in this issue (pg 14): Life (pg 25): Opinion /(pg 21): Sports

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vol. 50, no. 3Jan 30, 2012

Special coverage:Senior bowl 2012see page 2

>>>North wins senior bowl at Ladd; game sold out

another semester brings with it an-other change to parking regulations. Be-ginning in the summer semester of 2012, students with a parking ticket balance of $250 or more won’t be able to register for classes until they get their balance below $250.

this number is down from the previous mark of $500 and will continue to drop in successive semesters. the goal of Park-ing Services, according to deputy Chief of Police derek Christian, is to eventually get everyone’s balance completely paid off at the end of every semester.

the reasoning behind this is actually to help students. the original policy allowed students to put off paying their fines until

Mobile Chamber of Commerce: 175 anniversary celebration

Mobile Chamber of Commerce transformed the Mitchell Center last Thursday for their 175 anniversary gala. It was the first time for the event on campus, and Chamber organizers told The vanguard it was a “rousing success” and a “stunning trasnformation.”

MaTT Weaver/ senior reporTer

By Matt WeaverSenior Reporter

See more pictures on pages 2-3Full-coverage on page 12

Jayson Curry/ sporTs ediTor

Food Court officially opens; renovations left site exposed

Parking policy now stricterBy patrick herring

Staff Reporterthey were ready to graduate, leaving the fines to accumulate over time. This result-ed in some outrageous fines.

“We had students getting ready to grad-uate and not being able to because they had more than $1,000 in unpaid parking tickets,” Christian said. “then they would tell us we shouldn’t have let it get to that point, so now we’re not.”

Students with an outstanding balance that exceeds the limit will be contacted to ensure they know that they need to get their fines paid in order to graduate. Those who do not pay their fines cannot gradu-ate, get a transcript or get their diploma released.

Sophomore Khaela huey agrees with the new standards.

“I think it is pretty irresponsible for a

see parking page 7

The new Food Court has a Chick-Fil-a, Pizza Hut, and Studio burger option.

Cassie FaMbro / ediTor

the university’s food court reopened to much fanfare on Friday, including the grand opening of South alabama’s new Pizza hut, Chick-Fil-a and Burger Studio loca-tions. the campus’ long-standing Quiz-no’s Sub shop also reopened.

the food court, also known as the Market, fills a din-ing void on campus as well as provides a new study location and social hot spot. the building is also connected to the university’s open Wi-Fi portal.

Following the Market’s closing in sum-mer 2011, einstein’s Bagels and the dining hall were the only food and snacks provid-ers left on campus.

Craig Stephans, South alabama’s di-rector of dining, is pleased with the re-

action the Market has garnered and believes its popularity will only grow as word of mouth spreads. Stephans also believes that the Market isn’t done ex-panding, with the university still in ne-

gotiations to bring other brands to the campus.

“I really enjoy having new lunch options on cam-pus,” Lisa Smith, a freshman said. “the burger joint is kind of pricey and the Wi-Fi is really in-consistent, but the Chick-fil-A workers are nice and con-siderate to the stu-

dents.”Stephans is keeping a tab of customer

feedback and is diligently working on solving the facility’s problems as soon as possible.

“It’s a definite upgrade over the pre-vious facility and another sign of uSa’s continued growth,” Stephans said. “We

see FOOD COURT page 7

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 20122

2012 Senior Bowl:in pictures

The Senior Bowl game has a long-standing tradition of bringing the top college football seniors from all across the country to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for their final game as a student athlete. Over 100 players were invited to fill out the 2012 game rosters. (Top/Bottom | Jayson Curry/Matt Weaver)

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 20123

Pregame festivities included tailgating oppurtunities and a halftime show featuring the alabama State university marching band and Azalea Trail Maids. ( Matt Weaver/ Sr. Reporter )

Fans travel from all across the country to watch their favorite college football players in their final games before turning professional. (Above-left | Matt Weaver). Connecticut’s Kendall Reyes supporting his alma mater, wearing the U-Conn colors as a cape following the North’s 23-13 victory in the Senior Bowl. (Above-right | Jayson Curry)

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 20124

guitarists take campus by storm

MaDiSON MURphyContributing Writer

It’s not too often an artist who has graced the Billboard top-10 also graces a South alabama stage, but this week Jaguar Productions is proud to welcome an entertainer with such an achievement under his belt.

acclaimed guitarist and composer, Billy McLaughlin will take the Mitchell Center stage, alongside fellow guitarist and former South alabama student rhett Butler.

a local favorite for over 20 years, McLaughlin holds a special place in the heart of many around Mobile.

Ben harper, an education Specialist at the Mobile Symphony Orchestra has followed Billy’s career both as a fan and a friend.

after seeing McLaughlin perform in the uSa cafeteria in 1989, harper was blown away.

his innovative techniques and unique audience connections were astounding. He quickly became a prominent figure in the university’s musical programming.

harper attributes McLaughlin’s suc-cess to his ability “to connect with the audience not only with his playing, but also his between-song-conversation that makes everyone there feel like they are a part of the family.”

university Programs director Paula duke echoes the sentiment of harper.

duke says of both McLaughlin and Butler, “they are so personable and create such a connection with the audience that, at the end of the performance, everyone feels like they have spent the evening with very talented old friends.”

Thousands of websites and blogs voluntarily blacked out their pages for 24 hours in protest of SOPA and PIPA and lawmakers had to face the fact that the internet generation is highly mobilized and motivated. But there is still work to be done to prevent other bills of this nature.

CourTesy 1sTWebdesigner.CoM

SOPA and PIPA hit a (dis)chord

On Jan. 18, the unthinkable happened. For 24 hours, Wikipe-dia darkened its doors, leaving would-be seekers of knowledge with a single message: Stop SOPa/PIPa.

these controversial bills, which stand for “Stop Online Piracy Act” and “Protect IP Act” respectively, sparked a virtual firestorm of protests from people all over the country.

