2006-03-02 The Auburn Plainsman

              SMOKE FUMES
Tobacco users working at Auburn will
start paying more for insurance, Bl
HIGH KICK
Get caught up in latest craze with
facts about Chuck Norris, CI ,
A Spirit That Is Not Afraid
Auburn Vol. 112,
Issue 21,
36 Pages
=March 2,2006:
r Plain uick
State & Local
Police start new tipline
Auburn residents wanting to report
information or tips about crime can
call a new automated hotline at
501-7337. A5
Campus
Mixing old and new friends
As students grow up, some find
they have more in common with
their high school friends, while
others identify more with their
college pals. Bl
From race can to transits
A former drag car
racer trades his
days at the track
in exchange for
the opportunity to
drive students
to class as a Tiger
Transit driver. Bl
Intrigue
Planning spring break
The Plainsman )oms in with
students counting down to spring
break with a four-part series on
popular spring break destinations.
CIO
Work expressing a movement
Artwork with
themes from
the civil rights
movement are in the
Biggin Art Gallery in
honor of Black
History Month. C4
Sports
Pitcher goes untouched
Auburn softball player Holly Currie
threw her second no-hitter of the
season against No. 24 Missouri.
Currie was also named SEC Pitcher
of the Week Dl
Tigers flip for high marks
The Tiger
gymnastics
team had its
second highest
score of the
season against
Georgia, but was still defeated. D7
www.theplamsman.com
Question I:
Do you think
there is a theft
problem
at Auburn
Question 2:
Would you use
the debit
portion oftlie
rigerCard?
Vote for Iioll i questions online.
Inside
Crime Reports....A2 Classifieds B7
Elsewhere A2 Crossword C3
Our View. A8 Joe Random Cf
Letters A9 Scoreboard D2
Calendar. B5 Talkin Smack....D7
t
Senate approves TigerCard bill
By MEGAN SMITH
Associate Campus Editor
The debit system, which was
taken away in June of last year,
is one step closer to returning
to the TigerCard.
Last Wednesday, the state
Senate approved the amended
bill, which would bring back
the debit portion on TigerCard.
The bill, Senate Bill 66, is now in
the Banking and Insurance
Committee, of the House of
Representatives.
The committee was expected
to take action on the bill yester­day,
which would make it ready
to be read on the floor as early
as today or next week
"We feel pretty confident it'll
pass," said Austin Walsh, a
member of the Lobby Board,
the group that's encouraging
the bill to be passed.
Walsh said the board and
SGA hope to see the bill pass,
since it never reached the
House last year.
"We want to make sure the
bill doesn't fade away in a hurry
because it got stuck in the
Senate at the end of their ses­sion,"
Walsh said.
Walsh and other members of
the Lobby Board will travel to
Montgomery today for Higher
Education Day to show support
for the bill.
"We see the need to bring
NEXT MOVE:
> The bill to restore the
debit system is now in
committee in the House.
back the descending balance
on campus, and that's why we're
fighting to get it pushed," Walsh
> Turn to TIGERCARD, A3
Search for renewable fuel
Professor's
research on
alternative fuel
sources attracts
national
attention
By CHASE MITCHELL
Assistant Campus Editor
There are people who
believe the future of renew­able
fuel is right under our
noses; that the key to inde­pendence
from Middle
Eastern oil may be found in
an ear of corn, a 10-foot tall
warm-season plant called
"switchgrass" or the veg­etable
oil sitting in a vat
behind a fast food restau­rant
Agronomy and soils pro­fessor
David Bransby is one
of those people.
Last Thursday, US. Sen.
Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and
Douglas Faulkner, assistant
US. secretary of energy for
energy efficien­cy
and renew­able
energy,
came to
Auburn's E.V.
Smith Research
Center to help
Bransby dis­cuss
renewable
energy sources
like ethanol
and biodiesel,
which are pro­duced,
respectively, by the
aforementioned materials.
Bransby, widely regarded
as one of the country's fore­most
experts on switch-grass,
organized the event
after an unlikely turn of
AU PHOTO SERVICES
FIELD DAK Interim President Ed Richardson and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions talk about
the possibilities of using switchgrass as a renewable energy source during Sessions'
visit to Auburn.
"There are
several
technologies
out there that
can do this."
— David Bransby,
agronomy and soils
professor
events thrust the mostly
unknown but commonly
grown plant into the nation­al
spotlight
It all start­ed
when
P r e s i d e n t
George W.
Bush men­tioned
it by
name in his
Jan. 31 State of
the Union
Address, say­ing
he planned
to "fund addi­tional
research in cutting-edge
methods of producing
ethanol, not just from corn,
but from wood chips and
stalks, or switchgrass.
"Our goal is to make this
new kind of ethanol practi­cal
and competitive within
six years," Bush said, accord­ing
to a transcript from
www.whitehouse.gov.
Soon, media outlets like
National Public Radio (N PR)
were hunting down Bransby
to interview him about the
fuel-producing plant
After talking to Bransby,
NPR found out it was
Sessions who had brought
switchgrass to the presi­dent's
attention.
"As a result of my saying
that on the NPR interview,
Sen. Sessions got covered up
with e-mails and phone
calls just like I did," Bransby
said.
Sessions then got his
office to call Auburn and ask
to arrange last Thursday's
SWITCHGRASS:
> A 10-foot tall
warm-season plant that
can be converted into
ethanol.
event
According to David
Granger, manager of media
relations, it was a big suc­cess.
'"It was well attended,"
Granger said.
Bransby said the atten­dance
was higher than they
expected. All 200 seats filled
up quickly, and nearly 100
more people filed in.
Several' media outlets,
including Fox News, were
there as well.
> Turn to FUEL, A3
Trustee's
seat still
vacant
By MEGAN SMITH
Associate Campus Editor
Questions continue to linger
surrounding Board of Trustees
member Charles Ball's actual
board expiration date.
At the Feb. 3
Board of Trustees
meeting, Trustee
Paul Spina
announced Ball's
seat was vacant
and that the gov­ernor
would be
responsible^ for
filling the vacancy.
Gov. Bob Riley and Ball are
scheduled to meet Friday to dis­cuss
Ball's term expiration.
Riley has the authority to either
re-appoint Ball or create a com­mittee
to find a replacement to
fill his position.
Ball said he couldn't comment
on any speculation surrounding
his term, but did express hope of
continuing to serve on the board.
"I hope to return to the board at
the April meeting" Ball said.
David Ford, deputy press secre­tary
to Riley, said the governor's
Office couldn't comment on the
situation.
> Turn to TRUSTEES, A3
Riley
CONGRATULATIONS:
Nlkl Doyle, a junior In
Journalism, was named
2006-2007 editor of The
Auburn Plainsman.
> For more information on
next year's leader, see A4.
Auburn police increase traffic patrol in March
By BETHANY KIRBY
Assistant State & Local Editor
The Auburn Police
Division will conduct extra
traffic patrols throughout
March.
Carlos Kimbrough, direc­tor
of Central Alabama
Highway Safety Office, said
the enforcement officers
will focus on speeding, seat
belts and DUIs.
Lt. William Mathews of
the Auburn Police Division
said the target areas for this
enforcement will be the
West Magnolia Avenue
intersection at Cox Street,
Alabama Highway 147 and
North Donahue Drive
Shug Jordan
and Farmville
between
Parkway
Road.
"(We) pick
hot spots
where there is
a high inci­dence
of crash­es,"
Kimbrough
said about the
targeted areas.
T h e
H i g h w a y
Safety Office
used a set of
criteria to fig­ure
out areas
extra attention throughout
the state, Mathews said. He
explained that Opelika and
Lee County also have a list
"(We) will pick
hot spots
where there is
high incidence
of crashes."
— Carlos Kimbrough,
director of Central
Alabama Highway Safety
that need
of target areas. Every juris­diction
in the state has
these primary
hot spots.
The Auburn
Police Division
did extra
p a t r o l s
t h r o u g h o u t
January and
February of this
year, Mathews
said
"On the first
day of classes,
(we were)
emphasizing pedestrian
safety," he said, adding that
they will be targeting the
> Turn to PATROL, A3
BRIAN SHIRK — PHOTO STAFF'
CRIME STOPPERS: During March, the Auburn Police
Department will increase patrol at high traffic areas like the
intersection of West Magnolia Avenue and Cox Street.
A2 UTtJc Auburn ^latiusman Thursday, March 2,2006
UMie aiurum «iai
A S/WT 7H«T « NOTAFRA1D
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printings per Hmwter. It a distributed free of charge to Auburn students and acuity. Please take only one
copy. First copy free additional copies are $1. Anyone caught taking more than one copy will be proeecuted to
the rullest extent. Staff meeting! are Wednesdays. 7 p.m. In MOO Foy Student Union. For more information.
«!i.H-W-41>le-iiMU us nlmiilSlhepUrmrun.^mcir v ^ o u r \\thtitr«l«-H>,'lheiil«iii»ni«ai.xini.
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POSlVtASTER; Send address changes to Tile Auburn HainsmoaB-100 I^Sttaient Union. Auburn Univen^AL 3 ^
Fast a Convenient
7 days a week llam-2pm
Enjoy a romantic dinner in an elegant,
yet casual setting.
Home of $3.00 pitchers!
log on for full menu at
www.auchinapalace.com
SUSHI HOUR (Dine-in &to-go)
Monday-Saturday. 5pm-10pm
Business Hours:
Sun - Fri: 11am - 10pm
Sat: 5pm-10pm
Convenient take-out
&
FREE DELIVERY
After 5:00 pm
$ 10.00 minimum
"tiger card accepted*
S.CollegeSt.
I
ml \ I
335 S. College St.
Tel: 887-8866
S
CORRECTION:
The "Museum draws students" article that ran In the
Feb. 23 edition Incorrectly Identified ene of Its sources.
Laura Mason, net Laura Moore, Is a senior In public rela­tions
and an Intern at the museum. Mason aided in tbe
development of the story.
Heard
Round the World
Get iriformed about what goes on outside Auburn
BAGHDAD
Civil war continues in Iraq
as sectarian attacks contin­ue
between the Shiites and
Sunnis. Bombings against
mainly religious targets have
continued through Tuesday
night, killing at least 68 peo­ple
each day. The possibility
of civil war increased after
the Feb. 22 bombing of the
important Shiite Askariya
shrine.
MINNEAPOLIS
More than 92 percent of
pilots in the union at North­west
Airlines Corp. voted in
favor of authorizing a strike
Tuesday. The grounds for
such action are the carrier's
threats of pay cuts and work-rule
changes. This vote
authorizes the union's lead­ers
to call the strike, but
. doesn't necessarily mean
they will. They said they will
not strike unless the changes
are actually imposed.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
On Tuesday, the Supreme
Court ruled in an 8-0 deci­sion
that federal extortion
and racketeering laws can
not be used to ban demon­strators
at abortion clinics.
This fight has been going on
for approximately 20 years,
even though in 2003, the
high court lifted a nation­wide
injunction on anti-abortion
groups.
MUMBAI, India
Before President Bush
arrived in India Wednesday,
protesters there burned effi­gies
of him, demanding that
he not be allowed to enter
the country. Approximately
1,000 Muslims in Bombay
protested, claiming that it
was an insult to them for
Bush to come as a guest of
the Indian government.
Many demonstrations had
been organized by commu­nist
politicians and Islamic
leaders. The purpose of
Bush's three-day visit was to
strengthen a strategic part­nership
between India and
the United States.
NEW ORLEANS
The Mardi Gras spirit
stayed alive in the city rav­aged
by Hurricane Katrina
just six short months ago.
Several costumes played off
of the storm's aftermath,,
such as one man who wore a
white blanket and labeled
himself as one of the huge
sandbags used to breach
flooding. Locals hoped this
huge tourist event would
help boost the economy.
— Reports compiled by
staff reports from
Yahoo News. For more
information on these
developing stories and
other national news,
visit www.cnn.com or
www.foxnews.com.
CRIME
REPORTS
Feb. 23 — Feb. 27
Feb. 23, Wal-Mart - Theft
from a public building
reported. One Canon EOS
Rebel XT camera valued at
$958 was stolen.
Feb. 24, Health Plus —
Harassing communications
reported between 9:15 a.m.
and 9:30 a.m.
Feb. 24, Felton Lane —
Cocaine possession and pos­session
of a firearm with an
obliterated serial number
reported. One plastic bag
containing a white powdery
substance with drug para­phernalia
was found. A 9
m.m. pistol with the serial
number filed off was found.
Feb. 25, The Highlands —
Four reports of miscella­neous
larceny between 2:20
a.m. and 2:30 a.m. were
reported. In the first, a purse,
a credit card, a cell phone
and U.S. currency (total value
$155) were stolen. In the sec­ond,
a purse, a credit card
and U.S. currency (total value
$55) were stolen. In the third,
a black purse, a Visa credit
card and a Compass Bank
debit card (total value $20)
were stolen. In the fourth, a
bronze-colored purse, a
Canon Elf camera, a Casio
watch, a Samsung cell phone,
a Citibank Visa card and U.S.
currency (total value $650)
were stolen. Almost all of the
stolen items were recovered
on the same date.
Feb. 25, 524 Ross Street —
Forced burglary and larceny
from residence reported. One
women's 14K white gold wed­ding
band with 11 round bril­liant
cut diamonds with
milgrain detail and one men's
14K white gold wedding
band with eight channel set
round brilliant cut diamonds
were stolen. The value of the
stolen rings was $3,224.
