Page 1B Contact Life Editor Andy Thigpen at 256.765.5233L I F E‘Not so spring break’

The traditional spring break beach va-cation is not the only option for college stu-dents. With plans for the upcoming spring break at the end of March, some UNA stu-dents are changing the stereotypical idea that the beach is the only option.

Freshman communications major Sa-mantha Hammond said she plans to use her spring break as a much-needed break from classes, but also to give back. She is going with The Well as a part of Highland Baptist Church on a trip called “Road Rules.”

“We are given a list of things we need,

and then we get on a bus having no idea where we will be going,” Hammond said. “We do domestic mission work through-out the week. We could be working at a children’s home one day and helping with Habitat for Humanity the next.”

Hammond said she wanted to use her spring break to get away from her every-day routine and rest her mind. She wanted to get involved in something bigger than herself, though, which is why she chose to spend her break doing community service.

“I really expect just to experience the joy of selfl ess giving and really see how God will use me,” Hammond said. “I decid-ed to go on the trip because I really thought

it would be a great opportunity to serve and to have an unexpected spring break.”

Junior interdisciplinary studies major David Johnson said he also plans to use his break to engage in community service. He said students would get more out of helping others than with the traditional spring break experience.

“I have done the traditional spring break vacation,” Johnson said. “It’s good, especially for students to take a break from classes and re-energize, but it is not going to hurt anyone to give up that beach trip and make an impact on someone that can change their life.”

Johnson is going to the Dominican

Republic with UNA’s Alternative Break Board. Johnson and others to teach English and literacy to orphans through Outreach 360.

“I feel like I have been given a lot of opportunities in my life, and I’d like to give back and share those opportunities with these kids who need positive infl uences in their lives,” he said.

Other options for spring break include looking ahead to the future. Senior Eliza-beth Nichols, a professional biology ma-jor, said she plans to use her spring break to hopefully solidify her plans for the next few years.

photo courtesy of morgueFileFile photo by Darrick Dawkins

Above left: Payton Edmiston works with Alternative Break Board last fall in an effort to provide relief to victims of last April’s tornadoes. Several students are opting for a less traditional spring break in order to give back and serve their communities locally and abroad.

Some students choose community service over traditional break

Partnering with Kilby Laboratory School, the girls of Zeta Tau Alpha have made it a priority to help their neighboring school with any thing they need. Sorority members said they not only want to focus on supporting their philanthropy of breast cancer, but also on serving others.

One of the ways they said they are sup-porting Kilby is by cleaning out the school’s library and getting rid of all outdated and unused materials.

“All of the books that we are taking out of our library are getting sent to Collier Library,” said Shelly Hellums, media spe-cialist for Kilby’s library. “From then on, the faculty of Collier will decide what to do with the books, whether it means recycling them or getting rid of them.”

Hellums said that the school takes pride in the material that Kilby’s library has and wants to continue replacing old books with new ones so that the library will be relevant

and up to date for years to come. “I thoroughly enjoy helping out Kil-

by,” said Tosha-Paige Brewer, a member of ZTA. “I went there from kindergarten through fi fth grade, so it means a lot to me to be able to help keep the library in good condition for upcoming students.”

The service that ZTA is doing with the Kilby school library is one of several. Oth-er projects in which the sisterhood will be helping Kilby include Gardening Day and the Kilby School 5K run. All proceeds for the race will go toward building a safe track for the students.

“Kilby is the only lab school left in Al-abama, so us Zetas wanted to play our part in supporting them in every way possible,” said May Clouser, service director of ZTA. “Zetas volunteer weekly by doing things such as reading to students, working on bulletin boards, tutoring, and assisting stu-dents and faculty in any other way needed.”

Clouser said ZTA is excited to be working with Kilby and hopes to continue the partnership for years to come.

ZTA partners with Kilby School to help clean, organize

photo by KAYLA SLOAN I Staff Photographer

Maghan Youngblood helps sort and organize old computers in the Kilby School li-brary. Youngblood is one of the members of ZTA actively involved in helping Kilby get organized and stay up to date.

Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-Ala

Page 2B Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-AlaLife

After a fi ve-year hiatus, the Shins are fi nally making some incredible noise again. And I have to say that I released not a small amount of girly giggles when I found out.

