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(10/19/13 7:00pm)
Along with Breast Cancer Awareness, October is also Cyber Security Month.
Auburn has promoted Cyber Security Month for seven years-each year including images displaying important topics in technology safety, such as mobile data security, social media safety, copyright infringement and phishing awareness.
"It's an effort to inform citizens, consumers and students about cyber security," said Mark Wilson, information security manager. "(Cyber security) is becoming more of a presence around education with colleges and universities."
Laura Henry, information technology specialist, said the dangers of malicious cyber software are becoming more prevalent.
"Students don't want to have their identity stolen or have money taken out of their bank accounts," Henry said. "It's part of (students') education to now how to stay safe."
With Auburn students being part of a generation heavily dependent on technology and their cell phones, Tyler Atwell, engineering co-op employee, said their generation is the easiest to target.
"Where the older generation would say 'I don't know what I'm doing, so I'm just going to back away,' our generation would say 'I don't know what I'm doing, but I'm going to download everything,'" Atwell said. "A lot of my peers are much more connected, but equally uninformed as well."
Wilson said cyber safety is equivalent to operating a car.
"You just don't get into a car and start driving," Wilson said. "You have to have some knowledge about the laws and traffic rules and how to keep your car in tune. Many of the attacks are coming from social engineering, and students need to know how to protect themselves."
Although software companies have created more programs to protect devices from viruses, harmful agents are using sneakier techniques to gain access to personal information.
"Getting into systems is actually a lot harder, so now (phishing) talking someone into clicking something or downloading something to get a password," Wilson said.
A basic tip for creating a safe technology zone is creating a password for your mobile and computer devices.
"(The password) does not have to have all these symbols in it, but the longer it is the better," Atwell said. "If the password is 11 or 12 characters then it becomes a lot harder to guess."
Also, patching programs on the computer will help protect it from viruses.
"Most of the time, a message will pop up in the corner saying 'your Java needs to update' or 'Adobe Flashplayer has a new update,'" Atwell said. "You need to do it because a lot of times they are patching security bugs."
Wilson also said to be careful about joining random Wi-Fi networks.
"In my opinion if I would jump on a random wireless network I won't do banking transactions on it," Wilson said.
Atwell said non-reputable websites will ask for a username and password, except if logging into the actual website.
"It might say you need to reset your password or go to another website to create a password; that's a sure sign they're trying to steal your data," Atwell said.
For more cyber security information, visit KeepItSafe.Auburn.edu
.Students can also attend the Cyber Security Awareness event Thursday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Student Center.
Staying alert with the guidance of these safety tips will help keep personal information on computers, phones and other devices safe.
"It's an issue that should almost be common sense, but people have a tendency to not think because they think (the website or email) is legitimate," Atwell said.
(10/15/13 7:24pm)
Student Government Association held a 'HeAUrd That!' open forum Tuesday, Oct. 15, for students to discuss issues they are dealing with on campus.
Topics under discussion throughout the month are health and wellness and campus recreation, dining, academics and facilities, parking and transportation and campus life.
Approximately 20 people attended the forum asking various questions about dining services, the topic of this week's forum.
Glenn Loughridge, director of campus dining, Bill Sallustro, Chartwells resident district manager, Bob Ritenbaugh, assistant vice president of auxiliaries and Gina Wells, marketing director for Tiger Dining spoke at this week's forum.
Chartwells, the company that manages dining services at Auburn, has been here since 2007.
Loughridge said that he is the voice for students, regarding dining issues.
"I hope to get consistent feedback about dining to see what they like and don't like," Loughridge said. "Because dining touches a lot of departments, I like to make a lot of connections."
Sallustro said the biggest focus on dining this year is to enhance customer service.
"We also want to see what's new and trendy out there," Sallustro said. "If we can consistently change and see what else is new, that's good."
Many students highlighted the issue with the lack of healthy dining options on campus.
The Tiger Dining app on cell phones shows the caloric value of each on-campus meal, except food trucks.
Loughridge said healthy options are a concern, but can be found anywhere on campus.
"Even at Chick-fil-A there are healthy options, but everyone chooses to eat a chicken sandwich," Loughridge said.
Kelly West, a member of the Be Well Hut on campus, created a 21 healthy meals guide available on the Health and Wellness website.
The lack of beef was also addressed during the forum and Loughridge said this is an issue Tiger Dining is currently working on.
Wells said more gluten-free options will be available on campus next year.
Although these new dining options will become accessible to students, Sallustro explained why one dining option is no longer on campus.
Tex's Tacos, a previous favorite among students, did not come back to campus after opening a second truck in Atlanta this summer. According to Sallustro, the owner of Tex's Tacos said it would be too costly to pay rent for two locations.
Lastly, the forum discussed where all the left over TigerCard money goes after the school year is over.
Last year's leftover money will go toward the construction of a 3,000-square foot Starbucks attached to Lowder Hall.
"The goal is to combine dining and social space and that's why Starbucks fits perfectly," Sallustro said.
Loughridge, Sallustro, Ritenbaugh and Wells said they are open to talk to students about their concerns anytime.
Next week's 'HeAUrd That!' session will talk about Academics and Facilities Tuesday, Oct. 22 in Student Center Room 2222/2223 at 1 p.m.
(10/10/13 6:40am)
The Homecoming football game, Homecoming parade and Miss Homecoming campaign dominate campus throughout Homecoming Week, but many students do not seem to be interested in any of it.
Homecoming events sponsored by the Student Government Association do not attract many students either.
Marissa Bean, SGA director of Homecoming events, said she wanted to make Homecoming Week better than it was last year and to motivate people to go to the events, even without earning spirit points.
"I just want to make sure it's a fun week and it's all about supporting Auburn organizations," Bean said. "We want people to want to go to our events, not just go because there's something in it for them."
Classes and being involved in extra activities hold many students back from attending Homecoming events before the game.
