Feb 1, 2017 - looked away from Ann Coulter's twitter feed. ..... at this link, https://twitter.com/ariherzog/lists/ ...
The
Clarion
Volume 82, Issue 17 Web Edition
clarion.brevard.edu
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
Check out the Super Bowl preview on page 7! February 1, 2017
‘Alternative Facts’
More desperation from the Trump administration By Jordon Morgan Arts & Life Editor
We’re barely over a week into Donald Trump’s presidency, and he continues to demonstrate behavior that can truly be described as “Orwellian,” if not just completely egomaniacal. More so than his increasing number of executive orders that prevent travelers and refugees from seven different Muslim countries (although the ones he has significant business ties with are excluded curiously enough), advancing the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, the former of which he also has significant business ties with, or his order for the EPA and Department of Agriculture to not be able to share public information, is his staff’s insistence on peddling the term “alternative facts.” Originating in a “Meet the Press” interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd, Senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, when pressured by Todd to address the fact that White House press secretary Sean Spicer deliberately lied about Trump’s inauguration attendance, stating that “This was the largest audience to witness an inauguration, period.” Conway later added, “You're saying it's a falsehood. And they’re giving—Sean Spicer, our press secretary—gave alternative facts,” as reported by CNN’s Eric Bradner. Now even if we ignore the fact that Trump’s team is deliberately doubling down on an easily verifiable falsehood, the fact that they have now invented a term for their pathological lying is even more disturbing. Brevard College’s own Ralph Hamlett, professor of Political Communications, agreed, saying that “My gut level reaction is that it’s a euphemism for ‘believe my lie.’” That sort of reaction is not unfounded, for indeed what other sort of reaction would one expect when members of Trump’s team, in particular Sean Spicer, say that “Sometimes we can disagree with the facts,” according to The Guardian. Disagree with facts all you like, it doesn’t change whether or not they are actually true. One can disagree with the fact that gravity
OPINION COMMENTARY exists for instance, but if you try to jump off a building, it isn’t going to consider your opinion and stop you from plummeting to the ground. This is starting to become a disturbing pattern of the Trump administration, where verifiable reporting by the press and even the scientific community can simply be hand-tossed aside by spouting that they have “alternative facts” that just happen to coincide with their interests. Trump said the day after his inauguration that he was in a “war” with “dishonest” media, but they report his lies, including one small example where Trump said, “Here in Philadelphia murder has been steady—I mean—just terribly increasing," PolitiFact reported this as being false, as in actual fact, they were the third-lowest last year since 1990. On Thursday, Jan. 26, Ralph Hamlett stated unequivocally that “Either he’s stupid, or a liar—both are troubling.” Troubling is an understatement as there has arguably been no other president in recent memory that has so brazenly attempted to deflect the press’s effort to combat his rhetoric. Now of course if any reporter or news outlet fails to do its job, i.e. vetting sources, fact checking their reporting, staying objective and non-partisan when reporting facts, they absolutely should be called out. However, Trump’s administration isn’t targeting specific cases of mishandled reporting; they are covering the entire world of journalism under a blanket of supposed dishonesty. As reported by Feliks Garcia of Independent, Donald Trump warned that journalists will have a “big price” to pay by reporters who allegedly lied about the size of the crowd at his inauguration, on top of him saying that reporters are among “the most dishonest human beings on Earth.” John Padgett, English professor here at Brevard College, said that Trump’s rhetoric has “really disturbing parallels” between Adolf Hitler and Mao Zedong. It’s always been a cliché and
over exaggeration to compare anyone to such brutal tyrants in world history, understandably so. But Trump is doing himself no favors with his recent and quite frankly ridiculous string of executive orders, something of which he slammed Obama for, saying in a 2012 Tweet “Why is @BarackObama constantly issuing executive orders that are major power grabs of authority?” There has been no word by GOP Congress members on these orders, but they were more than eager to jump on the bandwagon of Obama being authoritarian, despite the fact that, according to Policy. Mic, The Pew Research Center reported that he had issued fewer executive orders than any president in the last 120 years. Going back to this article’s original point, this “alternative facts” nonsense is just one tiny shred of evidence that there will indeed be a “running war” with the media, as Trump puts it, but through no one’s fault but his own. The very nature of a reporter’s job description is to report on what is happening and what the impacts will be. It is this administration that is the instigator of this so-called war. Between the president’s constant labeling of the media as dishonest, to his chief strategist Steve Bannon’s call for the media to “keep its mouth shut and just listen for a while,” it has done nothing but paint them as a group of people who are so utterly terrified of their actual actions and intentions getting out to the American people. On a personal note, let me just say this to you Mr. President and to you Mr. Bannon, we will never keep our mouth shut, we will never acquiesce to your constant attempts to discredit our profession, and more than anything else, we will never stop doing what we are doing. All your administration is doing is stoking the fire to your own political demise. We all have a stake in our Republic, and we will fight tooth and nail to make sure its integrity stands tall.
