The Carolinian [August 21, 2012]

              The Carolinian
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The student newspaper of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
August 21 - 27, 2012
Established 1919
Vol. XCIII No. 1
twitter.com/thecarolinian
Opinions Page 4 Features Page 11 Sports Page 14
The social and fiscal implications
of Romney’s VP choice, Financial
Aid’s war with time, Chick-fil-a’s
controversy, Does the media
lack sympathy?
Student embraces school
service, Back-to -school
shopping, Psycology in the
electoral process, Adventures
on the red planet
Fall Sports preview, UNCG Falls
to Florida in double overtime,
Arguing with the Editor: Soccer
embarassment, Preseason:
UNCG dispatch Guilford
A&E Page 8
Cindy and the Class Slipper,
Cirque in Motion Presents:
Awaken, Expendables II Review,
Most overlooked and noteable
records of 2012
Check out our new webpage! www.uncgcarolinian.com
www.uncgcarolinian.com
Chancellor’s State of Address:
Preserving yesterday’s history for tomorrow’s
students
Aaron Bryant
Staff Writer
The past few years posed
nothing short of challenges for
publicly funded college education.
As students find more difficult
with enrollment, public education
enters a transition phase in which
technology begins to take root in
learning and students and schools
face financial problems.
Last year, many students
voiced their anger directly at
the university. Chancellor Linda
Brady quelled these fears during
the State of Campus Address last
Wednesday with the promise
of advanced student success,
a commitment to technology,
adequate and responsible fiscal
solutions, and insurance of a
steadfast commitment to UNCG’s
past, present and future.
The 121st opening convocation
of The University of North
Carolina at Greensboro began
by showing what makes this
university truly unique with a
performance by the UNCG dance
department, choreographed by
the department head Janet Lilly.
A video presentation of theater
BFA students projects from their
Acting for the Camera course
followed the performance of Dr.
James Fisher.
Anticipation for Chancellor
Brady’s speech mounted as
she took the stage, a sense of
conviction and commitment
prevailing over her posture.
The Chancellor’s Address
covered three key concerns: the
university’s actions on student
oriented success, the institution
do about technology, and the
financial problems the state faces.
The Chancellor addressed
student success by citing quality
and diversified students and
compounded on the fact that,
while recruitment is important,
so is retention and earning a
degree. Brady also praised the
newest and brightest staff that
began instruction this year. This
semester, four new learning
communities will open.
The Chancellor reached out to
all department heads, Deans and
the provost to secure continued
success in student areas. Much of
the address gave little details about
specific ways in which the school
can continue these successes, but
Brady offered something she felt
the school lacked: a vision.
While student success remains
the priority, Chancellor Brady
said she believes in a need to
leverage technology to enhance
academic outcomes.
Brady spoke of how UNCG’s
“commitment requires
exploration of innovative delivery
methods for high quality and
high impact education.” A course
need not be in a classroom, note
taking is more than pen and
paper, and learning is more than
remembering, she said.
The Chancellor said she took
the necessary steps to raise both
retention and graduation and that
her main objectives are student
success and making learning
both effective and efficient.
The final concern remained:
how UNCG plans to deal with
the state’s budgetary issues,
See Address, page 3
KAYCIE COY/The Carolinian
Chancellor Linda Brady delivers her vision for success to students and faculty at
the 2012 Campus State of Address.
National tragedies stir gun
control conversation
Alaina Monts
Staff Writer
In less than one month, three
high profile shootings across the
country rattled the nation, raising
heated debates on gun control
and speculation of a terrifying
pattern.
On July 20, 2012, a man
wearing a gas mask and black
body armor disrupted the theater
for unsuspecting audience
members in midnight showing of
The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora,
Colorado.
Audience members were
initially unsure whether or not
the masked figure was a fan or
otherwise. However, when he
allegedly threw a grenade of tear
gas into the theater and began
shooting, everyone knew it was
real.The alleged gunman who shot
and killed 12 people and injured
58 others is James Holmes, a 24
year old graduate student at the
University of Colorado at Denver.
Survivor Chris Ramos recounts
the events by saying that the
seatonsnet/Flicker
Holmes makes his first court appearance, dazed and donning bright red Joker-style
hair.
events began about 20 minutes
into the film.
“The first sign that something
was wrong was when the guy
next to me got shot,” said Ramos.
“I shielded my 17-year-old sister
on the floor. I started crying, not
because I was afraid, but because
the tear gas started to burn my
eyes.”
Despite the widespread panic
of the movie theater, accounts say
that the Holmes remained calm
and silent as he walked up and
down the aisle shooting for about
one and a half minutes.
See shooting, page 2
First Lady visits UNCG campus
Laura Brewer
News Editor
Michelle Obama left the
Summer Olympics in London
this week to campaign across
the battleground state of North
Carolina, stopping first at UNCG.
The First Lady’s visit to NC
followed the launching of the
web campaign “It Takes One,”a
grassroots movement to register
voters and get them to the polls
on Election Day.
Supporters began arriving
more than two hours before her
scheduled appearance, waiting in
a line down Kenilworth Avenue
and packing in circles around
the podium adorned with a sign
that read “FORWARD,” placed
beneath a large banner reading
the same mononymic slogan.
The crowd flocked in
groups dressed in matching
election T-shirts and holding
signs,breaking out in random
chants of “Four more years!”
The opening speakers,
Anthony Foxx and Donovan
Livingston warmed up the crowd
by prefacing the First Lady’s
message with instructions and
opportunities for volunteerism,
including “931,” a volunteer
equation that promises one seat
at the Democratic Convention
in Charlotte after three shifts and
nine hours of service.
“We can’t sit at home and
watch the news and talk about
the election,” Foxx said. “Every
hour is an hour we could register
someone to vote.”
A campaign video followed
the opening speakers, eliciting
an eruption of screams each time
the President’s face appeared and
a low drone of “booing” at the
mention of Republicans.
The First Lady appealed to
the crowd of about 2000 for a
need to mobilize across the state,
stressing the importance for each
person’s vote in what she told the
crowd would be a close election.
“One voice could change a
room, and if one voice can change
a room, it can change a city. If it
can change a city, it can change
a state. And if it can change a
state, it can change a nation!” she
shouted into the microphone.
Obama related charismatically
with the student population,
sharing her experiences with
See obama, page 3
News | The Carolinian
The Carolinian
Established 1919
Box N1 EUC
UNCG
Greensboro, NC, 27413
Phone: (336) 334-5752
Fax: (336) 334-3518
Editorial Policy
Letters may be submitted to:
The Carolinian
236 Elliot University Center
Greensboro, NC 27413
Editor.Carolinian@gmail.com
Letters submitted by 5 p.m.
Friday may run in next Tues-day’s
edition. Word limit is 250
for letters, 500 for guest columns.
Submissions may be edited for
length or clarity. No unsigned
submissions will be accepted
for publication. All submissions
come under possession of The
Carolinian. The views expressed
in the Opinions section of The
Carolinian do not represent the
views of The Carolinian staff un-less
otherwise stated. The Caro-linian
Editorial Board is made up
of the Publisher, Editor-in-Chief,
and Section Editors.
Editorial and Business Staff
Derrick Foust
Publisher
Publisher.Carolinian@gmail.com
Kaycie Coy
Editor-in-Chief
Editor.Carolinian@gmail.com
Laura Brewer
News Editor
News.Carolinian@gmail.com
Ashley Northrup
Opinions Editor
Opinions.Carolinian@gmail.com
Arvé Byrd
Arts & Entertainment Editor
AE.Carolinian@gmail.com
Ian Foster
Sports Editor
Sports.Carolinian@gmail.com
Christopher McCracken
Features Editor
Features.Carolinian@gmail.com
Autumn Wells
Advertising Manager
Ads.Carolinian@gmail.com
Corrections Policy
The Carolinian never know-ingly
publishes any mistakes.
Please promptly notify us of any
errors by e-mailing the Editor-in-
Chief at Editor.Carolinian@
gmail.com, or calling (336) 334-
5752. Corrections will be pub-lished
on page 2 in subsequent
issues of The Carolinian.
Mission Statement
The Carolinian is a teach-ing
newspaper that is organized
and produced by students of the
University of North Carolina at
Greensboro. It is our objective to
teach young writers journalistic
skills while emphasizing the im-portance
of honesty and integrity
in campus media.
2 | August 21 - 27, 2012
State News Briefs Weekly
Forecast
Today
H: 81°
L: 64°
Cloudy
Wednesday
H: 82°
L: 65°
Thursday
H: 80°
L: 64°
Partly Cloudy
Friday
H: 84°
L: 65°
T’storms
Weekend
H: 84°
L: 64°
T’storms
Partly Cloudy
Charlotte to try to
find shelters for
homeless during the
DNC Convention
Compiled by Alaina Monts
Elon School of Law
opens clinic to offer
legal aid to the
elderly
Arts Council Theater
replaces 55 year old
marquee with LED
screen
With the upcoming
Democratic National
Convention occurring in late
August, agencies are searching
for places to keep Charlotte’s
homeless off the streets.
Many faith based agencies
that work with the poor are
concerned about potentially
homeless familes, partially due
to price hikes in extended-stay
motels during the convention.
The program director for
Charlotte’s Urban Ministry
Center, Paul Hanneman,
emailed churches, synagogues,
and other organizations that
can usually provide shelter for
homeless asking for their help.
Hanneman’s “best
guesstimate” is that each night
from Aug. 24 through Sep. 7, at
least 150 beds will be needed.
“These…include people
who are homeless and sleeping
in center city Charlotte, and
families living in motels who
are being displaced before
and during the DNC,” wrote
Hanneman in his email.
Agencies such as Room in the
Inn, which usually operates out
of various churches in Charlotte
from December to March,
are working hard to provide
services to the needy at such
short notice.
Alice Wirz, a co-coordinator
at St. John’s Baptist located in
the Elizabeth neighborhood
said the church plans to be open
to the homeless only on two
Fridays.
“Since it was such short
notice, we’re not sure if we can
get our act together,” said Wirz,
“but we’re going to try.”
For senior citizens who need
legal help, but may not be able to
afford it, Elon University School
of Law is now able to offer some
services.
This week, the School of
Law opened its elder law clinic
providing free help with legal
issues to lower income seniors.
According to Margaret
Kantlehner, an associate law
professor and director of the
clinic, an anonymous charitable
foundation gave the school
enough money to open the clinic,
a longtime dream of the school’s.
“It was a nice start-up gift. It will
help us renovate a building and
help us pay operating expenses
for the first year,” Kantlehner said.
Law students will help seniors
with end-of-life planning,
grandparent rights, substandard
housing, and veteran and Social
Security benefits for free.
The center will also provide
educational services and support
for older adults with special needs
and their families.
Nancy Gore, a family support
specialist said she hears several
concerns daily. For example, as
more adults with developmental
disabilities age, their aging
parents are worried about what
will happen to their dependent
adult children after they die.
Each semester, eight law
students will work in the center
under the tutelage of a faculty
member.
“It’s a structured academic
experience for them,” says
Kantlehner.
The elder law clinic will be the
third clinic Elon’s law school has
started since opening in 2006.
The old marquee that has been
a part of the Arts Council Theatre
since 1957 was replaced with a new
high tech version this past Monday.
The new marquee will be
dedicated on Aug. 23. It is an
LED screen that will not only
inform passersby what is playing
and when, but will also include
electronically generated text as
well as images of the theatre’s three
tenant companies.
Gerry Patton, the executive
director of the N.C. Black
Repertory Company, said. “We
hope it’ll be an attention-getter.”
In addition to N.C. Black Rep,
the theatre also houses offices for
the Children’s Theatre of Winston-
Salem and Twin City Stage.
The the Arts Council of Winston-
Salem and Forsyth County’s reserve
funded the $50,000 sign.
After using a more traditional
marquee for so long, Alan
Doorasamy Sr., an attorney, is still
working out kinks.
It is unclear to Doorasamy and
the tenants of the theatre how often
the marquee will change messages
in order to give equal advertising
space to all three companies.
The sign “can be static or it can
change,” Doorasamy said. “If it
changes, it will probably run on
a two-hour-change basis. Those
decisions will be made after we
understand the software.”
Everyone seems excited about
the possibilities this creates for the
theater.
“It’s going to be a great sign,” says
Doorasamy. “It’s going to enhance
the building’s value. It’s going
to help tenants that are there to
showcase shows in a more dynamic
way.”
shooting
from page 1
On July 24, the public saw
a surprising first view of
Holmes during his initial court
appearance. In addition to
showing no remorse throughout
the hearings, the shooter was
sporting bright red-orange dyed
hair.
Colorado prosecutors charged
Holmes with 142 counts of
criminal conduct for the alleged
role in the movie theater
massacre. Although the number
seems large, it correlates with the
number of victims in the case,
according to Paul Callan, a CNN
legal contributor.
What is unusual about the
approach that the prosecutors
have taken however, is that for
each person who was killed as a
result of the shooting Holmes has
been charged with two counts of
first-degree murder.
According to Callan, Holmes is
first charged with premeditated
murder charge. The second
count was added “for each
victim charging that the manner
in which the killings took
place evinced …an attitude of
universal malice manifesting
extreme indifference to the value
of human life…”
Many speculated whether the
addition of the second charge
of second degree murder will
increase the likelihood of this
becoming a capital case. Multiple
victims’ family and friends
demanded the death penalty for
the suspect.
Rick Kornfeld, a defense
lawyer, agreed with the public.
“If there ever was a case for the
death penalty, this is probably
that case,” he said. “What’s a more
extreme case than this?”
