The Cult of Beauty in Ancient Greece and Modern Media

April 2016 Free Copy

Baccalaureat Celebration Revamped...pg 2

Thetas Tackle Spring Cleaning.............pg 2

ABU Presents Spring Musical:Mame......................................................pg 3

Places to Visit in West Virginia...............pg 3

Safety on Campus..................................pg 3

The Life of a Track and Field Runner....pg 5

Yonge Named Player of the Week.........pg 6

Women’s Lacrosse Makes Program His-tory..........................................................pg 6

INSIDE NEWS:

President Barry Addresses University Changes as ‘Tough Love’EMILY PORTER

BATTLER COLUMNS REPORTER

Interim President of Alderson Broad-dus University, Tim Barry, finds communi-cation to be important, and students of ABUwant that communication now more thanever.

Recent changes in the universityhave left students weary about the future ofABU. With over $36 million in debt, admin-istrative changes and now, a 5% increasein tuition, the small, liberal arts institution isfacing many hardships.

But in an open forum held Wednes-day April 6th, Barry assured students thatmany small colleges are going through thesame kind of problems.

“The only way we will make it is if wesacrifice. Hand in hand. In concert with oneanother. I’m still here, and I’m delighted tobe here. We can work through this. I would-n’t have come here if I didn’t believe that,”he said.

Currently, the university is in negoti-ations to pay back a $36 million debt. ABUfailed to make its last payment, so now ad-ministration must come up with a 5-yearbudget plan. In this plan, assumptionsabout the future of the university are goingto have to be made. According to Barry, partof these assumptions are yet another raisein tuition.

“It is hard to predict the future. Overthe next five years though, I do expect tu-ition to rise again. Students should expectthat, too. We have to get back some of themoney that was frozen in previous years,”he said.

Barry continued to tell students thatmany small, liberal arts colleges, and evenlarger universities, are dealing with thesame issues. He believes, however, thatstudents at ABU have not suffered due tothe university’s financial burdens.

“We are going to be dealing with se-rious issues soon that everyone is going toencounter. Faculty and staff haven’t hadraises for a number of years, and they arestill teaching. We are going to make toughdecisions on resources and budgets forthat. Alumnus are being asked to give. Stu-dents have to do their part, too. It’s toughlove.” The tuition increase beginning in the fall of2016 will primarily cover operating costs ofthe university and according to Barry, willease the tension on the financial side of thecollege.

“Don’t forget the friends, staff, andfaculty we have here. we’re in a wonderfulplace. It’s not perfect. It’s not imperfect. Butwe’re in a good place,” Barry said.

The Cult of Beauty in Ancient Greece and Modern Media

Western civilization as weknow it can thank ancient Greekculture for its many contributions.Innovations from the ancientGreeks have shaped contempo-rary government, medicine, finearts, sports, and philosophiesand have profoundly impactedmodern-day living. Perhaps oneof the Greeks’ most complex, yetoverlooked contribution was theconception, understanding, andevaluation of beauty. Beauty,which has traditionally beencounted among the ultimate val-ues of goodness, truth, and jus-tice, is one of the most enduringand controversial themes inWestern philosophy (Sartwell).The nature of beauty, andwhether it is an objective or sub-jective concept, is heavily de-bated as a fundamental issue inphilosophical aesthetics.

While it is often said thatbeauty is in the eye of the be-holder, the concept of beautycan be defined through bothmodern day beauty standardsand the public perception ofbeauty gained through themedia. But, how does the an-cient Greek attitude towardsbeauty compare to contempo-rary idolization of beauty in pop-ular culture? Through extensiveresearch, it is evident that theancient Greek stance on beautyis very similar to the contempo-rary idolization of beauty as pro-pelled by the media. The ancientGreek fascination with beauty ismirrored in the cult of beauty inmodern day society and is evi-

dent through the rigid beautystandards conveyed to the publicthrough mass media.

The Greek word for beau-tiful is kalos. This term refers toa very general value that canalso be used to describe what ismorally good. According to au-thor Ruth Lorand, “The ancientGreeks ascribed beauty to thingsthat are morally good, appropri-ate, and pleasing, be they natu-ral objects or artifacts, tangibleand concrete or abstract, per-sonal deeds, or social institu-tions” (“Beauty and Ugliness”).Because of the broad scope ofthe term, kalos, ancient discus-sion of beauty is often rooted ina more extensive discussion ofultimate values (Sheppard).

