Begun in January, new student security patrol teams are assisting students and serving as an extension of the campus security department. “The student security patrols are visible, on the move and offering aid to any person in need,” said Don Little, director of security.

Two teams, each with a male and female student, assist students from 6:30-11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and are clearly visible wearing jackets or t-shirts saying CSU student security patrol. Patrol members receive training and are offered CPR and first aid training.
Teams will patrol campus locations, and each team is available to escort students to and from classes and parking lots. Teams will carry a CSU radio in order to contact a security officer if additional assistance is needed.
“To request assistance, call 20# from any campus landline phone, or call 843-553-5896 from your cell phone or from off-campus, and a team will be dispatched to assist you,” said Little.

Brittany Runyon, Ben Holden, John McDonald and Amelia Lane

How to enter:

1. Send your photograph to yearbook@csuniv.edu no later than Friday, Jan. 29, 2010. (with appropriate information- #3 and #4)
2. Photos will be posted on BucOnline and open for student voting Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.
3. You may submit your photo as either Photoshop photography or natural photography.
4. With your photo, please include your name, year in school, brief description of the image, and why you chose your photo.

RULES:

1. Natural Photography must not be edited in any way except for brightening/darkening the image.
2. You must be a current student to enter (but anyone can vote!)
3. You may enter no more than two photos.

Winning photos will be displayed in the 2010 Cutlass Yearbook!

Happy Snapshots!

Jan. 29, Resolution 2010: Bands, step competition, 6 p.m., Chapel

Feb. 1, African-American Read-In, 3 p.m. Brewer Center lounge

Feb. 5, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Observance (presented by Consortium), 6:30 p.m., @Trident Technical College

Feb. 13, African-American Step Show, 8 p.m., Chapel

Feb. 15, Reality Check Game Show, 4:30 p.m., Caf

Feb. 17, Kuumba Festival, 11 a.m., Caf & Charleston Room

Feb. 17, Michael Jacobs and Platinum Souls Concert, 8 p.m., Caf [Free to CSU students, all others $10 at the door]

Feb. 22, Solomon’s Porch: Red and Yellow, Black and White…, 8 p.m., Littlejohn Parlor

Feb. 23, Game Night, sponsored by African-American Society, 8 p.m. Gold Room

Feb. 24, Convocation: One Accord gospel choir, 11 a.m., Chapel

Feb. 24, Dissertation presentation by Dr. Ruth Edwards, 6 p.m., Nursing Auditorium

Feb. 25, Soul Food Night, sponsored by African-American Society, 4:30-7:30 p.m., Caf

By Christine Johnson

“Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven’t fallen asleep yet.”
Anonymous

Take a deep breath.  The semester is almost over!  All you have to do is get through finals.  Here are a few ways to de-stress as you prepare and work your way through the stress of finals and the end of yet another semester. 

Take a Break:  Sitting and staring at your notes, or worse, a computer screen for hours at a time will wear you down.  Take a few minutes to rest your eyes.  Stand up and stretch your muscles.  Take a quick walk, even if it is just into another room of your house or to the end of your residence hall.  Taking a few minutes to let your mind relax can make all the difference when you feel your focus start to slip.

Laugh a Little:  Laughter is the best medicine.  It helps to relax your body, and science has shown that your body can stay relaxed for up to 45 minutes after you stop laughing.  So call a friend, watch some Tom and Jerry, or look up the Peanuts comic strips online and giggle a little bit before you get back to the books.

Take Small Bites:  I know your mother told you not to stuff your mouth.  Look at studying for your finals in the same light.  Don’t sit down to cram for finals.  Study a little each day and eat the elephant of finals one small bite at a time.

Now go forth and don’t stress.  You will be fine!

By Shelley Garrett

You’re cold, hungry, and you can’t remember the last time you’ve had a hot shower. You have nothing, and you are completely alone; you don’t even know when your next meal will be. Many of us have no clue what that would be like.

According to the South Carolina Council in Homelessness, in 2007, South Carolina accounted for 6,759 people who were homeless, 20 percent of them being children. On January 29, 2009, 43 of 366 homeless people in Charleston County, who stayed in a shelter, were between the ages of 18 and 32. These numbers only account for Charleston County. So you may be wondering what is being done to change these numbers?

