Battle of bands play at UWF 8:18 PM

With a line-up of five unique groups, UWF held its Battle of the Bands competition on Thursday, April 7 at the University Commons Auditorium.

The event, sponsored by the university’s Campus Activity Board, allowed bands to compete for a cash prize of $400.  Approximately 80 people turned out to hear the bands jam out.

The winner of the cash prize was the band Elyse Therose, a three-member band playing various ambient songs.

The first band to play that night was alternative rock band, The Mainstream, playing samples of popular songs such as AC/DC’s hit, “TNT.”

Next on the line-up was a scream band known to many on campus as Scream Out Loud. The band made a dramatic transition in music, with the crowd livening up and moshing near the stage.

After Scream Out Loud’s musical performance was Elyse Therose, the band that blew the competition away.  The audience was attentive of Elyse Therose’s performance, even clapping along to one of their songs.

On their Facebook page, the group describes themselves as “a female-fronted power trio with a huge sound and a fresh, new take on Indie-Rock music.”

Making the transition in musical styles yet again was the band, Long Division. The band used a keyboard to play quirky songs, such as one that was about “love and zombies,” according to lead singer Tammy Mills.

After Long Divison’s musical performance was The Real People, a band specializing in soft, ambient rock. The band was last to play, following after the popular Elyse Therose.

Each band was given a time limit of approximately 30 minutes to perform that night.  The event lasted late into the night, ending after 11 p.m.

Katilin Winters, junior majoring in Telecommunications, says she loves coming out to Battle of the Bands to see them play.

“I went last year to the event,” Winters said. “It was a really good turnout and a lot of fun.”

To listen to some samples from the bands who participated, visit their personal pages and websites on Facebook and Myspace.

College of Business groundbreaking ceremony at UWF 9:51 PM

"Mi Barrio" generates interaction, immersion 2:12 PM

The University of West Florida Conference Center was bustling with music and chatter on Mar. 7. The festivities were nothing more than a big slice of Spanish fun and games.

Students filled the room and began sitting at tables with specific games. “Uno,” “Bingo” and “Hangman” were but a few.

A large table on the other side of the room was decorated in nothing but food. Students continued to visit the table to take a chunk of “arroz con leche,” a dish consisting of rice, milk and cinnamon.

The event, known as “Mi Barrio,” has been going on since 2006 and has been successful every year.

“Mi Barrio is an event open to students, faculty and staff or whoever would like to have an experience in the Spanish language and culture,” says Laura Arguea, Spanish advisor and coordinator for Mi Barrio.

Arguea says the event is usually run by students or by other parties. The event is usually held in the conference center and the whole purpose is immersion experience.

“Varieties of activities are designed by students,” she says.

The highlight of the event was a game called “Tiago Dice,” a game known to many as “Simon Says.” Participants listened intently to every word Tiago said as he told players to sit up, jump, touch their nose and spin in circles—all in Spanish.

Melissa Rodriguez, senior majoring in Public Relations, participated in the festivities. Rodriguez also helped to set up the Feb. 7 Mi Barrio event.

“Mi Barrio is a great opportunity for people who are learning the Spanish language and for those who want to practice it to come together and try some new foods and some fun games and meet new people,” Rodriguez says.

Rodriguez says she enjoyed the music and the fresh “empanadas.”

Mi Barrio is an event sponsored by the Department of English and Foreign Languages. For more information, contact Laura Arguea at laurguea@uwf.edu.

Guns on Campus 10:27 AM

The University of West Florida has been the pinnacle of what you could call a culture war. Anti-abortion stands and wildlife sanctuaries are but two hot topics that have heated up much discussion and debate among students for the past few weeks.

Now the university faces an even greater dilemma, one that has been gaining massive amounts of
attention recently.

Guns. No, let me refrain that. Guns on a University campus.

Senator Greg Evers bill known as SB234 will allow licensed gun holders to bring their weapons of mass destruction to university campuses.

Our university is divided when it comes to finding a stance on the issue. Some say students should be able to carry a weapon if a license is obtained, while others are saying that guns should not be allowed on campus.

Don't get me wrong, if you feel as if a gun will make you feel safe, good for you.

