UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA ASHEVILLE
The Blue Banner
Thursday, October 2, 2008
WWW.thebluebanner.net
\'ol. 49, ls.sue 5
Student-soldiers strike balance
Jason Howell
STAFF WRITER
JDHOWELL@UNCA.EDU
Senior management
student Whitney Taylor
blends into crowds of
students most days- and then
there are the days Taylor
wears her Army uniform.
“You can’t necessarily
look at me and tell Tm in
the military,” said senior
student Whitney Taylor.
“1 joined when I was 17.
I’ve been through boot
camp and all the training,
including weapons training.”
Last semester, Mary
Chakales, Associate Director
of Student Activities
and Integrated Learning,
supervised a monthly support
group for student soldiers
and veterans like Taylor.
“Anyone connected with
the military is welcome,”
Chakales said. “Children or
spouses with loved ones in
the military, or parents of
students serving.”
The group grew this
semester as students got to
know each other and started
to express their uniqueness.
Taylor said what she does for
the military surprises people.
“I’m in the 151st
Army band. I play tenor
saxophone,” she said.
Taylor’s company
performs jazz, concert music
and as a rock band. Once a
month, they hold rehearsal
drills and play around North
Carolina at July 4th events
Soldier
juggles
school^
service,
music
’4
Senior
management
student Whitney
Taylor joined the
Army when she
was 17. Taylor
currently serves
in the 151st Army
band, where she
plays tenor
saxophone.
l4-
and other patriotic venues.
The business major said she
is proud of her work but does
not advertise her service in
the military.
“People may stereotype
what you’re supposed to
look like. There are a lot
of different people in the
military,” she said. “We’re
largely a democratic campus,
so there are a lot of people
who are against the war. I
don’t necessarily think that
means they don’t support
the troops, but I don’t tell
everyone what I do.”
Junior political science
student and National Guard
memberPatrick Bartholomew
agrees.
“Usually when I meet
people, I wait a couple of
weeks before I tell them,” he
PHOTO COURTE.SY OF WHITNKY TAl.YI.OR
said.
Bartholomew signed up
under the G1 bill in 2006 to
help pay for college and said
the adjustment to military
culture was difficult.
“I get a little grief because
I’m fairly liberal but it’s
New artist joins Joan Osborne in Asheville
Dylan Schepps
Managing Editor
DCSCHEPP@UNCA.EDU
From performing with
Justin Timberlake and
Britney Spears in Disney’s
Mickey Mouse Club to
paving roads as a volunteer
in Paraguay, emerging artist
Matt Morris is not the typical
pop star.
“I knew that music was
important to me instinctively,
but it wasn’t until I started to
grow into adulthood that it
became clear this was just a
natural thing for me to do,”
the Denver native said.
Morris is from a musical
family and performed “Blue
Suede Shoes” in front of
15,000 people when he was
seven during a tour with his
father, Nashville country
musician Gary Morris.
Morris entered the Mickey
Mouse Club when he was
11 years old and uses the
experience as a guide for his
musical ambitions, he said.
“The experience working
for Disney was great,” he
said. “It taught me a lot about
the industry and about the
work ethic that is necessary
to be in the industry.”
He stayed with the Mickey
Mouse Club for four years
and said he needed a break.
“I didn’t want my life to be
defined by my artistry alone,”
Morris said. “I wanted to be
PHOTO COURTESY OF MuSIC ALLIES
Matt Morris opens for Joan Osborne Saturday at the Orange Peel.
a kid and finish high school
and go to college.”
Morris left Disney, but
continued contact with
Timberlake and maintained a
musical identity throughout
high school and college,
writing songs and playing
guitar as he grew older.
Morris’ most recent song
writing speaks with an
urgency and depth of the
struggles and challenges
people face, according to
Crissa Requate, director
of publicity for Morris’
Asheville-based marketing
company. Music Allies.
