LRNL A FUTURE IN FILM-MAKINGpg
3
M O N T H LTHY FOR THE Get Re M OF O N T H L hickoR Y M O N T H L Y LOVE pg 6 DONUTS! fI LR pResident M O N T H L Y
Lenoir-Rhyne University School of Journalism and Mass Communi LENOIR-RHYNEAN NEWS
Lenoir-Rhyne University School of Journalism and Mass Communication
LENOIR-RHYNEAN NEWS
VOL. 112 — ISSUE 5
DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
VOL. 110 — ISSUE 2
Lenoir-Rhyne University School of Journalism and Mass Communication LENOIR-RHYNEAN NEWS
VOL. 110 — ISSUE 2
SEPTEMBER 2015
fEST TO RETIRE LR pResident TO RETIRE LR pResident TO RETIRE
CULTURE AT LR Lenoir-Rhyne University School of Journalism and Mass Communication LENOIR-RHYNEAN NEWS
VOL. 110 — ISSUE 2
SEPTEMBER 2015
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION WEEK BRINGS CHINESE AND AFRICAN CULTURE TO CAMPUS
During the International Education Week in November the Greensboro-based Suah African Dance Theater performed traditional music and dances from West Africa. The convocation was sponsored by the William and Robert Shuford Center for International Education. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WILLIAM AND ROBERT SHUFORD CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
GAME ON! LR’S OWN E-SPORTS TEAM STARTED COMPETING THIS YEAR By Florian Lemmel | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
A camouflaged and armed man steps into the scope’s field vision. A few moments later he is in the cross. A shot, the shell makes a ringing noise as it falls on the ground, and the man in the scope lies dead on the ground. It’s a typical situation in the game “Counter Strike Global Offensive,” the game LR’s e-sports team is competing in this year. The e-sports team was founded last spring together with LR’s Video Game Club by Elijah Blackwell who is coaching the team. “The video game club is more for casual players who want to come down (to the Cave) and
SEPTEMB
chill,” Blackwell said. “The e-sports team is meant to compete (on the) intercollegiate (level).” Currently, LR is playing in the second division of the Collegiate Star League. They started off their first season with a loss against University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and a win against West Virginia University. The team plays their games in a room in the Cave, which they have outfitted with gaming computers and headphones. “Right now, we only have one game in competition, and that’s ‘Counter Strike Global Offensive,’” Blackwell said. “The next game is not competing until next semester, but it is called ‘Overwatch.’ It’s more cartoony, and you have superherolike characters.” In the game, one side plays the terrorist who tries to plant
CONNECT WITH US
bombs. The counter terrorists try to stop them. Both teams have to play one half as terrorists and one as counter terrorists. The games are five against five, and the winner is determined by who is the best out of 30 games. LR’s e-sports team has a five-person starting lineup with two on reserve. As coach, Blackwell has mainly management tasks. He deals with the promotion and also schedules all games and practices. “We practice three days a week on Monday, Wednesday Thursday, and on game day we come an hour early to warm up and get ready for the game,” he said. During games and practices the team captain, Clayton Schreiber, leads the team. The team captain, sometimes called the in-game-leader, calls the plays. “I try to look for what the other team is setting up strategically and make a call to counter that to get an advantage,” Schreiber said. “We also have a playbook with strategic plays where everyone has a role.” Despite all the practice and preparation, things still can go wrong. “Back in the UNC Chapel Hill game we ran a play where we ran down to the bomb side B,” starting player Logan Kidd said. “We got to the side, and as soon as we opened the doors two people died. I ran behind the bodies and attempted to plant a bomb. Something happened and the bomb doesn’t plant in time. I got shot, and we lost the game.”
ONLINE NEWS & ARCHIVES AT ISSUU.COM/ THERHYNEAN
Sometimes the team takes unusual approaches to get the edge over another team. “It got really hot during a game, and we said, ‘We have to take our shirts off and we might be able to get some momentum,’” starting player Anthony Decenzo said. “Right when we took off our shirts we won four rounds.” When Blackwell talks about e-sports he likes to compare it to football. If the quarterback, or in this case the in-game-leader, calls a wrong play, or the communication between the team members is bad, mistakes will happen, and the other team will win. The fact that you compete in a team-based activity that requires strategy and communication makes e-sports a real sport, according to Blackwell. “You have to have such a lightning quick reaction time it becomes physical,” he said. “The idea of seeing someone, aiming at him, pulling the trigger and hitting them in the right moment requires pretty super-human reaction times.” During the games, the e-sports team doesn’t allow anyone in their room, but their games are streamed in Cromer Center with a live commentary from Blackwell. Students also can watch the games on twitch.tv/lresport. If you want to compete for a spot on the team you can come to the team’s tryouts. For more information on upcoming games and events visit facebook. com/LResports.
FIND US ON TWITTER AND FACEBOOK FOR LIVE NEWS UPDATES AND POSTS. @LRNONLINE AND FACEBOOK.COM/LRNONLINE
chiVes
chiVes
2
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
NEED HELP?
NEWS
THE S.A.R.A. CLUB WANTS TO BE THERE FOR LR STUDENTS By Florian Lemmel | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
College is fun. For the first time you live without your parents, have the chance to do whatever you want and spend time with your friends, but wherever there is a light side, there is a dark one, too. Suicides at Pennsylvania State University and Appalachian State University showed where pressure to fulfill expectations and to keep up with friends can lead. And the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network found out that more than 10 percent of students experience rape or sexual assault during their college careers. At LR, the Cornerstone Health and Wellness Center is there to help students with these kinds of issues – as are your RA’s and RD’s. But what if you don’t feel comfortable talking to them? LR’s Suicide, Abuse and Rape Awareness Club offers a safe space for students to talk to someone, solve their problems and lets them know they are not alone. “(S.A.R.A.) wants to let (students) know, that there is help for them if they have been sexually assaulted, have been abused in their life, whether it was on campus, or not, or before they got (to LR),” S.A.R.A.’s vice-president Yonathan Sorto said. “There are people at LR who care and want to help you.” S.A.R.A. not only deals with the issues listed in its name, but with everything a college student has to deal with, like being stressed before exams, or feeling lonely without your family. There are different ways to get in contact with S.A.R.A. 1. Email: saraclub@gmail.com 2. Social Media: sara_club_lr and facebook.com/lrusara/ 3. The new anonymous hotline: (910) 594-4123 The hotline is even available if you’re not the victim of sexual assault. “We had a lot of people who called the hotline just to talk something out and get things off their chest,” the club’s social media manager Leah Bobbett said. Through the hotline you can talk to the executive members of S.A.R.A. who have all been trained by the club’s faculty advisor and director of Cornerstone’s counseling service Jenny Smith. The Cornerstone Center and S.A.R.A. are working together to give students more options to receive help.