In a recent Voyager poll, many expressed that one should be allowed to carry a gun if a license is obtained. I feel as if this could be linked to the fact that UWF is a commuter campus and people aren't always here 24/7. Those who are always here seem to lean towards the fact that guns are a bad idea.

Personally, I believe our university does not need this poor excuse of a bill. Sure, we get the occasional creep on University Parkway and a man hiding out in the woods. Does this mean we should have guns just so we feel secure? I feel as if the UWF Police Department is perfectly capable of handling any situations that students may have.

We haven’t even had a campus shooting as far as I’m concerned. I would probably understand if we
were in a poor area with high violence, but we aren’t. We’re in a civilized community.

We are not a large university and (for the most part) we all get along. The whole bill is ironic to me. Bring a gun to feel safe, but live in fear of being shot by someone else.

It seems to me that guns would intensify situations. I’m here to learn and I want to feel safe on this campus. I don’t want to worry about whether or not the guy (or girl) next to me in class has a pistol in her pocket.

UWF Presents TAGGED 2011 Art Exhibit 12:23 PM

The University of West Florida is currently displaying student art in the annual TAGGED exhibition at the Center for Fine and Performing Arts.

“It usually happens in the spring,” Art Gallery director Amy Bowman says. “All students at UWF are eligible.”

The exhibit, sponsored by the Lewis Bear Company, allows students to submit works of art despite not being affiliated with the art department.  

“They submit their works either in physical form or digital submission,” Bowman says.

Bowman also says the UWF art department faculty judges the works to determine what will be displayed.   She also says this year’s exhibition has been very competitive.

According to a Feb. 16 “Voyager” article, more than 60 students submitted over 100 works.  34 of the submitted works were selected from 27 students.

An open reception was held on Feb. 17.  Bowman says there was a huge turnout that night, with approximately 184 people.

Jordan Gilliland, senior majoring in philosophy, has two works of art on display at the TAGGED exhibit.

His work, “Honest Hunger,” is a sculpture made out of wood and electrical wires. His second piece, “Imfamy,” is a large canvas piece.”

“It is a drawing that I did with just paper and ink,” he says. “This one I was just exploring the process of playing with the ink and water and how it works on the paper.”

Bowman says this exhibit is a way to bring the community together through art.

“It’s really about celebrating the work that the students are producing at UWF,” Bowman said. “It’s also an opportunity for the entire university as well as students that are working in the community to come together.”

Donna White, art enthusiast, says she thought the exhibit was excellent and the students really captured what the exhibit was about.

The exhibit will be on display until Mar. 4. For more information on the event, visit uwf.edu/art or tag82uwf.wordpress.com.

Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. The gallery is also open on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Abortion and the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform 8:15 AM

Valentine’s Day: A day of love, affection and a lot of candy and Hallmark cards. When I woke up to go to class on the morning of Feb. 14, I thought it would be just another normal day on campus. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The first thing that seemed out of place was the giant abortion truck that passed me as I was walking up University Parkway. On the side of the truck was a graphic image of an aborted fetus. Under the image was the organization’s name, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.

I wondered why on earth this truck would be heading to campus but it wasn’t until I reached the Canon Greens that I found out what was going on. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform was setting up camp here, and there campsite was a fortress of tall posters displaying aborted fetuses.

To be honest I was a bit shocked to see such a disturbing eyesore take over our campus. I thought it was some kind of cruel joke at first but I went home later that day and found out they were a legit organization. The abortion stand was part of CBR's "Genocide Awareness Project."

From their website:

“CBR operates on the principle that abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail us when attempting to describe its horror. Until abortion is seen, it will never be understood.”

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, yes, but what gets me is some organization from out of town invades our space and starts preaching to students about what a woman MUST do with her body. It’s kind of like having religious doorknockers inviting themselves into your house and telling you what to do.

You can’t just force sensitive issues onto people like that. That and we never even got a warning about CBR’s arrival as far as I’m concerned…

So with that being said I had a few questions for the University. Why did the CBR get a reserved spot on the Canon Greens, whereas every other organization is bound to the secluded free speech zone? What makes these guys special? Did they pay us?

Whatever your stance on abortion, the CBR got what they wanted and got everyone on campus turning heads at their stand. If you’re still looking for more information, visit abortionno.org.  (Visit at your own risk, as there is an abortion video that starts up as soon as you visit the site.)

