I
GARDNER-WEBB UNIVERSITY
March 19, 2008-;-
mm
HHU
Volume fiTNoTIT
m
Serving the Gardner-Webb University community for more than 60 years
This Edition
‘ In campus news>
Check out a pair of sto
ries about spring break
trips. See page 2.
Fine Arts and Theater
students will present an
original musical later
this month. Page 4.
The annual LOTS Con
ference had a different
twist this year. Page 2.
■ Opinion/editorial'
Editor Rebecca Clark
enjoys spring because
it’s a season of hope.
See page 3.
Jacob Conley looks
back at things he didn’t
doatGWU. Pages.
Lanny Newton sounds
off about problems with
the NCAA. Page 3.
— In sports ■
Wrestling team sends
two players to NCAAs.
See page 5.
Baseball team defeats
Cornell. See page 4.
Men’s tennis out on the
road after mixed bag
of wins and loses. See
page 5.
Softball team finds frus
tration at Adidas Tour
nament. See page 5.
Both swim teams finish
third in Coastal Colle
giate Swimming Finals.
Page 4.
Weather
Today
Thursday
Mar. 19
Mar. 20
69/47
66/39
PM rain
Sunny
Source:
Weather
Channel
Index
News
Op/Ed
page 3 :
Sports
page 4,^,
Photo
Texas Train’ A-Sun Player of the Year
By Samba Fall
Special to The Pilot
On March 4 Gardner-Webb
University senior Thomas Sand
ers was named Atlantic Sun Con
ference Player of the Year, and for
good reason.
The “Texas Train” or “T Train”
as his teammates call him, has had a
year full of good stats and numbers.
Sanders averaged a double-double
of 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds
during the regular season. That
hasn’t happened at Gardner-Webb
for more than 20 years.
Sanders was very modest about
his performances this year, and was
quick to share credit for the honor.
“1 did not expect it coming,”
said Sanders. “But for it, I have to
be grateful to my teammates and
coaches. For me, the award is more
of a team recognition than an indi
vidual distinction to my person.”
Sanders’ point of view seems
to reflect the team’s motto - Play
hard, play together - that Coach
Rick Scruggs and his staff wanted
the players to cultivate throughout
the season. The spirit of unity and
family that any team needs was
well perceived by Sanders and his
teammates.
Looking back at the season,
Sanders expresses satisfaction in
the overall improvement the team
has achieved in his two years at
Gardner-Webb. In 2006-2007, the
Running Bulldogs went 9-21, and
this year they finished 16-16.
“Somehow, we can be proud of
what we did this season” said Sand
ers. “We started up with some big
wins, like one ov|njC entucky,
from whicl^P: had lUr expecta
tions in ourselves.
“And we also had some bad
losses. We just have to learn from
those losses.”
After a brilliant college career,
Sanders is now heading out to “real
life.” The T Train has a few plans
for his near future.
“There is nothing specific, or
for sure yet,” he said. “But I would
love to play professional basketball.
When and where, that 1 don’t know
yet. And if that does not work out
well. I’m planning on going to law
school.”
By being the first Runnin’ Bull
dog named A-Sun Player of the
Year, Sanders has set a new stan
dard for his teammates, and the fu
ture looks promising.
In addition to Sanders’ recog
nition, teammate Nate Blank was
named A-Sun Freshman of the
Year. Plus, almost every player on
this year’s roster is coming back
next fall.
Photo by Tyler Kucifer
Thomas Sanders demonstrates the form that made him famous.
Campus cats ruffle some feathers
By Amy Elliott
Special to The Pilot
There is a love-hate relationship
on the campus of Gardner-Webb
University concerning the cats that
make the university grounds their
home.
Students have complained about
the cats that live around the music
and education buildings in particu
lar, citing them as an annoyance.
“They are a nuisance, espe
cially when they are lying in the
road,” said junior Heather Shirey.
“I honked my horn at the cat so I
would not run over it.
“1 got out of my car to try and
move it and it tried to bite me. So I
said, ‘Kill the cats!’ ” Another stu
dent, Ben Pewtitt, said, “1 think it
[the cats] makes the campus look
nasty and dirty.”
Other students are not at all
bothered by the cats.
“It’s fun because they are like
a substitute for our pets at home,”
said Rosalee Johnson.
Keith Manuel said, “I like seeing
them around. You don’t see many
animals running around campus,
but they seem to hang around.”
