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(11/17/15 10:56pm)
As night began to settle over Mercer University Nov. 11, students brought forth beacons of light on Cruz Plaza. Candles cast a glow on the faces of concerned Mercer students who came to pay tribute to the unrest at the University of Missouri.
“Tonight needed to happen, because we need the unity of working together to decide we want change,” said Cameron Mobley, a member Mercer’s Organization of Black Students.
The uproar at Missouri is the result of a series of events that escalated last week to death threats made by Hunter Park, a student at a school in the University of Missouri system, according to Matt Pearce, a reporter with the Los Angeles Times
Park believed it was “funny” to rattle African American students by updating his Yik Yak with an “unintentional threat” of shooting and taking the lives of every black person he saw on campus, according to Pearce’s reporting.
The Mizza Candle Light Vigil was a collaborative event held and attended by concerned Mercer students interested in praying for the students of Missouri in hopes that their pain and fear will not last for long.
“We stand with our brothers and sisters in Missouri,” said Jackie Zvandasara, the president of the National Council of Negro Women.
People led the group in prayer along with Senior Elisha Scott, who preached to the circle of vigil members.
“This is what I do, because I have a passion for this. The Lord said it in his word, if you just be still,” Scott said when asked his feelings on the events transpiring at Missouri.
Scott’s answer is to pray and to wait for God’s answer on the next course of action they should take to seek change. In other words, Scott said that he believes God will help fix the problems of racism through time, which seemed to be the overwhelming response by the rest of the members attending the vigil that night.
As the night went on Shadaisa Wilcox sang a song titled “Don’t Do It Without Me” by Paul Morten, and as her voice lingered in the crowd, the members of the vigil came closer together in their own spiritual moment of community and solidarity.
“I just want everyone to understand we preach love, and just because we want to stand up does not mean we are looking for others to fall,” Jackie Zvandasara.
She said that while the circumstances at Mercer may not be the same as those in Missouri, there is room for progress. “We are not scared to leave our dorms, but we do feel that change still needs to meet our campus,” Zvandasara said.
The talk of change was heard all throughout the courtyard. The flames from the candles sputtered to smoke one by one. The members slowly headed home, but not without extending a hug and kind words to their neighbors.
“This is what I want, a difference of understanding that brings people together. I am going to push for student sensitivity traininng,” said NPHC President Caleb Brown,. “I know we all want things to be different.”
Editor's note: This draft was updated 11/18/2015 at 1 a.m.
(11/12/15 3:37am)
As time for elections swiftly comes our way, Americans rush to cast their votes in hopes of electing an official that will make a difference for the years to come.
The Bearly a Democracy symposium provided an avenue to address questions that troubled the student voting population at Mercer University, as well as providing them with three experienced speakers who led the audience through a series of engagement opportunities.
The symposium was sponsored by Campus Life and Leadership, Office of Service Learning, QuadWorks, College Hill Alliance, Mercer’s Quality Enhancement Plan and Phi Kappa Phi and was held on Nov. 3 from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. in the Presidential Dining Room in the University Center.
“The event was a huge success,” said Joey Wozniak, the symposium coordinator. “Over 110 students learned the hardships of elections, how to effectively tell their story and the pressing need for a change in how we view elections.”
Matt Tharp addressed the audience at the beginning of the evening. Tharp, a former finance director for a Missouri state senate campaign and current partner support lead at TurboVote, conducted an election simulation.
The simulation allowed audience members to engage with one another as well as the speaker.
Matt Lewis — Ph.D. candidate at Emory, former teaching fellow at Harvard University and part of the Moral Injury Project working with military veterans — took the stage after Tharp and began his public narrative workshop, “The Story of Self.”
In this workshop, Lewis guided the audience through a workbook that presented questions about their past and daily lives.
During the session, Lewis told his story about his struggles and passions, and then he told the audience to share their individual stories with one another in a brief engagement exercise.
Public narrative is about listening. [We] practice how we listen, then how we speak,” Lewis said.
[pullquote speaker="Matt Lewis, PhD candidate at Emory University" photo="" align="left" background="on" border="all" shadow="on"]You swim in your stable sallow for so long that you forget what is on the outside.[/pullquote]
After the audience talked for a while and shared their own public narratives, Lewis said, “What was hard about giving your public narrative to another person?”
“It was hard to give details,” said Elise Luettgen, a student at Mercer University who attended the meeting.
Afterwards, Lewis asked another question.
“What did you find interesting?” he said.
