Issue 2 | February 13, 2015

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Editor-In-ChiefNatasha Jones

Assistant EditorsTrenton Canada

Jillian Carpenter

Design EditorChristin Rottenberger

Faculty Adv isorJeremiah Massengale

Sta ff WritersAutumn Cooney

Lydia JayShyann NorrisAshton Rector

Sta ff PhotographerJay Sanksakulchai

Editor ia l Rev iew BoardLisa Bartram

Marianne Worthington

- 7609 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Ky 40769

(606-539-4172

/patriotnewspaper @UCThePatriot

*thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu

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The Patriot is the biweekly student publication of the University of the Cumberlands. Our goal is to provide timelyand original content by highlighting campus news and views.

Award-winning member of the Kentucky Press Association.

CONTENTS

UCTHEPATRIOT

Beaus, Baes, and Beheadings

God’s Love Above All

So far away

Buying for the boys

A Letter From the Editor

Dear Readers,

Hello, thank you for your continued readership of The Patriot. Our staff has workeddiligently to collaborate on giving you a paper that serves our readers best. We are excitedto present to you our second issue of the semester, The Patriot’s guide to Valentine’s Day.

Whether you’re a fighter or a lover, there’s something in this issue everyone canenjoy. Included are cutout valentines, a festive playlist and tons of creative gift ideas forthe significant other in your life, and much more. This Valentine’s Day remember what’smost important is showing the people most important to you how much you care. Whetherthey’re your significant other, parents, siblings, friends, coworkers or suitemates; let themknow you value them.

In addition to the work we’ve put into this issue, I’m proud to announce this past Jan-uary at the Kentucky Press Award Association banquet, our staff brought home twoawards. Congratulations to our assistant editor, Jillian Carpenter for winning an award inthe category of Best Headline and former editor-in-chief, Timothy Wyatt for winning anaward in the category of Best Sports Column. I’m excited to see how our paper will fur-ther revolutionize both its design and content.

Not only do we hope to widen our readers and volunteer rate through print, this springwe are looking into becoming more active in our online presence. We’ve posted both aValentine’s Day music playlist as well as an anti-Valentine’s playlist on our YouTubechannel. We look forward to posting more on our channel this semester, in addition to re-launching our website in March. All of this past year’s articles will be archived and avail-able to share via social media. We hope these additions will even broaden our reach.Thank you for your support and enjoy.

Sincerely,

Natasha JonesEditor-in-Chief

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Beaus, Baes, and

The Legend of St. Valentine

Between the exchanges of flowers and mushy cards that take placeevery year on February 14, have you ever stopped to wonder how the dayoriginated? Just what is Valentine’s Day? The answer may surprise you.

Few people know that the origins of this day- a day of candy and kisses-are actually bloody and brutal. Yes, the story of Valentine’s Day starts witha man named Valentine and a beheading. Well, a couple of beheadings, ac-tually.

The holiday is named after a patron saint of the Catholic Church, buthistorians dispute as to which saint gets the credit for this day. Historically,there were several men named Valentine who were martyred on February14 by the Roman Emperor Claudius II around the same time, circa A.D.270.

Because the history is vague, there are many legends surrounding thefigure of St. Valentine. Some historians, according to History.com, willargue that Valentine was a priest, beheaded because of his Christian faith.

Another story tells of how Claudius II outlawed marriage across theRoman Empire because he thought it would strengthen his army. He feltthat marriage made men weaker, that they would refuse to fight for him be-cause their hearts were at home with their wives. Appalled by this andgrounded in his faith for love, St. Valentine began performing illegal mar-riages. Soon after, the emperor was notified, and Valentine was arrested.

Legend goes on to say that while Valentine was in jail awaiting his ex-ecution, he prayed for the jailer’s daughter, who had been blind all her life,and she received her sight. It’s said that the night before his execution, hesent a letter to the jailer’s daughter, ending with the words, “From yourValentine.”

By any account, it seems that whoever St. Valentine was, he was frimin his beliefs and stood against the Roman authority. Though the true originsof Valentine’s Day are mysterious, one thing remains clear. The history ofthis day on which we celebrate our sweethearts is rooted in the love of asaint. No, not our love for the saint, but the love he had for his beliefs andothers.