Holmes’ mental state will play
a key role throughout the case.
Prior to the shooing, he saw
Lynn Fenton, a psychiatrist who
specialized in schizophrenia at
his university.
Holmes also sent a notebook
to Fenton before the rampage
depicting a mass gun attack,
however, it is unknown whether
or not the notebook reached
Fenton before the tragedy as it
was unopen according to court
records.
The Hollywood community
spoke on the events in Aurora.
Both Christian Bale and
Christopher Nolan visited the
theatre and released statements
for the victims’ friends and
families.
“Speaking on behalf of the cast
and crew of The Dark Knight
Rises, I would like to express our
profound sorrow at the senseless
tragedy that has befallen the
entire Aurora community,” Nolan
said, according to the Hollywood
Reporter.
“Nothing any of us can say ever
could adequately express our
feelings for the innocent victims
of this appalling crime, but our
thoughts are with them and their
families.”
Christian Bale released his
statement quickly thereafter.
“Words cannot express the
horror that I feel. I cannot begin
to truly understand the grief of
the victims and their loved ones,
but my heart goes out to them.”
In respect to the victims,
Warner Brothers’ decided to wait
another weekend before releasing
the box office data.
Many are concerned that the
shooting is a part of a frightening
pattern occurring in America
and are using it as a reason to
tighten gun control laws.
Less than three weeks later
than the Aurora shooting, two
separate shootings occurred in
the country. In Wisconsin, a
white supremacist opened fire
at a Sikh temple, and in Texas, a
shooter killed two people near
Texas A&M University.
Wade Michael Page walked
into a Sikh temple with a 9mm
handgun and allegedly fatally
shot six people and wounded
three others. Page was killed
outside of the temple in a shoot-out
with Wisconsin police
officers.
The attack is being treated as
an act of domestic terrorism,
and Page’s ties to the white
supremacist movement are being
investigated.
In Texas, a constable and two
others were killed during about
a half hour of gunfire near Texas
A&M University.
The suspect identified in the
shooting was 35 year old Thomas
Caffall. Evidence police gathered
from his personal items show that
he focused attention on rifles and
bore influence of famous snipers.
Four others were injured in the
shooting.
There are those who fear that
with recent events, gun control
should be tightened, but after all
these events, even in more liberal
states, nothing seems to have
been done to change any laws as
of yet.
Experts expect a long legal
process before Holmes’s trial
begins while lawyers file through
documents and evidence.
The Carolinian | News August 21 - 27, 2012 | 3
McIver statue pioneers 100 years
with new exhibit
For some UNCG students,
this Presidential Election is the
first which they are eligible
to vote. As part of the next
generation, university students
play a major role in defining
the future by their decisions
and their involvement in
the community. We, at The
Carolinian, find it imperative
to ensure that we do our part
as a legitimate news source
Election focus waned in
recent weeks as primary party
candidates were established
and official debates here yet to
begin. Still, there is much to be
anticipated in coming weeks,
culminating in a series of formal
debates up to Election Day.
Election news picked up when
Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan as
his vice presidential candidate
late Friday night, August 10.
With Obama leading in the
polls by 247 presumed electoral
votes to 206, Romney’s running
mate choice came as a critical
decision. While the House of
Representatives member has a
sizable resume and currently
serves as the chair of the
House’s budget committee, he
is relatively unknown to much
of Romney’s electorate. In turn,
Romney’s choice may not inspire
confidence in those voters who
are currently on the fence.
Ryan currently lacks rapport
with the over-50 demographic,
a vital portion of the Republican
Party’s demographic, serving as
a drawback to his position with
Romney. Among other issues,
Ryan’s budget plan calls for a
radical change to Medicare and
a total restructuring and/or
privatizing of Social Security,
something hardly likely to
endear him to those reliant on
those programs or those nearing
the age at which those benefits
would become available.
Some critics have suggested
that Romney chose Ryan to
help sway voters in Wisconsin,
a state currently leaning towards
Obama, but the numbers suggest
that an impractical consideration
for more than one reason. First,
the current numbers do not
suggest the choice has impacted
Wisconsin’s vote. Second, it is
possible for Romney to win
the election with or without
Wisconsin.
It remains to be seen whether
or not Ryan’s campaigning
skills can balance out with his
potential drawbacks to close and
surpass the current gap between
Romany and Obama.
While not insurmountable, the
number and identity of the states
that compose this gap present
Romney with something of a
challenge. All but seven states
display measurable lean to one
side or the other, and while those
not deemed “safe” to one side or
the other have the potential to be
pulled towards the side opposite
their current lean, much of the
focus now lies on the states that
have not displayed a reliable slant
in either direction. These states
include Ohio, Virginia, and
Florida, each known to switch
sides from election to election.
As always, the ever-crucial Ohio
will most likely be an important
(if not the essential) factor in
determining the outcome of
Romney’s bid.
To date, a Republican
presidential candidate has never
won the presidency without the
aid of Ohio. Historically, in all
but a few cases, the direction in
which Ohio voted determined
the direction of the final election.
The Ohio factor raised confusion
regarding Romney’s choice of
Ryan as VP candidate. Another
candidate on his “short list,” Rob
Portman, held popular influence
as a senator hailing from Ohio
and could potentially bring the
states to Romney’s camp.
While the initial response to
Ryan’s choice and the current
state of the election process
seems to indicate a potential lead
for Obama, the coming months
and the beginnings of the debate
cycle could signal enormous
changes in either direction.
As a closing thought for those
undecided on the campaigns
or individual issues, UNCG’s
three residential colleges will
host debate viewings open to
the entire campus community
that can aid in educating oneself
about the process.
Ashby, Grogan, and Strong
Colleges will each host a debate,
provide light refreshments,
and facilitate open dialogue
regarding the election and the
issues involved. The debate
schedule and the residential
college host for each are as
follows, from 9 p.m to 10:30
p.m.:
Oct 3: Presidential debate on
Domestic Policy
Cornelia Strong College in
South Spencer
Oct 11: Vice Presidential
debate on Foreign and Domestic
Policy
Ashby Residential College in
Mary Foust
Oct 16: Presidential debate on
Foreign and Domestic Policy
Grogan College
Olivia Cline
Staff Writer
Laura Brewer
News Editor
Aaron Bryant
Staff Writer
OBAMA
from page 1
student debt and of how her
parents worked hard for her
education.
“Every time I kiss my kids good
night, I think about how I want to
do for them what my parents did
for me,” Obama said.
“He believes that when you’ve
worked hard and done well and
walked through the door of
opportunity you do not slam it
shut behind you,” she said, after
citing her husband’s campaign
promises for better opportunities.
Obama touted a list of
accomplishments she attributed
to the President’s term,
including health care reform, the
eradication of “Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell,” the death of Osama Bin
Laden, and the addition of four
million private sector jobs.
The crowd reacted excitedly at
the mention of health care reform,
particularly loudly at its effects on
contraception coverage.
“This election is a choice about
supporting women and families,”
Obama said. “He had the backs
of the American workers…he
had the backs of the American
Campaign Trail
Weekly: Romney
Picks Ryan as VP
to provide unbiased coverage
of the upcoming Presidential
Election. Each week, we will
include a section that highlights
major moments and milestones
on the campaign trail so as to
educate students toward their
decision in November. We
hope to back the foundation
of democracy and the nature
of the republic by encouraging
students to become involved
and go confidently to the polls
on Election Day.
A pioneer is a person who is
among the first to explore or
settle a new country or area.
For all intents and purposes, Dr.
Charles Duncan McIver was a
true pioneer. A nationally known
educator, Dr. McIver was the
first president of UNCG, then
known as the State Normal and
Industrial College.
UNCG became the first public
school in North Carolina for
women. The statue outside of
Jackson Library commemorates
Dr. McIver’s contributions to
education and was dedicated on
Oct. 5, 1912. Jackson Library
set up an exhibit celebrating the
statue’s centennial erection this
October.
The library staff encourages
students and staff members to
take time to view the exhibit
and learn more about their
university’s founder, history, and
architecture.
The exhibit contains many
artifacts relating to Dr. McIver’s
life and times serving UNCG.
Featured artifacts include his
eyeglasses, a detailed family
photo of his wife and his children,
a telegram to Vice President Julius
Foust announcing Dr. McIver’s
passing, and McIver’s death
mask. The mask, a plaster mold of
McIver’s face, was created by Dr.
Wells Brewer of Greensboro, NC
after McIver’s death on Sep. 17,
1906 and used to sculpt the statue
those on campus enjoy today.
According to the exhibit, Dr.
McIver was born in September
1860 in Moore County, North
Carolina. He attended UNC
Chapel Hill in 1877 and graduated
in 1881. After working for various
instructor institutes around the
state, Dr. McIver called on the
public to understand a need
for a normal school. His vision
included a school dedicated to
the education of women.
The exhibit not only discusses
McIver, but also gives an
introspective and enduring
glimpse of the statue’s history.
According to the exhibit, the then
Governor Robert Glenn raised
funds to build a statue in the
educators’ memory. French-born
American artist, Frederick W.
Ruckstuhl, sculpted the statue in
Paris, France Fonderie Nationale
des Bronzes cast the statue in
Brussles, Belgium.
McIver had two statues created
in his honor: one in the state
capital in Raleigh, NC and the
other which rests in front of
Jackson Library.
The original statue, dedicated
on May 15, 1912, cost $7,000
and stands on the State Capital
grounds. The duplicate statue,
dedicated on Founders Day,
October 5, 1912, cost $1,100 and
was erected on school grounds.
The statue originally stood in
front of the McIver memorial
building before being moved to
its current location in 1960.
The statue itself represents
a culture mix, with a style
reminiscent of French, Belgium
and American architecture. It
is not as old as other buildings
around campus, including the
McIver building, and offers
students and staff a chance to see
architecture from a different time.
New buildings, like the Jefferson
Suites, show more contemporary
styles, while renovations to the
Quad and Cafeteria convey the
institution’s continuation of
evolution in architecture.
As students and staff return
to the campus this semester,
they will be enveloped by both
an aging and contemporary
legacy. This legacy harvests over
a hundred years of history, with
both European and modern
architecture. Its legacy as an
institution helped shape public
universities in North Carolina
and other parts of the country.
The McIver statue immortalizes
the UNCG’s founders’ ambition,
one that broadened the access
to education for thousands of
women in the 19th century
and changed the direction of
education for the state and
country.
The statue itself chartered a
new course since its dedication
over one hundred years ago and
mapped a new outlook on the
of impact great architecture on
colleges, schools, institutions and
universities alike.
The statue, just like its
namesake, is a true pioneer.
ADRES
from page 1
to help the school readjust
for the financial burden it faces
including eliminating positions
and streamlining education
with the most comprehensive
academic program review in the
university’s history. The school
also raised money from funded
research as well as the federal
government. Brady commended
families… you know you can
count on my husband!”
The First Lady ended her
speech by warning the crowd that
the progress made in the past four
years will disappear if they do not
get active in their community
before November.
“Let ‘em know!” she said
over and over. “Are you all in?”
answered with loud cheers, “Let
‘em know you’re fired up!”
Obama stopped in Raleigh after
leaving Greensboro to attend a
fundraising reception to benefit
the Obama Victory Fund.
other money saving tips, such
as energy efficiency and using
technology to reduce costs.
Brady ended the address
with a steadfast commitment to
the preservation of everything
that makes the school great.
The Chancellor cited the newly
renovated Quad as a part of the
university movement to down
barriers, both literally and
figuratively, to provide a 21st
century learning experience.
Chancellor Brady summarized
the upcoming academic
school year at the end of her
address, saying “As a university
community, we will always do
what we believe is right for our
students and in the interests of
the people of North Carolina. We
follow in the footsteps of those
who made the bold decision to
build the Quad nearly a century
ago, responding to the needs of
this state as we define our future.”
The Carolinian is always seeking input and perspective from the
university community. This publication encourages both faculty
and students to voice their opinions on what is happening within
and around UNCG. Letters to the Editor-in-Chief can be submitted
to editor.carolinian@gmail.com.
4 August 21 - 27, 2012 Opinions
Samantha Korb
Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy Tony Alter/flickr
Caleb Patterson
Staff Writer
Mitt Romney’s announcement
of Rep. Paul Ryan as his
presumptive vice presidential
nominee has brought clarity
to the 2012 presidential contest.
Romney ran for the U.S. Senate
in 1994 as a liberal, he ran for
Governor of Massachusetts
as a moderate, and has been
campaigning for president
as a “severely conservative”
businessman. His ideology, or
lack thereof, has been entirely
predicated on what office or
position of power Mitt Romney
is pursuing. By selecting the
ideological leader of the Tea
Party caucus in the U.S. House
as his pick for V.P., Romney has
removed any ambiguity about
this race.
Ryan is the chairman of the
House Budget Committee. His
national reputation is a direct
result of his eponymous, and
unpopular, budget plans. The
beltway media likes to paint
Ryan as a “serious” man with
big ideas. Thus far, his big plans
have included privatizing Social
Security, drastic cuts to Medicaid,
cutting Pell Grants, and ending
Medicare as we know it.
Ryan’s proposal for Medicare
includes raising the eligibility age
from 65 to 67, and transitions the
program away from its current
system to a voucher system.
Essentially, seniors will be given
vouchers to purchase private
health insurance. These vouchers
will not cover the total cost, so
the costs are going to be shifted
onto senior citizens. Medicare is
an incredibly popular, efficient,
and important program. It is
so successful, and popular, that
under Ryan’s plan the current
Medicare system is retained for
those over the age of 55. For
those under 55, you would not
get Medicare, but instead will
be given a coupon. Guaranteed
coverage via a social insurance
program created during Lyndon
Johnson’s Great Society will be
replaced with subsidies to private
insurers for inadequate coverage
and rising costs.
