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(01/12/14 4:12am)
January marks the beginning of deep winter in Alabama. The novelty of brisk, chilly weather has worn off and the emotional high of the holidays has been grounded. Stretching ahead is a cold, dark winter.
For some, this means grappling with seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.), also known as the winter blues or seasonal depression.
Professionals in and around Auburn University share ways to outsmart the wintertime doldrums.
Josh Jones, informal campus recreation coordinator at the Auburn Student Recreation and Wellness Center, champions staying active during the winter to stave off the blues.
"You feel a sense of accomplishment," Jones said about working out.
Whether it's meeting fitness goals or trying a new skill for the first time, physical activity can increase self-esteem.
Jones reassured students who may be apprehensive about jumping into a new work-out regimen. "The great thing about the Rec Center is that we have something for everyone here," Jones said.
Social exercise is another way to boost one's mood, according to Jones.
Working out with friends or playing an organized team sport provides adrenaline-pumping activity and requires socializing, which is important for those who feel like hibernating all winter.
Students working out at the Recreation and Wellness Center have the advantage of an energizing, stress-reducing environment.
The light-conscious design of the Rec Center interior employs large windows, courtyards and banner-sized prints of Chewacla State Park.
"The idea in designing the rec was to bring the outdoors indoors," Jones said.
For Yolande Wersinger, nutrition specialist and owner of Dayspring Natural Foods, being outdoors is crucial for beating S.A.D.
"In Eastern philosophy, they say that the saints go out in the morning to worship the sun. They don't," Wersinger said.
When the monks meditated outdoors they were treating S.A.D. with what Wersinger considers the best natural remedy--sunlight.
"They were 'enlightened,' you see," Wersinger said laughing.
Getting the right amount of sleep is another simple way to avoid feeling down in the winter, Wersinger said.
A sufficient sleep cycle and exposure to sunlight are connected, Wersinger explained.
Light is most easily absorbed by the pineal gland in the morning. The vitamin D absorbed from sunlight creates a delayed release of the hormones melatonin and serotonin, which are essential for sleep.
To get adequate levels of vitamin D, Wersinger recommended exposing the face and arms to the sunlight for 15 minutes three times a week, or investing in a full-spectrum lamp.
Vitamin D also enters the body through food and vitamin supplements. Eggs, shiitake mushrooms, oatmeal, salmon, sardines, sweet potato, tuna and alfalfa are some foods containing vitamin D.
Patrick O'Keefe of Auburn, a senior counseling psychologist in Fort Benning, Ga., advised students who may be experiencing S.A.D. symptoms to scale back on their workload and be open to the idea that they may be in the wrong major.
"A little bit of reality may be setting right about this time," O'Keefe said. "I think where students probably struggle more is the context of expectation and acceptance."
O'Keefe considers college a time of important self-discovery that can be overwhelming to students, which can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and even depression.
O'Keefe advised students to take a serious look at their field of study.
"Discover your purpose and your passion will follow," O'Keefe said. "Find the vocation that gives you personal satisfaction."
Pressure to maintain a perfect GPA can contribute to anxiety and depression as well.
Some students turn to excessive drinking or recreational drug use to escape such stressors.
"When you start drinking a lot and smoking pot, you set yourself back, and you start feeling more overwhelmed so then you drink more and it just becomes a vicious cycle," O'Keefe said.
Counseling and psychotherapy can help students with stress-management.
O'Keefe encouraged students who have been diagnosed as clinically depressed or have a chemical imbalance to seek either their primary care physician or psychiatrist who may prescribe medication for some cases of S.A.D.
Ultimately for O'Keefe, finding balance in life is key to avoiding depressive symptoms in winter.
"We're bio, psycho, social, spiritual people," O'Keefe said.
Being able to remain physically healthy, psychologically at ease and cultivate positive relationships can fortify students against the winter blues.
(12/05/13 5:45am)
Hundreds leave their homes before dawn, still digesting Thanksgiving turkey, to wait in anticipation before locked storefronts.
When the key turns and the "open" sign lights up, they clamor inside to snag the best deals and begin the Christmas shopping season.
This year more major retailers, following in the footsteps of Walmart, opened the night of Thanksgiving to give shoppers a jump on Black Friday savings. The sales-frenzy dubbed Black Thursday appears to be here to stay.
Following Black Friday, stores such as Target and Old Navy are extending their hours, opening earlier and closing later as Christmas Eve approaches.
Auburn students working in retail face a particular set of challenges during the holidays.
Amy Camp, a senior double majoring in psychology and social work, has been an Old Navy sales associate for three years.
Camp said juggling an internship in Tuskegee, school and a part-time retail job is demanding, and her weekdays are often as long as 14 hours.
"It's definitely something you have to balance -- you're not only having to study your academics, but you're having to go to work as well," Camp said.
Despite time constraints, Camp said she has maintained a high GPA and is graduating this semester.
"What I've always been told in school is that for every hour you're in class, you should spend two hours studying," Camp said.