“It was interesting to see how people got interested in their passions,” and “realizing you are not alone” were answers the audience gave.
“You swim in your stable sallow for so long that you forget what is on the outside,” Lewis said.
As the night continued, Wozniak introduced speaker Sam Novey, founder of the TurboVote College partnerships program which is currently working with the Foundation for Civic Leadership.
Novey ended the night by encouraging everyone to cast their ballots, stressing the important difference young voters make in both national elections and local polls.
Wozniak added that young voters are especially important for posterity.
“When students neglect to vote, they are hurting all of those who come in the elections after them. By increasing all of our awareness of the issues in our democracy, we can go forth together to fix them for future generations,” he said.
(11/11/15 11:30pm)
The Grand Opera House will kick off its new season with early twentieth century flair. For years, the ornate venue has been a hub for audiences to experience unique entertainment, including Broadway musicals, comedy shows, and educational programs.
The Grand’s latest acquisition is the touring production of “Ragtime,” a musical based on the culture of the early twentieth century, which will be performed Nov. 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m.
“I have seen the sizzle reels of the production, and it looks amazing. From the elaborate costumes to the Tony award-winning score, The Grand is proud to present this nationally touring show as the first in our 2015-16 Broadway series,” Meagan Evans, coordinator of arts marketing at Mercer University, said.
The Broadway show encourages the audience to imagine what it would be like if the events in the production were truly coming to life.
“‘Ragtime’ is a musical, and the music is fantastic. Ragtime music is the precursor to jazz. The show also features some thunderous gospel and elaborate period costumes,” she said. “The music, art and culture of that period comes alive on stage.”
“Ragtime” follows the individual stories of a variety of characters, including a jazz pianist, a Victorian couple and an immigrant. These men and women struggle through obstacles of independence, novelty and race, and they all strive for their interpretation of the American dream.
On their paths of life, each individual is accompanied by an idolized and historic character of the time period, including Harry Houdini, Henry Ford and Booker T. Washington. These figures guide the characters and the audience through an inspirational journey of music, entertainment and education with an experience that will let you take a step back into America’s past.
“Theatre is an intimate and personal experience you just can’t get streaming a movie on your iPad. It is living art,” Evans said. “‘Ragtime’ will give the audience a glimpse of an era and will open up discussion to how our society has evolved.”
"I think that is very important,” she said.
Discounted tickets can be purchased for $20 with a Mercer University ID at the box office, located at 651 Mulberry Street, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
For more information about the Broadway show “Ragtime,” contact Meagan Evans at evans_ml@mercer.edu or go online to www.thegrandmacon.com.
(11/11/15 9:56pm)
“The crimson snow, the voices you hear, all you know is ghostly fear” when you are engaged in the thriller “Crimson Peak.”
“Crimson Peak,” directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a suspenseful and gruesome film set in the early 20th century.
The film begins with the introduction of a little girl, Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), who witnesses the ghostly appearance of her deceased mother.
As the wealthy Edith gets older, she discovers her passion for literature and struggles to become a writer. Various suitors begin to vie for her attention, but only one man catches her eye.
Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) is a British inventor who seeks the financial support of Edith’s father in order to create his latest contraption but, instead, seems to capture the personal approval of young Edith herself.
Disapproval of their romance is clearly expressed by Edith’s father, who pays Sir Sharpe and his sister, Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), to leave America and break his daughter’s heart.
With this odd request completed, Edith receives a letter explaining Sharpe’s actions and she immediately goes after him.
Soon, Edith’s father is brutally murdered by an unidentified person, which is initially categorized as an accidental death. Upon becoming an orphan, Edith decides to marry Sir Sharpe and to follow him back to Allerdale, his English estate.
When Edith settles in the dilapidated manor with Sir Sharpe and his sister Lucille, she begins to hear odd noises and voices, and she sees strange ghostly manifestations.
The tale of the siblings’ past begins to unravel, and Edith is trapped in the haunted manor by a wintery storm.
She soon learns that the ghosts are the least of her worries in this twisted tale of love and murder.
“Crimson Peak” is not necessarily a scary movie but a haunting thriller that contains many exhilarating theatrics.
Overall, the film’s attention to detail is what makes it so appealing and believable. The details of the film’s 20th century setting are carried out through period-accurate set design, costumes and characters.
Most of the plot’s suspense comes from the haunting background music and the eerie set design, which struck worry and fear into the hearts of the viewers as the film advanced from scene to scene.