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Campus News
The Clarion
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February 1, 2017
Brevard College to co-host the annual Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference
By Shannon Summitt Contributor
Brevard College and the Transylvania County Library Foundation will once again co-host the annual Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference May 18-21. Workshops, discussions, and readings will take place both at Brevard College and the Transylvania County Library. Due to the previous success and popularity of the event, the conference has been extended to four days. This will give attendees more time to explore the theme, “A Sense of Place.” Three award-winning authors will be leading fiction, poetry, and nonfiction workshops. The majority of the workshops and accommodations will be held on the Brevard College campus. Jane Smiley, the fiction workshop leader, is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award recipient. Instructing the Poetry workshop is New York Times bestseller Robert Morgan. Sy Montgomery, recipient of a Presidential Award for Lifetime Achievement from the New England Booksellers Association in 2014, is heading off the nonfiction workshop. These three renowned authors know the importance of place, no matter the genre. The four-day conference will provide free time for attendees on Friday and Saturday afternoon, opening up possibilities for excursions. With Pisgah National Forest and Dupont State Park on either side, there are many places to explore around the “Land of Waterfalls,” Transylvania County. “Residents and visitors to the Brevard/ Transylvania community develop an unusually strong connection to the geographical and cultural uniqueness of this place," said David Watkins, chair of the Transylvania County Library Foundation. "A perfect venue to study the importance of setting in good writing." Attending writers staying at Brevard College will also experience the new residence hall, Stanback Hall. This accommodation features private rooms, individual room climate control, and study lounges with beautiful views of the College’s campus. “Brevard College provided the ideal backdrop for the event,” said Tonya Staufer, an attendee of last year’s conference. “Besides the natural
beauty of the campus, the overall welcome writers felt was quite extraordinary.” The conference of 36 attendees will open with an informal meal on Thursday, followed by a group session to meet one another and discuss writing. A similar session will be held on Sunday to conclude the event. “The conference size was ideal for bonding with all of the other poetry and nonfiction participants through presentations, readings, meals and our own ‘open mic’ sessions in the dorms,” said Cindy Brookshire, who attended the workshop in 2016. The deadline for sending in applications and manuscripts is March 1. Decisions will be announced March 15. While acceptance is still competitive, secondary manuscripts can be submitted for the workshop if the applicant desires. Applicants may choose from one of the three workshops offered, sending in a manuscript along with the short application. Submissions for fiction manuscripts can be either a story or novel excerpt, not exceeding 10 pages. Applicants wanting to enroll in the poetry workshop must submit 3-6 poems, up to 10 pages, one poem per page, all in one document. Nonfiction submissions can consist of an essay or memoir excerpt, not exceeding 10 pages.
The cost of the conference is $410, which includes all meals, receptions, and campus housing in a private room. For applicants who wish to opt out of campus housing, the cost of the conference is $280 - this will still include meals. There is no application fee. The Transylvania County Library Foundation will offer up to three full and three partial scholarships, awarded depending on merit. All applicants will be considered for these scholarships. Jane Smiley’s keynote reading will be Friday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Brevard College Porter Center for Performing Arts. Morgan and Montgomery will read on Saturday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Transylvania County Library. Both events are free and open to the public. “The conference is a wonderful example of Brevard College working with the community, in this case the Transylvania County Library Foundation, to create a truly extraordinary educational experience for conference attendees, the citizens of Transylvania County and our College community,” said Scott Sheffield, Dean of the Faculty. To send in applications and manuscripts, or for additional information, visit the conference website, lgrwc.org.