Facebook and Twitter profile pictures were replaced with anti-SOPa/PIPa images and petitions were signed faster than you can say napster.

Many people, though, still don’t have a clue as to what SOPa and PIPa are and what they are meant to do.

these bills were drafted, SOPa in the house of representa-tives and PIPa in the Senate, to combat online piracy.

as stated on Forbes.com, “the purpose of these bills is to make it harder for sites — especially those located outside the united States — to sell or distribute pirated copyrighted material such as movies and music as well as physical goods such as counterfeit purses and watches.”

On the whole, this doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. While many, college students included, would mourn the loss of their supply of free songs or movies, this would not be the end of the world.

as a writer, I completely understand the desire to protect your work from being stolen, but it’s the possible consequences of passing these bills, in their current forms, that prompted people across the country to cry foul.

In order to accomplish their purposes SOPa and PIPa would have allowed the federal government greater control over the In-ternet in order to block or shut down sites, mostly foreign, that are guilty of hosting copyrighted material or those that link to such sites.

The Internet-wide blackout sent a message of discontent to lawmakers that will not soon be forgotten.

jake hOweLLJagLife Writer

For example, explains Wikipedia’s SOPa initiative page, “SOPa could require Wikipedia to actively monitor every site we link to, to ensure it doesn’t host infringing content. any link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced offline.”

these restrictions would also apply to other sites where users generate content, such as Youtube.

Just think, all those hours of procrastinating by watching song parodies or even song covers, could be over because someone brings up copyright infringement.

All a company would have to do is file a complaint to the De-partment of Justice to get the ball rolling.

Once a complaint is filed, according to Mark Gibbs of Com-puterworld.com, “A complaint to the DOJ under SOPA and PIPA could result in the accused website being taken offline ... not by actually shutting it down, but by requiring Internet Service Pro-viders (ISPs) to disable the resolution of the site’s name by the domain name Service to an IP address.”

Opponents of the bills decry them as violations of the First amendment and attempts to censor the Internet. Proponents, however, are more focused on protecting intellectual property rights and strengthening the enforcement of copyright laws.

after Wikipedia’s blackout, and the resulting tsunami of out-raged constituents, lawmakers shelved both SOPa and PIPa. This is only a temporary fix, however, and Congress intends to bring them back up for consideration if a consensus can be met on changes.

While these bills wouldn’t hand over the keys of the Internet to the federal government, they are a step in the wrong direction. Censorship and the control of information is an incredibly power-ful and dangerous tool.

Just look at China for proof.

BaiLey haMMOND, JagliFe ediTorlife.editor@usavanguard.com

jagLIFe

CourTesy universiTy prograMs

GUiTaR, see page 5

5vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 2012

two guitarists to take campus by storm

With a repertoire that spans decades and boasts 14 CD releases, McLaughlin is quite the entertainer, but his rise to suc-cess has not been without its challenges.

after a substantial career that included a record deal with virgin records, he found himself struggling to perform.

the hands that had been responsible for his success fell victim to mysterious spasms and contractions.

In 2001, McLaughlin was diagnosed with the incurable neuromuscular disease Focal dystonia.

refusing to give up on his passion, he did the unthinkable – he retaught himself his own songs left-handed.

Years later, the guitar maven is back on the road bringing his re-mastered mu-sic and his message to audiences across

the country.It’s no surprise McLaughlin’s music

has inspired many musicians over the years. Perhaps, one of the most influ-enced fans is his tour mate rhett Butler.

Butler, a student at South alabama, was motivated to get serious about his own music after seeing McLaughlin per-form on campus in the early 1990s.

he was later admitted to the distin-guished jazz program at the university of north texas. It was there that Butler soon found his niche.

his unique techniques allowed him to play two guitars at once.

It is this talent that propelled his career, eventually leading his album “Solitaire” to become the highest selling independent album at Barnes & noble.

Both artists’ performances are exciting

iMC brings roots concert series to Satori

scott biram, as shown on his website, scottbiram.com.

BlOOdSHOTreCOrdS.COm

haNNah kiNaRDContributing Writer

the Independent Music Collective (IMC) will be kicking off the month of Feb-ruary with its first show of the year, fea-turing Scott h. Biram with special guest Lydia Loveless.

this event will be held at Satori Coffee house on thursday, Feb. 9.

admission is free for students with a valid uSa student Id and only $5 for the general public.

doors open at 6 p.m., with Loveless taking the stage at 6:30 p.m. and Biram at 7:05 p.m.

the must-see Loveless/Biram bash will be the twelfth concert hosted by the IMC as part of its ongoing roots concert series.

as a student organization dedicated to enhancing the local music scene, the IMC endeavors to book both regional and national artists who might not otherwise stop in Mobile.

the IMC also manages the website mu-sicinmobile.org to help publicize live mu-sic events in the area.

The first performance of the evening features up-and-coming artist Lydia Love-less. a 21-year-old Ohio native, Loveless has been likened to Loretta Lynn, but with a heavy dose of punk.

the Chicago tribune claims that “her defiant tone is matched by songs that put country and punk on equal ground, unvar-nished and direct.”

her debut album, “Indestructible Ma-chine,” was released by Bloodshot records

The twelth concert of the series features Scott Biram and Lydia Loveless.

in 2011 and marks the arrival of serious talent.

the album features nine tracks that the Boston globe describes as “brimming with brashness and vulnerability, confidence and insecurity, and can leave you not knowing quite what to think.”

Closing out the evening is Scott h. Bi-ram, the self-proclaimed “dirty Old Man Band.”