“Crimson Peak” evokes an emotion from the audience that will keep them guessing and questioning the motives of the characters as the plot twists and turns in every direction — except the one they thought it would go.
(10/29/15 4:33am)
“There is a lot of talk now about metal detectors and gun control. Both are good things. But they are no more a solution than forks and spoons are a solution to world hunger,” said Anna Quindlen, influential journalist and writer.
The controversial issue of gun control and gun rights has swept across the United States as politicians and citizens alike rage over this issue and try to come up with an accurate solution to accommodate all.
Some Americans believe that guns are directly contributing to youth violence as well as opening the public up to shootings of people.
They believe that weapons should be controlled, usually by the government, in order to cut down on early violence and lower the rates of mass shootings of the general public.
Detractors believe that guns do not directly harm people, but people are the ones who should be blamed for the intense violence.
These are usually the same people who believe that guns can protect a resident from harm during a home invasion or an oncoming attack.
They may also believe that guns are a right to every U.S. citizen under the second amendment that states that every American has the right to bear arms.
If the government intends on using gun control to take away the weapons of the people, the government is violating the rights of the citizens.
This debate continues and multiple questions could be brought to the mind of an interested individual on what should be done with the guns if the issue is so controversial and undecipherable.
Well, previous writers have discussed ideas of changing the way people get guns and making the process more extensive.
In other words, take a background check of each person receiving a gun and dig into their criminal, medical and family history to discover possible mental illnesses that might lead to breakdowns, past convictions that may lead to violence, while also uncovering potential family members that might come in contact with the weapon.
This seems to be a slightly acceptable solution to gun control but people also have a problem with this solution.
They have a problem with this, because going into your history, mental or otherwise, is a violation of your personal rights.
Also, the process to receive a gun would be much longer and it would be harder for suppliers to keep up with and find all of the needed paperwork to release the weapon to the consumer.
Another solution given to this problem would be for law enforcement to crack down on illegal, sold without a permit and stolen guns in order to diminish the weapons available for potential criminals.
A problem with this solution arises when a citizen considers the fact that law enforcement is already busy with many tasks that do not allow them to focus specifically on the gun issue.
Simply, we do not have the resources to accommodate such a rampant amount of criminal activity.
In the end this issue continues to haunt many Americans as they consider the future of gun control and its effects on American society.
(10/29/15 3:13am)
Fickling Hall will soon come alive with the sounds of Latin history.
The Mercer University Jazz Ensemble is currently preparing for “Latin Explosion,” a fall concert featuring a variety of styles of Latin music that will be held Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
“One concert could not encompass all Latin styles—there are too many. We have a fairly wide selection, including some great jazz standards by composers such as Dizzy Gillespie, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Sonny Rollins,” said Monty Cole, professor of jazz studies at Mercer and the director of the Jazz Ensemble.
One member of the Jazz Ensemble, Bailey Noles, said that Latin music appeals to a wide variety of audiences.
“Latin music is so fiery that it makes you want to dance when you hear it. Your body flows with the rhythms,” Noles said.
Cole agreed with Noles’ sentiments.
“This music will make you want to dance, even if you cannot dance in authentic Latin styles. You will feel your body start to move. It's magical.”
Admission to the concert is free.
If you are interested in joining the Jazz Ensemble and advancing your skills in a new way, contact Dr. Cole by email at cole_mc@mercer.edu.
For more information about upcoming events at Mercer’s Townsend School of Music, visit music.mercer.edu/calendar/.
(10/15/15 1:45pm)
As many Mercerians already know, this year’s Miss America is Betty Cantrell.
A native of Warner Robins, Georgia, Cantrell attended Mercer University before leaving to pursue her dreams in the pageantry system.
Through the years, there have been ongoing debates of whether the pageantry system was respectable or depraved. But do people really learn about the system before they judge it?
To begin analyzing the pageantry system, it is good to clarify which part of the pageantry system you are looking at.
A pageant is described as an elaborate display by contestants, where the chosen contestants receive a reward.
Within this system there are two types of pageants.
The first could be considered more of a beauty contest, where participants compete to win gifts or monetary prizes.
This type of pageant is mostly associated with the show Toddlers and Tiaras, where the basis of the show focuses on young children parading around — usually with bad attitudes — to win the most prizes and the top, but seemingly meaningless title.
The show is also associated with insistent mothers who spend all of their time pushing for their child to win, perceivably living through their child’s glory.
The second type of pageant is mostly associated with pageants similar to Miss America where participants are competing for prizes, such as scholarships, and titles that will further their futures.
