SEPT.
1 2016
TORN APART, STILL TOGETHER PAGES 10-11
INSIDE
DOWN AND OUT PAGES 6-7 APP V TENNESSEE PAGES 14-15 BEST MAC N CHEESE? PAGE 19
The Appalachian
E T
C E T E R A
THE TEAM Carl Blankenship @carl_r_blank EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORIAL MULTIMEDIA BUSINESS
Aleah Warner @aleahwarner MANAGING EDITOR Victoria Haynes @theappalachian CHIEF COPY EDITOR Sammy Hanf @sammyhanf NEWS EDITOR
Jacob Oller @theappalachian BUSINESS MANAGER Olivia Wilkes @theappalachian ADVISER
Katie Murawski @murawskikm A&E EDITOR Jason Huber @_jasonhuber SPORTS EDITOR Lee Sanderlin @theappalachian ENTERPRISE EDITOR
CRIME LOG CAMPUS AUG. 29
AUG. 28
10:45 p.m. | Underage Consumption of Alcohol Living Learning Center Cleared by arrest
10:35 p.m. | Drug Violations College Street Cleared by arrest
AUG. 29
AUG. 27
1:10 p.m. | Resist, Obstruct and Delay Service Road at Library and Peacock Hall Student referral
12:30 p.m. | Possession of Hashish Cannon Hall Cleared by arrest
AUG. 29 2:00 p.m. | Possession of Hashish Mountaineer Hall Cleared by arrest
AUG. 28 12:30 p.m. | DWI - Alcohol and/or drugs Rivers Street Cleared by arrest
AUG. 28 4:00 p.m. | Drug Violations Bowie Trail Cleared by arrest
AUG. 25 11:50 p.m. | Simple Physical Assault Legends Cleared by arrest
AUG. 24 9:19 p.m. | Vandalism Plemmons Student Union
LEADS EXHAUSTED AUG. 23 6:00 p.m. | Vandalism New Dining Hall Leads exhausted
Dallas Linger @dallingerphotos PHOTO EDITOR Maleek Loyd @maleekstuff VIDEO EDITOR Sydney Spann @spannooo GRAPHICS EDITOR Braxton Coats @brxcoats22 WEB MANAGER
SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS App News is a service of the Division of Student Development. Email wilkeso@appstate.edu for submissions. Submissions should not exceed 100 words and must include the event title, date/time, location and cost, and a contact email, phone and/or URL. Announcements will be edited as needed and will run as space allows. Preference is given for events that are free or have a nominal cost.
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WHAT TO DO VISITING WRITERS SERIES The Fall 2016 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series will take place with craft talks and readings. Book sales and signings will follow each event. • September 9: Poet Jan Beatty, 2-3:15 p.m. Craft Talk in Table Rock Room, PSU. 7 p.m. Reading in Table Rock Room, PSU. • October 6: Poet and Essayist Bruce Weigl, 2-3:15 p.m. Craft Talk in Table Rock Room, PSU. 6-7:15 p.m. Pre-Reading Reception in Price Lake Room, PSU. 7:30 p.m. Reading in Table Rock Room, PSU. • November 3: Graphic Novelist Carol Tyler, 12:30-1:45 p.m. Craft Talk in Three Top Mountain Room, PSU. 7:30 p.m. Reading in Turchin Center Lecture Hall, TCVA-1102. • November 10: Novelist Robert Olen Butler, 2-3:15 p.m. Craft Talk in Table Rock Room, PSU. 7:30 p.m. Reading in Table Rock Room, PSU.
GET PUBLISHED Calling all artists, writers, desginers, musicians! The Peel Literature and Arts Review is accepting submissions for review and possible publication. Submit before September 30 for feedback on your submission. Final deadline is November 1.Visit thepeelreview.com for info!
APPSYNC
on campus and around Boone. Once you get the hang of it, it may resemble a Facebook atmosphere for your leadership and involvement needs. We encourage you to browse the Involvement Directory, read and learn about our organizations and programs, and email the club president or faculty/staff member directly. Many of these groups advertise their open meeting times and will welcome you to attend - make sure you confirm with the president on their next meeting location, time and date.
STORY SLAM The Creative Writing program will sponsor the first ASU Story Slam in Crossroads Coffeehouse on Thursday, September 22, starting at 7 p.m. The Slam will be hosted by Ray Christian, ASU adjunct professor and host of the new podcast “What’s Ray Saying?” Ray Christian is also an award-winning storyteller whose stories have been heard live on stages, podcasts, and radio across the country, including the NPR shows The Moth and Snap Judgment. A Story Slam is an open mic competitive “story telling” event, in which members of the entire ASU community are invited to tell true personal stories without notes. FOR INFORMATION, email weinbergsc@ appstate.edu or call 262-2871.
UNIVERSITY WRITING CENTER
writers on a wide variety of projects: papers for academic courses; masters and senior thesis chapters; personal essays for job, graduate school, and law school applications; creative writing projects; grant or project proposals; and course syllabi. We work with writers at any stage of the writing process, from inventing topics to editing at the sentence-level. Please note, if you are working on a group assignment, all group members must be present. The UWC is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday. Visit writingcenter.appstate.edu to schedule an appointment.
SNCURCS The Office of Student Research would like to personally invite you and your students to submit abstracts of research and creative endeavors (performance, plays, readings, exhibits, displays, etc.) for presentation at the 2016 State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium (SNCURCS) to be held at North Carolina Central University on Saturday, November 5, 2016. To submit an abstract or for more information please visit www.sncurcs.org.
FREE LEGAL ADVICE
The University Writing Center (UWC) offers free services to students, faculty, and staff of Appalachian State University and the Boone community. Anyone who would like to discuss a piece of writing with an informed, sensitive reader is welcome. We are here to work with
The Student Legal Clinic, in suite 324 in Plemmons Student Union, offers confidential advice, information, and referrals provided by a licensed attorney. The attorney can meet with any currently enrolled Appalachian State student and can advise students on any issue that is not directly adverse
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER
Alcohol and Your Body: What You Want to Know
Book Arts Panel Discussion
“Zootopia” screening
5 p.m. TCVA Lecture Hall
Sensory Friendly Showing 2 p.m. 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. I.G. Greer Auditorium $1 advance, $2 door
AppSync, at appsync.appstate.edu, is your one-stop connection to engagement and leadership opportunities at Appalachian State. Every member of our campus has access to AppSync, and as a user, you can explore over 450 clubs and organizations, departments, and programs
3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Table Rock Room, PSU $1 advance, $2 door
“Zootopia” screening 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. I.G. Greer Auditorium $1 advance, $2 door
Matt Phillips & the Back Pocket with Kate Rhudy
Fall Exhibition Celebration
to the university. Make an appointment by calling 828-2628284. More information at legalclinic.appstate. edu.
CAREER DEVELOPMENT CENTER Stop by our contact tables for one-on-one time with a Career Counselor from our Career Development Center to have your resume reviewed. The tables will be set up in Plemmons Student Union September 12-23 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The Career Development Center also has drop-ins everyday 2-4 p.m. on the 3rd floor of the JET Building, or make an appointment with your Career Counselor on Career Gear. CareerFest will be held Tuesday, September 27 1-5 p.m. Over 100 organizations will be recruiting at this event in Holmes Convocation Center. Professional dress and Appcard required. Open to all majors.
