I do not think there is anyone less deserving of a professional career in basketball as much as Metta World Peace. Metta, formerly Ron Artest, is quite possibly the dirtiest person in the NBA. I’m not talking about dirty as in unsanitary, but rather his character and actions.

The people who consistently watch basketball probably know Metta’s story and of the incident that occurred when he was not a Los Angeles Laker. Back in 2005 when he was on the Indianapolis Pacers he started a fight in the crowd that earned him an 86-game suspension.

“That was the brawl at Auburn Hills when he was with Indiana, his blind-rage charge into the stands, his punch of a spectator, the 86-game suspension that followed,” according to an article on the Chicago Sun-Times.com.

According to an article on espn.go.com, the 2004 brawl began after Metta, then Artest, fouled Detroit Piston’s player Ben Wallace hard from behind off of a layup. After Wallace shoved Artest in his face, benches from both sides emptied and the players started to attack each other. Somehow Artest managed to escape the fighting and relax on top of the scorer’s table. The fans must not have liked this because sure enough someone threw their drink at the back of his head. This pissed him off enough to go into the stands and actually start fighting the fans with another one of his teammates.

This past Sunday, Metta elbowed Oklahoma City Thunder guard James Harden slightly above his left ear which sent him to the floor rolling in pain. As soon as I saw this I knew he was going to be in trouble. Metta had just finished a dunk and was in mid-celebration when he bodied Harden and then elbowed in his head. Right away Metta was ejected from the game, something I’m sure he is used to. As of now the NBA has not issued any kind of punishment for him, but will likely release something within the next few days. Even if the NBA itself does not enforce anything I am almost positive the Lakers as an organization will issue some sort of sanction. Harden is listed as having a concussion and is currently not cleared to play, which is pretty upsetting since this is a team that has a legitimate chance at an NBA championship.

I feel like when you are in the NBA and represent a team you should hold yourself to a slightly higher standard than most. Remember, this is the same player that received the NBA J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award last year.

“Since then, World Peace earned the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship award last year for his efforts raising money for mental health charities, including raffling off his 2010 NBA championship ring,” according to an article on the latimes.com.

This is a pretty ironic honor for a man with such a violent history. Keep in mind he has been suspended 13 times for a grand total of 111 games, 86 of which resulted from the Pacers-Pistons brawl.

I think there is a very interesting parallel between the focus of Crossing Borders, and something that the senior class of Lynchburg College is about to experience—shock. In the sense of world languages and cultures, of traveling to other countries, the shock is cultural. Sometimes you do not know the language, understand the customs and practices of the culture, or feel overwhelmed by the unfamiliarity of everything around you. There are always adjustments to make.

The same idea goes for a change to a new place, just like college graduation—the process of moving on from a life, a routine, and a schedule we have known for quite some time now, to the world—the real world. I think it is very easy for us to go about our daily lives while we are at school. We have room and board, meal plans, our friends are right down the street, and classes are just a five minute walk away. The adjustment we had to make was much easier for most of us than the process of moving into the post-grad world will be.

I hope that the outlook on characteristics and situations of other people in other cultures, in other countries, will push this next group of Lynchburg College graduates, and maybe even those in the future to come, to continue to push the boundaries of their lives—in the workplace, with their colleagues and coworkers, their families, and anyone with whom they might come into contact. I believe that understanding and accepting the cultures from all over this earth have a beautiful parallel with the idea of moving out into the world and remaining open to the idea that you will not understand each point of view, every opinion, work style, or attitude that you come across. The idea is also literal, though—you can come across people from all different types of backgrounds once you leave a small liberal-arts college campus in Virginia. Depending on where your future takes you, there is a chance you could be working with people from all over the world, and on a daily basis.

Try to remember patience. Instead of losing your temper or your confidence with someone who struggles to communicate with you in English, take the time to appreciate what they are trying to do. Learning a language is difficult—especially the older you get. Instead of judging or resenting people who have come to the United States from another country, try to put yourself in their shoes. Think about what you would do if it was you in their situation, what you might be willing to do in order to change things for yourself. Remember that everyone is looking for a better life.
Take the lessons, the interviews, and the stories from this column, remember them, think about them, and use them to cross the borders of your own life. Everything will not always be easy for us, but a certain understanding of this world and the people in it can do so much for us to progress as a race—the human race, aware and appreciative of the divides, as well as the similarities, between us.

