44 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(08/27/15 9:51pm)
Let’s be honest — most of us were disappointed with the first “Magic Mike.” Most who watched it probably wanted it to be straight sex and male objectification, but the producers decided to try to put in a story line, and it all went to hell.
The good news is “Magic Mike XXL” was the movie that the first one should have been. It had a storyline that actually managed to work, and the male objectification was what most that saw the film really wanted.
In this new movie, Mike is seen at the beginning with his own design business, having finally kicked it off with some success. However, he’s unhappy, as seen by him throwing away a handwritten sticky note on a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough. He only has one employee, and he doesn’t yet have enough reliable accounts to pay for the employee’s healthcare.
Then, one night, an old familiar song comes on while Mike stays to work late — that’s right, “Pony” by Ginuwine. He remembers just how much fun he had being a “male entertainer” (the term that the boys coin during the movie), and he shows up to meet the old Kings of Tampa after they call to let him know that they’re coming through Miami on their way to an annual stripper convention. Dallas, the emcee, has gone — “taken the kid and gone to Macau,” according to the rest of the guys. Mike is concerned on how this “final ride” is going to go without one, but he has a backup card.
The story of the movie involves the men bonding and digging deep to find themselves, including throwing out the old routines, notably the fireman routine that Richie used to perform. Mike helps the men find routines that are more true to themselves as they head to the convention.
At one point, the men stop by a cocktail lounge frequented by drag queens, where the main female love interest is introduced. She is a photographer who is promised a position in New York only to be disappointed by later finding out it comes at the price of being a side chick. Having drag queen representation was definitely a welcome surprise, especially since the men seemed to bond over the experience of working to be drag queens, and there was no bashing of those who live that lifestyle either. All in all, I was very pleased to see that.
Overall, “Magic Mike XXL” is the movie that provides a story of men as close as brothers taking a final ride together for the thrill of it — a hot and wild ride for anyone who enjoys watching the human body move the way I do. It’s a must see for those who were disappointed by the first and well worth the male exploitation.
(08/14/15 12:50pm)
Editor’s Warning: The following may cause Bras. Tampons. Pads. Daintily scented deodorants and shampoos. All geared towards and priced for the female gender — all grossly overpriced.
Zoey Freedman, a college student writ- ing for a paper much like the one you are holding now was recently called pathetic and stupid for suggesting that pads and tampons should be free. After all, a peri- od is something that a woman can hardly control, or even keep in, so why should they not be treated like the necessities they are, instead of ‘luxuries’ the govern- ment treats them as?
For men imagine this: You wake up one morning, and realize you have to wash your sheets because sometime in the night, your uterus lining began to dissolve and spilled blood all over them. Blood is no easy stain to get out, so you’ll probably have to spend extra money.
And, if you are unlucky enough to only own one pair of sheets, it’s time to go to the store.
If you’re unlucky enough to be a 14-year- old having your first period during school, and you don’t like the feel of tampons, then you’re once again in trouble. All the school may have to offer is tiny panty lin- ers that wouldn’t stop the flood.
Having to take anywhere from $5-$10 out of a college student’s budget can mean the difference in a meal and getting tam- pons. So, women are forced to shell out that money and just hope they can scrape something together from the ramen in the pantry.
If condoms are free — something used for an act that is not even necessary to lead a normal life — why not items that are? Women have absolutely no choice in being the precious bearers of life, yet there are people who would continue to profit off of a body function that is not only annoying but painful as well.
Now, lets also talk about how womens’ items in general are priced higher than men. Go look in your local deodorant aisle. How much is the cheapest men’s deodorant? How much is the woman’s? What’s the difference in size? Why do we even need to genderize things such as a body odor removal anyway?
Bras. The ultimate thing that every woman as is told she needs and yet is criticized for it if it shows. Newsflash! Boobs are a thing. According to society, they need to be held up. So shut up about seeing a bra strap, and stop charging $30 for a scrap of fabric. Speaking from personal experience, buying a bra has become a luxury because of the price. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention it has been proven that bras themselves have no physical benefit to a woman’s body. If anything, they do more harm than good.
Free tampons and pads are necessary. Lower the price of bras. Quit punishing women for not having a penis.
(10/20/14 8:58pm)
Rape.
It’s a word that too many people today use lightly, and usually as the butt of a joke.
“Man, I just got raped by that test.” or “You should take it as a compliment. It means somebody likes you.”
Except it’s not a compliment. It’s a violation. Its very meaning is “to take, or to seize.” Dictionary.com defines rape as an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation. Nothing about that definition is funny. And frankly, it needs to stop.
America lives in a rape culture, where acts of violation like this are seen as something to consider uplifting, or brushed off as the victim’s fault. When some star athlete or other beloved schoolboy is the one raping, it’s “poor kid” or “What will this do to his future?” For the girls who have just been abused and violated, it’s “Well, look at what you’re wearing. How could you expect him to resist?” or “You made it seem like you wanted him. It’s your fault for being such a slut!”
Seem a little skewed to you?
I’m not even saying that it’s just men who rape. Yes, there are instances of females raping males. But that’s not my point. My point is that this is not a gender issue but a cultural issue. All too often is violence in America brushed off or excused as if it’s okay.
Those who have kept up with the news or social media lately might know the tale of Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student who became famous for carrying around her dorm mattress in a protest against her school and her rapist. Sulkowicz filed a claim against fellow student for raping her although she didn’t do it right away.
“I didn’t report it at first because I didn’t feel like dealing with the emotional trauma. But then I met two other women who told me the same person who had assaulted me assaulted them, and I decided I had to do something. We all reported our cases, and all three were dismissed,” said Sulkowicz in an interview with “Time Magazine.”
The hearing for the event didn’t take place until a full seven months after the incident, and even then was hardly helpful for Sulkowicz. As in most cases, her case was dismissed as implausible, and she was falsely accused of being drunk.