FREE GUIDED MEDITATION Held Mondays 5:15 p.m. in Linville Falls Room, PSU. Hosted by App Sits Meditation Club. No meditation experience necessary. Drop-ins welcome. Benefits of meditation can include a decrease in anxiety and stress, an increase in emotional stability and creativity, increased ability to focus and concentrate, lower blood pressure, a decrease in tension related pain, and improved immune system.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
6-10 p.m. TCVA
“Hook” screening 7 p.m. Greenbriar Theater $1 door
9 p.m. Legends $4 advance, $6 door
“Zootopia” screening
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. I.G. Greer Auditorium $1 advance, $2 door
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER
App Sits Meditation Club
“Labyrinth” screening
Bubble Soccer
5:15 p.m. Linville Falls Room, PSU
7 p.m. Greenbriar Theater $1 door
2-6 p.m. Duck Pond Field
An Evening with The Avett Brothers 8 p.m. Holmes Convocatoin Center SOLD OUT
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COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS SPLIT OVER LOCATION OF ASU EARLY VOTING SITE BENJAMIN SESSOMS NEWS REPORTER
W
ith the 2016
general election quickly approaching, Appalachian State University is still without an official early voting site. The Watauga board’s failure to come to a unanimous decision means the plan will be decided in September by the majority vote of the State Board of Elections. Stella Anderson, Democratic minority board member, said her plan would put the early voting site in Plemmons Student Union. The other plan, championed by Republican board chairman Bill Aceto, would have early voting taking place at Legends. In an email to chancellor Sheri Everts sent in May 2016, Aceto suggested Legends as the voting site, arguing that the student union violates North Carolina law requiring a 50 foot buffer zone where no campaigning is allowed. “The Board of Elections is open to considering any reasonable building which meets our statutory requirements, but based upon our experience with the student union layout, size and design, that building is not a workable location,” Aceto wrote in the email. In a reply to Aceto’s email, Everts wrote that the student union would be a more viable location. “Throughout the process into its conclusion, my office received no complaints and observed no violations with respect to enforcement of buffer zones,” Everts wrote. “In fact, many of the conversations I had personally
ASU students participating in early voting in Price Lake Ballroom Friday afternoon. Early voting began Oct. 23 and will continue until Nov. 1, 2014. were in praise of the process and in appreciation of the board’s efforts.” Anderson said she felt it was irresponsible to require the university to use a revenue generating facility for early voting and expressed doubt that Legends would be able to accommodate the projected 6,000 early voters. Similar issues came up during the 2014 general election, Anderson said, ending with a Wake County superior judge determining a plan without an ASU site unconstitutional. Anderson, who was party to the 2014 appeal, said
she would not hesitate to sue again if the state board rules in Aceto’s favor. Anderson said Aceto’s concern is a thin pretext for not wanting the site in the student union because of its popularity with young voters. Aceto could not be reached for comment. The Student Government Association’s director of external affairs Anderson Clayton said she is concerned about early voting at Legends. “I see it as a form of student voter suppression,” Clayton said. “Every
student should have the right to vote. It shouldn’t be restricted. That we are I think one of the most underrepresented groups in legislature today. For us to really realize that we have that voice, and we have that power. It’s something I want every student on this campus to feel.”
EGGERS BECOMES ALL FEMALE DORM ANGELA MCLINTON NEWS REPORTER
T
o cope with the high
ratio of female students accepted into Appalachian State this year, Eggers Hall is now an all female dorm. “I am surprised I was put in an all girls dorm because I requested co-ed,” Mattelyn Hough, a freshman who lives in Eggers, said. “However, I actually love being on a hall with all girls. I think I like it better than I would if I were placed in a co-ed hall.” Tom Kane, director of University Housing, said since the push to desegregate halls about six years ago, the trend has been for more women to prefer living in an all female hall. “Parents want their daughters to live in single-sex halls,” Kane said. “So the issue becomes who fills out the appli4
cation. If they tell us they want to live in a single-sex hall, we will do our best to put them in White—and this year we just said we’ve had so many more requests for women for single-sex [residence halls]—or Eggers. That’s why we made Eggers [all female], to meet the demand.” The demand being that nationally, the ratio between males and females at public universities is 43.6-56.4, according to Forbes. “We expect between 55 and 60 percent of the freshman class to be female,” Kane said. Hough said she feels women are more driven academically, leading them to apply for higher education at higher rates than men. “A study that we’ve done, in regards
to grade-point average [is] that a group of women in an academic setting, if they’re in a living learning community, typically their grade-point average is the highest of any group on campus,” Kane said. “On the other hand, if you put a group of guys together, and no matter how much you try to program for them, usually they have the lowest grade-point average. And then your coed is sitting in the middle.” Lert Ratanaamornkun, a freshman building sciences major, said he prefers co-ed halls because having both males and females around helps with variety in discussion and productivity. “All guys dorm[s] are kinda distracting because you’re always out with your friends doing some stuff and forget to study or whatnot,” Ratanaamorn-
kun, whose girlfriend lives in Eggers, said. “It would be easier if the hall is co-ed but [it’s] not a big deal for me.” “I think it’s really important, probably more so than ever, in regards to having people communicate,” Kane said. “There are students who really would prefer just to live on a floor and not have any guys around. It’s a modesty thing, it’s a privacy thing, and we’re going to try to accommodate it.” Through predicting exactly how many more females that will attend Appalachian in the years to come, it is clear that the Residence Hall Association will accommodate for whomever and whatever their living preferences may be.
File Photo
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RACE TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY
(Top) The solar vehicle team brought the car out for display on Aug. 24. (Bottom) First year racer Lindsay Rudisill answers junior transfer student Cyna Woodard’s questions about Team Sunergy’s solar car. Woodard said, “this is our mustang,” regarding the solar car. (Left) First year racer Lindsay Rudisill is a senior music industry studies major who is interested in technology. Rudisill described Team Sunergy as a business that has more time commitments than a club and said there is a spot for every major at this school.
