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(01/08/18 2:12am)
A new project has made its way into the heart of Mercer University.
The Seeking Openness, Understanding and Learning (SOUL) Project was started this semester.
“[The project was started] on campus to equip students, faculty and staff with the tools to facilitate intentional discourse on difficult topics,” according to a news article from Mercer University.
The directors of the project include Hannah Vann, associate director of the Research that Reaches Out office, and Dr. Eimad Houry, a professor and chair of the international and global studies department, according to the news article.
Vann said the idea for creating the SOUL project stemmed from the Identity in America series that happened last year.
“The event was an opportunity for people to break up into small groups and, with the lights off, speak frankly about issues relating to racial and ethnic inequalities,” she said in an email. “We had diverse student participation and received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the event, the opportunity to engage different people without fear of judgment and the need for more opportunities like this.”
After the program was created, students who were interested had the chance to go through an application process to participate.
Sophomore Anisah Muhammad was one student who had interest in the program and was accepted after she filled out the application.
“I wanted to do it because, like, I’m passionate about different issues and stuff and I have those conversations with people and so I just wanted to learn how to better have those without getting emotional,” she said. “And I wanted to see what other issues people thought of and how to be more open to other viewpoints and narratives and stuff like that.”
After students were accepted into the program, they attended a training seminar led by Law Professor Teri McMurtry-Chubb.
Muhammad said the training was split into two different days that featured two different types of learning.
“She first showed us these videos and basically she wanted us to answer three questions on each video: Who did you see? Who didn’t you see? and Does it matter?” Muhammad said.
Muhammad said that the videos they watched ranged from Schoolhouse Rock videos about the founding of America to Button Poetry videos about rape culture.
“Some of the Schoolhouse Rock of like the founding of America, they only showed European people coming over,” she said. “They didn’t really go into non-European, non-white people and so that’s why [she asked those questions].”
The second part of the seminar was a situation-based facilitated group discussion.
Muhammad said that there were five different scripts that students could sign up to play a part in.
The scripts ranged from roommates with different religious beliefs, issues with languages and English as a Second Language learners, students of different socioeconomic statuses, patriarchy and gender roles and protests concerning the confederate monuments issue.
Before going through the scripts, Muhammad said they were split into groups to talk about the situations in each one.
“We imagined how we would facilitate the conversation of the people within the script or how to have those types of conversations,” she said.
They then went through the scripts and presented them to the whole group.
“We had to question them and lead [the group] to have an understanding or openness,” she said. “I think for the students that applied, you kind of have to have a certain level of openness to do a project like that.”
Muhammad said that even with a good number of students who participated in the training, everyone seemed to see things similarly.
“We got to talk a little bit afterwards and reflect on our experiences and people said that they now have an understanding of people’s individual narratives and that not everybody’s narrative is your narrative,” she said.
Vann said that communication was a big part of the training because it is important to the project overall.
“We don’t often think about respectful dialogue as a skill, but it is. If we don’t exercise and practice that skill, we won’t get better,” she said. “With the growing divides on ideological lines and our increased control over insulating ourselves against different viewpoints, our engagement with people who think differently or have different values from our own has to be more intentional.”
Muhammad said that the project plans to have a campus-wide event in the spring to get students to participate in a conversation about a specific issue.
She said that this project differs from other campus events, discussions and research because of how it is operated.
“Research and actually doing it are two different things,” she said. “We were actually trained on how to have those types of conversations and so based on our training, we can go and apply it, even in our everyday lives.”
Funding for the SOUL Project was provided by the Fund for Positive Engagement from Campus Compact, according to the Mercer news article.
According to their website,“Campus Compact is a national coalition of 1,000+ colleges and universities committed to the public purposes of higher education. We build democracy through civic education and community development.”
The Fund for Positive Engagement is listed on their website as one of the featured initiatives of the coalition.
“The purpose of the Fund for Positive Engagement is to catalyze experimental responses to challenges arising from this new climate,” according to the Fund’s page on the Campus Compact website.
Mercer was one of the 40 schools to receive the fund and was the only school in Georgia, according to the press release.
(12/20/17 11:52am)
Mercer recently announced that the university has been chosen to participate in a new program through the Office of International Programs.
The Kakehashi Project, a program managed by the Japan International Cooperation Center, will take place March 5-13, according to the program’s section of the International Programs website.
“Kakehashi is the Japanese word for ‘bridge,’ [and is] a fully funded, large-scale youth exchange program between Japan and the United States,” according to the Mercer University news article.
Julie Strecker, the director of international programs, said that she was contacted about this opportunity at the beginning of the semester.
“The Consul[ate]-General of Japan’s office called me back in August and said that they had nominated Mercer to participate in the project,” she said. “[They] emailed me back in October and said we had been selected.”
Strecker said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan also played a role in selecting Mercer for the project.
“They want to build bridges culturally, economically and socially and they’re looking to build friendships with US citizens through this program,” she said.
The program, which is fully-funded, is unlike any of the other programs in the International Programs office at Mercer.
“The biggest [difference] is that it’s not anything that we’ve developed here at Mercer,” Strecker said. “It’s a program that the Japanese government is putting together and they’re just inviting us to participate in it.”
Strecker said she believes that Mercer’s current and previous involvement in different Japanese programs helped to give students this opportunity.
One of those programs is an English Language Institute (ELI) on the Atlanta campus.
“That’s an intensive English program where we offer English classes to students coming to the states who want to learn English,” she said. “Some of the students stay here and go to Mercer and some of the students have other ideas or other purposes for coming to the states to learn English.”
Strecker said the ELI program has been at Mercer for 30 years. During those years with the program, and through the relationship with the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta, she said that they were also able to develop a relationship with the Japan-American Society of Georgia.
“They help coordinate an exchange program that our ELI runs with a university in Japan and they send their students on a study abroad to the US and they send two groups a year,” she said. “We host them twice a year and so the Japan-American Society of Georgia helps us coordinate that program.”
Strecker also said that because of those relationships, the Atlanta Campus was asked to host a statewide language competition, which they now do annually.
“Building that relationship and the time and energy we’ve put into those and hosting Japanese students is why they were interested in us,” she said.
Students who are interested in applying must fill out an online application that will be turned in to the Study Abroad section of the International Programs office.
The application features a section for students to list previous study abroad experience and three essay questions.
Strecker said that there is a reason behind the questions being focused on the students explaining their interests in Japan, the Japanese culture and how the trip could affect their futures.
“It is an investment for the Japanese government.They’re investing in this to hopefully have some sort outcome in the future which would be heightened exchange between the US and Japan,” she said. “They’re really interested in hosting students who already have a genuine interest in the country or culture.”
The program is awarding 23 scholarships to students from Mercer who meet these criteria. While any student interested may apply, Strecker said that the program has a special interest in business students.
“The program is a little bit more focused on business and industry and infrastructure because they see our business school as being prestigious,” she said. “They are kind of expecting that there be business students on the program. That would kind of be number two criteria.”
Students interested in applying must fill out the application, which includes faculty references by Dec. 1. The recipients of the scholarships for the program will be announced on Dec. 23 according to the program website.
Strecker said that she encourages anyone interested to apply.
“I think it’s important for them to reflect on the important of these relationships, do a little bit of research,” she said. “[Students could] find out how the Japanese culture or having experience with the Japanese culture or just another culture in general might affect them, affect their ability to interact with other cultures, [and] help them meet their future goals.”
(09/18/17 10:00am)
If you’ve been using your meal exchanges at Einstein's or Which Wich, you may have noticed some changes.
Thanks to the communication between SGA and the on-campus dining locations, the options for meal exchanges have expanded.
Adam Penland, sophomore class president, said the communication for change between the two groups is an easy one.
“We’ve had a lot of success just talking to them,” he said. “Honestly sometimes it might take a month or two to get things done, but if we’re able to have a conversation with them, then most of the time they’re able to deliver on what we ask for.”
Options for a meal exchange at Einstein’s Bagels now include a drink with a pizza bagel, a “Bagel dog” or a classic egg sandwich with chips.