A stimulating performance from Kelly Grill On Wednesday, Jan. 25, Kelly Grill put on a percussion performance that was engaging and graceful. Grill had a combination of different pieces, styles, and techniques which made for a unique experience for the audience members. According to Haley McGavin, a student audience member, “It was an eclectic blend of percussionist pieces that flowed beautifully from African rhythms to the entrancing mysticism of classical pieces.” Grill brought in four guest artists for his last two pieces, including, “Alabama Moon” and “White Pines”. His collaboration with the ensemble was excellent and ended the performance on a great note.
Photo by Shannon Summitt
Kelly Grill with guest artists: Jaron Brown, Austin Martin, Bailey Seabury, and Jeff Vaughn
February 1, 2017 | The Clarion
Opinion
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Trump resurrects Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines By Florian Peyssonneaux
Staff Writer After months of protests, the controversial project of the Dakota Access (DAPL) and Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline is back to life. On Tuesday Jan. 24 Donald Trump signed an executive order to put both pipelines on his agenda, and “review and approve in an expedited manner, to the extent permitted by law” said Trump. Trump ordered this review from the Army Corps to construct the pipeline under important sources of water. His will to build the pipeline in a short amount of time makes the situation unclear concerning how Trump is going to overpass the environmental reviews that cannot be approved, even with an executive order. The official reasons that Donald Trump gave to build those pipelines are to reduce American dependence on foreign oil, create an economic growth in the states that the pipelines will cross, and at the same time create new jobs. Many could argue that the benefits of those pipelines compared to the human and environmental risks are highly debatable. Realistically, most jobs that the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline and Keystone pipeline is going to create are for the lawyers who will take care of this case. Interestingly enough, what Donald Trump is not telling us is that if the pipeline is built,
there will be only new jobs created for workers during the time of the construction. On the long run, only 50 permanent jobs would be created for monitoring the pipeline across four states according to a study conducted by the U.S state department. Trump’s pick for the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt is also tied with the fossil fuel industry, and has sued the EPA agency 13 times. “The climate is changing, and human activity contributes to that in some manner” Pruitt said. President Trump had, as recently as last year, shares in oil companies like Phillips 66 who are highly involved in the DAPL project, and he also owned shares with TransCanada who are now in charge of the KXL pipeline. Trump gave the management of his companies to his sons, but the ethical question of investing in companies he used to make business with begs the question, are there vested interests here? The Obama administration had suspended the construction of the KXL pipeline in 2015, and the DAPL in 2016. With the amount of money that the pipelines are going to cost, projects to develop clean energies for the future could have been possible. Above all the threats that will be caused by the construction of those pipelines, the environmental risk is the most important one. For example,
the Dakota Access pipeline would go under Lake Oahe, the main drinking water reserve of the Sioux tribe. Concerning the Keystone XL pipeline, it is supposed to cross the Mississippi river which is the source of water for 17 million people. Republicans can still argue that the pipelines are safe and that there is no risk for the local population, even though facts show different results. On average the pipelines are safer than trucks or trains, but once they leak or break the consequences are devastating, because of the gigantic quantities of oil that go through the pipes every second. An existing pipeline, 150 miles away from the DAPL’s location has recently begun leaking, and if the new pipelines came to leak in the Mississippi River the damages will be irreversible. There is no need to lie, the pipeline will break at some point. The only question is how long is it going to take before it breaks? It has been proven by scientists that global warming is caused by human activity, fossil fuels emissions being one of the most important causes. As a consequence, it is time for world leading countries to stop investing in pipelines that keep the people dependant of fossil fuels for years to come in order to save our planet. Regardless, Donald Trump is still ignoring reality, and focusing on his own interests.