BY TRENTON CANADA

Assistant Editor

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Photo by Jil lian Carpenter

Valentine’s Day: a college budget’s nightmare

BY JILLIAN CARPENTER

Assisstant Editor

Valentine's Day is quickly skipping around the corner. You used tothink that it was unfortunate that you had to spend this holiday full of ro-mance and cheesy presents alone. Now, after finding yourself in the samelove boat as all the other couples out there, you're wondering why youwanted to go through the stress of finding the perfect gift or gesture topresent to give to your favorite person. Add being a broke college studentto the mix, and you've got a huge problem. Don't worry; there are plentyof ideas that you can follow or you can start out with to make your ownpersonalized gift for your significant other that doesn't spend all the moneyyou don't have.

Plan a day together. It doesn't have to be a huge, romantic gesture.At the very least, Valentine's Day should be the day you and your signif-icant other get to be with each other as much as possible. It will makeboth of you feel appreciated, and both of you will feel more than happyto get so much time together. Things such as picnics or simply exploringa new town are cheap and a lot of fun!

Write something sweet on something that belongs to them. If you canmanage to sneak a notebook, a commonly read book, or something of thelike away from them, take that chance to write something sweet in it andreplace it without them knowing. The next time they open the object you

snuck away, they'll be in for a really adorable surprise! You can also leave similar notes in something or several things that belongto them. Write short notes and leave them places like in their car, in theirnotebook, in a jacket pocket. Depending on how well you hide thesenotes, they might even keep finding them for months to come, and they'llget to be reminded again and again how much you care about them. Thereare plenty of ideas that you can use to make this personal. You can buy adeck of playing cards, write something on each of them, and either hidethose or give them to the person all at once. Playing cards are durableand are useful if the person wants to keep them for a long time.

Valentine's Day is about showing someone that you care about them.Luckily, creativity is a better show of affection than money ever will be.So, put down the wallet, pick up your imagination, and use these simpletips to make a gift that the person you care about will really appreciate!

Photo by Jill ian Ca rpenter

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Features

BY SHYANN NORRIS

Sta ff Writer

Year after year there are millions of girls aroundthe world trying to rack their brain around what toget a guy for Valentine's Day. It's a common ques-tion and most girls have no ideas whatsoever forwhat a guy could want for a rather romantic, girly"holiday." Most often, us girls feel like ourboyfriends always spoil us on this day and that wekind of shortchange them because choosing a giftor something lovey dovey can be extremely hard.However, we girls want to get something heartfeltand sweet for the guy in our lives without taking ittoo far. I can remember in past years (and evennow) texting every friend I have asking what Ishould get my boyfriend. In all honesty, if they trulycare for you and love you, anything you pick outand get them as a gift, they will absolutely adore!And now the time approaches when every girlfriendstarts preparing to be stressed to the max on some-thing that should be so simple (not to mention beingquestioned by your boyfriend why this is so hardfor you) and texting all their best friends for adviceto have the best Valentine’s Day gift ever for theirspecial someone.

In past years, I have seen some very cute, rea-sonable, and even price savvy gifts that could begreat for your boyfriend. I find most of my ideasfrom Pinterest and add my own special touch to it.Last year, I decided to get my boyfriend a plethoraof things and attach a related quote or saying toevery item and include them all in one basket.These things were just little items I knew he likedor enjoyed and some of his favorite candy. I labeledthis his "favorite things" basket. Some things I in-cluded were his favorite car air fresheners with aquote saying, "you're fresh boy" and his favoritegum saying "I chews you." I included many other

things but my favorite was a basketball that I hadpersonally hand written on and it said, "You makemy heart bounce." He played basketball at the timeand I found this gift perfect for him! The giftchoices really all depend on your boyfriend's fa-vorite things and making him feel special and loved. Some gift options that you may find fitting for thisValentine’s Day could be anything from a candycard to a cheap day jar. Here is a list that you mayfind useful for the guy in your life. 1. A candy card- Bring your fun loving and free-spirited side out! Simply buy a poster board and cre-ate a story using words from his favorite candy barsor sweet treats.2. A "favorite thing" basket- As mentioned above,fill a basket with everything he likes from car sup-plies or tools to candy and drinks. He is guaranteedto love this. Add cute puns to make it sweeter.3. Picture and picture frame- A picture is worth athousand words (especially one of you, right?). Buya cute picture frame and frame one of your favoritephotos together for him to look at daily. Etsy.comhas some cute shotgun shell frames for your hunterboyfriend.4. "Open when" letters- Write him sweet letters toopen when times get rough or when he needs en-couragement or needs a laugh. Specify on the frontof each letter what it is designated to. Add somecolor and cute doodles to make it more special.5. 52 reasons why I love you- Grab you a deck ofcards and get to writing! Write a simple reason ofwhy you love him on each of the 52 cards. Whenyou are done, hole punch them and tie them to-gether like a book. He will always know how muchhe is loved. 6. Candy bouquet- Aka a guy’s bouquet. Get four

