BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
Volume 93 I Number ?
Samford alumnae
of Little Big Town
return to perform
Sloan Schmidtke
The Samford Crimson
Members of the country music
group Little Big Town are returning to
their college roots for the Homecom¬
ing concert this Saturday night.
Karen Fairchild and Kimberly
Roads, both Samford alumnae,
sought out Samford’s SGA
expressing interest to perform a
concert for Samford students, Niki
Chapman, senior elementary edu¬
cation major and Homecoming
Student Activities Council mem¬
ber, said.
The Student Activities Council has
been working closely with Universi¬
ty Relations since January to co¬
sponsor this event, and their job was
made easier since the band was
already interested in coming.
Fairchild and Roads met at
Samford in 1987 when Roads was
going through recruitment in the
fall. Fairchild was an Alpha Delta
Pi and talked to Roads at one of
the recruitment parties.
Roads later joined the sorority
Phi Mu. Both girls were members
of Samford’s A Cappella Choir
and Samford Singers.
“We started singing together at
Samford, and we are now celebrat¬
ing 20 years of friendship this
year,” Roads said.
“I just have an all-around great
memory of the whole choir experi¬
ence. That was pretty much my
family at Samford. We traveled all
over the South and even to Europe
The friends I made out of those
groups, including Karen, have last¬
ed a really long time,” Roads said.
Roads was a music major at
Samford and said she has always
wanted to pursue a career in
music, She said she had no idea
that the process would take so long
and require so much work.
“If I had been able to look into
the future, I would have been
shocked to find myself where I am
today,” Roads said.
Roads’ dreams came true a few
years after she graduated Samford
when she and Fairchild reconnect¬
ed and collaborated with Phillip
Sweet and Jimi Westbrook in 1998
to form Little Big Town.
The band has earned numerous
honors such as being voted one of
the top Country Music Association
and Academy of Country Music top
vocal groups of 2006 and 2007,
CMT Music Video awards, a Gram-
my-award winning album for “The
Road to Here” and the 2006 Gram¬
my for Best Country Performance
by a Duo for “Boondocks.”
Roads encourages Samford
students to strive hard to achieve
their dreams.
“If you have a dream, you fol¬
low through. You don’t give up
and don’t listen to naysayers. You
put your head down and forge
ahead and work very, very hard,
because if you believe in your¬
self, you can make it happen,”
Roads said.
Roads credits her success and
Country music band Little Big Town will perform this
Saturday evening in the Pete Hanna Arena.
nanna uenter nosts first
events for Homecoming
Ben Hankins
The Samford Crimson
Samford University unveils one
of the most notable buildings in its
history this week.
The Pete Hanna Center opens,
and the arena will be the host of
many more Homecoming festivities
before the weekend draws to a
dose.
While the multi-purpose facili¬
ty will be functional for all Home¬
coming events, many of the
amenities that will be offered to
students are yet to be completed.
University officials said they
expect the center to officially open
sometime in early November. The
center will include a fitness and
wellness center and an intercolle¬
giate athletic workout facility.
Even though many students are
aware of everything that the
Hanna Center will have to offer,
most remained uninformed about
who Pete Hanna really is. Hanna,
the CEO and principal shareholder
of Hanna Steel Corporation, is a
strong supporter of Samford.
“Samford nms through my life like
a thread; I can’t explain it,” Hanna
said.
Hanna attended Howard College
East Lake
move to
Hanna was active while attend-
Walter Isaacson’s speech is the first event to be held inside the new Pete Hanna Center. The
arena is named in honor of Thomas and Marla Courts and seats up to 6,000 people.
mg Howard College. The former
business major played on the 1955,
1956 and 1958 football teams and
Kappa Phi.
said that the football team
same as it
and prac-
campus and
played at what is now known as Seib¬
ert Stadium.
“We were really understaffed
financially,” Hanna said.
Hanna transferred to the Univer¬
sity of Alabama in the fall of 1960.
he did hot make
that decision on his own.
“My father wanted me to get a
degree from Alabama or Auburn
because he thought it would be
more prestigious. Back then, it
meant a lot more,” he said.
When Hanna looks back at that
decision today and compares the two
schools, he said that now he would
choose Samford in a heartbeat.
See
НАННА,
page 2
Isaacson brings Einstein to SU
Caroline May
The Samford Crimson
Walter Isaacson, the 2007 speaker for the J.
Roderick Davis Lecture series, made Samford
history last night when he gave a lecture in the
Pete Hanna Center. The lecture was the inau¬
gural event of the newly constructed building.
Samford sponsors the annual Davis Lecture
series in honor of English Professor J. Roderick
Davis, who graduated from Howard College in
1958 and returned in 1990 as the dean of Sam¬
ford’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences.
He brought with him a love of knowledge and
a vision for Samford’s academic future, and
since Davis’ retirement as dean in 2001, the
lecture series has chosen speakers, such as
Isaacson, who reflect his enthusiasm for arts
and sciences.
