UM Students Hope for a Bright Future

Story by: Jordan Ashley Fore

The University of Montevallo has spent weeks preparing for this year's presidential election. The SGA hosted Stroll to the Polls November 8th in hopes to get as many students out and voting as possible.

SGA President Hunter Huie encourages students to
"follow him" to the polls to vote.

The Minority Student Union also hosted an event later that evening. The watch party was a big hit. A lot of students came together to see how the election would pan out. 

After the election results were in the reactions of the students ranged across the spectrum. Many were shocked, confused, and upset and others were happy, surprised, and excited.

Alex Belli, Junior Theatre Major 

Alex Belli, Junior Theatre Major, was not among the pleased. "I feel pretty upset about it to be honest."

But, above all, the students here at the university have high hopes for the future. 

Paul Mahaffey, Senior President of
Minority Student Union

"Hopefully, who ever is elected can run this country great." Paul Mahaffey, Senior President of Minority Student Union.

Women's XC Three Peat

By Wyatt Hall


The Montevallo Women's Cross Country team hosted the NCAA Division 11 Regional cross Country Championships last Saturday for the second year in a row. A win this year for the team would give the UM Women three Regional championships in a row. Something no team at Montevallo has ever done.

Heading in to the race the Falcons were clear favorites but were feeling pressure by Queens University. In September Montevallo hosted the Falcon classic in which Queens won by more than ten points. "We were aiming to defeat Queens in this race and new it would be tough" said Coach Tommy Barksdale who is in his fourth year.

Even with Queens posting a fourth, fifth and sixth place finish it still was not enough to beat the falcons. Montevallo had all five of their runners inside the top fourteen including two of the top three. Senior Cheyenne Thompson came in second just ahead of Junior Katie Nelson in third. Senior Anna Leihnheiser rounded out the top ten for the falcons with a ninth place finish.

Two more seniors on the team Catherine Terrino anf Natalie Shoemaker finished thirteenh and fourteenth respectively.

Montevallo posted a score of 41 to edge out Queens by six points.

The Falcons completed the Three-peat. "It's exciting to make history" says Coach Barksdale as the Montevallo women became the first three champuonhsip team for Montevallo.

Nationals is up next for the Falcons and they are hoping for a top 15 finish after a top 20 finish last year. "I haven't always run that well at nationals but this year im running for that all American spot anf top 15 for my team" stated senior Cheyenne Thompson.

Nationals will take place Novemeber 19th at Saint Leo University.

Health Effects of Stress

By: Hope Finley

Everyone experiences stress or anxiety at one time or another. These experiences are the body’s natural reaction to a threat in a situation. While most people often deal with stress, too much can have a negative impact on the body.

Dr. JD Shugrue

Leaving home, feeling the pressure of balancing school, work and a social life, high costs of college and upcoming final exams, its no wonder college students are highly stressed.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that 80% of college students say they frequently or sometimes experience stress daily.

Dr. JD Shugrue from the UAB Medical West says stress, whether it be acute or chronic, can impact the body in a number of ways. “Acute stress can actually exacerbate certain other chronic conditions, it can cause us to have heart attacks, it can cause us to go into an asthma exacerbation.”

 Dr. Shugrue says the studies are not completely conclusive to say they cause certain illnesses, but chronic stress can worsen current illnesses. Heart disease, anxiety, depression, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma are just a few of the illnesses that can worsen with the addition of stress.

"Most Stressful Factors for College Students"
courtesy of: http://www.kon.org/urc/v9/britz.html

Experts saying physical activity is a proven way to de-stress.

Along with physical activity, focusing on achievements rather than failures, and finding time for yourself and doing something you enjoy helps calm stress.

For more information, check out this fact sheet about the different types of stress, their effects, and management click here.

Producing a Newscast: A Behind the Scenes Look

Story by: Cory Graffeo

When it comes to the news, many people watch but they may not know everything that anchors, reporters and production crews do behind the scenes to get the show on television. There is way more that goes into making a newscast than just turning on a camera.

At the University of Montevallo, two classes work together to complete tasks that make the newscast a success. Without the help of everyone, the show would not be able to be finished.

There are several jobs assigned to both classes. MC 333 works on writing the stories, and also makes up the on air talent, while MC 411 does more of the behind the scenes work such as operate the teleprompter and tape playback.

Fall 2016 Falcon Weekly Crew

The on air crew gets to class at a couple of hours before the behind the scenes crew to make sure all of the video is ready to go. Once MC 411 gets in, both classes come together for a meeting so that everyone is on the same page.

