The Hiltonian

To help the Reinhardt students celebrate Halloween, the Student Activities Council held the annual Monster Mash in the Glasshouse. On Halloween night, from 9PM to 12AM, Reinhardt students dressed up in costumes and headed to the Monster Mash to listen to music, dance, receive free t-shirts, eat candy, and compete in costume contests.

The three different costume contests that students could compete in were the scariest costume contest, the cutest couple costume contest, and the funniest costume contest. The winner of the scariest costume was a student who had dressed up in all leather clothing and a dead skeleton mask. The couple who had won the cutest couple costume contest were dressed as Princess Leia and Han Solo from the movie series Star Wars. The winners of the funniest costume were dressed up as Miley Cyrus and her wrecking ball from one of Miley’s most recent music videos. All of the winners of the contests received gift cards as their prize for their impressive costumes.

To prepare for the event, the Student Activities Council advertised thoroughly throughout the campus with flyers and even a skeleton and mummy couple, who were dressed as if they were going to a prom, in the dining hall. They also spent a good bit of time on Thursday afternoon decorating the Glasshouse with all the spooky decorations that they could acquire until the room was to their pleasing.

When the time came for the dance to begin, the costumed students filed into to the Glasshouse and began what turned out to be a long night of fun. Although it may have ended a little bit earlier than the Student Activities Council had predicted, everyone that attended the event reported to have had an excellent time dancing and hanging out with their friends.

Ashlee Davenport

Every year, the Student Activities Council sponsors Reinhardt’s annual talent show. This year, the talent show will take place on Friday, October 18th.

To participate in this show, students must first audition for members of the Student Activities Council. Auditions took place in the glasshouse on Tuesday, September 26th this year and there was quite a turnout of those who wished to audition. Each act signed up with a member from the Student Activities Council and then waited to perform for a panel of judges. The judges then decided whether or not they would be going on to perform for the actual talent show.

The talent this year includes many musical performers, dancers, and many others that are excited to show off their unique skills. In the past, there have been many varied performances including musical numbers, flag routines, clogging, break dances, and many other impressive talents. Kody Spaniak, a senior and member of last year’s winning act said that, “The Reinhardt Talent Show is always an exciting and thrilling showcase of our students’ abilities. Be prepared for a night of stunning entertainment.”

The talent show is an event that all students look forward to, and there’s definitely a reason for that. The show is free to attend for students and will be held in the Performing Arts Center on Friday of Homecoming at 7 pm.

Ashlee Davenport, Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Google Images.

RAINN, the Rape Abuse & Incest National Network, is the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization. The goal of the organization is to prevent sexual violence, help victims, and ensure that rapists are brought to justice. On September 26^th Reinhardt participated in RAINN Day by holding a Take Back the Night Walk to raise awareness for sexual assault and prevention.

Every two minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. That totals about 207, 754 victims every year. 44% of these victims are under the age of 18. Out of these assaults, 54% will not be reported to the police. 97% of rapists will not spend any time in jail. RAINN’s mission is to reduce these assault statistics by educating people about assault and prevention, and to ensure that rapists are brought to justice. RAINN Day is designed to bring public attention to these statistics, and Reinhardt’s Take Back the Night Walk helped students learn more about sexual assault.

About twenty students participated in the walk, which led from the Glasshouse to the gym. Student Vanessa Irie attended the walk and commented. “At first, I didn’t really understand or see the importance of the walk. But as we made our way to gym, holding our candles in silence, I had time to reflect. So many people are victims, and so many of them stay silent. The sad thing is that their silence doesn’t mean that the pain goes away. It stays with them, and they just suffer alone.” Students attending the walk had the opportunity to learn about the consequences of sexual abuse, both for the victim and the assailant.

