mobile, Ala., 36688.

Or

editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

Letters and guest columns must be received by 7 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication.

Submissions should be typed and must include the writer’s name, year, school and telephone number.

All submissions become the property of The Vanguard.

The Vanguard reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length and clarity. Letters will be limited to 300 words. Letters and guest columns are the opinion of the writer.

The Staff Editorial represents

the consensus opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, Managing Editor, Copy Editor, Senior Reporter, and Opinion Editor.

All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight during weekly Editorial Board meetings.

The Vanguard has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifi cations.

To report a mistake, e-mail editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com.

The Vanguard is published Mondays during the academic year, except for exam periods and vacations, and is published twice each summer.

The Vanguard is supported in part by an allocation from student activity fees and operates in the Student Media Department of the Division of Student Affairs.

Issues are available at most University buildings and select off-campus locations.

The fi rst copy is free. Additional copies are $1 each.

See something suspicious? Report it to USA’s Police Department and help make a difference!

09/02/2012 6:50 p.m.South DriveDomestic IncidentParties were involved in a domestic incident at the listed location.

09/03/2012Sigma Chi Fraternity HouseTh eft of Property Th ird Degree ($500 or less)An unknown person removed the license plate from the rear of the victim’s vehicle without permission.

09/03/2012 2:47 a.m.Delta #4Criminal Trespass Th ird DegreeArrested subject was crimi-nally trespassing at listed location.

09/04/2012 12:12 p.m.Life Science Parking LotProperty DamageProperty Damage to a Uni-versity Vehicle was reported at the Life Sciences Parking Lot.

09/04/2012 2:36 a.m.Tonsmire DriveTh eft -From Public BuildingArrested subject, with intent to deprive owner of property.

251-460-6312251-460-6312

USA Police BlotterUSA Police Blotter

Twitter: StormTeam4g9wxFacebook: Facebook.com/StormTeam4Gamma9Wx

Weather for Sept. 10 - 16Weather for Sept. 10 - 16

in attracting new students because looks are the fi rst impression," Worley said.

Senior English major Sonja Schibe-lius is happiest with the improvements to the foreign language lab. Schibelius, a German minor, uses the lab to tutor other students.

"I especially like the renovations to the foreign language classrooms and the expansion of the lab because it was so small before, there weren't many computers and there are more rooms to work in and do tutoring," Schibelius stated.

One former student, Jessica Hughes, who received her Master in Nursing last semester, said she would have rather seen the money go toward something that would better benefi t the students.

"I believe the money could have been put to better use, such as parking. That was my biggest complaint as a student. Maybe they should have fi lled in that empty pond and made a parking lot," Hughes said.

While not every student agrees, the recent renovations to the humanities building were needed, and will improve the image of the University as a whole, both to returning and prospective stu-dents.

HUMB HUMB renovatedrenovatedCont. from pg. 1

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 20124

5VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

CLASSIFIEDNannies Needed! PT or FT, Mobile &

Eastern Shore. Call 665-5180 orfavoritenanny@comcast.net

Condo for rent! Cottage Green(Knollwood and Cottage Hill) 2/2 upstairs unit. Balcony, laminate fl ooring.

Pets ok. Appliances include washer/dryer.$750/mo. $600 dep 251-533-4554

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Want to place a classifi ed too? Contact our Advertising Department at 251-460-6898

Music and food abound at downtown hotspotsMusic and food abound at downtown hotspots

When driving toward Mobile Bay, any native Mobilian

knows where they are once they see the beautiful oak trees that hang over Gov-ernment Street and the lovely antebellum homes: downtown.

With towering edifi ces that can be seen from miles away, the skyline of downtown Mobile has become an im-pressive sight to behold.

Despite all of its attractiveness, there are some Mobilians that are under the impression that downtown Mobile is a dangerous place that should generally be avoided.

This is an unfortunate misconcep-tion that needs to be rectifi ed considering the fact that downtown Mobile actually has plenty to offer, especially to students at the University of South Alabama.

One of the most underrated parts of downtown is its constantly growing mu-sic scene.

While Bayfest remains a staple for live music in the area, local music ven-ues are working diligently to bring great bands and musicians to Mobile.

The Soul Kitchen, located on Dau-phin Street, has brought great perfor-mances in recent months, namely rising indie band Explosions in the Sky, electro-pop duo Breathe Carolina, The Ready Set and reggae/rock musician Matisyahu to name a few.

Jonathan Davis, a senior majoring in theater set design, attended the Explo-sions in the Sky show and was impressed with The Soul Kitchen.

“The show was incredible, the best. I enjoyed the venue and it’s a great place for any band to perform. You can see the band from anywhere in the room,” Davis commented.

The Alabama Music Box (AMB) is another music venue in downtown Mo-bile that’s brought a number of great shows to this city. This year AMB has brought impressive indie bands like Giv-ers and Dr. Dog.

Apart from their live music perfor-mances, AMB also hosts many karaoke and dance parties throughout the year.

Downtown Mobile is also home to several great restaurants of a variety of styles.

Jonathan Hansert, a freshman busi-ness major, was able to get a feel for many of the restaurants while working downtown over the summer.

“Mama’s on Dauphin is a southern ‘home cooking’ restaurant with a homey environment. Pretty much like what you would get at your grandparents house,” Hansert said.

“Mediterranean Sandwich Co. is great because it’s good food, not expen-sive, and the portions are great,” Hansert added.

Anyone who loves a good time with friends at the bar has many options to choose from downtown.

O’Daly’s Irish Pub is an excellent ex-ample and is also a smoke free environ-ment.

“It’s a cool ‘hole in the wall’ place and not your typical bar. Now that they’re expanding the building it’ll be even bet-ter since they’ll be able to have more events,” says Marissa Bachar, a graduate student majoring in physical therapy.

The LODA Art Walk is an extremely popular attraction that continues to grow with each event.

On the second Friday of each

month, art galleries, antique shops and restaurants open their doors from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. for gallery viewings, wine tastings, live music, food sampling and much more.

It is a truly remarkable event that highlights the cultural diversity of Mo-bile as people from various communi-ties in the city converge downtown for a night of art, music, food and friends.

With everything that goes on down-town day and night, there is surely some-thing that everyone can enjoy.

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012 6

JAKE HOWELL, JAGLIFE EDITORlife.editor@usavanguard.comjagLIFE

By STUART SOXsgsox@att.net

Weekly Lowdown

Want your event featured? E-mail the name, date, time, price, place and a brief tagline (under 7 words) to life.editor@usavanguard.com.

