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Pride
llarch 9,
The Pilot
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News
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Community gathers at observatory to view lunar eclipse
Celestial spectacular brings out well over 100
By Grace Whiteside
Special to The Pilot
It wasn’t the average
moonrise Saturday, because
a spectacular and trans
formed “red” moon emerged
out of the horizon. Approxi
mately 120 people gathered
at the Williams Observatory
on Gardner-Webb Universi
ty’s campus to view the to
tal lunar eclipse.
GWU students and fac
ulty, and families from the
community roamed in and
out of the observatory, gaz
ing at the clear sky through
telescopes and binoculars,
or projected onto a screen
inside the observatory from
a webcam in Belgium.
Dr. Don Olive, associ
ate professor of physics and
director of Craven E. Wil
liams Observatory, expected
around 25 people to attend.
“I’m excited about how
many people showed up,”
he said.
A lunar eclipse occurs
whenever the moon passes
through the Earth’s shadow.
It can only occur when the
sun. Earth and a full moon
are in a direct line with one
another. The moon gener
ates no light of its own, so
its red glow is caused by the
bending of the sun’s light
around the Earth. A total lu
nar eclipse occurs when the
entire moon passes through
the Earth’s shadow.
Excited children impa
tiently awaited the appear
ance of the “red moon,” but
when it finally rose, it had
a distinctly pink color. Hav
ing ascended during the “to
tal” phase of the eclipse, the
moon was already glowing
red when it came into view.
It rose in the east, which,
from Williams Observatory,
was just above and to the
right of the KFC/Taco Bell
restaurant.
The eclipsed moon was
not clearly visible until
about 6:15 because, accord
ing to Don Brooks, presi
dent of the Cleveland Coun
ty Astronomical Society, the
sky was hazy and the moon
was still in the earth’s shad
ow. However, as it slowly
emerged from the darkness,
it became brighter and more
illuminated.
In a solar eclipse, the
moon is directly in be
tween the sun and Earth,
which blocks our view of
the sun. In a lunar eclipse,
the Earth is between the sun
and moon, thus blocking the
light that usually reaches
and illuminates the moon.
“Usually a lunar eclipse
lasts a lot longer than a solar
eclipse,” Brooks said.
Because this was the first
total eclipse since October
2004, many amateur astron
omers were eager to snap a
picture. Spectators at Wil
liams were taking pictures
with all different types of
cameras: digital, exM^e,
and, yes, even cell ph^^.
It took Dr. Kent Blevins,
professor of religion, sever
al shots before he obtained
a good cell phone picture of
the moon through the tele
scope.
. Brooks encouraged any
one interested in viewing
the sky to join the Cleveland
County Astronomical Soci
ety. It meets every fourth
Thursday of the month at
7:30 p.m.
For more information,
visit its Web site at www.
ccastro.org, or contact
Brooks at (864) 839-9424.
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This montage shows the stages of the eclipse. The pictures were taken by As
sociate Provost Dr. James Dire with a telescope at his observatory in Shelby.
County Shrinkdown makes for a healthier GWU
By Ashley Chatham
kchatham@gardner-webb. edu
Today is the last day
for Gardner-Webb Univer
sity students and faculty to
weigh in after their 10-week
participation in the Cleve
land County Shrinkdown.
The program, sponsored
by the Cleveland County
'V^CA, is designed to make
people aware of the obesity
problem in our country, and
how to change it.
Steve Varley, vice presi
dent for development, par
ticipated in the program
and said he enjoyed it very
much.
“I thought it was in
formative and exactly the
type of program the YMCA
should provide, particularly
at this time of the year,” he
said.
The Shrinkdown’s tim
ing was right. At the se
mester’s beginning, Sandy
Hammett, assistant director
of student activities, was
looking for ways to help
lifestyle improvements for
people at GWU,
She knew the campus
would benefit from the free,
10-week healthy living
awareness program, which
started in January.
Jyma Atwell ofthe Kings
Mountain YMCA said that
there were 96 people on the
GWU team.
According to program
officials, the Shrinkdown
is not a diet. It focuses on
nutrition, exercise and con
tinuing education as path
ways to a healthy life.
Program participant had
to weigh in every Friday
at the designated weigh-in
sites, where they would re
ceive information packets
for the upcoming week.