Feb. 26, Kentucky Fried
Chicken — Burglary of auto
and larceny reported. U.S.
currency of $45 was stolen.
Feb. 27, HDK Impound —
Criminal trespassing report­ed
between 10:15 a.m. and
10:30 a.m. at the impound
lot.
Feb. 27, Colonial Univer­sity
Village Mall — Bur­glary
of auto and larceny
reported. One adult Levi jean
jacket, one child's G-Unit
jean jacket with a hood, one
Tommy Hilfiger jacket, one
girl's jean jacket and assorted
groceries were stolen. The
value of the stolen items was
$129.
Feb. 27, BP Grub Mart-
Gas drive-off reported.
Eleven gallons of gasoline
valued at $24 were stolen.
— Reports provided by the
Auburn Department
of Public Safety
University of Florida
Independent Florida Alliga­tor
—
If Skye Grundy has her
way, no one will feel they
have to squeeze into another
tight pair of jeans again.
Grundy is a coordinator of
the University of Florida
Body Acceptance Week
2006, which kicks off today.
The coordinatorsaxe ask­ing
students today to turn in
t heir jeans that don't fit
She said students who
donate jeans that no longer
fit them will not have the
urge to lose weight to
squeeze back into them.
This could prevent the
development of potentially
unhealthy eating habits.
The target population is
students, who are at high
risk for eating disorders.
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt Hustler —
Vanderbilt University red-shirt
freshman Zachary
Christopher Logan, 20, was
arrested by Metro Police
early Friday morning for driv­ing
under the influence.
Logan is a full back on Van-derbilt's
football tcam. Logan
had
i
Rod
of mej
der!
nitel
footb
"At
book ends on it," he said.
Williamson said Vanderbilt
could not comment about
the student conduct of indi­vidual
students, citing the
Federal Educational Rights
and Privacy Act.
University of South
Carolina
The Gamecock —
There is a flier at the
entrance to Capstone pro­claiming
your need for a $900
home gym system.
While most fliers are not
quite_a8likely to be useful to
the reader, the flier system is
still undeniably inefficient
It is rare for a student to
actually read one of the many
posters they walk by Iff "a clay
and even rarer to actually
need what is advertised.
In addition to these difficul­ties,
it is almost impossible for
a seller to advertise for multi­ple
items at once and equally
problematic for a buyer to
actively seek what they desire.
They think the site will rev­olutionize
the college econo­my.
University of
Arkansas
Arkansas Traveler —
A professional sports team
will be named the "Niggers"
or the "Niggas," in the next 10
to 15 years, Bryant K. Smith
said Tuesday. Smith, speaking
at a presentation hosted by
the Studertf African American
e University
predicts
so
ballroom;
tation, "The Cooptation of
the Word 'Nigger.'"
Before the presentation
began. Smith gave warning to
the audience that he would
be using language that might
offend some people.
University of Alabama
The Crimson White —
University of Alabama
parking issues were the main
topic of discussion in Thurs­day's
SGA Senate meeting as
senators voted down a bill to
ask sj.ujf4a^.JtQf.,J#ote on
whether freshmen should
have on-campus parltirig
privileges.
The resolution called for a
referendum to be onthe elec­tions
ballot, to see whether
students think freshmen
should be restricted from
having vehicles on campus.
Senators passed a resolu­tion
by C&IS Sen. Emily
Crawford calling for UA Park­ing
Services to implement a
lottery for students to have
the chance to buy decals for
unused faculty parking spots
each semester.
University of Ken­tucky
Kentucky Kernel —
Imagine if a passionate
hobby became a way to be
recognized that provided
numerous opportunities for a
. career.
For University of Kentucky
freshman^Ma-tt Jordan, this
dream-ijai-eabiv.
What-started as a site for
friends has become a life-changing
endeavor into
music journalism thrpugh
one pepul*j|v|eDum"It Ain't
No Picasso.") $f\ I .•
"It Ain't No Picasso" began
in November 2004 as a blog
that eight of Jordan's friends
would read for indie rock
suggestions.
The site's name comes
from an unreleased song by
indie artist Bishop Allen.
Louisiana State Uni­versity^
'
The Daily Reveille —
The third fatal case of
meningitis this year among
the Louisiana's college stu­dents
occurred at Loyola Uni­versity
in New Orleans on
Tuesday. Loyola announced
Wednesday that arts and sci­ences
Junior Trent Fmgicjj, 20,
of Houston, Texas, was found
dead in his dorm room. !> \
Fiicich's roommate discov­ered
him unconscious and
unresponsive a i ' J S p P-m„
according to Vice President of
Student Affairs Tom Smith. •
Loyola has not released
whether Fucich died of bacte­rial
or viral meningitis. The
university reported Fucich
was suffering from cold and
flu-like symptoms a week
before his death.
University of Missis-
£!EaC»
Daily Mississippian —
CNN political analyst Mark
Shields and former Gov.
William Winter will discuss
race and politics at the Uni­versity
of Mississippi Monday,
March 6.
The discussion will be
moderated by UjM associate
professor of journalism.Cook
political
ilkie.
11 be in
at 6 p.m.
| by UM's
Institute for
Racial Reconciliation.
A Grenada County native,
Winter received a bachelor's
and a law degree from UM in
1943 and 1949.
He has since been awarded
five honorary degrees.
Chair anjd.";
journahV
The exena
Paris-YatesJ|
and is p|pj
William Wii
Thursday, March 2,2006 &he auburn $latn*num A3
PATROL
>FromAl
*
same area the night of the A-Day game.
The police department does not have a
specific schedule for conducting extra
patrols, Kimbrough said.
"(They) randomly decide when they
take the federal money to take extra
enforcements," Kimbrough said, explain­ing
that federal grants are given for proj­ects
like these. "They get a pot of money,
and they manage it"
The specific dates throughout this
month are March 7,18 and 23.
The last time the police did these extra
patrols before January was in September
of2005.
"(We did) a Labor Day blitz and some
other sustained enforcement," Mathews
said.
Kimbrough said, traditionally, these
extra patrols do make a positive difference
in driver behavior.
"If you go down the street and a lot of
the time you see an officer parked there,
then every time you hit that street, you're
not going to go blazing through," Kim­brough
said. "(The officer's) presence
changed your behavior."
"That's the whole purpose behind the
traffic enforcement patrols, to make driv­ing
and walking in the city safer," said
Capt. Tom Stofer of Auburn Police Depart­ment
"We want people... to pay attention to
their driving" Stofer added. "There are too
many distractions in society today. Folks
forget that when they're behind the wheel
that their first obligation is to operate it
safely. These patrols hopefully will help
people focus on operating a vehicle more
safely."
The Auburn police department with
have extra officers on patrol and extra
checkpoints
SLOW DOWN: On March 7,18 and 23, the Auburn Police Department will conduct
extra traffic patrols. Police departments do these extra patrols periodically in
hopes of making drivers more aware of their behavior on the road. %
"When enforcement is all done, after
public awareness efforts, all of the sudden,
everyone starts using their belts," Kim­brough
said.
Kimbrough said the decision of timing
is entirely up to the police department He
said it's similar to having a checking
account where one sum is given at the
beginning, and the person is allowed to
spend the money at their discretion
through time.
He also said the decision is based on
Auburn Police Department's already avail­able
resources.
"Most police agencies don't have the
resources to run overtime," Kimbrough
added.
As for the increased number of patrol­men
that are actually out on the streets, it
depends on what kind of activity the
police are trying to curb or bring about a
higher awareness, Mathews said.
"These are what we call saturation
patrols," Mathews said. "What I have
scheduled is two additional cars to focus
on these areas. That might not be the case
every time. It just varies depending on
what type of activity we're focusing on."
TIGERCARD
>• From Al
said.
Walsh said bringing back the debit system would
benefit students and local merchants. Walsh said stu­dents
had been calling him and other members of the
Lobby Board to see that progress was made to bring
back the descending balance since it made it conven­ient
to use for off-campus locations.
The bill, which was amended in the Senate, is being
re-designed to help benefit local merchants in the
Auburn area.
Among the revisions made include a 5 percent cap
for transactions fees and a 21-day return from the
University to pay back stores for charges.
Walsh said he and other members are keeping close
contact with representatives to ensure the bill is
passed.
"We're working on maintaining a positive relation­ship
with the representatives in the House, especially
with the Auburn grads to express student opinion,"
Walsh said.
David Granger, University spokesman, said the Uni­versity
is hopeful, and he is confident the bill will be
passed.
"We're in favor of the bill as amended in its current
state and, hopefully, it'll pass," Granger said.
If the bill does pass, it will go into effect beginning
fall 2006. us
In June 2004, Brandt Tucker, owner of Willie's Wings
& Things, and Michael Ellenberger, owner of South­eastern
Pest Management filed a lawsuit to eliminate
the descending balance on off-campus locations
because of how much it was costing merchants.
FUEL
> From Al
Granger said the crowd was given
the opportunity to see and hear
about not only the use of switch grass,
but a variety of other alternative fuels
as well, including biodiesel, which
comes from burning
vegetable oil.
The process that
produces . ethanol,
Bransby said, is "pretty
simple, really."
"There are several
technologies out there
that can do this," he
said.
The one Bransby
believes has the best
chance of being com­mercially
successful
involves taking car­bonaceous
materials,
such as switchgrass or
corn, and putting them into a gasifier.
Gasification, Bransby said, involves
partial combustion, which restricts
the amount of air that gets to the fire.
"What happens then," he said, "is
instead of getting water, you get
straight hydrogen with no oxygen
attached to it We know hydrogen is a
good fuel. It burns."
Along with the hydrogen comes
carbon monoxide and methane.
Each of the three gases can be burned
for fuel, Bransby said, citing a
demonstration performed by a col­league.
"A friend of mine has got a pick-up
truck with a gasifier on the back, and
he takes those gases straight to the
carbeurator and he runs his car on it"
Bransby said. "He
drove down from
Birmingham on
wood."
Bransby said he has
"no doubt at all''
that ethanol will
become commer­cially
available with­in
six years, "maybe
even less than that,"
he said.
"Within 10 years
we could probably
produce enough
biofuels to replace
everything we
import from the Middle East," he
added, "which is not very much. We
only import like 15 percent of what
we use. People think it's a lot more."
Bransby said he "stumbled into"
researching switchgrass when he
came to Auburn from South Africa 19
years ago. Oddly enough, he was orig­inally
hired by the University to teach
a class on beef production.
"Within 10 years
we could
probably
produce enough
biofuels to replace
everything we
import from the
Middle East."
— David Bransby,
agronomy and soils professor
TRUSTEES
>- From Al
Should Ball be forced to
vacate his seat, repercussions
from outside
groups could
result, including
talks of a possible
lawsuit to reverse
the decision.
Bill Kennedy,
chair of the
Auburn Trustee
Improvement
Political Action
Committee
(ATIP), said he
hopes the issue
resolved when Riley and Ball
meet Friday.
"I hope they get everything
worked out" Kennedy said.
**I hope to
return to the
board at the
April
meeting."
— Charles Ball,
former Board of Trustee
member
will be
Kennedy said he and the rest
of the committee felt King's
opinion was given too much
weight and should be re-evalu­ated.
"The attorney general's opin­ion
is just that —
an opinion,"
Kennedy said.
Kennedy said if
the matter isn't
resolved, it will be
taken care bf
through the legal
system.
"The attorney
general's opinion
will be changed. I
think a judge will
decide who's right and who's
wrong," Kennedy said.
Earlon McWhorter, presi­dent
pro-tempore of the
Board, said he supports Ball's
re-appointment and has
expressed that to the governor.
"Charles Ball deserves to be
the trustee that's sitting in that
seat," McWhorter said. "1
wouldn't think about support­ing
anybody but Charles Ball,"
McWhorter said.
Ball, appointed in 2004 to
replace Sen. Lowell Barron,
was originally expected to ful­fill
a seven-year term under
Riley's appointment
Attorney General Troy King's
opinion was sought after con­fusion
about the official begin­ning
and ending dates of
trustees' terms was addressed.
The question revolved around
whether a term begins when
the former trustee's term
expires or as soon as the
replacement begins sitting on
the board regardless of the
date of the governor's confir­mation.
King issued a statement in
October stating Ball's service
ended Feb. 9, 2005. King said
Ball should actually serve only
to the completion of Barron's
scheduled term.
According to King's state­ment.
Ball's term expired after
two years while other board
members' terms were extend­ed,
including Lowder's, which
went from 2007 to 2011.
Ball has not given up his seat
yet because of a decision made
by the Senate in 2000 allowing
a board member to continue
serving up to a year if a
replacement is not immediate:
ly found. The Senate also rec­ommended
trustees serve no
more than two consecutive
seven-year terms.
Like to write? Want to see your stories
published? Then come write for The Plainsman.
Come pick up a story every Wednesday at 7 p.m.
in B-IOOToy Student Union.