boxes of candy (the kind you can get for $1 usuallyin the middle of Wal-Mart) make a square out ofthem and put a foam cube in the middle stick allkinds of suckers in the middle or anything that canstand up on a stick. 7. Cheap date jar- Fill a mason jar up with dateideas. It is like that gift that keeps on giving. Havehim close his eyes and pick a “cheap date” out ofthe jar and that is what you do that night. The timetogether will mean more to you than anything!8. Personalized wallet card- You can write out ashort letter to your boy and have it engraved into acredit card size piece of metal that he can alwayscarry with him in his wallet. Etsy.com has so manychoices! 9. Care package (for long-distance relationships)-This is for those long-distance relationships whenyou can’t be together for every special day. Sendhim acare package or survival kit. Once again, attach cutesayings to each item. You can label it “How to sur-vive being away from each other.”10. Kiss-a-gram (for long-distance relationships)-Who doesn’t love cheesy right? Put your red lip-stick on and get to kissing! Kiss little pieces ofpaper and enclose them in an envelope. Nothing butkisses and send them to him! He will find it extrasweet and have a good laugh over it too!

This year, make the gift for your boyfriendsomething special from the heart. Depending onhow much you have set aside to spend you can addany item of clothing, shoes, concert tickets, movietickets, a tool set, or whatever else you think he maylike along with a nice homemade, from the heartgift. Not to mention, all guys love candy! Especiallycandy from you.

Buying for the boys

Photo submnitted

What to get your boyfriend this Valentine’s Day

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Distance is something that youwill be associated with throughout dif-ferent times in your college experi-ence. Whether it’s you yourself, yourroommate, your teammate or yourfriend, you will become aware of dis-tance in one shape or form. There’s thedistance from home, distance fromthings familiar, distance from posses-sions, and the most affecting is dis-tance from loved ones. WithValentine’s Day around the corner, Iwanted to touch a topic that not a lotof people thing about when talkingabout relationships, distance and love.The majority of people you talk aboutin a day’s time probably are in a rela-tionship with someone either at thecampus or close by. You hardly everthink about those who have significantothers miles away. Long-distance rela-tionships are not usually as commonbut they are becoming more commonespecially in college environments.After talking to 50 students (both maleand female) I discovered that 38 ofthem were in relationships, and of that38 there were 25 that are currently inlong-distance relationships. I know

that’s only a small group within ourstudent body, but it proves my point;there are growing numbers of individ-uals in long-distance relationships. Imyself being one of them. Longdistance relationships are definitelydifficult, that’s usually the first thingyou’ll hear from someone in a long-distance relationship. But they trulyare difficult, and they truly won’t sur-vive unless you have the two factors:Trust and Communication. In any re-lationship you rely and flourish ontrust, it’s the building block of your re-lationship. In a metaphorical sense,imagine you’re standing in the middleof an interstate while your significantother is safely on the other side. In arelationship you should be able to trustthat your partner will do all that theycan to get you to safety, ignoring theintensity of that metaphor, the messageis still, ”If you don’t have trust youtruly have nothing. “

In a relationship where you seeyour significant other all the time com-munication is still important, becauseif you never communicate you’ll neverget to know the person you’re holding

hands with or truly understand them.But in a long-distance relationshipcommunication is everything. And Icannot stress that enough. Because ina long-distance relationship it’s all youhave. When you’re mad at each otheror sad you can’t just hug and make-up;you’re too far away to do that. So youhave to do the one thing that coupleseven married for forty years might de-spise, you have to talk through it. Trustme it only makes your relationship allthe more stronger and all the moremeaningful. Long-distance relation-ships are extremely difficult but theyare possible and can be successful. Butwith everything there are pros andcons. Throughout my conversationswith individuals in long-distance rela-tionships we created a list together ofthe pros and cons of a long-distance re-lationship.

Pros of a Long-Distance Rela-tionship- Technology is extremely advancedfor communication.- Appreciate the separation in order tofocus on school and on each otherwhen together.

- Free time.- Appreciation for your relationship.- More to talk about when you’re to-gether.- Less distractions from responsibili-ties. - If it doesn’t work out you don’t havethe fear of seeing them on campus.- You learn more about your significantother through all the communication.

Cons of a Long-Distance Rela-tionship- Pressure to make sure time spent to-gether is a must when your home.- The constant avoiding of disagree-ments.- When separated again, you feel letdown or sad to return to your everydaylifestyle.- Sometimes the distance is too much.- Feeling lonely.- Feeling left out in events that have alot of couples.