These options were added to the previous list of a drink with a bagel with shmear or a deli sandwich with chips.
The new options for Which Wich include chips and drink with a “Lettucewich” or a spinach wrap, and a salad with a drink.
The three new exchanges join the option of a seven inch sandwich with chips and drink.
Penland also said that there is also a new addition at Panda Express, even though it is not listed.
"[At Panda Express], you can now get a plate with two meal swipes.”
Greer Weed, a sophomore, said she is thankful for the new changes.
“I have been a vegetarian for 9 years, [and] coming into college as a freshmen, I didn’t know what to expect when it came to what I would eat,” she said. “The new options for meal swipes give you extra options outside of the farm and caf when there isn't something on the menu that sounds good that day or suits your dietary needs.”
Weed said she hopes that even more changes will be made to the on-campus dining options in the future, starting with the menu for the Fresh Food Company.
“A lot of students on campus have different dietary needs and the farm does a good job of having their menu posted outside, so before you use a meal swipe you know if there is something there you want to or can eat. The caf, on the other hand, does not,” she said.
Although the menu for the Fresh Food Company can be accessed through the Mercer Mobile app or online, Weed said it is inaccurate.
“[The] menu online shows at least five vegan or vegetarian options everyday, but when I go into eat that option is not available,” she said. Now that I am a sophomore and have moved down a meal plan, it is especially frustrating.”
Weed said she is ready to see how SGA will work to help implement more changes in the future.
“I think SGA has done a great job getting more options from the restaurants on campus and students are super grateful, but I think there is more work to be done especially when we are spending so much money,” she said. “I think the next step should be improving the Caf with accurate menus and healthier vegan and vegetarian.”
(09/07/17 1:39pm)
Students have been asked to open up their dorm rooms to help international students from Florida.
Jacksonville University has announced that their doors will be closed Sept. 8 through Sept. 12 due to Category 5 Hurricane Irma, according to the school’s website.
[sidebar title="UPDATE" align="left" background="on" border="none" shadow="on"]
As of 9/8/2017, Jacksonville students have been advised to seek shelter at their school rather than traveling to Georgia. However, the Mercer administration has extended their offer to students who are evacuating Mercer's Medical School campus in Savannah according to Dean of Students Douglas Pearson. Student volunteers in Macon should stay tuned for more details from the university.
[/sidebar]
The university said that the effects of the hurricane could begin as early as Sept. 9. Although the website said that the school has not been ordered to evacuate yet, they are encouraging students to take precautions.
For international students, leaving campus isn’t so simple.
“International students really don’t have a place to go whenever you evacuate, so that makes it challenging for them,” Christian Wells, Mercer’s assistant director of Residence Life said.
Wells said that because of this, Mercer’s office of Residence Life decided to offer to host the international students from Jacksonville.
“We [are] trying to create a partnership especially in emergency situations and so since the hurricane is coming unfortunately, we [were hoping we] could get students to volunteer to host students,” she said. “We’re a university that really prides on helping others, and this was a perfect opportunity.”
Wells said that they have already received responses from Mercer students who have offered to volunteer.
"Students have been wonderful,” she said. “Hopefully we get some more students to volunteer because it will be potentially up to 200 students that could be [here].”
The students were notified of the opportunity to volunteer through their respective resident assistants (RA).
“[In order to volunteer], students should contact their RA or honestly any RA has access to [the] list [of volunteers],” Resident Assistant Amina Mohamed said.
Mohamed said students should let resident assistants or the Office of Residence Life know if they would like to volunteer before 5 p.m. on Sept. 7.
(08/29/17 10:00am)
Students interested in joining one of Mercer’s Greek organizations will have more time to prepare to run up the hill this year.
Mercer University will be holding delayed recruitment this year.
According to the Delayed Recruitment Guidelines and Policies, the purpose of delayed recruitment is to “create a safe, positive environment for incoming first-year students to acclimate to campus prior to affiliating with a Greek letter organization.”
The delayed start times of recruitment for each Greek organization varies depending on which council the organization falls under.
According to the guidelines and policies document, the chapters under the Panhellenic Council will have their week of recruitment activities Sept. 10-15.
The Interfraternity Council recruitment will be Sept. 17-23. Both the National Panhellenic Council and the Multicultural Greek Council will hold activities Sept. 10 and will have no prior interest meetings.
Along with the new times of delayed recruitment, there are special policies set in place.
The policies apply to all first-year students and all members of a social Greek organization at Mercer University, according to the document.
One of the policies is limited contact between first-year students and Greek Life members under the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils.
“Greek students may NOT interact with first-year students under the following circumstances: off campus (The Lofts, other organization events, off campus houses, public venues and any other off campus location not specified), in the chapter houses, at chapter events [or] in first-year residence halls and current Greek member residence hall rooms,” according to the document.
Within the document, there are specific rules for the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils. The Panhellenic Council Limited Guidelines not only apply to first year students, but any potential new member of a chapter.
“[A] Potential New Member [is] any Mercer University student of the same sex as your chapter not already a member of a Greek chapter,” according to the definitions section of the document.
The guidelines go on to discuss appropriate and inappropriate conversation topics to have during the limited contact time.
The end of the Panhellenic-specific guidelines reminds the women from the chapters that the policies deal with first-year students and potential new members.
“All unaffiliated women on campus are considered potential new members. These guidelines are made with all unaffiliated women in mind,” according to the document. “Fill out a prior contact form for upperclassmen you are already friends with.”
Suzanna Arul, a member of Phi Mu, said that the limited contact policy isn’t new to recruitment.
“It was only for the first week, [and] it [had] a minimal impact. Now that we’re in school longer, there’s a bigger potential for ‘dirty rushing,’ which is like swaying a person’s decision based on what sorority you’re in,” she said.
Arul said that the extended limited contact is hard because of her living situation. Two of her three roommates are also involved in Greek Life.
“One is an ADPi, one is Chi O and the fourth is non-greek. She doesn’t plan on rushing but technically she’s a potential new member, so in public we really can’t be getting lunch with her or doing anything with her,” she said. “It sucks.’’
Other general policies include how chapters can host events before each council’s recruitment time.
“Each chapter may have one formal function ON CAMPUS prior to formal recruitment,” according to the document. “MGC and NPHC chapters may also hold one approved, on campus event prior to Sept.10.”
The document also provides sanctions that will be put in place if a chapter violates any of the policies. The policies are split into three different levels.
The first level of violations apply to the limited contact that the chapters of the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils must adhere to.
If there are any violations, the respective councils will determine the sanctions for the specific chapter.
The document states that first year students involved with more than one “Level 1” violation will not be allowed to accept a bid for one calendar year.
The second level of violations includes contact with students off campus and any of the recruitment policies.
“[Level two examples include] going to a social event with another student organization off campus that first-years will be at, [and] going to lunch off campus with a first-year student. This includes Mercer Village,” according to the document.
Violations from the second level are handled by Campus Life. Sanctions include a fine for the chapter and delayed activity in recruitment until the fine is paid.
First-year students involved will have the same sanction as a level one violation.
Level three violations include those of level one and two but with the presence of alcohol.
Any level three violation will be handled by Judicial Education.
The sanctions include an increased fine and the chance that a chapter may not be able to participate in their respective recruitment week. Chapters may also face charges from Judicial.
According to the document,“Any violation involving alcohol regardless of the type of infraction will be investigated under the student organization judicial policy. Serious infractions may result in suspension of the chapter from campus.”
The full Delayed Recruitment Guidelines and Policies document can be found under the Greek Life section of Mercer’s Campus Life website.
As the chapters prepare to host their respective recruitment weeks, Alexa Levine, director of recruitment counselors for the Panhellenic Council said that she thinks delayed recruitment is a good thing.
“I think delayed recruitment is a hard idea to wrap your head around but after you do, you'll see the chapters grade increase as well as the number of quality women coming out for recruitment,” she said. “I think after we work out the kinks this first year the next years will be even better.”