A Day With The Elderly 8:30 AM

Usually on the weekends I do absolutely nothing. I’ve been doing a lot this semester so I try to take advantage of any free time that I may have.

It seems I can never be satisfied though. I complain about being busy, yet when I’m free, I wish I was being productive.

A week ago I made good use of my weekend and went with a friend to help her out with her “job.” By the end of the day, I’m glad I went to help her out.

My friend takes care of an elderly couple. She shops for their groceries, feeds their birds in the backyard and does other mundane chores. I wasn’t too keen on helping out with this kind of stuff, especially since I can’t even complete my own household chores.

Before we left to go to Nina and Kearney’s house (the elderly couple), my friend told me to bring my laptop with me. Kearny had a CD with old pictures he wanted to show us so I brought it along. No biggie.

Their house is an average looking home with a garage and large windows. The roof is flat and the entire structure is made of white brick. My friend and I walked up the wheelchair ramp to the door and greeted the couple. I was a little nervous because I wasn’t sure what to say.

Nina is French and speaks in a really thick accent. I was pleased to find out that she spoke Spanish and lived in Spain for a while. She was familiar with some of the cities I’ve been to when I lived in Spain: Rota, Cadiz, Jerez, Sevilla…

Kearney is American and he walks around the house with a cane. He argues with Nina a lot and it’s hilarious to see them go at each other’s throats. Despite the arguing, you can clearly tell that they love each other, especially when Kearney hums in French to Nina.

We viewed pictures with Nina and Kearney and I was amazed at the quality of the photos. Some of them went back to the 1920s. There were men in suits looking like they were ready to go swing dancing, women in fancy hats at social gatherings and photos of vintage cars.

Nina and Kearney knew a woman named Mimi who used to be the oldest dependent of Pensacola. Nina said that Mimi always loved wearing large, fancy hats. We saw a few pictures of Mimi on the CD, she looked like a really classy lady.

After doing some chores for the two and feeding the birds in the backyard, Nina told me about how people used to adore America before Vietnam. She said it was a different time and a different place. She was obsessed with the American Dream and now it just kind of withered away.

“America isn’t what it used to be,” she said.

Before I knew it, the sun was going down and it was time to go. I gave Kearney a handshake and gave Nina a hug before leaving. I told myself I would be back. I would love to get to know these people and hear their story. 

SGA hosts Budget Presentations for Organizations 1:33 PM

The University of West Florida Student Government Association hosted a budget presentation for campus organizations on Feb. 5 at 10:15 a.m. in the Building 21 Conference Center.

Finance chair Keldrick Averhart said the SGA finance committee looks at electronic copies of each organization’s reports and then have a question and answer session with the organizations.

“There are seven minutes of them speaking about their organizations and seven minutes of us doing question and answers,” Averhart said.

Organizations present in front of the Finance Committee included the Marketing and Logistics Association, the Society of Women Engineers, the Association of Information Systems and Students for Health Education and Promotion.

According to the SGA event calendar, 18 organizations were signed up on Feb. 5 to deliver budget presentations.

SGA Senate President Dwayne Manuel said this process happens every year.

“The budget process is a yearly thing that usually happens during the spring semester,” Manuel said. “The fiscal year starts July 1.”

Finance committee member Matthew Ferrer said the money comes from the A&S student’s fee.

“We’ll get together in deliberations a couple weeks from now,” Ferrer said.  “We deliberate on how much they need to allocate and how much they deserve.”

Ferrer said they also look at the requests organizations have given as well as how much money they have put together as a club.

“We want to be fair and consistent with all the clubs,” he said.

Manuel said the committee receives recommendations as to how the money is distributed.

“It is mandated within our statutes that the finance committee gets a recommendation for the amount of money being allocated towards departments and student organizations,” he said.

Budget presentations will continue on Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. Seven student organizations are to present next Saturday.

For more information about budget presentations and the overall process, contact SGA at sga@uwf.edu.

SGA Budget Presentations

And the Oscar nominations are... 9:34 AM

Being a college student, I don’t go to the movies often.  If I do go, I want to be sure that I’m getting my money’s worth, so forgive me if I sound a little one-sided.

