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(08/14/13 6:45pm)
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] Photo Credit: Patrick Hobbs / Cluster Staff[/caption]
When SGA Vice President Melina Hettiaratchi reminisced about her freshman year, she conceded that she is a different person, now.
In August 2011, Hettiaratchi left her home in Alabama to join Mercer’s class of 2015. After arriving on Mercer’s campus, Hettiaratchi realized her biggest fear was everyone.
Eventually, the newly minted freshman learned to embrace the experience and take in every moment – even the not so good ones.
After Hettiaratchi won a spot in senate of SGA, she realized she could mobilize change on campus.
Now, as junior and SGA’s new vice president, Hettiaratchi has ambitious goals for making Mercer more green friendly and creating new campus traditions.
What is your favorite memory from Freshman year?
Hettiaratchi: My favorite academic memory is from Wilderness Weekend, because I really bonded with my class and it was a really cool time for us to get to know each other outside of the classroom in a completely new environment.
Another favorite memory is when my roommate and I decided the night before that we wanted to go to six flags on a Saturday and we just got up and left. We prepared everything and we let our parents know where we were going but we didn’t have to ask anyone’s permission. It was a cool thing we did on our own.
As a Freshman, what was your biggest fear?
Hettiaratchi: Probably everyone else. This is really embarrassing, but the night of Freshman Frenzy I left and went back to my room and cried. I didn’t want to be there and I wanted to see my friends at home and my mom. I cried myself to sleep. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to make friends, but I already had my best friend. I was just really afraid of not having friends and being always in my room and alone.
My O-group was phenomenal with helping me get through my freshman year. I hung out with them a lot and went to the cafeteria and events with them.
How did Mercer impact your Freshman experience?
Hettiaratchi: It’s a small enough school to where I can walk around between classes and see people I know. I don’t have to be afraid about waving to them. It’s so friendly here. I just feel at home at Mercer. Even though I’ve missed home so much, Mercer very quickly became my new home. I now rarely go home because Mercer is my home.
What was a life lesson you learned from Freshman year?
Hettiaratchi: The time I learned to never to pull an all-nighter! It’s important to learn time management because all nighters are not for everyone. I was writing my final 12-page paper for FYS (Freshman Year Experience) and I was finishing it up the night before and pulled an all nighter. I literally did not sleep all day or night.
After I turned in my paper, I called my mom and told her I turned it in and started crying in the middle of the Quad. I felt awful! My body was shutting down on me. She told me that I should probably skip my classes for that day, so I did. It was pretty bad.
Any advice for the incoming Freshmen class?
Hettiaratchi: Everyone will tell you these are the best years of your life, but I think I got to a point during my second semester when I asked, “What am I doing with my life? I’m already in college and I haven’t accomplished anything.”
I felt like I hadn’t contributed anything, but when I visited some old high school teachers they said, “You’ve made it through your first year of being an adult in a college setting and that’s an accomplishment in itself.”
(08/14/13 6:45pm)
A freshman entering college can easily be overwhelmed by the chaotic frenzy of events happening on campus. In order to organize a chaotic week, The Cluster has made a list of the top 5 activities and events freshman shouldn’t miss out on.
The first event is Bear Fair on Monday, Aug. 19 from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Not only do students learn more about student organizations on campus, restaurants, and the city of Macon, but students also get loads of free stuff. Students usually leave Bear Fair with bags full of T-shirts, candy, stickers, cups and a bunch of other goodies. Bear Fair is an opportune time to mingle with other students and meet new people.
Another event on our Top 5 list is the Block Party, which will take place on the intramural courts in the University Center.
“One big thing that we're doing as a part of Bear Beginnings this year is a street party. It got rained out last year but this year we are doing it on the IM courts so that we don’t have to cancel it,” said James Hullet, a member of the Orientation Leadership Team. “We're doing that from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and then showing the movie Accepted at 9 (p.m.) and serving pizza.”
Explore Greek Recruitment is an event aimed at freshman students, as well as upperclassmen, to learn more about Greek life on Mercer’s campus.
“Greek recruitment is valuable for freshmen because it gives them the opportunity to join an organization that will be their home and family here at Mercer. You make friends with your classmates as well as many upperclassmen within your first few days of school,” said Emily Minch, president of Mercer’s Panhellenic Community.
A major part of Mercer’s student culture is volunteering, which is why the “Volunteer Fair” is on the Top 5 list. Mercer’s volunteer organizations, such as LEAP (Local Engagement Against Poverty) have a strong local presence within the Macon community and are dedicated to addressing the needs of those living below the poverty line.
The event takes place on August 23 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Number four on the list isn’t particularly an organized event, but a visit to the Academic Resource Center is highly recommended for incoming students.
The ARC is devoted to five disciplines: multi-discipline tutoring, supplemental instruction, college study skills courses and academic advising. The ARC is equipped with experienced tutors who can proofread class papers or help with mathematics homework. Many students also utilize the ARC’s quiet office area to study and catch up on homework.
The last but certainly not least event on the list is Ice Cream with the Underwood’s and Movie Under the Stars. Ice cream be served, and students will have the opportunity to interact with Mercer President Bill Underwood.
Be sure to mark down each one of these on your calendar. Hopefully, this will help diminish some of the chaos. Remember not to get too overwhelmed. Enjoy each moment, because freshman year only happens once.
(04/25/13 5:35pm)
On a Thursday afternoon, sand volleyball player, Hannah Noon, sat down in Bear Necessities to study for her pre-calculus with a calm ease that carries over into the sand court.
The freshman athlete and her partner recently qualified as one of the top five on the team, “There are seven teams of two people and only the top five that play actually count to go on the record,” said Noon.
The busiest day of the week for Noon is Monday. She wakes up at 8:00 a.m. and eats breakfast, which usually consists of a granola bar.
After eating breakfast, Noon goes to the sand court for volleyball practice at 9:00 a.m. to 9:40 a.m. As the setter for the sand volleyball team, Noon does a lot of setting reps for the hitters.
The team is given a twenty minute resting period before heading to the gym to lift weights from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m.
Despite the heavy arm workouts, Noon has grown accustomed to the rigorous training workouts and says that she rarely gets tired.
Once morning workouts are finished, the athlete takes a shower and heads out to the cafeteria for lunch at 11:30 p.m.
The first class of the day is Noon’s Introduction to ethics class at 12 p.m. Immediately following her Introduction to ethics class, Noon walks over to her 1 p.m. pre-calculus class.
Noon’s next class starts at 2 p.m. and is her Intro to computing class which ends at 3 p.m. The intro to computing class and math class are one of Noon’s core courses for her business major.
Although Noon plans on majoring in business, but she says she is uncertain about what she would exactly want to do with her degree.
Out of all her business classes, Macro Economics is her most difficult course. “Some of the stuff is just really confusing and you have to go over it multiple times and sometimes you can get it mixed up with different concepts,” said Noon.
