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(11/20/13 5:16am)
The Auburn City Council met Tuesday, Nov. 19, to discuss board vacancies, traffic developments, the purchase of the Auburn Depot, but Council member Arthur Dowdell dominated the meeting with claims of racial discrimination.
Two men spoke on behalf of Christopher Turner during Citizens' Communications. Turner is an African-American firefighter suing the Auburn Fire Department for alleged racial discrimination after he was demoted from lieutenant to firefighter.
Turner's attorney, Julian McPhillips demanded the council to eliminate the fire department assessment test, which screens candidates for promotion.
"Eighteen years and we have not had a black promoted," Dowdell said during the meeting. "Only because we have allowed the assessment center to be there and it should be deleted, it should not even be there. But we got it there. To me, it's there only to predicate things upon black firefighters."
Dowdell said he is concerned, as an elected official, with what he sees in the city.
"Do we really look like America?" Dowdell said. "We aren't going any place. We got black and white, rich and poor."
Dowdell did admit the Auburn Police Division fit his qualifications and reflected America.
"We believe our hiring and promotional practices are race-neutral," said Charlie Duggan, city manager. "Race does not play a part in our decision making. We hire and promote the most qualified candidates for the job."
Duggan assured professionals with experience and background in fire service run the assessment center.
"They come in, and they rate individuals on a number of criteria, not just the test. They put them through a number of exercises," Duggan said. "We believe the most qualified are identified and promoted."
While McPhillips was at the stand, he passed envelopes filled with case details to all council members and the press.
Mayor Bill Ham could not answer questions, because the lawsuit lists him, along with many other city officials, as defendants in the case.
"I thoroughly, faithfully, believe this city is fair in all of its practices and the council has no authority in hiring anybody," Ham said. "I personally think that's a good thing. It's unfortunate that these accusations are out there, but certainly that's what lawyers do."
Dowdell followed these accusations toward city officials with concerns that school principals have expressed racial issues in the school system to him.
"I'm not going to retire from this city council or somebody defeat me until we see change for all of the people in the city of Auburn," Dowdell said. "And let the record know that I was the first to say students should have a voice in this city council. Let's be realistic, we all know why we don't allow students to be here when we have elections."
In reply, Ham said that for the past two city elections, Auburn University was in session for the fall semester.
In other council news,
* Current city code restricts solicitation from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Phelan proposed the code be altered to 8 a.m. until dark.
* The council approved alcoholic beverage license for J and S Food Mart at 1700 Opelika Road, and a no parking zone stretching from 600 to 604 Edgewood Drive.
* It also approved a development agreement between the city and Eastwynn Theaters, Carmike Wynnsong Cinemas, to redevelop the area to make infrastructure improvements in order to redevelop the facility.
* Approved four planning commission recommendations dealing with the Auburn Club Fitness Center, Initial Outfitters, Project Special K and Vapor Craft of Auburn.
* Approved a sewer study conducted by Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. to evaluate the sewer system's sufficiency rates and sewer operational fees.
* Approved a contract with C.W. Smith Decorating Co. to complete sealant and wall restoration work at the Douglas J. Watson Municipal Complex. The cost of the restoration is $201,083 to include labor, equipment and materials.
* Approved a preliminary engineering agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation to install stagger traffic signals to control traffic in the City. The council approved to match the funding of the project. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $760,500 with federal funding through the Metropolitan Planning Organization of $608,400 (80%) and City match funding of $152,100 (20%).
* Approved various drainage and utility easements for One-Sixty Ross Subdivision and 2025 Brenton Lane.
* Appointed Rex Griffin to the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. His term is effective immediately and will end March 8, 2017.
* Appointed Bobby Poole and Doug Klinkenborg to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The terms expire March 8, 2017.
* The council approved for the Industrial Board to purchase the Auburn Depot, located at 104, 120 and 124 Mitcham Ave., for economic development.
(10/02/13 12:14am)
The new film "The Butler" certainly delivered some potential Oscar nominees for 2014.
The film tells the story of Cecil Gaines, a man who obtains a position as a butler at the White House during the Eisenhower administration and serves every president until Ronald Reagan.
The film shows what it was like for the African-American White House staff during the civil rights movement and how each president handled and treated the staff and the movement.
Cecil Gaines, played by Oscar-winner Forrest Whitaker, handles each situation the same. He is loyal to the president and keeps his vow of secrecy as his most important duty.
While watching this movie I was lost in the transition they put Whitaker's character through and how he handled each stage of life so well.
There are a ton of films yet to debut this year that have strong male leads and so Whitaker's a big possibility for a nomination this year, it is still not guaranteed.
David Oyelowo could emerge with a best supporting actor nomination from "The Butler." He plays Louis Gaines, the rebellious son of Cecil and Gloria Gaines.
Louis sees his parents as people who will not take a stand against the government that is holding his people back from what they truly could be.
We see Louis struggle the entire time with his identity and his role in the Civil Rights Movement.
He becomes a Freedom Rider and more extreme as time goes on until he becomes a part of the Black Panther party who encourages violence instead of peaceful demonstrations. Oyelowo played the role well and I think has an extremely high chance of receiving a nomination.
The next role that presents itself as an Oscar contender is Gloria Gaines, played by Oscar nominee Oprah Winfrey.
Cecil Gaines' wife struggles with alcoholism and jealousy while her husband remains dedicated to his job.
Winfrey was nominated in 1986 for her supporting role in "The Color Purple." Because she's "Oprah," I think this may be the year she takes home the golden statue.
The next nominee from this movie will almost certainly be Lee Daniels for best director.
Daniels has had extreme success in the last five years with films such as "Precious" and "The Paper Boy."
Daniels has been nominated but has never been the recipient of the award, and this year could be the year. However, there is some stiff competition from directors such as Martin Scorsese, Alexander Payne and George Clooney.
With the success of these movies, and the film industry wanting to highlight new talent, this could be Daniels' year to take home the win.
