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(09/12/12 4:00pm)
It’s about that time of the semester when the glamour of the Caf begins to wear out and you’re taking laps around the Caf only to find yourself settling for the unappetizing slop of food on your plate become a common occurance.
The food you have back in your dorm room is looking better and better, especially when you’re too far away from the UC to walk and your car is parked in one of two places: a really good parking spot that you don’t want to lose, or in the middle of nowhere, i.e. the baseball field parking lot.
Of course, choosing to live off of microwaveable food does not a healthy person make, but this is college and in college, just about anything goes.
I was actually talking with some friends, over dinner, about the available options for microwaveable meals when you have limited refrigeration. The immediate response was ramen, but there were things like Chef Boyardee, and other kid-friendly, microwavable foods. However, this was just a discussion. I told my friends that I’m writing a ‘this or that’ piece, so I needed something a little more controversial.
My friends thought for a minute, took a bite of the macaroni and cheese on their plate, and nonchalantly brought up Easy Mac. As soon as Easy Mac in the bowl was mentioned, the conversation quickly became heated. Someone mentioned Velveeta as their microwave mac of choice and the basis of my article was formed.
Personally, I prefer Velveeta. I’m a die-hard “blue box” fan and I will rarely eat any mac and cheese that isn’t from the “blue box.” However, Easy Mac is just gross, to me. Albeit, convenient, it’s still gross.
Sophomore year, my roommate introduced me to Velveeta’s version and I was hooked. Now, I’m also lactose intolerant, so having cheese is not normally a pleasant experience for me. That’s why I only eat Kraft Mac and Cheese because it’s worth the resulting stomachache.
I was hesitant to eat Velveeta and it took me a while to find a day when I was feeling more tolerant. Velveeta is obviously not ‘real’ cheese and Kraft is known for it’s nearly synthetic cheese, so with that similarity they’re almost the same.
I don’t know what it is about the microwavable Kraft, but the texture is all gritty and the taste seems to be missing something creating an experience that just isn’t worth it.
Velveeta on the other hand provides a nice silky macaroni and cheese while remaining flavorful. Plus, those little pasta shells are just too cute to pass up! So whenever the craving for some good ol’ mac and cheese comes up, and an oven isn’t available, the first thing I reach for is the yellow bowl with the even brighter yellow cheese.
Comments on this opinion
can be sent to
cecilia.villagomez@live.mercer.edu
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
I remember driving to campus one summer about two years ago, and seeing the ‘share rows’ painted on the ground. I recognized these bikes on the road as part of the new College Corridor campaign to get more people off of cars and onto bikes.
The growing Bear Bikes program also gives a positive outlook on the direction the campaign’s initiative is heading. Unfortunately, the bike riding initiative has proved to be a little lackluster. The signs on the ground are fading.
Plus, with all of the new construction happening around town, the roads are just dangerous. I got a road bike a little over a year ago and have been itching to have a place to ride it. With the slew of bikes that were stolen last year, I left my bike at home. Now that I live off campus, my fears are singing a different tune.
I’m no longer afraid of bringing my bike to campus, I’m afraid of riding my bike.
I’ve never raced competitively, but I am fairly skilled on a bike, can ride at a fairly fast speed even though my cadence could use a little work, and I’m confident in my ability to avoid running into things.
However, I am definitely afraid of getting hit by a car. Who wouldn’t be, right? Cars are big and if something big like a car hits something smaller like a person, it’s going to hurt. But, my fear of getting hit kind of goes a little farther than being hit by a car. I’m terrified of intersections.
When I was in eighth grade, my class took a trip from Warner Robins to Chattanooga. It was a fun trip, but on the way home we stopped by a McDonald’s. A small group of us didn’t want McDonald’s and decided to take a chaperone and walk across an eight lane intersection to go to Burger King across the street (they have better fries).
We crossed the street successfully on the way to BK, but on the way back it was a totally different story!
Our group walked through the first four lanes without a hitch. We were standing in the median, waiting for the walk signal again, when, unbeknownst to me, I managed to get my foot tangled in some sort of cable that was on the road.
When the signal changed, I took a step forward and landed straight on my face. I was in the back of the pack so it took a few seconds before anyone noticed what had happened. By the time I stood up, the traffic light turned green. Cars started moving and I was a bloody mess. I’m pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes as the cars started accelerating again.
The chaperone was freaking out and apologized for my pain. I ended up laughing as I limped across the final four lanes. Our entire group had one heck of a story to tell, but that night solidified my fear of intersections.
That being said, the north entrance of campus, the one with the Alumni House on one corner and the Centenary on the other absolutely terrifies me.
Maybe my fear is a little irrational, but walking across that street is one thing, and riding your bike is a completely different story. The walk/don’t walk signal on the corner only works when it wants to, so you kind of have to just walk at your earliest convenience and hope no one hits you.
There also doesn’t seem to be a pedestrian law around here that accommodates bike riders and is regularly enforced by the police. Plus, as much as I respect what Mercer Police does for Mercer, the area right around Mercer kind of becomes a jurisdiction nightmare.
Accident reports involving pedestrians often become a befuddled mess, especially when they involve golf carts. I guess the whole golf carts thing is going to have to wait for a different issue.
As things stand right now, I’d love to bring my bike to campus, but I don’t feel comfortable with the state of the roads, the crazy intersections, and the amount of car vs bike related accidents to ride my bike to and from campus or elsewhere.
Hopefully, with the increased interest in bike riding that has happened lately on campus, the current state of things will have to change to accommodate the transortation interests and safety of our student body.
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(09/12/12 4:00pm)
As a senior college student who lives off campus, grocery shopping and healthy eating is pretty much left up to me. I’m on a budget and have to make smart and healthy decisions.
I know that eating in the cafeteria isn’t always ideal, but at least a salad bar was offered alongside the ever constant pizza and french fry combo.
Nowadays, without a meal plan, my diet mostly consists of Starbucks’ coffee, Oreos with milk, cereal (sometimes dry), granola bars, and yogurt with the occasional meal at Margaritas, Francars, or something I’m craving off campus.
I’m kind of ashamed by what I eat, but what I choose to buy and eat is easy to make, keeps well during those days when I forget to eat due to all of my commitments, and is a lot cheaper than the healthier options available to me.
I love fresh fruits and vegetables, and I especially love getting the organic stuff that tastes like it just came out of a garden.
Unfortunately, organic food costs so much and a trip home for the ‘good stuff’ is not at all practical. I’ve never been one to subscribe to the idea that organic food is healthier for you, but that idea has been one that is argued time and time again.
Sure, the way organic food is prepared cuts out a lot of the long-term, harmful elements of mass produced food.
However, Stanford University did a study that proved that organic food is no more nutritious than conventionally produced food.
The cost doesn’t really count when it comes to vitamins and minerals. So, the question becomes, for the college student on a budget -- or anyone really, if the health benefits aren’t any different, is the extra price really worth the potential benefits of organic food?
Stanford doesn’t really lean one way or the other when it comes to whether or not the consumption of organic food is worth the price and benefits, but they do want people to be more conscientious about what they are putting in their bodies.
Personally, the taste of organic food trumps any sort of health benefit that organic food may have.
The straight-from-the-garden taste really makes a difference. Last year, on Wednesdays, the community put together a market where all of the local farmers could come and sell their produce. Talk about some good food!