Biram describes his music as “the bas-tard child of Punk, Blues, Country, hill-billy, Bluegrass, Chain gang, Metal, and

Classic rock.” his latest album, “Bad Ingredients,”

is his fourth full-length at Bloodshot re-cords.

although distinctly different from his previous releases, “Bad Ingredients” doesn’t disappoint, as Biram maintains his blues-metal-country-punk-hillbilly-rock roots while strengthening it with decep-tively smart songwriting.

after an early acoustic set at Satori, both Biram and Loveless will perform a late show at the alabama Music Box.

weekly lowdown

mon > jan 30Mat Kearney @Soul Kitchen

7:00 p.m. doors open. Show starts 8:00 p.m. $15 advance & $18 day of show.Ages: 18+ and under 18 with parent.

tue > jan 31Girl’s Night Out

5:30 p.m. mitchell Center Globe.Healthy lifestyle Seminar for WomenFree

wed > feb 1Valentine Photo Nooner

10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Student Center Mall. 3d valentine photosFree

Kolja Film Screening

7:00 p.m. STOKeS 1107.Czech film that won the 1996 Academy award for best Foreign language Film. visiting slovak scholar dr. Jaroslav Kusnir, winner of the 2011-12 Hooker-Kubik endowment Award, will briefly introduce the film and lead an informal discussion after the screening. everyone is welcome.

fri > feb 3Billy McLaughlin & Rhett Butler

7:00 p.m. mitchell Center.acoustic guitar concertFree for students (1 ticket each), $10 others

FLASH FORWARD

thu > feb 9Skating Party

9:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Sunshine Skate CenterFree.

IMC Show: Scott Biram & Lydia Loveless

doors open 6:00 p.m. Showtimes: 6:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Satori. Free with valid USA student Id and $5 for General public.

Want your event featured? E-mail the name, date, time, price, place and a brief tagline (under 7 words) to life.editor@usavanguard.com. Include “Weekly Lowdown” in the subject line. E-mails must be received at least 7 days before the event.

lydia loveless staring off into the distance as she possibly thinks about singing some-thing heartfelt.

sTaFF illusTraTion

music lovers across campus. Communication major, Briant Saw-

yer says, “I look forward to seeing Billy McLaughlin and rhett Butler. as a huge fan of jazz, his style truly represents the spirit of the genre legends.”

“at the risk of sounding dramatic, I expect this performance will be magical, as were all the past ones,” duke estimates. With expectations like that, it’s sure to be a memorable performance.

Billy McLaughlin and rhett Butler make their return to Mobile Friday, Feb. 3 at the uSa Mitchell Center.

the show is free for uSa students and $10 for the public.

tickets can be purchased at the Mitchell Center Ticket Office or online at ticketmas-ter.com.

For more information, call Jaguar Pro-ductions at 251-460-7144.

GUiTaR, from page 4

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 20126

Visit. Comment. Share.

thevanguardonline.com

student to let their fines get that ridicu-lous, so no, they shouldn’t be able to regis-ter for classes,” huey said.

With the campus population steadily growing, pedestrian safety has become a primary concern for the police depart-ment. The parking fines are meant to en-courage students to use the transit options that the school provides.

“With so many more vehicles on cam-pus these days, it’s becoming harder for people to get around. We are going to maintain our parking policy so that stu-dents will walk, ride the JagTrans or Jag Bikes that the university has provided to them,” Christian said.

the money collected from parking tick-ets is circulated back into Parking Services for maintenance, repaving and painting of the campus roads.

7vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 2012

Parking rulesenforced

parking, from page 1realize the facility is going to take some getting used to with the new technology and employees, so we’re encouraging pa-tience during the initial weeks.”

Student Center left exposed during renovations

While food court renovations were completed without any major complica-tions, the student center was left exposed during the winter holidays with several doors left unlocked, long after construc-tion crews had left for the evening.

the vanguard’s investigation revealed thousands of dollars in supplies left ex-posed, including 12 computer monitors, food service equipment and administra-tion office supplies. The SA Group, South alabama’s subcontractor for the project declined several interview requests, but the university’s Chief of Police Zeke aull spoke from the perspective of campus se-curity.

aull offered that the building is not the university’s property until the renovations are complete and that uSaPd is not re-quired to provide security for the building until that time.

he added that the dangerous nature of a construction zone was no place for stu-dents, staff or the police and that students caught reportedly entering the building should exercise better judgment.

Food courtFOOD COURT, from page 1

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 20128

9vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 2012

OPInIOn jeFF GiLL, opinion ediToropinion.editor@usavanguard.com

jag voice >> opinion poll

what would you like to see built on campus next?

“A big ball pit and playplace with slides and tubes.”

-Matt MatulichSenior

“The Humanities Building definitely needs a facelift, if not whole re-construction. It’s both sinking and unsightly.”

-Caitlin GlennSenior

“The sidewalks are all over the place. I don’t think the contractors were thinking very far into the future when they were installed.”

-Quan TranSenior

“A stadium. I hate driving all the way to Ladd-Peebles Stadium for football games.”

-Jordan CovingtonJunior

Editorial Board

jeff Gill > Opinion EditorMatt weaver > Senior Reporter

Bailey hammond > Life Editor jayson Curry > Sports Editor

Cassie Fambro > Editor in Chief Genny Roman > Associate Editor

To find us > search “The Vanguard USA”

you get out what you put in, USaIn an academic setting, one can main-

tain an attitude of formality and still be personal.

not every professor is going to go grab a beer with a student and every adminis-trator isn’t going to speak frankly with a student.

then again, not every student even knows the name of the person standing at the front of the classroom.

then it comes time to get a letter of reference for a job, grad school or an in-ternship. Which professors know you well enough to write a letter?

do any?getting to know your professors on a

basis that they will be able to accurately reflect your characteristics both academi-

cally and personally is essential to setting you apart from the status quo.

there is a reason all of the how-to suc-ceed-at-college books advocate sitting in the “t-zone” in a classroom. Interaction is key to having your professors get to know who you are.

this doesn’t mean you need to be an-noying. There’s always the suck-up; don’t be that guy.