The earliest theorizationof beauty comes from the worksof ancient Greek philosophers.The ancient Greeks believedthat beauty consisted of threemajor components includingsymmetry, proportion, and har-mony (“Cultural Ideals of FacialBeauty”). However, even theseGreek philosophers held differ-ent perspectives of what beautyencompassed. While somephilosophers took an objectiveview of beauty, others took amore subjective view.

The Pythagorean Schoolof thought took an objectivestance, focusing on order andsymmetry as an indication ofbeauty. Philosophers includingSocrates, Plato, and Aristotle be-lieved that proportion and har-mony were essential to beauty in

different ways (“Cultural Ideals ofFacial Beauty”). These thinkerssaw a strong connection be-tween beauty and mathematics,noting that the eye was more at-tracted to beauty as a form oforder. Pythagoreans held thatwhile ugliness is the expressionof disorder and a lack of rationalproportions, beauty is consid-ered an objective expression ofcosmic truth (Lorand).

In contrast, becausebeauty is a significant compo-nent of human experience, it isoften linked with pleasure and soit is also seen in a subjectivelight. The association betweenbeauty and feeling suggests thatbeauty is not only an objectivequality, but an emotion evokedby the object (Lorand). AuthorPamela Sue Anderson, definesbeauty as “…a property of an ob-ject that produces an aestheticpleasure; this pleasure is a sub-jective response to a beautifulobject” (“Beauty”). It is the con-nection between beauty andpleasure that drives the humandesire to be beautiful and obtainbeauty. This attraction to beautyis universal and impacts per-sonal choices and cultural devel-opments (Lorand).

In contemporary Westernsociety, attraction to beauty cer-tainly impacts personal choicesand cultural developments. Thisis evident through the cult ofbeauty propelled by massmedia. All forms of media rang-ing from traditional to nontradi-tional generate an ideal image of

what is beautiful. This idea of ar-chetypal beauty influences the way the masses feel, think, and behave. However, this concept of popular beauty is not new to our society.

The ancient Greeks ini-tially upheld a standard of divine beauty, which is mirrored in the cult of beauty in today’s media. In order to best compare the Greek mentality towards beauty to the contemporary mentality to-wards beauty, the standards of beauty must first be identified. These standards refer to the specific perceptions of beauty that are upheld by modern-American culture.

The idea that beauty is a universal and objective property is a long-standing convention of Western thinking. Some of the major ideals of facial beauty in Western culture include symme-try, proportion, harmony, clear skin, and youth. Because most people are not born with these features, many are willing to alter their own appearances in order to conform to these standards. For example, women around the world apply makeup on a daily basis with the intent of enhanc-ing some facial features while masking other imperfections. In addition to cosmetics, people use clothing, accessories, and hairstyles to conform to their so-ciety’s’ specific ideals of beauty.

Continued on page 4...

AURORA WINWOOD

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

This independent research project is included to satisfy requirements for the honors program.

President Barry speaks to students.

THE BATTLER COLUMNSApril 2016 PAGE 2

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Baccalaureate Celebration Revamped for 2016 GradsEMILY PORTER


Since its creation, Alder-son Broaddus has prided itselfwith tradition—and ProvostJoan Propst is striving to keepthat tradition alive in cominggraduation celebrations despiteradical changes the universityhas endured.

“Last year after onlyhaving 25 students attend, wehad to ask ourselves if the bac-calaureate ceremony was re-ally worth the trouble. I foundthat embarrassing, and it mademe sad to see that so manystudents did not attend such asentimental tradition,” Propstsaid.

This year, Propst andABU Chaplin Carl Gittings havecome together to revamp tradi-tion and create a baccalaureatecelebration that the Class of2016 will not only attend, buttruly enjoy. The celebration will

now take place on April 28th,the last day of chapel service.

Propst and Gittingshope that in doing the serviceduring the day and whileclasses are still in session,more graduates will attend.They also hope that undergrad-uates will attend to supporttheir mentors on their next stepafter ABU.

“I reached out to nearbyinstitutions such as WV Wes-leyan, Davis and Elkins, andWheeling Jesuit to see howsuccessful their ceremonieswere. One thing we really wantto focus on, as they do, is tocreate a personal connectionamong students and staff,” Git-tings says.