the website.” So, it’s fair that the new administration wants to view the information before allowing it to be published online. However, the public was already worried about what the Trump administration might do with the climate change information. Dr. Bringle, Professor of Religious Studies at Brevard College, said, “One danger of this distrust, though, is that we also jump to conclusions which are later proved in error, giving further fuel to those who want to accuse the media or those on the left of spreading “fake news.”” Back in Nov. 2016, Trump tweeted, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” But is that where the American people really thought that Trump was anti-climate control? More fears were brought to life when the
White House updated its website for the new Trump administration. Climate control, along with other sections, were removed from the page. So, while the EPA has senior officers releasing statements about the authenticity of the “not-gag, gag order” it is obvious as to why the story grew so quick and with such magnitude. Climate change is not an American issue, it is a world issue. The Sunday Times of London reported on Jan. 29 that Trump’s inner circle asked British officials to not have Prince Charles speak about his “climate-change agenda” as it would upset the President and be counterproductive. Tensions between Trump and the American people are growing. The President has been in office a week and a half and has already signed for the startup of pipelines, the building of a wall between Mexico and the U.S. and banning
Tension rises over EPA gag order By Jeni Welch
Campus News Editor On Jan. 26, only six days after Trump took office, a gag order was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government agencies that include the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. If you have not been paying attention, it was not taken lightly. The gag detained the agencies from sharing information with both the public and the press. They were also told to remove all references to climate change from their websites. An anonymous EPA senior worker spoke to The New York Times about the gag order saying, “I don’t think it is fair to call it a gag order. This is standard practice. And the move with regard to the grants, when a new administration comes in, you run things by them before you update
See ‘EPA gag order’ on page 6
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Opinion
The Clarion
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February 1, 2017
The land of the free, a home at border control By Calum McAndrew Editor in Chief
Donald Trump held true to his word on one of his more controversial campaign promises at the end of last week, by signing an executive order to ban the entry of the people hailing from seven different Muslim majority countries, into the United States. The decision has sparked a flurry of protests around the United States, as well as major cities around the globe, as the people of the nations Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya, will not be granted acceptance to the United States of America for the next 90 days. The protests were never more apparent than in JFK International Airport on Jan. 28, a day after the executive order was signed, where US citizens gathered in solidarity with the detainees unfortunate enough to have been on an international flight while the President briefly looked away from Ann Coulter’s twitter feed. Of course, calling the policy controversial is in itself, apparently, controversial. If you are a United States citizen, who happened to be born in one of the aforementioned countries, you’re probably a touch annoyed by the policy. However, if you’re Steve Bannon, an ISIS member, or brain dead, you’re probably smiling like a Cheshire cat, throwing a party to make Coachella look tame, or are simply not aware. The law does not extend to naturalized citizens of the United States, but according to White House Chief of Staff, Reince Preibus, US customs officials will have the, “discretionary authority” to detain and question anybody hailing from the aforementioned countries. Residents of the United States who are citizens of these countries will not be guaranteed admission back into the country. Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani said in an interview, echoing the words of many supporters of the law, that, “It’s based on places where there are substantial evidence that people are sending terrorists into our country.” In the same interview, he also said, “(the law is) not based on religion,” before presumably checking to see if ‘Muslim’ rhymed with ‘gullible.’ In perhaps the most controversial case since
the executive order was signed, a five year old from Maryland was held in Washington D.C’s Dulles International Airport, while customs checked his brief life history for malicious intent, or if he was harboring hateful premonitions towards the United States. He was later released, when officials realized the only terrorist plot he had thus far hatched was the reckless destruction of his sister’s Lego castle. Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary addressed the decision to hold the toddler, by saying, “To assume that just because of someone’s age or gender or whatever that they don’t pose a threat would be misguided and wrong.” The official statement for the ban cited 9/11 as the prevailing reason for the initiation of the policy, which at least puts some method behind this lunatic asylum level of madness. The only problem is, it doesn’t. Of the countries whose citizens may no longer go to Disney World, none of them had any association whatsoever with that fateful day in 2001. In case you missed that, that number was zero. All seven countries banned from entering the United States as of Jan. 28. 2017, had no affiliation to the terrorist attacks over 15 years ago. Why choose these countries then? We’ve heard the White House answer, but it’s also perhaps important to look at the nations Donald Trump has business interests in. According to an article from CNN, Trump in his executive order, “excluded from the list are several wealthier Muslim majority countries where the Trump Organization has business interest, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE (United Arab Emirates), Egypt and Indonesia.” Make of that what you will, but it is at the very least a coincidence that will sound a few alarm bells amongst conspiracy theorists, rational, critical citizens, and generally all noncomatose people. There are a lot of facts to consume surrounding this, and a lot of which make for troubling reading. According to Vox, the ban initially
affected up to 500,000 green card holders. According to the New York Times, the immigration ban may be illegal, as it defies the “Nationality and Immigration Act of 1965,” which, “banned all discrimination against immigrants on the basis of national origin.” Politico have also reported that Trump now has a 45 percent disapproval rating, 33 percent worse off than Barack Obama’s first rating, and 25 percent worse than George. W Bush after the controversial 2000 election. On the contrary, only 6 percent of Republicans are reported to disapprove of Trump’s first full week in office, meaning a large portion of the country support the President’s actions. This is a difficult subject, and it is likely to spurn an enormous amount of both support, and disgust, meaning facts have never been more important. It is fact that a majority of Muslims are not affected by this order, as supporters of the bill keep saying, but it’s also fact that an unforgivable amount of innocent people are being persecuted, based on nothing other than their religion and nationality. Most of us will have heard of Apartheid in South Africa, a written law that prohibited black men and women from simply being in certain places. It was a law that stopped what men and women could and couldn’t do, and whom they could and couldn’t see. Segregation existed in the written form in South Africa, accepted as law by a lot of its people, and a majority of its government. In America, the same thing was happening, just without the written confirmation from the nation’s Capitol, and had it not been for social rights advocates, in both nations, both situations may never have improved. This week, America took a step backwards. This week, the Donald Trump rule did exactly what the South Africans did many years ago, and turned narrow-minded views of the few into law. The people must not accept this sloppy, dehumanizing order, or they will let America forever be condemned, just as South Africa is now for Apartheid.