Plus, right behind Centenary Methodist Church, there is a community garden. If you help out on Saturday mornings when they are tending to the garden, anything that grows out there is free for your consumption. The garden relies on the give and take rule. You give your time, you take the product. Fair enough, and cheap.
As the example of the garden shows, the relationship consumers have with their food does not just have to be a monotonous, put-food-in-mouth, chew, swallow, repeat process.
Eating can be and is a very sensory driven process. Organic food allows the consumer to share in the relationship with the producer of the food.
That closeness produces something special, and to me, tangible. I like looking at my funny shaped carrots, enjoying the different colors and nutty flavors of heirloom tomatoes, eating grass fed beef, and fruit that was not exposed to whatever it is mass produced fruits and vegetables are exposed to. In my experience, organic food just tastes better!
I may not have the means to buy organic food right at this very moment, but as soon as my next pay check comes in, you can bet your bottom dollar that the first thing I’m doing is going grocery shopping for some good food, and by good I mean organic.
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(09/12/12 4:00pm)
Honestly, I had absolutely no idea that NASA had been planning to send the rover called Curiosity to Mars. Perhaps I was perpetually in the dark on the subject, or I had other (more important) things to tend to.
Curiosity landed on Mars on August 6th. Unfortunately -- or fortunately, depending on how you look at it -- an epic soccer match was in progress.
The United States Women’s National Soccer Team was playing their last send off match against Canada before the Olympic games in London. For those of you interested, we won 4-3 in a hard fought game.
The only reason I was even aware that something happened on Mars was because of all the memes that started popping up on my newsfeed during the soccer game.
I have a tendency to ‘live blog’ during soccer games so I was on Facebook making ridiculous statuses that normally annoy any of my ‘friends’ who do not follow soccer.
On this day, my statuses were interrupted by the mars and mohawk related memes. I wasn’t upset, by any means, but I was curious. Ha, curious -- Curiosity. Get it? ...just me? Yeah, ok that was lame. I apologize. Back to business!
The memes that kept popping up on my news feed mostly included how a guy with a mohawk and stars shaved into the side of his head had become an internet sensation over the course of the landing.
The man in question is known to the internet and President Obama as Mohawk Guy. To NASA, he’s Bobak Ferdowsi, a flight director for the Mars rover, Curiosity. Apparently he’s changing the public face of NASA and taking geek chic to a whole new level.
Mohawk Guy has been appropriately named since he has been known to have a hair cut that resembles something space related while incorporating a mohawk in some form or fashion. At one point, he donned a rocket plume -- utilizing red, orange, and gold dye in his hair.
When interviewed by Los Angeles Times, Ferdowsi acknowledged that his haircut might be “a little bit of a shock” since most people still think of the serious, button-downed Apollo 13 NASA crew.
Ferdowsi also mentions how the environment he works in is very laid back. So in his office, the style Ferdowsi has is not unusual.
Some engineers come to work in Hawaiian shirts, shorts, and flip-flops. Others sport hippie hairstyles. His division of NASA, tends to embrace the university-like atmosphere -- just about anything goes as long as you’re wearing clothes.
Speaking of university-like atmosphere, the introduction of the hit TV show, Big Bang Theory has definitely allowed those who used to be considered ‘abnormal’ to be part of the ‘normal’ crowd.
At least there has been a definitive shift in what is considered normal now. People like Sheldon Cooper or Howard Wolowitz would have not been embraced the way they are now about ten years ago.
Sheldon’s erratic and obsessive behavior would not be generally accepted. Howard would not be considered even remotley normal if one were to notice his level of intellect, the way he dresses, and the jokes he makes.
However, now that more and more people are getting a college education, more and more people are becoming aware that people like Sheldon Cooper exist in the world and people like Howard Wolowitz are kind of normal in comparison.
Real world characters of Big Bang Theory, like Ferdowsi aka Mohawk Guy, definitely show that being educated and embracing your eccentricities is acceptable and actually encouraged.
The differences between those considered to be “normal” and the “geeks” are fading and becoming one in the same. If anything, hipsters are starting to look more and more like the quintessential geek.
It’s kind of cool to be hipster, but about 10 - 15 years ago it was not cool to be Steve Urkel. Take a look at pictures of Steve Urkel and compare them to pictures of hipsters.
It’s amazing how many similarities exist between the two. Who knew that Steve Urkel was a hipster before hipsters knew what hipsters were? Try to say that ten times fast.
Personally, this merge of two completely opposite cultures, Normal and Geek, is something to be excited about. I’ve always felt somewhere between the two groups, now I exist in an acceptable borderline mainstream group. Although, no matter what style of dress comes out of this new group, I will never give up my hoodies -- NEVER.
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(09/12/12 4:00pm)
Recently, a Wisconsin-based organization prompted a Georgia school district to ban school sanctioned prayer before sporting events. The Wisconsin-based organization, The Freedom From Religion Foundation, told the school board that sanctioned prayers violate students’ First Amendment Rights.
Instead of arguing against the organization, the school board pulled the act of prayer out of their pre-game ritual. Despite the ban, hundreds turned out Friday night, Sep. 7, to pray together before the Haralson County High School football team took the field for the first time this season.
Instead of having a formal prayer before the game over the speaker system, the students and parents held their own prayer circles before the game. The participants in prayer also wore t-shirts that supported prayer. Some t-shirts read, “Rebels Pray Before We Play,” while others said, “Proud to be a Rebel and I Still Pray.”
Ironically, Rebels are Haralson’s team mascot. In an interview after the game, Connie Locklear, one pro-prayer supporter who helped organize the creation of the t-shirts said, “Everybody has their rights, but so do I, and it’s not right for one person to say that I can’t pray.”
My response to this news is simple, those who are pro-prayer are still able to pray so no one really loses in this situation. The title of the article from FoxNews where I pulled this information is called “First Amendment Prayer Fight Splits Georgia Town.” I can see why the town split into two groups, but at the same time I think the argument is silly.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation may have acted drastically, to an extent, but the school board’s reaction was appropriate to the situation they were put in. There was nothing the school board could really do without creating an even larger conflict.
Looking at this argument from a neutral perspective, the Freedom From Religion Foundation may have felt violated by being asked to listen to the prayer, but generally those prayers before games aren’t forcing anyone to do something they don’t feel comfortable with.
The one doing the praying over the speaker system isn’t trying to convert anyone. Typically, the one doing the praying is just asking that the players are safe on the field and no one gets hurt. How could anyone argue with that? I understand that it isn’t fair that the prayer is usually said by someone from a small pool of denominations, but at the same time this is the South--the bible belt. Having a small pool of denominations that one pulls from is the expectation. No harm, apparently a foul.
The pro-prayer people are the ones that feel targeted, and the article definitely catered to their perspective. I’m by no means saying that prayer is bad.
But if they are still able to pray before the games in any way they choose -- with the exception of the speaker system, I don’t understand why this new ban is such a big deal. Then again, this argument is very similar to the debate that took place when people were talking about removing “under God” from the pledge of allegiance.
I still don’t know what resulted from that argument, but in the case of this current conversation, the town may be split, but people are still praying at school events. I could definitely understand the reaction of the group if they weren’t allowed to pray on the grounds of where the sporting event took place. But overall, I think the reaction of the pro-prayer people is a little ridiculous. Maybe it isn’t ideal, but prayer still counts if you aren’t saying it over a speaker system.
