Buried treasure was being uncovered in the midst of an open market filled with hand-mined minerals and gems from across the world.

The 23rd Annual Aiken-Augusta Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show was held at the Julian Smith Casino on Friday, March 11 through Sunday, March 13. The show was organized and hosted by the Aiken Gem, Mineral and Fossil Society as well as the Augusta Gem and Mineral Society.

“The show is giving an introduction to the hobby for the young people,” said Chris Glass, who manned the grab bag table for the children. “I have an entire room in my house dedicated to nothing but the specimens.”

Tables stretching the length and width of the room displayed thousands items from hand-crafted jewelry to natural mineral crystals and fossilized Ammonites. Among the market of earthly materials were display cases filled with informational exhibits, a children’s treasure dig and demonstrations of various crafts such as lost wax casting.

Tim Steeper, a lost wax caster of 45 years, demonstrated his art at the show and described the step by step process in pieces. The first and longest of the steps is building the wax mold. After the mold is constructed in wax, it is then placed into a cast and left to harden. The cast is heated up which allows the wax melts out through a hole in the bottom.

“Now you’ve got a mold that looks just like your wax,” Steeper said. “You put that down on a vacuum table, pour melted metal into it, it’s sucked down in the mold, and as soon as it’s solidified you drop it in a bucket of water, it shatters your mold and you fish out your casting. It’s called lost casting because you lose your wax.”

Among the other demonstration were some students from Augusta State University who were taking part in the show. Junior art major Alexa Burgess was learning the art of faceting gem stones. Burgess said she has plans to change to her major to geology.

“I’m cutting a moon stone,” Burgess said. “The stone before this was a Tormalike. It’s a synthetic gem that appears in multiple colors depending on the light it’s exposed to.”

In addition to the demonstrations were display cases that lined the front and back walls of the Julian Smith Casino. An exhibit made by a local fifth-grader displaying fossilized ferns was among many others filled with crystallized minerals and geodes. According to the display, geodes are hollow rocks formed by water seeping through the outside of the hollow cavity layer by layer. This then forms bands of agate of crystals within the rock.

Walt Kubilius, children’s treasure dig organizer and club member, said the intention of the show is for the fun of it.

“We don’t make that much money off of this,” Kubilius said. “It’s the vendors that make the money. Also there is a strong educational slant here. Most of the items the vendors are selling are from overseas, but the club does go on field trips to (places like) Lincolnton and a couple (places) in upstate South Carolina. There is some Quartz up there to be found.”

The three basic interests of the clubs are lapidary, or jewelry making and polishing stones, mineral collecting and fossil collecting, which Kubilius said the programs are alternated around.

“I think a lot of people are attracted to Earth Science just by the beauty of these crystals, and a lot of people find it hard to believe that the crystals can grow naturally like that,” Kubilius said.

And the naturally beautiful pieces are a large part of what Tamia Morton collects. As the owner of Militia Rock and Gem Shop in Ashboro, N.C., she said she has found quartz crystals and seashells on mountain tops in West Virginia.

“Some of (the gems and rocks) are mined locally, some we mined ourselves, a lot of them we get at shows like this,” Morton said. “Some of (what I have) are found in rivers and others were old rivers, because it is Agatized Coral, it was once in the sea so they’re fossils.”

And though the majority of the show consisted of gems and crystal minerals, there were a few dead critters, otherwise known as fossils, lounging about.

“I do have a few dead things,” said Jim Hiege, owner of Planetary Parts in Jasper, Ga. “The (Ammonite I have) is from Madagascar from the Cretaceous period. It was around when the dinosaurs were alive. These are what we like to refer to as Paleozoic M&Ms. There were lots of dinosaurs and reptiles that swam underwater, and they would see an Ammonite and eat it.”

In addition to the dead things Hiege had on display was 20 feet of table tops covered in stones and minerals Hiege cut himself. Two 24-inch tall Geodes and a 10 by 10 inch crystal sulfur rock were only a few of the pieces Hiege had in his collection.

All the collections in the show were complied over the course of several decades, with items passed down from generation to generation and originating from all corners of the world. Not only are the pieces in the collections aged, but the traders and craftsmen have lifetimes invested in the trade.

“I mine; I train; I was also a sculptor and cut stones,” Hiege said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, since the early ‘90s. I liked rocks when I was a kid. All kids like rocks; some are just bigger than others.”

Charles Willig, a former professor of Augusta State University, led the first Sandhills event, designed to help students grow as writers. Since that event was held in 1975, there has been one every year.

Last year, the event was called the Sandhills Conference, but after some changes were made, it is now called the Sandhills Writers Series.