*Editor's note: this article was updated 8/29/2017 to include input from Suzanna Arul.
(08/25/17 2:26am)
This fall, QuadWorks is hosting a carnival for students to kick-off the first weekend on campus.
“We are doing free food-funnel cakes, french fries, snow cones, pizza and popcorn, while it lasts,” said Carrie Ingoldsby, Director of Campus Life and Student Involvement. “[We will also have] inflatables and a few carnival games.”
Ingoldsby said this new event will replace the MAC Party.
“[The] MAC Party went away [because] the other schools [Wesleyan College and Middle Georgia State] declined to participate this year so we decided to do an event on campus for Mercer students,” she said.
The carnival will be held Friday in the baseball parking lot from 5-8 p.m.
(08/14/17 6:21pm)
An email from Residence Life was sent to second and third year students during the summer.
The contents of the email posed the possible option of releasing students from their 2017-2018 housing contract.
The email, from Diana Long, the Office of Residence Life housing coordinator, started off by boldly saying that it was an “inquiry only.”
Long then asked that “should the opportunity present itself where we [Residence Life] could release some second year students from the housing requirement, would you [students] be interested?”
Students interested in the opportunity were to respond to the email by June 15.
Jeff Takac, Director of Housing for the Office of Residence Life, said this email was sent because of the number of students that needed housing for the upcoming school year.
“Based on early freshmen enrollment numbers and the number of seniors desiring on-campus housing, as well as transfers requesting on-campus housing, we wanted to evaluate how many students already with on-campus housing may want to move off-campus,” he said.
Takac said that after the deadline, the results from student replies showed that many students were not interested in the option.
“About 3 percent showed some interest,” he said.
For the small percentage of second and third year students that did respond with interest, Takac said that they made the decision to release some of them from their housing contract.
“We released about 14 students (less than 1 percent) for various reasons based on their responses,” he said.
Although few students were released from their contract, Takac said that it didn’t result in any other changes for Residence Life for the upcoming year.
“We were able to accommodate most students as openings have come available when students have withdrawn from the university which occurred after our letter was emailed,” he said.
Takac said that along with trying to accommodate new students for the upcoming year, Residence Life has been doing some renovations on campus.
“We have replaced all couches in all our buildings with new leather couches, re-carpeted and painted Sherwood Hall, we’ve added new LVT flooring to numerous facilities,” he said. “We look forward to a great year in Housing!”
(04/29/17 6:11pm)
Kappa Sigma has joined the list of Mercer’s functioning Greek organizations once again.
After being previously suspended along with Alpha Tau Omega due to “violations of the Student Code of Conduct related to alcohol,” according to an August 2016 article by The Cluster, the fraternity was reviewed and approved to be back with limited operations in January.
“The group was permitted to come back in [the] spring and hold chapter meetings, community service activities, limited recruitment, and participate in IFC meetings as a non-voting member,” Douglas Pearson, vice president and dean of students said.[related title="Related Stories" stories="20823,19266" align="left" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]
The fraternity has been working with local organizations and churches for their community service events, according to the executive director of Kappa Sigma, Mitchell Wilson.
Wilson also said that the 31-member fraternity had to make a report of their progress and present it at a board meeting to the General Kappa Sigma Fraternity earlier in March.
“The Alpha-Beta Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity is putting some finishing touches on a most successful Spring semester, [and] are on schedule to complete all remaining requirements to complete the Chapter’s sanctions,” he said via email. “We are proud of them.”
One of the sanctions of the fraternity’s suspension was not being able to live in their Greek village house this past semester.
Since the house was not being used by Kappa Sigma, it was opened as a second Pan House.
“This means that Sorority women from any female chapter on campus were eligible to apply to live in the house,” Area Coordinator for Greek Village Caroline Terry said via email. “We selected them based on a combination of first come first serve as well as trying to keep all the chapters as equal as possible in representation.”
Terry said that opening the house to other Greek students is not a new practice by Residence Life. However, she also said that it is not offered in every situation.
“Sometimes, as in the case of ATO this year, decisions about the chapter’s eligibility to maintain their house are made too late in the assignments process for us to reallocate the space and then in that case the house may lay dormant for a semester or a year,” she said.
While the Kappa Sigma house was able to be reallocated this year, it will not need to be used by anyone but the fraternity in the fall according to statements from Wilson and Pearson.
“As of today, both groups [Kappa Sigma and ATO] are on-target for being back in their houses in the fall to the best of my knowledge.” Pearson said.
(04/29/17 6:00pm)
The Commission Chamber of the Macon-Bibb County Government Center was standing room only at the April 18 meeting of the Board of Commission.
The majority of the attendees were there to witness the vote to amend sections 31 and 32 of the Macon-Bibb County Charter.
The proposed amendments to the sections were focused around four words: sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to the proposals from a Board of Commission document, the words would be added to the list of non-discriminatory factors in section 31 to ensure that “all appointments and promotions in Macon-Bibb County shall be made without regard to sexual orientation and gender identity.”
The words would also be added to section 32 so that “the Commission shall afford equal opportunities for employment and promotion to all persons regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity,” according to the document.
Bentley Hudgins, a senior undergraduate student at Mercer, was involved in helping bring awareness to the public about the proposed changes by organizing a Facebook event called “Crowd Out Discrimination.”
Hudgins said coming up with the name for the event was influenced by a history of prior events in Macon.
“On March 11, we had the March on Macon,” he said. “The idea at the March on Macon was to have an intersectional demonstration of how human rights and civil rights and equality and equity and all these things we value are valued in the community.”
After the march, Hudgins received a proclamation from Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert for a Macon Unity Day.
“It set a precedent and gave us a foundation to work off of,” Hudgins said.
After laying the foundation, Hudgins said he met with 2nd District Commissioner Larry Schlesinger.
“We talked [to] figure out a strategy that [would] demonstrate the large amount of support that is in the community and that [would] be the most effective way to make a statement to the commission,” Hudgins said.
According to the Facebook event page, the strategy that they came up with was to have as many people attend the meeting as possible.
“When people are present physically, your voice is heard more directly,” Hudgins said. “The more people that you can get engaged in the democratic process, the truer that democratic process is.”
While there were many people that supported the amendment, there were also some opposed to the changes.
Public comment on agenda items, including the vote for the changes, were allowed at the beginning of the session.
Three people from the supporting and opposing sides of the amendment changes, including Hudgins, were selected by their side to address the commission.
After public comments and other agenda items, the Macon-Bibb County commissioners had the chance to speak to the audience about their views before voting on the changes.
Schlesinger, who is the commissioner sponsor for the changes, said that he would be voting yes to apply the changes.
“We need to set a tone in this county, [and] we need to lead when it comes to these things. We need to set an example for others to follow,” he said during the meeting. “Inclusion is one of the most important examples that we can set, and it needs to be put in writing for everyone to see.”
While Schlesinger and commissioners Gary Bechtel, Elaine Lucas, Bert Bivins, Virgil Watkins and Al Tillman all voted to adopt the amendment, commissioners Mallory Jones, Joe Allen and Scotty Shepherd all expressed their opposition.
Jones said he opposed the amendment because according to his research, there is no evidence that Macon-Bibb County needs to adopt the changes.
The research Jones said he conducted was through Ben Hubbard, the Macon-Bibb County human resources department director since 1983.
“I asked Mr. Hubbard [to] check and let me know [if there] have been any complaints regarding sexual orientation or gender identity. Mr. Hubbard checked,” Jones said. “It was a staggering number. It was zero. Zero complaints for the past 34 years.”
Although Jones, Allen, and Shepherd all felt that the ordinance should not be adopted, the vote passed 6 to 3 in a roll-call vote.
After Reichert announced that the ordinance had been adopted, the supporting members of the crowd cheered and clapped.
The short celebration was interrupted by Reichert after speaking with County Attorney Judd Drake.
“I have been advised that I misspoke,” he said. “Since this is an ordinance and changes the charter, it requires a second passage two weeks from tonight. It has to be approved a second time.”
