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(01/23/14 3:10am)
Sitting in the Grand Opera House, I was amazed by the music created by my fellow Mercerians. “A Grand Mercer Christmas” was pre-recorded in 2012 to be aired nationwide on PBS in December 2013 through Georgia Public Broadcasting and Brandenburg Productions.
The show was comprised of students and faculty from Mercer’s Townsend School of Music and the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings. Mercer Singers was directed by Dr. Stanley Roberts. Program host, Robert McDuffie, and McDuffie’s Center director, Amy Schwartz Moretti, both performed alongside Mercer students.
It was evident that numerous hours and enormous effort had been poured into creating this one grand performance. The process for recording “A Grand Mercer Christmas” took roughly three hours each night. The cameras were set to run up and down the aisle ways. For safety reasons and to help the recording process, the audience was asked not to leave their seats. The evening did not follow the format of a typical concert. The process was stop-and-go, as the producers often requested retakes of various musical segments.
Watching the completed televised production a year later was a pleasant reminder of the experience. Seeing “A Grand Mercer Christmas” in its entirety brought the surreal experience to life. Recognizing friends and fellow students on the television screen was impressive and the final production was very rewarding. Mercer’s Townsend School of Music made the magic happen. “A Grand Mercer Christmas” highlights what Mercer University strives to achieve: excellence in everything we do. The PBS broadcast promoted Mercer University, and was a good example of the high level of education taking place on campus and in the Townsend School of Music.
(11/10/13 3:22am)
“I do think that it’s important for people to remember just how culturally rich Macon has been in the past in music and it’ll be interesting to see, now that events like this are happening, where they can go,” HeaveN Beatbox is a 24-year-old beatboxer from Atlanta who got started as a sophomore in high school. Beatbox was here as a part of the second fall installment of Music Ambassadors: Macon. Speech, of the band Arrested Development, headlined the show with HeaveN Beatbox opening. The house concert began at 6:00 p.m. on Oct. 28 with art from local artist, Heatherly Wakefield.
The series Wakefield created is called Orientation Not Important and was made from a combination of charcoal, pastels and water. “The orientation of the pieces isn’t really important, it depends on the viewer. If someone buys it and they want to turn it upside down, they can do that. It’s however they best relate to it,” said Wakefield.
About 100 people attended the house concert and watched HeaveN Beatbox get the music started. HeaveN Beatbox is a 24-year-old beatboxer from Atlanta who got started as a sophomore in high school. “I’m glad that I’m here because it’s been such an experience,” Beatbox had the opportunity to perform with Speech because they share the same manager.
Before coming to Music Ambassadors, Beatbox didn’t know how much music history Macon had. The private tours of downtown given to Speech and HeaveN Beatbox, told the story of Macon’s vibrant background in music.
Speech first heard about Music Ambassadors: Macon through Tim Regan-Porter, the director of the Center for Collaborative Journalism.
“So when they first told me about this, it was cool and very interesting and very unique. I don’t think I’ve ever performed in a house before, and I thought that was a really cool twist,” said Speech. During the day before the house concert, Speech got to see some famous landmarks in Macon such as Capricorn Records, where The Allman Brothers used to record, venues where musicians like Otis Redding and Little Richard performed, and stopped by the Otis Redding Foundation where Speech met Otis Redding’s daughter, Karla Redding.
Speech began his performance with HeaveN Beatbox giving a beat, before delving in to familiar songs such as “Tennessee.” Speech would also tell the story behind this song, stating he wrote it when his grandmother passed away and then shortly after his brother did as well.
During the house concert, Speech emphasized the importance of remembering the past.
“I’m a big believer in keeping these things, even the parts that are shameful. Even the parts about segregation, I think that’s so important for us to understand as Americans, where we come from, so that we don’t repeat it,” said Speech.
From his experiences through Music Ambassadors, Speech encourages people to visit Macon and learn about the city’s rich history.
Future concerts will be announced through the Music Ambassadors Facebook page and press releases from Tim Regan-Porter.
(10/15/13 9:01pm)
The Music Ambassadors: Macon program began on Monday, Oct. 14 with a show in Mercer Village from the band Bombadil.
The program invites musicians to Macon to perform a lunchtime show in Mercer Village as well as a house performance in a historic home within the College Hill Corridor.
This is the first season for the program. The program is funded by the Knight Neighborhood Challenge and works to acquaint musicians with Macon’s music history. Musicians who come to perform through Music Ambassadors get a private tour of Macon along with VIP accommodations.
Tim Regan-Porter, the director of the Center for Collaborative Journalism, pulled this idea together. His vision for the program is to breathe life back into Macon’s music scene. “I think it’s vital to our sense of identity, to Macon’s sense of identity, and to its economic development. We have that remarkable history that no other city has. There’s always been music here, but for the last 20 years, not a lot of people have known. It’s just sort of dried up in terms of national awareness. So this is a way that we’re trying to get that awareness back,” said Regan-Porter.
Music Ambassadors also brings an opportunity for artists to display their work. At the same house concert where Bombadil performed, artist Carol Dodd Porter had a gallery of her paintings. The paintings reflected Porter’s perception of what the world is like today. Her paintings were filled with text to emphasize our social networking and messaging world that we live in.
For more information on the Music Ambassadors: Macon program, look for the print version of The Cluster coming out Oct. 23.
(08/28/13 9:00pm)
Palm-tree patterned curtains hid the stage while the enormous crowd in Philips Arena waited for Bruno Mars to appear. For those of you who missed it, Mars’ sold out concert was phenomenal. The concert was Thursday evening, Aug. 22.