“(With) the Sandhills Conference we had three days in the spring each year, the series is going over both semesters,” said Anthony Kellman, director of Sandhills since 1989 and professor of creative writing. “We have a day in the fall, and then we have two days in the spring. Also, on the second day, we have consultations with a literary agent.”

According to Kellman, the program will no longer bring in authors to critique students’ manuscripts because it is “labor intensive.” Even so, he said they will be bringing in one literary agent to review students’ completed manuscripts. The program has also gotten rid of the keynote speaker.

“The keynote address, which traditionally would be a really big name writer, would command half of our whole budget,” Kellman said. “By getting rid of the keynote speaker, we were able to cut our budget in half.”

The biggest reason for all the changes that have been made is the many budget cuts that have recently affected multiple conferences like Sandhills.

“With the recession issues and legislature budget cuts, we, the Sandhills Writers Conference, took an enormous hit, like a lot of other conferences,” Kellman said. “There are conferences that folded up entirely in the southern region. We consider ourselves fortunate that we are still alive, although in a somewhat different form.”

This year’s Sandhills Writers Series is completely free to the students; the only thing that requires monetary registration is the meeting with the literary agent. While the deadline to register to meet with an agent has already passed, all students are still able and encouraged to attend the events of the Sandhills Writers Series. According to Kellman, the Sandhills Conference was more community-focused with only about 20 percent of the conference attendees being students; this is because it was a national conference. The Sandhills Writers Series is more student-focused.

“It’s a really good time for students to get to meet these authors one on one in a more informal setting,” Kellman said. “Specifically in relation to writing students, they get to pick the brains of some of the best writers around. It’s good to read writers from the past, but I think young people especially are very interested in what’s going on now.”

Catherine Zickgraf, a former Augusta State student, has attended two Sandhills Conferences in the past.

“The most valuable elements were meeting Martin Lammon, the head of Georgia College and State’s MFA Program in Creative Writing, and David Starkey, the director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara College,” Zickgraf said. “The Sandhills Conference gave me a gift. It legitimatized my poetry because my manuscript won first place both years.”

Other than hosting the Writers Series, Sandhills also has a magazine that is publish annually. Zickgraf has also had three of her poems published in the Sandhills Magazine.

“This year Sandhills Magazine will publish my third poem ‘Night Birth at Kalma, Darfur,’ in their literary journal,” Zickgraf said. “I am excited to see this poem in print soon and in stands around the campus of Augusta State University.”

This year’s Sandhills Writers Series had its fall visit from Gary Gildner, a nationally recognized author, on Oct. 21. They will have two authors, Laurel Blossom and Karen White, speaking on March 17. A singer and song writer, Jennifer Daniels, will perform that evening at 7:30 p.m. at Le Chat Noir. All events are free and open to all students.

“If your business is words you want to have an enormous appetite for reading and consuming words,” Kellman said.

Activists gathered across the street from James Brown Arena to raise awareness for animal rights.

The group, called HARTE (Helping Animal Rights Through Education) assembled Friday, March 4 through Sunday, March 6. They held signs, handed out fliers and stickers to adults and kids, hoping to deter them from attending the Ringling Brothers circus show Zing Zang Zoom Gold Edition.

HARTE and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are groups that believe in the inherent worth of animals, that animals have a value beyond what it useful to humans. They are against the use of animals in circuses due to the conditions that the animals live in and the practices that the trainers use to train them.

Members of HARTE had signs that depicted baby elephants being prodded with bull hooks during trainings. The fliers read “Cruelty is not entertainment.” Stickers had cartoon animals with animal friendly slogans. Even a baby elephant mascot was present. HARTE gets most of it’s support from PETA and it was PETA that supplied the literature that was being passed out. But it is the stickers that HARTE hoped made it home to make a lasting effect.

“It’s the children that we have to educate,” said Breeda O’Mahoney of Augusta, Ga.

Laura Blanchette, another activist, agreed. “Adults now are too proud to admit that they’re wrong,” Blanchette said. “Adults turn their heads, but it’s the kids that look.”

O’Mahoney told the story about connecting with a 9-year-old girl who, when looking at O’Mahoney’s poster of a baby elephant tied with rope on all four legs, asked if it was true. O’Mahoney told her, “Yes.” According to O’Mahoney the girl then asked her mother if it was true and the mother responded “Probably.” This was a victory to O’Mahoney and the other members of HARTE because apparently the girl told her mother that she did not want to attend the circus any more.

“That was one person, one life we changed,” O’Mahoney said about the encounter. “We’ll have one person turn around and say ‘Wow. I had no idea.’ The best we can do is hope to get people to think.”

