The Patriot - February 2013

The Patriot

Shakespeare’s coming to Campus

The UC theatre department prepares for ‘King Lear’

BY NATASHA JONES

Assistant Editor

With the arrival of the new semester, the preparation for the spring theatre production begins. This term, the University of the Cumberlands theatre department is performing their rendition of Shakespeare’s “King Lear.”

Opening night will be Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m., and will be a convocation opportunity as well as Feb. 28 at 7:30p.m. Other performances include: Feb. 22 and 23 at 7:30 p.m.,

“

his daughters love him, he casts her out and decides to give them nothing, which leads to a slow dissolution of the empire. The moral of the story is as Dr. Kim Miller, artistic director of UC theatre, said, ”When we look out for our own and not for everyone’s interest, civilization falls apart.”

This play was written toward the end of Shakespeare’s career. Miller believes some people see this play as Shakespeare’s warn-

come, audition and participate. Seventeen cast members, mostly of which are students, faculty and a few former students have come back to perform in the production.

Dean Whitaker, UC campus minister, will be playing the lead, King Lear. Whitaker’s character is seen as a horrible and dark character. “Even in darkness, there is a spark of light,” said Whitaker.

When asked what he hopes the audience

She said, “(It’s) the most serious play I’ve ever been in. It’s very challenging to pull out all of these emotions that maybe you haven’t felt. Students going to see it should be ready to cry, it’s very dramatic, and there is not a dull moment.”

Carpenter is playing the role Cordelia, the favorite daughter. Her character comes off as snobby at first glance but there is much more depth to be found throughout the play.

It’s very challenging to pull out all of these emotions that maybe you haven’t felt. ”

Feb. 24 at 2 p.m., , and March 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m.

The play is about an old but very powerful king who has decided, in the time he has left, to enjoy himself. He then decides to divide up his kingdom among his children. He has three daughters, and his youngest, Cordelia, is acknowledged as the favorite, so it is assumed she will get the best share.

However, when Cordelia refuses to give him a public acknowledgment of how much

ing to King James I to be a better king.

This upcoming production will be different from others in the past because of the difference in stage configuration. “Due to flexible space we are doing arena configuration. The audience will sit on either sides of the stage and be able to see each other, and the actors will perform in the middle. We are very excited for it, we have a great cast, a lot of people came out to audition,” said Miller. Shakespeare attracted a lot of people to

will take from seeing the play, Whitaker said, “Life is short, death is coming. But don’t ever think it’s too late that you don’t have hope.”

He hopes to have enough insight so the audience can see this character as a real human being with redeemable qualities, who goes through pride, grief and sadness.

Having never done any Shakespeare, this is a new challenge for Whitaker, being the title character. Jillian Carpenter, a cast member in the play also feels challenged.

She is a very sweet and real character, Carpenter said. ”She has much more face value than the others; that is the biggest thing about her.” In Carpenter’s eyes, she sees the moral of this story as just being who you really are.

The Kingdom returns with more focus

BY RYAN POYNTER

Staff Writer

The Kingdom Productions, a student-led organization created to provide opportunities to University of the Cumberlands students looking to express themselves creatively, is set to begin the spring 2013 semester with a fresh schedule and a clearer purpose.

The program saw great success last fall in working to establish a solid foundation for continuous ministry; it is this foundation that the head of The Kingdom Productions and Baptist Campus Ministries semester missionary, Casey Hamm, hopes to use effectively moving forward.

“We saw a great response from the student body last semester,” said Hamm.

“People showed up and participated way more than we expected them to. We want to use that momentum this semester to push us further and help us achieve even more.”

The Kingdom Productions will again host four themed events, each of them happening several times throughout the semester. These events include: An open mic night; a night meant for group discussion over various topics; a night of stand-up comedy; and a hiphop themed event. The final category of events is reserved for special instances, such as the recent Super Bowl gathering. Twenty-one events are scheduled so far for the spring semester, and even more are

being considered or in planning stages.

Each of these categorized events, though different conceptually, shares a common goal – to offer UC students the opportunity to share the inter-workings of their minds through any medium of self-expression they want.

Kenny Newton, a senior at the University of the Cumberlands and volunteer for The Kingdom Productions, is one student who is particularly passionate about that goal.

“Some people on campus aren't offered enough chances to show off their talents in positive ways,” said Newton. “If you aren't an athlete or something, sometimes you go

kind of unnoticed. The programs we host give a lot of different students the chance to do what they are good at.”

For those with questions or looking to get involved with The Kingdom Productions, contact Casey Hamm by email at chamm2136@ucumberlands.edu.

Relay For Life brings community together

UCto host third annual Relay For Life event

BY ERIN MCMULLEN

Guest Writer

This year’s Relay For Life event will be held Friday, March 22, 2013 at 6 p.m. until Saturday, March 23 at 6 a.m. in the O. Wayne Rollins Center at the University of the Cumberlands.

Relay For Life is an American Cancer Society event that helps remember those who have lost their lives to cancer, celebrate the lives that are delivered from cancer, and fight back against the disease. Throughout the night of the event, teams participate in activities and fundraisers. All proceeds go toward the American Cancer Society’s fight for finding a cure.

There are different teams that participate in the event. At least one person from each team must be walking around the track throughout the night. Each team raises funds

prior to the night of the event, but they can also set up booths the night of Relay to, for example, sell baked goods and t-shirts.

able feat she said.