Josh Bennett, a senior in psychology, works in guest services at Target in Tiger Town, which opened its doors to Black Friday crowds at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving.
Originally from Montana, Bennett has been part of the Target team for five years and has been a full-time employee at Target in Tiger Town for six months. Every week, Bennett has to juggle 40 hours at work and 17 hours of school.
"You go from school to work and then home to do homework, and that's kind of your entire day," Bennett said.
Both Bennett and Camp confirmed managers, especially in and around Auburn, work with students' class schedules.
Suzanna Sweeney, a sales team lead at Academy Sports and Outdoors, said much thought goes into the hiring process of student employees.
"We always hire based on availability, so it's never an inconvenience," Sweeney said. "Usually, we have our openers and our closers, and it's all based on availability."
In lieu of the holiday shopping spree, sales associates are aware upon hire they will have to sacrifice time that would normally be reserved for friends, family and a relaxing break from school.
This year, Camp opted to open for Old Navy's first Black Thursday.
Her shift began at 6 p.m., after returning from Thanksgiving lunch in Mobile, and ended at 3 a.m. on Black Friday. Given that the store will be closed Christmas Day, Camp potentially has three days off for Christmas vacation.
"They told us this year -- which they haven't done in the past -- that we could only ask off for two days in a row," Camp said.
Bennett worked a 10.5-hour shift this Black Friday which started at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, making a trip to Montana impossible, but management has granted him three weeks off at Christmas to visit family.
"This Target recognizes that they have that college populous that does live out of state or far away," Bennett said.
Sweeney, whose Black Friday shift began at 3 a.m., said days between Nov. 1-Jan. 1 are "blacked out," meaning employees cannot request time off and are expected to work some of the holiday rush at Academy.
"Our managers make considerations for those students who live further away," Sweeney said. "They give them an amount of time off to be with their family."
Department stores' preparations for the holidays began in mid-November. This involved associates staying well after closing to organize, decorate and rearrange the stores to better accommodate throngs of shoppers.
After the holidays, one might expect in-store traffic to slow down.
According to Sweeney, this isn't true.
Shoppers line up once again in the wee morning hours the day after Christmas, clutching gift receipts to make returns.
(11/27/13 7:03am)
The challenge was to test my mettle without the security blanket of makeup, to enliven the spirit inside that has been there all along and to share my story.
What I am walking away with is so much more than I set out to discover.
The first week was tough and weird as I broke in this new outlook.
The part of myself that loves routine and normalcy groaned as I stretched its limits and cracked the walls of its comfort zone.
During the early days, a biting inferiority complex forced my eyes to the ground.
A foreign strain of guilt pulled my shoulders round, and I was tripped up by a very middle-school-Becky level of shyness.
As I began exploring the ideas of beauty and society, my world opened up.
Like a mathematician, for the first time in my life, I saw the world as formulaic.
The fashion and beauty industries I had admired no longer resembled art.
They were revealed to me as massive corporations feeding on insecurity and jealousy, turning women against each other to generate capital.
My role as a fashion commentator, blogger and advocate was shaken when I questioned the morality of praising one appearance over another -- praising one person instead of another based solely on appearances.
With my face stripped bare, I was able to see myself.
My strengths and weaknesses had always been there, and I realized they weren't connected to what I look like at all.
My thoughts and emotions, and everything I am, are independent from what I look like -- I carry them with me, and my body is just the package it all comes in.
I was able to see others more clearly too, because behind every face and between every spoken word there is a vibrant soul.
Behind every face, sometimes beneath layers of makeup, there is a story that wants to be told.
I have fallen in love with those stories.
I am addicted to the possibilities that await.
I don't know if I will continue the no-makeup challenge for my entire life -- that was never the goal, honestly -- and I'm not going to cancel my "Vogue" subscription anytime soon.
The point is that for me, No Makeup November completely changed the way I look at these former idols.
My outlook on beauty and humanity has been vaccinated with reality.
Because we are human, after all.
Perfection is unattainable, and I think it's time to celebrate everything that makes us real: our screw-ups and stutters, our scars and quirks, our passions and our anxieties.
It's time we stood up for ourselves, even if it means combating the negativity in our own heads.
I had a professor who addressed our nervous, audition-weary senior theatre performance class:
"You are enough," Dan LaRocque stated.
He was referring to the heavy audition process that awaited his graduates, letting us know casting directors wanted to see our personalities in the monologues we chose.
He said it with such urgency we knew it meant something more.
He was bestowing upon us the right to believe in ourselves, the permission to believe that we are exactly as we should be, and that we were great.
He repeated himself over and over in that moment, the words hitting us like snowfall, letting the last few hang in the air.
"You are enough."
(11/14/13 4:40pm)
"Vanity, thy name is woman."
The phrase is a popular misquote. Hamlet actually said, "Frailty, thy name is woman." Strange that such an expression has taken on a life of its own, put words into our mouths and permeated our culture.
So what does this say about women and their centuries-long pursuit of physical perfection?