On Friday, Nov. 13 Charleston Southern held a Sleep Out for the Homeless. This fundraiser benefited local homeless shelters. Each team that was formed was required to find a sponsor and raise money for the event. Each person on the team was asked to raise $20 each. They then were asked to conduct a nonmonetary drive; that could include a bake sale, a blanket drive, canned food drive, or maybe volunteering in a local shelter.

On the night of the event, students constructed the shelters they would be sleeping in for the night which were then judged in a contest. The contest was judged on the most creative, most elaborate, and best all around; the winner received a small prize. Students were also allowed to raise money while attending the event. The money was due by midnight of the event.

Throughout the event, staff planned activities, such as, cooking hotdogs by the fire, hot chocolate, watching the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, playing glow in the dark discs golf, performances, and other fun games. Omar Montes De Oca said, “The reason why I’m doing this is because it’s a good way to give back to the community.”

Trey Alton said, “I was hoping for people to see what is truly necessary for people to live on, for people in South Carolina and all around the world.” Many students, participating and supporting friends who were participating wondered why they had never done this in the past. One group of freshmen said that they felt it was a good way to get involved and that it was better than just watching a movie in the lounge with friends.  

            Now if you are sitting there thinking that you’ve missed the boat in helping out, I have good news. If you are interested in community service try checking Soup Kitchens and shelters such as The Beacon, Good Neighbor Center or Tri County Family Ministries, all of which are located here in North Charleston. Another way is to work with Habitat for Humanity. There are many projects you can choose from here in Charleston.

So this is my challenge for the students and faculty of Charleston Southern: I challenge you that as you sit around the table with your family on Thanksgiving that you think of one way to give back to those who are not as fortunate as you. Then I want you to go out and do it. It’s our job to do something and help out in the community; you never know, one day it could be you.

Final exam week for Charleston Southern University begins Wednesday, December 9.

The CSU Learning Centre is offering free tutoring through December 7, 2009. The Learning Center, certified by the College Reading and Learning Association, provides academic and writing support services across the curriculum and is free to all students of CSU.

Exam week hours for QUIET STUDY ONLY:

• Tuesday, Dec. 8: 10 am – 4 pm; 5 pm – 11pm
• Wednesday, Dec. 9: 10 am – 11 pm
• Thursday, Dec. 10: 10 am – 11 pm
• Friday, Dec. 11: 10 am – 9 pm
• Sunday, Dec. 13: 5 pm – 9 pm

Contact The Learning Centre at CSU for more information at (843) 863-7091 or email Brenda Hanna.

By Megan Bruner

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
3. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines
4. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
5. The Iliad by Homer
6. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
7. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
9. Night by Elie Wiesel
10. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austin

(Books are in no particular order)

By Shelley Garrett

Freshman 15, two words that are known to haunt many freshman students.  Rumor has it that when students leave home and move in on campus, they tend to gain weight, hence the name “freshman 15.”

Many believe that the true culprit of the freshman 15 is the food served in the cafeteria.  So the question is whether or not these two dreaded words are just a myth or an actual fact?  If you’re a student who lives on campus, you have most likely gotten the opportunity to become well-acquainted with the cafeteria and the food they serve. 

Some students believe that many healthy choices are not provided and that it is because of the lack of healthy choices that the freshman 15 even exists. One upperclassman said, “I feel that the only option they give you to eat healthy is the salad. When they do serve fresh vegetables they taste as if they are loaded with butter.”

Another student said, “It is definitely not easy to maintain a healthy diet considering the only thing good to eat is usually the pizza and not so many healthy choices are given, especially on the weekends.” Some athletes even feel that is hard to maintain a healthy diet on what is served in the cafeteria.

One football player said, “I think the problem isn’t that they don’t serve healthy food; the problem is that they don’t have enough variety, and the food they do have doesn’t fill me up. I don’t get enough nutrients when I eat there so when I leave I feel as if I just go out and eat junk food.”

