Sports News p. 10Winter OlympicsThe 2014 Olympics kick off in Sochi, Russia.

Feature p. 6It's Rodeo time!TVCC to host the 6th An-nual NIRA Rodeo

Trinity Valley

Volume 57 Issue 4 February 7, 2014

News-JournalNews-JournalServing Trinity Valley Community College since 1972

Campus News p. 4Abusing the systemHow freeloaders are ruin-ing financial aid for other students

To smoke or not to smoke

Should e-cigarettes be allowed on campus? Pg. 3

Editor-in-ChiefChalisa Madsen

Social Media EditorShayla Wright

Photo EditorChalisa Madsen

Sports EditorTBA

Staff WritersJulie Pearl, Shaimariah Jackson, Channing Boone, Bodey Cooper,

Brad Douglas, Tiffany Hunter

PhotographersChalisa Madsen, Abbi Parker,

Julie Pearl, Shaimariah Jackson

Student Media AdviserDeidre Jones

The TVCC News-Journal is a monthly publication and is produced by the journalism students at TVCC’s Athens campus. Views expressed in the editorial section are the opinions of the writers and do not reflect the views of the TVCC administration. The News-Journal welcomes letters and suggestions. The TVCC News-Journal reserves the right to edit let-ters for grammar or length. Letters to the editor can be mailed to 100 Cardinal Drive, Athens, TX 75751; or emailed to journalstaff@tvcc.edu.

FOLLOW USwww.tvccnewsjournal.com

Allow me to preface this opinion piece by saying it is not attached to any particular political agenda or belief sys-

tem. It is not my intention to be overbearing and suffocating with these words.

Daily, in mass media, we see instances of people from vari-ous nationalities forsaking their lives and accepted societal boundaries solely for the sake of their faith, or other beliefs. This is where the definition of the word "fanatical" comes into play.

This word is defined as "motivated or characterized by an extreme, uncritical enthusiasm or zeal." (I take as my source dictionary.com) It is also interesting to note that this word has several synonyms along the lines of "frenzied, rabid" and "radical."

So, now we have our vehicle that explains to a certain de-gree the actions of a suicide bomber, or of a monk carrying out the act of self-immolation. These are not the subjects I will be dwelling on, however.

My focus is on the fanaticism that can be glimpsed here in the United States. I dwell upon Christianity, and not Islam in this matter. Fanaticism is a very dangerous thing, in both actions and words. Our western society is relatively stable for the most part, so the focus is more on words.

Allow me to speak from personal experience. I was raised in a Baptist household, and attended private Christian schooling from kindergarten to the end of high school. My grandparents attend an Assembly of God church, so I am familiar with that denomination as well. I have not attended regular church since I was a child, other than having the Eas-ter service every year.

When I was a senior in high school, there was an incident myself and several others were involved in. this incident showed me that a fanatic does not need a bomb strapped to their body to ruin lives.

The incident revolved around a theater class. I had been involved with theater since I was a freshman, and loved it. My girlfriend was even in theater as well, it was great. Then, in my junior year, a new teacher was brought in to teach the class. This teacher was previously known to us as being somewhat of a mystic, and a charismatic personality. The year before this person had actually turned up at the school, and in a surreal scene, began telling students their futures.

I assure you that I am not falsifying this story by any means. In rural east Texas a person at a Christian school was reading fortunes. How are children to react? They don't know whether to run into open arms, or cower in the corner. When people you have grown up with proclaim this as an act of the divine how does a child rebuke that?

This event was left to burrow in our minds for a year. When this person turned up once again, they were welcomed in by both the faculty and student body.

Theater changed drastically. We actually gained a confi-dence and a talent for performing. Our shows were enjoy-able to put on; however, the process leading up to them was not. This person believed in something they called "perfor-mance meditation", being used specifically for the purpose of seeing or communicating directly with the divine. Once again, how does a child or teenager raised in the church ap-proach a situation such as this?

I am leaving much unsaid here. Several other events trans-pired, but what is most notable about them is that this per-son, as a teacher, began to see students on an out-of-school basis. This seems fine, and seemed fine, but the person be-gan spreading their ideology and fanaticism to the students. The general idea is that this person believed themselves to be a "prophet", which explains much about the situation.

In my senior year I left theater, as it had started to take on the guise of its own cult. Several other students left too, so much of the talent in the class had gone. It was only later when the situation came to a head. This person had the ear

of much of the faculty, the principal included. What occurred next shattered any notion of religion being a safe haven for me.

Parents were called to the school one night. Strangely, they were all parents of the students who had left theater. When they returned, there was much anger, and many tears.

Vicious rumors were believed and became reality; we were labelled as being both drug users and dealers, as well as being "demon possessed." Our parents were called to the school to be made aware of several changed in the school's handbook. Drug tests would now be conducted, and this small group would be required to take one. We were being made an example of because we had dared cross this fanatic that had corrupted the people we once knew.

Needless to say, no drug tests happened, and no unde-served punishments were carried out. It did become some-what of a legal ordeal, but almost all of the details stayed confined to the adults and other parties they confided in. The rest of the semester we were ostracized and viewed strange-ly, but it did not matter, as our group remained steadfast in our innocence and friendship. Graduation was a façade of putting on an air of tranquility to mask the true nature of what used to be a decent institution of learning.

While that was a very drawn out and long-winded sum-mary (which I thank you for reading), it is also a very real example of religion being turned into a weapon by the zeal of fanatics. This is not a situation limited to foreign thought and dogma, it is a very real, very local threat. Do not confuse fanaticism with faith: one is an inner assurance limited to one person, the other is a person assuring others feel the same way, by force, if necessary.