Tuesday > Sept. 11

Wednesday > Sept. 12

Thursday > Sept. 13• 7:30 p.m. - Come-

dian Chad Daniels at the Mitchell Center Globe.

• 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. - “What’s on Wednesday” Leadership Forum in the Fresh Food Company Meeting Room.

• 9 a.m. - 9-11 Memori-al Service at Veteran’s Plaza.

• 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. - 9-11 National Day of Ser-vice and Remember-ance in the Student Center Atrium.

• 7:30 p.m. - Faculty Flute Recital in the Laidlaw Recital Hall $5.00 for USA Stu-dents/Staff/Faculty.

Friday > Sept. 14• 8:30 a.m - Interpro-

fessional Autism Grand Rounds.UCOM 3212.

STUART SOX | STAFF REPORTERIndie band Explosions in the Sky is just one act to rock out at The Soul Kitchen. Coming up soon is The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus on Oct. 28. For more perfor-mance listings visit soulkitchenmobile.com.

USA’s Career Services Depart-ment will host its Fall Career

Expo in the Mitchell Center Waterman

Globe Lobby from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13.

The Fall Career Expo is a great op-portunity for students to be able to meet prospective employers and learn about more options in your career fi eld.

Making a good fi rst impression is al-ways important, and the career expo is a good opportunity for students to learn how to approach potential employers.

Many organizations and companies will have representatives at the career expo ready to talk to students of any major.

Students will also have the opportu-nity to ask employers about their fi eld of choice, learn about co-ops and intern-ships and start making connections.

Marianne Hurst, a senior majoring in interdisciplinary studies, said, “It gives students an opportunity to meet profes-sionals in their fi eld of study and an op-

portunity to get a foot in the door.”Students who attend a career expo

during either their freshman or sopho-more years report increased confi dence in their ability to interact with employers and effectively communicate their ac-complishments.

Juniors and seniors land interviews for valuable internships and full-time jobs through contacts made at career expos.

This career expo is also an opportu-nity for students considering different career paths. It provides students with a chance to meet people working in the fi eld in which they are interested.

Macy Underwood, a sophomore speech and hearing major, said, “I have been curious about so many different majors and careers, and looking for op-portunities like the Fall Career Expo to better inform me of the many possibili-

ties in the various work fi elds. I’m look-ing forward to it!”

Students are encouraged to dress in professional attire to make a positive fi rst impression, bring multiple cop-ies of their resumes and prepare and rehearse an introduction for the career expo.

Career Services also provides assis-tance for students who need some help putting together a resume, career advis-ing, job search preparation and many other services.

USA Career Services also offers a Graduate and Professional School Expo in October.

For more information regarding the Fall Career Expo and a link to employer participants call USA Career Services, which is located in Meisler Hall, at 251-460-6188 or by visiting their website at southalabama.edu/careerservices.

Students get taste of real world at the Fall Career ExpoStudents get taste of real world at the Fall Career Expo

By LEAH PAULleahmariepaul@yahoo.com

JAKE HOWELL | JAGLIFE EDITOR

The Fall Career Expo is an excellent chance for students to get a glimpse of the real world.

Saturday > Sept. 15• 8 a.m. - 5th Annual

GO RUN for Gyne-cologic Cancer Re-search at the Mitchell Center Lawn.

• 8 a.m. - 12 p.m. - Coastal Cleanup at Langan Park. Vol-unteers get a free T-shirt.

Monday > Sept. 17• 3 p.m. - 4 p.m. -

Constitution Day Program Supreme Court 2012 Term case review in the Main Library Auditorium.

7VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

Coastal Cleanup helps students make a differenceCoastal Cleanup helps students make a differenceBy CAITLYN RODRIGUEZmcr741993@hotmail.com

Help fight cancer at the 5th Annual “GO” RunHelp fight cancer at the 5th Annual “GO” Run

The USA Mitchell Cancer Insti-tute and Little Red Hen Pro-

ductions are hosting the 5th Annual Gynecologic Oncology (GO) Run on Saturday, Sept. 15, which will consist of both a 5K Run and also a Fun Run.

For those who would like to contrib-ute to a good cause, or simply don’t have any plans for that day, then the GO Run is something that should defi nitely be considered

GO Run is an annual event that rais-es money for the University of South

By ADRIANNA MANIACIamm902@jagmail.southalabama.edu

Alabama Mitchell Cancer Institute’s gy-necological cancer research.

According to the Centers for Dis-ease Control and Prevention website, “In the United States in 2008, 83,662 women were told that they had a gyne-cologic cancer, and 27,813 died from a gynecologic cancer.”

Associate Director of Development Abbie McCullough says the goal this year is to raise $65,000 and include 1,300 participants, which would be an increase from years past.

The run starts at 8 a.m. sharp on Sept. 15, and runners will be taking off near the Mitchell College of Business.

The course will continue down USA South Drive, up and back on Stadium Boulevard, down Aubrey Green Drive, up USA North Drive and turn on to South Drive once again for the fi nish, just short of the starting point.

The 5K run will be just that, fi ve ki-lometers (3.1 miles), and the Fun Run will be about a mile.

After the race, awards will be distrib-uted to those with the best times for their age groups.

Those partaking in the event may create teams of fi ve or more by fi lling out a form and can compete in various team categories as well.

Also, participants will be given a T-shirt for their contribution, while food and beverages will be available both be-fore and after the event.

Registration for the event is still open online at gorun.eventbrite.com until midnight on Sept. 13 and will only cost $20.

Registration on the day of the run will increase to $25.

To register on Friday, Sept. 14, you can go to the Lobby of the Technology and Research Park Building III (Alpha Hall South) on the USA Campus from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The fees for children (1-15 years) are only $15 through Sept. 14 and $20 on the day of the run. More information can be found at usamci.com/gorun.

Most of the trash you see while walking to class can end up

in our waterways and eventually in our oceans.

Each of us can prevent this by clean-ing up our own trash, and especially by joining the 25th annual International Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 15, 2012, from 8 a.m to 12 p.m.

The University of South Alabama has participated in Coastal Cleanups for the past 20 years.

Last year, 311 USA students and fac-ulty participated in the clean up at Munic-ipal Park. Canoes and kayaks were pro-vided, and afterwards, volunteers stayed for a cookout.

Each volunteer was also provided with a T-shirt and reusable water bottles.

This year, they are expecting just as much USA participation.