I greet you with, for the first time in this article, mixed emotions. This is the last time you will see a new “Fresh” for the year—and probably ever. It has been a pleasure trying to help you stay in shape, and I hope it has at least helped you think about what you might do.

With that shared, I think it is time to wrap the series up with the most important part of the article: what you are going to do for the rest of your life’s fitness and how the journey gets more important everyday from now on.

Fitness is important everyday you get older, and how you take care of yourself becomes more and more evident as you age. As you saw, college brought a change to your appearance, just as high school did when you were a freshman for the first time four years ago. As you get older, your metabolism will naturally begin to slow, making diet very important and unfortunately, those Sunday sundae dinners and cookies for a midnight snack less and less tolerable for your body.

Exercise is second in line for importance; perhaps activity more so, but it’s definitely crucial. Activity as you grow older will help prevent most diseases, shockingly enough. Since obesity and a bad diet can lead to most diseases, and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to many of the others, getting out, running and throwing weights around will prevent, and make you healthier. You will see a decline in your output of strength and ability as you get up there in age, and this is when it’s most important to stay active. Why? Because it’s when most people quit and the losses in fitness start to fall rapidly.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: I’m a freshman in college, which means I’m invincible. Well, you are for about three to four or five years, but after that period you return to the mere mortal you were in high school. But, more pressingly, the habits you develop now will likely be those you have for the rest of your life.

I’m really loading you up with a lot of negative vibes here—I know—but I think we’re feeling it as freshmen right now. Our second semester is pretty much done for, save for finals. Those first days in Mont and Tate are gone, the adjustment period from high school a forgotten issue. We had a class on that, remember? The CLs we’ve hung out—and perhaps partied—with this semester were the teachers of last semester. We have all probably taken a 101 now and we can say that we are, without a doubt, real college kids as up and coming sophomores.

So, with this looming mortality in mind, there is an opportunity to save yourself from future disease now, and live longer, healthier, happier, and all that jazz. It can be difficult with our current immortality, but imagine how we are even better with exercise at this stage, and the access to definition and looks great is at our fingertips – just as the world is.

By no means have I been all encompassing in any of the previous articles, or in the series as a whole. However, I do believe I’ve touched many things that can lead you down some of the major paths of bettering your physical, and even mental, self. You can do the exercises shown here described for the better part of your life as long as you are consistent, careful, and don’t overdo it. Feel free to go back in the archives and find old ones that help with something you want to try.

The best way I could find to end this is with the quote below from Marianne Williamson, from her book A Return to Love. Remember: stay motivated and have fun Fresh Fifteeners.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant,
  gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
   Actually, who are you not to be?

Another amazing summer of nerd-friendly films is just weeks away, so it’s time to wrap up the year with another addition of “This summer movie stuff I believe”:

I believe that there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth’s mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat.

I believe that describing Battleship as “based on the children’s game,” is the loosest use of the term “based on” in the history of the words “based on.”

I believe I forgot about What to Expect When You’re Expecting when I said that just now.

I believed that Christopher Nolan was a genius when he cast Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight, so I’ll just have to believe Nolan has done it again with Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Right? Please tell me I’m right here.

I believe that the correct time for a Men in Black sequel would have been any time not more than nine years ago and not less than five years ago. Perhaps they should go back in time to do that instead.

I believe that no matter what happens in The Amazing Spider-Man, you shouldn’t get too attached to Gwen Stacey in this new movie reboot series. “Swik!” “Snap!” The Spider-man fans know what those sounds mean even if you don’t.

I believe, Mr. Ridley Scott, that it has been over 3 decades since Alien, so whether Prometheus is a prequel, a sequel, or a whatever-quel, it had better give me a few answers.

I believe that while I’ll hate to see him go, I will be happy when I don’t have to hear Christian Bale’s Batman voice anymore.

I believe that a new Judge Dredd movie can’t be any worse than the last Judge Dredd movie. I also believe those are called “famous last words.”

I believe that Charlize Theron is the better Evil Queen.

I believe that slaughtering most of the characters from the first GI Joe movie would be an excellent way to start a second GI Joe movie. First, I believe this will establish the power of Cobra. Second, I believe this will be an act of mercy for audience members who survived the first movie.

