Vol. 50 | No. 23March 25, 2014 University of South Carolina Aiken

Celebrating 50 Years

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@pacertimes @pacertimes facebook.com/uscanewspaperwww.pacertimesonline.com

Ryan Mathis

March 25, 20142 |

Editor-in-ChiefT.J. Wright

Sports EditorNick Terry

News EditorLacie Rhoden

Copy EditorColleen Welch

Art EditorEleanor Prater

WebmasterJoey Gill

Staff WritersOrlando MoldovanBrent BlackmonAngela MurphyChelsea BridgesSamana Mehdi

Business and Advertising Manager

Judith Templeton

Social Media Manager Joey Gill

Photographers Jacob Ellis

Ryan MathisJordan Hoard

Assistant DesignerMichael St. John

CartoonistRobert Washington

Events CoordinatorKaleigh Collins

Ad StaffKimberlee HowardSheneika Lofton

Pacer Times is a weekly publication of the University of South Carolina Aiken. The opinions stated in this paper are those of Pacer Times and in no way reflect those of USCA. The student newspaper is distributed free on campus, one copy per student. To purchase an advertisement, parties must contact the advertising manager at (803) 641-3517 or by email to pacertimes@usca.edu.Advertisements are subject to rejection by the staff.

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NEWS

Aiken-Augusta Warrior ProjectThe Aiken-Augusta Warrior

Project is one USC Aiken’s lat-est additions.

The program aims at provid-ing USCA veterans with the help and attention deserved in order to remove any im-pediment from their path to a higher education. The pro-gram has proliferated in the past year, and now stands as a true defender of those that once defended us.

The four main areas in which veterans can seek and receive aid in this program are: sup-portive services, education, benefits and homelessness. While the cases in which the last premise are indeed rare, the program boasts a strong record of helping those who are in need with payments and education, as well as therapy and personal attention.

The program notes that the most prevalent issue facing veterans is their difficult time fitting in and working well

Orlando Moldovan Staff Writer

within a slightly less structured environment. Because of this, the program has made it a pri-ority to help veterans to bridge the gap in between their exit from the military life and their entrance into their new civilian one.

To highlight the program’s holistic approach to the

integration of veterans, the pro-gram also connects them with the organization’s headquarters in Augusta, thus allowing for a broader span of necessities to be dealt with. All veterans on campus are welcomed with open arms to contact the Aiken-Augusta Warrior Proj-ect’s USCA headquarters for

any reason. Veterans are encouraged to

contact the program and estab-lish a connection with it upon which they could rest if ever help became a necessity. This program stands as a testament to USCA’s gratitude for the ser-vice of all veterans and for the protection of our freedom.

LeeAnn Lewis, Social Work Intern

Awards Due Back: March 21st

Pictures from Organizations Due & Notifications about Presentations: March 21st

Nominee Letters: March 24th

Packets Due Back: March 21st

Ryan Mathis

Free community viewing parties for the Pacers Elite Eight

The University of South Carolina Aiken invites all Pacer fans in the community to join us as we cheer on the men’s basketball team as they compete in Indiana in the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Elite Eight games. The viewing parties will be held free of charge at the USC Aiken Convocation Center where the games will be projected onto the big screens.

The viewing parties will be held as follows (dependent on advancement):Elite Eight Game – Wednesday, March 26 @ 9:30pmSemi-Final Game – Thursday, March 27 @ 9:30pmChampionship Game – Saturday, March 29 @ 3pmSince many Pacer fans were unable to travel to the games in Indiana, it the hope of USC Aiken that

students, faculty, staff and the Aiken community come to the parties and join in the fun.

GO PACERS! USC AikenMarketing Department

Colin Schaufler, USCA student and AAWP outreach member

Financial Aid is now being offered for Summer 2014

classes.

Applications are available: web.usca.edu/financialaidand in the Financial Aid

Office (Penland 102)

Priority deadline for completed applications is

April 15

March 25, 2014| 3

Hunger Banquet to educate students on hungerNEWS

Lacie Rhoden News Editor

Correction: In last week’s issue, Pacer Times published Fateish Graham as being a senior in the story, “Students spend break helping others in N.J.” Graham is a junior communications major. Pacer Times regrets printing this error.