“(The Cornerstone Center) helps us to understand how to approach those individuals who need help, how to talk to them, how to make them feel comfortable and also how to get them help,” Sorto said. “If we can’t help them, we can definitely find people who can.” In addition to Smith’s training, a lot of S.A.R.A. members have had personal experience with assault and suicide, which helps them to relate to students and motivates them to help in need in any way they can. “My cousin committed suicide, and when I first came to LR it never occurred to me that I could be S.A.R.A.’s executive board is raising awareness for their club outside LR's sexually assaulted, but there was Cromer Center. PHOTO COURTESY OF S.A.R.A. an incident (at a party) when I was dancing, and I was inappropriately touched,” S.A.R.A.’s President Diana Nava said. The club members know that a lot of people don’t feel comfortable talking about these topics, either because they had a personal experience, or If you feel stressed they think that it will never happen to them. Thus, it is important that students know that if they need from your classes, you can join to talk to someone, they should not see S.A.R.A.’s S.A.R.A. on one of members “as strangers, but as friends,” according their stress hikes. to Nava. PHOTO COURTESY “It’s all about feeling comfortable and accepted OF S.A.R.A. in the group,” Bobbett said. “It’s not good when you feel pressured to talk about something. This is not class; this is your life.” Besides acting as a contact for students in need that the club gets more attention and helps more of help, S.A.R.A. focuses on promoting a positive students. Everyone who wants to participate in attitude and allowing people to reduce stress. the club can go to their meetings which are every Sometimes they walk around campus putting other Wednesday in changing locations, or you can sticky notes on student’s doors that have a positive join them at one of their events. The club is very thought or a compliment written on them. When open to ideas, and no one is required to join in tabling in Cromer Center they asked students to order to participate in S.A.R.A.’s events. share what keeps them going, and in November “My overall goal is that every LR student knows they had an event where students could write a that there is someone to talk to and that if they are note, put it inside a balloon and, in that way, let go stressed it is not good to keep it all in,” Nava said. of everything that worries them. To reduce stress, “We are here for you.” the S.A.R.A. club hosts stress hikes. Nava says For more information, email saraclub@gmail. doing something fun with other people can reduce com, or call the hotline (910) 5944-123 stress. S.A.R.A.’s executive members want to make sure
ENDOWMENT 101
LR's Endowment 2007-2017
Endowment Amount
$120,000,000 $100,000,000
UNDERSTANDING LR’S $106 MILLION ENDOWMENT $80,000,000 $60,000,000 By Katelyn Mendenhall | LRN Monthly Editor in Chief
gift is invested, and over time it yields more and more money. Don’t worry, the money pot isn’t just sitting in a corner untouched— LR does spend a portion of the endowment each year. “Every year we do what is called a ‘release’ on what the intended purpose of the endowment is,” Kendall said. LR has an approximate five percent spending rate on the endowment each year. “So this fiscal year, we are going to be releasing approximately $4.5 million.” Kendall explains that the amount we spend is a rolling average of the value of the endowment from the past few years, so it may not be exactly five percent. “At the end of the day, (the endowment) is a big chunk of money that’s meant to support students and staff primarily. Our job is to manage that money in a prudent manner – you can’t go to the casino and put your endowment on the table and play blackjack with it.” What does the endowment pay for? “The majority of people like to give money that will help students attend (LR),” Kendall said. That means a large portion of the gifts LR receives are designated to support
SEE ENDOWMENT, PAGE 3
$40,000,000
ENDOWMENT GROWTH 2007-2017
$20,000,000
$0
2007 2007
2008
2009
2010
LR's Endowment 2007-2017
2011
2012
2013
Year
$100,000,000 $80,000,000 $60,000,000 $40,000,000 $20,000,000 $0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
58,887,066.22 2016 2017 61,924,611.91 51,921,402.74 59,356,001.50 69,004,973.59 65,418,518.42 93,526,210.68 97,605,184.86 94,643,468.80 97,184,033.75 106,283,145.97
2014 2008 2015
$120,000,000 Endowment Amount
If you’ve been at Lenoir-Rhyne for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard administration talk about how the school’s endowment is at a record high of approximately $106 million. But what exactly does this mean? “At the beginning of every single year, we hear ‘growth in endowment,’ and everybody’s just like ‘Yeah!’ but I guarantee there’s a lot of people out there who really don’t get it,” senior Walker Harrison said. “I’m not exactly sure that I do know what it means. I think it is important for people who go here to realize how much money this institution brings in and has and where it comes from.” What’s an endowment, and how does it work? According to LR’s Senior Vice President of Administration and Finance Peter Kendall, an endowment is a sum of money that has been given to the university for a specific purpose. “LR has $106 million in endowments that includes gifts we’ve received from probably around 800 people over time,” Kendall said. When someone gives a sum of money to LR, we don’t just spend it because “the goal is that the endowment will always be there,” according to Kendall. Instead, that
2017
Year
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
ENDOWMENT GIFTS (HICKORY) LR Endowment (Hickory) Undesignated, $1,411,776
Designated for Professorships, LR Endowment (Hickory) $5,080,378 Designated for Professorships, $5,080,378
Undesignated, $1,411,776
Designated for
Designated Programs, for Programs, $18,681,421 $18,681,421
Designated for Scholarships, $30,798,112
Designated for Scholarships, $30,798,112
Hickory
Columbia
Total
Designated for Scholarships 30,798,111.67 Designated for Programs 18,681,421.18 Designated for Professorships 5,080,378.28 Undesignated 1,411,776.20 Total 55,971,687.33
5,762,675.70 2,827,277.08 11,514,681.96 6,703,221.74 26,807,856.48
36,560,787.37 21,508,698.26 16,595,060.24 8,114,997.94 82,779,543.81
PROFILES
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
ENDOWMENT from page 2 student scholarships. Other gifts are also designated to support professorships and programs (for the Office of International Education, the math department and others). Kendall also says we have a number of gifts that are undesignated, but the majority are given to support a scholarship, professorship or program. LR’s Director of Financial Aid Nick Jenkins says that a lot of the endowed scholarships are “tied to education, nursing and music,” and because LR is a Lutheran school, there are a number of scholarships given for students who are Lutheran.