What’s wrong with this system is why so few are willing to report rape. They face doubt and suspicion throughout the entire process. Even with the White House’s new Title IX laws, which now enforce “preponderance of evidence,” or a “more likely than not” policy, change isn’t happening soon enough.
What the real problem is that’s facing us today is defining rape. Is rape simply when a person says no? Or is it as early as when a person doesn’t say yes? What if the person says no in the middle of intercourse? Does it become rape then?
In an effort to work toward a better future, California recently stepped up to the plate by passing a “yes means yes” law on college campuses. The law removes any “blurred lines” that may arise in dealing with these situations, stating that consent now requires “‘an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision’ by each party to engage in sexual activity.”
And what about that is so hard? Why has it taken us several years and so many cases of rape for this to happen? Why is it still so common for people to laugh at the idea of a violent act of forcing yourself on another person?
In a report compiled by the White House states that as of 2014, 1 in 5 women were sexually assaulted at college. In their lifetime, nearly 1 in 5 women have been raped, and 1 in 71 men. This comes out to 22 million women and 1.6 million men who have been raped in their lifetime. And it is when people are young that they are the most vulnerable.
Take a stand. Rape culture at its roots is buried in inequality, and the belief that one can belittle another due to some supposedly superior quality. If you see someone forcing themselves on another person, even if it’s something as simple as being persistent in the club, take a stand. Don’t be a bystander. Be the person who keeps rape from happening.
(09/28/14 12:17am)
Last month, the Hummingbird Stage & Taproom announced it would adopt a Clean Air Campaign, banning smoking inside the bar.
Seventeen days later, The Bird posted on Facebook,
"While trending data in broader markets show that non-smoking policies are probably a good idea in health and business, local trends suggest the time is not right for their implementation at The Bird."
Smoking, once again, is allowed inside the bar.
"In other words, friends, we goofed," said The Bird on Facebook.
(08/27/14 11:13pm)
The campus came alive this week with the start of classes as well as the largest freshman class that Mercer University has seen so far. Several of those freshmen are the newest recruits to Mercer Athletics, and for volleyball player Morgan MacGilvary, it was her first week here at Mercer.
Originally from Plano, Texas, MacGilvary said that she came to Mercer because of its traditional Southern nature. "Because I'm from Texas, I wanted a football team where everyone's excited. And then I wanted the Southern pride, where everyone is proud of their school."
Though she's already homesick, MacGilvary already has plans to stay close with her friends and family. She plans to attend a tournament with her father in a few weeks at the University of Mississippi, which her best friend attends. Another of her best friends is driving down to see her soon.
MacGilvary originally began playing volleyball when she was in third grade though she had not intended to at first.
"It was kinda just like a joke. My dad was just like, you should try this. I was terrible at first. The worst on the team," said MacGilvary. However, as she played more, she enjoyed it more. She joined club volleyball in middle school, which she said was basically a requirement due to the competitive community. Once she started with the club, she said that she began to get better and better until she finally came to Mercer.
When asked if she thought that being a college athlete would affect her college experience, MacGilvary had a positive attitude. "I think it'll definitely add to it for sure. It'll be easier to get to know people and the athletes, and I think that'll be good for making friends," she said. "It'll be better to get to know the campus, because you get to come early and you get to see the campus without everyone on it, so it's less overwhelming."
Although her major is still undecided, MacGilvary has a few ideas about what she would like it to be. A student of the Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics, she may wants to go into sports management. After she graduates, she is thinking of going to law school to learn more about contracting so that she can get involved with sports contracts. When asked if she thought that balancing athletics and academics was going to be hard, MacGilvary replied, "Well, since I've been balancing it for so long, I think it'll be easier for me than for someone who maybe just started doing it... It's not going to be impossible to do, but it's still going to be hard to do. But school always comes first."
Currently, MacGilvary is taking a history class with a focus on how medicine has affected society, an INT class, social entrepreneurship, Old Testament, and Business 101.
One thing that MacGilvary said she did not expect when she came to Georgia was the heat. "Texas is hot, but this is humid. In Texas, it's just dry." MacGilvary thinks that she will enjoy the camaraderie of the volleyball team the most this year. "All the girls know places you can go, so you already have people there to be your best friends."
(08/27/14 11:12pm)
It's been almost a year since Alex Avant made Mercer University history with his SportsCenter Top 10 and ESPNU #Great8 Play of the Week interception in the game against Drake University. Since then, Mercer has faced Duke in basketball and moved to the Southern Conference. So what is Avant doing now?
A junior with a marketing major, Avant is still playing football for Mercer. He is working toward a career in sports marketing, a career inspired by his uncle, who has been working with the Atlanta Falcons for almost a decade now.
He also has a brother who goes to Mercer and plays on the football team, too. Although they are a year apart, Avant says that the two are often confused as twins. When asked about his future plans, Avant said, "I know my brother wants to be an entrepreneur, so I was thinking of getting together with him and opening a store like a Sports Authority or a sporting goods store."
Of course, Avant has a life outside of football as well. When asked what he likes to do for fun, Avant said that he enjoyed watching movies, playing video games at home or hanging out with his friends. "I like going out, if I get the chance on the weekends to maybe go downtown with my friends."
Avant said that his favorite movies include "Friday" and "Drumline," and he likes any drama movie that he can find. He also enjoys playing NBA video games while hanging out in his room.
He started playing football when he was eleven although it was not the first sport that he played. He originally started with baseball and basketball and only got interested in football when his friends began playing. "A lot of my friends played baseball and football, so I was like, might as well try it out, and I've loved it ever since then."
"I was a little small, so my mom was scared," said Avant. His mother, an occupational therapist, attends every game with Avant's father, who works with Verizon. "Even thought I'm in college, I see them all the time. My mom's from Macon, too, so I have a lot of family here."