Hopefully this has promoted that religion is not inherently a bad thing, but can very much become that. It took a mod-ern day witch hunt for me to learn that, but fortunately the perpetrators burned themselves at the stake, and their vic-tims did not feel the flames.

Opinion/EditorialNews-Journal2

The dangers of religious fanaticism: Not just a Muslim thing

Child-stars should be held to a higher standardIt seems every semester I have more fuel for my "Child-

Stars-Are-Forever-Messed-Up-In-The-Head" file. Maybe I should devote an entire blog to the subject?

This semester’s topic is Justin Beiber.Now let me start off by saying that I'm by no means a fan

of this little twerp to begin with, and I'm not particularly im-pressed with his so-called musical ability.

("Belieber's", please address your hate mail to my Face-book or Twitter.)

I just have a problem with celebrities, and child star celeb-rities in particular, not setting good examples for their young, impressionable fans.

I know everyone needs to be their selves and have fun and all that. But what about when your idea of fun is to get

blitzed on pot, booze, and pills and take your fake ID for a high-speed adventure in a rented Lambo? How about when your idea of fun is to egg your neighbor's house and cause

$20,000 worth of damage?Yeah, it's time you were held accountable.America has a love-hate relationship with drama (of which

I only share the 'hate' emotion towards). They crave seeing the wrecks, the break-ups, the other women, the drugs...

But is this really what we want being drilled into the next generations minds? That if you have money and power you can do what you want and skip out, scot-free?

I say society starts holding these "celebutantes" to a high-er standard and setting an example, if you will, out of these "too-big-to-fail" stars. Hold them to the same punishments that a normal person would get in the same situation. Bet we'd start seeing a change in Hollywood then.

Where do we draw the line with these out of control child-stars?

Chalisa Madsen

Brad DouglasStaff Writer

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014

Memberships: TIPA, TCCJA and ACP

News-JournalEditorial 3

It's been six years since the decision to make Trinity Valley a tobacco-free cam-pus. And it's been much easier on the lungs since then. But something strange has happened recently. People are light-ing back up in restaurants, hallways, stores, and even here in class.

No, not regular cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes.

Now smokers are thinking that they can light up anywhere. And society just seems to be glorifying it. Steven Dorf touts the fact that he's been a smoker for 17 years on TV commercials, and urges other smokers to "get their free-

dom back" by buying that particular brand of e-cigarette. Cameras zoom up on celebrities smoking their e-cigarettes on the red carpet and at awards shows.

It brings to mind the old Lucky Strike cigarette publicity stunts back in the 40s to make smoking look glamorous. A car-load of gorgeous women would pull up to an event and all pull out their Lucky Strike cigarettes, light them up and look like they were glamorously having more fun than the non-smoking women.

Whereas companies are claiming that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, one can't help but

point out that no one knows the full scale of side effects. Two initial stud-ies by the Food and Drug Administra-tion found formaldehyde, benzene and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (a well-known carcinogen) in these sec-ondhand emissions, as well as mea-surable amounts of nicotine that can be inhaled by anyone in range.

So yes, that means your "harmless vapors" might not be so harmless af-ter all.

Historically, "Big Tobacco" compa-nies have been notoriously hesitant to present facts that might harm their, ahem, gigantic profit margins. But until then the tobacco companies are treating this as a no-holds barred, free-for-all, flooding society with ad-vertising and marketing to kids again with flavors like Bazooka Bubble Gum, Cotton Candy, Capt'n Crunch, and Watermelon.

Harold P. Wimmer, the president and CEO of the American Lung Association, spoke out to CNN about the e-cigarette oversight.“In just one year, e-ciga-rette use has dou-bled among high school and middle school students, and 1 in 10 high school students have used an e-c i g a re t t e ,”s a i d Wimmer. “Alto-gether, 1.78 mil-lion middle and high school stu-dents nationwide use e-cigarettes.”

That is a staggering number given that this age in technology is herald-ed as the "Information Age." Google and other search engines offer up the answers to pretty much every ques-

tion you can think up. Anti-smoking ads put grotesque pictures of smokers can-cer-infested lungs on the sides of buses and billboards.

But Windi Garrison, a student at TVCC who smokes e-cigarettes, says that it's not all doom and gloom. "I do under-stand why the non-smokers were mad before because cigarettes stink, and sec-ond-hand tobacco smoke is harmful," said Garrison. "But these vapors aren't hurting anyone. They don't smell bad, they don't stink. It's not even smoke... It's water."

Garrison also claims that her pocket-book is in better shape after making the switch. "Cigarettes are almost $7 a pack. A bottle of vapor fuel is $8, and will last me about a week," said Garrison. "So I go from smoking a pack a day, to a bot-tle a week. I've gone from about $500 a month to $32. That's a big difference."

Despite these claims, non-smokers are still leery. Time will tell whether or not this new fad is just as harmful as the old-fashioned way of getting a nicotine buzz. But until then, it would appear that this new trend is just out to capture the next generation of smokers. Marketing to younger people is always a good idea when you're pushing an addictive prod-uct that will cost them countless dollars in both funding the addiction and fight-ing the addiction.

Because lets not forget that rebel-lious camel, Joe Cool, was designed to capture the attention of 11-15 year olds back in the 90s. With all the cool, sexy TV commercials and the animated,

"story board" type ads online, it seems they are just dusting off the old playbook.

That, plus their old customers are all dy-ing off or quitting.

Trinity Valley doesn't have a policy as of yet regarding smoking electronic cigarettes on campus, but given the dangerously thin ice society is skat-ing with this issue, it won't be long before e-cigarettes are swept

into the same category as conventional tobacco. No smoking indoors, around children, in restaurants, etc..

