jan 14 2013

20
Fiscal cliff could affect nancial aid across USA “If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.” VOL. 52, NO. 1 JAN. 14, 2013 “If it tt t th USA f il it tt t V ANGUARD ANGUARD THE THE In this Issue: Life, Page 7 Sports, Page 10 Opinion, Page 15 find us on Facebook “Facebook.com/ “Facebook.com/ TheVanguardUSA” TheVanguardUSA” Check out our digital edition thevanguardonline.com SGA SGA President’s President’s “State of “State of SGA” SGA” Parking on campus is the number one student concern according to readers. Shown is the central lot on a normal day. It is my pleasure to report to the student body the current state of the cam- pus. It has been appar- ent that the recent year has been one of change and while I would like to say it has been easy, I cannot. The cam- pus has experienced hardship and stu- dents are feeling it due to a decrease in state funding. However, I must also bring to light the many advances the campus is making. I, rst off, would like to commend the student body for their efforts in expand- ing student life as well as providing a competitive learning environment in the South East. Through your efforts we currently have approximately 200 stu- dent organizations, which provide an ar- ray of talents to allow the campus to be a diverse and accepting environment for incoming students. Additionally, we, as a University, have been able to grow through both student enrollment and through our facilities. With the addition of the New Shelby Hall we have greatly expanded the ability for students to learn and train in the envi- ronments of Engineering and Computer Science. This was made possible through the efforts of Sen. Richard Shelby, who advocated for the University in the State Legislature. Additionally our academics in Arts and Sciences have improved facili- ties in anthropology, foreign languages, and humanities in general. With this being said, I must bring to your attention the issue that is currently most pressing to our environment. We, as a nation, are in a nancial crisis, and the University of South Alabama is evidently feeling these pressures. With a necessary Parker Chastain SGA President Parking survey released, students frustrated By JAYSON CURRY [email protected] See STATE STATE, Page 6 Editor’s note: In his own words The University of South Alabama re- cently completed their parking survey for the campus showing not only how many spots are on campus but also their avail- ability during a day. There were mixed ndings in the sur- vey that stood out concerning availability. The university has four major parking zones on campus: north, South, East and West. The East and South zones were the most lled as the majority of spots in those zones were lled more than 90 perecnt of the time during the survey. "There is way more parking spots for teachers than there are for students," Kayla Sandifer, a junior elementary edu- cation major said. "It needs to be more accessible for students." Sandier parks all over campus as she is on the dance team at USA but her Zone is the east zone which is almost al- ways lled. The North parking zone averaged anywhere from 60-89 percent full during the survey and the Central zone for the majority of spots was 80-89 percent lled with the exception of the Central park- ing behind the old engineering building which will be the communication depart- ment starting this spring. Many changes were seen in this sur- vey compared to last year’s as the addi- tion of the Shelby Hall caused the South parking zone to become lled up to 100 percent at some parts of the day. The re- location of the engineering department also caused the decrease in parking in the Central zone around the old engineering building. South Alabama student Tim Gould have his opinion about parking in the central zone. "It's a cluster," broadcast journalism senior Tim Gould said. "If you don't have your classes in one building then you have to park a ways away from your class or risk getting a ticket which always seems to be a guarantee." According to the survey the Central zone has 1,324 total spots,East has 1,169, North has 746 and South has 1,142 park- ing spots. These numbers include stu- dent, faculty, handicapped, visitor, deliv- ery, 30 minute and patient parking. The University itself has 8,810 park- ing spots with 5,239 student parking spots and 1,899 faculty and staff parking spots. These numbers include parking outside of the four zoned parking areas. As the New Year started and the majority of people celebrated, congress and the United States government at- tempted to keep the country for falling off the “scal cliff.” The cliff was a nick- name to what in the long term meant an end to many tax cuts to Americans in- cluding the “Bush tax cuts” from 2001- 03 as well as tax cuts from president Obama’s rst term. The US didn’t fall off the cliff be- cause a new deal was passed just hours after the deadline but some decisions still haven’t been made and the US gov- ernment pushed back the decisions on things like budget cuts until March 2013. These decisions on budget cuts should be of interest to anyone involved in higher education, especially those who use any form of nancial aid to pay for college. Depending on what is cut, there could be more than an 8% cut from - nancial aid across the board. These cuts include a decrease in how many semes- ters an individual can receive Pell Grants and the interest rate for paying back aid will increase. Dr. Ross Dickens, chair of the eco- nomics and nance department of the Mitchell College of Business at South Alabama gave his opinion on what col- lege students should be worried about. “Certainly, anything that cuts funding to schools directly or to students is a potential worry. (If a school's funding is cut, its usual response is to tighten its belt a bit by scheduling fewer sections of courses and then raising tuition and fees on students.) However, as the scal cliff "can" has been kicked down the road a bit further, we are all just speculating,” Dr. Dickens explained. “For USA students, the biggest im- pact is likely very indirect. If Medicare- type funds were greatly reduced, that change would impact funds to the health- care side of the university and could spill See Cliff Cliff, Page 6 By JAYSON CURRY [email protected] INSIDE Editorial: If you’re not in- volved, now is the time to start and it matters a lot more than just academically. See Opinion, page 15. LOC Spotlight: Our guys cov- ered the GoDaddy bowl. See who won and how it’s relevant to USA. See LOC, page 13. Sports: USA staple and veteran basketball coach Ronnie Arrow retired over Christmas break. Read about the details and his replacement. See Sports, page 10. CASSIE FAMBRO/ EIC CASSIE FAMBRO/ EIC Life Spotlight: We have MLK day off, but it can be used as a day of service instead. See how to give back. See Life, page 7.

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Fiscal cliff could affect fi nancial aid across USA

“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.” VOL. 52, NO. 1JAN. 14, 2013 “If it tt t th USA f il it tt t ”

VANGUARDANGUARDTHETHE

In this Issue: Life, Page 7

Sports, Page 10Opinion, Page 15

fi nd us on Facebook “Facebook.com/“Facebook.com/

TheVanguardUSA”TheVanguardUSA”

Check out our digital edition thevanguardonline.com

SGA SGA President’s President’s “State of “State of SGA” SGA”

Parking on campus is the number one student concern according to readers. Shown is the central lot on a normal day.

It is my pleasure to report to the student body the current state of the cam-pus. It has been appar-ent that the recent year has been

one of change and while I would like to say it has been easy, I cannot. The cam-pus has experienced hardship and stu-dents are feeling it due to a decrease in state funding. However, I must also bring to light the many advances the campus is making.

I, fi rst off, would like to commend the student body for their efforts in expand-ing student life as well as providing a competitive learning environment in the South East. Through your efforts we currently have approximately 200 stu-dent organizations, which provide an ar-ray of talents to allow the campus to be a diverse and accepting environment for incoming students.

Additionally, we, as a University, have been able to grow through both student enrollment and through our facilities. With the addition of the New Shelby Hall we have greatly expanded the ability for students to learn and train in the envi-ronments of Engineering and Computer Science. This was made possible through the efforts of Sen. Richard Shelby, who advocated for the University in the State Legislature. Additionally our academics in Arts and Sciences have improved facili-ties in anthropology, foreign languages, and humanities in general.