People throughout the community as well as students, faculty and staff are encouraged

“ The best part of Relay For Life is seeing all the different organizations on campus come together. ”

This will be the third year that University of the Cumberlands has held Relay. According to Agnes Brown-Oliphant, the Event Chair for Relay for Life, last year brought in about $7,000 for the American Cancer Society.

This year, the goal is $5,000 – an attain-

to get involved.

“The hardest part about Relay for Life is the behind the scenes work,” said BrownOliphant.

She added, “The preparations in the months leading up to the event are just as important as the night itself.”

The first preparations include forming a committee to contact businesses to sponsor the event. The committee will also organize activities such as bake sales and movie nights to start raising money now.

To be a part of a team or start a team of your own, you can go directly to the website relayforlife.org/ucumberlands to register. If you would like to help with preparations prior to the night of the event can email Agnes Brown-Oliphant at relay4life@ucumberlands.edu.

According to University of the Cumberlands student Eric Wright, it is amazing to see the community unite to fight against cancer. He stated, “The best part of Relay For Life is seeing all the different organizations on campus come together.”

BY WHITLEY WEST Staff Writer

Don’t know what to get to that fantastic boyfriend or girlfriend of yours for Valentine’s Day? Don’t sweat it. Here is a list of gift ideas to please anyone from the food lover to the sit-at-home snuggle bunny. There are a few traditional gift ideas you can’t go wrong with. Abouquet of flowers. A box of tasty chocolates. Afuzzy stuffed animal.

If you are looking for an idea that goes outside the realm of traditional Valentine’s Day gifts, here are a few that might interest you.

1. Make your significant other homemade chocolate-covered strawberries. Even if they aren’t perfect or pretty like ones right out of a box, they’ll appreciate your sincere effort.

Don’t buy that, buy this

A guide to buying the perfect gift for your sweetheart

2. Make them a homemade craft. They will love the fact that you took time out of your day to create them a gift such as a photo album filled with photos of just the two of you.

3. If they’re a food lover, surprise them with their favorite home-cooked meal.

4. Take them on a date to a nice restaurant or to watch a movie.

5. If they are more of the stay at home type, rent a good movie, pop some popcorn, dim the lights to make it feel more like a movie theatre and snuggle up on the couch.

6. Order them a candy or fruit bouquet from ediblearrangements.com. They are made to look like a bouquet of flowers, with the plus side of being edible.

7. Make them a mix CD of their favorite music or songs that describe the way you feel about them.

Hope this list was helpful in deciding your gift! Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

BY RYAN POYNTER

Staff Writer

Rarely is there a system created to be more streamlined than online dating. The process involves the over-simplification of what is normally a very complicated endeavor; you create a profile on any one of the seemingly infinite number of dating websites, fill out a few (hundred) questionnaires, upload a picture or two and then – by some stroke of magic – you are inserted into a group of about a dozen people which, by all accounts, may or may not include your soul mate. Seems simple, right?

But then it gets tricky. You're shown a handful of pictures and given information on someone you think you might actually be interested in, but you're forbidden from talking to this person until you cough up a monthly fee, which usually totals out to be somewhere around $20 a month, give or take a few dollars. Seem cruel? I thought so too. But those who host the romance hotspots around the World Wide Web have created for themselves a $1.05 billion dollar annual industry, according to statisticbrain.com. That's got to come from somewhere. Suddenly, things don't seem so peachy –so here are the facts: The number of people who have tried online dating in the United States totals around 40 million, and that number is split almost equally according to gender, so you can bet there's a lot of fish in that sea. What's more, statistics show that dating

World Wide Wed?

websites are responsible for 20 percent of all current committed relationships in the U.S., and 17 percent or marriages within the last year. Oh, and the average amount of money spent per user on online dating sites? $239 annually.

Why do I know all of this? Because I got curious, mostly. The dating game (and I do mean game) is, at its best, an anxiety-filled volleying of feelings from person to person, back and forth, until it finally sticks, or, at its worst, an emotional mugging that bruises your insides, empties your wallet, and leaves you cold and lonely in a very bad neighborhood (albeit with lots of company). I wanted to see how that might be different, if at all, online.

So, for one week, I elected to join the 40 million and venture deep into cyberspace to see for myself just what this online dating phenomenon is all about.

My experience, overall, was not what I had expected. I spent the first night creating profiles on two dating sites (Zoosk and Match.com) and filling out several questionnaires that were meant to help the matching engine narrow down who was a good match for me based on location, lifestyle choices, and common interests. These surveys sometimes asked things that were very expected (“How important is faith in your life?”) and occasionally things that were unexpected

(“How do birds land on power lines without being shocked?”).

This was the most fun I had with the experiment all week; these surveys asked the kinds of questions you'd expect someone to ask on a first, second, or third date (or maybe never), and the idea of being introduced to someone who I could assume already shared many similar qualities with me seemed convenient and was exciting.

What sounds good in theory, though, doesn't always work well in practice. I created the profiles, filled out the surveys, and I received my matches, but I never actually got to see if they were even close to right for me; not once did I come in direct contact with another other person on either of these dating sites all week. That's largely because, although it was free to browse profiles and answer questions, sending or receiving messages from person to person required a subscription.

This was disappointing for me. What was being billed as an online hotspot, lively and teeming with people waiting to meet me, felt more like a visit to a wax museum – there was plenty there for me to look at, but, sadly, once things started to heat up, it all melted away and I found that there really wasn’t much substance of note. It felt like an expensive substitute for the real thing.