When the meeting is finished everyone completes their jobs and prepares to start the show. The plan is to start the show at 4:00 PM, so that class can finish on time. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

After the show is finished, both classes debrief in  the studio with Mr. Pruitt and Dr. Finklea to talk about what went well and what went wrong. A few hours later, the newscast is posted to the Facebook page for everyone to see.

Falcon Weekly covers national and campus headlines mixed with sports and trending stories to keep students informed on what matters most.

Environmental Club Camps out on Campus

by Danielle Stallworth

Members of E-Club pitch a tent on Main Quad.

On Thursday, UM's Environmental Club (or E-Club) hosted "Campus Campout", an event where students could come and learn about the importance of leaving "no trace" after camping as well as participate in camping demonstrations.

E-Club distributed camping checklists. Items on the list include a water purification system, a whistle, a fixed blade knife, a sleeping bag and a tent. Students were then able to try pitching their own tent with some help from more experienced E-Club members.


While the event offered fun activities, it was also a chance for students to learn about all that E-Club does for the Montevallo community, and also to learn about the importance of environmental voting.

Students customize their own trail mix.

Savannah Thompson, UM's campus coordinator for the Environmental Voter Project, handed out voting pledges to attendees.

"We're actually non-partisan so we don't tell people which candidates to vote for," Thompson said. "We just want people to think about environmental issues and kind of do the research themselves and vote with environmental issues in mind."


Campus Campout's most popular attraction was, of course, the trail mix bar. Students enjoyed customizing their own ingredients and learning about how each one was beneficial to their health.

Marissa Pang, the president of E-Club, says that students have more events to look forward to in the spring semester, including Earth Week. Earth Week is a week-long event where E-Club holds a small event each day, and an Earth festival at the end.

To keep up with E-Club and their future events, click here to like them on Facebook.

By Charmella Williams




For ages, masculinity has been defined in terms of brawn over brains, sheer aggression and no emotion, and of course, getting the girl. Well, speaker and activist Jeffrey Bucholtz, Director of We End Violence, challenged those social norms that he deems unacceptable.

On October 24, UM hosted "Man Up", an in-depth cultural analysis of masculinity representations in
pop culture. From movies to music and advertising, Bucholtz deconstructed society's version of masculinity one trait at a time, rebelling against unhealthy social standards.

During his presentation, he quoted famous feminist Gloria Steinem: "We've begun to raise our daughters more like sons...but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters." With this, Bucholtz implied that in this culture, all things "feminine"--nurturing, loving, understanding, emotional intelligence--are villified and considered weak, and not manly.

"If we keep making feminine things sound bad," asserted Bucholtz, "if we keep making the feminine unhealthy or wrong, broken, weak or soft, then men are kind of S.O.L. We're in trouble because there's no way for us to connect with these positive things."

Bucholtz has provided hundreds of presentations on the topics of sexual violence, masculinity, violence prevention, and popular culture. to learn more about his organization, We End Violence, visit their website.

UM Chi Omega's Owl-O-Week 5K and 1 Mile Race

By John Wilson 

One of Montevallo’s sororities brought together the community for a hauntingly good  cause last week.

Chi Omega Sorority hosted its fourth annual Color Run, benefiting the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Alabama. Since this year fell so close to Halloween, they decided that a Owl-o-Ween themed 5K would only be appropriate.

For a small fee, participants could enter in a 5K or 1 mile race individually or in a group. Along with the race, the Chi Omegas provided concessions, games and door prizes throughout the even to further benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

The sorority also sold bracelets made by “Threads of Hope” to raise money for families in the Philippines. Each bracelet is handmade by women and children living in poverty. Half of the proceeds went to both organizations, according to Chi Omega Philanthropy Chair, Haley Barnett.

To encourage student participation, the sorority reached out to Greek and other student organizations by promoting a friendly competition to see who could raise the most money.

 The winner would receive a stipend towards a charity of their choice. “That adds a little bit of a competitive edge to the program. This week has been the busiest part, getting everything put together and it’s come together really nicely,” said Barnett.

Though organizing an event like this was far from easy, the sorority members enjoyed being able to give back in such a fun way. 

“Right now, it’s been kind of stressful. We got up super early before the sun even came out, which wasn’t fun but it was totally worth it for the cause I’m doing it for. Make-a-Wish is one of my favorite organizations so I’m just really glad that we’re able to raise money for it,” said sorority member Danielle Ashman.

Click here for more information about the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Alabama.