Mioitima
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• 5 a*
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500 W. Magnolia - 821-0185
Delivery 8219971
2006-2007 Spirit
Squad Tryputs
Auburn Cheerleading tryouts will
be held April 18-20,2006. Ah
interest meeting will be held on
Monday, March 6 at 6:30 in room
207 of the Student Activities
Center, For Additional infbrma-
Tiger PawsVanteTeam Tryout$
will be held April 24*25,2006. Fo
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BETHSUITO* —
ASSOCIAIT nioro riimw
SUNSHINE STUDY:
The start of March
brought warm
weather to
Auburn. Tempera­tures
on Wednes­day
reached into
the 70s. Many
students took
advantage of the
nice weather and
spent their
afternoons
outside. Ben
Burmester, a
junior in civil
engineering, spent
his Wednesday
afternoon
studying at the
picnic tables
outside of Foy Stu­dent
Union.
Plainsman announces 2006-2007 editor
By AMYGORDON
Associate Intrigue Editor
When the new fall semester rolls around.
The Plainsman will find itself in the hands
of someone new.
Niki Doyle, a junior in journalism, has
been named 2006-2tX)7 edi­tor
of The Auburn Plains­man.
Doyle said her most
important goal is to bring
the paper up to date.
"One thing I want to do
is redesign some aspects of
the paper and give the
paper more of a modern feel," she said.
Doyle also mentioned the addition of a
new beat reporter for the paper.
"I'm trying to include a really good
administration reporter," she said. "I feel
our coverage.of the administration could
be better."
She also wants to make sure the needs of
all students are met.
She said reporters at The Plainsman
sometimes focus more on stories for liberal
arts majors, but that the newspaper covers
stories essential for all students.
Doyle also wants to increase readership
by distributing more papers to areas of
Doyle
campus that don't typically receive news­papers.
The increased distribution is a part of
Doyle's Readership Initiative, a plan to
increase student interest in the paper
through paper availability and access to the
newspaper and its staff.
"My goal is to connect
the students and faculty to
the staff and make them
feel like their voices really
are being heard," Doyle
said.
The Plainsman's Web
site will also see a facelift
as a part of the Initiative,
she said.
Doyle will be editor from
August 2006 until May
2007.
"It's long enough to
enjoy it, and short enough
to get out before I get burned out," she said.
Doyle said her responsibilities have
increased dramatically since she got the
position.
With so much to do, she said she can't
imagine what the workload will be once
she actually begins her tenure.
Even though the job will be stressful,
Doyle said she can't see herself doing any-
"My goal is to
connect the
students and
faculty to the staff
and make them
feel like their
voices really are
being heard."
— Niki Doyle,
incoming Plainsman editor
thing else.
"I want to improve this paper, and being
editor is the best way to do it," she said. "I
want to see what it looks like from above,
to see all the sections working together."
Before she begins working as editor,
Doyle has another gig lined up
as a news intern at The Birm­ingham
News.
Beyond that, she said she's
looking to get ahead.
"When I graduate, I want to
work for a mid-size daily
paper — for the largest paper
that will take me," she said. "I
want to start off as a reporter
in hard news and work my
way up to editor."
Doyle said she enjoys writ­ing
hard news more than fea­ture
stories because she
enjoys the fast pace of break­ing
news.
When it's all said and done, Doyle said
she wants to walk away knowing she's done
her best.
"I think (the experience) will help with
my time management, and it'll make me a
stronger person, not just a stronger
reporter," she said. "It's a 24-hour-a-day,
seven-days-a-week job."
Meth labs brew trouble in Alabama
By ADAM HOUSTON
Staff Writer
A make-shift methampheta-mine
lab was found in a room
at the Arbor Suites on Com­merce
Drive Feb. 12.
The lab was dis­covered
after
police obtained a
search warrant
based on informa­tion
received from
Holly Barber, 33,
and Roy Oliver, 50,
during question­ing
by LaGrange
authorities.
Barber ' and
Oliver had been
renting a room for
approximately
one week after moving from
Cartersville, Ga. Both were
arrested in LaGrange, Ga., for
possession of methampheta-mine
with intent to distribute.
No product was recovered
"The meth
problem is
growing by
leaps and
bounds."
—Gregory Borland,
assistant special agent in
charge of Alabama/or the
Drug Enforcement
Administration
from the hotel room, but there
were ingredients, such as
antifreeze and ether, to pro­duce
methamphetamine
found in the hotel room.
Oliver and Barber will be
extradited to Alabama and
arrested upon
their arrival.
Linda Smith,
manager of the
Arbor Suites,
would not com­ment
on the situa­tion.
/
This is one
example of the
growing problem
of methampheta­mine
distribution
and abuse.
Capt. Tom
Stofer of the Auburn Police
Division said the police are
doing everything they can to
curb the sale and use of
methamphetamine.
Between Oct. 1, 2003, and
Sept. 30, 2004, there were 523
methamphetamine labs found
in Alabama. During that same
period the following year,
there were 418 methampheta­mine
labs discovered, said
Gregory Borland, assistant
special agent in charge of
Alabama for the Drug Enforce­ment
Administration.
In July 2005, a law was
passed limiting the sale of
items containing pseu-doephedrine,
an ingredient of
methamphetamine produc­tion.
Borland credits this law
for the reduction in the num­ber
of labs found in Alabama.
However, there is still a
growing concern about the
growing popularity of the
abuse of the stimulant.
"The meth problem is grow­ing
by leaps and bounds," Bor­land
said. "Mexican drug
trafficking organizations are
smuggling in high purity prod­uct.
They bring it in in 50-
pound bricks."
The rise of Mexican DTOs
have led to a decline in the
number of labs discovered,
but they are bringing in more
of the product.
Usually, the DTOS smug­gling
methamphetamine into
the United States by using
tractor-trailers, but have been
known to use the U.S. Postal
Service or another commer­cial
parcel service, according
to the DEA's website.
Methamphetamine is also
the second-most abused drug
in Alabama, behind marijua­na.
To stop the manufacture
and abuse of methampheta­mine,
the police rely on infor­mation
received from the
public more than anything
else.
"We encourage anyone who
may have any information
about drug activity to give us a
call," Stofer said.
Wl N AN iPOD!
Complete an online recycling survey
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A Editorials
Commentary
Letters STATE&LOCAL March 2,2006!
State & Local
IN BRIEF
EPA investigates pollution
in Birmingham area
£he US. Environmental Protection
Agency asked to see records from
-new plants in Jefferson County this
•week. It is investigating possible
pollution in that area's waters.
Investigators look into
Elmore County shooting
On Sunday afternoon, an Elmore
County man was shot in an
incident with three law
enforcement officers. The Alabama
Bureau of Investigation is looking
into the situation.
Lauderdale County native
remembered by community
An Alabama native Marine was
killed in Iraq on Feb. 19. Matthew
Conley 21, was remembered as
more than 1,200 family and friends
gathered to pay their respects in
Greenhill last Sunday.
Racial discrimination suits
made easier by decision
It is easier now for blacks in
Alabama to win racial
discrimination lawsuits against
their employers because of a U.S.
Supreme Court decision made last
week
INSIDE
Red Cross Month soars
with fundraisers
President George W. Bush has
declared March National Red Cross
Month. The Lee County Red Cross
has planned many events
throughout the month to help
with fundraising. A5
A lot on his plate
"It can be a challenge
making sure he gets
everywhere he needs to,
but he's a joy to work
with."
-EarlineCobb
deputy city clerk
about Mayor Bill Ham
THIS WEEK
March 3,1817
Congress creates the Alabama
Territory when the Mississippi,
Territory is divided, making
Mississippi a state in the new
union. Alabama remained a
territory for two years and became
a state in December 1819. It was the
>22nd state to enter the union.
S&L STAFF
JESSICA OI WELL
Editor
jotwell@theplainsman.com
MATTHEW DISCHINGER
Assistant Editor
mdischinger@theplainsman.com
BETHANY KIRBY
Assistant Editor
btortjy@theplainsman.com
334-844-9109
Flu pandemic preparation underway
By SCOTT MARTIN
Staff Writer
Gov. Bob Riley and U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services Secretary
Mike Leavitt signed a resolu­tion
at a health summit in
Birmingham last week out­lining
the state's plan in the
case of an influenza pan­demic.
The plan, which is
designed to minimize eco­nomic
damage and loss of
life if an influenza pandemic
should occur, is part of an
initiative by the department.
The goal is to provide guid­ance
and technical assis­tance
for states to prepare
for a possible influenza pan­demic.
An influenza pandemic,
which is a global outbreak of
the disease, occurs when a
new strand of influenza
emerges for which people
have little or no immunity.
Because no immunity
exists, it spreads rapidly
worldwide.
In 1918, a flu pandemic
killed more than half a mil­lion
Americans and approxi­mately
40 million people
worldwide. This was the
most deadly flu pandemic in
history.
"Pandemics are global, in
nature, but their effects are
always local," Leavitt said at
the summit. "With this meet­ing,
local officials can identi­fy
needs specific to Alabama
communities and begin cru­cial
coordination to assure
readiness if a pandemic out­break
strikes."
The plan calls for the dis­tribution
of $100 million in
federal funds to all states by
the end of 2006. This money
will be spent to create and
stockpile more flu vaccines,
increase inoculations,
ONLINE
> For
flu.gov/plaii/statepiansJiM.
improve distribution centers
and train personnel.
Each state will receive'a
minimum of $500,000 from
the department's flu pan­demic
preparedness fund £y
AN
>TurntoFLU,A6 3
or
1
Mayors life fall of service
By JENNIFER JONES
Staff Writer
Mayor Bill Ham's relationship
with the Auburn community
began the day he was born.
The son of a local businessman,
he made his way through the city's
public school system, and then he
graduated from Auburn University
in 1977.
"I don't really like big cities,"
Ham said of Auburn. "It's just
home."
After 12 years representing Ward
4 for the Auburn City Council,
Ham was elected mayor in 2002,
and said that his primary job is to
help bring consensus to the City
Council, and to keep them
informed of the day-to-day issues.
"As the city's top elected official."
Ham said, "people expect to be
able to get in contact with the
mayor and to get an answer."
When he receives a question or
concern from a citizen, he refers
them to the proper department to
ensure the question is answered as
thoroughly as possible.
This translates into an average
of 80 to 100 phone calls each day
and nearly 50 e-mails, on top of a
barrage of special appearances
and meetings. Ham said a typical
day begins before 8 a.m. with a
meeting with the city manager to
hear about what may have hap­pened
overnight.
"He has a full day with us every
day," said Earline Cobb, the deputy
city clerk. "It can be a challenge
making sure he gets everywhere he
needs to, but he's a joy to work
with."
Auburn's city government is a
council/manager arrangement,
meaning the boards work for the
city manager and the manager
reports to the council.
Ham, a voting member of the
HARD WORKIN' MAN: Mayor Bill Ham works long hours in his office
at City Hall, sometimes answering up to 100 phone calls and 50 e-mails
each day.
Auburn City Council, is the official
spokesperson for the Council and
is responsible for running the
meetings.
This week, the Council met with
the Lee-Russell Council of
Governments about the city's
LETA transportation system and
its possible expansion to work
with Auburn's Tiger Transit sys­tem.
The Council also discussed the
future of the local airport, funding
for emergency medical transporta­tion
and, of course, the city
schools.
"When I first came onto the
Council, we were giving about
$650,000," Ham said. "This year,
we're putting about $7.2 million
into the schools. As a product of
this school system, it's a great
opportunity."
Another of his favorite accom­plishments
as mayor is the trans­formation
of the old post office
building into City Hall.
He has also enjoyed getting to
> Turn to MAYOR, A7
New tipline
lends an -
extra ear
By BETHANY KIRBY
Assistant State & Local Editor
The Auburn Police Division has devel­oped
a new tool for fighting crime in
Auburn: an automated hotline where
people can call in any information or tips
about crime.
Sgt. William Ramsey of the Auburn
Police Division helped create the tipline.
He explained that it is designed so people
can call in anonymously.
"As far as students are concerned, they
can provide information on drug activity,
thefts or burglaries ... a wide variety of
possibilities," Ramsey said. "It's not tak­ing
the place of what we do, we're just
hoping it will add to what we do."
When someone calls in, he or she gets
a voice recording that explains how to
leave their information. It also explains
that the caller can be contacted back if
they want to leave a name and number.!
"It went into effect at the beginning of
February," Ramsey said. "We've had some
calls, but not as many as I had hoped."
Ramsey said since it's still in the early
stages, the police are still deciding how
to market i t They want all citizens to be
aware of this tool.
"A police officer can't be everywhere at
any given time," Capt. Tom Stofer said.
"We rely on the extra eyes and ears that
the students provide. They help us a
great deal.
"When they see something or hear
something suspicious, if they don't want
to call the police, they can report using
the tipline. We rely on the citizens, and
especially the students."
Ramsey said the phone line doesn't
even have a handset. Everything is com-
> Turn to TIPLINE, A7
Council approves purchase of historic depot
By JESSICA OTWELL
State & Local Editor
The future of a historical
depot where numerous
trains have rolled into and
out of Auburn was voted on
Feb. 21, and with its history
comes a large price tag.
The Auburn City Council
voted unanimously to pur­chase
the train depot for
$900,000, while adhering to a
90-day due diligence period
during which the Council can
decide not to buy it for a
charge of $100.
The property bought by the
city includes not only the
train depot located on
Mitcham Avenue, but the
Spur gas station adjacent to
it as well.
The buildings are owned
by MRT LLC and Russell
- Petroleum Corporation.
Acting City Manager
Charlie Duggan said the first
phase of development will
begin immedi­ately.
During
this phase, vari­ous
environ­mental
testing
will occur.