Some teachers here at Trinity Valley are ahead of the curve in tackling this is-sue, and are already adding the "please no smoking e-cigarettes in class"clause to their syllabus.

Even though smoking e-cigarettes seems to be the "in thing" just remem-ber, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Sound offShould e-cigarettes

be banned from campus?

TVCC News Journal

Take the poll at our website and let your voice be heard.

Chalisa MadsenEditor-In-Chief

E-Cigarette debateNew face to an old issue

Photo by Chalisa Madsen

Janey Lingle, an e-cigarette smoker on the Athens campus, blowing out a puff of water vapor from her e-ciga-rette. Not enough is known about what harmful chemicals are present in these vapors, and in what amounts.

Photo by Chalisa Madsen

Garrison and Lingle showing off their vaporizers, a type of electronic cigarette.

February 7, 2014 www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Campus NewsNews-Journal4

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014

It’s the beginning of a new school semester. The classes are full, the dorms are bustling with activity, and everyone is getting into their new routines. But while some are worried about making the grade, others are just worried about making that money.

Taking advantage of the system is not a new issue in America. It seems we are almost being pre-pro-grammed into believing that we are entitled certain privileges, “free money” of sorts, without having done anything to earn said privileges. Just for being Ameri-can.

At the forefront of this issue is student financial aid. Financial aid is by all means a good thing. So many

students have gone on to do amazing things that wouldn’t have had the money to even go to school without financial aid.

But with every good program, there are those that live to abuse it. The most popular avenue of abus-ing financial aid is to sign up for classes, go just long enough to collect those Pell Grant and Student Loan checks, and drop out. Sometimes they don’t even drop out formally, they just stop attending class and fail.

And so you don’t get any less-than-honorable ideas, the system is wising up with each new scammer ploy. Students that display an Unusual Enrollment History

raise red flags in the sys-tem.

The Department of Education classifies Unusual Enrollment History as “a

student that attends an institution long enough to re-ceive Title IV credit balance funds, leaves without com-pleting the enrollment period, enrolls at another insti-tution, and repeats the pattern.”

Wasting your one shot at getting financial aid and not getting the degree or certificate to better yourself or your situation is just not a wise decision. Because once you reach your limit, you get cut off.

“Students only have a certain limit, a lifetime limit for Pell Grant, which is six full-time years,” said Jennifer Evilsizer, the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at TVCC. “It’s just a shame for students to waste those semesters and use it if they’re not dedicated to their education.”

And Student Loans are just as affected by frauds as well.

As a matter of fact, TVCC actually changed its school policy regarding student loans because of these phony freeloaders. Up until last year, TVCC used to allow an early disbursement of student loans, so that students could get all of their supplies and necessities before the semester began. And they were one of the only schools in the area to do so.

But so many people were taking advantage of their generosity that they no longer afford students this common courtesy. If a student didn’t fulfill their end of the deal and just took the money and ran, the school was stuck footing the bill.

And you can imagine this gets a bit pricey. According to a representative from Financial Aid,

TVCC had 431 students just in the fall semester that either completely withdrew, got a combination of W’s and F’s, or all F’s. When you take into consideration that there were 2,743 students total that received fi-nancial aid, that means roughly 15.7 percent of the fi-nancial aid population made off with unearned money.

Now the government isn’t a fan of people scamming them either. If you decide to try out this lucrative plot you’ll immediately start getting collection letters, your wages garnished, and your income tax refund taken. Not to mention you can kiss your good credit good-bye!

It’s a shame that we live in a society that so readily takes advantage of the system. It seems everywhere you look people are out to scam in the name of the almighty dollar. But for every one fraud, there are so many good students fighting to make their way in this world. And believe us, with the world so full of scam-mers the good ones need all the help they can get.

Abusing the system:

Chalisa MadsenEditor-in-Chief

S

SGA offers free transportation for students Shaimariah JacksonEditor-in-Chief

How freeloaders are ruining financial aid for other students

Photos By Chalisa M

adsen

February 7, 2014 www.tvccnewsjournal.com News-JournalCampus News 5

Shaimariah JacksonStaff Writer

Great Debaters: TVCC students get lesson on economic inequalities

Students Chadwick Johnson, Tim Scott, Shaimariah Jackson and Allyson Braggs, along with TVCC School Relations Director Audrey Hawkins attended a debate between Wiley College and Monash University (Australia).

Photo By Julie Pearl

Several Trinity Valley Community Col-lege students traveled to Marshall, Tex-as, last month to watch world-renowned Wiley College’s debate team.

The trip was organized by TVCC School Relations Director Audrey Hawkins, who is also an alumnus of Wiley.

The debated featured Wiley College and Monash, a team from Australia.

"I thought it would be a great expe-rience," Hawkins said, "especially since they were competing against a school from another country."

Wiley College, established in 1873 for newly freed slaves, is just northeast of Athens, Texas. The historically black—primary liberal arts—private school is best known for its debate team. Os-car-winning actor Denzel Washington directed and starred in the 2007 film, "The Great Debaters," which chronicled the team’s successful reign during the 1930s.

In 1929, debate coach Melvin B. Tol-sen organized the college’s first team. He is credited with leading the team to their first championship and into history books. Wiley’s 10-year winning streak helped them to be ranked as one of the top black college debate teams, beating other major black schools such as How-ard, Fisk and Tuskegee.

