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(01/26/15 5:00pm)
Oysters, beer, bourbon, fresh foraged foods and scholarship money will all be on the table Jan. 30 at the Alabama Oyster Social.
Acre restaurant staff is partnering with the Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory to host this event, and the proceeds will benefit the laboratory.
"We're donating the money in the form of a scholarship for the professors at the shellfish laboratory and the students going into the studies of stable shellfish harvesting," said David Bancroft, chef at Acre.
The event will have six different chefs, Caleb Fischer, Jason Stanhope, Adam Evans, Rob McDaniel, Wesley True and Bancroft cooking oysters in different ways.
They will prepare fried oysters, chargrilled oysters with garlic and parmesan, oyster stew with chickweed and smoked ham, poached oysters with ham hock broth, a raw oyster bar, different condiments, catfish from Auburn University fisheries and shrimp.
"After, obviously, Katrina and the amount of oyster farmers that were struggling, (we were) seeing the progress that they've made over the last few years and watching them with their sustainable oyster research," Bancroft said. "(I was) speaking with a few other chefs, and everybody just really agreed that it was something we wanted to highlight, such an awesome resource to have off the coast of Alabama."
Bill Walton, associate professor in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, said that they will use the money for student research so they can focus on the questions that oyster farmers have.
They have been looking at what is working in other places for oyster farmers and developing their own methods for better oyster farming.
"Because our waters are so productive, the oysters grow fast, but so does everything else and so baskets that you're raising the oysters in will get covered up with seaweed and barnacles," Walton said. "You're spending so much time keeping them clean ... that you just weren't going to make any money."
Walton said they recommend growing oysters by taking them out of the water to dry for a period of time because the oysters will survive but the things growing on them will not.
Each of the oyster farmers providing oysters for the social raises their oysters in different waters and has oysters with a different taste.
"Oysters, they take on the flavor of where they're grown," Walton said. "Even though they're all Alabama oysters, they're grown in three different locations. They're going to get a variety of taste."
Cullan Duke, oyster farmer off the west coast of Dauphin Island, said there is a historical difference in oysters from different regions of the country.
"The best part is just kind of seeing what everyone has going on in Alabama and realizing we can produce world class oysters right here in Alabama," Duke said. "What we're doing that's different is having individually named oysters from specific different kinds of microenvironments that have different tastes."
They will also have drinks from Back Forty Beer, Cathead Distillery, Sazerac Bourbon, International Wine and Pinnacle Imports.
The event will start at 6 p.m. and are $57.92.
"My grandfather is a fish farmer in Alabama with Auburn University, and I have a brother who is a graduate of the fisheries program," Bancroft said. "Working with Auburn University fisheries has always been something important for our family."
(02/24/15 12:40am)
With senior running backs Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant graduating, Auburn's stable of playmakers in the backfield seemed to be running dry -- that is, until the Tigers knew they would be getting the best player in the state of Alabama to call the Plains his home for the next few years.
Kerryon Johnson. A name that has stricken fear into the hearts of high schools across the state for the past four years will more than likely elicit the same reaction across the SEC and possibly the nation.
The star tailback from Madison Academy (Madison) committed to the Tigers in April 2014 and hasn't wavered since. He was named Mr. Football in the state of Alabama recently, and with his commitment, Auburn will have the past three Mr. Footballs on the roster for 2015 in Johnson, Roc Thomas and presumed starting quarterback Jeremy Johnson.
Johnson played on the varsity squad at Madison Academy for five years, blazing a trail through the high school ranks during his career, one that saw him capture three consecutive state titles, the last of which the Mustangs claimed in December 2014 in Auburn.
His high school coach, Eric Cohu, said he thinks Johnson has a chance to be special.
"(Johnson) is a lot like the guy you give the basketball to for the last shot of the game to win it, and so he's going to be the guy -- if used properly -- that will really change the dynamic of the team because he's a mismatch nightmare for defenses," Cohu said. "He's really a different-style player, one that just comes along every now and then."
Johnson played multiple positions in high school, spending time at tailback, slot receiver and even on defense as a safety, which he was positioned at during the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 2.
Regardless, the coaching staff at Auburn has been set on Johnson playing offense during his time on the Plains.
"He's a guy that could probably play four or five positions, but in this offense, I think he's a guy that fits perfectly as a guy that can play tailback," said Jason Caldwell of AUTigers.com. "He can play as a true running back, but he has the skills to play wide receiver, so he can give you a lot of different options on offense, and that's probably going to be his strength."
This season Johnson will vie for playing time with two talented backs in front of him in Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson, but Johnson may simply be too talented to keep on the bench.
"I think Kerryon is a special player, and I don't think you can keep special players -- special talents like him -- on the bench for long," said Rivals.com's Bryan Matthews. "I definitely think Kerryon's going to play as a true freshman, and if he plays and plays well, I think he'll earn more playing time as the season goes on."
As Signing Day rapidly approaches, plenty of recruits are deciding which school they will spend their next few years at, but Johnson has been solid to Auburn, never reconsidering his commitment.
"Kerryon's smart, savvy, efficient," Cohu said. "I think his early commitment was based on him making a decision, and wanting to focus on his senior year of high school and not have as many distractions. After his pretty thorough look at several unofficial visits to four or five schools, he made a decision based on what he felt like was the best thing for his career for the future."
If everything goes according to plan, Auburn's coaching staff will sleep easy as well.
The same can't be said for Auburn's future opponents.
(12/24/15 6:55pm)
"Je suis Charlie," French for "I am Charlie," has become a slogan around the world to those showing solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, a satirical magazine in Paris whose staff was attacked by two masked gunmen Jan. 7.
Isabelle Kallenberg, senior in French and microbiology, said she was studying abroad in France during the attack.