Arts & Life
BC Common Read begins February 1, 2017 | The Clarion
By Alexis Henley Staff writer
Last week, the BC Common Read program kicked off with three opportunities to view a showing of the film “A River Runs Through It.” This period drama is based on the semi-autobiographical novella “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean. The BC Common Read is a semester long project that all ENG 112 students are assigned. Throughout their spring semester they are required to attend one movie showing, one literary workshop, and one outdoor workshop. The ENG 112H students read “A River Runs Through It” during their fall semester and watched the corresponding film. Near the end of the semester each student completed a literary analysis to show their comprehension of the material. The film showings are hosted by ENG 112H students who will introduce the attendants to motif and then show the film. Following the viewing the students then end on a brief follow up discussion about the motifs in the movie. ENG 112H students will also be holding 5 literary workshops that will delve into different themes of the book such as brotherly love, gambling, addiction, family dynamics, and help and helplessness. Each of the workshops
are designed to engage students with multiple activities. The outdoor workshops are not all the way confirmed yet but there is supposed to be a fly-fishing workshop along with a meditation by the creek. More will be confirmed at a later date. The Common Read’s goal is for ENG 112 students to search for greater understanding of Maclean's book and participate with a community of learners in a unique literary exploration. Despite this program being designed for students specifically in the class, anyone who has an interest in seeing the film and participating in a lively discussion is invited to come. Whether this be upperclassmen or faculty. The same goes for both the literary and the outdoor workshops. The participation of people other than those who are assigned to come are not only welcomed but encouraged. Come in a group or by yourself and be ready to participate. If you are an ENG 112 student or someone who is interested in attending an event and have any questions, please contact the advising faculty for all questions/concerns directly at
[email protected]. The next upcoming film showing will take place tonight from 7 p.m. till 10 p.m. in MG room 125.
Upcoming showings of the film “A River Runs Through It” Students in ENG 112 this semester are required to attend one of the film showings of the movie to satisfy the first of three Common Read activity requirements. Other activities will be announced soon.
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Grant received for library improvements The J.A. Jones Library has received a $100,000 federal grant for the improvement of its technology. It will also be used to improve the furniture in the library in addition to other material things that are needed. New technology in the library will allow students to be more successful with their studies and allow for tutoring and other academic support programs to happen all within the library. These new resources coming in will help you understand the material you learned in the classroom even better. This came about after the JA Jones library was awarded The Literacy and Lifelong Learning grant. The funding came from the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services under the Library Services and Technology Act that was passed by the State Library of North Carolina. This grant allows the students to be more successful in school work, through the materials the library has to offer. These improvements are scheduled to be implemented in the fall of 2017.