The team’s hard work paid off. In 1935, Wiley defeated the University of Southern California. At the time, South-ern California was the reigning debate champions. During the Jim Crow Era, it was unheard of to have all- black teams

to debate all white- teams. After Wiley’s victory over Southern California, they were not allowed to claim the title of "champions" because black teams were excluded from the debate society until after World War II.

After spending 18 years at Wiley, Tol-sen left Wiley to teach English and Dra-ma at Langston University in Oklahoma.

Today, Wiley College is only one of four historically black universities that still have a debate team. Fast forward to 2014; the times have changed so much in the past 79 years that it’s almost shocking.

The TVCC students who went attended the event had a chance to experience a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch a live debate from Wiley College’s debate team. Both teams showed a tremendous love for speaking, expressing opinions and displaying knowledge. They spoke with so much energy. Their words were inspirational and thought-provoking.

The debate was centered on the topic: Resolved: reducing economic inequality should be the number one priority of a nation. The two-person teams had three minutes to state his or her opinion.

"I really enjoyed the debate," said sophomore Chadwick Johnson. "I feel that the topic they spoke about was very educational. Some of the points they touched on hit home for me, especially the economic status."

Wiley’s Nathan Leal and Benjamin Earl made some very poignant points. Their passion for debate showed that there are still individuals who care about their

lives and where they end up in the fu-ture.

Monash’s Gemma Buckley and Mad-eline Schultz were some very strong competitors.

During the debate, a sense of "woo" would spread across the crowd, earn-ing a voluminous amount of positive response for Wiley and Monash. Each team had a strong approach toward their specific topic, which would leave the audience thinking.

After battling back-and-forth, Monash won the debate, 2-1.

Both teams debated as educated in-dividuals should, with poise and dignity. The audience didn’t see the competitors fighting and cussing out one another for what the other person believed was right or wrong, which, in many cases, is what seen in society today.

Although Wiley did not win, they demonstrated that a fourth-ranked de-bate team could fare well against a first-ranked international team.

The TVCC students who attended the debate learned one very important les-son: A good education can shape you into what you can become in life.

Photo By Shaim

ariah Jackson

Wiley’s Nathan Leal made some very convincing points at the debate between Monash University.

News-JournalFeature6

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014

See Rodeo pg. 7

T he road to the College National Finals Rodeo will begin this month in Athens, Texas at the Trinity Val-

ley Community College Rodeo.Feb. 7-8 marks the sixth an-

nual event that will take place at the Henderson County Fair Com-plex. The rodeo will be produced by members of TVCC rodeo team who compete in the National In-tercollegiate Rodeo Association's Southern Region.

Only five rodeos remain in the spring semester. TVCC rodeo will be the first in the final countdown that will allow cowboys and cow-girls the opportunity to accumu-late points to qualify for the Col-lege National Finals Rodeo.

"The rodeo is and always will be great," TVCC rodeo coach Brent Bratton said. "I really take pride in how the athletes, community and school join together to host such a great event."

Bratton's expectations are high as members of the team are well on their way to compete at col-lege finals in Casper, Wyo.

"I'm hoping everyone on the team works to the best of their ability during the spring semes-ter," Bratton said. "I'm really look-ing forward to a better season this spring. I expect nothing but the best out of this team and the rodeo we will produce in a few days."

TVCC rodeo team will partner with a local stock contractor to produce the event. "It's a really

great rodeo and Hat Brand Rodeo Company always brings the best stock and helps produce an out-standing rodeo," Bratton said.

Sophomore barrel racer Kacey Kirby comes into the spring sea-son fifth in the region. Her 16.2-hand horse Uvalde Blaze has blown the competition out of the water in the year she has owned him.

"Every time I run down the alley, I don't know what to expect from Blaze," Kirby said with a laugh. "I never know how fast my run is going to be. He is such a unique horse. He loves rodeos and will run great at them. When it comes to a barrel race, he could have a pretty run, but not be fast, or just forget how to run barrels. Blaze is one of a kind for sure."

Channing BooneStaff Writer

News-Journal7Feature

February 7, 2014 www.tvccnewsjournal.com

RodeoKirby had to make a few adjustments to her runs early in the season, but it made

a difference at the end of the '13 fall semester. At the South West Texas Junior Col-lege rodeo, she and Blaze turned in a great time of 17.2 seconds, but the team was penalized when they tipped the third barrel, adding a five-second penalty changing the time to 22.2 seconds. This took away their chance to earn any points or advance to the short go-round. However, Kirby made up for the loss at the final rodeo of the fall season with an overall second-place finish at the Sam Houston State University rodeo.

"My main goal was to keep him moving and off the third barrel," Kirby said. "We had good luck at the SHSU rodeo during the 2012-13 season so I knew if I could set him up right we were going to have a decent run. I had a good run going in the long go, but I didn't know it was that good. Our short go run was a little wild, but he took care of me and we ended up second in the average, second in the long go, and fourth in the short go."

As long as these two keep up their hard work, they will "blaze" right to the No. 1 position in the region.

Calf roper and steer wrestler Justus Whitcher also has high hopes of success dur-ing the spring season. Whitcher shared his secret to his many championship titles.

"They say preparation plus opportunity always equals success, and I guess that's why I do so good," said Whitcher, the 11th-ranked calf roper in the region.

He has points in the calf roping and steer wrestling with the help of a little dun horse named J.W.

"I draw good and do good," Whitcher said. "Me and J.W. do good everywhere we go."

Confidence is key in Whitcher's success and his plan to advance to the CNFR.Rodeo action will begin with slack at noon Friday, Feb. 7. The big show will be-

gin at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Slack will begin again at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8. The short round, which showcases the best talent form previous performances, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Tickets are available in advance at Lone Star Western Wear on East Tyler Street. Tickets can also be purchased at the arena for $5. Students with a current TVCC I.D. will receive free admission.