The curtains fell away and Bruno Mars was center stage surrounded by his band. Mars gave an electrifying performance that was great entertainment mixed with excellent music from his album, Unorthodox Jukebox. The concert kicked off with the song, “Moonshine,” instantly grabbing everyone’s attention. The background visuals showed beautiful tropical parrots flying in slow motion. “If I Knew” definitely brought in the old school sounds Mars grew up with. It was soulful and sweet: “Baby, I, I wish we were 17 / So I could give you all the innocence / That you give to me.”
Mars played an encore with his famous song, “Locked Out of Heaven.” The song is so catchy and upbeat, the whole crowd was up and dancing.
Mars also played music from his previous album, Doo-Wops and Hooligans. “Grenade” was a favorite and Mars managed to get even sweeter with songs like, “Marry You,” and “When I Was Your Man.”
Bruno Mars is by far better live than he is in the recordings. When Mars performs he brings an entirely new element to the music. If you get the opportunity to see him, you need to buy tickets and go. Mars is an entertainer through and through. You won’t be disappointed.
(08/28/13 7:30pm)
Celebrities. Where to start? It seems that within the last year or so, they’ve gotten a little more “cray cray” than usual.
Paula Deen. Oh, sweet Paula Deen. Or should I say “oh, deep-fried cheesecake?” The last few months have not been good to Paula Deen. The lawsuits against her for supposed racial slurs brought her toppling down from the top of the Food Network. The Food Network decided not to renew Deen’s show and has even pulled old episodes off of the air in the last month or so.
On the bright side for Deen, though, the lawsuits have recently been thrown out, all accusations have been dropped, and she is claimed innocent.
Miley Cyrus is all over the gossip news lately as well. Her way of changing her image was to scar her entire fan base of young girls and pre-teens with her new single. The song is called “We Can’t Stop.” It’s irritatingly catchy and gets stuck in everyone’s heads. That is, until you watch the music video.
It’s basically a very bad mash-up of all the things Miley thinks is cool. For example, dancing with giant teddy bears strapped to her back, wearing fake grills in her mouth, and making out with a barbie doll version of herself.
Instead of trying to develop a more mature image of herself, growing away from Disney and Hannah Montana, she acts outrageously.
Amanda Bynes is another crazy celebrity who is certainly taking a dive into the deep end. A little over a month ago, Bynes accidentally set her pants aflame while making fire in a driveway with a gas can. She was taken to the hospital for an involuntary health evaluation.
What happened to the Amanda Bynes we knew when she was on the Amanda Show? “Bring out the dancing lobsters!” At least then she was funny in her own strange way. Now she is just strange.
Reese Witherspoon enjoys drunkenly yelling at policemen as a new hobby. Witherspoon was out drinking with her husband and he tried to drive home while still intoxicated. Police pulled them over and Witherspoon started yelling at them, causing all kinds of unnecessary drama. She claimed that she only panicked when police started arresting her husband. Witherspoon also claimed she was pregnant while the police were arresting her.
Instead of realizing her mistake and admitting she acted ridiculous, Witherspoon later just joked about it on national TV. Obviously, everyone has been arrested for disorderly conduct while yelling at a policeman. Not to mention she also spent that night in jail. Way to go Reese Witherspoon. Way to go.
For more celebrity craziness, just remember to keep an eye open. They’re celebrities! They’re bound to pull an extremely crazy publicity stunt at some point.
(08/28/13 7:00pm)
The grand opening of Taste and See Coffee Shop and Gallery on Friday, Aug. 16 brought a steady crowd. The new coffee shop, which features photography by one of the owners of Taste and See, is located on Poplar Street. The Cluster sat down with the general manager, Katherine Gonzalez, to hear the story behind the coffee shop.
Cluster: Who owns Taste and See Coffee Shop?
Gonzalez: The owner of Taste and See, there’s two. They’re co-owners: Bryan Nichols and Kevin Reeves. Bryan does a lot of downtown restoration of the historic homes and rents them out. The pictures in here are Kevin’s work. His hobby is landscape photography, so he does all the pictures in the gallery. This is something for them that is hard work, but is fun.
C: How did you become manager?
G: Honestly, it was totally a God-thing. When I got into high school and college, I really desired to own my own coffee shop. I got big into coffee, and so throughout college I interned with 1,000 Faces Coffee in Athens, (Ga.) then I worked at Jittery Joe’s here in Macon. I could just see the Lord putting these opportunities in my path to prepare me. One day he just dropped this in my lap and (the owners) asked me to run this shop because they found out it was my dream to own my own shop and they asked me to run it.
C: It’s a peculiar name, where did the name come from?
G: There’s two things: one obviously, taste the coffee and see that it’s good, or taste the coffee and see the pictures in the gallery. So there’s two things.
We are a Christian-based organization. To us, this is business but it’s ministry as well. What we desire to do is just love on people. Everyone that comes through the door we just want to serve them good coffee and to enhance the coffee knowledge of the Macon community. Taste and see that coffee is good, because I think a lot of people think, “Aw coffee! It’s bitter!” It’s not supposed to be bitter. So our desire too is to enhance the coffee knowledge of this community. Starbucks isn’t the best coffee, or it’s not the place to get coffee. Try your local shops, see what they have to offer.
C: How and why did the owners choose this location on Poplar Street?