With this being said, I must bring to your attention the issue that is currently most pressing to our environment. We, as a nation, are in a fi nancial crisis, and the University of South Alabama is evidently feeling these pressures. With a necessary

Parker Chastain SGA President

Parking survey released, students frustratedBy JAYSON [email protected]

See STATESTATE, Page 6

Editor’s note: In his own words

The University of South Alabama re-cently completed their parking survey for the campus showing not only how many spots are on campus but also their avail-ability during a day.

There were mixed fi ndings in the sur-vey that stood out concerning availability. The university has four major parking zones on campus: north, South, East and West. The East and South zones were the most fi lled as the majority of spots in those zones were fi lled more than 90 perecnt of the time during the survey.

"There is way more parking spots for teachers than there are for students," Kayla Sandifer, a junior elementary edu-cation major said. "It needs to be more accessible for students."

Sandier parks all over campus as she is on the dance team at USA but her Zone is the east zone which is almost al-ways fi lled.

The North parking zone averaged anywhere from 60-89 percent full during the survey and the Central zone for the majority of spots was 80-89 percent fi lled with the exception of the Central park-ing behind the old engineering building which will be the communication depart-ment starting this spring.

Many changes were seen in this sur-vey compared to last year’s as the addi-tion of the Shelby Hall caused the South parking zone to become fi lled up to 100 percent at some parts of the day. The re-location of the engineering department also caused the decrease in parking in the Central zone around the old engineering

building. South Alabama student Tim Gould

have his opinion about parking in the central zone.

"It's a cluster," broadcast journalism senior Tim Gould said. "If you don't have your classes in one building then you have to park a ways away from your class or risk getting a ticket which always seems to be a guarantee."

According to the survey the Central zone has 1,324 total spots,East has 1,169, North has 746 and South has 1,142 park-ing spots. These numbers include stu-dent, faculty, handicapped, visitor, deliv-ery, 30 minute and patient parking.

The University itself has 8,810 park-ing spots with 5,239 student parking spots and 1,899 faculty and staff parking spots. These numbers include parking outside of the four zoned parking areas.

As the New Year started and the majority of people celebrated, congress and the United States government at-tempted to keep the country for falling off the “fi scal cliff.” The cliff was a nick-name to what in the long term meant an end to many tax cuts to Americans in-cluding the “Bush tax cuts” from 2001-03 as well as tax cuts from president Obama’s fi rst term.

The US didn’t fall off the cliff be-cause a new deal was passed just hours after the deadline but some decisions still haven’t been made and the US gov-ernment pushed back the decisions on things like budget cuts until March 2013.

These decisions on budget cuts should be of interest to anyone involved in higher education, especially those who use any form of fi nancial aid to pay for college. Depending on what is cut, there could be more than an 8% cut from fi -nancial aid across the board. These cuts

include a decrease in how many semes-ters an individual can receive Pell Grants and the interest rate for paying back aid will increase.

Dr. Ross Dickens, chair of the eco-nomics and fi nance department of the Mitchell College of Business at South Alabama gave his opinion on what col-lege students should be worried about.

“Certainly, anything that cuts funding to schools directly or to students is a potential worry. (If a school's funding is cut, its usual response is to tighten its

belt a bit by scheduling fewer sections of courses and then raising tuition and fees on students.) However, as the fi scal cliff "can" has been kicked down the road a bit further, we are all just speculating,” Dr. Dickens explained.

“For USA students, the biggest im-pact is likely very indirect. If Medicare-type funds were greatly reduced, that change would impact funds to the health-care side of the university and could spill

See CliffCliff, Page 6

By JAYSON [email protected]

INSIDE

Editorial: If you’re not in-volved, now is the time to start and it matters a lot more than just academically.

See Opinion, page 15.

LOC Spotlight: Our guys cov-ered the GoDaddy bowl. See who won and how it’s relevant to USA.

See LOC, page 13.

Sports: USA staple and veteran basketball coach Ronnie Arrow retired over Christmas break. Read about the details and his replacement.

See Sports, page 10.

CASSIE FAMBRO/ EIC

CASSIE FAMBRO/ EIC

Life Spotlight: We have MLK day off, but it can be used as a day of service instead. See how to give back.

See Life, page 7.

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 20132

3VOL. 52, NO. 1/ JAN. 14, 2013

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

Editor in ChiefCopy Editor

Life EditorOpinion Editor

Sports EditorLeft of Center

Senior ReporterWeb Editor

Cassie FambroAlyssa NewtonJake HowellNoah LoganPatrick HerringJT CrabtreeJayson CurryMatthew Strick-land

Editorial

Distribution Manager

Bobby Faulk

Distribution

Advertising Manager

Advertising Graphic Designer

Wesley Jackson

Mohammad Al-Zarrad

Rex McKay

Advertising

Advising

Accounting

J. SellersJ. AucoinKathy Brannan

Management

MissionThe Vanguard, the student-run newspaper of

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

PAGE three

Send letters and guest columns to: The Vanguard

University of South Alabama P.O. Drawer U-1057 Mobile, Ala., 36688.

[email protected]

Letters and guest columns must be received by 7 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the Monday publication. Submissions should be typed and must include the writer’s name, year, school and telephone number. All submissions become the property of The Vanguard. The Vanguard reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for length and clarity. Letters will be limited to 300 words. Letters and guest columns are the opinion of the writer. The Staff Editorial represents the consensus opinion of the Editorial Board, which is composed of the Editor in Chief, Copy Editor, Senior Reporter, and Opinion Editor. All members of the Editorial Board have the same weight. The Vanguard has a commitment to accuracy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifi cations. To report a mistake, e-mail [email protected]. The Vanguard is published Mondays during the academic year, except for exam periods and vacations, and is published twice each summer. The Vanguard is supported in part by an allocation from student activity fees and operates in the Student Media Department of the Division of Student Affairs. Issues are available at most University buildings and select off-campus locations. The fi rst copy is free. Additional copies are $1 each. Freelance writers will receive payment at the discretion of the section editor and will be notifi ed.

Weather for Jan. 14-20Weather for Jan. 14-20

Twitter: StormTeam4g9wxFacebook: Facebook.com/StormTeam4Gamma9Wx

12/05/12

20:21- Delta 4.

Assault in the Third

Degree.

12/08/12

13:39 University

Library. Public

Lewdness.

12/12/12

9:13- Stokes Hall.

Theft of Property

in the 2nd degree.

(Laptop)

12/14/12

17:37- Delta 6. Drug

Paraphernalia,

Alcohol, Fireworks.

12/16/12

16:24- Gamma

7. Posession of

Marijuana, Poss. of

Paintball Pistol and

paint balls, Poss. of

Alcoholic Beverage.

12/29/12

20:30- Mitchell

Center. Theft of

Property of Second

Degree. ($1000)

1/05/13

7:12- Waffl e House.

Public Intoxication.

1/10/13

2:36- Stadium Blvd.

Driving Under the

Infl uence – Alcohol.

10:21- The Grove.

Driving Under the

Infl uence – Alcohol.

USA Police BlotterUSA Police Blotter

251-460-6312251-460-6312

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 20134

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 20135

VOL. 52, NO. 1/ JAN. 14 20136

7.7% tuition increase over the past year to merely keep the University in a stable en-vironment, we must allow our voices and our issues to be heard on a local, state, and national level. Prevention is key, and we, as a student body, must learn to act now before we fi nd ourselves in times of severe crisis. Our University is compet-ing with other major Universities for an ever-decreasing amount of funds in the state of Alabama, and we must show our elected offi cials how vital the University is to the gulf coast. I ask you to please speak with your representatives (letters, emails, calls) because your voice, your sto-ry is what will make an impact and bring change. We cannot sit idly by and allow our University to be lost in translation.

