Football, NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Wingate drops heartbreaker to Florida Tech, 26-23 after mishandling extra point

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Brendan Shriver, Staff Writer

The Wingate University Bulldogs looked to be on their way to tying the game in the final minute of regulation on Sept. 29, but a failed PAT returned for a score finished off a 26-23 victory for visiting Florida Tech. With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 2-3 on the year.

“We had some opportunities and had a nice drive there at the end. Unfortunate to miss the chance to tie it up, it’s something we’ve done a million times so it’s unfortunate,” Wingate Head Football Coach Joe Reich says.

JT Stokes and Nijere People’s led the offensive unit for the Bulldogs. For the second straight week, Stokes had more than 100 yards receiving, with seven catches for 185 yards and a touchdown in the loss. People’s had 23 carries for a career-high 133 yards and two touchdowns.

Defensively, Robbie Wallace and Auntrell Mack led with 11 tackles each. Kam Johnson also had nine tackles.

After a scoreless first quarter, Wingate took a 10-7 lead at halftime on a 20-yard field goal by Mclean Robertson. Then after a nearly scoreless third quarter, the final 17 minutes were wild.

Peoples scored his second TD of the day to give Wingate a 17-14 lead on the last play of the quarter. After a Florida Tech touchdown and field goal to make it 24-17 in favor of the visitors, Wingate drove down the field in hopes of redeeming themselves for the missed opportunities that would have tied the game against Lenoir-Rhyne the week before. For the second straight week, they couldn’t muster a tie and a chance to win it in overtime.

Crocker hit Stokes for the touchdown to make it 24-23, but the snap on the PAT bounced and the desperate attempt at a kick was blocked. Florida Tech then proceeded to return it for the game-clinching 2 points and after a failed onside kick, the Panthers had secured their victory.

Wingate is on the road this Saturday, traveling to UNC Pembroke for a 7 p.m. start.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

Hurricane Florence

UNCW Group Aims to Rebuild Community

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By Harrison Taylor, Staff Writer

Three weeks ago, the South Eastern United States was hit by Category two Hurricane Florence, and no city on the coast was devastated more than Wilmington, North Carolina.

Hundreds of students from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) were displaced, as the school told students who lived in their student housing to go home. Other University of North Carolina schools, like the University of North Carolina at Asheville, opened their doors to students who could not go home during the storm.

But, before the storm even hit, a group of UNCW students were determined to help their surrounding community.

We Wilm Rebuild, a Go Fund Me project and non-profit student organization, aims to help those displaced by the storm (particularly the poor and underprivileged in the area) with drives at several different UNC schools and beyond. The project was started by UNCW students Jaz Vanscoy, Wes Porter, Valentina Pantani, and Gabe Castro.

“I was following the hurricane a few days before it hit, and I started posting stuff on social media, asking others and saying, ‘Hey, let’s start gathering supplies now’” said Vanscoy, who’s been working on this project since its inception.

Porter then reached out to Vanscoy, and together, along with Valentina and Gabe, created We Wilm Rebuild.

The group aims to help the lower income communities of Wilmington, and their Go Fund Me page has already raised over $10,000, with their Facebook and Instagram pages serving as hubs for those who wish to donate supplies or help with the cause.

“There are some people who chose not to evacuate…and then there are those who couldn’t evacuate. We want to help those who couldn’t,” said Vanscoy, whose intentions to help the lower income community of Wilmington remain present and clear.

We Wilm Rebuild can be found on Instagram under the username wewilmrebuild & their Go Fund Me here.

Edited By: Rachael Robinson

student life

Popular Places to Spend Time Off Campus

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By: Claudia Puente, Staff Writer

It is common to find Wingate University students taking  road trips outside of Union county. From the beaches to the mountains, North Carolina is home to endless activities all seasons. 

One of senior Luis Aguilar’s favorite spots to catch a new film is at a traditional drive-in movie in King’s Mountain, only an hour and 15 minutes away from campus. Hound’s Drive-in provides the audience with a unique viewing experience from the comfort of their car, all with a wide variety of movie snacks in the concession stands.

“The drive-in is a refreshing way to watch a movie compared to sitting quietly in a theater, I love being able to come with friends and sit in lawn chairs in front of my car or tailgate in the back.”

Asheville is another favorite spot of many students for a day trip. The historic city, which is only a two hour drive away, houses many activities such as touring the Biltmore Estate, hiking the blue ridge parkway, or even just enjoying brunch in one of the small surrounding towns.

Sophomore Yami Peral says “I never get tired of going to Asheville because there is always so much to explore, it’s a beautiful city to experience a wide variety of culture and art no matter what you do.”

Thrill-seeking students often find themselves at the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, an hour away from Union County. This outdoor karting facility reaches speeds up to 55 mph on an 11-turn track.