After finding out that the proposal would need to be voted on again, Hudgins said he began making plans to host an event for the next vote on May 2.
"This is just the beginning, and we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I can’t help but to be beaming with pride for the work we’ve accomplished thus far," he said. “I’m incredibly honored to be a part of a national movement, and it’s humbling and encouraging to see the Macon-Bibb Community stand together for the rights of everyone.”
(04/16/17 12:19am)
If you flipped through the Mercer University catalog looking for classes to register for and noticed that the Christianity major wasn’t there anymore, don’t worry.
The Christianity major, complete with new courses, is still there, but under the name “religion.”
The major changed its name to religion at the beginning of July 2016, according to Dr. Richard Wilson, chair of the Columbus Roberts Department of Religion.
“The old Christianity major was a classic pre-seminary curriculum [so] the then-Christianity department began to talk about becoming a religion major,” he said.
Wilson said the change in name for the current religion department came after several curriculum changes that started almost 40 years ago.
The first change to the department was in the 1980s when a world religion course was offered along with the traditional Christianity courses.
World religions was just one course until 10 years ago.
“In 2007, we chose to divide the world religions class into two classes: western religion — which includes Judaism and Islam — and eastern religions, which includes the major religions that emerged in India, China and Japan,” Wilson said.
The western religions class is offered every other year, and will be offered during the 2017-2018 academic year.
Wilson said that for the second time in the course’s history, it will be taught by a local Rabbi and Imam.
“It's nice having a Jewish Rabbi teach the Judaism section and a Muslim Imam teach the Islam section,” Wilson said.
Another change to the department courses was the addition of another general education course in 2012.
As Mercer revised the course curriculum campus-wide, Wilson said he made a proposal to the then Christianity department to consider adding another general education course that focused on the three Abrahamic religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity.
Wilson said he drafted the proposal, named the course “Beginning with Abraham” and sent it to be approved by several committees. It was approved and became the third religious heritage general education course, along with Old and New Testament.
“In the religion block, the current description says that these introductory courses should be primarily interested in the sacred text, or we could say, primary text,” he said. “So rather than reading about the Bible, you oughta read the Bible. Rather than reading about the Quran, you oughta read the Quran.”
After the past curriculum changes, Wilson said he began to raise the question of changing the name from Christianity to religion.
“I raised the issues with the faculty of this department and ultimately the president, the provost and the dean of the college of liberal arts, and we began quietly to address some changing issues in our world culture and also in our regional culture,” he said.
Along with change in July 2016, a fourth general education course entitled “Why religion matters” was added after another proposal from Wilson. The course is currently being offered in two sections this semester.
Wilson said the reason he proposed the changes to the department is because “there’s lots of opportunities and encouragements for the study of religion.”
His reasoning for the proposals also tie into the Baptist heritage of the university.
“The history of Baptists begins with activism for religious liberty,” he said.
Religious liberty is the ability to make or not to make a religious commitment, he said.
“I think it echos appropriately in the context of a university like Mercer that began as a Baptist and is still quite friendly to Baptists,” he said.
Wilson said he believes that by making the changes to the Christianity department, Mercer has made a good foundation for the students who want to study religion.
The changes made during the switch from Christianity to religion not only affect the future students who will study religion, but also affected the students who had already declared majors and minors in Christianity.
Bekah Fulton, a senior religion minor, said that students who had already declared a Christianity major or minor were given the choice to either continue being a Christianity major or minor or change to a religion major or minor.
“I decided to go with the transition and adopt a religion minor instead of keeping a Christianity minor,” she said. “I felt it was a more inclusive title, a better representation of my studies and I wanted to support the change from Christianity to religion.”
Fulton said that her time spent in the courses of the religion department has challenged her to think about why she believes what she believes.
She also said she and many of the students she has talked with appreciate the new, diverse, classes like eastern religions that were added to the general education courses.
“They appreciate this perspective,” she said. “They’re not being indoctrinated into a certain religion but they’re seeing such a popular religion through a new lens.”
(04/15/17 11:44pm)
Two Mercer University students were recently declared the 2017 recipients of the Barry Goldwater scholarship.
Runyu Cai and Kyla Semmendinger made school history by being the first set of students to win the scholarship in the same year.
Cai, a sophomore engineering student, said that after learning he received the scholarship, three thoughts stood out in his mind.
“First of all, my hard work and perseverance over years paid off. Secondly, I was so grateful that there are so many people standing behind me and giving me their best support,” he said in an email. “Thirdly, I felt a great honor to be able to represent my dear Mercer University at such a high level of recognition!”
One of the people standing behind Cai during his research was his mentor, electrical engineering professor Makhin Thitsa.
“With the guidance of Dr. Thitsa, I have successfully conducted research on chirp-free direct modulation of 550nm and 808nm emissions in Er3+ -doped fluoroindate glass by nonlinear feedback control,” he said. “My research proposal for Goldwater scholarship was on the topic of eliminating crosstalk in semiconductor optical amplifier by non-interacting state feedback control.”
The 550 nm wavelength is important for underwater communication.
Cai said he has presented his research at two international conferences and will be published in Optical Materials. Cai and Thitsa are also working with the Toyota Technological Institute to physically implement the findings of his research, along with preparing a paper for it.
The first time Cai heard about the Goldwater scholarship was in a session held by the Mercer’s director of fellowships and scholarships, David Davis.
“[Davis] depicted the value of the scholarship using the quote ‘the most prestigious scholarship in science, mathematics and engineering in U.S.,’ and I never thought I would ever get it,” Cai said.
Semmendinger, the second student in the history-making pair at Mercer, said she never considered herself for the scholarship.
However, with the guidance of the engineering school’s senior associate dean, Laura Lackey, Semmendinger applied, went through the rigorous nomination process and was selected as a recipient.
Semmendinger said she is excited to be a recipient because it shows people what she has been doing and what she can do.
Her research comes from working with environmental engineering professor Michael MacCarthy on environmentally friendly practices in Middle Georgia.
One of those practices is the use of ground source heat pumps.
“My specific project is looking at how to incorporate manual drilling, which is a traditional drilling technique used in developing countries, to decrease high installation costs and then incorporate that into the ground source heat pumps,” she said.
As a junior, Semmendinger said all the research she has done on the heat pumps and drilling will be used for her senior design project next year.
“Now that I’ve tested the feasibility of this project and a lot of the ground research, now it’s more of a design project,” she said. “Moving from here, we’ll start sizing the system and then actually manually drilling on the engineering field where we’re allowed to drill on campus.”
Semmendinger said her goal for the project is to eventually install a pump into a home in the area.
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While Cai and Semmendinger received the scholarship, junior Jessica Resnick was awarded honorable mention for the second year in a row.
When she wasn’t awarded the scholarship last year, Resnick decided to try again.
“This is actually the first year that you were allowed to reapply for it if you won honorable mention,” she said. “Usually you were recognized [and] that was it, you’re [done]. This year they let [people] re apply.”
Resnick, a life sciences student, based her research off of something she said she is passionate about, genetics.
“I’m studying genetic regulation of muscle atrophy in rats, specifically by long, noncoating RNAs,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out what changes when your muscle atrophy, how that’s regulated.”
While they are studying rats, Resnick said that the research was a preliminary NASA study but did not receive funding.
“It could be adapted to helping space-wide missions in space because muscles atrophy in space. It could also be adapted for muscular degenerative disorders, but that’s way in the future,” she said. “Right now we’re just trying to find out at a basic level what’s going on.”
Although she didn’t receive the Goldwater scholarship, Resnick was named an Amgen Scholar and will spend her summer at the program in St. Louis at Washington University.
Resnick said the program was one of the 10 or more programs that she applied to for this summer.
During the over three-month program, Resnick will be working with other students and professors from top schools around the country, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I get to help a leading professor with their research which is really exciting, and Washington University is one of the places I want to go to [for] grad school,” she said.
Resnick will be one of the 20 scholars at Washington University. According to their website, each of the 10 program locations host 20 students, making it a 200-student participation overall.