With that being said, South has grown through the past 50 years and we look for-ward to a future fi lled with more growth and a greater learning environment for our ever-expanding student body.

State of SGAContinued from page 1

over into budget issues for the academic side. Still, all of the above is very specula-tive at best,” Dr. Dickens added.

As Dr. Dickens pointed out, the word on what cuts won’t be known for a few months and the thoughts of speculation were echoed by the USA fi nancial aid of-fi ce.

“The fi scal cliff negotiations that were passed in early January had no effect on federal fi nancial aid. Any potential cuts to the aid programs (and all other federal expenditures such as defense etc.) were delayed by Congress to fi ght over again in about 2 months. We won't know until they work through those ne-gotiations if there will be any changes to the federal aid programs or to students,” USA fi nancial aid said.

Students across the country should keep a close eye on these cuts as they come closer.

Cliff Continued from page 1

Day of Service to aid tornado victims and more Day of Service to aid tornado victims and more

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “All labor that uplifts humanity

has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

On January 21, University of South Alabama students will have the opportu-nity to take up Dr. King’s mantel as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service.

This will be USA’s fourth year partici-pating in MLK Day service projects organized by Karen Peterson, Director of USA’s Center for Academic Service-

Learning and Civic Engagement and in-structor in the English department.

This day, dedicated to bringing stu-dents, faculty, and community members together, is a way for the USA family to give back to the community that has grown with it over the last 50 years.

According to Peterson, throughout past MLK Days of Service students, “have painted a mural of Dr. King at the homeless shelter, repaired roofs, sorted clothes for donations, led sports clinics for the kids, done yard work and craft projects, collected and delivered food baskets, cleaned and helped at Ronald McDonald House.”

The Pi Kappa Phi fraternity has also built fi ve wheelchair ramps over the course of the previous days of service.

Some students might wonder why they should give up one of only a few days off from school just to work.

This day, however, is more than just a day off from work or school. It’s a chance to truly make a difference in this commu-nity and to make memories along the way.

When asked about his memorable moments from past MLK Days of Ser-vice, senior computer science major Stephen Purnell said, “I’ve had the op-portunity to work with so many different people, each with their own stories and struggles.”

“I recall from one year a resident at Sybil Smith Family Village said to me, “I really did not think anybody cared about us.” That hit home to me and brought out the true magnitude of the impact that we are making on the lives of these people,” Purnell added.

This event, and the work of these volunteers, is even more important this year. After the Christmas tornados that tore through parts of the Mobile area, plans were made to provide relief on the MLK Day of Service.

Purnell said they are, “planning on helping several families repair parts of their homes damaged by the Christmas tornadoes.”

In addition to tornado relief, projects available to work on include, according to Peterson, “projects at Dumas Wesley Community Center and Sybil Smith Vil-lage 126 Mobile Street. The Pi Kapps will

be building a wheelchair ramp in Spanish Fort. We will be volunteering at St. Mary’s Home, L’Arche, Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity, Cogburn Nursing Home and Penelope’s Closet.”

The MLK Day of Service also serves as a springboard for the recent push to expose students to service learning initia-tives.

Service learning, according to Peter-son, is a way for students to apply the knowledge they gain through education.

“With service-learning, you put your education to work helping others. Mar-keting classes do not plan a campaign for a fi ctitious company, but instead help a non-profi t promote itself. Nursing stu-dents do not practice giving fl u shots to grapefruits, but actually hold clinics and give shots to real people,” Peterson ex-plained.

Students who wish to participate in being a part of something bigger than themselves, something that will make a lasting impact on this community, can sign up in advance at www.caslce.org/now.

Pre-registration is highly encouraged so that event organizers know, roughly, how many volunteers will be available to help. Students are also encouraged to bring work gloves or yard tools, if they have them available.

The morning of the MLK Day of Service, volunteers will meet at the Du-mas Wesley Community Center at 9 a.m. Students will be able to drive themselves or ride JagTrans from the Beta/Gamma Commons.

VOL. 52, NO. 1/ JAN. 14, 2013

JAKE HOWELL, JAGLIFE [email protected]

By JAKE [email protected]

WEEKLY LOWDOWN

First Day of Classes!

8:30 p.m. - USA Disc Golf Team Informational Meeting in the Student Recreation Center Meeting Room.

7 p.m. - “Third Thursday” fi lm series in Stokes Hall, Room 1107. Dr. Kern Jackson will present “Nothing but a Man.”

8 p.m. - 2013 MLK Day Observance with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson at the Mobile Civic Center Theater.

5 p.m. - SGA Appropriations Organization Informational Meeting in the Academic Support Center, Room 1363.

Monday, Jan. 14

Sunday, Jan. 20

Wednesday, Jan. 16

Thursday, Jan. 17

Friday, Jan. 18

Want your event featured in the Weekly Lowdown? Email the name, date, time, price, place and a brief tagline (under seven words) to [email protected]

COURTESY OF KAREN PETERSON

Members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity in the process of constructing a wheel-chair ramp during a previous MLK Day of Service.

“Gangster Squad” delivers good, violent fun“Gangster Squad” delivers good, violent fun

Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gos-ling, and Emma Stone star in the

violent action-drama, “Gangster Squad.” Set during the late 1940’s, in the era

of jazz and cigarettes, director Ruben Fleischer tells the story of a group of LAPD offi cers, turned vigilantes, trying to destroy the empire of LA’s biggest Mob boss, Mickey Cohen (Penn).

New LAPD police chief William Parker (Nick Nolte) asks ex-guerilla war vet Sgt. John O’Mara (Brolin) to form a special squad that will operate incognito in order to stop Cohen from taking over the city completely.

Jerry Wooster (Gosling) co-leads the team into battle, taking their bloody busi-ness into the streets to take down Cohen’s goonies.

This violent melodrama was meant to make its debut last year but was pulled for reshoots after the Aurora, Colo. shooting.

One scene, previewed in the trailer, featured gunmen fi ring at the audience from behind the screen at Graumann’s Chinese Theatre.

Amongst the violence, the fi lm is al-most strung together in such a way that shoves each incident from scene to scene.

Hardly a thought is given to any type of dramatic layering, character complex-ity, or twists that might slow the drama into unexpected areas for a time.

It’s fast, to the point, and in your face. Even with such an all-star cast, the

characters are identifi able by one main trait and barely individualized beyond that. Aside from Brolin and Gosling, they’re barely given any special moments of their own to make their marks here.

By EMILY [email protected]

Central avenue African American beat cop Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie); old cowboy sharpshooter Max Kennard (Robert Patrick); wire-expert Conwell Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi); and novice gunman Latino Navidad Ramirez (Michael Pena) make up the rest of the team.

Along the way, Wooters sparks up a romance with Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), Cohen’s current fl ame.

As for the setting and the production aspect of the fi lm, an exceptional amount of effort seems to have been put into rec-reating a world from the 1940’s.

There are plenty of wonderful scenes that have the potential to help settle the audience into the realm of the 1940’s, but hardly any time is given for it to sink in because the fi lmmakers are too preoc-cupied with hurrying along to the next

showdown. Ultimately, if you’re craving instant

gratifi cation and a little malevolent violence, while still keeping it PG-13, “Gangster Squad” is the perfect event to end any quiet evening.