G: Well they had the plans and the design for this building before they found the building. They knew where they wanted everything, they had everything laid out and they actually had the blueprints of it. They were looking for a building. So when they walked into this building they knew this was it. They knew they wanted to be in Macon and they knew downtown was being revitalized and they wanted to be a part of that. I know some people say, “Poplar Street? Why do you want to go on Poplar Street?” We’ve heard a lot of that. But, since we got here, we’ve also heard some of the owners of other businesses say, “I’ve never seen this many people on Poplar Street in years.” So it’s been a really rewarding experience so far.
C: You’re opening day was on Friday. How did that go?
G: Amazing. From 7 a.m.-11 p.m. it didn’t stop. If there wasn’t someone ordering coffee, they were looking at a menu to place an order. I’m not exaggerating, it was crazy in here but it was really good.
C: What are your usual hours?
G: We’ll be open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It could change depending on what’s going on downtown. Like, if the Cherry Blossom Festival is going on, we might be open a little bit later.
(08/28/13 7:00pm)
The new stadium for football is absolutely amazing. I went exploring there the other day, and was awestruck by the immensity of the stadium. Seeing the finished product is awesome because I watched it built from the ground up. It didn’t take Mercer long at all to get the stadium up and running.
In my explorations of the newly finished stadium, I noticed the artifical-turf field (painted with the Mercer emblem in bright orange and contrasting black). The turf is soft and kind of springy to step on (you should try a few jumping jacks of excitement when you step out on it).
The bleachers themselves are gigantic! The top of the bleachers are so high, you get a great view of the entire field.
I discovered the concession stand just outside the stadium facing the engineering building. The concession stand hopefully will have no problem accommodating the thousands of people expected to be at the game.
I can imagine the crowd that’ll be here just three days from now. There’s going to be so much energy and it’s definitely going to be a night to remember. Everything seems to be ready and waiting for the games.
The question is now, are you ready?
(08/14/13 6:30pm)
Welcome to Mercer freshmeat! I mean...freshmen! You’ve made a successful leap from high school bores to college adventures! Now while you’re making new friends, and settling into your new dorm, it’s important to explore campus and find potential study places. Trust me, you will get a boat-load of school work, you will realize quickly that your bed is NOT a good place for productivity and you will be searching for a new study spot.
No worries! Here you will find a list of study spaces that have certainly helped me. 1) The Co-op. I just call this the coop (like a chicken coop). I’m sure it’s already been pointed out to you, but just so you know, the coop is located in the Connell Student Center outside Bear Necessities (you have to go through the coop to get there). I love to study in the upstairs part of the coop on the wooden benches and tables. It’s very focus-friendly up there, and I can usually find a table to myself to spread out my laptop and books on. The coop is also very useful for studying in a group. Piece of advice: Be sure your laptop is fully charged before you go study here because unfortunately there are no power outlets (or just bring an extra long extension chord to plug in downstairs).
2) Study Rooms in Tarver Library. Study rooms are excellent places for concentrating on your work. They are quiet, brightly lit and there’s a dry erase board in each room. You can also choose which level of the library you want to study in based on whether you want background noise. I know I can’t focus on writing unless I’m listening to music. If you’re the type that needs absolute silence, than go to the third floor and you can practically hear your blood flowing.
3) Jittery Joe's. This is a fantastic place to study and get absorbed in a focus bubble. Grab a coffee, choose a table and hit the books! Usually you can find a table to work on your own or with a group of friends. However it can be difficult to study here sometimes because it’s a high traffic area for students. You’re bound to get caught up talking to some friends who stopped by for coffee. Just be careful you actually study while you’re there!
4) Engineering Building. Yes, even if you’re not an engineer, you can still take advantage of the empty classrooms available. The big dry erase boards and large rooms are perfect for studying in a group. It’s also quiet enough to study on your own.
5) University Center. The UC has plenty of cozy couches and tables to sit and study. I enjoy sitting on the couches overlooking the pool. It’s also very convenient for getting meals while you’re studying. Chick-Fil-A, Subway and Burger Studio provide a variety of food for you to choose from. The UC stays open until midnight every night so you can study late. So, now you have an idea of where to study and do work on campus. Time to flutter your wings little chickadees and explore all the great spots off campus in Macon! Flip to the local section for a guide on your off campus adventures. Have fun!
(04/25/13 5:31pm)
The long-awaited literary
and arts magazine from
the Dulcimer was released
last Thursday, April 11. The
Dulcimer hosted an annual
release party to celebrate and
bring together art and literature
lovers.
The event was held downtown
at the 567.
To start off the evening at
the release party, there was
a photo booth with hats,
scarves, and fake mustaches
to dress up. Guests at the party
were encouraged to participate
in readings of their
favorite piece of literature.
The readings could be something
from a novel, poem, or
an original piece.
Among some of the speakers
during the readings were
Joshua Whitfi eld, Jennifer
Champagne, Dana Nicolazzi
and professor Gordon Johnston.
Gordon Johnston is an English
professor at Mercer University
and after his poem
reading Johnston said, “This
is the best Dulcimer that I’ve
seen yet.”
Michelle Meredith, editor in
chief of the Dulcimer along
with Jennifer Champagne,
the layout and design editor,
changed a big part of the look
of the magazine.
“Michelle and I worked really
hard on the magazine.
We were going with a new
direction this year, and I
guess we were nervous about
the reception. It seems like
everyone really likes it,”
Champagne said.
The title of the magazine,
Intersection, comes from
the Dulcimer’s aim to interweave
the art and literature
together.
Between 30 to 40 people
in total arrived to the Dulcimer
release party. Of those
who arrived, the adviser for
the Dulcimer Mercer professor,
Craig Coleman, was also
there to celebrate.
