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'Closing the Gap' Does Just That

By Eric Austin / WRITER | March 11

When asked what the "culture" of Auburn is, the average student would think football, parties and good old Southern hospitality.All the above may be true, but Auburn students living inside the campus bubble may not often realize that the "culture" of the larger Auburn-Opelika area is actually far more vibrant and diverse.Recognizing this, a motivated student and the Department of Foreign Languages came together to create the group Closing the Gap."I saw there was a significant amount of ignorance regarding the immigrant populations in the area," said Taylor Baronich, president and founder of Closing the Gap.The program seeks to make inroads with the immigrant communities of the Auburn-Opelika area, helping them become a part of the larger community in which they live.The program's beginnings took hold in 2008, when assistant professor of Spanish, Gilda Socarras, began requiring students to tutor local Hispanic immigrants as a service learning component of her advanced Spanish classes."In order to be integrated into this society, they must learn English," Socarras said of the Hispanic immigrants who receive an English lesson from Spanish students every Wednesday at Iglesia Vida Nueva (New Life Church) on North College Street.When Baronich took Socarras's class last semester, she realized the work being done by the Spanish department fit perfectly into her idea for an immigrant awareness club.The two came together and decided to form Closing the Gap.

New Library Space Adopts Gamers

By Jake Mastroianni / WRITER | March 11

It's not always quiet at the library.Friday night, students and staff put the books down for a while to have some fun at the Ralph Brown Draughon Library.The AU Gamers club brought over various video games such as Wii sports and Rockband.

Leadership Conference Inspires, Motivates Women

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | March 11

The Women's Resource Center hosted its fourth annual Women's Leadership Conference last Friday and Saturday.The conference was highlighted by the keynote speaker Alexis Jones, a former Survivor contestant and founder of the I Am That Girl foundation."It's a two-day conference with a dinner then an all-day event on Saturday," said Emily Butler, junior in human development and family studies.

Boy Scouts Infiltrate Auburn

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | March 11

An education received from Auburn University can begin before someone ever enrolls in Auburn.Members of various Southeastern Boy Scout troops who attended Merit Badge University, hosted by the service-fraternity Alpha Phi Omega received Auburn credit."Merit Badge University is one of our big projects for the year," said Mark Nugent, senior in civil engineering and member of Alpha Phi Omega.

Kappa Delta Prevents Child Abuse With 5K

By Michelle Wilder / CAMPUS EDITOR | March 11

Drawing in the large running community and supporting child abuse prevention, Kappa Delta Sorority hosted its 17th annual Shamrock Run 5K last Saturday.Eighty percent of the proceeds from the 5K benefited LeeSCAN Special Deliveries, a local nonprofit, and 20 percent benefited Prevention of Child Abuse America, a national committee, both supporting the prevention of child abuse and helping young mothers."(I chose this race) for March because it benefits children," said Gigi Stokes, who ran with her dog Haley.

Poultry club sells its passion

By Patrick Dever / ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR | March 11

With spring break a mere day away, students face the question of how they're going to eat without the Chic-fil-A in the Student Center or Salsarita's in Foy.The Poultry Science club has a great option.

Vet Takes Pride in Military

By David Norwood / ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR | March 11

After three tours of duty in Iraq, Marine Sgt. Adam Fountain has enough firsthand experience of war to tell hours of stories.Despite the controversy of the conflict overseas, Fountain is firm in his opinion on the subject."I don't care what motives our government has," Fountain said.

Maintaining For Fundraising

By Laura Maxwell / ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | March 11

Now that spring is in full swing, it is time for yard workers across the country to fire up their equipment.For those green thumbs who may have sat out the last lawn mowing season, the Auburn branch of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers held its 20th annual lawnmower clinic Saturday.It is the organization's main fundraiser for the year.The purpose of the clinic was for engineering students to repair lawnmowers, as opposed to instructing normal citizens how to repair the mowers themselves, which can be dangerous, or at least a big hassle.Members of the club volunteered to help out at the clinic.Professors were at the clinic to supervise and participate in fixing the mowers."Some of the professors in the department have done it for 20 years, so we have experts, I suppose," said ASABE President Jonah Taylor, senior in biosystems engineering.Somebody realized early on there are a lot of people in need of having their lawnmowers serviced and this service was a good niche for the agricultural and biological engineers to fill, Taylor said.ASABE charged $25 for maintenance, and offered a pick-up and delivery for an additional $10."It's very reasonable," said David Rohling, who dropped off his mower to be repaired.

