The Carolinian [November 14, 2012]

              News Page 2 Opinions Page 6 A&E Page 10 Features Page 14 Sports Page 20
Wednesday, November 14-20 • Volume XCIII Number 12
For love of a
nation
The Carolinian celebrates
our veterans and our 2nd
term President Photo Courtesy Beverly&Pack/Flickr
The Carolinian
Established 1919
Box N1 EUC
UNCG
Greensboro, NC, 27413
Phone: (336) 334-5752
Fax: (336) 334-3518
Editorial and Business Staff
Derrick Foust
Publisher
Publisher.Carolinian@gmail.com
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Editor-in-Chief
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News Editor
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Opinions Editor
Opinions.Carolinian@gmail.com
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Arts & Entertainment Editor
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Ian Foster
Sports Editor
Sports.Carolinian@gmail.com
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Features Editor
Features.Carolinian@gmail.com
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Advertising Manager
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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
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calling (336) 334-5752. Corrections
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issues of The Carolinian.
Mission Statement
The Carolinian is a teaching
newspaper that is organized and
produced by students of the Uni-versity
of North Carolina at Greens-boro.
It is our objective to teach
young writers journalistic skills
while emphasizing the importance
of honesty and integrity in campus
media.
News
2 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM
Decision 2012: Obama takes another four years
Aaron Bryant
Staff Writer
President Barack Obama won
a second term as President of
the United States of America
late Tuesday Nov. 6., winning
eight of the nine battleground
states. Republican nominee Mitt
Romney conceded around 1
a.m. Wednesday morning, and
the country waited to see what
President Obama will do with a
second term.
Incumbent Obama defeated
Republican nominee Mitt
Romney on election night. The
electoral results stood at 332
for President Obama and 206
for Governor Romney. Eight
states that were very close in the
polls went to Obama, including
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New
Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, Iowa
Colorado, Virginia and Nevada.
Governor Romney won North
Carolina. In his concession
speech, Governor Romney
congratulated The First Family,
saying he wishes them and the
country well. Romney said later
that he will not run for President
again.
Minorities, women, indepen-dent
voters, and young voters all
helped with Obamas re-election.
55 percent of all women voted
for Obama. Governor Romney
got only 27 percent of the His-panic
vote, the fastest growing
ethnic group in the country,
compared to Obama’s 71 per-cent.
60 percent of voters ages
18-29 voted for Obama. 56 per-cent
of Independent voters vot-ed
for Obama as well. The group
that did vote for Romney tended
to be Caucasian, received higher
income, older, and has a reli-gious
background. These quali-ties
have sparked debates among
members of the GOP. Moderate
Republicans saying they must
divorce themselves of the widely
perceived ideological right wing
tea party, while more conserva-tive
Republicans argue that Mitt
Romney was not conservative
enough.
In his victory speech,
President Obama said, “Tonight,
more than 200 years after a
former colony won the right to
determine its own destiny, the
task of perfecting our union
moves forward.” The President
also showed his appreciation
for what he called “the best
campaign team and volunteers
in the history of politics.” This is
due in large part to Obama For
America’s highly sophisticated,
data driven system resulting in
its early lead in the polls as well
as the dedication of volunteers.
Using a hybrid of social media,
emails, texts and phone calls,
the team was able to propel
the President to an electoral
landslide.
With his win, President
Obama recieved a second
chance to continue to fix the
nation’s problems, including
congressional gridlock,
enhanced political polarization,
ongoing war, and a tepid but
persistent economic recovery.
The President moved quickly
on Friday to begin negotiations
with congressional leaders on
the sequestration, automatic
expiration of the 2001 and
2003 tax cuts, and big cuts
to entitlement and military
spending. The country’s’ payroll
taxes are set to automatically go
up next year, and the debt ceiling
will need to be raised as well.
President Obama is in a
position of leverage. Top
Democrats say the President has
learned from his dealings with
Congressional Republicans,
Courtesy artdelarue_/Flickr
Supporters posted photos of the President iconically in celebration of his
reelection into the oval office.
and will use this information to
discuss a more bipartisan deal.
Obama, while on record
as saying the Fiscal Cliff and
Immigration reform will be his
priorities in 2013, is also going
to work to secure his legacy. His
most historic legislation, The
Affordable Care Act, is here to
stay, along with his Wall Street
reforms. He plans to invest in
infrastructure and clean energy,
raise taxes on those making over
one million dollars, and will
end the war in Afghanistan in
2014. He has come out against
D.O.M.A. and may have the
chance to appoint two or three
Supreme Court justices.
While 2008 was about
limitless hope, 2012 was more
about hope’s limits. The election
was seen as a historic display
of open contempt between the
two major parties in American
politics. Relentless attacks by
both sides resulted in a lower
turnout than in 2008. Now more
than ever, the President must
overcome his most difficult
obstacle; getting both parties to
work together.
News
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 3
Hurricane Sandy pulls
shades down on city
that never sleeps
Courtesy Thewanderingworld/Flickr
The Empire State Building remains the only lit structure in New York City as widespread power outages black out the island.
Stephanie Cistrunk
Staff Writer
As election season wrapped
up on Tuesday, families in
the Northeast of the country
continued to mourn the loss of
family and friends who were
killed by the grim Hurricane
Sandy.
What was once thought of as
a tropical wave or storm quickly
turned into a massive and fearful
hurricane. On Oct. 19, weather
officials reported Sandy as a
tropical wave. In six hours, it
had turned into a tropical storm
and by Oct. 24 was a hurricane,
as winds reached 74 mph in the
Caribbean. As the hurricane
gained strength over the waters,
it turned into a Category 2
storm. Hurricane Sandy tore
through the Caribbean, hitting
everything from the recovering
Haiti to Cuba. At least 64 people
were killed in the Caribbean,
with a majority of the fatalities
occurring in Haiti.
On Oct 28, government
forecasters alerted the U.S public
about the storm developing in
the Caribbean, adding that a
super storm could be heading
towards the U.S Northeast.
Government officials in states
in the path of the storm began
an immediate course of action
for evacuations. At least 15,000
airline flights were cancelled,
and over five hundred schools in
the NY and NJ districts closed.
States in the projected path of
storm included Connecticut,
Delaware, Massachusetts,
Maryland, Maine, North
Carolina, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Virginia, and
Vermont. Utility companies,
FEMA shelters, and hotels in
these states began to prepare
for Sandy, as the warnings had
predicted massive flooding,
power outages, 80 mph winds,
and large amounts of rain and
possibly sleet.
Hundreds of thousands of
Americans in states like New
York and New Jersey were told
to evacuate their homes and
head to shelters. New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie met
with local officials imploring
people to evacuate their homes
immediately. “If you’re staying
there, you’re just stupid,” Christie
said. “It’s just plain stupid to
stay. For any folks on barrier
islands right now and you still
have power, yes, I’m calling you
stupid. It’s very difficult for us to
order first responders to go in
there and try to save folks.”
On Oct. 29, around 8 p.m.,
Hurricane Sandy made landfall
in the US near Atlantic City,
NJ. Wind speeds were at 80
mph and ocean tides were over
20 percent higher than normal.
Trees and power lines were
brought down by the strong
winds as the streets began to
flood. While many decided to
stay and board up their homes,
most people decided to heed
the possible threats of the storm
and abandon their residences.
Some who could not get out in
time found themselves trapped
in by flood waters and had to be
transported in boats by rescue
teams on standby. Nearby, in
boroughs like Queens, NY,
nearly 80 homes were destroyed
in a single fire. In addition, some
people died from electrocutions
caused by stepping in standing
water where a power line had
fallen. Ocean water surged over
seawalls and poured into the
streets of Lower Manhattan,
flooding subway stations,
tunnels, parks and the electric
system, which powers Wall
Street. Florida, North Carolina,
West Virginia D.C, and those in
the New England territory also
experienced massive rain and
wind, resulting in some fatalities.
Almost 8 million Americans
were left without power for
multiple days at a time. Panic
See Sandy, page 4
News 4 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM International News Briefs
Malawi suspending
anti-gay laws for
now
Swedish Man shoots
himself inside prime
minister’s residence
Compiled By: Alaina Monts
Bahrain police
to block mosque
access
Fights broke out in Bahrain
this week as authorities tried to
prevent thousands of opposition
supporters at a mosque from
hearing a sermon.
This unrest comes after the
capital, Manama, experienced
a series of bombings earlier
this week. The government has
also decided to take away the
citizenship of 31 opposition
activists.
Amidst the commotion, a
teenage boy was hit by a car and
killed as he crossed a busy road
in the area.
Ali Abbas Radhi, a sixteen-year-
old, was detained by police
according to witnesses and his
family. He later escaped and was
hit by the car as police pursued
him. The Ministry of Interior
admitted that Radhi was killed
but never mentioned the arrest.
There has been little progress
in dialogue between the
government and the opposition
parties, and violence has been
at an all-time high in the past
couple of weeks.
The U.S. State Department
has condemned the bombings,
saying that the violence had
“claimed the lives of protestors,
of security forces, of innocent
bystanders.”
Victoria Nuland a
spokesperson for the State
Department said the violence
is undercutting the “process of
national reconciliation that we
have strongly been urging on
Bahrainis of all stripes.”
More than 100 hundred
civilians and six police officers
have been killed by the
intermittent violence since
protests began in February 2011.
Malawi has chosen to shelve
its laws against homosexuality
pending on a vote to repeal them,
according to a rights group. This
is a bold move for Malawi on the
African continent where many
countries have criminalized
such relationships.
In a statement given by
Amnesty International, the
justice minister said that while
the laws are suspended, police
cannot arrest or prosecute
any homosexuals until the
parliament votes.
The current penalty for
same-sex marraige is 14 years
imprisonment.
Malawi’s laws were brought to
international attention in 2010
after two men were arrested
for getting married. The two
were later pardoned due to the
international outcry.
“Amnesty International
welcomes Minister (Ralph)
Kasambara’s statement and
hopes it serves as the first step
toward ending discrimination
and persecution based on real
or perceived sexual orientation
and gender identity in Malawi,”
Noel Kututwa, the rights group’s
director for southern Africa, told
CNN.
Earlier this year, the President,
Joyce Banda pledged to review
the laws as a way to try and boost
relationships with international
financial donors. Critics accused
her predecessor of rebelling
against the international
community and risking foreign
aid that could benefit the poor.
Many foreign donors have
threatened to withhold aid if the
country moves forward with the
anti-gay laws.
In Sweden, a man was found
dead after an incident at Sager
House, the official residence
of the Prime Minister Fredrik
Reinfeldt. The police department
of Stockholm confirmed his
death earlier last week.
Officials do not view
the incident as a terrorist
attack. According to a police
spokesperson, the man
involved with the incident is
not connected with the Swedish
government in any way.
Police are continuing
investigations to discover the
circumstances of his death. The
victim’s family has not yet been
notified of the incident that
caused his death.
According to the UK
newspaper The Telegraph, the
victim was a security guard who
shot and killed himself inside of
the residence using his officially
issued firearm.