The business major looks forward to taking more business classes, “ Next semester we’ll take a lot of the core classes so accounting, management, and marketing, but I really like marketing right now,” said Noon.
After an hour break, Noon goes to the sand volleyball courts again for sand practice for one hour.
Although it appears that Noon is bobbing from class to workouts more than a volleyball is hit over a net, she said it’s not too difficult balancing a sport with schoolwork, “It’s actually not that hard, but you’re up late a lot of nights just because you have that practice time and are missing out on being able to do schoolwork,” said Noon.
For dinner Noon grabs a salad or some chicken from the grill. If none of those options are available, Noon will settle for a sandwich or cereal.
Noon usually washes down her meal with some blue Powerade. “Definitely have to have some blue Powerade because after three workouts in a day the Powerade is delicious,” said Noon.
The next stop for the volleyball player is the Academic Resource Center, which is where the athlete catches up on homework.
For Noon, the ARC is a great place to do homework, “I love the ARC it’s really quiet and there are a lot of tutors especially to help me with my math and to go over my papers.”
After studying, the athlete heads over to her room to study for an hour or reads the Bible. She typically goes to bed at around 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.
Noon is also involved in Fellowship of Christian athletes, which helps her with her faith, “Sometimes we’ll wake up a little earlier before practice and do devotional and get in the word and pray and remember that we are playing for God and he gave you these talented gifts and you have to use them to glorify him.”
(04/10/13 2:26pm)
Emily Brett, a sand volleyball player and biomedical engineering major, is rarely frazzled by the daily stresses of balancing engineering classes and sand volleyball. Surprisingly, Brett braces her busiest day of the week, which is Tuesday, with a calm ease.
On Tuesday Brett wakes up at 6:30 a.m. to run one lap around Mercer’s campus and then walks over to the University Center to continue her workout. For breakfast, the athlete typically eats oatmeal with fruit.
The sand volleyball player’s first class is called biomaterial and lasts from 9:25 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. The course is a senior level BME class, but Brett is the only junior taking the class.
Brett admits that her engineering coursework is challenging this semester, “I have upper level courses for BME [Biomedical Engineering], so my classes are harder.”
Despite taking her lowest amount of hours this semester, Brett thinks schoolwork is challenging, “I don’t have that many hours. I’m only taking 13 hours this semester, which is the lowest. Normally it’s 16 or more [hours] every other semester. I don’t have a heavy class load, but the classes are tough.”
Right after Brett’s Biomaterial class, she darts over to her bioinstrumentation class, which starts at 10:50 a.m. Fortunately, Brett’s walk to her second class is only a few steps away since most of her classes are in the engineering building.
The aspiring engineer loves being involved with other campus organizations. Brett is an officer for Prosthetics and Orthotics Club, which means she helps to coordinate events for the club. For example, Brett helped organize a fundraiser at the Hay House and helped plan the dinner and decorations.
After her engineering class Brett walks to the cafeteria to eat lunch with her roommate at 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. She will typically eat a sandwich for lunch.
Brett’s next classes old testament prophets, an upper level old testament class, which allows for the biomedical engineer major to have a change of scenery from the engineering building. The class lasts from 1:40 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Making sure not to waste any time, Brett hustles from her old testament class to the library at 3 p.m. and tries to squeeze in one hour of homework.
After finishing some homework, Brett heads over to the locker room at 4:30 p.m. for sand volleyball practice which last until 6:30 p.m.
According to Brett, the season is going well for sand volleyball and each of the pairing has won at least one match, but is struggling to win as a team. “As pairs we are doing well, but as a team we haven’t been able to bring that all together,” Brett said.
When practice is over, the athlete eats dinner and takes a shower. Around this time it is 7:30 p.m.
Usually at 7:30 p.m. Brett will begin to tackle her mounds of homework, but on Tuesday Brett goes to her disciple group at 8 p.m., which is a part of Campus Outreach– a Christian ministry group on campus. Brett’s discipleship group is a group of five juniors, a sophomore and two senior leaders. The group meets weekly to study the Bible.
Discipleship groups ends at 10 p.m. After her discipleship group Brett will head home and start tackling on her pile of homework. She typically stays up till 12 a.m. or 1 a.m. finishing homework.
Brett believes that her teammates help to keep her pushing forward. “I would definitely say that the team keeps the morale up. During practice it’s always fun to hang out with the team and just get energy from them,” Brett said.
Brett plays sand volleyball with her fraternal twin sister, Erin Brett, who is also an engineering major, which helps her to keep pushing focused.
The engineering community also helps to keep Brett on top of her grades because they try to help one another out, “Most of the engineers know each other, so everyone tries to help…Once you get into engineering and you realize it’s a lot of work everyone helps each other out,” said Brett.
(04/10/13 2:16pm)
While most college students spend their summer vacations reclining in their La-Z-Boy in front of their TV, Mercer students break the mold by having jam-packed summer schedules. From internships to studying abroad, Mercer students are sure to be active this summer.
Allison Harrison, a junior who is triple majoring in economics, business and spanish, plans to spend her summer in Augusta doing a tax internship at an accounting firm called Cherry Bekaert.
Harrison found out about the internship opportunity from her father who works with someone who worked at the accounting firm. After sending in her resumé, Harrison scheduled an interview with the firm over Christmas break and landed the internship.
Harrison is excited about her internship. “It is going to definitely get me experience and help me figure out if I like this field of work and kind of give me a little hands on experience. I’m excited about that, but also I’m just keeping my options open and seeing what is out there for the future,” she said.
Freshman and Mercer University Stamps scholar Min Hyun Oh plans on traveling overseas to Denmark this summer for an education practicum.
During her time in Denmark, Oh will learn more about global education. “I’m very excited and I’m looking forward to the education practicum. I’ll be learning about global education, which is related to what I want to do in the future.”
The aspiring teacher believes in using summer vacation to uncover one’s passions. “For people who know what they want to study and major in, they should try to find programs related to their major, but for people who haven’t decided what they want to do yet they should try being mentors for kids or for someplace that interests them.”
While Harrison and Oh will spend most of their summer vacations indoors, sophomore Caroline Cooper decided to brave the wilderness at Glisson Camp and Retreat Center as a camp counselor.
Cooper will abandon household amenities such as a microwave while she cooks her meals over campfires for three weeks.
During a typical camp day the staff and campers go to chapel twice. Campers can also participate in outdoor activities such as kayaking and climbing or arts and crafts.
Fortunately, for the last six weeks of Cooper’s stay at the camp, she will be in a village where she will live in a cabin. “I’ll have campers who are seven or are going into college, so 18 or so,” Cooper said.
Cooper looks forward to meeting the staff at the camp. She said, “I’m so excited to know all of the new staff members…I’m just excited to meet the new people that are coming in.”