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(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Publishing a novel and creating a blog that you post on from time to time are two very different things. Although, if you are interested, a blog can get you on your way to creating the material needed for a novel. Apparently, in this day an age, self-publishing is easy. Essentially, all you have to do is format whatever document you created into the format your self-publisher of choice dictates. You send your formatted document in and depending on your publisher, you will get a proof back within a couple of weeks if you succeeded in formatting everything correctly. Once you officially publish your book, you can start looking for venues that will sell your book.
Since self-publishing is becoming so easy, everyone is doing it. One of the unfortunate, or rather fortunate aspects of having everyone publish whatever they want is that there is a low expectation for what comes out of the pool of self-published novels. So, if you think you are a terrible writer, you’re in luck! Everyone already expects you to be a terrible writer. If you’re a good writer, your work may be under appreciated, to a degree. However, your work will still be out there, so go for it!
Now self-publishing may be easy, but it doesn’t come without its own set of frustrations and setbacks. Some writers choose to take the less brutal route and print out just enough copies for their friends and family, but others have bigger dreams of a larger audience. So here are some DIY (do it yourself) steps that will steer you in the direction of publishing your own novel.
Set a goal: who is the audience you are going to sell to? Friends and family or something larger -- the world!
Take a look at your competition. Make sure you are coming up with something original. Doing this research is important. All literature is some form of recreating the wheel with fancy new attachments, but you don’t want to create the same wheel twice...ok, this metaphor failed miserably. I think you get what I’m saying. Let’s just pretend that never happened. Moving on!
Choose a format for your publication. Hardcover, softcover, ebook, possibly? Ebooks are probably the easiest since they are electronic and require no paper printing. wink, wink.
If you chose a paper using format, it’s time to choose your printer. Specific instructions don’t really exist for this step, but so far there have been a lot of choices to be made. If you don’t like making choices, I would abandon ship NOW.
Don’t commit to the first publishing company you lay your eyes on. Various companies have deals that may or may not fit your needs and/or budget for the project you have chosen to undertake. Refer back to step one to remind yourself what you had in mind after getting bogged down with the choices you’ve had to make.
Window shop, so-to-speak. Ask potential suppliers to send you samples of their recently printed books. Quality WILL vary considerably, and you want to select the product that closely satisfies your expectations.
Familiarize yourself with printing costs. You don’t want to find yourself getting ripped off.
Hire a graphic designer with book design experience once you have decided how your book will take shape. Your designer will design the type, flow the pages, and create a spectacular jacket as well. This aspect can be more expensive, but the quality of the product is significant in how well your product will sell.
Next off, make sure the ends justify the means. Don’t find yourself with a negative balance after your book hits the shelves. Going through all that work just to end up owing money is just depressing.
Request an ISBN number so that your book can be identified by a standard code.
Find out how and where your book will be distributed. Amazon provides a self-publishing channel in their website called createspace. I think it’s worth checking out.
Be prepared to sell yourself like a cheap whore. Any real advertising of your book will have to come from you. Self-publishing also means self-promotion. Work it!
All in all, have fun with self-publishing. It may be risky, but it also has its rewards.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
The Mercer men’s soccer team began their season with a rocky start after falling to both UAB and NC State in the season’s opening weekend.
On Friday Aug. 24, the bears were unable to respond to UAB’s early two point lead in the first half of the game.
When asked what changed about the team’s mentality when they stepped out onto the pitch for the second half, senior and captain Will Betts stated, “We had a great talk at halftime that reenergized the team and reminded us that we were capable of digging ourselves out of the hole.”
Coming out of halftime with a determination to prove themselves, the bears received their first goal of the season on a corner set piece.
In the 48th minute, senior Joey Heavner delivered a strong serve into the box where Will Betts was able to get his head under the ball and into the goal to make the score 2-1.
Betts later commented, “Joey consistently hits top quality services and we can always count on him to give us a dangerous ball for a scoring chance.”
In the 69th minute, junior Ryan King was able to infiltrate a pair of Blazer defenders and blasted a shot on goal that was unfortunately corralled by UAB goalkeeper to keep the score at 2-1.
When commenting on ball possession of UAB versus Mercer, Betts stated, “UAB certainly had more possession, but if we were a little more defensively sound from front to back, we could have absorbed the pressure and countered.
Their combination play and movement of the ball made them very dangerous.”
In an interview after the game, Coach Ruzzo said, “Now with the loss, it’s going to be about character on Sunday, and hard work.
Can we rebound quickly? Because certainly we are going to be in adverse situations throughout the season. NC is going to be a great opponent.”
Betts also commented on what to expect out of Sunday’s game. Betts says, “As with every game, we need to go out and get a result.
A win in Raleigh would be great, and the season is far too short to drop in games -- let alone two in one weekend.”
Looking to learn from their mistakes and prove themselves, the Bears continued their season opening road trip where they traveled to North Carolina to take on ACC member NC State on Sunday afternoon.
Despite gaining a lead on NC State, the bears lost in overtime with a final score of 2-1 on Sunday Aug. 26.
In the first half, neither team had many quality shots on goal.
A significant combination play featuring senior Josh Shutter, and senior Richie Edmondson gave a glimpse of promise near the end of the first half.
However, the game went into halftime with the score remaining at 0-0.
In the 60th minute, junior Ryan King received the ball and was able to slide a pass that set up Edmondson’s shot giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.
NC State proved resilient and continuously pressured Mercer’s defensive line. In the 85th minute, NC State fired an equalizer shot on goal to tie the game at 1-1.
Seconds later, Mercer retaliated when Shutter blasted a ball over the NC State defense where Edmondson was alert and ready to receive.
Right as Edmondson went to gain control of the ball, NC State’s goal keeper slammed into him inside the penalty box.
No card or penalty shot was awarded by the referee.
Coach Ruzzo commented, in an interview after the game, “There was a questionable call inside the box.
I felt that we could have deserved a penalty.
It was a last man situation and [involved] the goal keeper that could have been a red card as well and it wasn’t.
But you have to deal with those types of things on the road, especially at an ACC place.”
The scored remained 1-1 at the 90th minute and the game went into overtime.
Unfortunately for the Bears, NC State was able to sneak an early shot in, securing their 2-1 victory.
After the match, Coach Ruzzo commented, “I’m really proud of our team for responding back on Friday after a tough loss at UAB.
It was going to take a lot of work today against a good, well-coached team like NC State and I think that our guys really showed well.”
In response to the late equalizer goal that led to overtime play, Ruzzo said, “When we play good teams like this on the road, we have to be able to kill games off and finish them and we weren’t able to do that.
So hopefully this is going to be a valuable lesson for us to learn and go forward.”
It’s still early in the men’s soccer season and the team holds the promise of a successful season.
After these two games, Ruzzo says, “I think we’ve proven that we can play with anybody now. It’s just a matter of putting the finishing touch on it and being sure we finish games off.
I’m not sure we will play that many good attacking players over a weekend, so we just gotta lick our wounds and get back to training, and working hard.”
Mercer is set to take on the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Aug. 31 and Hartwick on Sept. 2 as part of the Busey Bank Invitational hosted by Bradley University.
The University of Nebraska-Omaha won their first match of the year against Bellevue in a resounding 4-0 fashion.
The Mavericks are led by Vance Rookwood who tallied one goal and one assist against Bellevue.
Hartwick enters the tournament 0-1 after losing their opening match to Saint Joseph’s University.
Will Broomfield scored the lone goal for Hartwick in the match that ended 2-1.