At any point
during the first
90 days of this
testing, the city
of Auburn can
decide it does­n't
want to
make the entire
purchase on
the land and
pay the $100.
A l t h o u g h
Duggan does not know the
exact price for Phase I, he
said it could be anywhere
from $2,700 to $3,300.
"We do have money avail-
"For many
years, the trains
coming and
going from
Auburn was
virtually the
only means of
transportation."
—JackSimms, •
chair of the Auburn
Historical Preservation
Commission
able for the purchase,"
Duggan said.
The city has $18 million in
reserve funds
and is only
required to keep
4 to 5 percent of
the reserve fund
by law, Duggan
said
The Council
has not yet
determined the
purpose of the
building.
"The use of the
building will be
determined by
the Council, and
that action won't
take place in the
first 90 days," Duggan said. "It
is not uncommon to save his­toric
buildings without
knowing their future use."
Even though the depot's
nmi SLU50N — PHOTO EDITOR
BACK, BACK TRAIN: The train depot located on Mitcham
Avenue was purchased by the City Council for $900,000.
future is unclear, residents
are excited about an array of
possibilities.
"I'm sure they aren't going
to do something with it that's
not important, but some­thing
that will add to the
community," said Jack
Simms, chair of the Auburn
Historic Preservation
Commission.
"For many, many years, the
V Turn to COUNCIL, A6
A6 QElic Suburn plains man Thursday, March 2,2006
COUNCIL
V FroniA5
..trains coming and going from
Auburn was virtually the only means
of transportation," Simms said. "They
didn't have passable roads in 1800s, so
people rode the train."
_*, Simms said the depot would be one
of the most important buildings in the
developing historic district downtown,
for whatever purpose it would serve.
"The Historic Commission is really
2»nly concerned with the external part
Jjif the building, so what they do with
the inside of it, unless they put neon
Pttgns inside it, is not something that
2Be would really have a say in," Simms
Hsaid.
—• Some of the ideas that have been
nmscussed, Simms said, include a
j museum, visitor center or a restau­rant,
although he doesn't think the
Kj£staurant will be an option for the
: building.
£Z?In other news, a resolution was
•approved to raise each member's
••alary from $400 a month to $600 a
igionth.
~ Councilwoman Sheila Eckman, a
strong supporter of the resolution,
[ compared the salaries of Auburn's
j Council members with those in other
1 states and showed that their pay is rel­atively
lower than others.
^ Eckman noted that the increase in
pay will help with campaign finances.
.. Councilman Ted Wilson strongly
opposed the opposition.
"It is an honor to serve and a luxury
MKIIAU NELSON — PIIOTO STAFF
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Auburn City Council members Sheila Eckman,
Logan Gray, Mayor Bill Ham, Ted Wilson and Dick Phelan discuss details of
the train depot with Acting City Manager Charlie Duggan. The Council will
ultimately determine the use of the new building after it is voted on.
to live here. We do what we can to
make a difference by contributing in
any way," Wilson said.
Although she voted in favor of the
resolution, Councilwoman Carolyn
Mathews said she fears it would be a
precedent every four years to increase
the salaries of the board members.
The final vote was 5-4 in favor of the
pay raise.
FLU
>-FromA5
the end of the year, with the
money distributed based on pop­ulation
and overall risk factors for
an outbreak.
Alabama will receive just less
than $1.6 million.
The plan also calls
for an additional
$250 million to be
spent on flu pan­demic
preparations
by the end of 2007.
"If a flu pandemic
arrives, our busi­nesses,
our schools
and our families will
be on the front lines
of any effort to stop
or contain it," Riley
said at the summit.
"We want to make
sure that we're
doing everything we
can to identify and
secure all the necessary resources
to protect our citizens."
Although the increased funding
by the federal government to
improve flu outbreak prepared­ness
may seem like cause for
alarm, Samantha Davis, a public
relations officer for the Health
and Human Services Depart­ment,
said there is no need for
panic.
"There is no immediate threat
of a flu pandemic, but we need to
**We want to
make sure that
we're doing
everything we
can to identify
and secure all
necessary
resources to
protect our
citizens."
— Bob Riley,
governor
plan for disasters before they
occur," Davis said.
Davis also said people need to
take lessons from the past to pre­vent
flu outbreaks and manage
them effectively if they occur. She
said the lessons learned from
past flu pandemics, such as the
one in 1918, should not be forgot­ten.
Geoff Donnell, a
press officer for the
governor's office,
agreed with Davis
and said preventing
a flu outbreak is a
much better strategy
than trying to cope
with and contain the
outbreak once it
occurs.
"People should
always be concerned
about their health,"
Donnell said. "That
is why Gov. Riley and
the U.S. Health
Department are tak­ing
these measures."
Although Auburn will receive a
portion of the pandemic fund
from the state to deal with the
possibility of a flu pandemic, it is
unlikely that further steps will be
taken to prepare the area for such
an outbreak
The Auburn Medical Clinic will
spend its allocated funds to
improve flu outbreak prepared­ness,
but no additional funds will
be spent
Red Cross fundraising takes flight over Lee County
By MIRANDA MATTHEIS
StaffWriter
. ., Every year, the president of the United States
acknowledges March as Red Cross month. This
year is especially important to the American
Red Cross because it is celebrating its 125th
anniversary.
, "We want to let the nation remember what
the Red Cross does," said Jennifer
JJyan, executive director of the Lee
County Red Cross.
In honor of Red Cross Month, the
Lee County Red Cross will be run­ning
its annual "Heroes for Red
Cross" fundraising campaign,
which is its largest fundraising
campaign of the year.
| "This is a special time for us,"
Ryan said.
"Heroes" are those individuals
iwho raise $1,000 for the Red Cross,
and "super heroes" are those who
raise $5,000.
The money can be raised by host­ing
various events. Heroes will be
featured in local newspapers and on radio sta­tions
to help publicize the different fundraising
^activities.
Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Lee, was selected to be
the chair for the 2006 "Heroes for Red Cross"
campaign.
"It's a real honor. I've always supported the
American Red Cross," Hubbard said.
Hubbard will recruit more heroes for the
campaign, and he will be active at many of the
events going on throughout the month.
Tin looking forward to it," Hubbard said.
The third annual "Heroes Take Flight" event
"We want to
get the whole
campus and
the whole
community
involved."
— Matt Reynolds,
social service chair
Alpha Tau Omega
will be held March 11 at the Auburn-Opelika
Robert G. Pitts Airport.
Various types of aircrafts will be flying in,
such as World War II and vintage planes. The
day will begin with a race, and runners can par­ticipate
in either the one-mile run, the 5K or
the tot trot
The fly-in begins at 10 a.m. and will continue
until 3 p.m.
Admission is $5, and children
younger than 10 are admitted for
free.
BancorpSouth will be spon­soring
a golf tournament March 3
at the Robert Trent Jones Grand
National Golf Course in Opelika to
raise money for the Red Cross.
Alpha Tau Omega fraternity
will be helping with this event.
"We want to get the whole
campus and the whole community
involved," said Matt Reynolds,
social service chair of Alpha Tau
Omega.
During hurricane season, the
fraternity decided to pick up the
Red Cross as a major philanthropy.
"It was a good chance for us to jump on
something," Reynolds said.
The fraternity is involved with the Red Cross
throughout the year and has been helping with
the Red Cross building renovations.
"They are very willing to accept volunteers,
and we're very willing to give them," Reynolds
said.
Big Swamp Harley-Davidson in Opelika is
also helping out with the "Heroes for Red
Cross" Campaign.
Anyone who makes a $100 donation to the
oomw/TH)
FLYING HIGH: Air shows featuring World War II and other vintage planes will be featured
this month at the Auburn-Opelika Robert G. Pitts Airport. Above, last year's fly-in featured
large vintage planes from World War II. This year's fly-in begins March 11 at 10 a.m. and
will last until 3 p.m. Admission is $5, and children under the age of 10 are admitted for free.
Red Cross during March will be given a ticket
and the chance to win a 2006 Harley-Davidson
motorcycle.
Only 500 tickets are available, and the draw­ing
will be held at 3 p.m. April 1 at Big Swamp
Harley-Davidson.
John Cunningham, owner of Big Swamp, said
he decided to help with the campaign because
the store is new in the area and because he sup­ports
the Red Cross.
"It seemed pretty logical," Cunningham said.
To go along with Red Cross month, a Greek
Week Blood Drive will be held in the Foy Ball­room
March 7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"We want to get a lot of visibility? Ryan said.
The "Heroes for Red Cross" campaign will
kick off with a breakfast tomorrow morning at
7:30 a.m. at the Auburn Chamber of Commerce.
Anyone interested in participating in the
campaign is invited to the event
More information is available at www.leered-cross.
org.
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Lenox Apt.- 350 Armstrong St.
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Thursday, March 2,2006 flflje Suburn $latruttrwn M
Flu pandemic not an
immediate threat
I made a terrible mistake this
winter — I forgot my flu shot
• Yes, the flu is an awful illness,
• but for the average person, it usu­ally
poses a minor threat to his or
her physical health.
• I, on the other hand, fall into the
- high-risk category: the group of
• people who should, get a vaccine
because the flu could be deadly
' for them.
As an asthmatic,
< I could end up on a
nice little vacation
in the hospital if I
I catch the flu, and
Lord knows, I don't
' have time to deal
' with the inconven­iences
of a nasty lit­tle
bug.
That's why I was
• elated to hear that Gov. Bob Riley
'• and the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services were creating
i a plan to handle the possibility of
a flu pandemic.
• But after seeing this "plan," I'm
already examining my arms for a
good vein for the IV drip.
• The U.S. government is sinking
- $100 mil lion into a bogus plan,
' one that will supposedly "create
and stockpile more flu vaccines,
. increase inoculations, improve
distribution centers and train per­sonnel."
OK, that's great that the govern­ment
wants to provide more vac-
, cines, but isn't it a little late to be
• inoculating the masses?
'I If I remember correctly, January
S is considered a little too late to get
i a flu shot. I'm pretty sure March
t> doesn't qualify.
I understand this plan is proba­bly
intended to prevent a pandem­ic
next flu season, but what good
j does stockpiling the vaccine really
'do?
Viruses mutate. New strains of
flu develop every year, and my
NIKI DOYLE
ndoyle@theplainsman.com
doctor has always stressed to me
that a vaccine is not a sure-fire
way to avoid any kind of bug.
Stockpiling now isn't practical.
In fact, I would venture to say that
stockpiling would be useless, peri­od.
So why are we doing it?
During the week of Feb. 12, the
U.S. World Heath Organization
and the National
Respiratory and
Enteric Virus Sur­veillance
System
determined that
15.3 percent of the
specimens tested in
their labs were
"influenza positive."
The report, pro­vided
by the Center
for Disease Control,
said the proportion of patients
with flu-like illness was above, the
national baseline, but the propor­tion
of deaths because of flu was
below the baseline.
Only 17 states reported wide­spread
cases of the flu. Most states
reported regional or sporadic flu
activity.
That hardly sounds like a loom­ing
pandemic.
The government's plan is an
honorable one, but certain disas­ters
can't be prevented or con­tained
in advance.
Unfortunately, no amount of
preparation could have helped the
victims of the tsunami or of Hurri­cane
Katrina.
Preparation can only ease the
recovery period and help people
heal faster. The government can't,
however, stop the forces of nature
— as much as some politicians
like to think so.
Niki Doyle is copy editor of
The Auburn Plainsman.
You can reach her at 844-9108.
TIPLINE
> From A5 *
pletely automated to ensure anonymity. Once the informa­tion
comes in, it goes through approximately five people,
so nothing slips through the cracks.
The police encourage people to call in any information,
whether it seems significant or minor. At this time, no
money or reward is offered for information given over the
line.
The Opelika Police Department has had a similar hot­line
for approximately 15 years. 2
Sgt. Bobbie Kilgore of Opelika said the department's
secret witness hotline has been a useful tool.
"Primarily, it's been used for people who don't really
wish to use their name... fearing retaliation," Kilgore said.
"We get several calls a week."
He said the use of the line is consistent, unless a major
event occurs, and then the police will receive more calls.'"
"The crime tipline is just another tool in our arsenal to
keep folks safe, another avenue that people can report sus­picious
activity or crime," Stofer said.
The number for the tipline is 501-7337. '*
MAYOR
> From A5
have a hand in the expansion of the
city's parks and recreational facdities,
and believes the quality of life Auburn
offers is not only what draws people to
the city, but what keeps them here.
"There has been some criticism
lately as to what exactly the mayor's
job is," Ham said.
"By law, the mayor is not to give
direction to anybody who works for
the city, but there's no question that
people are going to call the mayor
when they have a problem or are
interested in what's going in the city,
and they expect to get an answer."
In between what he described as a
"tremendous amount" of phone calls,
he visits almost weekly with groups of
school children who visit
City Hall and offers greetings from the
city for visiting groups. He also makes
appearances at events throughout the
city and the University.
All the official documents of the city
are signed by both the
mayor and the city manag­er,
and when potential
developers come to town,
they often want to meet
with the mayor.
And this is only a part-time
job.
In addition to running
his real estate developing
business, he even does a
live radio show every other
Tuesday morning.
The talk show's purpose
is to let citizens know what
will be brought up and
voted on in the City Council meetings
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER DOLLAR: Because Auburn is a council/manager
form of government, Mayor Bill Ham isn't allowed to give direction to city
officials. However, he is always available for help when citizens have ques­tions
about problems with what is going on with their city government.