7:30 a.m. - Bank Trust First Light Marathon

Monday, Jan. 21

9 a.m. - MLK Day of Service events at the Dumas Wesley Community Center. Pre-register at www.caslce.org/now.

Tuesday, Jan. 22

1 - 3:30 p.m. - SGA Appropriations Organization Informational Meeting in the Academic Support Center, Room 1363.

COURTESY LEE BURLEY

7

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 20138

“Crush” strikes a chord with stories of fear and love“Crush” strikes a chord with stories of fear and loveBy EMILY [email protected]

Into the downtown scene in Mobile?

We need a Scene writer.

Bars, clubs, and night life articles are welcome.

Tell us! Write about it and let your peers know.

Email [email protected]

HEY YOU.

Food trucks bring fresh, tantalizing food on the go to Downtown MobileFood trucks bring fresh, tantalizing food on the go to Downtown Mobile

I’m not used to chasing my food down Royal Street. Nor am I

used to driving all the way downtown for lunch in between classes.

However, there is one burgeoning slice of the Mobile food scene that has caught the attention of many food-go-ers – food trucks.

While commonplace in larger cities, food trucks usually only appeared in

By MAELYNN [email protected]

Mobile at fairs and carnivals. Now there are two businesses that have upgraded the idea of a food truck from greasy fairground food to upscale and fresh meals on the go: Smokin’ Gringos and Momma Mojo’s.

As it so happens, both trucks were on Royal Street downtown one day, and I didn’t particularly feel like going to biochemistry so everything worked out perfectly.

On their website, Smokin’ Gringos described themselves as serving “killer

Ala-Mexi-Cali grub all over town.” Their menu consisted of an array of

soft tacos, quesadillas, and taco salads; one taco, depending on the meat, was around $5, while quesadillas and salads were around $9.

I chose two steak queso soft tacos ($9) which came topped with warm queso, romaine lettuce, tomato and on-ion, along with a side of chips.

My colleague, senior Chemistry ma-jor Brian Eberhardt, got a brisket soft taco ($5) which had their special chi-potle white sauce and shredded cheese instead of the queso.

My fi rst impression of their tacos was that they were indeed freshly pre-pared. The steak was very juicy, and the queso had a little heat to it.

Unfortunately, the meal was a tad bit diffi cult to eat since all of the sauces made the tortillas soggy.

I liked the brisket taco better, which I tried a bite of in the name of research. The brisket was more tender than the steak, and the taco was spicier from the sauce, which I loved.

Next time, I’d want to try a quesa-dilla because I can get down with any-thing that’s been grilled.

You can fi nd them on the corner of Dauphin and Royal, Tuesday – Thurs-day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

While we did enjoy the Ala-Mexi-Cali style of Smokin’ Gringos, I was

As someone who has great diffi culty writing poetry, I

usually get little enjoyment from read-ing it.

Each attempt to fi nd meaning in the fi gurative, frilly language and odd-ly positioned stanzas typically leaves me frustrated and wondering why the poem can’t just be up front about whatever it’s trying to say.

So, I tend to skip over books of poetry when perusing the book-shelves at Books-A-Million or the library, heading instead for the John Green or George R.R. Martin novels.

However, when a fellow novel-loving friend of mine placed “Crush” by Richard Siken in my hands with a simple “You need to read this,” I knew I couldn’t pass it up, even though it was a book of poetry.

While the language may be fi gura-tive and the stanzas oddly placed, the meaning of each poem in this book was never lost to me.

Gritty, raw, and unrelenting, Sik-en’s poems speak on a subject that

every human soul knows inside and out: fear. The fear of love, the fear of rejection, the fear of boredom, the fear of losing oneself entirely in a society that shuns the different and praises the common.

In “A Primer for the Small Weird Loves,” Siken details the fear he has felt since childhood of being rejected simply for being homosexual:

“You’re in the eighth grade. You know these things.

You know how to ride a dirt bike, and you know how to do

long division, and you know that a boy who likes

boys is a dead boy, unless he keeps his mouth shut, which

is what you didn’t do,because you are weak and hollow

and it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Many of the poems use the sec-ond person “you” throughout.

Most of the time the reader can tell that this “you” is a specifi c person to whom Siken is speaking, as in the poem, “Wishbone”.

Sometimes, though, the “you” in Siken’s poems is the reader.

He pulls you into the story and makes you part of it, essentially tell-ing you how you feel and what you’re doing.

In the last stanza of “You Are Jeff,” he describes the familiar feeling of fi rst love:

“You’re in a car with a beauti-

looking forward to visiting Momma Mojo’s food truck, which proudly her-alds Cuban food.

I’d never tried Cuban food prior to Momma Mojo’s; so many years of my life have been wasted. Dramatic, I know, but just wait until you taste their signature pork and plantain wrap ($8). It’s a hefty, pressed wrap containing pulled pork and grilled sweet plantains.

Additionally, the meal came with spiced shoestring fries. I loved the bal-ance of fl avors and textures when you eat the wrap with the fries; the salty pork is contrasted with the sweetness of the plantains and the fries deliver much needed crunch.

However, it was missing a side of their trademark garlic-cilantro mojo sauce, a bright green, vibrant sauce which packs a creamy punch of cilantro and garlic. They were unfortunately out of the sauce they day we went.

It would have been nice to have the sauce with the wrap because it would add another layer of fl avor and fresh-ness to the entree.

Eberhardt agreed, saying, “The lack of a sauce really hurt Momma Mojo’s.”

Their food truck hours and loca-tions are a bit more unpredictable. I happened to catch them also on Dau-phin and Royal that day, but they post their whereabouts frequently on their Facebook page.

MAELYNN LA | CONTRIBUTING WRITERThis steak and queso soft taco from Smokin’ Gringos is a prime example of the delectable and fresh menu items available.

They also have an actual restaurant in West Mobile for more leisurely din-ing.

Overall, I enjoyed visiting both Smokin’ Gringos’ and Momma Mo-jo’s food trucks. I would recommend Smokin’ Gringos for their fresh, com-fortable fl avors, while Momma Mojo’s Cuban style would appeal to your more adventurous side.

Is this the start of veritable food truck scene in Mobile? I hope so. In the mean time, I’d be pleased to see either one of those trucks roll up on USA South Drive.

MAELYNN LA | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Brian Eberhardt ordering his own tacos from Smokin’ Gringos.

EMILY MELVIN | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Siken’s poetry draws on those things that we all feel from time to time, those fears that can cripple us or make us stronger.

ful boy, and he won’t tell you that he loves

you, but he loves you. And you feel like you’ve done something ter-rible,

like robbed a liquor store, or swal-lowed pills, or shoveled yourself

a grave in the dirt, and you’re tired. You’re in a car with a beautiful boy,

and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him …”

“Crush,” a winner of the Yale Se-ries of Younger Poets competition, is honest, heartbreaking, stunning and unique, and I highly recommend it.

I guess you can say that this is me, placing “Crush” in your hands and telling you that you need to read this book.

Even if you detest poetry, even if you’d rather pull your hair out than read one more poem – read this book.

The outsider in you needs to read it.

The lover in you needs to read it. The scared, lonely, desperate,

beautiful human in you needs to read it.