After George W. Bush’s re-election
in 2004, he barnstormed
around the country pushing
an equally odious privatization
plan for Social Security. Popular
support for Social Security
defeated Bush’s plan to transform
Social Security from a social
insurance program into a vehicle
for investment on Wall Street.
President Bush was forced to
back away from his plan, yet
Ryan’s recent proposals for
Social Security and Medicare are
similar to Bush’s privatization
scheme. Significantly, Ryan was
a big supporter of Social Security
privatization during the Bush
years, and continues to advocate
radical transformation of the
program. Ryan tragically lost
his father at the age of 15 and
thus collected Social Security
survivors’ benefits until he was
19, helping him pay for college.
It is unfortunate that someone
who benefited greatly from
Social Security wants to deny
that economic security to other
people, while he hypocritically
tries to dismantle Social Security.
Ryan wants to slash vitally
important programs, like Social
Security and Medicare, under
the facade of tackling out-of-control
government spending.
However, the current U.S. debt
can be directly traced back to
Ryan’s votes. The Bush Tax cuts,
Medicare Part D, TARP, and the
Iraq War, have all been central to
the growth in government debt
and all were supported by Ryan.
A recent Center for American
By now, we all know about
Paul Ryan. We are aware he is a
poster boy for the conservative
base, with some Republicans
jumping for joy, and some
Republicans quietly expressing
their discontent with Romney’s
Vice Presidential pick. We also
know that Ryan and Romney are
both proponents of dismantling
Medicare and replacing it with
a public voucher system. His
stances on fiscal issues are in tow
with the recent GOP platform,
and it shouldn’t come as a
surprise that he also falls in line
with the GOP’s social stances as
well, particularly when it comes
to women’s health and LGBT
rights.
In 1994, when Mitt Romney
was running for Ted Kennedy’s
Senate seat, he was quoted as
saying he would be, “left of Ted
Kennedy” on gay rights. He also
went on to say he supported
a woman’s right to choose,
supported the legalization of
RU-486 (the abortion pill,) and
later appeared at a Planned
Parenthood fundraiser that
June of 1994. All of these earlier
stances and statements are a far
cry from the Romney we know
today. It is not a surprise that
Paul Ryan has come in with a
strong conservative bent that no
one can say he flip-flopped on.
Ryan’s voting record has shown
that he has consistently been a
supporter of anti-gay measures.
Dating back as far as 1999, one
year after he was sworn in to
the House of Representatives,
he used his vote to attack the
LGBT community. In 1999, he
voted to bar same sex couples
in DC from adopting; he has
voted against federal hate crimes
legislation five times, opposed
the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t
Tell, consistently supported the
Defense of Marriage Act, and
voted twice for a federal marriage
amendment amended to the U.S.
Constitution.
On women’s reproductive
health, his record is far from
the center. Ryan co-sponsored
the federal Sanctity of Life bill,
known as the personhood bill,
which declared that life begins
with conception, which even
some conservative Republicans
cannot get on board with, the
biggest example being when
Mississippi voters voted down
their state measure this past
November. If a federal bill of
that nature is passed, we could
see many forms of birth control
banned. Ryan has consistently
said he does not support a
woman’s right to choose, even
when it comes to cases of rape
and incest. Ryan has also voted to
eliminate all funding for Planned
Parenthood, even though there is
no federal funding for abortions
anyway. These positions and
votes are dangerous to the health
of women and families across
the United States, and Ryan is
at the centerpiece of the GOP’s
continued war on women’s
bodies and health.
Unlike Romney, Ryan has
been a steadfast and unwavering
supporter of anti-gay and
anti-women policies since the
beginning of his tenure in the
House. While this may be great
for some in the conservative
base, it has the potential to scare
away moderate and independent
voters. In a recent Pew Poll, 53
percent of moderate Republicans
and 52 percent of all polled
supported same sex adoption.
This same poll saw that 66
percent of Republicans and 73
percent of all polled supported
workplace protections for LGBT
people; the Romney-Ryan ticket
is steering far right of center
of the American public. With
President Obama supporting
LGBT rights in every form now,
it is no question that Romney-
Ryan will try to hold onto archaic
ideals of family and equality
during this election cycle. Ryan
is surely a fiscal conservative, but
when it comes to LGBT rights
and women’s rights, he is selling
them short as well.
Paul Ryan: not good for everyone?
Progress analysis computes that
during Ryan’s tenure in the House
he has voted to add $6.8 trillion
dollars to the national debt.
Paul Ryan gets his vision
from objectivist philosopher and
selfishness advocate Ayn Rand.
His selection on the ticket was a
transparent attempt by Romney
to appeal to his Tea Party base.
The Obama campaign will now
be able to easily tie Romney to
Ryan’s unpopular proposals.
Romney will try to distance
himself from the more unpopular
aspects of Ryan plan, but in the
absence of any policy specifics
from Romney himself, the Ryan
plan is all we have.
Beyond Ryan’s disastrous
fiscal policy, he compounds
Mitt Romney’s inexperience
regarding foreign policy. Former
Governor Romney introduced
Paul Ryan as his V.P. in front
of a giant battleship, the USS
Wisconsin, despite the fact that
neither Romney nor Ryan has
any military experience. Both
have enthusiastically supported
the Iraq War. Romney was
an active supporter of the
Vietnam War, but received four
deferments, in part because
he was in France spreading his
Mormon faith. Little attention
was given to the political
backdrop of the announcement,
but given Romney’s history as
a neoconservative Chicken-hawk,
the selection should raise
some serious questions. Romney
has taken defense cuts off the
table as a possibility during his
administration. If the Romney
ticket is successful in November,
it is clear that cuts will come from
the social safety net and programs
that benefit the most vulnerable
in our economy. The Romney-
Ryan vision is one made up of
cuts to health care and education,
but not to bombs and battleships.
Photo Courtesy Gage Skidmore/flickr
Is Paul Ryan going to burn Medicare and Social Security?
Paul Ryan Named Romney’s V.P.
The Social
Implications
The Fiscal Implications
The Carolinian | Opinions August 21 - 27, 2012 | 5
For the past few weeks, I have
been watching the Chick-fil-A
controversy unfold with awe and
fascination. This is true for several
reasons. First, as an openly gay
individual, I am intrigued to see
how the gay community reacts
to continued opposition. Second,
as someone who loyally, if not
happily, processed chicken at
one of Chick-fil-A’s franchises
for five years, I am interested to
see how my former employers
are handling this public relations
nightmare. Lastly, as someone
who can sympathize with both
sides of the gay marriage debate,
I am discouraged by the lack of a
national conversation over what
is promising to be the defining
civil rights issue of the twenty-first
century.
I recently came to grips with
my sexuality; one night I went
to bed knowing that I was
not straight and the following
morning, I woke up as part of
a community. A community, I
might add, that currently hates
Chick-fil-A. The outcry that has
been born out of the Chick-fil-A
controversy is as reassuring as it
is puzzling. Ten years ago, not
even the Lady Gagas of the world
would fret over a white male
Southern businessman coming
out against gay marriage. Fast
forward to 2012, and it is likely
that even people in caves know
that Dan Cathy is currently
public enemy number one in
the gay community. While I
am appreciative that people
of all backgrounds and sexual
identities are taking this moment
to stand up for gay rights, I can
not help but feel that they are
wrong. Well, at least wrong in their
approach.
In a recent interview with the
Baptist Press, Chick-fil-A President
Dan Cathy stated, “We are very
much supportive of the family
-- the biblical definition of the
family unit. We are a family-owned
business, a family-led business, and
we are married to our first wives.
We give God thanks for that...we
know that it might not be popular
with everyone, but thank the Lord,
we live in a country where we can
share our values and operate on
biblical principles.” This statement,
along with the direct admission that
Chick-fil-A was “guilty as charged”
in their anti-gay marriage stance,
set off a storm of controversy that
spilled over beyond the usual
confines of the culture wars and
into the mainstream press. The
debate is about more than just
whether or not a Christian should
use his company to support his
political and religious beliefs, but
rather if the public should support
financially a man and his company
that is opposed to marriage equality
in the twenty-first century.
My answer is yes. Although I do
not support Cathy’s position on this
issue for obvious reasons, I support
and fully expect him to continue
Joseph Winberry
Staff Writer
The Chick-fil-A controversy: A missed opportunity
his opposition to gay marriage as
both an individual and as a business
leader. If I was not so sick of Chick-fil-
A sandwiches and waffle fries
from half a decade of serfdom, I
would still eat there. The truth is
that the gay community cannot
and should not expect everyone to
agree with them on the issue of gay
marriage. This is a controversial
issue. Even President Obama,
arguably the most socially liberal
president in several generations,
did not “evolve” into supporting gay
marriage until just a few months
ago. The gay community and their
straight allies should realize that
Cathy is free to have his opinion
and, as a businessman in a free
market economy, is allowed to
spend his company’s assets in any
way he wishes, including to force his
view of marriage on others.
Chick-fil-A is not an anti-gay
company. I know of several openly
gay employees in the city where I
worked and know of others around
the country. You will not be fired
for being an openly gay employee
at one of the Cathy’s franchises.
As Mike Huckabee and the Chick-fil-
A Appreciation Day crowds have
proven, threats are no way to have a
honest and much needed discussion
about the future of marriage in this
country.
The gay community and religious
social fixtures such as Chick-fil-A
missed a great opportunity to have
a very important discussion on
this issue. While some continue
to torture the chicken issue (Newt
Gingrich wants Chick-fil-A to
cater the Republican National
Committee), the real torture is the
failure for both sides to realize a
Photo Courtesy Wikimedia commons
Some people say the Chik-Fil-A controversy comes down to free speech.
The date is August 14, 2012.
It is just after midnight and
like many college students, I’m
stressing about the upcoming Fall
semester. But what is the cause of
my stress? An unexpected factor-
Financial Aid. Okay, so maybe
not that unexpected of a factor;
college students worry about
money even more than they
worry about Facebook. “How
much money will I need? How
much will I get? How do I get it?”
Being the worrisome students
that we are, we entrust our
financial security in our schools.
Each year, millions of dollars
from the federal government is
given to college students in the
forms of scholarships, grants,
and loans. We need someone (or
something) to receive, control,
and disburse this money. But when
they do that... now that’s the catch
now isn’t it? When will we get our
golden opportunity for an important
conversation that everyone
considers to be essential. While
I do not believe that consensus
on marriage is going to be found
anytime soon, I believe we will see
gay marriage nationally within this
generation’s lifetime. Who knows,
maybe even Dan Cathy’s son will
someday openly embrace gay
marriage as part of a better business
strategy for the company that
his father and grandfather built.
Regardless, when people look back
on this debate decades from now,
they will not see the righteousness
of either side, but instead a failure
for meaningful deliberation. That, I
believe the illiterate cows will agree,
is something other than spilled milk
worth crying over.
Victoria Watson
Special to The Carolinian
Financial Aid: Unprepared and Too Late?
money? At my previous school (I’m
a transfer student) they didn’t give
us our financial aid refund checks
until mid October for the Fall
semester and early March for the
Spring semester. That meant every
student dependent on aid for books
and other school related purchases
was forced to use their only option
and buy from the rather high priced
bookstore. I may even go as far as
to suggest that my previous school
took advantage of aid-dependent
students by raising the prices of
books (and other accessories) to
make a maximum profit from
consumers with no other options.
Is this how UNC-G also operates?
In transferring here, I expected not.
A school of its size and grandeur
surely would not deprive its
students of exercising their right to
purchase from other venues. Surely,
they would provide their students
with their aid in a timely manner
to help them be properly prepared
for their first week of classes. So,
why is it that tonight, August 14th,
a mere six days from the first day
of class, I have not received my
financial aid and therefore not
been able to purchase books more
reasonably priced than the ones
found at the UNC-G bookstore?
Will my professors understand
when I arrive empty handed to my
classes, not just the first session, but
the second and third as well? What
about those off campus students?
Will their renter sympathize when
they cannot pay their deposits or
first months rent because their
bank accounts are unexpectedly
light? Do not misunderstand me,
I do not believe the Financial Aid
department should completely
shoulder the blame. They, of course,
have to receive their money from
the loaner’s to be able to disburse
it to us. Why is it so late? Years
from now, when we are graduated,
and hopefully working and paying
off our college loans, will they
sympathize and understand when
our payments are indeed just a tad
bit late?
Photo Courtesy CollegeDegrees360/Flickr
Students have enough stress without their college working against them.
6 | August 21 - 27, 2012 Opinions | The Carolinian
In the aftermath of tragedies
like the Colorado and Wisconsin
shootings, live coverage is
relentless. Cameras pan across
public buildings and scenes of
mourners while “police teams
secure the area,” or “the police
chief readies for a conference.”
It is a desperate attempt to keep
the attention of those tuning in.
Something is always “coming
up,” and this keep them on the
edge of their seat attitude is
fundamentally damaging. The
momentum that follows these
events is necessary, and coverage
is important. It is breaking news,
but it is not urgent for days
leading into weeks. It serves only
the media outlets to broadcast
it nationally for weeks. This
momentum is followed through
with even when the immediate
emergency has been handled,
and the focus of the coverage
shifts to the shooter’s motives, the
shooter’s life, and the shooter’s
mental state.