With less than four weeks until the Oscars, the nominations are out. I’m actually looking forward to this year’s choices because I feel more movie literate this time around. (That and the overhyped movie “Avatar” is not here to steal the scene. Thank goodness.)

Scrolling through the list of nominations for best picture, I’m relieved to say that I’ve seen three out of 10 of these movies. I watched “The Social Network” and “Inception” on my eight hour flight from London to Miami at the beginning of the year thanks to in-flight entertainment.

I watched Toy Story 3 twice.  The first time with friends, the second time with family. I almost shed a tear on both occasions—something that never happens when I watch movies.

For this category, I’m torn between “Inception” and “The Social Network.” Inception was a creative masterpiece while “The Social Network” was a great portrayal of our generation.

It’s a close tie, but I might have to go with “Inception.” I’m big with bizarre movies and this just worked for me. The epic music, the special effects, the plot, etc. It’s one of those movies that make you go “hmmm.”

I do believe that “The Social Network” will take the prize for the actor in a leading role category. Jesse Eisenberg does a phenomenal job at being a cocky asshole in this movie.

Facebook: Scandalous.

And as for “Toy Story 3,” I’m confident that this movie will dominate in the animated feature film category. I watched “How to Train your Dragon,” one of the other nominations for this category, but it didn't have the emotional appeal of “Toy Story 3.”

For kicks, I’m going to predict that “Alice in Wonderland” will win the costume design category. Wasn’t a big fan of the movie, but the creativity put forth in the costumes was astounding.

Teddy Newton’s “Day and Night” might stand a chance in the short film (animated) category. I watched this on the “Toy Story 3” DVD extra features and thought this was a great portrayal of human relationships.

In four weeks, I will have hopefully found a way to view all these movies without spending too much money.

See you all on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theater.

Camera Shots for Dummies 1:54 PM

I forced my dear friend and her roommate to pretend they were professional actresses. I would hire them for a movie, wouldn't you?

How America reacted to the Tucson Arizona shootings 9:37 AM

On the morning of January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords set up a constituent meeting at a Safeway supermarket in the northern area of Tucson, Arizona.

That same morning, 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner reached the proximities of the Safeway and shot Giffords in the head as well as other random members of the crowd. Six people were killed.

The media was in an uproar with the story, updating viewers on Gifford’s condition. The reason this story was such a big target for the media was because governmental officials were involved. Had Giffords or her staff not been there that fateful morning, this possibly would have been a regular news story, no hype included.

What irks me the most about this incident is the reaction made by the politicians and people of our country.

First we have the “blame game.”

Last year, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin announced her “Take Back the 20 Plan” in hopes of “eliminating” House members who voted for the health care bill. Palin created a map, displaying crosshairs where House members resided. Giffords was on that list and naturally, people pointed fingers at Palin.

Putting bunnies instead of crosshairs
might have been a better idea.

Let me just say that as much as I hate the soccer-mom political nutcase, she isn’t to blame. Sure, creating a map with crosshairs and ranting on about eliminating house members is both foolish and childish, but I really don’t think she had any ties to Loughner.

This little crosshair event isn’t even the worst thing I could write about.

Ever been to Palin’s Facebook page? (I don’t blame you if you haven’t.) I was reading a blog posting that explains how the moderators of her page delete any unruly comments that could paint her in a negative light.

Comments such as, “YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE, YOU EVIL WITCH” were immediately deleted from the page, according to this blog.

My blood began to boil when I read what somebody posted about Christina Taylor Green, the nine-year old who was shot by Loughner:

“It's ok. Christina Taylor Green was probably going to end up a left wing bleeding heart liberal anyway. Hey, as 'they' say, what would you do if you had the chance to kill Hitler as a kid? Exactly."

Are you kidding me? You’re targeting this innocent nine-year old girl?

What disgusts me the most is the comment stayed on the page. “Who cares if Green was shot, we have an awesome comment that attacks the liberals!”

Once you throw an innocent kid into the political circus, you know you’ve gone too far.

But wait, there’s more. This poor little girl not only got shot, killed and made fun of on Palin’s “wall,” she was also the target of the Westboro Baptist Church.

As if Green’s family had enough on their plate, the most hated church in America wanted to make a guest appearance at the funeral. The church members themselves even praised Loughner for his actions. (Give me a second to pound my head against my desk before continuing.)