Just make sure that you’re participat-ing in class. think about it like being on tv and having a speaking part.

People are listening, and you’re here to make connections. You never know what these people will mean to you later in life.

It could be the difference between get-ting a job, and being passed over, uSa.

students sit at desks in the university of South Alabama Humanities Building.

COUrTeSy OF SOUTHAlABAmA.edU

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 201210

Opinion editorial: new food court an impressive display jeFF GiLLOpinions Editor

Is this love that I’ve felt, or is the new Student Cen-ter Market just leading me on?

This feeling first overcame me last thursday. If you’ll recall, it was a windy, rainy, nasty day to be outside: a perfect day to fall in love. I decided to get some perspective on the new Market. I was mostly happy with what I found.

pOiNT // COUNTeRpOiNTEditor’s introduction: Many people feel that colleges are becoming expensive at increasingly accelerating rates, with little results to show. They claim that these classes are both expensive and time consuming. Still, others believe that they present benefits that are useful in that they open young students’ minds to a world they may not have seen otherwise, with great benefits for those who wait.

arslan arshad

Counterpoint >> College is not for everyone

Grant Defrancisco

Is college worth the expenses we pay?

point >> College is a long-term risk worth taking

as bud-ding adults, we are sup-posed to make choices on our ul-timate di-rections in life. eating habits, when and who to marry, and how we pay

for rent are all choices most of us have to make on our own.

One of the first choices that we as a generation have been told to make is that college or university-level educa-tion is the only way to get a job. even though we are spoonfed this idea of in-tellectual idealism, there is still a choice to be made to risk and shoot for a college education.

When we take out loans, leave our homes and venture forth to attain the pinnacle of specialized education, we are taking a risk through which we can realize whether we want to ultimately complete.

Building a social network with your peers is an important skill to learn, and one can’t exactly learn to be an inde-pendent individual. It especially helps when living outside of house boundar-ies, to build your own rules and respon-sibilities. Some young adults leave their houses without ever having to seriously clean up after themselves, a skill quickly learned when out from under their par-ents’ roofs.

We have an enormous opportunity to exchange our ideas with fundamentally different upbringings. One would be a fool to not take advantage of the diverse people encountered in higher learning.

Believe it or not, higher education should mold you into a more empathic person and help your critical thinking skills. By gaining critical thinking skills, it becomes much easier to see conflicts and solutions from an objective point of view.

Some argue that student loans make the difficulty of becoming a success multiply. It should be more plausibly assessed as a risk, as any person in busi-ness makes a risk.

It may be a harder sell to take loans out for an engineering or medical school degree, but the capital gains from the degrees attained far outweighs the tem-porary student debt.

a larger risk is spending money on a degree whose applications may not as-sure a job at graduation. It is the person striving for the degree that chooses what is feasible to study or not.

It is jibberish to assume that every single person who gets a theater degree will have a steady job with good benefits until they choose to retire. the cream of the crop with the highest ambitions will be winning the auditions.

In conclusion, going to college is a risk and a choice, just like any other business venture. What one does with his time in college is what really matters.

When I was a kid, I was con-stantly preached throughout my primary and secondary edu-cation that I had to college. If I didn’t, I’d be stuck in Mcdon-ald’s flipping

burgers. I was told that I “needed” to go to college, and the education would “al-ways” be worth the money. Many of my friends and acquaintances were prom-ised a brighter future and a degree that guaranteed a job.

My story is by no means unique.Instead, I come to college to find a

dropout rate that is absolutely abys-mal at 44.5 percent, according to high-eredinfo.org, a soaring college graduate underemployment rate, and 19.2 per-cent according to Bankruptingamerica.org. Plus, manacles of a massive finan-cial weight are shackled to students’ fu-tures.

It is time to stop glorifying college and making it out to be something that it is not. Of those graduates that do get jobs, many end up working in fields or careers unrelated to their area of study or did not even require a degree!

For these people, college did not de-termine the path their lives followed - but they are still stuck with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. It is time to stop preaching the supposed value of college degree.

that’s not even mentioning those stu-dents with no direction or the students studying things they were vaguely inter-ested in while in high school or have no direction or purpose with their degree. We are all familiar with “that person” who is a senior with no prospective in-ternships, no work experience, and no idea of what they want to do, but will be graduating in the next four months.

Instead, we should preach other vir-tues to high school graduates, while working to improve the quality of the country’s primary and secondary educa-tion. there are other opportunities out there: trade and technical schools, the military, a service corps, certification programs or even entrepreneurship.

For example, a friend of mine never attended college. he now works as a safety consultant for an oil rig, and is making far more money than most col-lege graduates will ever make - and it didn’t cost him a dime. there are liter-ally millions of success stories that did not begin with college.

I don’t really believe college is worth-less - it does produce a more intelligent populace. It should be the prerequisite for many careers that required advanced education or for those pursuing a pas-sion that requires higher education. however, you cannot expect that just because you go to school for four years you are guaranteed a job.

the Sa group, who de-signed and supervised con-struction, has made this area comfortable by introducing a warm color scheme and subtle lighting. the food op-tions are really the only thing I remember complaining to myself about, other than the price of the silly little pizza I bought ($4.29 is almost goug-ing).

I am not saying that there isn’t a wealth of options; I am referring more to the disregard of vegetarian or vegan options available. I didn’t see a salad bar in the

place that it used to be or in any new place. If I missed it, excuse my ignorance.

as far as the Burger Studio goes, the touchscreen in the front invoked the feel-ing that I was attending a state-of-the-art university. this feeling was very alien. I didn’t interface with the screen personally, but it looked engaging enough.