"Frailty" has an old French cognate, which means weakness. "Vanity" is a descendent of the Latin word for empty or idle, and of the 13th century French for futile or worthless.
It's as if, to the western world, women's obsession with appearance is equivalent to infidelity, with which Hamlet is accusing his mother when he spits out the heated soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2.
A quick Wikipedia search will bring up examples of vain women throughout the ages. Artists have depicted the biblical deadly sin of vanity, or pride, as a female before a mirror or lounging with a comb in her hand. A few artistic examples of vain men do actually exist -- Dorian Gray and Narcissus, for example -- but the vice of vanity still seems to be a woman's battle.
Shakespeare slapped a label upon a fictional woman 410 years ago and it became a definition for womankind.
Today, my roommate suggested I watch an episode of "The Simpsons" titled "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy." Disgusted with the latest talking Barbie-esque doll, Lisa creates her own version and names it Lisa Lionheart.
Where Malibu Stacy embodies everything that is wrong with Barbie dolls: unattainable body proportions, appearance-based play pitched to impressionable girls, and misogynistic recorded phrases, Lisa Lionheart is equipped with "the wisdom of Gertrude Stein, the wit of Cathy Guisewite, the tenacity of Nina Totenberg, the common sense of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the down-to-earth good looks of Eleanor Roosevelt."
These are women who refused to let vanity be the definition of who they are.
Only one Lisa Lionheart doll sold.
It is a sad, but true, reflection on life, because girls would much rather play with something they can relate to -- a woman who over emphasizes looks and falls under the definition of vanity.
When I started No Makeup November, I wanted to be able to find a definition for myself that was separate from my appearance.
It hasn't been easy.
I started wearing makeup in ninth grade, and it made me feel powerful. I knew I could bat my mascaraed eyelashes and get what I wanted. I was tenacious with teachers, arguing my point like a lawyer.
What I am realizing now that the mask has been taken away is when I get fired up about something, or when I tell a particularly witty joke, I forget my face is naked -- in fact, I almost forget about my face completely. Some people are genetically blessed with traits that are interpreted as beauty; frailty, in the form of vanity, comes when beauty is all someone is concerned with.
Someone can be beautiful, of course, but there is always so much more to everyone we meet. No one is simply one thing all the time. No single word can define a person perfectly -- let alone an entire gender.
I may be a journalism student, but I'm also a coffee addict, a pet parent and a "Lord of the Rings enthusiast." In the same way, a woman might be attractive, but she is also smart and creative and sarcastic and brave.
These are the traits we need to amplify and should pass down to our daughters one day as being more important than beauty.
I think Lisa Simpson put it perfectly as she brandished Malibu Stacy at Marge, "I can't believe you're going to stand by as your daughters grow up in a world where this -- this! -- is their role model."
(11/11/13 3:35am)
The cashier at Winn-Dixie stared at me as my roommate and I checked out. It was the first day of No Makeup November, and my pink embarrassment went unconcealed.
"You look exhausted," she said with concern.
It was close to 11 p.m., and I had been swapping apartments all day. The fact I was tired was obvious.
Throwing off her maternal worry for my well-being, I felt hot annoyance.
"So what if I look tired?" I thought. "Who is this stranger to point it out?"
I had earned the exhaustion with each boxful of books and clothes lifted into my Toyota Corolla and hauled to my new condo.
I'd felt strong and capable all day and was claiming the well-earned pizza-and-beer reward.
It is only now, some days later, that I can see I took her comment way too personally.
The bubbling retaliation was unwarranted because it was my own insecurity surfacing to fling mental stones at her.
In a split-second in my mind, I had translated, "You look exhausted" into the insult, "You look really unattractive."
My anger was fueled by continual stimuli promoting youth and beauty as goals to strive toward when women are, in all honesty, aging every second.
An airbrushed model printed on a page of Vogue will stay young and well-rested forever because she is just that -- static and glossed-over, not made of flesh and blood.
Even as the model herself ages, her flawless doppelganger will remain exactly the same.
The cosmetics industry has done a superb job of capitalizing on the insecurities women feel about their looks.
Leading cosmetics manufacturer L'Oreal has raked in $7.5 billion worldwide, so far, in 2013, according to The Wall Street Journal. Forbes listed Macy's and Sephora as the top grossing cosmetic retailers with $3.25 billion and $2 billion, respectively, in North American sales this year alone.
The pitch is easy.
Fill a woman's head with the idea she is inferior because she doesn't look a certain way, then sell her the products that will make her feel like she adds up.
Show her how she can become what she's been taught to view as beautiful and you have a customer for life.
Keep her on her toes though, and throw new trends at her monthly or, better yet, weekly.
And get her started young -- stunt a growing mind with images of perfect princesses who always, always end up happy.
Be sure to make the wicked witch as wrinkled and ugly as possible, and have her meet an awful fate.
The only way I see to combat this self-depricating mind-control is to step back and say "no."