The guard was hired to protect
the residence. He was discovered
by a colleague after a lunch break
at about 1:11 p.m. local time.
Towe Hagg, a spokesperson
for the Stockholm police, told
reporters, “I can confirm that we
have a deceased guard. He died
inside Sager House.”
The guard’s weapon was found
next to his body.
The Prime Minister was not
present at his residence at the
time of the incident, according
to spokesperson Markus Friberg.
“I can confirm that the prime
minister was not in the building;
he was in a meeting in another
place. He and his family are fine.
Police are trying to get more
details about this incident,”
Friberg said.
sandy
from page 3
arose for those in the path of
Hurricane Sandy as they watched
loved ones become trapped in
the middle of the storm.
Staten Island native Glenda
Moore was ripped away from
her 4 year old and 2 year old sons
by a massive wall of water. A few
days later, the two boys had been
found dead in a marsh nearby.
As Sandy proceeded, people
waited with friends, family,
and even strangers, praying for
the end. On Nov. 1, the storm
finally settled, and affected
areas began to try and rebuild
their lives. In total, Hurricane
Sandy killed 185 people. “Sandy
will end up causing about $20
billion in property damage
and $10 billion to $30 billion
more in lost business, making
it one of the costliest natural
disasters on record in the United
States,” according to IHS Global
Insight, a forecasting firm. The
“Frankenstorm” is over, but the
struggle for some to restart their
lives is just beginning.
News
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 5
Weekly
Forecast
Today
H: 51°
L: 34°
Thursday
H: 55°
L: 32°
Friday
H: 56°
L: 33°
Weekend
H: 53°
L: 34°
Sunny
Monday
H: 54°
L: 35°
Mostly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Pat McCrory beats Walter Dalton in state election;
NC votes in first republican governor in 20 years
Elisabeth Wise
Staff Writer
Patrick McCrory, former
mayor of Charlotte for 14
years, won the governor’s race
Tuesday, Nov. 6, with 54.4
percent of the votes according
to incomplete and unofficial
results. McCrory’s win comes
four years after he narrowly
lost to Bev Perdue in the 2008
elections.
Walter Dalton, stepped in
as the democratic candidate
for governor after Purdue
surprisingly announced
that she was not going to
run for re-election. Dalton,
a former state senator
from Rutherfordton, was
elected lieutenant governor
in 2008, but he fell behind
McCrory soon after winning
the democratic primary.
McCrory’s campaign
outraised him 4 to 1, making
it difficult for Dalton to get
his message out.
McCrory’s victory means
he will be the first Republican
governor in North Carolina
in 20 years, the last being
Jim Martin in 1993.The
Republicans have maintained
a majority in the General
Assembly, which means
that for the first time since
the 1890s, Republicans will
control both legislative and
executive branch in North
Carolina.
McCrory will take the oath
of office in January and will
face the challenge of coming
through on the pledges
he made in his campaign.
McCrory has said he will
improve the economy and
public education without
necessarily spending more
tax money and has pushed
multiple reforms particularly
in the education, where
he wants two paths for
high school students –
one vocational and one
preparation for a college
degree. Tax reform is also a
top priority, with McCrory
promising to modernize the
state’s tax system.
On Thursday, Nov. 8 at a state
government office building
in Raleigh that will serve as
his transition headquarters,
McCrory revealed his
transition team, a group of
advisers and administrators
who will help him transition
into being North Carolina’s
chief executive. The transition
team will review policy issues,
government operations and
seek individuals from around
the state and country who
may join his administration.
The team is also likely
to help him in choosing
Cabinet secretaries in state
departments.
The team includes Raleigh
political veterans, Charlotte
allies and business leaders.
Top transition leaders
are John Lassiter, senior
chairman of transition
operations, a Charlotte
businessman, former city
council member and Thomas
Stith, transition director, who
works at a private enterprise
center at UNC-Chapel Hill
and is a former city council
member in Durham. Rep.
Ed McMahan, a Charlotte
Courtesy willamore media/Flickr
Gubernatorial election winner Pat McCrory is pictured campaigning in Charlotte.
architect, Raleigh real estate
executive Mike Smith and
retail company executive Art
Pope are other operations
co-chairmen. Senior advisers
include former Lt. Gov. Jim
Gardner, ex-House Speaker
Joe Mavretic and Jack Hawke,
a longtime GOP consultant
who worked on McCrory’s
campaign. McCrory told
reporters, “What I’ve
attempted to do on my
steering committee is get a
diverse group of people with
ideas and individuals with
varying policy philosophies”.
Other election results
include a majority Republican
seat members in the House of
Representatives with 9 to 4
Republican to Democrats.
Opinions 6 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM The election is over- a number
of our friends are either elated
or disappointed, some just
downright indifferent. Now
we have some breathing room
between the election results
and the reality of what the
next four years of an Obama
presidency will mean. Despite
people’s groans and moans,
President Obama will be our
President until Jan. 20, 2017.
Until then, what he does in
his second term will define his
legacy and impact our country
in a very profound way. Obama
has a lot of challenges ahead of
him, and not just mending his
relationship with Speaker of the
House John Boehner.
The biggest challenge is how
we get our economy back on
track. During his first term, 5.2
million new jobs were created,
which is a start, but many college
graduates are struggling to find
work or are underemployed,
which is something many of us
are worried about, including
myself this coming May. Related
to that will be our deficit.
Our deficit has grown under
Obama’s presidency and it is
starting to decrease a bit, but the
real question will be what the
Democrats do with the Bush tax
cuts. As you might have heard
during the debates, Republicans
want to preserve the entire Bush
tax cuts, including those in the
top tax brackets. Democrats
want to keep the tax cuts for
every tax bracket but the top
tax brackets, in effect raising
the taxes that the wealthiest
Americans pay. It is a mantra the
President and the Democrats
have touted since Obama’s
reelection campaign.
Whether this helps reduce
our deficit remains to be seen,
but it certainly cannot hurt.
The President will be faced with
difficult budget negotiations,
particularly how much to cut
from the budget and where to
cut from the budget. I expect
to see mandatory spending
(mostly for Social Security
and Medicare/Medicaid) to
increase, while some programs
in discretionary spending will
either get cut completely or
will take significant hits. It is
not something the President, I
imagine, feels comfortable with,
but if he truly wants to work with
Congressional Republicans, he
is going to have to make some
uncomfortable compromises.
We will see the full effects
of Obamacare under Obama’s
second term. The President’s
signature legislation is what
has defined him in his first
term, for better or for worse,
and will come to full fruition
in the next four years. Some of
the key provisions we will see in
2013 will be extra funding from
Medicare to states and increased
funding for Children’s Health
Insurance Program (CHIP.)
In 2014, the law will roll out
increased access to Medicaid
for all lower income Americans,
if your employer does not
offer health insurance, you can
buy into a program called the
Affordable Insurance Exchange,
which offers plans through
private insurance companies
that are ‘competitive’ (according
to Healthcare.gov.).
Getting out of Afghanistan
and shifting money and
resources to, as Obama calls it,
nation-building at home, will
be another key cornerstone
effort of his second term. We
can expect this to mean working
on faltering and cracking
infrastructures, schools,
veteran’s benefits, and working
to improve the economy. For a
number of Americans, we have
been in wars too long and it is
time for some fixing schools
here at home and not just in Iraq
and Afghanistan. The President
will also have to answer for
Guantanamo Bay still operating
and his use of drones during his
first term.
The President’s policies on
social issues were a strong suit
for him during his first term.
He will need to continue those
stances during his second
term. His administration is the
strongest for LGBT rights than
any another administration in
history. The repeal of DADT,
national hate crimes legislation,
and his open support for same
sex marriage that already
defined him as President
benefits his continuous support.
Obama and Congress will have
to work on a comprehensive
immigration law by 2017. This
law will need to focus on how
legal immigrants can earn an
easier path to citizenship, and
also for those here illegally, what
levels of repercussions will be in
place.
The President and his
administration have some
time before the 2014 midterm
elections, but with a Republican
controlled House from 2013-
2015, his work is not going
to be easy. For Obama, his
administration is faced with
many challenges on a number
of different fronts, and for the
country’s sake, not his party’s,
I hope we can work toward
collaborative measures that
will improve our economy, our
safety and security, and be a
nation that represents the best
of America. With politics being
politics, it is easier said than
done.
Photo Courtesy nathanf/flickr
Obama’s next four years depend on the second chance for cooperation.
With a second term comes a second chance
Samantha Korb
Staff Writer
Opinions WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 7
The GOP rumor mill has
been working overtime this
year to shame women’s bodies,
but the repercussions of these
statements may be stronger than
anticipated. It might be time to
hang up your medical degree,
gentlemen, or leave the science
and medical information to the
professionals. Before delving
into the possible effects of
these misinformed, and highly
publicized, verbal assaults on
women voters- let’s review!
Missouri Representative Todd
Akin stated that, “legitimate rape
rarely causes pregnancies.” Paul
Ryan, the GOP Vice Presidential
Candidate, thought of rape as
“another method of conception.”
Richard Mourdock, a republican
Senate candidate, felt that
pregnancies resulting from rape
were “something God intended.”
Interestingly enough,
women’s bodies do have a way
of “shutting things down.” It
might be of importance that
while women’s bodies cannot
prevent pregnancy in cases of
rape- they can refuse to vote for
a misinformed and misogynistic
candidate. Statements like
these are as old as elections
themselves, and women’s bodies
have long been a political “hot
button.” Abortion, birth control,
and basic information about
reproductive health, is always on
the table if a candidate needs a
“shocking” one-liner. Although,
what candidates do not always
seem to consider, is that women
hear these “one-liners.” Women
do not always want to be
represented by someone who
would not allow abortion, or
who trivializes rape. It would
be interesting to see how rape
were discussed by these same
candidates if their own bodies
were in danger.
None of these candidates were
elected to their desired office.
While this is noteworthy, and in
the aftermath of the election a lot
of weight has been placed on the
“woman’s vote,” it is important
to pause and consider the focus
placed on women’s minds now
that the election is over. This
transfer of interest from women’s
wombs and reproductive
anatomy to their ability to
cast a ballot is somewhat of
a phenomenon. Would this
emphasis be placed on the power
women wielded over the ballot if
Romney had been elected? Or is
it a simple solution to place the
recent results on women, to put
it plainly, “speaking up?” This
is a dangerous train of thought,
because it once again “others”
women.
Women have been the “other”
throughout this entire political
race, and while Obama’s views
on women’s health care are
beneficial, discussions of them
were not highly publicized.
Women’s health, bodies,
reproductive rights, or lack
thereof, were not a pivotal
stance for either candidate. If
women did base their votes on
these platforms, and rest assure
many considered them, they
did so out of self-interest and
self-informing. Now that the
election is over, it is the “women’s
vote” that may have turned
some tides. What is so special
about the “woman’s vote?” Is it
necessary to imply such a gender
binary to ballots, and if so, is it
fair to suggest that only women
care about women’s health?