Catherine Grace Searcy, sophomore in communication disorders, said she did not attend any events last year, but will attend events this year.
"I was in the band, so I was busy a lot of the time and I didn't feel like doing it last year," Searcy said. "I was also new to Auburn and I didn't really know what to do. This year, I have more friends, so we'll try to get out and experience new things."
Otto Clark, junior in radio, television and film, said once he started his junior year, he had less time for anything except studying.
"Once I got into my major classes, I really don't have the time for it," Clark said. "When I have time, I choose to spend it on other things,"
Clark said Homecoming events and the Homecoming football games do not matter to him compared to when he was a freshman.
"When I first got here as a freshman, every game was a great deal," Clark said. "I was glad it was football weekend, I went crazy and went to the game and would wait in line for three hours to get inside [the stadium], but now this is the second year I bought a full season and didn't go to one game. I'm on track to do it again this year."
Although he will probably not attend the football games this year, Clark said if he hears about Homecoming events on campus he is likely to go.
Kathryn Calhoun, junior in public relations, said her strenuous workload keeps her from being more involved in after-school activities.
"I'll probably be going to the game, but as for Homecoming-related events before that, I probably won't go to those," Calhoun said. "You don't really get involved, especially once you get into your junior and senior year, because you're just not on campus as much."
Homecoming Week means Miss Homecoming campaigning, and campaigning mean gimmicks.
"I feel like the tradition is a big deal, but the game doesn't feel any different than any other game," said Richey Riviere, senior in business administration. "It's just annoying when people hand out a bunch of things on the concourse."
Many students are unaware of Homecoming Week in general.
Adam Hood, junior in public relations, did not event know Homecoming Week was coming up.
Although many don't know about Homecoming Week, Laura Huddleston, junior in public relations, finds the family atmosphere of Homecoming refreshing.
"I'm excited about football games because I've been in the band and it's nice to enjoy it like a normal student and not worry about doing everything," Huddleston said.
Searcy said Homecoming Week is a time for alumni to remember how far they have come.
"It's a time to cherish the memories that we've made," Searcy said. "It's also a time to realize we are a family."
(10/10/13 7:00pm)
The party is starting even earlier this year.
Farmhouse Rodeo 2013, Friday, Oct. 11, at the outdoor arena by Good Ol' Boys, will open its gates at 3 p.m., two hours earlier than previous years to make time for the country music acts.
Whiskey River Band will start at 4:30 p.m., followed by Blane Rudd Band at 8 p.m. and Dustin Lynch, the main performer, at 9:30 p.m.
Patrick Bonovitch, Farmhouse fraternity's executive vice president and philanthropy chair, said three food vendors, including a hot dog stand, barbecue stand and Momma G's, will be at the event.
All proceeds from the event go to Farmhouse's philanthropy, Storybrook Farm, a non-profit organization helping children with life-threatening illnesses and special needs through animal therapy.
"Storybrook Farm has the same ideas and morals as Farmhouse does," said Justin Matthews, Farmhouse philanthropy chair.
Last year, Farmhouse raised approximately $2,000-3,000 for Storybrook Farm, but Bonovitch said Farmhouse would like to raise closer to $5,000-10,000 this year.
To get more Greek Life involvement, there will be a fraternity and sorority competition at the rodeo this year.
"There's a prize for the winner and the sorority that buys the most tickets gets a free tailgate with us for the Iron Bowl," Bonovitch said. "The [fraternity] competition is each fraternity has teams and you do bull riding and bronco riding, a horse chase and steer wrestling. We'll have a judge out there to determine who wins."
Farmhouse's marketing strategies have also changed from the past.
"We're selling tickets earlier, and we're having more radio and using television ads, which we've never done before," Matthews said. "We're trying to surpass the numbers from last year. Everything we did last year, we just want to make it bigger."
Approximately 3,000 people attended last year's event, but Bonovitch said with the new marketing techniques he hopes approximately 4,000-5,000 tickets will be sold this year.
Chelsea Crawford, junior in organismal biology, said she went to the rodeo a couple years ago, but was not impressed.
"I went the year Casey Donahew Band was there and it didn't hold my attention for very long," Crawford said. "I'm excited for more bands to play this year, though."
T-shirts will be sold for $15, but a combo of a T-shirt and a ticket is $25.
Farmhouse will have tables set up on the Haley and Science Center Concourses until Friday, Oct. 11. Tickets for $15 per person can also be bought at FHRodeo.com.
(10/04/13 1:00pm)
The Federal Aviation Administration granted Auburn flight school students the recognition of reduced flight hours needed to graduate effective immediately.
The FAA increased the number of flight hours required for graduates after an aviation crash in Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009.
Since then, only six flight schools have been recognized as only having to complete 1,000 hours of flight training before graduation opposed to the normal 1,500 hours.
"The FAA imposed new regulations after the crash and was going to give credit to universities that had aviation programs because the curriculum students go through, they'll have a much better understanding of the industry when they enter it," said Jason Mohrman, Auburn alumnus and pilot for United Airlines.
Mohrman said this recognition would make Auburn students stand out when looking for a job.
"If you're a student at Auburn and you go through all your training, and your next step is to go to an airline, flight time is very tedious, so the fact that they can go do that with less time puts them in a tremendous competitive advantage compared to other students," Mohrman said.
Nick Plagenhouf, senior in aviation management, said the drop in hours is significant.
"Five hundred hours is a significant amount to not have to complete when you could start your career," Plagenhouf said. "It will be very beneficial to students and help many students start their careers."
Plagenhouf became a professional pilot when he was 17 years old, so he did not get his certification through Auburn's aviation program, but he said if he had foreseen the hour changes then he may have went through Auburn's flight school.
Although the hours are a significant factor in the aviation program, the program's accreditation is also important.
The aviation program has been struggling to maintain its accreditation since spring 2013.
"The main thing we need is leadership from above that is driving to maintain the Aviation Acceditation Board International (AABI) accreditation to continue to be recognized as an accredited program," Plagenhouf said.