When asked about the famous interception of last year, Avant said, "When it happened, I had no idea it was going to be as big as it was, with ESPN and all that. Actually in the play, I had no idea what it looked like, that it looked as good as it did. I was trying to do the best that I could to help the team."
(08/22/14 3:00pm)
Summer--the time for holding BBQs, lounging by the pool, and vacationing - but not for College Hill Alliance. While most Mercer University students were off for summer break, progress was made on both Phase III and Phase IV of the Lofts project. The Lofts are residential developments created by the College Hill Alliance and Sierra Development.
Phases I and II of the Lofts consisted of the residential apartments in Mercer Village above the local businesses that call the Village home. Phase III broke ground in November last year and was finished this summer, just in time for incoming students to enjoy the new accommodations. Now, the latest Lofts project is underway on College Street behind the Macon Post Office.
Phase IV of the Lofts at College Hill will contain both a residential and a commercial development, including fusion café Boba Mocha. The residential developments will include 146 one- and two-bedroom apartments with amenities including a 3,800 square foot clubhouse, a water feature and outdoor gathering area with a fire pit, al fresco dining and a complete fitness center with a yoga room. Also included will be a rooftop terrace for the residing students to enjoy picturesque views of the surrounding city.
The commercial development features 12,000 square feet of retail space. According to Jim Daws, president of Sierra Development, talks are in progress to find other retailers whose business would complement the already announced café as well as attract more residents to the neighborhood.
“The Lofts at College Hill is another major step toward fulfilling the College Hill Master Plan,” said Mercer President William D. Underwood. “In less than five years we have been able to attract new residents, recruit new businesses, and improve the aesthetics in the College Hill Corridor through partnerships like the one we have with Sierra Development. It has been a very productive collaboration, and we are grateful to Jim Daws and his partners for helping make the Corridor an even better place to live, work and play.”
Since the start of the College Hill Corridor initiative, a project dedicated to the revitalization of the two-square-mile area that connects Mercer with downtown, more than $91 million in private and public funding have been used toward the Corridor.
“I’m delighted to see this type of living growing in popularity in College Hill and Downtown,” said Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert. “It shows us that people in Macon-Bibb… are looking to live closer to town, where they can more easily get to work, parks, retail and restaurant.”
(08/16/14 11:16am)
One of the oldest city parks in America, Tattnall Square Park, was named one of the twelve Frontline Parks this summer by the City Parks Alliance.
This title is awarded once every month to a park that exemplifies innovation, urban park excellence and stewardship. The Frontline Park program was created to find and reward such parks that develop creative and innovative ways to meet the unique challenges of building community and keeping the city green and vibrant.
Catherine Nagel, executive director of City Park Alliance, said, “We hope that by shining the spotlight on Tattnall Square, we can raise awareness about the ways investment in our nation’s urban parks pays off.” Past recipients of this award have included Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Discovery Green in Houston, and Patterson Park in Baltimore as well as Prospect Park in Brooklyn and The Highline in New York City.
One group in particular has been immensely involved in the efforts to restore and preserve Tattnall, Friends of Tattnall Square Park. In the last three years alone, they have undergone “the most extensive tree planting in a century,” according to the press release, by planting 215 trees. They are also responsible for new drip irrigation throughout the park, a repainted pavilion, new gating at the Lawton Street entrance and solar powered trash compactors in addition to other projects.
The group is funded in part by the Knight Neighborhood Challenge, a program created to invest in ideas that would restore the College Hill neighborhood. Andrew Silver, professor at Mercer University and chair of the Friends group, said, “We were able to dream big because of the Knight Neighborhood Challenge Fund… With those Neighborhood Challenge grants, we were able to accomplish in two and a half years what most park organizations might accomplish in decades.”
Silver said that, with each grant that the group received, more private investment followed. In total, private, city and state funding has invested $2.4 million into the park and surrounding areas, with the majority of the funding coming from the Georgia Department of Transportation and private investment.
“Before, when Maconites dreamed for the park, and dreamed big, nothing happened with those dreams, or they became pathwork realities-- stunted plans half realized,” said Silver. “Now when we dream, we look to the most successful parks in the nation and work with our city officials to make Tattnall a truly great park.”
Out of the twelve recipients of the Frontline Park designation, Tattnall is one of only two recipients to receive this designation in the entire state of Georgia. Future plans for the park by the Friends group include the return of the historic fountain, new sidewalks and temporary public art placed throughout the park.
(08/12/14 7:49pm)
[gallery type="rectangular" link="file" ids="12662,12717"]
In a unanimous decision by the Macon-Bibb Commission, minor league hockey is on its way back to Macon. Former team Augusta Riverhawks, of Augusta, now renamed Macon Mayhem, recently moved to Macon and will be playing at the Macon Centreplex.
Bob Kerzner, co-owner of the team with his wife Dianne Kerzner, said in the press conference, “I told my wife it’d be stupid not to go to Macon. It’s more than a business venture; it’s a passion.” Both owners were excited about the unanimous decision, as they have had to fold three other teams before finding Macon.
“We don’t want to be the kind of people who wonder what happened,” said Kerzner. “We’re going to try to make things happen. Just because what happened in the past happened in the past, we have to understand the convention center wasn’t here back then, this beautiful hotel wasn’t there back then.”
(08/12/14 7:32pm)
TARDIS Library Is Installed --
Funded by a grant from the Knight Neighborhood Challenge, free “Little Libraries” are placed in various locations around Macon. One such library is located on the corner of College Street and Georgia Avenue and is in the shape of the TARDIS from BBC’s “DOCTOR WHO.” Macon holds seven Little Libraries in total, which are intended to increase community interaction. The libraries implement a “Take a Book, Leave a Book” policy and are also equipped with paper for community members to leave notes. The TARDIS library has 18 different doors with nine shelves built-in and has books ranging from juvenile to young adult literature. Unlike the others, the TARDIS library will soon be equipped with solar panels to power the sign and lights.