Groups like HARTE and PETA urge people to boycott circuses that use animals in an effort to stop animal cruelty. However, according to Blanchette the cruelty is not just in the training sessions.

“What is really heartbreaking is when you see what they travel in,” Blanchette said. “The only ventilation is two little holes at the top.”

According to Blanchette many elephants die from heat exhaustion in the summer and lack of protection in the winter.

“They’re in all kinds of climates that they’re not supposed to be in,” she said, “From Buffalo, N.Y. to Augusta, Ga.”

The activists want to raise awareness for the animals in the circus. While they are concerned about all the animals involved, they utilize elephants because elephants receive the most attention and have a greater association with circuses.

“We’re not against the circus,” said Bill Bobo, of North Augusta, S.C. “We’re against suffering.”

The group gathered about an hour before showtime to demonstrate outside the ticket booth but they were not allowed to cross the street onto the side of the James Brown Arena. When O’Mahoney took the elephant mascot across and started taking pictures of the mascot and the children, she was told to she had to go back across the street.

“It’s just the PETA protesters,” said Josh Small, director of facilities at the civic center.

According to Small and Monty Jones Jr., general manager at the center, the protestors have gathered against the circus for the past three years.

“Last year was the most people,” said Jones, “They always start out big, but then (the group) gets smaller by the last day.”

Small and Jones both said the center lets the group “do what they need to do” and that they have never had to dis ban the protest because the assemblies have been peaceful.

A representative of Ringling Bros. was not available for comment, but the Richmond County Sheriff’s Department was called when O’Mahoney began to film the animals while they were being held in the parking lot behind the center. One of the actions that HARTE takes is that they film the animals so that the footage can be sent to Animal Defenders International and PETA. The footage is examined to see if the animals exhibit any signs of stress or abuse. O’Mahoney said the way an animal’s feet and joints look and how the animal walks can give clues to the animal’s well being.

It was unclear if the individual who called the authorities was a representative of the circus or of the civic center but the HARTE members were trespassing by filming on the civic center property.

“I don’t anticipate this being a problem,” Lt. Jimmy Wylds said. “They’ve been here since Thursday and everything has been fine.”

O’Mahoney and the other activists complied and remained off of civic center property while they finished filming the animals.

“One day, Breeda, one day,” Blanchette told O’Mahoney.

HARTE is still working to snag the next generation of ticket holders.

“Right now it’s the parents that have the choice,” said Jason Brock, a first time protester from Aiken, S.C.. “The kids will come along and maybe take something away. Then when it’s their turn to make the choice, they’ll say no.”

TaxSlayer offers students the opportunity to earn $10 an hour during tax season working flexible hours while coinciding with their class schedules.

This original idea of Rhodes Financial Services employee, Chad Wallace, was to hire college students evolved into a win-win situation for both the company and the students they employ. According to Bates Harison, the on-Line division support manager, this year TaxSlayer hired 94 employees and expect to hire more than 100 employees for next year’s tax season.

Product manager Brian Rhodes said the company finds students a valuable asset because they are more technical savvy and prefer a flexible work schedule that fits their individual situation.

“The idea to hire students through the Augusta State Career Center began five to six years ago,” Rhodes said. “Fifteen or 16 people were hired the first year.”

TaxSlayer, a subsidiary of Rhodes Financial Services located in Evans, Ga., originated due to the ever-growing popularity of internet based applications and individuals wanting to file online taxes from the comfort of their own home Rhodes said.

Advertisements through the Career Center begin in late July each year, according to Harison, who also said the TaxSlayer customer support center provides assistance to clients filing their federal and state tax returns online. Employees answer questions by phone or e-mail pertaining to technical support for the software and basic tax knowledge.

Harison said he interviews and hires the students. He said he attempts to accommodate employees’ requests for flexible hours and expects them to be reliable and available to work each week as scheduled. The high volume of customer inquiries concerning the preparation of their individual tax returns requires employee cooperation. During the height of tax season, the customer support center responds to more than 3,000 e-mails a day and answers close to 2,000 phone calls daily.

In addition, Harison said the qualifications for a potential employee is to have an outgoing personality, be able to use proper grammar and communication skills, have the ability to research on the internet and be open to “jumping into new things.”

In November, a paid sevensession training course addressed the basic knowledge of the Form 1040 (Individual Tax Return). Additionally, trainees complete actual projects and tax returns to learn the mechanics of the software. This training program continues every year in November. Employees also expand their knowledge base with three weeks of on-the-job training. This handson training affords them the opportunity to research questions with supervised assistance said Harison.