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The annual Hunger Banquet is coming swiftly once again. On April 3rd, the Community Service Department of Student Services will be hosting their ninth Hunger Banquet in the SAC Mezzanine.

The Hunger Banquet is a

program that is sponsored by Oxfam America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to hun-ger related issues. During the event, there will be a simula-tion of the economic distribu-tion of food. As students enter, they will be given a financial status and the remainder of their experience is based on that status.

“A small amount of students

will be high class and be served a hot meal at a nice table, some others will be labeled as middle class and will eat buffet-style and serve themselves, most will be given a poverty label and only given a small bowl of rice in which they have to get themselves,” said Chris Lucas, assistant director of Student Life. “Students shouldn’t get offended if given a low social

status because the distribution is based on U.S. statistics,” said Lucas.

Along with the simulation, Mike Gibson from the Golden Harvest Food Bank will also be presenting on the topic of hunger.

Lucas continued, “This is an educational opportunity in which I hope the students can realize how access to food

affects America. High quality food is not a priority. When someone sees an obese person eating McDonald’s they may think they did that to them-selves, however that may be the only meal they have access to and money for. It’s a cycle of oppression.”

The Hunger Banquet will start at 6 p.m. and is an ICE event.

4 |March 25, 2014 SPORTS

Pacers returning to Elite Eight with one goalNick Terry

Sports Editor

USCA head coach Vince Alexander celebrates after the Pacers, 84-73, win over Montevallo.Ryan Mathis

USC Aiken’s men’s basketball team began its season with one goal after last season’s run to the Elite Eight.

“National championship,” said senior guard Shane Porchea in an interview at the beginning of the season.

Porchea’s goal was one that was shared by every member on the squad.

“We have to stay humble in this process; we have to stay hungry. At the end of the year we want to be the best team,” said head coach Vince Alexander in a preseason interview.

USCA began its season on a rocky start, losing its first game of the season on the road in the 2013 Mayaguez Basketball Classic in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

The Pacers (32-3, 18-1 Peach Belt Conference) opened the tournament against P.R. Bayamon, a 60-55 defeat.

Despite the rough start, USCA regrouped and won its next two games in the tournament, defeating P.R. Rio Piedras and P.R. Mayaguez, 73-52 and 86-46, respectively.

After the two victories, USCA returned home to Aiken to face Allen and Tuskegee. The Pacers continued their dominant play from the games in Puerto Rico, defeating the Yellow Jackets and Golden Tigers, 91-53 and 93-67, respectively.

USCA went on the road again after the two-game home stand, playing Rollins and St. Leo in a tournament hosted buy St. Leo. The Pacers defeated Rollins, 70-59, in the first game but lost, 84-80, to St. Leo in the final game.

After the loss to St. Leo, USCA got back to its winning ways and reeled off 13 straight wins leading up to its first matchup with rival GRU Augusta.

In this game, the Pacers were unable to continue their winning streak, as GRUA dominated the second half of the game, defeating the Pacers 97-84.

USCA continued to struggle in its next game against Lander.

The Pacers fell behind early and trailed, 40-22, at the half. In the second half, USCA came out on fire and tied the game at 44 with 11:48 left in the game. The Pacers held on to win, 61-60.

This stretch of the season was a trying time for the Pacers as they began to trail early in games and had to rely on second half comebacks for wins.

Alexander referred to this period of time as a mental block for his team.

“Augusta, when they beat us, put a mental block on us and its disturbing me, but I know that we will overcome that because this is a great group of guys, great character,” Alexander said on the reason for the stretch of close games.

USCA was able to overcome

this mental block and won its last eight games of the regular season heading into the PBC Tournament after the loss to GRUA.

The Pacers continued their improved play once they reached the conference tournament. In game one of the tournament, they faced host Columbus State and defeated the Cougars, 69-64. In the second game, they faced Georgia Southwestern and once again won, taking the game, 78-63. In the championship, the Pacers faced Montevallo and won the back-and-forth battle, 61-59.