Still, it's hard to argue with results. The

online dating industry is one that has grown at a rapid pace from a small-time niche environment into a booming corporation and, more importantly, a legitimate source for folks who have the means to seek and sometimes find “the one.” And with a user base of close to 40 million people in the U.S. alone, I'd say the likelihood of that is greater now than it ever has been.

I still have plenty of doubts (How accurate is this matching service? Does that girl even exist?), but the excitement I felt when creating my profile or filling out those surveys is the same kind of excitement I've felt before when getting to know a new person face to face. I asked a lot of the same questions, too. Am I cut out for this? Have I made a mistake? Is this a worthwhile investment of my time? For me it wasn't, but I know it has been for others, and I don't see anything wrong with that.

So, just to set things straight – online dating is an expensive process, you always have to watch your back, it's filled with people who may or may not be who they say they are, and the honest ones may even be the most troublesome – but, every so often, a person or two will get lucky and find love. When you really think about it, it doesn't sound all that different from the kind of dating we're all used to.

BY ASHLEY LINGARD

Online Editor

A single’s guide to Valentine’s Day

Do you sometimes feel like you are always alone on Valentine’s Day and everywhere you look there are red hearts and happy couples? Well, do not fear. Here are some tips in to making this Valentine’s Day awesome even though you don’t have that someone special.

Find a group of single friends and find something you all like to do. - The worst part about not having a boyfriend or girlfriend is feeling like there are no other plans to be made, but the truth is, some of your friends are probably single too. Watch a movie or play a game like Trivial Pursuit.

Don’t be ashamed to be single. - Too many people beat themselves up over the fact that they are single. There are a lot of single people all over the world. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Being single merely means that you haven’t stumbled upon someone, worth the change in your relationship status.

Don’t ask someone out just because it is a last resort. - This ties in with the whole not being ashamed tip. If you ask someone out that you normally wouldn’t, you’ll regret it later. It is not the end of the world if you don’t have a date.

Help and show love to someone who needs it. - The point of Valentine’s Day is love. And what a better way to celebrate than by going out of your way and helpingsomeone who really needs it. Check if you could help out at your local nursing home, food bank, or homeless shelter. It could also be something as simple as doing a little extra at work and making someone else’s life easier.

Treat yourself to something nice. - This could be a nice lunch or a movie rental

Just because it is a holiday, you don’t have to celebrate. - No one is going to stop you from celebrating on Valentine’s Day, but it doesn’t mean it is required. There are 364 other days of the year. Read a book or exercise. Do something that will take your mind off things.

BY TIMOTHY WYATT Staff Writer

“

That funny thing: Growing up

In the end, it isn’t the world that has changed;

Growing up is a funny thing, and an inevitable one. Now, we’re talking from a purely physiological standpoint here. Mental maturation that usually accompanies growing up is a different animal together. But for the sake of clarity, let’s pretend they are one and the same.

As children, we know little of the world. We know “Mommy,” “Daddy,” a handful of family members, and our favorite cartoons, toys, or friends. As children, this is the world. Sounds really simple, right?

There is a certain innocence to it that most of us overlook or take for granted. I know I’m guilty of such unawareness. I have children of my own now; my son is four and

my daughter is two. Even though I’m an adult and have “grown up,” I find myself learning more about life from these two miniature humans than almost anyone I have ever known. One of the major takeaways from them is that life, in fact, is simple. For example: my son loves to play the Wii. Just the other day, he and I were playing “New Super Mario Bros. Wii” and he couldn’t beat one of the dreaded dungeon levels, so he askedfor help. When I – after much frustration – finally made it to the last room and knocked off the boss inside, he couldn’t have been more excited. It seemed trivial to me, but it mattered more than anything to him.

Many people go into parenthood with the

mindset of making sure to not use the same toolbox of parenting skills that their parents used. In my opinion, this is the best strategy out there. However, there lies one major flaw: at some point, we all forget what it’s like to be young.

I don’t believe our forgetfulness is any fault of our own necessarily; it’s just the process. We grow. We learn. We follow the patterns set for us. The world we knew as children fades into reality, but doesn’t cease to exist. It’s still there. It’s somewhere. We just have to make the attempt to find it.This world—the real world, that is—could benefit greatly from the one we held so dear when we were young.

it’s us. ”

In the end, it isn’t the world that has changed; it’s us. But even more so, it’s the way we perceive it. We allow it to be busy, chaotic and complicated. Instead, let’s try and follow the examples set for us by the people that we used to be. Life is simple, you just have to let it be.

Money, money, money

A list of tips and ideas on how to save money.

BY CHRISTIN MILLER Editor in Chief

Saving money can be one of the hardest things to do. Whether saving money is part of your New Year’s resolution, build up your savings account for spring break, or you’re just trying to save money in general, here’s a list to help you out.

1. - Make a budget foryourself. This alone is one of the most important things. By making a budget, you can better keep track of your incoming and outgoing flow of cash. Making a budget can help you see the big picture on how much you really spend and what you can cut back on.

2. – Pass on the things that you don’t have to have. You may really want that new CD or DVD, but do you really need it? Plus, if you wait until the item has been out for a while, the item usually will go on sale.

3. – Make it yourself.. If a birthday or other occasion comes up and you need a gift, you can save money by making the gift yourself. Pinterest has tons of ideas for easy, creative and cheap crafts that would make excellent gift.

4. – Sell it. Use a re-sale or consignment shop to sell a few things. Not only will you clean out your closets by getting rid of your old, unused things, re-sale shops will usually pay you up front.