We don't have to accept capitalism's version of beautiful.
It could even be as simple as not buying that tube of mascara or trying a day without lip gloss.
Or challenge yourself, and don't look at your reflection for 24 hours. See how you feel by the end of the day.
The strength I felt after lugging boxes and suitcases was real, and didn't require looking in a mirror.
It involved sweat, Gatorade and accomplishing a goal. And, it was a gorgeous feeling -- the kind of feeling you can't put a price tag on.
(11/01/13 7:15pm)
Skin stretched over skeletal wings, a wide mouth with fangs opened in a shriek and a thick Transylvanian accent growling, "I vant to suck your blood," are the ideas often conjured when bats are mentioned. The flying mammal is the definition of things that go bump in the night and is commonly used as eerie decorations for Halloween.
According to Dr. Troy Best and his students Lydia Moore and Sam Hirt, the bat is misunderstood largely because it has been exaggerated by folklore and pop culture.
"There's a big mystery about them because you don't ever see them except at night or at dusk and there's not a lot of research on them," said Hirt, a PhD. student specializing in bats.
Moore, a graduate student in biological sciences, explained that humans have feared nocturnal animals for centuries. Moore said stories were often made up to explain what people couldn't observe for themselves, which led to stigmatizing virtually harmless creatures.
"There's this kind of irrational fear about these animals," Moore said.
Moore debunked a traditional myth that bats like to get tangled in people's hair. Moore said mosquitos are attracted to the carbon dioxide exhaled by humans, she said. The cloud of mosquitos attracts bats, which swoop around acting like a natural insecticide and occasionally spooking humans.
Dr. Best said another common fear is that bats carry rabies and should be exterminated. According to Best, who has more than 40 years of bat research behind him, the incidence of rabies in bats is less than that of foxes, raccoons and skunks.
But do vampire bats really "vant to suck your blood"? Dr. Best said this is another misconception. The three known species of vampire bats are usually only found in parts of Mexico and South America and feed solely on the blood of birds or mammals other than humans. Popular culture has taken a particularly gruesome aspect of these bats' diet and capitalized on it.
From Bruce Wayne to Dracula, chiroptophobia--the fear of bats--has been a source of horror movie gold, but for the bat population this has been a great disservice.
"I've heard stories of exterminators taking bats out of houses and stepping on them," Moore said. Attics resemble caves to bats and because of urbanization, the odds of having a screeching, flying guest in your home have increased.
"They are for the most part harmless," Hirt said. "Just like any wild animal, you don't want to pick it up."
If you end up playing host to a bat, Hirt advised opening the windows and doors of your house or apartment and allowing the bat to find its own way out.
To help spread education about bat populations in Alabama, Dr. Best and the Tri-Beta COSAM Honor Society organized the 32nd annual Bat Walk at the Donald E. Davis Arboretum, which was held Oct. 26.
Information was geared to anyone interested in learning about bats, but Tri-Beta likes teaching children about bats in particular. In addition to showing a film and a Q & A session, attendees were able to hunt for bats in the arboretum using night-vision goggles and get close to bats humanely captured by Tri-Beta for the event. At the end of the night, the bats were released into the arboretum. Moore served as the emcee at the event.
"This is making them less scary and make people realize that they are very important for agriculture," Moore said.
Bats are an integral part of the ecology in Alabama and with education, Best, Moore and Hirt hope to spread the positive image bats deserve.
(11/01/13 1:00pm)
After dressing for class in my disheveled room, guzzling coffee and then brushing my teeth, the pause provided by the care it takes to apply lipstick felt like a sigh.
Leaning over my bathroom sink and focusing on my reflection behind small splatters of toothpaste, I saw imperfection -- the blemishes I had tried to conceal, the stubborn dry spots and the bite I left on my bottom lip after wrestling for the right words to finish an article overnight.
It bothered me.
But as my lips rouged to "Rum Raisin" by Maybelline, the anxiety eased.
The effect was akin to Clark Kent changing in a phone booth. I squinted my eyes and there she was: this sharp, confident woman who's able to walk up to anyone and start a conversation, aiming at her goals with sharpshooter precision.
I wore lipstick like an emblem of fearlessness and sophistication.
Something uneasy brushed me as I gazed at my proud reflection. I realized the lipstick wasn't magic -- the confidence lived inside me all the time, but I could only, for some strange reason, draw it out when I felt I looked attractive.
As a Southern woman in my 20s, I have become an expert illusionist.
I know which heels I should wear to elongate my 5-foot-1 frame, I know how to cinch my dresses with a belt to create a waistline and I know how to contour my cheeks with blush to create "instant cheekbones!"-- as is written on the back of my CoverGirl blush compact.
A deep-red lipstick makes me feel like Wonder Woman, and changes the way I carry myself.
Pride sizzles through me with each application of this stuff -- this tasteless stick of chemicals.
But what is wrong with me if the poise vanishes when the makeup comes off?
Do I value other people's opinions of me so much it dictates how I feel about myself and approach others?