Despite the early mornings and the
after-hours appear­ances
and dinners, Harn
maintains what he calls
a "close relationship"
with his wife of 27 years
and his two children.
Both are students at
Auburn University, and
despite their own busy
schedules, they still
manage to get together
at least once a week.
"Neither of them live
at home anymore," Ham
said of his 23-year-old
son and 21-year-old
daughter, "but they come over every
"He's just
a great dad,
and we love
spending
time with
him."
— Ashley Ham,
Bill Ham's daughter and
junior at Auburn Univer­sity
DAY IN THE LIFE OF:
> This is the last in a series of
stories about the typical days of
city and municipal employees.
Sunday night, and I cook for them and
get to hear about what they have
going on."
Ham's children said they enjoy the
occasional quality time they get to
spend with their father.
"In high school, everyone knew that
I was the mayor's daughter," said Ash­ley
Ham, a junior in exercise science.
"Now that I'm away, it's a little differ­ent.
He's just a great dad, and we love
spending time with him."
health* health!
fitness center
Auburn Medical Park
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Saturday 6:30 am - 6:30 pm
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Volunteer
Project Uplift is an agency whose main goal is to help children
develop happy, constructive lives through pairing the children
of our community with a caring concerned adult role model.
Some benefits of volunteering:
• Fulfillment of making a difference in a chfldsHfe.
• letters of recommendation for jobs and scholarships
• Letter of recommedation from the AL Attorney Gen.
• Could qualify for class credit (3 hfs)
• HAVE FUN AND HELP A KID BE HAPPY
www.auburn.edu/projectuplift
Call for more info
334-844-4430
A program of the Lee County Youth Development Center, Inc
^ -vj
A8 COMMENTARY Thursday, March 2,2006
Wit auburn ^lamtftmm
Founded In 1893 As The Orange & Blue
Vol.llZNo.21
NIKI DOYLE
Copy Editor
SARAH BROCK
Campus Editor
WILL MEZICK
.Sports Editor
Editorial Board
APRIL JO LOVE
Editor
LANDON BROWN
Business Manager
YUNMIYI
Online Editor
MATTHEW STROTHER
Design Editor
ASHLEY HUNGERFORD
Managing Editor
JESSICA OTWELL
State & Local Editor
KATHY TAYLOR
Intrigue Editor
Our View i
Filling in the gaps
Riley to decide fate of Board of Trustee vacancy
Controversy and confusion involv­ing
the Board of Trustees? Alert the
media.
Well, maybe there's no need to go
to that extreme. After all, we don't
keep our dysfunction a secret
We started the fall semester in a
heated debate arguing the actual ter­mination
of trustees' terms.
Prior to August, the majority of the
Auburn family was under the impres­sion
Trustee Bobby Lowder would be
packing up and moving out come
January 2007, which would have put
us on the official countdown by now.
|A cruel twist of fate, the University
corrected a "whoops" on their Web
stye and claimed his term actually
eijds 2011. (Our calendars weren't
quite prepared to accommodate that
many black Xs.)
•Naturally incapable of resolving
anything in-house. we confronted
Attorney General Troy King and
asked for guidance.
Mouths hit the floor, and hankies
wiped away tears when King
announced Lowder could stay, but as
a result of the newly defined terms,
Trustee Charles Ball would need to
make an earlier exit than what was
originally believed. Actually, Ball's
term had expired several months
before — try Feb. 9,2005.
IThanks to a Senate recommenda-tibn
that allows trustees to serve up
to one year after their terms end if a
replacement has not been selected.
Ball continued to sit on the Board,
but as of the Feb. 3 board meeting his
seat is officially vacant
Ball is scheduled to meet with Gov.
Bob Riley Friday to discuss his poten­tial
re-appoint Riley originally
appointed Ball to replace Trustee and
Sen. Lowell Barron after he stepped
down in 2004.
Riley has the ability to re-appoint
Ball or create a committee that would
make a recommendation for the posi­tion.
Frankly, we'd just assume see Ball
stay and move on with our lives.
With Auburn's history, we see the
possibility of a new appointment as a
coin flip — 50-percent chance you'll
get a neutral party ready to better the
University and 50-percent chance
you'll be introducing yourself to
Lowder's latest financial find.
Either way, the quest to determine
trustee terms and, more specifically,
Lowder's expiration is far frorn over.
Groups, such as the Auburn
Trustee Improvement Political Action
Committee (ATIP), have already made
comments supporting a trip through
the Alabama legal system if certain
decisions cannot be made without it
Needless to say, the broken record
resumes play.
This confusion, frustration and
downright agony is the result of a
specific trustee who refuses to go
away.
Every term will have a beginning,
middle and end. We just hope
Lowder's comes sooner than later.
It doesn't grow on trees
TigerCard debit program good for businesses, students
After two years of fighting, we're
ready to end this thing.
The TigerCard debate began in
the summer of 2004 when two local
business owners filed a lawsuit
against the University because of
the card's debit program at off-cam­pus
locations.
As a result, the University discon­tinued
the program last summer.
Thanks to the efforts of the
Lobby Board and various adminis­trators,
a revised bill is finally in
motion with legitimate hopes of
being approved.
The Senate passed the amended
bill last week, and it could be pre­sented
to the House of
Representatives as early as today.
Debit programs, in general, are an
asset to students, and not just
because plastic is the new form of
cash.
We know students can be lazy,
but having your student ID and
debit card all in one isn't the driv­ing
force behind our TigerCard sup­port.
Convenience is only part of it.
Debit cards are a great way to
spend freely and easily without
destroying your credit.
Sure, you can waste money with
them, but descending balances help
students maintain control of their
finances, a task that's more chal­lenging
for some than others.
Feel free to treat all your friends
to dinner and drinks with your
newfound finances, but come the
end of the month you'll be burned
out of Ramen noodles.
They create a boundary for stu­dents,
a floor to stand on and a ceil­ing
to hit, and they help teach
responsibility, which is just another
part of the college experience.
They're safety nets, and they can
be a positive addition for the com­munity
and the student body.
We're pleased to have an end in
sight and think we're on the right
track to making the card a valuable
program for businesses and stu­dents
alike.
Our Policy
The opinions of The Auburn Plainsman staff are restricted to these pages. The unsigned
editorials are the majority opinion of the nine-member editorial board and are the
official opinion of the newspaper. The opinions expressed in columns and letters
represent the views and opinions of their individual authors and do not necessarily reflect
the Auburn University student body, faculty, administration or Board of Trustees.
Staff Opinions
Life's lessons learned from parents
As I'm getting older, I am starting
to feel and see all the changes I've
heard grown-ups talk about my
whole life. Things I never even
thought about before are now hit­ting
me like a ton of bricks.
Last week started out as one of
the worst weeks of my life. The usual
stresses — my job, tests, sick sib­lings,
doctor's appointments, traffic
tickets — were bountiful, and on top
of that it was rainy and cold, which
never helps anything. Sorry if I've
officially depressed all you readers,
but it gets better, I promise.
My parents lovingly came to visit
last Sunday to take my sister and me
out to eat to get our minds off every­thing.
Let me premise this by saying I
have the best mama and daddy in
the world. And anyone who has ever
met them can attest to that.
My dad, who is the biggest influ­ence
in my life, noticed I was
stressed.
It's pretty easy to tell when I have
a lot on my mind — the breakouts,
fidgeting hands and feet and sleep-deprived,
puffy eyes. Needless to say,
he saw the signs. He did not say any­thing
to me that night, but I could
KATHY TAYLOR
kiaylor@theplainsman.com
tell he was thinking about me.
The next day my dad called. He
said: "Kathy, do you have a few min­utes?
I need to talk to you about
something."
And, of course, I was getting ready
to meet some friends for supper, but
when he utters phrases like that, I
know something's important. So I
replied: "Of course."
I sat down on the floor, put on my
shoes and touched up my make-up
while we went through the regular
"Helios," "How are yous" and
"What's been going ons."
As I was thinking about what I
needed to be doing and where I
needed to be at the time, I suddenly
stopped and tried to soak in every
one of his words. That was when I
received perhaps the most meaning­ful
and helpful advice. •'
(I hope I get this right, daddy).
He said, "Stress will come. .•
Everyday. Until you die. It just
depends on how you handle it that - i
makes the difference.
If you. have a white space in that
paper (speaking of the Intrigue sec­tion
of The Plainsman), there'll be a -
white space. If you make a C on a
t e s t you make a C.
You can't change stuff, only make
it better by having a good attitude. -
You're young, and you should be
happy everyday."
All I could think was "Wow, I want
everyone to hear exactly what he
just told me. If everyone lived by
those words of wisdom, it would be
a much better world."
So, to you, reader, take my dad's
advice and make the best of your
stress.
Life will go on, despite relation- -
ship problems, bad grades, bad hair­cuts
and car wrecks. Turn your
stress into positive energy. And hug •
your parents. »
Kathy Taylor is intrigue editor of
The Auburn Plainsman. ' •
You can reach her at 844-9112.
What do I want to be when I grow up?
The time has come for the ques­tion
I've been asked since pre­school
to be answered. And soon.
The overall answer to that ques­tion
has changed several times
during my life.
Before I found my place as a
journalist, I wanted to be a teacher,
a veterinarian, a psychologist, an
advertiser and a graphic designer,
just to name a few. Even though
I've finally settled on a major that I
am confident and passionate
about, that is suddenly not good
enough.
Lately, I have been unable to
escape my friends and coworkers
discussions about internships.
As juniors and seniors, we can
no longer just want to be a teacher,
a nurse or a journalist. Instead, we
need to know what type of school,
hospital or publication we want to
land an internship or possibly a job
at when we graduate.
These conversations have forced
me to think about exactly what I
want to do for the rest of my life.
Do I want to work in a big city, a
small town, the North or the
South? Do i want to write for a
magazine, an online publication, a
daily newspaper or a weekly?
When I got into journalism, my
ultimate dream job was to work for
a music magazine, and until
recently, I thought that was what
I'd end up doing.
mAiv ^»
IB *w- Wm
rB Bit 1 |
DANAJAPFE
djaffe@theplainsman.com
Sure the perks would be amaz­ing.
I did an internship two sum­mers
ago, back when I thought I
wanted to be in public relations, at
Birmingham's rock radio station
107.7 the X.
I got free passes to sneak pre­views
of movies, concert tickets
and unlimited access to CDs and
constantly was surrounded by oth­ers
who shared my passion for
music. I imagine the perks and
environment would be similar at a
music magazine.
But I really hesitate combining
my job with something I adore, like
music. It seems inevitable that I '
would become jaded. Being con­fined
to writing about one subject
for the rest of my career is hardly
appealing. It has to get tiring using
the same word bank to describe
bands day after day. I think it
would basically result in me
becoming a music snob that cared
more about knowing obscure
bands to compare and contrast
than staying loyal to my passion
for both music and writing. Plus, I
feel much too sheltered to immedi­ately
throw myself into big city life
across the country in New York or
L.A. where the majority of music
publications are located.
I guess knowing what you don't
want to do is a good starting point
to find what you do want to do.
Just like what I want to be when I
grow up took a few tries before
finding my perfect match, so will
my perfect job. I am a strong
believer in the motto that every­thing
happens for a reason and
that everything works out in the
end.
My advice to others struggling
with the same dilemma is to
understand that you're not signing
your life away when picking an
internship. Expecting immediate
perfection and satisfaction i s not
the right way to go about this. I'm
going to take my own advice and
stop being so picky and decide on a
place that feels right for now.
Although it might not be the
exact place I want to work for the
rest of my life, it will be a step that
leads me to what I want to be
when I grow up.
Dana Jaffe is assistant intrigue editor of
The Auburn Plainsman.
You can reacli Iter at 844-9112.
Thursday, March 2,2006
Just because you called it quits, doesn't mean it's over
The countdown to spring break is
officially here. With just 22 days till
beach balls are inflated and bikinis are
revealed, students are comparing
plans and finalizing details.
Determined not be left out this
year, I started asking various groups of
friends to begin organizing spring
break festivities in November, knowing
good and well nothing would actually
be done until February.
My close-knit group of girls decided
to split because of money, family
and/or sheer exhaustion.
My always-ready-for-a-good-time
group planned to pack their bags and
hit the waves, taking a Carnival Cruise.
And one of my good guy pals gave
me an open invitation to catch some
rays on a classic beach trip.
With the options coming in, I made
the natural choice — I'm going to Las
Vegas with my ex-boyfriend and his
friends.
OK, so maybe that's a little off. I'm
going to Las Vegas with my ex-boyfriend
and our now-mutual
friends, thanks to his initial introduc­tion.
But ex is a pretty unfair title. In reali­ty,
he's one of the best friends I've ever
had.
See, I have a philosophy that few of
my friends understand and even fewer
tolerate.
I believe you can remain friends
long after you've parted ways romanti­cally.
If you care about someone enough
to give them six months, a year, two
years of your life, what magically
makes them worthless after the physi­cal
attraction has died away?
My exes have been some of the most
influential people in my life, for good
or bad, and I owe them a lot for their
contributions to my personal growth.
Stop rolling your eyes. I've heard it
all before, too, and even done some of
it
I know you're supposed to purge
your life of any remembrances of a sig­nificant
other to minimize anxiety
post-breakup. Burn the photos and
delete the phone numbers.