The Amgen Scholars Program, which has programs in the United States, Europe and Japan, “seeks to increase learning and networking opportunities for students committed to pursuing science or engineering careers and to spark the interest and broaden the perspective of students considering scientific careers,” according to their website.
Cai and Semmendinger received two out of the 240 scholarships given by the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation out of 2,000 institutions across the country, according to the 2017 Goldwater Scholarship recipients press release.
“The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering,” according to a Mercer press release.
(04/02/17 4:02pm)
Sophomore Anastasia Winfield’s summer will be spent learning Swahili in Tanzania.
Winfield, a global health studies major on the pre-health track, received the opportunity to spend her summer in Tanzania when she was selected for the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program.
The CLS is a program of the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, according to their website.
Amy Nichols-Belo, Winfield’s advisor, introduced Winfield to the CLS scholarship program.
“She [Nichols-Belo] has done a lot of work in Tanzania, and I took her global health class last year and declared global health [as my major],” Winfield said. “I felt really connected to her experiences.”
For her global health studies major, Winfield needed to take a foreign language class. She didn’t want to take French or Spanish because she said she didn’t feel like she connected with either of them.
“I can understand Spanish to an extent, but I wasn’t passionate about it,” she said. “I think it would be cool to know multiple languages. It’s useful.”
As she spoke to her advisor about her plans, Winfield said Nichols-Belo brought up the CLS scholarship program.
Winfield said Nichols-Belo helped her fill out the application and was the one who made the announcement that she had been accepted to the CLS program on the Mercer International and Global Studies Department Facebook page.
Now that she has been accepted to the CLS program, Winfield said Nichols-Belo and women’s and gender studies professor Natalie Bourdon will help her to get a head start on the basics of Swahili.
Both Nichols-Belo and Bourdon speak Swahili and have done work in Tanzania, Winfield said.
“I know nothing about Swahili. I’ve never spoken it, so this is completely beginner,” Winfield said.
Even though she said she knows nothing about Swahili, Winfield said she specifically applied for the Tanzania program.
“I want to do medical work in other countries, and I’m feeling like I want to go somewhere that is regionally in Africa,” she said. “I know that at some point in my roots I have family from there. I don’t know specifically, but I have a piqued interest in digging that.”
According to their website, the CLS program offers 14 different critical language programs. The language programs are split into three different categories: no previous study, one year of previous study, and two years of previous study.
The Swahili program, along with Azerbaijani, Bangla, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu, is listed under the no previous study requirement, according to the CLS program website.
The program will take place June 11 through Aug. 11 at the MS Training Centre for Development Cooperation (MS-TCDC) in Arusha, Tanzania, according to an email Winfield received.[pullquote speaker="Anastatia Winfield" photo="" align="right" background="on" border="none" shadow="off"]“You’re literally thrown in there and forced to do it . . . It’s going to be super immersive."[/pullquote]
While at the training center, Winfield will participate in 20 hours of class each week in order to learn Swahili.
“Also, every weekend [we will] go on cultural excursions, and they have rules while we’re doing the activities,” she said — including one about not using English.
“You’re literally thrown in there and forced to do it,” she said about speaking Swahili. “It’s going to be super immersive, and I think that’s the whole concept of it.”
Before she becomes immersed in the culture of Tanzania, Winfield said she has a lot of preparing to do for the trip. Along with already having to get her passport renewed, she has had to begin the process of getting a visa and getting medically prepared for the trip.
“I have to get several vaccinations and take anti-malarials and all this different kind of stuff that we don’t get vaccinated for here in the U.S.,” she said.
Although she is still unsure about her housing arrangements during the program, she said she also has to write a letter to her potential roommate or host family.
“It’s a little stressful because it’s a lot of paperwork, bust mostly I’m just really excited,” she said. “I just want it to be summer so I can go.”
Winfield said she will not be the only person on the Tanzania trip this summer. Her Swahili group will consist of five to 35 people, she said.
She also said that the whole CLS program has around 600 participants from across the country.
“The first day [of the trip] they fly us all to D.C. for orientation, and then we leave for our respective countries,” she said.
Winfield said the CLS program has a Tanzania/Swahili Facebook page that will allow the students in the program to connect before the trip.
“I just think it’s going to be cool to learn about different people and be able to learn a language and be directly immersed in the culture. It’ll be a completely different way of life and that’s something I’m excited for and interested in,” she said about the program as a whole.
Winfield said that her upcoming trip will not be her last.
“I’m planning to go back to Tanzania next summer with Mercer on Mission and be of assistance,” she said. “They’ve had issues in the past with translation, so they’re looking to use me to help out with that.”
The Tanzania Mercer on Mission is led by Nichols-Belo and Bourdon, and Bourdon said she is excited that Winfield will be helping out.
“Winfield is a bright, curious, keenly analytical student, and her choice to learn Kiswahili, partly in preparation to apply to the Tanzania Mercer on Mission program I teach with Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo, reflects her sincere interest in cross-cultural learning and prepared, conscientious engagement. I am so pleased that we will have another Swahili speaker on our program and here at Mercer," Bourdon said in an email.
As she continues to plan her trip with the Swahili program and her future trips, her friends, like Madeline Bare, said they share her excitement.
"Anastasia is the most passionate and driven person I know. I have never met someone who cares so deeply about the world around them,” Bare said. “Everything she does, she does it to prepare for her career and how she can help everyone she meets. I am so excited for her to go on this trip and continue to grow as a person.”
(03/24/17 2:44pm)
The Student Government Association held its annual Presidential Debate at 7 p.m. on March 23.
This year’s debate featured three tickets for president and vice president: Alexandra Kirschbaum and Cole Porter; Catie Byrd and Michael Smith; and Olivia Buckner and Oge Onuh.
The debate began by allowing each ticket three minutes to make an opening statement from their platform.
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From the Opening Statements
With four years of SGA experience between them, Buckner/Onuh’s platform is being run based on “inclusivity, active communication and impactful initiations,” Onuh said.
Byrd/Smith are using the passion and experience they have gained from SGA to execute their goals if elected.
[related title="Related Stories" stories="21190,20766,19237" align="left" background="on" border="none" shadow="off"]
“[Our] experience sets us apart as candidates and will equip us as an administration to more effectively channel funding towards student organizations and mobilize senators to more actively support these student organizations,” Byrd said.
Porter/Kirschbaum, who as rising juniors are the youngest ticket on the ballot, have not let that be a hindrance in their experiences with SGA and what they are planning to do if elected.
As she talked about the many issues she has heard from students about wifi, parking and dining, Kirschbaum said that she and Porter are different from the rest of the candidates in how they will handle them.
“The approach we have is very unique and very innovative,” Kirschbaum said.
After opening statements, the debate went into a question and answer session from previously submitted questions. SGA provided a way for students to submit questions through an online question form said SGA Senator Jordan Price.
Out of the almost 80 questions received from the online question form, the SGA narrowed the questions down based on which ones showed the “most widespread support,” Price said.
The narrowed questions were split into sections based on topic. The first topic was on diversity.
Under the topic of diversity, a previously submitted question on the issue was if the candidates felt that “Mercer University is currently a welcoming and safe environment for minorities.” Price said.
From the candidate's Q&A
“Our administration is strictly focused on active communication and impactful initiatives. With that being said, we really want to work hard with our multicultural organizations and any organization that feels like their voice isn’t being heard,” Buckner said.
Buckner said they plan to do this by planning more events around the multicultural organizations of Mercer.
While the Buckner/Onuh ticket talked about how they planned to make Mercer a more welcoming environment for minorities, the Byrd/Smith ticket took a different approach to start their answer.
“To be quite frank,” Smith said, “I don’t know what it’s like to be a minority student on our campus. I’m not a part of any minority group as it stands in my person. Because of that, I’m not going to stand here and say Mercer is a safe campus. At the most of my knowledge, I know there’s room for improvement. The way that we can improve is by listening.”
While Byrd/Smith will focus on listening to the concerns of students, Porter/Kirschbaum will focus on implementing new committees and councils that will involve multicultural groups.