“I think it (the release party)
went very well. There
were a great number of
people here. In fact, I think
all of the tables were being
used. Everyone seemed to
enjoy the event very much,”
Coleman said.
Dulcimer staff were excited
to see the Dulcimer magazine
be distributed all over
campus throughout the day
on Bear Day. Over 100 copies
were distributed and still
more were given out during
the release party.
“I’m just really happy that
everyone came out and enjoyed
it and had fun. It was
a nice way to wrap up Bear
Day. Kind of a nice event to
go to at night and just hang
out, relax and appreciate all
the art submissions by all the
students,” Champagne said.
The Dulcimer release party
was one among several other
events that the Dulcimer
hosted throughout the past
year.
The Dulcimer held a “Poetry
in the Park” event along
with providing refreshments
during poetry readings by
professor Judson Mitcham
back in February.
In an announcement Meredith
made during the party,
this year’s Dulcimer magazine,
was dedicated to the
Dean of Liberal Arts and
English professor, Richard
Fallis and to the late author
of “The Whisper of the River,”
Ferrol Sams.
(03/06/13 5:07pm)
The time to get a job is here and there are certain ways to go about successfully attaining those jobs. No matter how far away you are from getting your degree, you need to start thinking about getting a job. Whether it’s just a summer job or your dream career, a few pointers will help push you in the direction you want to go.
Know how to target your job search. There are many skills and qualifications you may not have thought about that could be relevant toward getting a job. Don’t sell yourself short. Have confidence in yourself and in your work. Figuring out what job you want with the company you want is important in narrowing down the vast amount of options. “Especially in liberal arts majors, there’s a whole lot more that they’re qualified to do beyond their majors,” said Stephen Brown, associate dean of Student Services. “So the first thing a person has to do is figure out how they want to target their job search.”
Strategically prepare job application materials and start early. Create your résumé and cover letter specifically for the job you are applying for. Include work experience that you think would help show your professional talents and skills. It’s important to also apply early enough to actually get the job. How early depends on the job you want and what work it is. “We recommend it’s going to take six to nine months oftentimes to get those interviews started,” Brown said.
You have an interview ready, now what? Employers want a genuine sense of enthusiasm about your ability to do the job. Again, have confidence. Grabbing an employer’s attention often requires you to be confident and “comfortable in your own skin.” Answer questions during the interview as fully and completely as you can. Make sure before going into an interview that you know enough about the company you want to work for. Some good research and overall knowledge about the job is impressive. Present yourself in a way that portrays how you will be a positive influence to the company. Think of answering these two questions: “What do you know about the employer’s company?” and “Why do you want to work for them?”
Dress for success! Technology such as Skype and smart phones have definitely changed the way interviews are orchestrated. It’s always a good idea to dress up for an interview, even if it’s a phone interview. “We’ve heard some recruiters say it definitely puts you in a more professional mood if you’re doing the phone interview wearing something nice as opposed to wearing your flip-flops and shorts,” Brown said. On Skype interviews, definitely dress professionally since you are actually going to be seen. For boys, you can wear a full professional suit and tie, but you can also get by with a pair of nice pants and a blazer. For girls, change it up a bit more. You can wear a full suit with a pencil skirt, or a nice pair of slacks and a blouse would be just as good.
Start looking for a job now especially if you want one for the summer. Be sure to contact Career Services to help you put together your resume and cover letter as soon as possible.
(02/20/13 3:42pm)
Experienced head softball coach, James DeFeo has started the new softball season with big plans in mind for the team. DeFeo has been coaching for over 20 years and this is his second year as a head coach at Mercer University. DeFeo took a spare moment to speak with The Cluster about the starting season, the team, and a little bit about his coaching career.
Cluster: How long have you been coaching for?
DeFeo: Coaching in general, over 20 years right now. This would be my 16th year in Divison I and I’m starting my second year here at Mercer. Previously I was at LSU for the last 12 years.
C: How did the team perform last season?
D: We faired decently. We didn’t perform up to expectations. At the end of the year, our pitcher had an injury which really strained us. So, we didn’t finish as strong as we would have liked but we had potential and we’re bringing that potential to its fruition this season.
C: How would you describe your coaching style?
D: Well, I’m very detail-oriented, process-based. We focus on fundamentals, focus on the little things and we focus on what we do well and make that better. We just strive to play like Bears. We go out, give 100 percent hustle, 100 percent effort and great attitudes every time we take the field.
C: How do you keep the girls on the team motivated?
D: We like to keep it fresh, we like to keep it fun because it is hard and it’s a lot of hard work. We don’t let things get stale. We don’t have the same practice ever twice. We like to mix it up and keep things fast-paced. We do a lot of things in short bursts and get a lot of stuff done that way so their attention to details are a lot better.
C: The season is just beginning, what do you hope to improve this season?
D: Right now we have a lot of talent but we don’t have a lot of bodies. We have a very small roster right now. We’re down to 16 players and just hoping that nobody gets hurt. We have a lot of versatile athletes that can play multiple positions and that makes us a very dangerous team. We pitch well, we play defense and we can score in a lot of different ways.
C: What are your best memories as a coach?
D: The first time I got to coach here at Mercer was one of the best memories. Just really fun having my own program and seeing my work pay off and see the kids bind into the system. Another great memory is going to the World Series three times with different teams.
C: What is your worst memory as a coach?
D: My worst memory was last fall at our first game. In the first pitch of the first game, we got a home run hit off us. It was a very foreboding moment, but then we came back and we won that game so it ended up being good.
C: So in coming here to Mercer, is this the first time you’ve been able to do what you want with how things are run?