For instance, the Miss America Pageant is a well-known procession focused on obtaining the next American icon.
Miss America primarily serves as the United States’ image of a model citizen that will uphold the values and standards of an American, while also attributing time for diplomatic duties.
Even though upholding the title of Miss America is difficult, obtaining the title is equally as challenging.To go through the Miss America competition, a woman must first obtain a state title, such as Miss Georgia in order to progress to the next level.
Once in the Miss America pageant, the contestants must be judged by five aspects in the preliminary round.
The preliminary round consists of lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit which is 15 percent of the total score, eveningwear scored at 20 percent, talent at 35 percent, private interview considered at 25 percent, and an onstage question which is 5 percent.
These percentages are averaged together to make your final score which is carried over to the next round of the competition — the final round broadcast for the public.
The final round uses a competitor’s composite score as 25 percent, the lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit as 10 percent, eveningwear is determined at 10 percent, talent is 30 percent, and the on-stage question is scored at 20 percent.
The winner is picked out of the top 15 from the composite score from the preliminary round, the top 15 from lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit, the top 12 out of eveningwear, the top 10 from talent, and the top seven from the on-stage question.
The scoring for this pageant is intensive and complex, but it ensures that the top contestant will be chosen due to the weight of her scoring in each category.These women put their lives on hold to win this competition in order to achieve their goals in the future.
This beauty pageant has a meaning of distinction and excellence for these women and is not only a measure of their beauty but of their education and determination as well.
(10/15/15 12:31am)
This month, local artist and engineer Ernesto Gomez will display unusual pieces of artwork in the Plunkett Gallery of Hardman Hall, home to Mercer’s art department.
Gomez’s exhibit showcases an arrangement of everyday sounds recorded around Hardman Hall.
“Every building has a voice and resonance depending on its material make-up, interior systems and spatial volume,” Gomez said. Gomez used the “voice” of Hardman Hall to break through the parameters of artistic sound, including syncopated and staggered rhythms that create a novel auditory experience.
“These sounds combined with human interactions within the building create indeterminate compositions that I record, archive, and sculpt electronically,” Gomez said.
Gomez manipulates the sounds he records by giving each set of sounds a certain time to play in tandem with other noises.
“Gomez played each sound back on a loop, each stereo on a slight delay,” Eric O’Dell, a Mercer art professor, said.
Gomez’s focus on the use of everyday sounds may change the way some individuals look at their surroundings after viewing the piece.
“This audio transcription reminds us of how highly efficient we are in filtering-out the visual and aural artifacts of our society,” Gomez said.
Alisabeth Graham, a Mercer sophomore, speculated that Gomez’s showcase of everyday sounds has broken the typical ideals of auditory art.
“Art is a form of expression, and the combination of different sounds in Gomez’s piece exemplifies his artistic ability to analyze and create an entirely new and unheard [of] piece of art,” Graham said.
The showcase is meant to open your eyes, ears, and all other senses to the beauty that may be just around the corner. The exhibit will be on display until Oct. 24.
(09/28/15 4:16pm)
“A Flea in Her Ear”—a dramatic work known for its hilarious absurdity and ludicrous circumstances—will be performed by the Mercer Players at Tattnall Square Center for the Arts from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4.
The play focuses on misunderstandings between husbands and wives, affairs, a crudely named hotel, and a gun. As the story unfolds, the audience is immersed in the lives of two couples.
The first couple consists of Raymonde and Victor Chandebise. The couple starts off innocent enough - until Raymonde begins to suspect her husband is cheating.
In order to catch him in a lie, she and her friend Lucienne, performed by Ashley Greene, writes a love letter to him suggesting that they meet up at the hotel.
Don Carlos Homenides de Histangua, played by Chiyanne Wilson, discovers this letter. He notices his wife Lucienne’s handwriting and decides to pay the hotel a visit.
The jealousy between the couples begin to drive the characters to madness as their insecurities get the best of them. Will the couples realize their spouses are faithful, or will all end in disaster as Lucienne’s husband brings out his pistols?
Director Scott Mann and his cast have been hard at work, preparing for the opening.
“Just rehearsal with the actors is normally about 80 hours, not counting their personal time for research and line learning,” Mann said.
The total amount of time the students spend preparing for the production is immeasurable, not to mention the time the entire crew spends on setting up the stage, designing costumes, and creating sound effects.
“The design and building process for sets, lights, sound, and painting could take up to 200 hours,” Mann said.
Mann said he believes that theater is important because it “connects the community to Mercer” and its students through public performance.