The only factor playing against "The Butler" is its early August release date. Most films nominated are usually premiered after the first of October.
This isn't always the case, but is most of the time.
However, I still feel that this was an excellent movie that everyone should see and that it has a great shot at some big nominations.
(11/10/13 6:45pm)
It was not the best of starts for the Auburn special teams unit Saturday in Knoxville.
After hitting 90 consecutive extra-point attempts, Auburn kicker Cody Parkey's kick on the Tigers' opening touchdown was blocked by Daniel McCullers, a 6-foot-8 defensive tackle for the Volunteers.
But 51 minutes of game time later, that same unit was celebrating one of the best special teams performances in college football history.
After an 85-yard punt return from Chris Davis in the second quarter and a 90-yard kickoff return from Corey Grant to start the third quarter, the Tigers finished with 312 total return yards -- 65 yards shy of the all-time NCAA record. Davis and Grant's touchdowns marked the first time in school history the Tigers had a kick return for a touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown in one game.
"Those (touchdowns) were big," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said after Saturday's win. "The punt return was a really good one because we blocked well at the point of attack. Corey Grant was able to cut it back across the field (on the kick return), and he has real speed. Our team did a great job with that today."
Malzahn attributed the Tigers' special teams resurgence against the Volunteers to the work of assistant coach Scott Fountain.
"Coach Fountain has worked extremely hard on the little things in these last couple of weeks," Malzahn said. "We felt like we were close in a couple of areas, and (Fountain) and his staff have done a really good job on focusing in. Those were two huge plays, and they helped us win the game."
Tre Mason's first rushing touchdown of the afternoon at Neyland Stadium tied the game up at 13, but the Volunteers still had momentum in front of a sellout Homecoming crowd.
But after the Auburn defense forced Tennessee specialist Michael Palardy to punt, Davis swung the momentum straight back to the visitors.
"It felt good to take one to the house," Davis said. "Punt returns are something I take pride in, but I have to give the touchdown to the 10 guys in front of me on that one. We worked hard on that technique this week."
Davis's 85-yard touchdown was Auburn's longest punt return since 1970 and the team's first punt return for a touchdown since 2008.
While Palardy made a touchdown-saving tackle on Davis's first return of the day, a 42-yarder that set up Nick Marshall's touchdown pass to C.J. Uzomah, Davis made sure he was not going to be caught on his second chance--even after he muffed the return.
"I just dropped it," Davis said. "I still had time to pick it up and run with it, though, and that's what I did. (Punt returners) have to be aggressive, even when you drop the ball...I mean, you see that in the (NFL)."
Although the Tigers led by two touchdowns heading into the locker room at the half, Marshall's pick-six toward the end of the second quarter gave the Volunteers a glimmer of hope.
Then, once again, a huge return changed the game.
Before all of the fans at Neyland Stadium could get settled into their seats for the second half, the speedy Grant raced past the Tennessee coverage for a 90-yard score.
"It was just a great return," Grant said. "The guys in front did their jobs blocking, and I saw that cutback open up. I decided to take that chance, and it turned into a big play."
Although Davis and Grant's performances in the return game took most of the spotlight in Saturday's win, punter Steven Clark made the most out of his two punts against the Volunteers.
The senior punter, who is a national semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, hit a 57-yard punt inside the Volunteers' 20 and a 37-yard punt that changed field position before Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs's third-quarter interception. Like most of his punts this season, neither were returned by the Volunteers, who finished with zero return yards against the Tigers.
According to several members of the Auburn team, a big day in the special teams game was on the cards because of how hard the team had been working in that area.
"We always preach about being big on special teams," said Robenson Therezie, Auburn's starting "star" against Tennessee. "Today was the first day we had a really big special teams game, so this one really feels good."
(11/07/13 9:49pm)
The Department of Political Science hosted the Political Science Leadership Award Ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 7 in the Student Center for the second year in a row.
One of the House of Representative's members, Mike D. Rogers, presented the award to Elliott Lynn, senior in political science.
Tara Jones, senior in marketing, was awarded for her position as Miss Auburn.
Steve Brown, chair for the department of political science, says there is a faculty nomination process that determines who the one winner will be, out of the many students that applied.
Brown said they hold high standards for potential winners of the award and look for students that have more than just high GPA.
"Someone who has a high GPA is often very involved in a lot of other activities," Brown said. "We look for an all around package of a solid student, solid citizen and just a great representative of Auburn."
Jones is involved on campus with the Student Government Association and was elected Miss Auburn in 2012, where her campaign helped raise approximately $7,500 for the water crisis.
Lynn is also involved in many things on Auburn's campus, such as the Student Eminent Society in the College of Liberal Arts.
Lynn does mission work through his church at home, First Baptist, and has interned for the Office of Legislative Affairs in Washington D.C.
When Lynn found out he had won the award in May, he said he was very surprised.
"I knew everyone who applied was really qualified," Lynn said. "It was an honor just to be able to apply."
His parents, grandmother, brother and sister came to the ceremony to support him.
Jim Lynn, Elliott Lynn's father, said he thought the award showed a great recognition of the interest he has taken in politics and government.
"He's really jumped into the subject whole-heartedly," Jim Lynn said. "Hopefully making his life's work, in one manner or another, public service and politics and government. It's a good step for him. We're proud of him."
(11/11/13 6:00pm)
Chase Mitchell is writing in New York, but not for the type of outlet he anticipated when he graduated from Auburn University with a degree in journalism in 2006.
After spending some time writing at the Gwinnett Daily Post and working in marketing, Mitchell started pursuing a comedy writing career, and now works for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon."
He has contributed jokes to the Weekend Update portion of "Saturday Night Live," and he has written for SomeeCards.com, Collegehumor.com and "Nikki and Sarah Live."
Mitchell said he expects to be on the staff as a writer when Fallon takes over as host of "The Tonight Show" in February.
His Twitter handle is @ChaseMit.