This year’s tax season began Monday, Jan. 3 and will end Monday, April 18. The customer support center operates 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

These hours of operation offer students plenty of hours to squeeze in a work shift around their busy school schedule, according to freshman psychology major and TaxSlayer employee Tiffany Lamkin.

Lamkin said she enjoys the relaxed working environment and the flexible hours.

Senior communications major Nick Harris said he subscribes to the Career Center job posting e-mails, but he had no awareness about positions with TaxSlayer.

Students aren’t the only ones taking advantage of this opportunity as Kay Potter, the secretary to the dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, proves. She learned of the TaxSlayer job posting from the Career and Academic planning center for the Hull College of Business. In addition to her job at Augusta State, she currently works three to four evenings a week and Saturdays at the customer support center. She applied her newfound tax knowledge by using the TaxSlayer software to file her own taxes this year.

“I enjoy working at TaxSlayer and would do it again because I enjoy being able to help other people,” Potter said.

A Reese Library staff member witnessed an unusual series of events following a car accident in Lot 2 on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

Outreach assistant, Matthew Whittington, told campus public safety he was walking back toward the library around11:15 a.m., from Washington Hall, when he heard a crunch; “the un-mistakable sound of someone’s truck getting hit.”

The truck, a silver Toyota Tacoma, belonging to a faculty member, was hit a by a female student in her red 2007 Chevy Impala while attempting to pull out her parking space. According to police reports, the student, in this case driver No. 1, had missjudged the distances between the two vehicles, due to the presence of another vehicle attempting to acquire the space.

Whittington said the accident seemed minor and he assumed that the student would take the appropriate actions of reporting it.

“She finished backing out and sits right there, for probably, the ever-popular minute,” he said. “She just sat there. I’m thinking she is going to get out of the car and leave a note or call public safety or something for the poor art professor, I assume.”

After staying stopped by the accident, the driver pulled off in the direction of Washington Hall.

Whittington said she turned left at the proceeding stop sign, and took the bend in front of the Testing and Disabilities Center, coming out on Taylor Street adjacent to Lot 1.

“I thought she was leaving the accident,” Whittington said.

He was wrong.

The student turned back around in Lot 1 and made her way back to the accident, and according to Whittington was on her cell phone.

Whittington thought it unusual that she never got out of the car the first time, but was even more surprised to see her double-back and do nothing again.

“I guess she was surveying the damage because then after, she heads out again, this time taking a right (in the direction of public safety) and I lost her,” he said.

Before losing her entirely, Whittington was able to catch a partial of the license plate number (BMJ), which he relayed to Public Safety as soon as he got back to the library.

“Our guys having, even a partial, was key in finding her vehicle,” said Jasper Cooke, director of Public Safety. “They were able to locate the car, sometime after, in Lot 23.”

Because she was parked in Lot 23- the lot in the shaded area to the back of human resources, near Washington Hall- Cooke strongly believed that, even though the girl showed nervousness, she was just looking for another place to park.

When Whittington came back out to the scene with public safety to make his statement, a gold colored car approached the scene and from the passenger’s side the female student walked out slowly toward the officers, and admitted she had done it.

The way the law reads for traffic accidents in the state of Georgia, two interpretations apply: First, police cannot charge for leaving the scene of a crime for anything less than significant injury or damage; in this case since there was only scraps and minor damage to the front quarter panel, there is no charge. Secondly, names of the parties involved are unable to be released until lawyers are notified and insurance companies are taking action, in fear that lawyers will come knocking at the door of agencies for a first-call at the parties.

“Sure, it would have been better for her to leave a note,” Cooke said, “Leaving the scene is not that significant in this case. Traffic crashes are guarded in this sense. The only thing that she might get is wrath from insurance, and based on the way she handled it, questions of integrity.”

Both parties have since claimed their reports, according to Cooke, so it is just a matter of time until they are made available to the public.

For the second time in the school’s history, on March 4 and 5, a Women’s Symposium was held. This year’s theme was “Finding Our (Grass)Roots: Activism, Theory and the Future of Feminism.”

According to Seretha Williams, associate professor of English and the interim director of women’s studies, a symposium is an academic meeting in which people come together to discuss academic issues. In this particular symposium, various students and professors came together to discuss the discipline of women’s studies and gender studies. A goal for this year’s symposium was to talk about issues as they relate to activism.

“One of our goals this year has been to talk about ‘How do we move beyond the walls of the classroom and get women’s studies out into the community?’” Williams said. “So we’re inviting people from all over the state to come and present papers.”