For more information, contact Bratton at (903) 675-6200.

Photo Courtesy of Daw

n Bratton/TVCC R

odeo

The first event is slated for noon Friday, Feb. 7 at the Henderson County Fair grounds.

It is truly an impressive thing when an entire community comes together to support one of their own. This is what happened dur-ing the Bucking for Life Benefit Bull Riding Competition, hosted by the TVCC Rodeo team last se-mester.

The stands were packed, de-spite the freezing cold tempera-tures, with friends and family of Dawn Bratton, wife of TVCC Ro-deo Coach Brent Bratton.

Dawn was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago and has recently started under-going chemotherapy. She is such a big part of the rodeo team, who lovely refer to her as their “Mom away from home,” that they de-cided to do something to help her. Thus, the idea for a fundrais-er was dreamed up.

The event was planned out by the rodeo team and made pos-

sible by count-less volunteers and donations. T-shirts and hoodies with the Bucking for Life logo were sold to raise money. The concession stand was staffed and supplied by volunteers. Silent auction items were donated by many differ-ent individuals and businesses around town. Baked goods were made and sold off by friends and family. All to raise money for the Bratton’s, who needless to say, have made a huge impact on many people’s lives.

Cancer treatment takes a lot out of you, and not just physical-ly. Chemotherapy and radiation

runs into the billions annually for Americans, so it takes quite a bite out of your wallet as well. An email was sent out to fellow coworkers at Trinity Valley Com-munity College asking if anyone wanted to donate money for the Bratton family and responses im-mediately began flooding in.

Life Bucking for

TVCC Rodeo Team supports one of their own with benefit

Photo By Chalisa M

adsen

The Bratton Family. From left to right, Coach Brent, sons Tye and Milo, and the star of the night, Dawn. Dawn is fighting cancer, and the TVCC Rodeo Team organized this event as a fundraiser for their family.

Photo By Chalisa M

adsen

Awarding the big winners of the night: 1st Place- Caleb Sanderson (far right), 2nd Place- Austin Gross (second to right), and 3rd Place- Jamon Turner (second to left).

Chalisa MadsenEditor-in-Chief

News-Journal8

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014Entertainment

Beyoncé and Jay-Z opened this years Grammy’s with the shows much anticipated performance of her single “Drunk of Love” from her album, “Beyoncé”.

She started out the performance with a chair dance, wearing a sheer body suit that sparked major controversy. People were out-rageous over her performance and outfit because it was too sexy for kids to watch. Jay-Z joined his wife on stage for his part of the song, and then the couple danced and shared a kiss on stage.

Another highlight of the show was when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis won the first award of the night for Best New Artist, which was one of their seven nominations. During their performance of ‘Same Love” 34 various couples with different backgrounds includ-ing same sex, heterosexual and interracial couples were married during the show.

The ceremony was officiated by Queen Lat-ifah. She was sworn in Sunday as the tempo-rary commissioner by the state of California. “I had to be sworn in as an official," Latifah told the New York Daily News backstage at the Grammy’s. "I’m not a minister. If you come see me before 12’o clock tonight, I got your back. After that, you’ll have to take the regular route.”

During the "Same Love" performance Ma-donna came out and sang her own song “Open Your Heart” and performed with the rap duo that also featured vocalist Mary Lambert.

Pink showed she still has it by doing an-other aerial dance routine while performing “Try,” showing her multi-talented abilities. And when she hit the stage, she ended her performance, singing “Give Me A Reason” with Nate Reuss.

The song was nominated for Song of the Year.

Lorde, the breakout artist from New Zea-

land, won her first award for Best Pop Solo Performance for "Royals." She also won one of the biggest honors for Song of the Year.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had a Beatles reunion on stage for the first time in three years, performing “Queenie Eye” from McCartney’s last album “New”. They both were presented with the 2014’s Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. Mc-Cartney and Starr will perform again at the taping of The Night That Changed America: A Grammy’s Salute to the Beatles" which airs on February 9.

Draft Punk was one of the biggest winner of the night, beside Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, winning four Grammy awards, includ-ing Record of the Year.

The French dance music-duo performed their hit song “Get Lucky” with Pharrell Wil-liams, Stevie Wonder, and Chic’s Nile Rodg-ers.

Robin Thicke hit the stage with the band Chicago, beginning with a melody of Chica-go’s songs before ending it with Thicke’s hit song “Blurred Lines.”

Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar were paired up to perform a mash up of “Radio-active” and “m.A.A.D City.” After the perfor-mance the band’s label immediately re-re-leased “Radioactive” with Kendrick Lamar’s verse.

There were many more collaborations in-cluding Miranda Lambert and Green Day’s Billy Joel doing a tribute to the late Phil Ever-ly.

Nine Inch Nails, Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham, Queens of Stone Age and Da-vid Grohl ended the show out but the per-formance was short because of the time. The show ended abruptly midway through their performance, which has angered both artists and viewers alike.

Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Pop Duo/Group Performance: "Get Lucky" Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams and Nyle RodgersBest Rock Song: "Cut Me Some Slack" Dave Grohl, Paul McCartney, Krist Novoselic & Pat SmearBest Pop Solo Performance: "Royals" LordeBest Rap/Sung Collaboration: "Holy Grail" Jay Z ft. Justin TimberlakeBest Country Album: “Same Trailer Different Park” Kacey MusgravesSong of the Year: "Royals" LordeRecord of the Year: "Get Lucky" Daft Punk ft. Pharrell WilliamsAlbum of the Year: “Random Access Memories” Daft PunkBest Pop Instrumental Album: “Stepping Out” Herb AlbertBest Traditional Pop Vocal Album: “To Be Loved” Michael BubléBest Reggae Album: “Ziggy Marley In Concert” Ziggy MarleyBest Spoken Word Album: “America Again: Re-becoming The Greatness We Never Weren't” Stephen ColbertBest Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: “Summertime Sadness” Cedric Gervais, Remixer (Lana Del Rey)Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance: "Break Every Chain [Live]" Tasha CobbsBest Gospel Song: "If He Did It Before... Same God [Live]" Tye TribbettBest Gospel Album: “Greater Than [Live]” Tye Tribbet,Best Latin Pop Album: “Vida” Draco RosaBest Song Written For Visual Media: "Skyfall" Thomas NewmanBest Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance: “Roomful of Teeth” Brady Wells and Roomful of TeethBest New Age Album: “Love's River” Laura SullivanBest Jazz Vocal Album: “Liquid Spirit” Gregory PorterBest Jazz Instrumental Album: “Money Jungle: Provocative In Blue” Terri Lyne CarringtonBest Latin Jazz Album: “Song For Maura” Paquito D'Rivera And Trio CorrenteBest Compilation Soundtrack Album: “Sound City: Real To Reel” Butch Vig (Compilation Producer)Best Musical Theater Album: “Kinky Boots” Cyndi LauperBest Song Written For Visual Media: "Skyfall" AdeleBest Americana Album: “Old Yellow Moon” Emmylou Harris, Rodney CrowellBest Folk Album: “My Favorite Picture of You” Guy ClarkBest Dance Recording: "Clarity" Zedd ft. FoxesBest Dance/Electronica Album: “Random Access Memories” Daft PunkBest Comedy Album: “Calm Down Gurrl” Kathy GriffinBest Rap Performance: "Thift Shop" Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Rap Song: "Thift Shop" Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Rap Album: "The Heist" Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest R&B Performance: "Something" Snarky Puppy with Lalah HathawayBest Traditional R&B Performance: "Please Come Home" Gary Clark Jr.Best R&B Song: "Pusher Love Girl" Justin TimberlakeBest Urban Contemporary Album: “Unapologetic” RihannaBest R&B Album: “Girl on Fire” Alicia KeysBest Blues Album: “Get Up!” Ben Harper With Charlie MusselwhiteBest Music Film: “Live Kisses” Paul McCartneyBest Country Duo/Group Performance: "From This Valley" The Civil WarsBest Country Solo Performance: "Wagon Wheel" Darius RuckerBest Country Song: "Merry Go Round" Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh OsborneBest Rock Performance: "Radioactive" Imagine DragonsBest Alternative Music Album: “Modern Vampires of the City” Vampire WeekendProducer of the Year, Non-Classical: Pharrell WilliamsBest Metal Performance: "God Is Dead" Black SabbathBest Rock Album: “Celebration Day” Led ZeppelinBest Rap Album: “The Heist” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Julie PearlStaff Writer

Big Winners

A night at the

News-Journal9Entertainment

February 7, 2014 www.tvccnewsjournal.com

Lone, meaning solitary or single. Survivor, meaning one who has re-mained alive after others have died.

The title of this film alone speaks volumes.In 2005, four former US Navy SEALS were assigned

to Operation Red Wings. "Lone Survivor," is based on the true story of Operation Red Wings and the only survivor of the four men, Marcus Luttrell’s first-hand account of that ill-fated day.

Dim light stretches across the theatre and for a few minutes, director Peter Berg portrays the grueling truth behind the training of U.S. Navy SEALs. Berg’s in-telligence to show what it is like behind the scenes not only in the process of becoming a SEAL, but also in the day to day operations of soldiers is astonishing.

Video footage of men lying in icy waters for hours, training in sub-freezing temperatures, and walking into situations blinded by what is in store is simply a glimpse of what will unfold in the rest of the film. The theatre is then filled with laughter as the team of SEALs are introduced and their personal lives are revealed al-lowing the audience to connect with each character.

The plot is then introduced as four U.S. Navy SEALs, Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Matthew Axelson (Ben Foster), and Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch), are dropped atop an Af-ghan mountain to retrieve information about a Taliban army that would soon be taken under siege. Little did the SEALs know radio connection would be limited and they would be on one side of a brutal gunfight.

As a few shepherds stumble upon the SEALs in the mountain, life or death decisions soon had to be made as to the fate of not only the shepherds, but also the SEALs. The first choice, kill the shepherds and get back to base only to have the mission fail, be in public hu-miliation and possible imprisonment for the action. Second choice, let the shepherds go and attempt to outrun the 200+ men in the Taliban army.

The second choice led the SEALs to a terrible fate. As soon as the shepherds were released, the Taliban army was soon on the heels of the SEALs. All four men then encountered the bloodiest gunfight which for three of the men meant the end of their lives.

Theatres have been packed over the past few weeks as viewers took their seats all across America to see "Lone Survivor." However, since the movie’s release, controversy has exploded in many news stations be-cause some view this movie as an incentive to “war propaganda.”

Amy Nicholson, of LA Weekly, blasted "Lone Survi-vor," as a "jingoistic snuff film." She described the film as having too much violence and that it made the Tali-ban out to be cold blooded killers.

Wake up Amy. The Taliban and other extremists armies begin training children as young as four; not only to kill others, but to also die for their country. Here in the U.S., a soldier must be at least 18. And in case one does not understand, our soldiers fight for freedom and are not told to die for our country.