5. – Do the little things. Do little things like: use shopping bags as trash bags, re-use your water bottles, and write on both sides of the paper in your notebook. While it may seem silly, saving money on the little things does eventually add up.

6. – Borrow. Save money by borrowing things like DVDs. Rather than going out to the movies or having to watch one of your movies that you’ve seen a hundred times, borrow one from a friend. Just be sure to return it.

7. – Cook. Cook in rather than eat out. It’s amazing how much money you can save just by fixing your own meals. When the café doesn’t look that great, you’re tired of the Grill and you don’t have a means of getting to the Steakhouse, simply make a sandwich. While it might not be a gourmet meal, it will get you through the hunger pains.

8. – Think of inexpensive ideas fordate night. You want to go out with your significant other, but you don’t have enough money. What do you do? Improvise. Depending on

the weather, how about an indoor/outdoor picnic? Watch one of the movies you borrowed from a friend, or have a couples’game night.

Keeping these things in mind will not only help your wallet, but will also help take some of the stress of saving money off of your shoulders.

Barefoot for Barefeet

The official student publication of the University of the Cumberlands

BY CALEB VANDER ARK Staff Writer

The Art of Password Creation

A how-to guide for creating a secure password that no one can guess.

The advent of the World Wide Web and social networking has brought about a new challenge for those of us with a rather lackluster memory: Password creation. It wasn’t so bad when we just needed to remember a password to log into our computer and a password for our email account, but now we need to remember passwords for Facebook, YouTube, school accounts, Internet radio stations, shopping sites and basically every other website under the sun.

On top of that, many websites now require a minimum password length, special characters, upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, Greek letters and all other manner of ridiculous requirements. This has pushed people to make passwords as simple as possible. According to Splash Data, passwords such as “123456”, “abc123”, and

“trustno1” are some of the most common passwords in existence, with the most common password being, of course, simply “password”.

With identity theft a constant threat and the commonplace practice of hacking the Facebook profiles of friends, creating a secure, yet easy to remember password is essential.

When crafting a new password, there are several factors to consider and tips to follow.

First, determine what level of security is needed for that particular account. I don’t particularly care if anyone finds out my password to Pandora or Tom’s Hardware, but I’d prefer to keep people out of my bank account and NewEgg account. If the account has your credit card information stored in it, you will want a relatively strong password. If it’s

just storing some radio stations, then security isn’t as important.

Next, begin to construct the password itself. Tedious as it may be, including special characters and numbers is vital for good security. Avoid using the names of pets, street addresses, phone numbers, or other personal information that can be easily found out. The best passwords are sentences or phrases converted into indecipherable characters that are unique to you.

For example, take the phrase “i love oranges”. First, take out spaces: “iloveoranges”. Next, change one or more letters to a numerical equivalent: “il0ve0rang3s”. Finally, throw in some uppercase letters and special characters: “!L0ve0ranG3$”. Voila. Apassword that scores 100 percent on www.passwordmeter.com. Try making your

own and testing them for strength! Once you create a new password and start using it enough, typing it in will become second nature.

One final fun fact is that two of the top 25 most common passwords are names: Michael and Ashley. So if your name is Michael or Ashley, you may want to consider changing your password…

BY CALEB VANDER ARK

Staff Writer

If you’ve paid any remote attention to the world of technology over the past year, you know that Microsoft – best known for its Windows operating system – has recently released its latest product: Windows 8. You may have seen television commercials filled with people dancing around with tablets and strange keyboard covers and wondered, “What on earth is this world coming to?”

The world is coming into the age of touch-based technology. Apple revolutionized the market of personal computing devices with the release of their iPhone back in 2007. They furthered this foray into touchbased systems with the iPad tablet in 2010. Neither of these designs was actually new; Apple simply used up-to-date technology and design to make touchscreens palatable for the masses. They designed their iOS system from the ground up based on the notion that people would be using their fingers rather than a mouse for control.

Microsoft is rather late to the game of touch-based operating systems. Windows-

Windows 8: Demystified

based tablets have existed on the sidelines for over a decade, but they never went further than a niche market. After Apple demonstrated the viability of touchscreens for everyday devices, Microsoft’s interest was piqued. They made a few, small, trial runs with phones such as the Microsoft Kin and Windows Phone 7, but these were merely that start of Microsoft’s vision.

The result: Windows 8. This is the first Microsoft operating system designed primarily for touch-based interactions and the first operating system designed for touch-based use beyond simple tablets and phones. Windows 8 was created for all devices, including laptops, phones, desktops, all-inones, and tablets; However, the primary focus of the system is touch-based interactions from the user. Thus, there are a few simple things that are essential to know before purchasing a Windows 8-based device.

1.)Know the difference between standard Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT.

Windows 8 RTwas designed exclusively for use with lower specification tablets in the $400 to $600 range. It does not support applications designed for older versions of Windows, nor does it work with most modern-day software titles; It does, however, include a free copy of Microsoft Office with any Windows 8 RTproduct. The normal Windows 8 system supports all normal windows software and most older software programs as well. Before you buy a device, make sure you know whether it is Windows 8 RTor full-fledged Windows 8.

2.)Be ready for a different Windows experience. Much of the system is unchanged, but there are a few changes that might catch you off guard. The main thing to know is that the start menu as we knew it is gone, replaced by a fancy new user interface that resembles those used by mobile operating systems like iOS (Apple) and Android (Google). Once you get used to the change, it really is quite fantastic. Because it is such a major redesign, be prepared to be frustrated

until you get the hang of it. Microsoft has indicated that it is here to stay.