Hartwick plays host Bradley University on Aug. 31 prior to playing the Bears.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
I guess I’m finally coming out from under the rock I’ve been hiding under now that the chaos of the Chick-Fil-A controversy calmed down a bit.
Does that make me a coward -- a chicken? Possibly, but I will go ahead and say, I’m Christian and I support gay marriage.
I was exposed to gay people from a very young age and never understood that there was ever supposed to be something ‘wrong’ with them. As I got older, many of my best friends came out to me and my view of them never changed. There was no reason for it to change. They haven’t turned into some mutant being just because they are attracted to their same sex.
Side note: I almost wrote my english honor’s thesis on the homosexual connotations of male bonding experiences. Examples included bromances and man-crushes, among others. There is a really fine line between what is considered gay related activity and ‘bros’ hanging out together. Just putting that out there.
When the Chick-Fil-A controversy hit facebook, I was constantly bombarded by both my gay friends and my straight friends posting articles that reflected their particular views. I hated that there had to be this definitive divide between my friends.
Comment wars would break out and I didn’t find myself educated enough on the issue to join in on the discussion in a productive manner. As a result, I ended up hiding most of my friends from my news feed just to get away from the non-sense.
My limited knowledge of the controversy was that Chick-Fil-A did not support gay marriage. Gay people and supporters of gay marriage started protesting against the popular southern style chicken sandwich dining establishment, vowing never to eat there again. I still think this protesting is ‘udder-ly’ ridiculous.
I’m not going to stop eating at Chick-Fil-A because I don’t really think that whole ‘take a pebble, move a mountain’ concept works with big corporations. Yes, I am upset that Chick-Fil-A chooses to use their profits to support Exodus International. But when we really look closely at where companies put our money after it leaves our hands, we probably wouldn’t be too happy.
I think I’m just going to go with the ‘ignorance is bliss’ mentality when it comes to Chick-Fil-A. I’m probably not going to eat there as often as I used to. In all honesty, I don’t eat there very often anyway. I usually just crave Chick-Fil-A on Sundays.
Chick-Fil-A making a statement about how they didn’t support gay marriage wasn’t a huge surprise. One of my friends whose father owns 2 Chick-Fil-A restaurants posted on facebook, “being surprised that Chick-Fil-A doesn’t support gay marriage is like being surprised that it gets hot during the summer.”
Chick-Fil-established themselves as a Christian corporation from the very beginning and I can’t hold that against them. They have a right to share their views, if asked, just like everyone else. However, once Christians everywhere flocked to the nearest Chick-Fil-A on the restaurant’s support day, I became disgusted with my fellow Christians.
Many were at the support day to show how much they abhorred the idea of gay marriage. Why must Christians, as a collective group, feel the need to give their blessing on all aspects of what other people are doing with their lives?
As a Christian, I do not believe that it is the Christian’s job to convert every non-Christian over to perceived Christian theology. The duty of the Christian is to show love to everyone. By showing this love, Christians then open up conversation to other cultures and allow for the acceptance of other ideas and the people attached to those ideas.
Telling the LGBT community that gay marriage is wrong, is wrong. The popular argument against gay marriage is that, according to the bible, marriage is sacred and should be between a man and a woman.
In our society, marriage is no longer something sacred. The divorce rate has skyrocketed. Some people go so far as to see how many ex-wives and ex-husbands they can collect in their lifetime. Marriage can also be a state of mind.
We all know at least one couple that acts like ‘an old married couple’ that isn’t married. There is nothing stopping a gay couple from acting as though they are married. But acting isn’t enough anymore. We live in a society where everyone wants to label everything. We want to make everything official. Who am I to stop them from getting married if that’s what makes them happy?
Happiness is all I want for my friends and family, including those who are gay. Most of the LGBT community aren’t Christians and some Christians may find that appalling, but there do exist other religious communities out there. Most of them are sitting back, watching Christians dig a bigger hole for themselves. Just because Christians disagr
ee with something doesn’t mean that it is universally disagreed with and vice versa. There are religious communities who don’t eat meat as part of their beliefs. They don’t believe people should eat meat, but they don’t go around converting other people to vegetarianism. Nor do they storm Chick-Fil-A telling them only to serve grilled cheese sandwiches and waffle fries. Christians, as a whole, should slow down with the bible thumping and take note of the accepting behaviors other communities exhibit. The world would be a better place for it.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Nothing says ‘my life is awful’ like going on a yachting adventure in the middle of the day just because boredom set in.
I don’t know if you use Tumblr or have heard of the Rich Kids of Instagram, but I just discovered it and the content of the blog is almost surreal.
I haven’t quite decided if the content of the blog is entertaining or upsetting. I would like more money, but not nearly to the degree these kids have it.
From what I can see, Rich Kids of Instagram was created on Tumblr as a way to perpetually mock the kids who had the gumption to post pictures reflecting their lavish lifestyle on Instagram.
The kids in the photos are either ignorant of how they are coming off to others or they think it is cool that they are being further represented to a wider audience than simply Instagram.
The photographs and ridiculous captions on the blog feature pictures of girls in skimpy bikinis riding on an elephant, amazing water slides, parties with gold plated iPhones, crazy expensive - foreign cars, various multi-story mega-yachts with copious amounts of alcohol, and various receipts lunch and dinner extravaganzas tallying thousands of dollars. The lifestyle these kids live is just absolutely absurd!
The hashtags on the captions just prove that these kids are asking for the type of attention they are receiving. It’s almost as if they are becoming free advertisement for whatever product they are using at the time. Gucci this, Bugatti that. Us lowly, middle class folks have to work while these “Rich Kids” are sitting in their huge yachts and expensive cars doing nothing. Or they are doing things only rich people think to do because they have the money to do it.
What makes me mad about this blog is that all of these kids don’t even make the money. Instead, they are spending their family’s money.
In most of the captions accompanying the instagram photos, the kids are saying things like:
“Summer Thursdays! #poolparty #nojob #noproblem”
Um, no job, no problem? You make me sick.
“Good friends and big Yachts. What more do u need?”
I can answer that question. You could use a little slice of humble pie.
“Matching…#Ferrari
#inmylivingroom
#oneofushas2change
#hamptons #NBD,”
There should not be a car in your living room, much less a Ferarri. No big deal? The fact that you live in the Hamptoms and have a Ferrari in your living room is a pretty big deal.
“Casual 100 foot water slide in the backyard. #hamptons #summer #crew.”
What are you doing today? Oh, I have a 100 foot water slide in my backyard that we just casually set up.
Or one of my personal favorites, “Pulling up to my house on a boat. #miami #winning #balling #getonmylevel.”
Saying get on my level is just asking for a “come at me bro” taunt.
Apparently articles have been popping up all over the internet that proclaim that the tumblr blog somewhat embarrasses rich kids. I disagree. If these kids want to brag about their personal and unearned incomes, that’s there prerogative. I doubt they even find their pictures embarassing.
It’s no surprise that drama broke out over these “Rich Kids” photographs and related hashtags.
A few children of an up and coming power couple posted some pictures of their family vacation. The parents of the children viewed their posts as a huge threat to their security. As a result, the children had to delete their social media accounts to prevent them from committing any more idiotic acts.
When you’re a multi-billionaire, family safety is a pretty big issue. International criminal organizations love to snatch those kids and collect a substantial ransom.
However, with attitudes like “#getonmylevel” and “#nojob #noproblem” no one will care if something happens to these kids; thanks to their arrogant and over the top attitudes during this economic climate.