Professors and graduate students from Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University and Georgia Perimeter College attended the symposium to present academic papers. Allison Foley, assistant professor of sociology, criminal justice and social work and a moderator of the symposium, helped advertise the symposium to community organizations to get them to attend the symposium and advertise events they have coming up along with services that they offer.

“Hopefully this symposium will show that Augusta State students are interested in making that leap from the University out into the community and vice versa,” Foley said. “It’s an important connection to make.”

According to Williams, it took two years to plan and prepare for the visit of students and professors from outside the Augusta State realm. A theme had to be selected, a call for papers had to be sent out, proposals for papers had to be reviewed, rooms had to be reserved, a keynote speaker had to be found and lunch had to be planned. The keynote speaker was Ruth McClelland-Nugent, professor of history, and the theme of the keynote address was “Theory Meets Practice: Wonder Woman, Popular Culture and the Feminist Critique.” Registration for the symposium was $15, but Student Activities covered all student registrations.

The planning for this year’s symposium wasn’t as grueling, according to Williams, because the faculty of women’s studies had done it once before and their experience helped them be a little more preprepared. To Williams, there is a reward for all the labor.

“It’s a nurturing environment. It’s a good thing for students,” Williams said. “If you go to a large conference, you might get challenged but we don’t have that kind of an environment here so it’s a really good first step for students to take. They get accustomed with how to present a formal paper.”

Planning of the symposium aside, the actual event consisted of the discussion of academic papers and panels, which contained an element of feminism. A main focus of the event, according to Foley, is the link between feminist activism and academic research.

“The symposium shows that there really is a connection between researching women’s issues and specific contributions women have made to knowledge about anything and going out into the community, trying to better women’s lives and trying to reduce issues that tend to affect women more than men,” Foley said.

National Women’s History Month is in March, which is why the Women’s Symposium took place in the same month; March is the month during which feminism is spotlighted.

“Especially for Women’s History Month, it’s important that people advocate feminist ideals,” said Marie Drews, professor of English and a speaker at the symposium. “Women who are interested in social equality or creating places for social equality on the whole can come together, share ideas and get to know each other.”

According to Drews, the symposium is essential to Augusta State because it supplies women with a place to come together, have feminist conversations and share ideas.

“Historically, women haven’t been as involved and have been under-represented relative to men,” Foley said. “A lot of our knowledge historically came from men and focused a little bit more on men’s perspective. We need the female perspective too.”

Its purpose is to improve the quality of education and it is expected to be implemented in the fall of 2012. It is the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).

The QEP is a requirement that each school in the University System of Georgia must propose, write and maintain in order to keep its accreditation status. Each school in the University System of Georgia must be accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

According to the SACS website, the purpose of SACS is to enhance educational quality throughout the region and improve the effectiveness of institutions by ensuring that institutions meet standards established by the higher education community that address the needs of society and students for colleges. Without the SACS accreditation, any credits earned at a college or university are nontransferable, that includes a degree earned from the institution.

“The purpose of having a Quality Enhancement Plan is it’s a facet of a reaccreditation that a school be able to show it does examine the quality of the education it’s delivering,” said Wesley Kisting, assistant professor of English. “It (the QEP) has an on-going process for evaluating that quality and improving it.”

Kisting’s QEP, “Core Foundations for Cooperative Learning and Peer Accountability,” was selected out of nine other proposals to be Augusta State University’s enhancement plan. Kisting said that the QEP will be implemented in core classes in areas A-E, and even though it will have somewhat of an impact on upper-division classes, the target area is core classes.

Kisting said the idea of the plan was to be flexible and to not be intrusive or over-bearing to the faculty. His plan will incorporate learning between disciplines and will combine papers and assignments for specific classes.

Debra van Tuyll, professor of communications, said that the primary objective of the QEP is for students to see connections between courses. She said one of the things commonly seen with students is that they do not transfer knowledge from one course to another.

“They don’t understand the big picture,” van Tuyll said. “What are we trying to get to at the end? It’s not just to put a piece of paper in your hand. You’re supposed to be a changed person. And everything about you is supposed to change as the result of having a college education.”

As van Tuyll said, higher order thinking skills are the desired outcome of the QEP and also equipping students with the knowledge to be able to become more rational thinkers. The QEP will be implemented in the fall of 2012, but before the plan is implemented, the SACS committee will visit Augusta State’s campus in the spring of 2012 to review the QEP and to randomly test student and faculty knowledge of the plan.

To give students and faculty the information needed for the SACS committee visit, van Tuyll said the QEP Promotions Committee is in the planning phases of putting together a campaign for the QEP. She said the objective of the campaign is to get students and faculty acquainted with the QEP.