(11/01/13 5:20pm)
Leaping from edge to edge, as if flying was possible, the Auburn Parkour Club turns an afternoon on campus into a practice area for an extreme sport.
"Parkour, technically, is the art form of getting from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible," said Dylan Westfall, sophomore in kinesiology and member of the club. "Instead of walking up the stairs and around the wall, you just go up and over the wall. You can always add your own flair and style."
Westfall said Auburn's campus is a great facility to practice on.
"It's not padded, but we have obstacles that you cant find anywhere else, such as the way they've built the wheelchair ramps and walls and just random structures," Westfall said.
The University allows the club to train on campus as long as no property is destroyed and no one goes on rooftops.
The Auburn Parkour Club was founded seven years ago by Cory Robinson, a former Auburn Police officer and now full-time stunt double.
The club meets new parkour trainers at jams, events where parkour enthusiasts meet others interested in parkour and go through timed obstacle course challenges.
"I really like (parkour) for the community," Jonathan Sligh, sophomore in wireless engineering and member of the club. "I wouldn't have known these people if I didn't actually go out and train. You already have that common ground, you just build on it from there."
Ibrahim Hakima, senior in aerospace engineering and member of the club, has even trained with people in China.
With leaping across buildings and walls on a daily basis, injuries are a common occurrence.
The injuries the members of the club include twisted ankles, dislocated shoulders and concussions.
"Some of the injuries can set you back, especially leg injuries," said Filipe Magalhaes, junior in industrial design and member of the club. "When I would get my ankle injuries, it would be so bad that I would have to stop for two months."
Although Magalhaes has injured himself many times while practicing parkour, he said he will never stop trying to improve.
"When I was a freshman in high school, I saw a viral video of these Russian guys that really inspired me," Magalhaes said. "Every since I saw that video, I'll go around and see a wall and run on the wall. Eventually, I wanted to take it further, so around my junior year, I started researching and found a gym close to me, and I've been going there for the past four years."
Magalhae's ultimate goal is to audition for "American Ninja Warrior," a show on the Esquire network where competitors run through a series of obstacle courses in pursuit to win the grand prize of $500,000.
Westfall said he also hopes to pursue parkour after graduation.
"I want to start my own parkour group to teach kids," Westfall said. "There are not a lot of safe facilities to train with all the concrete and grass."
Parkour gives members an excuse to work out outside the gym.
"I'm pretty athletic, so parkour actually gives me something to do instead of hitting the gym and then going home and watching TV," said Kevin Doan, undeclared freshman and member of the club.
Dimick Beesley, sophomore at Auburn High School and member of the club, started taking interest in parkour after watching "American Ninja Warrior."
"I started to watch them and (began) practicing (the moves) on my trampoline," Beesley said.
Although many know of the Auburn Parkour Club for their "Tosh.0" fame debut, Westfall sets the record straight about the trick mishap.
Westfall said the woman on the video clip is a professional parkour athlete who was just visiting from Washington D.C. for a jam at Auburn.
"People get injured all the time, that was just a freak accident," Westfall said. "She broke her jaw and sliced her cheeks. She basically curb stomped her face into the ledge."
Despite injuries, Sligh said parkour has many benefits.
"(Parkour) strives to keep you in shape," Sligh said. "You have to work to keep in shape to do the moves, and parkour helps you get over fears."
To join the club, anyone interested can post on the Auburn Parkour Facebook page.
(10/28/13 5:00am)
This year, University Directories, the nation's leading collegiate media and marketing company out of Chapel Hill, N.C., is putting on a sweepstakes that appeals to college student's favorite holiday, spring break.
Through its deal-driven website and mobile application, AroundCampus.com, University Directories is offering several different prizes and a grand prize of an all-expenses paid spring break trip for two.
The sweepstakes, called "The Party's on us," will give 70 "party packs" containing free spring break themed items, a $500 spring break discount voucher and a grand prize spring break trip for two.
"I wouldn't mind going on the spring break trip for two but I think there would be more demand for entering the sweepstakes,"said Graham Rochester, sophomore in civil engineering. "As for the spring break discount voucher, I'd like that in cash if that would be possible,"
Students at more than 200 universities can access the application by picking the campus that the student attends. Participating local businesses have the option to place coupons and deals that are easily used and shared from the online and mobile platforms.
AroundCampus.com won the best application award for "Best College Student App" and continues to work on expanding its online and mobile platforms.
Each participating local business has a full profile on Around Campus that provides business contact information, a direct link to business websites and map directions from Google Maps.
Businesses in Auburn, such as Sky Bar Cafe, Tropical Smoothie, Island Wing Company and Brick Oven Pizza participate in Around Campus.
Browsing through the local businesses, each business uses the application differently to market their businesses.
Sky Bar Cafe uses the app to advertise their nightly drink specials and events while Tropical Smoothie offers $20 off any item coupons.
These coupons can be redeemed directly from Androids or IPhones via the application.
Application users have found the redeemable coupons on a mobile device have made couponing easier.
"I've actually known about this app for a little while now," said Matt Winne, sophomore in economics. "I would say that it definitely makes getting money off of my orders a lot easier and I don't have to go through a newspaper to find the coupons."
"The Party's On Us" sweepstakes is one of the ways for University Directories to expand its platforms.
The sweepstakes, which began Sept. 15, will run through Nov. 12.
In order to be eligible to win the prize packages, students simply download the application and select "enter me in the sweepstakes."
Students can create an account for free.
Local businesses, as well as students benefit from AroundCampus.com.
The difficulty of couponing is made easier through the AroundCampus.com application and can help students save money.
(10/19/13 7:00pm)
Love it or hate it, Lilly Pulitzer is invading college campuses. With bold prints and bright colors, the designs are hard to miss.
The Auburn University Bookstore, located in Haley Center, has started carrying more Lilly Pulitzer products.
"We've been carrying the planners for a couple of semesters now," said Lauren Jones, technology manager for the bookstore.
Jones also said they started carrying technology cases last spring, including phone cases, iPad sleeves and iPad folio cases.