Junior Maria Perez says, “It’s an adrenaline rush to race against friends on a track that has sharp turns, I’m not a good driver and constantly spinning off track but it never gets boring.”

Topgolf, the popular driving range provides students with a high-tech experience. This sports entertainment complex gives a spin on traditional golf that players of all levels can enjoy. Sophomore Shawn Simmons exclaims “I never played golf until I came here and yet I still have a good time, especially because the food is so good. It’s such a go-to hangout spot with friends.”

This venue is most popular in the evening and even hosts special events such as “College Night” on Wednesdays after 7 p.m. for only $15. Topgolf is located only 45 minutes from the University and provides the guests with innovative technology that tracks the golf ball and the target it enters.

Not just a favorite of Wingate students, but a Carolina favorite is the amusement park, Carowinds. Located adjacent to the Interstate 77, Carowinds is lively throughout all seasons. Every October the park is transformed into Scarowinds with haunted attractions and over 500 monsters roaming the park.

Sophomore Jordan Locke says, “I’ve been to Scarowinds so many times and yet the mazes never fail to scare me, it’s also fun to watch my friends get scared easily.”

Wingate University students can often be found adventuring off-campus to popular spots outside of Union County. Whether it is catching a movie at the drive-in, learning how to golf at the driving range, or even walking the haunted mazes of Scarowinds, the Carolinas are home to endless activities that students love to explore.

Edited By: Rachael Robinson

Internships

Wingate Communications Student Interns at Blumenthal

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By Sydney Taylor, Staff Writer

A Wingate student had the opportunity to intern at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center this summer in Charlotte.

Senior Communications major Ryan McKeel severed as Blumenthal’s Marketing Intern for two months.

McKeel applied to the position through the company’s websites.

“More than a hundred people applied for the job,” said McKeel, who felt that Wingate appropriately prepared him for the internship.

McKeel’s responsibilities included overseeing Blumenthal’s News Center and social media for affiliate groups, handling in-house marketing requests, assisting in tracking marketing budgets and supporting event staff at major events. He also wrote over 20 blog posts.

McKeel was also able to help promote the musicals “Bright Star” and “The Color Purple” which he described as the most exciting part of his internship.

The internship though could be challenging at times.

“I had very little direction. In the future, I will look deeper into myself and an organization before applying for something.”

McKeel advises other students who are looking for internships to ask themselves three important questions: Will I be challenged in this role? Will this benefit my career?  Will I enjoy the office culture?

To find out more information about internships contact the Center of Vocation, Internships, and Career Services.

Edited By: Rachael Robinson

NCAA DII, Sports, Wingate University

Wingate falls to Lenoir-Rhyne 31-24 at home after furious second-half rally comes up short

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Brendan Shriver, Staff Writer

The Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears jumped out to a 31-7 lead in the third quarter, then withstood a furious rally from Wingate to hang on for a 31-24 victory. The Bears improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SAC, while the Bulldogs fall to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in league play.

“We’ve got a lot of fight, we’ve got good players, we just have to execute more consistently. There were plays throughout the game, in the first half in particular, that we just set ourselves back. You could feel the momentum change on the sideline in the third quarter and we just started executing better,” Wingate Head Football Coach Joe Reich says.

Some streaks were snapped for the Bulldogs. It’s the first time that Wingate has lost at Irwin Belk Stadium at night. The loss was also Wingate’s first to Lenoir-Rhyne in four years.

Wingate outgained LR 378-353 on the night, although most of those yards came during the rally. “Offensively, we’ve got to get it going early on and not wait to until the second half to get things started. But I love the fight, I love the energy, I love this group of guys. They’re high character guys and in the locker I just want to tell them, I love that fight, keep that up, let’s just execute consistently and we’ll be all right,” Reich says.

There were two key plays in the closing moments of the game when Wingate was trying to tie the game. The first play was a goal-line stand by the Bears on the one yard line. Had Wingate scored and kicked the extra point, the game would have been tied and could have gone to overtime or the Bulldogs could have had a chance to win it outright.

The other critical play was an interception by Wingate with three minutes left. This came just after the Bulldogs had recovered a fumble shortly after the goal line stand. Wingate got the ball back for one final shot at the tie and overtime, but couldn’t capitalize.

JT Stokes and Shaw Crocker led offensively for the Bulldogs. Stokes had seven catches for a career-high 186 yards and two touchdowns while Crocker completed 14-of-27 passes for a career-high 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score.

“With JT it’s about the execution, but it’s also the leadership on the field as well. It’s the things you don’t see, the rallying the troops, it’s his presence out there. He’s a great leader,” Reich says.

Defensively, Cardell Rawlings had a huge game to lead Wingate. Rawlings piled up 14 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two QB hurries. Rawlings has 11.5 TFLs and 8.0 sacks on the year.