Dr. Cindy Stanfi eld, an associate pro-fessor in the biomedical sciences depart-ment and one of the organizers of the event, said, “The University of South Al-abama is a major part of the Mobile com-munity. As such, we should have pride

not only in the University, but in the city. Jaguars can show their pride by coming to Municipal Park and helping to clean up the city park. In the process, students will learn about the environment and how trash in the streets ends up in the Munici-pal Park lake, and ultimately into Mobile Bay. Litter never disappears on its own, it only moves on to new locations.”

Volunteers will be working at Mu-nicipal Park again. Trash bags, water, and lemonade will be provided.

This year, they will assign teams to

different areas of the park to make sure all areas are cleaned.

Students are required to sign a release of liability form. If you are under the age of 19, a parent or guardian must sign the form.

Copies of the form will be available at the site or student organizations may get an electronic copy from Dr. Cindy Stan-fi eld ahead of time.

Sign in/out sheets will also be pro-vided to keep track of service hours for organizations that require them.

COURTESY OF DR. CINDY STANFIELDUSA students covered a great deal of ground and collected trashbags full of gar-bage at last year’s Coastal Cleanup. This year’s goal is to get even more trash out of Langan Park and put it where it belongs.

T his fall brings the opening of many new bars, eateries, music

venues, a cool antique store and free yoga.

Recently, owner Matt LeMond of the popular Irish pub O’Daly’s acquired the space next door that formerly was The Corner Bar.

It will become two separate bars. LeMond hopes to completely utilize all of the space so all three bars, includ-ing O’Daly’s, may be open at the same time, and not have them merely for overfl ow use on busy nights.

While details on these new bars, in-cluding names, won’t be released until later this month, LeMond says you can expect more space for a bigger stage and larger bands than what O’Daly’s is able to offer.

The projected openings are expect-ed to be around mid-October.

Plans are also in place to lay a large 14 feet by 34 feet concrete slab in the lot behind the three bars.

This will be used for a patio to play cornhole, the popular bean-bag toss-ing bar game, as well as more parking space. The patio will be covered in turf to protect the bean bags.

Before most of this work can be done though, LeMond still has another Dauphin Street project to complete.

Coming on Sept. 25 is Pita Pit, a franchise that specializes in sandwiches and wraps.

“My focus is getting Pita Pit open, so we can get going on these bars,” said LeMond, who is starting up Pita Pit’s Mobile location with a business partner.

Just as everyone was mourning the recent loss of Hopjacks, new plans for the building have already emerged.

The LODA Biergarten will open soon in its place, with plans to use the building’s existing beer tap and pizza ovens.

Music lovers are also rejoicing at

the recent opening of Catt’s Avalon 360. Not only will this venue house live recordings of Catt Sirten’s Sunday jazz brunch, but various other jazz acts can be heard all week long in multiple parts of the building.

On a busy night, listeners could lis-ten to one band inside the building that holds up to 83 people, walk out to the jazz alley that holds 99 people to listen to another or go to the back patio, that holds 1,500 people, to hear yet another band.

High end tapas can also be ordered in between sets, as well as a Sunday brunch menu.

Many of you may know Fuji San as that sushi place with a drive-thru, or as perhaps the best sushi restaurant in Mobile.

The Nappy award-winning sushi restaurant has opened a new location downtown on St. Michael and Concep-tion Street, a block north of Bienville Square.

While there’s no drive-thru here, there are still some exciting new addi-tions including French, Indonesian and Thai menus, a hot bar lunch special, as well as delivery and online ordering.

Customers are also being offered a free yoga session upstairs at Sculpt Yoga during the month of September. Don’t miss out on this opportunity!

An eclectic new antique shop has opened its doors as well. JT’s Imagina-rium has a lot of memorabilia that will bring your childhood back to life.

It is owned by Jim Maurer, a local artist who sells his work primarily at Jackson Square in New Orleans.

Along with memorabilia, Maurer’s Imaginarium sells his artwork and that of two other New Orleans artists: Sar-ah Megan and Joshua Duncan.

Come be a part of downtown’s ever changing metamorphosis into a great cultural hub. Whether you are a serious music lover or Mobile’s own version of Anthony Bourdain, downtown Mobile has something for all of us.

Mobile nightlife has more to Mobile nightlife has more to offer with new openings and offer with new openings and old favoritesold favorites

By ALEX WHATLEYajw701@jagmail.southalabama.edu

ALEX WHATLEY | CONTRIBUTING WRITERThe owner of O’Daly’s in downtown Mobile is taking over the real estate that was formerly The Corner Bar and will open two new bars in October.

JAKE HOWELL | JAGLIFE EDITOR

The 5th Annual GO Run is a chance for the USA Mitchell Cancer Institute to raise money to conduct gynecological cancer research that could one day save lives.

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 20128

For students studying art and lit-erature, the start of fall semes-

ter means one thing: Oracle Fine Arts Review.

Registered in SGA records as a pro-

fessional student organization, Oracle is a special collaboration between the art department and the English depart-ment.

This literary journal has been pub-lished for over 10 years, is free to the public and is entirely student-run.

Participants solicit material, select

ideal works, edit the selected pieces, de-sign the book, fundraise to produce the book and publicize the fi nal product.

To Mary Beth Lursen, a communi-cation major, Oracle is “a way to gain professional experience in a helpful en-vironment.”

A member of the 2013 fi ction and nonfi ction editorial boards, Lursen is one among many students jumping to improve her resume.

Any student, graduate or under-graduate, is eligible to serve on the fi c-tion, nonfi ction, poetry or art board. About 20 people are already commit-ted to producing the upcoming edition.

While the literary journal provides practical experience, the main function of Oracle is to publish creative work.

Absolutely anyone can submit fi c-tion, nonfi ction, poetry, drama, critical essays, graphic design, photography and various other forms of art.

There is even talk of adding a musi-cal element to the website, which was designed last year by Tina Phantha-pannha.

Past USA students have been pub-lished alongside Carolyn Haines, recipi-ent of the 2010 Harper Lee Award, and Dr. Sue Walker, Stokes Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing.

Oracle 2013 will showcase student talent within its pagesOracle 2013 will showcase student talent within its pagesOracle 2004 featured writings by

the winners of the Eugene Walter Writ-ers Festival and also won the Univer-sity and College Designers Association Award of Excellence.

An interview with Jesmyn Ward, National Book Award winner for her novel “Salvage the Bones,” was printed in Oracle 2012.

According to fi ction editor, Amber Taliancich, “Oracle improves every year. It’ll be a challenge to keep up the tradition.”

The rest of the staff agreed with her on this point and on the fate of Oracle 2013.

“To make this issue the best, we need more help,” Taliancich continued. “We need submissions from USA stu-dents. We get work from elsewhere, but we want to give our peers the opportu-nity to be published.”