The hope of Propst isthat students and faculty will in-termix and sit together. In doingso, this becomes a symbol that

they are now peers and col-leagues rather than studentsand professors. At one point inthe celebration, candlelight willfill Wilcox Chapel to symbolizethe bright minds of graduatesand the potential they have asyoung adults.

The Praise Team willsing in worship at the celebra-tion and Reverend Dr. MichaelSisson, Senior Pastor of CrabOrchard Missionary BaptistChurch, will speak. After thecelebration, graduates and fac-ulty are asked to attend lunchin Heiner Dining Hall together.

“Our theme of the cele-bration this year will be ‘GoLight Your World,’ a song byChris Rice. Graduates are leav-ing AB and going into the world.Our hope is that they just takea little of us [AB] with them,”Propst said.

Theta Tau Upsilon Unites to Tackle Spring CleaningEMILY PORTER


As temperatures began to rise and the sun began to shine, the Theta Tau Upsilon fraternityfelt that community service was a perfect way to spend their afternoon on Friday, April 15th.

“We decided not to participate in Greek Week this year, but we still wanted to do the com-munity service side of things. We collaborated as a group and thought that helping Carol Del Coldo some spring cleaning would be the perfectopportunity,” Matt Peloquin, fraternity presi-dent, said.

13 fraternity members ventured to Fac-ulty Row to volunteer their time to Carol DelCol, retired Professor of English and Literatureand also widow to the late Dr. Jeffery Del Col. During their service, they raked leaves in theyard, carried large plants, and also hauled twolarge plant stands to Kemper-Redd. Thesewere both donated, along with many otherplants, by Mrs. Del Col.

The Theta Tau Upsilon fraternity notonly volunteered their time with Mrs. Del Col,but also raised funds to donate to Bat Conser-vation International in memory of Dr. Del Col.

Code Blue Continues Despite DifficultiesMAKENZIE ROSE

BATTLER COLUMNS REPORTERSince 2010, Code Blue downtown has

been reaching the kids of Philippi with the goalof keeping them off the streets and out of trouble.

“Code Blue started as the brain-child ofthe Barbour County Ministerial Association,”says Madison Riffle, President of the Board ofDirectors for Code Blue. “The mission is to cre-ate a safe, entertaining environment where youthcan be accepted in positive social relationshipsthat build character for the well-being of theyouth and community.”

The group stared meeting in a small bluebuilding and then once they received govern-ment funding through a grant, the group movedto a larger space on Main Street. The missionstayed in the Old GC Murphy building on MainStreet until April 1, 2016, when the grant fundingended.

At this time, Code Blue doesn’t have aspace. They are traveling around until they find

a permanent location. “Currently, we're encouraging our kids to

get involved in the programs New Vision has tooffer throughout the summer,” Riffle said.

Riffle hopes that Code Blue will have apermanent location and permanent meetingtimes by the time the 2016 Fall school year be-gins. A typical Friday night at Code Blue is from6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Students can come socialize,play games, and enjoy snacks. Entertainmentand socialization are the main focus of CodeBlue along with special events too.

“Some events have an educational com-ponent, like Hobby Night. Some have a religiouscomponent, like the Lock-In Event and CodeBlue Christmas,” Riffle said.

Despite the difficulties of Code Blue hasfaced recently, Riffle hopes that they will eventu-ally find a permanent home where the organiza-tion can continue to reach the youth of Philippi.

Del Col at home.

SAI with canned goods.Delphics- Kickball champions

Fraternities and sororities participate in philanthropic Work during Greek Week 2016.

Photos submitted by Morgan Leaf.

April 2016 PAGE 3THE BATTLER COLUMNS

Campus NewsDigital Communication OrganizationActive on CampusBRITTANY PACE


In recent years, Alder-son Broaddus University hasbeen expanding with an influxof new students, many withplans of being communicationmajors. In the Spring of 2016,Alderson Broaddus Universityhas developed a new clubcalled The Digital Edge. Thisis a new club for those stu-dents who are interested incommunications, journalism,public relations, and graphicrelated courses. The DigitalEdge is bringing together any-one who is interested in elec-tronic media.