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 20139

USA Honors Program hosts 2nd annual “12th Night” ballUSA Honors Program hosts 2nd annual “12th Night” ball

COURTESY OF MARY BISHOPThe USA Honors Program hosted its 2nd annual “12th Night” Mardis Gras ball on January 11. Organized by Honors students, the ball included a silent auction, skits and plenty of fun. Characters like Bloody Mary, Elvis and the “Thriller” werewolf joined faculty, including Dr. David Nelson from Mechanical Engineering who was crowned “King” of “12th Night,” for a night of awesome entertainment.

PATRICK HERRING, SPORTS [email protected]

10VOL. 52, NO. 1/ JAN. 14, 2013

Men’s head basketball coach Ronnie Arrow retiresBy JT [email protected]

He leaves just two weeks after becoming winningest coach in Sun Belt Conference play

On December 19, University of South Alabama

Athletic Director Dr. Joel Erdmann announced that head men’s basketball coach Ronnie Arrow would retire, effective immediately. Associate head coach Jeff Price will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2012-2013 season.

“We appreciate all that coach Arrow has done for the program over the years and wish him the best in retirement,” said Erdmann.

Ironically, Arrow’s last game prior to announcing his retirement was a 74-62 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a program he helped build from scratch in 1999.

Arrow left quite a legacy behind following his retirement. His 211 wins during his time at South Alabama are the most in school history, while his 112 Sun Belt Conference wins are the most in league history.

His time at USA was actually split

into two stints that bookend his time at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. During his fi rst go around as the head coach of the Jaguars, from 1987 to 1995, he compiled a 114-93 record and won Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year twice in just over seven seasons before being dismissed by then athletic director, Frederick Whiddon.

His second opportunity as head coach at USA came in 2007 when Coach John Pelphrey left for the University of Arkansas. Since taking over for the second time, Aarow compiled a record of 97-67.

Overall, Arrow was won 647 games combined between his time coaching at the NCAA and National Junior College Athletic Association, where he led San Jacinto Junior College to national championships in 1983, ‘84 and ‘86.

The Jags are left in the hands of associate head coach Jeff Price. Price has prior experience has a head coach at three different schools, Lynn (Fla.),

Georgia Southern and West Virginia Wesleyan. During his 17 years of being a head coach, Price compiled a 318-188 career record, including eight 20-win seasons. Price was also named the NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year in 1997.

The timing of Arrow’s retirement is strange, coming after a win and a 2-0 record in Sun Belt Conference play. Overall the Jags had a 5-5 record on the season. When questioned about the timing, Erdmann said that “It is a little unique, but it’s not unheard of. Coach (Arrow) asked and I’m happy to honor it.”

There was speculation that perhaps Arrow was having health issues as well, but when asked, Erdmann maintained that the decision was strictly on a personal basis. “A decision such as this is often personal, and due to that, I’ll leave it there.”

Dr. Erdmann and Arrow were already scheduled to meet on the day he announced his retirement.

The meeting, Erdmann said, was not scheduled with retirement in mind. “It was a scheduled meeting just to discuss various things. I have meetings with all the coaches in the department. I speak to our head coaches face-to-face weekly.”

Coach Price will be the head coach for the remainder of the season, but beyond that, the future is uncertain. Dr. Erdmann said that a national coaching search will take place after the season, with Price included as a candidate to keep the job.

“I start with a very deep and solid value system,” said Erdmann. “Where the person understands who they are and that they align with the mission of this university and the department and how we do business. Once we’re comfortable with that, we’ll start going to the X’s and O’s of the game.”

In spite of the somewhat chaotic turn of events, Dr. Erdmann asks that the fans remain faithful to the program during the rest of the season.

“I encourage the support of this

BY CHIP ENGLISH |USAJAGUARS.COM

team by our fans, not only to continue but to increase during this time of transition.” Erdmann said. “These student-athletes have tirelessly worked for the opportunity to represent the name on the front of their jerseys. Commitment and effort such as this is worthy of our enthusiasm and support.”

Head coach Ronnie Arrow left the men’s basketball record with a 5-5 record this season to end his second stint with the school.

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COMInterim men’s basketball head coach Jeff Price.

11VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 2013

Want us to follow you? Tweet us @USAVGSports

Chris May @CmayFive5:Offensive Lineman

Cleaning my room.... This make take a few hours.. Scratch that actually a couple of days... Lol

Cole Billingsley @CDolla_Billz4:Outfi elder

Trying to blow up the radar gun at the bowling alley. Typical baseball players we are haha.

Drew Dearman @DrewDearman:Offensive Lineman

The class roster function on Sakai just took me back to elementary school so hard. I got excited when I found people I knew haha

Matt Calcagnini @MCalcagnini56:Offensive Lineman

it’s gonna be the year of the Jaguar, mark my words #SIYM

The seventh annual National Football League Player’s

Association Collegiate Bowl will be held in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 19, and will feature two seniors from the 2012 South Alabama football team. Safety B.J. Scott and linebacker Jake Johnson both accepted invites to play in the game.

While the Collegiate Bowl isn’t the premiere senior all-star game, it features many legitimate draft prospects. Some other players who will participate in this

Pair of Jaguar defenders to play in NFLPA Collegiate BowlBy PATRICK [email protected]

Safety B.J. Scott (left) returns an interception against Troy. Linebacker Jake Johnson (right) looks to the sideline for the call against Nicholls State.

BY PATRICK HERRING |SPORTS EDITOR

year’s game include Vanderbilt’s Jordan Rodgers, brother of Green Bay Packers starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, as well as Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin.

Scott fi nished out his fi nal collegiate season with 84 total tackles, 49 of which were solo and 6 of which went for a loss, including a sack. He also snatched 2 interceptions, broke up 3 passes, forced a team-high 2 fumbles and recovered one. In his collegiate career, which included 3 seasons at Alabama where he switched from wide receiver to safety, Scott racked up 163 tackles and 3 interceptions. Before

getting injured during the 2011 season, Scott set a USA school record with 180 kick return yards against Georgia State.

In his fi nal campaign, Johnson set numerous school records, including tackles (131), solo tackles (71), tackles for a loss (15), quarterback hurries (6) and was third on the team in sacks (3). Johnson was also a transfer, coming to South after a two-year stint with the Virginia Tech Hokies. He leaves USA as the career leader in tackles (245), solo tackles (127), tackles for a loss (25.5), and is second on the career sack list with 9. Including his time at Virginia Tech,

Johnson totaled 301 career tackles, 150 solo, 30 for a loss and 11 sacks.

The two fan favorites were cornerstones of the South Alabama defense during the team’s transition to the FBS level. Their leadership will surely be missed in the 2013 season.

This year’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will kick off at 8 p.m. Eastern and will be televised by ESPN. Coaches for the squads are former professional head coaches Dick Vermeil, most recently of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Herm Edwards, also most recently with the Chiefs.

BY CASSIE FAMBRO | EDITOR IN CHIEF

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN, 201312

Alabama football wins third BCS

title in the past four seasons with

the help of local talent

STAFF ILLUSTRATION

The Coaches’ Trophy may as well go ahead and stamp the Alabama script ‘A’ on the crystal football seeing as Saban and company have dominated the game in recent years.