And I'm not discouraging time
apart If you broke up, there was obvi­ously
a reason.
But after time has passed and you've
both re-entered the world couple sta­tus-
free, maybe it's time to re-evaluate.
. Think about it for a second.
APRIL JO LOVE
editor@theplainsman.com
You spent how many days, hours,
minutes figuring out exactly how to
get that special someone to notice
your existence.
You spent even longer learning
about each other and overlooking the
other one's bad habits.
Then, some undisclosed amount of
time later, you start to get annoyed.
The little habits have gotten to be big­ger
habits, and you're thinking you've
spent too many holidays ignoring
them, so you call it quits.
Fine, not every couple is meant to
last forever, and that's not a bad thing
We're all searching for Mr. or Mrs.
Right, and we'll pass through a lot of
Mr. and Mrs. Wrongs along the way.
But just because they're wrong in
the "let's buy diamonds and build cra­dles"
kind of way, doesn't mean you
can have an awesome friendship with
an amazing bond.
A lot of people in miserable relation­ships
seem to have the impression if
you break up, you're ceasing and
desisting all possible communication.
They're afraid to let go of the some­thing
special they have, even if it's not
perfect
In other cases, the couple has been
together so long it just seems easier to
stay together than to separate.
Look, guys, it's college. No matter
how long you've dated, if you're 20-
something, you haven't lived long
enough to have truly put too much
time into something to be unable to
redefine i t Try living 70 years and
being with one person for 50-plus.
Then we'll talk.
Relationships, at any level, are about
being yourself with someone else, not
about ticking clocks and alarm sys­tems.
You shouldn't have to throw a
number in front of your relationship to
prove to people it's good — "I've been
dating Susie Q/Fred G for 3 years."
I might have let a great guy or two
go in the huggy-kissy department but
I've managed to hold onto them in the
friendship arena. And they're some of
my biggest supporters and most hon­est
critics.
When we called it quits, it would
have been easy to walk away, and for a
while, we did. We needed space.
But with time, we started catching
up on each other's lives, and our rela­tionship
evolved into something dif­ferent
Those original experiences
made us stronger the second time
around, giving us a new level of com­fort
you can't find with people who
haven't dealt with you at your best and .
worst The stupidity bar has been set
extremely high, making it almost
impossible to cross.
I can't vouch for everybody. It takes
the right type of people to make it
work, and it can get a little sticky at
times.
You can be sure you'll be the only
people who understand your relation­ship,
but you can also be sure if you -"-
survived dating each other and lived "
to tell about i t you've found a friend
for life. "J
April Jo Love is editor of
The Auburn Plainsman.
You can reach her at 844-9021.
Your View
Olympics are about
respect, not glory
[Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
Matthew Shelley's recent article
on showboating by American ath­letes
was rather disappointing.
It started well, listing a number of
athletes who fail to act with a sense
of class. However, the article wors­ened
as it progressed.
Shelley argues that "it would have
been un-American of (Jacobellis)
not to do a little showboating."
Although this cocky attitude may
characterize some American ath­letes,
it is not the attitude that they
should have.
Letters! We want
letters! We want stacks
and stacks of letters!
Got something to say?
Then say it
Send your letters to B-100
Foy, or e-mail us
at letters®
theplainsman.com
American ath­letes
should
remember the
Olympic ideal of
international
respect instead of
viewing the event
as a chance to glo­rify
themselves.
As Shelley says,
"It's amazing we
have any credibili­ty
left on the inter­national
stage."
With athletes
like Jacobellis and
journalists like
Shelley endorsing.
the "value" of
American arrogance, I couldn't
agree more.
Kenneth Jackson
Auburn
Freedom of and from
religion (that of others)
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman:
A recent article in The State Port
Pilot Feb. 22 reports that a propo­nent
of Intelligent Design, Rev. Paul
Veit self-proclaimed "Dino Pastor"
from Maine who travels the country
promoting his cause, asserts, "I'm
more interested in saving your soul
than I am in winning an argument."
It apparently escapes Rev. Veit,
but neither the God of my faith nor
the U.S. Constitution has put Viet in
charge of my salvation.
If Veit's hubris reflects the insensi-tivity
of other supporters of
Intelligent Design, we should all
worry about our well-being on this
side of the grave.
To use the powers of government
to pass science off as religion or reli­gion
off as science is wrongheaded.
A free and thinking people do not
need government telling them that
their faith in God is nothing more
than a scientific theory or that their
scientific theories must conform to
another person's religious beliefs.
Within his first encyclical since
being elevated to the Chair of Peter,
Pope Benedict XVI uses some words
that echo the United States
Constitution's First
and 14th
Amendment guar­antee
of freedom
from State spon­sored
religion.
In this moving
epistle on the faith­ful
leading fives
within God's gift of
love, Deus Caritas
Est the supreme
pontiff writes, "The
State may not
impose religion, yet
it must guarantee
religious freedom
and harmony
between followers of different reli­gions."
Counter to this, some religious
zealots are currently bent on pres­suring
local public school boards
into requiring teachers to insert into
their lesson plans a new certitude of
these true believers, Intelligent-
Design Creationism. They are free
to believe what they will. However,
this attempt to use government to
promote their religious ideology
should be troubling to all people
who prize freedom of conscience.
State-sponsored proselytization is
a greater threat to our religious free­dom
than it is a mistaken sally into
the domain of science.
Science has and will continue to
weather all sorts of misdirected and
dead-ended efforts, however, our
freedom of conscience may not fare
so well.
Thinking ahead?
Wanna work for
The Auburn Plainsman?
Applications for fall 2006 staff are available
in The Plainsman office, located in B-100 Foy
Union, and are due Friday, March 3. The
deadline may be extended for some positions.
The override of this liberty would
mark the entry of our nation into an
intolerant period in which all sorts
of intellectual and spiritual pursuits
were subject to suppression.
, Sam Osborne
West Branch, Iowa
Is the Patriot act
unpatriotic?
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman-
Virginia's insistence on the addi­tion
of Patrick Henry's "Bill of
Rights" to our Constitution broke
the temple-throne connection for
the first time. .
It also rendered the United States
the first, and only, nation-state or
nation without an officially-sanc­tioned
state religion, and, at the
same time, secured rights to the
individual against illegal search &
seizure and Habeas Corpus — the
right to face your accuser.
• Those who give up freedoms for
security lose both!
Frank Brown
Auburn
The war on whites
continues
Editor, The Auburn Plainsman-
Regarding the benighted push to
rewrite Alabama's Constitution, Rep.
Jeff McLaughlin complained it was
written by only white men.
Never mind that its Declaration of
Rights is a solid guarantee of liber­ties
for individuals, anything done
by white men is bad. t
Do away with the Declaration of
Independence and US. Constitution
because they too were written by
Southern Whites.
The Ten Commandments are laws
by and for only the Master Race.
Posting of the Decalogue in gov­ernment
buildings telegraphs Jewish
Supremacism is the law, but the
double standard does not end there.
Every president since Jimmy
Carter has signed Congressional
Resolutions that establish an
innocuous sounding "Education
ONLINE:
%o Visit The PMnsmaif* message
boards at www.theplilnsman.com.
Often imitated, never duplicated.
Day", which upon examination sub­jugates
Gentiles to Jews via Noahide
Laws, a feat engineered by Russian
Jews or the Chabad-Lubavitch
movement.
Neoconservatism is a by-product
of Jewish-Communism, too.
Thomas Jefferson viewed Jews as
a "bloodthirsty race" and Judaism as
a "depraved religion." He decried
Christianity's corruption of the
teachings of Jesus, saying they were
buried in the "rubbish" of the New
Testament, written by Jews.
What would Jefferson think about
the preeminence of Jewish-
Communist ideology within the cen
tral government at Washington, DC
today?
No matter, Jefferson was white.
Larry Darby,
Montgomery*
S3
How to contact us
By mail: B-100 Foy Student Union
Auburn University, AL
36849-5323
By E-mail: letters@theplalnsman.com
By Rue (334) 844-9114
The Auburn Plainsman welcomes letters from
students as well as from faculty, administrators,
alumni and those not affiliated with the
University. Letters must be submitted before 4:30
p.m. on the Monday for publication. Letters must
include the authors name, address and phone
number far verification, though the name of the
author may be withheld upon request.
Submission may be edited for grammar and/or
length.
\\ \
x »
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Thursday, March 9, 2006
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B Classifieds
Campus Calendar
Back in History
= 3 = March 2,2006;
Sweet Sounds
Choirs and orciiestr^
to present Mozart s
Campus
IN
College receives $1 million
gift from alumnus
Alumnus Bruce Pratt of Beaufort,
S.C, has given $1 million to the
College of Veterinary Medicine to
fund an endowed professorship.
Pratt is a retired veterinarian.
Sesquicentennial lecture
series continues today
Wayne Flynt, a retired Auburn
University professor and historian,
will speak today at 4 p.m. in the
Special Collections Department of
Ralph B. Draughon Library.
SGA seeks applications
for Cabinet positions
Applications for SGA Cabinet
secretary positions are due today.
Applications for director and
assistant director positions are due
March 6. For information, call the
SGA office at 844-4240.
Class registration begins
today for priority students
Priority registration for fall 2006
classes begins today. A link to the
complete registration schedule can
be found online at the student
home page.
INSIDE
•
Greek Week aims to raise
money for foundation
1? Greek Week, which begins March 6,
will raise money for die Sydney
Gran Foundation. The week will
feature Greek Week Idol, the Miss
Greek Week pageant and a spirit
walkB8
Dorm residents experience
rousing, noisy mornings
Dorm residents in the lower quad
experience headaches and hassles
from construction nearby. Unlike
most students, construction affects
these more often as they wake up
to the sound of a bulldozer. B3.
Smokeout
"I know what it is like to
lose someone to a
preventable disease."
-Rachel Evans
Miss Auburn University
CAMPUS STAFF
SARAH BROCK
Editor
sbFock@theplainsman.com
MEGAN SMITH
Associate Editor
msmith@theplainsman.com
CHASE MITCHELL
Assistant Editor
cmitdieU@theplainsman.com
SARAH MAXWELL
Assistant Editor
smaxwell@theplainsman.com
334-844-9118
Students hdlance
high schoolfriends
with college friends
By MEGAN SMITH
Associate Campus Editor
Many college students admit they're not
the same people they were in high school.
Tastes and preferences change, and, along
with that, many people make new groups
of friends who may or may not be similar
to their high school friends.
Whether a student attends Auburn
from out-of-state or just has to travel
down the road, each one experiences a
new lifestyle and sometimes a new
group of social acquaintances.
"Out of all the people in my high
school class, I talk to three people,'
said Patrick Crossen, a junior in pre-medicine.
Cossen stud since he's been in col­lege,
he doesn't have as much in com­mon
with his high school friends.
Since Crossen plans to attend
medical school after graduation, he
said the friendships he has in college
will benefit him in the future, because the
people he's closest to now have those same
aspirations.
"When you go to college, you make pro­fessional
friendships," Crossen said.
Robyn Carroll, a sophomore in interna­tional
business.has the opposite opinion.
Carroll said she feels closer to
her high schoolfriends, which
somethnesShakes it difficult i
when she's trying to meet new peo­ple.
"I have a small group of friends that I
hung out with in high school who I hang
out with now," Carroll said. "Sometimes it
can prevent you from making new friends
because it's a comfortable, safe unit"
Carroll said she thinks it's more com­mon
for college students to be closer to
their high school friends.
"I was talking to my parents about this,
and they said that all their family mem­bers
say they keep in touch most with
their high school friends," she said.
Elizabeth Breston, a psychology profes­sor,
said many factors determine if a stu­dent
will be closer to their high school or
college friends.
Breston said if the student had happy
>• Turn to FRIENDS, B2
Driver experiences new life
By NIKI DOYLE
Copy Editor
The white-haired driver squints
through his glasses as he presses
his dirty tennis shoes into the gas
pedal, easing out of the stop and
accelerating around the turn.
He's on the road again, just like
he's been for most of his life.
"Mr. George," as his students
know him, began driving the
College Loop route of Tiger
Transit in October because he
loved working with college-age
students.
However, before his gig as a
transit driver at Auburn
University, George Warren, 74,
drove on a different route — a
drag racing track
Warren was born in the small
town of Dublin, Ga., in 1931 as one
'of 10 children. He never went to
school, and everything he knows
he taught himself or learned from
his first wife.
Warren, who was inducted into
MICHAEL IWDMAN — PIKITO STAH
WHAT A DRAG: George Warren, a Tiger Transit driver, used to
spend his days as a drag car racer. Warren was inducted into the
Southeastern Drag Racers Hall of Fame in 2004. As a beginning
driver, he won first place in a dirt-track race. «
the Southeastern Drag Racers Hall
of Fame in 2004, began his drag
racing career early. A local farmer
gave Warren a wrecked '46 Ford,
and he restored it and entered a
dirt-track race. Despite his status
as a beginner, he walked away
with the first-place title.
"I don't know how to explain it,
but after that, I didn't want to do
nothin' but race," he said with his
Southern drawl, his speech akin to
the dripping of cold molasses.
Unfortunately, his racing career
was interrupted not long after it
began. After he became addicted
> Turn to DRIVER, B2
Smoking
staff pays
By ASHLEY HUNGERFORD
Managing Editor
Auburn employees who use tobacco products
will have to pay $240 more annually for health
insurance starting Jury 1.