“[One is] going to be a subcommittee on SGA that’s going to be comprised of different campus leaders from different organizations.” Kirschbaum said.
The other is a multicultural council.
[video credit="Mercer University SGA Facebook Page" align="right"][/video]
“It would serve as a diversity headquarters. If there’s ever a need to look at any diversity issues, this multicultural council would be in charge of doing that,” Kirschbaum said.
The next question was directed specifically to the Byrd/Smith ticket. In their opening statement, Byrd said one of their goals, if elected, would to also implement a multicultural council. However, their idea for the council would be different than Porter/Kirschbaum.
“These [advisory councils] will be official roles on SGA for several people from every multicultural organization, every athletic team and every Greek organization,” Byrd said.
As the questions continued, the topics included specific needs of students, especially those who are disabled, prices of housing, workings of the Honor and Judicial Councils, support of campus organizations, dining issues, safety concerns, smoking/drinking concerns, making Mercer more environmentally friendly, the presence of Greek life in SGA, personal qualifications and the issue of personal beliefs.
One topic that the three tickets agreed on was the support of campus organizations included allocating more funding.
“One of the most efficient ways to provide support is to provide more funding,” Byrd said from her experience on SGA’s Fiscal Affairs committee.
Bucker/Onuh presented two methods of how they will support organizations that includes “help[ing] promote [them] by cross-programing and also help[ing] financially,” Onuh said.
Helping financially for Porter/Kirschbaum includes an immediate “10% increase in the amount of funding we give student organizations,” Porter said.
While the candidates looked at the budget to figure out how to allocate more funding to student organizations, Porter/Kirschbaum also looked to provide a $2,000 fund for a dining study.
The topic of the dining study, which has been a part of their campaign, was specifically questioned through the online form.
“Why would a $2,000 dining study be necessary when SGA could just listen to student concerns,” Price read.
Porter’s response to the question explained that he and Kirschbaum sat down with Auxiliary Services Director, Ken Boyer, to find an efficient way to do a dining study.
“What we decided to do was use $2,000 of SGA’s budget that’s currently not being used, so we optimize that from other areas that may not be going under use. It gives us money that we could use if we decide to,” Porter said.
While they are not certain if the $2,000 study will actually be conducted, Porter said they “would be able to have the funding and resources to make that happen for students.”
After the previously submitted questions ended, the floor was opened up to allow questions from the audience.
Live questions included more concerns about housing for students, funding for student organizations, what each of the candidates have done in service outside of their SGA titles, and what the candidate’s favorite thing about their running mate was.
After they each spoke on how they felt about their running mate and how their campaigns have been going so far, the candidates were given the opportunity to make a closing statement.
From their Closing Statements
“We have a plan to fix these problems [mentioned]. Some of those have been implemented, some of those will be implemented if we were elected,” Porter said. “We are passionate about these ideas so we tried to make a plan so you can have a tangible representation of what we would like to do if we were elected.”
Porter also mentioned something new in his opening statement that would be implemented if elected. Porter said that he has been working on a movement with other SGA members from around the state on issues like students’ voices in Georgia legislation.
If elected, Porter said he would make sure that Mercer would continue to be an impact in the organization of statewide SGA members.
Along with Porter/Kirschbuam, Buckner/Onuh closed by talking about their passion.
“Our passion and our focus and our drive to make SGA a better place for everyone, that’s what we want to see next year,” Buckner said.
Byrd/Smith wrapped up by reiterating their slogan, “Light the Bridge,” by reminding the audience that SGA is a bridge between students and the administration.
“The bridge has been dim, dull and dark the past couple of years,” Smith said. “Catie and I want to flip the switch. Catie and I want to light the bridge.”
After the end of the closing statements, Price thanked the audience for attending the debate and reminded them that official voting for the candidates would be March 28 and 29.
Price said the voting process would be online both days and that students would have the opportunity to vote on laptops in front of Stetson Hall on March 29.
As the audience dispersed, David Stokes, an audience member who was concerned about food expenditures under organization funding, said he thought the debate was well run.
“I think it was [a] very informative, very excellent opportunity to get to know each one personally a little bit and see how they want campus to run,” he said.
(03/18/17 8:05pm)
After announcing that Bearstock 2017 would be a two-part event on Feb. 20, QuadWorks announced on March 3 that artists Waka Flocka Flame and DJ Mustard would be co-headliners for the second part of the event, Bearstock: After Dark.
Waka Flocka Flame is a rapper known for songs like “Hard in da Paint” and “No Hands.” His co-headliner, DJ Mustard — whose official name is Dijon Isaiah McFarlane — is a Los Angeles-based artist with an upbeat hip-hop sound. He makes what he calls “ratchet music,” according to an article written by The Cluster on March 3.
A fan of Waka Flocka Flame, student Joelle Hitechew said she is excited to see him in concert.
“His music is easily my favorite genre to dance to, and I’m excited to see him in Hawkins Arena with other bears,” Hitechew said.
The opening act for Waka Flocka Flame and DJ Mustard at Bearstock: After Dark is EDM artist Gazzo.
The Cluster article also stated that the artists performing at Bearstock: After Dark will no longer have to censor their music, since the concert will be held indoors in Hawkins Arena.
The day portion of the event, still taking place in Tattnall Square Park, will feature the artists Nite Owl, Some Kids, Hindsight, Savannah Alday and Abby Henry, according to a video announcement released by Quadworks on their Facebook page.
“This is the first year in a while that we felt we have really been able to provide a diverse Bearstock experience because of artist availability and the change of format this year,” said Nate Flowers, president of Quadworks in an email. “We know that it is very hard to please everyone with artist selection, but we try our best to act in the best interest of students.”
Flowers said that the changes made to the 2017 edition of the annual Mercer event resulted because of issues in the past.
“Last year after Bearstock, there were a lot of crimes reported on campus,” Flowers said. “Some of these include armed robberies, apartment break-ins, car break-ins, and physical assault.”
After learning of the reported crimes, QuadWorks and the Mercer administration decided that changes needed to be made in order to keep the event safer for Mercer students, Flowers said.
Flowers said that the changes were collaborated on by the QuadWorks’ Mercer Live committee, Mercer Police, Mercer Athletics, the University Center staff, director of campus life Carrie Ingoldsby and Douglas Pearson, dean of students.
The changes made to the April 8 event split it into two parts. The first part will feature regional and local artists from 1-6 p.m. in Tattnall Square Park.
“The day portion has never been a security concern, and therefore we wanted to allow anyone to enjoy the day music festival,” Flowers said.
The second part of the event, Bearstock: After Dark, will be held in Hawkins Arena for Mercer students only. Students can bring two guests for $5 each. The event will not be open to the public.
“We are sorry we could not continue to keep this event open to the public, but keeping attendees safe is the number one priority,” Flowers said about the student-only change. “We encourage anyone to attend our day portion on Tattnall Square Park.”
Even though the second part has been restricted to students only and moved to an on-campus location, Flowers said that QuadWorks and Mercer will not be taking security for the concert lightly.
“These precautions will feel very standard for most large touring concerts,” he said.
Items that will not be permitted to be brought into the arena include “bags (girls may have small purses, subject to check), umbrellas, large/bulky jackets, coolers, or outside food and drink,” Flowers said.
Although there will not be any outside food or drink allowed, Flowers said students will be given the opportunity to purchase drinks inside the arena.
“In addition,” he said, “we will not admit any students under the effects of alcohol (as this is a dry campus) or drugs, and possible Judicial Education action may be taken for offenders.”
Students will also be required to enter through a metal detector and will not be allowed to re-enter after they have left the arena.
QuadWorks will keep track of tickets for students and their two guests by “giving out tickets via wristbands,” Flowers said.
Mercer students must show their bear card to receive a wristband for themselves and their guests. The guests must be with the students at the time of entry, he said.
After hearing about the new security measures and changes made to Bearstock, senior Terea Stewart, who hasn’t been to Bearstock since her freshman year, said she could see herself attending the event this year.