The aviation program wants to schedule an accreditation review for this fall and continue Auburn aviation program's reputation as an elite flight school, Mohrman said.
"AABI is supposed to visit Auburn this fall," Mohrman said. "Having this accreditation is vitally important to graduates in this competitive field."
Auburn's Aviation Management Program has approximately 4,000 members.
"Our students deserve the best when they graduate and AABI provides that competitive advantage," Mohrman said. "It is important to note JetBlue, United and Delta are members of AABI, so the industry recognized AABI's importance in the aviation industry."
Hour-requirement changes allow Auburn aviation students to seek employment immediately after graduation.
This will put the Auburn graduates ahead of many others.
(10/08/13 1:00pm)
Although many students know it's great to be an Auburn Tiger, mtvU, MTV's college-focused channel, has given the University proof of its greatness in the Rate My Professors college-ranking list.
RateMyProfessors.com is a website allowing students to rank professors at their university in various categories, including overall quality, helpfulness, clarity, easiness and hot in appearance.
Auburn placed No. 11 on the Top-25 Universities category. Thomas Beard, professor in economics, was named No. 4 on the Top 10 Hottest Professors.
According to mtvU's Rate My Professors' press release, a professor who receives a chili pepper is considered hot. Chili peppers are awarded based on the sum of positive and negative (hot or not) ratings.
"The great thing about the site is that it's all from students, so it's great to get that recognition directly from your students," said Jake Urbanski, MTV communications manager.
Approximately 1.8 million professors, 15 million readings and 8,000 schools are included on the site.
MTV took over RateMyProfessors.com in 2007.
"We thought it was a smart, organized site for college students, and it fit perfectly with what we are doing at mtvU," Urbanski said.
Payton Holbrook, junior in public relations, said she was not surprised about Auburn's ranking.
"I love being on campus," Holbrook said. "I feel like there's always positive attitudes around here."
Juan Prince, senior in journalism, also agreed Auburn deserved to be ranked greater in the listing.
"I feel like the ranking is justified because a lot of professors are really qualified in their field," Prince said.
Although many students are not surprised about the ranking, Alex Fujimoto, senior in English, said he was surprised Auburn ranked so high.
"I'm surprised because I felt like all the teachers that I enjoyed said they had a job offer and were going to take it somewhere else," Fujimoto said. "That has happened to me three or four times."
The No. 1 university according to RateMyProfessors.com is Standford University.
To view full listing, visit RateMyProfessors.com.
(09/30/13 5:40am)
What are you in charge of?
I am in charge of a nurse practitioner and a medical student. The medical students follow me around and actually get really involved with the patients. One week per month, I will stay later than 6 p.m., depending on how many patients come through the door.
(09/19/13 2:55am)
Located behind glass walls on the second floor of RBD, and conveniently a few steps away from Caribou Coffee, Tiger Advisor, Auburn's student-directed advising, is there to help.
"It's a way for students to come in and get the general advising questions asked," said Whitney Bonham, lead tiger adviser and senior in public relations. "We're not here to replace their academic adviser. We're here to direct them toward resources on campus that they may not know about, or if they don't remember how to do something, we're here to direct them to different places."
Tiger Advisor is a joint effort between SGA and the office of the provost.
"SGA approached the provost office saying that students desired after-hours advising opportunities," said Judith Sanders, retention programming coordinator.
Most of the students who seek assistance from Tiger Advisor ask questions about scheduling, but the tiger advisers are up for any question.
"They can come in with any question and we'll try our best to help them answer it or direct them to the resources to get that question answered for them," Bonham said. "It's not necessarily just for registration, but that's the biggest question we got last year."
Sanders said students come to Tiger Advisor before their academic adviser.
"[A student] just wanted to be able to ask lots of questions and not feel intimated or uncomfortable at all," Sanders said. "We sat down with her and went over DegreeWorks with her, so she had better questions to ask her adviser."
DegreeWorks, located under the Tigeri tab, helps students plan out their academic future.
"It's a way for students to kind of gauge to see how far they are in their degree, what classes have they taken and what classes they need to take," Bonham said. "They can pretend to change their major as well."
Bonham said the students-helping-students factor is very important to Tiger Advisor.
"They're not meeting with their adviser, so they feel like they don't have to be perfect in what they ask," Bonham said. "We can give them a student's perspective, but also give them accurate information and they'll go away knowing they'll be more confident."
Tiger Advisor gets a lot of freshman traffic, but juniors and seniors ask for help as well.
"They're a student, just like me, but I give my personal perspective as a student or maybe my personal experience," said Kesha James, tiger adviser and junior in communications. "They get a personal experience or personal relationship, where maybe they don't feel like that with their academic adviser."
Tiger advisers are recommended by nominations, which are sought during the summer.
"We worked really hard in the selection process," Sanders said.
Sanders said Tiger Advisor is just trying to make its presence known.
"We want students to know we're here and give them helpful and accurate information," Sanders said.
The Tiger Advisor office is open from 3-8 p.m. in Room 2341 on the second floor of RBD.
(09/19/13 2:55am)
Fashion, the city, Auburn Tigers, oh my!
Two Auburn alumni continue to expand their fashion label, Jordan Wolk, in the Big Apple.
Sara Brosious, 2004 Auburn alumna, and Aimee Mars, 2003 Auburn alumna; Tara Germino started Jordan Wolk in 2010. The name Jordan Wolk is a combination of Sara and Aimee's maiden names. Sara's maiden name is Jordan and Aimee's maiden name is Wolk.
"When we first started the company, we just wrote down Jordan Wolk Incorporated because that was easy, but when we were thinking of a strong, powerful name, we decided to just keep using Jordan Wolk and it had some meaning behind it," Brosious said.
Jordan Wolk's target audience is usually the working woman in her 30s, but Brosious said their targeted consumer has changed a bit.