Right now, LR’s yearly operating budget is at about $50 million, and Kendall says spending from the endowment is a “little less than 10 percent of that budget.” Why should we care? Choosing a college is like choosing a restaurant; if there aren’t any people who are eager to recommend the restaurant, you probably won’t eat there. But if there are raving reviews and people supporting the business left and right, you’d probably be interested in checking it out, right? In the same way, Jenkins thinks of the endowment as a sign of people investing in LR, supporting its mission and values and speaking for
3
its quality. “In a similar way to how people look at your credit score for your financial health, people look at a university’s endowment as a sign of financial health,” Jenkins said. But at the end of the day, the endowment also just helps your wallet stay a little thicker. “Essentially it allows you and your colleagues to go to an institution where what you pay isn’t the total cost of attending,” Kendall said. “We’ve been fortunate over the years to have so many people give gifts to LR—the larger your endowment, the more things you can do that don’t have to be supported by tuition.”
PASSION FOR FILMMAKING SENIOR LR FOOTBALL PLAYER CHASES FILMMAKING CAREER By Harrison Elam | LR Monthly Staff Writer
Most students who arrive on campus at LenoirRhyne have an idea of what they want to pursue a degree in, and what they want to do after college. But one student knew his career path at an earlier age. Cliff Barrett, a senior defensive back on LR’s football team, graduates in December with a degree in broadcasting. Barrett grew up in Columbia, S.C. and developed an interest in learning the stories behind different films at a young age. “When I was young, I really enjoyed watching movies of all types, and at around age 10 and 11, I was getting into the plots and why things were happening when most kids my age at that time were watching TV just to watch TV,” Barrett said. “I explained to my mother how I felt about plots and storytelling, and around age 13 she bought me a camera and told me to start trying to make my own stuff.” It wasn’t long into his college career when Barrett decided he needed to get more professional about the whole filming idea. Barrett got himself a Canon Rebel T5 and a Sony FDR-AX53 4K Ultra HD Camcorder. Having these two devices, Barrett then took advantage of his creative mind for filming. Throughout the next couple of years, Barrett worked along other projects and created different ones of his own. “I worked at the ACC Media Day in 2017 and created a video for a website called Carolina Blitz,” Barrett said. “I’ve also filmed a couple of interviews for NFL players like Catawba Alumni LJ McCray ll, a lot of short 1 to 2-minute films for fraternities and (I have done some for) small businesses and for fun.”
He’s in the middle of a few projects at the moment. “I’m currently making a video for the 2017 LR football team, which I am very excited about,” Barrett said. “I’m also working on something pretty big, but people will have to wait and see it.” His teammates and friends are amazed at how much work he puts into this passion, but one teammate in particular has seen his progress since day one. “I remember meeting him my freshman year, and all he talked about was making it big in the film industry; his work from freshman year to now has improved a lot,” Senior teammate Paul Sloan said. “I’ve seen him do a short documentary, a short movie and he helped plenty of our teammates make football highlight tapes. I’m just amazed by his work ethic, and I can’t wait to see him make it big.” Barrett has supporters that believe his work will make a positive impact in his life. “After seeing his work, I was really impressed,” Junior teammate Saaehim Brooks said. “He is definitely worth the investment.” Currently, Barrett is planning to take his next steps in the filming industry after his December graduation. Film school is in the near future. “I’m going to try to jump right into my filming career,” Barrett said. “If I get accepted into film school, I will make the decision based upon my situation at that time.” LR senior Cliff Barrett filming another project in the making. HARRISON ELAM | LRN MONTHLY
BAKER’S DREAM INTERNSHIP OPENS DOORS FOR ASPIRING CHRISTIAN RAPPER By Laura Brendle | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
Baker displaying her first EP “From Here On Out” on SoundCloud. LAURA BRENDLE | LRN MONTHLY
“Dream big” is advice most of us hear at a young age. Every child is encouraged to chase their dreams in hopes of them coming true. One LR student has gotten a chance to do just that. LR student and Maiden native Mallory Baker has had the opportunity to join forces with AGI Entertainment in Atlanta. AGI Entertainment provides singing, acting and dance classes for those eager to break into the entertainment industry. “I leave Saturday mornings around 4 a.m. and arrive in Atlanta to start my internship around 10 a.m.,” Baker said. “I am able to work within the industry while also training in acting and rapping.” This past summer, Baker traveled to Orlando, Fla. to attend a conference held by Actors, Models and Talent for Christ. Since 1982, AMTC has launched multiple stars in film, fashion, music and theater. The most notable are actors such as Megan Fox and Evan Peters, country singer Chris Young and professional dancer Stephen “Twitch” Boss. The conference provided a platform to learn more about casting opportunities and also provided agents looking for talent. At a callback several weeks later, Baker met with AGI Entertainment in Atlanta where she now has the opportunity to work and train with professional management. Christian rap is Baker’s passion. At first meeting, Baker’s calm and collected attitude,
along with her soft tone, would not seem fitting for a powerful rap recording. However, her SoundCloud channel “MalBMusic” speaks differently, featuring five rap songs she has written and recorded. The internship has provided Mallory with insight into the business side of the music industry, as well as goals she wishes to accomplish, like a record deal. Baker expressed her interest in a record deal, but made sure to emphasize the motive behind her decision. “I just want a deal that is in my best interest, rather than having to pursue what others want me to do,” she said. Baker explained that the entertainment industry consists of constricting contracts between the artist and the record labels. If an artist is signed to a label then whatever they produce, whether it be lyrics or tunes, belongs to that company. Baker would love to work for either Columbia Records or Reach Records. Columbia Records features a wide variety of artists including Harry Styles, Calvin Harris, and Grace VanderWaal, whereas Reach Records focuses on Christian rappers like Trip Lee, Lecrae and Andy Mineo. For more on Mallory Baker and her rise within the music and entertainment industry, follow her musical journey through Twitter, @MalBMusic, or her SoundCloud account “MalBmusic.” Baker’s next project is an independent film, Stand Out, that will be filmed in Denver, N.C.