CARRIE HALL NEWS REPORTER
T
eam Sunergy, Appala-
chian’s solar vehicle team, competed in two major solar car races this summer. On July 28, the team placed third overall in the Formula Sun Grand Prix, a track race held at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania. A few days later it headed to Brecksville, Ohio to begin the American Solar Challenge: an open road, eight day race in which teams are tasked with traveling through seven states and traversing almost 2,000 miles to reach the finish line in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Team Sunergy was founded by project director Dan Blakeley, a graduate student double majoring in sustainable technology and engineering physics, in the fall of 2013. Blakeley said the idea struck him while he was brainstorming projects for one of his courses. He attended a solar car conference where Matt Goode, project director of Iowa State University’s Solar Car Team, offered to donate the hull and body of their old solar car to Appalachian. This became the shell of App State’s own “Apperion.” Apperion has three wheels, weighs about 400 pounds and can go as fast as 70 mph. Team Sunergy worked on getting the solar vehicle ready to race for about two years, right up until the 2016 Formula Grand Prix. “We really went down to the wire,” Lindsay Rudisill, a senior music industry studies major and one of Team Sunergy’s drivers, said. “Us drivers only had about Photo Credit: Dallas Linger
20 minutes to test out the car before the Grand Prix.” Final scoring was based on the aggregate of all three days, so while Team Sunergy placed first on the final day, they still ended up placing third overall. Team members said that their third place ranking was encouraging and a sign that their hard work was paying off. “Throughout the year there were times when we were up until 3 or 4 in the morning just working on the car,” Jake Barnes, a junior physics major on Team Sunergy’s electrical subteam, said. “Seeing all our hard work come to fruition, being that this was our first year in competition competing against major engineering colleges, it really showed us that what we were doing was working.” Barnes said the American Solar Challenge was a completely different animal. While the Grand Prix is a three day race held at a track, the ASC is an eight day open road race. The preparation for the ASC was much different than the preparation for the Grand Prix. Team members had to work out logistical aspects that weren’t in play for the Grand Prix. Rudisill said they planned a route with possible hotel accommodations based on the locations and prices, even looking at which places offered free breakfast, she said. Rudisill said the team prepared by practicing safety scenarios, performing drills to prepare for any unexpected complications. Drivers obtained HAM radio certifications prior to the ASC so they could communicate with the rest of the team
while driving. The team faced a steep learning curve because the ASC was so unlike anything they’d ever experienced. Because the vehicles were racing on the “real road,” they had to adapt to traffic regulations, unpredictable weather and not having a garage for repairs and maintenance. Although the solar vehicle made it through the ASC with no major breakdowns, Team Sunergy faced some unexpected challenges. James Furr, a junior physics major on the electrical subteam, said that the telemetry system was not functioning for the first four days of the ASC. The telemetry system provides crucial information on things like state of charge, battery voltage and wattage being used by each system. “Racing without telemetry is like trying to coach a team while not being able to see anything except the final score of the game,” Blakeley said. On the second to last day of the ASC, Team Sunergy decided they had to take a major time penalty in order to charge Apperion. Rudisill said that the team was bummed. But on the last day of the race the team redeemed itself. The weather was bad and Team Sunergy was one of only three teams who completed the final stage of the race on solar energy alone. “Things got hectic, but we were really good at keeping ourselves in check enough to make it through well with camaraderie,” Barnes said. Bailey Winecoff, a senior sustainable technology major on the business subteam, said the team received the Abra-
ham Poot Teamwork Award Rudisill, Barnes and Winecoff all said Team Sunergy’s small size makes teamwork a necessity. “We’re really like a family,” Rudisill said. The team placed sixth in the ASC despite their malfunctioning systems. “We proved ourselves in that moment,” Rudisill said. “Our success became real to us. We were just doing the best we could- we didn’t expect to pull sixth place.” Team members said that all of the hard work they put in was worth it. “I can honestly say I’ve never been so exhausted, worn down, sleep deprived and dehydrated, but to me, it was nothing,” Rudisill said. “It was so worth it because I felt like I was part of the future.” Appalachian was one of two schools without an engineering program who sent a team to the ASC. Apperion is the first solar car from North Carolina to compete in the ASC. Blakeley and Barnes said that Team Sunergy is working on designing a new solar vehicle. They aren’t starting completely from scratch but are optimizing some of their existing systems that worked for Apperion. Duvey Rudow, assistant project director, said the next car will most likely have four wheels and space for a passenger, whereas Apperion has three wheels and a single seat. ”Our hope is that the end result is a car people could see themselves driving,” Blakeley said. 5
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The Hospitality House food pantry. The Hospitality house provides 12,000 meals to the needy every month.
DOWN AND OUT IN THE HIGH COUNTRY
THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF STORIES ON HOMELESS STUDENTS SAMMY HANF NEWS EDITOR
A
llen shakes his head
off of his desk, his professor telling him to leave if he can’t stay awake in class. Looking up through sleep strained eyes, Allen struggles to recall where he is. A former political science and philosophy double major at Appalachian who asked that his last name not be used, Allen said by the time he had to leave the university in the fall of 2011, he just felt beaten down by the pressure of having to support himself through college. “I never seemed to get a break from it,” Allen said. “I don’t remember times where I could ever prop my feet up and be like, ‘well everything’s good for at least a day, I’m OK.’” Shortly after leaving Appalachian, Allen was living on the streets of Boone. The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth issued a report saying that 58,158 students indicated a homeless situation of some kind on the FAFSA application between 2012 and 2013, but that this metric fails to reflect the true scale of the problem. Allen said he came to Appalachian in the spring of 2006. He moved from Winston-Salem, where he grew up in poverty. His mother wasn’t around for most of his life and he was raised by his stepfather. He had a hard time making friends, feeling ostracized for his socioeconomic status. “I didn’t realize how poor I was until 6
I got into high school and I saw some of the houses that my white classmates lived in and then I saw the house that I lived in and that kinda always put me at odds with them,” Allen said. Allen said he never planned on going to college, but chose to attend ASU for the spring semester of 2006 to be with his girlfriend at the time. He had to leave shortly afterward due to a family emergency, saying his stepfather developed problems with drugs and alcohol in his absence. Allen was left shocked and on the hook for his last semester at ASU, which his stepfather had agreed to help pay for. Unable to get financial aid for his next semester, Allen took out a high interest personal loan to return in the fall of 2008. He started working at Wal-Mart to cover his expenses. The stress of working full time while going to school proved too much, forcing him to leave for the spring semester. “Previously when I was enrolled I was doing many hours at Wal-Mart and it was just too much,” Allen said. “My opinion now is that kids who go to school should only go to school, it’s gonna take away time to study and other college experiences that I think students need to get.” He said an average day was a grueling slog that left little time for sleeping or even eating three square meals. “I would get up about 6, I would eat my breakfast, I would leave about 7:30 from my apartment and I would get to my first class at about 8 o’clock and then
I wouldn’t eat or leave campus until after I got out of my final class at like 5:15,” Allen said. “I would get back, eat, and by 6 o’clock I would have to be to work. Then I would work from about 6 to 2 in the morning. Then I would walk home, crash, sleep, get up at 6 and then do it all over again.” Ralph Lentz, a history professor at ASU, said students in Allen’s situation are not uncommon and that overwork often has an adverse effect on academic performance. “I had a student last semester I think she was like a senior or something. She was taking a gen ed course with me and not doing well. I come to find out she’s taking 18 hours,” Lentz said. “she’s working though too, she’s working at least 20-some hours a week” When Allen returned to ASU for the fall semester of 2009 he said he was back on financial aid, trying to work less and focus more on school but had trouble making ends meet. “I never could make enough working to get my head above water,” Allen said. “That was the one thing that financial aid did, was it give me a large sum of money that I could go ahead and take care of the bills and then any money I got down the road could get me further ahead.” Balancing the two proved difficult and Allen said he was usually in the red by January, after winter break rolled around and he would be left scrambling to pay the bills. “For most people when the semester ends they’re on break, they get two full
weeks off to, like, go home and rest,” Allen said. “I would immediately go ‘OK let me go to the financial aid office and see if I have everything good for my spring semester.’” Allen said he got increasingly frustrated with the financial aid office, claiming the way aid was administered was not suited for those with no family to lean on during breaks. “Financial aid is only designed to cover nine months of the year but the problem is that the year is twelve months,” Allen said. “So I would always have to figure out, ‘OK, how do I pay my rent for the last three months?’” Lori Townsend, interim financial aid director at ASU, said federal regulations mandate that the cost of attendance only include periods when the student is enrolled at a university. Allen said he became increasingly frustrated with ASU, partially due to how much he was struggling while the football program only expanded, and partially due to his growing discontent with classes that did not challenge him intellectually. Michael Behrent, a history professor at ASU, said that disinvestment from higher education means schools are forced to “market” themselves and leave students to foot the bill. “I like to wonder sometimes, as Allen was sleeping in a park in Portland or Mike was living out of his car in Hickory, exactly how much money they each contributed to the six figure salaries of ASU coaches,” Behrent said. Photo Courtesy: Robert Imlay