“Port of Morrow” is the fourth studio album by the Shins, but it is the fi rst to be released on frontman James Mercer’s new record label, ‘Aural Apothecary.’ I was a little nervous to fi nd out that the entire band had been replaced—except Mercer, of course—but take it from me, there’s noth-ing to worry about.

Don’t be surprised if you think you recognize some of the tracks. The Shins have defi nitely embraced their old, famil-

iar style that gained them fame in the early ‘00s, but they’re exploring new techniques and sounds that are setting them apart from what they once were.

The Shins have always been an evolv-ing band. “Oh, Inverted World” started them off with a highly electronic and ethe-real indie sound broken up by more organic songs like “New Slang.” Their second al-bum, “Chutes Too Narrow,” brought to the foreground a raw, acoustic style while using subtle electronic layering. “Wincing the Night Away” was always a blend of the two, but it was much more surreal than ei-ther of the others had been.

I think “Port of Morrow” is an “in-between” album. It’s obvious that Mercer wants to hold on to some of the Shins’ old sound while trying to embrace where he is now. “September” sounds like straight homage to his former musical life; it could have easily been on any previous album. In-fl uences from Mercer’s other projects, such as Broken Bells, are apparent in chord pro-gressions in songs like “Port of Morrow,” while others like “40 Mark Strasse” have the skeleton of an alternative ‘90s song.

Some of the songs go back further than the ‘90s. “Simple Song,” the fi rst single released from the album, has a bass line straight out of the early ‘80s: think Van Halen’s “Jump.” The guitar in “Fall of 82” sounds like a 1969 Beatle’s song, and the main riff has an eerie echo of “Lady Ma-donna.” And let’s not forget the trumpet solo, which is the fi rst time, to my

In February 2011, UNA fi lm and digital media instructor Andrew Reed was contact-ed by a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. named Phil Campbell. Campbell informed Reed of his plans to invite people across the world named Phil Campbell to a convention in Phil Campbell in June of that year.

This set the stage for Reed to begin work on a documentary titled “I’m with Phil” that would chronicle the convention and go on to win three awards at this year’s George Lind-sey UNA Film Festival.

“This was going to be the 100-year an-

niversary of Phil Campbell being an incor-porated township, so Brooklyn Phil thought this was a great time to have another con-vention,” Reed said. “A friend told me about the convention on Facebook in February of 2011, and that was when I started doing my documentary on the convention.

“After the tornado hit, we heard that the Phils still wanted to come in June, but instead of coming for fun, they wanted to come and help us rebuild and raise money for the town. Brooklyn Phil Campbell con-vinced me to continue doing the documen-tary and to use it as a fundraising tool to help the town.”

Instructor chronicles Philsʼ reconstruction of Phil Campbell

photo courtesy of Andrew Reed

Left: Andrew Reed’s “I’m with Phil’ documents the destruction caused by tornados in Phil Campbell last April, and how a local festival helped rebuild the town. Above: workers take part in clean-up and reconstruction of Phil Campbell.

photo courtesy of Nasty Little Man

“Port of Morrow,” The Shins’ fourth stu-dio album, breaks the band’s fi ve-year silence.

First listen: ʻPort of Morrowʼ expands old horizons

Students weigh options when choosing cable, Internet providers

On-campus students receive free Inter-net and certain cable programming. When it comes to off-campus students, several ca-ble, satellite and Internet options are avail-able in the Florence area, depending on the price each student is willing to pay.

Comcast provides cable, Internet and phone bundles in a variety of packages, ranging from a digital starter pack of just basic cable at $30 a month to up to $84 a month. These prices, however, go up after 12 months to almost double their initial in-troductory prices.

“I’ve never had a problem with Com-cast,” said Megan Thompson, sociology major at UNA. “The service is cool and the Internet is fast. I have basic cable and Inter-net for around $40 a month.”

AT&T also provides Internet and cable packages. Their prices for Internet and ca-ble start at $30 a month for six months, with the option to build your own package. After six months, the prices also nearly double.

“I have Comcast T.V. and AT&T Inter-net,” said Sam Easley, an elementary edu-cation major at UNA. “I choose to do them separately instead of bundling because the intro rates were way cheaper that way. My Internet speed option with AT&T is faster for the price compared with Comcast.”