4
ADVENTURE
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
ADVENTURE REPORTING LR JOURNALISM CLASS GETS THE INSIDE SCOOP
Have you ever wondered what the inside of a jail looks like? Did you know that little old Hickory has a SWAT-style police special operations team? Are you just itching to get class-credit for spending time in the mountains?
Lenoir-Rhyne’s communication department has a journalism class called “Adventure Reporting” where students go on a variety of trips, get behind-the-scenes tours and interviews and write about their experiences.
This year, the class visited the Alexander County Jail, watched a Hickory Special Operations Team training, toured a solar farm, hiked at Grandfather Mountain and took a day-trip to Charlotte. Check out some of their adventures!
A JOB WITH A VIEW
BEING A PARK RANGER AT GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN’S NOT A BAD GIG By Katelyn Mendenhall | LR Monthly Editor in Chief
When it’s 62 degrees outside, you’re surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains’ natural majesty and your job is to appreciate nature daily, what’s not to like? I can think of at least three things: getting sunburned, walking all the time and trying to inspire millennials to care about something other than their phones. But none of these seem to bother Director of Education and Natural Resources Management at Grandfather Mountain Amy Renfranz or Interpretive Park Ranger Ethan Woodie. I’m convinced Renfranz is physically unable to frown, even when yellow jackets refuse to leave her alone, and I’m fairly certain that during the hour I spent with Woodie, he didn’t breathe a single complaint, even though a major part of his job is removing invasive plants (a fancier way of saying ‘weeding’). The moment a chipmunk ran across our path and Renfranz simply chuckled, I realized she actually loved her job, and it wasn’t a chore for her to bring home the bacon. After the chipmunk encounter, Renfranz introduced us to Cody and Yahnie, also greeting them with laughter. “What are you doing?” Renfranz said. “Why are you just sitting here? I don’t have anything for you.” If I wasn’t staring at two 400-pound black bears, I would’ve thought she was talking to children, or at least some long-time friends. I think to Renfranz, the bears really are children and friends. “It’s our job now to really spoil them,” Renfranz said. Her charisma was contagious—it was hard to listen to her talk about caring for animals without welling up with sentiment, and I don’t consider myself even close to being an animal activist. In a way, Renfranz reminds me of the otters I saw gliding in circles around a pond, leaping off rocks to do backflips as if they were on a quest to continually have fun. She may give the same presentations multiple times a day every day, but she loves it. The same seems true for Woodie. “I’ve got a great office view as y’all can see,” Woodie said while motioning to the landscape of mountains stretching miles into the distance.
Interpretive Park Ranger Ethan Woodie discusses the intersection of conservation and tourism at Grandfather Mountain with Lenoir-Rhyne Adventure Reporting students Kyle Cerrito, Katelyn Mendenhall and Florian Lemmel. SUBMITTED PHOTO
He spoke entirely too fast with a Wilkes County drawl to boot so grasping every word he said was impossible, but he had an evident passion for his job. Woodie climbed up the rock trail and grabbed tree branches along the way. “Shake hands with it,” he said. “That’s the best way to tell the difference: Spiky Spruce, Friendly Fir.” Woodie has worked at Grandfather Mountain for two years. He has no television or Internet at home. For fun, he likes to fish and go hiking--his hobbies and his job are basically the same thing. It’s striking that Woodie knows most people don’t care a lick about invasive species, yet he still loves what he does. And Renfranz loves giving tours to people who care more about watching bears eat than learning how to keep them safe. “Enjoy what you do, and it doesn’t feel like you work a day,” Woodie said.
LR student Katelyn Mendenhall ignores the swinging bridge to take a photo of Hang Glider’s Cliff at Grandfather Mountain. KYLE CERRITO | LRN MONTHLY Lenoir-Rhyne Adventure Reporting students learn about black bear habitats from Grandfather Mountain’s Director of Education and Natural Resources Management Amy Renfranz. SUBMITTED PHOTO
BRIGHT HOPES, MURKY REALITY SOLAR ENERGY MAY NOT BE THE FUTURE AFTER ALL By Kyle Cerrito | LR Monthly Staff Writer
Solar energy is not a new invention, but to sea of midnight blue rectangles and maybe some “Harlan County U.S.A.,” where the power many it is the future. English researchers made sheep to eat your grass and keep it from growing company’s hired gun thugs shot several employees the first solar panels 141 years ago, according over the solar panels. who were on strike. Beyond sheep, could solar to energyinformative.org, yet whether you’re “Farmers know how much they make per acre, energy just be a publicity stunt? watching “WALL-E,” “Interstellar” or the evening so if they can make the same amount and not do “Places will say, ‘We are 100-percent reliant on news, every future machine is powered by solar anything, that’s an attractive offer,” Wheeless said. solar power,’” Wheeless said. “If you have solar, panels. Nowadays, thanks to less expensive panels, “And the jury’s still out on the sheep. We have you have your panels, but you are still hooked to federal and state tax credits and better technology, them at few locations, but it may just be a publicity the grid. Your system complements our system, it seems solar’s future is certain. stunt.” like if you need to turn on the AC, you need (the For North Carolina, it seems that future is now. Of course, Duke Energy can use all the good power company).” According to Duke Energy representative Randy publicity they can get. This is the same company You can object now and say that Wheeless Wheeless, the state is No. 2 in the nation for featured in the Oscar-winning documentary is right for residential solar power, but solar overall solar power. Wheeless credits Duke energy still gives off no emissions. Energy for this surprising figure. However, Wheeless explained that Duke “I talk to a lot of college students, and Energy cannot simply replace every I always have them guess that ranking,” environment-harming power plant with he said. “They’ll say 25th or 27th, or, if solar energy. they’re feeling adventurous, someone “Every generation there may be a will say ninth.” new, clean energy source, but when that The advantages to solar energy are can’t fulfill the need, we need a more numerous. With solar panels, if the reliable power source,” he said. sun is shining, we have electricity. Solar In the 1910s, hydroelectric dams farms are low maintenance and efficient. needed coal. In the 70s, wind farms Wheeless explained that one 110-acre needed nuclear. Today, solar needs gas, facility (which is about the same size as and we cannot simply use hydroelectric Lenoir Rhyne’s Hickory campus) requires dams, wind and solar together because only one part-time employee to run, some areas are too arid for dams, too and it can power up to 10,000 homes. windless for windmills and too cloudy for Also, if you are a farmer with a lot of flat solar. I wish there was a clear solution, land, Duke might just lease your land and Kyle Cerrito scoping out the 53,000 solar panels at Duke Energy’s Mocksville but I think the best renewable energy Solar Facility. KATELYN MENDENHALL | LRN MONTHLY replace your soy or tobacco crops with a option is yet to come.