USCA entered the NCAA Southeast Regional playing arguably its best basketball of the season, but was able to turn its performance up a notch and play even better. The Pacers

won every game in the regional by double digits, beating Limestone, 80-54, GRUA, 78-58, and Montevallo, 84-73.

A big part of the Pacers play going up another notch was the team’s defense.

“When we started practice for the NCAA Regional, we said our defense has to go to another level,” said Alexander.

The Pacers will look to continue their strong defensive play when they face Chico State in the Elite Eight.

Chico State enters the Elite Eight as the NCAA West Regional winner.

The Wildcats (25-7, 16-6 California Collegiate Athletic Association) entered their conference tournament with a record of 20-6.

Chico State continued its strong play once it reached

the conference tournamrnt. In game one they played San Francisco State and won, 78-66, in game two they defeated Cal Poly Pomona, 77-73. The Wildcats were not able to capture their conference championship, however, as they fell to Cal State Stanislaus, 82-70, in the championship game.

Chico State entered the NCAA West Regional as the No. 4 seed. Chico State defeated Cal Baptist in the first round of the regional, 77-71, then faced Cal State San Bernardino in the second round, a 94-77 victory.

In the championship game, the Wildcats faced No. 7 seed Cal State Stanislaus. This time, Chico State was able to get the better of Cal State Stanislaus, as it overcame a 14-point deficit to win, 81-80, setting up their Elite Eight matchup with USCA.

USCA and Chico State will each be battling for its first trip to the Final Four in their respective schools’ histories.

The Pacers enter the game on a 14-game winning streak. Chico State enters the game on a three-game winning streak.

USCA’s strong momentum heading into the Elite Eight coupled with its experience of playing in the Elite Eight last season has it in a good position heading into the final week of the season.

“(Last year) we didn’t really know what to expect and it hit us hard right away,” Alexander said. “We were sort of the new kids on the block, but as we mentioned today, we’re not new kids on the block … We’re going to be ready to play.”

If USCA is able to win its first game against Chico State on Wednesday, March 26, it will face the winner of West Liberty and Drury in the Final Four on Thursday, March 27. If the Pacers are able to make it to the national championship, they will play Saturday, March 29, at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The game will be broadcast by CBS Sports.

“Our goal is, God willing, we go up there and we win a national championship. We want to bring a national championship back to Aiken,” Alexander said.

| 5March 25, 2014SPORTS

Baseball looks to keep streak going at home this weekend

USC Aiken’s softball team enters this week coming off of a very successful weekend at home.

The Pacers captured wins in three of their four games, sweeping the Young Harris Mountain Lions on Saturday and splitting their doubleheader with the North Georgia Nighthawks on Sunday.

This weekend, the Pacers (21-10, 4-4 Peach Belt Conference) will battle the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes on Friday, March 28, and the Columbus State Cougars on Sunday, March 30. Both of these games will be on the road.

The Hurricanes (19-15, 3-5 PBC) come into this week after winning four of eight games last week.

Last season, the Pacers dropped both of the games played against the Hurricanes, losing game one, 1-0, and game two, 3-1.

Connor BurneyContributing Sports Writer

First pitch in Americus, Ga., is slated for 3 p.m., with the second game starting at 5 p.m.

The second series for the Pacers will be on Sunday against the Cougars (20-13, 3-5 PBC). The Cougars come into the week having dropped four games last week. Last season, the Pacers dropped their lone game against Columbus State, 1-0. The first pitch in Columbus, Ga., is slated for 2 p.m., with the second game to follow at 4 p.m.

The Pacers will look to have a successful weekend away from J.H. Satcher Field.

This past Sunday, USCA defeated North Georgia in the first game of the teams’ doubleheader.

India Kornegay threw a no-hitter, her third of the season, in the victory. Kornegay pitched seven innings, allowing one run on two walks to go along with eight strikeouts.