The current project,The Digital Edge, is lookinginto its plans for the 2016-2017 school year. Currently,they are aspiring to produce apromotional video for the for-mer Bailey Ridge School inUpshur County, West Virginia.The goal of The Digital Edgeis to build a brand name andalso acquire state of the artequipment to help the com-munity through the use ofelectronic media. The studentorganization is looking for-ward to helping the commu-nity with teamwork andpromotion through digital pro-duction.

The President of TheDigital Edge is AJ Stapp, acurrent marketing major with a

double minor in business ad-ministration and video andradio. Stapp is a senior volley-ball player from Los Angeles,California who has a passionfor business and comunica-tion. When speaking withStapp, he told me that: “Wewanted to create a club thatbrought together communica-tion majors who wanted to ex-pand their skills andknowledge and networkamongst the communicationcommunity”.

The Vice President ofThe Digital Edge is Rory Win-wood. Winwood currently runsthe student newspaper hereat Alderson Broaddus. In ad-dition to being a member ofthe women’s lacrosse team,Winwood also holds severaltitles here at Alderson Broad-dus. The faculty advising po-sition falls under thecoordination of Dr. Owston,who will be promoted to theDean of Humanities and So-cial Sciences in August. Dr.Owston has many years of ex-perience teaching classes incommunication and digitalmedia. With numerous yearsof experience in radio, televi-sion, and contracted audiovoiceover production, Dr. Ow-ston proves to be a great fit forthis position.

AB Presents Spring Musical: MameSTEPHA TERESE POULIN


On April 7 through 9, Alderson Broaddus students debuted in thespring musical: Mame.

Mame is based on the book written by Jerome Lawrence andRobert Edwin Lee. It follows the life of a 1920s socialite named Mame,who was brought to life by AB sophomore Sarah Hamman. Mame learnsto share her life of excess with her orphaned nephew, and even whenthe Great Depression hits, they persevere.

This musical showcases the love that a mother has for her son.Although it is Mame’s nephew, by the end of the show it is evident thather love for him is unconditional.

After weeks of rehearsals that exceeded four hours, the cast puton three showings of the musical..

“My favorite part was watching the production fall into place as wekept rehearsing,” AB Freshman Jacob Tuley said, “It was amazing to seeall our hard work come together.”

Closing night proved to be the most challenging showing ofMame. Hamman had a brick fall on her foot during the first act, yet stillcontinued with the show after a brief break to ice it down. Hamman barelygrimaced and continued on with several scenes before having a chanceto ice her injury.

“A cinderblock fell on my right foot,” Hamman said, “and it stillhurts. But I can walk again!”

Luckily, Hamman was left with a badly bruised foot rather thanbroken bones. Despite the accident, the entire cast powered through andmade a truly memorable performance.

Production flyer featuring sophomore, Sarah Hamman, as Mame.

How safe are the students at Alderson Broaddus University(AB)? Statistically, AB appears to be a safe campus. Undocumentedinformation provided by multiple AB students paints an alternate pic-ture.

On February 24 at 3:45 am, an AB junior awoke in her roomto find an unidentified man standing at her door shining a flashlightinto her room. She did not know how he got in, nor did she knowwhat he wanted at that time of the night. When the man noticed shewas awake, he darted out of the room without a trace.

Multiple questions remain unanswered after that event, suchas: why the man was there, what he wanted, why he chose to gointo that specific room, and why he suddenly left after the womanwoke up.

This is just one recollection of many provided by various ABstudents.

An AB freshman said, “During the fall 2015 semester some-one stole my wallet, as well as a good portion of my clothes,” adding“My door stayed locked when I wasn’t in my room, yet somehowsomeone still managed to find a way in.”

Theft is one of the most common crimes committed on manycollege campuses. Often times theft can be prevented if the studenttakes proper precautionary measures, but that is not always thecase.

Campus Safety members do their best to solve both theminor and major crimes that are committed on campus, but it is dif-ficult to solve a crime when no one knows who committed it. Veryfew students are actually present in their rooms when the crime isbeing committed, so usually the perpetrator is able to slip away un-known.

An AB junior said, “During the spring of my sophomore year,which was last year, someone broke into my room and stole all ofmy fishing gear, which happened to be worth $400 in total.”

The only lead there was came from a group of girls whoclaimed to see a group of “townies,” which is how students here referto the residents of Philippi, walking into his room while the residentswere all at practice.

The same AB junior said, “I never got any of my stuff back,and at the time I didn’t have that kind of money to replace it all.”