“Oceans apart, day after day and Islowly go insane, I hear your voice onthe line but it doesn’t stop the pain. Isee you next to never, how can we sayforever,” is a line created by RichardMarx, a songwriter who discusseslong-distance relationships states it ina beautiful poetic fashion.

Yes, there are days that you mightgo insane. And yes, you might be milesapart. But if you truly care about yoursignificant other you will make it workday after day. Because yes, it is diffi-cult, but at the end of the day it isworth it. So on this Valentine’s Dayshare it with ones dear to your heart,and if you’re in a long-distance rela-tionship be sure to tell your significantother how much you appreciate them.But if you truly care about someoneyou tell them every day of the year.Because Valentine’s Day is simply justone day out of the year.

So far away

Photo by Jil lian CarpenterBY AUTUMN COONEY

Sta ff Writer

Advice about long-distance relationships

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Features

Valentine’s Day is coming up, and it is the time where almost every-one takes time to celebrate love. Especially those who have a significantother. You may think to yourself, “Okay; I don’t have a significant othertherefore, something must be wrong with me, and to be able to celebrateValentine’s Day, the holiday in which everyone celebrates love, youshould be in a relationship.” You may think that if you are not in a rela-tionship you are not prone or likely to be happy. Because the single lifedoes not serve as a happy time in one’s life. At least this is what weallow others and ourselves to let us think; and most of us believe it.

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but whoever has told you that, iswrong. And honestly just like being in a relationship has its perks, sodoes living the single life. With that being said there is absolutely noth-ing wrong with being single. And you can be happy and content in yourtime of singleness if you choose to be. Even though Valentine’s Day isjust around the corner, it can make living the single life a little rougherbut only if you let it. To avoid letting yourself feel negative about beingsingle on Valentine’s Day, or any day for that matter; choose to look atthis season of your life as a single person as a blessing in disguise withmany perks.

I know you are thinking, “How can being single at time in my lifebe a blessing?” Well, in all honesty, it’s quite simple. When you turnthe thoughts of being single as a curse and look at this time as a blessing,the more you are able to see what you need to. You’ll be able to enjoythe season in your life of singleness. In the season of singleness you arenot dating, engaged, and or married to anyone but yourself, and in mycase, my God as well. Therefore, you have the option to focus solelyon yourself and again, in my case, my Father. And to take time out justfor your relationship with yourself and Him and to enjoy yourself while

doing so. While you are focusing on yourself and God, you are choosingto trust in your heavenly Father to take care of you and to begin to workin and on you in all aspects of your life.

In Jeramiah 29:11 it says, ”For I know the plans I have for you, de-clares the Lord plans for your welfare and not for evil, to give you a fu-ture and hope.’’ You are allowing yourself to go through what I like tocall a preparation period, where there is work to be done but fun to behad. A preparation in which you are being working on yourself to be-come a better you to get yourself to where you are meant to be at thattime in your life. To enjoy getting to know and grow close with oneselfand your creator. To wait on His timing for you to be in a relationshipor anything else. In Song of Solomon 3:5 it says, “I adjure you, oledaughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the fields, thatyou do not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.”

Preparing yourself is not to perfect yourself because we will neverbe perfect. Instead it’s to ready yourself of what is to come. And to beable to function and know what you need to not just to be in a relation-ship but in the next season of your life and all other areas in which yourlife entails. No matter how you decide to make use of the single periodin your life, choose to look at is a blessing in the making of even moreblessing to come.

The many perks of being singleBY LYDIA JAY

Sta ff Writer

Photo by Jil lian Carpenter

This Valentine’s Day we keep in mind those we love, whether it be family,friends, or someone we are currently in a relationship with. Of all the individ-uals’ love in which we consider around this holiday, of the people that we findso dear to our hearts, let us not forget the love of God. Nothing or no one canseparate us from the unfailing and everlasting love of God, our creator. Justlike in the movies; where we see the lovesick man persistently chasing or stand-ing beside the beautiful woman often in pressing circumstances. For example:catching the plane at last minute, flagging down her speeding taxi as she es-capes, or holding her hand beside her death bed, God pursues us all the same, He is lovesick over us, constantly chasing us in ways we could often neverimagine. His love is a love in which nothing or no one can come between orhinder , despite effort. Troubles and circumstances in life can hinder our earthlyrelationships with those we love but are no match for the kind of love God hasto offer. No relationship is perfect yet even in the midst of an event causinggreat and often sudden damage or distress; a disaster, God can love us still. Inlife we can find ourselves surprised by certain turn of events, good or bad, butnothing is of surprise to God because he is constant, just as his love is. Whenspecifically negative life circumstances hit; God’s love doesn’t run and hide,it does not quit nor give up (as some of our exes have in the past) but it is stead-fast, standing firm, immovable, unshakeable.