More than anything, it is
important to consider the
amount of disrespect women
and minorities have received
as a result of this election. One
does not have to look far to
see Facebook posts, Tumblrs
dedicated to, and photos
depicting a deep sense of racism,
selfishness, and ignorance
among all generations. America,
as a whole, elected a president.
American citizens, as a whole,
chose not to re-elect candidates
who have been made noteworthy
through their violent and
misogynistic “zingers.” If the
focus is on “America,” then why
are there so many uninformed
citizens? Why are so many
pointing fingers? Why are
women and minorities just
now being brought into the
discussion? Maybe women did
turn the tide, maybe minorities
turned the tide, and maybe in
the future, all candidates will
consider these important voices
and votes.
Discussion of women needed beyond election
This past Tuesday was a piv-otal
turning point in the world
of American politics. The voter
rejected growth in the economy,
freedom from government regu-lations,
and an America with the
courage to stand up to hostile na-tions
like Iran. Instead, the elec-torate
voted for Barack Obama.
Immediately upon Obama’s
victory, the stock market
dropped by hundreds of points.
The producers in American so-ciety
– the “99 percent” that are
expected to pay for the follies
of his administration – imme-diately
began to lay off workers.
Anyone wondering if the Obama
administration would finally
become more “transparent” was
also quickly rebuked. The media
Romney’s ideology lost him the presidency
found out that Iran had attacked
a piece of American military
equipment in international wa-ters,
with the news being hidden
by our executive branch until
after the election. To top it off,
General David Petraeus resigned
as CIA director after an affair
with his biographer. This also
suspiciously happened right af-ter
Obama’s re-election.
The shock from Obama’s re-election,
and the subsequent af-termath,
has left conservatives
wondering: what do we do now?
In March of 2011 I wrote an
article endorsing Newt Gingrich
as the Republican nominee for
president of the United States. I
wrote about the myth that con-servatism
was an anti-intellec-tual
movement. “This couldn’t
be any farther from the truth,”
I argued. “Conservatism has its
roots in the French Revolution,
when traditional liberal artists
and contemporary thinkers felt
that the movement to overthrow
the ruling class was ‘moving too
fast’ – that activists were govern-ing
emotionally, rather than us-ing
reason.”
The movement that conser-vatives
opposed then is as ex-pansive
and irrational as it is
now. Many voters chose their
nominee based on characteris-tics
unrelated to the job, like his
“coolness” factor or the fact that
he hangs out with Jay-Z. Many
more voters voted in support
of their personal self-interests,
without taking into account the
needs of the country. The Ameri-can
federal government is mov-ing
too fast, and is giving as little
critical thought to items like the
federal deficit as the French gave
to Napoleon.
The modern right wing has
also got the same treatment that
early supporters of the move-ment
got. In my article, I wrote
that, “Conservatives like Ed-mund
Burke, who initially sup-ported
the Revolution, were
castigated as “elites, bent on pro-tecting
the bourgeois” when they
decided that that the movement
could no longer work.” Forget
that most Democratic politi-cians
at the national level are
millionaires. Forget that many
of America’s “millionaires” and
“billionaires” are self-made and
earned their money. If you do
not believe that the government
should transfer wealth from one
segment of the population to an-other
on a whim, you are now an
elite.
Later in that article, I support-ed
the still fledgling campaign
for Newt Gingrich as the Repub-lican
nominee. I pointed out that
Gingrich had a strong intellectu-al
background and ideas to lead
the United States into the 21st
century. To top it off, he had the
courage to stand up to the fawn-ing
liberal media.
The Republican instead chose
another “safe” moderate, and
the Obama machine made easy
work of the Romney campaign.
As the Grand Old Party moves
forward, conservatives need to
get into gear and choose a can-didate
with both the intellectual
capacity and the courage to ad-vance
the movement to a gen-eration
of voters that never saw
Ronald Reagan. Refusing to do
so will send the conservative ide-ology
to the history books.
Emily Ritter
Staff Writer
Chris McCracken
Features Editor
Opinions 8 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Following an election, there
is an all-encompassing sigh of
relief that blankets the nation.
The world slows for a day or
two while we allow eachother
to absorb the results, and newly
unemployed college interns
catch up on six months worth
of laundry and coming up with
new excuses for their poor eating
habits. Then life goes back to
normal, for the most part. Every
election, people try to convince
us that “this election is the most
important election of our life,”
and life will never go back to
normal if we do not vote for X
or Y, against Z. Nonetheless,
once the excitement from the
results has worn down, it does
in fact return to the status quo
for the most part. Then comes
2012. Although I still would not
recommend anyone bet their
lunch money on the Mayans,
this year certainly did flip the
world on its axis politically.
North Carolina voted in such
a manner that our state should
be legitimately concerned for
the next two and four years. The
good news is that virtually the
entire United States voted in the
opposite direction.
If we think about our corner
of the world, this election
has been a magnificent roller
coaster of emotions. The
battle that took place in the
Primary over the constitutional
amendment regarding
marriage, popularly known
as Amendment One, divided
our state. To the right were the
emphatically religious who
believed they were protecting, if
not their religious values or the
misconstrued notion that this
nation was founded by religious
principles, the rights of their
citizens to vote on matters with
the confidence that a court
could not simply overturn their
decision. To the left there were
those of the LGBT community
that knew it would only further
complicate their effort to one
day achieve equal rights within
their homestate, those who
sought to explain how the
language of the bill also referred
to unmarried heterosexual
couples, and those who simply
could not stand the fact that the
rights of a minority group were
being voted on as if they were a
matter of opinion to begin with.
The most difficult part of the
night when Amendment One
passed was not necessarily that
we allowed minority votes to be
voted on, and not necessarily
that the majority of those who
voted chose to uphold legal
discrimination. It was, instead,
that roughly 30 percent of
our eligible voters bothered
to show up to the polls at all,
and successfully amended our
constitution.
Fast forward to the General
Election. North Carolina
almost always swings right
for the President, left for the
Governor, and is competitive
for the General Assembly and
Council of State. However,
Governor Beverly Perdue is
the single most unpopular
Governor in the United States
of America, which advantages
the Republican candidate Pat
McCrory. The state defected
from the Solid South in 2008
and voted for Barack Obama,
making it a battleground state
that Barack Obama could
potentially win. Because
the General Assembly was
governored by a supermajority
of Republicans when the census
was taken, the new redistricted
map of our State Senate and
House districts are ridiculously
gerrymandered in a way that
favors Republicans. These
factors make it inevitable that
the 2012 General Election will
be more competitive than an
average race in North Carolina.
And then the story hits that the
North Carolina had the largest
voter registration drive in the
entire United States, and we
know that it is absolutely game
time, and both sides are playing
for keeps.
The state and national
Republican party contributed
to local municipal races, such
as the county commissioner
race in Guilford County, and
in our state judicial races.
Although youth voter turnout
was up, large counties such
as Guilford once again voted
for Barack Obama, and there
were individually more ballots
casted for Democrats than
Republicans, our state not only
cast its elecotral votes for Mitt
Romney, but for Republicans
almost completely down the
line. For the first time in nearly
a quarter century, we will have
a Republican Governor, with
a supermajority Republican
General Assembly, Republican
judges, and the ever-persistent
Elevator Queen, Cherie Berry
as Labor Commissioner. For
liberals and progressives
who were distracted by their
excitement that Barack Obama
was re-elected, I must compel
you not to cheer too loudly
- most of the most pertinent
decisions facing our state will
be decided in our General
Assembly, and they do not share
your worldview.
However, progressives and
liberals do have reasons to
cheer, and there are much better
reasons to argue that the 2012
Election was unlike any election,
and will possibly change the rest
of our lives. Forty percent of
the nation is now represented
by women. Further, candidates
like Todd Akin will no longer
be on the Science Committee,
sharing their genius hypotheses
about the human reproduction
cycle in a far away land that
does not actually exist, because
they were replaced by women.
Marijuana, a drug behind a
majority of the non-violent
arrests that have taken place
since our nation declared
a “war on drugs,” has been
legalized (or at the very least,
decriminalized) in Colorado
and Washington state. Maine,
Maryland, and Washington
broke a 32-state streak by voting
to legalize marriage equality
and extend the rights to define
legal partnership as marriage
to the LGBT community.
Further, Minnesota successfully
defeated their own version
of Amendment One. Ted
Martin, the Executive director
of Equality Pennsylvania, has
expressed that the fundamental
success for marriage equality
around the nation will take
root in these specific victories.
Equality Pennsylvania endorsed
five candidates who vocally
supported gay marriage in
statewide races, and all five
candidates won their races.
That kind of achievement will
make it more difficult for other
candidates to say, “I have to
support you quietly, because
otherwise I will lose”.
In Wisconsin, Tammy
Baldwin was elected as the
first openly gay senator. It is
absolutely vital that we continue
A woman’s place is in the senate
Emily Brown
Staff Writer
“I still would
not recommend
anyone bet their
lunch money on
the Mayans. “
to iterate she is merely the first
to be open about her sexuality,
and not necessarily the first
homosexual senator. In Barack
Obama’s home state of Hawaii
(and not only to remind you
that it is in fact his home
state), a Buddhist senator and
a Hindu representative became
the first of either faith group
to be elected to Congress.
Buddhism is not a religion,
but is a spiritual outlook and
included in discourse regarding
faith, so both mark progress for
those interested in the nation
representing more than simply
the Christian spectrum.
So for those disheartened or
concerned for North Carolina,
as I found myself in the days
immediately following the
election, take comfort in the
fact that the nation as a whole
moved to the left (or forward, if
we want to be topical.) Redrawn
districts can only combat a
changing philosophy for so
long, just as discrimination
can only combat the courts for
so long and voter suppression
can only combat a change in
demographics for so long.
America is becoming more
colorful, more female-driven,
less fundamentally Christian
and less straight. The way to
handle that is not to suppress,
discourage, or fraudantly cast
votes. The way to combat that
is not to convince well-meaning
human beings to vote against
their best interest. The only
genuine way to handle the
way that America is changing
is to embrace it, take part in
it, and build up a generation
that you would be proud to
belong to. The 2012 election
was different from any election
in American history, and as a
North Carolinian it hurt, but
as an American I enjoyed every
second of it.
Opinions
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 9
While Mitt Romney may
have lost the 2012 Presidential
Election, there are many
candidates who won, and only
one of them is named Obama.
The others are the Republicans
who have been running in the
2016 shadow primary, quietly
preparing their resumes for a
presidential run and waiting to
see if Romney would (hopefully)
lose. Now that Obama has been
named best in show for the next
four years, another horse race
begins.
The Republican Party’s casting
call is shrouded in historical
and philosophical significance.
Ever since George Bush left
the White House, his battered
party has drifted aimlessly on
the political sea. Leaderless
and without vision, the GOP
decided to regale its most
extremist members with talk
of Birtherism, legitimate rape,
and economics severed from
arithmetic rather than offer
sound policy critiques.