"We still target that power woman, but after looking at a couple of seasons and seeing who buys, we found out that people like it more for social wear," Brosious said. "Our main target consumer is socialites in New York City for when they need a special dress for a charity event, client dinner or a fancy wedding shower."
Although the line targets women in their 30s and older, Brosious said students willing to pay more money for a piece would be able to wear their pieces to a campus event.
"It's a higher price point, so I don't know if a student would want to spend that much. That's why we target women in their 30s, because they already have a career started and have that extra money," Brosious said. "But we've had younger women wear it as well."
Brosious said she and Mars get most of their inspiration for the line from the women of Manhattan.
"Our third partner, Germino, came on board with us because she felt like there weren't clothes for her to wear to work that were high quality and sophisticated and classy enough to wear to the office," Brosious said. "That's where the concept came from, something you can wear to work or transition it to after work or an event."
Three words to describe Jordan Wolk would be polished, classy and sophisticated, Brosious said.
"I wouldn't say we're trendy because we're pretty classic," Brosious said. "When someone buys a piece they know they'll be able to wear it for a couple of years and it's not going to go out of style."
There is no such thing as a typical day at Jordan Wolk.
"One day could be doing accounting all day long, which is something I never thought I would be doing," Mars said. "You set your day up and then you could be doing something completely different at the end of the day."
So far Jordan Wolk has been featured in Women's Wear Daily, Scene Magazine and on Halsbrook.com. Celebrities such as Alex McCord van Kempen, New York housewife, and Heather Thomson, New York housewife and owner and CEO of Yummy Tummy, have been seen in Jordan Wolk pieces.
"[Thomson] has been wearing eight or nine of our pieces all summer and she's been wearing them for the filming of the reality show for the new upcoming season," Brosious said.
Brosious said the line's goals are always changing.
"Ultimately we would like to grow the brand into a lifestyle collection with accessories, bags and shoes," Brosious said. "We would like to have our own boutique one day and become a member of the CFDA."
Brosious and Mars have had their foot in the door in the fashion industry before starting the line.
Brosious held various positions in the fashion industry such as interning at Rebecca Taylor, working in product development at Tibi, being an assistant designer at Walter Baker and associate designer at PKO Apparel until she got laid off, which gave her a chance to start Jordan Wolk. Mars' past experience included interning at Donna Karan, working for a small suit designer and working a couple of years at a Swatch Watch group doing visual merchandising.
Eloise Saber, 2013 Auburn alumna, interned with Jordan Wolk in 2011.
"The things I got to do a lot of interns wouldn't get to do in a larger company. Sara and Aimee would design the clothes, but after that I got to do everything," Saber said.
Saber helped Brosious and Mars with various jobs around the office.
"The greatest part of the internship was they wanted me to learn as much as I wanted to learn," Saber said.
Mars' advice for students wanting to make it in the fashion industry is to do whatever it takes.
"If that means working as an assistant in a position that you don't want to be in, but it gets your foot in the door, take it," Mars said. "The harder you work the more chances you have to grow."
(09/16/13 9:00pm)
Waiting for 20 minutes for the possibility at riding a bus should not be a reality.
Anyone who has to ride the west campus Tiger Transit route knows my pain.
I should not have to wake up and get on the bus 40 minutes before my class starts, an 8 a.m. class no less, to get a seat.
Although it's expected to have many students riding the buses the first week of class, it's now September, and the west campus buses are still packed, causing various stops to be skipped because people are already standing up.
I understand Tiger Transit has gone through some changes, such as hiring many new bus drivers, but their inexperience is not the problem.
There are not enough buses on the west campus route at prime points in the day.
For example, at 2 p.m. at the Student Center, there was a mob of students wanting to get on the west campus bus, as if the driver was handing out free ice cream. I was not fortunate enough to get on that bus and had to wait for another one.
There were only three buses on the west campus route at that time, while at other parts of the day there were as many as five buses on the route at a time.
I understand it costs more money to run more buses and that patience is a virtue, but west campus has never had this problem before this semester.
Thousands of students live in apartments off Glenn Avenue and Hemlock Drive, so there should be enough buses to accommodate those people without making them wait for another bus or two in order to get to class.
Some students' stops get skipped because the bus that arrives is already full (little repetitive) and they end up just walking to class.
Other routes, including Haley West, Old Row, Webster Road and Wire Road are also reportedly overcrowded.
Although there are problems with the number of buses on the west campus route, Tiger Transit does do a phenomenal job caring for the students' needs on the buses and the drivers are some of the sweetest people I have ever met.
All I ask is to put more buses on the west campus route throughout the entire day.
That would alleviate stress for students getting to and from class, making Auburn a happier place than it already is.
(09/12/13 3:29pm)
What does your job entail?
It entails meeting with clients and making fitness programs that are specific to their goals and physiology, whether it's modifications based on injury or based on what their expectations are.
(08/30/13 3:40pm)
Hidden in the Science Center Lab building is a fragile laboratory designed to make and repair custom glass pieces.
Matt Montgomery, glass shop manager, has worked in the shop since attending Auburn in 2003.
Ever since former glass shop manager Wendell Sandlin retired in 2011, Montgomery has maintained full control over the shop.
The glass shop produces custom pieces for professors, graduate students and undergraduate students involved in research on campus.
"Ninety percent of our work is custom work, so basically items that aren't in catalogs or whatever will fit their research," Montgomery said. "We do some catalog work for people who tell us they want a specific item and we do a lot of repair work."
Montgomery works in the shops alone, but he said he enjoys having the responsibility to maintain his work every day.
"I know what needs to be done, and I have to manage my own time, but the fun part of the job is just being down here," Montgomery said. "I have to manage the projects and make sure that I have the materials needed to complete the orders in a timely manner.
An on-campus glass shop gives the University a financial benefit for many of the individuals using the products because it eliminates shipping costs.
Anyone who wants a glass product made can charge their purchase to their Fund, Organization, Account and Program Number, which is connected to their grant money account.
