The Patriot - September 28, 2017

Hey, we’re weekly!

Hello, and thanks again for picking up The Patriot. So far the semester has seemed to blow by, and we’ve reached a milestone of the fall semester. Homecoming week has arrived, and alumni will soon return to reminisce about their college days while current students will make memories of their own. My parents met at UC, and until the age of 7 I lived in a house just down the street from Asher Hall. So, UC is really home for me.

The University has grown and changed a lot since I was a young lad, and in that spirit here at The Patriot we’re making some changes as well. Over the past 14 years The Patriot has served UC and in recent years the paper has been published on a bi-weekly basis, every two weeks. In the spirit of change and progress, we are proud to announce that we’re now a weekly newspaper.

With this change, the staff of The Patriot will be able to report more recent stories and print articles in an especially timely manner. This change also raises the bar for our eager, talented staff. We’re excited for the change, and we’re honored to continue to be a voice of the students. If you’re alumni of UC and this paper has made its way into your hands, read on, and recall your days as a college student.

This year will mark my fourth, and last, homecoming as a student at UC. Looking back, my time here has gone by so fast. I know you’ve heard this advice before, but enjoy the time that you have at UC. One day you’ll be in our alumni’s shoes, longing for the days of college.

Like Ferris Bueller once said, “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it.”

Editor-In-Chief

Eric Ford Edwards

Managing Editor

Megan Willoughby

Faculty Advisor

Jeremiah Massengale

Staff

Emilee Agee

Anna Brown

Taylor Duke

Kathryn Green

Leanne Gregory

Megan Kelly

Tyler Kohn

Shandi Lindsay

Brian Mahadeo

John McCoy

Megan Muggridge

Zane Ross

Editorial Review Board

Lisa Bartram

Marianne Worthington

Best regards,

Eric Ford Edwards

Email comments, concerns or tips to: thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu or call us at 606-539-4172

7000 College Station Drive Williamsburg, Kentucky 40769

The Patriot is the weekly student publication of the University of the Cumberlands. Our goal is to provide timely and original content by highlighting campus news and views.

Award-winning member of the Associated Collegiate Press and Kentucky Press Association.

Olympic opportunity

Alumna lands incredible internship at Olympic Training Center

BY MEGAN WILLOUGHBY Managing Editor

Life after graduation is a mystery. There are many different directions in which people disperse, desiring a career path that best suits their personality and skill set. University of the Cumberlands alumna Annabeth McKay graduated in May of 2017 obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication arts.

Returning to her hometown of Amarillo, Texas, McKay began to wonder what she could utilize with the skills she learned throughout college. In early July, she applied for a position at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. After several interviews with authorities, McKay accepted the position and happily packed her bags.

“I believe I should be helping to edit small articles for the USA Triathlon magazine, schedule social media using Hootsuite and plan promotions for events and foundations. I’m specifically working with USA Triathlon at their headquarters,” McKay says.

This opportunity is rare for those who are recent graduates, but McKay’s determination did not scare her away from a challenge. “Not to brag but I was up against 400 other candidates.” McKay explains. “There are 16 interns total for the USOC and other national governing bodies this semester and there were over 5,000 candidates that applied for all of the jobs.”

Professor of communication Dr. Mike Dickman said, “I’m not surprised that Annabeth received such a prestigious internship. She was a very hardworking and bright student.” UC senior Connor McJunkin, who

many classes with McKay, added, “She’s always worked hard and has been passionate about getting into the communications/marketing field since I’ve known her. It’s awesome to see where she is and it will be great to see what she does in the future.”

Aside from work, McKay gets to enjoy the benefits of meeting several Olympic athletes. “I get to live on campus where Olympic athletes train. I ate breakfast with the figure skater Jason Brown the other day who competed in the 2014 Sochi Olympics and won the world championship in 2015. I also got to sit in on a shooting practice which was cool because the range is the size of a football field and completely top of the line.” McKay explains in awe.