Junior Erin Brett will be soaking up the sun in Daytona at Campus Outreach’s Beach Project this summer.
“It’s an eight week program in Daytona Beach where 150 college students from Campus Outreach go and work during the day and during the night they have training sessions. [Participants] learn how to study the Bible and share their faith how to pray,” said Brett about the intense, Gospel-driven program.
At Beach Project, students juggle a full-time day job and attend daily worship. Brett wants to take full advantage of the Project’s opportunities. “We only have so many summers and I was told that Beach Project is like a green house and you are given some time to grow spiritually and emotionally,” Brett said.
Senior Chase Williams plans, with 18 other Mercer students, to travel halfway across the globe to Thailand this summer to teach English for a year.
The political science major believes that this teaching opportunity will help him discover his passion. “It’s kind of tying into what I want to do when I come back and go to grad school. I want to work in international development, so I think teaching English is kind of the base of international development,” said Williams.
He does have some apprehensions about moving far away. “I’m kind of nervous about being away from my family and everybody that I know, but I’ve already established new relationships,” said Williams.
(03/27/13 2:11pm)
The Mercer Student Government Association (SGA) is launching a new SGA mobile application, or app, in hopes of bringing all Mercer information within students’ fingertips.
SGA President Mollie Davis said the app would be “A one-stop shop for all Mercer information,” which gives students’ access to Blackboard, a student and faculty directory, a campus map, information about food services on campus, weather alerts, news, and social media.
“Something cool about the app is that it’s custom. Whatever we want to be on the app will be on the app,” said Davis.
Similar to Facebook notifications, students can set up the app to notify them of events occurring on campus “but hopefully in a less annoying manner [than Facebook],” said Davis.
Before moving forward on the app, the SGA wants to hear feedback. “Basically anything that a student could want, at some point we are going to ask for feedback, can be integrated on the app,” said SGA vice president Joshua Lovett.
The project started on Jan. 30 when Dean Pierson attended a SGA Senate meeting and asked students if they would be interested in testing a Mercer app.
Sophomore Class President Melina Hettiaratchi was one of the three people who volunteered to be placed on a team to test the app and give feedback.
Over a phone conference, app creator and CEO of Dub Labs, Tim Dugan, gave the SGA team a virtual tour of the app from his office in Washington D.C., where he showed them how certain features worked.
Impressed by the app’s efficiency, the SGA group presented it to the SGA committee who endorsed the project.
The app’s finances include, “the one time integration fee and a yearly upkeep,” said Hettiaratchi.
Hettiarchi believes the app’s benefits outweigh its costs since the Dub Labs alleviating some of the pressure from Mercer’s I.T. department, “They [I.T.] doesn’t have the man power or the money do what the people in D.C. would be doing for us.”
At least six different Mercer programs would benefit from the app, which is why Hettiarachi believes that by dividing the cost the app will be more affordable, “If we had all those different programs weigh in… it’s actually not that expensive.”
With the influx of newcomers arriving on Mercer’s campus for the upcoming football season, the app will help become more of a necessity, “With tailgating coming you have all these community members, alumni and trustees coming, you need to have an accessible way for people to be on campus,” said Hettiaratchi
SGA now wants to hear the student body’s opinions. According to Hettiarachi “If they [students] have suggestions we would love to hear them. That’s the biggest thing- suggestions and feedback.”
(03/27/13 2:08pm)
Judging from the budding cherry blossoms and rising temperatures, it’s time to exchange thick, winter coats for new spring fashions. This season’s trends on the women’s runways feature strong black and white prints. In men’s fashion, styles range from striped collared t-shirts to blue cobalt suits.
Designers Alexander Wang, Jason Wu and Marc Jacobs broke out of the mold by having their models sport black and white prints down the runway. This look is chic and affordable and can be worn year-round.
Fortunately, for fashionistas who are die-hard pastel fans, it’s okay to hold to your favorite pair of mint green skinny jeans or floral dresses, because these colors and patterns are still in style.
However, designers have updated the look by choosing to have pastel colors on floaty chiffon dresses or tops that create a strong feminine look, and the floral pieces that walked across the runway were more edgy and modern.
One style consistently seen on the men’s runways was color-blocked striped t-shirts, which is good news for guys. Stripes help give the allusion that the man’s frame is broader, making it appear that he’s been hitting up the gym.
Men who want to make a strong statement at any event should seriously consider purchasing a navy blue suit. Suits ranging from almost any shade in the blue family walked across the runways, making it one of the season’s hot trends.
Designer’s encapsulated the fresh, breezy spring season by having sporty dresses with A-line skirts and shoulder show-casing bodices in their collections. These dresses move with a unique fluidity, making them both elegant and girly. Pairing this dress with flats or low heels with a pointed toe is definitely on trend too.
Another trend occurring on the male runways is the beach colors trend, which looks like pastel colors except the trend consists of more faded and worn hues.
Designers featured some of the boldest hues washed and worn-down using for this trend.
Neon was another favorite color hue, which brightened up the runways. Thankfully this trend isn’t a throwback from the 1980s, because designers give the look a futuristic edge with accessories.
A must-have for this season is a nice denim jacket. It’s important to make sure the jacket fits well if you want to achieve a well-polished look. Denim jackets are an essential fashion piece that almost goes with any outfit, so feel free to dress it up with a tie or dress it down with a worn down t-shirt.
Lace dresses of every bright hue make a bold statement for this spring. Lace is classy and sophisticated but also sexy. Another trend shown on dresses are cutout, which leaves the choice up to the customer on exactly how much skin they want to show.
Although these fashion trends are more daring, it will definitely turn some heads and make a strong fashion statement for this season. Don’t be afraid to wear something a little more edgy, but remember that being comfortable and confident never goes out of style.
(03/27/13 1:51pm)
This March, there was a palpable sense of excitement as over 300,000 Yoshino Cherry trees began blooming in Macon, welcoming the 31st annual Cherry Blossom Festival on March 15-24.
The festival honors realtor William A. Fickling Sr., whose deep passion for horticulture and fondness for Yoshino cherry blossoms brought about the Cherry Blossom Festival.
Enthralled by the cherry blossom’s beauty, he decided to donate cherry blossom trees and have Carolyn Crayton plant the trees around the Macon area.
Crayton launched the Cherry Blossom Festival in 1982 “to celebrate the beauty of the trees and to honor Fickling for all he had so generously contributed to the town,” according to the festival’s website, www.cherryblossom.com.
Macon resident Martha Ann Altman has volunteered at the Cherry Blossom Festival for 30 years.
“I was there when Carolyn Crayton announced she was going to have a Cherry Blossom Festival to honor Mr. Fickling. My best friend and I looked at one another and laughed [saying] ‘he gonna’ come to Macon. We just never really thought it would be what it is,” said Altman.