“A great work will examine difficult subjects that provoke discussion and introspection,” Mann said, “(Theatre) connects the intellect to the emotions and soul.”
At Mercer, non-theater majors have the opportunity to get involved with aspects of a play, including those that do not require acting.
“As an intensely collaborative art, we need artisans, craftspeople, technicians, engineers, business, and publicity specialists,” said Mann.
“A Flea in Her Ear” will be performed on Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
(09/26/15 8:20pm)
Mercer University Opera has already taken several of Macon’s elementary schools by storm, singing, acting and dancing their way to their newest production of “A Muskrat Lullaby.”
The production, which doubles as a service-learning project for the Mercerians who appear in it, is designed to promote interaction with children in the audience.
“This performance is geared toward children,” said Martha Malone, a voice and opera professor in Mercer’s Townsend School of Music as well as the director of “A Muskrat Lullaby.”
“Even the 23 minute time length is in place so we do not lose the attention span of the children,” Malone said.
Young students from Vineville Academy and St. Peter Claver Catholic School will also perform in the production.
“A Muskrat Lullaby” tells the story of a group of swamp animals who avoid being eaten by an alligator—and his alligator gang—by singing a beautiful lullaby that casts them all into a deep sleep. The opera’s band of characters includes a bird, a toad, a spider and a muskrat.
The opportunity to sing along with Mercer students has been beneficial to the young performers involved.
“This type of interaction will help children develop at a faster pace because it teaches them teamwork and responsibility,” Malone said. She also believes “working with others in the arts” will help the children focus on their artistic expression and perhaps help them discover new things about themselves.
The production involves a great deal of audience interaction in order to create an exchange of feelings and understanding between the characters onstage and the audience.
“Opera is the most important, expressive and powerful art form,” Malone said. “Operas involve the dramatic (arts), music, visual arts, and the kinesthetics of dance,” which, when combined, “create an emotional experience that takes you out of everyday life.”
Performances of the opera are currently traveling to elementary schools in the Macon area.
Additionally, four free performances will be open to the community at Mercer’s Neva Langley Fickling Hall on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 26 at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
For more information about the production and Mercer University Opera, please visit music.mercer.edu/opera/.
(09/25/15 1:30am)
Julia Armstrong, a former resident of Birmingham and an associate professor of English at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, has many ties to the Civil Rights movement.
On Monday, Sept. 14 she was on campus to give a lecture for her upcoming fifth book titled, “History That’s Buried and Forgot.”
“I’m not trying to observe Birmingham from the sins,” Armstrong said. “I am trying to tell a different story about the south.”
Armstrong said that the memories from the south during the Civil Rights Movement should not be put into a box.
Instead, she said that she believes history affects everyone in an entangled web. She expressed this thought by giving examples throughout the Civil Rights Period, or flashpoints, as she called them.
“Flashpoints are the collapse of an era and media to represent civil rights,” said Armstrong. The flash point that she refers to include iconic points in history.
For example, in April of 1963 Martin Luther King was arrested. During this year he wrote a paper on civil rights discussing nonviolence.
This helped the city progress towards desegregation for a while, but according to Armstrong “this victory was short-lived”. This small victory brought on “’Project C,’ which stands for Project Confrontation,” Armstrong said.
Project C was sit-ins, boycotts and nonviolent protests put together by Civil Rights activists. Police cracked down on these efforts, including sicking dogs on nonviolent protesters during May 3, 1963.
Another example of an iconic moment in Civil Rights history would be the Birmingham church bombing on September 14 1963, which wounded 20 people and killed four girls.
The church was bombed by four people, including Robert Chambliss, who later went to trial for this bombing.
This iconic moment in history “represents a heroic narrative with very clear legislative games and a specific ideology,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong believes that these moments in history of undeserved violence stand for the “literary classic good versus evil.”
“Battle lines are drawn metaphorically and physically in black and white,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong also collects stories that connect her to the civil rights movement during the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Her first story dealt with her Aunt Martha, who in 1977 served jury duty on the case of Robert Chambliss, one of the bombers of the church.
She then discovered that she is tied to a web of events that connects her to these issues through family ties.
The second connection to Armstrong occurred in 1957 at Phillips High School when Fred Shuttlesworth tried to enroll his children in an all-white school. He was beaten for his efforts of integration.
Armstrong’s uncle, Bobby Hughes, was an alumnus from Phillips High School where Shuttlesworth was beaten.