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Allen said his grievances and the way he aired them only became more pronounced, giving him a reputation as a troublemaker. He said he tried any avenue he could to attack university policies he felt were unfair, hosting a radio show for one semester and trying to start his own newspaper. Allen said he felt it was important that his voice was heard and puts great stock in being honest, even to the point of being a contrarian. Lentz said that as his academic career went on he saw Allen’s condition continue to worsen. “It was kind of a steady going down, that’s what I noticed is just increasing frustration, increasing exhaustion, increasing burnout,” Lentz said. “Again, being under that much stress he just burned out. He just crashed. I’m surprised he made it as long as he did to be honest.” Allen said his frustration culminated in an essay he wrote for a political science class comparing the modern university model to a factory. He failed the class and shortly afterwards lost his financial aid. He was able to find friends to stay with for a while, but started living on the streets of Boone in the spring of 2012. Allen said he left ASU with over $60,000 in student debt, significantly hurting his credit and hurting his chances to find work or housing. “It’s always there in the back of my mind, because I don’t deal with it because there are other problems, like finding food and finding somewhere to live,” Allen said. He stayed at the Hospitality House and worked at Harris Teeter but moved down to Raleigh because he had a hard time working around the schedule at the Hospitality House and thought the financial aid policies at NC State seemed more accommodating. Allen said it quickly became clear that NC State was not going to work out. He got a job at the university dining hall, which after being denied admission, made him feel as if he was beneath them. “It felt like I’m not good enough to get a degree from NC State, but I’m good enough to be paid $9 an hour to work at the dining hall,” Allen said. “I’m good enough to do that but I’m not good enough to go to school there.” After losing his apartment and his job at the dining hall, Allen went to New York City to stay with a friend, but returned to the streets soon afterwards. Allen said the shelters in New York proved too dangerous and after being assaulted twice during his stay he decided to fend for himself. After eight months living on the streets of New York City, Allen moved to Portland and said he fell in love with the city as soon as he got there. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a permanent job. Allen said he was living in limbo between temp jobs and subsisting on $6 a day from food stamps, or when that wasn’t enough, finding other ways to get by. “I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve been there,” Allen said. “I got to a point Photo Courtesy: Robert Imlay
Allen posing for a photo. He is staying in a tent in his friend’s back yard in Florida. in Portland where I would have to end up stealing because $6 would not be enough.” Beyond finding food or a place to sleep, Allen said he had struggled most with finding a place to use the bathroom. “Sometimes I went into the park and went into the bushes,” Allen said. “So that’s why I started to carry toilet paper around with me all the time, Not a great way of doing it, but you have to do what you have to do.” Allen said that despite his best efforts, finding a steady job that would get him off the streets always hung just outside his grasp. “It always seemed that there was always the possibility that things were going to get better,” Allen said. “But it was always like, maybe if I can make it one more month I can turn it around, maybe if I can make it one more month I can turn it around.” Allen said that after two years in Portland he had to leave, fearing for his
safety after having his life threatened over a sleeping spot. Allen moved to Orlando, where he has been living in a tent pitched in a friend’s backyard. He is currently looking to find work and said he is doing better now that he has access to the amenities he was hard pressed to find on the streets. Allen says that throughout his time on the streets, his laptop has been his lifeline, allowing him to find places to stay and even providing the means to connect with students back at ASU. Both Lentz and Behrent said that they have invited Allen to speak to their classes via Skype. “When I’m teaching the world empires class I like to have him speak in my class on my lecture on globalization and it’s been very powerful, it really opens students’ eyes,” Lentz said. Behrent said he initially invited Allen to speak in his freshmen seminar on social justice and the common good
in the fall of 2015 because he thought Allen’s experience presented a relevant moral issue that could spark discussion for the class. “I don’t want to speak for my students. They were an intelligent, thoughtful group and we had a good discussion,” Behrent said. “But I think dealing with someone who could be your peer, who had once been on our campus, and knowing that he’s homeless and is facing these difficulties was not easy to digest.” Allen said he tried to get across the scope of the problem and that even getting a job is not enough to get out of a situation where you largely lack the luxury of even planning one day ahead. “The metaphor I always use is it’s kinda like a freight train was coming at me and I was trying to outrun it,” Allen said. To follow the series, check The Appalachian’s in-depth website at theappalachianonline.com/in-depth/.
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PLANT PHOTO ESSAY
(Top Right) APPS ran out of supplies two hours into the event. Matthew Raynor, chairperson of Special Events Council, said that people started lining up outside the door 30 minutes before it started. (Middle) Junior theatre major Finn Regan and junior psychology major Bella Merchant enjoy the day on Sanford Mall after making their plants. (Bottom Left) The Special Events Council is trying for more “Make Your Own� events in September. Two upcoming events are Bubble Soccer on Duck Pond Field next Thursday and AppalFest in October.
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Photo Credit: Dallas Linger and Olivia Lepard
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STUDENT WINS BIG AT UN YOUTH ASSEMBLY HAILE HAMILTON NEWS REPORTER
R
azan Alaqil, an
Appalachian State sophomore political science major, was the first Saudi Arabian female to participate in the United Nations Youth Assembly and the first Saudi Arabian to win the Outstanding Delegate Award. The assembly took place from Aug. 6-16 in New Jersey, New York and DC. Alaqil signed up online in February and attended the Winter Youth Assembly of 2016. The Youth Assembly is held twice a year, once in the winter and once in the summer. The award was given based off an application, an interview and observations throughout the week. Five people went home with this award out of 1,000 people from 85 different countries. Alaqil had one of the two highest scores. “This is an accomplishment not only for myself, but for the youth of my country, especially because half of our population is people under the age of 30 right now,” Alaqil said. “I always look for opportunities to represent my country, so the United Nations Youth Assembly was open to leading youth across the whole world to represent their countries as delegates.” Alaqil is also the diversity recruitment coordinator for the Appalachian Student Ambassadors, the president of the Muslim Student Association and is on the Chancellor’s Board of Diversity Recruitment and Attention. “Personally I know Razan to be passionate, dedicated and a kind friend to all she meets,” Ellie Hooper, president of Appalachian Student Ambassadors, said. “In a world with few women leaders, Razan is an inspiration to me and all who have the opportunity to simply have coffee with her.” Hopper said Razan serves as the link between the Chancellor’s Student Advisory Board for Diversity Recruitment and The Student Ambassador organization, she works tirelessly to assist University Admissions as they recruit diverse students to Appalachian. “Every new position I take on adds something new to my personality, more experience, more confidence in talking to people, more stories to tell,” Alaqil said. “The positions that we hold make us stronger in many different aspects.” At the assembly, Alaqil said she spoke about Saudi Arabia’s initiatives to reduce the negative impact of oil on the environment and mitigate the effects of global climate change. Alaqil said she spoke about the Vision 2030 initiative that was launched in Saudi Arabia to start looking towards the future with more ideas for the economy and about the sustainability efforts here at Appalachian State. Photo Courtesy: Razan Alaqil
Sophomore Saudi Arabian United Nations Youth Delegate Razan Alaqil attended the the summer United Nations Youth Assembly Aug. 6-16. The assembly took place in New York, New Jersey and DC. Alaqil was one out of five who won the Outstanding Youth Delegate Award. Alaqil is also an Appalachian Student Ambassador and is president of the Muslim Student Association. Vision 2030 will focus on implementing all of the 17 goals which were presented at the assembly by partnering with the public and private sectors where the workforce will be led by the youth. “It has always been a dream, a personal dream, which is now a
country-wide dream so if I can inspire others with what I do then why not keep going?” Alaqil said. Alaqil said that currently they are working to engage the Saudi Arabian youth in setting sustainability goals. “I noticed a lack of knowledge regarding the Saudi or Middle Eastern or
Islamic culture in general so I want to be that face or I want to be that person who people go to and ask because I am the true reflection of 1.5 million people, not what you see on TV,” Alaqil said. “Our differences in the world don’t push us apart, our differences in the world pull us together for the good.”
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S P O R T S
Sophomore Jamie Palermo is currently recovering from an ACL tear.