People were in an uproar to find that these senseless human beings would be picketing at Green’s funeral.

In the end, the church agreed not to picket in exchange for radio airtime.

Super. I wish we would stop getting news coverage about these idiots.

That’s it from me. What began as a shooting became a political and religious circus. Don’t even get me started on the political junkies who have no remorse for what happened. Let's just steal Christina Taylor Green's thunder instead.

Silly Floridians, Where Are Your Coats? 7:42 PM

Ahhh, the Sunshine State.

I’m not going to lie. Watching the people of Pensacola experience the winter season is kind of like witnessing an apocalypse. It’s always amusing, seeing the citizens of this town curse the gray, cloudy skies as they head for work in the morning. (It’s even more amusing seeing the overcrowded coffee shops being used as refuges. I’m sure Starbucks is thanking the cold weather for their increased revenue.)

During this time, you can easily tell who is or isn’t from here simply by the way they’re dressed. If they’re wearing a hoodie and jeans in January, they’re probably from the Sunshine State. If they’re decked out in a scarf and winter coat, they’re probably from the North (or are from here and know how to dress sensibly).

I initially had the full-on intention of mocking Floridians to raise a point about how it’s not that cold, but after getting sick this weekend, I’m going to have to hold back on a lot of what I was going to say for this post.

The matter-of-fact is: IT’S PRETTY COLD.

Myself, being a veteran to cold extremes, can tolerate chilly weather. My parents live in England in a town called Peterborough, located two hours North of London. We spent New Year’s on a bridge overlooking Big Ben and the London Eye as we risked losing our fingers to frostbite.

Last week on Wednesday, I woke up for my morning class at 8:30 a.m. I booted up my computer and checked the weather. The expected high was 44 degrees Fahrenheit. The low was 27.

The cold weather in Peterborough freezes spider webs,
leaving rubbery-like strings. Neat, huh?

I paused and stared at that 27, because I remember sitting on my couch back home in England during break, seeing that number as the same recorded low for the day—three days before Christmas.

I could not believe that it was just as cold here as it was in England. When I stepped outside, the wind slapped me in the face and it felt like I was back home, walking the streets of Peterborough, enduring the frigid wind.

My initial thoughts were, “This isn’t that bad, you’ve experienced this same kind of weather back home.”

Approximately 24 hours later, I started to get sick. Underestimating this weather was a mistake.

 I refused to turn on the heat in my apartment because I was convinced it wasn’t cold. I’m also cheap and make every effort to reduce my electricity bill, so I can push some of the blame of my sickness towards Gulf Power.  

Now it’s Monday night and I’m just getting over my sore throat. I can feel the weather getting slightly warmer but I’m going to be extremely cautious from here on out.

Lesson of the day: Don’t mock the cold. Things will only get worse if you do.

(Tiny side note: I hope we get a small snow flurry so University classes will get cancelled like last year. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we had legitimate snow here. People would freak out big-time.)

Welcome Back, Kids! 6:24 PM

(One more year until the Mayan Calendar claims our fate.
Better get working on your bucket lists, people.)

With a New Year brings a new semester. With a new semester brings yet another 13 weeks of hard work and stress. This being said, can we make it through yet another year at the University of West Florida?

Yes we can! (Apologies for using the most overused phrase of the 2008 elections. It felt fitting.)

With this semester brings a lot of new changes and goals for me. I hope to finish up my last two Spanish courses so I can get my minor in, well, Spanish. I’ve also started working on coursework for the International Studies minor I’ve recently applied for.

With the first week down, I can’t help but feel like the atmosphere at UWF is a bit…different. It might just be the cold weather or the fact that there are no leaves on the trees.

No but seriously, I feel like there are more people around here. My classes this semester seem unusually large, which is a bit discomforting. More students stuffed in the same classroom will eventually mean less focus on individual students.

Take my Spanish Composition and Conversation class as an example. Approximately 20 students are enrolled in this class right now. When you have a large foreign language class, you know for a fact that not everybody is going to be on the same level, so you have to find that balance and work from there.

Magnifico. This means I have to dumb down my Spanish.

All is not lost though. I have four other courses that will keep me busy.

Good luck to everyone this semester.