And why can't I feel kick-ass without makeup? The feeling obviously exists somewhere inside me.
What I do know is this: Wonder Woman is beautiful. She was painted by a man to be an ideal. She has an ageless face, small shorts and huge breasts.
And I can't relate to her at all.
To me, she is not a feminist icon because not a single woman I know looks or acts like her.
She is just art.
She's a doodle on a page acting out masculine stories.
What I want is more than that. I want to discover who I am without hiding behind a mask our culture has drawn for me.
No Makeup November is an experiment in confidence. It is a search for answers.
I pledge, here and now, to not apply makeup (or society's definition of beauty) to my face for the entire month.
I predict it won't be easy, but the goal in this is to learn about myself and ideas of beauty.
So, if you are reading this and you want to give it a shot with me -- even for a week, or a day -- email me sheehrk@Auburn.edu.
We can get coffee and talk about our journey together. Solidarity, sister!
(10/28/13 1:00pm)
The hearse careened into the parking lot and jerked to a halt, sending the skeleton hanging from its rear-view mirror into a frenzied jig.
Faith Serafin, founder and director of the Alabama Paranormal Research Team, emerged from the driver's side into the night air. Jared Long, her 16-year-old son, walked up nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just exited a vehicle normally reserved for one-way trips.
Serafin looked the part of a ghost hunter. Jet-haired, tattooed and mysterious upon first glance, she broke the image of a Gothic spiritual medium when she smiled broadly and shook hands.
A regional history expert, Serafin's duty is to research every angle of a rumored haunting before declaring paranormal activity the blame.
Of her choice in transportation, Serafin said people began to accept it "after you don't give a damn anymore. You're either going to be the crazy cat lady or the crazy lady who drives a hearse."
She spoke of her childhood encounters with the paranormal and the haunted house she now lives in in Salem, Ala.
When asked if the haunted house troubled her, she laughed and said, "Lady, I drive a hearse."
A breeze whistled a reminder of late fall and rustled the leaves of nearby trees. Looking up at the Telfair Peet Theatre, Serafin said, "Everything paranormal that you could possibly want is in this building right here."
She explained that every ghost story has some validity to it, and the chilling aspects of Auburn's past make it an ideal setting for a ghostly tale.
"Sydney Grimlett is part of the history here at Auburn," Serafin said.
Grimlett was one of 98 Confederate soldiers who died in 1893 in the University Chapel on College Street which served as an infirmary during the Civil War.
When the Auburn University Players, originally known as the Footlights, moved their student organization to the chapel in the late 1920s, a series of strange events led them to believe the chapel was haunted.
According to Serafin's co-written book, "Haunted Auburn and Opelika", the Auburn Players acting troupe has reported loud banging, missing props and costumes, dark shadows and disembodied voices.
When the theatre department moved to the Telfair Peet Theatre in 1971, Sydney allegedly followed and so did his desire to wreak havoc on performances if he was not left candy before each play.
Gary Castriota, senior in theatre tech and design, has had a couple run-ins with Sydney.
"I believe in spirits and that people's spirits can stay around after they've passed," Castriota said.
Some students are less inclined to believe Sydney or any other campus poltergeist actually exists.
"I don't think I believe in ghosts," said Alina Chanysheva, graduate student in chemical engineering. "I think maybe they're just joking."
After prompting Sydney with questions, a K2 meter, a device that reads residual energy from a spirit, revealed his favorite colors of M&Ms: orange and blue.
"I've been doing this for move than 20 years and I've never seen anything like it," Serafin said.
The ghost tour continued on to Samford Hall, via hearse, of course.
A jangling garland of skeletons graced the back window, and against the cab divider rested a ghost box -- a boom box rigged to scan continuously, providing white noise through which spirits can supposedly communicate.
Historically, Samford lawn was used to pile the corpses of Sydney Grimlett and his 97 fallen comrades until arrangements were made for burial -- a mass grave at the back of Pine Hill Cemetery.
Superstitions claim a man in Confederate uniform toting a shotgun can be seen in the Samford tower. Across South College Street, at the Auburn University Chapel, reports have been made concerning the faucets in the ladies' room.
"The water seems to come on and off on its own," Serafin said.
The last stop on the tour of haunted Auburn was Pine Hill Cemetery, where an inexplicable glowing orb of bouncing light was once seen.
At the site of Grimlett's shared grave, Serafin described how ghost stories can help get children excited about learning about their heritage.
"There's so much of it that's unwritten that we only know through folklore and legends," Serafin said.
Her work as the official guide of the Sea Ghosts Tours at Port Columbus National Civil War Naval Museum and with elementary schools in Lee County has indulged her fascination with southeastern history and put her in prime position to spread the story of the past.
"If I can have an impact on one kid just by reading ["Haunted Auburn and Opelika"] so that they know their history, even if it's just a ghost story that's getting them involved, they're still learning," Serafin said.
(10/17/13 6:22pm)
Alicia Roden said her procrastination was just the catalyst needed to kick-start the Equality Alabama renaissance.