Stewart said she thought that having a portion of the event that was for Mercer students only was a “cool” change.
“I’m pretty sure we’re the ones paying for this, so we’re entertaining ourselves and not paying for other people’s entertainment,” she said.
(03/18/17 7:00am)
The International Cherry Blossom Festival will celebrate 35 years of tradition March 24 through April 2 while at the same time facing a lawsuit from Jake Ferro, former festival president and CEO.
Ferro, who was asked to resign from his position with the Festival in September 2016, filed the lawsuit on March 3, according to an article by The Telegraph.
He is “seeking more than $2 million and reinstatement to his position, alleging he was wrongfully fired and that his reputation was disparaged by false statements,” according to the article.
The lawsuit against the upcoming Festival is not the only news it has had recently. One day after publishing their story on the lawsuit, The Telegraph published a story on March 9 that the Festival was beginning a search for a new president and CEO.
After asking for Ferro’s resignation in September, the Festival announced that Thomas Wicker would be the interim president and CEO, according to an article published by The Cluster.
According to the March 9 article by The Telegraph, Wicker’s last day of being interim president will be April 28.
Since he was named interim president of the Festival in September, this year’s Festival will be Wicker’s first and last as president and CEO.
The festival, which was started in 1982, has blossomed like the over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees into a popping display of spring color and culture.
Because of the extravagant pink color of the cherry blossoms, the International Cherry Blossom Festival has been nicknamed “the Pinkest Party on Earth.”
"Producing the Pinkest Party on Earth is a thrill and a passion for our Board of Directors as well as our staff,” said Don Bailey, 2017 International Cherry Blossom Festival chairman, in an email. “The street party is returning to our lineup this year, and the level of entertainment for the event has created quite a buzz.”
The street party is a daytime concert that will begin at 3 p.m., April 1 in downtown Macon, according to the Festival website. The street party will feature different local and regional artists for $20 advance tickets or $25 day of event tickets.
Along with the street party, featured events of the 2017 festival include the Woodruff House tour, a gospel extravaganza, the cherry blossom gala, the annual parade and music events from several local and regional artists.
The full schedule of events for the festival can be found at: www.cherryblossom.com/events/
Tickets for the street part and other featured events that require tickets can be purchased at www.cherryblossom.com/tickets/.
Tickets can also be purchased through a new addition to the International Cherry Blossom Festival — an app for festival attendees.
The app was created to help the attendees “stay up to date with the latest news and information available, have the schedule of events at [their] fingertips, and navigate the events properly,” said Stacy Campbell, vice president of the International Cherry Blossom Festival.
The app is available to both Apple and Android cell phone users, Campbell said. To download the app, search for Cherry Blossom Festival on the appropriate app store.
Editor's Note: After the print publication of this story on March 16, the Cherry Blossom Festival selected Stacey Campbell as the new CEO for the festival. Read more about her experience with the Cherry Blossom Festival here.
(02/23/17 3:29am)
A new organization has written itself into Mercer’s list of organizations and extracurricular activities. Campus Cursive, an organization started by freshmen Rebecca Braun and Brittany Dorsey, is dedicated to writing love letters.
Campus Cursive is a branch of the The World Needs More Love Letters, an organization created by Hannah Brencher in 2011 that uses “the power behind social media to write and mail letters to strangers all over the world,” according to their website.
Braun said that she knew as a senior in high school that she wanted to start a Campus Cursive chapter at Mercer. After making sure Mercer did not already have a chapter, she began the process of starting one.
While talking to other students on campus about their interest in having a Campus Cursive chapter, she met Dorsey, who knows some of the executives that work for The World Needs More Love Letters.
“[After] we realized we had that in common, we decided to start the chapter together,” Braun said.
Braun drafted the organization’s constitution in September 2016 and applied to recieve a Bear Grant for funding.
“Everything moved along fairly quickly for the fact that I’ve never started a club and didn’t know how to do this,” Braun said. “It’s cool that as a freshman I have this ability to start something already and then to see it grow and to be a part of that process.”
Dorsey said she is also excited to be a part of the foundation of Campus Cursive.
“To me, having an organization like this means a cure for the epidemic that is loneliness. So many people in this world are struggling, and I believe letter writing is a twofold treatment,” Dorsey said.
Campus Cursive held their first meeting on Feb. 3. Their meetings for the rest of the semester will be held every other Friday in Knight Hall at 4:30 p.m. The meetings include music, writing and doughnuts, Braun said.
The letters written at the meeting are mostly to Mercer students. “Mercer students can send letter requests on our Facebook or Twitter or e-mail and then we will write to them,” Braun said.
Braun said the requests made to Campus Cursive remain anonymous if the student chooses.
“We do ask that they have a little bit of a story saying why they need the letters or bundle, so people have something to write about that’s a little more specific to that person,” Braun said.
The organization has already received and delivered their first love letter bundle — a group of letters written in response to the requests for letters sent in by students.
Braun said the student that submitted the first request via Facebook thanked her for what she was doing through Campus Cursive.
“That just kind of validates it for me,” Braun said. “Mercer really does need this . . . every college campus needs this.”
Helping Braun and Dorsey out as leaders in the Campus Cursive organization are fellow students Dani Acosta, Darice Cujdoe and Lexie Stennett. The leaders don’t have official titles within the organization.
“We’re all on the same level. We’re all working on the same things,” Braun said.
As the leaders of Campus Cursive plan the events and letters to be written during the rest of the semester, Dorsey said, “I hope Mercer’s campus will be set on fire with love! Encouragement is catching, so I hope we can start a chain of events that eventually affects the whole student body.”
(02/22/17 8:55pm)
Bearstock 2017 will be a two-part event featuring both daytime and night-time concerts in different locations.
Quadworks released a video and letter addressed to the Mercer community on Feb. 20 with the announcement that Bearstock 2017 will give students a different experience than the Bearstock events of the past.
“We have decided to make some changes for a better and safer Bearstock experience,” said Nate Flowers, president of Quadworks, in the video.
[video credit="Quadworks at Mercer" align="right"][/video]
The changes Quadworks made to Bearstock, scheduled for April 8, makes it a two-part event.
The first part will be located in Tattnall Square Park, where Bearstock was traditionally held. It will feature local and regional artists from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It will be a free event that is open to the Mercer community and the public.
The second part has been named Bearstock: After Dark. Bearstock: After Dark will be held in Hawkins Arena in the University Center, with the doors opening at 7 p.m. It will feature the national touring artists that Quadworks has lined up for the event starting at 8 p.m.
Bearstock: After Dark will be a free event to all Mercer students. Flowers said in the video and letter that each student will be allowed to bring two outside guests to the event for $5 a ticket.
Flowers also encouraged students to look out for the announcement that will be made March 3 regarding the national touring artists that will be featured at Bearstock: After Dark.
“We’re so excited about Bearstock this year and we hope to see you on April 8 for Bearstock 2017,” Flowers said.
(02/21/17 6:56pm)
Students who are applying for summer internships now have the opportunity to also apply for free housing on the Macon and Atlanta campuses.
In order to qualify for free housing, students must first find an internship.
“Internships not only accomplish that goal of getting students engaged, but it also provides an opportunity for students to grow and learn as professionals,”said Cole Porter, External Relations Committee Chair of the Student Government Association. “On the External Relations Committee, our biggest goal is to get students involved in the community.”
Porter said that after speaking with many students, the External Relations Committee “saw that they wanted more internships, particularly during the summer.”
When looking at providing more internships for students during the summer, Porter and SGA saw an obstacle: housing.
“Our job on SGA is to take student concerns or interests and spark the conversation on that topic to find a solution,” Porter said.
Porter said the housing concern was taken to the External Relations Committee, President William Underwood, Residence Life and Career Services. The solution they came up with is free housing from May 30 to July 29 for students with summer internships near the Atlanta and Macon campuses.
Fliers posted around campus, through social media and campus email have advertised that students must apply to qualify for the free housing opportunity after they have found an internship.