With the amount of social media sites popping up at an alarming rate, it’s no surprise that there is a crossover between Tumblr and Instagram.
It’s also no big surprise that the “Rich Kids” took this crossover as an opportunity to show off all of their expensive stuff making the rest of us look bad -- normal.
Actually, they make the craziness surrounding my life seem tame. I’m okay with documenting a normal and budgeted lifestyle on my Instagram.
#poorcollegekidproblems
Check out the blog at:
richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com
Comments on this opinion can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Alana Thompson, a 6-year-old who is more famously recognized as Honey Boo Boo, became a stand out toddler when she was featured on the popular show “Toddlers and Tiaras” on TLC.
The curiosity generated by her bizarre yet entertaining behavior was enough to spark the creation of her own show, “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.”
Honey Boo Boo’s lifestyle is definitely unconventional for a typical beauty queen.
She comes from a family of six, each as eccentric as the next.
She also has a pet pig named Glitzy, participates annually in the Red Neck Games, and drinks a concoction of Mountain Dew and Red Bull, known as her ‘go-go juice’ before every pageant.
Her new show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” follows her life, covering everything from everyday events to her dedication to pageantry.
Honey Boo Boo and her family live in McIntyre, Georgia about 30 minutes from Macon.
In an early episode, Honey Boo Boo traveled to Macon to compete in a pageant located in the Wingate by Wynham hotel in Macon off Riverside Drive.
Not only did Honey Boo Boo visit Macon, she also spent time in Warner Robins trying on tiaras and eating cake.
Honey Boo Boo and her mother, June, met with former Miss Georgia, Michaela Lackey, and made several stops in Warner Robins as Lackey gave Honey Boo Boo pointers about the pageant world.
One stop on their tour of Warner Robins was McCall’s restaurant, located on Commercial Circle.
At this sandwich shoppe and catering location, the group sampled piña colada cake, chocolate caramel cake, and banana pudding cake.
Owner Ken McCall and employee Zachary Russell were there for the taping of the episode.
According to McCall, “The mother was very cordial and very complimentary about the food. She even bought some cake to take home to the rest of the family.”
Russell said that “[Lackey] was mentoring [Honey Boo Boo] on how to behave in public and how to sit still at the table, eating properly, and how to talk to people.” Russell also “got the impression that the camera crew and the director didn’t care for her and were tired of being around Honey Boo Boo.”
Another stop on their tour took place across the street at Gena Jayne -- The Chic Boutique.
Ali Atkinson, an employee at the boutique, said the child didn’t act as extreme as she does on television. “She and her mother mainly looked at the jewelry. [The Chic Boutique] doesn’t sell children’s items, but we have great pageant jewelry. She tried on some shoes, playing around.”
Many people may not hold the show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” in the highest regard, but Atkinson mentioned that the shopping trip provided great exposure for Commercial Circle, an often forgotten part of Warner Robins.
In the words of the ever wise Honey Boo Boo child, Commercial Circle is “all that and a pack of crackers.”
For more information about select locations: McCall’s Restaurant located at 1001 Watson Boulevard, call 478-328-7604
For more information about The Chic Boutique, located at 145 S. Commercial Circle, call Gena Jayne at 478-225-9856.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Taylor Swift, Imma let you finish, but Adele might just be the greatest singer-song writer of all time. Go ahead, write a song about it.
I wasn’t really 100% sold on Taylor Swift when she first came out, and I wasn’t even that big on Adele when her songs first started popping up on the radio.
I don’t know what it was about the two of them, but never really felt …well, connected. I think I jumped on the T-Swift bandwagon when my friends started getting her songs stuck in my head. Plus, when I found out that there were hidden messages in her album book, I had to see what all the fuss was all about. I think I got T-Swift’s first album for Christmas about a year after it came out. I was way behind the curve, but I think I’m always perpetually behind the curve. I didn’t LOVE the self-titled album, but I sang the songs in my car at the top of my lungs and I fit in with my friends. Life was good.
Nowadays, listening to T-Swift’s songs are about figuring out who the song is about. Let’s face it, that girl is everywhere! She sings about everything related to anything that has made her upset. I find the songs entertaining and they usually tell a story of sorts. It’s good music….sort of.
Adele is a totally different story. Although, I can never remember Adele’s name to save my life. Whenever referring to her, I go through this weird explanation period where I’m gesticulating like crazy and saying weird things like, “that computer brand… that fire, stone, something about raining, rolling pavements. You know. That one girl who sings. Do you know who I’m talking about?” My friends just sit back in horror, watching this ridiculous spectacle of a memory lapse. “Um, Adele?” they say, wondering why I can’t remember such a simple name.
Despite the fact that I can’t remember her name, Adele wins hands down. Adele and T-Swift are like the same age, but Adele seems to be like an old soul, you know? She has this crazy cool sultry, jazzy voice that makes me super jealous. I know I can’t sing, but one can dream. Plus, she sings about real stuff in a way that doesn’t make you feel like an overly emotional teenage girl. I’d say that’s a definite win!
Comments on this opinion can be sent to cecilia.villagomez@live.mercer.edu
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
Why!? Why are we watching “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”? When I first saw the commercials for the show, I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. It’s not like “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” is quality TV, but then again, I’m not really sure what constitutes as quality anymore. One thing is for sure, this show has certainly proved entertaining.
When commercials for the new hit TLC show started airing, I immediately vowed never to watch the show out of self-preservation. During the week of finals, my roommate and I watched several YouTube videos documenting her brief appearance on Toddlers and Tiaras.
The portions of the show we saw in video form were highly quotable, but YouTube quality at best. You know, that weird part of YouTube you sometimes find yourself on and no one every really admits exists. Usually, when you find yourself watching nothing but cat videos, you’ve arrived.
Anyway, I changed my mind when it became personal after Honey Boo Boo herself came to visit my hometown, Warner Robins. If she was going to feature my hometown on her show, I needed to witness what kind of shame she was bringing to my family and friends.
Watching ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo’ is like watching a train wreck. You don’t want to watch, but you can’t seem to tear your eyes away from the redneck circus performance that is in front of you.
The show takes place in Honey Boo Boo’s home, McIntyre, Ga., 40 minutes east of our beloved Macon. Being in such close proximity to cray-cray makes me a little sick to my stomach. I’ve already had cousins in California ask if my friends and I go to the Redneck Games in Dublin every year. Really? NO.
My cousins aren’t even the only ones who have started asking questions like that. I’ve heard a slew of comments about how this show proves that the stereotypes of the South are true. Just because we live in the South doesn’t mean we all act like this.
Although, I do hate to admit that I can understand what her family says without the subtitles. Perhaps I’m simply good at understanding ‘foreign’ languages. Or I’ve infiltrated the redneck/hillbilly society enough to the point that I’ve become one of them. I don’t want to think about the latter as even being a viable choice.
Just about every episode I’ve watched is the same with some variation in the type of crazy that the show presents. The title sequence features the entire family standing there smiling, and then you hear a rather loud, flatulent noise. Everyone proceeds to yell “Mama” in a southern drawl, ‘Mama’ laughs and the show begins.
Alana, or rather Honey Boo Boo, usually introduces the show to some degree. She plays with her tummy in some form or fashion. The family talks about how chubby everyone is, at least once. ‘Mama’ says how ‘beautimous’ she is, sneezes a few times in the middle of her interviews, and gives bizzarely worded yet factual pieces of advice. The pig, Glitzy, squeals out “Alana” a few times. The family banters about something ridiculous, and before you know it, you have just wasted roughly 30 minutes of your life.