Netfl ix is another option for off-cam-pus students. It provides streaming video for the computer or uses a gaming device,

such as the Wii, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, with online capabilities connected to the T.V. for $8 a month. An Internet connection is needed for Netfl ix.

“I love my Netfl ix,” said Andrew Bak-er, a fi lm and digital media major at UNA. “With my schedule, I can still get my ‘Don

Draper,’ (a character for American Movie Classic’s ‘Mad Men’) on.”

Baker uses a Blu-ray player with WI-FI to connect to Netfl ix.

“My marriage with Netfl ix has been over a year, and I still love it,” he said.

DISH satellite is also an option for stu-dents who live in houses or places where apartments allow a satellite dish installa-tion. They offer packages from $20 to $75 a month. They have also paired up with Blockbuster via the mail that is included in every package for three months.

Streaming programming sites, such as Hulu, offer UNA students a computer-only option for popular TV programming. They charge approximately $8 a month for their

”My marriage with Netflix has been over a year, and I still

love it.” -Andrew Baker

Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-Ala Life“I am going to Auburn,” Nichols said. “I am go-

ing to meet with the coordinator of veterinarian school admissions to make sure I am ready to apply. I am also going to study for the GRE.”

For other students, though, the traditional vacation route is still preferable. Senior professional biology ma-jor Morgan Turner is going to celebrate her 21st birth-day with her family in Chattanooga.

“Spring break means a chance to catch up on all the things I’ve put aside all semester,” Turner said. “I am going to celebrate my birthday and go watch ‘The Hunger Games.’ We are going to the aquarium in Chat-tanooga.”

Freshman biology major Bianca Cooper is also go-ing on vacation to relax with her family.

“I am going to Virginia Beach, and I am going to have fun,” Cooper said. “It is a family vacation. My boyfriend works at the Pentagon, and I am going to visit him with my family.”

Check out what’s coming up this weekend in the Shoals.

Friday, March 23rd

Saturday, March 24th

Thursday, March 22nd

Fonetic On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Workin’ for the Weekend

Aaron Blades and the Aaron Blades Band DP’s 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

The Decoy’s DP’s 8 p.m. - midnight

Ladies of the Shoals Showcase JD’s 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.

The Pollies DP’s 9 p.m. - 1 a.m.

Pisces Party: The Pollies, An Abstract Theory and The Randy Johnsons JD’s 9 p.m. - 1:30 a.m.

Kojacks Swamper’s Bar & Grille 8 p.m. - 11 p.m.

MacKenzie Lockhart Swamper’s Bar & Grille 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Angela Hacker & James LeBlanc Swamper’s Bar & Grille 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Archie Hubbard Swamper’s Bar & Grille 5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Jeff and Jordan On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Byron Green On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

Dave Gallagher Swamper’s Bar & Grille 9 p.m. - midnight

In June 2011, the Phil Campbells ar-rived in Phil Campbell, Ala. They raised $30,000 to aid the town as it began rebuild-ing after the tornado.

“The entire documentary is about the Phils coming to Phil Campbell, Ala.,” Reed said. “Aspects of the documentary focus on the tornado and the rebuilding efforts—yes—but only in Phil Campbell. ‘I’m with Phil’ is not a movie about the April 27 tor-nado outbreak.”

Reed said he is pleased with the recep-tion of the documentary and its success.

“I was very proud to win best of show at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival,” he said. “Students in the fi lm and digital media production program need to realize that they have a lot of opportunities avail-able to them at UNA. We offer students a solid education, a wide selection of HD equipment and an excellent fi lm festival to screen their work. What more could one

ask for?” Reed said he recruited several UNA

students to assist him with the documen-tary.

“(Reed) said he needed some help,” said UNA student Andrew Baker, who worked on the documentary. “I fi lmed four full days in the summer with him in Phil Campbell. I think the fi lm can connect with everybody. I met a lot of great people in Phil Campbell. The tornado did not take the hearts of the town’s residents. It did not break their spirits.”

UNA student Nicholas Moore also worked on the documentary.