REPORTING
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
HOME SWEET JAIL
5
WHY MANY INMATES LIVE TO STAY BEHIND BARS By Kyle Cerrito | LR Monthly Staff Writer
Kyle Cerrito with a jumpsuit from Alexander County Detention—jumpsuit sizes range from XS to 10XL. KATELYN MENDENHALL | LRN MONTHLY
Kyle Cerrito pretending to be locked up with a sample of the material Captain Phillip Starnes wants to install in pods for inmate safety at the Alexander County Detention facility. KATELYN MENDENHALL | LRN MONTHLY
LR student Katelyn Mendenhall takes a seat in solitary confinement at Alexander County Jail. KYLE CERRITO | LRN MONTHLY
Many inmates at Alexander County Jail don’t seem to mind the confines of their cell. Who can blame them? Behind bars, life is simple. Whether you’re a murderer, a drug dealer or someone who committed larceny at Walmart, in jail all are equal. Everyone starts with the same coarse-thread blanket, the same orange onesie and the same uni-foot neon orange jelly sandals, and almost everyone serves their time knowing they are guilty. “I know most of these people here, and they tell me they’re just waiting for prison,” Captain Phillip Starnes said. “For someone to be found ‘not guilty’ is rare. If I were wrongfully imprisoned, I’d raise Cain, let them know I’m innocent, but we don’t see that.”
this recreation time, I was struck by how much the area looks like a school cafeteria, complete with brushed metal tables and chairs, all permanently attached to the concrete floor. The inmates seem to operate in cliques. Half play cards, and the other half sit and talk. Men and women stay in separate pods. Along the walls there are stalls for toilets and showers -- none of which have doors or curtains. In one corner two phones with video monitors allow inmates to video-chat with visitors. Starnes explains that despite these obvious drawbacks, for many inmates the pod is more appealing than freedom. “Most of the people here are between 20 and 35, and they just don’t want to work anymore,” he
Starnes has served as the jail administrator for the Alexander County Jail for the last four years. He explained that most inmates do their best to behave. They operate like children earning their parent’s trust; if they behave, they can earn freedoms and privileges. The typical inmate gets three hours every day to leave their cell and walk around the open area that connects their cell to 15 others in their pod. During this time, they play cards and gamble using envelopes and stamps as currency, and they watch their favorite television shows like “Cops.” “We control the TV, and if two guys argue over TV, we turn it off,” Starnes said. “We don’t get a lot of fights. That TV is like a pacifier to a baby.” When I saw the inmates enjoying
said. Starnes can tell story after story of inmates who would work hard in jail. They clean their cell and serve as a “working inmate,” where they can do extra chores in exchange for greater freedom. But when they leave jail, they refuse to work and inevitably return to crime. Starnes explains that this pattern is especially troubling because of how prevalent it is. “Wherever you go, you’ll see people you saw in jail,” he said. “I had to get used to that.” It all seems contradictory, but I think that is the appeal of crime. Men like Starnes can be your babysitters. You can work only when it helps you. Jail can be your home, and that’s the real prison.
PRACTICE FOR THE WORST CASE HICKORY’S S.O.T. TEAM TRAINS HOW TO HANDLE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS By Florian Lemmel | LR Monthly Staff Writer
Smoke is slowly setting, and it smells like you have just attended a firework show. The men wearing camouflage uniforms put their guns back in the holsters and march up to the end of the shooting lanes. The target is white cardboard with nine numbered black circles that have a diameter of about eight inches. After studying their outcome, some drop to the ground and do 10 push-ups. Back at the 15-yard line the shooting instructor screams three numbers, and once again the sound of shots fills the air. Hickory’s Special Operations and Tactics team is having a monthly practice on their outdoor practice ground just five minutes outside Hickory. Today’s practice focus is on securing a suspect’s car- a situation that happens frequently in recent times, according to team leader Andy Kerley. During the exercise a Toyota minivan with armed SOT team members approaches a white Chevy van that has a dummy in the driver’s seat. As soon as the minivan is positioned behind the transporter, the driver throws a flashbang. A flashbang is a distractionary device that looks a bit like a grenade at first glance. It explodes with a loud bang and a bright light, and soon after white mist is covering the vehicles. Officers jump out of the doors and the trunk of the van, their rifles in shooting position.