3.)Consider getting a device with a touchscreen. Many all-in-one desktops now feature touchscreens, as do quite a few laptop models. Intel Corporation, the largest manufacturer of processing units for laptops, has ordered manufacturers to integrate touchscreens into nearly all their product lines. Look for some of the more unique convertible laptops for some real fun with Windows 8, such as the Lenovo Twist or Asus Taichi. Or, if you’re on a budget, several companies offer plain vanilla models for as little as $450 to $600.

Keeping this information in mind before purchasing your next laptop, tablet or desktop could really save you some trouble later. As always, go and play with different models instore before making a decision to see which ones you are most comfortable with.

Aman sneakily makes his way through the vast, green jungle landscape of an isolated planet in the corner of the Pegasus Galaxy called Planet 20. He is clothed in a furred kilt that has a fur sash which goes around his back, over his shoulder, and down his muscular chest. His long hair and beard are dripping with sweat. Alongside the man, to his left and right, are other men dressed the same way, five to the left and four to the right. They all moved like one entity, as if they had been doing this their whole life. This particular man was the leader of a fifty man "hunting" party. His name was Ashaan and in his green eyes was the insatiable thirst for blood.

He had given the order for the first hunting party a week ago and this was the seventh patrol they had been on. They were ready for their alien enemies to show their evil faces. Each man carried a laser rifle. Ashaan put his left fist into the air; all the other men stopped. They stood still and heard that the jungle was quiet, an unnatural occurrence in this alien creature-filled jungle. “The Lizards” were here. From the jungle in front of them, blue laser blasts flew at them. Two men in the front-left fell, red burns that were deep engrained in their chests. All of the men charged towards the Lizards, firing red laser bolts from their laser rifles.

Behind the green foliage, large, green, lizard-like creatures kept their laser rifles pointed towards the humans, firing at will. They didn’t know where the rifles originally came from, all they knew is when they awoke in their encampment there was a stack of them, enough for fifty. Standing at six feet, the creatures were tall and covered in scales.

Their pupils were a black egg shape and their mouths curved out, enveloping rows of sharp teeth. They stood up on two legs, having sharp claws on hands and feet, with a long, green tail that was pure muscle in the back. The creatures’leader had taken cover behind a fallen tree, the most vulnerable position that any of them had taken, but it was the position with the best shot. His name, for the alien was a he, was Shinzar, and as the humans ran towards him, his mind tried to find a reason for this conflict, but couldn't find one. In fact, he couldn't remember anything before a week ago when he woke up on Planet 20; it was as if all of his memories had been wiped from his head. There were only 300 of his people, the Zamari, and they looked to him. His only support during all of this was his family, a wife and son, which he hoped he would see again; the chances of his family being killed grew higher and higher with every of the pale skin’s advancement. The screech of a red laser beam flashed by his head and he snapped back to reality. Shinzar looked back to see a comrade fall from a laser blast. He hated this fighting and killing which was for no apparent reason.

Ashaan saw the ugly, scaly aliens now and started firing, taking down one alien at a time, but doing it very quickly. "Kill them all," he yelled.

He tried to remember the beginning of this war, but couldn't. All he knew was he hated these creatures. In his mind he could only come to the conclusion that they had killed off almost an entire population of humans because there were roughly 300 humans that he knew of on this planet; this

being the number before a few humans had died during previous battles. Ashaan could only remember the past week and that bugged him to no end. He had a wife and three sons, that’s all he could be sure of, and they needed him to protect them. Still, in his mind, he began to wonder if there was something more to this situation, there had to be. There had been only fifty rifles in a stack beside their main building at camp; that was why there was only fifty in his “hunting party”. He kept firing. Another shot. Another kill. They were so easy to kill and he felt nothing when he did it, which also bothered him. It was as if he had been trained for this, desensitized to the death of these Lizards. There were very few of the Lizards that had attacked them now.

Maybe ten.

Shinzar looked around to see only ten of his comrades still alive and so decided to give the order to retreat back to their home. The lizards started running backward, firing as they did to keep up defense. They hoped the humans would not follow. The humans all watched as the Lizards fled into the jungle.

"We should follow them," one of the humans to Ashaans’left said. Only four men had died, so 46 remained, a strong enough force to overtake the few Lizards remaining.

"No, let them take back their terror, Bachee," Ashaan replied to his second in command, Bachee.

They watched the enemy disappear into the jungle. "Their time will come," Ashaan said. The hate, it was so overwhelming in his brain, almost like a drug. Now that the firing had ceased he could hear the silence of the jungle, except for a gurgling, breathing

sound. Ashaan walked over to a Lizard that was clinging onto life. He started bending over to end the Lizard’s life, when an explosion happened in his mind. It was as if some walls in his mind collapsed and he was able to see something he hadn’t seen before. His mind ran back to a time before a week ago and he was in a metallic, silver interrogation room, a bright light enveloping his vision.

“We need you major, your experience makes you the most qualified,” came an older voice from outside the bright light. Ashaan looked down to see his camouflage uniform. “Planet 17 is the best suited planet for a new colony. The only thing standing in our way are those aliens, those reptiles. We need them relocated or removed, either way this planet is no longer theirs. I mean, we’re the only race God gave souls to; it isn’t right for us to die and them live.” Ashaan knew that the words were only a man’s’justification for genocide.

“I won’t do it!” Ashaan said this with all the anger he could muster. Afist came out from the darkness and hit his face, forcing it to the left. The next thing he knew, his body flew backwards and his head hit the floor. As his consciousness went in and out, a head blacked out by the light leaned over him.