TORN APART BUT STILL TOGETHER G
HOW THE WOMENS SOCCER CAME TOGETHER TO BATTLE BACK FROM MULTIPLE ACL TEARS JASON HUBER SPORTS EDITOR
rowing up and
playing the sport that you love makes you feel invincible, like the sky’s the limit and nothing can hold you back. Now imagine having it all ripped away in a split second with a simple pop in your knee that drastically changes the next six to 12 months of your life. Six women on the App State women’s soccer team have experienced this. All because of one of the worst freak accidents in sports: an ACL tear. For the first time in almost four years, with only one player currently recovering, the Mountaineers have all of their key upperclassmen players who have suffered from an ACL tear back on the field for a full season. “I think this team will be extremely competitive,” head coach Sarah Strickland said. “They were not pleased with the Sun Belt preseason rankings.” Ranked fourth in the Sun Belt preseason coaches poll, the team is no stranger to adversity and one of the things that makes them so competitive is the struggle many of the players have had to go through to even get back on the field. “We all struggle at some point in our careers and it is good to show our vulnerability sometimes,” redshirt senior Carrie Taylor, who tore her ACL sophomore year, said. “It’s not like we had an option but it helps other girls see us as more approachable.” Women’s chances of tearing their ACL is six to eight times higher than it is for men. Many factors cause this, but anatomically, having smaller ACL’s and smaller notches in the knee where the ACL resides is what is primarily responsible, according to usyouthsoccer.org. 10
The same study explained how women’s tendency to have straighter knees causes them to buckle inwards more than males, which stresses the ACL. With such high velocity and movement in the game of soccer, a player can suffer an ACL tear at any given moment. If going through an ACL tear once isn’t hard enough, three girls on the Mountaineers current team have torn their ACLs multiple times. Redshirt sophomore forward Erin Settle is in her first full fall season in two years after tearing her ACL with five games left in 2014 season and during fall preseason in 2015. Redshirt freshman forward Jessica Easley is playing in her first college season as she came to App State while recovering from two full tears, a meniscus tear and a partial tear suffered in high school. “Growing up, you begin to think you’re invincible,” Settle said. “I never thought I would come to college and get hurt with five games left in my freshman season.” It takes an immense amount of mental fortitude to come back from one or even two ACL tears. But redshirt senior forward Jenn Bass has been through what most soccer players can’t even fathom coming back from: tearing her ACL three times. “I think the mentality is the same, but it is emotionally, physically and spiritually draining,” Bass said. After tearing her ACL in high school and recovering, Bass played at Clemson for a year before making the decision to have a fresh start at App State. However, things did not start off as planned when she suffered her second ACL tear. “I was lucky that I already went
through it once so I knew what to expect, but I was in a place with different teammates that I didn’t know which was very scary,” Bass said. Unable to be on the field with her teammates during her first year as a Mountaineer, Bass trained hard all summer before tearing it for the third time in the 2013 preseason. “It is difficult because Sarah [Strickland] is focused on roles and as a player
you want to come in right away and practice and go on trips,” Bass said. “But sometimes you have to take the backseat and encourage people, so I think you have to welcome whatever role you have and be really good at it.” Even through all the ups and downs, Bass stayed confident and determined to make it back every time she tore it despite family members and doctors telling her it may be a sign to quit playing.
Redshirt senior Jenn Bass (on right) has recovered from three ACL tears in her career.
Photo Credit: Dallas Linger
S P O R T S
Redshirt freshman forward Jessica Easley is playing in her first college season after recovering from two full tears.
Things were even more nerve wracking for Easley, who committed to App State her junior year of high school and tore her ACL just two months later. “I had to call Sarah [Strickland] and I was absolutely terrified,” Easley said. “I didn’t know her like I do now and I didn’t know how to tell her.” Strickland never doubted Easley, but after having another surgery for a partial torn ACL a couple months later, Easley fully tore her opposite leg towards the end of her senior year of high school. Once again having to call Strickland and this time let her teammates know she would have to sit out her freshman year of college, Easley, like Bass, had to welcome the new role that life had given her. “You have an impact where you want to have an impact on the team and I put more of an effort in having a positive one on the sidelines,” Easley said. “Find your place on the team and influence them even if you aren’t on the field.” The biggest thing Strickland reiterates to all the players who have torn their ACL is that there is always a place on the team to contribute. “We always touch base with them right away and they always apologize and we have to remind them that it is not
in their control,” Strickland said. “They need space and they need time to be angry, but you also have to reality check them so they realize what they are capable of compared to what they aren’t.” It is hard for anybody to suffer an injury in a sport that has given him or her adrenaline as long as they can remember. Finding something or someone to give a confidence boost is key throughout recovery. For Settle, her faith became the strongest support system through her two recoveries. “I have a strong faith in God and I knew he had a plan for me and that helped me get through rehab,” Settle said. “It is very easy to get depressed and you must find some reason to keep your head high.” Keeping her head up and never losing track of the light at the end of the tunnel allowed Settle to score two goals in her first time back in the team’s first two regular season matches. Her efforts led to being named Sun Belt Student Athlete of the Week. And if there’s any bright spot for having to have surgery, sit out, rehab, take things slow and then more rehab to recover, it’s the rejuvenation for the
game that has been taken for granted. “I found the love of the sport again,” Easley said. “Sometimes you play so much going through a routine, you get overwhelmed, but I found the love for the sport again. I thank God that I can do this. As hard as it is to say this, I would never go back and change everything I went through.” It’s one thing that every player was able to relate to: never taking anything for granted. The pain at the beginning is the hardest, but every step taken to come back in the early stages makes you stronger in the end. “You can come back and keep your head up but the strides at the beginning mean so much more,” redshirt junior Phenix Durham said, who tore her ACL last season. “When I started coming back I doubted myself but realized I just wasn’t there yet.” Having a majority of their players back and feeling stronger than ever, sophomore Jamie Palermo is the only player currently recovering from an ACL tear she suffered this summer. Being on a team that has gone through the process multiple times and even having a group text message for players who have torn their ACL, Paler-
mo has the support system she needs. “It has been such a big family and I have never once thought about not being a family with this team,” Palermo said. Looking at the current Mountaineers team, one thing opponents will not know is the fortitude that they have had to maintain; one that will make them very tough to beat physically and mentally. Looking at this Mountaineers team, opponents will struggle to defeat them because they’ve been through the gruesome recovery and have lived to tell the story another day. But they’re not telling it from the sidelines or the stands, they’re telling it as they blow by you, as they defend you with unwavering drive. They’re able to tell it because soccer is a huge part of their lives, but they refuse to limit themselves to that definition alone. “The biggest thing is we don’t define ourselves as soccer players,” Strickland said. “It is a part of who you are, but you are so much more.”
Redshirt junior Erin Settle is in her first full fall season in two years after suffering two ACL tears.
Photo Credit: Dallas Linger
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4V4 FUNDRAISING TOURNAMENT TO RAISE AUTISM AWARENESS APP STATE ATHLETES AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY GATHER TO HOLD 4V4 SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Kelsey Strickland ran in the Color Run 5k at the Greenway last spring. Strickland’s shirt says, “I run for autism awareness.”
Kelsey Strickland and Ryder Allison in the Hardin Park Gym during Strickland’s internship last year.