In addition to lacking a leader
and vision since the days of
W, the Republicans are finally
seeing the demographic changes
that they have been warned
about for decades. Obama was
reelected thanks to his support
among Hispanics, women, and
young people, three groups
which will likely see their
numbers grow in the coming
decades. If the party declines
to appeal to these voters, they
will cease to exist as a national
party. The 2012 contests are
proof of this. The GOP had ten
seats up in the Senate versus the
Democrats thirty-three. Still,
the Republicans managed to lose
two seats by nominating Todd
Akin and Richard Murdock,
both of whom were stridently
anti-abortion, in Missouri
and Indiana respectively. Each
candidate made comments
about women’s bodies and
abortion that were out of step
with the voters of these states,
possibly costing their party the
majority in the United States
Senate.
Governor Romney ran to
the right of 2008 Republican
presidential nominee John
McCain on immigration issues
and suffered the consequences
when the votes were tallied.
Hispanics now make up ten
percent of the 2012 electorate
and Obama carried them with
71 to 29 percent, a four percent
increase from his showing in
2008. Fox News Analyst Juan
Williams pointed that had
Romney won just thirty-five
percent of the Hispanic vote, he
would have won the election.
The Hispanic population is now
the single most important swing
category in national politics
and if the Republicans want
to continue on as a national
party, they must temper their
immigration rhetoric and policy
stances.
Another important voting
bloc were young voters. Many
pundits predicted that the surge
in voting by those between the
age of eighteen and thirty was a
hope and change fluke. The data
is telling a different story. Young
voters turned out in numbers
similar to 2008. These voters
tend to be more socially liberal,
although many of them consider
themselves fiscally conservative.
They were likely strong
supporters of the marijuana
legalization referendums
that passed in Colorado and
Washington State as well as
the measures that legalized
gay marriage in Maryland,
Minnesota, Washington State,
and Maine. Republicans need
to do better among these voters
as well and their best hope is
by nominating candidates who
share this generation’s social
values.
While the task to rebuild the
GOP is daunting, it must be done
for the sake of the two-party
system. Luckily, there is a long
list of handymen and women
ready to get to work. These
potential party leaders vary in
age, gender, and occupation
but all share a love of party and
country. The most obvious name
to mention is 2012 Republican
Vice Presidential nominee
and House Budget Committee
Chairman Paul Ryan. The forty-two
year old was reelected to his
Wisconsin seat with less support
than in previous contests but he
will likely remain an important
figure in any Republican
resurgence.
The second name that comes
to mind is New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie. Elected in 2009
to be the red governor of a very
blue state, Governor Christie
has a personality to match his
expansive waistline. Known for
tough talk and jokes at others
expense, Christie has received
high marks as governor for
his efforts to reform state
government, lower the state’s
notoriously high property taxes,
and for bringing the Garden
State GOP back from the
grave. He was talked about as a
presidential or vice presidential
candidate in 2012 and delivered
the keynote address at the
party’s convention in Tampa. In
the wake of Hurricane Sandy, he
put aside partisan politics and
offered praise for the president’s
leadership. He is expected to
face a stiff reelection challenge
against Newark Mayor and
friend Cory Booker in 2013,
but if reelected, the GOP may
see him as a leader who can talk
tough while offering bipartisan
results.
The Party has many
potential presidents fighting
the Democratic agenda on
the frontline in Washington.
The leading possibility is
Florida Senator Marco Rubio
who has been praised for his
Obamaesque oratory skills, his
conservative principles, as well
as his desire to see his party’s
reach out to more Latinos.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky
is one of the greatest Tea Party
success stories. Armed with
fiscal conservative credentials
and the youth supporters of his
father, Texas Congressman Ron
Paul, Senator Paul could make a
real case for small government
conservatism as the path to
victory in the future.
The Party’s renaissance could
also come from the states
where there is no lack of talent.
Governor Susana Martinez of
the swing state New Mexico
is the first Latina governor in
the country. Bobby Jindal of
Louisiana has had numerous
federal and state offices and is
noted as being one of the nation’s
leading Indian American
politicians. Bob McDonnell
of Virginia, Scott Walker of
Wisconsin, and Governor-elect
Pat McCrory of North Carolina
have been named as well. While
Obama may have won 2012,
2016 is just beginning and the
race is anything but decided. If
Republicans nominate the right
leader with an articulate vision,
the party could be on the cusp
of one of greatest comebacks in
American political history.
Photo Courtesy BOB JAGENDORF/FLICKR
Is Chris Christie a contender?
The fight for the Republicans, 2016
Joseph Winberry
Staff Writer
A&E 10 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Often times when someone
knows a limited amount of
information about something,
misconceptions are created.
It is inevitable. Such a topic
that carries a vast amount of
misconceptions is the continent
of Africa. Media masses often
tend to communicate to the
world most of Africa’s conflicts
and portray an image that does
not characterize the continent
and its countries accurately. On
Nov. 10, the African Student
Union (ASU) of UNCG broke
through Africa’s stereotypes and
showed the EUC auditorium
the rich cultures of their
countries, the happiness and joy
they carry, and the progress and
advancement of Africa today.
Ajaratu Cole and Kelvin
Okons, the hosts of the night,
lead the audience through a
number of performances and
videos that failed to escape
anyone’s attention. The night
began with a video to set the
atmosphere of the room. A clip
from Disney’s “The Lion King”
reminded the audience of how
they should feel that night, with
“Hakuna Matata” or no worries
as the message. This theme was
exactly what the members of the
ASU emphasized.
Tafadzwa Gumede spoke
before the performances started.
“I am Africa, not the Africa you
have in your mind. Let me tell
you about the Africa that I am.”
With these words, ASU students
took the crowd through a
variety of characteristics of
their continent. Skits, songs
and dances put attendees on
their feet and took many back
to their homeland. A fashion
show took place with beautiful
models wearing traditional
clothing. Stunning patterns and
colors glowed with them as they
made their way through the
stage. Males also participated in
showing the beautiful simplicity
and liveliness of African
clothing.
After an intermission
with food and refreshments,
student Taiyanna Yates sang
lyrics of Bob Marley. His song
“Redemption Song” echoed
through the auditorium,
touching the crowd. The song
invites listeners to “emancipate
yourself from mental slavery”
because “none but ourselves
can free our minds,” lines that
Marley took from a speech
given by Marcus Garvey in
1937. Garvey was a Jamaican
political leader and advocate
of Pan-Africanism movements,
a promotion of Africa and its
unity. Garvey’s goal parallels to
that of the students of ASU.
As the night went on, the
audience witnessed a more
modern Africa. Contemporary
dances took place with quick
steps and abrupt movements
that created excitement and
wonder throughout the room.
Two students from Zimbabwe
even had a chance to rap a song
called “Weekend,” showing
the modernization of African
music. As the crowd settled
down, a video segment by Olga
Mabolia, ASU’s president, called
“African Progress” was shown.
This video projected Africa’s
advancement in an accurate
and efficient way. Images of
Africa that the Western world
is usually familiar with were
shown, pictures of natives
dressed in vivid clothing with
faces painted and engaged in
traditional dances. However,
following each of these images,
photographs of important
modern and advanced cities
were displayed. This gave the
audience a chance to see all
that entails the richness of the
continent of Africa.
War, poverty and disease
are not what define Africa.
Instead, advancements and
contributions in technology,
medicine, and world economy
are attributions of the continent
to the world. The beauty of its
people and the tenderness of its
customs are often overlooked
but they play the biggest role
in the continent’s history. It
only took the ASU students of
UNCG a little over two hours
to be able to knock down
stereotypes society has placed
on their homeland, being an
inspiration to all that there
is a definite future ahead for
humanity.
ASU Presents: African Night
Maria Perdomo
Special to The Carolinian
photos courtesy of maria perdomo/the carolinian
“I am Africa, not the Africa you have in your mind. Let me tell you about the Africa I am”- Tafadzwa Gumede
A&E
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 11
With Christmas around
the corner, the spirit of giving
certainly sets a fire in us to
help those less fortunate in our
community. Lucky for us, we do
not have to wait until Christmas
to do some good. The Interactive
Research Center of Greensboro
is working in conjunction with
UNCG to collect art supplies for
the homeless in our community.
This ongoing project will provide
various materials for those in
need to create their personal
works of art to sell.
The Interactive Research
Center is the only homeless day
center in Greensboro. Being a
“day center,” as opposed to a
night shelter, means that the
homeless and disabled are not
housed there. Instead, they
go there for medical services,
employment help, mental
and health services, housing
assistance, and help with finding
night shelters. “What we try to
do here is make sure we meet
them where they are,” said Jenny
Hudson, Office Manager/Guest
Services of the center.
The IRC officially started in
December 2009 on the third
floor of East Bessemer United
Methodist Church’s educational
building. On May 25, 2010, the
facilities moved to its permanent
location at 407 E. Washington
Street. This move went from
serving 60 people a day to over
200 people a day, five days a
week. Such an increase also
made the IRC change their
original laundry and shower
services only to the multi-service
centered community it is today.
There are nine people on staff
at the center. With the exception
of the executive director, all the
staff members are homeless or
have experienced homelessness,
addiction, and demons in their
lives. The rest of the services
provided by the IRC rely heavily
on volunteers. “We’ve received
a huge amount of support from
UNCG,” raved Hudson, “Since
2010, they have been a huge
blessing for the IRC.”
Recently, UNCG participated
in the arts supply drive for the
IRC. “Art has become a huge
thing here. They are always in
need of more arts supplies,”
said UNCG professor Kathleen
Edwards. The center accepts all
kinds of arts supplies—from
pencils and poster boards, to
rulers and tape, to frames and
paint brushes. “There is such a
strong need for supplies for our
people here. The money they
make from their artwork go to
benefit them in the long-run and
could eventually help them find
a job,” Hudson remarked. “Each
painting is so unique. So many
folks who come into the IRC
have artistic talents. Drawing and
painting is a great stress reliever,
so it can be beneficial for them
not only by raising funds, but by
letting them therapeutically let
everything out on paper.”
With the
cumulative
amount of
people with
great artistic
talent going
to the IRC
for help,
there is an
enlarged need
for art
supplies.
Anyone who is interested in
donating items or volunteer at
the IRC may contact Kathleen
Edwards on campus. Those
interested can also directly
contact the IRC at (336) 332-
0824. The center is open from
Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3
p.m. Artistic works from any of
the artists can be purchased as
well.Th
e IRC is looking forward
to a great holiday season. They
are looking for volunteers
and donations for their family
Christmas party. The center will
host 200 families who are in
need. Out of those 200 families,
120 children are in need this
Christmas. Toys, clothes, and
food are being accepted now.
To donate items or to volunteer,
please contact Teresa Hicks
of the housing department
of the IRC at (336) 544-5424
or teresa@gsodaycenter.org.
More information can be
found at their website http://
gsodaycenter.org.
Megan Christy
Staff Writer
Tis The Season To Give Back ...Through Art
megan christy/the carolinian
Artistic works from any artist can be purchased as well.
A&E 1312 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM James Bond’s 23rd excursion
opens just as the last 22 have.