Pio Nono Kroger Shows Support for Mercer University Football --
A local Kroger has shown that it is ready and waiting for the Mercer football season to start with the above display. 12-packs of Sprite make up the football field, with a 50-yard line made of Diet Dr. Pepper. Backdrops created with orange Fanta cases outline the words “Mercer” and “Bears” on opposite sides of the field, spelled out with black Coke Zero cases. Orange Fanta boxes make another appearance as the Mercer football players, facing off against an unnamed team Coke. The display was the idea of the new store manager, who wanted to show support for the Bears while also tying in the community and the college.
ESPN Films SEC Network Promo on Macon Campus -
On July 29th, ESPN visited Mercer’s Macon campus to film the opening sequence of the gameday show “SEC NATION” from SEC Network. A drumline featured in the video consisted of musicians representing the fourteen Southeastern Conference universities. The drumline was joined by tailgating fans and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, who performed the song “Take the Party.” According to officials at Mercer, Cruz Plaza and the surrounding area were chosen for the “neutral and picturesque setting for the tailgating scenes depicted in the shoot.” The sequence has not yet been released to the public.
Mercer Celebrates 11 Years on Princeton Review’s Best Colleges
For the past 11 years, THE PRINCETON REVIEW has featured Mercer in its annual “best colleges” guide, and once again, the university appears within its pages. In a two-page profile, the REVIEW details that Mercer is a place “that respects its students and knows the enormous potential its students have.” The guide is based on the surveys of 130,000 regarding their school’s academics, administration and student bodies as well as themselves. Rob Franek, the senior vice president, publisher and author of this year’s edition, “The Best 379 Colleges,” said that the main reason behind Mercer’s selection was the outstanding academics that the university offers. Only 15 percent of the US’s 2500 four-year universities are chosen to be represented in the publication, and only four colleges from outside the US are included.
(04/04/14 8:22pm)
Friends of Tattnall Square Park has been working for over two years to restore the historic park that is just across the road from Mercer University’s Macon campus. Though treasurer Jennifer Look says that their work is always ongoing, for the first time in almost a hundred years, the park’s infrastructure has been completely renovated.
“It started over trash,” said Chair Andrew Silver about the origins of Friends of Tattnall. Silver is also a professor at Mercer.
When complaints were voiced about a lack of maintenance in the park, Friends co-founders Corrie Merricks and Jill Moody Vanderhoek, along with Silver, stepped up to make some changes. Since the group’s birth in 2001, the Friends have planted 215 new trees, installed trashcans with quotes and added time capsules into the pillars at the historic entrance to the park.
A TARDIS-shaped Little Library will also be featured at Tattnall, though it is separate from the Friends group. The Little Library is one of Look’s personal projects, she said, and the first unveiling will be on April 17 at the dog park. “It’s about getting people to share stories and build community. If you have a book you love, and you want to share it with your neighbor, come put it in the library,” said Look. The TARDIS-shaped library is one of the many that will be built.
The libraries will provide book plates that allow donors to explain why they think that the book should be read by people in the community. The TARDIS inspiration came from the carpenter of the libraries, who is going to install 18 bookshelves.
The quote-covered trashcans is another project that Friends of Tattnall recently completed, which involved not only students from Alexander II, who wrote essays about why they loved nature, but also Mercer students. A class taught by Dr. Craig Coleman was responsible for framing the quotes, and the trashcans have gained the attention of not only the city of Macon, but also Atlanta, which is now putting up similar works in its city.
In regards to current projects, Look said that a new water fountain is on its way, courtesy of the Medical Center of Central Georgia. The Friends group hope that the installation will increase the number of people exercising in the park.
Other improvements include boulder benches, as well as benches that are rooted into the ground and a stump circle that provides seating where there was none before. The pavillion was also a project that the group took on, repainting the structure with four different colors and putting in 1,000 volunteer hours before it was completed.
“We’ve raised tens of thousands [of dollars] with private donations, but we’ve attracted hundreds of thousands of grant money through the Knight Foundation,” said Silver. “They really acted as a catalyst to our organization. ... About $2.3 million either has been or will be put into this park within the next few months.” Silver said that Friends of Tattnall Square Park has accomplished a lot more than other Friends Of organizations would have accomplished in 10 or more years time.
Mercer itself has contributed some to the projects. The student-led Friends of Tattnall Square Park, led by president Sarah Reid, has hosted events such as poetry readings and frisbee tournaments, as well as occasionally working in conjunction with the neighborhood Friends group.
As part of their senior design project, a group of student engineers is working to improve the drainage in Tattnall by installing a rain garden. Mercer has also helped with the recently implemented irrigation system, which may not be needed untill next year, says Silver, due to all the rain this year.
“There’s a good possibility that in the next two years, it will feel like a totally different park,” said Silver. “Our number one concern is that we would like to see Macon look to their parks and celebrate them and understand how important they are economically. We brag on our parks, but we don’t do much to help.”
(04/04/14 8:21pm)
The first day of spring this year was welcomed by the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World with a namesake festival: the International Cherry Blossom Festival. With attractions ranging from food trucks to a petting zoo, Macon residents showed up both in the sun and in the rain to enjoy the traditional festival.
The festival was first started in 1982 by the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission, after Yoshino cherry trees were discovered by Macon resident William Fickling Sr. Struck by their beauty, he quickly began planting more in Macon, which drew the eye of Carolyn Crayton, who was executive director for the commission at the time. It was Crayton’s idea to host the festival to both celebrate the beauty of the trees and also to honor Fickling for his donations of approximately 500 trees alongside Wesleyan Woods, Guerry Drive and Oxford Road.
In the thirty years that have passed, the event has become one of the Top 20 Events in the South and one of the Top 50 in the U.S., according to the official web page of the festival. Spanning 10 days, the festival draws people from all over to celebrate the Yoshino Cherry Tree.