TYLER HOTZ SPORTS REPORTER
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hen App state
women’s soccer head coach Sarah Strickland sees a life-changing opportunity, she doesn’t hesitate to take it. Over the past six years, Strickland has been working with the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy, a soccer and lacrosse camp that helps 12-18 year old students grow into better leaders. With all the shining moments Stickland has seen over the years, she finally decided to convince her daughter Kelsey Strickland, now a high school freshman, to attend the camp with her this past summer. Kelsey was blown away by her experience, and then took the camp’s message from Chicago back to Boone. The camp stressed the importance of taking these new leadership skills and then using them to conduct service projects in each camper’s own community. Kelsey has experience working with autistic students in self-contained classrooms, and when she was thinking of 12
her service project it was easy for her to find her passion. “I’ve worked in the peer mentoring rooms [self-contained] classrooms for two years,” Kelsey said. “They don’t have a set budget and I have noticed that all the things they use such as pens, pencils and toys all come from the teacher’s pockets.” In order to help give better funding to self-contained classrooms in Watauga County, Kelsey decided to create a 4v4 soccer tournament that will be held at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex. The event will feature a moon bounce for self-contained classroom children with App State student-athletes working directly with them. Over 100 student-athletes from various App State sports will be helping out at the fundraiser. “I wanted to be involved because I wanted to give back to a community that has given a lot to me,” senior heavyweight wrestler and 2015 SoCon Wrestler of the Year Denzel Dejournette said. “Being a student-athlete, you have a responsibility to be a role model whether you want to or not, and
giving back to the community is very important for student-athletes because no one got to a high level of success without having a community behind them.” Some of the student athletes also have local roots that make it even more of a priority to help out with this event, such as women’s soccer freshmen Heather Ostwalt, Tristin Derrick and Kass Alvarez. All three are Watauga High School graduates and have been playing soccer together for over nine years. “Watauga County is just the kind of county that everyone loves everyone and that it is small enough so everybody knows each other,” Alvarez said. “If somebody needs help or wants to be involved [in special education] then without a doubt people will be there.” Other athletes have found their inspiration in helping directly with autistic children from their hometowns or also in Boone itself, like women’s soccer players redshirt freshmen Taylor Ray and Jessica Easley. Ray was a student teacher her senior year of high school and worked with
teenagers who had autism or down syndrome. She also spent part of this past summer nannying for assistant basketball coach Jason Allison’s kids, Ryder and Riley. Easley’s club soccer team in high school participated in a program called Camp Soar, which held an annual camp for children with autistic children. With the immense amount of background from many student-athletes having their lives touched by autism, many see that this fundraiser is not only giving towards a worthy cause, but also giving back to a community that has always had their backs. “This is not only an App thing, but a Boone thing for sure,” Easley said. “It is important for us to show to the community that we are not here just to be here, but we are here to give back and be apart of Boone.” The event will run from 1-5 p.m. and each team submission will cost $5 per person. The divisions range from first grade all the way up to an open adult division, and in order to participate, teams need to submit their rosters to Strickland.
Photo Courtesy: Women’s soccer head coach Sarah Strickland
S P O R T S
Freshman midfield/defense Julia Wenz runs down the field during the game against Georgetown on Sunday.
BUILDING A FIELD HOCKEY LEGACY APP STATE FIELD HOCKEY LOOKS TO CONTINUE BUILDING STRONG TEAM MONICA CRAWFORD SPORTS REPORTER
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ith over half of
the App State women’s field hockey team made up of freshmen, this season is going to be a year of building and creating a strong legacy for field hockey at App. “By building this strong freshman class we are building for the future,” head coach Meghan Dawson said. “That’s the goal, to continue building, working and getting better every day and also preparing for the future.” The Mountaineers gained 13 freshmen with the start of this fall season, and many new players have already shown just how much of an asset they will be to the team as the season goes on, Dawson said. “The [freshmen] that are playing have come in fit and ready to go,” Dawson said. “They are really good and will have a ton of impact on our success this year.” Starting in the net, freshman goalkeeper Rachel Gaines has played through the three exhibition and two regular season games that the team has competed in so far. Gaines recorded shutouts in two of the three exhibition games. Freshmen Julia Wenz, Mallory Wolf, Ali Williams and Kaley Selner all play midfield/defense and Dawson said they have stepped up to take starting roles on the team. Wenz, who hails from Bayern, Germany, has proved essential in the Mountaineers’ attack with multiple assists and a goal. Williams and Selner have also found the back of the net for the Mountaineers, and Selner in particular played Photo Credit: Dallas Linger
a key defensive role in the team’s game against Georgetown University on Aug. 28. Freshman forward Melissa Nobile shone in these first few games of the season with five total goals, four of them coming from the Mountaineers’ preseason game against Newberry College. Despite the impressive performances by the freshmen so far, the team still has a lot of learning to do in order to build the strong future that Dawson said they are aiming for. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs, lots of learning and lots of teaching and building foundations,” Dawson said. One of the team’s biggest challenges right now is adjusting to having so many new faces on the team and learning how to connect as a team, junior midfielder Taylor Cimbalist said. This connection will come with improved communication. Williams said that improving their communication is something that the team has already been doing. “It’s really exciting because we’re so close knit,” Williams said. “We’re all helping each other through it, especially the freshman class.” The team is already working hard to build up a strong bond, whether they are writing each other encouraging notes in their lockers or working to stay positive on the field. “Whenever we’re down we come into a big circle and just cheer and say some positive comments,” Nobile said. “On the field, whether we’re losing or winning, we always keep it positive.”
Freshman midfield/defense Ali Williams prepares to hit the ball.
According to Dawson, the field hockey team has a competitive schedule coming up, but with the work of the strong freshman class paired with the strong bond that the team is working on
building, Dawson is hoping to see a lot of growth throughout this season. The Mountaineers are set to face the James Madison University Dukes on Sep. 2 at 6 p.m. in Harrisburg, Virginia.
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BEATING THE VOLS EXPOSE THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Returning arguably with one of the top defensive lines in the country with junior linebacker Eric Boggs and preseason Sun Belt defensive player of the year senior John Law, the Mountaineers seem to have all the ingredients to expose the Volunteers offensive line that has lost sophomore OL Chance Hall to injury and leaves more or less of an empty spot at the center position with junior Coleman Thomas moving to tackle. Having so many holes on the offensive line may cause senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs to struggle finding time to passing the ball, and already being more of a running quarterback, the Mountaineers make it rough day for Dobbs.
TIRE THE DEFENSE: The Vols have junior All American defensive end Derek Barnett on their defensive alongside seniors Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis and former top JUCO player Jonathan Kongbo setting up one of the toughest defensive lines in the country. For the Mountaineers to get around that, they’ll need to tire the defense out by running the ball and maintaining possession. App State will need junior quarterback Taylor Lamb to control the pace of the game with long possessions and keep senior running back Marcus Cox running consistently to keep the Vols defense on the field and have them wear down. It will be one of the toughest defense’s App has faced since their second game at Clemson last season.
GET IN THEIR HANDS EARLY: Last season against Clemson, the Mountaineers failed to have any big offensive plays early which hurt them in the long run, but in order for App to take a lead and show the Vols they should not be messed with, they need a big play early and not allow Tennessee to get a big play first. If Cox is able to rip a 50+ yard run or Lamb throws a 60 yard pass, the Mountaineers can start getting in the Vols head and silence the 100,000+ stadium. The Vols will be tough to beat in their home stadium with such high expectations, but the Mountaineers need to show their confidence and strength early. BY JASON HUBER SPORTS EDITOR
KEY FOR THE MOUNTAINEERS In one of App State’s biggest road matches since their “Upset in the Bighouse” over powerhouse Michigan in 2007, the Mountaineers head to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to take on No. 9 Tennessee in the first game of the season.
JASON HUBER Sports Editor The Appalachian 0-0
CARL BLANKENSHIP Editor-in-chief The Appalachian 0-0
SHERI EVERTS Chancellor App State 0-0
JAYLN HOWARD President SGA 0-0
GREG CALARCO Sports Dir. WASU 0-0
GAME DAY
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Anna Banana’s. The store is open Monday - Thursday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm, Friday - Saturday 10:00 am - 8:00 pm and Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm.
