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By Latara Holloway Members of the AUM community celebrated International Women’s Day by attending the “Make It Happen” luncheon and panel discussion held March 9. The panel featured four women from the River Region, each from different careers, to answer questions about their lives and talk about the challenges faced by women today. The speakers included Dr. Jevonnah “Lady J” Ellison, president and founder of Professional Women of Integrity; Marietta Koums, executive director of the Millbrook Chamber of Commerce; Sesi Ogunbym, Montgomery Pediatric Gastroenterologist; and Dr. Elizabeth D. Woodworth, associate professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at AUM. The event opened with a welcome by host and member of the organizing committee Zaneta Wilson. A dance performanc...

  By Kimberly McGuinty “Billy Jack Gaither, Lawrence “Larry” King, Mark Carson, Islan Nettles….”  The AUM Gay Straight Alliance’s Hate Crimes Vigil held on Feb. 4 begins with a solemn reading by Dr. Paul Hard of the names of victims lost to hate crimes. Hard is the group’s faculty sponsor and a local champion of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer community. We have just finished watching a “Frontline” movie on the brutal slaying of Billy Jack Gaither, the man whose memory the hate crimes vigil was established in honor of, just weeks after he was killed. The documentary relates how the man was stabbed, set afire and finally bludgeoned to death with an axe handle as he tried to escape his attackers. The other attendees and myself collect ourselves and prepare for t...

  By Jacob Horton National Signing Day 2015 marked another great year for the state of Alabama, as both Alabama and Auburn received commitments from many sought-after high school football players.   For the University of Alabama, National Signing Day 2015 officially made it the fifth straight year in which Nick Saban has put together the number one recruiting class in the nation, according to two of the four major recruiting websites.   According to ESPN.com, the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 2015 recruiting class contains 25 commits. Of those 25 commits, 19 are ranked in ESPN’s top 300 high school players in the nation. Standouts from this class include: The number 2 ranked pro-style quarterback Blake Barnett, the number 1 ranked wide receiver in Calvin Ridle...

  By Nicky Disbrow As I sat in the audience at the screening of “Fury” awaiting the violence and drama to ensue, Dr. Ben Severance, Professor of History at AUM, asked the same rhetorical question I had in mind: “where would Hollywood be without war movies?” As part of the Political Film Series, Fury was introduced by an AUM faculty member who is considerably knowledgeable about the topic; Severance provided the brief introduction for “Fury” and helped set the scene for it. “Fury” is about a U.S. Army tank crew located in Germany in the final weeks of battle during World War II. With one character extremely reluctant to partake in battle, and another who uses his religious beliefs to help him get by, the movie develops a deeper tone than what I was expecting to experien...

    By Jessica Klinner Looking back now, it’s hard to remember a time when YouTube did not exist. It’s been almost 10 years since the free video streaming website first appeared. Since its birth in 2005, YouTube has launched the careers of a countless number of entertainers. Within the last few years, more and more viewers have been flocking to the site to get their daily dose of video content, ranging from tutorials to cute animals to music videos. With 72 hours of video being uploaded every minute, YouTube stands as the fastest and most efficient way to share video content on the Internet. The beauty of YouTube is that anyone can create a channel and upload videos. YouTube fame is just a click away; it’s that simple. If you own a camera, a computer and have somethin...

By Jacob Saylor Poetica, as it’s come to be called, is one of the more unique events held on Auburn Montgomery’s campus. Students get the opportunity to share their creative works, ranging from poetry to short story readings. Poetica is a veritable buffet for artists and has three different themes throughout each semester. Earlier this year, the English Club – who oversees the production – ran a Poetica that featured a myriad of spooky poems for Halloween. This month’s Poetica focused on Auburn Montgomery’s arts and literary magazine, the Filibuster. Attendees of Poetica read various entries from the magazine, some even choosing to present others’ work. I spoke with Dr. Robert Klevay, who is an assistant professor in the Department of English and Philosophy at Auburn Montgomery; he’...

By Jacob Horton The 2014-2015 AUM Lady Warhawks basketball team is off to a great start this season with an overall record of 8-3 through their first 11 games. Through their first four Southern States Athletic Conference games, they posted a record of 3-1. This fast start has the followers of AUM Women’s hoops thinking that this could be a season they can compete for a few postseason accolades. While all the hype is good for the program, Head Coach Dan Davis is still focusing on the short-term goals for now. “Our main goal is to just get better,” Coach Davis said in a recent interview. “The castle in the sky is to win your conference championship and a national championship, but you can’t do that if you’re not doing what you need to do every day to build those winning habits a...

   By Matthew Thornbury It’s in this season of celebration and togetherness that we turn our attention to those less fortunate than us. On Nov. 18, students gathered in the Ida Belle Young Library Tower to learn about the adversity faced by those in our area who are homeless or food insecure. The Student Government Association and the Transfer Student Association organized AUM’s Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Program, which took place during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, traditionally held the week before Thanksgiving. The program welcomed guest speaker La’Rontae Skipper, an Americorps VISTA member who works with the Mid-Alabama Coalition for the Homeless, before screening “The Pursuit of Happyness” starring Will Smith. Students who attended the even...

By Nikki Headley Traditions are things many people do because it’s what they have always known. With Thanksgiving coming just around the corner, it’s about that time to go visit those family members or friends you have not seen all year. Many people may think that everyone does the same thing, but that isn’t true. People can differ in many ways. Several people may eat on Thanksgiving and spend time with family members. Lee Hodgson, sophomore at AUM, “sits at home and her mom cooks and we have people over.” This may seem like a normal Thanksgiving to most people, but that does not make it any less special. For some, this is their definition of Thanksgiving. Another student, junior Marlee Damrel, goes to Texas every year to see her aunt. She doesn’t eat turkey like you would...

By Jacob Saylor   During the time Galileo was being presented by Theatre AUM, I went and experienced this two-hour play. Since Galileo had already been showing for almost two weeks, I was quite surprised to see that the theater itself was packed almost to capacity. My hopes immediately shot through the roof, as a play still seeing this kind of attendance must surely be something else, right? At the beginning of the play was a short musical number, which I had not expected. Galileo, which featured a scientific mind at its center, took on an entirely different feeling than I had been anticipating. While this was a bit surprising, it did not take away from the experience in the least. In fact, it was very cool to see a number of my classmates burst out of their veritable she...