Despite windy conditions, music lovers and golf patrons alike came together to enjoy a benefit concert featuring a few of music’s biggest stars on April 6.

The concert featured Darius Rucker, former lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish, who is a regular at the concert and was performing as a solo artist for the first time at the event. Another band, Sister Hazel, joined Rucker and singer Edwin Mc- Cain, who is known for hits such as, “I’ll Be” and “Could Not Ask For More,” for the seventh annual, Rock Fore Dough.

Rucker said the event is a good way to give back to the community while playing a good show.

“All the bands want to have a party, we all have known each other a long time, and we like coming together for a good cause, and the crowd really seems to enjoy it,” Rucker said.

Sister Hazel, who are known for such hits as “All For You” and “Happy” were at the very first Rock Fore Dough concert in 2005, with Hootie and the Blowfish. According to Ken Block, lead singer for Sister Hazel, the concert is great event to support a good program.

“The whole mission of First Tee of Augusta, the way they work with kids, instilling so many core values is great,” he said. “The fact that this concert is built around Masters Week is a phenomenal energy.”

Ryan Newell, bass player of Sister Hazel, said it was good to be back this year for the concert.

“Good to see old friends like Darius (Rucker), and reconnect with them for a good cause,” Newell said.

Drew Copeland, of Sister Hazel, said he and his band members like to play golf, but he said one of them is not so good.

“Me and Ken (Block) embarrass our bass player (Ryan Newell) because we play the most out of everybody in the band, but we all enjoy coming to events like this,” he said. “The game itself is filled with integrity, so we are very pleased to be a part of this.

In its 10th year in Augusta, First Tee was designed for children in order to teach them life skills through the game of golf, according to Alphonso Ashford, program director for the First Tee of Augusta.

The First Tee teaches values such as integrity, honesty and self discipline, just to name a few. The First Tee also teaches students through its acronym, STAR, which means to Stop, Think, Act and to Respond.

“First Tee allows students to be more courteous people, be more respectful, while enjoying the game of golf,” Ashford said. “The classes are set up where the kids get 90 percent golf and 10 percent life skills.”

First Tee is a program that is known around the country, and was not started by Tiger Woods’ father, Earl, beyond popular belief. According to Asbury, Woods’ father attended the opening of the very first First Tee. The First Tee was founded by the commissioner of the Pro Golf Association as well as members of the United States Golf Association.

Kianna Franklin, a student of First Tee, said she has enjoyed participating. She said she has been a participant for one year and really likes playing golf.

“I like how we can come here whenever we want and golf as long as we want,” she said. “I have learned to play golf, and I love it.”

Before the start of the concert, students of the First Tee of Augusta got to meet the members of Sister Hazel, and Rucker. Students got autographs from them and had their pictures taken with the artists. For Franklin, it was a big thrill to meet Sister Hazel and especially Rucker.

“I am a big country fan, and meeting him was very special,” she said.

Ashford said he has seen kids being in elementary school to graduating from college in the six years he has been a part of the program. He also said Rock Fore Dough is a great opportunity for kids to meet bands and vice versa.

“Rock Fore Dough is our major fundraiser for the year,” Ashford said. “I am glad we have this kind of sup-

What constitutes a hero? Is your hero Charlie Sheen? Lindsay Lohan? For the sake of humanity, I sure hope not, because if you think these people are your heroes, you really need to get your head checked, but that is just my opinion (No, seriously you should have your head checked if you think of them as your hero).

To me, a hero constitutes someone who makes a difference in the world. Someone who represents themselves in the best light possible. In my opinion, everyone should have a hero.

You may be asking yourself why I think this. In a world full of sadness and hurt, you should have someone you look up to and say, “I want to be like that.” I know I have that with my pal, Bill, who lives in Massachusetts. You see, Bill and I have one thing in common, we are both disabled.

To me, Bill changed my perspective on disability, and I personally feel that the reason I am who I am today is partly because of him. To be fair, I also give credit to my mom and the rest of my extended family.

Now, what does the title of this column, have to do with what I just mentioned? Well, let me explain.

For more than 10 years I have been active in swimming, doing laps every Saturday and competing in competitions, but we won’t get into that. I was part of an adaptive aquatics program where I met Darius.

Darius was nearly a 7-year-old when I met him. For some reason, he took to me and we have been friends for the last five years we have known each other. You see, Darius strives to be me and wants to swim in the lane with me, and we are still working on that.

You have to understand Darius is fully involved with cerebral palsy and has limited mobility. However, he is extremely smart and sharp as a whip.