BACK TO BOONE FASHION ESSENTIALS RACHEL BRUNNER A&E REPORTER
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inding affordable,
stylish clothes within walking distance of campus doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. King Street is the home of a host of locally owned shops and restaurants of Boone. Among these shops are two locally owned clothing stores that promise their customers unique clothing and a shopping adventure. The first is Lucky Penny, a boutique located on King Street that sells clothes, shoes, handbags, quilts, cards and gift items. Jennele Vaquera, owner of Lucky Penny, said that the store is a destination for women wanting a different mix of clothing, accessories and home goods. With the summer coming to an end, Vaquera said that Lucky Penny is starting to receive new fall items. “Currently, my favorite items in the shop are the new fall shoes by Chinese Laundry,” Vaquera said. “We have already been selling a lot of bodysuits [for the fall], all different styles and fabrics.” Julianne Blaylock, a junior English and French major, said she likes shopping at Lucky Penny because it has a “boho-type feel and style.” “It’s very aesthetically pleasing and the fashion is on point,” Blaylock said. “I think it’s important to support local businesses. It keeps money in the local economy.” Vaquera said Lucky Penny loves 16
when students return to Boone for the school year. “It’s always exciting to see our returning customers and to see new faces,” Vaquera said. Another incentive to stop by soon is that all summer inventory is currently on sale, and for art crawl they will be open until 9 p.m. on Sept. 2, hosting a local artist. Vaquera said that Lucky Penny is committed to offering their customers unique products and a pleasant customer service experience. “We have a wonderful clientele and our community support is outstanding,” Vaquera said. The second store is Anna Bananas, a secondhand store created and owned by Appalachian State alumna Anna Roseman. “Some people call it ‘kitschy,’ or ‘campy,’ one could use the word ‘crazy,’ but for sure it’s fun,” Roseman said. “We are serious about creating great style, making customers happy, serving our community, and throwing a shopping party every day.” Roseman’s vision for the store has always been to provide the community with quality and current fashion that anyone can afford in a fun and cheerful environment. Roseman said that Anna Bananas provides the latest in fashion for people of all sizes, starting in junior sizes, and that Anna Bananas carries a large
variety of trendy pieces, from the most unique finds to the most classic styles. “Not only do we sell clothing, but also accessories– shoes, belts, purses, jewelry, watches, scarves, etc,” Roseman said. “We have expanded into lingerie, active wear, plus sizes, lots more men’s clothing and great vintage when we find it.” Roseman said she adores this time of year when students return to school because of the “incredible positive energy.” She said that it is beautiful to watch the new students explore the town, find their own styles and hear about their dreams. “My most favorite part of having this business is being able to meet so many wonderful people,” Roseman said. “Getting to know my customers, hearing their stories and their dreams and watching them develop from my little corner of the world. It’s inspiring.” Anna Bananas buys previously owned clothing from locals and sells them. They are currently accepting fall items and are putting out new clothing every day of the week. The best time to bring in clothes to sell is on Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Roseman said. Roseman said that Anna Bananas is known for its “dance for your discount,” which is an all day every day deal. “Give us any sort of dance move for any length of time and you’ll get 10 percent off any full priced items,” Roseman said. “Every single time a
person chooses to dance, they smile. No joke, we’ve seen everything from preplanned routines, to the worm, to older couples slow dancing, to dances on the counter.” In addition to the “dance for your discount,” every item stays on Anna Bananas’ floor for a total of 90 days. Roseman said that after 30 days, it’s discounted by 25% and marked with a green dot. After 60 days, it is discounted again by 50% and indicated with a red “X.” After the item has been there for 90 days, it gets marked down and put on the $1, $3 and $5 rack. “You can seriously walk out of the store with an entire outfit for a couple of bucks,” Roseman said. Adam Lucas, a senior graphic design major, models for Anna Bananas, said that Anna Bananas provides unique clothing styles at affordable prices and is sure to have something for everyone. “We’re seeing a lot of ‘90s influence, actually several decades, but always with a modern twist,” Roseman said. “We’re loving all of the variations to denim: distressed, cut-off, skinny, wide leg and flare. Slip dresses, floral dresses, overalls, velvet, just so many unique ways to express personal style.” Roseman wants each person to walk through Anna Bananas’ door and feel the love and experience a shopping adventure. She said that every day is a shopping party at Anna Bananas and everyone is invited. Photo Credit: Monique Rivera
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LEGENDS FALL LINE UP
A sign on the inside of Legends. The venue was a Winn-Dixie supermarket before it was remodeled. MAKAELAH WALTERS A&E REPORTER
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he line up at Leg-
ends for the fall semester is packed with acts both old and new, local and regional. The shows are brought to Legends by Appalachian Popular Programming Society, a university funded organization that exists to plan and provide diverse educational, enriching and entertaining events for the community and student body of App State. The APPS executive board said that they made sure to bring back some university favorites like Cherub and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. Caitlin Goff, a senior communication and advertising major, manager of Legends and concerts council member of APPS, said students really love returning acts. “We’re really trying to expand the types of shows that we bring to Legends,” junior communication and public relations major and APPS concerts chairperson Michael Ream said. Legends, whose website boasts “a place where students can go to safely socialize and be entertained without driving mountains roads at night,” has hosted bands like Moon Taxi, Arson Daily and Mipso. Maggie Sherwood, a senior Photo Credit: Dallas Linger
graphic design major and APPS club shows chairperson, said that Legends is special to the university and to students for a couple of reasons. “It’s the only venue of this capacity that’s bring your own beer and lets in unders [18+] in all of the United States, and is still more comfortable and less cramped than a club,” Sherwood said. Sherwood said that sometimes it takes years to get the acts shows committee really wants. “Each council of APPS brainstorms with our advisor, Randy Kelly, to narrow down 10 acts that we think would do best here at App,” junior communication and public relations major and APPS stage shows chair Sierra Forchheimer said. Starting on the very first day of September, Legends will host Matt Phillips and The Back Pocket, whose website describes them as “a funkadelic bunch of Carrboro musicians making a soulful pop sound with a jazzy edge.” They combine elements of classical, folk, gospel and world music, according to their Facebook page. Kate Rhudy will be opening for Matt Phillips and the Back Pocket. Rhudy is a “sad river folk” musician from Raleigh and now based in
Boone. Rhudy has played Legends multiple times since she began performing in Bo. Kiely Blevins, a junior communication science and disorders major, saw Rhudy play Legends last year and said, “I loved it! It was really fun and she’s a great musician. I went with my dad and he loved it too.” On Sept. 15, Legends will host Bad Catholics, a duo consisting of Tyler Buck and Luke Crouch, for their second show in Boone. Another favorite band among students are avant-garde, electro-pop duo Cherub, who are set to take the Legends stage on Sept. 21, along with Frenship and Boo Seeka. Cherub has played Legends several times. “Last year Cherub sold out in six days with no promotion,” senior communications electronic media broadcasting major and APPS vice president of publicity Ross Joyner said. Faiza Ali, a sophomore criminal justice major, said she has seen them twice and she bought the tickets the day she heard about them performing. “I checked two weeks before the show and tickets that were originally $20 were going for $60,” Ali said.