"If (students are) not working with a professor and they need something, a lot of times they will pay out of pocket," Montgomery said.
The glass shop is part of the chemistry department, so it does not pay labor for the glasswork.
"Our labor rate to other departments is $25 per hour for Pyrex glass and $35 an hour for quartz glass," Montgomery said. "They'll use quartz glass for UV work or high temperature work."
Customers also save money on repairs.
"If they didn't have a glassblower on campus, they would have to buy a new [glass piece], to replace their broken glassware. Depending on the severity of the damage we can usually repair the item for significantly less than the cost of the new item," Montgomery said.
Tamara Issacs-Smith, physics research associate, gets products from the shop several times a year.
"For the most part, I can't order special- ty parts online," Issacs-Smith said. "There are several large grants that couldn't be fulfilled without (Montgomery) being available."
The shop has been running for more than 45 years and has seen both an increase and decrease in production over the years.
"Around 2007-09, especially with the bad economy, people weren't getting the grant money they normally would," Montgomery said. "They were still bringing items in, but it wasn't necessarily new work. It was more repair work and not necessarily the big jobs. Around 2011, things got a lot busier."
Although most of the products are made for scientific research, Montgomery said he was able to make artistic pieces for demonstration purposes.
"Several times a year I will perform demonstrations for prospective students and on campus organizations. We've made oil lamps for a couple of people on campus as gifts," Montgomery said.
Montgomery also created a glass cake topper for his wedding and for a friend's wedding.
Montgomery said he is most proud of the pieces that take several days to prepare and construct.
"Some of the items that I am most proud of, or enjoy doing the most, include Schlenk vacuum lines, distillation apparatus and particle spray coating chambers," Montgomery said.
Montgomery said he enjoys helping graduate students and professors.
"By providing them with custom glassware, I feel that I am somewhat a part of their research," Montgomery said. "The other aspect that I enjoy most is that each day is different. I usually have a different job to do each day and that keeps the work exciting and rewarding."
(08/25/13 2:33am)
"Duck Dynasty" lovers rejoiced over the appearance of Uncle Si, his sweet tea and Alan Robertson.
The event called Characters of Character was held by Youth First in the Auburn arena from 7-9 p.m. Aug. 24.
Youth First is a Christian organization that works with churches and young people in middle and high school to spread the Word of God.
All proceeds from the $25 tickets benefited Youth First, Campus Life and Orphanage Emmanuel.
Along with Uncle Si and Alan Robertson, recording artists Bryan Duncan and Shanna Henderson; comedians Jody Fuller and Clayburn Cox; musician Kevin Flannagan and Michael Franzese, former Mafia Don, author and TV host performed.
With faith being a huge part of the Robertson family, Youth First welcomed the characters of A&E's "Duck Dynasty" to Auburn with open arms.
"They don't disconnect their faith from living real life," said Dan Woglemuth, director of national Youth for Christ. "They blend that beautifully and authentically and that's very much the way we want to live out our families and the mission that we're apart of."
Alan Robertson detailed the past of the Robertson family and how he fits in.
Alan said he is the black sheep among a black sheep family.
"Duck Dynasty" now reaches approximately 12 million households and was recently named the most watched non-fiction series on television.
The silliness of Uncle Si probably has a lot to do with that.
The event was a time for Si to tell his stories including one about running from coyotes and catching his Keds on fire in the process.
Many of Si's stories will be published in "Si-cology," planned to release Sept. 3.
"I smelled the smoke that smelled like burning rubber and I looked down and my Keds tennis shoes were on fire," Si Roberston said, "Everything about that story is true except for one part, but I'll let y'all figure it out."
The Robertson family's values are deeply rooted in their faith.
Alan has been his church's pastor for approximately 20 years.
Si also told a story of when he was 16 years old and was not connected with God, but found his way back.
Si said he went to get his DNA tested and told the doctor, "That God's DNA, Jack, and I've got it."
Flannagan, the event's coordinator, found his characters through constant phone calls to the Robertson's agent.
Out of more than 500 other guest appearance requests, Si and Alan chose to come to Auburn.
"They really wanted to come to Auburn and we love that," Flannagan said. "We told them that if they came here, they would leave knowing this was a special place and a great place to be. Alan shared with [Youth First's] president that he felt like there was something spiritual that was guiding him down to Auburn."
Alan shared his common ground with Auburn fans.
"One thing we can share from being from Louisiana and y'all being from Auburn is we all hate Alabama," Alan said.
(08/23/13 2:55pm)
Don't waste time and money traveling to Atlanta or Birmingham for a color run; Student Alumni Association is bringing one to campus.
Student Alumni Association partners with Alumni Association and Auburn University Health and Wellness to start campus' annual Color Me Auburn 5K Saturday, Aug. 24.
The race will run throughout campus, as well as on Magnolia Avenue and Donahue Drive.
All of the color thrown during the race will be orange or blue.
"We thought color runs were so popular right now, but we haven't heard of one that was huge at Auburn yet, so we kind of wanted to start that tradition," said Dori Dobbs, membership coordinator for Alumni Association.
The race will start at 6 p.m.
"We wanted to make it student friendly because students are way more likely to participate in a run if it was not so early in the morning and it's the weekend before football season, so we figured a lot of people would be in town either getting condos ready or just excited to kick off the football season," Dobbs said. "We also wanted to have it later to avoid the heat as well."
All proceeds will go toward student scholarships provided by SAA.
Rebecca Davis, student coordinator for the Color Me Auburn 5K, said the organization hopes to raise $4,000-$5,000, which would be enough for four or five student scholarships.
All are welcome to run or walk the 5K.
"It's a community event," Davis said. "We've opened it up to alumni, students and the entire community. We want to raise as much money as we can."
Although participants can walk the race, there will be timers at the event for the competitive runners.
The first man and woman to cross the finish line will receive gift cards from TCBY and Big Dog Running, as well as some Auburn gear from the Alumni Center.