These packets include
healthy eating, exercise and
shopping list information.
and recipes.
Experts in the county
also conducted a “health
talk” every Monday for sup
port and encouragement.
“1 think it has a
great effort to try to mBrss
a national problem and hope
it has been a success to
those that became involved
in it here on campus,” said
Hammett, adding that the
program will be offered
next year.
“(We want to) find ways
to integrate more programs
to make it more powerful
overall.”
Dr. Franki Burch, associ
ate professor of physical ed
ucation, wellness and snorts
studies, was a mem^Hbf
the education commit^Kor
the GWU participants. She
said that some of the stu
dents used the Shrinkdown
is a service-learning proj
ect, doing the weigh-ins and
distributing the information
packets.
“As a campus, I think
we’re focusing more on
wellness issues and have
a higher quality of life in
mind,j|^^rch said. “The
forma^ifft has ended, but
hopefully the behavior will
continue.”
Beginning in April, the
Cleveland County Health
Department and Cleveland
Regional Medical Center
will have stepping pro
grams. Both organizations
will distribute devices to
track how many steps an
individual is taking each
week, which serve as a way
to promote and calculate ex-
ercise^—
Pa^Bs in the Shrink
down ms year, in addition
to the YMCA were GWU,
the Shelby Star, Cleveland
Regional Medical Center,
Cleveland Community Col
lege, Alliance for Health,
and Alpha Mailing.
Far from home
Going home the best destination of all
By Samba Fall
Special to The Pilot
College breaks generally bring
opportunities for students to visit
parents and siblings. This spring
break will not be an exception to the
rule. From today through March 18,
many Gardner-Webb students will
seize the aimual chance to visit
home. But not all of us will.
I, Samba Fall, will stick aroimd
campus for a third straight break.
The distant location of my home
and the expensiveness of a round
trip will not make me one of the
lucky GWU students going home
during this break.
My hometown is Senegal, a na
tion in Western Africa. I left it three
years ago for the pursuit of my aca
demic and sportive fate; a blessing
from Heaven. Yes, I consider my
self blessed to have the chance to
be here and to do something with
my life. Nevertheless, I miss home
a lot, especially with this period of
vacation.
Styles of life in the United States
and Senegal are very different, so I
experienced a big culture clash in
my first months in America.
The main differences are in the
relationships among people, the at
tachment to traditions and the food.
The latter is the one I miss the
most. Food in Senegal is very sym
bolic. The way you prepare and
serve it to people can tell a lot about
you. Often very spicy, Senegalese
food is based on rice, millet, com,
vegetables, fish and meat. All three
meals of the day are cooked at
home, which creates a special smell
that I miss.
Meals are eaten together and this
brings opportunities to discuss each
other’s activities.
Sharing those meals with my
parents and some of my 11 siblings
allowed us to remain close. Each
meal seemed to be a ceremony in
my house.
Other aspects of life in Senegal
that I miss are the warm weather and
hanging out at some very special
places that Boiling Springs does not
offer. My home is five minutes away
from the beach, and the neighbor
hood has a basketball playground
where I learned how to hoop.
Every morning before classes, I
used to jog to the beach, run on the
sand and swim in the sea. I bet that
many people will spend entire days
at the beach and enjoy themselves,
during spring break.
I miss my very warm and wel
coming house, siblings, friends,
former classmates and teammates,
trips to the beach and the play
ground. Most of all, I miss my mom
and the last-bom of my family, baby
Abdou. He was bom while I was in
the States.
• Once again, it is not that I am
not enjoying myself in the U.S.
Gardner-Webb and Boiling Springs
are a blessing to me.
Only, far from home, my mind
and spirit travel very often through
out journeys back to Senegal. For
this break, only those dreams will
help me “get close” to the food,
good times and family meetings
that I miss so much.
Bonner: Community praises
school’s anti-tobacco policy
Cancun tops list
of spring break
spots nationwide
from page 1
man Bryan Fair.
Some seniors, such as Aimee Boswell,
have lined up interviews during the break,
in an effort to figure out post-graduation
plans. Boswell is a psychology major from
Black Mountain.
“UNC Greensboro is where I want to
go,” said Boswell, in reference to graduate
school interviews. “I definitely don’t want
to have nowhere to go once graduation rolls
around.^^
Seni^Paren’t thl^lly students using
the break for career opportunities. Eric
Schmittle, a freshman from Vienna,Va.,
plans to use the break to get an early start
on his summer internship.