If you are a frequent reader of the vanguard, you may remember the new Chik-Fil-a franchise that is in the Market as well. this counter ousted the Zoca fran-chise, which was one of the more tasteful parts of the old Market.

My favorite addition to the Market 2.0 is the new tables that were purchased. In

the old Market, the social politics of find-ing a seat were somewhat of a hassle. the tables were fit for eight to 10 seats, which was wholly unnecessary if you were alone. the new square tables seat four more closely, and the rabble from the surround-ing tables won’t interfere with an intimate setting your conversations can thrive in.

the Market 2.0 is a very nice addition to the Student Center. the second phase of the Student Center renovation is not done, but I’m guessing it will be a well-designed space. With a promo week approaching fast (Feb. 6-10), take a minute to stop by and take advantage of the new Market.

MaTT Weaver/ sr. reporTer

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 201212

jaySON CURRy, sporTs ediTorsports.editor@usavanguard.comSPOrtS

even though it’s the offseason for South alabama football, the program hasn’t had a chance to stop yet. Whether it be on the recruiting trail or planning out spring practice, head coach Joey Jones has been busy.

One thing Jones has done this offseason that might be the most important is hire a new offensive coordinator. Over the past three seasons, the Jaguar offense was led by Coordinator greg gregory, but after a 6-4 season the offense needed a change.

that change comes in the form of former Southern Mississippi tight end coach and recruiting coordinator robert Matthews.

Success has followed Matthews on every stop he has made. Before he moved up to the college coaching ranks, Matthews started his career on the high school level where he worked multiple positions ranging from special teams coordinator at Camden high to head coach at Shiloh high in georgia.

after much success at the high school level, Matthews was offered a job with Oklahoma State. after three years at Oklahoma State, where his duties ranged from coordinator of football operations to quarterbacks coach, Matthews moved on to coach at Southern Miss. Matthews spent the last two seasons with uSM and spent his last season there serving as the tight end coach and recruiting coordinator for the golden eagles.

For what prompted Matthews to take the job at uSa, the answer was simple.

“Two things, one is coach Jones’

jaySON CURRySports Editor

Jessica Oram @jessoram4- run-ning in hurricane weather with @em_passini is the highlight of today. I have another hour in soaking wet pants to re-live the moment.

Trey Fetner @Tfet16- Just wanna let all my brothers on the team know that I am sorry about me missing these next 2weeks. I will make up everything I’ve missed.

Shelby Owen @ShelbyOw-en22- Some random person asked me where her class was in the Michell Cen-ter....dude its the third week of school shouldn’t you know by now

cj bennett @CJBennett15- In all honesty what is the point of closing the gate to the grove?? What does it do be-sides waste gas

Shelby Owen @ShelbyOwen22- You know It’s bad when your stretching while you blow dry your hair #gojags

cj bennett @CJBennett15- Im like forest gump on a ping pong table

Brandi @Brandiii_19- random dude said me and @lizzieg_21 had too much swag.. What does that even mean!? Lol

Olivia Mohler @Olivia_Mohler12- Large caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso is gonna get me through these classes. at least I hope.

Corey Waldon @lilwaldon_81- If u want to see that hurt, take a look at ev-ery south alabama football player !!

Bj Scott @Bj_Scott_1- they ain’t gotta cancel class I’ll cancel myself from class #earlydismissal

Rush Hendricks @_RusHen- Our room is absolutely destroyed right now, clean up crews welcome

Drewski-@MachineGunHeavy-Can’t leave my phone anywhere unat-tended around @jessoram4 , she’s a creep waiting to pounce.

Drewski ─ @MachineGunHeavy-during our party tonight, there was a

group of people in my room and when I walked in somebody said get out. I live here!!!!!!!

reputation and being able to work for a guy like coach Jones. And second, I think this is a really good situation,” Matthews said. “I think it’s exciting what is going on down here, and I want to be a part of that.”

Matthews plans to bring an offense to South alabama similar to the offenses at Southern Miss and Oklahoma State.

“If you wanted to describe it, it would be a multiple spread, but at the same time we will try to be extremely balanced,” Matthews said. “We are going to emphasize running the football and high percentage passes, and we are going to keep a high tempo to keep the defense off balance.”

Balance is a big key to Matthews’ offense. Over the past two seasons at Southern Miss, the golden eagles offense has averaged more than 200 yards rushing and passing per game.

“the key to balance is having the players understand that every play is important. the running backs have to understand they have to pass protect when they aren’t running the football,” Matthews said. “and the wide receivers need to understand they have to block when they aren’t catching passes, and when they do that, every play has the chance of being successful.”

as with most football programs, the uSa quarterback position has been one of the most interesting to watch each season. this season will be no different with a new offense coming in.

“When you’re transitioning into a new offense everybody is learning at the same time. So going into the spring, everybody is going to get reps,” Matthews said. “and everyone is going to have an equal

opportunity. We will not have a starting quarterback named by the end of spring practice.

“You look at high school, college and nFL, teams without quarterbacks don’t win. You can sugar coat it because you don’t want to put pressure on that guy, but ultimately that is a pressure position. and it’s a position [where] you have to have a great player there. When I say great that doesn’t mean the most talented, but a guy that is good in crunch time situations and can get the football to other players on the field. And he needs to be able to get the ball in their hands so they can make plays.”

With Matthews’ background, the Jags should receive a boost in recruiting; he has in states ranging from georgia to Oklahoma. Since Matthews was hired so close to national Signing day for football, he has spent a lot of his time on the road finding future Jag football players.

“We are going to sell the fact that South alabama is a great place to play football and a great place to go to school, and they are going to have a chance to come in and build something special,” Matthews said. “We are starting a tradition and building a tradition, and we are going to win conference championships here, and we need great young men to do that.

“Some schools are just so big and some guys just get lost. at uSa, they can come here and have a chance to blossom. the facilities here are very nice, and you really have a feeling of big time college athletics.