I believe that Abraham Lincoln is a vampire hunter. For zombies though, Andrew Jackson is your man.

I believe that my daughter is absolutely right, for all its size, that Catwoman mask somehow doesn’t hide Catwoman’s identity at all.

I believe that Total Recall was fine the first time and does not need to be remade. However, this may be a false belief implanted in my brain.

I believe that mechanical webshooters are much cooler than organic webshooters.

I do not believe even my emergency stores of suspension of disbelief will be enough to cover the idea of Rihanna portraying a naval officer.

I believe that James Bond movies rightly belong to the summer, not the fall. I’d be willing to overlook that whole Bond-drinking-Heineken product placement thing if they’d move Skyfall up from November.

In April 1962 I worked at the registration table for Founders’ Day/Homecoming, and among those collecting their packets of tickets and information were the members of the Class of 1912 who were celebrating their fiftieth reunion. There were not many of them because classes in the first twenty-five years of Lynchburg College’s history were fairly small, but they enthusiastic and happy to be on campus again. I thought at the time that they looked as if they were in their seventies, and I was twenty-one and could not imagine being that old. My grandfather had celebrated his fiftieth class reunion at Roanoke College four years earlier, and he was, well, venerable. After all, Chester Arthur was President of the United States when he was born, and that was ancient history. I was never going to look that old. At the other end of the registration table was the material for the Class of 1957. They were celebrating their fifth reunion with baby strollers and toddlers in tow. Theirs was a large group, and they were in their mid-twenties, and Franklin D. Roosevelt was President when they were born, just like me.

Well, last weekend it happened; I celebrated my fiftieth class reunion. The Class of 1912 has passed into history, but the Class of 1957 was there with us marking their fifty-fifth reunion.
There were no strollers this time, just canes and pictures of grand-children and great-grandchildren. However the LC spirit was very much in evidence. Frankly, I was somewhat ambivalent about the whole affair, but as President of my senior class I had to be there, and besides I had been part of the planning committee.

Friday was a gray and gloomy day filled with receptions, but we had tickets to the Westover Alumni Society Welcome Home Reception, so we went. It was wonderful because I had the chance to visit with classmates I had not seen in fifty years. At first I did not recognize some of them because five decades can do a great deal of damage to waistlines, but who cares. The voices were the same and the enthusiasm was identical to that I encountered with the Class of 1912. Saturday was even better. We shared our reunion luncheon in the East Room with the Class of 1957, and the place was packed. Dean Sigler, who is the Vice-President of the Class of 1962 took us all down “Memory Lane” with one of his great PowerPoint presentations. We received our fifty year medallions and spent a pleasant two hours reminiscing.

In the late afternoon while the rain pounded the windows of Schewel Hall, my wife and I gave a lecture on Lynchburg in the Civil War, and they were standing in the hall listening because the room was not big enough. For us the festivities ended with dinner in the Ballroom. The classes of 1952, 1957, 1962, 1967, and 1971 were in attendance. It was just fun visiting with everybody and swapping stories. All too soon it was time to sing the Hornet fight song and the Alma Mater. The evening ended with former members of the choir singing “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” I am ready for 2017 and number Fifty-Five!

I cannot believe that this year is already over. It seems like just the other day I was writing my first column about wanting to base my column on Carrie Bradshaw’s Sex and the City. Now I am sitting here trying to think of a good artistic topic for this last column of the 2011-2012 academic year at LC. I think the only way to cap off this year is with a short review of what I have learned through writing my column.

The first event that really inspired me to write a story about was the exhibit in Daura Gallery that featured Andy Warhol’s beautiful portrait of Marilyn Monroe that was titled “Marilyn.” I was so amazed by the technique that Warhol used for this piece of artwork and the way he used his work to emphasize Monroe’s vision to society.

All of the theatre events in Lynchburg that were featured in my column throughout the year were truly some of the most enlightening, amusing and moving pieces of theatrical work I have ever seen. I loved learning from their experiences on the stage and from my own experiences during the various productions that I was directly involved in this year.

I love that all of the arts almost always seem to correlate with one another. When a musical is produced, there is a need for artists to help create the scenery and sets through carpentry work, painting and lighting designs. The musicians have to provide the music for the actors to sing with and they have to work with each other or else everything will fall apart. The actors rely on the musicians and the artists to guarantee that the show will go on. The arts build off of one another and when they work together they create a masterpiece that cannot be compared to anything else. It is utter splendor and that is why I treasure the arts as much I do.