the Clarion Senior Staff Editor in Chief . . . . Calum McAndrew Managing Editor . . . Copy Editor . . . . . . Opinion . . . . . . . . Michael Heiskell Arts & Life . . . . . . Jordon Morgan Sports . . . . . . . . Campus News . . . . Jeni Welch Layout & Design . . . Emma Moore Faculty Advisor . . . . John B. Padgett Other Staff Hayleigh Mann Alex Perri Florian Peyssonneaux Bryant Baucom Amanda Heskett Alexis Henley Asa Gray Zach Dickerson Tyler Thompkins Caro Addams 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
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Arts & Life Tornados drop Mountain bike EPA gag order SAC contest to trail reviewCoker Ridgeline
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The Clarion
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February 1, 2017
Continued from Page 3
By Bryant Baucom Staff Writer
The Brevard College Tornados men’s basketball team (2-18, 0-14 SAC) dropped a conference road game on Saturday in Hartsville, S.C. as they squared off against the Coker Cobras (7-13, 4-10 SAC). Three Tornados scored in double figures while six tallied at least three rebounds during the contest. Offensively, the Tornados were led by their leading scorer, Stevie Williams, who scored 14 points on the afternoon. Williams also grabbed six rebounds and was successful on 10 of his free throw attempts. Williams’ effort was assisted by DJ Bostick and Shelby Parris who both added in 11 points in the contest. Omar El Diraoui tallied a team high three assists and Levi Lamb had a season high in points with nine. Coker was led by Larry Cooper who recorded 16 points on the afternoon while hauling in seven rebounds. Demarco Jackson and LaDarius Williams both tallied 12 points for the Cobras while JaQuez Motley and Roman Hall bolstered the offense with 11 points apiece. Jake Barrett and Demarco Jackson helped Cooper control the boards as they both grabbed seven rebounds. Coker would open up the contest with a 4-0 lead courtesy of two layups by Larry Cooper. The Tornados would then use a DJ Bostick three pointer to stifle the strong opening by Coker and trim the lead to one. The Cobras would extend their lead to six twice in the first ten minutes of the half but each time Brevard had an answer. Past the halfway mark in the first half, Coker would break through and extend their lead to double digits. They used a 22-10 run to close out the half and extend their lead to 41-27. The Tornados came whirling back at the beginning of the second half, going on a 19-10 run and cutting the lead to five. The run was led by Levi Lamb and Shelby Parris who both accounted for five points apiece. This is the closest the Tornados would get in the second half. The Cobras began to slither away as they finished the contest on a commanding 32-7 run. Demarco Jackson added in 10 of his 12 points in the second half, contributing to the Coker run. Brevard will return to the hardwood on Wednesday at 8pm in Boshamer Gymnasium as they take on SAC-opponent Lincoln Memorial in hopes of their first conference win of the season.
By Alex Perri Staff Writer
Ridgeline trail in DuPont, State Recreational Forest is one of the most enjoyable mountain biking trails in the area. This is the perfect trail for a wide range of skill sets. Anyone from a beginner to an experienced rider can have a blast on this ride. The trail starts at Lake Imaging Access Area off of DuPont Road. Many different trails are accessible from this parking area and you will definitely see a mix of hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. While you can pick and choose your route among the number of connecting trails in DuPont, the quickest loop to Ridgeline is about a six mile ride. From Lake Imaging Access Area you will climb up Jim Branch Trail and turn left once you hit Buck Forest Road. You will stay on this gravel road until you reach Hickory Mountain Road. Take a left on this road and it will lead you to the top of Ridgeline. Once at the top be ready to descent down this fast and flowy trail all the way to the parking lot. This single track trail has a ton of berms and windy turns. Ridgeline is an ideal trail for a beginner to try as the downhill is fast and fun, but only as technical as one makes it. There are no rooty sections or rock gardens to navigate, which makes it a great gateway trail into the world of mountain biking.
individuals from Muslim majority countries. In this short amount of time, Trump has signed more than 10 executive orders. Rogue sites and ALT-Twitters began to appear within hours of the gag. The Bad Lands National Park is credited with starting the resistance movement and a list can be found at this link, https://twitter.com/ariherzog/lists/ alt-and-rogue/members. Bad Lands refused to stop posting climate change information on Twitter, the tweets were deleted and new Twitters began to appear. The @alt and the @rogue have expanded to include NASA, EPA, and to POTUS, which appears to run by members in the White House. The EPA is still under a gag order but the grant restraints were lifted on Friday, Jan. 27. With the new head of the EPA being named Scott Pruitt, anxieties about the safety of the environment heighten. Pruitt has previously served as the attorney general of the oil and gas-intensive state of Oklahoma. He has also attempted to sue the EPA. On his Linked In, page Pruitt is described as, “…a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda.” So, while the order to silence and halt all new climate information may be a normal policy for new administration, it is safe to say that the fears behind the “gag” are valid with given the circumstances. Bringle sums it well by saying, “I think we are all still wrestling with how to dance along the fine line between vigilance and paranoia.” With the Trump presidency, there seems to be many lines that are having to be walked across carefully. The people nor media have figured out how to balance the task. And I would argue that the new administration is tripping over them as well.