Now, as the basketball season approached for Augusta State University, I took it upon myself to invite him to a couple of games. The first game he went to, he instantly fell in love with one of the players who will remain anonymous. So, the next game he went to I arranged for him to meet him. He was on cloud nine. The following day, his “hero” was on the front page of the sports section.

For his birthday, I had a friend print out that photo, and I had the player sign an autograph for him, along with a t-shirt signed by the team. When he received those gifts, he was on cloud nine again.

So, what is the point of this story? Well, to me, a hero does not have to be a politician, a celebrity or whatever you want to add.

In the eyes of a 12-year-old a hero can simply be a Division II basketball player who took the time to meet with him and shake his hand.

Destiny Echols waits for the pitch during a game against Georgia Southwestern.

After a productive fifth inning in game two, the Lady Jaguars were able to split a doubleheader with the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes on March 25 at Jaguar Field.

Kristen Jones had three RBI on the day, and Alyssa Pingree had four RBI to pace the Jaguars offense for the day.

The Jaguars jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning of the first game on a Jones single, which scored two runs, followed by a run scoring single by Kaitlin Harris. The Jaguars were held scoreless the rest of the game by Hurricanes pitcher Christie Shankle, who pitched a complete game and only allowed three hits the rest of the way.

The Jaguars defense was poor, as it committed three errors in the first game, which allowed the Hurricanes to come back late in the game. Third baseman and Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week Jessica Thornton had two of the errors.

Heather Hughes pitched 5.2 innings with seven hits and three runs, one unearned. Laura Brown came in relief and gave up the go-ahead run in the seventh to Lyndi Duff to earn the loss and drop to 5-3 on the season.

In game two, the Jaguars fell behind 1-0 on a home run by Hurricanes second baseman Heather Hodge. The Jaguars were held scoreless until the final two innings.

In the fifth inning, Destiny Echols led off the inning with a walk. Echols then advanced to second base on a groundout by Kacey Sims. Thornton walked, which led to two on base. Kacee Camp singled up the middle to score Echols. An error by Hurricanes center fielder Nichole Griffin allowed another run to score. Jones reached on a fielder’s choice, which allowed Thornton to score. Alyssa Pingree walked with the bases loaded to score the final run in the inning.

In the sixth, the Jaguars’ bats came alive again on a three-run home run by Pingree. Camp also had a RBI single, stole home to score and had two stolen bases in the inning.

The Jaguars sent Peach Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week Emily Headrick to the mound to face the Hurricanes. Headrick allowed only two runs on four hits over a complete game to improve to 11-3 on the season. The Hurricanes sent Jessica Martin to the mound, who allowed three runs in 4.1 innings while walking eight.

With the doubleheader split, the Jaguars improved to 24-10 on the season and 5-3 in the Peach Belt Conference. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes are at 20-22 overall and 4-8 in the Peach Belt Conference.

“Service before self” is the motto of a club that has been reintroduced on to campus, according to Pam Lightsey, the academic advisor for the rotaract club.

The Rotaract Club was originally started in North Carolina by Bill Kemp and two of his friends. According to a brochure on rotaract, the club is sponsored by Rotary Clubs all over the U.S. and internationally and is geared toward adults ages 18-30. Currently, there are more than 611 clubs in the U.S. alone.

According to Frank Mulherin, one of the founding members of the Rotaract Club on campus, the Augusta State University Rotaract Club started in the fall of 1974, but disappeared along the way.

Today, Lightsey said the club at Augusta State started with six members last fall and raised more than $23,000 for the Stop Hunger Now campaign at Christenberry Fieldhouse where more than 80,000 meals were packaged. Among other things, members have also worked the concessions stand at the Augusta GreenJackets baseball games to raise funds for various organizations.

The Rotaract Club also went to Savannah, Ga., and participated in the Medical Equipment Transport Services (METS) where medical equipment was sorted.

“We had about 12-15 students that attended that weekend,” she said. “They helped sort out medical equipment that (were) going to go to Honduras.”

At the high school level, Rotary Clubs sponsor the Interact Club, which Lightsey said is a good way for Rotaract to get involved with the younger kids and mentor, but being in Rotaract goes a little further than that.

“Not only can (the members) mentor the high school students, but they can make those contacts with professionals,” she said. “(The club) is a good networking tool as you have 170 members in the Augusta club, which are CEOs and businessmen and women from all over. For rotaract students it is good to talk to them.”