God shall not leave nor forsake us when danger, pain, or disappointmentknocks at our door. When these life tragedies happen, people we love may lookat us and our problem and assume that we are weak and troubled, they mayeven assume that “they are sheep being led to slaughter.”

They see in us no chance of making it through these life stressors and dif-ficulties. Despite the thoughts of many, God calls us more than conquerors. Weconquer simply because at the end of the day when we lay our heads down wecannot be removed or separated from His love; a love so authentic and so trans-forming that it doesn’t leave us the way we came. How many relationshipshave we found ourselves in or can even look back upon, where we can gen-uinely say the person we were with transformed us, and our life in a positiveand lasting way ? How much more powerful this love is, that we can comewith blemish and stain and walk away without! So, as you celebrate this Valen-tine’s Day, with friends, family, or loved ones, get dressed up, go out to dinner,etc. keep in remembrance the love of God. Despite everything in life, God’slove is the count in which we all march to victory. Romans 8:35-39Be blessed.

God’s Love Above All

BY LYDIA JAY

Sta ff Writer

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A devotional

Roses are red, violets are blue. Here are some valentines from us to you.

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Features

Photos by Jay Sanksakulchai

Valen-why?BY LIZ GUILLERMO

Guest Writer

There are two things that make me dizzy,Scramble my brain and send me into a tizzy.First off is simply spinning in a chair.But the other is when love is in the air.

Valentine’s Day is the day love is most alive.Can you not show it all 365?Maybe I seem like a bitter gruffalo,But Valentine’s seems to be true love’s foe.

Just take a moment and think it through,Is commercialized love really for you?Crowded restaurants with no empty seats,Dresses you can’t sit it; pants with perfect pleats.

Love isn’t written in cheesy love cards,Love is written in moments and the stars.True love cannot be bought from a store,Spontaneous moments lie at its core.

So take some time to be innovative,Find a way to be creative.Each day is a new chance to let love show.An opportunity to let it glow.

Pressure to be perfect crushes like a vice,So I hope you heed my unsolicited advice:Trust me whenever I say,February 14 is just another day.

1.Thinking Out Loud- Ed Sheeran2.Everlasting Love- Fifth Harmony3.I’ll Cover You- Rachel Tucker4.Wonderful Tonight- Eric Clapton5.Breathe Again- Sara Barilles6.Somebody Loves You- Betty Who7.Love on Top- Beyonce8.Superluv- Shane Dawson9.Two Pieces- Demi Lovato10.Better Together- Fifth Harmony11.Ain’t No Other Man- ChristinaAguilera

1.Since U Been Gone- Kelly Clarkson2.Problem- Ariana Grande3.You Give Love a Bad Name- Bon Jovi4.Best Thing I Never Had- Beyonce5.If I Loved You- Delta Rae6.Miss Movin’ On- Fifth Harmony7.It’s Not Right But It’s Okay- WhitneyHouston8.I Will Survive- Gloria Gaynor9.Leave the Pieces- The Wreckers10.Single Ladies- Beyonce11.365 Days- ZZ Ward12.Really Don’t Care- Demi Lovato (feat.Cher Lloyd)13.DONE- The Band Perry14.Mirror Man- Ella Henderson15.Hit Me With Your Best Shot- Pat Benatar

16.A Little Bit Stronger- Sara Evans17.You Suck at Love- Simple Plan18.Good Girl- Carrie Underwood19.According to You- Orianthi20.Emergency- Aimee Allen21.Miss Independent- Kelly Clarkson22.Stronger- Kelly Clarkson23.Crybaby- Janis Joplin24.Complicated- Avril Lavigne25.Mean- Taylor Swift26.I Knew You Were Trouble- Taylor Swift27.Believe- Cher28.If I Could Turn Back Time- Cher29.Part of Me- Katy Perry30.More Boys I Meet- Carrie Underwood

12.Kiss Me Slowly- Parachute13.Everything- Lifehouse14.Not a Bad Thing- Justin Timberlake15.Falling Slowly- Kris Allen16.Can’t Help Falling in Love- ElvisPresley 17.Never Alone- Lady Antebellum18.A Drop in the Ocean- Ron Pope19.Come Rain or Come Shine- BarbraStreisand & John Mayer