“You don’t have a choice.” Those last words rang in his head as he snapped back into the jungle. Ashaan fell backward from the shock of the experience. Taking in heavy breaths, Bachee and a few other men came to help him.

All Ashaan could get out was, “No!”

To be continued in our March issue...

Story Contest: The Patriot is offering you a chance to let your creative-writing skills shine. Plus, you could get published and win a $25 iTunes gift card! To enter our Story Contest: Write a story using the following prompt and e-mail your work (as a Word document) to thepatriot@ucumberlands.edu. The editors will select the best story to publish in our next issue. Stories must be no more than 1,000 words in length. Entries must be received by February 20, 2013. Prompt: Begin your story using the following line of dialogue: “You won’t believe what came in the mail today.”

Faith and Ministry

Assisting believers

The Department of Missions and Ministry offers a course in pastoral counseling for adolescents.

BY KASEY MALONE

Assistant Editor

At 8 a.m., students are filing into room 111 in the Bennett Building. The room has a slight chill to it, but most students aren’t even aware of it. The class eagerly waits as Albert Jones stands in front of the classroom. A comforting smile is painted on his face. He claps his hands together with a hello and the class begins for the first time.

Jones, associate pastor and minister of students at Main Street Baptist Church of Williamsburg, is serving as adjunct professor for UC, teaching the class Pastoral Counseling for the Adolescents. In the class, students get a chance to discuss tough situations that adolescents have to deal with, such as divorce, depression, or struggling with spiritual issues, while working with a strategic method of counseling.

“I’m excited to get to focus in on different issues that adolescents go through and getting to know how do you even start when a child has been hurt,” said Kelsey Day, a senior English major who is taking the class to not only fulfill a requirement for her minor in youth and family ministry, but also to

explore an area in which she might one day pursue a career. “I’ve got to talk to a lot of kids about different things, and ways to help them is really what I want to get out of it,” said Day

Jones is teaching this class with the basic definition of pastoral counseling as assisting believers to become more mature through a change in attitude and behavior to better please God. This definition leads him to enforce the idea that as a counselor, the counselors are helping the believers by agreeing to work together on their issues and personal problems to help the counselee mature and find the solution.

Jones, who has a Master of Divinity in pastoral counseling from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School, said, “I found that 80 percent of what I do as a Pastor is provide some form of counseling.”

Pastoral counseling, especially when it comes to the youth, is a passion he has had for some time, and was very excited when Dr. Bob Dunston, the chair of UC’s missions and ministry department, began discussing the possi-

bility of him teaching for the department.

“Albert had contacted me last spring, after he had finished up his masters work and we began discussing the possibilities of him teaching a class. So I invited him to think of a class to teach that would be in his master’s area, that he would enjoy teaching. He came up with this class and I said ‘Yes, let’s go with it,” said Dunston

Dr. Dunston realized that with Jones’s background in pastoral counseling would allow the missions and ministry department to offer a new course in Pastoral Counseling/ So with that revelation in mind, they began working on creating this course to offer.

“This is our first time [offering pastoral counseling] some of our students have taken the counseling courses offered by the psychology department, and we have counted those, but this is the first time we have offered one in counseling,” said Dr. Dunston.

This course differs from most counseling courses offered through UC’s psychology department in that it opens up the psychological theories to a combination of Christian

disciplines, like reading scripture and prayer, to enhance the counseling with a Christian standpoint and methods.

“This class definitely introduces God into the picture, where as in psychology classes we just briefly cover Christian counseling methods. This class definitely introduces [Christianity] as a strong component of the counseling process,” said senior youth and family ministry major, Mark Scroggy.

“Basically one of the things that I felt like, as a student fresh out of college, that I didn’t have when I pastored my first church, was ability to know how you go about having a pastoral counseling style of conversation with someone. That’s what I’m hoping I can equip these students with, give them a basic understanding of what this might entail,” said Jones.

With the same comforting smile that Jones had at the start of the class, he once again thanks every student for signing up to take the course and sends them off with a high-five. Jones breathes a sigh of relief and says “It’s going to be a fun semester.”

Sharing the gospel in Ireland

UC

students share the gospel in Northern Ireland over winter break.

BY SOLOMON WHITAKER Staff Writer

What did you do during the winter break of 2012? Most people would say that they went home to their families and enjoyed a nice Christmas around the Christmas tree.

For UC students Angel Johnson, Nick Monroe, Joanna Collett, Kayla Smith, Leann Wright, Carla Fountain, Caroline Johnson, Tyler Bird and UC campus minister Dean Whitaker, part of Christmas break happened in a different place entirely. The group went on mission trip to Bangor, Northern Ireland through an organization called Adventure Leadership Training.

While in Bangor, this team had many opportunities to do missions work around the area. Monroe says, "The thing we did the most was at a holiday club and we did a VBS for the kids."

This holiday club was at a local Presbyterian church for children between the ages of 4 and 13. During the trip, Bird, Collett, and Monroe also got to lead worship at a church for a youth group, and Whitaker

got to share his testimony. The entire group also helped clean out a warehouse that had been recently been purchased for the purpose of leadership training.

According to Bird, there were countless

could not pass up. To Monroe though, one of his favorite things was not a place but food. Monroe says, "We went to some fish and chips (fries) shops. At one I had a plate called the Maryweather Special. I didn't put a dent

“ A sacrifice for the gospel isn't a sacrifice at all; it's a blessing. ”

ministry opportunities. Bird says, "We got to minister to a family that helped the local ministry. We got to know them and serve them."

