The Clarion, Vol. 80, Issue #9 - Brevard College

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Oct 29, 2014 - The Clarionwww.brevard.edu/clarion. Follow us on Twitter. BC's Cycling Team dominated the Division II. Na
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Cycling ‘Threepeat’!

Volume 80, Issue 9

Web Edition

SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935

October 29, 2014

BC brings home 3rd straight national mountain bike title By Sam Marlow Sports Editor

BC’s Cycling Team dominated the Division II National Championships, bringing home their third consecutive title, placing in every event and taking home titles in nearly every race. Allison Arensman and Cypress Gorry won the short track cross country as well as the cross country events. Logan Mulally won the men’s downhill while Sarah Hill finished second place in the women’s downhill race. Walker Shaw took first place in the men’s and Hill and Samantha Miranda took second and third respectively in the women’s downhill and dual slalom events. The Tornados were crowned champions in the team relay event, clocking in over a minute before the next competitor, a time that would have placed the team second among all NCAA racers. Notably, Warren Wilson finished fifth and conference foe Mars Hill seventh in DII. Shaw and Gorry finished with the top two men’s Individual Omnium Scores and Hill topped the women’s standings. Samantha and Nicole Miranda finished fifth and sixth in the DII standings. Champions are not made overnight. Preparation for Collegiate MTB Nationals Weekend began over the summer for many on the BC cycling team. The team won the home season opener, which included major DI schools, and have since been developing technique and endurance to culminate in the season finale last weekend in Beech Mountain, NC. Teamwork is an important part of any sport, although less apparent in cycling, the BC cyclist have embraced the team culture giving them an added advantage over other competitors. “Whether it was my team mates helping as mechanics and supporters or coaches driving out late at night to ensure we had a delicious breakfast in the morning, the people around us helped keep our stress levels down and our focus on point. All we had to think about was racing the best we could, and I couldn't be more thankful for a team like that,” Hill said. BC Cycling continues to be a powerhouse

Walter Shaw speeds by for the downhill win

Sarah Hill smiles after another strong finish

in the collegiate cycling world. Members of the team have access to train in ideal conditions year round for both mountain and road biking giving the Tornados another advantage over schools in a flat or urban environment. With most of the team returning next year and their winning streak still going strong, it is hard

Coutesy Weldon Weaver/USA Cycling

Coutesy Weldon Weaver/USA Cycling

not to put the Tornados Cycling team atop any pre-season poll for next year. The road bike season is approaching as well and they will be looking to keep pace with the mountain bikers and bring home another title of their own. I believe we can safely refer to the BC Cycling Team as a “DYNASTY.”

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Campus News

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October 29, 2014

Doing more than what is required By Joshua Cole Staff Writer

Thomas Snodgrass, one of BC’s religions professors, will be leaving at the end of the Fall semester. Snodgrass is a person of a calm, cool demeanor with a unique and exciting teaching presence. He’s been working at BC for the last five semesters, before that he was traveling and teaching bible studies around the area. Originally from Upstate New York, Snodgrass, his wife and two children moved to Brevard about five years ago. He now has three children; his eight year old son, Jackson, six year old daughter, Sarah, and newborn son of eight months, Malcolm. His wife, Elizabeth, works as a primary care physician and also studied at seminary school. Snodgrass and his family will be moving back up to NY to pursue new opportunities, a new branch of his wife’s career and an opportunity to be closer to relatives for their growing family. Snodgrass grew up with an Episcopalian minister as a father. Throughout high school Snodgrass was searching for answers but was not satisfied with what he’d heard from his father and other

religious leaders. When asked he said, “When I asked questions about religion I felt my father’s answers were kind of scripted. It was like he was telling me the official Episcopalian answer.” Snodgrass said that “I reached this point where I really wanted to look for my own answers.” A few years after graduating college he realized that instead of becoming a minister, he could become a teacher and help others refine their questions about religion and its meaning in their lives. Shortly after he went to seminary school to continue his studies and find his own answers. I asked Snodgrass what his opinion was on the integration of religion and academics and how that effects an institution like BC. He opines that as a liberal arts college it is important to maintain a level of neutrality so that academics are not afflicted by any sort of bias, religious or political. Students know Snodgrass’s classes by the unique character of his lectures, his humor, and ability to deliver succinct ideas. He is probably the only teacher at school that plays ‘theme’ music before class. He explained that music helps create a good atmosphere and he hopes that it helps students define between the sometimes chaotic nature of the hallway and the learning environ-

ment in class just as many religions use music or sounds in their rituals to symbolize transition. With regards to what makes a teacher successful Snodgrass had this to say, “It’s important to be an expert in your field but it’s also important to be open with your students that you are still learning, still asking questions…. I think what a teacher needs to do is empower students to learn how to find answers.” When asked about what inspires him to teach he said it is important for him to reflect on what kind of teacher he wished he could have had and then to try and be that for someone else. At BC it is required to take a religions class, some students are excited and others think of it as just another class that they are forced to take to graduate. Snodgrass said, “Many students find themselves in one of my classes because of a requirement and really that is the challenge that makes this really exciting, when I get that student who is taking the class because of a requirement and then really starts thinking and starts looking into these ways that religion connects with culture, society, and economics…. More importantly someone who really learns something about how to ask questions and look for answers.”

