• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2013-03-15_Vol78_No13_A02

A2 March 15, 2013 NEWS Throwing sock Brandy Carl Staff Writer Every semester stu- dents get into groups donning yellow bandan- as on either their upper or lower torso in what is known as Humans vs. Zombies. HvZ, as it is com- monly known, started in 2005 and is played on college campuses, libraries and other pub- lic places, according to humansvszombies.org, the games official web- site. The game isa kind of tag where students are divided up into two teams: Humans or Zom- bies. A yellow bandana is worn on certain parts of a students body to let one know which side the student belongs to. For example, players wear- ing a bandana around their head are zombies. Those wearing head- bands around their arms or legs are humans. The goal is survival. Zombies must tag or eat a human every 48 hours or they starve, according to the national website. The game ends when ei- ther all the humans have been tagged or when the zombies starve. Humans can stun zom- bies by throwing socks at them, though the stun only lasts for 15 min- utes. Certain places are deemed as safe zones, where no tagging can occur. These include, but are not limited to, aca- demic buildings, bath- rooms, health centers, et cetera. The game was first brought on Western Carolina Universitys campus by student Duy Nguyen in 2010 as an intramural sport. The first group started out with around 60 mem- bers but has since then grown. Intramurals picked up the game because it fits both categories of being a recreational and social sport op- portunity for students, said Director of Campus Recreation and Well- ness Shauna Sage. Intramurals provides T-shirts to winners and bandanas to the play- ers. They have also . worked with the uni- versity police to regu- late the use of socks in stunning versus Nerf guns for safety con- siderations. They also provide training to staff on how to handle emer- gencies, said Sage. Those interested in playing are to sign a waiver and are ex- plained that risks are involved with playing any campus sport. Though the game took a break in 2011, it is back up to two games per semester said original player Cameron Feaster. Feaster began as an or- dinary player but moved up to a moderator. Safety was an area of concern during the first The Western Carolinian s at the undead Photo by: Bev Tan Several students play Humans vs. Zombies every semester since it came to campus in 2010. couple of games, said Cameron. A few people were reported to have gained injuries when the game first came to Western. Some students were also reported to have skipped classes to play the game with oth- ers following students around to catch them. Both practices have been banned. Students found skipping classes or stalk- ing other students will be banned from playing. IT play mostly to keep myself active. Playing around on campus keeps me a little more active than I would ordinarily be, said Feaster. Associate Professor of English Nate Kreuter even joined in on the game at one point. Though I was ini- tially a reluctant player, my participation in the game made me, in an admittedly strange way, feel welcomed by my students, and in a way that I cant quite explain, made me feel more a part of the university commu- nity, said Kreuter in his article Professors vs. Zombies. In his article, Kreuter outlines some of the basic strategies his students would use to try and catch him along with his change of heart toward the game itself. For example, he explained students would call his office to see whether or not he was still in an academic building as part of a safe zone. He also described being chased by zombies trying to tag him. When he was finally tagged, he was hugged by the student who ate him. Kreuter proves that no one is too old to play in his tale of going from a reluctant player toa competitive human in the course of one week. Kreuter also admitted to feeling a sort of common bond with the students from his experiences. Student David Thrasher played the game for two years before quitting because of a shoulder injury unrelated to the game. T made a lot of new friends, which I still have today, said Thrasher. For more information, contact intramurals at 828-227-7069 or view the official Humans vs. Zom- bies website at humans- vszombies.org. WCU recognized as military friendly institution Logan Porter Staff Writer A recent recognition by Military Advanced Education magazine in the monthly pub- lications sixth an- nual Guide to Mili- tary-Friendly Colleges and Universities has highlighted Western Carolina Universitys offerings to former and current servicemen and women. The magazine evaluat- ed schools on flexibility of online options, accep- tance of transfer credits, on-campus assistance and the amount of sup- port provided to fami- lies of service members. It then ranked schools based on these criteria by evaluating whether programs and services that met or helped meet the criteria were offered by the institution. Lisa Winders, WCUs director of Military Student Services (MSS), said the University learned of itsrecogni- _ tion from the magazine some time in December, shortly after the guide was published. According to their publication, WCU, A Military Focused Uni- versity, MSS operates as an advocate, address- ing the unique needs of incoming and current military students by counseling them during the application process, directing them to avail- able education benefits and referring them to helpful university ser- vices during their time here. In an attempt to ad- dress some of these unique needs, MSS of- fers services and ben- efits to military students in order to make their studies as accommodat- ing to their situation as possible. These include a Student Veterans As- sociation, admissions fee waivers for active military and veteran students, membership in the Department of Defense Voluntary Edu- cation Memorandum of Understanding, access to priority registration, and acceptance of mili- tary tuition assistance. The university also offers seven free elective hours for veterans who have completed at least a full year of service. Under most GI Bill programs, military ' service members and veterans are eligible to receive 36 months of full-time entitlement to higher education. According to the MSS publication, If the stu- dent is full-time for four months they use up four months of entitlement, likewise if they are part- time at half time for four months they use up two months of entitle- ment. This is meant to accommodate service members or veterans who are unable to attend school full-time while still allowing them to receive their full ben- efits. In the instance that an active military student is deployed