Mulherin, who was a member of the Interact Club at Westside High School, acknowledged the Rotaract Club in 1974 has not changed to this day.

“We had social functions, projects we worked on, and the best part is we had professionals who came and spoke to us,” he said. “We had these professionals who came in and told us what they did and told us the requirements that were needed to get there.”

Lightsey said Rotaract Club is a great way for college students to connect with the community.

“It was formed for college-age students,” she said. “That age group basically prepares for your career path. It also opens their mind to the community around them not only in the U.S. but internationally as well. More importantly it is a way to give back.”

Mulherin said when he was a member, his Rotaract Club had more of a social presence than some of the fraternities on campus.

“We would have parties and participate in such activities as pep band,” Mulherin said. “We had Rotaract sports teams like basketball and football. We were definitely recognizable on campus. It was a lot of fun.”

The members of the Rotaract Club also get to have the opportunity to apply for and acquire scholarships. Lightsey mentioned the Oslo Scholarship and the Ambassadorial Scholarship as examples.

In the Oslo Scholarship, students who are in their sophomore year in college and are between the ages of 18-24 may apply. The scholarship pays for their airfare from Atlanta to Oslo, Norway. The scholarship also pays for their room and board as well as tuition for six to eight weeks.

Lightsey said the scholarship is a great opportunity for students to learn from people from another country. She said students who go get to spend the entire summer interacting with students in the Norwegian club. According to Lightsey, one student from each district gets to be chosen.

The Ambassadorial Scholarship, which has an application deadline of July 16, 2011, is worth more than $25,000. It provides a student an opportunity to go anywhere in the world doing the work of a Rotarian. Lightsey said this scholarship takes a little more work than the Oslo Scholarship.

“The scholarship is a lot of homework,” she said. “You have to look at where you want to study and how much it is going to cost. There is an application process. However, we were able to award two scholarships.”

Part of the appeal of joining the Rotaract Club is the opportunities range from the scholarships, networking and just getting involved in the community, Lightsey said.

“When you are doing your master level work and you need something to put on your resume, you need to be involved,” she said. “I believe, people can relate to Rotary, especially in the professional arena.”

At 24-10, the Jaguars softball team’s main focus is to be consistent the remainder of the season, according to coach Melissa Mullins.

Mullins said this season has been good so far, but at certain times there has been something missing, whether it is hitting, defense or pitching.

“We have been up and down depending on the day,” she said. “One of the things I told the girls was if we can get all of the pieces of the game together in one day, then we are tough to beat. We have a good team with a lot of potential.”

Mullins said one of the biggest things the team has to work on is not putting pressure on itself, which has cost the team in close games.

When we play close games, we end up putting a lot of pressure on ourselves, which is where we make most of our mistakes defensively, pitching-wise,” she said. “Mainly, we put pressure on ourselves at the end of the ballgame from the seventh inning on.”

This season, Mullins said she has to reassess some of the goals, which is due to rainouts and cancellations, but said she expects the team to reach 35 wins. She also said she wants a team batting average of .300, and an earn-run average (ERA) of less than 2.00 along with a team GPA of 3.25. Along with the main goals, Mullins said she also has supporting goals.

“We need to get our bunts down,” she said. “I would like to see us get 95 percent of our bunts down. Just some supporting goals is all.”

Junior Jessica Thorton said the team just needs to focus on winning the week it is playing.

With nine new players along with the seven returning players this season, Mullins said she has seen an improvement in junior infielder Kacee Camp.

“It may not be seen statistically, but she is making some plays this year that she has not made her first two years,” Mullins said. “She has also gotten to some diving plays up the middle, really getting to some balls that she has not gotten before, and I would say senior second baseman Kacee Sims defensively as well.”

From an offensive perspective, Mullins said she is impressed with Thornton, who leads the team and the Peach Belt Conference in home runs with eight.

Thornton said she has seen a good amount of change since last year.

“We are a more positive team than last year,” Thornton said. “As a team, I felt like we have people who have worked harder than ever before.”

“She has a good bat, she has good speed and she has been consistent all year long,” Mullins said. “Overall, they are all hitting very well, which is really good because we are not striking out a lot.”

Personally, Thornton said for the season she wants to have a batting average of at least .300.

“I need to be more selective and getting ahead in the count,” she said. “I am not (hitting .300) yet, but the season is not over yet.”

Mullins said she also expects the team to qualify for Regionals.