The rides and events at the festival have made significant changes since 30 years ago.
“The rides have evolved, and Linda Maddox is director of the park and has worked through the years to get it to this point. It’s grown. When we first started being at the park there was just a tour group and a table selling t-shirts,” said Altman.
The festival has expanded from selling t-shirts to now having rides, concerts, shows and even petting zoos featuring exotic animals.
The festival also has daily events filled with entertaining competitions. For example, on various days throughout the festival, there were Bengal tiger shows, presented by the Farm Bureau.
“The excitement, education and fun and safe factors of this show cannot be overstated. The cats are treated with respect and care and are not harmed in any manner,” as it says on the Cherry Blossom website.
There are also numerous riding tours, which show pedestrians the beauty of Macon.
Altman volunteers as a tour bus guide and loves showing tourists the beauty of Macon.
“My favorite thing has always been to be a tour guide and have people on my raving about how beautiful is,” said Altman.
On the last night of the festival, a Grand Finale Fireworks Showcase took place at dusk with children’s activities, food concessions and live entertainment from Louise Warren and Gringo Grande.
Stands with vendors selling items including arts and crafts, jewelry, carpentry, clothes and even floral arrangements give the Cherry Blossom Festival Headquarters an electric atmosphere.
First-time attender and craft vendor Cindy James enjoyed the southern hospitality.
“This is my first time being here, and it’s been very good. People are southern!” said James.
The festival attracts vendors from all over the country. Face paint artist Sandra Wolf from Kansas City, Mo. knows why the festival is great for vendors.
“The southern hospitality is just amazing here. I have never worked in any festival where the vendors were treated like VIPs. There is really a good spirit here,” said Wolf.
Even for first-time attendees, like James and Wolf, it is easy to see the festival’s impact extends into the Macon community.
“It’s really a chance for the whole community to come together and to accomplish some goals for the community, but also [the community’s] fellowship together and just having fun. It’s a celebration. It’s not about money, it’s about people,” said Wolf.
(03/06/13 5:16pm)
Baseball coach Craig Gibson, who has coached at Mercer for 10 years sat down, with The Cluster to talk about the baseball team’s recent success and the importance of team chemistry. Six crucial seniors will graduate from the team this year.
Cluster: What is a typical day for an NCAA Division I baseball Coach?
Gibson: A typical day during the season starts at 9:00. We just get in and we try to get ready for practice and get ready for the next game and scouting reports. We will have some academic meetings during the week with our guys just to make sure we are going over class attendance and overall everyday activities.
C: What’s your favorite and least part of being a baseball coach?
G: My favorite part is just the interaction with the student athletes. Just getting to know these guys and watching them develop, watching them mature, and just being able to be around them everyday. [My least favorite part] is losing. Losing is a lot tougher than winning. A win goes away pretty good but a loss sort of stays with you longer. It’s not a bad profession but a lot of hours and a lot of time. There is a lot of fulfillment and joy with it too.
C: How do you motivate your players?
G: The guys sort of understand we expect a certain level of success. I think tradition helps. We’ve had success and some guys have certainly helped us when I first got here and we’ve built on that. We are trying to build some talented guys on the field and in the classroom.
C: How is the season shaping out so far?
G: Season is off to a good start we are eight and one right now. We opened down in Sarasota, Fla. and we’ve had games against Ohio State, St. John, and Notre Dame. This is a mature team so we’ve had some of these guys for 5-years and some talented newcomers, but we are off to a good start and we hope to keep playing well and finish on a high note.
C: How do you build the team chemistry on the field?
G: Our seniors have done a great job with that we have six great seniors and this is a great team. They are fun to be around with everyday. We have 32 talented and just really great guys. Chemistry is always an issue when you bring in new people, but I think our seniors sort of pave the way and have just created a great team chemistry this year.
C: What is it going to be like once those seniors graduate? Who is going to fill in those shoes?
G: Our short stop has been with us four-years. He is a special player and person- Evan Boyd. We have a fifth-year senior, David Randall, pitching for us and is one of the best pitchers. David Teasley has been a very good player for us. We’ve added some junior college guys with us. We’ve got Logan Gaines and David Foley, so I think we have some talented juniors who will fulfill those roles. Michael Massi has certainly taken a leadership role. I think Brandon Barker is going to be a guy that leads for us and Chesny Young also has the ability to do that. So I think we have great pieces and they have learned from really good seniors.
(03/06/13 5:12pm)
Mercer’s Big Man on Campus contestants flaunted their skills for the pageant-themed fundraiser hosted by the Panhellenic Council last Tuesday, March 26.
Each of the four sororities coached two contestants who participated in a four-portion competition, which portions included question & answer, formal wear, talent, and American wear.
Panhellenic president Emily Minch said that the proceeds go to charity. “I think that this is our fourth annual Big Man on Campus and it’s for Panhellenic philanthropy which is the Crisis Line and Safe House.”
All of the eight contestants competed for the first place prize of the $100 American Express gift card.
The competition opened with a dance number to the Justin Bieber song, “If I was Your Girlfriend.” This allowed the contestants to show off their dance moves.
The next portion of the competition was a question and answer section. The contestants were asked a range of serious to bizarre questions. One of the questions asked to Alpha Delta Pi’s representative Will Rutland was, “If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?” which Rutland answered, “If I was a fruit I would be an orange because I’m hard to get to but once you do I’m sweet.”
Next was formal wear, which elicited many shouts from the audience, as contestants walked across stage in suits varying in shades and styles.
Some of the contestant’s outfits were creative, such as Phi-Mu’s candidate Thorton Brewer who decided to wear a toga with cowboy boots.
During the talent portion of the competition, Chi-Omega’s representative Alfonso Sciacchitano serenaded the audience with the song “Slide” by the Goo-Goo Dolls. Alpha Gamma Delta’s representatives Clay Mot and Charlie Hunter created their own lyrics to popular songs.
Phi-Mu’s candidate Mitchell Thompson entered the stage wearing a black and green unitard and sang the Spice Girl’s song, “Wannabe,” which was almost as uncomfortable sitting through as imagining oneself breathing in Thompson’s constraining elastic unitard.
Candidates Dustin Manders and Brett Eckles performed catchy dance moves. Manders added a rap into his performance.
Thorton Brewer signed “I’m Proud to be an American,” which he dedicated to his sister who struggled with a speech disorder.
Contestant Will Rutland stood out from the pack by choosing not to have the music come out from a stereo, but instead from his mouth. Rutland’s beat-boxing performance surprised the judges.
The final portion of the night was American spirit wear. The contestants’ outfits were decked out in red, white and blue.
Contestant Mitchell Thompson took the American spirit wear portion to a different level when he entered on the stage as a Native American dancing to the Disney Princess song from the Pocahontas movie, “Colors of the Wind.”