There are fl yers posted around campus, a facebook page, and a website dedicated to soliciting work for the lit-erary journal.

The organization even ran out of handouts and past editions of the jour-nal at Get on Board Day. So why the lack of submissions?

The problem, according to poetry editor Erika Mims, is that some stu-

By RACHAEL FOWLERraf802@jagmail.southalabama.edu

dents are uncertain about submitting work for publication.

“There’s a fear of rejection,” Mims said.

“But sending work to us shouldn’t be a scary process. All artistic pieces are treated with respect. After all, we’re all writers. We know how it feels to sub-mit personal work to strangers. And sometimes, the students most unsure of their art turn out to be the most tal-ented.”

For writers and artists interested in submitting material, Oracle 2013 will be accepting work until Monday, Oct. 15.

Final decisions on selected pieces are scheduled to be made by January at the latest.

The website will soon be updated with submission guidelines, and the staff can be reached at oracle@south-alabama.edu.

The editors are “more than willing to answer any questions,” said Talian-cich. “We want to get as much help as possible, as many submissions as possi-ble. We want Oracle 2013 to be unique, representative of the USA community, and an impressive example of what stu-dents are capable of.”

JAKE HOWELL | JAGLIFE EDITORThese earlier editions of “Oracle Fine Arts Review” can be found in various places on campus and herald the coming of “Oracle 2013” as the newest member of this grand tradition.

Letter to the Editor

Imagine that it’s Friday. You ask a friend to go out with you. He

tells you that he doesn’t feel up to it. You eventually talk him into it.

At some point during the night you realize your friend has disappeared, but you are having a good time. The rest of the weekend you are nursing your good time. Then Monday you get the news. Your friend had committed sui-cide over the weekend.

You are fl oored. “He didn’t show any signs of being suicidal.”

Wrong. It’s a common misconcep-tion that suicidal people do not show signs. According to Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), most suicidal people give signs.

Other misconceptions SAVE has found are, “Suicidal people don’t want help” and “Talking about suicide can give someone the idea.” SAVE found that most who have died from suicide did seek help prior to their death. Also, talking about suicide could actually talk someone out of it.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states, “Suicide is among the

three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 years in some coun-tries, and the second leading cause of death in the 10-24 years age group.”

However, these statistics do not in-clude suicide attempts which are 20 times more frequent. WHO contin-ues to express concern for the young people for they are now more at risk to commit suicide in both developed and developing countries.

So how can you help?The American Foundation for Sui-

cide prevention encourages people to be aware of their friends and family.

Take note of their behavior and if it changes. Be willing to listen to those who try to talk to you. Be aware of statements such as “I don’t know what to do anymore” and “I feel helpless.” These statements could be signs of depression which could lead to suicide.

Lastly, if you know someone is struggling, encourage them to seek counseling. No one should feel that suicide is their only option.

Suicide can be prevented; look for signs

Melinda Dunn

PATRICK HERRING, SPORTS EDITORsports.editor@usavanguard.comSPORTSSPORTS

9VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

Jags defeat Nicholls St. 9-3 on defense, Chapuseaux’s legJags defeat Nicholls St. 9-3 on defense, Chapuseaux’s legKicker Michel Chapuseaux scored three field goals to defeat the Nicholls State Colonels Saturday Night

Michel Chapuseaux scored the only points of the game for

South Alabama. His three fi eld goals were enough though, to seal a 9-3 vic-tory over Nicholls State on a night nei-ther team could fi nd the endzone.

The game started rough for the Jag-uar offense after consecutive Nicholls State punts put the ball at the 2- and 1-yard line respectively. Both drives ended in 3-and-outs for the Jaguars.

Backup quarterback Ross Metheny got a shot on the next possession. It proved to be a good decision, with short-lived dividends. Metheny got two fi rst downs before the Jags had to punt. He fi nished the game 6-10 for 58 yards and gained 14 yards rushing de-spite being sacked three times.

Coach Jones was asked after the game about his decision to play Metheny.

“We decided early in the week that we were gonna rotate [Bennett and Metheny],” Jones said. “Before we get into conference play, we need to know

By PATRICK HERRINGsports.editor@usavanguard.com who our quarterback is.”

After a slow start that saw Nicholls State and USA trade punts throughout the fi rst quarter, it ended tied at zero.

Nicholls State got the scoring start-ed after an 11-play, 50-yard drive ended when kicker Andrew Dolan, of McGill-Toolen, booted a 48-yard fi eld goal to put the Colonels up 3-0 in the second quarter.

South Alabama didn’t take long to answer the score. Bennett got back in the game and fi red a couple short completions to get the drive going. He would end up with 111 yards on 11-20 passing for the game. Demetre Baker rushed on three consecutive plays to get the ball down to the Nicholls State 33-yard line.

An NSU personal foul moved the ball down to their 9-yard line. Bennett completed a 16-yard pass to Jereme Jones to put the ball on the 1. The of-fense wasn’t able to punch it in, so the Jaguars had to settle for a 19-yard fi eld goal by Chapuseaux to tie it up at 3-3.

Neither team could get anything

else going on offense, so they went to the locker room with the score still knotted at 3.

Metheny got the reins to start the third quarter, but was unable to get anything going. The teams traded a couple more punts before the tide

-Michel Chapuseaux

turned in the Jaguars favor.An off-balance pass by Nicholls

State quarterback, Landry Klann, was intercepted by USA linebacker Bryson James at the NSU 33. Klann fi nished the game 12-27 with just 96 yards and two interceptions.

Bennett led the offense back out with a short fi eld to go. A 14-yard

completion to Kendall Houston com-pounded with a 10-yard (half the dis-tance to the goal) roughing the passer penalty put the ball at the NSU 9. Houston ran it to the four on the next play, but two incomplete passes later the drive stalled.

Chapuseaux was called upon again.“When I’m sent to the fi eld, I’m

expected to score,” Chapuseaux said.And that’s what he did. The kick

stayed true from 21 yards out to give the Jags a 6-3 lead.

Terrence Timmons would fumble on the next USA possession, giving NSU the ball at midfi eld.

The defense held its own and kept the Colonels out of scoring range for the remainder of the quarter.

On the opening drive of the fourth quarter the Colonels were driving the ball and had it down to the USA 19-yard line, until running back Jesse Turner fumbled. Montavious Williams recovered at the USA 17 for the Jag-uars.

With Metheny leading the offense

again, the Jags marched down the fi eld. He started the drive with three quick completions for 40 yards to get the ball down to the NSU 40-yard line.