Kallenberg said she arrived back in Paris from Germany approximately two hours after the incident.
"It definitely shook me up," Kallenberg said. "We didn't want to go out, and I didn't feel safe going to public places."
On Jan. 9, Kallenberg and her sister were at a coffee shop as victims were held hostage at Hyper Cacher, a kosher grocery store, approximately five blocks away. She said she heard police sirens outside.
Despite the attacks, Kallenberg said the support for France was a breath of fresh air.
"I think I was really in awe by the fraternity you could see in (France) and the support that they received from adjacent nations and the United States," Kallenberg said. "Despite all the horrible things that go on in the world, it was really nice to see the other side -- the silver lining."
Samia Spencer, professor emerita of French and former honorary consul of France in Alabama, said the incidents in France were a wake-up call.
"In a way, it's tragic, it's awful, but, for many, it's not totally unexpected," Spencer said.
Spencer was also in France when the shooting took place.
Spencer said she was about to leave the house to meet a friend when her friend called, sobbing, and said, "They murdered my friends."
Spencer's friend knew some of the cartoonists and writers at Charlie Hebdo.
Evelyne Bornier, French professor, said French people tend to provoke to ellicit a reaction out of others.
"It was extreme to publish this when you know you're putting your life at risk and putting other people's lives at risk," Bornier said. "By the same token, freedom of speech is freedom of speech. You should be able to express yourself."
Spencer said the cover of the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo sent the right message.
"There's nothing offensive about the cover," Spencer said. "It's actually quite the opposite. It shows the Prophet crying that people are using his name to commit murder, so he is sad that he is being used to kill. Furthermore, he is claiming, 'All is forgiven,' and carrying a sign saying, 'Je suis Charlie,' to express his support for freedom of the press."
From a French culture perspective, Bornier said French people are resilient in difficult times.
"If you stop living, then the terrorists get what they want," Bornier said. "By remaining stern and keeping your head up, you show them that they don't win, that you're strong."
(02/25/15 6:19pm)
With 2,336 yards, 26 touchdowns and a Heisman ceremony to his name, the talent of Melvin Gordon is likely no secret to Auburn fans.
Gordon receives just under 24 carries per game and will most certainly be priority one for interim defensive coordinator Charlie Harbison and the Auburn defense.
But the Big 10 runner ups aren't a one-horse show.
With the Outback Bowl lingering just a few short days away, here are four other Badgers Auburn fans should keep an eye on:
Joel Stave
2014 has been a bit of an enigma for Joel Stave.
A productive starter a year ago, the junior quarterback's season got off to a rocky start when he was benched prior to the Badgers' opener against LSU with a case of the "yips."
A "mental block" cost Stave four games before he regained the starting job from Tanner McEvoy in Week 5 against Northwestern.
Even after he regained the starter's job, the junior quarterback has struggled, completing just 53.6 percent of his passes and failing to top 225 passing yards in a single game this season. Each of Wisconsin's losses with Stave under center saw the quarterback toss three interceptions (Northwestern, Ohio State).
Despite the initial struggles, Wisconsin won its final seven games of the regular season with Stave at the helm, and the junior threw just one interception in that span.
With the dynamic backfield of Gordon and Corey Clement at his side, Stave is clearly the secondary option in the Badgers' offense.
If Auburn can jump out to an early lead, it could force Stave into uncomfortable situations, and possibly more turnovers.
Michael Caputo
The Badgers spent a large portion of 2014 ranked in the top 10 in most major defensive categories.
A 59-0 drubbing against Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship Game did damage to those statistics, but the consistency of players such as junior safety Michael Caputo helped make this a top 16 unit in all four major defensive categories (scoring, passing, rushing and total defense).
Caputo leads the Badgers with 99 total tackles on the season and is considered a "glue" guy in the Badgers secondary.
The Badgers' secondary has just four interceptions on the season, but solidarity from Caputo and the rest of the defensive backs has the Badgers ranked No. 5 nationally in pass defense, allowing just 164.3 yards per game.
Derek Landisch
One of the biggest question marks facing Wisconsin coming into the season was replacing 2013 Big Ten defensive player of the year Chris Borland.
While it may not be possible to replicate Borland, senior linebacker Derek Landisch has stepped in admirably in 2014, leading the team in sacks with eight. Landisch also sits just a half tackle for loss shy of the team lead at 15.
The Badgers will be faced with the tough task of stopping the SEC leading rusher Cameron Artis-Payne alongside the dynamic Nick Marshall and Corey Grant.
Last time out, the Badgers allowed Ohio State to rush for 301 yards as a team. Landisch is certain to be a key to Wisconsin if they plan to regroup.
Vince Biegel
It's difficult to choose between Biegel and fellow linebacker Marcus Trotter for the final spot, but we'll give the edge to Biegel for his more than memorable hair.
Biegel's already impressive mullet has been accented with the Chevrolet logo ahead of the Outback Bowl. But this linebacker is more than just the hair flair.
(12/31/14 4:30pm)
1. Johnson fired, Muschamp hired
December was a month of change for Auburn football, as defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson was fired one day after the team's 55-44 loss to Alabama.
Following several weeks of rumors about Johnson's replacement, former Florida head coach Will Muschamp was announced as the team's new defensive coordinator.
This will be the third Auburn coaching job for Muschamp, whose resume includes defensive coordinator at Texas as well as working under Alabama head coach Nick Saban during his time at LSU.
2. Auburn to play in Outback Bowl
Following an 8-4 regular season, No. 19 Auburn will take on No. 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl in Tampa.
This will be the fourth time Auburn and Wisconsin face off. The game will air Jan. 1 at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
3. Freshman football player killed at Tiger Lodge apartment complex
Auburn football player and freshman Jakell Mitchell was shot and killed at the Tiger Lodge apartment complex Sunday, Dec. 14.