The Fickling Family Foundation has also contributed to the number of cherry trees, which now number over 300,000.
Those who have been to the festival before know that there are attractions for all ages. Festivities started as early as 7 a.m., when the Macon-Bibb Fire Department served pink pancakes for early risers. On the second Saturday and Sunday, Mulberry Street was lined with booths of both local and out-of-town vendors looking to sell their wares at the Mulberry Street Arts and Crafts Festival.
A free petting zoo and camel rides offered animal entertainment for the children, as well as rides, provided by Drew Exposition.
Blue Ridge Helicopter Rides offered participants a tour over the “Pinkest Park on Earth,” the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds and other Macon sites.
Each day also had its own special entertainment, such as the 2nd Annual Varsity Cruise In on March 22, which allowed car fanatics to show off their classic car at Sid’s Sandwich Shop. Greg Glenn, a sand sculptor, worked on-site with open viewing for the festival, and each night promised a different band playing in the Central City Park on the Coca-Cola Entertainment Stage.
No matter which day it was, there was always something to do, and most of it was even free. There were plenty of opportunities to spend money, though, both at the arts and crafts festivals and the Shop at the Park, which offered everything from jewelry to cook wear and even a little pet called the Sugar Bear, a marsupial that is a tiny cousin of the Kangaroo.
The Cherry Blossom Festival also crowned their own Queen and Princesses, who serve as the ambassadors for the festival and Macon. They appear at official festival events throughout the year and also receive scholarships for their work.
(04/04/14 8:13pm)
This past weekend, hundreds of vendors were lined up on Mulberry Street, hoping to sell their wares to festival-goers. One such vendor was Pamela Welty and her husband David, who were selling antique button jewelry.
Welty said she got into button-collecting through her great aunt Victoria, who had “an incredible button collection” which she and her husband gathered in Europe on his business trips.
Originally, Welty didn’t think she could get into it, because she wasn’t sure how to get the buttons she would need.
However, she ran into a button dealer at an antique show, who told her that if she liked buttons, then she had to go to a button show.
“It was like a kid going into Toys R Us for the first time,” said Welty. “Not only did I see thousands of buttons, but I also saw gorgeous buttons, ranging from ten cents to $10,000.
So, on what Welty said was a leap of faith, she put aside her other jewelry and turned completely to selling jewelry made from buttons.
“I try to buy buttons that don’t look like buttons,” said Welty. She then refurbishes the button and decides how she’s going to “frame” the piece.
“My way of doing things is to keep the button as the centrepiece, not overdo it. I want you to really notice the button,” said Welty.
She also writes the history of the button on the back of the cards that the pieces are attached to, such as a pair of earrings which had a velvet background, used to put perfume on.
Welty said that her buttons’ origins range anywhere from 1820 to the 1940s. Once the mid-1950s came around, glass buttons were replaced by plastic buttons and were no longer considered antique.
“There are some nice books,” said Welty, “where I can find interesting things about, say, if I find a button that screws open, and it’s from 1920, it held rouge. But if it’s from 1700, it probably held poison, and it came off of a spy’s outfit.”
While Welty is fascinated by who crafted the button, she said her husband is more interested in the person who wore the button.
Welty said that this is her fifth time at the Cherry Blossom Festival, and three of the times have been in bad weather. “The people of this town have a sense for the weather,” she said.
Once, her tent was actually blown away in a storm three years ago. However, she also says that once the storms blew through, she had some excellent business.
Welty said that for her, collecting buttons is fascinating.
“It gives me an opportunity to actually sell beautiful real hand-crafted pieces that someone spent so much time and effort and craftsmanship into for a reasonable price. . . Anything I can just use one button on is a real treasure for me because trying to pair up something that’s over a hundred years old is hard.”
Sometimes, she said, she gets lucky and finds a treasure in a box of buttons that she bought at an auction, such as one time when she found six buttons that ended up selling for $240, though she only paid $1 for the jar they were in.
(04/04/14 8:12pm)
College is all about getting the experience that one needs later in life - which is why, if you have not started a resume, you are probably way behind.
“What is a resume?” some (hopefully nobody) will ask.
A resume is a list of achievements arranged in a specific order so that potential employers can really get a sense of who the applicant is.
A resume is essential to the process of getting a job, and the resume with the most experience usually gets the job.
So, how does one start a resume?
There are several templates to choose from, offered both online and through Microsoft Word.
Select one of those templates, and start filling it out.
Another question that some might have is, how do I make my resume stick out?
Filling out the resume is easy, but having the experiences to make the resume the winner is much harder, and the key to getting a job.
What is it that employers are looking for in an ideal candidate?
As a rule, volunteer work is always looked favorably upon, as it shows a willingness to work for someone, even when there is no payment involved. The more, the better.
Mercer University offers several volunteer opportunities and is home to a multitude of service organizations.
From Service Scholars to Mercer on Mission, service to others is pretty much a required course.
Internships and jobs are also gold stars.
Not only do they show that you have the experience that’s needed for some of the jobs, but if you’ve completed them while in school, it shows you have the ability to handle work under pressure.
Although it makes sense to find positions in the area of work you are best at (such as a position at the University Press for a future book editor, a shadowing position for a teacher, etc.), positions of leadership in other fields are also beneficial.
Leadership shows that you are not only capable of handling yourself and getting your job done, but also that you are capable of leading a team and are willing to be invested in your work.
But those experiences are the basics.
Sure, they are the tried and true methods and often get the attention needed to get the job, but here are some extras that can mean the difference between getting the call back and the rejection email:
Most companies these days aren’t looking to waste their time interviewing every person who has a resume.
What has now become an important addition to the resume are the qualifications/skill sets.
This is a list of key words, typically at the top of the resume, that shows the fields you are involved in.
Think of it as tagging your resume like you would a blog post.
The goal is to ping as many of the keywords that employers are looking for as possible.