Shootings are shocking
without added televised media
flare, and shooters are very often
discussed in-depth. This instant
fame allowed by repeatedly
showing the photo of the shooter,
discussing his or her background,
and the shooter’s family does
nothing to help explain why an
incident has happened. There is
little to no focus on the victims,
their families, or the recovery
process a city and a state must
go through. Even if the officials
residing over the event are
Emily Ritter
Staff Writer
focusing on the recovery aspect,
the media is not.
In the wake of the Colorado
shooting, there were countless
shots of the shooter’s apartment
while the police attempted
to disarm it. Extra emphasis
was placed on the fact that the
apartment had been rigged with
what could be deemed explosives,
bombs, or unidentified dangers.
The point is, the apartment
was rigged, and the exact
excruciating details would only
serve this larger purpose, which
is to figure out why or how this
shooting could have taken place.
It was as if this was one dramatic
break, and not a complex and
detailed event which only rockets
the shooter to an anti-hero status.
It is a Q&A with the media when
there are no answers.
This leads to an even larger
issue: is there an answer? There
will never be concrete answers
to the questions raised by
tragedies. By not detailing the
events in Colorado or the parties
involved it is still possible to
open a discussion about the
issues a shooting encompasses
in a university paper. This focus
on the details makes it possible
to seamlessly detach from actual
events into political debates. This
is why the media harps on events
for weeks, because a shooting can
be sensationalized, and then gun
control can be sensationalized.
Charlie Booker’s Newswipe,
a British news review program,
featured Dr. Park Dietz in a video
on March 25, 2009. A forensic
scientist, Dietz urged news
outlets like CNN to refrain from
approaching these mass murders
with, as he says, “sirens blaring.”
He urged news outlets to not show
pictures of the killer, to not have
24/7 coverage, and to not make
the number of deaths a focus.
After the saturation of media
coverage, one to two additional
mass murders are expected in
the following week. This media
frenzy is not beneficial and it
does not honor the victims in
any way. It drags out an already
traumatic event for as long as the
coat tails can be ridden.
From the initial shock of why
the Colorado shooting occurred,
or why the shooting in Wisconsin
took place, stemmed a political
debate. When there was no
why to be found, the media
looked for a type of prevention.
When, regardless, an individual
acted out a series of events that
devastated many. Regardless of
mental health, validity of motive,
or range of access to weapons.
Regardless of media coverage, or
lack of, those affected endured
the event and are healing.
Regardless of media coverage,
or lack of, public officials carried
on with their duties. Regardless
of media coverage, or lack of, the
judicial process carried on.
Media coverage in no way
participated in the aftermath of
this event, but only shaped the
attitudes and discussions that
followed it.
Photo Courtesy Pete Souza/Wikipedia Commons
President Obama visiting victims of the Aurora, Colorado shooting. Sometimes the media forgets victims.
Media Coverage Forgets the Victims of Crimes
Our campus is beautiful.
Let’s keep it that way.
Recycle.
Brad Dillard
Staff Writer
Ioan Opris/The Carolinian
Arts and Entertainment
Megan Christy
Staff Writer
The Carolinian’s Essential Spring Listening: Upcoming Releases
perform and has been doing so
since she was three years old. The
audience is her motivation. “The
audience inspires me. To see the
look on their face and know that
someone leaves with a different
perspective, is like “wow!” …
truly a big inspiration to me.”
Of course, there is no
Cinderella without Cinderella
and her prince. Briana Little
and Reginald Johnson put on
a fantastic show as Cinderella
and the Prince. Dancing since
they were two and three years-old
respectively, these two A&T
The Carolinian |A&E August 21 - 27, 2012 | 7
artistic director, Gina Tate.
Briana danced alongside with
Gina since she the third grade.
“Performing in a space like this,
you get this rush of adrenaline!”
said Briana, “Dancing is my
adrenaline!” When asked
about the small dance space of
the Odeon Theater, Reginald
laughed and commented, “Well,
it’s an interesting space, but as
dancers and artist you always
have to adapt. So we’re going to
perform no matter what and it’s
going to be a really good show.
We take what we can and we
Swirls, leaps, jumps, and
turns. That’s what the Pointe
Studio of Dance of Greensboro
had to showcase with their
performance of “Cindy and
the Glass Slipper”—a dance
adaptation of Cinderella. After
rehearsing for eight weeks,
the Pointe Studio of Dance,
in association with the Elise
Jonell Performance Ensemble,
came together to display their
talent at the Odeon Theater at
the Greensboro Coliseum. “It’s
amazing!” said Taylor Adams,
“The environment, the people…
it just makes you want to dance.”
Taylor, a 17 year old student at
Carver High School, played the
Fairy Godmother.
Dancing with the Pointe since
it opened seven years ago, Taylor
has also played the role of the
Tingirl and Scarecrow in the
Pointe’s annual dance adaption
of The Wiz. Taylor’s inspiration
to dance comes from her music.
“I listen to the music and it
gives me a feeling—whether
it’s happy or sad, it just makes
me want to dance!” When she’s
not playing basketball or going
to the movies, Taylor loves to
students found themselves most
comfortable on the stage. “My
favorite part about dancing is
being free and being able to
showcase who you really are—to
show people you are talented and
gifted. When the lights come
on, you’re a different person, so
when the lights come on, I get
to share my experience with the
audience through dance,” said
Reginald.
Briana, a dance major at
A&T, is heavily involved with
the Pointe. She works at the
Pointe alongside owner and
learn from it.”
Gina Tate, a UNC-G graduate,
has owned the Pointe for 7
years. Growing up, she was told
she would not find a career in
dancing. Since then, she has
choreographed all the shows put
on by her company. “I’m a baby
in the business, but we’re growing
rapidly.” As the artistic director,
Gina is constantly looking for
ways to showcase her students’
talents. “I like to see what the
kids are passionate about, and
the expendables 2
The opening scene in The
Expendables 2 plays out
almost as an apology for the
lackluster set pieces of its
2010 predecessor. Sylvester
Stallone’s pet project, and any
action fans dream come true
(ideally), failed to showcase
any of the fun or nostalgic
indulgence that Stallone
promised. This sequel makes
good on those promises,
delivering a bigger, louder,
wittier, more violent movie
that is considerably better
than its forbearer in every way
possible.
There is a reason for this
improvement: Stallone wisely
passed the directorial reigns
to established action director
Simon West (“Con Air”).
Whereas Stallone’s action
sequences in the original
were murky, difficult to
distinguish blurs (we have
Paul Greengrass’s over praised
Bourne films to thank for this
“shaky cam” movement being
brought to action cinema),
West shows a much steadier
hand— allowing viewers
to revel in the destruction
and chaos that they crave.
The chaotic opening scene,
wherein the Expendables
crew destroys half of Asia, is a
true prologue, re-introducing
these characters, while putting
an emphasis on the fact that
they are back and better than
before.
All the action movie stars of
yesteryear (and some of more
recent times) are back, making
up a sort of action movie
dream team (except for Randy
Couture, who still looks like
he has no idea what he is doing
in this franchise). Stallone,
Couture, Jason Statham, Jet
Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry
Crews, and newcomer Liam
Hemsworth make up the
titular Expendables: a team of
mercenaries that go on what
should be an easy mission;
but when one of their men is
murdered on the job, their
quest for revenge puts them
deep in enemy territory and
up against a super villain.
This super villain,
appropriately and hilariously
named Jean Vilain, is played
by Jean-Claude Van Damme,
in what is by far the best
performance in the movie.
Van Damme plays the role
perfectly, with the appropriate
amount of menace and sadistic
humor (though it’s very subtle)
that make any villainous role
great. It is a shame that Van
Damme gets relatively little
screen time, only appearing in
two, maybe three scenes where
he has anything of note to do.
Indeed there are so many
characters that the movie has
a hard time juggling them all.
Guys pop in and out of the
movie for no apparent reason,
and some of the action scenes
have a hard time keeping
track of everybody on screen.
These are small problems, and
ultimately pretty meaningless
ones in a movie that is all
about celebrating machismo
and testosterone fueled action
movies.
The screenplay is looser
and more playful than the
first movie’s tone, with
plenty of self-deprecating
humor coming from some
of the more veteran action
stars. The funniest and most
bizarre of which is Lundgren’s
character’s background, which
is identical to his actual life:
he was awarded a Fullbright
Scholarship to MIT, and he has
a master’s degree in Chemical
Engineering .
Bruce Willis and Arnold
Schwarzenegger, both of which
had very brief cameos in the
first film, have bigger roles this
time. They stuck around long
enough to exchange famous
lines from their previous
movies, all while shooting
guns and throwing out corny
one liners. Chuck Norris
even shows up and delivers a
Chuck Norris joke, and while
he is arguably a terrible actor,
his brief scenes are some of
the funnier moments in the
photo courtesy of dainiziuz/flickr
movie.
While the plot and character
motivations really do not
make a whole lot of sense, the
movie delivers the appropriate
amount of old school action
that anyone showing up to
this movie expects to see. The
prologue and the climactic
(and disputably best crafted
scene in the movie) showdown
between Stallone and Van
Damme are reason enough
to see the movie. Inclusive to
this, the fact that the movie in
between those two scenes is
not half bad, and a lot of fun
to watch, cements this as a
satisfying end to the summer
movie season.
See Jump, page 8
Cindy and the Glass
Slipper
A dance adaptation of
Cinderella
The Pointe Studio of Dance of Greensboro is made up of a variety of different ages and levels of experience.
Kyle Minton
Staff Writer
8 | August 21 - 27, 2012 A&E| The Carolinian
mosT noTaBle reCorDs oF 2012 (ThUsFar)
1.Fiona Apple’s “Th e Idler
Wheel Is Wiser Th an Th e Driver
Of Th e Screw & Whipping
Cords Will Serve You More
Th an Ropes Will Ever Do”
A seven year hiatus may hover
over the sudden reappearance of
Fiona Apple and her new record
“Th e Idler Wheel,” but the singer-
Robin, my business partner, and
I try to create roles for them. It’s
all about creating these things.”
Gina still experiences
hardships with her company—
specifi cally in terms of support
from the community. “Come and
support the arts! Th e kids work
so hard. Th ey’re very privileged
to have roles made for them.
Other places don’t have these
major roles available just for
them. It’s just kind of awesome.”
It is truly inspirational to see
the variety of talent up on stage!
Patrons interested in supporting
or participating in the Pointe
can fi nd more information
on their website at www.
thepointestudiosofdance.com.
Jump
FrOm page 8
songwriter trembles within her
work, audibly vibrating in perfor-mance
as if she had never left . Th e
lyrical crux of the record dances
tangentially around Fiona’s inter-personal
relationships—the song
“Jonathan” is dedicated to Jona-than
Ames, an American author
whom Apple had been involved
with—before diverging and or-biting
around the larger truths
of Apple’s fascinating psyche.
Elaborate wordplay and extend-ed
metaphors twist around the
frazzled-jazz, with piano-and-percussion-
centric instrumenta-tion
courtesy of co-producer and
multi-instrumentalist Charley
Drayton. As a songwriter, Fiona
Apple remains magnanimous
throughout “Th e Idler Wheel,”
issuing a dosage of hard-hitting
truths concerning her personal
successes and failures that make
for some of the most compel-lingly
honest compositions to be
released this year.
2.Perfume Genius’ “Put Your
Back N 2 It”
Mike Hadreas returned with “Put
Your Back N 2 It,” a follow-up to
his 2010 record “Learning” and
a collection of positively heart-wrenching
material from the in-timate
singer-songwriter. Primar-ily
composed of piano keys and an
acoustic guitar, the album becomes
a deluge of tears and pathos as soon
as second-track “Normal Song”
takes the stage: “And no secret,
no matter how nasty, can poison
your voice or keep you from joy,”
croons Hadreas, lightening dread
and emotional burdens from his
audience’s shoulders through the
sheer force of his fragile tone. Inti-mate
and brimming with hurt, “Put
Your Back N 2 It” instills longing,
forgiveness, and a brush of release;
Hadreas sheds clothes, barriers,
and other obstructions in order to
deliver the album most-deserving
of a quiet, dark bedroom to rejoice
in.
3.Killer Mike’s “R.A.P. Music”
Killer Mike may burst out of his
sixth album boasting of the At-lanta,
Georgia blood that runs
through his veins, but Brooklyn
rapper and producer El-P is at
the production helm of “R.A.P.
Music,” (the album’s title stands
for Rebellious African People)
fi ltering Killer Mike’s brash style
through a dark, psychedelic
blender. Th e geographical con-fl
ict in the production sharpens
Killer Mike’s assault on Ameri-ca’s
political and social climate,
driving Killer Mike’s occasional
bouts of relentless lyrical barrage
to a place of cooled, confi dent
composure. Th e best example of
Killer Mike’s tongue-lashing lies
within “Reagan,” where Mike tar-gets
not only the era of Reagan-omics,
but the problem of fabri-cation
that pollutes all politics:
“Ronald Reagan was an actor, not
at all a factor. Just an employee
of the country’s real masters,
just like the Bushes, Clinton and
Obama.”
In the album’s most defi ning
moment, Killer Mike leaves his
audience a chilling declaration
before the “Reagan” concludes:
“I’m dropping off the grid before
they pump the lead. I leave you
with four words: I’m glad Reagan
dead.” Incendiary and self-aware,
“R.A.P. Music” is a mouthful of
some of the most concerning
social and political challenges of
our times, and Killer Mike stands
over it all as a brilliant commen-tator,
unwavering in the assured-ness
of his words.