“We feel like with our schedule, and getting 35 wins, then we feel we can get an at-large bid, no matter what the outcome of the Conference Championship is, which is not to say we cannot win the Conference Championship, then we get the automatic invitation to Regionals.” she said. “In our eyes, making Regionals is always a goal.”

At 5-3 in the Peach Belt Conference, the Lady Jaguars face a tough conference schedule with such teams as Armstrong Atlantic State University, as well as North Georgia University, which is near the top of the conference standings.

Mullins said in order to compete with those and other teams, the Jaguars have to have all the pieces work together and stay in the game mentally.

“We are a different team than from previous years,” she said. “We are going to have to work a little harder to get to Regionals, but they have really surprised me with what they are capable of. I think if they can stay consistent then we will do well.”

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.”

A new and up and coming band performed to a small audience on campus on March 10, in the ballroom of the JSAC.

Lion of Ido, which originated in New York City, performed songs from an upcoming album, which has yet to be released, according to Ido Z, lead singer and creator of the band. The band consists of five members, and has officially been together for one year, according to Adam Samuels, guitar player for the band. However, on the bands website, the band started in 2007.

Z joked that he met most of the band in a music store, but did not want to specify what music store because he did not want to advertise. Z said it was one of those things where the band just formed on its own

“The band started when I graduated from school,” Z said. “I am going to create a band and figure it out. So, I started recording the first record, then I met Steve (Lombardo), Christa (Russo), Adam (Samuels) and Zack (Periharos) and we became a band.”

Z explained the name of the band came from a song lyric.

“There is a saying that you talk like lions and sacrifice like lambs,” Z said. “Basically, what that means is believe in yourself and going for your dreams.”

According to Lombardo, the drummer, his biggest influence is the band Tool.

“I have listened to a lot a lot of music, but as a drummer, the band Tool has had the most influence on me,” he said.

Z said his influences came from songs he has heard on the radio.

“Growing up I was interested in bands like Weezer and other bands like that, but now I find myself interested in bands that sort of have interesting grooves and sounds like Radiohead,” he said.

As far as the musical influence on the band, Z acknowledged that it is hard to say.

“The music is easy to listen to, but also it is a little aggressive,” Russo said. “It is one of those things as a musician or listener, where you think, I get it, I totally understand where they are coming from.”

Z also acknowledged some of the band’s musical influences come from each other.

“Adam, who is from Philly, he started influencing me in more hip-hop music,” he said. “All of a sudden, we are finding ourselves thinking is the groove right. Making sure our songs are something you can move to”

Z said the inspiration of the songs come from life experiences as well as trying to inspire others.

“Because our fans are a lot like us, I think to myself, we are all in our early 20s, and trying to figure it all out, and I think that is how we gear our music to,” he said.

Lion of Ido has two songs that they are known for, “Hard to Love” and “Work it Out.” The bands genre is pop/rock, but they are more than just that. According to Isis Nezbeth, a communications major, who met the band while at the National Association of Campus Activities, while serving as chairman of Live Entertainment.

“The band was so receptive to me,” she said. “They did not treat us like students who were going to book them they treated us like people they know, like their friends.”

Z said the purpose of coming to Augusta State University is to just play music. He said he hopes when the new album comes out, people who were at the concert will come out and see them again when they perform in a club promoting their album.

Students who want to have dinner in the food court of the Jaguar Student Activities Center will have to look elsewhere.

According to Maureen Foster, general manager of dining services, the food court was making less than $200 a night between the hours of 4 p.m.-6 p.m. and the food court needed four employees to work the grille, Starbucks, deli and the cash register. Foster said the University dictates what it wants and there needed to be changes.

“When the University says lower your labor, I need to do everything I can to lower the labor,” Foster said. “What we did was a break down for about two weeks on what we were doing between the hours of 4 to 6 p.m., and the most we made one night was $200, which does not even cover our cost of labor or food.”

Karl Munschy, director of business services, said every year, Sodexo, the company that provides the dining services for Augusta State University, loses money and in order to make up for that loss, the University writes them a check. According to Munschy, in 2008, the Augusta State paid Sodexo $72,000, which decreased to $32,000 the following year, but increased to $42,000 in 2010.

“With the tight budget situation right now, we approached Sodexo and asked them to come up with a plan to reduce this deficit,” Munschy said. “One of the things they came in with is to close the grille, deli, and La Vincita Pizza early, and leave Starbucks open later.”

With this new plan, Foster said the food court now closes at 4 p.m., with the exception of La Vincita Pizza, which closes at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, Starbucks will remain open till 6 p.m. However, Foster said she does not want to deter the students from eating in the food court and will make some exceptions.