ZoSo: The Ultimate Led Zeppelin experience will play Legends on Sept. 29. On ZoSo’s Facebook page, they promise to deliver “the most accurate and captivating Led Zeppelin experience since the real thing.” “I’m excited for the Led Zeppelin cover band. Zeppelin is a classic and it’ll be cool to hear their music live, even if it’s not really them,” Goff said. As part of his West Bound and Down tour, progressive country artist Corey Smith will play Legends on Oct. 20. This is not Smith’s first show in Boone, and Goff said that she expects this act to sell out. “Corey Smith always sells out, but it’s a different crowd than when Cherub sells out,” Goff said. Closing out Legends’ fall semester is Rumours, a Fleetwood Mac Tribute Band. They will play on Nov. 10 and each APPs chairperson agrees that although not many people know of tribute bands by name, they are just as fun as the real thing. Forchheimer said that people should, “listen to [Rumours] and see how truly worth it they are.” Tickets for this event go on sale on Sept. 14 at 10 a.m. More information can be found on both the Legends and APPS websites.
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O P I N I O N
VELVEETA, THE KING OF MAC AND CHEESE
V
elveeta, the king of
mac and cheese. With its superior, aerodynamic shell design, Velveeta is the best option to go to when you’re craving a cheesy snack. Velveeta has, without a doubt, the best formula to quench your cheesy thirst. When adding the cheese into the mix, Velveeta has the decency to give its customers a “real” cheese to add into their mixture.Velveeta doesn’t cop out with a cheap powder or worse, a pre-mixed batch that you just add water to. They want their customers to feel cared for and have a mac and cheese that makes them feel nurtured. Velveeta shows its expertise in the mac and cheese business when you get done preparing it. Pouring the cheesy mixture into a bowl and listening to the
jaw dropping plops of cheese is one of the best parts of the experience. The expertly designed shells allow you to shovel as much of the cheesy goodness into your mouth as possible. When you compare Velveeta to the competition, nobody even comes close. Kraft, a mac and cheese that could blind a man from 30 yards away, doesn’t compare to the sleek gooeyness of Velveeta. Stouffer’s, a boxed abomination of a product, has nothing on the freshness of Velveeta. Annie’s, mac and cheese that is grown in the ground, doesn’t have a stem to stand on when it comes to the overall flavor package that Velveeta contains. Quite simply, Velveeta is the mac and cheese of champions, scholars and America’s youth. With a résumé like that, everybody else is just cheesin’ around.
Braxton Coats is a junior computer science major from Raleigh, North Carolina.
HOMEMADE SATISFACTION
T
hroughout my life,
my mom and dad always made sure that every night my brother and I had a homemade meal. Not just so we were well fed, but because they enjoyed cooking and putting different ingredients together to create something we all thought was delicious. We would sit down as a family every night, pass around our plates as my mom served us the food that her and my dad made, and we would enjoy the delicious meal together. My friends were always jealous that everything I ate was homemade: homemade ice cream, homemade chicken pot pie and my mom’s famous homemade mac and cheese, which was always a crowd favorite. She starts with the elbow pasta, adding in rich milk, an egg and a secret ingredient that everyone should start adding in: mustard. Theses three base ingredients help the noodles retain a rich flavor that is far from bland. She lets you choose your own cheese blend, a perk to making your own mac and cheese, and then tops it with italian breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese. A perfect combination of a creamy and crunchy texture. My mom always used fresh ingredients and even added a twist to the recipe every now and then. She would add broccoli, a type of meat or even a drizzle of sriracha on top. 18
With homemade, you can make your mac as customizable as you want and as creative and specific to you as you want. You can create a batch to last you a week or a simple serving to last you for the night. Or, you can be like my mom, who made them into little cupcakes for me to bring to college my first week of freshman year. She gave me a little bit of home to take with me to a place unfamiliar. Comparing a boxed mac and cheese to my mom’s is not even a question. Boxed mac and cheese has chemicals, powdered cheese and plastic-ish noodles. You pick up the tiny little bowl, stick it in the microwave and wait for the powder soup to thicken up. With homemade, you watch the process of creating something out of barely anything. The satisfying sensation of taking it out of the oven, slowly starting to smell it as it bakes and waiting for the melting cheese to cool down is unparalleled. There’s nothing better than being able to feed your family and your friends something you took your sweet time with. There’s nothing better than being able to pass something down to generations after, and nothing better than having the memories of your family and your mom in a simple meal that will never go out of style. Homemade mac and cheese is always the way to go.
Sydney Spann is a sophomore advertising major from Greensboro, North Carolina.
O P I N I O N
HOPPING UP AND DOWN FOR ANNIE’S
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Sammy Hanf is a junior journalism major from Greensboro, North Carolina.
ow I’m a simple
guy, I don’t expect artisanal mac and cheese with fresh gruyére, whisked with Comté and paired with a Cabernet Sauvignon. While I can bring myself to the level of boxed mac and cheese, what I can’t abide is sitting down to a lukewarm pile of radioactive orange mush. When I open up a box of Annie’s I know I’m getting a cheese sauce with a light, creamy consistency on top of a bed of robust yet tender shells. If I suffered a stroke in the pasta aisle and picked up a box of Kraft I would only end up forcing down soggy noodles with the consistency of Papier-mâché covered in a cheese sauce that’s more watered down than a frat boy’s Busch Ice. As an adult that knows how to operate a stove, the idea of nuking a box of Stouffer’s and playing minefield with mac and cheese that alternates between lukewarm and the surface of the sun sounds like spraying a water gun filled
with napalm in my face for kicks. By every standard Annie’s blows away the store bought competition. Don’t even bring up Velveeta. That slimy, viscous cheese makes it feel like some insect vomited on the lumpy mess of noodles to render it digestible. If you enjoy any other supermarket mac and cheese I would slap the taste out of your mouth if I wouldn’t be doing you a favor. My only complaint would be the slightly unsavory notion of dumping your mac from the nether regions of a cute white rabbit as the box seems to suggest. What you do get in a box of Annie’s Mac and Cheese is a delicious, organic treat from a company that uses its proceeds to fund school garden programs and agricultural scholarships. Annie’s may not be fresh out of the oven, baked with love and plenty of heavy whipping cream but if you’re looking to sit down after a long day and just eat some hastily prepared food in front of a TV screen, you can do much worse for around $3.
STOUFFER’S S
Lee Sanderlin is a junior advertising major from High Point, North Carolina.
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touffer’s is the greatest
macaroni and cheese on the planet and I don’t care what you say. Sure, there are other mac and cheeses in the world, but let’s not even pretend that they’re in the same league as Stouffer’s. I’m talking to the people that even find it worth defending mac and cheese brands like Velveeta and Annie’s. Although I shouldn’t have to explain why Stouffer’s is so great, I will. First off, there’s no prep time. Take it out of your freezer, pop that bad boy into the microwave and bang, it’s time to get down with some delicious cheese covered macaroni noodles. Every other mac and cheese requires you to add water, or to boil noodles. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Stouffer’s is also king in the taste department. Velveeta is just weird. You squeeze the cheese out of a tube and it looks like something that could survive a trip to space. Once it’s all prepared you realize that you don’t really like how overly thick and cheesy it is and after three forks worth the remainder has found it’s way into your garbage disposal.
Now you have Annie’s. Look, Annie’s isn’t bad. It’s quite good actually and it doesn’t have any preservatives. But guess what, Stouffer’s tastes better and they don’t have any preservatives either, so take that Annie’s. If we’re being honest the only real competition that Stouffer’s faces is the mac and cheese that your mom makes. The kind that’s made with love and baked in the oven. I won’t sit here and deny that my mom’s macaroni holds a special place in my heart, because it does. However, when I get hungry I desire instant gratification. Sorry mom but I just can’t wait for you to get it together in the kitchen when all I crave is cheesy pasta goodness. Especially when I can have my delicious Stouffer’s in 10 minutes or less. There’s something about eating Stouffer’s that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, like having someone compliment me or making my parents proud, except one of these is better than the rest. So, let’s raise all raise our forks to Stouffer’s for providing the world with a superior mac and cheese dish.