Baker rushed on four of the next fi ve plays for 20 yards down to the NSU 19. He would fi nish with 75 yards on 20 carries. The drive stalled there, and Chapuseaux strolled onto the fi eld to put another one through the uprights. The Jags ended the scor-ing there with a 9-3 lead.

On Nicholls State’s next play from scrimmage, Klann threw an intercep-tion to Terrel Brigham at the Nicholls State 38. The Jags would drive the ball into the redzone before Baker fumbled the ball and it was recovered by NSU’s T.J. Lamar.

“We’re trying to run the clock out and we fumbled,” Jones said. “You can’t do that in a close game.”

A couple of failed drives later and the Colonels had the ball at their own 42-yard line with 2:38 left to play. They

See FootballFootball, Page 14

Running back Kendall Houston leaps over a Nicholls State defender in the Jaguars 9-3 victory.

When I’m sent on the field, I’m expected to

score, and that’s what I did.

“

”

BY PATRICK HERRING |SPORTS EDITOR

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 201210

Want us to follow you? Tweet us @USAVGSports

@USAVGSports

Week ThreeSeason Totals

Patrick HerringSports Editor (6-2)

Jayson CurrySenior Reporter (6-2)

JT Crabtree Sports Editor L.O.C. (5-3)

USA vs NC StateAnother trip to Raleigh for the Jaguars, another long plane ride home.N.C. State 38-20

USA will put up a fi ght against the wolf pack but much like last year, turnovers will kill the Jags. N.C. State 41-24

The Jags won’t have any luck against the Wolf-pack. N.C. State 34-20

#1 Alabama vs. #8 Arkansas

Alabama’s fi rst true test of the season resides in the Razorback’s back yard. McCarron and Wilson put on an aerial show. Alabama 45-31

Bama’s D will toy with Arkansas’ Wilson-possibly the best QB in the SEC-but Bama has possibly the best defense in the country. Bama 32-6

Bama’s defense will have a tough task against Tyler Wilson and the high power Arkansas of-fense, Bama 31-21

Auburn vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Auburn fi nally gets their fi rst victory of the season, albeit against a much lesser opponent at home. Auburn 41-17

Auburn plays one of its easier games of the season and takes advantage of it. Auburn 52-20

Auburn should run over the Warhawks, not even close. Auburn 42-10.

#24 Florida vs.Tennessee

This will be a good battle between two SEC teams looking to return to their glory days. Tennessee 28-17

The Gators looked a bit shaky in their fi rst game of the season, Tenn. looked strong and fast against N.C. State. Tenn. 26-24

Tennessee has looked strong and Florida is having a QB carousel, Tenn 24-20

College Football PredictionsCollege Football Predictions Editor’s Note: During the 2012 football season, we here at The Vanguard Sports Section will be doing weekly predictions of South’s football game, popular in-state games, and one or two nationally signifi cant games. We will keep a running tally of who’s “winning” the prediction game, and may from time to time include a guest picker.

Continued from Page 12Football

Brandon Bridge @Air_Canada_7:Quaterback

The feeling you have when u study hard for a test and you get to the class to take the test and u forgot every-thing

Ellis Hill @Eazy_E13”Running Back

Finally fi lled out my graduation ap-plication!! It’s safe to say Spring 2013 will be great for me!

CJ Bennett @_MrOneFive_:Quarterback

I hate on girls who are thirsty for dudes with accents.... But after hearing Emma Watson’s voice we are on the same page lol

Corey Waldon @lilwaldon_81:Wide Receiver

I’m just trying to be the last man standing

Darrius Morrow@DMorrow_4:Wide Receiver

It’s gonna be nice to hear my little brother tell his friends “I got a big brother in the NFL!”

Trey Fetner @Tfet16:Quarterback

Just caught the worst big toe cramp I’ve ever had walking to the top fl oor of humanities.. Jumping was seriously a thought for a sec.

Chris May @CmayFive5:Offensive Lineman

Running off three hours of sleep and I fell great lol what is wrong with me??

Shaun Artz @SHaun_ARTZ73:Offensive Lineman

To whoever left the Lifesaver gum-mies on my truck thank you! Haha

By PATRICK HERRINGsports.editor@usavanguard.com

For over 40 years the running back was an essential compo-

nent to a winning football team. But long gone are the days of Emmitt Smith winning football games. Only fi ve times in the last 10 years has the league’s leading rusher led his team to the playoffs. A running back hasn’t even won the league MVP award since 2006, when LaDainian Tomlinson took home the hardware. And it’s only happened twice since 2000.

Numerous rule changes in the past fi ve years have revolutionized the game of professional football, much to the chagrin of many. In today’s game, the quarterback is virtually untouchable.

You can’t hit him in the helmet. You can’t hit him below the knees. If he scrambles and slides feet fi rst, don’t even think about falling on him or that yellow handkerchief will fl y out faster than you can say “fi rst down.”

These rule changes have shifted the NFL from a run-fi rst league, to a pass-fi rst league. This can be evidenced by the fact that in the past four seasons, at least one participating team in the Su-per Bowl has been ranked in the bot-tom nine in the league in rushing. The 2008 Cardinals, 2009 Colts, and 2011 Giants Super Bowl squads were ranked dead last in the category.

The running back has become a de-valued position. In 2011, Mark Ingram was the only running back taken in the

fi rst round of the draft at pick number 28. This year, critics across the coun-try gave Cleveland fl ack for trading the kitchen sink to move up and se-lect Trent Richardson third overall-the highest a running back has gone since Reggie Bush went second overall to the Saints in 2006. After Richardson, another running back wasn’t taken un-til 28 picks later.

This may say something about the talent at other positions coming out of the college level, but it likely has more to do with the shift to a quarterback friendly league.

Many teams have changed their ap-proach to the running game. Due to the rules to protect the passer and in-juries becoming more prevalent and costly, teams are switching from a one-back offense where they must rely on a workhorse runner for three downs, to a running back-by-committee approach. This means the duties don’t fall on a single rusher, but are split among two, three, even four separate backs. Over a third of the teams in the league now have multiple running backs that they rotate on a regular basis.

The days of the 1500-yard rushing season for a running back may be en-dangered. It felt like lightning struck when Chris Johnson eclipsed 2000 yards rushing a few years ago. It’s a feat we may never see again.

But quarterbacks are doing just fi ne. Up until 2008, a quarterback had only eclipsed the 5000-yard mark once (Marino, 1984). But thanks to the leagues shift toward the passing game, just last year three more accomplished the feat (Brady, Brees and Stafford).