“South alabama is really a hidden gem of college football.”

X’s and O’s: uSa’s offensive coordinator robert Matthews

Jayson Curry/sporTs ediTor

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 201212

jaySON CURRySports Editor

experience plays a very below the radar role in sports. We see it every year. every year there is a mid-major college basketball team with less talent but more experience that beats the big name teams in the March Mad-ness tournament. Or the football team that handles the big game scenario because they have experienced it before. With experience comes success.

this year the South alabama track and field teams are younger than teams in the past, but they still have the advantage of some upperclassmen that have been there and done that.

two of those upperclassmen are seniors Joey Torres and Anton Graphenreed. Over the past four years, these two athletes have grown into not only great runners and throw-ers but more importantly into leaders.

torres chose uSa over a handful of other schools and made an immediate impact on the team and school record book since step-ping on campus.

In 2009, torres earned an all-Sun Belt Conference selection after finishing third in the discus at the SBC championship. torres hasn’t looked back since. he has routinely broken a school record or his personal best in almost every throw event.

In 2010, torres captured the school record in the weight throw, tossing the 35 lb. weight 17.90 meters. In the same year torres broke the discus throw school record, besting him-self with a throw of 56.05 meters in the out-door events.

Last season for torres was one of many accomplishments and setbacks. Working through a shoulder injury that turned out to be more severe than orginally thought, torres still broke the school hammer throw record with a distance of 59.50 meters and won the

USA track and field seniors Joey Torres and Anton Graphenreed competing in events from last season. Torres owns multiple school records in throws and Graphenreed in sprinting events.

usaJaguars.CoM

athletics updatesUSA SOFTBALL HAS FOUR

NAMED TO COLLEGE SPORTS MAD-NESS PRESEASON ALL-SBC TEAM

university of South alabama softball student-athletes Hannah Campbell (pitch-er), Brittany Fowler (outfield), Haley Hop-kins (outfield) and Haley Richards (infield) earned first team all-Sun Belt Conference honors at their respective positions as cho-sen by College Sports Madness.

Sophomore Campbell, a Satsuma, ala. native, received 2011 SBC Freshman of the Year honors for her work in the circle last season. Campbell finished the year with a 2.51 era and a 19-7 record.

Fowler (Jacksonville, Fla.), a two-time all-conference player, ended 2011 batting .340.

a senior from gulf Shores, ala., hop-kins was a second team all-conference se-lection in 2011.

richards, a sophomore from Fayette-ville, ga., was a second team all-confer-ence selection as a freshman last year hit-ting over .300 in SBC play.

FORMER JAGUAR PIERRE SIGNS WITH PHILLIES

Former university of South alabama baseball standout and current Major Leaguer Juan Pierre is returning to the national League after agreeing to terms of a minor league contract with the Philadel-phia Phillies, the organization announced Friday.

Pierre, who is Major League Baseball’s active career stolen base leader with 554, spent the past two seasons with the ameri-can League’s Chicago White Sox where he batted .277 with 35 doubles, seven triples, 97 rBI and 95 stolen bases in 318 games. he led the Majors with 68 stolen bases in 2010, which marked the third time in his career he has led MLB in steals.

BORRIES WINS SHOT PUT, MOVES TO THIRD ALL-TIME ON INDOOR PENTATHLON LIST

Johnnie Borries scored 3,444 points in the indoor pentathlon on three person-al-bests and win in the shot put to place fourth overall and eclipse a South alabama record at the Birmingham Invitational on Wednesday.

Borries topped Latoria english’s old third-place mark from 2005 record by 16 points. the senior graduate of St. Paul’s episcopal School in Mobile underwent Tommy John surgery following the 2011 indoor season after suffering a labrum in-jury.

Borries event victory came in the shot put after she posted a toss of 12.21m (40-00.75), which was over two feet further than her closest competitor and good for 675 points.

-Wire reports

Experience key to success

SBC outdoor championship in the discus with a throw of 51.61 meters.

“Last year we did a lot of good things as a team. I injured my shoulder and tore three ligaments, so that set me back,” torres said. “My last three years have been good. I’ve done a lot of good things. I’ve got three school re-cords, and I can’t ask for much more.”

torres has stepped back in where he left off from last season. at an indoor meet in Birmingham, ala. last week, torres broke his own school record in the 35 lb. weight throw with a 17.99-meter toss.

“I am out here to win. I want to focus on my records, but I know there are people out there better than me,” torres said. “I’m not number one, so I need to beat them. there is a national meet to be won and a conference meet to be won. right now I just need to fo-cus on technique before I can worry about records.”

graphenreed has not only become a leader on the uSa football team but has become one of the best sprinters and a leader on the uSa track and field team.

“I’ve been happy to come out and give ev-erything I have,” graphenreed said. “I have my football family and my track family, so I want to give everything I have for them. and I’m a competitor, so I love pushing myself to the limit.”

holding a place in the South alabama re-cord books in multiple events, graphenreed is more concerned with just helping his team. But just as torres did, anton has started off this season where he left off last season.

“When I first got here, my form was horri-ble, and I’ve learned how to run, and I’ve got-ten better as a person,” graphenreed said. “I was pushing myself with football and school and now track, so it just shows if you put your mind to it, you can do anything.

at the indoor meet in Birmingham, gra-phenreed beat his best 200-meter sprint time

with a 21.38 seconds, leaving him just 0.2 seconds off the overall school record. anton is also third in school history in the outdoor 200 meter with a time of 20.86 seconds.

Last season, Graphenreed finished second in both 100-meter and 200-meter sprints at the Sun Belt Conference outdoor champion-ship. he blazed a 10.60 seconds in the 100 meter and a 21.24 second time in the 200 meter.