Mitchell died at East Alabama Medical Center after suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to Lee County Coroner Bill Harris. The Auburn Police Division arrested and charged Markale Hart of Camp Hill with Mitchell's murder Sunday, Dec. 14.
The apartment complex is the same complex where Desmonte Leonard shot and killed three people in 2012, including two Auburn football players.
4. Coates to enter NFL Draft
Wide receiver Sammie Coates announced Monday, Dec. 15 he will forgo a final year of eligibility and declare for the NFL draft.
Coates had four touchdowns this season and is rated as the overall No. 40 prospect and seventh-ranked wide receiver in his class, according to NFLDraftScout.com.
Coates graduated Saturday, Dec. 13, and said he would have stayed to play another season for the Tigers if he had more classes to take. He will play for the Tigers in the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.
5. Dismukes named first All-American team by AP
Auburn center Reese Dismukes was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press Tuesday, Dec. 16, and the Associated Football Coaches Association Wednesday, Dec. 17.
He is the first Auburn football player to be a consensus All-American pick since 2010. Dismukes will also received the Rimington Trophy, awarded annually to the country's best center, Jan. 11 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A four-year starter for Auburn, Dismukes will play his final game for Auburn in the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.
(12/12/14 1:00pm)
Jim Voss, 1972 graduate and former NASA astronaut, will be sharing a lifetime of wisdom and experience with the class of 2014 Saturday, Dec. 13.
"Jim was an astronaut of the shuttle era when there was more science in that program than there had been in earlier programs," said James R. Hansen, aerospace history professor and author of the Neil Armstrong biography "First Man." "He's an engineer and his passion was for flying, like most astronauts. They come from a background in aviation and, through their engineering work, Auburn's had an outstanding aerospace engineering program."
Voss grew up in Opelika before coming to Auburn, where he studied aerospace engineering while in ROTC.
A mission specialist on board the space shuttles Atlantis, Endeavor and Discovery, Voss conducted experiments inside and outside of the International Space Station.
After retiring from the NASA astronaut program, Voss started a second career as a teacher, even instructing a few aerospace engineering classes at Auburn, Hansen said.
Hansen said he suspects Voss, his friend and former colleague, will focus on the importance of education in his speech.
"Auburn is still a part of his life," Hansen said. "He clearly has a message about a boy who grew up in Opelika, Alabama, who dreams of going into space and gets to go to the International Space Station. There will be an emphasis on education. Without Auburn, Jim Voss wouldn't have become an engineer, wouldn't have become an astronaut. Just what Auburn did for him in terms of education, maturing and becoming a professional."
In the past, Tim Jackson, Bo Jackson and Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey have shared their experience and wisdom with graduating students.
Director of Campus and Community Events Teresa Whitman-McCall said the graduation committee looks for someone who can provide a charge of action for the graduating students.
"A large majority of our graduates are about to walk into a job for the first time and some are still looking," Whitman-McCall said. "More than anything, we just want them to offer up that great piece of advice that perhaps they got when they were at Auburn, or in their lifetime, that would inspire that graduate to become an even greater person than they already are."
Commencement speakers are compensated for travel expenses through the graduation committee, but the figure for Voss' trip is unavailable, Whitman-McCall said.
"The trend is to get a graduate that's done something people can appreciate," said Jackson Pruett, SGA executive vice president of initiatives and senior in political science. "An Auburn man or woman sharing their experiences from the University. Someone who's very accomplished and has a unique background that's going to provide share some wisdom for these recent graduates."
(11/27/14 5:00pm)
An Auburn student and an Alabama student are pitting their universities against each other, but not on the gridiron.
Kayla Perry, freshman in nursing at Auburn University, and Corbyn Wile, sophomore in environmental sciences at the University of Alabama, are starting a competition between Auburn and Alabama fans to see which fan base can raise the most money for finding a cure for childhood cancer.
Wile said the competition will be launched next week. There will be a place on Perry's website, OHOH.org, where fans can donate and claim whether they are an Auburn or Alabama fan. Results from the competition will be announced Dec. 7.
Although the competition is based off of rivalry, Perry and Wile said they are hopeful fans will see the big picture.
"It shows everyone that there's more out there than football, and we can all come together for a common cause," Wile said.
Wile and Perry's common cause is curing childhood cancer and are both battling against forms of childhood cancer.
The two met through Facebook before spending time together this summer in the clinic of Children's Hospital of Alabama. They formed a relationship aimed at solving childhood cancer.
Perry has neuroblastoma, which most often occurs in children under the age of 5.
Diagnosed May 6, 2013, Perry said her journey with cancer has been full of ups and downs, including her doctors telling her they could not cure her cancer.
After receiving the news Aug. 14, Perry decided to pursue her college degree at Auburn.
Wile shares a story similar to Perry's.
Diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in February 2011 at 16, Wile went through a year of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She was told she was cancer free October 2012.
However, in November 2013, Wile relapsed and underwent through more chemo and radiation treatments up to October 2014, when she stopped any kind of treatment.
"They just told me there was really nothing else they could do," Wile said.
After receiving the news, Wile said she made the same decision as Perry. She chose to pursue her college degree.
Similar to Perry, Wile's cancer is usually found in children under the age of 10.
According to Wile, it is a soft-tissue cancer that can develop practically anywhere in the body.
"It is very aggressive with no known cure," Wile said.
Wile said she is thankful for Perry and the fact that their stories are so similar.
"We understand each other and it has helped me," Wile said.
According to Perry, it is encouraging to have someone who is walking the same path.
While Perry said she is thankful for all of the support she and Wile are receiving, having someone who understands her journey is nice.
"People are so understanding, but they do not understand," Perry said.
Mitch Goodwin, sophomore in nursing at the University of Alabama, is a childhood friend of Wile's.