“One of my biggest roles in the fi lm was to talk to the locals, to get their sto-ries and feelings on the convention and the atrocities that disrupted the town weeks earlier,” Moore said. “I interviewed a Phil Campbell restaurant owner who had his home and restaurant taken by the tornado. It was so terribly damaged that he couldn’t open it or generate any income. They didn’t know what they were going to do.”

services. Students are able to watch full seasons of popular shows, such as “Glee,”

“Modern Family,” “Family Guy” and “House.”

While UNA offers free Internet for its students, off-campus students have several options from a variety of prices and com-panies.

knowledge, The Shins have featured any type of horn.

I feel like “Port of Morrow” is an in-credible start to The Shins’ new career. They are exploring new musical styles

while using old sounds and techniques. As a devoted Shins fan, I was a little wor-ried that the new album might be a ridicu-lous offshoot of Mercer’s creative ego that would distance its fans. I was wrong. This album is admirable in the way it will keep old fans happy and dedicated while en-thralling a new audience. The name “Port of Morrow” is aptly chosen for a band that is redefi ning its horizons.

Fonetic On the Rocks 9:30 p.m.

The Pegasus Outstanding Awesome Show Pegasus Records 9 p.m. - midnight $3

The Wildwood Ruminators McDowell Hall 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.

SCM Electrix CD Release Party Pegasus Records 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Page 3B

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Page 4B Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-AlaSports

New head football coach Bobby Wallace has diffi cult challenges ahead in his return to UNA next season.

Wallace has to fi nd a way to replace 17 starters who had a lot of experience from last season and also will rely on some youth going into the fall.

“I have been impressed with the players with how they have responded with the staff, the work ethic that they have shown and also having a good attitude about it,” Wallace said.

Even with the amount of tal-ent that was lost from last year’s team, Wallace has been pleased with what he has seen so far

“I’m very impressed with the talent that we have,” he said. “I think if we were to play a game today, we would be very thin, but we would have a good foot-ball team on the fi eld. We are going to have to develop a few players for next year, but talent-wise, we got some good looking athletes.”

Wallace said some of the big concerns in spring training are the depth at the offensive line, and also at the quarterback posi-tion learning the new system.

“We only have fi ve bodies that can practice on the offen-sive line,” Wallace said. “We have to be careful, because if we have one offensive lineman get injured, then we’re done, so we are going to be doing a lot of seven-on-seven to protect that.”

At the quarterback position, the Lions lost two-year starter Lee Chapple to graduation and will look to Chris Alexander to replace him, who has had game experience in the past.

“I think the quarterback po-sition is an important position, and learning the offense and getting the experience are big, and I think we have a good can-didate in (Alexander),” Wallace said. “I like everything about him, but he has to get the expe-rience in.”

The next challenge that Wallace will have to face in his fi rst season as coach is hav-ing to play more youth than in years past. Wallace signed the largest recruiting class in UNA history, signing 41 players, in-cluding 37 from high schools.

“We signed 38 high school players to come in, and they all won’t be superstars, but what I hope is a high majority of them will be great people, good stu-dents, and will work hard over the next four years,” Wallace said. “Out of those 38, I hope fi ve or six turn out to be great players.”

With this being his fi rst re-cruiting class back at UNA, Wallace has shown a complete reversal of how the previous regime recruited and what he wants to do for years to come.

“In the future, if we recruit 75 percent high school, 20 per-cent community college and every once in a while take in a transfer players for the right reasons, who are wanting to play more and get their degree,”

Wallace said. “I think we can be very successful with this phi-losophy.”

Wallace said UNA has built a healthy relationship back with high school coaches around the area and he doesn’t think it will be a problem recruiting around the area.

“Almost every high school we went into, the coaches knew who I was and understood what we are trying to build here,” Wallace said. “I think they were very happy to see us recruit in the high school level again and give their kids an opportunity.”

UNA does have seven ju-nior college transfers that have signed with UNA in the fall who are participating in spring. The four that were signed along

with the high school seniors this spring won’t report to training until the fall.

“I think our transfer players have looked really good,” Wal-lace said. “We have Tavarius Wilson, who will be playing middle linebacker for us, and also Melvin Harris from Ole Miss, who has looked good at receiver.”

Going forward, Wallace said he believes this recruiting class will defi ne what UNA will be during the next four years.