By PATRICK [email protected]

The state of Alabama continues its reign over the college

football world with the University of Alabama’s 42-12 dismantling of previously undefeated and top-ranked Notre Dame. Add this year’s title to the 2009 and 2011 championships won by Alabama and the one Auburn captured in 2010 and you’ve got a string of four straight years during which the national championship has resided within Alabama’s borders.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban is known for his masterful ability to recruit top tier talent from the high school ranks. The dynasty that he has put together at Alabama was built on the backs of gifted athletes he and his staff plucked from the recruiting hotbed that is Mobile and its surrounding areas. Look no further than the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback, A.J. McCarron.

McCarron threw four touchdowns against the Fighting Irish en route to becoming the only quarterback to win back to back BCS National Championships, and just the seventh quarterback to ever win back to back national titles. He played his high school football for the Episcopal Saints of St. Paul’s High School right here in Mobile. As a junior there, he was the starting quarterback for the team that won the 5A State Championship.

With his victory over Louisiana State in the national championship game last year, McCarron became the fi rst quarterback from Mobile to win a

national title since Tee Martin of Williamson High School won one with the Tennessee Volunteers in 1998.

Saban and his recruiters have also found many other talented players from this area to stack his team with. This year’s BCS National Championship Game Defensive MVP, C.J. Mosley, played linebacker for the Theodore Bobcats before committing to Alabama.

Starting strong safety Robert Lester came in with the highly touted 2008 signing class from Foley High School just an hour from Mobile. He is believed to have been in a package deal to sign star wide receiver Julio Jones, but eventually became a fi eld general for the Tide defense. Foley also produced starting offensive lineman D.J. Fluker, who recently announced his intentions to declare for the NFL Draft. Many project he will be selected in the fi rst round.

Also on the offensive side of the ball, breakout freshman running back T.J. Yeldon was signed out of Daphne. Not to mention another freshman phenom, Amari Cooper who is originally from Daphne, but played his high school ball in Miami.

These are just a few of the more recognizable names from the area that helped cement this Alabama team in the annals of college football history, but there are many more who you may not have heard of yet that will likely become key contributors for the Crimson Tide in the coming seasons. This year’s recruiting class Saban is putting together already includes players from Spanish Fort and Foley.

BY PATRICK HERRING |SPORTS EDITORThe USA men’s basketball team, seen here huddling before an early December contest against Sam Houston State, went 3-2 over the holiday break to hold on to second place in the SBC East.

Men’s and women’s basketball play well over the break, look to close strong in conference play By JAYSON [email protected]

The University of South Alabama basketball teams

have been hard at work while the rest of the university has been on break between the fall and spring semesters.

During the break, former USA men’s head basketball coach Ronnie Arrow retired after becoming the Sun Belt Conference’s all-time winning coach. Arrow’s position was filled by assistant Jeff Price. Under Price the USA men have gone 3-2 but still hold the second position in the SBC East only one game behind Middle Tennessee State.

The Jags had a chance to take the lead in the division last week as MTSU visited Mobile but the Jags would eventually lose by only four points after leading for much of the first half of the contest.

Interim head coach Jeff Price was displeased with the Jags who he said didn’t play a full game but was proud of his team for coming back and making the game close after giving up their lead.

“When you play a team that good, a unanimous pick to win your league, you have to play 40 minutes

and we got 35. I thought we made a couple of mistakes and got our head down and missed a couple of layups when we didn’t need to. We got down and we could have laid down and quit but we didn’t; we fought and we had our chances,” Price said.

The Jaguars are led by Junior Augustine Rubit who continues his career as one of the conference’s best players. Rubit has been honored with SBC player of the week two weeks in a row and he has earned those honors. He leads USA in scoring with 19 points a game average and rebounding with 11 and he also scored his 1000th career point. Rubit has also averaged a double-double in 6 consecutive games including scoring a career high 32 against Louisiana Monroe.

The USA women have had their struggles of late as they currently stand 4th in the SBC east division. The women hold a 10-6 overall record but the conference record is what counts the most.

Since the Fall semester has ended the USA women are 3-3 including a dominating loss the Middle Tennessee at home just one week ago. In the contest the Jags were held to a season low in points and had 19

turnovers after struggling against MTSU’s full court press and zone defenses.

Head women’s basketball coach Rick Pietri pointed to the lack of “fight” to beat MTSU.

“I’m thoroughly disappointed all the way around; I’m disappointed in myself, our coaching staff, our players. I didn’t think we showed the fight that is necessary when you are playing a team that is as talented as Middle Tennessee is,” Pietri said. “Ebony Rowe is one of the five best players in our league – and arguably a player of the year candidate – but we allowed her to do anything she wanted to do.”

The Lady Jags did follow up that disappointing loss with a 10-point win over conference foe Louisiana-Lafayette led by Mansa El’s season high 20 points.

The men and women will play their next game in Denton, TX against North Texas before returning to Mobile for a three-game home stand against the likes of conference foes Louisiana-Monroe, Western Kentucky and Florida International. The Lady Jags host ULM Wed. at 7:05 p.m. and the men host them the following evening at the same time.

JT CRABTREE, LOC [email protected] OF CENTERLEFT OF CENTER

13VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JANUARY 14, 2013

On December 18, the South Ala-bama football coaching staff start-ed what would be a whirlwind of changes.

The first move was the loss of defensive coordinator Bill Clark, the only defensive coordinator the program has had in its short history. Coach Clark left to become the head coach of FCS Jacksonville State University, his alma mater.

“I’m very happy for Bill and his family,” head coach Joey Jones told AL.com. “I appreciate what he’s done to help build this program at South Alabama. You’re always hap-py for someone in this profession to move up and get a job they want.”

Clark’s defenses were always top notch. In 2011, South’s defense ranked 16th in the FCS in total defense. In 2012, South’s defense ranked 50th in the FBS, and second in the Sun Belt Conference to West-ern Kentucky.

Coach Clark’s replacement is Kevin Sherrer, a hiring that was an-nounced on January 11 by Jones. Sherrer comes to South Alabama fresh off a national championship

By JT [email protected]

Jags change defensive Jags change defensive coordinatorcoordinator

Bill Clark leaves for Jacksonville State, Kevin Sherrer arrives from Alabama

COURTESY OF USAJAGUARS.COMCoach Bill Clark (left) was the only defensive coordinator the Jaguars ever had in program history.

Arkansas St. wins GoDaddy.com BowlArkansas St. wins GoDaddy.com Bowl

with the University of Alabama, where he spent the last three years as Director of Player Development.

“Kevin is one of the smartest coaches I have been around,” Jones said of Sherrer. “He has put togeth-er a great resume winning a couple of state championships at Hoover High School before going to Ala-bama and learning from — in my opinion — the best in the business about defense the last three years.”

Sherrer played tight end for Ala-bama from 1993-95, and was a grad-uate assistant from 1998-2000. He was then an assistant coach at Spain Park and Hoover high schools until 2010, when he returned to Alabama as the director of player develop-ment.

As director of player develop-ment, Sherrer was in charge of help-ing student-athletes with academics, community outreach and their per-sonal lives. He has no prior experi-ence as a coach at the FBS level.

Jones explained that the hiring of Sherrer should be an easy transition, as his coaching style is similar to Coach Clark’s.

“A lot of the stuff we are doing on defense we got from Kevin and

the staff at Alabama,” Jones said. “A lot of the terminologies we use come from Alabama, so I think it will be a very smooth transition for our players.”

Sherrer stated that part of the reason he joined Jones’ staff was having the opportunity to continue to progress South Alabama has made so far as a football program.