This is the first Color Me Auburn 5K, but Dobbs hopes to make it an annual event on campus.
Participants are encouraged to wear all white.
"We're having them pick up their registration bag the day before the run at the Alumni
Center," Dobbs said. "It will be open all day for the bag pickup, so they will receive their white shirt the day before, so they can wear that to the run."
Dobbs said people who wear contacts should wear sunglasses or some sort of eye protection to the race so the powder does not get in their eyes.
People interested in volunteering for the race can contact Dobbs by email at DoriDobbs@auburn.edu. Volunteers will receive a free tshirt.
Registration is $15 for SAA members and $20 for nonmembers; to register visit AuAlum.org/5K.
SAA members will also be on the concourse until the day before the race.
"Everybody who lives in Auburn loves Auburn, so we wanted everyone who was interested in doing a color run to be able to do it," Davis said.
(08/22/13 2:56pm)
Students aren't the only ones making changes with the new semester.
Tiger Transit services has signed a new contract with First Transit to begin at the start of fall semester.
"I don't think the changing of the company is going to affect the performance of the service we provide for the students," said Clarence Cobb, general manager of First Transit.
A new company also means brand new Tiger Transit buses for the University. The new, 70-bus fleet will include 12 hybrid vehicles and provide services for approximately 22,000 students at the beginning of the semester.
"The system is utilized and the number of passengers goes up a little every year," said Rex Huffman, manager for transit services and an Auburn University alumnus.
"I wish it had been here when I was a student."
Sixty previous drivers out of the 121 current drivers were rehired and went through training to be ready for the first day of class.
"The training is very intense and if (the drivers) don't pass the training then we don't hire them," Cobb said.
Along with waking up every morning to a brand-new-bus smell, some students will be affected by route changes as well.
The Opelika Road route will now only include stops at Creekside of Auburn and Aspen Heights, which will cut the 24-minute travel time, Huffman said.
The Opelika Road route has been significantly changed because of the creation of the new North College Line, which includes services to Copper Beech, the medical and dental offices along the Dean Road corridor and the mall.
Huffman said many students use the mall stop as a park and ride stop.
"We don't have as many people utilize it as we wish we did, but people still utilize it," Huffman said.
Students who live on Cox Road in Windover Farms and Swann Two trailer parks will now have the option to ride the Wire Road transit line. A bus will run every hour.
"We're able to now allow access to part of the student body that has never had access before," Huffman said.
Tiger Transit stops at AU Impound Lot, Nichols Center, Kingsport Apartments and Hearthstone will be suspended starting fall 2013.
Along with daytime hour bus stops, Toomer's Ten will also experience changes
this fall.
Operations for night transit will be reduced to Friday and Saturday nights only, beginning in October.
"Because of our resource constraint, we will be eliminating Wednesday and
Thursday nights after September because there are a lot of people out [downtown] those first couple of weeks," Huffman said.
Three other stops will also be suspended because of underutilization.
Funding for Tiger Transit comes from student tuition.
"I tweak the system every year," Huffman said. "I would hope people would tell (us) that the whole time (they) are here riding the transit you could see continuous changes being made to the system."
In regards to former Tiger Transit company Groome Transportation failing to meet some of the driver's demands in fall 2012, Huffman said the switch of companies was because the Groome Transportation contract ended this year.
"We're moving forward and we're pretty excited about what the new company will bring to the table," Huffman said.
Cobb said safety is an important factor for Tiger Transit.
"My goal is to make sure that everybody is 100 percent safe, which includes the drivers and all of our students that we pick up each and every day," Cobb said.
"We're teaching the drivers how to be alert and watch out for things that cause accidents."
Huffman said that students chose Auburn because of the transit system.
"We want to be a world-class transit system for Auburn University," Huffman said. "I love what we're doing and I think we provide a great service."
(08/18/13 8:45pm)
The tiring week of Fall 2013 Sorority Recruitment came to an end on August 18, but also was just the beginning for many newly recruited women.
The excitement took over the girls as they were introduced to their new sorority sisters.
"Bid day is a memorable day for those women who join sororities," said Jill Moore, director of Greek Life. "Bid day is when a new sorority member can meet the other members of her new member class and get into being a sorority member, rather than just learning about sororities."
Reflecting over the past week, Emma Fuchs, freshman in nursing said she would not change a thing about her recruitment experience and gives advice to those going through it in the future.
"Just to be yourself because you don't want to be in a sorority where you can't be yourself," Fuchs said. "You have to go through it and be the best that you can be because they want you for who you are."
The long week exhausted Morgan Satterfield, freshman in biomedical science, which made her think of possible changes she would have made if she knew what she was in for.
"I would probably try to get more sleep and be more open-minded," Satterfield said.
Ashley Roberson, sophomore in exercise science and kinesiology thought the recruitment process was a well-rounded experience.
"Day 1 was really exciting and really loud," Roberson said. "Day 2 was fun too because you were learning what the sororities support. Also seeing the different attitudes and personalities in the different sororities on Skit Day was fun, but seeing the serious side of it was fun too."
Although most of the potential new members going through recruitment are freshman, some are sophomores.
Lynley Garner, sophomore in sociology, said the week turned out to be more difficult than she anticipated, but she was able to stay positive throughout the whole experience.
"Rushing as a sophomore was challenging because a lot of sororities don't like to take sophomores, so after the first cut, I got cut by 12 and then I got cut by four more, so I literally had one left the last three rounds of Rush and it was really nerve-wracking, but it all turned out really well," Garner said.
The Pi Chi groups, groups of potential new members that go to sorority parties together, offer support during the rush process.
"Other girls are going to look to you for support because you're rushing with the same group of girls, so you have to be supportive of your friends and your sisters," Garner said.
Although approximately 60 women received bids at each sorority, some women did not receive a bid at all or dropped throughout recruitment for various reasons.