Thompson explained the rationale behind the outfit, “This was an American wear event and Native Americans really inhabited this country in the beginning, so Native Americans are as American as it gets.”
After the last event the judges tallied the scores. The anticipation of who would win Big Man on Campus 2013 was almost palpable as the candidates lined the stage waiting to hear the results.
The show’s host and last year’s Big Man on Campus Winner, Noah Maier, announced the results from the competition. Alpha Delta Pi’s representative, Dustin Manders, placed in third and won a $25 dollar gift card. Alfonso Sciacchitano placed in second and won a $50 dollar gift card.
Finally, Maier would announce the winner of Big Man on Campus, “And the winner of first place and the $100 American Express gift card is Will Rutland.” The audience and constants clapped for the winner.
Rutland believes that his beat-boxing talent helped him win the competition, “I definitely think that is what carried me through because it’s unique and no one else has heard it before, so I kind of stood out in the judges eyes.” He plans to use the $100 gift card on fishing gear.
Despite its humiliating moments Brewer agreed that Big Man on Campus was fun, saying, “It was so much fun. It was probably the most fun I’ll never want to have again.”
(03/06/13 5:10pm)
The invention of smart phones and the apps to go along with them seem to have made our lives easier. Apps organize our lives and remind us of important meetings. They help us get in shape and shop for the perfect new outfit. Whether fun, healthy or informative, three apps in particular are useful to college students.
WANELO (a combination of the words want, need and love) is very similar to Pinterest, except for the fact that you can purchase the items you find on the site. Their app is great for shopping on the go.
If you click on a product you like, the site instantly takes you to where you can purchase the item.
This handy app provides an endless stream of products that are posted by regular people. Users can follow stores, people and collections, and can save a product on their profile.
Sometimes it’s just fun to browse the website and find out the latest fashion trends or get a realistic idea about how much everything would cost.
However, there should be a warning label on this app if you have cash and some spare time because WANELO makes you want buy everything.
For anyone who wants to get fit for the beach this summer, you should seriously consider downloading the My Fitness Pal app. This app helps monitor eating and exercising patterns for users hoping to lose weight.
After plugging in your current weight, height and the amount of weight you want to lose each week, the app generates the total amount of calories you can eat each day.
Each day you can enter a food item into the food diary on the app. Creating a diary helps you become accountable to whatever food you are eating. The searchable food database on the app has over two million items, so users can even find out the calorie content of their favorite restaurant dishes.
After you enter food items into the food diary, the app subtracts this from the your daily calorie allotment. If you participate in any physical activity, you can enter that into the diary as well, and the app will recalculate the calorie allotment for that day.
The fitness app also offers a daily and weekly calorie break down, which helps you recognize the amount of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, protein and vitamins you are receiving daily.
It’s also helpful that the app has a report, which tracks your weekly progress. This helps motivate users to keep working to lose weight.
Lastly, the Flipboard app is perfect for news junkies or anyone who wants to have news information right at their fingertips.
This app allows you to converge news and social networking sites, so you essentially create your own personal magazine.
News articles are broken up into the following sub categories: News, Technology, Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard picks, Design, Sports, Style and Travel.
The Content Guide on the app helps readers connect to social networks and other services such as Google Reader, SoundCloud and YouTube. The Content Guide also helps find the best sources curated from around the web.
Passing along content that you find interesting is very simple because the social tools are built into the app.
Try downloading these apps to see if they are useful to you. Don’t be shocked if your fingertips become glued to your screen because they are addictive.
(02/20/13 3:32pm)
With an infectious smile and a packed schedule, softball player McKenzie Woody faces her busy day with the same stoic confidence that her sport demands.
Known as “the feisty one,” due to her strong athletic ability and petite stature, Woody’s 5-foot-3-inch frame can be seen hustling from practice, work, and class.
Woody’s busiest day of the week is Monday. She wakes up at 9:30 a.m. and grabs a snack before changing in the locker room for a weightlifting workout.
The team weightlifts from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then the early childhood education major goes to her education class from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
After class, Woody eats lunch with her teammates in the cafeteria since she doesn’t follow a specific diet and typically chooses to eat pasta, a salad, and some bread.
The senior athlete finishes up her meal and then goes to her second education class, which lasts from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Then Woody will either return to her room for a quick break or go to the training center for injury treatment, “As a softball player [you are] getting beat up all the time and running all the time your legs get sore, so even getting into the cold tank after practice is a nice break,” said Woody.
After a quick break, the feisty softball player is once again in class from 3 p.m. until 5:25 p.m. for her math and science research class, which is one of the requirements for her major.
Running from her last class, the athlete goes to softball practice and grabs a snack on the way. After practice, which gets done at 7 p.m., the team will go to the locker room and then to cafeteria for dinner.
Later on, Woody prepares school lessons, which she describes as a “tedious” task. Sometimes Woody unwinds by watching some TV which she says is her, “break from life.”
The lights are turned off by 10:30 p.m. for the worn-out softball player, “I go to sleep so early since softball has started, so by 10:30 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. I am passed out asleep,” Woody said.
The next day Woody will get up at 7:45 a.m. to go help teach at a local school as apart of an education major’s fieldwork experience.
Although the athlete didn’t envision herself teaching, she enjoyed helping out her sisters who were teachers. “Helping with their classes when I was in school or over Christmas break, I loved the kids and I’ve always been around kids,” Woody said.
Even though Woody admits that life never really slows down, she attempts to maintain a positive outlook. “Our coaches are so positive with us and my teammates get along, so it makes everything better because we can hang out as a team and also hang out as friends. Talking to my parents and everyone coming out to support games and me [also helps]. That’s how I was raised, so that’s how I try to keep it positive.”
(02/20/13 3:24pm)
As Sara Cuevas walked by herself back to her apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she noticed someone was following her. The man pulled on Cuevas’ hoodie, causing her to fall on the sidewalk, and asked for money.
Cuevas, a college freshman at the time, somehow escaped the dangerous situation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time she had been mugged in Argentina.
Cuevas’ parents were concerned for their daughter’s safety, so she moved back home to Bolivia and completed her sophomore year.
After her sophomore year, Cuevas, who has a passion for traveling, decided that she wanted to study abroad in the United States.
As a junior, Cuevas, applied for a scholarship program through the United States Embassy, which gave her a list of schools where the scholarship applies.
After being accepted by Mercer University, Cuevas and her younger brother decided to attend Mercer in the fall.
Before starting school at Mercer, Cuevas went to the English Language institute in Atlanta to practice English for two months. Prior to attending the institute, Cuevas studied English in Argentina for 12 years.
When Cuevas first stepped foot on Mercer’s campus as a journalism major in the fall of 2011 she noticed some major differences. “First of all you don’t live on campus [in Argentina]. That doesn’t exist. Also, schools in South America are more liberal,” Cuevas said. “If you don’t go to class it’s not a problem like here where teachers are worried about you coming to class.”
