Campus

Auburn Agriculture Program Achieves Accreditation

By Lindsey Grubbs/ Staff Writer | October 22

Happy cows aren't choosing California anymore. They're choosing Auburn.Auburn University's College of Agriculture has earned the highest international accreditation for the humane treatment of research animals including cattle.AAALAC, the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International, is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to promote the humane treatment of animals around the world in universities, government institutions and companies."This means that we can compete with the best of the research universities and institutions across and international spectrum," said Jim Bannon, director of outlying units of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University.Bannon organized the process that took three years to complete and wrote a 457-page document to outline and review the college's animal care programs which followed an extensive interview and review process by AAALAC."It is a voluntary process that involved a physical assessment in person and submission of a program description, " Bannon said.

Camp reaches out to Auburn

By Max Davis/ Staff Writer | October 22

The holiday season is quickly approaching, but Keith Ries and Meredith Raley are already making plans for summer 2010.Ries and Raley are assistant directors of Camp Ozark, one of the largest Christian sports and adventure camps in the country.They spent all of last week on campus recruiting Auburn students to work as counselors at Camp Ozark next summer."I think it's an opportunity that most people don't get the option to do, so if they can do it I encourage them to," Ries said.

Professor Writes Civil Rights Book

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 21

The Civil Rights Movement was a significant moment in the history of the South, reforming societal conventions and perspectives.

Outreach Program Offers Computer Classes

By Helen Northcutt / INTRIGUE EDITOR | October 19

Auburn's Outreach Program offers a variety of opportunities for people of any age or location to reap the benefits of Auburn's educational resources.Beginning Oct. 20, the Outreach Program is offering a series of computer classes featuring tutorials on Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access.

Tiger Dining hosts 'interesting' sushi class

By Simpson Fletcher/ Staff Writer | October 15

Even though sushi can be traced all the way back to 4th century B.C. in Southeast Asia, it is still a popular meal choice today and about 20 students took advantage of making their own in Terrell Hall Wednesday night.Tiger Dining hosted the event allowing participants to create both California and spicy shrimp rolls with instruction from sushi chef Chris Lin."It gives the chefs a chance to get involved with students," said Gina Groome, marketing manager for Tiger Dining. "We hand the theme off to the chefs to let them be creative with what they want to do."

Locals Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness

By Emily Beckett/ Staff Writer | October 15

Pink was the color of choice for participants in the fifth annual "Think Pink" breast cancer awareness walk in historic downtown Opelika Saturday morning.Opelika Main Street, East Alabama Medical Center and the American Cancer Society hosted the event, which featured a one-mile walk, live entertainment and a reception for participants in the walk.

Auburn Slips to 'C' Average

By Theadoris Morris/ Staff Writer | October 15

Auburn University's sustainability efforts received a "C" on the 2010 Sustainability Report Card.Auburn received a "D" for its sustainability in 2008 and a "B" average in 2009. But the University dropped to a "C" average in 2010.

German Cafe Opens in Time for Oktoberfest

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | October 15

Alpen Cafe and Bakery brought traditional German cuisine to the Auburn area by hosting its first street party for Oktoberfest Saturday.The restaurant is in historic downtown Opelika off Ninth Railroad Avenue.It served up schnitzel and brats along with a boot full of beer for the patrons inside while entertaining people on the street with face painting, bobbing for apples and guessing the number of nuts in a boot."We opened three months ago, so this is our first chance to host an Oktoberfest event," said Nathan Park, restaurant manager.

Auburn Hosts BEST Robotics Event

By Aubrie Davis/ Staff Writer | October 15

Screaming fans, loud music and noisy drums echoed through the Student Activities Center Saturday for the annual War Eagle BEST competition.Middle school and high school students from across Alabama traveled to Auburn to compete in an intense robotics competition.Twenty-four teams participated in the event, which lasted nearly seven hours.Robby Ingenloff, a freshman at East Memorial Christian Academy, said this was his first BEST competition.

Auburn Engineers Develop Virus Filter Software

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 15

Recent outages on Web sites like Facebook and Twitter are a problem for users.Computer engineers at Auburn may have the solution.John Wu, Tong Liu, Andy Huang and David Irwin are engineers who have created software for computer systems called Identity-Based Privacy-Protected Access Control Filter (IPACF)."Denial of Service (DoS) and distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks involve an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users," Liu said in a written introduction to the team's research.

Vet Student Receives Scholarship

By Jordan Dailey/ Assistant Campus Editor | October 15

Jonetta Tabor, a third-year veterinary student at Auburn, was awarded the 2009 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Foundation-Pfizer Veterinary Student Scholarship."I am very grateful for the support as I seek to fulfill my goal of becoming a large animal practicing veterinarian," Tabor said.Eleven recipients were chosen, each receiving $5,000 in scholarship money to be used towards an education in large animal medicine."A truly outstanding group of recipients has been named for this inaugural group of scholarships," said Gatz Riddell, DVM, AABP executive vice president.

jGRASP Gets Grant From Nation Science Foundation

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 15

Auburn computer science professor James Cross and his jGRASP research group have received an award from the National Science Foundation of $250,000.The group, whose name stands for Graphic Representations of Algorithms, Structures and Processes, has created a development environment that provides visualizations to make software more comprehensive."This has been a long running project," Cross said.