To other students, the cafeteria is great for helping them maintain a healthy diet and avoid weight gain. The caf gives plenty of choices throughout the day that satisfies each student’s particular nutritional needs. One freshman said, “Even as a picky eater I still feel like it’s easy to find something good and healthy to eat in the cafeteria.” Another student said that you can usually find something to eat in the cafeteria that is somewhat healthy.

Do you ever wonder what goes on behind the swinging double doors of the cafeteria? How much thought truly goes into what is being cooked for students? Are the menus planned out carefully or are they just slapped together?

While interviewing Billy Hicks, Executive Chef, I asked him his own personal opinions of the food served along with how the caf goes about planning meals for each month. Hicks stated, “We try to make each meal balanced. We do this by making sure that all food groups are met in each meal. We also have this new program called “Just for You.” This is where we try to bake, grill and steam foods instead of settling with fattening fried food. In order to maintain flavor without adding those extra calories, we use olive oil instead of vegetable oil or butter. There are many food stations available to students as well that host several different food options. For the veggie lovers who search for more than just a salad, we host a vegetarian station. On some days it may have vegetable lasagna, other days it may have steamed vegetables or even risotto.  Along with the vegetarian station, we offer stations like the dessert bar, a place to make smoothies, waffles, wraps and sandwiches, fruit, pizza and hamburgers. The students have plenty of healthy choices, it just all depends on whether or not they want to take advantage of them.”

The cafeteria staff seems to put much thought into every single meal that is cooked. If you are wondering how they decide what to cook each day it’s by a tool called a “menu builder.” It gives tons of options for them to cook. First they look through it and decide what meals they know students would not eat. Then they go back through and decide what meals would be best. They also look back at previous dates to see whether or not an item was successful or not.

Hicks also says, “We will try to accommodate everyone’s needs. Whether you are lactose intolerant or on a special diet, most of the options we have are very accommodating. If by chance we don’t have something students would like they can always make a request. Soon we will have at the stations nutritional information about each meal. This will help students known what types of foods are better than others. We are even looking into a “water bar,” a place that would have different types of fruit like berries, lemons, etc., for students to add to their water. We’re hoping that this may encourage students to lay off the soda and drink more water. It all truly comes down to this; 10 to 1 students go for the greasy cheeseburger over the vegetables. Students choose what they eat. Our job is to provide a variety of healthy options for students, whether they take it is their decision.”

The cafeteria also provides a menu online for each day. Along with the menu it also provides nutritional facts and information on allergies. If you are searching for more information, check out the Web site, http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/CharlestonSouthern/.  So, is it possible for students to maintain a healthy diet while eating selections served in the cafeteria? Looks like you’ll just have to decide for yourself.

This is a list of majors that will give you the most money back to pay off all of those school loans (Assuming you can find a job in this rough economy)!

Some of the lowest paying majors offered at CSU include sociology (focused on social work), elementary education and music.  Want to find out the average salary of your major? Check the list.

Interested in a low paying major?  Find out ways to boost your income while still having a career you love, click here.

Joining thousands of other educators around the globe, Charleston Southern University future teachers, faculty, and leaders “Read for the Record” on Thursday, October 8th.

This international project builds literacy and unity, as children from many states and nations listen to the same book read aloud by guest readers, on the same day. This year’s selection was Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.

Coordinated by Dr. Linda Karges-Bone and Professor Chris Frazier at CSU and Karen Stinson at Ladson Elementary School, the media specialist at this professional development site that partners with the university in teacher training, the event included lessons, stories, and fine arts activities all using the “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.

Readers from the campus included Dr. Jim Colman, VP for Academics, Dr. Norma Harper, Dean of Education, Dr. Rick Brewer, Dean of Students, Dr. Marie Griffin, professor, Dr. Roland Bullard, and Coach Rachel Bullard, as well as dozens of other coaching staff, future teachers, Teaching Fellows, and athletes.

“Read for the Record helps us to share the message that reading is a celebration and a joy<’ said Bone. “Our presence and partnership at Ladson Elementary is one of the best gifts we can give to the community.”

For more information or to involve your school, visit readfortherecord.org

(Pictured above: Meghan Gore teaching a lesson for “Reading for the Record”)