"In elementary school she changed schools, but we both came to Bama and reconnected," Goodwin said.
Throughout Wile's journey with cancer while she has been in college, Goodwin said he has visited her in the hospital and enjoys her friendship.
"Corbyn is me in a girl form," Goodwin said. "We never fight, and if you were to look up the definition of best friend, that's what Corbyn is to me."
Goodwin said he is thankful Wile has a friend like Perry as well.
"I think it's really good for Corbyn to have her going through the same things," Goodwin said. "They understand on a more personal level."
Although Perry and Wile are battling cancer, the two have teamed up with Perry's Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts campaign to raise money to fund research on childhood cancer.
Goodwin said he is also taking part in the competition and shares the same hope as Perry and Wile.
"It is for a great cause," Goodwin said. "It hits home for both schools and puts rivalry aside."
More information on Perry's story and the Auburn versus Alabama competition can be viewed at OHOH.org.
(11/19/14 4:18am)
A public forum on gun and domestic violence was held at the Lee County Emergency Management office in Opelika on Tuesday night, Nov. 18.
The Auburn alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sponsored the event with Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones and Lisa Stephens, director of the Domestic Violence Intervention Center (DVIC).
Jones said domestic violence is a problem, but believes public education is the key to solve it.
Alabama's new gun law enacted in 2013 was Jones' central topic for the forum.
"It is not a perfect law, but what law is," Jones said.
Jones explained to the audience how the law had 10 sections that changed the way Alabama regulated firearms.
The changes the law made, according to Jones, dealt with the process a Sheriff must apply to issue concealed carry permits, removed municipalities' power to regulate firearms other than banning a discharge of a firearm in municipality limits and allowed carrying of firearms on employers' property in personal vehicles.
Audience members asked Jones questions during his presentation including one about what the Sheriff's Department does with the personal information on concealed carry permits.
"I think it was in New York, (newspapers) filed an open records request and they released the names of permit holders," Jones said. "We don't do that, and we will not do that."
Lt. Jason Black, of the Sheriff's Department, pointed out the Department had processed 11,000 concealed carry permits in 2014.
Stephens spoke after Jones finished his presentation.
Although she sees a lot of gun use involved in domestic violence, Stephens said she believes people have the right to own firearms.
"My granddad taught us how to shoot firearms, but as the Sheriff said, I think if you are responsible then that makes a big difference," Stephens said.
Firearms were used in 15% of domestic violence offenses last year in Alabama, according to Stephens.
"Just recently, I was speaking with a young lady, and her abuser had their 2-year-old child," Stephens said. "He put the gun in the 2-year-old's hand, and made her point the loaded weapon at her."
Stephens added that about 2 to 3 percent of victims that came into DVIC were male.
"That number is likely much higher," Stephens said. "Men are just less likely to disclose they're a victim of domestic violence."
DVIC provides victims of domestic violence a safe place to stay and helps victims draft protection orders from their abusers.
Stephens told the audience that many women stay in a bad situation because of fear.
"Unfortunately a lot of women think that, when they get to the shelter it's going to be like the old movie you see on Lifetime where people are sleeping all over one another on cots," Stephens said. "It's not like that at all."
DVIC is a nonprofit and is always willing to accept donations, according to Stephens.
(11/15/14 5:30pm)
Most of the time, when I write these keys to the game articles, I try to get somewhat technical and take an in-depth look at Auburn and whoever their opponent is that week. I try to be specific and unique and avoid making what I say sound too basic. However, if Auburn hopes to find any success against the Bulldogs, or at all for the rest of the season, they need to get back to basics.
1. Tackle
It seems pretty simple. If you don't tackle the opposing player, you aren't going to win a football game. Against Texas A&M, Auburn's tackling was atrocious. The Aggies racked up 453 total yards with a true freshman starting quarterback. Against Louisiana-Monroe, TAMU only gained 243 total yards. That game was in College Station, Texas. In Jordan-Hare Stadium, Kyle Allen and the Aggies offense screened and slanted the Auburn defense to death, and there were very few times when an Aggie player went down after the first defensive contact. Somewhere in Athens, Georgia, a guy named Todd Gurley was watching this game, chomping at the bit to get back on the field against a defense that got gashed all night by an inferior offense. If the Tigers play to the same level defensively as they did against the Aggies, Gurley is going to have a field day between the hedges Saturday.
2. Get to the quarterback
Part of the reason a true freshman was able to come into Jordan-Hare Stadium and embarrass this defense in the first half was because he had roughly an hour to throw every pass. Save for the Ole Miss game, when Bo Wallace went down four times, the Auburn pass rush has been essentially nonexistent in 2014. With a secondary that struggles to get the ball carrier down, the defensive line is going to have to step up and pressure Hutson Mason. Mason may not be the best quarterback in the league, but then again, neither is Kyle Allen.
3. Play a complete game
The first half against Texas A&M couldn't have gone much worse for the Tigers. Kyle Allen and the Aggies shredded the Auburn defense for four touchdowns, and the offense, fast as it is, just couldn't keep up. In the second half, the defense held the Aggies to only six points, and the offense came within three points of tying the game. Then the offense fumbled twice inside its own 30-yard line in the last three minutes of the game. If Auburn wants to beat Georgia, the offense and the defense are going to have to play well at the same time, and, save for the LSU game and the second half of the Arkansas game, they haven't done that much this season in conference play.
4. Be smart
Ninety-nine percent of the time, if you give your running back the ball on the 2-yard line twice in a row, he'll get the ball into the end zone. I know there have plenty of times near the goal line when Nick Marshall has kept the ball and ran around the corner to the pylon, but that close to the end zone, there isn't really much of a decision to be made. In my opinion, that just wasn't a smart play call. Georgia is a confusing team. One week, they go out and pound Arkansas, and a few weeks later they get embarrassed by Florida. Auburn doesn't yet know which Georgia is going to show up, but that doesn't matter. They have to clean up their own sloppy play first.