These experiences will aid McKay in her journey to find a career suitable to her abilities. She adds, “So far,I’m having a blast and hope to make a ton of friends and hopefully network so that I can be offered a more permanent position.”

UC fall awakening

‘an atmosphere of worship’

BY SHANDI LINDSAY Staff Writer

Baptist Campus Ministries hosted the Fall Awakening services on campus from September 12 to September 14 in the Gatliff Chapel. Each night counted as a UC Engage event and the service began with a performance of the BCM worship band, led by UC students Mason Neltner and Elizabeth Steward. Afterward, head of campus ministries Chad Everhart introduced nationally recognized speaker Dave Edwards. Everhart said, “Edwards really understood the young adult audience. He regularly speaks on college campuses and God used him to minister into essential needs of every young adult.”

Edwards addressed students with a sermon, and as the worship came to a close he asked students to come forward as a part of an invitation. These students were also given information afterward about the next steps in becoming a Christian. There were dozens of students that participated by stepping forward each night. Everhart said, “It was really awesome to see so

many students publicly respond to the messages.”

Each Fall Awakening service came to a close as the BCM worship band performed a few more songs for those in attendance to worship with. Everhart added, “It was rewarding watching our student-led worship team because they did an amazing job. God really used them to provide an atmosphere of worship and people engaged.”

While organizing the Fall Awakening, a member of BCM’s worship team, UC student Haven Roof said that the biggest challenge BCM faced was “being worried that not a lot of people would show up.”

But, according to Everhart the event was well attended. Everhart said, “The attendance was different each night, but the average was probably 150. This was a good turnout.”

Is it really the same?

UC students discuss the use of the word ‘same’ in today’s popular culture.

BY ZANE ROSS

WRITTEN BY ZANE ROSS Staff Writer

In the day and age of popular trends it seems that one of the forerunners is that everything has to be relatable. The idea that the general public has added a new definition onto a pre-existing word is personally mind boggling. You might even look at it and think, “Same.”

According to Merriam-Webster, the word same is mainly used to describe something identical with or similar to another. However, Urban Dictionary has a looser definition of just being a word that can attribute to any conversation.

“I think people started saying ‘same’ as a way to feel like they are part of the group,” says UC sophomore Hunter West. West adds, “I feel that even if it doesn’t pertain to you as a person, you might share something on social media that might pertain to a larger group of people so that you appear more relatable to others.”

West says that he is guilty of saying “same” in a lot of situations, especially when it comes to social media.

“I think that it’s been turned into a filler word,” says UC junior Cameron George, “It’s like when you text ‘lol’ to someone to

either end a conversation or contribute to the conversation without really putting thought into it. Think of words like, ‘Ok,’ ‘cool,’ or ‘Huh.’ It is just really dismissing.”

Although some students such as West and George believe that the word is just trendy there are others who believe that the word holds more meaning, at least when it comes from a good place.

River Phillippe, a UC sophomore, says, “We’re all people; we all go through similar struggles and situations and when people say ‘same’ they are saying that they relate to that struggle or situation. I feel like I have personally said it a million and one different times to a million and one different people. I think that I say it, not to seem relatable, but because I have been in a similar situation. I guess really it’s more about empathy than being relatable in some cases.”

Whether it is used to be seen in a more relatable light, to be empathetic or to just fill room in a conversation the word “same“ has firmly inserted itself into our everyday vocabulary. It is incredibly strange that there are so many definitions of the word, but none of them really feel the…same.

The darker side of clear skin

BY CHELSA E. BOWMAN Staff Writer

Acne; a four-letter word that upon its mention, someone always wants to get rid of it. It’s one of those things that when the victim looks in the mirror, they just want to wear a brown paper bag to hide the humility. As if someone isn’t already self-conscious about their look already, a zit pops up out of the middle of nowhere. Perhaps someone is going on a hot date, and as they get ready, they look in the mirror only to discover the landmark “New Zitland” on their face.