“Police! Don’t move!” they scream as they step to the door of the frontseat passenger. Every officer wears a vest holding their ammunition and giving protection in addition to their goggles and a helmet. Next to the rifle they have a pistol at their belt. “We don’t wear this uniform to look like the military – everything has a function,” Kerley said. “We have to meet the threat and then deescalate from there.” Multiple shots are audible. The officers fire through the window of the van. For this exercise, they use training ammunition. To make sure that everyone can distinguish the training gear from the real one, the weapons are marked in a bright blue color. Kerley explains that the training ammunition has a plastic head that is filled with a soap-like substance. “It hurts like an aggressive paintball,” Kerley said. “And it leaves a color mark when you get hit.” The situation is cleared. Officers drag the dummy out of the transporter and carry it to the medics. Hickory’s SOT is one of few teams with its own medics. Kerley said that there are no ill feelings against a suspect, so there is no reason why they shouldn’t fix a suspect after disabling him. However, the use of deadly force, which means that shots were fired (though not necessarily lethal shots), is very rare. In his 10 years with the SOT, Kerley
can only remember two incidents in which they had to use their guns. “The level of force we are using depends on the action of the suspect,” Kerley said. “Our goal is for (the suspect) to be safe and for us to be safe.” Kerley wants to ensure that officers on the SOT know how and when to use guns and also how to lead each other well. “I have way more training than a regular officer, so we are expected to lead,” SOT team member Bryson Grier said. This kind of training and leadership ability is what makes the difference in difficult situations and is the reason why the SOT comes in when it is too risky for regular officers.
Hickory Special Operations Team officer Austin Ayala shooting an assault rifle at an SOT training day. KATELYN MENDENHALL | LRN MONTHLY
The author wearing the Special Operations Team tactical vest. KATELYN MENDENHALL | LRN MONTHLY
6
OPINION
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
NO ROOM FOR FAILURE LOCAL RESTAURANT OWNER’S PASSION PROJECT DONUT LIFE DEMANDS PERFECTION
By Kyle Cerrito | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
Chayya Chang risked everything to start Donut Life, which opened in early November. Situated about two miles north of Lenoir-Rhyne along Highway 127, the doughnut shop is more than just a business venture for its owner. “I can’t believe my wife let me do this,” Chang said. “I quit my job, and I’ve got a kid at home. I have no room for failure.” Chang explains that to start Donut Life, he had to leave a successful job as a manager at a thriving five-star restaurant in Greensboro: Phoenix Asian Cuisine. He said he spent two months researching locations for his doughnut shop. His wife asked for the shop be close enough to Greensboro that they would not have to move, so Chang researched cities and buildings until he found just what he was looking for. Donut Life’s location sits along one of the main thoroughfares in Hickory, which has an estimated 40,000 people. It is a 1.5-hour drive from Greensboro to the shop, and once Chang found
out that Hickory has no other independentlyoperated doughnut shop, he knew he’d found an opportunity he could not refuse. So, he invited his dad and brother to help run the store on the three days a week Chang stays home with his two-year-old daughter, and they were in business. Now, Chang’s business venture must support all of them. Chang doesn’t mind having his dad and brother around. “It’s great having them here,” he said. “We’re like three brothers.” Chang comes from a family of entrepreneurs. He beams with pride in contrasting how his family came from China to America in 1990 with nothing, and now he can own a business. He credits a lot of his success to his father, who has already worked in several doughnut shops in Mississippi and Texas and who serves as a doughnut-making mentor to his sons. “My dad can taste something and make it immediately,” Chang said. “But we are both perfectionists.” When it comes to doughnuts, Chang works with a surgeon’s precision. He makes sure each doughnut is the exact same size, shape and bake. He even plans extra prep time into every day, arriving at work each day at 2 a.m. so that he can make every doughnut to his liking. “I want to be the best doughnut shop,” he said. Donut Life attracts customers from as far as Boone, Morganton and Gastonia. They offer everything from glazed doughnuts to maple bacon doughnuts to Kolaches, which are
Check out Donut Life’s wide variety of doughnuts. KYLE CERRITO | LRN MONTHLY
essentially doughnut covered sausages, and they are all served in portions twice the size of a regular Krispy Kreme doughnut. How do they taste? “This doughnut is fantastic,” LR alumna Kristi Chandler said. “Definitely worth waiting in line for, but I’m so mad that it took until after I graduated for Hickory to get a place like this.” Donut Life also bests Dunkin’ Donuts and Krispy Kreme by 10 cents per individual glazed doughnut. “Most doughnut shops are too hoity-toity and charge $3 for a doughnut, but (Donut Life) is so inexpensive,” LR student Grace Caldwell said. “I got a doughnut the size of my face for under a dollar.” Visit Donut Life at 1772 North Center St., Hickory, NC. For more information, including menu and pricing go to facebook.com/ DonutLifeNC.