The graphic designer from Montevallo said she was working on another project when she felt inspired to draft the clever, pro-equality slogans, "War Equal" and "Roll Pride."
The graphics uploaded to Equality Alabama's Facebook page went viral and T-shirt designs were soon in demand.
Timing was ideal for the volunteer-run organization, which had just begun ramping up fundraising.
The organization, based in Birmingham, declared its mission to further the rights of LGBT Alabamians where they live, work and play.
Equality Alabama has seen a huge response to Roden's shirts, with more than 300 pre-ordered in the first 10 days of their availability, earning a total of more than $5,000.
Sales go directly to funding Equality Alabama's town hall meetings, satellite offices, advocacy campaigns, school visits and bully prevention education.
The purpose of the T-shirts, however, is not strictly monetary. The shirts spread a visual message supporting equal rights for LGBT populations in Alabama.
Michael Hansen, communications chair for Equality Alabama said the shirts are "a safe way to show that they support equality and at the same time open a dialogue on their campus."
The navy and orange "War Equal" shirts make an obvious connection between fans of Auburn football and supporters of gay rights, though Hansen and Roden said they were careful not to infringe on any copyright issues with the University.
"I think it's really cool that there's something I can wear that combines two things I'm passionate about," said Anna Lee, Auburn alumna and gay rights supporter.
Hansen said bringing up the issue of gay rights to two of the largest SEC schools has brought anticipated backlash from opponents of the message.
"That's to be expected -- that comes with any news story about anything," Hansen said.
In general, Hansen and Roden said their products have received a gracious reception.
Lee pointed out the generational differences of Auburn students today as a reason for more tolerance.
"I think it could get a pretty good reaction from other students," Lee said. "In the South, you would think people would be more homophobic, but actually young people are more supportive."
Hansen encouraged students to take an active role in spreading the message of Equality Alabama.
"The more young people who can share their story, be involved, be active and show their support, the further the movement will go," Hansen said.
According to Hansen, the movement toward acceptance begins on an individual level.
"Telling your story and being open is probably the most important step in advancing equality in Alabama," Hansen said.
Equality Alabama has committees in major Alabama cities, including an Auburn/Opelika chapter. To get involved, contact Michael Hansen at Info@EqualityAlabama.org.
Shirts are available online for $22 and come in both crew neck and V-neck styles.
To purchase a "War Equal" T-shirt, visit EqualityAlabama.org.
(10/17/13 6:17pm)
Homecoming weekend was given a dose of chic courtesy of Her Campus, the leading online publication for college women.
Auburn students mounted the catwalk for College Fashion Week Friday, Oct. 11, in the Dixon Conference Center at The Hotel at Auburn University.
Auburn was one of four cities chosen to hold the event along with San Diego at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Orlando, Fla. at the University of Central Florida, and Boston, Her Campus' hometown.
Cities were chosen based on the strength of their Her Campus chapter, and Auburn earned recognition as one of the most successful, hardest-working branches.
The fashion show came to Auburn through the efforts of juniors Kerry Coppinger and Alexis Brost, president and editor-in-chief, respectively, of the Auburn chapter of Her Campus.
They and their team of writers beat out more than 250 national and international chapters for the honor of playing host to the event.
Windsor Western, president and publisher of Her Campus, said she was eager to feature a southern school for College Fashion Week.
"College life in the South is so unique, and there's so much passion and school spirit," Western said.
As the auditorium filled, the first 100 guests received VIP passes and "swag bags" stuffed with Luna Bars, Neuro Sonic drinks and Poppin' desk essentials.
Music provided by Auburn's DJ Ego pulsed through the room and models took the stage in affordable, trendy styles for "college cuties" and "collegiettes," Weston's terms for "girls that are smart, girls that are career-driven, but girls that are also fashion savvy and want to know the latest trends."
Four scenes gave spectators ideas of ready-to-wear outfits for loungewear, class attire, game day dresses and night-out ensembles.
Pieces were provided by Lilly Pulitzer, Adidas, Henri Girl, Rampage and Bongo.
Independent fashion designers for UsTrendy.com were also highlighted for being fashion-forward while remaining budget-friendly.
Samsonite provided accessories and the models wore Cover Girl makeup.
Western directed models to smile and enjoy themselves -- a departure from the pouting models on Paris or New York runways.
The young men and women modeling were Auburn students and mostly first-time models, which explained the minor timing glitches during the show.
Margo Kaestner, sophomore in public relations, walked in the "You Snooze, You Lose" and "Go to Class? I am Class" scenes.
She said she got on board after receiving an invite on Facebook.
"I've always had people be like, 'Oh, you're really tall! You should do it,'" Kaestner said. "And I thought, why not?"
The biggest surprise of the night was a musical performance by Navy ROTC students Jake Shurts and Tanner Roach.
The duo entertained with mellow covers of songs by Lorde and Bruno Mars while the crew set up between scenes.