“I don’t keep up with stuff like that. You did it, that’s great, but there is more important things to worry about,” graphenreed said. “It’s just another milestone in your life, and you have to just push forward to accomplish more things in your life.”

But with all they have accomplished, both men strive to be better personally and to help their younger teammates achieve more.

“For the younger people, we just need to help keep them focused, especially in the classroom because sometimes you can lose focus on what you’re really here for,” gra-phenreed said. “at the end of the day we have to graduate, we have to get a degree. at the end of the day, the athletics will come because they have that naturally.”

“I think the biggest thing is to keep encour-aging,” torres added. “We have a real young team this year, so we are going to need them to do their best in the meets just like we have to step up.”

“anton has been a real blessing to the team. he doesn’t have to come out for track, but he is such a competitor that he wants to come out and do it,” USA track and field coach Paul Brueske said. “Joey has been a tremendous competitor since day one. he has overcome some adversity, and he has been a leader for us.”

Both torres and graphenreed have left a mark on South alabama and will add to their stories throughout the rest of the 2012 season.

Torres, Graphenreed have grown into leaders for USA Track and Field

13vol. 50, no. 3/ Jan. 30, 2012

north wins 23-13, Pead named MvPjaySON CURRy

Sports Editor

exactly a year ago today, newly gradu-ated South alabama wide receiver Courtney Smith was wowing scouts and coaches at the Senior Bowl, en route to netting a training camp invite with the New York Jets. One year later, Smith is bouncing around the Cana-dian Football League looking for work, while a fresh batch of mid-major college football players is seeking to accomplish what Smith could not.

One of them, Cal Poly cornerback asa Jackson wants to play in the NFL. He even has a list of preferred teams that he would like to play for at the professional level.

“It would be a dream to be drafted by the Oakland Raiders,” Jackson said. “But I feel blessed that someone is going to pay me to play, and it really doesn’t matter if it is on the West Coast or in Buffalo.”

Like Smith before him, Jackson had al-ready played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium prior to game week and had a leg-up on his compe-tition. Cal Poly competed against South ala-bama on Nov. 19 in the regular season finale.

Cincinnati running back isaiah pead re-turning a punt during Saturday’s Senior bowl. pead was named Mvp.

MaTT Weaver/senior reporTer

Matt WeaverSenior Reporter

Cal poly cornerback asa Jackson

Jayson Curry/ sporTs ediTor

The Mustangs upset the Jaguars at home, 41-10, a site where they had previously been undefeated.

Jackson was a large part of Cal Poly’s vic-tory and was an overall force for the Mus-tangs in 2011. Against the Jaguars, Jackson played on both sides of the ball, returning three kicks for a total of 66 yards and a long of 32. On defense, Jackson swarmed the South alabama receiver corps and executed seven tackles, four solo.

On the season, Jackson returned 22 kicks for 404 yards at 25.8 yards per return. On de-fense, he recorded two interceptions (second most on his team), a team-best 54 tackles, 31 by himself.

Football didn’t always come this easy for Jackson in 2012. He battled turf toe for most of the season but didn’t allow himself to miss a single play. Jackson wouldn’t be sidelined until a sprained ankle ended his Senior Bowl during the game’s second half.

Cal Poly head coach tim Walsh has seen Jackson play since 2008 and has seen the student-athlete evolve as both a player and a person.

When Jackson enrolled in the summer

of 2008 he was an undersized but confident young player, full of potential and promise.

Jackson was routinely named amongst the top 10 nCaa Football Bowl Subdivision players throughout his tenure at Cal Poly, a notion further cemented once he arrived in the Port City.

Prior to the Senior Bowl, Jackson was rated as a top-30 cornerback eligible for the draft, expected to be picked in the sixth round. his tenacity working against Wash-ington State wide receiver Brian Quick in practice may have propelled him into the fifth round.

But no matter where he lands, Jackson be-lieves an nFL team is going to have an explo-sive and elusive cornerback that’s not afraid to take back punt returns or even play on the opposite side of the field if the play calls for it.

“I feel like an nFL team is going to get a guy who has a lot of speed, ball-handling skills, explosiveness and is elusive on kick re-turns,” Jackson said.

Jackson returns to Ladd-Peebles

When the clock at Ladd-Peebles Sta-dium hit 0:00, the 2012 Senior Bowl was over, but the fanfare wasn’t. hun-dreds of fans rushed the field, jumping a fence or two on the way, just to attempt to get a picture or autograph from any player.

Players hugged their loved ones and were asked to sign anything from a game program to an end zone pylon. Some players gave away memorabilia, like former Cal Poly cornerback asa Jackson, who gave up a bracelet worn in the game to a lucky fan.

Senior Bowl week has become a staple of everyone’s calendar in Mobile that tends to happen when you have the biggest stars of college football’s senior class in town for a week every year for the past 56 years.

this year’s Senior Bowl featured big names that will play on Sunday, Mobile and surrounding area natives and as many nFL coaches and scouts as you could count. the north would eventu-ally win the game Saturday night 23-13 over the South, but the game has be-come much more than a game.

For 2012 Senior Bowl MvP Isaiah

Pead, it could mean millions of more dollars on his contract. With Pead’s MvP performance came two punt re-turns for a Senior Bowl record 98 yards and 8 rushes for 31 yards.

the same can be said for Most Out-standing player for the South, and for-mer Arkansas Razorback Joe Adams. after wowing scouts and fans all week during practice, adams didn’t disap-point during the game, leading all play-ers with 8 catches for 133 yards.

For the north team, Most Outstand-ing player went to utah State Lineback-er Bobby Wagner, who gained much-wanted attention for himself all week and during the game itself. Wagner fin-ished the night with seven tackles and an interception.

For most of these players, the pros and cons of playing in a game like this is the difference on whether they accept their invite or decline it. Some players come in with high draft stock like north Carolina defensive end Quinton Coples, who did little to hurt himself this past week.