The international student’s biggest culture shock was the food. Growing up in South America, Cuevas was accustomed to having rice with every meal and having dinner much later in the evening. “Usually, where I am from dinner is around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. Me and my brother were not used to eating every three hours, so we would be like ‘I’m not hungry I don’t want to eat dinner at 5:00 p.m.,’” Cuevas said.
Although assimilating was difficult, Cuevas said that having a bachelor’s degree from the United States increases her opportunities back in Bolivia. “If I have a bachelor’s degree from the states, I can come back [to South America] and work where ever I want,” said Cuevas.
In Bolivia and Argentina Cuevas studied social communications, which is similar to journalism, but is somewhat broader. “In social communications you have journalism, P.R. and marketing. It’s just a big thing, and once you graduate from that you go to graduate school and focus on one thing,” Cuevas said.
Although the 22-year-old is technically a senior, she decided to major in political science as well. She plans on studying at Mercer for one more year. Fortunately, her scholarship covers her tuition.
The aspiring journalist said that her family gives mer moral support and is a huge part of her life. “When you talk about family in South America you aren’t just talking about your mom, dad, brothers or sisters,” said Cuevas. “You are talking about all your aunts, all of your uncles and your cousins. I come from a huge family.”
After Cuevas graduates, she plans on using her journalistic skills in Bolivia. “I could work at a news agency, news station, print, magazine,” Cuevas said.
Although Cuevas admits that the music school’s loud bell tower and the food at the cafeteria get on her nerves, nothing replaces the friendships she has made at Mercer. She said, “all of the friendships I made here and teachers [I have met] are my favorite part about Mercer.”
(01/23/13 4:29pm)
The mantra, “Two is better than one,” is something the Mohanty twins believe to be true. Fraternal twins Arnav and Arsav Mohanty play on Mercer University’s Division I Men’s Tennis Team. Every day the brothers eat, sleep, and practice together with dreams of one day playing professional tennis.
As young kids, their father introduced them to playing tennis. “Our dad introduced us to the sport when we were younger and we just kept playing it. We played other sports like soccer, but we stuck with tennis because we learned it better and were good at it,” says Arnav. The twins were born in Plainfield, NJ., on August 29, 1994. Their family currently resides in Sarasota, Fla.
As the twins grew older, they took their talent more seriously and became students of Florida Virtual School so they could devote time to traveling for tennis.
Their hard work paid off at an international match where Mercer’s head coach Warren Woolfolk approached the brothers about playing for Mercer. Although they both confess that they had never heard of Mercer before, they took up the offer.
This past fall the duo entered Mercer as business majors, and they admit balancing school and tennis is tricky, “It’s been difficult, but you get used to it. You just have to know how to manage your time ” reflects Arsav.
The twins’ secrets to success are a strong support system and some competition. “You always have someone to practice with or correct you when you do something wrong. He’s like another coach,” said Arnav. The twins admit that they are competitive “to the point where push one another,” adds Arnav.
Having your brother as a double partner proves to be an advantage on the court, “since we know each other’s game so well, it’s easy to play doubles together, and it’s easier to work on stuff without having a clash of egos,” says Arsav with a smug smile. “That is some good vocabulary there,” jokes Arnav.
Since the Mohanty twins spend so much time together, it seems difficult to imagine what life at Mercer would be like without the other half. “We would have to play doubles separately, and it would be harder because we kind of have the same schedules so we always have someone to talk to,” says Arsav.
With months of practice under their belts and words of encouragment from their coach, Arnav and Arsav have no fears about their first opening match against Auburn, “We played a really big tournament where we saw some top players play, and we believe that we can beat them,” says Arnav.
Although the brothers take tennis seriously, they also enjoy having fun. Arsav claims that he is the prankster of the pair and “just tries to confuse some people,” into thinking he is Arnav. In fact, even the brothers’ coaches experience confusion in telling them apart.
Despite some speculations that suppose having a twin on campus would be annoying, the twins disagree. Arnav sums up his thoughts, “I love Mercer…the experiences I’ve had here have been great. I think it’s a good school and I think the people here are very nice. We just try to surround ourselves with people who encourage us to do well.”
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
According to Online Colleges News, nearly 2,000 students die from alcohol-related injuries each year, which is one death for every two colleges in America. To raise awareness on the effects of alcohol and these statistics, the Sexual assault, Hazing, and Alcohol Prevention Education program, or SHAPE, paired up with Quadworks, and hosted Octsoberfest on Oct. 23. At the festival, students visited various booths and were tested on their knowledge about the effects of alcohol and experienced how drinking affects their motor abilities.
Before students could visit a booth, they queued in a line and received an Octsoberfest card. By participating in three out of the five activities, they earned three stamps on their card. With their three stamps, students earned a pretzel and refreshment. Activities at the festival ranged from a game of “drunk” basketball to trivia questions relating to alcohol awareness.
QuadWorks member, Abbey Sellers, said, “We try to make the activities fun but also remember to promote awareness at the same time. The facts used for the trivia games are prevalent. A lot of times people think that it won’t happen to them.”
One of the most popular activities at the fest included students playing a game of “drunk basketball.” For this activity, students put beer goggles on, which gave the participants a realistic perspective of how alcohol affects their eyesight. After dribbling to orange cones, the participant aimed the basketball into a trash can. However, this difficult feat proved to be almost impossible with the beer goggles on.
Another activity that was hosted at the event was the mock DUI test. For this activity, students placed the beer goggles over their eyes and made a 180-degree turn. Then, they proceeded to walk nine steps in a straight line.
Some students felt nauseous even putting the beer goggles on. “Oh gosh, I’m going to throw up,” said freshman Madeleine DuRant, as she placed the beer goggles over her eyes before attempting to take her nine steps. DuRant “definitely didn’t walk in a straight line,” according to Ellyn Couillard, a Student Support Services Counselor, who supervised the mock DUI test booth.
“I think it’s a great experiment for students to the repercussions of alcohol and see how it affects their abilities,” said Couillard, who wore a German-inspired outfit in the spirit of the fest.
Although the hosted activities were light-hearted, a crushed truck parked on the street next to Porter Patch served as a symbolic reminder of the serious effects of drunk driving. The driver of the truck lost his life because of drunk driving. “The car serves as a reminder for students about the importance of drinking safely,” said Director of Student Affairs Cindy Drury.
Towards the end of the event, Emily Bless, a student working the Dummy and Smarties booth, summed up her opinion of the event, “I think this event is informative and a fun way to learn more about hazing and alcohol consumption.”