A breathless, death-defying
chase across Istanbul serves as
the prologue, wherein, in usual
Bond fashion, a high-octane
action scene sets the mood
for the rest of the film. Yet,
this is not your standard Bond
film. Director Sam Mendes
and screenwriters John Logan,
Neal Purvis, and Robert Wade
take a page from Christopher
Nolan’s Batman films and decide
to tear their hero down (and
subsequently the franchise).
They do this in order to examine
if a dated, old-school super spy
like James Bond can exist in this
day-and-age’s superheroes and
action films that take themselves
incredibly seriously.
This entry in the iconic
franchise is dark, self-reflexive,
and more emotionally impactful
than any previous entry in the
long running series. That is not
to say it is the best, though a case
could certainly be made, but it is
the most daring. Mendes opens
the film by cleverly including one
of the franchises iconic moments
(Bond stepping into frame, gun
drawn, staring straight at the
camera) in the narrative. It is a
clever subversion of the brand
identifying opening shot, and
this exploration and subsequent
tearing down of the tropes and
themes of the franchise can be
seen throughout.
In that vain, the prologue plays
out like no other 007 opening
ever: Bond is gunned down by
friendly fire, and presumed dead.
Then the credit sequence comes on,
which is a whirling, kaleidoscopic
vision of gravestones, death, and
feminine figures, all set to Adele’s
powerful theme. These sequences
clearly set the tone for the solemn
and sometimes deeply moving film
that follows. Also noteworthy is
cinematographer Roger Deakins,
whose dark, neon lit action scene in
a Shanghai high-rise delivers one of
the best set-pieces of the year.
The film’s plot is fairly simple,
but it packs quite the punch. Bond’s
mission is to keep a computer drive
that has a list of British agents from
being used against them. When M
(Judi Dench) is personally targeted
by the villain, Bond must fight for
not only the safety of his country
but the legitimacy of MI6. This is
a plot rife with opportunities for
self-examination, not only
for Bond, but also for the
franchise itself, and Mendes
takes every chance presented
to do just that.
The villain here, Silva, played
with appropriate amounts of
menace and self-parody by
Javier Bardem, represents this
new kind of action film that
“Skyfall” is rebelling against.
He is sadistic, bombastic,
and revels in chaos. He is
also clearly modeled after the
Joker, yet the filmmakers use
his character to probe their
ultimate question: is there still
room for an old school, light
hearted super-spy like James
Bond in this age of confusion
and constant bombast?
Never in the film is this
idea more clearly seen than
in the climatic battle. Bond
must defend his home, Skyfall,
against a litany of Silva’s high
tech weaponry. His home
stands for the old-school, thus
he has to defend the house with
homemade weapons. After
much destruction, explosions,
and the demolition of one of
Bond’s most famous toys, the
ultimate answer to the question
posed is an emphatic yes.
While the new school is busy
with their empty posturing,
and nihilistic threats, the old
school heroes will operate
within the shadows, striking
at just the right time. This may
not be your father’s Bond, but
it is not yours either. This is a
brand new take on Bond, and
it is a bold, and exciting new
direction for the franchise.
Brad Dillard
Staff Writer
Skyfall: The Latest James Bond Installment
photo courtesy of FromFranceDavid/flickr
Bond must fight for not only the safety of his country but the legitimacy of MI6
city”
MitchDeGuzman/flickr
A&E
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM No. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 1312
Skyfall: Albums are rarely as
anticipated or hyped up as
Kendrick Lamar’s debut studio
album. Lamar has been hailed
as the successor to Tupac and
Dr. Dre, the savior of the West
Coast rap game. Those are pretty
unreasonable expectations to
put on somebody, but if any
young rapper is worthy of that
praise it is K. Dot, who has been
setting the blogosphere on fire
for years, and finally reached
a wider audience with his
remarkable 2011 independent
album “Section.80.”
With “good kid, m.A.A.d city”
Lamar must immediately be
recognized as one of the most
talented rappers currently
working. And, though it is too
early to tell if his album will be
immortalized as one of the great
rap albums of all time, it is fair
to say that Lamar has crafted the
best rap album of the past few
years. Kendrick Lamar is apart
of the Black Hippy crew (notable
members include Schoolboy Q
and Ab Soul, whose respective
2012 albums are also some of
the best hip-hop of the year).
Respectively, he is known for
his storytelling abilities, and
dynamic word play. Both are
on display on this album, which
serves as the most successful
concept album since Kanye
West’s 2010 album “My Beautiful
Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
The concept here, as the
subtitle of the album “A Short
Film by Kendrick Lamar” points
to, is an autobiographical look
into Lamar’s journey through
Compton, his hometown. The
album opens with a 17-year-old
Lamar, driving his mother’s
van to see a girl named Sherane.
The lyrics here are bombastic,
egotistical, and sex-obsessed,
mirroring the thought structure
of a 17-year-old boy. Lamar raps,
“It’s deep-rooted, the music of
being young and dumb,” before
being interrupted by the first of
several voice-mail recordings
that appear throughout the
album. These are not merely
skits, as they serve to reinforce
the power of family, love and
faith that helped Lamar stay
away from the rampant gang
violence in his hometown.
This album also provides basic
rap thrills, as tracks like “Backseat
Freestyle” showcase Lamar’s
unique rapping technique (in
this case two or three different
styles), while delivering a
pulverizing beat (Hit-Boy strikes
again). The reason this track is so
effective when heard within the
structure of the album is because
it ties into the narrative Lamar
is constructing. As the track’s
title suggests, the song marks
the moment when Kendrick
began rapping, free styling with
his friends in the backseat of his
mom’s van. The words reflect
this, as all of Lamar’s lyrics are
braggadocio-laced rhymes: “All
my life I want money and power/
Respect my mind or die from
lead shower”
From there the album traces
Lamar’s maturation (the mid-point
of the album, the track
“m.A.A.d city,” is a tour-de-force),
until he reaches where
he is now. On the track “Real,”
Lamar comes to his realization:
“None of that (expletive) make
me real.” Lamar is referring to
the money, power, and respect
that he was so desperately
searching for earlier in the
album. Lamar’s father, in a voice-mail,
hammers home this point;
“Any (expletive) can kill a man.
That don’t make you a real
(expletive). Real is responsibility.
Real is taking care of your
(expletive) family.” Lamar’s
debut is an unprecedented look
into the rapper’s inner life, and it
is this visceral, raw description
of the struggles, triumphs, and
maturation of an inner city
kid that makes this album so
powerful.
Brad Dillard
Staff Writer
Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d city”
photo courtesy of MitchDeGuzman/flickr photo courtesy of MitchDeGuzman/flickr
“Backseat Freestyle” suggests the moment when Kendrick began rapping with friends in the backseat
of his mom’s van
The album is an autobiographical look into Lamar’s journey through Compton, his hometown
Features
1514 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM The Growing Up Issue: Boy
Meets World meets tattooing
Spartan greatness: The Minerva statue
Korey Weaver
Staff Writer
With its 10th Anniversary
quickly approaching, the
Minerva statue stands strong
as a landmark on our beautiful
campus of UNCG. Minerva,
who is the Roman goddess of
wisdom and the female arts,
was chosen as our mascot by
Charles McIver at the beginning
of the school’s history in 1891
(the University was, at that time,
called the “State Normal and
Industrial School”) The school
went through several name
changes including: “The North
Carolina College of Women” (in
1919) and “The Woman’s College
of the University of North
Carolina” (in 1932). In 1963,
the College went from being a
Woman’s College to being a Co-ed
University. With this move
came two major changes: The
school changed its name (yet
again) to “The University of
North Carolina at Greensboro”
and the school changed its
mascot from Minerva to
Spartans. One would think that
with this change the legacy of
Minerva would end, however,
this was not the case. Since the
first diploma in 1893, Minerva’s
head has been on every diploma
to date. The Statue outside the
Elliott University Center has
been a constant reminder of
the schools beginnings every
day for the past ten years. Even
at the freshmen convocation at
the beginning of every year, pins
with Minerva’s head are given
out to each incoming freshmen.
All this goes to show you that
Minerva has been, and forever
will be, a large part of traditions
at this school.
The actual Statue of Minerva
was a gift from the class of
1953(who graduated ten years
before the school became co-ed).
There had been a Minerva
statue before however due to
its quality and material, the
elements took their toll on
the statue rendering it short a
forearm and a spear before it
was finally taken down. Because
the previous statue had been
announced “un-repairable”, the
class of 53’ decided to give a
cooper Minerva statue as a gift
to the University. They enlisted
James Barnhill, a student who
graduated in 1982 to sculpt
the Minerva. On the class’s
50th anniversary in 2003,
they unveiled his creation
and shortly thereafter it was
hoisted up and since then has
stood for the past nine years for
thousands of the University’s
students, faculty, staff, and
families to appreciate. Inscribed
on the pedestal of the statue
are: the several names of the
University and their respective
years, an indication that the
statue is an 50th Anniversary
gift of the class of 1953 given
in 2003, a brief description of
Minerva and James Barnhill’s
name and graduation year,
and a quote from proverbs that
reads, “…incline thine ear unto
wisdom and apply thine heart to
understanding”.
This year, as yet another
graduating class is awarded
diplomas from our University,
I encourage every graduate to
take a look at their diploma
and make a mental note of the
presence of Minerva on the
diploma. As you make this
note, remember how she has
stood there through every
sweltering day and through
every icy night. Remember
how you have seen her on the
pin you received during your
freshmen convocation and
how she is there on the website
every time you search UNCG.
Take this realization with you
as you graduate and be thankful
that you are graduating as a
Spartan man or woman and that
you had the indomitable and
persevering spirit of Minerva
to guide you through your
University experience via every
resource that the school had to
offer. For everyone else, begin to
appreciate this institution and
be glad that you will one day be
able to claim that you came from
the school with the Minerva
statue.
Minerva and her recent replacement have watched over students for a cumulation of nearly 60 years.
ALEN NOP/ THE CAROLINIAN
in
tattooing
individuals
temple
should be
On
others
canvas
way to
aspect of
young
thirty five
tattoos
and
that
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ways in
or her
greater
Features
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 1514
Boy Meets World
Charlena Wynn
Staff Writer
In the 1990s, “Boy Meets
World” chronicled the life
of a preteen and his two best
friends from middle school
until college. The series ended
in 2000 with the protagonist,
Cory Matthews (Ben Savage),
and his longtime girlfriend,
Topanga Lawrence (Danielle
Fishel) heading to New York.
Before the series end, Cory
and Topanga married. Other
characters include Cory’s
older brother Eric (Will
Friedle) and younger sister
Morgan (Lindsay Ridgeway,
beginning in 1996) and
parents Alan (William Russ)
and Amy (Betsy Randle). In
addition, Cory’s best friend
Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong),
and next door neighbor
and teacher George Feeny
(William Daniels) completed
the main cast.
Throughout the series,
Mr. Feeny, the high school
principal turned college
professor, was used as a source
of advice by all the characters.