Jones said the planners have been popular among the students, and they have had to reorder them several times.
According to Jones, the technology cases sold out completely, especially when the new line of patterns came in.
"Most of the time, the Lilly thing sells better," Jones said of the line in comparison to other products sold at the bookstore. "(Lilly is) a little bit more expensive in relation to some of the other planners, but they offer a lot more."
The planners the Bookstore carries include months at a glance, a place to document dates to celebrate and a place for party planner notes, among other quick shortcuts.
"(It's) just a lot more to offer so the value is really good because you're getting more, plus you're getting a Lilly print," Jones said.
Jones said she tries to mark down the prices to a dollar or two less than the suggested price because she knows students are going to purchase them.
CeCe Sherman, junior in political science, said recently there has been more of a variety of people buying Lilly at Pink Bee in Greenville, S.C. Pink Bee is a Lilly Pulitzer retail store owned by CeCe's mother, Joanna.
"They're marketing it to different types of people, and they're making a lot of changes with different price ranges," CeCe said.
Kelsey Tucker, freshman in public relations, worked at a Lilly Pulitzer store in Huntsville, her hometown.
Tucker said she has adored Lilly Pulitzer for a long time, including her clothing .
"It's so unique," Tucker said. "They say some people can wear Lilly and some people can't. I don't agree with that because I think anyone can wear it if they want to, I just think it takes the right fashion mind to be able to you know how to piece it together because the prints are so bold."
Tucker said she thinks a reason Lilly is making a comeback is because the prints are becoming much more modernized.
Tucker said her personal favorite print is called "First Impressions." It is light and dark pink roses on a bright blue background, contrasted with lime green leaves.
"A few years ago they were kind of simple (prints)," Tucker said. "The fashion culture is changing so much, Lilly is now keeping up with what people are wanting I think and choosing colors that are popular."
CeCe said the customers at her mother's store range from elderly people to children who are buying clothes.
Her personal favorite Lilly design is the shift dress.
(10/15/13 6:09pm)
If Nick Marshall was at "80 percent" for the Tigers' 62-3 Homecoming rout of Western Carolina last Saturday, the Auburn quarterback recovered the missing 20 percent over the weekend.
Head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed Marshall's status as starting quarterback for this weekend's game at No. 7 Texas A&M during his weekly press conference.
"(Marshall) practiced Sunday and looked good," Malzahn said Tuesday. "We didn't go crazy, we had a 12-period practice...and he's had another day of rest."
Malzahn dismissed any talk of a quarterback controversy after Saturday's blowout victory, which featured a standout debut from true freshman Jeremy Johnson.
"Nick Marshall is our starting quarterback," Malzahn said Saturday. "When Nick is 100 percent, he will be back."
Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee told reporters after Sunday's practice that the decision to rest Marshall during the Western Carolina game was about "getting him rested." Marshall did not practice late last week due to a knee injury suffered at the end of the Ole Miss game.
"He practiced [Sunday night] full speed and he looked good," Lashlee said Sunday night. "I wouldn't have known there was anything wrong with him."
Marshall's replacement in Saturday's victory, SEC Freshman of the Week winner Johnson, did not take over the job after his four-touchdown debut, but the former Carver Wolverine may have won some more playing time for the games ahead.
"We don't want to give all our secrets away, but he will be used from game to game," Malzahn said Tuesday. "We'll try to use him in different packages or in any way that will help us be successful."
In other news from Malzahn's press conference, freshman defensive tackle Montravius Adams and junior tight end C.J. Uzomah are expected to be ready for Saturday's game. However, "nothing has changed" on the status of suspended players Patrick Miller and Brandon Fulse, according to Malzahn.
(10/04/13 3:20am)
Auburn City Council met Tuesday, Oct. 1, to discuss street closings, board appointments and alcoholic beverage licenses. The Citizens Communication brought discussions of racism in the fire department and questioned the Council's support of schools.
Julian McPhillips, of McPhillips Shinbaum, LLP in Montgomery, represents Christopher Turner, an Auburn firefighter.
McPhillips said Auburn's population is approximately half black and half white, however according to the 2010 Census, Auburn is approximately 75 percent white and 16.5 percent black.
"Few blacks are being hired to begin with, and whites with much less experience and time on the job are being promoted, while blacks are being denied," McPhillips said.
McPhillips said no black people have been promoted by the fire department since 1996.
"Auburn's fire department, in its defense, says that in order to be promoted, the fireman must pass an assessment center validation. And Mr. Turner has not done that, they say," McPhillips said. "We say, the assessment center requirement is frankly a ruse or pretext that allows the Auburn Fire Department to discriminate against black employees, especially in promotion."
Council member Arthur Dowdell of Ward 1, said the firefighter assessment test is not designed to take into account experience. He said the test asks difficult and often trick questions.
"We ought to eradicate or delete, as far as I'm concerned, the assessment center at our discretion, we could do that," Dowdell said. "I think it's time we look at the fire department and see [that] it does not look like America."
"And we must look at this and see there is something remiss, there's something wrong in the Auburn Fire Department," Dowdell said. "It seems like we are not going forwards, we are regressing."
The city defended their practices citing a history of equality.
"We use race-neutral hiring practices when they hire, or promote," said Bill James, director of Auburn Public Safety.
He said every city department uses race-neutral standards of practice when hiring or promoting.
When asked if racial claims had been made before, James said, "Yes, there have been some allegations."
(09/27/13 5:30pm)
Lake life is a large part of Auburn and the surrounding communities.
With Lake Martin and other small lakes so close by, students and natives are able to frequent the lakes and enjoy all the activities they offers.
For those who love the lake or just being outdoors on the open water, Auburn University is home to its own waterskiing club.
Don't worry about being a professional. Everyone on the team is willing to teach anyone interested.
The club has approximately 20-25 members and aims to be a fun way for students to learn how to waterski and have a great time in the process.