Ronald Herring director in the Office of Payroll
and Benefits, said Auburn chose to implement the
new insurance policy because tobacco use leads to
increased medical costs.
Herring said the national average for medical
costs are $3,000 more per year per smoker.
"Tobacco is the most preventable cause of dis­ease
and death," Herring said.
Not all University employees agree with Herring
Dale Harrison, a journalism professor who
smokes a pipe, said the policy was ill-conceived
and takes advantage of an unpopular group.
"I think it's discriminatory in that it singles out
one behavior that can affect people's health,"
Harrison said.
Although he is a smoker, Harrison exercises reg-
> Turn to SMOKING, B2
www.thepiainsman.com
B2 &tic Suburn ^laitutmmt Thursday, March 2,2006
DRIVER
> FromBl
to drag racing, he found himself speeding every­where
he went Warren said he often outran the
police when they tried to give him tickets.
But the police eventually caught up with him.
"I went to court and the judge said, 'Son,
you're a pretty mean boy' And I said, 'No sir, I'm
not," Warren said. "So he said, 'I'm gonna give
you two options: You can either spend 18
months in prison or go to the Army"
Warren took the Army option, and he soon
found himself in Korea with the 7th Division,
32nd Infantry.
Warren lost most of his hearing in the '50s
during his year-long stint in the Korean War,
where his eardrum was busted from the gunfire.
"Just about all of us got killed," Warren said.
"Lucky me, the good Lord took care of me, and I
came back and opened my garage."
Warren's car garage, a small shop in Phenix
City, took him back to the world of drag racing
Throughout the years, he raced in several cars,
winning in spite of several mechanical disadvan­tages.
He raced three times a week
every weekend of the year, weather
permitting
Warren received his first spon­sorship
in 1966 from Bill Heard
Chevrolet when the dealer gave him
a '66 Nova with a 327 engine.
"He told me as long as I run legal,
he'd sponsor me," Warren said. "I
made a name for me in that car."
The car, nicknamed "Mr. Happy,"
also earned Warren the same nick­name.
"Everybody called him 'Mr.
Happy' because he was always so friendly," said
John Vance, a longtime fan of Warren and anoth­er
transit driver on the College Loop route.
Warren decided to retire the Nova and tried
two different Dodge Hemis, and he didn't like
either one. He began his search for a car with a
good weight distribution.
In 1969, American Motors gave him the exact
kind of car he was looking for — a white AMX
with "George Warren" emblazoned on the side in
black letters.
The AMX led Warren to victory over drag rac­ing
legends like Houston Piatt, Billy "Big Deal"
Jacobs and C.J. and J.C. South.
"I was just beatin' 'em everywhere," Warren
said.
However, Warren didn't have the easiest path
to drag racing glory. Both times he won the Five
Flag Fiesta in Pensacola, Fla., he was "tore
down," or protested, for having illegal equip­ment.
The protests proved false, and Warren
was declared legal.
"Not to blow
my own horn,
but I was so
good at
driving."
— George Warren,
Tiger Transit driver
"Not to blow my own horn, but I was so good
at driving," Warren said. "My car wasn't the
fastest, but I could maneuver it so I could outrun
faster cars."
Warren had a heart attack in 1971, not long
after winning his class in the '71 Nationals in
Dallas.
He hasn't raced competitively since. Drag rac­ers
must have medical clearance to race again,
and Warren never received the OK He was dev­astated.
"He loved car racing and he loved the people
in it," Vance said.
Vance first saw Warren in 1965 when Vance's
Sunday school class went to see one of the races.
Vance and Warren reunited last October
when Vance came to work for Tiger Transit The
two have became closer friends since their
reunion.
Warren said he gives Vance and the other
drivers tips on how to drive carefully when
transporting students. Despite his past speeding
record, he was hired as a transit driver for his
experience and good nature.
Warren said although he's a racer by heart,
he's never had the urge to floor the pedal of the
Tiger Transit bus when he's had
students aboard.
"I treat them like I would want
someone to treat my kids," he said.
"If I left here tomorrow, I would
want you to remember me as treat­ing
you like a child, not like a
stranger."
His sparkling blue eyes, kind
greetings and pet names for the
students, like "honey" and "big
boy," have made Warren a favorite
in the transit system.
Warren said he's seen students
stand at Haley Center, letting other College Loop
buses pass by just to ride on his bus.
"I love Mr. George," said Carrie Harbison, a
sophomore in accounting and a rider on War­ren's
route. "He really makes my morning when I
get on the transit He's better than the other two
drivers — I'm not going to lie."
Warren's love for students stems from his rela­tionship
with his own family — he only has one
daughter, Debbie, but he has four grandchildren
and five great-grandchildren, with one on the
way.
He said his third wife, Sharon, is his No. 1 fan
— she cooks for him and takes care of him after
a long day at work. However, he still has fond
memories of his first wife, who died of a brain
tumor after 43 years of marriage.
"We spent everything we had to get rid of it"
Warren said.
Despite the hardships he's faced, Warren
keeps on crucian. He's 74 years old, but he shows
no sign of taking a pit stop any time soon.
Back///History
Put yourself in the shoes of an Auburn student...
5 years ago.
March, 2001 — Auburn's the­atre
department performs John
Kander and Frank Ebb's "Caberet" in
the Auburn University Theater.
"The Wedding Planner," starring
Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer
Lopez, opens in theaters.
The men's swimming and diving
team earns its fifth straight SEC title.
at the veterinary college.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is put
on disciplinary probation" for spring
semester after an October incident
during which pledges participating in
a Halloween scavenger hunt were
caught trying to steal campus proper­ty
from Birmingham Southern Univer­sity.
years ago.
years ago. 9%
^j%J March, 1981 — Auburn
receives a new mascot as
Alpha Phi Omega brings
Tiger, also known as War Eagle V, from
Atlanta Hartsfield International Air­port
to the Eagle Rehabilitation Clinic
4%
g \ J March, 1961 — Thirty-three
semi-finalists are in
the running for seven
open spots on the cheerleader squad
for the 1961-1962 season.
Student William D. Dunn reports the
theft of his unicycle to local police. It is
believed to be the first unicycle stolen
in the University's history.
^
rt % Prestige Properties
(334) 887-5274
Rentals and Sales
Houses, Condos, Duplexes, Apartments
Your Auburn Real Estate Connection
472 North Dean Road
Suite 101
Auburn, Alabama 36830
www.prestigeprops. com
SMOKING
> FromBl
ularty. He said consumers should have to pay sur­charges
for other things that are unhealthy, like
drinking too much alcohol and not exercising.
He also said branding tobacco usage with one
broad stroke is discriminatory.
"There is a huge difference in moderate pipe
smoking versus chain cigarette smoking," Harri­son
said.
Despite employees' opinions on the policy,
every University employee participating in
Auburn's health care plan must fill out a tobacco
use certificate.
The form, available on Auburn's Web site, asks
employees whether they or a member of their
family has used tobacco products in the past 12
months.
A $240 annual charge will be included in an
employee's premium if he or she or a family mem­ber
covered under the plan has used tobacco
products in the past year.
Herring said if an employee does not fill out the
form, he or she will be charged the $240.
Originally, the wording on the form caused an
outcry of criticism among Auburn employees.
Virginia O'Leary, a psychology professor and
president of Auburn's chapter of the American
Association of University Professors, said people
were originally stressed out about the policy.
She said several things included in the form
concerned employees.
The letter said the University could do random
testing for tobacco use. It also said the surcharge
began March 1 instead of July 1, and it allowed
access to medical records.
"It's been a firestorm the past couple of weeks,"
Herring said.
Herring said some people didn't like how the
form was worded and didn't want to sign it
Much of the controversy surrounding the origi­nal
form was put to rest at the University Senate
meeting Feb. 14.
O'Leary said Don Large, Auburn's executive vice
president and chief financial officer, assumed
responsibility and was responsive to the faculty's
concerns.
The controversial form was modeled after a
plan adopted by the Public Education Employees'
Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) for retired educa­tion
employees.
O'Leary said Large told the Senate he just used
PEEHIP's letter without much review. He said it
was never the University's intention to allow ran­dom
testing for tobacco use or access to medical
records.
Until the new forms were finished, Large told
faculty members to cross out the portions of the
form that concerned them. Since the Senate
meeting, the University has revised the form,
"It is very refreshing to have someone stand and
assume responsibilityf O'Leary said.
One issue that remains a concern is the expec­tation
that an employee must be smoke-free for a
year, O'Leary said.
People are wondering what makes a year the
magic number. What about those employees who
have stopped smoking recently?
O'Leary said she suspects a year was picked
arbitrarily, and the University will continue to lis­ten
to employees' concerns.
Harrison and O'Leary both agree that the com­munication
between.the University and the
employees about the new policy could have been
better.
"There was no careful concerted effort to com­municate
with people, especially smokers, about
the new policyf Harrison said.
O'Leary said communication continues to be a
problem at Auburn and the University needs to
do a better job of preparing people for this type of
incident. •
Overall, Herring said he has seen a positive
response to the new policy. He said the program
hasn't gotten a lot of criticism.
The office has received approximately 2,500
tobacco use forms. The forms are not due until
July 1, when the surcharge begins.
FRIENDS
> From Bl
memories of high school, he or
she may be more inclined to go
out of his or her way to main­tain
contact
"It probably depends on the
person and the experiences the
person had in high school," Bre­st
on said. "If they had a positive
experience in high school, they
will want to stay in touch with
those people."
A student's living environ­ment
can also influence who
his or her friends will be until
college.
"For many students, their
parents lived in the same neigh­borhood,
so they socialized
with the same group of people
from a young age and grew up
with them," Breston said.
Breston said everyone who
comes to Auburn will experi­ence
the first-year reaction,
which represents a period of
adjustments, including having
to make new friends.
"It's the first time they have to
make many decisions they did­n't
used to have to make, so it
can be a difficult time for any­one,"
Breston said.
Other students say they're
able to equally balance their
high school and college friends.
Adam Luquire, a sophomore
in business, said while his per­sonality
has changed since he's
been in high school, he's still
close to both sets of friends.
"I'm close to my friends in
high school because everyone
in-state goes to either Alabama
or Auburn, so I already have a
pretty big group of friends here,
but I have many other friends,
too," Luquire said.
Luquire said for students who
are attending Auburn out-of-state,
it may be harder for them
to keep close contact with their
high school friends.
"When you're out-of-state, if
you're forced to make new
friends, you have to do it"
Luquire said.
Breston said students are
usually closer to the people who
are geographically closer to
them, especially after gradua­tion.
Breston said this is usually
the case because those people
are the ones you
see the most on a
daily basis.
"As far as friend­ship
goes, students
are the closest to
those who live
nearby within that
environment" Bre­ston
said.
Morgan Glus-man,
a sophomore
in pre-medicine,
said she is closest
to her college
friends because of
what she has in
common with them.
Glusman said Auburn issues
and events are some of the
*
main topics she has in common
with her college friends, so
those are what she talks about
the most
"Iftheyhada
positive
experience in
high school,
they will want
to stay in
touch with
those people."
— Elizabeth Breston,
psychology professor
"I'm closer to my college
friends because my high school
friends all went to different
schools, and I'm experiencing
Auburn with my Auburn
friends, so it's easier to identify'
with them," Glusman said.
Glusman said she enjoys get­ting
together with her high
school friends, but she also
enjoys branching out and meet­ing
new people.
Walter Scott a senior in wire­less
and electrical engineering,
said his high school friends
have also turned into his college
friends, as well.
Scott went to high school
with his roommate, and he said
the situation has worked out
well for them.
Scott also said it's
harder for him to
meet new people
because of his full-time
job and full-time
student
status.
"If I get a free
minute, I'm asleep,"
Scott said.
Students have dif­ferent
ways of
establishing friend­ships,
whether they
prefer to stay close
with high school
friends or break
out of the mold and meet new
people.
"I've changed as a person,
and I do have things in common
with my high school friends, but
I've also grown up more," Glus­man
said. •
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Thursday, March 2,2006 tEfie auburn $latn*mmi B3
Construction rude awakening for residents
By CHASE MITCHELL
Assistant Campus Editor
Most students, at one point or another,
have had to take an alternate route to
class because of construction. For a lot of
them, bulldozers, closed-off roads and
blocked sidewalks are, at worst, occasion­al
annoyances that are out of sight and
out of mind once they've finished class for
the day.
But for students who call Auburn's resi­dence
halls home, construction can be a
daily wake-up call.
Amanda Harris, a freshman in Spanish
who lives in Hollifield Hall, said she's been
woken up by the "beep beep" of trucks
backing up so many times, the sound is
embedded in her brain.
Harris, who regularly hears the noise
outside as early as 6 a.m., said she can't
understand why the workers can't be
more considerate of sleeping students.
"They leave at like 4 or 4:30 (p.m.)," she
said. "Why can't they just stay until 6:30
(p.m.) and not start until 3 (a.m.)?"
But rude awakenings aren't her only
qualm with construction. Harris said no
one in her dorm is allowed to open win­dows
or blinds anymore, even on a nice
day, because of a complaint from one of
the workers.
"Some of the workers complained that
they could see into our rooms when we
weren't wearing as much," she said, "so we
got yelled at by our hall director that all
windows and blinds had to be closed at all
times."