Sasser Says Traffic Safety is Essential

By Laura Maxwell / ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR | March 11

Though Kurt Sasser just became SGA president, he's already working to improve Auburn University.Pedestrian safety was one of Sasser's key platforms throughout his campaign.Pedestrian safety is a major concern right now because there have been eight pedestrian accidents within the past six months, Sasser said.

Honors College Discusses Hunger

By Chelsea Harvey / WRITER | March 11

The Honors College Spring Convocation, held Monday evening, cited a biblical parable for its event titled "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat: Bringing Relief and Enabling Self Reliance in Developing Countries."Emma Clark, native of Auburn, is studying at New York University to become a certified women's health nurse practitioner.

'Everyone has their secrets'

By Nicole LaMontagne / WRITER | March 4

The word "depression" has a stigma that makes people feel uncomfortable to speak aloud; however, this whisper in the dark is one of the most widespread mental illnesses affecting individuals today.In any six-month period, 9.4 million Americans suffer from this disease. One in four women and one in 10 men can expect to develop it during their lifetime, according to Mental Health America.

Half the Bike, Twice the Price

By Maxwell Newfield / ASSOCIATE CAMPUS EDITOR | March 4

Whether by car, bicycle, Tiger Transit or good old-fashioned foot, every Auburn student has a preferred method of traveling to class.But freshmen Kevin Tonn, a computer science major, and Clayton Lester, a biomedical sciences major, utilize a more unique form of transportation.Lester and Tonn ride unicycles.

E-Day attracts curious minds

By Jillian Clair / STAFF REPORTER | March 4

More than 2,000 high school students flooded campus Friday to experience E-Day, where they were able to see a hovercraft, make paper, see robots and participate in hundreds of other hands-on activities."E-Day is a fantastic experience for high school students to come out and see what we do," said Brent White, senior in mechanical engineering.

'Like a good neighbor'

By Crystal Cole / STAFF REPORTER | March 4

Auburn University helps Loachapoka High School students get into college thanks to a $58,000 grant from State Farm.The grant was received by the university outreach program from State Farm's Youth Advisory Board, or YAB.Ralph Foster, a director with the outreach program, said national grants are rare."Out of more than 1,100 grant proposals, State Farm presented only 82 awards in the U.

Fraternities prep for spring formals

By Sarah Phillips / STAFF REPORTER | March 4

Although spring break can be an outrageous trip that many men look forward to, for the men of the Auburn fraternity system, a spring formal holds a whole week's worth of fun in one amazing weekend.For these men, fall formals are considered to be simple fun.They may have a party at their fraternity house with their dates, or travel to a local Auburn mansion, but when it comes to planning for the spring, there are no limits.Throughout the fall, many fraternities are busy each weekend spending money on band parties and tailgates.Most have parties with big-name bands to draw the people in to have a good time before or after the football game and on gameday there is always the guarantee of free drinks for fraternity members' families and friends.But when spring semester finally comes, these boys are ready for the intense fun to begin."Formals are a fun weekend outside of Auburn with a bunch of your friends," said Nate Welch, senior in engineering and member of Phi Kappa Tau.

'People Making the Ultimate Sacrifice'

By David Norwood / ASSISTANT MULTIMEDIA EDITOR | March 4

Finance major Brett Mixon hates an 8 a.m. Calculus class as much as the next person, though his method for motivating himself is different from the standard student success strategy."I'd much rather be sitting in the library studying all night than in a foxhole," Mixon said.The Auburn senior and Marine Sgt.

Tiger Eyes Await Prize

By Jessica Shaddix / WRITER | March 4

They lined up with their heads held high, backs straight, hands on their hips and toes pointed out, while trying to keep in step.Feb.

Class of the Week: Frankenstein in Context

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | March 4

The chalkboard is covered with differing philosophies and ideologies. The professor, a short, older man with inch-thick glasses and a grey beard trimmed with rust-colored hair, draws lines and connects ideas.Hands raise and a discussion begins.