Although the team was involved with a lot of missions work, they also had time to visit tourist attractions like Dundrum Castle. Visiting churches was also their tourist list as the group got to visit Down Cathedral, St. Patrick's church, which is where he is supposedly buried. The Giant’s Causeway, a place where the rocks are perfectly shaped hexagons, was another tourist attraction that they

in it. The plate consisted of fried chicken, fried pineapple, fried banana, fried mushrooms, coleslaw, a side of beans, a salad, bacon, onion rings, chips, and a Coke. It was delicious."

Bird enjoyed the cultural differences saying, "They're more hospitable in some ways. They also have healthier lifestyle. They were also more sarcastic and I liked that. They're very proud of their heritage."

While in Ireland the team also learned some spiritual lessons. Monroe says that God

taught him, "You need to be willing to follow Gods plan and not your own.” Monroe added, “I also learned that sometimes the good things in the church and the good things we do for God are not nesseciarly his plan."

So, after all this, it is obvious that the team had an interesting time to say the least, but what was it like to give up winter break?

Bird had a definite answer to this question, "It wasn't all that hard really. I mean, I got to do ministry and share the gospel with people, which made it a refreshing break. A sacrifice for the gospel isn't a sacrifice at all; it's a blessing."

Monroe offers this advice to those who are considering going on a mission trip in the future, "Have your heart in the right place and be sure that's where God wants you to go. Secondly, have a longing for the gospel and know it well. And last but not least, do not look for what is good for God and his glory, but what is best."

Cumberland pins down a new team

BY TIMOTHY WYATT Staff Writer

“Doubts and uncertainties often plague a first-year program, but Reigle isn’t buying into any of them.”

University of the Cumberlands will add a bowling team squad to its sports line-up this fall, 2013. The new team comes at the request of athletic director Randy Vernon, who has had plans to bring the sport to UC for the past several years.

“The NAIAhas bowling as an emerging sport,” said Vernon. “which means that a lot of schools are interested in starting, or have already started, a program. We think it is a good situation for us and something that could be quite positive.”

There are already seven teams within Cumberland’s conference that have bowling teams, including the University of Pikeville, which is one of the premiere bowling schools

in the nation and the alma mater of UC’s new men’s and women’s bowling coach, Kevin Reigle.

Within just the few short weeks since his hiring, Coach Reigle has already been hot on the recruiting trail. He said, “From Kentucky, right now, we have eight men and two women interested in coming in for visits.”

Reigle said. “And then we’re doing pretty well in Ohio and Tennessee too. We’re looking to get around eight to ten players for the first year so we can have a full team and acouple subs.”

Enrolled UC students won’t be left out of the process though. Reigle said there would be a tournament-style try-out process some-

time in the fall for current students who think they have the bowling prowess to make the team.

Doubts and uncertainties often plague a first-year program, but Reigle isn’t buying into any of them.

“Alot of the other schools are pretty new and haven’t done a lot yet, so I think, conference-wise, there is a possibility of coming out the first year with a real chance of finishing second or third.”

Instead of bringing a bowling alley to campus, the school will use Forest Bowling Lanes in Corbin, Ky. Preliminary negotiations have already begun between owner D.L. Lynch and UC officials.

Vernon also pointed out that bowling is generally a cost-effective sport since most bowlers already have their own equipment. The bulk of the bowling team’s expenses will mainly result from travel.

BY TIMOTHY WYATT Staff Writer

The wagons have been circling seventime Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and allegations of his doping habits since the late-‘90s, so it seemed as if it were only a matter of time before those allegations became fact.

Why? Well, Armstrong was accused of drug-use again in June 2012 by the United States Anti-Doping Agency based on blood sample findings from 2009 and 2010, as well as a handful of testimonies from former teammates and witnesses. After failing to fight the charges, cycling’s governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale, leveled the playing field between Lance Armstrong and me. We have now both won the same amount of Tour de France titles. Zero.

UCI president Pat McQuaid held an official press conference in October 2012 to announce the revocation of all Armstrong’s competitive results since August 1998 and hit

In My Opinion:

him with a lifetime ban from the sport. In the statement, McQuaid said brashly, “Armstrong has no place in cycling. He deserves to be forgotten.”

While I’m in no shape, form, or fashion a cycling enthusiast, that comment rubs me the wrong way. Lance Armstrong is the face of cycling. He is transcendent of the sport. To me, that would be the equivalent of saying,

“Let’s just forget that Michael Jordan, Jerry Rice, or Babe Ruth everexisted.” All three of these guys made their sport better; they made it something more.

That is what Armstrong did for his sport.

In fact, I would argue that he is the only figure in cycling that even mattered. How many of you know the second best cyclist in the world? Don’t look at me, I don’t know either. I would just follow the lead of Jon Stewart and refer to him as “Bikey Joe.”

Armstrong made America care about a sport we don’t care about. Not a lot of children aspire to professionally ride a bicycle when they grow up. But I would be willing to bet that if they do, it is because of Lance Armstrong.

There are two sides to every coin though. Armstrong has become a vilified figure in the eyes of many. He is a liar, a cheater and a bully. Those are his words, not mine. In midJanuary, he sat down and came clean in an interview with the world’s most powerful woman—Oprah—and he confessed to being all of the above.