D: I’ve been very fortunate to coach with a lot of people that let me coach and help the team in every way I could. But, this is my first actual coaching stint where I get to make all the calls. Slowly but surely once we get all the recruiting here, we’ll be very talented.
(02/20/13 3:39pm)
The Mongolian-style restaurant Ginger Stir-Fry & Grill on Second Street had its grand opening last Monday, Feb. 11.
Cesare Mammarella, who owns downtown restaurants like Bearfoot Tavern and the Tic Toc Room, opened his seventh restaurant in Ginger.
Mammarella opened Ginger because he wanted to look for newer things that would not compete with anybody else.
“[There is a] growing youth in the downtown scene. It is important to give that really good quality product at a reasonable price,” said Mammarella.
When customers walk in, seating is available to the left side of the building, and on the right are the kitchen and wrap-around food bar.
According to the restaurant’s website, “the real experience at Ginger however is being your own chef.”
Instead of sitting down and ordering food off a menu, customers can build their own stir-fry dishes. The wrap-around bar allows customers to choose all of their own ingredients. Customers receive two bowls: a green one for vegetables and starches and a smaller red bowl for proteins.
After choosing proteins, veggies and starches, the customers can choose whatever sauces and seasonings they want.
“Anything that has ginger in it, we actually mix ginger root. We don’t buy any powdered or pre-mixed stuff. Everything is made from scratch,” Mammarella said.
After customers choose the ingredients and sauces they want, the chefs cook the vegetables and meat together. The chefs cook the food Hibachi-style, where customers can watch the food being cooked on a 700 degree Mongolian barbecue grill.
The food at Ginger is delicious to say the least. The food is unique, and customers enjoy the ability to personally choose their own ingredients at a reasonable price.
The wait time for food to be cooked is not very long at all, and the atmosphere is exciting and entertaining.
The way that Ginger is set up makes it easy and convenient to get more food if needed. The food can be as light or as heavy as customers want it to be, and they can choose from a lot of healthy ingredients.
Since opening day, Ginger has had to tweak a few things to improve the flow and feel of the restaurant.
Mammarella and his team at Ginger made lists of what needed to be changed and then made sure to work on those changes the next day.
A big change that Mammarella still wants to work on is the timing.
Instead of taking 12 minutes for a customer to choose ingredients, pay, and wait for the food to be cooked, Mammarella wants to cut down the timing to eight or nine minutes.
The decorations and atmosphere of Ginger are definitely unique for the city of Macon. Mammarella found inspiration from Asian culture and art, and it is expressed in Ginger’s atmosphere.
The walls and lamps are various colors of orange and coral colors, while the tables are an avocado green.
“It’s kind of a big bright mess, but I didn’t want it to be a typical brown, wood, warm environment. We’re trying to keep it a little bit more energetic, a little more lively. It’s a healthier style,” Mammarella said.
(02/20/13 3:25pm)
Since 1964, Historic Macon Foundation has been striving to preserve historical buildings and areas of Macon. Mercer University alumnus Josh Rogers is part of that mission and is currently the executive director of the Historic Macon Foundation.
Cluster: What made you choose Mercer?
Rogers: I looked at several schools. I knew I wanted to go to a small private school and my dad was a high school guidance counselor. We had just visited Presbyterian College and we were driving back to my hometown, Waycross, when we passed through Macon. My dad said, “I really want you to stop and check out Mercer,” because he had a lot of students who really enjoyed going there. I was already exhausted from seeing so many other schools and I really didn’t have a strong sense of where I wanted to go, but the minute the campus tour started I knew I wanted to go to Mercer. I knew that is where I wanted to be.
C: What was it that really attracted you to Mercer the first time you saw it?
R: I really can’t describe it. I felt like it was a place where I was going to be challenged and that there were going to be lots of opportunities. Coming into school, I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living, I just wanted a good education. I was going to be able to get a great education in a great environment; that was the only thing that triggered it. It was a little bit of magic that first time.
C: What year did you graduate?
R: I graduated in 2005 from the College of Liberal Arts.
C: What was your major?
R: I did southern studies and history. I was the first person to finish the southern studies program because it was brand new. I didn’t have a major until my junior year. I had just been taking a bunch of english and history courses, so when they came up with southern studies, it just so happened that a lot of my courses already fit into that.
C: Did you join any organizations or clubs?
R: I was a member of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, a member of Student Government Association and I was part of “Into the Woods” with the theater department.
C: Now you are the executive director of the Historic Macon Foundation. What exactly does that entail?
R: It’s a great job. I didn’t ever plan to get it; it’s funny how life works out. My first job was waiting tables at Tic Toc for almost a year and I was really bad at it.
I started volunteering during the day at Newtown Macon and it was awesome. Everything pulled together, kind of like southern studies. It was a part of my academic interests, my personal interests, and I could actually get a job working with old buildings. That led me to a master’s degree in historic preservation and brought me back here. I’ve been here (Historic Macon) for about four years now. We’re the region’s historical society, we do education about local history and architecture. We also revitalize Macon’s neighborhoods which brings me right back in a close-working relationship with Mercer.
C: You recently received an award from Mercer, could you explain what that is and what it is for?
R: It was the Thomas Sewell Plunkett Young Alumnus Award, and it was a big honor. Mercer is still incredibly important to me; my best friendships were developed at Mercer. One thing I think is consistent among all of Mercer’s alumni is that they know they can make a big difference, so they act in really bold ways. It’s true of everybody I’ve met regardless of what career field they’ve gone into. The Young Alumnus Award was a great recognition. I have a very small part to play in all the partnerships that revitalize Macon, but it’s just an affirmation that we’ve had some really good success making the neighborhoods around Mercer safe. Restoring the houses and recruiting people to live back downtown, it’s become a cultural movement.