RAINN partners with organizations like ABC, Target, Lifetime Networks, and General Mills to spread their message. Their goal is to educate everyone throughout America about rape, abuse, and incest, as well as the consequences of sexual assault. Besides corporate partnerships, RAINN accepts donations. $0.88 of every dollar goes directly to helping victims and working towards preventing sexual violence. Monthly donations go towards education on college campuses, operating the National Sexual Assault hotlines, and providing information on sexual violence to policymakers. Marie Claire magazine called RAINN “One of 10 Best Charities in the U.S” and the Independent Charities of America commended RAINN as the Best Charity in America.  People who donate to RAINN can be assured that their money is going to a great organization.

Students wanting to learn more about sexual assault and the RAINN organization can visit their website at rainn.org.

Candice Bailey, News Editor 

As most students are aware, a brand new restaurant called “Eagle’s Nest” has very recently opened right off campus in the building that previously housed “The Front Porch.” As with all new restaurants, they celebrated their new beginning with a Grand Opening, which took place on Wednesday night, and left all that attended impressed and wanting more. They opened their doors at 5 pm, and served free pizza and wings to anyone that wanted them until 10 pm.

A student that attended the Grand Opening that night, freshman Aili Pitchford was quoted saying: “It seems like a really cool place to go hang out. The food was good and I’m looking forward to going back with friends!” Pitchford was not the only student that seemed to enjoy the new restaurant. Many positive opinions could be heard throughout the restaurant during the course of the night. Those that attended had a great time. Many students showed excitement about returning later in the semester and the year.

For those that missed the opening night and free pizza, there are plenty of chances to return throughout the rest of the school year! Eagle’s Nest is open every Monday through Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm, and Sundays from 11 am to 7 pm. They serve pizza, wings, and many other Italian-inspired foods that any college student is sure to crave. Also available, to those that prove they are of drinking age, is a bar with bartenders ready to serve the alcohol beverage of choice.

In comparison to “The Front Porch”, which was previously located in the same venue, “Eagle’s Nest” has much more of a college-friendly environment. With multiple college flags hanging outside, jerseys on the walls inside, televisions, and many areas that can be used to simply hang out, college students will be able to find comfort in this environment as they eat and socialize with friends. Not only is the environment a pleasant thing to experience, but the staff are very helpful and efficient as well, making each person’s visit as enjoyable as possible. “Eagle’s Nest” already looks like a great place to hang out with old friends, make new friends, or simply just enjoy some delicious pizza.

Ashlee Davenport, Staff Writer 

Last Tuesday night, September 17, SAC held Reinhardt’s first Lip Sync Karaoke/Poetry Slam competition. The glasshouse was packed with lighthearted students and faculty wanting to have fun and dance. Complimentary snacks and drinks were provided, and the cool and comfy atmosphere was the perfect setup for the guest performer of the night.

Modern spoken word artist, Brandon Real T@lk™ Williams, on twitter @REALTALKRAPS, performed several poems, which “connected” the student body. Students snapped along to his poetry – moving and hilarious works that speak to college students and teenagers alike.

“Redneck Woman” and Real T@lk™ in particular had the audience literally screaming “give me some more!”. This mantra was repeated before every new performer. Several bold students took the stage to lip sync and get their groove on to crowd-pleasing songs by beloved artists such as the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys. The Wobble and the Cupid Shuffle brought half of the audience on stage to dance and have fun while Letia Wyatt and Shelby Noblitt ran the show. Alma Rangel, a member of SAC, was overjoyed at the success of the event, saying “Everyone did a good job, especially the performers. We had a great crowd and a lot of fun”. The energy from the crowd led performers to do some outstanding head-banging and students shouted out encouragement as they left their homework worries behind for a couple of hours.

While SAC does not have another Lip Sync night planned, they did announce their plan to play “The Conjuring” in October, along with several other fun events that students are invited to attend.

Students are encouraged to see any member of SAC to suggest ideas for events they would like to see at the school or to learn more about how they can get involved in events on campus. The RAINN Day: Take Back the Night Walk is the next event on SAC’s calendar. It is to be held on Thursday, September 26, from 7-9pm.