The QEP will be in place for five years with regular semesterly reviews, according to Kisting. He said the plan will be under constant assessment measuring learning outcomes that have been identified for students to determine whether the plan seems to be having an impact.

“The really important thing of the plan is trying to restore the original purpose of a core curriculum,” Kisting said, “which is to have everybody on campus sharing some sets of knowledge, I’m not ashamed of my opinions, and for that reason I find it necessary to share with the world just what I have discovered.

Making sure all the offices are clean while helping out her coworkers, this Physical Plant staff member goes above and beyond the word “employee.”

Willie Eva Goodwin recently received the Employee of the Year award from Physical Plant for presenting exceptional work ethic and going beyond the job description, displaying her natural aptitude for leadership and management as crew leader for the Science Hall.

Brenda Murray is the building services supervisor for the Physical Plant, which entails being in charge of the cleaning of all the buildings on campus and setting up different events, like graduation and the Special Olympics. The only exception for not setting up an event is if the organization would like to set up its own event.

According to Murray, to receive the Employee of the Year award the person must have been Employee of the Quarter, which is picked out quarterly by all of the supervisors. All of the physical plant employees, which are more than 100, then pick out the employee of the year based on certain qualifications.

“(Goodwin) is one of those employees (who) really stands out,” Murray said. “She’s only been here about a year and a half. I said that she went into the Science Building and the Science Building has really come a long way and the only difference was the crew leader.”

Goodwin said she became crew leader after almost two years of working at Augusta State University. Being a crew leader means supervising all of the Physical Plant employees of a specific building and making sure that all that needs to be done is done, including cleaning the bathrooms, offices and classrooms.

“(Goodwin’s) very much a people person,” Murray said. “Everybody loves her and it’s just like they cling to her. She just fits right in, she really does. Because I’ve seen, like I said, those same employees, they didn’t take to the other crew leaders in that building like they’ve taken to her.”

According to Murray, becoming Employee of the Year does not only come with the title but also a few benefits. The employee’s picture is hung up in the Physical Plant building across from the director and assistant director’s offices and the employee also goes out to lunch with all of the supervisors and receives a gift card.

“It didn’t really hit me until we came back the first of the year and they had the picture posted up down there on the board,” Goodwin said. “I said ‘Wow, it’s really true, this is big.’”

Emma Lovett, a Physical Plant employee stationed in the Science Hall with Goodwin, said Goodwin is one of the best crew leaders in the almost 10 years that she has been at Augusta State.

“She’s willing to help you where you need help,” Lovett said. “Although she has her area, like I said, she’ll work with you.”

Lovett also said that a crew leader should possess a pleasant personality and be able to communicate well with others. Goodwin showed that she could do those things and more, earning a title that exemplifies those qualities.

“I try to help everybody and the people under me, they are very easy to get along with,” Goodwin said. “We do things together and maintain the building like it’s supposed to be.”

According to Goodwin, to maintain the Science Hall every day, the crew has a schedule of who does what in the building. People are assigned to certain floors and specific areas on that floor so the suites, kitchens, offices, bathrooms and classrooms look presentable.

“(Goodwin’s) good,” Lovett said. “She’s willing to help everyone and she deserves (Employee of the Year).”

Is there a possibility all of Africa will be a democratic socety? That was the answer sought in a lecture on March 1.

Assistant professor of philosophy, Paul Boaheng, of Fayetteville State University, a native of Kenya, returned to Augusta State University, where he taught philosophy, to present his paper, “Democracy in Africa: Oxymoron or a Real Possibility?” to a small audience in University Hall.

In his lecture, Boaheng discussed the erosion of traditional chiefs in tribal villages in Africa. Boaheng claimed the colonial rulers were to blame for this erosion.

“Chiefs were very powerful leaders of the traditional African political structure, and were superlatives of the people,” Boaheng said. “Our colonial leaders have dismissed our traditional political system as primitive. Our colonial leaders insisted democracy was the best form of government.”

Boaheng explained that when Africa gained its independence more than 40 years ago, the new leaders strayed away from the traditional political systems, and embraced more of a Western political system. He acknowledged that since Africa’s independence, the idea of a Western political system has failed in parts of the continent.

“There are the ever-present military coups in some countries, followed by military rule,” Boaheng said. “Political instability and failed elections have also been the orders of the day in Africa.”

Roberta Markevitch, a junior history major, said she believes African democracy is not possible.

“Because Africa is not a homogenous society and it has many parts to it, it is hard to say if Africa will ever be democratic,” Markevitch said. “I would be hopeful that it would be democratic, but I do not know if it would have spread throughout the continent.”

