When I stepped in the studio of the Augusta Fencers Club to take my first fencing lesson ever, I really did not know what to expect. Yes I’m French, and yes fencing is originally a French sport but I still have never held a sword or a foil, for that matter.

Rudy Volkmann, the head coach and my instructor for my private 30 minute lesson, is a professional fencer who has and still competes on an international level. Volkmann began fencing in 1960 but in 1981, he hurt his elbow and could not compete at an upper level for almost 20 years. Within that period, he said he taught fencing, worked for the fencing association and was a referee. In 2000, he opened his studio in downtown Augusta and has been teaching there since then.

In 1999, Volkmann had open heart surgery and shortly after, began fencing again and almost a year after his surgery he won second place in his age category at the National Championship in Austin, Texas.

“I loved being back in fencing again,” Volkmann said.

In 2006, he arrived 3rd in the World Veterans Fencing Championships in Bath, England and since then, he has made the top eight every time he’s been competing.
As for my private lesson, it was surprising, interesting and tough.

Surprisingly enough, I did watch fencing on TV but had no idea how to move or fight. There are actually three different weapons: foil, epee and saber. During my lesson, I practiced with a foil and it was a light weapon and easy to manipulate.
The lesson was tough because it was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be. As a college cross country runner, I assumed I was in shape but after just 30 minutes of fencing, I was sore for the next two days.

“I have bad and good news for you. The bad news is that it doesn’t get more comfortable than that,” said Volkmann while he showed me the basic position.
After a brief passage in the changing room to put on a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt, I met Paul Herin, one of the Augusta Fencers Club staff members, who showed me how to stretch my neck, my legs and my arms.

Then, Volkmann joined us and first showed me how to place and move my lower body: The right foot is forward and points straight toward your opponent while the back left foot is at a 90 degree angle and the position is held throughout the match.

Volkmann then gave me a foil and showed me how to grab and manipulate it. The wrist has to be twisted on the right (if right-handed), and the arm must be almost straight. I practiced on a wall for a little bit, trying to lean forward in the correct position to hit my target (the wall, at that point).
I then put a mask on, Volkmann wore his fencing jacket and we began to fight. He showed me how to advance and retreat against an opponent while trying to attack him with my foil.

A 30 minute lesson is definitely short but it did give me a good idea of what fencing is, especially with a dedicated and passionate professor like Volkmann.

Nov. 24, 1859: On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, written by Charles Darwin, is published in England. Darwin’s theory argued that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.” In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that suit their environment tend to propagate more descendants than organisms of the same species that lack the variation. Most scientists quickly embraced the theory that solved so many puzzles of biological science, but orthodox Christians condemned the work as heresy. By the time of Darwin’s death in 1882, his theory of evolution was generally accepted. In honor of his scientific work, he was buried in Westminster Abbey beside kings, queens, and other illustrious figures from British history.

