Stories


Local produce serves health with authenticity

By Emily Hoover | ehoover@flagler.edu
Photo by Robert Heinrich

Sometimes I think I’m really paranoid. Sometimes I get the fear when I walk into a grocery store, such a deep fear from within, that I want to run back to my car, as if someone is chasing me with a blunt object.

It’s not about the sensory overload I experience when my eyes finally adjust to all the artificial lights and I observe consumers scrambling through the aisles, looking for sales, just waiting for the exchange of currency for nutrients. It’s not about budgeting, since I now live with my boyfriend and our combined income makes good food easier to afford.

The fact is: I can’t buy bagels without staring intently at the back of the package, looking for chemicals and preservatives. I can always locate xantham gum and high fructose corn syrup—oftentimes a combination of both—especially in food marked “All Natural” and “No Preservatives.” So I find myself putting products back on the crammed shelves, hunting for something not just certifiably organic, but really organic.


SGA announcements

By Joshua Santos | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The Student Government Association meets every Tuesday at 9 PM in the Koger-Gamache Theater in the Ringhaver Student Center.

Club Considerations:

• The Chess Club, led by Junior Evan Gardiner, was unanimously approved after a short deliberation. The special interest club aims to teach beginners while providing a place for experienced players to enjoy a nice game of chess.


Proposal requiring attendance at campus events in the works for fall

By Tiffanie Reynolds | gargoyle@flagler.edu

This fall, students may be filling more seats in campus events. But, it’s not because they want to, it’s because they will be required.

The co-curricular requirement is the latest proposal of the academic strategic plan to be evaluated and voted on by the faculty senate. In the last meeting, which occurred on Jan. 11, the senate voted for it to be considered in this year’s institution budget.

A committee still needs to be formed to work out details of this proposal, but, when passed, it will require incoming freshmen to attend a certain number of campus events in order to graduate.


The job market sucks and apparently so do I

By Josh Santos | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Winter break is a time for students to relax from the hectic school year — to visit their families and work. But I wasn’t able to accomplish any of these this break and especially not the work part.

Instead, I spent this past Christmas in a home that was rotting from the inside out, 300 hundred miles away from my family, all while searching for a job to support myself.

My first mistake was assuming it would be easy.


‘Happy’ as we choose to be

By Sarah Williamson | gargoyle@flagler.edu

The St. Augustine Film Festival brought us to our “happy” place this past weekend with a film by Roko Belic. “Happy” is an award-winning documentary that brings its audience around the world, trying to figure out the answer to what makes us humans happy.

The idea for this feel good film came from director Tom Shadyac (“Bruce Almighty,” “Liar, Liar”). He became interested in the science of happiness after reading an article in The New York Times about Americans being unhappy, regardless of their wealth. While sitting in his mansion somewhere outside of L.A., he got in contact with Belic and told him his idea for a documentary.

What a great idea it turned out to be.


Pro-life march a success, yet some business owners still caught off guard

By {Amber James} | gargoyle@flagler.edu

About 2,000 people made a stand against abortion on Saturday, walking a mile through downtown for the March for Life St Augustine. But one woman marched in her own way.

Barbara Trost sat comfortably in her wheelchair, overlooking the countless children playing on the Mission de Nombre’s grounds and the crowd that had gathered to hear speakers talk about the pro-life movement. The 77-year old Christian faithfully held a sign in her lap that read, “Abortion kills 8,000 babies every year in Jacksonville.”


2012: Time to Start Anew

With the beginning of 2012 underway, it may feel overwhelming trying to get your new year in order. Have you ever wondered what makes a resolution stick? Having trouble deciding what to keep on that resume of yours?

Here are a few tips to start your 2012 in the right direction:



Scenes from the MLK Day Parade in Jacksonville

By Sarah Williamson | gargoyle@flagler.edu

On this day, Martin Luther King Jr. would have celebrated his 83rd birthday. The city of Jacksonville celebrated it as school groups and organizations lined the streets with performances, costumes and signs covered with King’s most monumental quotes. There was both emotion and excitement running through the crowd as his dream continues to spread. Jacksonville’s first African American Mayor, Alvin Brown, was amongst them.