"If someone really wants to join a sorority, I encourage her to learn about the other ways to join during the year, specifically Continuous Open Bidding, in which some sororities will offer a few more bids," Moore said.
(04/26/13 8:33am)
Stephen Malkoff, auburn alum, has returned to his roots to draw Toomer's Oaks.
"I'm an Auburn man and I've played football at Auburn and I've studied architecture at Auburn," Malkoff said. "I'm a tree artist, which is kind of unusual. They're not many people that specialize in drawing trees, so it makes sense that I'll be the one drawing the trees."
Immediately after graduation, Malkoff decided that he did not want to pursue his architecture career.
"When I came home from Auburn I met my wife. I became a starving artist," Malkoff said.
Malkoff started drawing trees when he created a piece for his wife and his one-year anniversary.
"There's an old oak tree they call the Ole Oak in Geneva, Ala," Malkoff said. "She loves the tree and it's where we go to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. I thought, 'You know what, I'm going to draw that tree for her.'"
When Malkoff started working on the rendering of the Ole Oak he found his calling.
"It's kind of weird how sometimes in life you don't really know your destiny or calling, but drawing that tree for my wife ended up being my career," Malkoff said.
Malkoff strictly uses pencils for his tree drawings.
"I love pencil," Malkoff said. "I just love pencil because it's so pure. What you see is what you get. I love the fact that I'm a modern artist and the drawings I do are modern works of art, but when you look at them they look like they could have been done hundreds of years ago."
After he created the piece for his wife, Malkoff began to draw other iconic trees across the country.
"I drew the tree that Walt Disney played on as a boy," Malkoff said. "It's a giant cottonwood tree in Marceline, Mo. and I drew the tree that George Washington planted at Mount Vernon. I stayed at Mount Vernon as a guest and that was just an incredible experiment."
Malkoff was not expecting to draw the Toomer's Oaks for a while until he got a call about the poisoning.
"First I didn't believe it," Malkoff said. "I'm thinking it's a joke and then I'm thinking 'You know what this is for real.' So I grab my camera and I head to Auburn to photograph the trees."
Malkoff photographed the oaks in winter of 2011 and started drawing them during the summer of 2011. The final prints were released in fall 2011.
"I marketed the prints on my own, but I felt like it was time to do something with our alumni association to preserve the memory of The Oaks and to raise money for scholarships," Malkoff said.
The original drawing is currently located in President Jay Gogue's home.
"One day my hope is that it will hang in the Jules Colins Smith Museum of Art where more people can see my work," Malkoff said. "Most of my drawings are in private collections, but I'm always honored when the public can see my work."
While at Auburn, Malkoff said he took rolling Toomer's Trees for granted.
"You don't think of the not being here," Malkoff said. "I loved rolling the trees and what an awesome unique tradition. I can't think of any other university flying an eagle before every game, the Tiger Walk and watching the band march in. And then after a victory, you can go roll some trees without getting arrested."
Malkoff said he does not even like to say Udyke's name.
"I feel bad for the guy because there are certain people that determine their self-worth depending on an event or relationship," Malkoff said. "I determine my self-worth on who my creator is. Some people just take it too far and the trees were an easy target."
Malkoff said Auburn made a tremendous effort to save the trees.
"Alabama folks came to help save the trees too," Malkoff said. "The University of Alabama folks that get it and understand tradition, they came through for us."
To purchase the renderings of Toomer's Oaks visit Malkoff's website, Tiger30.com, or call his gallery at (888) 410-3559.
(04/26/13 8:22am)
Train came through Auburn Thursday, April 25, making more noise than the city's usual freight train.
Train performed with opening acts Hot Chelle Rae and Green River Ordinance at the Auburn Arena.
Approximately 3,500 people attended the event.
Many of the students had never seen Train, Hot Chelle Rae or Green River Ordinance before, but were enthusiastic about the concert.
"I think Train's awesome and I'm really excited about it," said Amanda Hallman, freshman in pre-med. "I did not know about it until they announced it on campus."
Jacob Heflin, sophomore in theater was pumped to hear his favorite Train songs in person.
"I'm jacked," Heflin said. "I haven't seen them before and I haven't been to a concert in a really long time. My favorite Train songs are Marry Me and my mom and I used to sing Drops of Jupiter all the time."
Train wasn't able to stay in Auburn or go downtown after the concert because they had to leave a few hours afterwards and drive all night to their next location, something that is typical for the band, said Jimmy Stafford, guitarist for Train.
Stafford said Train doesn't do shows on college campuses as often as they used to.
"The energy is so great because you know its college kids, they're fun and into it," Stafford said. "Even if you don't think you know us . . . when you see the show you're like 'oh holy crap, I knew every song' so it's really fun to play for the colleges."
Train has been on tour for almost five years straight, but will soon get a break in the upcoming year while they make their greatest hits record.
Stafford said Led Zeppelin and AC/DC were bands that inspired his musical talents and that the members of Train have different tastes in music that they mix together in their songs.
"It's kind of just a melting pot, when you get together with four other guys and you form a band, everybody's got their different influences," Stafford said. "Pat is into James Taylor and I'm into AC/DC and Scott's into Phish and then you put all of your influences together and you spit out what we spit out."
The band's crazy partying nights are in the past, and most of them have gotten married and have kids, Stafford said.
"In the early days, especially when we were just like 'all right we're rock stars now, let's party,' those were the days where we would finish a show and we wouldn't leave till the next morning so we would go out to the bars with the locals and hang out and get into all kinds of trouble," Stafford said. "Whatever you can imagine, it has happened."
Stafford said the music industry is a tough business that takes commitment and never giving up.
"I just always tell people to be honest and be real, you can tell when bands are kind of phony and they're trying to be something that they're really not," Stafford said. "Be real, be genuine, in anything you do in life."
Some students who hadn't heard of Green River Ordinance or Hot Chelle Rae before the concert said that they still enjoyed their performance.