“I have got to get this started or I will be
lost come graduation,” said Schmittle.
Other students don’t have such detailed
plans.
“I am going to do something,” added
freshman Matt Stoval. “I promise you that.
There is no way that I will spend my first
spring break sitting on the couch.”
Where’s everyone going?
Here are the top 10 spots for 2007 spring
break trips, according to Kathleen Crislip,
writer for about.com.
Visit studenttravel.about.com for more
information.
1. Cancun
2. Rosarito Beach, Baja
3. Acapulco
4. Panama City and Miami, Fla. (tie)
5. South Padre Island, Texas
6. Negril, Jamaica
7. North American Ski Resorts
B. MP|au, Bal^^^
9. ^ftoVallat^F
10. Hawaii, Paris, Puerto Rico (tie)
By Matt Tessnear
matthewtl984@earthlink.net
Some students may be
unhappy with Gardner-
Webb University’s deci
sion to go tobacco-free,
but GWU President Dr.
A. Frank Bonner said he
has been greeted only with
community approval since
the Jan. 29 announcement.
Bonner has received
mail from the North Caroli
na Banker’s Association, the
Cleveland County Health
Department, the Cleveland
County YMCA and for
mer GWU staff members,
among others, voicing their
approval of the new policy
that will ban all tobacco use
on campus as of Aug. 6.
“I haven’t heard the first
critical word whatsoever,
externally,” said Bonner.
“I’ve had people approach
me at the (YMCA) and at
Rotary.
“My wife’s had people
approach her at the grocery
store and places like that. I
was at a meeting of college
pastors and they congratu
lated me on the decision.”
Bonner also quelled the
rumors that GWU made the
policy to get money from
the North Carolina Health
and Wellness Trust Fund.
He said the NCHWTF
will pay for policy imple
mentation costs, such as
signs, nicotine patches and
information printing. How
ever, the university will not
make a profit from the poli
cy, he said.
Recently, USA Today
ran an article about schools
contemplating smoke-free
policies for the health ben
efits. GWU made the deci
sion for similar reasons,
said Bonner.
“We’re not trying to
force health on anybody,”
said Bonner, adding that
second-hand smoke is dan
gerous and affected the de
cision.
“You can go across the
street and smoke to your
lungs’ content.”
RA termination upsets students
from page 1
ing with Facebook.
“I’m willing to sit down
with students,” said Ingram.
“I need students to come
to me instead of talking to
each other.”
Tim Tanning, an RA in
Mauney Hall, had until to
day to move from his cur
rent housing location.
Tanning, a junior in
ternational business major
from St. Petersburg, Fla.,
was originally put on pro
bation for joining the Face-
book group.
However, a key to his
RA master key disappeared
recently and he was given
until Feb. 27 to find it.
On March 5, Tanning
said he found a sealed en
velope sticking out of his
door.
It was a letter from resi
dence life, dated March 2,
informing him of his termi
nation, the reasons and his
requirement to move.
Tanning said he believes
the key was stolen .
“It sucks that I have this
key issue because it says in
the handbook they can fire
me (for such an offense)”
said Tanning, adding that
the Facebook problem was
unexpected.
“This was completely
left field because we had no
idea it was coming. Not in a
million years would I have
thought we would have got
ten in any trouble.”
Tanning said he met with
Ingram, Stephanie Moore
and his GRD, Daniel Abra-
hao, to discuss his original
punishment.
“My joining of that
group says, in no way, that
I have anything against (the
staff member)” said Tan
ning.
“Myself, as an RA, I
thought it was funny in an
ironic sort of way. I even
posted on the wall that ‘my
RA sucks’ and I am the RA.
Obviously I’m not attack
ing anyone and loosely, you
could argue that I’m attack
ing myself,”
Vickers’ roommates
wrote a letter to the housing
department to express their
disapproval. Junior Mike
Bechtel, one of the room
mates, drafted the letter.
“Because Trae is the
best RA Gardner-Webb has
had and you would be a fool
for firing him because of a
Facebook group,” Bechtel
said in the letter, “we find it
very hard to believe that the
organization known as resi
dence life has little or noth
ing else better to do than to
search through an interac
tive Web site, looking for
dirt on employees.”