Speaker Discusses Importance of Engineers

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 15

If one were to try to name the most influential policy makers in this country, congressmen, CEOs and special interest groups might come to mind.However, according to William Wolf, former president of the National Academy of Engineering, scientists and engineers are a large part of the passing of local and national legislation.Wolf presented "Responsible Citizenship in a Technological Society" in Broun Hall last Thursday as part of the Samuel Ginn Distinguished Lecture Series."For 11 years I sat right at the nexus of science, technology and policy," Wolf said.

PINK Hosts Beat Hunger Bash

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | October 15

Auburn's finest chefs came out to the Sigma Chi house for the grill-off for Victoria's Secret PINK Beat Hunger Bash Tuesday.PINK and the Committee of 19 hosted the event to support Auburn's War on Hunger for Hunger Awareness Week from Oct.

Auburn Wins at Poultry Science Association Meeting

By Jordan Dailey/ Assistant Campus Editor | October 15

Auburn's Department of Poultry Science racked up at the annual meeting of the Poultry Science Association in North Carolina.Five current students or faculty and one former Auburn graduate student were recognized for their accomplishments.Jessica Butler, a current graduate student working with professor Pat Curtis, was elected by a group of her peers as a student representative to the PSA board of directors."I am responsible for being the voice of the next generation of poultry scientists," Butler said.Butler will serve a two-year term in her position.

Indian Student Association Celebrates Diwali

By Alison McFerrin / STAFF WRITER | October 15

Happy Diwali 2009!Diwali is an Indian celebration that took place on campus in Foy Student Union ballroom this past Sunday.Diwali means "an array of lights." It is a celebration of the victory of good over evil; the main focus is lamps being lit to expel darkness from around and from within."It's a new beginning," said Pratyusha Patel, a second year pharmacy student.Patel, who is originally from Zambia, described Diwali as a bit like Thanksgiving."It is a time for family and friends and good food," Patel said.The Diwali '09 celebration on Auburn's campus was hosted by the Indian Student Association in conjunction with the Indian Cultural Association of East Alabama.Other involved organizations included the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, the International Student Organization, the Auburn Asian Association and the Muslim Student Association.The event featured performances by young children and adults, who sang, danced and performed skits to showcase Indian culture.The origin of Diwali comes from the Hindu Puranas.

Alpha Phi Alpha Hosts Miss Black and Gold Pageant

By Michael Hansberry/ Staff Writer | October 15

Students came out last Friday night to attend Alpha Phi Alpha's 27th Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant in the Student Center.Three contestants competed in the 45-minute competition, vying for the first place prize of $500 and a chance to compete in the next round this Saturday in Montgomery.The event kicked off with a performance from Therapy, a local seven-member, neo-soul and jazz band, and a dance routine was performed by AU Rhythm, the University's rhythm and dance team.Graduate student in political science, Marvin Price, and last year's Miss Black and Gold, Jessica Alexander, hosted the pageant.The contestants, Candace Brown, a junior in English, Faith Kashaa, a sophomore in biomedical sciences, and junior Andrea Jemison, started the competition with the swimsuit portion.Then the ladies went into the talent portion where Brown sang a soulful rendition of Etta James' "At Last." Kashaa sang "Hero" by Mariah Carey and Jemison danced.Next was the evening wear competition where the ladies showcased their gowns.After a piano performance by Alexander and a question-and-answer round about Michelle Obama, Jemison was announced as the winner.Kashaa was second runner-up and Brown came in second place."I'm thrilled about it.

Auburn University Dean of Nursing Retires after 11 Years

By Blake Hamilton / Associate Campus Editor | October 8

After 45 years as a nurse and 11 years as dean of the Auburn University School of Nursing, Barbara Witt is retiring.

Auburn Thinks Pink: Cater and Samford Hall Light Up Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | October 8

Auburn's campus is blushing pink this October for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.This is the third year Zeta Tau Alpha Gamma Rho Chapter has partnered with the University to illuminate the campus in pink lights in the effort to raise awareness about breast cancer.The inspiration came from Estee Lauder Companies' Global Landmark Illumination Initiative which illuminates famous buildings, monuments and landmarks around the world in pink lights.

Farmhouse Rodeo Puts Students Back in the Saddle

By Helen Northcutt / INTRIGUE EDITOR | October 8

Grab your cowboy boots and saddle up for the annual Farmhouse Rodeo benefiting Opelika's Storybook Farms.The rodeo is a community sponsored and family-oriented event.Fraternity and sorority teams compete in a variety of traditional events and activities such as stick-horse racing and a Ms. Rodeo Queen Pageant, according to Farmhouse's Web site."The atmosphere of the rodeo is my favorite part," said Farmhouse Rodeo Chairman Fuller McCabe.