“If someone comes to Starbucks at 4 p.m. and they are hungry, we still have our simply-to-go sandwiches, and the cashier can go and grab them a bag of chips or a candy bar,” Foster said.

Andrew Durham, a senior history major, said he has eaten in the food court and acknowledged he would eat there more if they did not close as early. Durham, who takes evening classes, said he would not have gotten out of class in time before La Vincita Pizza closes at 2 p.m., if he wanted pizza.

“I really feel like (the food court) should stay open later because a lot of people have late classes,” Durham said. “With my schedule, I usually get out of class at 5:45 p.m.. and by that time the cafeteria is closed, and the best I can get is something out of the vending machine.”

Foster said she has gone from four people working in the food court from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., to one person, and acknowledged that the changes have made a difference not in the food court because they are only making about $50 a night between the hours of 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. However, the food services in Allgood Hall, which are open until 8:30 p.m., are making $250 a night during that same time.

According to Munschy, the reason the Allgood Hall dining facilities are open that late is because it only takes one person to run it.

“It takes a lot of staff to run that grille,” Munschy said. “It really is a labor cost saving to close the food court early. We really did not want to close early, but students were not using it as much during those hours.”

Durham, who transferred from the University of Georgia, said UGA has plenty of places to eat and boasts the No. 1 cafeteria in the nation.

“UGA’s cafeteria is open until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., and they have plenty of other cafeterias on campus that are open much later and they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he said.

Foster said her goal is to increase the sale volume in the food court. Some of the changes include changing some of the menu items at the grille, which include adding chicken wings and the Chicken Philly Cheese steak. Another new feature is the addition of Dunkin’ Donuts. There is also a new cash register system and a new juice machine.

Foster admits the price of a few items has gone up, mostly with the chips and candy bars. However, it has been a while since there has been a price increase.

“I know the biggest complaint at ASU is the price of some items, but there has not been a price increase in the last three years,” Foster said. “Hopefully, people see the good side of this and not go down the street in their car wasting money on gas, losing a parking spot. Hopefully, someone who pays a little more for food at the food court will be worth more than going to McDonald’s.”

Durham said he would like to see the university add a restaurant to the food court, which he believes will not happen.

However, Munschy said if the University can break even, which he hopes will be in June, he would like to replace Georgia Homestyle Fare as a way to uplift the food court and bring in more students.

“There are a lot of things we are looking at in the food court, and one of things we would want to change is the concept of Georgia Homestyle Fare and maybe put something else in there,” Munschy said. “We are looking at putting something there that has to do with the concept of chicken.”

The U.S. embargo on Cuba was the focus of a lecture on Thursday, Feb. 24, in the Jaguar Student Activities Center.

Paolo Spadoni, professor of political science with a concentration in economics and international relations, was the keynote speaker. Spadoni focused the lecture on his book, “Failed Sanctions: Why the U.S. Embargo against Cuba could Never Work,” but more specifically, Spadoni focused on the chapter called, “U.S. Financial Flaws in the Cuban Economy.”

Spadoni, who is Italian, has been to Cuba every year since 2000, and has taken a keen interest in its economics. Spadoni has written numerous editorials, which have been featured in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Orlando Sentinel and Tampa Tribune.

“To me, it is a very nice country to study from an economic standpoint,” Spadoni said.

According to Spadoni, the embargo has been in place for more than 50 years and started with the Kennedy administration. Spadoni mentioned the U.S. is the only country to have sanctions against Cuba, and Cuba is one of three countries the U.S. has sanctions against, the others are Iran and Burma (Myanmar). In the lecture, Spadoni mentioned such countries as Venezuela as economic supporters of Cuba as they give them oil in exchange for medical care.

Jordan Pruner, a junior political science major, said he enjoyed the talk since he is in a model United Nations class that is studying Cuba and said he hopes to visit there one day.

“It would seem too much of a hassle right now to visit Cuba as the requirement to stay there is 10 weeks,” Pruner said. “One day if it is possible I would love to go.”

Richard Ledbetter, a political science major, said he would also like to go visit Cuba.

“I think it would be very interesting to go to Cuba,” he said. “Except, I am not really sure if I want to pay that $75,000 if I stay too long. However, if something came up for educational purposes I think I would go.”

In his lecture, Spadoni acknowledge that it is difficult for an American to visit Cuba as there are certain rules. First, there are two licenses, which are general and specific. A general license is for anyone who has professional business in Cuba without asking permission, while a specific license is geared towards someone who needs to ask permission.