Photo courtesy of Alex Perri
BC alumna Sarah Fonger and Junior Kaylee Smith shred some gnar on Ridgeline.
February 1, 2017 | The Clarion
Sports
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Super Bowl preview
New England Patriots vs Atlanta Falcons
By Bryant Baucom Staff Writer
On Sunday, February 5 in Houston, Texas the New England Patriots will face off against the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. This will be the Patriots first appearance since their victory in Super Bowl XLIX against the Seattle Seahawks. As for the Atlanta Falcons, this is just their second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. In their first appearance, they faced off against the Denver Broncos in 1998 in Super Bowl XXXIII and were defeated 34-19 New England entered the playoffs with a 14-2 regular season record while going 11-1 with Tom Brady under center. The Patriots won the AFC East in 2016 for the 14th time since 2001. They will be seeking their fifth Super Bowl victory in their tenth visit. To get to Houston, New England began their postseason against the team from Houston. The Texans came into Gillette Stadium looking to knock off the #1 seed in the AFC. The Patriots showed why they were the best team in the AFC as they defeated the Texans 34-16. The following week, New England hosted the AFC North Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. New England punched its ticket to the Super Bowl with a 36-17 victory. As for the Atlanta Falcons, they entered the playoffs as the #2 seed in the NFC. Following a first round bye, they opened up play by hosting the Seattle Seahawks. The Falcons got their revenge on the Seahawks after their loss in their regular season with a 36-20 victory in the Georgia Dome. In the last game ever at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta advanced to the Super Bowl by defeating Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers 44-21.
Super Bowl LI will feature the NFL’s number one ranked offense and a top five ranked defense. The number one offense in the NFL belongs to the Atlanta Falcons. They’re led by quarterback and MVP candidate Matt Ryan. Ryan finished the 2016 regular season with 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions while throwing for 4,944 yards. He led the league in QB rating and was second in the league in completion percentage at 69.9 percent. The Atlanta offense is more than just Matt Ryan. Despite missing two games in the regular season, Julio Jones was second in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,409 and used 83 receptions to haul in 6 touchdowns in the regular season. The Atlanta receiving core has put up big numbers during the regular season to accompany the dominance of Julio Jones. Receivers Mohamed Sanu, Taylor Gabriel, and Justin Hardy have combined for 115 receptions to go with receiving 1,435 yards and 14 touchdowns. While the passing game for the Falcons has been one of the best in the league, their running game has been nothing short of impressive. The Falcons have used the duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman to control their ground attack. Freeman was the main workhorse for the Falcons with 227 rushing attempts which turned into 1,079 yards and 11 touchdowns. Coleman aided the rushing attack with 118 rushing attempts that resulted in 520 yards and 8 touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, the New England Patriots have dominated the opposing offenses. In the 2016 regular season, the New England defense racked up 1,020 tackles to go along with 34 sacks, 13 interceptions, and 19 forced fumbles. The Patriots defense was led by Logan Ryan and Patrick Chung who both recorded 90+
tackles. Trey Flowers and Jabaal Sheard led the Patriots in sacks as Flowers tallied seven and Sheard tallied five. Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan both recorded multiple interceptions on the season. Overall, the Patriots defense is ranked the number one overall defense by Pro Football Reference. They allowed the fourth fewest rushing yards in the NFL and allowed 326 yards per game. On the opposite side of the ball for the Patriots, Tom Brady is at the helm for New England. Despite missing the first four games of the season due to suspension, Tom Brady has had a MVP caliber season. He finished the 2016 regular season with 28 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He’s thrown for 3,554 yards and completed 67.4 percent of his passes. The Patriots will rely on their ground game to bring home another Super Bowl. This means LeGarrette Blount will be in charge of the running attack. Blount finished the 2016 regular season with 1,161 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons defense will be going up against the New England offense in hopes of capturing a Super Bowl victory. Atlanta’s defense finished with 1,030 tackles on the season and 34 sacks. Deion Jones and Keanu Neal both recorded 100+ tackles for the Falcons while Vic Beasley led the NFL in sacks with 15.5. The Falcons recorded 12 interceptions during the regular season and forced 17 fumbles. Super Bowl LI will feature two of the best and hottest teams in the NFL. Two MVP hopefuls will face-off while superstars on both the offensive and defensive ends will battle for the ultimate prize. Tom Brady and the Patriots will look to win their second Super Bowl in the past three seasons while Matt Ryan and the Falcons will seek their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