Members can participate in three different events of waterskiing: slalom, tricks and jump. Other water activities such as wakeboarding, barefooting and kneeboarding are available.
Next weekend, Sept. 22-23, the club will participate in the Clemson Fall Tournament, a three-event competition in Greenwood, S.C., involving slalom, trick and jumping.
Slalom involves navigating through the water in an "S" pattern around buoys.
Trick is wakeboarding while throwing tricks and flips.
Jumping means taking a jump off a 5-foot ramp.
Carter Callaway, junior in mechanical engineering, has been involved in the club since fall 2011.
Callaway is the president of the Auburn Water Ski Club and will be participating in the slalom section of the Clemson Fall Tournament.
"I've been waterskiing since I was 6 years old," Callaway said. "I heard about the club before I even got to Auburn, and I joined as soon as I got here."
The club practices about three times per week, but the practices are not mandatory. They meet each Monday at 8 p.m. in Student Center Room 2227 to discuss upcoming competitions and practice times.
The waterski club practices at a private lake in Shorter, just 30 minutes from campus.
They provide a boat and equipment for practices.
"Most people who join don't know how to waterski," Callaway said. "We take all skill levels."
Sam Stiles, junior in marketing, has been in the club since last fall.
He said he joined after hearing about the club during O-Days on the Concourse.
"The best part about the whole experience is the people I've met," Stiles said. "I've made a lot of awesome friends in the group."
The club is in the South Atlantic Conference of the National Collegiate Water Ski Association, with tournaments in September and October, and another in the spring.
The top-five men and top-five women represent each team in each event.
Teams begin arriving at Lake Martin Friday night.
The first skiers will compete in the slalom at 8 a.m. and then the rest of the day is the trick event.
Sunday is dedicated to the jumping event.
"We will be there the entire weekend," said J.B. Hampton, sophomore in business management and member of the club. "Everyone gets there Friday and we're all together and it's really fun.
We finish around 5 p.m. Saturday, and we have a huge get-together with everyone that night. We're really excited."
For more information about the Auburn Water Ski Club, visit AUWaterSki.com.
(09/25/13 5:50pm)
As midterm approaches, it is important that students are aware of their academic standing in their courses. Luckily, beginning this year, students will be given the opportunity to view their course grades one week prior to midterm. Approved in December of last year, the Early Alert Grade Program requires that professors teaching core classes record in Banner an early grade alert for all of the students enrolled in those classes one week prior to midterm.
"There had been discussion of a need for early grade notification for several years. Relihan took the issue to the University Senate last spring and the initiative was approved by the Senate with the goal of implementation this semester," said Kathryn Flynn, director of the Academic Counseling and Advising Center.
Although every student enrolled in a core class will receive an early alert grade, only students earning "D," "F," or "FA" grades will be identified through the Early Alert Grade Program. Students will then be sorted into five groups to determine the intervention and resources needed.
The five groups of the Early Alert Grade Program include continuing Auburn students in good standing with a grade less than a C, first semester students with a grade less than C, continuing students with more than grade less than C, continuing students on academic warning with any grades less than C and first semester students with multiple grades less than C.
This process will permit students to seek tutoring or take other action based on which group they are in, before the midterm drop deadline. Students who earn "D." "F," or "FA" early alert grades will receive an email from Judith Sanders, the coordinator of the Retention Program. Students will then be given information dependent on their current academic status and whether or not they are a first semester student.
"Most students will be guided toward existing academic resources, such as Study Partners, Supplemental Instruction, the Miller Writing Center, or other specialized university offices for assistance with academic difficulty," Sanders said.
Other students who are experiencing academic difficulty will be offered academic workshops by the Office of Academic Support and the Retention Coordinator.
"Workshops will review the many academic resources available at Auburn. They offer students an opportunity to consider the causes of their academic difficulty and to explore possible solutions," Sanders said.
The Early Alert Grade Program has had faculty involvement from the beginning as the University Senate, made up of five faculty members representing core areas on the advisory committee, approved the initiative. Although some faculty members may not be pleased about the additional requirement, others acknowledge that students need feedback early in the term.
"Overall, Faculty want students to learn and do well in their classes. Faculty members typically want students to talk with them early in the term, rather than later when it is too late to make adjustments and raise a grade," Sanders said.
Although the program is in its first year, a wait and see period, Flynn believes the program will increase the GPA's of students who take the initiative and take advantage of university resources.
"We are hopeful that an increase in GPA does occur. Of course, this will be dependent upon a number of things, especially that students who are notified they are at risk based on their early alert grades take advantage of the resources offered to them," Flynn said.
Beginning Oct.4,one week prior to the Oct. 10 midterm, students will have the opportunity to view their early alert grades.
In order to access their Early Alert Grades, students should log in to tigeri and click on student records.
Students should then click Midterm Grades.
Although the grades are referred to as Early Alert grades, they are currently referred to as midterm grades in Banner.
(09/21/13 1:00pm)
Last Saturday night's victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs was a great victory for the Tigers.
It showed something that has been talked about since the first game against Washington State, and that was improvement.
Auburn showed more improvement against the Bulldogs than they have all season.
The biggest area of improvement was in the passing game.
Nick Marshall finished the game going 23-for-34 for 339 yards and two interceptions. Minus the interceptions, this was by far Marshall's best game, so far, in his Auburn career, and he showed poise and resiliency in the face of adversity.
Marshall was not the only one who made improvements in the passing game. Marshall had more help from his receivers than he has had all season. A total of eight different receivers had receptions against Mississippi State, and two of those receivers had not been very productive in the first two games. However, true freshman Marcus Davis and C.J. Uzomah, both played a big role in the final game-winning drive.
Statistically the defense still has work to do after giving up 427 yards to Mississippi State, but they are still making it tough for offenses to score points. Defense kept Auburn in the game by not allowing Mississippi State to get points when they had good field position in the fourth quarter.
This is a big improvement from last year.
This tendency needs to continue as conference play gets tougher each week.