Nov. 26, 1941: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill officially establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. The tradition of celebrating the holiday on Thursday dates back to the early history of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies. In 1939, Roosevelt departed from tradition by declaring November 23, the next to last Thursday that year, as Thanksgiving Day. Considerable controversy surrounded this deviation, and some Americans refused to honor Roosevelt’s declaration. For the next two years, Roosevelt repeated the unpopular proclamation, but on November 26, 1941, he admitted his mistake and signed a bill into law officially making the fourth Thursday in November the national holiday of Thanksgiving Day.
Dec. 2, 2001: On this day, the Enron Corporation files for bankruptcy, sparking one of the largest corporate scandals in U.S. history. An energy-trading company based in Houston, Enron was formed in 1985 as the merger of two gas companies, Houston Natural Gas and Internorth. In 2000, the company employed 21,000 people and posted revenue of $111 billion. Over the next year, however, Enron’s stock price began a dramatic slide, dropping from $90.75 in August 2000 to $0.26 by closing on November 30, 2001. As prices fell, chairman and CEO Kenneth Lay sold large amounts of his Enron stock, while simultaneously encouraging Enron employees to buy more shares and assuring them that the company was on the rebound. In July 2004, a Houston court indicted Skilling on 35 counts including fraud, conspiracy and insider trading. Lay was charged with 11 similar crimes and died from a heart disease two months later.
Dec. 8, 1980: John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, is shot and killed by an obsessed fan in New York City. The 40-year-old artist was entering his luxury Manhattan apartment building when Mark David Chapman shot him four times. Lennon, bleeding profusely, was rushed to the hospital but died en route. Chapman had received an autograph from Lennon earlier in the day and voluntarily remained at the scene of the shooting until he was arrested by police. Lennon was considered the intellectual Beatle and certainly was the most outspoken of the four. John Lennon is memorialized in “Strawberry Fields,” a section of Central Park across the street from the Dakota that Yoko Ono landscaped in honor of her husband.
Dec. 12, 1915: Singer and actor Frank Sinatra is born in Hoboken, New Jersey. Sinatra became a popular screen actor, but after his vocal chords suffered damage in 1952 his career took a drastic downturn. His talent agency dropped him, and he had to plead for roles. For the paltry sum of $8,000, he agreed to play a supporting role in From Here to Eternity (1953)-for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He went on to receive an Oscar nomination for The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), for his portrayal of a drug addict. His career gained steam as he aged–his voice recovered and his songs became more popular than ever. His first marriage, to Nancy Barbato, produced three children, Nancy, Christina, and Frank Sinatra, Jr. He was later married to Ava Gardner, Mia Farrow, and Barbara Marx, widow of one of the Marx brothers. Sinatra died in 1998.

Information compiled from history.com by Sophie Baconnet, Arts & Life Editor

The Zac Brown Band will give a concert, “The beat goes on,” to benefit the Georgia Transplant Foundation.

Originally from Atlanta, the country music group released its first CD, Far from Einstyne, in 2004 and has given concerts all over the country since then. According to their myspace page, Zac Brown band performs southern rock, folk rock and country. Six musicians and singers are in the group whose leader is Zac Brown, a native from Dahlonega, Ga. Jimmy De Martini sings and plays violin, John Drskell Hokins plays Bass and sings, as well as Clay Cook who plays guitar, organ, mandolin and pedal steel. The two last group members are Coy Bowles who plays guitar and organ and Chris Fryar who plays the dryms.

The band plays upwards of 200 dates a year, has performed in more than 3,000 shows in their career and selling more than 30,000 CDs independently, according to their official Web site.

Zac Brown Band received four nominations for the 2009 CMA Awards including New Artist of the Year, as well as Song of the Year, Single of the Year, and Music Video of the Year for their Number One single, “Chicken Fried”.

On Thursday, November 12, Zac Brown band will give a charity concert at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta. The concert itself begins at 8 p.m., but there is a pre-party at the Plaza, between the James Brown Arena and The Bell Auditorium, from 5 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. The groups Fried Goat and The Ogeechee River Band will perform live music at the pre-party. Free admittance with donations at the door. As for the concert itself, the tickets’ price range from $27 to $32 to $37. All the money will benefit to the Georgia Transplant Foundation (GTF).

According to the Georgia transplant Web site, the GTF, founded in Atlanta in 1992, is a non-profit organization providing financial, educational and emotional support to transplant candidates, recipients, living donors and their families throughout the state of Georgia. Eighty four percent of all funds raised directly supports Georgia’s organ transplant community.

What: The Zac Brown Band gives a charity concert
Where: The Bell Auditorium in Augusta
When: Starting at 5 p.m. on Nov. 12
Cost: $27, $32 or $37.

Students with a GPA of 3.0 or more can now be financially rewarded under one condition. They must be University Village (UV) residents.

“We tried to increase the housing in UV,” said Pamela Lightsey, Campus Card Manager. “It’s a marketing point…UV’s apartments versus somebody else’s apartments.”

Dean Joyce Jones, the Office of Admissions and the Jagcard Office all helped to bring about the start of thei new program concept, known as the Resident Academy Award, during fall 2008.

“It’s an intent for (the students) to be a little bit more observant of their studies, instead of just living it up,” Lightsey said.

So far, over 200 awards have been given out.

“There were very little (awards given) in the summer because just a few students are there during summer break,” Lightsey said.