The Pacers fell behind, 1-0,

in the first inning but battled back with four runs in the second inning. This early run support allowed Kornegay to get into a groove, as she only allowed one other runner to reach base for the remainder of the game.

USCA tacked on one run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Kaitlyn White, Sarah Montei and Samantha Chubb led the Pacers offensively, providing one RBI each.

North Georgia took the second game against the Pacers in the Sunday doubleheader.

Taylor Morgan pitched seven innings, allowing one run, two hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.

The game was knotted at 0-0 through five innings until North Georgia’s Tiffanie Burns singled to center field, bringing Brooke Herkel in for the run, in the top of the sixth.

Ashley Metts had the lone hit for the Pacers.

@USCA 5, North Georgia 1

North Georgia 1, @USCA 0

Jordan HoardTJ Costen prepares to throw to first base in USCA’s, 17-0, win over Paine on March 5. Costen is hitting .348 on the season.

Softball set to hit the road after a successful home stand

Nick TerrySports Editor

USC Aiken’s baseball team enters this week on a four-game winning streak after sweeping its series with North Georgia.

This week the Pacers (21-7, 10-5 Peach Belt Conference) will play Anderson and Montevallo, both at home. The first game of the week for USCA will be Wednesday, March 26, against Anderson.

The Trojans (11-20, 8-10 South Atlantic Conference) enter the week having lost two of their last three games.

Thirteen of the Trojans’ 20 losses have come on the road, giving USCA a good opportunity to pick up a win at home, as the Pacers are 16-3 at home this season.

Last season, USCA defeated Anderson in their lone matchup of the season, 10-6.

Ty Barkell, Ben Donath and Sean Miller led the Pacers in the victory, as each collected two hits. Barkell and Donath also added two RBI each, while Miller added one RBI.

First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Roberto Hernandez Stadium.

USCA’s second matchup of the week will take place Saturday, March 29, and Sunday, March 30, against Montevallo.

The Falcons (17-13, 8-10 PBC) enter the week on a three-game losing steak after being swept by Lander this past weekend.

Last season, the Pacers dropped the contest with the Falcons, losing game one, 12-10, and game three, 6-1. The Pacers were able to salvage the sweep by winning game two of the series. In that contest, Donath and Ryan Metzler led

the team with two hits each.The Falcons will come to

Roberto Hernandez Stadium with an offense that features six players currently batting over .300. Will Fulmer, Vinny Rodriguez, Matthew Haskins, Jackson Slaid, Dane Hutcheon and Zack Willoughby are hitting, .407, .384, .336, .320, .306 and .304, respectively.

The Pacers will counter the potent Falcon attack with one of its own, that may be even more productive, as they have seven players currently hitting over .300. Tyler Moore, Sean Miller, Ryan Metzler, TJ Costen, Ty Barkell, Matt Bosse and Kody Belcher lead the Pacer offense, hitting .418, .406, .370, .348, .346, .330 and .327, respectively.

First pitch for the games will be 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The USC Aiken women’s tennis team comes into this week facing three home matches after dropping a road match to Flagler in Savannah, Ga.

The Pacers (8-4, 3-3 Peach Belt Conference) first match of the week will take place today against GRU Augusta. The Jaguars (8-5, 5-3 PBC) also enter the matchup coming off a loss, as they fell to Georgia College last weekend.

The matchup with GRUA is one the Pacers always look forward to.

“It’s the one and I’m pretty sure they (the players) would say the same thing,” said head coach Steve Dahm of the match with GRUA.

Last season, GRUA ended USCA’s season, as it defeated the Pacers, 5-4, in the conference tournament. Margot Simon led USCA in the loss, winning her singles match, 7-5, 6-2, and her doubles match with Franziska Regel, 8-6.

Women’s tennis ready for three home matches

Nick TerrySports Editor

The match between the rivals is scheduled for 2 p.m.

USCA’s second match of the week will be Thursday, March 28, against Limestone. The Saints (5-4, 3-0 Conference Carolinas) come into the week on a two-game losing streak after wins over Mount Olive and Mars Hill.