The team should feel encouraged by their performance last week it could be short lived with them hav- ing to travel to Baton Rouge this week to take on the mighty bayou Bengals of LSU.
This will be the first bump in the road for the Tigers this season.
Going into the game, they will be overmatched at just about every position. The key will be if the Auburn coaches can come up with a good game plan to keep them in the game.
An advantage for Auburn is they have had to play two competitive games so far this season against Washington State and Mississippi State. LSU has only played one against TCU.
Auburn will go into this game expecting to compete, while LSU may not. They may overlook Auburn like last year, and if they do then Auburn will have an advantage.
The key will be how does Auburn respond to adversity in this game. If they make a mistake can they bounce back and act like it never happened?
They showed they can do that last week, but it was also in front of their home crowd. It will not be as easy to bounce back in Death Valley on Saturday night.
Although I think Auburn will go into Tiger Stadium and play a competitive game I don't think they have enough of an identity to beat LSU yet.
Marshall is still missing on big-play opportunities and the defense has shown holes in defending the run.
I think Auburn will stay in this game, but I see LSU puling away to a 35-21 win late in the fourth quarter.
(09/16/13 9:24pm)
After flying planes with the Navy and teaching R.O.T.C. at Auburn University, Council member Dick Phelan took on the mission to make important decisions on behalf of Ward 6 on City Council.
Twelve years ago, Phelan's involvement with the Auburn Veterans Committee helped familiarized himself with Mayor Bill Ham and the city manager at the time.
Phelan said he thought they were doing a great job with the city, but he wasn't as pleased with his City Council member. He decided to give City Council a try and ran for the position.
"I thought I was going to have one other opponent and I had three other opponents that ran," Phelan said. "At the time I didn't know what I was getting into."
To win the position, Phelan had to have the majority of votes cast. He had to win by at least 50 percent.
He said his strategy was to talk to the people he knew and have then talk to people they knew. With all his time involved with the federal government, he understood how people spent money at the federal level and he wanted to make spending more efficient at the local level.
"I have spent a lot of time doing this now and when you do something like this, you do it because of your commitment to the community," Phelan said. "You don't do it for any other reason. You really have to have a desire to do things people want you to do."
Phelan grew up and went to high school in Iowa. In the late '50s, Phelan said there were military drafts, so if he didn't go to college he would probably get drafted.
He decided to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He graduated in 1964, and flew planes for approximately 27 years.
"It was a little different than it is now, because back then they only had males," Phelan said. "The first year was a little bit rough. I enjoyed it. I got to travel all over the world, not only with the Naval Academy but also when I was flying."
In 1988, the Navy brought Phelan and his wife, Edna, to Auburn University to teach R.O.T.C. until 1991 when he left the Navy.
"I found a place I wanted to stay for a while after I got out," Phelan said. "I just enjoyed the town, and I enjoyed the students. There is always something to do at the University. You can do a lot of other things you really don't have the opportunity to do other places."
The past 22 years, Phelan has worked with Wilson Investment Group as a financial adviser along with his work with City Council.
Phelan said when he moved to Auburn he noticed there were some portables outside the junior high school, and he wanted to improve the Auburn school system. Since then the population has increased from 25,000 to 50,000, and the school system has had to accommodate the increase.
"There are a lot of times when you think we did something worthwhile," Phelan said. "Everybody doesn't always feel that way, but you feel like you made a decision that if you were outside looking in, you would agree with it."
In 11 months, City Council will hold another election for members, and Phelan said he has not decided if he will run again or not.
"Auburn is just a nice community to live in," Phelan said. "I do feel that everyone who serves on City Council, as long as I have been here, have all done it for the right reason."
(09/15/13 3:45pm)
Auburn ended its 10-game SEC losing streak with a wild come from behind, 24-20, victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
"We talked before the game that it could come down to the end. A lot of these games with Mississippi State have, and I said we've got to find a way to win," said head coach Gus Malzahn.
With 1:56 to go in the game Auburn had the ball on its own 12-yard line trailing Mississippi State 20-17.
"The atmosphere was we've got the ball and we're going down and score," said receiver Quan Bray. "No less than three (points) we were trying to win the ball game."
And that's exactly what the offense did.
Auburn drove the ball 88 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with a Nick Marshall 10-yard pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah with 10 seconds left in the game.
"It was unbelievable," Uzomah said. "When I caught the ball I looked up and saw everybody on their feet and I could not hear one thing, everybody was jumping on me and all I could hear was the 80,000 roaring."
Marshall finished the winning drive going 6-for-8 for 66 yards and 19 yards rushing. "Coach told me to just go out there and be cool calm and collected, and don't rush anything," Marshall said. "I just took his word and took with the defense gave me and executed."
Also coming up big on the final drive was true freshman receiver Marcus Davis who caught four of Marshall's six passes on the final drive.
"Marcus is a guy that, he's a freshman, but he's not playing like a freshman," Malzahn said. "He's really stepped up and you'll see him on the field more."
The victory ended Auburn's 10-game SEC losing streak. Auburn's last SEC victory came against Ole Miss in 2011.
"Yeah, you know we did not talk about that one time," Malzahn said. "We just talked about this year. You know, a new start, a new beginning, a new day, and our guys really bought into it. When you win your first SEC game, it gives you great momentum, and I'm really proud of our guys, and the way they got that done tonight."
Even though the team was not worried about ending the losing streak it still feels good for them to be 3-0.
"Especially coming off last year going 3-9 and this year we've already won three games, it feels real good," Bray said. "We just have to take this and run with it and come back tomorrow and think about LSU."