(11/07/12 11:00pm)
Ed Sheeran, a 21-year-old British artist, melted many hearts with his debut song “The A Team,” which is now sold in the U.S. on his new album entitled “+.” Recently, the Brit recorded a duet called “Everything Has Changed” on Taylor Swift’s new album “Red” and is scheduled as Swift’s opening act for her next tour. With an intense passion for music that rivals the fiery hue of his red hair, Sheeran’s music is a concoction of John Mayer’s mellowness and Jason Mraz’s acoustic talent. His songs appeal to a younger demographic and speak about relationships, break-ups, drugs and pregnancy.
The first song on the album is entitled “The A Team,” which is based on a girl named Angel who Sheeran met at a homeless shelter while volunteering. On the surface, the song sounds like catchy, whimsical lullaby, but the lyrics tell a heart-wrenching story about a girl who suffers with an addiction to crack.
The song “U.N.I.” needs only two instruments: a guitar and Sheeran’s voice. The rap-style delivery of the lyrics accompanied with the guitar makes the song sound like hip-hop with a touch of softness. “U.N.I.” also follows along with the theme of heartbreak as Sheeran pours out his feelings of frustration with a girl whose life is pulling her in a different direction.
Once again, Sheeran shows his knack for stringing lyrics together to tell a beautiful story in the song “Small Bump.” The rawness and simplicity of Sheeran’s voice coupled with the guitar heightens the emotional message. In the song, Sheeran talks about an unborn baby and emphasizes the beauty of human life. However, the last line reveals how quickly human life can end: “You were just a small bump, unborn / for four months then torn from life. / Maybe you were needed up there / but we’re still unaware as why.”
The songs “This” and “The City” may leave the listener feeling underwhelmed. Although the song “The City” is a brave venture into hip-hop, it doesn’t follow the flow of Sheeran’s soft melodies. The song “This” has a nice minute-long guitar introduction, but it fails to leave a lasting impression.
Sheeran makes up for the previous tracks with the next few songs: “Lego House” and “Kiss Me.” In the song “Lego House,” Sheeran effectively uses hip-hop influences to create a catchy song that also stays true to his style. The song is about his old manager who tried to mold the artist into a pop star. However, some interpret the lyrics as Sheeran venting and stirring controversy.
Last but certainly not least is “Give Me Love.” The song has an African tribal influence accompanied by the elegance of a violin. Towards the end of the song, the listener feels that behind the beauty is someone who is earnestly seeking for love.
Overall, Sheeran’s album is a provoking piece of musical work. The album “+” is truly focused on the music and the songs are more focused on telling a story.
(10/24/12 9:01pm)
On Oct. 16 Mercer’s Panhellenic Council hosted the High Heel Race, its first philanthropic event of the semester. Non-Greek and Greek male participants paid $5 to $10 and raced up the street near Porter Patch wearing high heels. The first person to cross the finish line won a $30 gift card to Margaritas. The Panhellenic Council also hosted a raffle drawing that gave away prizes donated from Macon’s local businesses. The council raised $130, which they donated to Crisis Line and Safe House, a Macon shelter for battered women.
Mercer students lined the street as three young men wearing white tube stocks with glittery high heels lined up for the race. “I am excited about this. It should be funny,” said Panhellenic’s Director of Programming, Suzannah Griffin. Before the race, Panhellenic Advisor, Cindy Drury, gathered and warned the participants about the uneven concrete. Student spectators unanimously agreed that the race could potentially be dangerous. “I think a few people will fall,” said Junior Daniel Dupree. However, the Panhellenic council took necessary precautions to insure everyone’s safety, “Luckily, we have an EMT with a radio…just as a precaution,” said Drury.
After the count down from the crowd, a pair of black stilettos, sparkly strapped-heels, and wedges hobbled towards the finish line. The winner, Philip Flynn, donned a pair of wedges. “I just wanted to raise money for Panhellenic’s philanthropy and help out, ” said Flynn. “I thought I was going to eat it,” commented Flynn when he was asked if he was worried about falling. Flynn said he planned to use the gift card to take his girlfriend out on a date.
The Panhellenic Council, which oversees the four sororities in Mercer University, hosts two philanthropic events each semester. When Drury read recruitment brochures from other universities, she noticed other Panhellenic councils hosted women high heel race competitions for philanthropy. Instead of women racing, Drury thought having male participants race in heels would be more fun.
Although the Panhellenic council wanted the High Heel Race to be entertaining, giving back to the community took chief prominence, “One of the philosophies and goals of Panhellenic, as in most Greek chapters, is philanthropy…we wanted to set a good example to the four chapters that the council as a whole was supporting philanthropy not just the individual chapters,” said Drury. The money that is donated to the shelter gives impoverished women basic living necessities.
According to the National Panhellenic mission statement, the goal of the council is “to create unanimity of thought and action.”
Sarah Richardson, director of Scholarship and Delegate for Alpha Delta Pi, shared in an interview that hosting the event allowed her to bond with girls from other sororities. “You get to know a lot of people and just see more of Mercer’s campus, which allows you to get out of a bubble,” said Richardson.
Although the number of participants for the race was limited, the council hopes to continue the High Heel Race as a Panhellenic Mercer tradition. “I’m hoping this is something we can continue for the next several years and hopefully will get bigger and bigger,” said Richardson.
(10/24/12 9:00pm)
Volleyball player, dual math and psychology major Lizzie Knapper contributes much to her team’s advancement. Knapper ardently supports her teammates by attending every volleyball practice and tournament while also staying connected to the school community. Mercer students usually spot Knapper attending Reformed University Fellowship service or teaching a Pre-calculus SI class to freshman. Although balancing schoolwork, church, a social life, and volleyball resembles walking a tightrope, Knapper demonstrates the expertise of a trapeze artist.
On Thursday, Knapper’s busiest day of the week, she wakes up around 7 a.m. and quickly snatches a yogurt before heading off to her 8 a.m. 400 level math class, Real Analysis. “It’s really challenging and a lot harder than last year’s classes,” commented Knapper. After her Real Analysis class, she runs to History 110, which starts at 9:25 a.m. Then, at 10:50 a.m., Knapper studies Behavioral Statistics, a psychology course she takes to fulfill her major requirements. Commenting on her 12:15 p.m. Criminal Justice class, Knapper explains, “I am mainly taking that course for extra hours.”
After Knapper finishes her classes for the day, she grabs a quick bite to eat at 1:40 p.m. After eating lunch, the studious volleyball player finds a quiet place to study and does her homework from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Knapper then changes in the locker room for her 3:30 p.m. practice. Volleyball practice generally lasts from 3:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Before some practices, the team meets at 3:00 p.m. in the team room to watch films and critique their performance. During practice, the new volleyball coach, Damian Elder, demands the best from his athletes. “He wants us to be a new Mercer,” says Knapper, “He wants us to play with a new momentum or what he calls ‘mojo,’ but he has been pushing us to do our best.” Once practice is over, Knapper orders a chicken sandwich at the University Center’s Chick-Fil-A. On rare occasions, she ventures into the Caf for dinner.
