22 days until
Commencement!
Volume 81, Issue 27 VJeb Edition
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
April 8, 2016
BC breaks
ground for new
entryway sign
By Kaelyn Martin
staff Writer
BC has broken ground on the construction of
a sign for the main entrance. According to BC
President Rev. Dr. David Joyce, the sign will
be completed by commencement.
“People are going to want their picture taken
with the sign in their cap and gowns,” Joyce
said.
BC faculty member and sculptor Kyle Lusk is
currently building the new sign. The sign will
be made out of Corten-steel and stainless-steel
and will be built up on stone.
“There will be LED lights behind it’s so at
night the letters will be illuminated from be
hind and it’s going to be on a stone pedestal,”
Joyce said
By constructing the sign, the school hopes
that it will make the campus more inviting to
others and better represent the College and
its plans.
“I think it modernizes and it’s more reflective
in the kind of college we are. It will iit so you
can see it well at night,” Joyce said.
The entry way will be moved left of the main
entrance and off the center median. “The new
sign will also perpendicular to the road instead
of parallel so you can see it coming from both
ways,” Joyce said
“It’s a lot safer,” Joyce said. Now people
entering or exiting the College can see the road
better and the cars on the road.
Along with the addition of this new sign
Joyce plans to have three new signs styled
similarly but are slightly smaller at each ad
ditional entrance way. There will also be a new
entrance added by the gym.
“It’s been years in the making planning and
fund raising and we want to make sure it look
good and it’s done well,” Joyce said
“One of the neat thing of being the College
president [is] we have a lot of cool things hap
pening this year one being the new coffee shop
and also the new dorm.” Joyce said. “The sign
is a step all part of where Brevard college is
going.”
Rocking to the top
Climbing team takes seeond at regionals
By Jessica Wiegandt
staff Writer
The Brevard College climbing team took
second place at the regional competition held in
Chattanooga, Tennessee. Eight team members
competed in the event, held on April 2, 2016.
“The routes were hard, like, really hard but
it was fun to work on the problems,” freshman
Gabe Braganza said. “I’ve definitely improved
this season and it was great to finish it out at
Regionals.”
President and sophomore Audrey Ashbumer
expressed excitement about this year’s team
and her hopes for the future. “The improve
ment of new and returning members was
amazing,” Ashbumer said. “[Members] went
from recreational to intermediate categories
within no time.”
Brevard placed closely behind Middle Ten
nessee University, which, according to Ash
bumer, has some of the best intermediate and
advanced climbers in the U.S. Appalachian
Climbing region. From the BC team, Audrey
Ashbumer placed 4th and Jody Bettencourt
placed 5th in overall women’s. Eli Hyatt placed
4th and John Pate placed 8th in overall men’s.
“Being a part of the team means the absolute
world to me. It fills my heart with joy knowing I
was able to join together a group of 18 students
and create something that most thought would
be impossible, since we were no longer being
funded,” Ashbumer said.
Throughout the season, Ashbumer persuaded
team members to help her gather funds and
she sought out external donors for the team’s
competition costs. The fundraiser held earlier
this semester in conjunction with Coffee Carts
Studios was highly successful and allowed the
team to continue to compete for the remainder
of the season.
“Being president of the climbing team was
the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my
life but the opportunities and connections that
I created throughout the process made every
stressful moment worth it all,” Ashbumer said.
Students on the team enjoyed the time spent
climbing and the opportunities it opened as
Jody Bettencourt climbs on the incline wall at
Regionals.
well. Freshman Kris Odom came to BC as a
pre-established climber but was excited when
he heard of the team. “Climbing in season
made me work harder to be the best I could
be.” Odom said, “I liked climbing with the team
because they pushed me.”
Ashbumer was siuprised with the commit
ment and effort all team members had put in
over the course of the season. She said this
season the team had a record-breaking number
of team members and BC has the largest team in
the region even though it is the smallest school
that competes.
“Joining the climbing team my freshman year
was the best thing to happen to me, it brought
meaning to my life. I had never had something
that I could be passionate about, and I will hold
on to these memories for the rest of my life.”
Ashbumer said, “Brevard would not be the
same for me without this team. Looking back
on the season, all I can do is smile.”
The team members who competed qualify to
attend nationals, held in California, but team
funds are limited.