With all of these rule changes to protect the quarterback, if I’m a run-ning back, I’m wondering who’s look-ing after me?

Goodbye every-down, workhorse running back. Hello pass-happy NFL.

Every-down running backs a rarity in the N.F.L.

refused to go down without a fi ght.Klann completed three straight

passes to move the ball down to the USA 29. A pass interference call on B.J. Scott on the next play moved the ball down to the 14.

The defense didn’t back down from the challenge. Pat Moore sacked Klann on third and eleven to put the Colonels in a tough situation. Klann lofted a last ditch effort on fourth and fourteen. Darrius Morrow swatted it away to seal the Jaguar Victory.

Jake Johnson paced the Jaguars de-fense for the second straight week with 8 tackles, including a sack. Pat Moore added 2.5 sacks as the defense tallied 5 total in the game.

Kicker Michel Chapuseaux booting one of his three fi eld goals.

BY PATRICK HERRING |SPORTS EDITOR

SouthPaw’s lady friend Miss Pawla made a triumphant return to the side-lines at the Nicholls St. game.

BY PATRICK HERRING |SPORTS EDITOR

11VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

Jaguar defenders attempt to run down NC State wide receiver T.J. Graham in last year’s 35-13 loss. VANGUARD ARCHIVES

Football gears up for rematch Football gears up for rematch against N.C. State Wolfpackagainst N.C. State Wolfpack

By JAYSON CURRYjayson-curry@hotmail.com

South Alabama will head back to Raleigh, N. C. next week to face

off against NC State for the second time in as many seasons.

The Jaguars showed they could hang with a bigger program last year, but eventually were outlasted by the Wolfpack. The biggest key to last year’s loss was the difference in what each team did when they forced a turnover.

The Jags unfortunately could not turn the miscues of NC State into points, but the opposite could be said for the Wolf Pack.

This year’s match-up will most like-ly be set up just as last year’s game where the Jags will come in heavily thought of as the underdog.

The game will come down to the passing game for both teams. Last year, the South Alabama offense was more run based and this season they are run-

ning a spread offense coordinated by USA’s Robert Matthews. The Jags will try to spread the ball around to its deep group of receivers, but must watch out for NC State cornerback David Amer-son.

Amerson got torched by Tennessee in the season opener, but he is highly touted as the best cornerback in the country.

USA quarterback C.J. Bennett will be the key on offense for the Jaguars. If Bennett can minimize his mistakes and keep the Jag offense on the fi eld, we could have a close game.

NC State is led by Mike Glennon as quarterback who hurt the Jaguar de-fense last year and could do the same again this season. Glennon threw the ball 44 times against a tough Tennessee defense and will do much of the same for the rest of the season.

The USA defense will need to keep the State receivers in front of them and attempt to put pressure on Glennon.

Check out all of The Vanguard’s issues online at Check out all of The Vanguard’s issues online at thevanguardonline.com!thevanguardonline.com!

VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 201212

NOAH LOGAN OPINION EDITORopinion.editor@usavanguard.com

OpinionOpinion

JagPulseWe fi nally have Starbucks on campus! What do We fi nally have Starbucks on campus! What do you think of it? you think of it?

Arianna Mariam: I prefer Satori. Of course I respect everybody’s choices, but I prefer that my money go to local businesses vs. corporate monoliths which exploit workers in third-world countries under the guise of being “fair trade” and in the process, drive local cafes to extinction... just my thoughts though.

Ashley Marie Clarke: Do they just “brew” Starbucks coffee or can they actually make all the drinks on the menu? The old “Starbucks” in the student center was a disappointment

Maelynn La: I went yesterday and no pumpkin spice was to be found!

Matthew Rex Strickland: I thought it was pretty convientient. I enjoyed getting some coffee in Shelby Hall then sitting upstairs and studying. It was pretty relaxing.

Jordan Knox: I walked all the way to Shelby Hall earlier today only to fi nd out that they can’t make frappuccinos yet. It was a disappointment.

The Vanguard ViewpointThe Vanguard ViewpointA STAFF EDITORIAL

Penn State players Penn State players deserve some respectdeserve some respectBy NOAH LOGANncl1101@jagmail.southalabama.edu

This past weekend Penn State be-gan the post Joe Paterno era

with a 24-14 loss to Ohio, not to be con-fused with Ohio State. While watching the game, I saw many people on Face-book expressing their desires for Penn State to lose. Bill O’Brien certainly had hoped for a better start to his coaching career after Joe Paterno left Penn State as the all-time win leader in NCAA football.

While Penn State rightfully had pen-alties handed down by NCAA, I think by rooting against the current players and the current coaches, college football fans will make recovering from Penn State’s current situation much harder for all of players, coaches and fans for Penn State that had nothing to do with the Jerry San-dusky situation.

Since the NCAA handed down their sanctions to Penn State, nine players have transferred to other schools including the former best RB on the team, Silas Redd. The rest of the players made a realization that I think is deserving of a great deal of admiration, respect and support.

The Penn State football players knew that in the midst of all the turmoil and confusion at the school, they could be the ones to shoulder the load, put the school on their back and give the students and faculty a small version of hope to cling

on to. These players were put into this posi-

tion by no fault of their own but by choosing to embrace this leadership role, the football players at Penn State are hop-ing to lead Penn State through the period of sanctions, trials and cover ups, and to restore the once great name Penn State held nationally.

Michael Zordich, a senior RB and FB from Penn State might have said it best during a Q&A after practice one day.

“We want to let the nation know that we’re proud of who we are. We’re the true Penn Staters, and we’re going to stick together through this. We’re going to see this thing through, and we’re going to do everything we can for the university. We know it’s not going to be easy, but we know what we’re made of,” expressed Zordich.

Nearly everyone can relate to having really bad luck on an occasion through no fault of your own and being put in a hor-rible situation that is out of your control. The coaches and players at Penn State have now set a new bar for bad luck. In-stead of expressing disdain for the whole Penn State football program for the ac-tions of a few top men, college football fans and people everywhere can and should sympathize for the “Penn Staters” as they begin a long and diffi cult road to rebuild what was once the pedestal for college football greatness.

TheTheEditorialEditorialBoardBoard

Editor in Chief Managing EditorOpinion Editor Life Editor Sports Editor

Cassie Fambro >Aaron Etheredge >

Noah Logan >Jake Howell >

Patrick Herring >

thevanguardonline.com

thevanguardonline.com

It’s unnerving that our personal numbers were available to a random community college in Texas.