"It was really enjoyable, good energy," said Carl Lyness, senior in building science. "I'm more interested in Hot Chelle Rae (now), they have a lot more songs than I thought."
Brooke Reisberg, senior in architecture, and Kalli Jones, sophomore in PRTV, said that Train was their favorite of the three.
"Going in I wasn't that sure about (Train), but after that I definitely like them a lot more now," Jones said.
Although they arrived in time, Cameron Clark, freshman in finance advising, and Tyler Doyle, freshman in business, did not hear about it until today.
"Maybe they should have sent out a University wide email or something," Doyle said.
Other bands students wanted to see instead of Train, Hot Chelle Rae and Green River Ordinance included Blink-182, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Mackelmore.
"Luckily we all have a job that we love to do, it's a pretty great job," Stafford said. "We're fortunate to still be a band after all these years and still get to do this job."
(04/24/13 7:16pm)
Four students started Why Care Campaign at Auburn last fall, but have expanded it worldwide.
Reaching out to approximately 73 countries, Devin Yeomans, co-founder, Jenni Daniel, co-founder, Anna Kate Mullinix, co-founder and Aubrey Sullivan, co-founder have created this project to raise awareness about hunger locally and internationally.
"The goal wasn't to collect money," Daniel said. "The goal was to spread awareness and really make people truly think about it."
The four women first started the project in their Hunger Studies Capstone class taught by Kate Thornton, director of the hunger and sustainability initiative.
The assignment was to create something that would change the world.
"It was one of those things that we didn't plan it just happened," Mullinix said. "It's one of those things that we could have never dreamed of happening."
The women came up with the idea to spread awareness on the hunger issue, but focused more on asking people a question, not just giving them statistics.
"We realized once we figured out our reason it really empowered us to do more," said Yeomans. "I think by allowing it to be a question made it more powerful."
The Why Care Campaign has partnered with the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Program of the United Nations to reach more people.
The first step of the Why Care Campaign was to encourage people to figure out why they care about hunger through pictures sent to the campaign's social media sites.
"The campaign was actually for World Food Day on October 16, 2012, so everything that we had done was building up to that one day," Yeomans said. "The results were incredible. We peaked at 36,000-person reach on Facebook alone. The days leading up to World Hunger Day we collected over 2,500 photos and counting."
The first step of the campaign had gained the attention of people throughout the world by people sending in their photos of why they care about hunger.
"We had a lot of athletes, Olympians, politicians, Christina Aguilera, a lot of NGO leaders and people from the UN," Yeomans said. "The variation was incredible."
Yeomans said that people gave them varied 'Why I Care' responses.
"You had things that were really deep form people that had seen hunger first-hand and then you had people that were more fluid about it, which is fine," Yeomans said. "They would just say 'I care about hunger because I love bacon and everyone should have bacon.' We had a lot of religious, personal and moral reasons."
The second step of the campaign is a call to action.
"We're trying to get together a 50 million pound food drive, for food banks kind of like Beat Bama Food Drive," Yeomans said.
Mullinix said the issue of hunger did not affect her directly until her mission trip to Honduras last summer.
"This past summer I was in Honduras and there was this little boy that came to the orphanage that I was working at and trying to eat made him sick, which is a primary symptom of starvation," Mullinix said. "It really took on a different face that it was no longer just an issue, but it was a person, a name, a face and a story."
The group hopes to encourage students to volunteer on campus to help out their community and the world.
"They can get involved with Committee of 19, start their own food drive or help out the Campus Kitchen," Mullinix said. 'There are many initiatives on campus that give students the ability to make in different in their community and around the state and the world."
The campaign has grown into something that the women cannot control entirely anymore.
"I'm just really excited to see where it goes," Mullinix said. "It's one of those things that we have some control over it, but when it comes down to it there's really not many of us involved can do to control where it goes and what it does. I'm excited to see what it looks like in the future and how it continues to evolve in the international program."
(04/19/13 2:02am)
Howell Raines, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and former executive editor of The New York Times, spoke at the 2013 Neil O. and Henrietta Davis Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, April 18 at the Dixon Auditorium at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
Raines' career at The New York Times started in 1978 with him in the position of national correspondent.
He then switched positions many times, but finally landed his executive editor position in 2001. He held the position until May 2003, when he was dismissed for continuing to print Jayson Blair's stories, which contained fake bylines and plagiarism.
Approximately 150 people came to the lecture.
Judith Sheppard, associate journalism professor, opened the lecture by recounting the history of Neil O. and Henrietta Davis' time in Auburn.
Roy Bain, former publisher of the St. Petersburg Times and Raine's co-worker at the Tuscaloosa News, introduced Raines, speaking of their early friendship when Raines was still a "rookie.?
"(We) sized the new kid up and agreed he had talent, good writing and could tell a story," Bain said.
Raines spoke about his experiences working at various newspapers in Alabama and around the world and how they have influenced his point of view.
"The newspapers of Alabama were my graduate school," Raines said.
Raines said he was happy to see many of his old friends, as well as students at the lecture.
"I feel a special kinship with the student journalists who are here," Raines said. "(They) are entering one of democracy's most essential professions in a time when none of us can predict its future."
Raines said students should find out how much a publication will pay them for their skills and what kind of news they will want.
Raines also brought up the constant transformation of technology.
"This revolution in communications technology is the most powerful thing we've seen in human history since the printing press," Raines said.
Jack Simms, former chair of the communications and journalism department, said Raines is a very impressive journalist.
"He's a very aggressive writer, and he's had heck of a career," Simms said.
Margaret Fitch-Hauser, chair of the communications and journalism department, took from the lecture that journalism has influenced the course of history and will continue to shape the course of the future.
"I think anybody can learn a lesson to pursue your dreams like he has done and pursue your passions like clearly he has done," Fitch-Hauser said.
The lecture closed with Raines' stance on how journalists continue to report what they are told, not what is true.
"The American people insist on quoting people we elect accurately," Raines said.