Congratulations. I would say you’re better for it, but I don’t want to lie to you.
I guess if you really wanted to take something away from this show, you could always view it as a social commentary of sorts. The theme of bad parenting and even worse morals can be argued as universal. After all, ‘Mama’ was 15 when she had her now-pregnant 17-year-old, none of the daughters have the same father, and ‘Mama’ has refused multiple marriage proposals from ‘Sugar Bear’ —Alana’s father —who nonetheless has lived with the family for 8 years.
There’s also the issue of caffeinating a 6-year-old with what would be a lethal dose of caffeine in my system.
Introducing Honey Boo Boo’s “go-go juice,” a concoction of Red Bull and Mountain Dew. “Go-Go juice” gives you wings — more like a heart attack. Plus, Honey Boo Boo isn’t even a good pageant queen. She’s a hot mess. Her wigs are always askew, her daisy-dukes are kind of scary, and that ‘belly-dancing’ needs to stop.
Honey Boo Boo, child. Look at your life, look at your choices.
(08/29/12 4:00pm)
I stumbled upon a news article talking about how Apple has a $2.5 billion patent lawsuit out against Samsung because they allegedly used Apple’s designs for the iPhone and iPad in their smartphone and tablet products. In recent news, Apple won the ridiculous lawsuit.
At first glance of the original article, I rolled my eyes. I had always said that I was never going to switch to Mac but once I got to college, I changed my mind.
We tend to do that when we get to this specific stage of our lives. Anyway, my friends had MacBook Pros and I was mesmerized by the interface and sleek design. I had to have one! Some time later I bought my very own MacBook Pro and was submersed into the eccentric community Apple is built upon. I see no reason to go back to my old ways, not yet anyway.
As much as I love Apple products, there comes a time when lawsuits like the one Apple had against Samsung becomes ridiculous. Apple just needs to relax. The way I see it, there are only so many ways that someone can build a device before they all start looking the same and have the same, if not similar, interface features.
During a live blog broadcast of the hearing, the director of patent licensing strategy at Apple testified that “We were shocked” when Samsung introduced a smartphone that looked so much like the iPhone.
Really, Apple? It’s a rectangle with a touch screen. Woah! I can’t believe anyone would even think to copy that! The appearance of the smartphone, however, wasn’t the only thing that Samsung copied. If you’ve ever used an iPhone you are probably familiar with that bouncing affect the screen has when you scroll to the bottom of a page.
According to a computer scientist who testified on the behalf of Apple, that “rubber band” effect was an element Samsung pulled from the iPhone’s user interface.
If I may add, I love that affect. It’s fun to play with. If I could figure out how to program computers I would add that feature to all of my devices. Wait, I use Apple devices. Hm…Anyway, one aspect of the argument that I thought was absolutely ridiculous was that Samsung utilized a feature that enables users to zoom in and out by touching the screen and pinching or expanding their fingers.
With something so intuitive, I don’t think Apple should even have rights over that. I guess they have to take over the world somehow.
I know Apple is attempting to dominate the market by suing anyone who so much as looks at them wrong, but they need to have some perspective on the subject. Maybe the exact dimensions and software designs of the iPhone and iPad shouldn’t be copied, but they have such a simple and innovative design that of course other companies are going to want to copy it.
Why change what isn’t broken? Oh yeah, patents. I also find it ridiculous that one of Apple’s main concerns was that the products that emulate the design of the iPhone will confuse consumers and they will somehow end up buying a product that isn’t actually an iPhone.
Apple, I’m pretty sure that if I wanted to spend roughly $400 on a phone, I’m going to make sure that the phone is exactly what I want; be that an iPhone or otherwise.
Comments on this opinion can be sent to opinions@mercercluster.com
(08/29/12 7:17am)
Does Honey Boo Boo snore?
A new study was recently published in “Pediatrics” stating that toddlers who snored loudly at least twice a week at the ages of 2 and 3 had more behavioral problems than those who didn’t.
The study concludes that the snoring of toddlers could be connected to behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, inattention, depression, or breathing problems.
Now Honey Boo Boo could be a snorer, but she also drinks ‘go-go’ juice, a combination of Mountain Dew and Red Bull.
I’m no expert, but I think there is a strong connection between that drink and the bizarre behavior she exhibits. Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Oh, right; snoring toddlers!
According to the study in question, the part of the brain that controls moods is not properly rested when children are snoring and prevents the brain from getting the right amount of oxygen. Lower oxygen levels, in turn, can cause irritability.
You may be thinking that this topic has nothing to do with you. If you’re one of those people, I apologize. If you’re not, go ahead, keep reading.
Could you imagine how different your current rooming situation may be if your roommate was one of those toddlers who snored and wasn’t treated?
There’s a running joke among my friends that we have when we are really stressed out. College is like kindergarten, especially when you’re so overwhelmed with everything that’s going on at school.
You’ve got those roommates that never want to share anything, whether it’s crayons or food. There are also those who never clean up after themselves. The moody ones that when they don’t get enough sleep, tend to be violent or cry at the slightest upsetting event can be a bear to work with in group projects. There’s also lots of coloring and watching of movies that a kindergartner would be able to watch alongside you; not to mention good ol’ nap time.
It may be a logical leap to say that if we regress to the behavior of most toddlers or young children, then we also regress in our sleeping habits. After all, the connection between the lack of oxygen to the brain and mood levels makes perfect sense. I’d venture to say that the study shows not only that toddlers are more likely to have behavioral problems when they consistently snore, but also a well known fact: If you’re not sleeping well, you tend to be grumpier.
Here’s my message to you: Stop trying to pull all of these all nighters; energy drinks only work for so long. If you’re tired and grumpy, take a nap. You’re friends may even thank you for your improved mood. Plus, to quote How I Met Your Mother, “nothing good happens after 2 a.m.”
Comments on this opinion can be sent to opinons@mercercluster.com
(08/15/12 4:01pm)
I became enamored with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) when they won over the hearts of many during a miraculous win over Brazil in the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Unfortunately the USWNT lost in the finals against Japan in penalty kicks. Despite the loss, the USWNT was greeted with a warm welcome and a spike in nationwide interest in women’s soccer. I have always been upset with the way people view women’s soccer. Many times women soccer players are seen as weaker and slower and unable to keep up with male soccer players. I disagree to a degree. I don’t really enjoy watching some of the men’s professionl soccer games because they can become so melodramatic. Half the time they throw themselves on the ground asking for a non-call. If you see a female player doing that on the field they get chastised. It’s almost expected that women have the “male” mentality when they get hurt on the field. A common phrase among my teammates when we get knocked around or cut up is, “Be a man. Rub some dirt in it!” And we get back up running. Men are allowed to take their time getting up without being seen as weak to onlookers. The expectations for behavior create an unequal playing field that demeans the quality of women’s professional soccer. I do admit that women’s soccer is slower pace, but that does not take away from the drama that ensues when the USWNT steps on the field -- buckle up, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Before the 2012 Summer olympics came olympic qualifying games. The U.S. Men’s team fell short and was unable to qualify, but the U.S. Women’s team came out undefeated. I watched every single game that I could get my hands on and I was never disappointed by what I watched. Once the olympics started I planned my schedule around every single women’s soccer match, especially the USWNT’s games. The USWNT won a gut wrenching, emotional, yet exhilarating semi-final match against Canada that secured the U.S. a spot in the finals, a rematch against Japan – the reigning world champions. We defeated Japan 2-1 and received gold, the third consecutive olympic gold in women’s soccer. However, back in May, the Women’s Professional Soccer league announced a permanent suspension of operation for the upcoming season. According to the WPS press release, the league had put too much money into legal issues. The highly unprofessional team manager of MagicJack filed suit against the league and the WPS did not have the funds to support a counterattack and run the league at the same time. They also didn’t want to run the risk of working with him during the season and regretfully saw no other way out of their situation.