According to Boaheng, western observers have called Africa’s political situation hopeless. In order to prevent this political situation from becoming hopeless, Boaheng said a one-man-one-party system may be useful instead of a democratic society.

“Some observers have said Africans are not ready for a democratic society and are due to failure,” he said. “Indeed, some of these observers believe Africans are too dumb to appreciate the thought of democracy.”

Boaheng also argued for a checks-andbalances situation where one person would check on the institutions of the government. This checks and balances is much like what the chief used to do during pre-colonial Africa.

Steven Weiss, professor of philosophy, said he enjoyed the talk by Boaheng and was interested to learn something about another cultures.

“I am very interested in this idea of recognizing democratic values,” Weiss said. “I am very receptive to (Boaheng’s) suggestion the way democracy is manifested in different countries.”

Markevitch said she came to see the lecture, because she wanted to see her old philosophy professor (Boaheng) and wanted to learn something new.

“What I learned from the speech was the chiefdom system could work in the same way a parliament could work,” she said. “The important thing is we cannot apply our own ideals to it because it is not our democracy.”

Boaheng explained the process of democracy in pre-colonial Africa and how a chief came to power. In his lecture he explained, a chief came from a royal lineage. With that being said, he explained the people in the tribe had an opportunity to exercise democracy through voting.

“There were several men in the lineage who have had equal claim in the royal family,” Boaheng explained. “There were several candidates to choose from for the people to vote for. Their choice for chief had to be acceptable to the people.”

Boaheng went on to explain that the chief had to have a good character. The chief also must be generous, affluent and educated. Finally, he must relate to the common people. This, Boaheng explained would be known as the personality chief.

“He must prove time and time again that he must not shed his traditional and moral obligations, which include participating in activities,” he said. “The personality test was designed to see who would be chief.”

Not only do chiefs have to perform the personality test, but they must also perform a physical test, which would decide if there were deformities, which would exclude someone from being chief. With the passing of both tests, the chief would take an oath to swear to obey the laws of the land. If he disobeys any law, he may face impeachment.

According to Weiss, his perception has changed when it came to democracy.

“This idea of chiefdom, I knew nothing about, because I thought of a chief as this strong man,” he said. “What Professor Boaheng laid out was the complexity of the chiefs and how they were chosen.”

Boaheng explained the purpose of this lecture was to help people better understand what is going on in Africa.

“There have been a lot of misconceptions about Africa,” he said. “As an African, I wanted to dispel those misconceptions and I hope people see Africa from a different perspective.”

Backing up the red 1987 Porsche 944 Turbo into the garage was a lot more difficult than Adrian Janit expected.

The assistant professor of Psychology was trying to fit the vehicle into a space – one better made for two cars than three- between his other collection pieces; two gently waxed, wellrestored Mitsubishi Eclipses.

The Porsche was an arrival of sorts, coming full circle in a collection spanning more than 40 years, that has parked hot-rods, Beetles and garbage trucks, as well as any other make or model imaginable.

This model, however, was full-scale, whereas all the other ones fit in his dining room.

“I have the Matchbox car replica of this Porsche,” Janit said. “That Matchbox I got in the mid-‘80s. What is cool is that some 20 years later, I now have the real thing.”

The Turbo replica is one of the near 10, 000 he has gathered in his collection. He began the collection when he was a child being raised in South Africa, and it was those adolescent times spent rolling the cars back and forth that inspired the life-long hobby.

“My earliest memories had Matchbox cars in them,” Janit said. “I remember my mom taking me to buy them, and since then I haven’t stopped. I still have the first ones, and even though they are opened, and some say that lowers the value on them, but I still consider the ones I played with the most valuable.”

Americans may be more familiar with Matchbox as a sister-brand to the model Hot Wheels, now manufactured by Mattel. In fact, Janit said it is possible that most children have grown up with one in their hands, never knowing that they were once separately produced. For Janit, all he had was Matchbox.

According to Janit, the early days for the manufacturing of Matchbox cars was in England – which explains the popularity in South Africa -, by the company Lesney Products, which issued the die-cast models in a series No.1 to No. 75 per year, a number much less than the mass produced amount of today.

Within those 75, there were variations of the originals, at most, manufactured 100 times, having one gray tire, an alternate shade of window or a different base plate based on what was available that day in the factory. So, it is in these models where the rarity and intrigue in collecting started.

“(Collectors) could go on with this forever,” he said. “Now, 40 years later, if you can find a car that has one of these variations it could be very valuable.”