Some companies use computers to do this kind of searching, using scanning technology to weed out the unwanted resumes. Other companies use workers for the same process.
Of course, a resume should be tweaked every time it is sent out, especially for students who are graduating and looking for a real job.
A general resume is not going to work every time; make sure to personalize every resume to the job at hand.
What also helps is making a list of anything you have done that relates to the field you are looking into.
For example, if a student wanted to be considered for a job in music, that student could put “builds amps” on their resume (as long as the experience is real).
For a book editor, reviewing books on the side could be a helpful experience to put on the resume.
At Mercer, the Office of Career Services has several resources to help students who are in need of help with their resumes.
They also offer free resume-checking services to all students.
(03/29/14 4:12pm)
Thursday night, Mercer University’s Student Government Association held a question and answer session for the candidates running for the office of SGA president and vice president next year. This year is different, however, from years previous—there is only one ticket.
Current senators and committee heads Joey Wozniak and Victoria Conley are the only representatives who have stepped forward to run for office. In the session, Conley mentioned how the two were disappointed when they heard they would have no competitors.
“We wrote our campaign plan as if we were running against others,” said Conley, who also said that the two began preparing their campaign last semester. Wozniak said that they worry about the legitimacy of their campaign being questioned, but that the two have taken steps to combat that. “We’re gathering endorsements from friends, co-workers, so that people will believe in us,” said Wozniak.
The “WozCon” platform consists of three tiers, titled with alliterations to make them easier to remember. University Unity, the first tier, mainly focuses on using the Mercer app, which is still in development, to connect the university through providing useful information to students and facilitating conversation between departments, faculty and students.
The two hope also to strengthen service, leadership and success with programs like President’s Council, which Wozniak says they are pushing for during their administration. President’s Council would consist of representatives from all of the different schools, such as the Townsend School of Music, the Stetson School of Business, etc. The representatives would meet with Wozniak and Conley before their meetings with President William Underwood, so that the two would be able to better represent the desires of the campus.
The second tier of their platform is titled “Building Bridges,” which focuses on getting more involved with the Macon community, as well as increasing alumni outreach and campus development. One specific project that Wozniak mentioned was putting in a crosswalk between the new admissions building and Greek row, where tour groups often walk.
“Our giving rate is horrible,” said Wozniak in reference to the alumni part of the tier. Now that Mercer is in the spotlight from beating Duke, Wozniak said that the opportunity should be capitalized on. “Mercer alumni know we’re in the news; we’ve been featured by New York Times and Washington Post.” The two hope to connect alumni back to Mercer in order to increase connections and also to link students to possible career opportunities.
The last tier of the platform includes Amplified Athletics. Wozniak and Conley are looking to develop unity amongst the different support groups at the games, such as the dance team, Mercer Maniacs and pep band. When one student brought up the concern that she felt unwelcome when trying to join Mercer Maniacs, Conley responded, “We know how you feel.” However, Wozniak said it was important to note that the group was in its infant stage, having just started this year, and that steps were being taken to make sure the group would not become too exclusive.
Another specific program the two hope to develop is the Paw Points program, originally established by the Davis/Lovett administration one year year ago. Since the program was new this year, Wozniak said that there was some confusion as to who was going to handle the program, but it’s something the two “intend to spend the summer on.”
Presidential election polls open Monday at 9 a.m., and close the next day at 5 p.m. Wednesday, senator qualifications will be available for those wishing to sign up for SGA senator.
(03/21/14 12:33am)
Just before Mercer University students embarked on their spring break, the world celebrated a holiday spotlighting the accomplishments of women around the globe. International Women’s Day was Sunday, March 8, and it served as a celebration of Women’s History Month. To celebrate this month Mercer-style, here are a few facts about early Mercer women:
The very first woman to grace the Mercer campus was not a student, but a librarian named Sallie Goelz Boone. Fondly remembered as “Mercer’s greatest institution” by some, Boone was well known for her wonderful attitude. Part of Boone’s legacy was printed in “The Cauldron” in 1930: “We know that Mercer men still remember her cheerful ‘hello-o’ and will recall the ‘good ole days’ when Miss Sallie said learning was a pleasure.”
Not only was Boone a librarian, but also a frequent columnist for the “Mercerian.” She was also named Dean of women, and the senior women’s Sunday school class at First Presbyterian Church was named after her. She served as a librarian at Mercer from 1904 to 1934, beginning more than a decade before the first woman was accepted into Mercer. Before working at the university, she was the librarian at Price Memorial Library, which is now the Macon-Bibb County Public Safety Center. Boone graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1887 from Wesleyan College, where she was an influential member of Phi Mu. She even helped establish the chapter here at Mercer.
Boone died on March 15, 1961. A section of the Mary Erin Porter (MEP) building is named for Boone. Also, her portrait hangs in the Tarver Library, painted by Edward Shorter, a 1920 Mercer graduate.
Another one of Mercer’s influential women was Katheryne Carolyn Pierce. Pierce was not only the first woman to graduate from Mercer’s law school in 1919, but she was also president of her senior class and the first woman in the state of Georgia to hold the bachelor of law degree.
Pierce was soon followed by the first woman to receive a bachelor of arts degree, Caroline Patterson. Patterson was also Mercer’s first co-ed student, graduating in June of 1923. Her father was the founder of Mercer’s law school, and she was told by Dean William Edmond Farrar, “You are the pioneer.” Patterson majored in theology, and was president of the Sidney Lanier chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy for six years after she graduated, as well as state historian for two years. She lived in Macon for her whole life and went on to become a recognized authority on Macon history and genealogy. Patterson was the first honor graduate of Lucy Cobb Institute, as well as president of the Georgia Society on Anti-Suffrage. She was instrumental in the defeat of the suffrage amendment in the state legislature. Patterson died in Macon on April 6, 1949.