5. Get Over It
"What just happened?" "No way that just happened!" Those were the most common things I heard said around me in the student section after Reese Dismukes fumbled the snap with less than a minute to go. The way the Tigers lost to A&M was absolutely heartbreaking, but they have to forget about it. They can't afford a hangover from a loss heading into Athens, Georgia. It happened, it's over, and the Tigers need to wipe it from their memories. There's one person Auburn needs to be focus on right now, and he wears a big No. 3 on his chest.
(11/14/14 1:00pm)
When Laura Mitchell was 2 years old, she couldn't write her name, but she could color inside the lines. Even as a toddler, art came naturally to her.
Now a senior in studio arts, Mitchell said she is using her talent to pursue a career in the arts, and her hard work is paying off.
In April, Mitchell submitted her self-portrait to Auburn's research exhibition. It was accepted, and during a Research Week event, Aaron Alford, managing editor of Southern Humanities Review, spotted the piece and chose it for the magazine's cover.
"Laura's been so excited about it, which is so refreshing," Alford said. "A student's work has never been on the cover since the journal was founded in 1967. We usually went for the work of professional artists, but this was a homegrown artist who's still in school. It's with great pride that we get to showcase her work and developing talent."
Last fall, Mitchell read "Heartbreak Hotel" by Auburn alumna Anne Rivers Siddons for an advanced drawing class.
After reading the novel, professor of art Barb Bondy asked her students to find something in the novel to use as an analogy for their artistic voices and create a piece.
"I saw myself in Maggie, the main character," Mitchell said. "She was bound by expectations from her parents, friends and society, and she experienced this inner struggle of who she was supposed to be."
Mitchell said she identified with Maggie's struggle and used it to create "To Be Good: Self Portrait," a self-portrait done in a paint-by-number style with a legend at the bottom. The legend contains each color used in the drawing and a characteristic to accompany each shade.
"The characteristics I chose were ones I felt would make me a good person," Mitchell said. "In the piece, I break away from what's expected of me and become who I want to be. As a college student, I could relate to the anxiety of change and expectation. I'm not a child or a full-fledged adult. This composition helped me grow as an artist and a person."
Alford attended the Research Week events to see students' work from the College of Liberal Arts.
"I didn't go there looking for a new cover," Alford said. "It was immediate. Laura's piece was there, and it was such a striking image that hit me like lightning. When I got closer to it and saw the concept of it, I just had to know more about it."
Alford said while he wasn't looking for a cover for the newest edition of Southern Humanities Review, it was exactly what the journal needed.
Mitchell's self-portrait was featured on the most recent issue of the quarterly journal with the legend explaining her characteristics on the back cover.
Bondy, the professor who worked with Mitchell as she created her piece, said she is excited for her talented student.
"This would even be major for a professional, so this is an extremely big deal for a student," Bondy said. "She worked hard and used a technique she wasn't familiar with. She pushed herself and now here she is."
Mitchell said Bondy has been her biggest encouragement and greatest influence while studying at Auburn.
"Dr. Bondy was able to challenge my ideas and refine them in a way I've never experienced before," Mitchell said. "She pushed me to think deeper and more uniquely, and even when I create great, she's taught me that it all can't be good."
Bondy said Mitchell's determination reminds her why she loves her job.
"As a professor, you hope a student will latch onto your advice or teachings, and that's what Laura did," Bondy said. "She put herself out there."
Mitchell said she loves being an artist, but is eager to teach others about her passion.
"Art has given me the greatest view of the world and the greatest joy," Mitchell said. "I want to spread that joy and I hope my artwork speaks to people."
The most recent issue of Southern Humanities Review with Mitchell's cover can be picked up for $5 per copy in room 9088 of the Haley Center.
(02/24/15 4:59am)
After finishing the regular season 11-6-3, the Auburn women's soccer team anxiously watched the NCAA Selection Show, waiting for its name to be called out.
(11/10/14 9:00pm)
Maria Baugh, managing editor of Food Network Magazine, spoke to Auburn University students at Journalism Day on Nov. 7, 2014.
"The University is so happy to have Maria Baugh here," said Jennifer Adams, director of the School of Communication and Journalism. "She has worked at many magazines such as InStyle, Glamour, Teen People, House and Garden and more."
Baugh, who graduated from Auburn University's College of Liberal Arts with degrees in pre-law and journalism in 1987, said magazines were something she always loved.
Baugh said she began reading a Reader's Digest she found at her grandparents house.
"I fell in love with that magazine," Baugh said. "They got a subscription when I was around 9 or 10. It was something that I couldn't get enough of."
According to Baugh, she and one of her best friends started their own magazine when they were 13.
"We called our magazine The Enlightenment," Baugh said. "I have no idea where we got that name from, but it was the seventies, and my friend and I thought it was cool. Unfortunately the magazine folded after one issue because we had bad circulation and no ads."
When it was time for Baugh to start deciding what she wanted to do in college, she said she knew she loved writing, but her family wanted her to pursue a degree that would be more practical.
"My family is very linear and very literal," Baugh said. "Basically that translated into asking how are you going to make money, and making money meant law school."
Baugh came to Auburn and finished her first degree, but she said the day she graduated in pre-law she knew she made a very big mistake.
After going with one of her classmates to pick up her diploma, she said she had a huge revelation and realized what she wanted to do with her life.
"I literally passed a sign in the Haley Center with the world journalism printed on it," Baugh said. "It was like, 'That's it, that's what I should have done. I've blown it.'"
After going home following graduation, Baugh said she decided to take a quarter off and decide what to do. She decided to come back to Auburn and pursue a degree in journalism.