(09/04/13 3:13am)
The City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 3 to discuss Havana Dreamin' requesting an alcohol license, and Exhale's request to operate as a cigar and hookah lounge. "They died because a lack of action," said David Dorton, city director of public affairs. "The Havana Dreamin' one is two issues, even though they are both dealing with smoking. Havana Dreamin's issue was that they wanted to add alcohol to a smoking lounge."Havana Dreamin', 2328 S. College St. suite 12, sought approval for an alcoholic beverage license, but the license was denied after being granted approval to operate as a retail tobacco shop in January.Zamil Ali of Exhale, the cigar and hookah lounge, requested approval to operate as a tobacco specialty shop, or operate as a cigar or hookah lounge. Exhale is located at 221 N. College St. in the College Edge Overlay District. At the Aug. 6 meeting, both Havana Dreamin' and Exhale's requests were tabled in order for the Council to research the businesses' compliance of the City's smoking ordinances."The problem the Council saw with that was we've told bars that they can't smoke anymore," Dorton said. "So if you allow a smoking lounge to add alcohol to the smoking lounge, then that might be inconsistent with rules bars have to abide by."Three citizens approached the Council to discuss the potential harms of smoking, while Havana Dreamin' owner, Rick Payne argued for the approval of the alcohol license. "I think the hookah bar goes back to the issue of what do they want the smoking ordinance to allow, and the idea that we are going back and being consistent in how we apply all of these rules," Dorton said. "And really do they want to allow any type of smoking establishment, I think is part of the discussion."
In other business:
Katie Robinson from the planning department was named employee of the month.
The Mayor awarded five service pins and plaques. Stephanie Spraggins with the finance department and Audrea May with the public works department were awarded pins for their five year service to the City. David Carr with the public safety department and Marty Beckwith with the public works department were honored for their 10 years of service.
City Manager Charles Duggan announced vacancies in the Auburn City Public Library board, cemeteries advisory board and two vacancies in the industrial development board.
The Council approved alcoholic beverage licenses to Halftime Sports Bar and Grill on 154 and 156 N. College St.
The Council approved with unanimous consent the establishment of a stop sign in the Shelton Cove Subdivision.
Approved closing City streets for the Historic Pine Hill Lantern Tour and the Downtown Trick or Treat in October.
Approved Zazu's, 149 E. Magnolia Ave., request for an outdoor cafe permit.
Approved fixed costs for cutting overgrown lots at 804 Cahaba Drive and South College Street parcels.
Approved non-educational tax abatements for Pyongsan America Inc and toolCare U.S. International.
Approved conditional use of an accessory road for Oly's Automotive Detailing located at 465 Opelika Road. The item originally appeared in the August 20 City Council meeting where it was tabled to ensure the correction of zoning violations.
Approved Boykin Center tenants leases
Approved the purchase of 60 Motorola two-way radios at a cost of $59,145.
Approved purchase of two 60-inch Exmark mowers, three weed eaters, two edgers and one backpack mower at a total cost of $21,968.25
Approved drainage and utility easements at lot 2-C of the Samford Glenn Subdivision and two easements for the Northeast Parallel Outfall Sewer Project.
Approved nomination of Anna Hovey on the Mental Retardation Board.
(08/28/13 10:20pm)
With a little more than 72 hours left until the kickoff of Saturday's game against the visiting Washington State Cougars, head coach Gus Malzahn released his team's two-deep depth chart Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the names at the top of the depth chart are ones Auburn fans expected to see, but there were a few surprises on the first two-deep of the season.
Junior defensive end LaDarius Owens, who was recruited by Gene Chizik's staff to play linebacker, will start on the line this Saturday over senior Kenneth Carter and true freshman Carl Lawson. Owens will line up opposite senior end Craig Sanders, who is starting in place of the injured Dee Ford.
Another surprising starter is senior Chris Davis. The cornerback was expected to have a starting role in the secondary, but he has also received the nod at punt returner over junior wide receivers Quan Bray and Trovon Reed.
Other notable names that were confirmed as starters Wednesday include sophomores Josh Holsey and Patrick Miller. Holsey has made the move from cornerback to safety in Ellis Johnson's new defensive scheme, and Miller has emerged as the winner of the three-way battle for the starting right tackle.
Auburn has seven seniors listed as starters for Saturday's game. In terms of youth, the Tigers have 11 true or redshirt freshmen on the two-deep depth chart.
Here is the official depth chart from Auburn Athletics (Starters listed in CAPS):
(08/28/13 3:32am)
Six Auburn football players landed spots on the All-SEC preseason teams. The players honored were senior Steven Clark, junior Reese Dismukes, senior Dee Ford, junior Tre Mason, senior Cody Parkey and junior C.J. Uzomah.
The SEC football coaches voted for the preseason All-SEC teams and were not allowed to vote for any of their own players.
Of the six, four were named to the second team and two were named to the third team.
Clark, Dismukes, Mason and Parkey made the second team and Ford and Uzomah made the third team.
After Mason's breakout 1,002-yard sophomore season last year, he was the first non-quarterback to lead Auburn in total offense since Bo Jackson in 1985. Mason is expected to lead Auburn tailbacks in carries this season, with Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant also getting touches in the backfield. Mason was also named to the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list, which is given to the best running back in college football at the end of the season.
Dismukes, going into his third season as a starter at center, is expected to guide this year's offensive line. He has been commended on his leadership throughout preseason practices by coaches and teammates. Dismukes was also named to the Rimington Trophy preseason watch list, which is awarded to the best center in college football.
"(Dismukes) is like a coach on the field," offensive lineman Shon Coleman said.
Parkey is going into his third year as starting placekicker. Last year, he was a perfect 27 for 27 for PATs and 11-14 on field goals, with a career-long 46-yard in the Clemson game. Parkey was named to the preseason Lou Groza award watch list for the second consecutive year, which is given to the best placekicker in college football.
Clark has already had a successful career as starting punter for Auburn and has one more season to potentially win the Ray Guy award for the best punter in college football. In 2011, Clark was the first Auburn punter in school history to be a finalist for the Ray Guy award and also earned first team All-SEC honors. Last season Clark was one of 10 punters in the country to be a semifinalist for the Ray Guy award and only five of his 70 punts were returned.
"We feel like we have the best kicker and punter in the country," coach Gus Malzahn said.