Finally, one more famous woman in Mercer’s history was the first Mercer female of African American heritage, Betty Jean Walker. Not much is known about her, other than that she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in math. Walker was accepted to Mercer in 1964, and she led the Poor People’s March with Ed Bacon. Walker was accepted into Mercer just a year after Sam Oni, the first black student to attend Mercer. Walker penned a letter, currently housed in the Tarver Library, where she wrote that she turned down a two year scholarship to Spellman University to come to Mercer, where she had not been offered a scholarship. “Instead, Mercer offered the answer to a sixth-grade girl’s prayer, the answer to her dreams, the answer to her future,” reads Walker’s letter. Walker faced discrimination and hatred while at Mercer, but she went on to Atlanta and taught high school for 10 years. Walker received her Masters from Georgia State University in 1974. Four years later, after traveling through Europe and the Soviet Union, Walker began work as an engineer. She was voted one of the most outstanding young women in America and was included in the “Who’s Who Among Black Americans,” 1980 edition.
(03/21/14 12:23am)
Mercer University Associate Professor of technical communication Dr. Pam Estes Brewer has recently been chosen for the Society for Technical Communication’s Jay R. Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2014. When asked how she felt about receiving the award, she said, “I was dancing in the halls.”
The award honors the distinguished teaching career of Gould, who brought many students into the technical communication profession. The award is given to the teacher who proves that his or her excellence resides not only in the classroom, but also outside, even beyond the graduation of the student.
The award will be presented to Brewer at the annual Society for Technical Communication Summit, held in Phoenix, Ariz., from May 18-21.
Brewer is a recent addition to the School of Engineering, having joined the faculty last year. According to Dr. Helen Grady, chair of the Department of Technical Communication, “[Brewer’s] reputation for teaching excellence is well deserved.”
“This is a really significant award in our field—in technical communication—and teaching is at the heart of everything I do,” said Brewer. “I love to teach, and so an honor that says, ‘Hey you’re doing a great job at that’ means the world to me.”
When asked how she approaches teaching, Brewer said that she relies on a largely experiential style. She allows her students to perform the tasks of the classroom in “real and engaging contexts” and then reflect on and learn from those experiences. She has been a teacher for over two decades, and said that the switch from a college of arts and sciences to the engineering school has made her undergo a process of “bring[ing] together who I am as a teacher with who I am within the school.”
Brewer is currently working on a book looking into the communication experiences of virtual teams. “Virtual teams,” Brewer said, “are teams, of course, so they have a lot in common with any other team.” They are teams who do most, if not all communication through the technological interface.
Technology, Brewer says, creates a screen. What Brewer is looking into are the research methods, tools and techniques that would help people be more effective in the international virtual teams.
One such method is metacommunication, or talking about communication expectations. Sometimes people, according to Brewer, don’t take the time to do that, and doing so online could be “a tremendously powerful tool.”
An example of this would be time turnaround. It would be wise to communicate if one person thought a good turnaround time was 24 hours, while another thought 48 hours was a good turnaround time.
When asked what she loved about teaching, Brewer said, “Almost always, the classroom is a pick-me-up for me. Going to the classroom, it’s a reminder of why I do what I do. It makes a difference, and I believe it does.”
(02/21/14 2:18am)
Evident by the long lines and crowded theatres at Macon’s AmStar 16, Mercer University students love Midnight Movie. What other event provides $2 movies—including day-of releases?
Over winter break, I saw quite a few movies, and used the previews for those movies to gauge what I’d want to see in the next few months. When the choices for Midnight Movie where finally posted, I had quite a dilemma.
There were a few movies that I wanted to see (sadly “Wolf of Wall Street” was not on the final list) and I waffled on my decision even as I entered the theatre. “That Awkward Moment” had looked promising in previews, and as someone who has a love for romantic comedies, I ultimately considered this a must see for me.
I got to the theater early, stood in line for my ticket, and then stood in line again just to get into the theater. There were quite a few people who had decided to attend the movie for its opening night, and once the audience members from the previous film were gone, Mercer students flooded the small theater.
Despite my concern about the student-seat ratio, the theater was more than enough to handle the large group. I was full of excitement.
Despite my anticipation, however, the movie wasn’t stunning. But it was not horrible either. If you haven’t seen the movie, the following paragraphs contain spoilers, so consider yourself warned.
Most people had come for the man candy, consisting of the film’s three co-stars Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan. I’m not a huge Efron fan, but after watching one of his previous romantic comedies, “17 Again,” I’ve been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
The storyline follows the three males, all living in New York, as they navigate the waters of romance and brotherhood.
Jordan’s character, Mikey, is a married doctor who, after discovering that his wife was cheating on him, wants a divorce. Mikey’s friends make a vow that they’ll remain single with him to show their support. They soon find, however, it’s not as simple as they think.
Efron’s character, Jason, meets a girl (Ellie, played by Imogen Poots) at a club that the men frequent and takes her home. After mistaking her for a hooker, he leaves her and is surprised to find her at his work within the next week.
He begs her to give him a second chance, and with much reluctance, she does. Finding that he likes her, Jason’s friends quickly find that he’s breaking the vow.
He is not the only one, however, as Miles’ character, Daniel, also develops a new romance with his former wingwoman and best friend (Chelsea, played by Mackenzie Davis). The two spend a night in bed together. And then another. And another.
Meanwhile, Mikey has been trying to patch his marriage back up, unbeknownst to his friends. Despite his hardest efforts, he is unsuccessful, and the film’s climax ends with a big blow-up fight.
But, of course, it wouldn’t be a comedy if they all didn’t get back together in the end. The movie was simultaneously funny, emotional and deep.
Though there was a sense of dissatisfaction from not delving fully into the problems that are clearly plaguing the three men, overall “That Awkward Moment” was a fairly entertaining movie. I give the movie a B+.