Heartbreak, friendship, new
family dynamics: ‘Boy Meets
World’ captured them all
through the perspective of
young kid in Pittsburgh.
Being the icon of a generation,
lovers of the show can watch
old episodes on ABC Family
weekdays from 7 a.m. until
9:30 a.m.
How interesting would it
be to see what happened to
everyone? Did Cory, Topanga,
Shawn and Eric do well in
New York or did they all
come back home? Fan favorite
couple, Shawn and Angela,
did the two ever get back
together? And what happened
to Mr. Feeny after all these
years? Those of the later part
of Generation Y, may be able
to find out what happened to
their favorite characters in the
near future. Disney Channel is
in the works to create a sequel,
appropriately entitled ‘Girl
Meets World’ following the
preteen daughter of Cory and
Topanga Matthews. Matthews
daughter Riley and her trials
and triumphs through middle
school and beyond will be
covered by the show. The
couple is also said to have an
older son Elliot. Currently
the network is trying to get
Savage and Fishel to reprise
their beloved roles. In
addition, the first actress that
played Morgan Matthews, Lily
Nicksay, would love to join to
sequel’s cast.
Fans of the show, can expect
to see some similarities from
the former in that it seems
the show’s creator, Michael
Jacobs, is keeping with
much of its original formula
in hopes to create another
successful hit. So far, the
reception towards the sequel is
positive. 90s fans are excitedly
awaiting the shows debut
after Danielle Fishel’s tweet:
“Just want you guys to know
that @BenSavage and I have
talked and we’ve decided...
Thanksgiving is going to be
delicious this year!” But of
course, there is debate to call
the sequel another show that
is attempting to do a redo
like others including ‘90210’
and ‘Dallas’. Regardless of
the sentiment, casting has
begun to find Riley. One can
only hope that the sequel
continues the “Boy Meets
World” tradition of bringing
forth issues that are important
to a generation in a new and
innovative way that reaches
today’s generation while
acknowledging the kids of the
1990s.
Disney buys Lucas Films
Jonathan Waye
Features Editor
Star Wars fans, if you have not
already heard, you may want
to brace yourselves: Disney
is now the owner of George
Lucas’s “Lucasfilm” studio.
That’s right, the entertainment
mega corporation Disney is
now fully in charge of one of
the most iconic and legendary
film franchise’s to appear on
theater screens. You may want
to bust out your old light sabers
and Jedi robes and have a classic
marathon before it is too late.
Currently, the only scheduled
event is the seventh installment
in the long running series,
which is set to release in the
year 2015. Even though this is
the only planned addition thus
far for the franchise, Disney
plans to incorporate it into
nearly every media outlet. This
includes everything from movie
installments to cable television
shows, and the obvious inclusion
of the franchise in current and
future Disney theme parks. In
the USA Today article “Disney
buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion,”
Disney CEO Robert Iger was
quoted as saying “our long term
plan is to release a Star Wars
feature film every two to three
years.”
The buy includes far more
than Lucasfilm, however, as it
also includes: Light & Magic,
Skywalker Sound, and the video
game developer LucasArts. The
possibilities are endless when
concerning Disney’s ability
to market the franchise, as
it includes nearly all current
formats of popular media. Its
marketability is evident, as just
a few months ago the gaming
community was introduced to
“Star Wars: The Old Republic,”
a new Star Wars MMO-RPG
(Massively Multiplayer Online –
Role-Playing Game).
So exactly how much money
did Disney shell out for all this?
Overall, the total value of the
trade was worth a staggering
$4.1 billion. Apparently, Disney
will be paying half this price to
George Lucas in cold cash, and
the remaining half will be paid in
Disney stock. This trade actually
makes Lucas the “second largest
non-institutional” company
stock holder of the Disney
Corporation.
So, Lucas walks away with a
significant portion of Disney
and $2 billion in cash. What do
the fans of the series walk away
with? Although long standing
fans have disclosed that they feel
the franchise has been on thin
ice since Star Wars Episode I:
The Phantom Menace, the series
was a tremendous part of the
childhoods of millions,
The generation gap in
attitudes toward tattooing
Nadia Stevens
Staff Writer
As a member of the Millennial
generation (those born 1982-
2001) and a proudly tattooed
female, I can personally attest
to the fact that there are certain
psychological differences in
the ways that today’s young
people perceive themselves
and their surroundings in
comparison to generations
prior. One aspect of popular
culture in particular that seems
to represent a notable disparity
between us kids and our older
counterparts is modern body
modification. The rapid growth
that the tattooing industry has
experienced in the past two
decades can only be attributed
to an increase in the number
of people who participate in it.
Because members of younger
generations also represent a vast
majority of the members of the
body modification community,
it can be deduced that this facet
of today’s society also represents
a significant factor of separation
between the old and the young.
The way that different people
view their bodies heavily
impacts the way that they view
modifying or tattooing them in
any capacity. Of course there
is an exponentially wide and
multifarious range of ways
to perceive one’s own earthly
vessel, each of which has unique
implications; according to one
extreme, certain individuals
may see their body as a temple
whose natural state should be
preserved and protected. On
the contrary, there are others
who think of it as a blank canvas
ready to be used as a way to
express each and every aspect of
their personality. Because young
adults ages eighteen to thirty five
statistically have more tattoos
than those aged thirty six and
over, it is fair to conclude that
there is a correlation between
one’s age group, and the ways in
which one relates to his or her
own body.
Not only is there a greater
number of people who seek
See STAR WARS, page 16
See Tattoo, page 16
Features 1716 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM CAA
first,
focused
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East
Special to Features: Spot-on election
prediction from the world of sports
Ian Foster
Sports Editor
The night before the
Presidential election, Nate
Silver’s advanced statistical
model showcased on a New York
Times blog called fivethirtyeight
gave Obama a 90.9% chance of
winning, with Obama winning
8 of the 9 key battleground
states. Not surprisingly,
conservatives were quick to
discredit Silver’s methodology
along with the whole business
of bringing statistics into the
matter in the first place while
liberals staunchly defended it.
As it turned out, Silver was
exactly right, even down to
predicting that Florida would
be the most closely contested
state.
However, the notion that
Silver’s projections showcased
an aversion to math and science
in conservatives that liberals
have been screaming about for
years is disingenuous. If Silver’s
projections veered the other
way, like they did during the
2010 mid-term elections, the left
would have been left shouting
“his math sucks!” The backlash
leading up to the election,
spearheaded somewhat by
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, was
simply the punditry reacting to
an existential crisis.
First of all, the simple fact
that Nate Silver picked all 50
states correctly is not the issue.
So too did a few pundits in all
likelihood. The problem is
that Silver used actual data and
math to inform his predictions.
In fact, his predictions were
more statistical projections
than predictions. Indeed, based
on Silver’s own numbers, there
was only about a one-in-eight
chance that his projections
would be 100% accurate (based
on my calculations).
Enough data in the world
exists today that, if used
properly (that is a big if by the
way), national elections could
be projected far in advance
almost every time. This data
analysis threatens the gut
instinct of the political pundit.
However, those pundits
should not feel too bad.
People like Silver, including
Silver himself, have been
making General Managers and
analysts in baseball look bad
for about a decade. Silver is a
sabermetrician, a fancy word
for someone who tries to project
player and team performances
using advanced (read: new
and different) statistics. These
sabermetrics, the first of which
were little more than on-base
percentage and WHIP (walks
and hits per innings pitched),
were famously used by Oakland
Athletics General Manager Billy
Beane in the 2002 season to
rebuild a roster picked clean of
its stars.
In Isaac Asimov’s terrific
Foundation science fiction
series, a man named Hari
Seldon develops a branch
of mathematics called
psychohistory, in which he uses
advanced mathematical models
to predict the course of history
over millennia. At the time,
the notion seemed foolish.
But, statistically, it makes
sense. More people equals
larger sample size equals better
strength of analysis.
Sports are determined by
individual plays made by
individual players. A single poor
decision or poorly executed
play by a single player can effect
irreversible change in a match.
For example, the San Francisco
49ers thoroughly outplayed the
New York Giants in last year’s
NFC Championship Game.
However, the Giants advanced
to the Super Bowl because
Kyle Williams, the 49ers’ punt
returner, muffed two key punts,
allowing the Giants to both
force overtime and win in
overtime.
Statistics work as a good
predictor in baseball due
to constant repetition and
significantly large sample
sizes. Efforts to incorporate
sabermetrics into football and
basketball have for the most
part fell short. On the other
hand, elections give Silver the
largest sample size yet. Near
constant polls flowed out of
states like Ohio, each with
a polling sample from a few
hundred to a few thousand.
In short, if one uses the proper
tools, elections are easier to
pick than sporting events. This
might threaten the existence of
the pundit who runs on instinct
and not much else.
to have tattoo work done, but
the quantity of ink the average
person has in their skin has
risen considerably as well. In the
past, as a result of the types of
people that were known to have
them, tattoos and other types
of body modification have been
known to hold a very specific,
sometimes negative connotation.
They were generally only seen on
men who were also war veterans,
gangsters, or in National
Geographic. In each case, the
ritualistic application of ink to
skin was a way of receiving, or
initiating someone into some
form of lifelong brotherhood or
coterie. This is the image of body
modification that our parent
generation has grown up with
rather than the understanding of
it as an extension of the individual
that is simply used as a tool in
portraying and furthering one´s
personal identity that is being
cultivated to a great extent by
including my own.
I spoke with one such fan, and
he gave a rather mixed account
of his feelings after news of the
purchase:
“The optimist in me wants to
say ‘yeah, this could be good,
and they’d probably make a
really cool movie, seeing as
they’ve made a lot in the past.
At the same time, though, the
pessimist in me wants to say
‘Well…[expletive].’”
This statement makes an
important point, as it notes
that the purchase can go in
both a beneficial as well as a
negative way. As it currently
stands, Disney stands on some
very profitable ground; that
is, if they are able to manage
simultaneously garnering and
promoting to new audiences
as well as appealing to old
ones. In order for this venture
to be an unequivocal success,
Disney will have to, essentially,
keep Star Wars’ core intact; in
other words, to keep its initial
story and atmosphere alive.
Undoubtedly the animation
for the upcoming movie
releases will be stunning, as
Disney is renowned for its
stellar animation techniques,
but the necessary ingredient
for attracting old audiences
will ultimately boil down to its
content.
Only time will tell what is
in store for Star Wars fans, as
well as the Star Wars Franchise;
but, hopefully, Disney will be
able to uphold George Lucas’
legacy, and keep the series alive
in an ever expanding American
pop-culture.
the Millennials. Up until recent
history, it has been observed as
a practice of ceremonial merit
reminiscent of a masculine
coming of age custom. Although
this facet of tattoo culture does
still exist to a certain degree,
as Semper Fi tattoos and gang
insignia are still an ongoing
tradition, the negative stigma is
shrinking as the field expands
and the presence and quality
of tattoo studios and artists
continuously grows. As time
goes on, we are recognizing
tattoos more and more as an
important form of expression
that can is widely accessed by a
diverse multitude of individuals
from every demographic.
