Archive for February, 2010

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

A day in the life of prayer

Students roast marshmallows at the Day of Prayer bonfire.

Picture 1 of 15

Photo courtesy of Callie Dawkins

by Britney Weber

Panel answers student's questions about new apartments in a meeting last Tuesday night.

Panel answers student's questions about new apartments in a meeting last Tuesday night.

Staff Writer

Next fall, 66 lucky upperclassmen will be residents in the brand new town house apartments at Bryan College.

“Transition housing” is the term Dean of Students Bruce Morgan has given to these apartments.

“We want the apartments to be like a transition between college and after graduation, allowing students time to prepare for time away from Bryan,” said Morgan.

Rules will be relaxed for the apartment inhabitants, allowing them not only more freedom, but also more responsibility as they prepare to live on their own after graduation. Read full story »

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Meet the 2010-2011 Executive SGA

by Lana Douglas
Staff Writer

Alison Young, student body president

alison young“SGA is more than a bunch of people who sit around a room and discuss issues of the school; it is people who are proactive about the school and have a passion for the students,” said junior Allison Young, student body president-elect.

“Servanthood through leadership” is Young’s vision for SGA next year.

Young’s biggest passion is volleyball. She is co-captain of the Bryan volleyball team and has been to several European countries including Austria and the Czech Republic to compete

She likes to spend her free time reading, playing Wii Sport and Rockband. Her favorite book is “Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers.

Read full story »

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Students working to improve security on campus

by Ericka Simpson
Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Maddie Doucet.

Photo courtesy of Maddie Doucet.

Associate Professor of Communications Randy Hollingsworth proposed an idea to his small group communication class: Find a way that you can improve the Bryan College campus and attempt to make the needed changes over the course of the semester.

The students formulated ideas such as improving the study abroad program’s public relations, the music department and the Triangle’s website.

One of the small groups in the class—senior Caleb Haynes, junior Johnny Cannon, sophomore Matt Green and freshman John Youngblood—decided to address the improvement of the campus security system.

“We want to evaluate the current security and emergency system that’s in place and identify any key problem areas, which we do feel exist just from hearsay and personal experience,” Green said.

Green suggested that if Bryan had additional cameras on the doors outside of the dorm, then it would make it easier for law enforcement to pull the security tapes and to question the correct people.

“Nothing that invades someone privacy—we don’t want to put the cameras in the dorms,” Green said. “But no one wants their stuff stolen.”

Crime on Bryan campus

Freshman Drew Thompson said that he was not aware that Bryan had any security; his iPod Touch was stolen on Oct. 10. He described how Alexander Haynes, a young man from Colorado who was in Dayton under the pretense of selling magazine subscriptions, was with a group of people who were walking into dorms on campus.

“If we had an actual security officer, he could’ve stopped this group from marching around campus and into the dorms,” Thompson said.

Sophomores Clayton Schmidt and Josh Ragland spotted Haynes in Woodlee-Ewing dorm. According to Schmidt, they did not see the actual theft but noticed him in the dorm and told the police.

Haynes was apprehended later that day when a police officer pulled him over because the tail light on his vehicle was out. Schmidt said that the officer saw the headphones from the iPod Touch hanging out of Haynes’ shirt front. None of the others in the group were charged.

Schmidt, Ragland and Thompson were called to testify against Haynes Jan. 21. Schmidt said that Haynes had been in jail for about three months leading up to the trial but had been bailed out on Christmas Day by his mother.

After they testified, the judge banned Haynes from the state of Tennessee for at least four years.

“The judge told Haynes if he came back, then they would prosecute him,” Schmidt said.

Lack of security factors into student’s decision to live on campus

Senior Caleb Haynes considered living on campus, but security was one of the factors that helped him decide to commute. He also has several friends that have had personal items stolen, including a unicycle.

“Security here is pretty scarce,” Haynes said. “And security doors in dorms are easy to trip with coat hangers and other objects.”

Students formulate a plan to evaluate the security system on campus

The first step the group will take is to evaluate the current security system and determine if there is an actual problem, according to Haynes.

Green said that they plan to interview Vice President for Operations Tim Hostetler, Dean of Students Bruce Morgan and Vice President for Student Life Dr. Peter Held to obtain an idea of what measures are being taken to protect students.

In the next couple of weeks, the group will send out a survey to students to see if they feel that security needs to be addressed. They hope to obtain around 100 responses from the students.

“We aren’t trying to make people feel unsafe, but everything can always be improved at some point,” Haynes said.

The group plans to look at local and intra-school issues, according to Haynes, but also crime statistics in the local community.

Thompson said that improved security on campus would make students feel safer.

The group is presently in the beginning stages of the project. By the end of the semester, they hope to have the current security system evaluated and to have detected any flaws that need improvement. Their goal is to have a security system on campus that is appropriate to the level needed at Bryan.

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Lions shoot for first place

by Billy Findley
Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team dominated the Cobras of Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, Va.) 81 – 48 Monday night in Virginia. The victory put the Lions a mere two wins away from securing first place in the AAC this season and being eligible to host the post-season tournament scheduled to begin Feb. 24. It’s been nearly 10 years since the team has finished first in the conference, according to Head Coach Don Rekoske.

The win Monday was prefaced by a substantial victory against Montreat College (N.C.) last Saturday. However, the team stayed cautious going into Monday’s game, not taking anything for granted despite Virginia Intermont’s current ranking of seventh in the AAC.

DSC_0348

Junior power forward Astral Guerrier soars passed for a layup during Saturday's game against Montreat College. Photo by Billy Findley.

“They’re very dangerous on the road,” Rekoske said Saturday after the game against Montreat. Junior forwards Scott Newton and Derrick Batt both concurred with Rekoske’s statement Saturday, and both said the team would need to stay focused in order to accomplish their overarching goal of finishing out the season on top. After Monday night’s performance, the Lions may do just that.

There was not a time during the game that the Lions trailed the Virtinia Intermont Cobras. Players of the game for Bryan included junior guard Xavierian McCall who finished with 14 points and junior power forward Astral Guerrier who dominated the boards with 14 points and 18 rebounds. The rest of the team followed suit, particularly three players off the bench, according to Rekoske – senior guard/forward Andrew Slikker, sophomore guard Jeremy Haley and freshman guard Tyler Clark, who, according to Rekoske, played his best game of the season Monday night.

Read full story »