"We want to make sure that we are highlighting some of the other student talent that we have at each campus," Western said.
According to Kerry Coppinger, president of Her Campus at Auburn, the final product went exactly according to plan.
"So much planning went into this event, so I'm so happy with how it turned out," Coopinger said.
(10/10/13 6:45pm)
On Oct. 17, from 6-9 p.m. the Lake Martin Area United Way will host its first fashion show in Alexander City.
Judith March designer Stephanie Carter will be showcasing exclusive first looks from her 2014 spring collection at the Shoppes of Queen's Attic.
A trunk show featuring Carter's popular game day dresses will follow with wine and hors d'oeuvres from local eateries. All proceeds from ticket sales and the trunk show will go to the United Way to benefit the area.
In the past two years, Tallapoosa County has suffered from many tornadoes, and July brought the Russell Corporation's announcement to lay off more than half of its Alexander City employees and threaten the city's financial stability.
For the United Way, these events meant resorting to innovative methods to raise money for services such as Meals on Wheels and the Boys and Girls Clubs.
Luckily for philanthropists and fashionistas alike, initiatives coordinator of the Lake Martin Area United Way, Stephan Tomlin, has remained friends with the Judith March creator since they graduated from Troy State.
Tomlin recalled Carter's beginning selling clothes to sorority houses, which blossomed into the fashion powerhouse that it is today.
Because of her humble start and tenacity to achieve her goals, Carter has made a point of supporting charities.
To Carter, fashion and charity go hand-in-hand.
Carter said her goal is to boost confidence.
"Doing the right thing makes you feel more confident as a woman," Carter said.
When Tomlin asked her to bring designs to the benefit, Carter didn't hesitate.
"It warms your heart when somebody cares enough about other people to be able to give back," said Sharon Fuller, executive director of the Lake Martin Area United Way.
During the event, guests will mingle with the designer and the CEO of Southern Fashion House, Christy Carlisle Smith.
In August, childhood friends Carter and Smith developed Southern Fashion House in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla. to be parent company to Carter's lines Judith March, Deja Vu and Jacque & Janis, as well as two labels which are still in development.
Smith, an Auburn apparel design alumna and native of Troy, spent 10 years working in New York City eventually becoming the senior designer for couture eveningwear label Kay Unger.
With only high praise for the Auburn University Department of Consumer and Design sciences, Smith encouraged students.
"Take opportunities that are given to you," Smith said. "You have to take those chances and just let life take you places."
She said the call from Carter to start the fashion house was a surprise, but she is happy to be back in the South.
"To me fashion is starting to go more Southern anyway," Carter said, referring to the latest runway trends which employ lace detailing and chambray fabric as well as a movement toward designs that are simultaneously romantic and casual.
In addition to Southern Fashion House labels, attendees can expect to shop among booths set up by more than 10 Alexander City retailers plus Fringe Consignment Boutique from Auburn.
Tickets to the event cost $25 and include drinks and food.
They may be purchased at Fringe Consignment Boutique at 2436 E. University Drive in Auburn.
Call the Lake Martin Area United Way at 256-329-3600 for volunteer opportunities and directions to Queen's Attic. Visit their Facebook event page for more information.
(10/08/13 1:00pm)
Jocsan Rivera is becoming famous, whether he realizes it or not.
The Auburn "Ukulele Guy," a freshman in software engineering, learned to play the ukulele upon arrival at Auburn four weeks ago and has been filling the campus with music ever since.
His lilting tunes can be heard on the concourse daily from noon-2 p.m. The light, friendly sound offers an auditory repose to the fast-paced lives of typical college students.
Students said they enjoy sitting at the student center and hearing him play. They also said it helps alleviate the stress of school.
While many students enjoy his music and recognize his face, Jocsan (Joc for short) still remains somewhat of a mystery. But Auburn's troubadour is open to any conversation.
Bespectacled and grinning, Joc met for the interview at the Student Center Starbucks. He had already ordered two pumpkin spice lattes and strummed as we waited for the order to come up.
"Do you want to sing?" Rivera often asks spectators. The spontaneity is often met with an embarassed, but polite, 'no.'
At a table on a third floor balcony, Joc laid down Eustace, his Diamond Head soprano ukulele. Joc exudes an energy and warmth.
He is quick, bright and easy to talk to, but admitted he has not always been comfortable with performing. He credits his outgoing personality to his accidental foray into show choir as a high schooler in Orlando, Fla. Intending to sign up for a general music class, an administrative error put him in the performance class he grew to love.
Experience as a youth pastor for New Beginnings Church in Dothan, for the past three years also got him used to meeting new people.
Inspired after hearing ukulele stars IZ and Jake Shimabukuro, Joc tried his hand at the instrument. Practicing the ukulele on campus was born out of convenience, but after seeing students' responses to it, Joc realized it served another purpose.
"I figured if I was having a bad day and a guy with weird glasses and a ukulele came up to me and started singing, it would make me feel better," Rivera said.
