Month: April 2015

By Latara Holloway Students and staff gathered for a night of fun, food and music at the International Festival on April 23. International Student Association, International Student Involvement and Housing and Residence Life hosted the event  meant to inform the AUM community to learn about the different cultures represented here at the university. Students were given a passport at the door and were encouraged to stop by each individual country table.  Kuwait, Sudan, Mexico, Brazil and Haiti were just a few of the countries represented at the event. Most tables shared food, drinks and more information about their countries to share with guests. This was freshman Omar Brito Estrado’s first time at International Fest.  “I see a lot of excitement and a lot of people helping out,” Es...

By Holly Watford “Astronomy compels the soul to look upwards and leads us from this world to another.” – Plato. April 25 is National Astronomy Day and the W.A. Gayle Planetarium has big plans for the occasion. The Planetarium has partnered with the Auburn Astronomical Society; the event will take place between 5 and 10 p.m. and is free to the public. I spoke with Rick Evans, Director of the W.A. Gayle Planetarium, about the event and what this year’s agenda will be. First, guests are welcomed to bring their personal telescopes that may be in need of repair so they can be fixed in time for the event. People who visit the Planetarium early “will be able to view the Moon and the Sun in the light of hydrogen-alpha with PST Solar Scopes and members’ scopes filtered white-light images,” ...

By Holly Watford For the past 10 years, the Autism Society of Alabama has been hosting the Walk for Autism in 15 cities throughout Alabama. According to the website Autism Speaks, Autism is a “serious developmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact with others”. The mission of the ASA is to help improve diagnostic and therapeutic services to individuals through education and advocacy within the state.  ASA aims to spread awareness and acceptance for the 1 in 68 who are diagnosed. The Walk for Autism not only helps bring awareness to this disorder, but also to raise money to fund the cause and eventually solve the puzzle of autism spectrum disorders. The Walk for Autism will be a two-mile walk held at the Ida Bell Young Park on April 25. Registration/ c...

By Holly Watford "One in 4 women in college today has been the victim of rape, and nearly 90 percent of them knew their rapist," Robin Warshaw said. To hear these statistics is earthshattering. Most of us believe that the people who we consider friends would never do anything to harm us. We put our faith and trust in those we share that intimate bond with. To have that broken can be life- altering. Going to the art exhibit by AUM alumna Shay Baily, I did not know what to expect. I knew that the occasion for the event was Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In my mind, I never thought that sexual assault on campus was a common thing. Seeing it on the news is one thing. You think that never happens around here. In reality, it happens all the time. Shay Baily was the victim of sexual as...

    By Holly Watford Why are you here? This was the central question that Timothy Spraggins, from the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, asked during AUM’s Holocaust Education Program. Why was I here? The Holocaust was something I knew only little about. At first, I thought I was there to write an article for this publication so I could inform others who could not attend. In the end, I learned that I was there because I wanted to learn about this historic event and realize that it could happen to any of us. The Holocaust Prevention Program is an event held by AUM’s Department of Psychology every year. This time, not only did we have faculty and student members speak, we also had the opportunity to listen to first-hand testimonies of Holocaust survivors. ...

  By Latara Holloway Pure Artistry Literary Café kicked off its “Speak No Evil Weekend” event in honor of National Poetry Month Thursday night. “Lyrical Rewind,” the first of the three-day events planned, was an Apollo-styled night. Despite the rain, the artists and guests showed up for a fun night of laughs, poetry and skits. The winner of the night, JP Da Poet, entertained guests with his spoken-word pieces “Letter to an absent Father,” “Letter to My Son” and “Not Today.” while runner-up Caught Up performed a three-piece skit about speed dating. The celebration continues tonight with “Art & Soul,” which will be dedicated to the late artists and activists Dr. Maya Angelou and Ruby Dee. Manager of event productions, Monique Dennis, says that it was important to introd...

By Haley Cotter In efforts to combine the surrounding colleges and create memories for years to come, Leadership Montgomery, is holding its third annual Showdown in College Town. This event will include friendly competitions and prize drawings. Some of those events include a stroll off, canvas art competition, voice competition, drum line exhibition and a spirit contest. There will also be a selfie booth, and free massages. If you go online to Showdown in College Town-Montgomery’s Facebook page you can enter to win, “fabulous door prizes including gift baskets, gift certificates and a night at the Renaissance,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at AUM Dr. Janice Lyn said. There will also be a lot of free food for everyone. Donations were made by, “Capital City Club, Central Resta...

    By Tiffany Pattillo  The images evoked by the words “spring break” involve large cities, crowded parties, sunny days and sandy beaches. Often these spring break destinations come with high hotel bills. In search of a quieter spring break locale and more affordable accommodations, I planned a road trip to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where my sister and I visited several tourist attractions including Rock City and the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. I decided to forego booking a traditional hotel room, choosing instead to book a room using the website Airbnb, Air Bed and Breakfast, for the first time. Airbnb is a billion-dollar company cofounded in 2008 by Nathan Blecharczyk, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia. Airbnb allows people to rent out their ent...

By Haley Cotter One known fact about children in elementary school is that they love Dr. Seuss and his spectacular books. Another is that these children look up to anyone who plays a sport that they love. Recently at AUM, students from Halcyon Elementary School and Garrett Elementary School were invited to come hang out and enjoy fun games with student-athletes while celebrating Dr. Seuss. “The initial reason was to create excitement for reading,” AUM Cross Country runner Sharlie Brooks said. The student-athletes know the importance of reading and wanted these children to know it too. On March 2, a number of student-athletes went to Halcyon and Garrett to read to the students in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday. The athletes chose a book of their liking and were assigned to a clas...