I hate that some team managers feel the need to power play even when they are in a position of power. Not only does it hurt the image of U.S. Women’s soccer, but it also hurts the players. A comment was made in an ESPN article that the suspension of the professional league was positive because it provides the USWNT more time to play together, but I think that’s a poor response to this inherent problem. The USWNT made a name for Women’s soccer and I find the fact that they doesn’t have a professional league to come home to insulting. Our national team is doing something wonderful for the sport of soccer and they have no way of keeping the interest alive outside of national games. Fortunately, there is talk of the formation of a new league in the Spring of 2013. For now I will grumble about not being able to watch Atlanta Beat games, the local WPS team, and be content with watching the USWNT whenever I can.
(04/25/12 7:15pm)
It’s 420, BRAH! Know what that means?
That means high school students are required to listen to Bob Marley and smoke weed on April 20, yeah? Eh, close enough.
Actually, not really.
We all know at least one pothead, and if you actually talk to this person you probably know that his or her favorite day is April 20. But do you know why? 420, people!
There are a few rumors circulating as to what 420 means. Some people say it is the code that police officers use when they see a marijuana smoking in process. Not true.
An anonymous Mercerian who chooses to use the psuedonym Lavonte Crowder, guessed as to the reason for the season, saying, “It’s Bob Marley’s birthday. Somebody told me that.”
Bob Marley was actually born on Feb 6, 1945.
Another rumor is that there are 420 chemicals in weed. Not true: it’s actually around 315 or so.
The actual story of 420 origins goes a little something like this:
Back in the Fall of ’71, a group of five friends who called themselves the Waldos and attended San Rafael High School in California got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer take care of his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard Station. The Waldos got hold of a treasure map and decided to go out on a hunt to find this patch of marijuana. Because of their busy extra-curricular schedules, they decided to meet up outside the school at 4:20.
Whenever the Waldos would see each other in the hallways they would remind each other by saying “4:20.” Each time they would meet up to look for the patch of marijuana, they would smoke the entire time they were out on their hunt. They never did find the patch of marijuana, but after using the phrase so often, 420 began to be the same as saying, “Hey, do you wanna smoke?”, “Do you have any?”, “Are you stoned right now?”
The term became popularized by the Waldos’ connection with the Grateful Dead. With the Grateful Dead on tour, the term 420 soon became a worldwide association with smoking weed. After the widespread acceptance of the term 420, a somewhat-secret weed smoking subculture was formed and is growing every year.
People who smoke weed are often thought of as slow-witted with bloodshot eyes and have a bad case of the munchies. Comedian Sheng Wang has a sketch about these stereotypes. Sheng Wang says, “the word ‘munchies’? It’s just too damn cute to describe the actual horror that happens. Sounds like baby talk. Highly inappropriate. It’s like saying this dude’s not a killer. Nah, he’s just got a bad case of the stabbies.”
To combat blood shot eyes, Sheng Wang started using Visine. He says, “That is a powerful drug. I thought it was just an eye moisturizer, but Visine will change the color of your eyeball, like, instantaneously. I did a test one time. I put Visine in one eye, JUST one eye. I looked in the mirror and did a side by side comparison. Control group *points to right eye* was red, as per usual. Test subject *points to left eye* was white, but like Way. Too. White. Like between the two of them, this one *points to left eye* was more suspicious. This one *points to right eye* was like, ‘maybe I have allergies.’ This one *points to left eye with Visine* was like, ‘Bi*ch, I ain’t smoke nothin’!’”
A handful of Mercer students celebrated national weed day. One anonymous cannabis connoisseur said, “I try to celebrate the holiday every time it comes around. Started when I was about 14.” When asked about how the holiday is celebrated, the student said, “Really, 420 parties usually just involve too much food, trampolines, and YouTube videos of fractals.”
Another anonymous 420 fiend who wants to be referred to only as Django Smithsonian said, “420 is utter debauchery. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria. Whatever Bill Murray said in Ghostbusters.”
(04/11/12 7:42pm)
On April 3, scholar and Mercer alumnus Dr. Y. Lynn Holmes came to talk in conversation about his extensive collection of ancient artifacts from the Holy Land. This talk marked the opening of another rotation of the Holmes Holy Land Ancient Artifact Collection. This exhibit of artifacts is titled, “Sex and Violence in the Ancient World: Gender, Sexuality, and Warfare from 2000 BC - 400 AD.” Elizabeth Hammond, the Dean of University Libraries, commented on the exhibit saying, “These artifacts are an exciting...campus resource that could lend itself to additional programming, curricular development and Mercer community activities.” Dr. Holmes hopes his collection, “can be used to show students and the people of south and central Georgia real artifacts of the ancient Holy Land and give a better understanding of the ancient world and the Bible.”
Commenting on how his collection came to be, Dr. Holmes said, “When I was in fourth grade, I became fascinated with ancient history.” Over time, he became more interested in ancient history as his involvement with studying Christianity grew. Dr. Marc Lovelace, who taught Dr. Holmes at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, exposed Dr. Holmes to ancient artifacts from the Holy Land and created the desire to start his own collection. Dr. Holmes says, “I seriously began my collection about 1973 when I took a group of [West Georgia] students to work on an archaeological excavation in Israel. My collection expanded dramatically in 1984 when Dr. Lovelace offered to sell me his whole collection.” Dr. Holmes bought Dr. Lovelace’s collection and continues to buy items whenever he can find artifacts that will enhance the collection.
While an important resource for students of Mercer, the Holmes Holy Land Ancient Artifact Collection is on display on the Main Floor of Tarver Library and available to the general public, schools and colleges of the Middle and South Georgia areas. However, many students are not aware of this exhibit’s presence in the library. Mary Catherine Rosher, a junior Holistic Child major, had often passed the Holmes Holy Land Ancient Artifact exhibit without realizing what it was. Only when this installment of the exhibit was released did she realize the artifacts belonged to the Holy Land Ancient Artifact Collection. Shelby Brigman, a junior Biology major, never noticed what was in the display case, either. However, once the exhibit was brought to her attention, she commented, “I thought it was interesting and I would like to go and see more stuff like this,” said Brigman.
When asked her opinion of the Sex and Violence in the Ancient World exhibit, Brigman said, “It was an interesting point of view of sexuality in the Greco-Roman time period. Sexuality is really pronounced in the media right now, so it seems to be more of a new age thing when really, sexuality in the media has been around for thousands of years even though the type of media has changed quite a bit.” Brigman also mentioned that the exhibit “made me think about how I wish Mercer, in the lower level history classes, would teach more about [sex and violence in the ancient world]. It was a side of history that I had never seen before and [history classes] don’t really cover these topics when we learn about this time period,” added Brigman.