Armstrong’s final connection was in 1965 when Ceola Marshall was fired for being involved in the civil rights movement.
This moment changed Armstrong’s perspective on the Civil Rights history, because it focused her thoughts on the buried and forgotten stories of the civil rights movement, like Ceola’s story.
“Birmingham stories start off at an intersection, but the web reaches out to me and to you,” Armstrong said.
(09/25/15 1:15am)
Mercer students who attended the study abroad activities were immersed in the beginning steps of what it takes to prepare for their trip across the world.
This year the week-long Study Abroad Fair consisted of many events catering to students seeking to become or already involved with international travel.
The events that were available to Mercer students included everything from movies and games to a Passport Day and information sessions about study abroad trips.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the group hosted a movie night, which featured “Argo.” The movie was about the cover the CIA used in 1980 to go into Iran and rescue six Americans who were trapped in Tehran during the United States Hostage Crisis. For Tuesday, Sept. 15, there was an International Game Night where students played card and board games from around the globe.
“It brought the international students together and taught us about the games in other countries,” said Kiko Ikeda, an international student from Japan.
Then on Wednesday, Sept. 16, a Study Abroad Fair was set up in Cruz Plaza where various students and faculty members conversed with others about traveling opportunities and their personal experiences.
There were several booths set up for various countries, but there were also booths from International universities. Each “university booth” had a Mercer international student there to discuss the opportunities that the particular university offered to its students.
“They are like exchange programs, like the one I am currently doing,” said Reka Keleman, an international student from Hungary.
On Thursday Sept. 17, there was a Passport Day and an exchange program information session.
The Passport Day was basically a day in which Mercer students could fill out a form, take a picture, and pay a fee of $110 in order to receive a passport.
“It’s great to do everything in one place,” said Beth Walker, study abroad advisor at Mercer University.
While the Passport Day provided an efficient way for students to get passports, the exchange student information session helped students understand the specifics, of traveling abroad and staying for an extended period of time during the semester.
For the Friday of Sept. 18, advising and financial planning sessions were held for interested students.
Students could meet with an advisor and decide the necessary steps in order to move towards being able to study abroad as well as the logistics of going on the trip.
These include the credits a student may receive, the entire cost of the trip, and the transportation methods for the trip.
Friday concluded the study abroad information and gathering week, but there were two added events on the following Monday Sept. 21: the Oxford Program Session and the International Gala.
The Oxford Program Session event discussed Mercer’s study abroad opportunity to go to England and study at Oxford.
The International Gala was held to help all Mercer students, domestic and international, come together and learn about one another in a comfortable space.
(09/25/15 12:49am)
Flying brooms might soon be a common sight on Mercer’s campus.
“There are plans in the making for a Quidditch Club and Quidditch Team here at Mercer,” said Amy Tureen, current librarian and future administrative coach of the planned Quidditch group.
“For 2015-2016, we will play with friends and ourselves for the Mercer Cup, and for the years 2016-2017, we will play for the Regional Championship and the Americus Cup in the United States Quidditch League or USQ,” Tureen said.
Quidditch is a complex wizarding sport played on flying broomsticks from the renowned Harry Potter book and movie series by J.K. Rowling.
In the Harry Potter version of Quidditch, there are seven players, consisting of three chasers, two beaters, a keeper and a seeker.
The chasers focus on the Quaffle, a leather ball, and try to score by putting it through the hoops.
Beaters use bats to defend their teammates from the Bludgers, a pair of magical iron balls that try to knock players off their brooms.
The keeper blocks the score attempts of the opposite team, and a seeker catches the golden snitch, which flies quickly away from grasp.
The type of Quidditch that students can be involved with on campus will be Muggle Quidditch, a non-Wizard variety of the game.
Muggle Quidditch consists of all the same players and positions, but there will be a few variations.
For instance, the game will be played on the ground with broomsticks between the legs of players. The Quaffle and Bludgers will be replaced by balls from other sports. And the snitch will be a tennis ball inside a sock attached to a fast player on the team.
The person running as the snitch will be a part of a snitch guild.
“Being a snitch means you can basically do anything you want in the allowed space,” Tureen said.
The student who is chosen to become the snitch will be a part of the team but will have more freedom on the field.
Each player has a specific headband that will distinguish their position.
“If you are a chaser, you will have white headband. If you are a beater, you will have black. If you are a keeper ,the headband will be green, and if there is a snitch, that person will be dressed in all yellow,” Tureen said.
The first meeting for the club was held on Wednesday, Sept. 16, where the plans of the club were discussed.