“I had been down here before and seen the facilities, and it is a great area to live,” Sherrer said. “I’m looking forward to helping coach Jones and the rest of the staff win some more games and go to the next level, to building on the success that they have already experienced here.”

The coaching carousel has defi-nitely landed at South Alabama.

Prior to the hiring of Sherrer, CoachingSearch.com reported that Southeast Louisiana head coach Ron Roberts had been offered the job as defensive coordinator, but that he turned it down a week later.

The Jags will be a full FBS pro-gram in 2013, and will be eligible for conference championships and bowl games.

The GoDaddy.com Bowl had a little of everything, from Kent State’s new helmets to Arkansas State’s fi rst ever bowl victory

JTC / LOC

JT CRABTREE / LOC

The 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl matched #25 Kent State against Ar-kansas State, who was making their second straight trip to the Mobile. The Red Wolves won by the score of 17-13 over the Golden Flashes. Here are some quick notes about the game:

•This was the second ever bowl game for Kent State, and fi rst since 1972.

•The Jags will play both Ark St. and Kent State in Ladd-Peebles Sta-dium in 2013.

•Both teams had coaching chang-es. Kent State’s Darrell Hazell left for Purdue after the bowl game, and Ark St. head coach Gus Malzahn did not coach the game after being hired as

head coach of Auburn.•Ark St. quarterback Ryan Aplin

was named MVP. Aplin passed for 213 yards and one touchdown.

•This was Ark St.’s fi rst ever bowl victory and fi rst ever win over a ranked opponent.

VOL. 52, NO 1 / JAN. 14, 201314

VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 2013 13

NOAH LOGAN OPINION [email protected]

OpinionOpinion

JagPulseWhat are your ways to save money on textbooks?What are your ways to save money on textbooks?

Joshua Goff: steal your roommates

Brittney Elizabeth Patrick: Half.com! I got my $200 statistics book for $25 and it was in perfect condition.

Brandon Barnhill: Buy a tablet and pirate the Pdf fi le lol

Tiffany Scobey Anderegg: Buy used from Amazon. Also, sell the books back to Amazon at the end of the semester if you don’t want to keep them - Amazon will typically offer you a higher buyback price than the bookstore will.

Doug Johnson: Don’t buy until after you get the syllabus and only buy if class will use it

Mary Beth Hartley: Rent from Chegg.com.... It has saved me sooooo much money

Halisaurus Mason: I check ratemyprofessor.com to see what other students say about the professor. Usually they’ll comment if the textbook was used or not.

Shannon White: Download the PDF. Whatever you do don’t buy from the bookstore.

The Vanguard The Vanguard ViewpointViewpoint

thevanguardonline.com

Over and over again, people preach about getting involved and becoming a part of the University instead of just a passerby. Many think that they’re here to get an education and get out with a degree in hand and that organizations and clubs mean nothing.

Those people won’t get very far. Unless you immerse yourself in the college experience or get involved in something you care about, then how is what you’re doing worth a damn? The retention rate at USA is pathetic, and the faculty and staff are working dili-gently to rectify that.

But just as you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink, you can’t make a student learn. What you’re learning isn’t just on the expen-sive inked pages laid out before you on your comforter while Friends plays in the background.

It’s the people you meet, how they challenge you and how you react that molds you into more than a successful degree recipient. It makes you a better person.

While some may feel that the col-lege and university system has become a profi t scheme, the goal is not to get you off the stage with a piece of paper

H o u s e Speaker John Boehner was not hoping to be the face of the Republi-can Party at the begin-ning of the New Year. If Boehner and the rest of

the Republican party had it’s way, Mitt Romney would be giving orders to the House Republicans of the 113th Con-gress instead of them having to be the one to give orders to their leader. How-ever, it is now 2013 and the House Re-publicans have decided Boehner’s New Year’s Resolution for him; “Do what-ever it takes.”

Boehner is returning with three key negations dealing with our bud-get looming in the next 90 days and Boehner’s record against President Obama has not satisfi ed the members of his party. Now his Republican allies are privately and publicly urging him to do something that he has never been willing to do: be willing to shut down the government. “Whether it is the sequester, debt ceiling or [government funding], House Republicans are united in doing whatever it takes to change the direction of spending in our country,” said Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio).

Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has shown his displeasure on House Speaker Boehner’s leadership af-ter he moved to pass the fi scal cliff bill without a majority of the party’s caucus, a violation of Hastert’s rule. “Here is the problem. Maybe you can do it once, maybe you can do it twice, but when you start making deals when you have to get Democrats to pass the legislation, you are not in power anymore,” Hastert said on Fox News Radio Thursday.

By securing his Speaker of House Spot by three votes more than the minimum required number, House Republicans have shown their distrust in Boehner. As a result, Boehner has already taken drastically different ap-proaches with the future negotiations from how he dealt with negotiations of the past.

Boehner has already ruled out pri-vate, one on one dealings with the President. In 2011 and during the fi s-

cal cliff negotiations the Speaker of the House sought out several one on one discussions with the President.

Also, Boehner has not wasted any time in delivering the main ultimatum: any increase in the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling has to be matched by equal cuts in government spending. Hopefully Congress will waste little time with these future negotiations so we can avoid an-other bare minimum agreement that does nothing but extend the problems at hand for another three hands.

Immediately, Barack Obama called Boehner’s bluff by stating that he “won’t negotiate” with House Repub-licans, who vow to match the debt ceil-ing increase with spending cuts of an equal or greater magnitude. The New Year begins with same chess match that ended a sour 2012 with Boehner on what could be his last shot.

Noah LoganOpinion Editor

New Year and new strategy for New Year and new strategy for Speaker John BoehnerSpeaker John Boehner

TheTheEditorialEditorialBoardBoard

Editor in Chief Opinion Editor Life Editor Sports Editor LOC Editor

Cassie Fambro >Noah Logan >Jake Howell >

Patrick Herring >JT Crabtree >

By NOAH [email protected]

www.house.gov

that has your school’s emblem on it. It’s to provide you with the skills you need to fi t into the real world, a place many here haven’t seen yet. If you don’t get involved, you’re not learning how to adapt.

Accept responsibility for that. When you’re applying for jobs, people want to see experience, well-rounded-ness and a desire to succeed. Simply making it through doesn’t cut it. Earn-ing a degree entitles you to nothing outside of that piece of parchment after a walk across the stage.

In fact, no one here owes you any-thing. But the fact that you’re here means you owe it to yourself to give it all you’ve got. It’s a new year, semester and a fresh start.

Maybe you don’t believe in fresh starts, but this could be one.

Focus on your goals but don’t put blinders on. Live a little and explore what’s offered around you.

Say yes. Take a risk. That is what you’ll take away from

college, even when you don’t remem-ber all the formulas on page 143 in stats.

Put up or shut up and start 2013 right, USA.

Tough love Tough love

VOL. 52, NO 1 / JAN. 14, 201316

In the popu-lar 1970’s song Takin’ Care of Business, the musical group Bachman-Turn-er Overdrive are taking care of business, and working over-time.

They are dedicated, motivated, and goal orientated. In a world in which they were in charge, I’m sure 70’s rockers would fi nd a way to work with others in order to accomplish a meaningful task.

This is, however, in stark contradic-tion to the mind-blowing mediocrity of the Congress. They had one important task to perform. They were to trim the budget in order to avoid the Fiscal Cliff.

For those of you who are not famil-iar with the idea of the Cliff, it was a series of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that were put into place by a group of Senators in 2011 that would automatically kick in if defi cit reducing measures were not implemented.