TATTOO
from page 15
star wars
from page 15
Sports
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 17
So long, SoCon: College of Charleston to CAA
Calvin Walters
Staff Writer
As basketball season begins
one of the primary focuses of the
offseason has finally faded from
the limelight.
Conference realignment.
Several teams packed up
shop and abandoned their
old conferences for what
they hope will be greener
pastures. Butler and Virginia
Commonwealth are the two
notable programs, but even the
Southern Conference felt the
rumblings. Several teams in
the conference were mentioned
as potential replacements for
teams that left the Colonial
Athletic Association. Davidson,
The College of Charleston, and
even Elon and Furman were all
rumored to possibly leave, but
in the end only one team has
followed through in the process.
In October the College of
Charleston board of trustees
approved an invitation from the
CAA to join the league, and gave
the go ahead to begin contract
negotiations.
The buyout for Charleston
will be $600,000 if they choose
to leave within two years, and
$300,00 if they wait until the
2015-16 season.
It is a move that will make
little impact in the short time,
but could change the landscape
of the conference in the long
haul. Charleston will still be
allowed to compete in the
SoCon tournament this year
as the SoCon does not have
stipulations against teams
The Cougars are expected to
make the move for next season,
meaning that the Southern
Conference will have to find a
replacement team if it wants
to continue using the two six
team divisions. The divisions
themselves may have to be
tweaked some depending on
the geographical location of
a potential new conference
member.
Why was Charleston so
anxious to escape the Southern
Conference? Well there really
were several good reasons for
the Cougars to make the jump
when given the opportunity.
Charleston has been a
perennially strong team in many
sports, specifically baseball and
basketball and has challenged
Davidson perhaps more than
any other team over the last
several years. They are hoping
that a move to the CAA and
their much larger tv contract
and higher name opponents will
help increase their performance,
or at least their bottom line.
The CAA has a much better
TV contract than the SoCon,
meaning more exposure and
more revenues. It also means a
better chance at sneaking into
the NCAA tournament as an at
large team.
Right now the SoCon is a one
bid league with only Davidson
having a legitimate shot at an
at large bid. The CAA though
has become a recognized name
throughout the country after
George Mason and VCU’s runs
to the final four. It is yet to
be seen though whether the
league can keep its multiple bid
prestige without the Rams in the
conference.
The move to the CAA also gets
the Cougars into a conference
that puts basketball first,
something the football focused
Southern Conference does not.
The good news for the SoCon
though is that Davidson decided
to stick around, and why
wouldn’t they, the Wildcats have
owned the conference over the
last several years. The departure
of the top two established
basketball programs would have
really hurt the conference.
The whole realignment
process has been a fascinating
and crazy ride for many of the
conferences and as basketball
season starts, it has been put
on the backburner. But once
Charleston officially announces
it will leave the SoCon and
the hunt for a replacement
commences, the fun will begin
again.
Mason was the leading scorer
for the UNCG Spartans with
a team high 17 points, also
grabbing 4 rebounds and getting
her hands on three steals.
UNCG’s leading rebounder was
Jarae Savage as she pulled down
a game-high 8 rebounds and
also added 10 points to the stat
line.
games on television, hurting
the league’s exposure.
Many fans cannot afford
a season pass for hockey on
pay per view, so the best way
to attract new fans is to be on
national television or networks
most people have like ESPN.
While hockey does have a deal
with NBC, only a few games are
shown each year.
After the lockout, the NHL
had to do a lot to build up their
popularity.
One of the ways the NHL
did this was to hold the annual
Winter Classic game every
January, where two teams play
an entire hockey game outside.
After having the worst lockout
in American sport’s history,
one would imagine Bettman
would not allow this to happen
again. However, he did, and half
the season has already been
The bright spot here was
easily Locke, a freshman power
forward who will have to step up
when starters David Williams
and Kelvin McNeil struggle
as they did on Friday night.
Williams got into early foul
trouble and ended up fouling
out while McNeil notched just
four points and six rebounds in
canceled including the Winter
Classic.
Bettman and the owners
are also going to war with the
players over revenue sharing, as
players used to get 57 percent,
and now they want the players
to receive 47 percent.
Bettman wants the owners
to control a majority of the
revenue, but while he fights
for what he and his employers
want, the league is losing
money. Heading down the
Charleston, SoCon member since 1998, to move all sports to more lucrative Colonial next fall
path of canceling yet another
season of NHL hockey would
be detrimental to the league’s
popularity.
Bettman has proved himself
one of the most incompetent
commissioners of all time
who puts his and the owners’
personal interests before the
good of the league.
The blow to the NHL’s
popularity will keep the league
from growing to new heights
and making it impossible for
hockey to get anywhere near the
popularity of the NBA and NFL.
It is ironic that the first
three letters of Bettman is
“bet” because right now he is
treating the future of the NHL
season like a trip to a Mohegan
Sun casino. When someone is
placing a bet, it is important for
them and the people involved to
have faith, and right now many
sports fans like myself have no
faith in the direction Bettman is
taking the NHL.
On the other side Rachelle
Coward was stat stuffing,
finishing with a game high
28 points and 8 rebounds for
Charleston Southern. The
Spartans’ defense was great as
they forced 29 turnovers overall
and gained 30 points of off them.
Charleston Southern did have
the advantage on the rebound
side as they pulled down 41
to the Spartans 35 but UNCG
did grab 12 offensive rebounds
15 minutes.
If Locke can consistently fill
in nicely, Miller should feel a lot
better about his team’s frontline
depth.
UNCG and High Point
finished relatively even on the
stat sheet, as UNCG shot 43% to
High Point’s 44% and grabbed
40 rebounds to High Point’s 41.
Turnovers made the slight
difference here; while the
Panthers only committed 13,
the Spartans and their fast pace
committed 17.
The Spartans will look to
rebound from this opening
night setback as they take
on Winston-Salem State in
the home opener Monday
night before traveling to East
Carolina on Friday night.
lockout
from page 19
asheville
from page 20
high point
from page 20
SportsSports
1918 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM
media
disagreement
themathewblack/flickr
Volleyball drops final two regular season matches
Calvin Walters
Staff Writer
Joseph Abraham
Staff Writer
The Spartans headed into
Thursday night’s contest against
Elon looking to bolster their
chances at finishing in second
place in the North division of the
Southern Conference. Instead
the Phoenix came in and pushed
the Spartans out of the way with
a 3-1 victory.
UNCG honored lone senior
Ari Lysacek before the game.
The Phoenix jumped out on
top in the first set taking an early
5-1 lead behind a trio of Spartan
errors, something that would
emerge as a common theme
throughout the match. The
Spartans fought back, closing
the gap to within one when
a Morgan Freeman kill was
followed by three straight Elon
attack errors. Elon responded
though with four of the next five
points and kept the Spartans at
bay throughout the remainder
of the set. Fittingly the sloppy
match ended on another trio of
errors, first by Elon, then two by
the Spartans to lift Elon to a 25-
20 victory.
Both teams traded points
throughout the second set with
neither team opening up more
than a two point lead until late.
With the score at 21-19, the
Phoenix secured the match with
a 4-1 run to close out the set
with a 25-20 victory. Once again
an attack error ended the set for
Elon and pushed the Spartans to
the brink heading into the break.
UNCG responded coming out
taking an early 5-2 lead behind
kills from Morgan Freeman,
Karrian Chambers, and Ari
Lysacek. Elon would respond
later with a 5-0 run to take the
lead, but three errors in a row
from the Phoenix would tie
the match again at 10. Elon
slowly built up the lead until
UNCG volleyball came into
this game already securing a
collection of wins for a trip
to the SoCon tournament.
However, UNCG racked up
their fourth straight loss in a
close matchup with the College
of Charleston Saturday night.
The score of 3-0 did not reflect
how close the game was, as each
set was lost by UNCG by only 3
or 4 points. The Spartans had to
work hard to generate offense
as they were outplayed in every
category except blocking where
they out blocked Charleston 7 to
4. Besides blocks, the Cougars
had a higher hitting percentage,
more digs and kills than UNCG.
The Cougars jumped to an
early 8-3 set lead in the first
match. However, the Spartans
had a nice run by Karrian
Chambers to tie the match at 10
all. The College of Charleston
would then jump out to a 16-12
lead, which prompted a UNCG
timeout. UNCG came out firing
after the timeout, going on an
8-4 run to tie things at 20. Like
during most of the season, the
Spartans had some trouble
closing out the set once they or
both they and their opponent
get over the 20 point mark. The
Cougars went on a 5-2 run to
Thurs
UNCG 1
Elon 	 3
Sat
UNCG 0
Charleston 3
take the first set 25-22, and jump
out to an early 1-0 lead.
The Cougars dominated the
second set, jumping out to a 3-0
advantage. Both teams scored 7
points to make the game 10-7
early. The closest this set got was
the Cougars being up by only 1
midway through the second set.
However, the Cougars would
shut down the Spartans by going
on 10-7 run, to win the second
set 25-21. This gave the Cougars
a 2-0 set lead, with them needing
only one more set to win.
While the score may say
differently, the third set was
a very competitive set as the
Spartans showed great pedigree.
The Cougars jumped to an early
10-6 lead before UNCG called a
timeout to regroup. The Spartans
would then go on a 5-1 run to
cut the Cougars lead, making
the score 11-10. The Cougars
would dominate the next part
of the set, leading 19-13. This is
where UNCG’s pedigree came
in, as they could have quit the
game there and let the Cougars
finish them, but instead fought
on. The Spartans went on a small
run lead by Senior Ari Lysacek’s
kill that cut the Cougars lead
to 20-17. While the Spartans
showed some fight, it was not
good enough to defeat the home
Cougars, who went on a 5-1 run
to win the set 25-21 to complete
the shutout.
Some may say that losing
four straight going into a
conference tournament is not
the kind of momentum a team
wants. However, the start of
this tournament means a clean
slate. If UNCG wins they keep
playing, if they lose they go
home, but that also goes for
their opponents. The fun part
about UNCG’s first game in the
tournament is that it is against
the same team who beat them
last, the College of Charleston
Cougars. While the Cougars are
ranked higher than the Spartans,
anything can happen. If the
Spartans win they can knock the
Cougars out of their last SoCon
tournament, as the Cougars are
going to the Colonial league.
The Cougars may be feeling
like they own the Spartans, but
UNCG can prove them wrong
and who knows, only three wins
equals a SoCon title.
the Phoenix looked well on
their way to the sweep with a
commanding 19-15 lead. UNCG
showed some grit though and
battled back with four straight
points, forcing an Elon timeout.
Two of those points came from
Olivia Humphries, another from
Karrian Chambers, and the
other from an Elon error.
The two teams traded points
past the 25 required to win the
set until UNCG was finally able
to end the match with a victory.
Karrian Chambers pushed the
Spartans to their seventh set
point and gave UNCG a 30-29
lead. Julia Westerbur followed
that up with a set clinching
victory and avoided the sweep
on senior night for the Spartans.