C: Do you have any advice for current Mercer students?
R: It’s such a difficult part of your life to take too seriously, and you’ve got to enjoy everything that is happening at Mercer. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to have access to the academic minds that are at Mercer and be in a format where you’re around so many other smart people who care about the big picture. I think the best advice I can give is to take advantage of every opportunity you’ve got.
(02/20/13 3:21pm)
Learning another language can be tough, but it is doable. No matter what language you choose to take, whether for school or for pleasure, there are some great ways to learn a new language.
Make flashcards. Small white flashcards are always good to have. Keep them small so you can fit them in your pocket. That way, you can bring them with you wherever you go.
Any time you’re sitting and waiting for something, or you have some down time, pull out those flashcards and flip through them. The more often you do that, the better chance of you learning and remembering them.
If you have a smart phone, there is a Quizlet app you can get that has flashcards you create on your phone. Anywhere you bring your phone is now also where you bring your flaschards!
Talk to other students. Find someone on campus who is a native speaker of the language you’re trying to learn. You can practice pronunciation and get an understanding of how the language sounds from a native speaker while at the sametime making new friends.
This will also make for a great opportunity to ask someone other than the teacher about the language and culture.
Youtube. Youtube is great for finding videos specifically made to help people learn another language.
People will often make a catchy song to help learn something that may be tricky.
Other videos where people explain grammar and sentence structure are helpful as well.
Also, try and find some international vloggers, and watch their videos in your language of choice.
Watch TV and listen to international radio. Some of the best ways to really become competent in learning another language are watching television and listening to the radio in that language.
It will be slow going at first, but the more often you do it, the better. You may not be able to know exactly what people are saying, but you’ll be able to recognize little words and phrases.
Visuals help with learning another language too. Watching how people gesture on TV as they talk definitely helps to get the point across.
Listening to songs in another language will help you get used to hearing and recognizing words. Plus, the perk of radio listening is that you can be doing something else while letting the radio play in the background.
Try online tutoring. Get extra practice in by setting up an account with an online language learning website. It’s great for helping you brush up on the basics so you don’t forget them while you delve deeper into the language.
The only downside is that sometimes these websites will charge you a small fee per month to continue using it. But if you do enough searching, you might find a free one somewhere.
Try some or all of these tips and see if they help you with learning your new language.
Good luck!
(02/06/13 7:24pm)
So, Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. Yes, I’m sure there will be plenty of cute couples doing cute couple-y things for each other like giving flowers, buying expensive jewelry and just overall being sappy.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of people doing cute, cheesy things for each other but somewhere, stalking amongst all those cheesy couples will be the annoying shadow of horrid Valentine’s Day candy.
Cue dramatic music.
There are many kinds of Valentine’s Day candy that I cannot stand.
A cheap box of chocolates is one. You know, the ones that look like wonderful delectable chocolates when you open the box, but then realize as you munch on the first piece that its innards are filled with revolting poison?
Okay, I’m being melodramatic but you get the point. You never know which revolting flavor is lurking just inside that happy chocolate coating.
It especially bothers me that these cheap boxes of chocolate often do not have a map to help you find that one chocolate you DO want out of the entire box.
Did whoever invent boxes of chocolates not think about people who could be allergic to coconut? They need a warning!
Another kind of Valentine’s Day candy that makes me want to hurl are conversation hearts.
Really, could whoever invented those things come up with a more disgusting flavor?
Yeah they look cute, but that’s all they’re good for. And let me just mention, because of their disgusting flavor, it’s always awkward to accept a box of it from someone on Valentine’s Day (hint hint, don’t be that person giving conversation hearts).
We all know that at the end of the day, only one maybe two conversation hearts will be eaten just to be polite. The rest will either sit there for weeks (and not go bad because it’s made with some magic that preserves it forever) or it will be thrown away that very night.
Another bothersome Valentine’s Day candy are those small, generic colorful hard candies.
You know, the ones that you’re not quite sure how long they’ve been sitting in someone’s candy bowl?
They look like they could have been around since Halloween.
Just a bit of advice, don’t eat those. If you’re going to eat them, take the conversation hearts instead. At least those (hopefully) won’t give you food poisoning.
Jelly beans. Ugh, don’t even get me started on jelly beans. I could rant for days about gross jelly beans.
For one, they’re extremely cheap. Accepting a bag of jelly beans won’t ever be a very memorable thing on Valentine’s Day.
Secondly, most of them taste nasty. I don’t know about you, but I only eat the red jelly beans and end up throwing away the rest.
So, for this Valentine’s Day, do something memorable and unique for your date (or if you’re single, treat yourself).
Instead of buying generic Kroger or CVS Russel Stover candy, go find an international foods store and buy some unique European candy.
It shows not only that you went out of your way to find decent, interesting candy, but also it’ll taste better (and shows you have some taste and class).
(02/06/13 3:25pm)
Macon Purrs N Paws Humane Society, a pet adoption organization off Rocky Creek Road, recently had a cat adoption on Saturday, Jan. 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The cats have three separate rooms to freely roam around in. In these rooms, most of the cats sleep or play together on pillows, small beds or jungle gym cat scratches.
Macon Purrs N Paws is a non-profit, cage-free rescue modeled after the Atlanta cat rescue known as Good Mews.
Anne Brennaman, founder and treasurer of Macon Purrs N Paws, said, “[Good Mews] is a fabulous organization, and I patterned Purrs N Paws after them. We did a lot of research on cat sheltering, got information from our vets, got our license and here we are.”