She said she's not sure when all the
trucks and workers will be gone, but sus­pects
that* "the way they're going, proba­bly
four years."
Harris said living on the Hill was her
mother's idea in the first place, and said
she doesn't plan on moving back in next
year.
"She kind of made me," Harris said. "It
wasn't my decision at all."
Andrew Fletcher, a sophomore in politi­cal
science, has a room on the outside cor­ner
of Broun Hall in the upper quad. He
said he enjoyed it there his freshman year,
so he decided to stick around because
most of his friends were doing the same.
Looking back on his decision, however,
Its time
to read
your Plainsman
\ '• • •• • • ••
.. -'- , - - -
**r iff
PHOTO IIUSIKAHON DY MIC] lAf.l. FPJBJMAN — PHOTO STAFF
SLEEPY HEAD: Katrina Swanson, a freshman in math, wakes up to the sounds of
construction work going on outside her window. Because of the campus construc­tion,
some students don't plan on returning to the dorms next year.
Fletcher said he regrets returning to a
dorm where he can't escape the "constant
noise" of campus construction. .
"It's kind of not worth it to be cramped
up in a dorm room and have to put up
with all the noise all the time," he said. "I
probably should have noticed it last year,
because I lived in the same dorm, but I
didn't really take it into account again this
year. (It was a) bad decision on my part."
Fletcher said the racket has calmed
down a bit lately, but has been almost
constant throughout the year.
"Right when we got back from Christ­mas
break, they were working on all the
pipes and stuff right outside the Quad
Center," he said, adding that even though
that job is finished, he can still hear the
construction coming from over beside the
new College of Sciences and Mathematics
buildings.
Roger Mainor, a sophomore in architec­ture,
works as an resident assistant in
Dowdell Hall, located in the lower quad
just a few feet away from Broun Hall.
He said although he was bothered by
the noise his freshman year, he couldn't
pass up the chance to return to Dowdell
Hall because his time-consuming major
has him crossing campus at all hours of
the night
Mainor said as an RA, he hears com­plaints
from students on his floor every
week, especially in the mornings, and he
said several of them have told him they're
moving off campus next year.
"That's all I'd ever hear about, was
'What the hell are they doing down
there?'" he said.
One problem Mainor has with campus
construction is that when it rains heavily,
sites like the one by the new COSAM
buildings turn into giant mud pits.
"We've had two weeks of pretty good
rain here," Mainor said, pointing at the
mud caked on his shoes.
Although Fletcher and Harris say they
regret living on campus, Mainor said he
isn't bothered by the noise so much any­more.
Now that he has early classes, he
knows that when the construction crews
get to work, it's time for him to do the
same.
"It's kind of like an alarm clock," he said.
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PRIDE OF THE PLAINS
Peter Hugging, a
professor of English,
recently wrote and
published a children's
book called "Trosclair
and the Alligator."
• About the book: "Trosclair and the Alli­gator"
tells the story of Trosclair, a young
Cajun boy from the Bayou
country who is instructed by his father
not to go into the dangerous swamp.
Trosclair goes into the swamp anyway
and encounters an alligator named Gar-gantua.
To save himself and his dog,
Trosclair must outwit Gargantua the
alligator and get out of the swamp.
• Getting it done: Muggins' book was
published by Star Bright Books in New i,
York Muggins said he wanted to write a
children's book because it's a hard
thing to do, and he liked the challenge
that it brought. More information
regarding his book can be found at
www.starbrightbooks.org.
• Hard workin' man: Huggins teaches
world literature, business writing and Eng­lish
composition classes.
• Flavin hard: When he's not working,
Huggins said he likes to play golf, write and
read.
• Family man: Huggins was born in
Oxford, Miss., but grew up in New Orleans.
He now lives in Auburn and has two daugh­ters
who go to Auburn High School.
• A few of his favorite things: Huggins'
favorite movies are "Star Wars," "Lord of
the Rings" and "Casablanca." His favorite
poet is Yates.
• Favorite things about Auburn: Huggins
said his favorite thing about Auburn is the
people. He likes to meet the many different
kinds of people from different places and
backgrounds who are in the Auburn
community.
Concert choir makes sweet music for Mozart
By HARRIS PORTER
StqffWriter
Vocal talents and skilled musicians from
Auburn and Opelika will unite Tuesday to per­form
one of the most popular works by one of
the world's most remarkable composers.
On March 7, the Auburn University Commu­nity
Orchestra and the Concert Choir will join
with the Opelika Civic Chorale to celebrate the
250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
They will perform the "Requiem" to com­memorate
the great composer.
Thomas Smith, conductor of the Auburn Uni­versity
Concert Choir, said the choir has per­formed
on other special anniversary years, but
this celebration is particularly momentous.
"Mozart is a little different from the others,"
Smith said. "We just felt like doing something
to honor him."
Mozart died in 1791, leaving his "Requiem"
only partially finished. It was completed by
other composers, with a large part of the work
done by Mozart's last pupil, Franz Xaver Siiss-mayr.
The choirs, along with the community
orchestra, will perform the completed
"Requiem" in honor of the composer's many
musical contributions.
"It's a good excuse to perform a great piece of
music," Smith said.
The "Requiem" is known as much for its con­voluted
history as for its energy and intricacy.
"We've been rehearsing the 'Requiem' for
about a month now," said Dan Cater, a member
of the concert choir.
In its entirety, the "Requiem" comprises 80
pages of music and 12 movements.
"My favorite part is Dies Irae, which is the
second movement," Cater said. "I'm expecting
it to be powerful."
Smith said the variety of singers should make
for an interesting performance.
"It's a nice mixture of folks here performing a
great piece of music," he said, "and it's a won­derful
experience to combine the Auburn Con­cert
Choir with the Opelika group."
The University Community Orchestra will
complement the "Requiem" by playing Mozart's
Symphony No. 39.
Howard Goldstein, conductor of the orches­tra,
said this is a fitting choice to honor one of
the greatest composers who ever lived.
"It's one of the last three, which are consid­ered
to be his finest," Goldstein said.
Some choir members say they are looking
forward to the unique performance.
"This is neat for me because I don't often get
to perform with an orchestra," Cater said. "Usu­ally
it's just with other choir members or with a
piano."
The concert, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will
be held at the Auburn United Methodist
Church at the corner of Gay Street and Magno­lia
Avenue. Admission is free.
Recycling survey participants could win iPod
By MATT DISCHINGER
Assistant State & Local Editor
Some students at Auburn feel
like recycling has little or no effect
on their lives.
Lindy Biggs, executive director of
Auburn's Sustainability Initiative, is
out to change those students'
minds.
Biggs said the initiative is in the
beginning steps of a three- or four-year
plan to bring recycling to the
"high traffic areas" of Auburn's
campus.
The plan's goal is to reduce trash
on campus by 50 percent
The first step was to make recy­cling
available to faculty in what
the initiative called "desk-side"
recycling. Biggs said this part of the
plan puts recycling bins in and
around faculty offices and build­ings.
Donny Addison, recycling coor­dinator
for the Sustainability Initia­tive,
said the first part of the plan
has been a success, but that it is
just the tip of the iceberg.
"We're trying to find out where
the student body is right now in
terms of recycling," Addison said.
"The goal is to get people who don't
recycle to start"
Addison said the initiative used
focus groups, which are small
groups selected from a wider popu­lation
and questioned through
open discussion, to begin to under­stand
the way students feel about
recycling.
The next step, Addison said, was
the online survey that was made
available to students Monday.
Students are eligible to receive a
free iPod for their participation in
the survey, and faculty members
can win a $25 gift certificate.
The survey is meant to find out
what barriers exist to keep stu­dents
from recycling.
Addison said convenience is the
most important factor in recycling,
a fact confirmed in the focus
groups and, he hopes, reiterated by
the survey.
After the two-week survey, which
can be found online through a spe­cial
features link at
www.auburn.edu, the organization
will work on a marketing technique
to get the word out on recycling.
"We're going to go with a new
approach," Addison said. "We're
going to try an urban, hip feel
instead of the hippy, tree-hugger
feel people are used to seeing."
Jaime Weaver, program assistant
for the initiative, said the initiative
will use a social marketing cam­paign
to change the way people
think about recycling.
"We don't want to come at peo­ple
in a dogmatic way," Weaver
said. "So, we're going to tryto use
humor."
But Addison said the initiative
faced another challenge that has
come up regarding student atti­tudes
about recycling.
"Some students think recycling is
not economically smart" Addison
said. "In some places it isn't, but it
is here."
Addison and Biggs explained
that right now, the University pays
for a trash take-away service, while
it receives free recycling service
from SP Recycling Corporation
(SPRC), a company based out of
Atlanta that deals with mostly
sawmill and paper recycling.
"Recycling saves the University
money," Biggs said. "SP Recycling
has not charged us a penny."
Biggs said the 12 recycling
dumpsters are provided by SPRC
free of charge because it makes
money off Auburn's recycled mate­rials.
BECOME THE LEADER
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ESTABLISHED IN CHABLESTON. IL
IN 19153 TO ADD TO STUDENTS OPA
AND GENERAL DATING ABILITY. ^tyiMV JOH*,S
8" SUe SANDWICHES
i l l of my tasty sub sandwiches are a lull 8 inches of
homemade Ficnch bread, fresh veggies and the finest
meats & cheese I can hoy! And if it matters to you.
wc-slice cveiytliing ircsh everyday in this store, right
here where you can see it. (No mystery meat here!)
#| PEPE^
Real applcwnod smoked ham and ptovolune cheese
garnished with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. (Awesome1)
#2 BIG JOHN"
Medium rare shaved roast heel, topped with yummy
mayo, lettuce, and tomato. (Can't heat this one!)
#3 SORRY CHARLIE
Califutnia haby tuna, mixed with celery, onions, and
out tasty sauce, then topped with alfalfa sprouts.
cucumber, lettuce, and toioatn (My tuna locks!)
#4 TURKEY TOM'"
fresh sliced turkey bicast tupped with lettuce,
tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and mayo. (The original)
#5 VITO*
The onginal Italian sub with genoa salami "provolonc.
capicola. onion, lettuce, tomato. £ a real tasty Italian
vinaigrette. (Order it with hot peppcis. trust me!)
#6 VEGETARIAN :$5
Sevetal layers of piovolone cheese sepatatcd by real
avocado spread, alfalfa spiouts. sliced cucumhci. lettuce,
. tomato, and mayo. (Truly a gouimol suh nut lor vegetarians
only.., ..; peace dude')
JJ.B.LX™
Bacon, lettuce, tomato. & mayo.
(Ihc only better BL1 is mama's Oil. this one rules!)
* SIDE ITEMS •
1 SodaPnp . : . . ; , . . , . : . . . : . , . . , : . . Si 29/S1 49
' Giant chocolate chip or oatmeal taisin cookie... $150
* Real potato chips qi )umbo kosher dill pickle.,, $1.00
> htra load of meat. ,..;.... ,.„ SI 75
' Extia cheese or extra avocado spre.ad .. $075
» Hot Peppeis,.......,;....;, , . , ; , ; , , , , ; , . . . , . . ; . . lice
F k E E B I E S ISUBC eau.65oto.vi
Onion lettuce. alfaHa sprouts, tomato, mayo, sliced
cucumber. Dijon mustard, nil & vinegar, and oicgano
^ « ! \ 1 E T S A N t ) W I»
PLAIN SLIMS'
Any Suh minus the veggies and sauce
SLIM I Ham & cheese
SLIM 2 Roast Beef
SLIM 3 Tuna salad
SLIM 4 Turkey breast
SLIM 5 Salami, capicola. cheese
SLIM U Double provolonc
Low Carb Lettuce Wrap
Same ingredients and price ol the
suh at cluh without the bread.
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I mmRV OROtRS will include a delivery I
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THEJJ.
GARGANTUAN™
This sandwich was invented by
Jimmy John's hiothoi Hucy It's huge
humans! Tons of genoa salami, sliced
smoked ham. capicola. roast beef,
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one uf uui homemade French buns
then smothered with onions, mayo,
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Italian dressing.
OK. SO MY SUBS REAU1 AREN'T 0OURWET AND
WE'RE WOT FWWCH EITHER. Mr SU6S JUST TASTE
A LITTLE SETTER, THAT'S ALL1 I WAKTTt TO
CALL IT JIMMY JOHN'S TASTY SANLWICHES, BUT
MY MOM TOLD ME TO STICK WITH GOURMET
SHE THINKS WHATEVER I DO IS GOURMET, BUT
I DON T THII.K EITHER OF 01 KNOWS WHAT IT
MEANS. SO LET S STICK WITH TASTY1
g^^-fvc
GIANT CLUE SANDWICHES
My club sandwiches have twice the meat and cheese tiy it
on my fresh baked thick sliced 7 gram hicad or my famous
homemade trench bread!
#7 GOURMET SMOKED HAM CLUB
J full 1/4 pound ol real applewoDd smoked ham. piovolone
cheese, lettuce, tomato & teal mayo! (A leal stack)
#8 BILLY CLUB"
Roast beef. ham. provolonc. Oijon mustard. lettuce,
tomato. & mayo. (Here s to my old pal Billy who
invented this groat comho.)
#9 ITALIAN NIGHT CLUB"
Real genoa salami. Italian capicola. smoked ham. and
pmvolone cheese all topped with lettuce, tnmato. n