Lynchburg offers so many opportunities for thespians and artists in general to get involved and share their talents with the community. This is one of the reasons I have grown to love Lynchburg and especially Lynchburg College so much.

Seeing a person live out their passion on stage or through their artwork just makes you appreciate their work so much more. You can tell with every brush stroke, crescendo or monologue that they are doing what they love and that is why the arts are such an important component to someone’s life.

A motor vehicle crash on April 22 occurred after Lynchburg College junior Kyle Ewald left his car in neutral after running late for a meeting in Hopwood Hall.

“I didn’t put my e-brake on and I was gone for maybe two minutes. When I came back out my car was gone,” Ewald said.

Director of Campus Safety and Security Bob Driskill said in an email that the car, a red Honda, was parked in the fourth parking space on the northeast side of Hopwood when it rolled over a concrete barrier and was stopped by the wrought iron fence above the bleachers of Shellenberger Field.

LC security officers were dispatched to the scene in relation to the crash around 3:13 p.m. and met with Ewald upon arrival, Driskill said, after which they found the student’s vehicle resting against the fence that separates the sidewalk from spectator seating.

“The vehicle sustained minor damage and was able to be driven away from the scene, damages to the concrete wall and wrought iron fence were also minimal and Lynchburg College officials are in the process of obtaining quotes for the repairs,” Driskill said in an email.

Ewald said he is thankful that there was only minimal damage and no injuries.

“It was a complete accident and I’m just glad no one was hurt,” Ewald said.

Students on campus have been able to make light of the situation.

“I was doing a workout on the track and people just kept walking by laughing and snapping pictures. I didn’t actually see it happen but I saw how he got it out—it was hilarious,” said senior James Bell.

“We were just like taking pictures and joking about it. A while later the tow truck finally showed up. By this point there were so many people outside that they all clapped for the tow truck guy and then we all just left, but the car was still drivable and I was told that he just drove off in it,” said junior Lataran Berrios.

-The Lynchburg College Women’s Lacrosse team faced off against Randolph College in an ODAC matchup on April 18 and won 19-2 behind four goals from junior Kendall Adkin, attack, and three from sophomore Bri Slate, midfielder.

The Hornets got on the board first, scoring the first four goals of the game. The Wildcats scored a goal at 21:05 in the first half, narrowing the lead to 4-1, but LC answered again with four more goals. The Hornets went into halftime with a commanding 9-2 lead behind three goals by Adkin and two each by senior Lesley Buckingham, attack, and Slate.

LC did not look back in the second half, scoring all 10 goals of the period, pushing the final score to 19-2. Adkin led the team in scoring with four goals and Slate led in assists with two. Slate also fired in three goals total, while Buckingham, first-year Margot Holland, attack, junior Julie Will, midfielder, and junior Sarah Shannon, midfielder, each tallied two goals. Goalkeepers, first-year Hailey Bossert and senior Christina Tran played 30 minutes each and recorded six saves total.

Head Coach Bruce Reid said he was pleased with the way his team performed and saw the game as a chance to get younger players some playing time.

“Overall, I’m excited that we had an opportunity to get another conference win, and I think what we are trying to do as a team is to work on things like our defensive and offensive schemes and I think we got a chance to do that today. It was also a great opportunity to have a lot of our younger players to get some game experience,” Reid said.

Reid also said he was happy about the way Adkin and Slate performed, and is excited about Slate’s future with the team.

“I think that both of these ladies are having a strong season. Kendall [Adkin] is in her junior year right now and I think that she is one of the leaders on our offense. Bri [Slate] is a sophomore and I am pretty excited with what she is doing. She is very athletic and a lot of her strength is going to goal in open transition. Both of these ladies are very exciting to watch play,” Reid said.

Will said she thought that she and her teammates executed their game plan well.
“I think that we played a solid game all around on offense and defense and I thought I did a good job in helping the defense out, helping get the ball around on offense and running the different plays,” Will said.

Buckingham, in the team’s next game on April 20, scored six goals and recorded five assists, breaking school records for the most points in a career and the most goals in a career, according to the LC athletics webpage.