Baugh graduated with her second degree and landed an internship at The Gulf Shores Islander and then with Covington News.
There she met a fellow Auburn graduate who encouraged her to come to New York City.
From changing jobs and weaving through positions in New York, Baugh said she knew that she was going to have to move around in the industry to move up.
Baugh also said taking a job that you don't know how to do is completely acceptable, because that is where she found her success as a managing editor.
"Take a chance," Baugh said. "You need two out of three things. You need to like where you are, like the people you are with and have a job that you love. If you have two of those, you will be fine."
(11/11/14 2:30pm)
Edzard Van Santen, professor in the crop soil and environmental science department, has dedicated more than a decade to the growth of a new creeping bentgrass, a grass that has long been used for putting golf green surfaces.
According to Van Santen, the new grass, named AU Victory, is a cool-season species with origins in 1999, when putting greens in the southeastern region of the United States suffered in the prolonged heat and humidity of summer, causing the grass to become too thin and resulting in poor golf greens.
Van Santen said he was first called to the Montgomery Country Club where he found only five or six good patches of grass on a 2,000-square-foot green.
"These plants had a characteristic that made them, at least to that point, survive the draught," Van Santen said. "Ultimately, if they had gone on they would have died, because a plant needs water to survive. So I picked up those survivors, took out the core and put them in a bag, transported them to the greenhouse here in Auburn and then took them to the Tennessee Valley, where we have another research center."
After the two-year waiting period passed, Van Santen said he was ready to initiate a breeding program, which involved working with a collaborator in Oregon, Virginia Lehman, who owned a private breeding company.
According to Van Santen, Lehman planted the plugs in a field and continually looked for turf quality, which is normally rated on a one to nine scale, six being an acceptable turf quality.
"What you want is leaves and not many stems," Van Santen said. "With the quality, we were looking for the fineness of leaf and uniformity. Uniformity is important because you want this average characteristic and each seed from the same mother has potentially a different father, and so there are slight differences, but on the average you want the stuff to look similar to each other."
After years of sending plants to and from Oregon and comparing their turf grass to other commercial cultivars, Van Santen and Lehman put populations of grass together, which they said they believed could be a thriving type of bentgrass, ultimately finding one population that stood above the rest.
"We eliminated a number of populations and then we allowed the remaining plants to flower together," Van Santen said. "We came up with two populations of bentgrass, and we had them here in our turf grass research unit. We put them under draught stress to see how they compared to commercial cultivars if you don't irrigate as much, and these did really well."
Bent Brook Golf Club in Birmingham was one of the first golf courses to plant its greens with the AU Victory Bentgras
Mickey Smith, director of golf at Bent Brook Golf Club, said he expects the greens on his Graveyard nine to be playable by December at the latest.
The Country Club of Birmingham assisted Van Santen early in his research, allowing him to plant AU Victory Bentgrass on the golf course years ago.
Today, Lee McLemore, director of golf course operations, said there are still a few bentgrass plots left thriving through heat and disease, a huge advantage over a number of other bentgrasses.
"This bentgrass has great draught tolerance, as well as disease tolerance," McLemore said. "Edzard gave it tough love in a survival-of-the-fittest setting and came away with a grass which could withstand heat and draught that would devastate other putting surfaces."
McLemore and Van Santen said they view draught and disease tolerance as an advantage.
McLemore said he believes the biggest advantage of the grass is that it was developed in the state of Alabama.
"They are born and bred here in Alabama, and that's big," McLemore said. "Bentgrasses are not supposed to be very well adapted to this region, but this bentgrass had adapted well. It's really the ultimate putting surface."
(11/10/14 1:00pm)
Marleigh Jones is a slim girl with red hair as fiery as her passion for music. Jones graduated high school in May 2014 and is following her dream of being a folk musician.
Her first album, "Jubal," was released in April 2014 through Noise Train, a music blog, under her solo project's name Streetparty in Liverpool.
Jones played shows throughout the summer after the release, but is now taking a break to work on her next album.
"I need to get another album out," Jones said. "I was going to tour during the summer, but nothing panned out. So next is the tour after this album is out."
Jones music career began five years ago when she started playing the guitar and performing.
Now Jones plays guitar, ukulele, banjo, bass, sings and writes her own music.
"It's folk music," Jones said. "It's acoustic, banjo-based."
The lyrics on Jones first album are very faith-based, she said, though she's recently written two love songs.
In addition to her solo project, Jones is also in a duo named Sand Moose with Logan Denham. Jones sings and Logan plays guitar.
"It all started in June," Logan said. "My mom was working on Amplify OA Youth, and that's where I met Marleigh. We started goofing off and from there, we found some websites with some stupid names on them, and we decided to start a band named Sand Moose."
Sand Moose is a reference from the television show "Parks and Recreation;" a sand moose is a camel.
"(Logan) sent me a picture of a camel with the caption sand moose and it was really funny at 2 a.m.," Jones said. "So we decided to call our band Sand Moose."
Jones and Logan are writing their first album together, with Jones writing most of the lyrics.
They said they look forward to begin recording in the upcoming week.
"It's interesting, because she has a special voice," Logan said. "The way she pronounces stuff doesn't always sound like what the lyrics actually are, so it's interesting trying to get melodies through to her, but I try. I do the majority of music stuff."
Logan's mother, Nia Denham, owns a music company called Amplify, which is how she got to know Jones and Logan.
"About three years ago, she was looking for gigs, trying to get started," Nia said. "She came to us and she actually did her first gig [with us] at Beef O'Brady's."
Jones said she has progressed in many ways since she started performing, from nervousness to stage presence.