Joseph, a tuxedo cat that lives
beside O. Max Gardner Hall, is
very popular with students and pro
fessors alike. He has his own Face-
Joseph tf^kl
people
Photo by Ashley Carter
It is a
ITiVlax Gar
krite of
ner Hall.
book page and has his own rapper
name, “Fat Joe.”
“He has quite the personality,”
said Dr. Patricia Sparti, head of the
music department. Of the cats in
general, she said, “They are God’s
creatures; we take care of them.
They have a right to life here.”
Bowls of food sit beside the
education and music buildings for
the campus cats, most of which are
feral. This means they are wild and
have not been domesticated like pet
cats. They are not social, but will
mate with domesticated cats that
wander over from their houses.
According to an educational
Web site devoted to feral cats, the
kittens produced will add to the fe
ral cat population.
The Humane Society of Cleve
land County said that one male and
one female cat that mate have the
potential to produce up to 420,000
descendents in seven years.
Although there have never been
any serious instances of the cats
harming anyone on campus, the
administration is aware of the cat
situation.
“We are having issues raised,”
remarked Scoot Dixon, the head of
University Relations and Develop
ment at Gardner-Webb. “We realize
it is a health, safety and humane is
sue.
“We are trying to find the best
way to handle it so next year we
don't have double the number of
cats.”
All of Cleveland County is hav
ing to deal with the expanding cat
population. While there are many
people willing to adopt cats into
their homes, the cat population has
become so large that many of them
end up homeless.
Margarite Mebane, president
of the Humane Society, suggested
three ways the college'could poten
tially deal with the cats.
“There is a nation-wide push to
start considering TNR, trap-neu-
ter-release,” she said. “The cats are
trapped, tested for feline leukemia,
de-wormed, given a rabies shot, and
are spayed and neutered.
See CATS page 2
Photo by Rachel Tucker
Dr. Van Graham has many du
ties in the Broyhili Schooi of
Business and recentiy added
another one when he was se-
iected as the inaugurai associ
ate dean.
Graham named
associate dean
of Broyhili school
By Christopher Shaver
Pilot staff writer
McDonald’s land p^jch^e rumor just that
By Leanna Mobley
Special to The Pilot
You may have heard the latest
rumor about a McDonald’s com
ing to Boiling Springs, but the
outlook for that rumor becoming a
“truemor” is slim.
According to the buzz, someone
purchased the Jiffy Lube on Main
Street, near Communication Stud
ies Hall, as the site for the fast-food
restaurant.
Boiling Springs Town Manager
Zach Trogdon said he had heard
nothing of any land purchases made
for a McDonald’s.
Employees at the Jiffy Lube had
also heard about the McDonald’s
rumor, but said the site wasn’t their
shop.
“We heard it was that car wash
down the street,” one said.
Deeds provide information
about who has purchased land and
the names of the current owners, so
the Cleveland County Register of
Deeds was the best hope for getting
^ ^ ^ ‘ I:'--
Photo by Tyler Kucifer
The carwash off of mainstreet will be torn down and then a
McDonalds will be built on top of it.
an answer.
The results of a search of the
Jiffy Lube and car wash deeds were
disappointing: Both pieces of land
are still owned by those businesses.
Sorry, Gardner-Webb. The ru
mors aren’t true, at least for now.
Students^ljti4.^ve to cross
their fingers^" itj«es to hav
er choice of re
mg
a greater choice of restaurants
in town.
“We definitely need more selec
tions,” said student Porsha Russell,
“but I would definitely want a Chik-
Fil-A over a McDonald’s.”
Even Trogdon wondered why
the rumors were about McDon
ald’s.
“A good idea would be to sell
Chik-Fil-A at the Kennel,” he said.
The Broyhili School of Man
agement’s faculty appointed Dr.
Van Graham as the new associate
dean Feb. 12.
“I wasn’t expecting to get the
position,” Graham said.
The position was created after
faculty realized the department was
becoming too big for the dean. Dr.
Anthony Negbenebor. Graham said
Negbenebor couldn’t promote the
department and still manage the
day-to-day activities.
Graham originally came in to
teach law at the business school in
1999. Three years later, Graham
was elected as a county prosecuting
attorney in Wyoming. Despite liv
ing so far away, he still taught a full
load of online courses for Gardner-
Webb.
“1 lived in Wyoming for many
years before 1 came to Gardner-
Webb,” Graham said.
In 2005 he came back as the di
rector of undergraduate programs
for the business department.
“It's been a lot of work, but the
faculty have been really encourag
ing and have made it as easy as it
can be,” Graham said.