“There’s nobody more passionate. We talk about having a fierce desire, and that encapsulates Cardell Rawlings, just a fierce desire to win, a fierce desire to be the best and a fierce desire to prepare. It’s all emotion and intensity and passion, that’s who he is as a person, so it was good to see him have another big game,” Reich says.

Wingate is at home again next week, hosting Florida Tech at 3:00 p.m.

Edited by Brendan Shriver

Uncategorized

Lyceums Series Hosted in Library Until the End of October

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By: Andrew Elliot, Staff Writer

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) is hosting a Lyceum series by the name of WU Start, that all students can attend.

“Whether you are new to college and want to make sure you have a sharp set of tools for your academic success OR If your original plan is not going the way that you intended, you can still use these resources to get the assistance you need and set a new course,”said Ms. Wharton, Director of the ARC and Student Success.

“WU Start is the second version of this Academic Series sponsored by the Academic Resource Center. Last Spring, we created WU Turn and had 50 students at every single event. The idea for both these events is similar. Using the scales of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) first developed at the University of Texas at Austin, these events are intended to strengthen the academic skill set of the attendees.”

LASSI was developed by Dr. Claire Ellen Weinstein, Dr. David R. Palmer, and Dr. Taylor W. Acee of the University of Texas at Austin.

Ms. Wharton explained, “there are 10 LASSI scales: Attitude, Motivation, Time Management, Anxiety, Concentration, Information Processing, Selecting Main Ideas, Using Academic Resources, and Self Testing.”

Using these scales, multiple departments of Wingate University worked together to create a series that built upon these different concepts to provide an interactive workshop full of resources and support for students.

WU Start events are split into eight events throughout September and October each starting at 4 p.m. in the AV room in the Ethel K. Smith Library. With Week 1 and Week 2 in the books, Week 3 is up next on Sept. 26 with the topic of ‘stress, anxiety, and homesickness’ with Dr. Terese Lund of the Psychology Department.

Week 4 is on Oct. 3 with representatives from the CVICS office speaking about the topic of ‘Do what you love and love what you do’.

Week 5 is on Oct. 10 with Dr. Patrick Young of the Psychology Department speaking about ‘Motivation, concentration, and resilience ’.

Week 6 is on Oct. 24 with Mrs. Amee Odom, Director of the Ethel K.Smith Library and Mr. Kevin Winchester, Director of the Writing Center in the ARC.

Week 7 is on Oct. 24 with Mrs. Cari King, Assistant Director of the ARC/ Tutoring and Academic Instruction, and Mr. Kevin Winchester.

Week 8 rounds out WU Start with Dr. Annette Digby, Dean of Education, and the School of Education.

“I’m proud of this series,” said Ms. Wharton, “the individuals leading each session are talented professional educators who make these topics understandable and relatable to each student. There is so much support available to Wingate students.”

Edited By: Rachael Robinson

International Studies

International Student Spotlight – Faith Mahone

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Photos Provided By Faith Mahone

By: Celestia Randolph, Staff Writer

The Office of International Affairs celebrates the idea of preparing students for a diverse world by introducing students to foreign cultures. One of the ways the office realizes this ambition for Wingate students, international and American, alike, is through the International Student program.

This semester alone, Wingate is hosting over one hundred international students across three campuses. These students come from forty-three different countries. Seventy-three percent of these international students are athletes, but what draws the other twenty-six percent of international students to Wingate University?

Faith Mhone transferred to Wingate to pursue a degree in nursing, she is a Student Government Association senator. Drawn to the Carolinas by a sense of adventure, and her desire for the life-changing experience of studying in an unfamiliar environment and culture, Faith stepped out of her comfort zone and onto a plane out of Malawi, Africa.

Determined to cultivate a sense of independence and confidence, Faith has an inspiring history as an involved member of whichever student body she is a part of. After excelling in the nationwide examinations given to all collegiate hopefuls of her country, Faith began her collegiate career in the States at Central Piedmont Community College.

Early on, she struggled to overcome the protective shell the monotony of driving to the CPCC campus from her host family’s home, attending courses, and heading straight to work in the International Affairs office created. It was her protection against the culture shock, but also kept her from making the most of her experience.

Realizing how much she was missing, Faith quickly became a member of the student council, eventually becoming president of the International Student Association.

After two years at the community college, the time came to decide where she would complete her education. She looked at many local schools, both public and private. None of them provided scholarships for international students.

Wingate, however, did offer a significant scholarship to international students, and it was also conveniently located. Because it was near enough to her host home, she could commute to school without having to pay residential costs.

Her advice to other international students would be to get involved with campus groups and to take advantage of resources provided by the University. “You never know the impact you will have!” she said. She also encourages other international students to never underestimate the influence their voices can have.

Edited By: Rachael Robinson