October 29, 2014

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CAB shifts approach to train new student leader

Campus News

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By Kara Fohner Editor in Chief

Senior Rachael Barrow is undoubtedly the face behind CAB. A member since her freshman year, she is, to many, the student ambassador in Campus Life. CAB hosts most of the events on campus, from Bingo Night to the Spring Formal. Although Barrow is allotted 100 work study hours during the semester, she says that she works well over 200 to organize, advertise, and host requested events. She is now preparing junior Currin Sessions for the challenge of this commitment in lieu of graduation. Aside from Sessions, CAB will soon consist of entirely new members. “You really have to love it and you really have to be committed to it, and to representing Brevard College the right way,” said Barrow. “[Sessions] is a very bright young woman. She’s fun and she’s very outgoing. Whatever she does, I know it will

be awesome.” This semester, however, student attendance at campus events has noticeably declined. Two of the scheduled homecoming events were cancelled, including Mr. Brevard, a popular male beauty pageant which would have had its fourth consecutive run. This may be due to the fact that Brevard has seen record enrollment for its second consecutive year, and as the school grows, new students are in flux. “Seniors are burnt out; the freshman don’t really know where they fit in,” said Barrow. “The students on campus who are involved are overly involved, and though they want to come, they can’t because they have prior engagements.” While CAB has experienced a few lurches, this has not discouraged them from planning new,

Goodbye, WebTwister, Hello, My.Brevard.edu? By Arlan Perry Staff Writer

BC students spend many long hours looking at Webtwister, from checking your grades to looking up your passwords. However, a new website is in the works to potentially replace Webtwister and MYBC as well. This new unnamed website will allow students to do everything they could do on Webtwister and MYBC as well as to perform other integral functions such as check your unofficial transcript and look at a GPA calculator to see what grades you will need to get a certain GPA. A group of professors are doing a pilot of the program right now to see how it is going to run, some of the professors here have even used the new website to post their midterm grades. So far the website has had positive reviews with no bugs in the system. The new system was a

purchased product, but has had some aspects specifically configured for the BC campus. Another new exciting aspect of the new system is the ability to schedule meetings with your advisor. Long gone are the days where you’ll be stuck waiting outside offices with 10 other people during your advisors’ office hours, the new scheduling system could quite possibly make the student body’s life much easier. The only issue that has been mentioned so far with the new system is the placement of all the tabs of MYBC. However, it shouldn’t take long to find proper placement for them throughout the new program. Most majors on the system could even do a full graduation audit. It is possible that the program could be renamed MYBC, but has not yet been confirmed. Logging on to the new system will be easy as well, since everyone’s username and password will stay the same. The plan is to implement this program throughout campus in January.

engaging events, such as the Casino Night. “It’s going to be black–tie. Casino royale,” Barrow said. “It won’t cost money. We do it on a raffle ticket. The more raffle tickets you have, the more chance you have of winning big prize items.” Barrow is optimistic about the second half of the semester. As other students continue to execute successful events, she will serve as a teacher and a mentor to those, such as Sessions, who rise in her wake. “It’s really hard to leave it to someone else, but as a senior, it just makes me love Brevard College that much more: to know that I’ve had a little piece of me invested here and to be able to say in 20 years, ‘I helped that become what it is today.’”

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the the Clarion larion Senior Staff Editor in Chief . . . . Kara Fohner Managing Editor . . . Sam Blakley Copy Editor . . . . . . Gabby Smith Opinion . . . . . . . . Arts & Life . . . . . . Alex Webster Sports . . . . . . . . Sam Marlow Photography, Layout, & Design . . . Michael St. Marie Business Manager . . Burton Hodges Faculty Advisor . . . . John B. Padgett Alison Brown Ceara Cannon Joshua Cole Savannah Cox Jonathan Furnell Michael Heiskell Jule Hermann

Other Staff Amanda Higgins Richard Liell Arlan Parry MacKenzie Samotis Jesse Sheldon Kevin Thompson

The Clarion is a student-run college newspaper produced by student journalists enrolled at Brevard College. Unsigned editorials represent the collective opinion of the staff of The Clarion. Other opinions expressed in this newspaper are those of respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the faculty, staff or administration of Brevard College.