4.Chromatics’ “Kill For Love”
How far one descends into the
depths of “Kill For Love” largely
depends on how well the record
sells its aesthetic and how will-ing
one is to buy into the vision
at hand. Sprawling highways
with streaking lights decorate the
imagination of “Kill For Love,”
a romantic record designed not
strictly for the 80’s, but those
who remain fascinated with the
imaginarily gritty, neon-streaked
appeal of the era. Chromatics,
headed by multi-instrumentalist,
producer, and Italians Do It Bet-ter
label head Johnny Jewel, were
featured in last year’s soundtrack
for the fi lm “Drive,” and the re-cord
speeds away with a similar
destination in mind. Th e breadth
of the album’s length (the required
time to fi nish the album exceeds
an hour) allows for a wide variety
of tastes within the same palette:
Fans of infectious pop may stop
at the album’s self-titled piece and
enjoy how the scintillating synth
rains down on Ruth Radelet’s
dreamy, repetitious delivery of
the line “I killed for love.” Others
willing enough to venture into the
album’s extended length will fi nd
more somber material, such as
the crackled production of “Birds
of Paradise,” where Radelet issues
a metaphor that could be used
as an apt descriptor of the band’s
sound: “You are the black sky, al-ways
running from the sun.”
5.Frank Ocean’s “Channel
Orange”
Th ere is a wealth of worthy
arguments that could be used
in off ense to Frank Ocean’s in-clusion
on the list. One could
reject the record itself, attribut-ing
natural-born hype and the
emotions that surged around
Ocean’s splendidly-written letter
concerning his sexuality to the
reason that “Channel Orange”
has achieved such critical acclaim
over the summer. Another rea-sonable
route would be to follow-up
the harshest and largest truth
of what naysayers have said about
the record: the occasional non-sensical
lyric and poor fl ow from
track to track. Th ere is a certain
amount of veracity to both com-plaints,
as the now famous letter
from Ocean caused an online
confl agration of discussion and
opinions merely a few days before
listeners were allowed to hear the
record in full, and the small fi ft y-second
breaks between each song
truly mar the record’s polish. All
of this acknowledges that the Odd
Future member has transgressed
not only the expectations placed
on his collective, but the limits of
the genre he invents with.
“Channel Orange” is a pop re-cord
from an R&B artist, invok-ing
the strengths and shedding
any of the weaknesses of dealing
with one style. For example, the
album’s highlight “Pyramids” is a
ten minute sprawl, transforming
from a synth-blaring vocal high-light
into a slow spiral, decorat-ing
historic fi gure Cleopatra in
exotic appeal and transforming
Egyptian masterpieces into strip
joints; “Pyramids” may seem out-wardly
confounding, but “Chan-nel
Orange” is Ocean’s world, and
his audience is given the twisted
privilege of seeing just how ab-surd
wordplay can be buried in
the midst of the singer’s incred-ible
falsetto. Songs such as the
tragic, requited love of “Bad Reli-gion,”
and the yearning of album
opener “Th inking Bout You,” do
not shy away from Frank Ocean’s
personal damages, injuring the
listener through Ocean’s stylistic
sheen and powerful falsetto. Crit-ics
may herald Ocean’s latest as
a simple cultural victory, but the
singer’s coming out cannot com-pare
with the undeniable talent-ed
package of songs that make up
“Channel Orange.”
“The Geographical
confl ict in the
production
sharpens Killer
Mike’s assault on
America’s political
and social climate,
driving Killer Mike’s
occasional bouts
of relentless lycial
barrage to a place
of cooled, confi dent
composure...”
phOTO COurTeSY OF hIphOp.COm/FlICKr
Killer Mike performing live.
Fiona Apple phOTO COurTeSY OFandreW Van Baal/FlICKr Perfume Genius phOTO COurTeSY OF redheadWalKIng/FlICKr
Acrobatics require a combination of discipline, balance, and strength.
The Carolinian |A&E August 21 - 27, 2012 | 9
Brittany Cannino
Staff Writer
Cirque in motion presents: awaken
In a world of the humdrum,
there is one place where you will
find the magic and fantasy of
being child, while maintaining
the stark discipline of the
performing arts. And this place
is called the circus. A place
that has stereotypically been
the refuge for most runaway
toddlers has now become the
refuge for some of the most
trained talents in performance.
Cirque in Motion: AWAKEN
featured a wide variety of acts
including: juggling of all sorts
of objects, the german wheel,
rola bola, partner acrobatics,
and aerial trapizu. It had
every characteristic of a lively,
physical and substantial show.
“In Circus I found a broad
umbrella with so many different
outlets. I was able to synthesize
all of the different aspects in
my life” states Keith Kaplin,
an enduring practitioner of
equilibristics, juggling and
a rola bola performer. The
performance was set up as a
shipping and receiving office
with boxes laiden about.
Tony Duncan, a seasoned
comedic juggler for 25 years
who hopped from life path to
life path and finally gave into
juggling even with his mouth,
detailed “Juggling was very
concrete for me. You practice
and you get better and it’s
visible.” Tony opens as a delivery
man and through the show
he breaks the fourth wall and
allows audience participation
in the act “Dinner Date of
Death.” In this act, Duncan has
six audience members, three
on each end of a rope, make a
tight rope for him to balance on
while simultaneously juggling a
machete, barbeque skewer, and
kitchen knife garnished with a
cube of cheese. His objective?
To eat the cheese off the end
of the kitchen knife while it is
juggled.
Juggling wasn’t the only
spectacle to behold. Audience
members were wowed by the
aerial trapizu, a completely
original art form that involves
a trapeze suspended by aerial
tissue performed by Alyssa
Morar, another veteran student
of the New England Center for
Circus Arts (NECCA). Her
grace and incandescent smile
was maintained throughout
some of the most sustained
and endurance filled art, which
was truly a game changer.
When asked about the greatest
challenge of her artiste and
experience, Morar replied
“realizing how much time and
effort goes into this artform.
I have to be a performer, an
athlete and an entrepreneur by
making my own costumes and
website.”
The German Wheel was
another amazing feat of human
physicality. Zebediah Galipeau,
who also graduated from
NECCA, contorted his body
while spinning inside of a large
metallic wheel. It was a graceful
depiction of the use of torque
and centrifugal force. Galipeau
is a reminder to all that despite
all of the long hours and
grueling rehearsals to chant to
yourself “You are not going out
on stage to be ridiculed. You are
going to have fun.”
In this art form, some of
the most dedicated yet silly
people give their lives to the
stage and the hour or two they
might get on it. After all of
the magical tossing and topsy-turvy
wonderland on that
stage, the performers were able
to conserve a healthy dose of
humility.
Grace Kilroy/The Carolinian
10 Features August 21 - 27, 2012
New student embraces university’s service motto
image courtesy Maria Mendoza
Rebekah Jones
Staff Writer
Bonnie Landaverdy
Staff Writer
UNCG attracts all sorts
of students, from different
backgrounds, states, and even
countries, creating a diverse
atmosphere on the campus.
Everyone has his or her own
story to share and this one is well
worth sharing. Meet Stephanie
Perez, an out-of-state freshman
from Miami, Florida. Stephanie
has an interesting story, a
touching story that should
inspire others, as that is her goal
in this university. Only being
on campus for a short time,
Stephanie has a vision for herself
already, which started out with
embracing the university motto:
service.
During high school, Stephanie
determined that, for her life
goals, going to a university was
a necessity. She was extremely
involved with tutoring, the
National Honor Society, and
several organizations. With
the goals of attending Duke’s
medical school and becoming
a neurosurgeon, Stephanie
took the first steps to achieve
her dream. Through a college
advising program that her high
school implemented, she had a
lot of help along the way from her
advisor, Ms. Mendoza.
In applying for college,
Stephanie researched different
universities, craving an
experience outside of Miami.
While researching schools, she
started considering applying for
UNC Chapel Hill. Upon further
research, she found other UNC
system schools and became
intrigued. UNCG attracted
Stephanie because of its history.
“It is so interesting and I feel as if
UNCG has the most interesting
background compared to other
schools I looked at,” Stephanie
gushed enthusiastically. Apart
from the history, the seller for
Stephanie was the university’s
motto: service. As someone
who embraces giving back to the
community, service is something
Stephanie wants to continue
doing while in college. When
asked what kind of service she
wants to be involved with, she
responded that she wanted to
help students. “I want to be a
tutor, I enjoy helping students
and helping them achieve”.
Apart from service, Stephanie
has other goals socially and
academically. Being biology
major, she intends to be involved
in extracurricular science, such
as joining a science organization
as well as social organizations
so she can network with other
students. “UNCG is so diverse
and I just want to be as involved
as I can be with that,” she
exclaimed, going on about how
she fell in love with the culture
of the University when she first
visited.
For Stephanie, there have
been many challenges to get to
where she is today. The difficulty
was found in being raised by
a single mother. “My mother
and I support each other a lot,”
she explained while going into
detail about the process she went
through to move to Greensboro.
Stephanie’s mother has
fibromyalgia and is a victim of
chronic depression, making the
process of leaving Miami a bit
difficult. “I could not leave my
mom,” she said as she explained
how she and her mother moved
to Greensboro together in
June. The move was completed
in several drives, going back
and forth between Greensboro
and Miami. The transition to
university life is easier for both
as they stick together.
What exactly makes
Stephanie’s story interesting?
Apart from being an intelligent
person, a goal-setter, and
determined, Stephanie has a
claim to fame. Ms. Mendoza,
Stephanie’s advisor, nominated
her student for a scholarship. A
State Farm Scholarship is given
annually to a Hispanic high
school graduate to celebrate
academic achievement. In
late June, Stephanie received
a phone call from Univision,
a major Hispanic television
network, telling her that she
was a finalist. As a finalist, she
was flown to Miami for Premios
Juventud, an annual music and
television awards program aired
on Univision. There, she would
find out on national television
whether she won the $50, 000
scholarship. When called on
stage with the other finalist,
President Obama appeared
on the screen to present the
scholarship. “I almost died on
stage when he said my name!”
Perez said as she described her
fifteen minutes of fame.
Stephanie’s story is inspiring
because of her determination
to succeed and her passion for
service and the university. It
is refreshing to come across
a freshman that knows what
they want and searches for
opportunities to make their
dreams reality. Not every student
is familiar with the university
motto, but for Stephanie, it is
the main reason she decided to
attend UNCG.
The never-ending cycle of back-to-school shopping
It is that time again! The
classrooms are being prepared,
the teachers are writing syllabi
for the semester, and the
students are back-to-school
shopping, something we
have all gotten used to since
kindergarten. Nearby Wal-mart
and Target shopping centers fill
with students of all ages and
their parents, scrambling to
buy everything on their school
supply lists.
Although we like to think
that after graduation the supply
shopping will finally come to an
end, we may be sadly mistaken.
The average K-12 student
requires $688.62 for back-to-
school supplies each year.
According to the US Census, the
tally is up to $7.7 billion total.
However, as we progress in our
education, the lists of required
school supplies get longer and
more expensive. What started
off as spiraled notebooks
and crayons quickly became
Macbooks and USBs as the years
progress. Let us not forget about
the textbooks. The national
average price a college student
spends on books per semester is
$516. Some classes even require
lab manuals, specific calculators,
and various electronic
accessories. Unfortunately for
us, it does not stop there.
For students living in dorms
or apartments, there are sheets,
shower curtains, lamps, and
mini refrigerators to be bought.
There are also parking permits
that are required for anyone who
drives a car to or around campus
does not want to pay hefty
parking tickets throughout the
semester. Most of which passes
may need to be replaced the
following year, leaving a mark
on our bank accounts.
For seniors with graduation
quickly approaching, back-to-
school shopping will be
a thing of the past. Instead,
office shopping may be a quick
substitute. Resume paper, printer
ink, and manila envelopes take
over our old back-to-school
supply lists as we prepare for
the career we have worked so
hard for. Although the national
average salary of a recent college
graduate is around $44,000, we
must first obtain the job before
we can obtain the salary.
With job interviews ahead,
sophisticated business attire
becomes a must. The graphic tees
and blue jeans we have become
accustomed to become a thing
of the past and blouses, slacks
and ties become our future.
Even after the cycle seems
to have ended, our lives begin.
Soon, we must supply for our
weddings, then our families,
and eventually school supply
shopping for our own children.
It is virtually impossible to
stop the cycle of back to school
spending. However, there is a bit
of hope on the horizon. There
are plenty of ways to save money
while getting what is necessary
to be a successful student and
employee. Many stores offer
sales and promotions as well
as coupons that allow for less
expensive supplies.
Although the cost of school
supplies may leave you feeling
a little blue, find comfort in
knowing that, in the end, this
will all one day seem worth it
when we find ourselves sitting
behind that desk, machine, or in
front of a patient, pursuing the
dream we all seek.
All in all, when it comes
to education and careers, the
saying, “You must spend money
to earn money,” is most certainly
relevant.
image courtesy FLICKR/ USER STEVENDEPOLO
Perez pauses for a photo taken by her mother.
The essentials for back-to-school include pencils, erasers, and staples for and abundance of essays.
Psychological theories in electoral process
Chris McCracken
Features Editor
In the rough and tumble world
of electoral politics, every fourth
year is akin to a Super Bowl. Years
of passion, energy, and careful
strategizing are put forward
as one or both major political
parties host a primary in order
to elect a candidate. Factions of
political parties emerge, and the
moderate wing almost always
fights against the more partisan
wing. Should a candidate be
more “electable,” or more true
to the party’s ideals? Should he
or she be a consensus builder,
or a political bomb thrower?
The team collectively makes the
decision and draws up a careful
strategy, absent of a coach.