It is hard to understand how one could see this movie as a promotion for war. Those who critiqued this movie and were able to sit in a theatre, give their opinion of the movie and then write about it are hypocrites.

How foolish to make a statement about a movie that portrays the true meaning of sacrifice. Each day a soldier puts his or her life on the line in order for that critic to have the freedom to express their opinion about a movie. Yes, it is a very graphic movie, but war is war and it is a true story of sacrifice made daily for the United States of America.

There is nothing extravagant about leaving ones home for months to fight for a country's freedom; and quite frankly, it's absurd that anyone would have the idea to blast what our men and women do each day to keep this great country free.

The difference between America and other countries was said best by the late Second Class Petty Officer Matthew Axelson. “You can die for your country; I’m going to live for mine.”

Channing BooneStaff Writer

Controversal film fares well at the box office despite criticism

Photo courtesy of moviem

ezzanine.com

SEAL Team members of the doomed Operation Red Wings debating how to handle the situation that ultimately cost them dearly. The movie was bad-mouthed by critics who claimed it was a "jingoistic smut film" that contained "too much violence and portrayed the Taliban as cold-blooded killers".

Fame, a word that holds great influ-ence in the modern world. Promising to turn coal into diamonds, and bums into stars. The dream of fame hits everyone from the start at an early age, even if it’s the subtlest note. Everyone wants to be remembered, and some people believe that being rich and famous will help en-grave their names in the rock of eternity.

But, much like our country's own Gilded Age, we should remind ourselves that all that glitters isn't truly gold. Fame has several prices to pay for those who seek out its promise. We see celebrities as untouchable, perfect, and flawless; unlike everyone else in the entire coun-try. However, they are just as human as you or me, and sometimes the sacrific-es they make can lead them down the

wrong path.The price of fame comes in five

parts. First, is the sacrifice of your own past life. Once your signa-ture is signed onto that contract, it doesn't matter how old you might

be, big or small, you just sold your life away to Hollywood.

The second thing to go is your free-dom. Now that you're a celebrity all your time is consumed into this very tight and exhausting schedule that puts a strain on both your body and mind if you don't have the attention span to keep up with it.

Third thing to go is your privacy. The paparazzi has gotten wind of a new star on the horizon, and every single thing you do in your life now is a news blitz for the media. It doesn't matter to them if the press they give out is good or bad, just so long as it’s a juicy tabloid for their papers to run.

Your fan base can be just as tiring as

the press getting into your personal life. Sometimes you'll even have celebrity stalkers who will stop at nothing at the chance to get with their favorite idol. You'll probably have to keep a few extra bodyguards on hand just to protect you from the mob. Feeling presidential all of the sudden? This is exactly what he goes through!

The president has to deal with this stress every day he's in the big office, and usually, by the end of the term, he leaves the job with a full head of white hair. It's the "White House white hair" curse!

The only president who didn't suf-fer from white was Ronald Regan, and he was a movie star! If you can put up with all the stress like he did, then may-be you can survive phase three. If you can't however, then phase four is more degrading.

Your rational behavior is now out the window, and the way you used to view

things completely changes. Your atti-tude has become warped, and you may or may not make bad decisions. You could end up with a baby, on drugs, or be sentenced to jail, like Justin Bieber was not so long ago.

It's at phase four where stars always tend to fall. And if they can't rise back up to stardom, then phase five is where it all ends.

You're broke, fired, stripped from the limelight you spent your young life to obtain. Even the stars up in space that glow will eventually die, and when that time comes for a celebrity, you must pray and be mature enough to accept it.

Though fame itself is a gilded dream, I assure that many more out there are ready to risk its poisonous sting for their fifteen minutes of glory. But beware of the price. Fame is a double-edged sword, and like any weapon, its wounds cut deep.

Tiffany HunterStaff Writer

SportsNews-Journal10

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014

Along with many talented athletes heading to Sochi, Russia, for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which begins on Feb-ruary 6th, there are also talks of terror-ism surrounding the games.

"Moscow is establishing more than 37,000 extra troops to surround the ven-ues at the Olympics", states BBC News Europe.

A suspected female suicide bomber, Ruzana Ibragimova, also known as "The Black Widow" is believed to be in the area around Sochi, or directly in the city. BBC News Europe also states,

"But the U.S. is taking security serious-ly, posting two of its warships offshore in the Black Sea, offering 'unspecified air assets,' deploying FBI agents and shar-ing counter-terrorism intelligence with Russia.

There is also big controversy stem-ming from comments from the mayor of Sochi, Anatoly Pakhomov. When asked about whether gay people were in So-chi, he told BBC News Europe, "We don't have them in our town."

This statement was quickly put to rest as many officials and citizens have stat-ed that there are numerous gay bars and hangouts in Sochi and the surrounding areas. But he did say that all people will be allowed to attend the games as long as they don't impose their habits on others.

Although there is great controversy and fear surrounding the Winter Olym-pics this year, U.S. President Barack Obama told television viewers in his State of the Union address, “We believe in the inherent dignity and equality of every human being, regardless of race or religion, creed or sexual orientation. Next week the world will see one expres-sion of that commitment when Team USA marches the red, white, and blue into the Olympic stadium and brings home the gold.”

Here are some of the athletes you need to know about for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, Russia for the United States.SKIING (Men's and Women's)

Bode Miller took home gold, silver, and bronze in three different events in 2010, while Andrew Weibrecht took bronze for the men. Julia Mancuso took home two silver medals while Lindsey

Vonn took gold and bronze. Vonn will miss this year's games after suffering a right knee injury in France.

BIATHLON (Men's and Women's)Al biathlon athletes for the United

States did not medal in 2010, and are looking forward to bringing home gold in Sochi.