Fast forward to New Year’s Eve 2012. The Bush Era tax cuts would ex-

Colin Al-Greene

Takin’ Care of.. nothingTakin’ Care of.. nothingBecome an intellectual in 2013Become an intellectual in 2013By RYAN [email protected]

SOUTH POLLS

Question: What phacet of South Alabama life do you most hoped to see improved for the Spring 2013 Semester?

A: Dining. ( Fresh Food Company, Food court, Delta Deli, etc...) 42.4%

South Alabama Life

B:Campus Life. ( Jag Productions, Mitchell Center events, Speakers on campus, intramurals, dorms) 24.2%

C: Parking. (Parking spaces, parking pass system, parking ticket system) 42.4%

D: Student Health. (Wait time, facilities, patient treatment, organization) 12.1%

By COLIN [email protected]

T h e shooting at Sandy Hook E l e m e n -tary was as senseless an exercise in evil as has ever been; it evoked in me the same basic human

emotions it did in most people: anger, fear, sorrow, and confusion.

We often think the world should follow a set of fundamental rules; one of the fi rst of which being that parents ought not to have to bury children. You can’t help feeling compelled to do something, anything, to mend the torn fabric of the natural order.

That same day, the fi rst salvoes in the battle of public opinion had been fi red. We must act now, it was said. If we only made this or that illegal, if only so-and-so cared about the children, if it weren’t for the NRA- which one would be forgiven for thinking was a co-con-spirator in the madman’s plan – and Republicans, none of this would have ever happened.

It is as though gun control advo-cates, if not for their pesky, barbarous foes, would rid the world of badness – that badness could at last be banished from menacing the lives of America’s children. But evil gives no reprieve to the innocent; it gives no quarter to the unarmed; and it has engendered mur-der and jealousy among mankind since Cain killed Abel in the fi eld.

Rather than talk about measures citizens can take to prevent these kinds of atrocities, like putting a trigger lock on a rifl e or storing bullets separately, those in favor of gun limitations have raised a hodge-podge of exhortations that goes, generally, “We must ban all guns.

Or at least some guns. Maybe not the kind the killer actu-

ally used, just this other kind that we might be able to ban now while public sentiments all stirred up; we must stir up public sentiment now!”

For all their prodigious ad hominem attacks on their opponents, for all the impatient sighs heaped upon the argu-ments against them, no legislation has been proposed to meet their lofty goals.

“Gun control,” if words have meaning at all, must start by amending the Consitution. Otherwise, all the self-righteous indignation in the world can-

not erase the only four words about the right to bear arms that matter: “shall not be infringed.”

It’s hard to change the Constitution – and rightly so. And the 2nd Amend-ment was passed, not as a right to pur-chase outdoor sports equipment, but as an absolute negation of the govern-ment’s power to disarm its citizens.

Thomas Jefferson saw it that way: “No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms … serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confi dence than an armed man.” In Federalist 29, Alexander Hamilton tells us that any power used by the federal government against its citizens could “never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little if at

all inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their rights and those of their fellow citizens.”

Go forth, gun controllers, and sway the opinions of two-thirds of Ameri-cans to your cause. Win the argument on its merits; should be easy enough, seeing as though only Neanderthals be-lieve the 2nd Amendment means what it says. But let’s not sneak in a bad law that breaks a good one, proclaim the freedom from fear of banana clips in “high-powered assault rifl es,” and pat ourselves on the back until the next cri-sis rises from the dark.

Jacob Burchfi eld

By Jacob Burchfi [email protected]

“ No free man shall ever be debarred the

use of arms … serve rather to encourage than

to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man

may be attacked with greater confidence than

an armed man.”

of my fellow students who were more willing to debate than I was.

One day, this professor said something particularly grating and, in spite of myself, I began to argue with her.

To my humiliation, I was unable to defend the positions I held, as the Waterboy defense (“Mama say that…”) is not an acceptable way to present and support one’s ideas.

After sulking and licking my wounds for some time, I realized that part of being an adult is not knowing WHAT one believes, but WHY one believes it.

The point, of course, isn’t simply being able to cite a New York Times or National Review article to back up why you’re right. The point is that when two people engage in a debate using facts and reason to support their positions, the environment is ripe for new understanding and compromise.

Two sides standing across from one another and yelling “Commu-nist!” and “Nazi!” at each other is easy to do, but the reward of solidi-fying (or perhaps even modifying) one’s own views is replaced by the temporary satisfaction of feeling like

a point has been won against the op-ponent.

Webster’s defines a fanatic as one “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devo-tion.” The key word, of course, is “uncritical.”

When I left home in 2006, I was a fanatic, intensely believing what I believed without knowing why I be-lieved it.

This did nothing to serve my ma-turity as an individual, nor enrich those with whom I discussed politi-cal, religious, or philosophical opin-ions. I know that there are many who don’t feel moved one way or the other by political convictions, and that’s fine, as long as you’re not voting for someone based on their good hair or electric guitar prowess.

But if you find yourself a fanatic, believing whatever it is that you believe fervently but without intro-spection, I challenge you to use this new year to instead make yourself an intellectual, someone “given to study, reflection, and speculation.” After all, that is what we are all here for, right?

As any F a c e b o o k friend of mine knows, I’m a bit of an old-fashioned kind of con-servative.

This is per-haps to be ex-pected, since I hail from

north Alabama and headed to Texas (and one of the most conservative universities in the country) for my undergraduate degree.

For the most part, 18-year-old me was only interested in knowing what I knew, politically speaking, and not engaging in discussion or compromising what I had learned over the first years of my life.

In my sophomore year, I met one of those banes of the university ex-perience, the professor who shared political views different than mine, and (more importantly) wasn’t afraid to let all of us know about it.

Since the class in question was public speaking, the battlefield of opinion was regularly staked out and contested by my professor and some

Ryan Wallace pire at midnight on the 31st. More than a year had passed, and no progress towards a budget deal had been made. And then we got the news; the U.S. would go over the “Cliff.”

We awoke on January 1st to discover that our taxes had gone up, and that across the board budget cuts were coming. In an attempt to not look to incompetent, a late deal was struck. Income taxes would not go up on those making less than $400k.

They managed to cut out a little bit from the defi cit. This sounds like a win, right? No, not really.

All they managed to do was to pass the buck off to the next Congress. In two months, we will have reached the debt ceiling, meaning that we will be at our borrowing limit. That means we will have another round of ineffective media rants, and a chorus of budgetary buzz words. We all know how the song goes; “fi scal discipline,” “welfare reform,” “the rich

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17VOL. 52, NO. 1 / JAN. 14, 2013

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“the rich need to pay their fair share!”

And we still haven’t made meaning-ful reductions to the defi cit. Until we can make some sort of budget, and begin to live within our means, we will be trapped in an endless cycle of tax battles.

I am not suggesting that we just slash and burn our spending randomly. There are things that need to be funded. Edu-cation, health care, and research are high on my list.

We should make sure the poor have opportunities to improve their lives. But we must make sure that we remain on a sustainable path. We cannot continue to increase our debt by the trillions.

There will be long term negative ef-fects on the economic growth of the nation and our fi nancial sustainability. Be-cause Congress has not acted, in a mean-ingful way, they have not lived up to their duty. That is why I would say they are me-diocre beyond belief.

Congress failing

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