The two teams last met in 2011, an 8-1 Pacer victory. Simon, Regel and Caitlyn Lawrence led the Pacers in singles action in the match, with Simon winning, 6-3, 6-3, Regel winning, 6-0, 6-0, and Lawrence winning, 6-0, 6-0.

The match between the two squads is set for 3 p.m.

USCA’s final match of the week will take place Saturday, March 29, against Lander. The Bearcats (9-3, 4-3 PBC) enter the week coming off a win over Newberry.

Last season, USCA defeated Lander, 5-3. Simon led the Pacers in the match winning her singles match, 6-3, 6-1, and her doubles match with partner Regel, 8-3.

The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.

March 25, 20146 | Arts & entertainmentLocal musician was a crowd pleaser at USCA

Cecilia YoungbloodBlogger

Tolkien’s Gandalf the Grey taught us that a wizard is never late, but does the same right apply to musicians?

Kenny George began his show precisely when he meant to, aka 10 minutes after he was supposed to go on, but his warm voice and country feel were worth the wait. With a deep, rich, sexy voice and fast guitar playing fingers – not to mention the visually pleasing long hair and thick beard – he’s

a Southern girl’s dreamboat. Accompanied by guitarist

Michael Baideme, George began with an upbeat song, which is always a crowd pleaser. Whistles and a general murmur of approval followed the song. The crowd thickened as George’s voice filled the Student Activities Center, drawing people in like flies to sweet honey. By the end of the third song, Starbucks was full of people thirsty for both drinks to please their taste buds and George’s enchanting vocals to please their souls.

Guitarist and vocalist Phillip Lee stepped in for a few songs to give George a break midway through. Lee’s voice was light and smooth in comparison to George’s, though equally pleasing, and had a melismatic quality.

George said his musical style is influenced by alternative country and Southern California country. Influential bands include Whiskeytown and the Eagles. Despite the fact that he is only 28 years old, the Aikenite is a seasoned veteran in guitar (beginning at age 14)

and vocals (from 16). When asked why people

should listen to his music, George became light-hearted.

“I’m not trying to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do,” George joked.

“I just really want to write songs that people can relate to and not feel guilty listening to,” he said on a more serious note.

George mentioned the diversity of the country music realm and the introduction of ‘pop country’ has changed the way people listen to music.

“No one just listens to

country anymore,” he said. Whether for the purpose

of catharsis or to be generally aesthetically pleasing, George just wants people to enjoy listening to his music.

The Kenny George Band will release their new album on April 8th. It will be available on iTunes and Amazon.

“I sent my baby off to school for the first day,” he joked when talking about sending the album off for publishing.

Catch their 9 p.m. show on May 9th at Sky City in Augusta, Ga.

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Puzzle of the month

TKE will be hosting USCA’s first ever greased pig contest

on Friday, March 28. Registration starts at 3 p.m. and the event will start at 5

p.m. The entry fee is $5 and $2 to

spectate.

The winner will receive a cash prize.

Spoken Word from G YamazawaMonday, March 31 in the SAC Mezz.

Open mic begins at 5 p.m. Spoken word artist to perform at 6 p.m.And the best of all, it is free!

March 25, 2014| 7Arts & entertainmentSecond Son second to none

Brent BlackmonStaff Writer

When the PS4 was announced a bit more than a year ago, its heralding came with a few accompanying game announcements, mostly in the form of either nameless tech demos from well-known developers or borderline-shovelware constructed solely for the similar purpose of showing off the system’s fairly impressive abilities (cough cough KNACK).

Only one title actually caught my eye, and I’ve been fixated on it ever since--InFAMOUS: Second Son solidified my need for a PS4 from day one. As a big fan of the series’ first two games, I was ecstatic to hear that, despite the conclusion of the Cole saga in InFAMOUS 2, developer Sucker Punch was returning to the IP with a brand new protagonist. A new protagonist was exactly what a revisionist superhero franchise like InFAMOUS would need—a chance to give the player new powers and see brand new locales without any plot convolutions or deus ex machinas.