Students with a 3.0 to 3.65 GPA earn $100, and those with a 3.66 to 4.0 GPA earn $250. The money is directly credited to their Jagcard. According to Lightsey, the money can be spent anywhere on campus.

“If students get (the award) for this fall, the money will be put on their Jagcard in December, so they can use this money to buy books the following semester,” she said. “$100 to $250 definitely helps when it comes to books.”

Before the students actually get their money, there is a process to go through.

First, there is a report from the admissions office sent by Katherine Sweeney, registrar and director of admissions. Then, the Registrar’s Office goes to Dean Jones’ office to verify if the eligible students are still U.V residents. After that, the Financial Aid Office reviews the report to check to see if a student has any other conflicting financial aid. In some cases, there may be a conflict between a student’s existing scholarships and financial aid that may cause the Residency Academic Award to reduce there existing benefits. According to Lightsey, the students can either decline or accept the award based on their current financial aid standings. If they do accept the award, their existing scholarship will decrease by whatever amount they received.

“Some students might be in jeopardy of losing their other type of aid,” Lightsey said. “It concerns 1 to 2% of the eligible students.”

This is the type of situation that Savannah Sutton, a sophomore biology major, recently experienced. Last year, Sutton had a GPA superior to 3.00 and lived at UV. However, she said she couldn’t get the award because she was told that she would lose her HOPE scholarship if she accepted the award.

In most cases, the financial aid office will verify that everything is in order, then the business office makes sure that there are not any holds on the students’ balance. Once everything has been checked and clarified, Lightsey said she receives a list with the names of the students who will be the recipients of the financial award.

“Students receive an email stating that they received money on their Jagcard,” Lightsey said. “This fall, UV is at its full capacity, and students have been talking about the awards. There is a great possibility for more awards this semester.”

A lack of equipment and participation were the main causes for the failure of Jag TV.

“Lots of people were exited in the beginning, but once they found out the amount of work and how demanding it was, they didn’t keep up,” said Samantha Taylor, a senior communication major and former student assistant/producer of Jag TV.

In fact, Taylor said that 80 people signed up to be part of the project. Shortly before the end, barely 20 students remained.

“Most of the students involved didn’t have any background in editing. They got kind of frustrated and dropped out. If you’re not passionate, there is no way you can do it,” Taylor said.

Tyler Stone, a junior criminal justice major, was one of the students involved in Jag TV. He was an editor and the director of photography.

“We couldn’t get any help from the participants or the PR department,” Stone said. “There were just Sam and me behind the camera, really. These in front of the camera wouldn’t commit. People don’t realize how much work it is.”

Danielle Harris, media specialist, said Jag TV is not done for good. Along with Taylor and Stone, she said the equipment problems and the fact that most of the students could not edit were the major issues.

“There are lots of things we didn’t foresee,” said Harris. “Before we start again, we want to make sure that we have the knowledge…We want to make sure that students will take it seriously, too.”

According to Taylor, the server would not hold the amount of information students wanted to send.

“Some days, I was watching TV in the Jaguar Activity Center and it was completely black because it was overloaded,” Taylor said.

Both Taylor and Stone agreed to say that there are very disappointed with the end of Jag TV.

“I had high hopes that it would work very well,” Taylor said.

Taylor actually resigned from her position one week before Jag TV stopped running, she explained.

“The people who did stay on worked extremely hard,” she said. “Even during final weeks, they still struggled to make it work.”

Stone said he would sign up for a new project if it happened again.

“Sam and I had lots of fun filming Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), all their training, rifle on the range” he said. “We witnessed survival techniques, and I almost fell off the diving board while I was filming. I had lots of fun and enjoyed it.”

Overall, Jag TV ran from the end of Spring 2009 to the very beginning of Fall 2009.

“It could happen again, but it’s going to take dedicated people to know you’ll have to make sacrifices,” Stone said.

Oct. 27, 1904: That afternoon, New York City Mayor George McClellan takes the control of the inaugural run of the city’s innovative new rapid transit system: the subway. Although London has the world’s oldest underground train network (opened in 1863) and Boston built the first subway in the United States in 1897, the New York City subway soon became the largest American system. At 7 p.m. that evening, the subway opened to the general public, and more than 100,000 people paid a nickel each to take their first ride under Manhattan.