“Division II has turned into a transfer league, but when we were winning championships, we relied on high school play-ers, and I want to prove that we can do it again,” Wallace said.

The UNA Lions are going on the road this weekend against Tennessee Wesleyan (25-5) March 24 for one nine-inning game starting at 2 p.m.

UNA (21-7, 6-3) remains tied for the leader in the Gulf South Conference after the series win against West Georgia (13-9,5-3) this past weekend. Tennes-see Wesleyan, a member of the NAIA, will host the Lions, and UNA coach Mike Keehn said he hopes the team can continue its stride.

“We don’t have a lot of de-tails about them, but we know they have a very small ballpark,” Keehn said. “(Tennessee Wes-leyan) got a lot of homeruns, so we know that their offense is going to be good, and it’s hard to decide if their pitching is OK because you’re in a hitters’ ball-park. We are starting to see more offense, and you don’t want to lose that rhythm.”

Going into the game against Tennessee Wesleyan, there will not be any change in the lineup even with just the one game on the weekend.

The question now is whether

Johnny Hornbuckle, Michael Watkins and Chad Boughner will be the pitcher of the three weekend starters.

“We are going to leave it up to coach (Matt) Hancock, and I imagine it will probably be both Watkins and Hornbuckle,” Keehn said. “Hopefully, you want to get them some work in, split that game up with what our normal is, and on Tuesday go

with Boughner against Martin Methodist.”

On the weekend series against West Georgia, Horn-buckle (4-3) got the loss with a score of 5-2 while pitching eight innings and giving up fi ve earned runs on just fi ve hits. The offense was able to get seven

hits but left 12 runners on base. UNA rebounded in game two with Watkins (5-0) getting the win with a score of 7-2 behind four RBIs from Josh Cyr.

To cap off the series, Bough-ner came one strike away from a perfect game, as the Lions went on to win the series off a two-hit shutout of 12-0.

“The pitching performance against West Florida was re-ally good in throwing a shut-out against a good team, and to come back and top it against

West Georgia to almost witness history was really disappointing, but really how well he pitched was one of those things,” Keehn said. “I have been around no-hit-ters, but I don’t think I can recall a perfect game where a batter doesn’t even reach a base.”

After the weekend game, the Lions will remain road warriors for the next two opponents, with a game against Martin Methodist March 27 at 4 p.m. and a week-end series with the co-leader in the conference Valdosta St.

Player of the Player of the WeekWeek

Ty ChandlerTy ChandlerHometown: Stafford, Va.Hometown: Stafford, Va.Major: UndecidedMajor: UndecidedPosition: GolferPosition: GolferStats: Chandler shot a score of Stats: Chandler shot a score of 13-under par to lead UNA to its 13-under par to lead UNA to its fi rst-ever Southeastern Collegiate fi rst-ever Southeastern Collegiate tournament win.tournament win.

Week At A Week At A GlanceGlance

BaseballBaseballWhen: Saturday , 2 p.m.When: Saturday , 2 p.m.

Where: Away

Who: Tennessee Wesleyan Who: Tennessee WWho: Tennessee W

SoftballSoftballWhen: Saturday, 1 p.m. (DH)When: Saturday, 1 p.m. (DH)

Sunday, 1 p.m. Sunday, 1 p.m.

Where: HomeWhere: Home

Who: Valdosta State

West GeorgiaWest Georgia

WhoWho

TennisWhen: Friday, noon

Saturday, 9 a.m.

Sunday, 10 a.m.

Where: Away

Who: 1.Tuskegee

M- Clark Atlanta, W- MorehouseM- Clark Atlanta, W- Morehouse

3. Valdosta State3. Valdosta State

TennisTennisWhen: FWhen: F

SatuSatu

SunSun

WW

WhoWho

Baseball team prepares for weekend

photo by BARRY MINOR I Staff Photographer

Junior Josh Cyr slides into home plate during a game against Quincy earlier this season.

”I have been around no-hitters, but I donʼt think I can recall a

perfect game where a batter doesnʼt reach

a base.” -Mike Keehn

Challenges ahead for Wallaceʼs return

Bobby Wallace adresses the team during a team meeting in the spring.

photo by MALISA MCCLURE I Chief Photographer

NFL teams installing bounty systems have become a major concern regarding player health, and coaches implementing the bounty systems are causing concern among players and offi cials.