But for players like former georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin, who was injured during Saturday’s game, the negatives of the Senior Bowl could affect

his future in the nFL. Other players don’t meet the mea-

surements they hoped to during the weigh-in at the beginning of the week. Players like former Wisconsin quarter-back russell Wilson come up shorter than what is desired at that position. Wilson stands just over 5’10” and 203 pounds.

the week offers players the opportu-nity to learn what it’s like to be coached by an nFL staff as well as start to feel the pressure from nFL scouts. Most people go through their four years of college without answering as many questions as these athletes have to in a week.

the week, if nothing else, stands as a transition period for the players. there isn’t another game they can attend that will help prepare them for the future like the Senior Bowl.

and in the city of Mobile, for any fan that takes advantage of all the Senior Bowl brings with it, there is nothing negative to say. Ladd-Peebles Stadium sold out Saturday for the first Senior Bowl since 2009, and there is a reason so many people come to this game. the Senior Bowl is different than any game or situation for everyone involved.

and the best part about the game is that we can all do it over again next year.

vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan. 30, 201214

15vol. 50, no. 13/ Jan 30, 2012

advertising managergraphic designer

page fi fteenUniversity police blotter

1/ 14 Criminal Mischief - Damage to Private Property� e victim’s driver side mirror of his truck was damaged at � e Grove between 10 a.m. and 6:05 p.m.

1/16 Possession of Alcohol, Possession of MarijuanaTwo male residents of Delta 3 were found in possession of alcohol and marijuana.

1/17 � e� of Property � ird DegreeA student reported that her bicycle was taken from her closet at Delta 2 sometime during the holiday break. � e bicycle is valued at $400.

1/18 Unlawful Breaking and EnteringA student reported unlawful breaking and entering of their vehicle in the Visual Arts Parking Lot.

1/20 Assault, � ird DegreeAn assault was reported at the USA Recreation Center.

1/21 � e� of Article from Auto� ree hub caps were stolen from a Toyota Camry at the Grove. � e hub caps were valued at $150.

1/21 HarassmentA victime living at � e Grove came to police headquarters to report his roommate was harassing him.

1/22 Harassment - � reatening Physical Harm to AnotherHarassment was reported at Delta 3.

1/23 � e� of Property � ird DegreeA student reported that his prescription Ritalin was stolen from the Mitchell College of Business Library.

1/24 � e� of Property � ird DegreeA beige car cover was stolen from a parked vehicle at � e Grove.

1/24 � e� of Article from AutoA student reported several items were stolen from her vehicle in the Medical Science Parking Lot. Items include a laptop, cell phone, book-bag, wallet, and debit/credit cards.

1/24 Possession of Marijuana, Second DegreeA plastic container with marijuana was found on a suspect at � e Grove.

Editor’s note: Have a question for USAPD? Email us at editor.in.chief@usavangaurd.com

“University of South Alabama’s Student Voice”

editor in chiefassociate editorsenior reporter

copy editorlife editor

opinion editorsports editor

web editor

Cassie Fambrogenny romanMatt WeaverCarey CoxBailey hammondJeff GillJayson Currynaquita hunter

distribution manager Johnny Davis

Wesley Jackson

Brittany hawkins

adviseraccounting

James AucoinKathy Brannan

editorial

distribution

advertising

management

missionThe Vanguard, the student-run newspaper

of the university of south alabama, serves its readership by reporting the news involving the campus community and surrounding areas. The Vanguard strives to be impartial in its re-porting and believes fi rmly in its First Amend-ment rights.

submission and editorial policiessend letters and guest columns to:

The vanguard university of south alabama

p.o. drawer u-1057 mobile, Ala., 36688.

or editor.in.chief@usavanguard.com

letters and guest columns must be re-ceived 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. Unsigned letters will not be pub-lished. 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 consen-sus opinion of the editorial Board, which is composed of the editor in Chief, Associate edi-tor, Copy editor, Senior reporter, and Opinion editor. all members of the editorial board have the same weight during weekly editorial board meetings.

The vanguard has a commitment to accu-racy and clarity and will print any corrections or clarifi cations. To report a mistake, call the editor in Chief at 251-460-6442 or e-mail edi-tor.in.chief@usavanguard.com.

The Vanguard is published mondays dur-ing the academic year, except for exam peri-ods and vacations, and is published twice each summer.

The Vanguard is supported in part by an allocation from student activity fees and oper-ates in the Student media department of the division of student affairs. issues are avail-able at most university buildings and select off-campus locations. The fi rst copy is free. Additional copies are $1 each.

weather forecast >>january 16 - jan. 21

We’ll start off the school week with beauti-ful sunny skies and highs in the upper 60s, overnight lows will be cool and in the mid 40s. Tuesday will be warm one with sunny skies and highs in the low 70s with night-time lows in the mid 50s. A cold front will be approaching on Wednesday which will bring the chance for T-storms in the area. That cold front will then move through the area on Thursday bringing with it more thunderstorms, some of which could be strong. Highs on Thurs-day will be in the low to mid 70s with lows in the mid 50s. a few showers may linger on Friday morn-ing but the clouds will move out of the area creating mostly sunny skies. Highs will be in the upper 60s and cool off to the low 30s. The weekend looks great with highs in the low 60s and overnight lows in the upper to mid 30s.

for the latest on your forecast, severe weather updates, and what’s going on in the tropics, fi nd us on Facebook search “StormTeam4Gam-ma9Wx”

you can follow us on Twitter, toosearch “stormteam4g9wx”

and fi nd patrick on Twitter search “metwxpatrick”

mon

tue

wed

thu

fri

sat

sun

6644

7154

7257

7356

6848

6138

6035

weather forecast

USAPD: 460-6132

january 16 - jan. 21

16vol. 50, no. 3 / Jan 30, 2012