Hurriedly, Knapper takes a shower and briskly walks to her 8:00 p.m. SI Pre-calculus class. “SI is a tutoring session,” explains Knapper. By 9:10 p.m., the SI tutoring session ends and Knapper darts over to Tarver Library to finish some last minute homework. At 12:00 a.m., the worn-out volleyball player finally falls into bed.
In her interview, Knapper expressed how she likes to extend her circle of friends outside of the volleyball team. “A lot of my friends are on my team, but I also go to RUF, so I also have friends from there,” explains Knapper. “It’s tough at times, though, because we have weekends [when] we are here [on the Mercer campus] and we can do stuff and have fun, but a lot of times I am on the road so I don’t have time, so our team kinda really becomes like a family…it’s really nice.”
Realistically, Knapper humbly accepts her role as a team motivator: “One of the best things about being on the team is that I am not the star player and I sit on the bench a lot, but it’s good to just be a teammate to the other girls and push them in practice…I just enjoy being part of the team,” acknowledged the right-side hitter.
With her hopeful attitude, Knapper provides a refreshing perspective in a cut-throat NCAA Division I sport, “If my identity were in volleyball it would be really hard for me because I am not the best on the team… it’s easy to lose who you are, but I know my identity is in Christ and that helps me to realize that I need to be humble on the court and it just makes me a better teammate.”
(10/10/12 4:01pm)
Veteran cross country coach, Ryan Bailey, has led the Mercer Bears to a successful season this fall. The team placed third in the University of Georgia and University of Auburn races. They were also invited to compete in the coveted “Gold Race,” which included some of the top cross country programs in the nation.
Coach Bailey has over 30 years of experience in competitive running and 15 years of experience in coaching. He is devoted to his work and has his coaching strategy down to a science.
Coach Bailey sat down with the Cluster and shared some insight on coaching a NCAA Division I program.
Cluster: Do you feel proud of the runner’s performances this season?
Bailey: Yes, it’s a really tough sport that not many people understand. It takes a specific type of person to be good. Lots of people can go out there and run… but to run a 5K or 10k fast is an entirely different proposition. When you talk about 17 minutes and 52 seconds of running in cross country, you’re talking about 17 minutes and 52 seconds of pain. Not everybody is willing to do that.
C: How is motivating a cross country runner different from motivating another type of athlete?
B: I think there are some major differences. For instance, something like football is a very emotional sport… and a lot of times they (football athletes) can perform well because of the rush of adrenaline… In cross country it is completely the opposite. If you get too excited at the beginning of the race, you will ruin your race. Motivating a distance runner is kind of a quiet thing… You have to have the right mindset and you have to be internally motivated.
C: How would you describe your coaching style?
B: I would have to say that I am analytical…I put a tremendous amount of time and energy into learning the sport. As a coach, I have to try my best to take these 24 individuals and get them all to peak on the same day or week. I have to do this without allowing any serious injuries to accumulate. I try to help them to become more efficient (in running) and we do more drills and strength training during the off-season than during the season. I keep a record of every single workout my athletes do since 2005, and I analyze every workout that they do to determine their fitness level.
C: How do you make sure your runners keep low times?
B: You have to use the correct progression of workouts in order to keep them (the cross country team) getting faster constantly through out the season, when we begin to run at a longer and slower pace compared to the end of the season, where we (the cross country team) will be running much faster in order to reach that peak at the right day and time.
C: How do you balance the competitive nature within the team?
B: That is a tough thing and a part of the art of coaching. The tendency for a lot of athletes is to begin competing with their teammates, so I do periodically remind them that the competitor is not on your team, it’s the other school’s athletes. You also don’t want to put out that fire because your teammate will make you a better athlete and hopefully vice versa.
C: Is there a difference between coaching boys and girls?
B: Motivation-wise it absolutely depends on the individual and the gender is irrelevant. Although I do see some differences, men largely tend to be more motivated to compete as a group. Some girls have a fear of competition…girls have more of a tendency to sort of get nervous about competing. There are guys who are also scared to compete too. I have to remind that kind of person we don’t train to train, but train to race.
C: What are your hopes for this season?
B: I believe that God gave everyone a certain ability to run, but everyone on my team has a specific ability to run, or a gift to run… My goal is that when we get to conference that everyone runs up to that gift. If they all do that, whatever the outcome is I am fine with it, but obviously I want to win. With the talent level we have on the team, if everybody ran their best race or to their gift we would see some fantastic results. It’s my job to get them to the point where they can do that.
(09/12/12 4:00pm)
On Sept. 5, at 9:53 a.m., Mercer soccer player, Lauren Gassie prepared for her Organic Chemistry test in the ARC, laying her organic chemistry book on the desk in front of her. Earlier that morning, Gassie’s roommate, Stephanie Giangiuli, left Gassie an encouraging note on top of her organic book that read, “If you believe in yourself you can do it. Good luck with your O-Chem test. I wish I could help.” For a second Gassie looked like a normal college student, but the starting sophomore player, who scored three goals, two game winning, this season, has one of the busiest schedules on campus. After sleeping from 3 to 8:30 a.m., she showered and headed to the ARC. “I’m a big studier,” admitted Gassie with a shy smile.
Later, Gassie ran from the ARC to her first class, which lasted from 11:00 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. Right after class, Gassie changed for soccer in the locker room. Then, she sat through another class from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. After her second class, Gassie went straight to organic class and took her chemistry test from 3:00 to 4:15 p.m. Upon finishing her test, Gassie immediately hurried to a film meeting at 4:15 p.m., where the coach critiqued the team’s game.
After the film meeting, Gassie practiced from 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. During practice Gassie set aside her worries about organic chemistry to focus on the task at hand. “You have to be constantly focused on what you’re doing at the time,” emphasized the soccer star. “My job right then is to perform on the field, so I need to get that done and out of the way.” Right after practice Gassie weight lifted from 7:00 p.m. to around 8:00 p.m. At 8:00 p.m., the worn out soccer player took a shower and crammed some dinner in before studying and doing homework. “I’ll go to the library and study until 2 a.m. in the morning…I guess that’s just how it’s flipped with athletes,” explained Gassie. “We do our studying during the night rather than the day because you kind of have to.”
This soccer player and time management expert called her team her support system. “I work with other athletes and we study because we basically have the same schedule…we basically try to get through it together,” said Gassie. Despite the sophomore’s hectic soccer schedule, she still supports her fellow athletes. “All the athletes hang out together so when we have games we’ll go out and support each other…we always go and support other teams because they are our friends on and off the field,” added Gassie.
It’s easy to imagine how someone with such a busy schedule would maybe have second thoughts about playing at Division 1 level; however Lauren Gassie proves to be an exception. When asked what she would decide if she had the choice of not committing to play soccer in her freshman year, Gassie simply replied, “No, I wouldn’t do it any other way.”