After the primary, parties
tend to unite and rally around
their chosen office-seeker. The
two groups then go to war with
one-another, using the internet
and television in lieu of a field.
Expert marketers are brought in
to figure out how to successfully
promote their candidate, and
how to best demonize the other
one. Coalitions are built in order
to bring down the opposing
team. Every possible skeleton
is pulled from the closet, and
usually toward the end of the
fourth quarter, some really dirty
secret is released as a “November
surprise.”
Friends and family members
fight with one-another. Small
fortunes are raised and spent.
Most people grow sick of politics
altogether. With all of this
passion, energy, and enthusiasm,
how much does the general
public really get involved?
In an academic article titled
“How Large and Long-lasting
Are the Persuasive Effects of
Televised Campaign Ads?,” four
academics sought to understand
the effect that campaigning had
on the attitudes of the general
public. When a candidate spent
a lot of money on advertising,
did he or she get more votes?
Were they able to generate more
enthusiasm?
The article followed a campaign
for a state governorship that spent
$2 million on advertising. The
money was spent experimentally,
and “in each experimental media
market, the launch date and
volume of television advertising
were randomly assigned.” The
academics then had a polling
firm call 1,000 registered voters
per day in the month that
followed to ask them questions
about voting behavior. The
result was that while political
advertising had a strong effect
on voting preferences, the results
were short-lived. The article
also noted that, “The ephemeral
nature of these effects is more
consistent with psychological
models of priming than with
models of on-line processing.”
Put another way, voters
were more likely to take an
advertisement and use it to
make a later judgment in an
election. In order to counter
those judgments, the other
candidate had to run a counter-advertisement
to change the
voters’ mind. According to R.
Michael Alvarez of Psychology
Today Magazine, “this suggests
that in a highly competitive
campaign environment a
candidate will need to engage in
a costly media campaign just to
keep up with their opponent.”
The genius and the expertise
that lies in political ads can also
not be overstated. According
to Web MD, “The first televised
presidential ads were run by
Dwight Eisenhower in 1952.”
Eisenhower tapped marketing
guru Rosser Reeves, the same
man responsible for the famous
“they melt in your mouth, not in
your hands” M&M candy slogan.
Since that time, candidates have
found it to be beneficial to run
more negative advertisements
than positive ones. “
“Politics is a one-day sale,”
said Dr. John Geer of Vanderbilt
University, tapping into the
theme of priming. “And on
that day you need a plurality or
majority of the market.”
On the outset, the political
process may appear to be
backwards and irrational.
Candidates raise a lot of money
from interests well outside the
American mainstream, attack
members of their own parties
in order to secure a nomination,
and then inundate the American
public with mostly negative
advertisements about their
opponent. This may be the reason
why the process is sometimes
described as “broken,” and why
the American public generally
has little appetite for politics.
However, many of the aspects
of political campaigns can be
explained by basic psychological
theories image courtesy FLICKR/ CSPAN_LCV and research.
New and exciting possibilities with the mission to Mars
Jonathan Waye
Staff Writer
With NASA’s successful launch
and landing of the Mars rover
“Curiosity,” nations around
the globe anxiously await the
rover’s findings. Curiosity, even
compared to past Mars missions,
is an ambitious undertaking, as
years of careful research, testing,
and integration of new landing
technologies were all put into play.
Though Curiosity is now safely
on Martian soil, it is only a matter
of time before some of science’s
most important questions are
finally answered.
	
Curiosity’s main mission can
be boiled down to a single, main
objective: to determine Mars’ past
and present ability to support life.
The mission statement provided
on NASA’s JPL website narrows
it down further, saying that
Curiosity will aid in determining
the planet’s “habitability.”
Previous Mars missions, although
namely Opportunity, have
already uncovered evidence of
water in Martian soil, which is an
essential part in the development
of organic life as we currently
understand it. With the presence
of water already discovered,
Curiosity seeks to answer one of
the most fundamental questions
of our current times: is there
other life?
What evidence, however,
will prove the existence or
nonexistence of Martian life?
Although NASA is not expecting
to dig up any alien dinosaurs,
they will be actively searching for
traces of life on a deeper, geologic
and climatic level. In fact, if a
discovery is made that supports
the presence of life on Mars, it
will most likely be lifted directly
from Martian soil. Outfitted with
“the biggest, most advanced suite
of instruments ever sent to the
Martian surface,” Curiosity has
everything it needs to make these
determinations. Spectrometers
will analyze soil samples, mainly
searching for carbon, another
essential part of the development
of organic life. Mounted cameras
will take hundreds of photos of
rocks, soil, and other geological
formations in order to assess the
Red Planet’s ancient climate, and
further determine whether or not
it was ever capable of supporting
rudimentary forms of life.
Although Curiosity certainly
boasts some of the most
advanced technology humans
have ever put on the Martian
surface, it was no cake walk
getting it there. Curiosity is by
far the heaviest rover to ever land
on Mars. Due its staggering size,
the rover needed to be outfitted
with an all new multistage
landing system just to reach the
surface safely. Curiosity, unable
to utilize previous rovers’ giant,
inflated air bag system to skip
across the surface, instead used
a combination of parachutes,
rockets, and the all new “sky
crane” in order to land safely.
The first stage of the four-part
landing process utilized rockets
in order direct the spacecraft’s
descent. Called “guided entry,”
this technique allowed the
Curiosity team to navigate the
craft through the top layers of
the Martian atmosphere, thereby
allowing the rover to actually
steer itself toward ideal landing
sites. The second stage,
however, is a more familiar
one. After guided entry, a large
parachute is ejected from the
top of the rover, which helps
slow the craft throughout the
landing process. By comparison,
Curiosity’s parachute is 40%
larger than the one outfitted to
previous Mars rover, Pathfinder.
In the third phase, rockets
again aid in gently lowering the
rover towards the Martian turf
below. The fourth and final stage
involves NASA’s new “skycrane”
technology, and was the key to
ensuring Curiosity’s safe landing.
Steerable engines slowed the
rover even further, and then,
hovering above the surface,
slowly lowered Curiosity to the
ground below. Once Curiosity’s
onboard computer sensed that
the landing was successful, it
cut the skycrane’s tether, and the
engines rocketed away to a crash
site far beyond the rover below.
Thanks to NASA engineers, the
rover was essentially ready-to-roll
upon touch down.
Curiosity is the most ambitious
Mars mission to date, and
marks a milestone for future
NASA missions to the Red
Planet. If nothing else, the rover
demonstrates our ability to visit
worlds beyond our own, and,
eventually, the possibility of
sending humans to planets far
image courtesy FLICKR/IDAHO ANTIOALN ALBOARTORY from home.
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The Carolinian |Features August 21 - 27, 2012 | 11
A look back at the 1980 film “Caddyshack”
Chris McCracken
Features Editor
Occasionally in the film
industry, a movie comes along
that serves not only as a medium
to encapsulate the time period in
which it was created, but also as
a predictor of the period that lies
ahead.
The 1980’s was seen by many
as the quintessential American
decade. At the time, a man who
played a cowboy on television
was serving as President of
the United States. His ultra-conservative
platform was based
on aggressively de-regulating
businesses and cutting taxes.
Culturally, styles shifted from
the flamboyant and anti-establishment
looks of the
1960’s and 1970’s, to the uber-traditional
Ralph Lauren look
associated with the 1980’s. As
the nation’s economy entered a
new period of prosperity, many
Americans began to explore
leisurely pursuits associated with
high-level income earners, like
yachting and golf.
The classic 1980 film
“Caddyshack” uses this context
as a backdrop to tell the story of
a young man attempting to save
money for college by working as a
golf caddy at a country club. The
main character, Danny Noonan,
struggles to impress his employers
in order to earn a scholarship
from the club. His employers and
the members of the club are both
supremely wealthy and highly
eccentric. Examples include
Judge Elihu Smails, the stodgy,
old-fashioned, and very snobby
owner of the club, and Ty Webb,
the archetypical wealthy playboy
who helps as Danny comes
of age. The film also contains
numerous subplots, including
a not-so-bright groundskeeper
who grows to become obsessed
with capturing a gopher that
haunts that club grounds.
When the film was released
more than thirty years ago, Roger
Ebert gave it two and a half stars
out of four, and caustically stated
that, ““Caddyshack” never finds
a consistent comic note of its
own, but it plays host to all sorts
of approaches from its stars,
who sometimes hardly seem to
be occupying the same movie.”
Other reviewers admired the
film for its slapstick comedy and
for its witty, situation-dependent
humor. Popular movie rating site
Rotten Tomatoes noted this in its
consensus of reviewers, with the
site’s experts giving the movie a
solid 76 percent rating.
Culturally, the effects of the
film can be more widely seen.
Various phrases from the film
have entered the American
lexicon. Oftentimes, when golfers
hit a ball into a bad area, they will
exclaim that it went “straight
into the lumberyard.” This is
a quote from “Caddyshack,”
during a scene in the film where
Danny is explaining to Ty Webb
that he might be forced to work
in a lumberyard for the rest of
his life at the same time that
Webb hits a ball into a sand trap.
“Right into the lumberyard,” Ty
exclaims, noting his failure. The
lumberyard is a symbol of failure
for the bright and ambitious
teenager, who is eagerly seeking
to attend a university.
Like many other great American
films, the “Caddyshack” franchise
also hosts a notoriously bad sequel.
“Caddyshack II” was released in
1988, and is based around the
same country club. In the sequel,
an unpolished millionaire family
seeks to improve its social status
by attaining membership. Rotten
Tomatoes reviewers gave this
film a dismal 8% rating, and only
one in four amateur reviewers
enjoyed it.
Overall, “Caddyshack” is worth
a watch for anyone seeking to re-visit
life in the 1980s. The film is
widely seen as a defining work
of the era, and it is especially
relevant for students given its
storyline involving a young man
in his late teens.
image courtesy FLICKR/david_shankbone
Bill Murray, one of the film’s actors.
Advice column: university life is often
“survival of the fittest”
Kaycie Coy
Editor-in-Chief
image FOUND IN CAROLINIAN ARCHIVES
The Campus Activities Board hosts many activities every semester.
While taking on a college
campus is not necessarily an
adventure worthy of Swiss army
knives and MREs (Meals Ready
to Eat), students will need to pay
close attention to key concepts
to help maintain a healthy body
and mind. Here is a crash course
on basic skills before jumping
headfirst into classes.
Think positive. People have
a tendency of focusing more on
the negative than anything else.
Whether it is complaining about
the difficulty of your classes, the
lousy pay rate of your 40 hours
a week job, or the carpet burn
you got from playing too rough
with your dog, you will always
find something worth smiling
about. It can be a hard task to
manage, but easily avoided if you
remember to separate yourself
from heavy factors.
Friends pose great influence
on your mental health. Peer
pressure, though drilled into
our minds in grade school
as a negative push towards
alcoholism and substance abuse,
has the potential to lift you out of
your seat and have you floating
on an easy breeze. If your mind
has convinced you to play the
role of a shut in for the evening,
after all your responsibilities are
cleared from your to-do list, give
in to your friends nagging you
to go to the movies or dancing
downtown. The more new and
reasonable experiences you open
yourself up to, the better outlook
you will have on life. Your
learning experience in college
exists both inside and outside
the classroom.
Do not go home. With the
exception of holidays and
pressing family matters, there
is no need for you to go home
every weekend. UNCG has a
reputation as a suitcase college,
where students stay on campus
for their education, but travel
home on the weekends. Trekking
three hours to and from Asheville
twice a week will only harm you
in more ways than one.
These days, we are doing all
we can to save funds rather than
spend them. Gas alone is already
reaching a point where it exceeds
the price of milk. Rather than
spending the money on frequent
road trips, save your cash for
a rainy day with classmates or
new peers. If home is where your
heart lies, make arrangements
where you and your partner can
exchange who’s turn it is to travel
for the other. Chances are your
high school buddies will not fly
home every weekend as well,
so branch out and expand your
social net.
Sleep, study, and snack.
The one thing students fail to
remember in college is that the
whole experience is a workout.
In order to participate in every
social event and academic
program, you need to take care of
yourself. Reserve hours of your
day for the essentials: a healthy
meal, a supportive mattress, and
the education you or your family
is paying for.
Though you may not achieve
perfect balance, everyone has
a threshold and a minimum
for what they need in life.
Some students may be able to
survive on five hours of sleep a
night while others need perfect
silence and a nine hour retreat
to dreamland. A two hour study
session may be suitable enough
for memorizing the first 20
elements of the periodic table,
but five hours a day for three
weeks may be necessary for
recalling the five pillars of Islam
word for word. Follow all your
choices up with a steady and
healthy diet. Nutrients in whole
grown foods will serve you better
than late night trips to your
favorite fast food restaurant.
All in all, the key to your
basic survival in college is to
make good judgment calls. Most
people do not know how they
would tackle a situation head
on until they encounter it. Keep
in mind that you can never go
wrong by asking for advice or
a helping hand. The learning
experience you achieve here is
followed closely behind by the
relationships you will develop
both interpersonally and beyond.
12 | August 21 - 27, 2012 Features| The Carolinian
Sports 13
August 21 - 27, 2012
Preseason: UNCG dispatch Guilford
Friday
UNCG 	 0
Georgia 1 (2OT)
UNCG falls to Georgia in double overtime
Thursday
UNCG 	 2
Guilford 0
Hannah Nystrom
Staff Writer
Joseph Abraham
Staff Writer
The Spartans played the first
of their three exhibition games
Thursday night when they faced
cross town rival Guilford College.