During the lecture, Isaacson spoke about his
best-selling biography “Einstein: His Life and
Universe.”
“I wrote this book so people who aren’t sci¬
entists could see the imagination, creativity and
beauty of science," Isaacson said.
Isaacson welcomed students in a one-on-one
session before his lecture Thursday night.
“He was very personable and gave us a
chance to ask questions,” Jordan Jones, junior
history major and audience member, said. “He
gave his thoughts about how our generation
needs to be more creative about political poli¬
cy.”
Jones was one of many Samford students
who took advantage of having a best-selling
author on campus.
“I was kind of intimidated at first, but he was
really interested in our thoughts and very com¬
plimentary of Samford. How often do you get
to sit around a table and speak with a best-sell¬
ing author?” Jones said.
Although Isaacson’s lecture focused on the
life and successes of Albert Einstein, his own
successes go beyond his best-selling biography.
Isaacson holds degrees from both Harvard
University and Oxford University, where he
was a Rhodes Scholar. After graduating form
Oxford, he began work for the “Sunday Tunes
of London” only to later join the staff of
‘Time” to work as a political correspondent. In
1996, he became the managing editor of
“Time.” His leadership skills paid off when he
was offered the title of Chairman and CEO of
CNN in 2001.
Isaacson also focused on improving society;
he serves as the vice-chairman of the Louisiana
Recovery Authority and chairman of the board
for Teach for America. He also serves on the
board of directors of the National Constitution
Center, Tulane University and United Airlines.
In his spare time, Isaacson wrote three best¬
selling biographies: “Benjamin Franklin: An
American Life,” “Kissinger: A Biography," and
“Einstein: His Life and Universe.”
In his lecture, as well as in his book, Isaac¬
son discussed the qualities that made Einstein
one of the greatest minds of his and our time.
“(Einstein) was a rebel; he questioned
authority and had a persistent curiosity,” Isaac¬
son said.
Isaacson also stressed the importance of
imaginatioh, creativity and visual thought. He
brought to light a side of Einstein that many
had never seen before.
See ISAACSON , page 2
Gallery exhibit displays controversial art
Britney Almaguer
The Samford Crimson
Safe sex, racism and AIDS are not issues commonly discussed around
Samford’s campus. This month’s art exhibit, however, places such issues
front and center. Throughout the month of October, the Samford Art
Gallery is displaying work by local artist Beverly B. Erdreich.
Her art focuses on many of the controversial topics typically avoided
in Samford’s society. The manner in which Erdreich presents the topics
is unique in itself.
While in the past Erdreich has primarily focused on abstrjjpt painting,
her current work consists of metaphor boxes with accompanying drawings
and paintings. The paintings and drawings concentrate on the same topic
as the boxes. The metaphor boxes are created out of something as common
as a cigar box and result in an intricate artistic form of expression.
“My intent was to have the outside rather benign to lure the viewer and
tease them to investigate the interior,” Erdreich said in a handout provid¬
ed at the exhibit.
Samford Art Gallery Director Robin Snyder invited Erdreich to share
her work at Samford as a way of “trying to push the edge a little to get
students to just think and look. It’s very intellectually engaging the way
she presents the topics,” Snyder said.
One example of a piece that can be found in the gallery is titled “Puri-
Editorial (205) 726-2998 I Business (205)
ty,” which targets the histoiy of the Jewish Holocaust. Inside the box is a
Nazi swastika formed by empty bullets and surrounded by broken pieces
of crystal jutting upward.
The back of the lid 'shows the number “6,000,000” representing the
number of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust.
The drawing that accompanies this box also reflects the same number
but inside a Nazi symbol. The intricacy of the pieces reveal that every com¬
ponent was well thought out and researched before completion.
The Holocaust is jus*, ooe of the many emotional heavy issues. Because
the topics are weighty, researching each one took a lot of work physical¬
ly and emotionally. “There were times where she would get very
depressed for a couple of days after doing the research,” Snyder said.
One student said that she is excited that this type of exhibit has made
its way to Samford. “She isn’t afraid to go after controversy ” junior inte¬
rior design major Ryan Posniak said. ‘To have this at Samford is great.
She presents a lot of things people should be talking about and aren’t.”
Synder agrees; “The exhibit has been very well received. We’ve had
n area and all around the South-
' she said. “Her work makes you stare and think about issues
you’d rather not
Erdreich ’s artwork hajlgrown in popularity over the years. She has
i as well as the Birmingham Muse-
i of Art and several other museums around the city.
fflHBi
Andrew Westover I The .Samford Crimson
Sophomore theatre and religion major Bob Miley observes
Erdreich’s piece titled ‘Pandora Box Drawing.*
The art exhibit will continue to be displayed in the Samford Alt
Gallery until Oct. 31 and viewing is available Monday-Friday, 9 am. to
4 pm. _ '■>
Send story ideas to crimson@samford.edu.
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