InFAMOUS: Second Son is by no means a complete departure from the series’ formula, though. Following the same parkour-inclusive third-person shooter track as the first two titles, it aims to perfect what’s been established already. Sucker Punch isn’t bounding across buildings to

add new gameplay features, but it does generously (and well) utilize the new mediums and peripherals Sony included in the PS4.

The game’s new protagonist, Delsin Rowe, is a graffiti artist and as such enjoys “tagging” as many horizontal surfaces as physically possible. InFAMOUS: Second Son prompts the player to the hold the controller sideways, shake the virtual paint can, and stencil in art all over all the walls. Additionally, when performing short quick-time events, Sucker Punch incorporates the DualShock 4’s touch pad for quick presses and swiping motions a la the Nintendo DS touchscreen. It’s just enough to make the player feel an extra layer of tactile

immersion without becoming a burden.

Primary gameplay, however, still mostly has the player sprinting across town and jumping from building to building, dispatching enemies along the way by way of conjuring elemental projectiles from the hands. What has been added, however, is the choice of three different sets of powers. Over the course of the game, Delsin is able to harness three specialized skillsets for his own purposes, be they good or evil. While they’re fairly easy to switch between, they’re not balanced enough to warrant frequent switching. Players will likely find themselves sticking to one power for prolonged periods of time.

Combat has made another

subtle but interesting shift. While the last two games put emphasis on abilities that would shift the enemy’s placement, InFAMOUS: Second Son seems to instead instill motion within the player. Throwing enemies across streets and over building tops was an easy feat in InFAMOUS 1 and 2. Herding enemies together like cattle before unleashing devastating explosion attacks was common. Second Son dumps most of this in favor of giving the player new ways to travel. Super speed and flighty jumps included, this new, kinetic way of motion does suffer from a few minor hiccups, but not before giving a huge adrenaline rush and making each fight feel frantic and fresh.

Pixels For Breakfast

The only system that hasn’t truly progressed from the prior games is the karma system. Still in place to allow the player to choose his or her own destiny as a hero or a villain, it relies on actions in both combat and cutscenes. Occasionally the player must pick from two polarizing choices to further cement Delsin as either good or evil. The system is by no means broken, but it hasn’t at all sought improvement. Whereas games and series such as The Witcher and The Walking Dead have challenged mental, emotional and ethical boundaries through the choices they allotted, InFAMOUS: Second Son sticks to its guns. Even for a series known for cut-and-dry choices, Second Son falls flat in its attempts to stimulate players’ identities and beliefs.

As always, though, the series invariably excels in its environment. Sucker Punch has far exceeded itself in creating Second Son’s city. Sizeable, lush, distinctive and full of little references and humorous inklings, it has a detectable spirit that many modern level designs lack. This digitalized Seattle feels more like a living city than simply a series of obstacles.

The PS4 has gone long enough without a defining, selling point of a game. InFAMOUS: Second Son might just be something of a hero to the console’s library. 9/10.

The Guild of Poetic Intent, a student poetry organization at USCA, will host acclaimed Michigan poet and musician Jamie Thomas.

He will be giving a public reading of his work at the Aiken Center for the Arts on April 3 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The author will have his poetry collection and CDs available for purchase. There will be light refreshments as well as a book signing after the

reading. The event is free and open to the public.

Thomas currently lives in Detroit, Mich., where he is a professor at Ferris State University. He holds an MFA from Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. from University of Houston. His poems have recently appeared in The Missouri Review, New South, Third Coast, 5 am as well as other nationally recognized literary journals. They have also been reprinted on Verse Daily, Missouri Review’s online

Nationally acclaimed poet Jamie Thomas to read his original workUSCA Marketing

Departmentpoem of the week and in the 2011 nationally distributed anthology The Hecht Prize Anthology 2005-2009.

He has also been awarded the Academy of American Poets Prize. His first collection, Etch and Blur (Brick Road Poetry Press, 2010), is currently enjoying a second print run. Thomas is also a singer-songwriter who has been in bands such as Big Sam and Slow Drag.

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March 25, 2014 | 8

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