“You can travel to Iran or Norway, but you cannot go freely to Cuba as a U.S. citizen,” Spadoni said. “However, things are getting better.”

Spadoni talked about how President Obama has made it easier for people to travel to Cuba. Spadoni said people who want to travel to Cuba can now obtain a general license more easily. However, Spadoni said even though Obama can make traveling to Cuba easier, lifting the embargo falls in the hands of the Congress.

In terms of economics, Spadoni mentioned Cuba as more of an importer than an exporter. Spadoni said Cubans only carry cash and the U.S. is the leader when it comes to shipping food to Cuba.

Pruner said he learned a lot from Spadoni’s lecture, and was shocked by what he heard about the economics of the country.

“I have heard about the failure of the U.S. economics on Cuba, but I did not know to what extent,” Pruner said. “I thought the speech was really informative.”

Ledbetter said he came to the speech because he is taking classes that are pertaining to the subject and said he thought the speech was interesting. “ ( S p a d o n i ) broke down some things and made them simpler to understand,” Ledbetter said. “I learned from the speech that the embargo was almost pointless because there are ways to get into Cuba and there are so many U.S. dollars going to the U.S. government.”

Spadoni mentioned how the embargo has somewhat failed. He mentioned how Cuban-Americans who have sent money to relatives in Cuba, which would go to the government since the food markets and clothing stores are government owned. Another factor is tourism. Canada and the U.S. have the first and second most tourists have helped the economy grow in that country.

Spadoni said he has seen much improvement over the last 20 years since the first time he visited Cuba.

“The Cuba in 1989 and the Cuba today are worlds apart,” he said. “It does not mean all the problems have been solved and there are some that need to be addressed. Cuba as a society has changed dramatically, which has to do with the Cuban government’s reforms and the infrastructure of the country have improved.”

Need cash, but do not have time to leave campus? Then look no further than Health Center Credit Union (HCCU).

For the last 20 years, Augusta State University has been a location for HCCU which is located in Allgood Hall. According to Ben Davall, head bank teller of the Augusta State branch, HCCU operates just like a real bank. Davall said the credit union can do all the transactions that a bank can do.

“We can do loans and we have debit and credit cards,” Davall said. HCCU differs from banks because HCCU has members, not customers, and the member can become a part of the board of directors, said Davall. According to Stacy Tallent, president of HCCU, the purpose of having a branch at Augusta State is to serve the students and faculty of the University. “The purpose of having HCCU on campus is for you all to gain access to low-cost financial services through a non-profit organization, like a credit union, as opposed to other providers who are in the business of making a profit,” Tallent said. “We take the approach of making enough money to cover our costs but we are not driven by profit.”

According to Joyce Broughton, business development coordinator for HCCU, there is a program called Junior Achievement that is geared towards elementary, middle and high school kids. Broughton said there is also guidance on their website and said both Junior Achievement and the content on the website are very useful. “Junior Achievement is a program that we pay for,” Broughton said. “It is extremely fun and educational. As far as having classes on such matters as car buying and identity theft, we have wonderful tips for such topics on our website.”

Broughton said she believes these classes may not seem important at the time, but in the future it will be important.

Davall explained the way to become a member is you have to fall into a category. For example, a member may fall into a category of being an Augusta State employee or an employee of the Medical College of Georgia.

“Basically, our membership is spread from educational boundaries to health industries,” he said. “Anybody in the medical field or in the education field is able to be a member or if their family members have been, they can be included as well.”

Davall said in order to be a member, a person needs $25 and a valid ID. HCCU also does background checks on its members as well, and according toTallent, is equally owned by its members.

HCCU is currently open twice a week, and serves most of the employees of the University. However, Davall said he does not see many student members.

“We do not have very many student memberships just based on the amount of transactions we do in a week,” he said. “If we are able to increase our membership then we will be open more often.”

HCCU originated at MCG in 1976 and has expanded over the years. Davall said the most important thing to HCCU is its members.

“We get to know our members by name,” Davall said. “We are not large and we are not trying to have a large membership, but we want to know the members that we have and we want to invest in them.”

Tallent said the best thing about their credit union is the ability to change someone’s life through the services that HCCU provides.

“The customer may come in to cash a check and through our service interaction we are going to start asking questions and find out what the true needs are, whether it’s retirement planning, or saving to buy a car or a house,” Tallent said. “Everybody’s needs are going to be different, and we are going to work with that individual to find out what those needs are.”