“He’s kind of like Ray
LaMontagne meets Elton
John meets Stevie Wonder
meets Rufus Wainwright,”
said Timberlake. “It’s time
for the birth of the hybrid
artist.”
Before beginning work
all friendly,” Bartholomew
.said of his monthly training
.sessions.
However, reintegrating
into campus culture after
those weekends is not
without its own difficulties,
according to Bartholomew.
“I do get sotne dirty kxrks
if 1 walk by in uniform on
campus,” the 20-year-old said.
Bartholomew said he has
felt stereotyping on campus
too, but overall .schtHil and
the military are experiences
worth juggling—the g(xxi
outweighs the bad.
Olga Rossow, a former
Navy service member, sprrke
positively of her experience
as well.
“1 joined when 1 was
19,” the literature-language
student said. “After 1
completed boot camp, 1 went
to Sicily for two years.”
Rossow said she worked
in the supply department
equipping the aircraft
squadrons onboard.
“It was fun. I got to do
some traveling and eat some
good food,” the 25-year-old
said.
Rossowsaidherexperience
made her more appreciative
of civilian life, and she is
proud to put herself through
school. After living within
the rigid structure of Navy
life for five years, civilian
life, particularly that of a
college student, is a change.
“Anything goes here, it seems
See SOLDIER Page 2}
on his solo project, Morris
wrote songs for Chri.stina
Aguilera, Timberlake and
Kelly Clarkson, according to
Requate.
Morris wrote “(Another
song) All Over Again”
for Timberlake’s multi
platinum album Future Sex/
Love Sounds and Aguilera’s
Top 40 collaboration with
Lil’ Kim, “Can’t Hold Us
Down.”
“Matt Morris is an
incredibly dynamic and
powerful performer,”
Requate said. “Not only are
his vocal abilities out-of-
this-world, but his lyrics are
introspective and honest.
Matt has a gift of connecting
with his audience and he’s
been fantastic to work
with.”
Morris recently released a
five-.song EP titled Backstage
at Bonnaroo and Other
Acoustic Performances, on
Justin Timberlake’s record
label, Tennman Records.
Morris opened this year’s
Bonnaroo Music Festival in
Manchester, Tenn., playing
with producer and fellow
musician Charlie Sexton.
“1 like to imagine opening
the festival with a parade
behind me and there were
fireworks and streamers and
I got to cut the ribbon and
See morris Page 9 |
Online tool
changes advising
methods
Cassidy Culbertson
STAFF WRITER
CJCULBER@UNCA.EDU
A new online tool un
veiled this semester revo
lutionizes advising at UNC
Asheville for students who
enrolled or declared their
major in 2007 or later.
“This is one of the big
gest changes since the first
web registration 10 years
ago,” said Pat McClellan,
Dean of Academic Admin
istration. “That was a big
shift in how students made
choices about courses. This
is as big or bigger a shift that
will have a huge impact on
advising.”
Degree Progress Advis
ing Report illustrates the
integrative liberal studies
requirements, major/minor
competencies and minor re
quirements a student must
complete to graduate. It also
includes honors program
and teacher licensure re
quirements.
DegPAR, available
through OnePort, allows
students to generate “what-if
scenarios,” selecting various
major and minor combina
tions to determine what they
A -
Pat McClellan
need to
take to
switch
majors
or add a
minor,
for ex
ample.
The
uni
versity
launched the beta version
last week.
“It’s not really an audit,
although this is a common
name for it,” McClellan said.
“Students may find things
that make them say ‘wait a
minute’ and they need to let
us know. It’s not supposed to
be an audit. It’s an advising
tool.”
It best targets students
who entered UNC Asheville
and declared their major in
the 2(X)7-2(X)8 school year
or later, because developers
ba.sed it on that years’ course
catalog, according to Mc
Clellan.
“We didn’t have time to
work backwards,” she said.
Students who enrolled or
declared prior to 2007-2(X)8
may experience difficul-
see advise Page 2 |
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