Donut Life owner Chayya Chang shows the customer his hand-crafted donuts. KYLE CERRITO | LRN MONTHLY
HOME AT LR
FROM AN EXCHANGE STUDENT WHO DOESN’T WANT TO LEAVE By Florian Lemmel | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
When I got off the plane on Jan. 5 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, I had no idea what to expect. I knew nothing about LR, the region, the people. And I surely didn’t know that four months later I would fight to come back to Lenoir-Rhyne University. Now that my second semester at LR comes to an end, and I know that unfortunately, I can’t come back, I want to share with you my view of this great place. The opportunities LR offers are awesome. My university in Germany is more than twice the size of LR, but can’t compete with what LR offers. One of them is what you are just holding in your hand. The LRN Monthly is not only there to inform students about what is going on around campus and in the community, but it also trains you how
My first day on campus brought the surprise of nearly a foot of snow. FLORIAN LEMMEL | LRN MONTHLY
to write, how to interview people and how to get a nose for interesting stories. I very much enjoyed being part of your newspaper, and I have learned a lot of valuable skills during this year. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t used to living on campus, but LR quickly felt like home. You get used to the small ways you have to walk so quickly that your feet basically walk on their own. The people around me were so friendly and helpful that it didn’t take long to adjust. LR provided me such a warm welcome that I will remember all my life. At my university in Germany, you leave campus as soon as your classes are over. You don’t hang out on campus, and thus you meet fewer people. It is probably more like the culture at a community college here in the U.S. Here, you are together with friends and classmates all the time. LR has some great spaces to meet and interact with each other like Joe’s, the swings on Shaw Plaza and yes, even the caf. It might sound weird, but even in my short stay at LR, I met more people than in two years at my university back in Germany. I was doing more things with friends and hanging out with more people. Your classes might be done for the day, but you are not hiding in your dorm. You meet someone for a coffee, play pool in the Cave or get people together to play soccer. German universities don’t have athletic programs, so we don’t have a lot of international students on campus. At LR there are around 70 international students. I think a lot of people don’t take advantage of the opportunity LR offers them to meet people from different countries and cultures. You learn so much just by sitting together at a table in the caf, or by playing soccer with four or five countries represented. LR’s I-Pal program was not only a great way for me to become part of campus life, but is also a great way to experience different cultures and talk about differences in ways that might make you feel ignorant or embarrassed otherwise. LR
gives you the opportunity to make intercultural friendships. I made great lifelong friends at LR, which makes leaving this place even harder. Last summer two of my I-Pals came to visit me in Germany, and this Christmas I’m going to celebrate with another friend from LR. In this way I can show them my home and country like they showed me around LR and North Carolina. Because LR’s My fellow exchange student campus is so small, Chenlin Tong and my I-Pals you spend a lot of Grace Caldwell and Kristi time with the same Chandler show their support people. I never had for LR. FLORIAN LEMMEL | an intense experience LRN MONTHLY like this and made closer friendships in a shorter time than ever before. Some friendships became even closer than some of my friends I’ve known for 10 years. I know that to some, LR seems very small and boring and less exciting than a bigger university, but the next time you enjoy a coffee with a good friend, or play volleyball with a bunch of classmates, you should remind yourself that it is a unique experience. I loved my time here at LR and will never forget this year abroad.
SPORTS
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
7
NOTHING LESS THAN SUCCESS EMIL TANSINDA CONTINUES TO BETTER HIS GAME WITH EACH PASSING SOCCER SEASON By Dahquan Pauling | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
Growing up in Manchester, England and transitioning to Hickory, one of LR’s athletes has started to rise. Emil Tansinda, who came to LR in 2015, was recruited by the previous head coach Tom Gott. Jack Winter, the new men’s soccer head coach, has been able to work with Emil and help him develop his level of play. Winter was on the staff when Tansinda first was recruited, and he has seen the potential that Tansinda displayed coming out of his academy. At the time Winter was the assistant coach, and over the years was able to work with Tansinda to help him develop his skills. “Emil was very raw; he had a lot of athleticism and a good IQ for the game,” Winter said. “Over the course of Emil being at LR, he has grown into the role of our starting right back.” One role the coach would like for Tansinda to grow into is to be more of a vocal leader, and this is a key role that would take Tansinda’s game to the next level, helping him go professional. “In England, soccer is the main sport,” Tansinda said. “Everybody loves soccer, and it appeals to me.” He’s been playing since the age of six and hasn’t lost the passion for it. Tansinda played for Oldham Athletic, which is a soccer club academy in Manchester, England. Despite Tansinda not receiving a professional contract, he continued to search for a different route that included soccer. “A lot of people have been taking the route going from England to America to get a degree and play,” Tansinda said. “I thought that would be a good option for me because I always wanted to study in
Emil playing aggressive as he takes the ball down the opponent’s side of the field. SUBMITTED PHOTO
journalism and receive a degree in business.” Winter pushes the team hard throughout each workout, practice and game. “We became aware of Emil through a contact of ours who works with a recruiting agency,” Winter said. “We watched his videos and spoke with him personally and liked the potential we saw in him.” Winter has been helping Tansinda reach out to professional teams in England. “There is a summer league
where some of the best college players showcase their talent,” Winter said. “I am extremely keen on working with him in the spring and next year to get him to the next level.” This past season Tansinda received second team all-conference. This wasn’t the year he wanted, but Tansinda views it as a start of becoming the player Coach Winter sees in him. Tansinda believes in the coaching and takes heed of what the
coaches tell him. “I was striving for first, but I didn’t get it,” Tansinda said. Tansinda feels this is his best season at LR, despite the team getting knocked out of the SAC tournament and losing in the first round of the regional playoffs. Tansinda and the team are moving to the off-season to sharpen their skills and advance their team chemistry to go further in the conference and regional tournament next season.
DEFERRED DREAM
FORMER LENOIR-RHYNE FOOTBALL PLAYER BATTLES THROUGH INJURY TO BECOME A COACH By Dorien Dickey | LRN Monthly Contributor
Being a collegiate the opportunity to wear student-athlete is a oncethe No. 4 jersey after he in-a-lifetime opportunity. found out Edwards would Many people have no longer be able to play participated in a sport football. for more than ten years "We came in and by the time they get to matured together college. Continuing that throughout the years, and passion on the next level he was always around for is a dream come true, but the tough times,” Milliken as much as athletes loves said. “We are like the last their sports, the demands of the 2014 signing class of being a collegiate including Kyle Dugger, student-athlete are often Richard Hall and myself. more than they bargained Me sitting out a year and for. him not being able to The countless nights of play anymore just made watching film and doing it even more special, 5 a.m. workouts before so I asked the coaches class can make players and him if could wear think twice about their No. 4 out of respect and decision. Calvin Edwards loyalty.” Calvin Edwards coaches Dom Britt and Thailand Adams on the proper way to block a defender. DORIEN was living the dream, and As Edwards battled DICKEY | LRN MONTHLY he loved every minute of through rehab, he He was beginning to have a successful career. it. But that dream turned to constantly told himself not At the time of his injury, he had 600 yards and a nightmare one Tuesday afternoon. to be defeated and wanted some day to have two touchdowns. He earned recognition as one During football practice, Edwards was running an opportunity to play sports again. He will of the "Five Unheralded D2 Football Players to in a special teams drill, and his hip suddenly gave get that opportunity this spring on the track Watch" on herosports.com. He was expected to out. team, running sprints. Although track is not his be a big factor on the team last year as the new "It was really just a freak accident,” Edwards favorite sport, it’s something he enjoys doing, so coaching staff came in. said. “When I heard the results, I was quite getting back in an athletic competitive setting is Instead, Edwards’ injury ended his athletic shocked. It was an injury that usually happens something he looks forward to. career. But the coaches still wanted Edwards during car accidents, and I did it running--that “Calvin is one of the strongest people I have to be around the team, so they gave him an was pretty crazy.” ever met-- coming back from a hip injury is tough, opportunity to become a student assistant coach. His injury was compared to the Bo Jackson hip but it is something that he has gotten through,” "I'm glad to still be around the game and injury, which ended Jackson’s career at age 28. Edwards’ roommate Dom Britt said. players I once played alongside," Edwards said. He fractured and dislocated his left hip. Edwards One of Edwards’ best friends, Ivan Milliken, got knew immediately his injury was serious.