“We actually have limited space availability which is why we said you had to qualify,” Atlanta Campus Director of Employer Relations and Special Events Cindy Strowbridge said.
The free housing available for internships consists of 12 beds on the Atlanta campus and 12 beds on the Macon campus. The location of an internship will determine where the student qualifies for housing. “They must live somewhere close to their internship site, which will be one of the campuses,” Strowbridge said.
Applications to qualify for housing can be found at: www.tinyurl.com/musummerintern until March 13 at 5 p.m.
The applications will then be evaluated by a committee that consists of Strowbridge, other employees of career services and a few Mercer students, Strowbridge said.
“My office and Career Management and Career services, we want to give every student the best opportunity to find a job,” Strowbridge said.
Although there will be no bill sent to the students selected to receive summer housing, they “must still follow the student code of conduct and sign a modified housing contract,” Strowbridge said. “The housing contract is really just there in case they make damages to where they are living.”
Students who receive free housing will be a factor in deciding whether or not to continue to offer this opportunity to future students.
“We hope that this [opportunity] will encourage more students to stay in Macon or Atlanta during the summer and develop connections with the community as they carry out their internship,” Porter said. “We've all seen what Mercer students can do for the community when given the chance; that's the ultimate goal here.”
For students who are interested in applying for internships in general, SGA created a program for Career Services’ course for academic-year internships, Porter said. “This will allow students to apply for an internship based on their interests or ambitions, and we will match them with community organizations that fit their interests.”
The students who are selected from the matching program through the academic-year internship course “will have the internship for the 2017-2018 academic year and will receive course credit for the internship,” Porter said.
After deciding to apply for an internship of any kind,“you know you need a resume, a cover letter, and some interviewing skills,” said Hugh Hunter, Career Consultant for Career Services and Undergraduate and Graduate Business Programs. “Mercer offers multiple ways to achieve all of those goals, so prepare yourself first. I’d just say be prepared and be courageous.”
The Career Services website offers answers to frequently asked questions about internships and how to apply, along with a link to another website, BEARLink, that lists available internships.
Along with his role of being a Career Consultant, Hunter said he will be a part of the team that reviews submitted applications for internships. He will also serve as a mentor to some of the selected interns.
After getting help from Career services on how to begin applying for internships, “do not procrastinate,” Hunter said.
“Mercer students are talented, sharp and a pleasure to be around. You already have the skills that the world is looking for, it’s all about getting to where the action is now,” he said. “Utilize your advisors and your faculty connections. Network every chance you get. Plan ahead so you don’t fall behind. And always, always do well by doing good.”
(02/10/17 2:14am)
Mercer Landing welcomed a second restaurant in December when Momma Goldberg’s Deli opened their doors. Momma Goldberg’s joined Papa John’s Pizza, which had been open throughout the Fall 2016 semester.
Momma Goldberg’s opening had been anticipated for several months, as their original grand opening was also supposed to be in the Fall of 2016. However the opening was pushed back due to “personal matters,” according to a December article in The Cluster.
“We are excited about our new deli at Mercer Lofts at Mercer Landing,” said Justin Carr, Vice President of Trivium Investment Group, the franchise operator for Momma Goldberg’s Macon. “Momma takes great pride in providing hot, fresh, and quality food with excellent service and taking care of our Mercer family and our other local customers is very important to each member of our staff,” he said.
The restaurant, which is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., has a variety of menu items.
Features of the menu include signature sandwiches such as Momma’s Love Sandwich and specialty sandwiches like veggie burgers. Grilled wraps, salads, soups, nachos and desserts can also be found on the menu. The Momma Goldberg’s Deli Macon Facebook also advertises the restaurant’s weekly and daily menu specials.
Although Momma Goldberg’s did not accept Bear Bucks when they first opened, a Facebook post on Jan. 6 announced that they will now accept the Bear Card system payment. Along with adding Bear Bucks, they “have recently added online ordering and will be adding outdoor seating and a drive through in the near future,” Carr said.
Momma Goldberg’s isn’t the only new restaurant students can choose to dine at on campus. Mercer Village welcomed another restaurant to its list of businesses when Subway opened its doors on Jan. 29.
Subway’s appearance in Mercer Village was first reported last August by The Telegraph. It was set to open during the Fall 2016 semester according to the article, but was delayed due to the renovation of the space it is located in.
Khalliday Muhammad, a turkey on wheat lover, said she’s not a fan of Subway, but likes that they offer bigger sandwiches than Which Wich. “Most of the time my sandwich is like falling apart when I bite into it, and this is partly because of the bread size,” she said.
Even though Subway will feature the Bear Bucks payment system like many of the restaurants in Mercer Village, “meal swipes are cheaper so I might stick to Which Wich most of the time,” Muhammad said. “Subway might just be one of those choices I make when I just feel like it.”
(01/25/17 7:43pm)
After having their operations suspended and being removed from their on-campus houses, Alpha Tau Omega fraternities is operating in a limited capacity. Kappa Sigma is currently under university review.
According to a Cluster article written in August 2016 , the two fraternities were suspended for the 2016-2017 academic year due to “violations of the Student Code of Conduct related to alcohol.”
The sanctions imposed on the two fraternities included the suspension and “specific action steps they could take to begin the process for returning,” Pearson said. The sanctions and steps were outlined in a letter to both fraternities. When asked to provide those letters to clarify the sanctions for the purpose of this article, both organizations declined.
Vice President and Dean of Students, Douglas Pearson provided a statement via email on the status of the two fraternities.[pullquote speaker="Dean of Students Douglas Pearson" photo="" align="right" background="on" border="none" shadow="off"]Both groups appear to have abided by the sanctions (primarily the suspension) and to have taken the recommended action steps...[/pullquote]
“Both groups appear to have abided by the sanctions (primarily the suspension) and to have taken the recommended action steps. ATO has already met with me and has been approved to begin operations in a limited capacity this spring. Kappa [Sigma] just submitted their information and are currently under review.”
Pearson clarified that “neither group will be permitted to be “‘fully back” — meaning things like being back in their houses — but are permitted to engage in limited operations such as business meetings, philanthropy events and limited recruitment as part of the process for returning.
Pearson added that it was his goal to have both chapters fully operating next fall.
Alpha Tau Omega’s suspension was lifted by Pearson on Jan. 8. According to the Alpha Tau Omega at Mercer University Facebook page, the organization has already elected a new executive board.
The board includes President Brandon Tran, Vice President John Morris, Chris Scrivner as chaplain, Treasurer Tyler Winslett and Jacob Pate as a new member educator. Other members include Secretary Timothy Deremer, Nathan Falls as historian, Caleb Brown in risk management, Spencer Williams for recruitment responsibilities and Ponch Chantha, who is in charge of social aspects.
The fraternity also shared on the page that they volunteered with the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission by picking up trash and hosted Spring rush events to recruit new members.
“I am extremely impressed with the steps that Alpha Tau Omega has taken to improve risk management and chapter operations,” said Assistant Director of Campus Life, Scotty Rainwater.
The newly-elected Alpha Tau Omega executive board declined to give a statement on their progress and events since being approved to begin limited operations. “Although we appreciate [The Cluster] showing us in a better light now, the article would inevitably bring up the past, which we don’t want to do,” said Vice President John Morris.
Alpha Tau Omega must continue to work on “additional requirements in order to return to full operation in Fall 2017 to include regaining the chapter house,” Rainwater said.
Along with Alpha Tau Omega, Kappa Sigma has also been working on their sanctions to return. When asked about giving a statement on the progress Kappa Sigma has been making this year, President Oscar Martinez declined by saying “[it was] advised to us that we don’t speak to the press.”
Mitchell Wilson, executive director of Kappa Sigma Fraternity International, offered a statement about the progress of the organization.
“I am very pleased to inform you that the Alpha-Beta Chapter of Kappa Sigma had a very productive Fall Semester and are in the process of implementing their plans and goals for the Spring semester. We look forward to receiving positive reports from these men for the Spring semester,” Wilson said.