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Sports
The Clarion
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February 1, 2017
Athlete of BC falls to Coker the week:
in hard fought road contest By Bryant Baucom Staff Writer
The Brevard College Tornados women’s basketball team (5-12, 1-12 SAC) fell to the Coker Cobras (3-15, 2-11 SAC) 80-67 on Saturday despite a 32 point performance from Lynsey Crisp. Crisp was the leader of the Tornado offense as she scored her 32 points while shooting 12of-18 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the behind the three point line. This was her first game of the season with 30 or more points and her third time this season leading the Tornados in points. In addition to her outburst in points, Crisp recorded three rebounds and three assists. Fellow senior Madison Lenox added in 23 points with four rebounds and four assists. The two Tornados accounted for 55 of the 67 points for Brevard in the contest. AnnaLee Bollinger joined in on the action for Brevard and recorded seven points while dishing out three assists and grabbing three steals on the afternoon. Coker was led by Iresha Cooper who recorded a double-double in the contest as she finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Syndey Shull and Lindsey Adams both tallied 12 points for Coker while Kelsi Bachmann added in 10 points of her own. The Lynsey Crisp show began early for the Tornados as she scored the first 11 points for Brevard. She used three shots from behind the arc and a layup to give the Tornados the early 11-6 lead. Brevard was able to extend their lead to 8 midway through the first quarter as Madison Lenox joined the scoring column. Lenox used a layup following a steal, a layup, and an and one to tally seven early points. The rest of the first quarter belonged to Coker and they closed out the period on a 7-1 run that cut the Brevard lead to 19-17.
The Tornado lead disappeared as the second quarter got underway. Brevard’s biggest lead in the second quarter was just two as Coker began to take control of the contest. The Cobras gained their biggest lead of the game at 30-25 with 3:24 remaining in the first half. The Tornados used two baskets from Lynsey Crisp and a bucket from Cienna Bryant to prevent another run from Coker as the Cobras held a 37-31 halftime advantage. The Cobras struck quickly following halftime as they extended their lead to double digits for the first time in the game. They would go on to lead Brevard by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. Madison Lenox added in two free throws and Lynsey Crisp knocked in a three pointer to cut the Coker lead to eight with 2:43 left in the third quarter. Coker would push their lead back up to double digits as they headed into the final quarter of play up 57-47. The Tornados made a final push in the fourth quarter as they used five points form Lenox and three form Bollinger to bring Brevard within six. This run was stifled by Coker as they slithered out to another double digit lead and ultimately taking the game by a final of 80-67. Coker used their 40-18 rebound advantage and presence down low to earn the win in the contest. Although the Tornados came away with the loss in the matchup, they shot an impressive 75 percent from the free throw line. In addition to that they hit eight three pointers, four more than the Cobras. For the second straight game, the Tornados played the entire contest with the same unit on the floor. Regardless of the outcome the past two games, the five individuals gave their all on the court. The Tornados will return to action to face the No. 6 Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters in a SAC matchup at 6pm in Boshamer Gymnasium.
Lynsey Crisp For the first time this season, senior Lynsey Crisp is the Tornado Athlete of the Week. Crisp is a senior and has started all 18 games for the 5-13 Tornados. Crisp currently averages 10.3 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. She is second on the team in rebounds and leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage at 46 percent. Crisp stuffed the stat sheet in the Tornados road contest against Tusculum as she recorded six points and eight rebounds while tallying three assists. She played all 50 minutes of the double overtime contest and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line. On Saturday against the Coker Cobras, Crisp recorded her season high in points with 32 and added in three rebounds. Saturday marked the eighth time Crisp has been in double figures this season and the third time she recorded at least three rebounds and three assists. She was 6-for-9 from behind the arc and 12-of-18 from the field. Crisp once again played the entire contest along with four other Tornados. Crisp is currently ninth in all-time scoring for the Tornados with 535 points for her career. She is also top ten in the record books for both 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goals attempted. Crisp will look to keep the hot hand on Wednesday as the Tornados play host to the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters at 6pm in Boshamer Gymnasium.
Photo Courtesy of BC Athletic Media Relations
Lynsey Crisp