"They were so bad," Jones said. "I remember I was playing a song and I was on a stool, and I was so nervous I slid off the stool and ended standing up. I didn't fall down, I didn't fall off the stool, but I don't know how I got there. I've gotten slightly better at using stools. It took me five years, but now I'm on it."
After establishing her own presence as a musician, Jones said her performances became more organic and more reflective of herself.
"I finally had to stop and say, 'I can do this differently, and not like other people, and I need to stop pretending to be other people,'" Jones said. "After I said that, everything progressively got weirder and more like me and easier. It's a whole lot of awkward and I tell some bad banjo jokes. I'm working on that being-charming-between-songs thing."
Jones said she has decided to not go to college because what she is doing now is what she wants to do.
"I don't want to spend a lot of money for people to tell me what I'm doing," Jones said.
Jones works as a nanny while she gets on her feet as a musician. Having performed at venues in the Auburn-Opelika area; Columbus, Georgia; Atlanta; and Birmingham.
She has her sights set on the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island
"Newport is where Bob Dylan first played his electric set, and other people I really look up to have played there, and even more modern people, because it's been around for 60 years," Jones said. "It looks really fun."
(11/08/14 1:00pm)
At the beginning of the season, Auburn ran a running back by committee, but now it is clear that Cameron Artis-Payne has not only separated himself as the No. 1 back on the team, but also has emerged at the No. 1 spot for most rushing yards in the SEC.
Artis-Payne's 969 yards through eight games are good for first in the SEC and 17th in the country.
Although he has separated himself as the go-to running back in the Tigers' hurry-up, no huddle offense, players and coaches agree that Artis-Payne has always been a talented back who they expected to have a breakout senior season.
"We knew at the beginning [of the season], we thought he'd be an 1,000-yard back in this league, we really did," said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. "We didn't know what level [he would be at] and there's still some things to be seen, but what he has done is he just has great determination."
According to wide receiver Sammie Coates, he has noticed characteristics of Artis-Payne's running game that have helped him become the current leading rusher in the SEC.
"When he's out there, he watches the defense," Coates said. "He knows what he's got to do to run the ball. He does a great job of letting the game come to him. CAP has always been a good running back and he's going to keep doing a great job."
According to Lashlee, Artis-Payne is the type of player who does not boast about his accomplishments; he simply lets his play do the talking for him.
"(Artis-Payne) has a very quiet strength of drive," Lashlee said. "He's very driven to prove himself and he doesn't have to say anything. He comes to work every day. He's a pro before he's a pro. He's the same young man every single day."
Lashlee said because of the way Artis-Payne prepares, studies film and practices, he has created a consistent daily routine, and that consistency off the field has led to him putting up consistent numbers on the field, averaging 5.4 yards-per-carry.
Artis-Payne said even though he has been named the No. 1 running back on Auburn's depth chart, he has continued to work hard to become more comfortable as an emerging leader on offense.
"Even though you get named the starter, you're still not going to be as comfortable six, seven games into the season," Artis-Payne said. "I think me and the offensive line are just starting to hit that stride. I think we're just getting more comfortable and seeing things better."
Lashlee said this year's running back situation is similar to last year's since Artis-Payne separated himself as the No. 1 back, and Tre Mason stepped up as the No. 1 back on his way to becoming a Heisman finalist last year.
"I think the way Tre got hot late had nothing negative to do with the way Cameron or Corey (Grant) were playing," Lashlee said. "They both still had a lot of good runs and good plays. Tre just became kind of that go-to guy."
Last year, Mason had 753 yards after eight games and Artis-Payne has 969 yards through the first eight games this season.
"(Artis-Payne) is as steady and consistent and reliable as anybody we have and probably about as reliable as anyone in the country," Lashlee said. "He just keeps plugging and coming at you. When we start to wear people down, he really can turn up those yards late and gets better as the game goes on."
Artis-Payne's ability to get better as the game goes on was proven during the 35-31 win at Ole Miss, where he rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.
"We figured out some things seeing what they were doing up front and seeing the mismatches we had," Artis-Payne said. "We figured we could exploit that in the second half. We know that if it's a close game in the fourth quarter, we're going to find a way to win and we pride ourselves on that."
(11/05/14 4:57am)
To ignite something is to set it on fire.
Louie Giglio, pastor at Passion City Church in Atlanta, came to the Auburn Arena Tuesday, Nov. 4, along with the Auburn University Gospel Choir and the Highlands Worship Team.
Ignite Auburn started five years ago when Student Government Association President Kurt Sasser approached Chette Williams, director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and chaplain for the football team, about creating an event to spark revival on campus.
Bo Bradford, senior in mechanical engineering and student chair for the event this year, said he has been attending Ignite Auburn since it started.
"It completely changed my outlook on college," Bradford said. "I remember specifically leaving that event viewing college as a place that I could grow spiritually and not a place where I put my religious beliefs aside for four years and just kind of do what I want."
Bradford said the goal is to have an event that ignites the student body with the love of Christ.
"We want to see lives changed for Jesus," Bradford said.
The coordinators of the event said they incorporated Auburn leaders to show this is an event unique to the campus.
Jay Jacobs, director of athletics, gave the welcome before the Auburn University Gospel Choir and the Highlands Worship Team led worship in front of students, faculty and members of the Auburn community.
Jonathan Wallace, senior in physical education and Auburn football player, gave his testimony at the beginning of the event.
Giglio was the main speaker for the evening. He started by presenting students with "the big idea."
"Jesus is God," Giglio said. "He is good. He is glorious both now and forevermore."
Giglio said this big idea should change lives. He compared living a life centered on "me" to being a fan of Georgia Tech's football team as he recounted going to their games as a child.
Giglio said living a life centered on Christ is like becoming a fan of Auburn's football team and a complete upgrade in comparison to Georgia Tech's smaller program.
"When God gets glory, we always get the best thing," Giglio said.