Mollie Street, Staff Writer

Reinhardt University’s 2013 Student Leadership Conference proved to be a huge success. The Glasshouse was full of student leaders eager to learn ways to impact the Reinhardt community. Keynote speaker, Latrell Armstrong, talked to the students about what being a leader in the community means. His message and program, “Making the Dean’s List”, is a true story about a homeless man whose life was changed by one word – potential. Mr. Armstrong empowered students to pursue their full potential and take initiative, to truly become leaders in their community.

Students participated in two quality building games that taught them how to think when dealing with situations in which reaching their full potential could be difficult. The first was an economic, buy-sell stock game where students were paired up and placed in a group with three other sets of partners. They all had one goal: make the most money for their major corporation. Student battled each other every round, some making as much as $37,000 and others losing as much as $26,000. In the end, Mr. Armstrong re-stated the rules to the game – “You are all branches of the same corporation.” His words left the students wondering why they fought so hard when they all had the same goal, and were working for the same pretend company.

The second game Mr. Armstrong presented the students with had an even deeper message. Students had to follow set rules and build their ideal community within a time limit. Frustration and utter confusion ensued. Some students were “arrested” by Mr. Armstrong, who had named himself the Sheriff, and many more were prohibited from making their community as grand as they had wanted it to be. When all was said and done, Mr. Armstrong drove his final point home. With each group committed solely to their small communities, everyone forgot that they were part of an entire city. Instead of branching out of their comfort zones and trying to work with other teams, the students grew irritated with one another and the individual communities quickly became various districts of what a city map looks like.

Instead of working together as a student body, we often become so caught up in prejudices and social classes that we forget we have a common goal to make our school the best that it can be. Mr. Armstrong’s message will be taken to heart by many students, mostly freshman meeting FYS requirements, who stayed, listened and questioned whether or not they were meeting their potential. Now, we ask – Is Reinhardt meeting its potential? And how do we work together, without walls or prejudice, to meet that potential?

Mollie Street, Staff Writer

In just three days, two hundred and six of Reinhardt’s nearly twelve hundred students took part in the greatest turnout of voters the school has ever had. With stations set up in Lawson, FPAC, the gym, and Gordy, SGA was able to cover literally every area occupied by students. The Student Government used Chick-fil-a biscuits to encourage students to vote – the turnout was unbelievable!

“The Lawson and Tarpley atrium had the greatest turnout of students as to they walked to and from class”, mentioned Alex Bryant, who also reported that the delicious incentives to vote were taken from other polling sites to accommodate the number of voters in Lawson/Tarpley.

The members of the SGA would like to extend a universal thank you to all of the students who voted, and a special thanks to those who helped at voter stations for all of their hard work. The election results were released to students via their Reinhardt email on September 12, along with the three added amendments to the SGA constitution that students were also able to vote on. The amendments were passed, each with a “yes” rate in the seventy-fifth percentile. The senator election results are as follows:

Freshman Representative – Brendan Brueggert

Sophomore Representative – Jessica Schweizer

Junior Class Representative – Sarah Barker

Senior Class Representative – Ari Tatum

Male Residence Hall Representative – Charles Pierce III

Freshman Male Residence Hall Representative – Alan Perez

Upperclassmen Male Residence Hall Representative – Zachary Moore

Upperclassmen Female Residence Hall Representative – Candice Bailey

Commuter Representative – Ashley Calicchia

Commuter Representative – Ash Thomson

Extended Campus Representative – Nicole Sawyer

Student Body at Large Representative – Kristen Bohannon

Student Body at Large Representative – Lauren Sullivan

Student Body at Large Representative – Robin Daniels

Student Body at Large Representative – Hunter Robinson

To all of the elected senators and students, Maria Flores, Student Body President, says, “I’m very excited to see what this group of senators will do this year. They are very strong leaders and I have high hopes that they will continue to strengthen SGA.”

The same polling locations will be used for the homecoming elections following the nomination period and four gift cards are rumored to be a possible prize for four particularly lucky individuals who vote for homecoming court. Homecoming elections will be held from September 30 until October 2. Students are encouraged to take part in Reinhardt’s first ever homecoming court!

Mollie Street, Staff Writer