The organization started in April 2010 and has easily had 500 to 600 adoptions total since opening.
Within the last year, well over 300 cats have been adopted.
Macon Purrs N Paws also has between 10 to 15 dogs in foster care at present, but the shelters are for cats only.
Currently, the number of cats residing in the shelter is 126, but the organization tries not to exceed over 130 animals at a time in the shelter.
The shelter stays close to full capacity most of the time because “there’s such a need in Macon,” Brennaman said.
“[In 2010], the percentage of cats being put down by animal control was in the high 90s. Everything that we (Purrs N Paws) had to do to make this happen just fell into place for us.”
Usually Macon Purrs N Paws pull cats and dogs from animal control shelters in Jones County, Warner Robins and Macon.
However, sometimes “if someone has to surrender a cat, if we have space, we will take an owner surrender,” said Brennaman.
Macon Purrs N Paws has no sponsors and instead relies entirely on adoptions, fundraisers and donations.
Brennaman said, “We would love to have sponsors.
We have to pay the bills just like everybody else, and it is a constant struggle. The cats have to come first.”
The fee for adopting a cat is $85 to cover the costs of vetting and housing animals that are taken in.
The organization also accepts volunteer help and foster care for their animals. As volunteers, people are encouraged to play with the cats and give them attention.
At the moment, Macon Purrs N Paws might be difficult to locate because not many people know about it, and it is located in a shopping center.
The organization is going to put up a sign soon to help get the word out.
Macon Purrs N Paws has a Facebook page, which they update with upcoming events and pictures of animals ready for adoption.
The organization accepts donations through their website at maconpurrsnpaws.com.
People who wish to volunteer or foster can also fill out forms on the website.
The adoption events occur every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
(02/06/13 3:24pm)
Tattnall Square Park is slowly going through a steady change of pace.
Last year, Tattnall Square Park received a grant from the Knight Foundation through an idea proposal called the Knight Neighborhood Challenge.
The Knight Foundation rewarded a grant of about $33,000 toward trees for Tattnall. A total of 225 trees have been planted within the last year.
The Knight Neighborhood Challenge allowed individual people and groups of organizations to present ideas for improving the community in Macon.
Those who presented to the board of Knight Neighborhood Challenge had to know exactly what the donated money would go toward.
The most noticeable changes in Tattnall at the moment are the variety of recently planted trees, the sitting wall by the pavilion and the garden near the sitting wall.
An organization called Friends of Tattnall is made up of Macon residents, along with Mercer students and faculty.
The group works together to discuss park issues and generate new ideas to improve it.
The leader of Friends of Tattnall is senior Annie Biggs, and the chairman is Andrew Silver, an English professor at Mercer.
Silver has helped to plant numerous trees in Tattnall and to paint the pavilion located near the playground.
Since the grant from the Knight Foundation, people around the community want to become more involved with improving the park.
People see changes happening and want to be a part of that change.
“What we found is that, once you start investing in a park, more investment follows. Basically what happened was that people started contacting us and asking if they could donate a little bit more money for trees. So we got more trees around the playground.” Silver said.
The new trees are planted in an outlined design that will be more visually appealing to pedestrians.
Some of the trees planted are flowering trees, shade trees, and magnolias.
Planting more trees is not only good for improving the park’s appearance, but also for replacing older trees that may fall soon.
Some of the bigger existing trees in the park are around 100 years old.
According to Silver, of the 12 tennis courts in the park, only two are going to be removed. The remaining 10 will be fixed up to look more appealing to the community.
In the future, Friends of Tattnall hopes to see even more improvements to Tattnall Square Park.
For instance, ideas for a reflection pool or a big piece of art to be added to the park have been mentioned.
Tattnall Square Park is a piece of history that has been around since 1823.
“I think parks are a way of measuring a community’s commitment to each other. So we want to make sure to let people know that Macon is a place with a thriving community.” Silver said.
Having an eye-catching park will help bring interest to the area for both residents and visitors of Macon.
Friends of Tattnall hopes to get more people interested in the park and find donors willing to help out with improving it.
(01/23/13 4:28pm)
A table was set up with prize give-aways and raffle tickets in the Hummingbird on Jan. 10 for the charity organization known as Dance Marathon. Members of Dance Marathon accepted money donations and sold koozies, t-shirts and themed cups. Members also provided information about Dance Marathon to anyone interested.
Dance marathon is a national organization that includes over 100 colleges. Each participating college collects money all year-round for The Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. Mercer University is one of those participating colleges and has been a part of Dance Marathon for approximately eight years. .
This year, senior Ellen Begley is the director and has been a part of the executive board for the past three years.
“Last year we raised over $15,000 which was probably the most I have seen since I’ve been on the executive board. This year we are trying to match it or go up and beyond it.” Begley said.
Since the organization developed, Dance Marathon has raised enough money to help renovate the neonatal unit in The Children’s Miracle Network hospital.
The fundraiser on Jan. 10 was just one of many events held all year by Dance Marathon and will continue until late February.
A celebration of all the money raised throughout the year will be in the form of an end-of-the-year event held on Feb. 23.
Volunteers and participants at this event can dance, play games, and create arts and crafts. There will be a group choreographed dance and teams can compete against each other in friendly competition during the games. At the very end of the event, a laptop that was donated by Intel will be raffled off.
People who are interested in participating can stop by the Dance Marathon table in the Connell Student Center. The table will be there every Wednesday and Friday between 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
“Anybody on Mercer’s campus who wants to do it, is welcome. Each participant is expected to raise about $50. A team can also sponsor Dance Marathon and will be expected to raise about $250.” Begley said.