Giglio ended his talk with a challenge for students to break through religiosity and encouraged a spirit of freedom through Christ.
"Here at Auburn, you get a great education, great environment, great culture and a great football program," Giglio said. "We want all of that to lean together, so that when Auburn University comes up, people say, 'Have you heard? The King of Glory came in, and the whole place is ablaze with the name of Jesus.'"
Students had the opportunity to come forward and commit their lives to Christ at the end of the event.
Approximately 75 counselors, who went through a training process on sharing the Gospel and followed up with people who committed their lives to Christ, were available at the conclusion of the event.
Logan Click, senior in organismal biology, was a counselor this year.
According to Click, Ignite is a great outreach on campus because it is not exclusive to Christians.
Bradford said they are putting a bigger emphasis on follow-up this year.
"It's one thing to have an emotional high, but if they don't know what to do with it, what's the point?" Bradford said.
Along with talking to counselors at the event, students could also text 970-00 with the word "commit" or "recommit" in order to connect with a counselor who could talk to them about committing their lives to God and what that looks like after the event.
Committing yourself to God is choosing to live a life glorifying to him rather than yourself.
(10/24/14 12:00pm)
Following the trail through the woods and over two hills past the grave of Penn Yonge, the ghost who allegedly haunts Spring Villa Mansion, Faith Serafin and her team of paranormal investigators walked onto an ancient Native American gravesite.
They came armed with a collection of ancient Muscogee Native American words found in old history books.
The Muscogee-Creek language has been nearly lost in the years following the tribe's removal during the Trail of Tears. Only an estimated 5,000 people speak the language today, largely in the Muscogee Creek Nation in Oklahoma.
Speaking these words, Serafin believes, invoked a string of bad luck on her and her team after they left the gravesite.
The nearby lime and quartz quarries that built Yonge's fortune in the 1850s are visable in the area. Small shards of quartz crystal can still be found scattered across the ground, shimmering in the sunlight.
Minerals, especially lime, quartz and granite, store and release energy from the area, said Serafin. Concentrations of quartz are used in electronics to store energy, and one of Serafin's theories is this same quality can store the energy of spirits as well.
(10/23/14 5:00pm)
On Aug. 28, more than 1,000 copies of The Plainsman were stolen from bins across campus.
The total cost of the stolen newspapers, including production fees and ads sales in both the game day special section and broadsheet newspaper was $1,660.
The Plainsman filed a police report within hours of realizing the papers were stolen Aug. 28.
The police did not view the tapes until more than three weeks later Sept. 17. Student Conduct did not look into the matter until Sept. 30. What could have been handled within a couple weeks turned into an eight-week ordeal.
(10/16/14 4:00pm)
Nathan Coker, senior in fine arts, strummed his guitar as music blasted from the amplifier behind him.
Without a word, Ryan Blackwell, junior in mechanical engineering, joined in playing trumpet. Blackwell wore a sweater with a black bow tie and four-color socks. He rocked back and forth slightly as he played.
Corey Spicer, senior in interdisciplinary studies, joined in on drums. Spicer had just put on a green shirt, covering the tattoo on his chest of the Greek word "agape."
One by one, the band's other members began playing as well. Their sounds came together in one unified rhythm.
The music filled the room all the way to its green-painted walls and slanted wooden roof. It bounced between the unused piano and the four-foot pedals Coker had daisy-chained to his guitar, only to run around the dozen-odd instrument cases strewn on the floor.
The band's playing intensified as the song drew to a close. There was a half-beat of silence, then every member played to accompany a long blast from Blackwell's trumpet.
Once the music stopped, temporary bassist Mitch McKoy took a swig from his Corona Light. Spicer's dog Chessie wandered between the instruments.
"That's hot," Coker said, pleased with the music. "H-A-W-T."
Coker is the namesake of The Nathan Coker Band, a local music group. Though the band has been together for less than a year, its members want to see where the band goes.
"We'll probably get some more recording time in, put the demo out there and see where it goes," Blackwell said.
The way Spicer tells it, The Nathan Coker Band began after Spicer and original bassist Jimi Greene saw Coker play and were impressed with his talent.
"We got together and jammed, and started writing some drum and base parts to his acoustic songs," Spicer said.
Coker said he began learning guitar at 19 after being inspired listening to John Mayer.
"(It's) really funny, because I listened to a lot of hip-hop growing up," Coker said. "Gucci Mayne was a huge influence on me."
Despite his roots in hip-hop, Coker described the band's music as soul.
"Soul music is a broad term, so I try not to limit myself with restrictive genre names," Coker said. "The music I'm trying to make is sincere, and when I think of sincere music I think of a lot of soul artists."
Jayson Perry, senior in mechanical engineering, called their music "free-form fusion."
"We don't have anything written down," Perry said. "We just kinda feel it."
Perry, who plays saxophone, said Nathan Coker Band members enjoy improvising riffs during performances.
"We improve a lot of our licks," Perry said. "We try to add stuff, but not be too crazy about it."
Perry said after enough live shows, everyone in the band is used to each others' styles enough to handle the improvisation.
According to Blackwell, The Nathan Coker Band plays two or three shows per month, with practices clustered before performances.
One of the best shows so far, according to Coker, was a friend's house party where they played for only 20 people.
"Everybody got on their feet and was right there," Coker said. "The pressure of having to perform for a certain budget wasn't there, and it was all fun."
Blackwell said there are opportunities for new groups in what Spicer called a "growing music scene."
"Anybody who's looking to start a band in Auburn, just have the passion to do it and the wherewithal to sit there and practice because it takes a while," Blackwell said. "It's about putting yourself out there."
(10/08/14 5:00pm)
The Lee County Court is in recess for the remainder of the day for the sentencing phase of the Desmonte Leonard murder trial.