Elon could not be held at bay
though as the Phoenix jumped
on the Spartans early in the
fourth (and final) set and never
trailed. Elon used an 8-2 run
midway through the set to turn
what was a 9-6 lead into a 17-9
deficit for the Spartans. UNCG
fought back closing to within
two points at 20-18 but could
not pull of the comeback and
extend the match as Elon closed
out the set with a 5-2 run and an
attack error by the Spartans gave
Elon the victory.
Karrian Chambers led the
Spartans with 21 kills, while
Olivia Humphries supplied
15 and Morgan Freeman
contributed 11 of her own.
Senior Ari Lysacek finished up
her final home game at Fleming
with 48 assists, 3 kills and 13
digs.
under the Matt Ryan era. This
is the same team that scored only
two points last year against the
eventual Super Bowl champion
New York Giants. Look, this
isn’t a testament to Ryan’s play.
Even with a career high 411
yards passing, the Falcons lost
to the Saints this week. Rather,
I’m just bringing up the Falcons
and the way they historically
underperform during games
that matter.
In their defense, the Falcons
have playmakers all over the
field. With wide receiver tandem
Julio Jones and Roddy White and
with Hall of Fame bound tight
end Tony Gonzalez, pro bowl
caliber Matt Ryan has plenty of
weapons to throw to and score
points with. Although Michael
Turner is aging, he has still been
able to produce, though not as
well as he has usually played.
The defense has played the pass
well, though they are 25th in the
league in opponents rushing
yards per game.
Even though the Falcons have
the best record in the league,
they are not the best team in
football. It’s going to take more
than barely beating losing teams
to show me they can compete in
the playoffs. I’m not saying they
can’t, just saying they have to
show me.
Phoenix spoil Senior Night Charleston routs UNCG in SoCon tourney preview
Falcons
from page 19
Sports
WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM Nov. 14-20, 2012 T h e C a r o l i n i a n 19
Gary Bettman, the worst commissioner in sports
Falcons not flying high in the national media
Jose Torres
Staff Writer
Joseph Abraham
Staff Writer
Every commissioner has to
deal with labor agreements
expiring, and the good ones
handle the situation in the
sport’s offseason. In the worst
case scenario, commissioners
try to work hard to minimize
the number of games lost if an
agreement is not reached by the
time the season starts.
NHL commissioner Gary
Bettman has been the example of
what not to do as commissioner.
Since 1993, Bettman had three
lockouts and no success getting
the players and owners to come
to any sort of deal.
Bettman’s first lockout
occurred before the 1994-95
season. The main issue was the
implementation of a salary cap.
Half way through the year, the
owners and Bettman caved in to
reach a deal.
At the end of the labor dispute,
none of the owners’ demands
were met. This resulted in the
NHL season lasting 48 games
The word disrespect has
gotten tossed around when
describing the one loss Atlanta
Falcons. After starting the
season 8-0, many players such
as Tony Gonzalez questioned
the lack of media attention the
Falcons were getting on big
networks such as ESPN. “It’s
the national media making a big
deal about us like they would
if it was Philly, Green Bay, or
New England? No, they’re not,”
Gonzalez told Jim Corbett of
USA Today. “We played Philly
instead of 84 that year.
After the 1994-95 season
ended, the NHL faced ten years
of peace until the worst lockout
situation in American sports
history. In 2004, Bettman and
the owners once again locked
out the players. The main area of
disagreement between the two
sides was the growth in player
salaries.
The owners and Bettman
argued that player salaries grew
faster than the revenue growth
of the league. Bettman claimed
that the disconnect between
the growth of the league and
player salaries cost the NHL up
to $300 million. Bettman and
the owners’ desire for a salary
cap to try and solve this problem
led them to not back down this
time.
The result was the cancellation
of the entire 2004 NHL season.
This is significant because it was
the first time any sports league
in North America had to cancel
an entire season of action. Many
people praised Bettman for
getting the NHL to have a salary
cap, but wondered if it was worth
the negative effects against the
league by the fans.
While hockey is not viewed as
America’s most favorite sport,
its constant action, with just the
right mix of speed, athleticism
and the good old fashioned
violence quite entertaining to
watch. Hockey’s fan base may
not be as large as that of the
NFL or the NBA; it still attracts
a large group of very loyal and
dedicated fans. Many NHL fans
were outraged that a whole
season of hockey was missed.
In addition, NHL lost their
network deal with ESPN, which
made it harder to watch hockey
and beat them. And Philly was
on TV all week.” I understand
Gonzalez’s frustration, but let’s
not crown the Falcons just yet.
One of the reasons why teams
like the Eagles are getting more
media attention instead of the
Falcons is because those teams
have more intriguing story lines.
Unfortunately for the Falcons,
the media is out to make money
and cover teams like the train
wreck Eagles. So if players like
Gonzalez are looking for media
attention, than obviously they
are playing for the wrong goals.
Gonzalez does mention later
in the interview on USA Today
that he doesn’t care about the lack
of media attention, which pretty
much contradicts his earlier
point. “Our goals are bigger
than just getting national media
attention. They’ll recognize us if
we go where we want to go. I’ve
day-dreamed about raising that
Lombardi Trophy. I can see it in
my mind.”
Are the Falcons good enough
to lift said trophy? Contrary to
their 8-1 record, I believe the
Falcons aren’t even top in their
conference, let alone the NFL.
The Falcons barely squeaked
out wins against teams like the
Panthers, Redskins, Raiders,
and Cowboys. The idea usually
is when teams find multiple
ways to win then it proves their
determination. However, barely
beating sub-.500 teams shows
the opposite. Yes, a win is a win
but if Falcon fans want us to
crown them, then they will have
to do a little more to prove their
worth.
The Falcons obviously do
not control who they face, but
this year the record of their
opponents through week 10 is
30-50. Even though they’ve had
a stellar season, their opponents
haven’t been. Looking at the rest
of their schedule, the Falcons
still have two games against the
resurgent Buccaneers, a home
game against the Saints (who
just beat them), one against the
Super Bowl Champions, and a
Monday Night Game against the
Lions. Their other two games
are against the terrible Cardinals
and Panthers.
Even if the Falcons go
through the rest of the schedule
unscathed, it will not be enough
for me to picture this team as a
favorite to win it all. Let’s not
forget, this is the same team that
has not won a playoff game yet
A haunting reminder for hockey fans: an empty space on the Stanley Cup represents the lost season from the last NHL CBA disagreement
See lockout, page 17
See falcons, page 17
photo courtesy themathewblack/flickr
20 T h e C a r o l i n i a n Nov. 14-20, 2012 WWW.UNCGCAROLINIAN.COM
Sports
Season starts on a sour note in High Point
Ian Foster
Sports Editor
With games against High
Point, Winston-Salem State,
and East Carolina, the UNCG
men’s basketball team had an
opportunity to start the season
3-0 ahead of their Greensboro
Coliseum clash against Virginia
Tech.
Unfortunately, the Spartans
dropped the first of those three
in an 81-73 loss at High Point on
Friday night. High Point forward
John Brown went off, scoring 28
points and grabbing 8 rebounds.
UNCG was led by junior Trevis
Simpson with 18 points and
freshman Kayel Locke with 17
points off the bench.
In a sense, it was impressive
that the game ended up as close
as it was. The Panthers used
the small but energetic sell-out
crowd to power themselves to a
6-point halftime lead.
UNCG seemed to settle
into the flow of the game by
halftime until High Point hit
another level out of the break.
The Panthers outscored UNCG
17-4 over the first 6:18 of the
second half to take a seemingly
insurmountable 56-37 lead.
However, the Spartans
immediately responded with an
impressive 27-10 run over the
next eleven minutes.
Locke dominated the first
portion, scoring nine points
which culminated in a jumper
to cut the Panthers’ lead to 63-
57 with 4:31 to go.
Then, as will likely be the case
with many a UNCG game this
season, it was Simpson’s turn to
take over.
After High Point hit a three
to extend their lead back to nine
points, Simpson responded with
a three of his own. Six Simpson
points and 90 seconds later, the
lead was cut to 70-68.
Unfortunately, that was as
close as UNCG would get, as the
Panthers closed out the game
hitting seven of their final eight
free throws.
After the game, coach Wes
Miller commented on the
disappointing season opener.
“Obviously, this is not the result
we wanted but I am proud the
guys never quit fighting and
made the run we did in the
second half,” Miller said. “We
still need to learn what it takes
to win games and the effort we
showed in that 12-minute span
in the second half is the type of
effort we need on both ends of
the floor the entire game.”
Expectations are high for
the Spartans this year. This loss
against a team in High Point
which lost their two leading
scorers and posted a lower
season-ending RPI than UNCG
last year may quell a few of those
expectations.
Women’s basketball falls to Bucs in opener
Everick Davis
Staff Writer
Beginning the 43rd season
for the UNCG Spartans Women
Basketball Team, the Spartans
looked to get off to a good start
and grab the season opener
against the Charleston Southern
Buccaneers. The Spartans were
trying to get off to a good start
and improve off of last season’s
4-25 record.
Our Spartans do excellent at
home posting a 193-83 home
record of games played at the
Fleming Gym, but this game
was played in Asheville, NC at
the Kimmel Arena and didn’t
fare as well as Spartan fans all
would hope. The Spartans fell to
the Buccaneers 60 to 57.
The Spartans began the game
banging in the paint coming out
with 6 of their 11 first points
down low in the post. Everything
seemed to be going right as the
team was forcing turnovers and
got a few points off of them.
After that, trouble came as the
Buccaneers went on a 16 to 0
run over the next 6 minutes to
gain a small lead. Even a run
couldn’t hold the Spartans back
as they started draining three
pointers and soon it was only a
two point game.
Eventually both teams
heading to the locker rooms
with the score tied at 28 a piece.
The game looked close and both
evenly matched both teams
looked to take an advantage
coming out of the half. The
Buccaneers came out the second
half blazing, going on a 14 to
3 run to start the first seven
minutes of the second half.
The Spartans fought back
and got within four points right
around the ten minute mark of
the second half. At this point,
both teams started trading
baskets as the score was 50 to 44
in Charleston Southern’s favor
around the five minute mark.
Down by 8 points, the Spartans
went on a 6 to 0 run of their
own to cut the game down to a 2
point Buccaneer lead.
The Spartans and Buccaneers
fought down to the very end
as the Spartans cut the lead
down to 58 to 57. Around this
time basketball games usually
turn into the free throw game.
That’s exactly what happened
as Charleston Southern drained
both free throws. Down 3, the
only chance the team had was a
three pointer at the buzzer. Even
after a good shot, the Spartans
just couldn’t pull it out ], with
the final score being 60 to 57.
Freshmen point guard Lucy
Fri
UNCG 73
High Point 81
Sat
UNCG 57
Charl. So. 60
emma barker/The carolinian
Despite the best of efforts of Simpson, shown here in last week’s exhibition, UNCG fell to HPU See high point, page 17
See asheville, page 17