After winning the SoCon regular
season title last season, the
Spartans were voted to finish
third in a SoCon preseason
coaches’ poll behind the College
of Charleston and Furman.
The Spartans rested the
majority of their starters in this
first exhibition game, giving an
opportunity to players who do
not normally see a significant
amount of playing time.
Thanks to goals by Brian
Graham and Christopher
Reingen in the 51st and 55th
minutes, the Spartans won 2-0 in
a story of two halves.
The first half was rather
uneventful for the Spartans as
they generated very little offense.
One positive from the first half
was that the Spartans dominated
possession. The only negative
was their impatience in forcing
big plays down the field that often
led to their loss of possession.
This led to a scoreless first half
for both teams, which is not
what most Spartan fans thought
would be the first half outcome;
however, coach Justin Maullin
saw no need to panic over the
Spartans first half play.
“That was probably the reaction
from everybody is thinking we
need to go out there and we’ll beat
Guilford 7-, 8-0,” commented
Maullin. “We played some young
players, Guilford’s a good team,
they’ve got some special players
and it just shows that there’s a
lot of parity in college soccer…I
just told them that the one word
would be tempo, keep the tempo
of the game up, if we keep that
Following a grueling 104
minutes of game time, Georgia
nestled a goal into the back of
the Spartan’s net as a result of
a penalty kick during double
overtime. After putting in
a valiant effort, our UNCG
women’s soccer team fell short
during the season’s opening
game.
Even though the Spartans
lost, freshman goalie Jamie
Simmons of Houston, Texas was
outstanding. Simmons had a
total of 14 saves, displaying an
exceptional amount of talent.
Following the game, an
interview with head coach Steve
Nugent and Simmons showed
just how proud Nugent was of
his team’s performance and the
overall talent Simmons exudes.
“We had a tremendous plan and
it was working,” stated Nugent.
“It was unfortunate to get that
PK called in double overtime.
I thought our girls deserved a
little bit better, but I don’t want
to take anything away from
the performance UGA had
tonight…with that being said we
got an unbelievable performance
from Jamie Simmons our
freshmen goalkeeper who came
up huge.”
Both teams failed to score
during the first half, even with
UGA’s 8-1 lead with shots on goal.
Georgia’s inability to score came
from Simmons phenomenal
performance, making four
critical saves in order to keep
the game tied. The Spartans’
first opportunity to score came
during the 17th minute when
sophomore midfielder Ashley
Stokes of Cary, NC took a shot
on goal.
The best chance for the
Spartans developed from
redshirt senior Cat Barnekow
from Santa Rosa, California
with two minutes remaining in
the second half. The free kick
from Stevens evaded the grasp
of Georgia’s goalkeeper, but was
unable to be transformed into a
goal by UNCG.
With this said, during
the second half, Simmons
showcased more of her talent
with seven saves and one
phenomenal save from a header
via Andie Fontanetta of Georgia.
Only three minutes into the
second overtime, UGA made
an intense run down the field
and crossed the ball into the
box, where it was unfortunately
handled by a Spartan defender.
This unlucky touch resulted in a
penalty kick for UGA. Georgia’s
junior Alex Newfield took
the kick for the Bulldogs and
burrowed the ball into the lower
left hand corner of the net.
Even with the double
overtime defeat, the Spartans,
especially Nugent and Simmons,
were pleased with the teams
overall performance. “There
are no words to describe
our performance tonight,”
commented Nugent.
The UNCG women’s soccer
team is officially 9-14 in the
regular season opener.
Spartan fans can tune in
Friday August 24, 2012 as the
women’s soccer team travels to
tempo up we can eventually wear
them down and we did.”
In the second half, the Spartans
upped their intensity and
aggressiveness on the offensive
end, scoring two goals in the first
ten minutes of the second period.
Guilford almost got back in the
game when they had a scoring
chance in the 57th minute, when
Goalkeeper Stephen Moffitt
over pursued a ball, but luckily
defender Jonathan Leonard
kicked the ball out of the box,
keeping Guilford scoreless in the
game.
This win over Guilford, like
most exhibition games, gave
the opportunity for some young
players to prove themselves on
the field and to the coach.
Coach Maullin commented
on which reserves stood out,
“[Freshman forward] Noah
Deangelo stood out in midfield. I
thought he had the most impact
in the game on both sides of
the ball, defensively and on the
attacking side. He’s a terrific
engine. So right off the bat, I’ll
say Noah stood out and could
definitely help us with some
minutes. The other would be our
number ten, Dustin Gamradt,
who redshirted last year due to a
knee injury but I thought he was
very useful as well.”
The Spartans got the win,
but exhibition games also show
room for improvement. Two
areas coach Maullin wants
to see the team improve in is
professionalism and consistency,
stating that “We didn’t really do
it last year and we haven’t really
done it this season but I just want
to see the same effort, the same
performance day in and day
out. We picked three teams for
preseason because we’ve got 31
guys and we want to take a look
at a lot of players”.
Winston Salem to play the ACC’s
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at
7:00 p.m. They open their home
schedule against UNC Asheville
the following Sunday at 2 pm at
UNCG Soccer Stadium. Even
with the loss to the school at
which Nugent served as assistant
coach before taking the UNCG
head job, plenty of optimism
abounds. Having fallen to the
Demon Deacons 4-0 last year,
this weekend will serve as a great
test for this young team.
photo courtesy UNCg sports information department
Goalkeeper Jamie Simmons is the hero of the young season, stopping 14 Bulldog shots
Storms loomed on the night of
August 11, the night the UNCG
women’s soccer team was to take
on Carolina in a preseason game.
To an extent, the storms reflected
the uncertainty surrounding the
team. Last year, a program that
is not used to losing a game in-conference
suffered a rare home
quarterfinal defeat to Georgia
Southern. Further, star keeper
Kelsey Kearney graduated,
taking her UNCG shutout record
with her.
“It’s probably been the
toughest nine months of my life
as a coach,” remarked second-year
coach Steve Nugent. “I’m
not used to this. But since the
day that (Georgia Southern)
game ended, I did two things.
Number one, I printed the box
score and I keep it pretty close
to me. And on my board in my
office, when you walk in, the first
thing you see is the score of that
game and the date of that game.”
These are the words of a
determined, if slightly obsessive
(of course, the world’s best
coaches are usually described
as slightly obsessive), head
coach. Nugent proved that
determination by going out and
signing a sixteen (!) member
recruiting class as well as
securing another supremely
difficult schedule that includes
a trip to Wake Forest, a trip out
to California to face perennial
powers Santa Clara and Stanford,
a trip to Kentucky to invade the
Kentucky-Louisville rivalry, and
of course a home date with North
Carolina to start the season.
Coming off a rebuilding
campaign in 2011, the UNCG
volleyball team is looking
forward to a more successful
2012 season. Although picked
to finish fourth in the Southern
Conference’s North division by
the league’s head coaches after
losing only two seniors and
returning six starters from a
15-17 team that just missed out
on the Southern Conference
tournament a year ago, the
Spartans are determined to have
a more successful season.
Lone senior Ari Lysacek will
once again be counted on to lead
the Spartans attack this season.
The setter recorded 795 assists
last year while also racking up
230 digs, good enough for third
on the team. She also collected
138 kills on the season, including
a pair of double digit efforts
against East Tennessee State and
Chattanooga.
Helping Lysacek on the
attack will be returners Karian
Chambers and Morgan Freeman.
Chambers, a junior, led the team
in kills last year while collecting
36 block assists. Chambers’s 358
kills ranked seventh among all
Southern Conference players.
Freeman is coming off
an impressive first year at
UNCG after transferring from
Connecticut in which the junior
recorded 210 kills, led the
team with 90 total blocks, and
registered 26 service aces, good
enough for second on the team.
Another important piece of
the puzzle returns for UNCG
in the form of Kellie Orewiler.
See socer, page 14 See volleyball, page 14
Fall Sports Previews
Calvin Walters
Staff Writer
Ian Foster
Sports Editor
Women’s Soccer Volleyball
photo courtesy carlos morales/UNCG sports information department
Dustin Gamradt evades Quaker defenders during UNCG’s 2-0 preseason win over Guilford
14 |August 21 - 27, 2012 Sports |The Carolinian
Tar Heel troubles continue
volleyball
from page 15
socer
from page 15
“People asked me when we
announced our schedule, ‘why
again are you playing such a
demanding schedule starting
with North Carolina?’ If you
want to be one of the better
teams, you’ve got to play
against the teams that challenge
you.” There are two schools of
thought that exist in scheduling
college athletics. The first is to
schedule easy non-conference
opponents so your team will
have confidence going into the
conference slate. The second is
to schedule difficult opponents
so your team will be battle-tested
before conference play.
The second method sounds
nice but does not always work
out, as we saw with the 2010-
2011 men’s basketball team. That
team played an incredibly tough
schedule that included Duke,
Wake Forest, Virginia Tech,
Florida State, and Richmond
(who went to the Sweet 16 that
year) among others. The result:
the Spartans started 0-16, lacked
confidence, and failed to get into
much of a rhythm all season.
In soccer, however, the second
method is preferred. Take the
USMNT. Under Bob Bradley, the
team would rarely play difficult
opponents abroad, preferring
to take on the likes of Brazil,
Argentina, Italy, and Mexico
on American soil. New coach
Jurgen Klinsmann shook that
complacency, and the results
have been promising. First they
beat Slovenia in foggy, unfriendly
Ljubljana. They then went on to
earn their first victory on Italian
soil. And this last week, they
traveled to Azteca in Mexico
City, easily the most difficult
away stadium in which to earn a
result (in 24 matches, the United
States lost 23 and drew one),
and shocked the Mexicans with
a squad made up largely of MLS
prospects .
The key lies in how one
approaches a difficult schedule.
Last year’s women’s soccer
team, for example, lost to Wake
Forest and Virginia Tech by
four and five goals, respectively.
But in those games, Nugent’s
team established his preferred
possession style and the team
actually ended up garnering the
majority of possession in both
games.
That being said, the team, even
if marred by a rash of injuries,
still lost more than the program
is used to. The program is also not
used to being ranked as low as
fourth in the conference to start
the season. However, Nugent
is optimistic. He feels good
about the freshmen and their
integration into the team. “(The
freshmen) have done really well
adapting…I got to go through
the recruiting process with every
one of them so I knew what
to expect when they got here.
Number two, our leadership
from our upperclassmen is, in a
word, unbelievable. They’re very
inclusive in a sense that they
want everyone to feel that this is
home.”
Even if he could do nothing
about the literal storms
raining down upon his players,
Nugent’s goal for that Carolina
exhibition was to poke some
rays of sunshine through those
figurative storms hanging over
the team. “If we walk away from
this game,” he said beforehand,
“with everybody feeling excited
about what’s ahead and we stay
healthy, then that’s a good result.
This is what they signed up for,
this is the competition, this is
how hard it is, this is what they
wanted.”
Four freshmen started against
Carolina, including goalkeeper
Jamie Simmons, who fell into
the unenviable task of replacing
Kearney. As the match kicked off,
Carolina dominated possession
and tested Simmons early.
It is frightening to see those
Carolina Blue jerseys flying
at you with those 24 National
Championships behind them.
But Simmons was up to the task.
She owned her goal and kept the
Tar Heels out of it.
In soccer, confidence spreads
wildfire. Soon, the Spartans
were creating chances of their
own. Then the unthinkable
happened. Sophomore Ashley
Stokes found some space down
the left flank, ran onto the end
of a beautiful cross-field Karin
Sendel pass, and smacked the
ball past Carolina’s keeper into
the far corner. Suddenly, UNCG
led Carolina.
Last year, the Spartans
frequently dominated
possession but came out on
the wrong side of the result.
This year, the team, anchored
by Simmons, an experienced
backline that includes redshirt
senior Stephanie Partenheimer
and redshirt junior Tinna
Bergthorsdottir, is finding ways
to compete without the majority
of possession.
Nugent has his team on track
and there is plenty of reason
to believe they have a shot at
another SoCon title.
The junior led the Spartans,
and the Southern Conference,
with a 5.34 average digs per set
in conference play and finished
with 579 on the season. She also
led the team with 39 service aces.
Perhaps the player most ready
to return to action is redshirt-junior
Olivia Humphries who
missed the entire 2011 season
due to injury. Humphries was
one of the most impactful players
for the Spartans her sophomore
year recording 273 kills, 19
service aces and 108 total blocks,
second on the team.
Humphries’s impact on the
program is so important that she
was named a captain alongside
Lysacek and Orewiler.
Also returning for the Spartans
is sophomore Vicky Harley
who started 25 matches in her
freshman campaign. Harley
recorded 101 kills a season ago
and combined for 75 total blocks,
second on the team. Kelsey
Sidney and Emily McMurtey,
both sophomores, are the final
two returning players from last
year’s team. Sidney recorded 95
kills and 46 total blocks while
McMurtey dished out 218 assists
and 115 digs.
In addition to the returning
core, the Spartans have welcomed
in three new players. Lauren
Betlach, Katherine Santiago and
SMU transfer Julia Westerbur
will all try and help the Spartans
improve on last year’s record.
A challenging schedule awaits
the Spartans who will compete in
three early season tournaments
before heading into conference
play, although they will not be
forced to leave the state of North
Carolina until October.
First the Spartans travel to
Durham to participate in the
NCCU Invitational where they
will take on the Host Eagles,
Liberty, and Hampton, before
a short trip to High Point
University. UNCG will open
home play by hosting the UNCG/
NC A&T Invitational with North
Carolina A&T, UNC Asheville
and American University
coming to Fleming Gymnasium.