“Bounties” are deals set up between players and coaches in which the player gets paid to physically injure an opposing player.

In the current system, $1,000 is paid if the injured player is carried off the fi eld and $1,500 if one is knocked unconscious. Payouts increased dramatically during the playoffs. According to The Insider, players said compensation ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars, with the biggest sum any player received believed to be approxi-

mately $8,000.“Bounty systems on other players is

tragic to athletics,” said UNA Athletic Di-rector Mark Linder.

Linder said he thinks the bounty sys-tem was made for competitive advantage. He said anyone involved should be elimi-nated from the game.

“If it was coaches’ involvement, they should be dismissed,” he said. “If it was players, they should get suspended without pay and receive a fi ve-year window before they can get reinstated.”

Senior and former defensive tackle player for the Lions Nate Frazier said he does not think the bounty system is much of an issue.

“Football is a fearless game; bumps and bruises just happen to be part of it,” he said. “Every time you step on the fi eld, there is a strong possibility that you may get

injured, especially when the offensive and defensive lines clash during plays.”

Frazier said bounty systems were more common in the ‘90s.

“It was easier to hurt a player during that time than now because of the increas-ing technology today and constant studies to improve the safety equipment,” he said.

Frazier doubts money would increase the chances of a player to hurt another play-er. He said the bounty system is more like an incentive to play.

“Players play for family, kids or for even just the team; no player in their right mind would go out of their way to hurt an-other player,” he said. “If anything, I be-lieve that players may use the system for gambling or training to improve their stam-ina in the game.”

In regards to how the system got ex-posed, both Frazier and Linder said they as-

sume someone who knew about it was not happy.

“Guess someone did not get paid,” Linder said.

Frazier said sports scandals usually get exposed for similar reasons.

“As long as people are winning and everybody is happy, there will not be any problems, but when a team starts losing and suspensions come to play, someone that is not happy will normally expose what is go-ing on,” he said.

Linder said the bounty system is non-existent in college football, considering college players do not get paid.

“Any bounty system is wrong,” he said. “The NFL makes very strong statements and penalties so that of any form does not trickle into college athletics.”

Page 5BThursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-Ala Sports

QQ:: Tell the readers where you’re from, Vic-toria. Where did you grow up?

AA::: “I’m from Chelten-ham, England.”

QQ: England? Wow. How did you end up in Florence? Was there any kind of culture shock?

AA: “UNA is just where I was recruited to play. The culture shock hasn’t been too bad, but there was a little bit of a culture shock at fi rst.”

QQ: What was the most diffi cult thing to adjust to here?

AA: “Not having any sidewalks. You have to have a car to live here.”

QQ: So how long have you been playing tennis? What initially sparked

your interest in the sport?

AA: “I’ve been playing tennis for almost seven years now. When I was younger, my brothers were always playing on the tennis courts. I always wanted to copy what they were doing, so of course I wanted to play too.”

QQ: How many brothers do you have? Are you the youngest?

AA: “I am the youngest. I have three older broth-ers and an older sister too.”

QQ. What’s your major? What do you plan to do after graduation?

AA: “I’m a psychology major. I’m going back to England after graduation, but I want to travel.”

QQ: Did you set any goals for yourself this season?

AA: “Not really. I guess just to play well and keep it simple.”

QQ: What’s your favor-ite memory that you’ve made at UNA?

AA: “I have no idea (laughs). Probably just times with friends. Those times when the sides of your mouth start to hurt because you’re laughing and smiling so much.”

QQ: If someone was going to make a movie

about your life, who would you want to play the part of you?

AA: “Kate Winslet, may-be. If she was younger.”

QQ: What kind of music do you listen to? Do you-

have a favorite band?

AA: “I listen to a lot of classic rock. I don’t really have a favorite band, but I can always listen to the Beatles, so I guess they’re a safe option.”

Rees key to Lion success this season

photo by MICHAEL REDDING I Student Photographer

Victoria Rees has been a key player on the tennis team throughout her career and looks to continue her success this season.

Bounty system concerns grow in athletics world

Senior Victoria Rees is taking the court for the fourth year as the No. 1 women’s tennis player at UNA.