When it comes to acne, it can be hard to get rid of. There are a lot of treatments that help acne. Treatments include face washes, facial masks, medication, face scrubs and other types of ointments. Some people find it most effective if they pick up on a daily routine to prevent acne from popping up. However, washing, scrubbing and doctoring your face aren’t the only ways to get rid of acne. A recent trend in the skin care industry is ripping away acne, one mask at a time. The black mask, often made of “skin purifying” charcoal, is a deep cleansing peel off mask that removes dirt from the pores on our faces, leaving the skin to feel smoother and cleaner after removing the mask.

The mask is applied directly to the face, making sure that the eyebrows, hairline and the lip area is avoided or there will be more pain and one may have to deal with losing their eyebrow and some of their hair. It only takes one coating of the mask due to the thickness of the mask cream. It feels cool and refreshing when applied, and it hardens as it dries. However, the removal of the mask appears to be quite painful for some. “I decided to give the black mask a try, and it felt great at first. The feel of the mask being applied was a little cold at first, but it was refreshing. The aftermath

wasn’t as pleasant. I felt as if I ripped my entire face off, using this product,” said UC sophomore Ashley Carter, who appeared to be in tears after the use of the mask.

Though it may be painful to use, the mask does help rid the skin of blemishes by pulling out the dirt and hair from the pores of the skin. The mask is made from several ingredients, including water, polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, and rosemary extract.

“I’ve always wanted to have clearer skin, so I try to do whatever it takes to accomplish that. After hearing about the black mask, I knew I had to try it. As I ripped the mask off, my entire life flashed before my eyes and my face felt as if it suddenly became an inferno,” said UC alumna Kesha Wilson, who graduated in 2016.

The mask also helps restore skin, which may be confusing to a person who is attempting to rip the mask off their face, feeling as if they’ve become a whole new person with a new face.

“I honestly had no idea how painful it would be. I tried taking off the mask slowly, but it still felt as if I ripped off my own skin,” said Beronica Edwards, a former UC student who graduated in May of 2014.

Even though the mask is painful, people are still buying the product in hopes that their faces become clearer and healthier. Or maybe someone needs a good laugh, and they decide to buy the black mask; only to watch someone else use it, just so they can laugh at the person who is in complete agony. Regardless, the product is doing its job; ripping away the bad stuff out of our skin, one painful mask at a time.

YAL Speech Ball

Speech Ball

YAL holds on campus event to promote freedom of speech

BY TYLER KOHN Staff Writer

The University of the Cumberlands chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, a libertarian student organization, placed an oversized beach ball on campus recently in order to raise awareness for the right to free speech. This “Free Speech Ball” was intended as a canvas for students on campus to express their thoughts and feelings in ink without any sort of censorship. Club president and UC student JP Kirby said, “The speech ball is an initiative that Young Americans for Liberty on a national scale has done to bring awareness to a lot of speech codes at schools that are really inconsistent and are used to target students.” According to Kirby, YAL’s goal in this project was to expose these inconsistencies and reestablish the concept that free speech should remain uncensored.

The group’s work with free speech extends far past UC campus though. The UC chapter of YAL has reached out to other college campuses as well in order to combat speech codes and other regulations where they can be more

prevalent. Vice president Bethany Wilson has been involved in some recent YAL outreach projects. Wilson said, “YAL went up to UK recently [with the speech ball]. We had a free speech event there. It went really great and people got really involved.”

The speech ball was not only a success for YAL in furthering their message. Kirby explained the speech ball project has positively affected YAL membership and spread their name around campus. Kirby said, “Our contact list doubled just from that one event. We did grow in dues paying membership right away, which is really big for an event like that. It was really good. It did a lot of good things for the club,” Kirby said.

The members of YAL are holding meetings in the Washington room of the Grill on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. They invite anyone interested in YAL to attend the next meeting and participate in any upcoming events.