Uzomah has played tight end, wide receiver, on special teams and even threw a touchdown to Philip Lutzenkirchen against Georgia in 2011. Since Uzomah's role is likely to increase, this could be Uzomah's breakout season now that he is the clear starting tight end and was named to the John Mackey award preseason watch list, which is given to the best tight end in college football.
"He came back this fall and has been a good surprise for me," tight ends coach Scott Fountain said. "He's a better hand down blocking tight end, he's a better h-back for us in the backfield and we all know he can split out and do that type stuff. He's more of a complete guy that can do all of the things we ask to do in this offense and that's hard to find."
Although Ford will not start the season at defensive end because of a knee injury, he is expected to come back as one of Auburn's best pass rushers. Last season, he had 34 tackles and six sacks. Ford was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award preseason watch list, which is given to the best defensive player in college football.
(08/27/13 3:16pm)
We all know college is expensive and students are usually broke.
Jokes about students eating cereal and ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner are runof-the-mill.
I'm pretty sure Taco Bell was created by college kids just trying to make the last few dollars in their bank account last all the way through finals week.
But by tweaking some small lifestyle choices, college life doesn't always have to break the bank.
#1 Shop with coupons & rewards
Kroger is amazing about sending coupons for free grocery items every month or so if you sign up for their Kroger Plus rewards card.
You also get discounted prices as a Kroger Plus Card member, and can download digital coupons so you won't spend your Sunday clipping coupons like a TLC show maniac.
Winn-Dixie also offers 5 cents off every gallon of gas with their rewards card, which may not sound like much, but you're going to wish you saved that little bit when all you want is a candy bar from Outtakes and you're scraping the bottom of your book bag for spare change.
Deal sites such as Groupon.com, LivingSocial.com, and Slickdeals.net offer huge discounts on normally expensive services like oil changes and eye care.
#2 Take the bus
I know taking a bus isn't as fast or convenient as just zipping to campus, but honestly, are you going to find a parking spot anyway?
Spare yourself the headache that is C-Zone and save a few dollars in gas by hopping on the Tiger Transit.
#3 Get an on-campus job
There are plenty of great, flexible jobs available within a wide variety of University departments and locations on campus. Jobs can range from as little as 10-25 hours per week, and you are often able to choose your schedule and work around your classes and other activities.
On-campus jobs look great on resumes, help you meet people on campus and provide a little extra spending money.
#4 Dine in
I'll admit, I love eating out just as much as the next person and on top of being a pretty terrible cook, that leads to a lot of calls to Jimmy Johns and trips to Moe's for a quick dinner.
But after tips, gratuities and delivery fees, you end up spending much more than you would spend on a dinner made at home with groceries purchased with coupons (tip #1 anyone?).
It will take more time to prepare, but you'll save a decent amount of cash and sharpen a useful life skill in the process.
Sites such as Pinterest.com often have copycat recipes for popular restaurants and for you amateur cooks, free apps like How to Cook Everything by Culinate, Inc. take you step-by-step through even the mostbasic cooking techniques.
#5 Go with water
Of course, there are plenty of occasions that warrant splurging on dinner out.
When you do decide to hit your favorite pizza joint, don't get a $3 soda on top of your meal price and stick with good old ( free) H2O.
Most drinks offered, such as sodas and sweet tea, are high in calories anyway. Why not save yourself the few dollars all the while making a healthier choice?
Your wallet and waistline will thank you.
(08/09/13 5:31pm)
Anytime a program has a new head coach you are going to have some new players surface you have never seen before.
It could be an incoming freshman or it could be a veteran player that fits into the new system better than the old.
Well Auburn is no different, at every position on the offensive side of the ball Auburn fans can be expecting to see some new faces step up and take on a role in Gus Malzahn's offense.
Some of the older players you can be expecting to see have more of a role this season are junior tight end C.J. Uzomah and red shirt freshman Shon Coleman.
Coleman signed with Auburn in 2010, but had to put his football career on hold after being diagnosed with leukemia shortly after he signed with Tigers.
After beating cancer and returning to the field Coleman still had an uphill battle if he wanted to return to the star player he had been in high school.
He had to return to playing weight, get in shape and knock off the rust from not playing for so long.
But offensive line coach J.B. Grimes said on Friday that Coleman has finally returned to the player he once was.
"Shon Coleman is a really really good talented guy he just hasn't played football in a while and he's rusty," Grimes said. "He's a great kid and I really think he's got a bright future here as an offensive lineman. He is really coming on."
Uzomah, who has played a lot during his time at Auburn, has been a pleasant surprise to tight ends coach Scott Fountain so far in practice.
Malzahn's offense asks a lot of the tight end. He must be able to put his hand down and block, play h-back in the backfield and split out wide and play receiver. Uzomah is one of the few who can do all of these things. Something he could not do in the spring.
"He came back this fall and been a good surprise for me," Fountain said. "He's a better hand down blocking tight end, he's a better h-back for us in the backfield and we all know he can split out and do that type stuff. He's more of a complete guy that can do all of the things we ask to do in this offense and that's hard to find."
The young players who have impressed so far have been freshman running back Jonathan "Rudy" Ford and freshman receiver Tony Stevens.
Both were big pick-ups in last years signing class, and so far they have been as good as advertised.
"Rudy has done well, he has really good speed. I would say he's probably one of the faster players on our team," running backs coach Tim Horton said. "I can see him playing for us as a freshman and making some plays for us. Very pleased with his progress."
Stevens has impressed other players and coaches so far in practice even though he has been nursing a hamstring injury.
His hamstring is better now and if he can stay healthy this fall then Stevens should see playing time.
"Tony has been good. He has been everything that we thought he would be," receivers coach Dameyune Craig said. "We just want him healthy, so he can have a chance to compete and play full speed. He's shown flashes and he's gained about 10 pounds since he's been here so we are expecting some big things out of him."
Only time will tell if these players will be as good on game day as they have been on the practice field, but so far it seems like they will be.