during his or her studies, the Uni- versity allows for With- drawal on the grounds of Deployment or Other Military Contingency. In these such instances, the student would be allowed to withdraw without penalty and with full refund at any point during an aca- demic term. A copy of the service members orders is requested and substantiated, at which point the student may withdraw. According to Military Student Services, WCU. presently has 93 active military and veterans in resident on campus programs, with an additional 156 utiliz- ing WCUs distance learning programs. In addition, there are 90 spouses and/or depen- dents of service mem- bers or veterans with an additional 6 utilizing distance-learning pro- grams. MSS offers bottom- line advice for military students. These include: Visit your Base Edu- cation Center and talk to an Education Service Officer (ESO). After Completing your WCU application for admissions, fill out the FAFSA to determine eligibility for other fed- eral tuition resources Contact the office at 828-227-2135 or military. weucedus 93.3 GI Jobs Magazine, ~ a publication oriented towards service mem- bers and veterans transitioning into the job or education market, also recognized WCU as Military Friendly during the fall semester. Such recognition shines well-deserved light on those within the Univer- sity who strive to make WCU an accommodating place for Americas mili- tary service members and veterans. We are a univer- sity dedicated to higher education... military higher education, the MSS publication reads. Retired professors create association of retired faculty and staff Brandy Carl Staff Writer Dr. Gordon Mercer and Dr. Fred Hinson have teamed up since their retirement to give other retired employees of Western Carolina Univer- sity a chance to stay in contact with each other. When I retired, it was something I had in the back of my mind that needed to be done. I felt an obligation on my end to put some time into it, said Mercer, who came up with the idea. Mercer worked for Western Carolina Univer- sity for over 30 years as professor emeritus. He taught in political science and public affairs as well as served as the director of the graduate school and director of the public policy institute. Hinson had been a part of the university for 45 years before retiring. He served in the biology department and as senior vice chancellor of aca- demic affairs. Talks about creating an association had been in the works for a long time with Mercer. He said that without the association, faculty and staff have no way of keeping up with the university. Prior to planning the association, there were no venues to keep in contact. Faculty and staff came back on their own to attend lectures or get invited to Christmas parties. When originally map- ping the idea, Mercer re- fused to continue unless staff could be included, stressing the importance of working together. Offices cant run without our staff, said Hinson. Mercer had contacted Hinson asking for as- sistance in setting up the association. After Mercer and Hinson began talking about the creation of an associa- tion, a steering commit- tee was organized. The committee is composed of 13 retired faculty and staff members planning the first event. Chancellor David O. Belcher has also sup- ported the group by sending out surveys to see whether enough interest is available to create the association. Right now it looks like theres a very positive response at this stage of the game, said Hinson. The association is still in the planning phases, with surveys being an- swered. By-laws would also have to be developed before the association could take off. T think this would be a wonderful thing both for the university and for the retired faculty and staff. I really do, said Hinson. Research on NC States and UNC Chapel Hills faculty and staff associa- tions was conducted to get an idea of what an association of this nature does. The survey sent out asks retired faculty and staff what they believe an association should do, giv- ing Hinson and Mercer further insight. Along with keeping faculty and staff con- nected with one another and the university, a goal of the organization is to allow retirees to lend their services when needed. Mercer gives the example of having re- tirees help to welcome a performer at a perform- ing art event. Our faculty and staff have a lot of skills they might want to contrib- ute, said Mercer. The first meeting is scheduled for June 25. The meeting will include a wide range of activities varying from a luncheon to a discus- sion of future plans. WHO Continued from Page A1 -tise, said Widemon. Coming from a differ- ent perspective, Widemon noted that the nature of his group called for a degree of exclusivity. We do [keep numbers low]. We want 15-20 at the most in the group, said Widemon. According to Dr. Mill- er, it may make sense for some clubs to stay a certain size. T dont think the measure of success for a student organization necessarily comes from its size or visibility on campus, he said. I think its much more important to know if that organiza- tion is having a positive impact on its members and if theyre accomplish- ing their goals together. NURSING _ Continued from Page Al -period where all 12 stu- dents meet in Charlotte. From there, classes will resume online. Though WCU students will be | taking classes through UNCC and vice versa, the school that will appear | on the diploma will be | the school the student was accepted into. T think it would be great to eventually get your Doctorate from the same place that you got your Bachelors. You're familiar with the facilities as well as the main cam- pus, said Blankenship. The University of North Carolina system encourages working with other institutions within the system, said Neubrander on working with UNCC. Because WCU and UNCC are in two different settings, students from each can get accustomed to both rural and urban health- care settings. The UNCC and WCU DNP consortium is a model of how collabora- tive innovative thinking can produce a quality program, said UNCCs Director of DNP program Dr. Dianna Inman. Inman said both schools are excited to work togeth- er in the consortium and that it has been a pleasure working with WCU. TThe program] has a leadership focus to it. It is a practice doctorate so its not a philosophy. People come out being more of an expert in practice, said Neubrander. For more information on the program, please contact the DNP pro- gram at 828-654-6499 or visit http://www.wcu. edu/31905.asp.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2013-03-15
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2013-03-15_Vol78_No13
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library