I’m not going to attempt to make excuses for Armstrong, but as far as the doping is concerned, he wasn’t the only one. We know other riders were using too. It is the culture of the sport, or, well, sports in general. If a baseball fan were asked to rattle off the top five players of their generation (particularly, my

Bully, Cheater, Good guy

generation), at least three or four of them will be known or accused users. This is what sports have come to. “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” It doesn’t make it right, but it’s the way it is.

As far as being a liar and a bully, that is his thing. I won’t dispute that I’ve done my fair share of lying to keep from getting caught. Oftentimes, I’ve been successful. Attacking innocent individuals for the sake of lying? No, I’m not about that.

When you boil down all the components though, I believe that, ultimately, Lance Armstrong is a good person. It is too easy to single out all the bad in people without focusing on the good that they have contributed also. True, he will always be remembered as the greatest cyclist that never was. True, he will always be remembered as the biggest cheater in cycling. But he will also always be remembered as an even bigger humanitarian.

REVIEW: Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

BY KASEY MALONE

Assistant Editor

Rocks flying, explosions ripping through soft dramatic music in the background, and to top it off… it’s all in slow motion. Add all this together and you have virtually the most interesting and believable part of the webseries-turned-straight-to-DVD-movie “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.”

The “Halo” series is a beloved videogame franchise, proven by the fact that “Halo 3” and “Halo 4” were two of the most heavily anticipated and played games of the Xbox 360 console. Fans could only dream and eagerly wait the day that “Halo” would become much like the “Resident Evil” or “Mortal Kombat” games and hit some type of big screen. But with such high expectations often comes the high letdowns.

“Forward Unto Dawn” primarily follows the conflictions and unfortunate events of United Nations Space Command cadet Thomas Lasky (played by Australian actor

Tom Green). Lasky is torn by his hatred of the current war between the UNSC and the insurgents, which in the film can only be explained as angry farmers, and the weight he feels from everyone to be like his older brother Cadmon (played by Max Carvar, who we have seen in a few episodes of Disney’s “Good Luck Charlie” and Nickelodeon’s “Victorious”) who is an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper.

Tom is joined at Corbulo Academy of Military Science by his friends Michael “Sully” Sullivan (played by Masam Holden, who has had appearances on “Grey’s Anatomy” and play Drew at age 10 in “Elizabethtown”) and Chyler Silva (played by Anna Popplewell, “Chronicles of Narnia”). While Sully and Chyler seem to be more focused and concerned with the current war, Tom just cannot find it in himself to obey his change of command and follow

order. Throughout the movie Chyler and Tom begin something of a love affair, while Sully uncovers their fate of the up and coming Covenant, an alien race, attack. Their only hope is the main character of the “Halo” games, Master Chief (physical role played by Daniel Cudmore and voiced by Alex Puccinelli).

While the movie is filmed well and the special effects are barely noticeable, you still get an overall cheesy feeling to the story. With a cast of almost unknown actors, you get the feeling that they desperately wanted to make this movie great. The acting is good, but the story lacks something to be desired.

With this being a web series on YouTube before its release to DVD, I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t be better broken into the five different episodes. Maybe the plot holes would be less apparent and the story would seem better because you would have

time to forget the little details by the time you watched the next episode.

For the first ever-live action “Halo” movie this was a step in a positive direct. I can only hope that if they ever decide to make another film or a big screen production that they really focus on the storyline. But for a movie with actors that are trying as hard as they possibly can, effects that are well placed, but with a hole-filled plot line, this is not the worst that could have happened. I wouldn’t pay the money to own it, but it’d be good for a one night rental.

PhD Comics

UC introduces The Spotlight as new singing competition

The next Spotlight event will be held February 12th in the Gatliff Chapel at 9 p.m.

BY SHELBY MUFF Guest Writer

The University of the Cumberlands is offering a way for students to display their talents through a new singing competition known as The Spotlight. The Spotlight is a semester-long competition organized by the university’s Campus Activity Board where the winning UC student will receive a $1,000 grand prize. The competition began on January 29 and there are several changes from last year’s popular on-campus singing competition, Cumberland Idol.

The reason CAB decided to change the name from Cumberland Idol to The Spotlight was mainly for copyright reasons according to Lisa Bartram, director of student activities. One difference between Cumberland Idol and The Spotlight is the newest judge, Melissa Irvin, the women’s basketball coach. The

three other judges remain the same, Dr. Michael Dickman, Dr. Gina Herring and Dr. Al Pilant, which are all three professors at

way the voting system works. During Cumberland Idol, the audience’s voting was online and each of the judges were given a

“... we hope people get behind the performers and just have fun with it . ”

UC. The Spotlight has also added a larger cash prize with the winner receiving $1,000, second place getting $300 and third place getting $200.

“With the bigger cash prizes, changes of the stage and a few surprises we hope people get behind the performers and just have fun with it,” Bartram said.

Another change to The Spotlight is the

ten percent vote. Now with The Spotlight, people can still vote online however many times as they want and that counts for 33 percent of the vote. The judges vote counts as 33 percent also and there will also be in-house voting on the night of the performances.

Contestant Franco Holguin said, “Of course it would be great to win the $1,000, but it will be a great experience and I enjoy performing in front of people.”

There are things about the competition that are remaining the same as Cumberland Idol. The event is still put on by CAB and the contestants will still perform at the Gatliff.

“We are still producing the show and getting it seen by the community and students,” Timothy Wyatt, part of the student production crew for UCTV-19 said. UC student Brad Pearce returns as host and there will be themed nights like there were with Idol.

The performances will be held in the Gatliff Chapel and will begin at 9 p.m.