Senior Kat Miller, defender, said that she was thrilled with Buckingham’s play all year and will miss her leadership on and off the field.

“Lesley [Buckingham] is one of my good friends and we played all four years together, so I think she means a lot to me as a support system. On the field, she sees everyone and knows how to get the job done and moves the ball around well and is a good leader and communicator for us,” Miller said.
Reid also said that Buckingham has meant a lot to his team and that he is not looking forward to seeing her leave.

“It’s kind of fun, but sad to see a journey come as far as it has. Lesley has been an impact player since her sophomore year. I think the thing that I’m excited to watch her this year is that she’s moving the ball to more of her teammates. It’s going to be a great thing for her to see this thing wind down and we’re hoping that we’re going to end up with a championship,” Reid said.
The Hornets defeated Sweet Briar College, 21-8, in their last game of the regular season on April 20.

LC finished off the regular season with an overall record of 10-6 and a 7-2 record in the ODAC, capturing the third seed in the ODAC Tournament. The hornets will start the quarterfinals of the tournament against sixth seeded Randolph-Macon College on April 2 on Shellenberger Field at 4p.m.

The Lynchburg College campus and its surrounding communities supported the battle against cancer on April 20 at the 2012 American Cancer Society Relay for Life, an overnight event held in an effort to raise money for cancer research.

There were a total of 36 teams and 522 participants in the event held on the Dell, and about $31,000 was raised, according to the LC Relay for Life webpage.

Kristin Anderson, LC junior and Chair of the Relay for Life Committee for 2012, said she has been involved with the event since she was in high school and is excited to keep the tradition going. Anderson said although she has participated for several years the true meaning of the event did not hit her until recently.

Anderson said that while in college she learned that a family member was a breast cancer survivor and also met LC staff and faculty who have since been diagnosed with some form of cancer, some of whom are still fighting.

“It’s personally affected me so it makes me want to keep up the fight for it. I don’t like seeing it tear up families, so the more money we can raise, the closer we get,” Anderson said.

Anderson said her relay committee began preparing for the event months in advance, during which they set certain goals they wanted to achieve. First was to raise between $30,000 and $40,000, which will be donated to the American Cancer Society. Next, she said, was to simply increase the awareness in the community of how many people are affected by cancer every day.

“I’ve been surprised by how many people and freshman don’t know [about it]. In the beginning of the year when I held my interest meeting for the committee, some people didn’t even know what Relay for Life was. I grew up in a community where it was a big deal, and so when I hear people don’t even know what it is—I want them to know and be familiar with it and that’s one of our top goals,” Anderson said.

Carmen Johnson ’11 has also become immensely involved with the event and served as Chair of the Relay for Life Committee last year. She said that after a few family members battled cancer throughout her life she found that this was the one way she could honor them and help them in their fight against cancer.

This year Johnson said she was captain of the Survivors team. Their team’s goal was to raise $3,000 by April 20 but have surpassed their goal by raising $4,621, according to the LC Relay for Life webpage.

Sheila Garren, wife and special assistant of President Kenneth Garren, said she and her husband were on the Survivors team and that it was a very special time for them.

“Well of course [my husband] is a survivor and so this is very special to me and to see him on this opening lap going around as a survivor—I can’t explain it, it’s just heartwarming,” Garren said.

Rhonda Johnson, a member of the Survivors team and an administrative assistant of Residence Life, said that as a survivor, she was extremely happy with the turnout and the impact that the LC community has made toward cancer research.

“Cancer touches everyone, I mean we’ve lost students, faculty, staff; but to have all of them out here for the same cause is just awesome. As a survivor it’s hard to explain but to know that these kids are trying to find an answer and a cure … it’s just like, one day we will,” Johnson said.
In 1985, Dr. Gordy Klatt of Tacoma, Wash. started the event in an effort to raise awareness as well as the funds at his American Cancer Society office, according to the national Relay for Life website. According to the site, Klatt decided to personally raise money by combining his work with his passion, which was running marathons.

Klatt ran for 24 hours and approximately 83 miles, while friends could donate $25 to run or walk with him around the track for 30 minutes. In one day Klatt had raised over $27,000 to support those battling cancer, according to the website.

“With your help, we aren’t just fighting one type of cancer—we’re fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community,” according to the website.