A three-time all Gulf South Conference player, Rees rounded out her last season with 17 and fi ve in singles.

Rees has been an asset to the women’s tennis team, and when she graduates from UNA, she will likely go down as one of the top three women’s tennis players to have ever played for the university, said head tennis coach Brice Bishop.

“She’s been very easy to coach,” Bish-op said. “She’s very mature and extremely talented. Players like her don’t usually need or want much direction.”

Now, fi nishing out her last season with the tennis team and her fi nal semester at UNA, Rees has certainly made a name for herself at the university.

Page 6B Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-AlaSportsJulian Threet

I’m going with Baylor, Michigan State, Syracuse and North Carolina.

I look forward to Kentucky choking, and I see Baylor winning it all.

Students make their picks on NCAA tournamentJohnny Hornbuckle

My top four are going to be Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State and North Carolina.

Roll Tide!

Will DennisI think it’s going to be Wisconsin, Ohio State, Marquette and Kentucky.

I’m rooting for the underdog this year.

Molly VanossI think it will be North Carolina, Ohio State, Florida and Kentucky.

I want to see Ohio State win, since it’s where I’m from, but we’ll see.

DeSean ThomasI’m going with North Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State and Michigan State.

I really want to see North Carolina win.

Jackson Prather

My top four are Kentucky, Michigan State, Syracuse and North Carolina.

I think the match-up between Kentucky and Indiana is going to be exciting.

Marquia JamesOhio State, Kentucky, Michigan State and North Carolina.

I hope North Carolina takes it all. Christina Anderson

I think it will be Kentucky, Louisville, Wisconsin and Ohio.

I just want to see dunkin’!

Who are your picks? Post them on our Facebook page!

Page 7BThursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-Ala Feature

Riley, of Sheffi eld, is a 2009 Deshler High School graduate and public relations major at UNA. He has worked as the UPC vice presi-dent, live acts chair and public rela-tions chairman during his time on campus.

He said he has received the high-est education so far of anyone in his immediate family, and that his loved ones back home are thrilled to see him take on the SGA presidential position.

“I’m the fi rst one of my family to pursue student government, and for

me to be recognized as the president completely blew my family away,” he said. “It’s a passion that has been gen-erated since I began college to pursue student government.”

Riley—who ran on the platforms of conservation, coordination and communication—said one of his im-mediate tasks when he takes on the presidential title is to begin creating a consistent SGA brand to make people more aware of student government at UNA.

He also plans to implement an SGA information board outside the new SGA offi ce—which will soon be located in the former Disability Sup-port Services building in the GUC. Additionally, Riley plans to continue research on veterans affairs at UNA as well as create a food pantry for stu-dents on campus.

Riley wants to see more diversity in SGA, build a stronger relationship with the board of trustees and reassess student fees to see whether students are benefi ting from them.

On top of being the new SGA president and a full-time student, Ri-ley is also the head SOAR counselor, a member of LaGrange Society, a member of Alpha Tau Omega and is involved in a number of other activi-ties on and off campus.

“If I wasn’t doing this, I’d fi nd something else to do to be busy,” he said. “I thrive off of serving others.”

Jacques said she is carefully investigating the mat-ter and contacting the eBallot system to track the IP address to determine if the allegation is true.

“There’s not enough evidence yet, but we’re still following the right steps to see what hap-pened,” she said.

Jacques said there are a number of issues as to why few students turn out for SGA elections, in-cluding the fact that there aren’t many people run-ning for positions in student government at UNA.

“We need more students engaging in running for offi cer positions so the students have a choice,” she said. “SGA needs to continue to work on pub-licity and in trying to promote (the organization).”

Jacques also said many UNA students don’t understand the importance of student government on campus in terms of the impact the organization has on the university as a whole.

“It’s easy to complain (about issues) on social media but not get engaged and involved to make a difference,” she said. “The voter turnout is disap-pointing in that there are not more students who are engaged in the process. You can’t make a dif-ference unless you get your hands involved in that process.”

Riley said the low number of votes was a les-son learned for SGA and that the incoming execu-tive council will brainstorm for new ideas to in-crease voter turnout in the future.