Oct. 31, 1892: On this day, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Arthur Conan Doyle, is published. The book was the first collection of Holmes stories, which Conan Doyle had been publishing in magazines since 1887. Conan Doyle was born in Scotland and studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, where he met Dr. Joseph Bell, a teacher with extraordinary deductive power. Bell partly inspired Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes years later.

Nov. 1st, 1512: The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome, one of Italian artist Michelangelo’s finest works, is exhibited to the public for the first time. Michelangelo grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist’s apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. Michelangelo’s epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works.

Nov. 9th, 1938: German Nazis launch a campaign of terror against Jewish people and their homes and businesses in Germany and Austria. The violence, which continued through November 10 and was later dubbed “Kristallnacht,” or “Night of Broken Glass,” after the countless smashed windows of Jewish-owned establishments, left approximately 100 Jews dead, 7,500 Jewish businesses damaged and hundreds of synagogues, homes, schools and graveyards vandalized. An estimated 30,000 Jewish men were arrested, many of whom were then sent to concentration camps for several months; they were released when they promised to leave Germany. Kristallnacht represented a dramatic escalation of the campaign started by Adolf Hitler in 1933 when he became chancellor to purge Germany of its Jewish population.

Information compiled from history.com by Sophie Baconnet, Arts & Life Editor

At first, his accent is barely noticeable. After a few minutes though, it becomes obvious that Hauke Busch, assistant professor of physics, is from a foreign country.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Busch came to the U.S. in the early ’80s as a highschool exchange student in a one-year exchange program.

At the end of his first year, though, Bush went to Gonzaga University, Wash., as an undergrad student and never really went back to his native country.

“Sometimes, I didn’t go back for several years,” Busch said. “I don’t usually go back more than once a year.”

As a scientist, Busch is obviously very concerned by climate change. In fact, it is one of the main parts of the program he created for one of his classes, physical science environment. Examples of the topics discussed in the program include how to recycle and what people can do as individuals to help slow down climate change.

“From my background (engineering), I’m interested in renewable energy,” Busch said. “All the technologies are available, and we have scientists who know all about it. You can look at other communities, see what went right and wrong (and)learn from the mistakes. Everything ‘going green’ is usually very profitable.”

However, Busch agrees by saying that too much time has been lost.

“It wouldn’t be a big deal to recycle all the sudden, here,” Busch said. “They have the infrastructures. We don’t need studies or anything. We know pretty much everything to do at this point.”

Busch has been teaching at Augusta State for only five years. After he earned a doctorate degree in mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Busch said he worked in the aerospace industry for a little bit.

“Then, I was an intelligent officer in the Navy,” Busch added.

In 2005, Busch obtained a second Ph.D. from Old Dominion University, VA., this time in physics, and came to Augusta State in 2005. Teaching was far to be a new task for him, though. In grad school, Busch said he accumulated nearly 10 years of teaching as a grad student.

“Everybody is a teacher in our family,” he said. “My wife is an elementary school teacher at North Harlem in Columbia County. The whole family is educated, I guess.”

As for his children, they are perfectly fluent in German and English.

“For kids, especially, it’s so easy to learn (foreign languages). They don’t even know,” he said. “My wife understands German but she doesn’t really speak.”

Next time he’ll be back in Germany, his children will hang out and catch up with their cousins. In German, of course.

An unfortunate thing happened on the afternoon of October the 6th.

The Mini Race for the Cure of Breast Cancer was to be held then at 4 p.m., starting at the water fountain near the entrance of the school, and going all the way around the school on the history walk.

The event was sponsored by the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, who planned a weeklong series of events to raise money to donate to breast cancer associations. Mary Teeters, biology major and fundraising chairman of ZTA, said they were hoping to get students as well as non students to participate in the event, putting up fliers around the school and local hospitals and other places.

However, there was hardly anyone at the starting point once it was time to get the race going.
“Some students who wanted to participate said they were too bogged down by midterms,” Teeters said.