The Quidditch Club will cater to all Mercer students interested in the game and finessing their Quidditch skills.
“The idea is that it is fun,” said Tureen, when asked how the experience of the Quidditch club would progress.
Mercer’s Quidditch team will require a tryout. There will be seven players on a field at a time, but there are 21 possible spots open to Mercer students.
Before tryouts are held, there will be training and preparation, so student-athletes will have a chance to gain their Quidditch skills.
If a student is not interested in the club or playing on the field, there are other options for them to participate.
“We still need referees and cheerleaders,” Tureen said
(09/16/15 2:13am)
Beep! Beep! Here comes frustration again when trying to locate a parking spot on the Mercer University Macon campus.
All Mercer students have gone through the frustrating and tiring task of trying to find a parking spot close to a building on campus. It is obvious that parking at Mercer on a weekday is next to impossible.
With the freshmen class increasing each year and returning students piling in, the competition for a parking space has become a hostile event for students.
The frustration goes so far that students choose to give up hope and park on curbs despite knowing in the back of their minds that a ticket from Mercer Police is looming in their near futures.
Parking tickets have already become a norm for some students.
They have come to terms with the risk of a fine in order to make it to class on time or have a decent walking distance to their dorms for once.
Mercer parking tickets are not only disheartening to see on your windshield the first time but can make tears come to your eyes the second time you receive one.
Once you receive your first ticket, the cost is $25. Each ticket you receive after your first increases in cost by $10.
If you fail to pay the cost of the tickets, you will have a hold on your account. This hold means you will not have access to certain important aspects of your account, such as your transcripts or class registration.
Dealing with inadequate parking and paying for expensive tickets proves burdensome for any student, but you can overcome this problem by knowing the places you can park.
Knowing the available parking lots for your decal color is important, so you can save time looking for a close spot to park and so you can begin your walk to your desired location.
The decal colors are essential to finding an available “ticket free” parking space.
Blue means all decals and visitors can park in that lot.
Green means faculty and staff can only park in that lot.
Purple stands for commuter student parking.
Red stands for resident student parking.
Yellow stands for Mercer loft parking.
Since these colored decals dictate who can park where, these decals should have roughly the same amount of space for each person wishing to park, right?
In other words the student parking areas should be about the same amount of area but it appears that the yellow parking decal is attempting a takeover.
The yellow decal for the lofts is the most prominent decal color on Mercer campus.
Do the lofts really need that much parking space? Is this fair to other Mercer students competing for a spot to park?
The lofts parking lots are scattered all across Mercer’s campus and it seems that other students will continue to fight it out in the parking lot for a space to put their cars.
(09/16/15 2:05am)
The aroma of fresh chicken no longer fills the air in the mornings because the Chick-fil-A on campus has recently stopped serving breakfast.
To some students this is a shock and a pain sent right to the stomach. Why would Chick-fil-A suddenly come to the conclusion that it was time to stop serving breakfast this year?
There are many suggested answers to this posed mystery of a missing breakfast.
There is talk that Chick-fil-A is not sure if it will be able to compete with new Einstein Bagels located in the Mercer library.
The new restaurant’s breakfast has captured the stomachs of many Mercerians and maybe Chick-fil-A is crushing under the pressure of competition with this novel and delicious addition to campus.
Another idea is that Chick-fil-A is not receiving enough customers in the mornings to stay open.
In order to stay open in the mornings, it is obvious that Chick-fil-A would need an adequate amount of customers to make a profit worth staying open for.
An alternate notion for Chick-fil-A’s “no more breakfast policy” could be that the industry itself has denied the Mercer campus breakfast.
If the Chick-fil-A company decided that it is trying to cut back on serving breakfast as a whole, then that could be a reason why breakfast has left the campus.
This idea of the entire industry losing breakfast could lead to an entirely different problem with the Chick-fil-A company.
For those of you who enjoy Chick-fil-A breakfast, can you imagine not being able to order Chick-fil-A breakfast anywhere?
What if the industry took away Chick-fil-A breakfasts in every restaurant? How would this affect your life?
These are the frightening questions that are posed after considering the reasons for the Chick-fil-A breakfast decline but your mind should be set at ease.
The reason the Mercer campus Chick-fil-A no longer sells breakfast is simply because the campus Chick-fil-A operator chose to no longer serve breakfast.
Basically, “the operators at independent locations have a choice whether or not to sell certain items,” said Craig Craddick, an employee from Chick-fil-A.