Joc's musical education began early. His parents, who are from Puerto Rico, sang and danced to Bachata and Merengue records.
Lately, Joc has developed an appreciation for the music of the Rat Pack and cites "Mack the Knife" as his favorite song.
On Friday nights, you can find him dancing with the Auburn University Swing Dance Association at the Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center.
Kathryn Hoerlein, senior in industrial engineering and AUSDA instructor, met Joc playing his ukulele in a hallway before dance class.
"He seemed really friendly and really excited about swing dancing," Hoerlein said.
Rivera plays his instrument wherever he goes and frequently gets requests. He's learning the Auburn fight song and more Jack Johnson per students' suggestions, but his main goal is to get everyone involved in the performance.
Even though some decline, Joc always asks listeners to sing with him.
"I'm always telling people we're going to change the world today," Rivera said. "We're going to sing a song, we're going to do something crazy.
While most reactions to Joc's playing have been positive, he has had a couple negative encounters.
One such occasion involved a student who vented about how much she wanted to set the ukulele on fire to shut Joc up.
Rivera said, "it's fireproof," and was met with appreciative laughter from listeners nearby.
"I'm begging for a reaction," Rivera said. "It's either going to be positive or negative, and I'm going to learn how to deal with the negative."
For Rivera, the ability to change someone's life through music is more important than backlash from the people who find him annoying.
"I brought it to play and try to make somebody smile," Rivera said. "And I'm gonna keep doing it until people stop smiling."
Jocsan Rivera can be reached at Facebook.com/AuburnUkuleleGuy.
Rivera also started The Auburn United Ukulele Collaboration.
Meetings are Tuesdays at 5 p.m. in the Auburn University Student Center starting mid-October.
(09/26/13 4:05am)
A voice greets the audience as the house lights dim: "Ladies, gentlemen and others, welcome to Terra Incognita, where life as we know it is not, well, as we know it."
The Auburn University Department of Theatre selected Eric Overmyer's comedy, "On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning" to kick off its centennial season.
Inspired by the journals of female adventurers, the play follows three Victorian-American women who trek to locations unknown.
While exploring the uncharted territory Terra Incognita, they discover they are moving forward through time and eventually end up in the progressive, consumer-driven 1950s.
This play invites audiences to set aside their notions of a typical story arc.
Rather than a realistic or filmic presentation, "On the Verge" indulges in theatricality.
Daydrie Hague, director and associate professor of theatre, said it is constructed to be a journey of the imagination, which may be unusual to some audiences at first.
"These women are discovering the outer world and the inner world of themselves at the same time," Hague said. "The idea of the Victorian sensibility coming up against modern and consumer culture, that's where the fun is -- those two worlds colliding."
The actors were required not only to learn their lines, but also to grasp a difficult vocabulary.
To express the definitions of more lofty words, Hague, a specialist in language, dialect and vocal technique, guided the three female leads to embody the language.
"We really worked on using a lot of imagery and really took time to go through the language and make sure we understand exactly what we're saying," said Anna Claire Walker, senior in theatre and Mary Baltimore in the play.
Walker, along with actors and juniors in theatre Daley Browning and Anna Caudle, was cast at the end of the spring semester.
Walker said her favorite word from the script: "Echolalia: (n.) repeated vocalizations; often found in infants as they discover the capacity to talk."
The actors' ability to handle challenging text went into the casting process, and roles were chosen based on the women's imagination, commitment and energy.
With a long rehearsal period, the cast prepared for their roles by researching lives of Victorian female explorers.
Caudle said it wasn't difficult to relate to her character, Alexandra Cafuffle.
"I think her passion is really inspirational -- that really resonates with me," Caudle said. "I like that she speaks her mind and that she's very far from perfect."
Fereshteh Rostampour, associate professor of theatre and an award-winning set designer, said she used the imaginative world of the play as inspiration.
Five rotating, mirrored panels and computer projections convey time travel, while a bare set allows the stage to easily transform into exotic locales.
Tracy Oleinick, associate professor of theatre and the play's costume designer, said she modified traditional Victorian fashions to allow the actors a broader range of movement.
"On the Verge" is about adventure, challenging the norm and mapping the geography of one's inner life. It celebrates intellectual exploration and the eccentricities of the English language. Though the protagonists are females with a Victorian perspective, Auburn audiences can expect to walk away with fresh inspiration to take on life's challenges.
"It's an important commentary on empowerment," Browning said. "It's a commentary about discovering yourself and going out and living your life."
Caudle's urged theatre-goers to open their hearts to the play. She said she hopes people will go on their own journey with them.
"It is spring in our minds, ladies," Mary Baltimore said in the script. "A New World. Blossoming! Within and without!"
"On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning" runs Sept. 26-29 and Oct. 1-4. Contact the Auburn University Theatre box office at 334-844-4154 to reserve tickets.
All Auburn students will receive 1 complimentary ticket with valid student ID.
(09/11/13 3:45pm)
The Burn City Rollers look like a small gang.