It seems like there should def-initely be some safeguards on our personal information, and it leaves us to wonder how this happened.

Sure, using the same mass campus alert company may have its errors.

But Texas and Alabama are two different states, and an emer-gency warning needs to be of the utmost importance.

The campus warning system is becoming more and more of a headache.

We even went to bat defend-ing it last week, but now that our phone numbers were essentially casualties of a privacy breach, we must point a fi rm fi nger at every campus department that is involved in the warning system.

This isn’t something to take light-ly and it’s not okay that a campus alert from Texas gets to the ears of students as well as places like the Wesley Foundation.

Causing panic is unacceptable and negligent.

If the company is at fault, then

Student phone numbers need to be protectedramifi cations need to take place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

While we appreciate USAPD dis-cussing the matter with us, we’re a little disenchanted that Keith West simply said he “hoped” it wouldn’t happen again.

We’d rather see USAPD saying “it won’t” happen again.

We already face enough issues with getting an email in enough time for it to mean anything, and the last thing we need is calls that scare the

student body and community that don’t even have to do with USA.

A dangerous inmate with handcuffs still on running around campus?

That’s not something people should have to ques-tion the legitimacy of.

If we get a phone call from “campus police” it needs to be our campus po-lice.

Students need to keep in mind that USAPD uses a campus phone number that begins with 460 to make mass calls.

They also identify them-selves as USAPD.

But in this case, there would not have been time to sit there and think about area

codes and identifi cation for a normal student.

Even more eyebrow-raising is USAPD’s muted reaction to the alert.

A false alert recieved by an un-known number of people should have been addressed immediately.

No one is going to take the warn-ing system seriously if this happens.

Let’s keep the campus warning system in check, USA.

13VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

FACT CHECK

What He Said: “Obamacare is a bad policy that adds around $800 billion of taxes on the American people. It does not discriminate between rich and poor. It hurts everyone.

►

Actual Truth: Rubio picks the highest number he can fi nd -- $800 billion in new taxes as estimated by a study issued and ran by John Boehner -- to create dispotion on recently upheld health care law or ‘Obamacare”. He doesn’t tell readers anything more about the number, includ-ing the fact that these “taxes” would be garnered over 10 years.

►

What He Said: I haven’t cried that hard since I found out that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country. Now that is something to cry for because that is a disgrace, a national disgrace, and we haven’t done enough, obviously.

►

Actual Truth: According to the Burea of Labor Statistics report in July, 12.8 million Americans are unemployed, a little more than half of Eastwood’s claim.

►

Marco Rubio

Clint Eastwood

Condoleezza Rice

What She Said: “The adminis-tration took seriously the threat” of terrorism before 9/11. (Re-ferring to George W. Bush and the threat of terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.)

►

►

Naturally, one would expect the Republican National

Convention to be rife with fl ashy red, white and blue patriotism appeals to God and freedom, and, of course, at-tacks on Obama.

To be sure, Marco Rubio’s speech included all of these often vapid un-dertones; however, Rubio also sup-plied a meaningful counterexample to the Democratic Party’s view of “fairness.”

In his speech, Rubio told the sto-ries of his grandfather, mother and father, all of which suffered gruel-ing conditions throughout their lives both in Cuba and in America.

His parents worked many differ-ent blue-collar jobs.

On his father, Rubio related, “He stood behind a bar and in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the

Photos by The Washington Post

2012 Republican National Convention2012 Republican National Convention

Marco Rubio ‘Curveballs’Marco Rubio ‘Curveballs’front of a room.”

Hidden behind this anecdote and its directed emotional response is a substantive idea.

Life will throw curveballs, the af-fl uent and privileged will likely take advantage of the lower class, and not everybody will see the proper fruits of his or her labor.

Yet hope remains, not with the government, but with the American people, in spite of the insurmount-able problems they may face.

Rubio ended his speech with an appeal to the fate of future genera-tions.

His parents left him an opportu-nity to achieve the American dream.

Right now, we the American peo-ple are on track to leave our succes-sors with nothing more than a crush-ing debt, bankrupt social programs and a gradual decay in the spirit of personal accomplishment.

Condoleezza Rice’s speech had poiseCondoleezza Rice’s speech had poise

At the recent Republican Nation-al Convention, it was clear that

the women stole the show. Former Secre-tary of State Condoleezza Rice and First Lady hopeful Ann Romney presented the best speeches by far. Rice provided an air of confi dence and experience. Over-fl owing with poise as she addressed the delegates, Rice enthralled the room with a barrage of Americanism. The fi rst words from her mouth were a gripping retell-

ing of the events of September 11, 2001. She remind-ed the crowd of the strong sense of pa-triotism they felt in the days, weeks and months after the attack. She reminded us of the struggle of those in the Middle East seeking freedom. What could be more American than wanting to spread the fl ame of liberty? In her presenta-

tion, she was nearly Presiden-tial her-self. I can only as-sume that if Rom-

ney is successful in his White House bid, she will once again take of the responsibility of running the State Department. In my opinion, Rice is one of the greatest assets to the Republican Party. She is charming, well spoken and

most importantly, brilliant. She has held positions as a university administrator, professor and Cabinet offi cer of the United States.

After a few lines on the poor state of our educational system, she managed to work in a tirade about the reckless spend-ing of the current administration and the need for hard work. She then ended the speech with a few feel good lines. “God bless you, and God bless this extraordi-nary country, this exceptional country; the United States of America.” It was re-ally the quintessential Republican speech.

The Actual Truth: Just two of the hundred national security meetings the Administration held during this period ad-dressed the terrorist threat.

Overflowing with poise as she ad-dressed the delegates, Rice enthralled the room with a barrage of American-ism.

“”

It’s a rare and diffi cult feat to steal thunder from the likes

of Mitt Romney. However, at the Republican National Convention on DATE, this was accomplished with little more than an empty chair.

Over 20 million viewers stifl ed a laugh as Clint Eastwood, the much-awaited mystery speaker for the convention, used his zany, 6-minute-overtime speech to openly mock President Obama.

Mentioning Romney little more than twice, Eastwood held a full conversation with “Obama,” the imaginary occupant of the chair, and discussed various aspects of his presi-dency.

“So, Mr. President, how do you handle the promises you made when you were running for election? Wait, what do you mean ‘shut up’?” he said.

While recounting the night of

Obama’s victory, he snarkily admitted to shedding a few tears.

“They were talking about hope and change, and it was dark outside, and people were lighting candles. Everyone was trying, Oprah was crying... heck, even I was crying. And fi nally, I haven’t cried that hard since I found out there were 23 million unemployed people in this country,” he said.