Around one-third of the models and their variations, which appear to the untrained eye to be duplicates, are currently displayed in a wallsized cabinet inside his dining room. Janit has yet to have the items appraised, but said that his collection is by no means comparable to those he has witnessed in other parts of the states and in Europe.

The models he has collected are arranged on his cabinet from oldest to most recent, from the bottom shelf to the top. The remaining twothirds are in storage until he has something built to display them.

A few of the less desired and more tarnished models sit on a desk in his office for when he feels like relaxing and playing with a few.

“Only a year or so ago I had this cabinet made for me, “ he said. “ Up until then I had them all in storage and couldn’t even look at or play with them. So now from time to time I catch myself just staring at them and really evaluating what I have.”

What Janit has is a dedicated commitment to his collection. He loves the history and excitement of collecting. He mentioned that he has been cataloguing the collection and analyzing the different variations he has on a spreadsheet, but has yet to quantify and compile a complete list.

Janit is able to spot fakes within a set he purchases with some vigor. One of the models that he has in his office looks to any eye to be a legitimate Matchbox, but with one flick of the cardboard flap he points out that the cardboard is newly white, showing no signs of age and that the dealer showed impressive conning skills in scanning even the creases to perfection.

Acquiring fakes is one of the problems he is dealing with as a collector in the new age of collecting. The age of collecting, as it stands, is one heavily predicated on the success of online bidding sites such as EBay.

One of the benefits of the site is that, through it, the economy has neither negatively affected the price of collecting Matchbox cars nor their availability. Where once a collector had to rummage barns and yard sales or make weekend trips to toy fares to acquire them, Internet sites such as eBay have countered in the desired product mobility.

“Of course, I am a university professor, so I do not have all the time or vacations to go off the beaten path or flea markets like guys on the American Pickers or even more hardcore collectors,” he said. “But usually every night I will spend 30 minutes on eBay searching. (It helps) these items are somewhat economy proof. If it were not for eBay, you could spend a lifetime collecting.”

Janit’s lifetime collecting commitment has continued passionately and with few interruptions. In efforts to associate with other enthusiasts, he joined clubs and organizations such as the Illinois Matchbox Collectors Club.

“(The Club) has officially been around for 15 years, but has its grassroots starting somewhere in the late 1960s,” said Bob Neumann, a friend and fellow collector, who has served as the secretary/treasurer for the club. “Our club has consisted of people fascinated by these little toys and members who have virtual mini-museums on display in their homes.”

Neumann said that meetings for the club build camaraderie, where people can have the rare opportunity of getting together and sharing a common hobby.

He added that when collectors get together (in this club’s case, once every few weeks) the conversations are usually about the hunt for finding the rare pieces or sharing the history of collecting with each other.

“Matchbox is a family hobby,” Neumann said. “Not only do we get together for dinners and buy-sell-trades of our collections, we try to get kids and others involved.”

Why be fully involved, where the collection is going and with what Janit hopes to get out of it are questions, as a psychology professor, he has tried to answer for some time.

“Recently I have set out to study collectors,” he said. “Some say that much of what they do is some sort of anxiety disorder or correlated with OCD or that there is a connection between them and hoarders. But to me collectors are very discerning whereas hoarders aren’t; they take broken or dirty stuff.“

To Janit’s amazement there has been no validated assessment of the behavior of collectors or documented questionnaires on the mental health of collectors for the sake of examining what exactly a collector is.

“Recently, within the last couple of years, I have created a questionnaire that I know is testing collectors and I have a hypothesis that collecting is correlated with good mental health because it shows discernment, knowledge and social skills.”

Janit said he is mentally healthy because of collecting and the knowledge he acquires because of it. He said that being a member of clubs and going to events keep him grounded in his passion.

For most collectors, however, Janit said he was aware that stability and continuity in collecting is not always the case.

“Many people in their older age will let go of there possessions; things they used to cling to,” he said. “If I had to, because of family even, I would probably let go of it, because in all honesty you can’t take anything with you.”

“You can do all these things to add to your collection, and that is life even; you spend all your time building and building, but to what end?”

Janit said that he keeps several cars from his collection at his parent’s house for when he goes there on vacation.

These cars are his prized possessions, ones that remind him of when he was a kid going into sewing shops where moms, like his, would have to bring their kids along, and Matchbox cars would be sold to keep them occupied.

While there, and in any place, bringing semblance of home, his hands are free of all journals, lectures and questionnaires, simply ready to let the car roll back and forth.

“That is all I will do,” he said. “I roll them back and forth. It is very relaxing, and in the end…well, I would rather not think about it too much.”