Non-students were most likely turned off by the weather conditions that day. It was so dark and cloudy that day that it was safe to assume that it was going to rain hard at any minute.

With too little racers and poor weather conditions, everyone packed their things and the race was eventually cancelled.

Teeters said that there are plans to hold a mini race next year and that she hopes next year will be more successful. One can only hope.

Thursday’s Basketball Hoops for Hope

At 7 p.m. in the Christenberry Fieldhouse, the Zeta Tau Alpha held the Hoops for Hope basketball games, in which 12 teams played a total of four rounds.

The first round, called Round Robin, had different teams playing their own games at four individual basketball hoops. Each game was refereed by a member of the ZTA, and whatever team won their match would advance to the next round.

The games would eventually conclude with two teams facing off against each other for a giant basket of prizes donated from different places. The games concluded with a tie game between the final teams.

It was a pretty eventful evening, especially in the first hour, when everything seemed to be happening all at once. We had one game in which two basketballs were used, another in which one player sat on the shoulders of another player to score a point, and a few instances where a couple of the players jumped into different games.

The other rounds, save for the big finale, seemed to move at lightning speed. There may have been 12 teams in the beginning, but after the first round, the number of teams seemed to grow smaller and smaller in the blink of an eye.

It was hard to keep up during the first round, although there were a number of wonderful instances during that time, as when some of the ZTA’s faced off against the male basketball players and were kicking butt. Some were shooting out three-pointers better than the guys.

Of course, they were tackling and pulling the other shirts of the players, and committing all sorts of other fouls, although the other team seemed to be having too much fun to care.

And that seemed to be the main thing: Students coming together and having a good time.

Oktoberfest

Traditionally a German celebration, Oktoberfest is celebrated in Augusta, too.

Fort Gordon is hosting the Fall Flea Market on October 17 from 9 a.m. to noon on Barton Field. Dancing and samples of German food are part of the program. For those of you who are over 21 years old, wine and beer will be served, as well.

Villa Europa welcomes the Alpine Duo and Jaegerettes daily from October 11 to October 15. Call 706-798-6211 to make a reservation for a table.

3044 Deans Bridge Road, Augusta, 30906

Halloween

Only 19 days before the much expected celebration of Halloween. Here are some useful addresses to go and find the most original costume.

Costumes By Michelle. Michelle Hattman opened her store in the beginning of summer 2008. Her costumes are both hand-made and imported from other stores.

1125 Broad Street. (706) 364 0174

Vintage Ooollee.

1121 Broad Street. (706) 724 4508

www.facebook.com/pages/Vintage-Ooollee

Party City. From party supplies to Halloween costumes, Party City offers thousands of costumes starting at $9.99. To have an overlook of their collection, please go visit their website.

249 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Pkway. (706) 738 8600

www.partycity.com

buycostumes.com. On this online address, you can sort you research by popularity, low price or top rated costumes.

October 13, 1792: The cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly capital city of Washington. In 1800, President John Adams became the first president to reside in the mansion, eventually known as the “White House.”

October 14, 1964: Rev. Martin Luther King is awarded of the Nobel Peace Prize for his nonviolent opposition to racial prejudice in the United States. At 35 years old, King was the youngest person to receive this award.

October 17, 1931: Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years in jail. On the top of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list, Capone was eventually arrested by federal agent Elliot Ness and his team known as “the untouchables” because they could not be corrupted.

October 20, 1973: Sydney Opera House opens after 15 years of construction. Famous for its geometric roof, it offers an average of 3,000 events a year to approximately two million people.

October 22, 1962: In a televised speech, President John F. Kennedy declares that U.S spy planes have discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba. Six days later, after tense negotiations, Soviet president Nikita Khrushchev announced his intent to dismantle and remove all offensive Soviet weapons in Cuba.

October 26, 1984: A baboon heart is transplanted on a 14 day-old girl in California. The infant, known as “Baby Fae,” was born with the left part of her heart missing, a deformity that is almost fatal. However, the infant’s body rejected the heart and after holding on the baboon heart for 20 days, the little girl eventually died.

For more ad ay in history, please visit www.history.com/this-day-in-history