UNCG will also host the
Spartan Spiketacular with
UNCW, Youngstown State and
Morehead State in attendance.
Sandwiched between the two
home tournaments the Spartans
will host Ohio in Fleming
Gymnasium on Sept. 13.
UNCG opens Southern
Conference play at Elon on Sept.
20 and host The Citadel on Sept.
22 for the conference home
opener. The Spartans will play
home and homes with SoCon
North favorites Samford and
Appalachian State, along with
Chattanooga, Western Carolina
and Elon. UNCG will also host
South Carolina State, Furman
and Wofford throughout the
year.
August 2010 was the first
time allegations surfaced about
academic violations by UNC-Chapel
Hill football players
and various people in the Afro
and African American Studies
department. Since then, new
details have surfaced which
resulted in the firing of Butch
Davis, shortly after allegations
were made, as well as sanctions
from the NCAA last May which
ban the Tar Heels football team
from postseason play. Five
football scholarships per year for
the next three seasons were also
eliminated.
In May, UNC conducted a
probe on their 54 Afro and
African American Studies
classes, where they found the
classes were either conducted in
an unusual manner or irregularly
taught between the summer of
2007 and the summer of 2011.
The probe also discovered
academic violations including
unauthorized grade changes,
forged faculty signatures on
grade rolls, and limited or
Joseph Abraham
Staff Writer
no class time. In addition to
those findings, the probe also
discovered that in the classes of
interest, more than fifty percent
of the students in each class were
athletes. The Raleigh News &
Observer reported that one class
was almost entirely made up by
athletes, filling 18 of the 19 seats.
After the NCAA gave the
punishments to UNC last May,
the investigation was put back
in the hands of UNC since this
scandal showed corruption in
academics as well. UNC put
the blame on two main faculty
members in the Afro and
American Studies department:
Julius Nyang’oro, longtime
chairman of the department
who was forced to retire, and
Deborah Crowder, the longtime
department manager who
retired in 2009.
While UNC has found a lot of
evidence to support violations
occured between 2007 and 2011,
some new information may
prove otherwise. Last weekend,
NC State message boards
uncovered a partial transcript of
former UNC football player and
current NFL star Julius Peppers.
Peppers often had low grades,
but his class choices reflected
those of athletes involved in
the scandal. There is still a lot
to be learned about Peppers
transcript, but it raises questions
as to how long this scandal went
on for, since Peppers went to the
NFL in 2002.
This scandal at UNC once
again raises the question about
the relationships between
academics and athletics at big
name universities like UNC-Chapel
Hill. The implication is
that athletes in the scandal were
practically given their grades in
some classes, while non-athletes
had to work hard to get theirs.
These violations, if the Julius
Peppers transcript deem them
to be accurate, could potentially
have gone on for a decade or
longer, which makes one wonder
if other athletically competitive
universities have the same kind
of program set up for their
athletes as well.
“We’ve got so much to be proud
of at Carolina,” UNC Chancellor
Holden Thorp told ESPN.com on
Thursday, which is true because
UNC-Chapel Hill happens to
be a great institute for learning.
It is also a prime example of
how athletes are given a special
advantage over non-athletes.
For the non-athlete, the criteria
to get into a school like Chapel
Hill are to have a solid SAT score
and a GPA near a 3.5 or higher.
While Carolina pointed the
blame at the Afro and American
Studies program, it also has
to point some of the blame at
the institution itself, as well as
admissions. If these athletes had
low grades in college, what are
the chances most of these athletes
had a good enough GPA in high
school to meet the requirements
for admission to UNC-Chapel?
There are many athletes who
thrive academically and deserve
whatever scholarships they
receive. However, it seems
many athletes do not fit in
that category, which can be
frustrating for the kids who
have excellent grades and work
hard academically, yet do not
receive much scholarship help.
The fact that many athletically
competitive institutions are
becoming more like a business
needs to change.
New allegations include altered Peppers transcript, irregular department
The Carolinian’s new
website, UNCGcarolinian.
com, launched last week. The
website’s launching marks
a new era in how the sports
department covers UNCG
sports. Content exclusive to
the website will supplement
the weekly printed edition,
allowing us to cover stories
and events as they happen
while also shining the spotlight
on sports that normally do
not run a high word count.
Here is a rundown of this
week’s online content:
Sarah Sargent Named
Women’s Golf Coach
Everick Davis profiles
former Furman and Coastal
Carolina head coach Sarah
Sargent, who was recently
named as the UNCG
women’s golf head coach.
Janelle Breneman Brings
Experience, Optimism to
Softball
Joseph Abraham and
The Carolinian caught up
with newly hired softball
coach Janelle Breneman to
talk about her vision for the
softball program.
UNCG Helps Build Identity
with Link Jarrett Hire
Incoming baseball head
coach Link Jarrett spoke
with Ian Foster about his
expectations for the baseball
program and the difficulty
in replacing longtime coach
Mike Gaski.
Women’s Soccer Surprises
#8 North Carolina in Stormy
Exhibition
Freshman goalkeeper Jamie
Simmons established herself
as a budding star in UNCG’s
shocking, if shortened, 1-0
preseason win over storied
North Carolina
Editor’s Welcome to The
Carolinian Sports Readers
The Sports Editor outlines
his ambitious plans for
the online sports sections,
including fun new features,
podcasts in which writers
discuss their previous week’s
pieces, and video tape
sessions with UNCG coaches.
This week’s stories can also
be found online today, where
you can discuss the latest
UNCG games, join Hannah
and Ian’s argument, and
more.
Finally, did a column from
last year strike out? You can
find it in the “Best Pre-Website
Articles” section located at
the bottom of the sports page.
Find all this and more at
UNCGcarolinian.com/sports.
This
week’s
online-only
content
Arguing with the Editor
In this debut edition, Hannah Nystrom and Ian Foster debate which Olympic
soccer team suffered the greatest embarrassment.
Spain won Euro 2008. Then,
half of Spain’s starting eleven
led Barcelona to a Champions
League title in 2009.
Following that, Spain snagged
World Cup 2010. Barcelona won
again in 2011. Then Spain won
Euro 2012.
Maybe through all this
success, Spain should be a little
embarrassed that they crashed
out of the Olympics after two
losses to Japan and Honduras.
They definitely should not
have lost to Honduras.
However, Spain has nothing
to prove. In the last four plus
years, the narrative around
the Spanish has shifted from
“Can they prove themselves in
a major tournament?” to “Are
they the best of all time?”
Two losses by their U-23 team
in an international tournament
that is not even in the top five of
importance will not change that
narrative.
If a semifinal loss to the
United States in the semis of
the 2009 Confederations Cup
failed to derail that, neither will
measly Olympic losses.
On the other hand, the
United States is on the precipice
of becoming internationally
respectable in the hands of
German manager Jurgen
Klinsmann.
Along with bringing a more
possession oriented style that is
necessary to succeed in today’s
game, Klinsmann also brought
with him a new perspective on
how to structure the American
youth soccer program.
The reorganization, assisted
by former American captain
Claudio Reyna, was not without
controversy. The new system
favors year-long academies,
such as the renowned Ajax-influenced
DC United academy,
over high school and college
soccer. While the top quality
youth soccer is already being
played outside of high schools,
Hannah Nystrom
Staff Writer
Ian Foster
Sports Editor
The Carolinian |Sports August 21 - 27, 2012 | 15
those elite players still take
the field for their respective
institutions. That era is coming
to an abrupt end.
For America, soccer is a non-traditional
sport in a country
that expects to dominate
everything. We expect to
dominate everything because
we develop the best athletes.
We produce the best athletes
in baseball, basketball, and
football because they grow
up in high school and college.
Or at least, that is always how
their development has always
progressed. Discarding that
notion, like Klinsmann hopes
to do, is dangerous if it does not
produce immediate results.
The fact that training year-round
has the greatest potential
to develop world-class soccer
players is not important.
Notable evidence of this in
popular sports like hockey
(where Canada’s juniors start
playing meaningful, NHL-like
seasons at the age of 16) and
basketball (where year-long
AAU programs are overtaking
high school in prestige) is also
not important. Results are all
that matter when changes this
drastic are made.
The Olympics were supposed
to be Klinsmann’s and Reyna’s
vindication for drastically
overhauling youth soccer in this
country.
Likewise, the Games had
potential to be the first test in a
somewhat major international
tournament of Klinsmann’s
system. USA did not even
qualify.
Spain at least qualified;
something that in itself is no
small feat. Europe is given three
Olympic qualifying slots, ten
short of what they are given
for the World Cup, for a 53-
team confederation. World
superpowers like Germany,
Italy, and France failed to
qualify from Europe.
On the other hand, the United
States needed to beat two teams:
El Salvador and Honduras.
Who should claim the title
for complete embarrassment: a
country dedicated to the beauty
and grace of the game or a nation
that calls football soccer?
After dominating in the 2012
Euros and taking it all the way
in the 2010 World Cup, Spain
was pegged as the gold medal
winner of the 2012 Summer
Olympics in London. If we reflect
on the outcomes of the Group D
matches, the results are one of
sheer disappointment and utter
embarrassment.
If we were to compare the
United States to Spain, USA’s
absence in the Olympics is far
less embarrassing than Spain’s
deficiency in the beginning
stages. In addition, Spain’s lack
luster technique and bad attitude
had them saying bye-bye to the
gold medal.
Maybe it was the overpowering
confidence in their game or
just bad luck, but Spain, the
prohibitive favorites, lost 1 to 0
against Japan as well as suffering
a similar fate against Honduras.
To top it all off, they scored not
a single goal during their final
game with Morocco. Think about
it, who would you expect to not
score at all during 270 minutes of
game time? It certainly would not
be Spain!
Spain’s star players fell short
of the talent that was bestowed
upon their feet. Even though
this is not Spain’s senior squad,
some of Spain’s U-23 players
participated and even scored for
Spain during the 2012 Euros.
Jordi Alba, defender, and Juan
Mata, midfielder, were among
those outstanding players. Jordi
Alba, who plays for FC Barcelona,
and Chelsea’s Juan Mata scored
for Spain during the Euro final
against Italy.
There is no way for these players
to escape the pressure that comes
from being associated with all
star players. The outstanding
performances usually displayed
by Spain come from their players
being associated with top teams
like Benfica, FC Barcelona,
and Atletico Madrid. These top
European leagues outshine all
MLS teams.
Spain came up short in the
attitude department as well.
During their second game in
Group D, Spain had a hissy fit
while playing against Honduras.
NBCOlympics.com spoke
with Spain’s coach, Luis Milla.
“The team was tense from the
beginning because they know
that they had to score to qualify
for the next round.”
As the game progressed,
the normally calm, cool, and
collected Spain lost it. As a result,
their path to the gold medal
became nonexistent. What really
did them in was the red card
they received right before the
half. Spain had to chase the game
from there on out. On the cusp
of elimination Spain’s aggression
increased and all of the class they
once possessed disappeared.
All of their talent in relation
to maintaining possession and
passing skillfully went down the
drain. In comparison, USA is
known for their lack of talent and
high levels of aggression when
playing spectacular teams like
Spain; however, in this instance
Spain took on USA’s persona. In
the end, their bad attitude was
disgraceful and tarnishing.
All in all, there was a plethora
of shocking moments in relation
to football (soccer) and the
Olympics, and quite honestly
the top two would be Spain’s
ungraceful elimination and
America’s lack of qualification.
When it all comes down to it,
Spain takes the cake for overall
embarrassment and disgrace.
With an easy group to defeat, a
variety of star players, the dynasty
of the senior squad, and being
known as a class act, why would
Spain not be utterly embarrassed
by their performance? Claiming
the gold would have certainly
boosted Spain’s economy and
their overall spirit. The missed
chances that Spain usually took
on with ease makes a single tear
of lost hope shed from their eyes
and an urgency to hide their
faces.
Does anyone have a tissue?
Granted, Honduras did end up
beating Spain and gave Brazil a
good fight in the quarterfinals,
but Honduras’s star players
are backing up MLS veterans.
For example, Honduras’s star
wing midfielder, Andy Najar, is
a backup midfielder on a DC
United team that features USA
Olympic starter Perry Kitchen.
El Salvador has no such “star
power.” Their best players barely
crack MLS rosters. Further,
the entire Olympic Qualifying
tournament was played in
the United States. They were
expected to do better than “3rd
in Group A.”
The problem with the
American attitude is that the
phrase, “When we qualify for
this random international
tournament, we will do that in
said tournament,” is uttered too
frequently.
Qualifying for the past six
World Cups has lulled us into
a false sense of security. There
are exactly two nations that are
allowed to think like this: Brazil
and Argentina.
The United States should
be in this group, given that
CONCACAF is given 3.5 World
Cup spots when in any given
year the region only produces
2.5 World Cup-quality sides.
Judging by the recent efforts
against Antigua & Barbuda and
Guatemala, the United States
clearly believes they can just
trot out there and qualify. That,
as we see now, will not always
be the case. El Salvador worked.
Honduras worked. They both
won. Honduras qualified.
Maybe Klinsmann, while
teaching valuable possession
skills, has taken away some
essence of the American spirit.
That, of course, is ludicrous,
but these are the kinds of things
soccer writers relay when you
play disinterested and lose to
two nations with relatively small
populations and even smaller
GDPs.
Jordi Alba scored here in the Euro Final but struggled against lesser Olympic opponents
photo courtesy siuhonglo/flickr photo courtesy nathanf/flickr
Brek Shea, FC Dallas product and hero of USA’s first ever win in Mexico, laughably missed a sitter here against Honduras in Olympic Qualifying