Anyone who is interested in joining the Dance Marathon executive board will need to participate in the final event.
(11/28/12 11:00pm)
The Homecoming 2012 concert on Wednesday, Nov. 7 had two artists perform: Stevens Layne band and Corey Smith. The vocalists, Molly Stevens and Whitney Layne sat down with the Cluster to tell us a little about their background. Molly Stevens is a Mercer graduate and a former member of Phi Mu sorority.
Cluster: When did you graduate from Mercer?
Molly Stevens: I graduated in 2005 from Mercer and I had a major in english and in communications. Theater was my concentration at the time. Journalism was a brand new thing for Mercer. I took one journalism class and I probably would have majored in that but they didn’t have it when I was there.
Whitney Layne: Well Molly was actually teaching when I met her. When she first moved to Nashville, she was a teacher at a private Christian school and I asked her to come do some shows on the road with me because I was doing my own independent thing as an artist. She [Stevens] said, “I’m teaching, I hate it. I can’t believe I’m doing this, I moved to Nashville to do music.” She literally quit her job and came on the road with me, and that was the beginning of Stevens Layne.
C: So before you actually got into music, you wanted to do more musical theater?
S: Yeah, I really thought that musical theater was my niche. I loved acting and I grew up with a lot of theater here in Macon and studied it at Mercer. I did a lot of plays at Mercer and was very involved in the theater department. But, what I really loved about being in theater was the singing part. The music was really what has always drawn me.
C: What would you say are your biggest musical influences?
S: Mine for sure, are the Indigo Girls. I love the Indigo Girls, I’ve followed them my entire life. I love their lyrics, I love what they stand for, and I love that they’ve gotten all of their fans just doing it the grassroots way. They forget all the label people and just go out there and get their fans and do their shows. I like the soul music, I like Janis Japlin, that kind of thing.
L: I’d say I very much so followed power house female artists like Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Dolly Parton. I never focused too much on what genre, I just listened to what inspired me. Molly introduced me to a lot of Georgia artists when we met and ever since I’ve been a huge fan of a lot of the same people that have inspired Molly throughout her lifetime.
C: How has the tour with Corey Smith been so far?
S: It’s been awesome. I grew up with Corey and went to hear him play when I was at Mercer. When I was in college, he was coming here and doing shows and stuff. He’s a really nice guy and he’s another one of those people that has just gotten fans from doing show after show. He worked on really getting that fan base. He didn’t really have to have a record label to do it.
L: He has earned every single fan that he has. It wasn’t given to him.
C: Do you have any fond memories of Phi Mu?
S: I have a lot of memories. I was very active in Phi Mu at Mercer. I was the social chair in my junior year of college. All of my best friends I keep in touch with now are Mercer graduates. My favorite memory? Well, at every formal, I would get up on the mic and start singing songs. I loved the charity aspect of Phi Mu too. We worked with the Children’s Miracle Network. Phi Mu is just so much fun and it really taught me a lot.
C: Is there anything in particular that you loved about Mercer homecoming?
S: Yes, one of my very first memories at Mercer was when I was a freshman. We had the big bonfire and perfect weather.I loved the skits. Phi Mu did a “Saved by the Bell” skit and I was Screech. One year for Homecoming we did “Hey-ya” from Outkast and did the whole dance to it. We had floats and a parade too. The parade would go down Adams Street and circle the block. It was pretty cool.
(10/24/12 9:01pm)
Since the 1900s, Mercer University students have made the annual trip to Penfield, Ga. to participate in the historic Pilgrimage to Penfield event. On Oct. 19, students participated in a cemetery tour, gathering in the chapel, dinner and a display of fireworks hosted by the Student Government Association (SGA). Students gathered inside Penfield chapel for a service hosted by SGA members and Mercer faculty. The service started off with a short welcoming speech and prayer by sophomore senator Raymond Partolan. “I can’t help but to think about what kind of footprints and handprints each of you will leave in the large span of Mercer’s history. It’s no surprise that Mercer students change the world,” said Partolan. Ike Ekeke, a senior at Mercer, gave a speech about his past and how he came to choose Mercer. In his speech, Ekeke talked about what impressed him about Mercer when he came to visit before his freshman year. The chapel gathering continued with speeches from Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Douglas Pearson, Senior Vice Provost for Service Learning and Professor Mary Alice Morgan and SGA President Mollie Davis. Former Vice Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and former Dean of Students Barry Jenkins told students during the cemetery tour about the history of Mercer’s founder, Jesse Mercer. The tour also included information about other contributors to Mercer University’s development. “[Mercer University] started off as Mercer Institute for Men. This was a prep-school for boys 17 to 18 years of age and this was a working community, a working farm.” Jenkins explained. Jenkins then went on to point out the graves of Jesse Mercer and his wife along with the graves of Spright Dowell and George Boyce Connell, whose namesakes are Dowell residence hall and Connell Student Center, respectively. Students were enticed to pay close attention to Mercer’s history, as they split up into groups and answered questions competitively. “Overall, what I enjoyed the most was the walk through the cemetery. It was my favorite part because it set a mysterious mood I enjoyed,” said Avery Lewis, a freshman student. Raymond Ko, a sophomore who went to Pilgrimage to Penfield last year said, “Last year my favorite part was the Mercer alumna who talked about her experiences as a student. This year though, I really liked the fireworks because that’s when all the groups got to come together.” Students arrived back on campus with more knowledgeable about their university’s beginnings.