BOBSLEIGH (Men's and Women's)The four-man team led by Steve Hol-

comb took home gold for the men in 2010, while Erin Pac and Elana Meyers took bronze for the women in the two-woman event.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING and CURLING (Men's and Women's)

All teams in both events for the men and women did not place in Vancouver in 2010, and want to bring home gold this year.

FIGURE SKATING (Men's and Ice Dancing)

Evan Lysacek took home gold for the men, while the team ice dancing team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White took home silver.

FREESTYLE SKIING (Aerials)Jeret Peterson took home silver for

the men in Vancouver in 2010.ICE HOCKEY (Men's and Women's)Both men's and women's ice hockey

teams lost heartbreakers to Canada in the gold medal game to take home sil-ver in 2010, but both are eyeing gold in 2014.

NORDIC COMBINEDAll teams took home a combined one

gold medal and three silver medals in Vancouver in 2010.

SHORT TRACK SPEED SKATINGSomeone will have to take the torch

passed on by retired silver medal-win-ning Apolo Ohno in 2010 this year in Sochi.

SNOWBOARDINGOne of the most famous Winter X-

Game athletes Shaun White took gold in Vancouver and will look to do it again in 2014.

SPEED SKATINGShani Davis took home gold for the

men in 2010 and will look to do it again in Sochi this year.

Red, White, and Blue... and Gold

Bodey CooperSports Writer

After all the hype of being selected 2nd overall in the 2010 NHL Draft at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Tyler Seguin has finally found his niche here in Dallas.

He started off his young career in the big city of Boston with the Bruins, where Seguin found himself hoisting the Stanley Cup in Vancouver against the Canucks as a 19-year-old. The next season was a breakout season for

Seguin, as he exploded for 29 goals and 67 points in his sophomore campaign to lead the Bruins in scoring.

With all that in hand, the Bruins entered the 2011-2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs as favorites to repeat. They would match up with the Washington Capitals, where their star-player Alex Ovechkin would lead them to victory in a very physical 7-game series. The Bruins were ousted in the first round, a shocker to many Bruins and hockey fans around the league. Seguin had just a total of three points in the series.

But it wasn’t so much his play, although the coaching and management staff had mentioned that Seguin didn’t seem to perform at 100 percent all the time on the ice. Yet, it was his partying off the ice during the 2011 Stanley Cup Play-offs that seemed to bring up the most problems. There are pictures scoured all over the internet of Seguin partying with fellow teammate Brad Marchand in local Boston bars and clubs.

Then there was the huge fireworks of the July 4th blockbuster trade between the Stars and the Bruins. It was a 7-player deal involving the Bruins sending Seguin, Rich Peverley, and Ryan Button to Dallas in exchange for Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith, Joe Morrow, and Matt Fraser going to Boston. It was the big trade Dallas was looking for after getting their new jerseys, new logo, new coaches, and new general manager Jim Nill in place to make the trade happen.

Then came the controversial Twitter saga on Seguin's account when a homo-phobic slur was sent through his account. Seguin was officially introduced in Dallas alongside new teammate Shawn Horcoff in a press conference in July. Se-guin addressed the Twitter issue, stating that his account had been hacked and that he was officially shutting down his account here in Dallas. He also talked positively about moving on from Boston and finding a new home here in Dallas.

"I am very excited for the new experience [in Dallas],” Seguin told reporters from both Boston and Dallas. “I am very excited in earning the respect of my new teammates, the management, and definitely the fans.”

Seguin has since found his place in victory green in Dallas. He is inching towards his career-high set in Boston with 29 goals. He has already reached 24 goals and 55 points in just 54 games. He has really blossomed into a “star” in Dallas, becoming a point-a-game player like they thought he would with his move back to center.

He has found great chemistry with his winger and new captain of the Stars Ja-mie Benn, who has already reached 50 points this season. Benn and Seguin have led the charge for the Dallas Stars’ new revamped offense along with 18-year-old Russian rookie Valeri Nichushkin. Seguin has propelled both player into the spotlight in the NHL with his great passing ability and unmeasurable speed.

Hopefully he can lead the Stars back into the playoffs, where they have not touched the ice since 2008, coming up just two wins shy of going to the Stanley Cup Finals. In 2008, Jamie Benn wasn’t in the NHL yet, and Seguin wasn’t even out of high school. Both players are gradually propelling the Stars back to where they want to be: playoff contenders.

Former Bruins becoming a StarSports Commentary

Bodey Cooper

Seguin has found great chemistry with his winger and new captain of the Stars Jamie Benn,

Olympic medal countwww.nbcolympics.com

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Around the ValleyNews-Journal12

www.tvccnewsjournal.com February 7, 2014

Extremely cold winter temperatures turn even busy plac-

es around Athens into a Ghost-town.

Aroundthe

Valley

Students lined up to compete in the Wing Eating Competition at the Cafeteria on the Athens campus.

Photo by Julie Pearl

Photos courtesy of TVCC PR

Students get caught up on some homework in one of the computer

labs in the Baugh Technology Center.

Photo by Richard Hawkins

Photography students learning the ins-and-outs of studio lighting.

Photo by Abbi ParkerStudents playing a game of pool between classes in the Student Union Building.

Photo by Abbi Parker

Three Cardinal sophomore football players signed national letters of intent this morning in a ceremony

at the TVCC Field House. Signing were DE Chris Weatherd (Tennessee), DB D'Nerius Antione (Oklahoma

State) and DT Jhaustin Thomas (South Carolina). They will be joining their new teams this summer.

Go ValleyBoys!

Photo by Julie Pearl