8
NEWS
LRN MONTHLY | DECEMBER 2017/JANUARY 2018
NEW CAMPUS RADIO SHOW WLRZ TAKEN OVER BY THE NIGHTSHIFT EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT By Dahquan Pauling | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
DJs AB and Maddox “Mad Money” on the air discussing newly released albums. DAHQUAN PAULING | LRN MONTHLY
Last month, students from LR’s Audio and Video Production class created a radio show. Communications Professor Dr. Jeff Delbert taught the class how to create professionalquality shows that grab their listeners’ attention. One group has been keeping a live, regularly scheduled show on called “The Nightshift.” The students hosting the show include Kaynmon Maddox, Anthony Brown “AB” and me. The trio airs The Nightshift every Thursday from 7:30-10:30 p.m. on 99.3 WLRZ radio in Hickory. “We make sure we talk about sports, music and entertainment because those are our favorite things,” LR sophomore co-host Brown said. “We don’t limit ourselves and talk about the most relevant topic at the time.” The Nightshift hosts began their show by interviewing football players as they were still getting accustomed to “running a show.” With insight from Dr. Delbert, the producers are now starting to reach out to different teams and organizations around campus to be part of the
Nightshift. Additionally, listeners can interact with the show by calling in (828) 328-7537 while it’s airing. “Students can call in and suggest music, give an opinion on a topic, ask us questions and possibly get interviewed if they talk to me or my co-host,” Brown said. Each live show is recorded, so if a caller or student who is interviewed wants to hear it, the producers can send a copy out. “Going into creating the show, my goal was to become better with talking to others, and to practice for my career,” LR sophomore co-host Maddox said. We always want to keep our audience up-todate and make sure they know what is going on. We are very open with our audience, so if one of us isn’t going to be at the show, then you’ll know. Our audience is almost like the fourth host to the show, whether they come in as a guest or call in. “(Their) show has a unique persona; it’s like family. (They’ll) flow in and out and tell the listener that one of (them) stepped out,” Delbert
said. “When you’re talking to each other you’re listening to each other, so you bring different insight on the same issue, and you care whether the audience is listening or not.” The Nightshift aims to bring students together and have something for them to look forward to each week. For the spring semester, the hosts plan to stream The Nightshift online so that listeners can go back to previous shows and get caught up for the upcoming one. Dr. Delbert is also working to make the show available as a podcast for those students who are in their rooms and don’t have easy access to a radio. As for the producers, we hope to continue to connect the campus of LR and the citizens of Hickory with quality entertainment, real news and sports updates. Anyone interested in becoming a talk show host can take the Audio & Video Production course or contact Dr. Delbert for more details.
SNOW STORM SURVIVAL GUIDE WHAT TO DO WHEN LR FREEZES OVER By Kyle Cerrito | LRN Monthly Staff Writer
Who doesn’t enjoy a snow day? Classes get canceled or delayed. You’ll probably enjoy hot chocolate more than any other time of the year, and if you wake up early enough, you can see the sun rise over a glistening sheet of white. Lenoir-Rhyne University Provost Larry Hall has a simple method for deciding when to call a snow day. “The process is simple: I get up, go outside at three or four in the morning and see if I slip and fall,” he said. “The goal is always to make sure that Katie Fisher or I make the call by 5 a.m.” Hall explained that he prefers to make that call the day before if possible so that students and faculty have the chance to sleep in, but he can’t do that every time. Sometimes it snows one evening, and by the next morning, that icy coating of snow has become a collection of harmless puddles. Any time snow or ice are even a possibility, Hall must wake up an hour earlier than he normally does. Even though he thinks the weathermen are mostly accurate, Hall explained that sometimes the best gage of road safety comes from the other local schools. Often, LR will look to them for cues on when to cancel classes. “It doesn’t take a lot for schools around here to cancel,” LR student Savannah Drummonds said. Hall acknowledged that sometimes it may not seem to have snowed much in Hickory. After all, according to weatherspark.com, Hickory only receives 7.7 inches of snow per year, but the real threat is when the temperature never goes above freezing. This creates a perfect scenario for the roads to stay icy. “Hickory is not like the cities up north, where they get several feet of snow and still have classes,” Hall said. “We don’t have the salt
reserves and the man-power to keep more than the main roads drivable.” When the main roads are clear but the back roads are not, this can make it seem like class was canceled for no reason. “Sometimes snow days are good and useful, but sometimes they just seem stupid,” LR student Payton Fair said. “Everyone on campus can get to class.” Hall agreed that students living on campus are usually safe, but even a small amount of snow and ice can be a threat, especially for commuter students. “We not only have to worry about students here, but we also have to worry about them walking around and going home,” Hall said. “If
we do have class, we have a policy in which commuter students are encouraged not to come if they feel like it’s dangerous. We won’t punish them if they miss the class.” Hall explained that students who miss class must still communicate with their teachers. Hall also gave a warning for students who want to enjoy time off by playing in the snow. “Take it easy, and stay off the main roads,” he said. “Don’t drive like some of the maniacs around here do in their pickup trucks.” All notification for delays and cancellations will appear on lr.edu or are available by calling 828-328-SNOW (828-328-7669). For more information about the delayed class schedule, go to lr.edu/emergencyandsafety.
No snow on LR’s sidewalks, time for class. SUBMITTED PHOTO