All correspondence should be mailed to: The Clarion, Brevard College, One Brevard College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712, or send E-mail to [email protected] www.brevard.edu/clarion

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Opinion

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October 29, 2014

Affleck amazes in book to movie adaptation By Michael Heiskell Staff Writer

‘Annabelle’ Review: Don’t Waste Your Time By Michael Heiskell Staff Writer

Remember when horror movies used to be scary? Sadly, the creators of “Annabelle” do not, and the movie misses its mark pathetically and disappoints despite strong hype leading up to its release. In “Annabelle”, John (Ward Horton) and Mia (Annabelle Wallis) are expecting their first child and living seemingly blissful in their marriage and expected parenthood. Their life however takes a tragic turn when they are attacked in the night by two cult members. They survive the attack, but the cult members are killed by the police. Soon after, Mia starts to notice strange things happening in the house, paranormal things, all of it leading back to the doll that one of the cult members held while she was dying, Annabelle. When your movie is directed by the man that brought you “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation” and “The Butterfly Effect 2”, you have high expectations as you know that he just exudes creative talent. This being said, Director John R. Leonetti brought us one of the most bland, unoriginal horror movies of the last decade. There is plenty of blame to go around for this film but as always the blame mainly falls with the director and the producers. I think one of the most frustrating things about this movie is the potential. The doll, Annabelle, is incredibly creepy. I’ll give them that, it’s a very well designed doll in terms of the

horror factor. But this movie just isn’t scary, not even a little bit; it’s a cliché, poorly acted mess, made without any attempt to produce an original, scary horror movie but instead only to piggyback off the success of the superior “The Conjuring” and make a quick trip to the bank. I don’t know what’s scarier, the script or the acting; either way it was the only aspect of this film that genuinely terrified me. Blame who you want, you can’t go wrong. You could close your eyes and throw a dart at any department that had a hand in this film and find something to complain about. The horror movie genre needs new classics and the fact is that no one in Hollywood is talented enough to do that right now. There are, of course, indie horror movie surprises every few years or so but the Hollywood machine quickly gobbles those up; I’m looking at you, Paranormal Activity. Blame Hollywood, blame actors Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis, blame the script writer Gary Dauberman, blame director John R. Leonetti. You can’t go wrong with any of these people, as they are all contributing to the sad pattern of the horror genre becoming a joke. “Annabelle” is a disappointing mess that relies heavily on horror movie clichés and bad acting. I would give this film a 1 out of 5 stars and it’s lucky to get that. Word of advice, there are plenty of good horror movies on DVD and on Netflix, don’t waste your time and money on this one.

“Gone Girl” is a very true to the book adaptation. Filled with drama and high tension stakes, “Gone Girl” is one of the better movies of the year. Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, “Gone Girl” tells the story of Nick Dunne, (Ben Affleck) who comes home one day to find his wife, Amy, (Rosamund Pike) missing from their home. Soon a full investigation is led to find Amy and the media whirlwind captures the small Missouri town in which they reside. Paranoia and speculation ensue and soon things start to get out of control as the town searches for the gone girl. “Gone Girl” was originally written in the first person, which is a lot harder to adapt to film. When writing in a first person narrative the readers can rely on the inner thoughts of the character to explain the actions of the character; however, unless there is a steady narration by the actor, this is rarely done in film. Since this isn’t Wonder Years or Malcolm in the Middle, director David Fincher chose not to go this route. It works quite well actually as the audience seems to take to join the perspective that the media has in the film vs. the main character. This is an interesting change of perspective that definitely works to the benefit of the film. A direct comparison to the book is bound to happen and as far as I am concerned the book is on another level, as getting into the minds of the characters works better in novel form. Director David Fincher has been one of the most consistent modern directors, with classics like “Fight Club” and Se7en and more modern works like “The Social Network” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. His films have been lauded as dark and stylish with great acting performances, and “Gone Girl” is no different in any of those regards. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are fantastic in the lead roles, specifically Pike who showed a lot of range in her complex role. There is a very solid chance that she gets a nomination at the next Academy Awards. Several other smaller characters were well played. Neil Patrick Harris and Carrie Coon were excellent in their roles as well; even Tyler Perry did a convincing job and is beginning to make up for Madea. Overall, “Gone Girl” does not reach the level of greatness that the book did, but remains a very good thriller none the less, and is likely to make some noise at Oscar season. I would give this film a very solid 4 out of 5 and would recommend it as a must see.