(02/21/14 2:17am)
Collage is the new theme that is visiting the Plunkett Gallery this semester. The touring “GLUE” exhibit is an international survey exhibition that explores contemporary trends in the art of collage. This show mixes raw studio collages with finished works, displaying methods from traditional cut paper to more elaborate digital and photographic works.
The exhibition is here at Mercer University for a limited time through the end of February.
Along with the touring pieces, the exhibit features some works of Mercer professor Stephen Simmerman. His piece, a 3-D collage that consists of an old CRT screen, a projector and another metal piece, was not meant to be in the collection, but was added in when co-curator, Mercer professor Dr. Craig Coleman, was setting up the exhibit with curator Brendan Jamison. “I listened to a podcast about the 100th anniversary of [Marshall] McLuhan’s birth, and it was about how many of the things he predicted so long ago has become the norm. The first part started with a drawing of him on the CRT screen, and the other things I just started to add to.”
Coleman is also featured in the exhibit with a series of digital photographs in the collection. He said that his inspiration for the pieces came from his past experience with different types of photography. “The camera, when you take the lens off and look inside is a big space where the light falls and captures the image,” said Coleman. “And so what I was thinking is that where the image is captured is very similar to the back wall of the theatre where the movie is projected and so I thought, “What if you treat that part of the camera that way?’”
The curator of the exhibit, Jamison, has pieces featured in the collection, from his current project. He is currently in the middle of working on the project, which involves documenting a decommissioned spy station known as Teufelsberg, located just outside of Berlin. Jamison is using pictures of the spy station in the project, and is also researching the station for more knowledge about it. The pieces in the collection initially appear as individual photographs, but are in fact photos that have been cut into shapes and then glued onto the original picture.
“The show has very obvious examples of collage, and then less obvious examples of collage,” said Coleman. “The show is trying to display the way that artists are using collage, not only as a precious art object, but also to work out ideas.” In one example, the artist used two different pictures that were placed on top of each other to show the association between the images. The top picture showed Chinese couples sitting on the bank of a river equidistant from each other, while the bottom picture showed where the artist had created booths for couples to sit in and look over the river. Coleman said that this brings up the question of what a collage is, and whether the bottom picture could be considered a collage, since the artists had actually built the booths and put them in the landscape.
The exhibit itself also fits the theme, as the amount of pieces keep it from being limited in the confines of the gallery. Some of the pieces, such as Simmerman’s 3-D collage and Jamison’s collage photos, are just inside the entrance of Hardman Hall. “We expanded out here, and I was saying that this [the lobby] is all a collage. Like this piece starts here, so is this [fire hydrant] part of the collage? Are these benches part of the collage?” said Coleman.
The next stop for the exhibit will be the University of Florida.
(02/21/14 1:21am)
The Mercer University biology department has recently partnered with Macon Beer Company for research.
Though the research has just recently begun, Thomas Harbin, the student working on the project, already is making progress.
Harbin, a junior here at Mercer, is a biology major and chemistry minor. He is working with Dr. Kevin Drace and with Macon Beer Company in order to try to determine the sustainability of the yeast that the company uses.
Macon Beer Company was formed by two long-time friends and college roommates, Cory Smith and Jeremy Knowles. Knowles is a professional chemical engineer who has a unique perspective on brewing, and is “exceedingly passionate about quality and efficiency” according to the Macon Beer Company’s website. It’s mission statement says that the company is “a craft beer company focused on innovation, sustainability, philanthropy and developing a strong connection to our employees and community.”
The company was started in Jeremy Knowles’ garage, where he made five gallon batches of home-brewed beer. After a few years of this, and some trips to Georgia breweries, Knowles introduced his idea to take his brewing to the commercial level. Though co-founder Cory Smith was skeptical, after seeing the success of established Georgia breweries convinced him. Soon after, the company had a name and a plan that clenched a finalist position in the Macon Mogul startup business competition.
“We felt somewhat underskilled in yeast management, and when Mercer University reached out to us for a way to get involved, it was a natural fit,” said Smith. “We are committed to rebranding Macon as the amazing city that
it is. . . We aren’t afraid to seek assistance from some of the resources available at local institutions when we feel that they have more expertise than ourselves.”
“The easiest project, the one that was most feasible for us to use right now is a procedure for how they’re transferring yeast from batch to batch to get a better idea of how they use it for fermentation,” said Drace. “We’ve had a meeting with Dean Lambert, the guys at Macon Beer and Dr. Bucholtz from the chemistry department to look at the different ways that Mercer can connect with the brewery itself, and then also with fermentation programs in general. It’s very new.”
The connection was originally set up by dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Lake Lambert, who, according to Drace, has always had an interest in the brewing process and fermentation.
“We’ve developed ways to help one another,” said Smith. “Mercer University has our brewery to use for its lab and Macon Beer Company can use the university’s labs to refine its processes and products. Macon Beer Company is available to Mercer students who are interested in fermentation science, microbiology, chemistry, business, etc.”
Harbin just began research during the past semester, and Drace says that they hope to have some more undergraduate research and ultimately some internships in the future.
“I think from Mercer’s perspective, we always like to be involved in the local community,” Drace said when asked what Mercer stood to gain from this partnership. “We always like to support local business, but we also like to give our biology majors different perspectives. The craft beer movement that’s sweeping the nation we certainly want to support because the more interesting beers you can have, the more fun it is, and it makes Macon a unique place.”
When asked what kind of work he had done so far with Macon Beer Company, Harbin said, “Mainly I do the research aspect of it, which right now is just counting viability from batch to batch. Basically I take a batch from the bottom, the top and the middle and just look at the viability, whether there’s yeast that can sustain the transfer. I think the biggest question they have is whether they are transferring dead cells, so we’re helping them figure that out.”
“One thing that we hope to do, perhaps next year or next semester, is to isolate a wild yeast,” said Drace. “We’re looking at doing a sort of small-scale experiment to try to grow some of the yeast in the lab and get a handle of it in a more laboratory kind of setting.”