“Starting this fall, 2012, we will implement Greek standards,” Smith said. “This spring semester we’ve given (the chapters) the Greek stan-dards to look at the minimum stan-dards we have, so they’ve had all semester to look at our minimum standards. They can be ready by fall to meet the standards, or there will be sanctions placed on them by the university.”

Smith said UNA hasn’t had con-crete standards for the Greek orga-nizations, but now there will be a fi ve-year plan that will include a .1 increase of the GPA standard each year along with increased expecta-tions of the Greek chapters.

Of the fraternities that fell below a 2.5 GPA, several have implement-ed changes to improve their academ-ic standing.

After a former member received a zero GPA for the fall 2011 semes-ter, Alpha Phi Alpha, which earned a 2.05 GPA, has implemented man-datory library hours to increase academic performance, said Theus Rowell, the chapter’s adviser.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon has also required mandatory library hours after falling below the 2.5 standard at a 2.42, according to adviser Jus-tin Goads, and has also focused on improving record keeping on GPAs after a student with a high GPA went unrecorded in fall 2011.

Pi Kappa Alpha, which had a 1.75 GPA in fall 2011 and six mem-bers with a GPA below 0.5, has al-

ready begun steps to improve the chapter’s academic scores and their standing on campus, said Robert Tyree, the fraternity’s adviser.

Tyree said all members of the chapter have three mandatory study hall sessions and at least two hours of individual study a week, and through this several of the members have already reached a GPA above 3.0.

“We are going back to the ba-sic core of our beliefs—academics come fi rst,” Tyree said. “We’re go-ing to scrutinize ourselves and re-turn to the core values of not only our national organization but our lo-cal chapter. I know everyone views Alpha Tau Omega as the academic leaders of the campus, but I think Pi Kappa Alpha will return in short order.”

Alpha Tau Omega was tied for the highest GPA of all the Greek or-ganizations at 3.15 with Alpha Gam-ma Delta.

“They’re keeping their eye on excellence instead of just being good enough,” said Adam Goodman, ad-viser for Alpha Tau Omega. “It’s an environment where you are set up to succeed. I do think, and that’s the hope, that they will have the tools to improve on what they already have.”

Pledges of Alpha Tau Omega scored lower than active members of the organization, with active mem-bers at an average of 3.26 and pledge members at 2.85. Active members of Alpha Gamma Delta made an aver-age of 3.26 in fall 2011, while the pledges made an average of 3.06.

“Just the culture shock of coming to college makes it diffi cult,” said

Pat Roden, faculty adviser for Alpha Gamma Delta, as to why pledges are making lower GPAs than active members. “Time management and just getting acclimated to the col-lege campus is diffi cult for a general student. I think it’s just adjusting to college overall.

“Pledges also go through learn-ing about the organizations. They do have more intense meetings than our current members do. You see it rise as they become acclimated to col-lege.”

At UNA, a student needs a 2.0 GPA, which is the equivalent of an overall C, to graduate, but, accord-ing to Smith, graduation is not the only use of a high GPA, especially for Greek organizations.

“Generally, a lot of students that want to become a part of Greek do their research beforehand, so when they notice a higher GPA they feel more comfortable being a part of the organization,” Smith said. “This also helps the parents, because the parents are usually the people that fi nance the students. It’s easier for (the students) to say, ‘Look, this is an organization I want to be a part of,’ and then show (the parents) a high GPA.”

The advisers for Delta Chi, Kap-pa Sigma and Kappa Alpha Psi, the other fraternities that fell below a 2.5, were also contacted for the story but did not respond.

At press time, UNA’s Honors So-ciety, the Gay Straight Alliance and Sports Information could not pro-duce grade information.

Staff Writer Blythe Steelman contributed to this story.

Officials look to new ideas to bring grades up

photo by MALISA MCCLURE I Chief Photographer

Will Riley, who currently serves as the vice president of University Program Council, has focused on three major ideas during his presidential cam-paign: conservation, coordination and communication.

What do you think about the SGA voter

turnout? Let us know!To learn more about Riley’s ideas, watch his video at http://bit.ly/FOavPd.

Visit www.una.orgsync.com/org/unagreeklife/home for a full Greek report card.

Page 8B Thursday, March 22, 2012 • The Flor-Ala

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