(03/14/12 8:22pm)
However erratic the weather may be lately, spring is actually upon us. You may not be ready to put those winter coats away just yet, because one day it’s nice and warm out and the next day it’s freezing again. Luckily, spring fashion doesn’t necessarily mean that your clothes have to be made out of lightweight material. Instead, spring fashion is characterized predominately by the color of the material and the way the material is worn.
One spring fashion trend that Korin Ludicke, a junior Technical Communications Major, has been seeing and loves is the use of bold, bright colors like hot pinks, bright yellows and tangerines. Also, color-blocking, the act of using bold, solid-color pieces like a cardigan and a skirt, a wrap dress, or a demure one-piece suit, is big this spring. Color-blocking makes simple dressing look glamorous. However, most fashion blogs say to try and stick to three colors so that you don’t run the risk of looking like a rainbow.
Ludicke says, “Big, bold prints seem to be popular with a lot of designer’s spring collections. And polka dots, lots of those.”
Avani Patel, a junior Philosophy Major, thinks “this spring is going to bring in a lot of great things, especially pastel and bright colors, like orange!” She, like Korin, has noticed the growing trend of color-blocking. “It’s a great way to make something simple pop!” said Patel. Patel also has found that “floral/tribal prints are very in this spring as well,” but printed pants seem a little questionable.
For a male’s perspective, Cary Santiago, a senior English Major, has noticed the more popular, fashionable looks are going to be in reds and blues. Cary says, “In GQ [magazine], the primary colors that were displayed were pastel shades of red and blue. Most of the color comes from shirts and sweaters, but they muted these colors with dark jackets and pants.” To add contrast and to highlight the color in the shirts, different colored socks and belts are used.
Inspiration for the up and coming fashion trends come from a variety of places. Magazines such as InStyle, Glamour, Allure, MarieClaire and GQ are great places to find inspiration. There are some fashion blogs/websites that are also helpful. Some of these websites include: cupcakesandcashmere.com, refinery29.com, thesartorialist.com and whowhatwear.com. Another way to find inspiration is to see what other people are wearing. Patel says, “I see people on campus or at the mall wearing a particular type of shoe or dress and if I think it’s cute, I’ll try and find something similar to it.” Cary, on the other hand, says “Instead of just looking at what everyone else is wearing, I try to process the different looks and create my own unique look tailored to various fashions.”
Knowing what’s “in” this season, observing what other people are wearing and utilizing a little bit of creativity creates a sense of style that’s all your own. Own it, work it, love it! Now get out there, good lookin’!
(02/22/12 9:15pm)
On Feb. 10 Mercer University announced their partnership with The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga. to establish a Columbus campus for the School of Medicine. In an interview with Mercer Medical School Dean, Bill Bina, he said, “in July 2012, we’re going to have about 12 third-year students start their third year experience.” Those students will be full time and will be there to finish out the last two years of their education.
“The whole [Columbus] population is growing and what they felt they needed to distinguish their city in the future would be to have a medical school,” says Dean Bina. “This was about 18 months ago when they came to ask President Underwood [if he would consider starting a clinical or medical school campus in Columbus]….So over the past 18 months, I and members of the team here at the Medical School have been working with St. Francis Hospital and The Medical Center with the purpose of starting the third and fourth year clinical rotations,” Bina added.
In a recent interview, President Underwood said, “We are pleased to be taking the unique mission of our School of Medicine to Columbus and West Georgia. It will further enhance health care for the citizens of this region and help prepare much-needed physicians for our state.”
One of the motivating factors for creating this partnership is an insurance of quality physicians being exposed to other areas of Georgia. “Because the Mercer School of Medicine only accepts students who are Georgia residents, this campus expansion will expose a large number of future Georgia doctors to Columbus and the surrounding western region of Georgia, increasing the likelihood that many of them will practice in the area once they have completed their medical education,” Bina said.
In addition, he adds that “pressure and crowding of learners in the hospital settings these days is becoming problematic, so the more diverse our clinical experiences are, the better the students have it because there are less people on the teams. They get more individual experience and practice.”
To get this program developed and working, according to President Underwood, a team comprised of “The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital, Pete Robinson, State Representative Richard Smith, Mercer Medical School Dean Bill Bina, Mercer trustees Jimmy Elder and Tom Black, and a number of other local business and community leaders,” have developed and engaged the faculty and staff that are essential for teaching these third and fourth year medical students. Dean Bina comments, “One of the advantages we have is that we have a curriculum that we use for third and fourth years that can be transferred directly so they don’t have to start a new curriculum.”
Lance Duke, FACHE, president and CEO of The Medical Center, commented in a recent interview that, “The future benefits of this affiliation to our community and our region are without question. We know many of the students will grow to love this community as we do, and will choose to stay here to practice medicine.”
During his closing comments, Dean Bina said, “This partnership broadens our clinical basis so we have more hospitals, more clinics, more opportunities. We have the potential to grow up to 40 students. Going from 12 to 40 students is a big deal in this kind of thing. It won’t happen immediately, but what we need is to prove that our partnership works, and we have no indication that it won’t because everybody is enthusiastic about it.”
(02/22/12 9:00pm)
Over the past three years of my attendance at Mercer I have noticed a pretty consistent trend amongst the student body: Mercer students love free stuff.
From what I observe, the most popular and time honored traditions at Mercer are the annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Founder’s Day. However, I find it absolutely absurd how if you were to ask the average Mercer student why they go to these events they would automatically say the promise of free stuff.
The mug after the Christmas Tree Lighting is a definite favorite. And who among us doesn’t love receiving that long sleeve t-shirt after the Founder’s day speaker finishes talking? Don’t get me wrong, I love the free stuff just as much as the next student, but I think we shouldn’t have to use incentives to bring in a large crowd.
The student body should want to participate. Take the basketball games for example. During an average men’s basketball game, the student section is never completely filled with Mercer students.
On the off chance that the student section is filled, most of the time they aren’t nearly as spirited as they should be. The largest crowd at basketball games is because of a promise of free pizza and possibly other free items, some of which include the infamous Mercer shirt of various designs.
As a junior, I have become rather disappointed with the sense of school spirit around campus. I don’t find myself overly spirited or filled with pride, but I do make it a point to get involved. I care about Mercer and I really do enjoy the traditions that make up my Mercer experience.
I love Homecoming week, the Christmas Tree Lighting and I especially love Founder’s day. I would go to these events even without the incentive of a free token to remember the event by.
But the truth of the matter is the majority of the student body would not come out to these events if it weren’t for those free objects. I believe that even homecoming has become a little more lackluster since my freshman year due to the fact that we have to pay for homecoming shirts. How ridiculous is that?
Homecoming week isn’t supposed to focus on alumni coming back and visiting Mercer and reliving the “good ole’ days.” It’s about the current student body making memories to last a lifetime.
Yes, students come out to the big homecoming game, but what about the other sports? Without the promise of priority tickets to Homecoming, there would be a dramatic decrease in fall sports attendance.
Not to say that these sports don’t draw a crowd on their own, but the crowd is always bigger when the game has been publicized as a priority game.
Sure, we Mercer students pay enough to get the education we receive and we feel as though we have a right to the free stuff.
If anything, we feel as though they owe it to us. However, I think there is definitely room for improvement when it comes to the amount of school spirit and pride that comes from the student body.
If Mercer students have enough pride for their school, the free stuff shouldn’t matter and attendance should be high at these events in spite of the materialistic incentives.
Comments and questions about this opinion can be sent to cecilia.villagomez@live.mercer.edu