Since the Mercer Chick-fil-A location is not completely affiliated with the Chick-fil-A company, it is safe to say that talking to the Mercer operator may help breakfast return to the campus.
It is all in the power of the Mercer community and their choice to accept the no-breakfast policy or to fight back with protesting and petitioning.
(09/11/15 4:34am)
From Aug. 7 through Aug. 28, Macon was indulged with an exhibit entitled “Art of the Academics” held at the 567 Center for Renewal. The artwork in the exhibit was created by faculty from various institutions in the area, including Professors Marlin Adams of Gordon State College, Shannon Riddle of Middle Georgia State College and Elizabeth Bailey of Wesleyan College.
The 567 Center for Renewal opens its doors every month to students and art lovers alike, allowing the public to experience the talent of local artists for no cost. Each month the art and featured artists are changed, so a novel experience can be gained every month attended.
All of the participants created pieces that conveyed their own individual message to the viewer. Adams, for instance, used a sculpture pot that displayed many stories and revealed several connections to the characters through its depiction.
“Art is all about universal communication and self-expression,” said Adams, who is a firm believer in using the arts to speak to others through your own creative and symbolic voice or style. “Art should carry messages that are poignant, because art has the benefit of bringing people together,” Adams continued. “Art establishes peace in the world.”
Another artist who contributed their works to the exhibit was our very own Beth Stewart, a professor at Mercer University. Stewart uses her artistic abilities to empower a new way of thinking for viewers and interpreters. “Art making encourages synthesis of ideas in a very free manner that can lead to discovery and courage in the face of useful failures,” explains Stewart. Her belief is that when an individual generates art, they begin thinking in an altered way that will help them triumph over difficult obstacles.
In the upcoming months The 567 Center for Renewal will have several different art exhibits on display for students and community members, including a printmaking exhibit in September and a photography exhibit in October. The Center provides an opportunity to see local talent, learn more about the arts and self-expression, and become more involved in the Macon community.
For more information about the gallery of upcoming art events, contact the 567 Center for Renewal at The567.org or 478-238-6051.
(09/09/15 8:50pm)
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Around the year 1914 a magnificent fountain was constructed in Macon, Georgia.
It stood triumphant and tall as an icon for Macon and its community members, but the Great Depression took its toll.
The fountain was turned off in 1934.
For years the fountain sat waterless in a garden, “until the late 1960’s when the fountain was taken away and all that remained was a frog,” said Andrew Silver, a chairperson of Friends of Tattnall Square Park and an English professor at Mercer University.
Recently Macon committee members have noticed the lack of aesthetic beauty in Macon’s Tattnall Park and decided to erect a new fountain with connections to the structure that came before.
“These historic ties will consist of a structure inspired by the 1914 fountain as well as historic quotes from various Maconites and Mercerians who fought for equality and justice,” Silver said.
The new fountain’s four tier and pedestal system is modeled after the earlier fountain.
The fountain will also include the very same frog figurine that was left behind in the 1960’s after the original fountain was taken away.
“I have worked gathering inspirational quotes from some of the most influential Maconites and Mercerians, such as Mac Bryan, Sam Oni, and Joe Hendricks,” stated Silver.
Mac Bryan was a Mercer professor who encouraged a group of students to fight against segregation between the years of 1948 and 1956.
In 1963, Sam Oni was the first black male to attend Mercer. His personal fight for integration helped the university make strides towards racial equality as a whole.
While attending, Oni made many contributions to Mercer, including his writings for The Cluster.
Joe Hendricks, an administrator at Mercer, helped fight segregation by aiding Oni in attending Mercer University.
Silver said that this new fountain was created to remember important historic Macon heroes and events that characterized and laid the foundation for Macon today.
“No fountain in the nation will speak to us here like this one will now,” he said.
Silver said that the fountain ‐‐ and the park surrounding it ‐‐ is important to this town, because it brings the community together as a whole.
“Parks unite us with the past, the future, and unite us with our own neighbors,” stated Silver.
Those neighbors will have four different ways of reaching the fountain. Four walkways will lead into the bricked plaza, each describing an ingredient of peace.
“The first is love or understanding, to understand each other. The second flows from that, which is justice: if you understand each other then you work for equality for each other. The third is the trust that comes from justice, and the fourth is the hope that comes from trust,” Silver explained.
The elements were chosen by community children playing in Tattnall Park.
Mercer students are able to buy bricks to add to the plaza. For more information please go to
https://www.bricksrus.com/order/friendsoftattnall/.