While many berate Eastwood for supposedly embarrassing the Repub-lican party, I would like to personally thank him. Using a rhetorical strategy based heavily on humor, he turned what would have been a long night of half-baked promises and propaganda into a memorable and admittedly hi-larious experience.

Ratings for Romney have, so far, been relatively unaffected by the speech, and I feel that, if anything, they will improve. In light of all the se-rious issues of the past few years, a lit-tle humor may be just what we needed.

Clint Eastwood ‘The Chair’Clint Eastwood ‘The Chair’

USA students recap the speeches given at this years Republican National Convention

By CONNOR FAVREAUCjf703@jagmail.southalabama.edu

By COLIN AL-GREENECalgreene@jagmail.southalabama.edu

By ANU PANDITAnupandit.editor@gmail.com

THE WASHINGTON POST

JT CRABTREE, LOC EDITORjtc804@jagmail.southalabama.eduLEFT OF CENTERLEFT OF CENTER

14 VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

There is a saying that in the South, “Football is not just

a sport, it’s a way of life.” This more than applies to the South Alabama Jaguars.

As a brand new “baby Jag,” I had no idea what to expect from the football team or the Jag fans. All I knew was that one of the things that drew me to South was the awesome school spirit that was exemplified for the young football program, and that was something I was really looking forward to seeing during my first game. As a girl raised on Alabama football and bred to love the game, I was ready to see the Jaguars and fans in action.

Walking into Ladd-Peebles Sta-dium, I was greeted by a blazing, hot sun, a seat behind our oppos-ing team, and students dressed in red and Jagwear. One of my first impressions was how awesome the band was during pregame. Everyone

knows every great team needs a great band and they were no exception. As they played the fight song, I, along with many people around me, sang the beginning, mumbled the middle and yelled out the spelling at the end.

I was lucky enough to be accom-panied by the infamous, unofficial mascots, Togaman and Afroman, to help me learn a few of the chants. If you don’t know what to do, go sit near them! Not only will you actually know what’s going on and what to chant, but watching them taunt the Roadrunners was great entertain-ment when the game was at slow points. The first half of the game was great when it came to the fans and supporting the team.

The only thing that disappointed me about our fans was the lack of them in the student section after the first half. Even though the students who stuck it out the last two quarters were as loud and rowdy as possible, how can you expect your team to get back up when they’re down if their fans get up and leave when the times

get tough? The students who stuck it out through the hot sun, the bad calls and even the fumbles were the best part of my first experience. That’s what the Jag family should be about, never losing faith in your team. And even up to the last second, you could hear shouts of encouragement.

At the end of the game, there was no better sight than football team and fans raising their hands with their fingers in the shape of a “J” as the band played the Alma Mater. I personally had a great time cheering the Jags, even if we lost the game, I had no voice and was red as a tomato afterwards.

If you get bored at a South game, you’re obviously doing it wrong.

My advice if you haven’t attended a game yet is that you come decked out in South Alabama gear (not oth-er universities, show some pride), learn the cheers, stay the entire game, come with the right people and wear sunscreen! Go Jags!

By ALYSSA NEWTONakn1104@jagmail.southalabama.edu

New fans jumping on board JagsNew fans jumping on board JagsFreshmen gives a testimony about her first USA football game

PARTICK HERRING / SPORTS EDITORAlyssa Newton, second from the left, pictured tailgating with members of the USA Wesley Foundation.

A crowd of 17,144 fans fi led into Ladd-Peebles Stadium to

watch the Jags season opener against UTSA on Sept. 1, a game which they lost 33-31. But the loss was the least of the problems for those who stuck around.

The excruciating heat made condi-tions close to unbearable throughout most of the game, and probably the worst part of that was the fact that the concession stands fell short of provid-ing adequate supplies to keep fans hy-drated. Many fans in the student sec-tion left at halftime to escape the heat. Those fans who ventured to the con-cession stand to fi nd relief only found frustration and no solution to the heat.

By the middle of the 2nd quarter, the concession stands on the west side of the stadium were out of water and Powerade, as well as several food op-tions. Fans were also being charged the full price of a drink in order to get a cup of ice.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Sam Wicker “I felt like I was going to pass out, so I went to the concession stand during halftime to get a Powerade, only to fi nd they had none. I sat in the shade for all of halftime and missed the band’s per-formance.”

The band was also a victim of the extreme heat. After their halftime per-formance, I personally witnessed one member of the band collapse on the sidelines. She was quickly attended to by South Alabama’s medical staff.

Many other fans are baffl ed at the fact that the concession stands could run out of essential supplies such as water during a game being played in the

Lack of concessions Lack of concessions makes conditions makes conditions

brutalbrutalBy JT CRABTREEjtc804@jagmail.southalabama.edu

hottest part of the day in the month of September.

“We ended up moving to the shade,” said Alumni Jon Garcia. “I cannot fath-om how the entire stadium is out of water halfway through the 2nd quarter on a Saturday afternoon with the heat index at 95+ degrees.”

Garcia also offered that the lack of concessions running fans away could have affected the outcome of the game.

“Fast forward throughout the game, and you have an infi nitely smaller crowd because of it,” said Garcia. “How many times did you see the players trying to amp up the crowd, and get ZERO re-sponse?”

That is a great question. The games are meant to be enjoyable and that is why the concessions are there. But in this case, they only caused headache and pain for fans, literally. There is no reason that fans should be dropping like fl ies because a concession stand is out of water, Powerade and other bottled drinks. Water, of all things. Granted, there were fountain drinks, but they do not provide adequate hydration as com-pared to water.

What may be more troublesome about this situation is that the conces-sion stands were being run by a new company. But also because of that rea-son, we should be patient with it. The game being rescheduled changed every-one’s schedule, and so it is not surpris-ing that things were a little “under par” at the fi rst game.

All fans can do is hope that the problems are fi xed and quickly. Other-wise, poorly run concessions could be a deterrent for those thinking about com-ing to a South Alabama home football game.

CARLY BRAGG / CONTRIBUTINGCheerleaders lead the Jags football team onto the fi eld on Sept. 1.

Rivalry Rivalry updateupdate

After asking for your suggestions for naming the USA-Troy rivalry, we had a good amount of feedback. Here are a few of the names that we will share. If you have any more ideas, please submit them this week

to jtc804@jagmail.southalabama.edu.• The Battle of the Belt• The Heart of Dixie Bowl• The Battle of the

Yellowhammer• The Battle of I-65

15VOL. 51, NO. 7 / SEPT. 10, 2012

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