The question is, how does AB keep this kind of crime fromoccurring? Stopping a crime from happening before it is committedis nearly impossible, but there are some safety precautions that stu-dents can take to ensure their safety.

Resident advisor (RA) AJ Stapp said, “Our residents are en-

couraged to keep their suites and personal rooms locked when theyare not there,” adding “In buildings such as Blue, Gold and Univer-sity this is easier to do because both the outside door and the maindoor of each suite lock automatically, but the other buildings do nothave these features.”

Residence halls Kincaid and Priestley are both open to theoutside world, as well as the rest of the campus, at all times. Thesuites in these buildings open to the outside, but all students havethe ability to lock both their main door as well as their personal room.The problems that arise with these buildings come from the stu-dents’ lack of interest in locking their doors until after something hasalready happened.

Sophomore Deven Jones said, “I know it’s not exactly safeto leave our doors unlocked, but it’s just so much more convenientwhen we go to our friends’ rooms because we don’t have to wait forsomeone to let us in.”

Freshman Logan Alley said, “I just feel like it’s uncommon forpeople to go into rooms that they’re not invited to, but from what I’veheard from other people, I guess it happens a lot more than Ithought.”

Keeping students safe who do not seem to value their ownsafety is a tough problem to tackle. Even so, the crime on campusmakes people wonder what kinds of people are attending this uni-versity. It is common knowledge that theft, assault and crime in gen-eral are illegal, as well as immoral.

If students can steal from or harm other students without guilt,should they really be allowed to attend school here? That is a ques-tion that cannot be determined by anyone other than those in a roleof power.

There is not an existing university that wishes for its studentsto be unsafe, but there is only so much that can be done. The job ofthe AB faculty is to teach and mentor students, not to raise them toknow right from wrong.

As of now, AB does not have security cameras across thecampus, but this is something that is about to change.

Every graduating class selects a gift to give the school beforethey leave the campus for good. The class of 2016 chose securitycameras that will be placed at the entryways of each dorm.

With the addition of security cameras, Campus Safety will beable to catch more students who commit crimes against their fellowstudents. Making changes such as these will better the school as awhole, as well as provide peace of mind for the students, their familymembers and the faculty members.

LEAH RUSSO


AB Students: How Safe are You on Campus?

April 2016 THE BATTLER COLUMNS PAGE 4

Features...continued from page 1.

The tradition of thinking that beauty andextremes are mutually exclusive begins with theancient Greeks. In particular, the beauty idealsof symmetry, proportion and harmony first arosein ancient Greece. The Greeks considered theseproperties to be natural and intrinsic to all beau-tiful things ("Cultural Ideals of Facial Beauty").Many of today’s beauty standards have been in-fluenced by that standards held by the ancientGreeks. These standards of lasting beauty fromancient Greek culture vary in scope from artisticbeauty to facial beauty.

One example of a lasting, artistic beautystandard in is the Venus de Milo. The Venus deMilo is an ancient Greek statue of the goddessAphrodite and is one of the most famous worksof art in the world. The statue’s name comes

from Venus, the Roman name for Aphrodite, andMilos, the Greek island where the statue was dis-covered in 1820 (Lauder).

Because Aphrodite is the goddess of loveand beauty, the statue serves as a representa-tion of physical perfection as well as a symbol offemale beauty. The Venus de Milo, as shown infigure 1, is an example of Greek sculpture fromthe Classical era, which was considered thepeak of Greek art (Lauder). Because the Venusde Milo is still considered one of the most beau-tiful sculptures in the world, it serves as a lastingbeauty standard.

Another example of a figure from ancientGreece that remains as a beauty standard todayis Helen of Troy. Born a demi-god to Zeus andLeda, she was famous for her beauty, which al-legedly caused the Trojan War. Helen was wor-shipped for her beauty, as it was considered tobe divine (“Helen”). Although she was only ademi-god, Helen is described as a “goddessamong women” in the Iliad Book III, line 171 aswell as in the Odyssey Book IV, line 306. BookIV of the Odyssey goes on to describe Helen’sbeauty. It reads, “Helen came into the room,emerging from her fragrant high-roofed chamber.She looked like golden-arrowed goddessArtemis” (121-123). Her divine beauty was wor-shiped at a festival at Therapnae in Laconia andshe also had a temple at Rhodes ("Helen").

There are many works of art and prosedevoted to Helen that are still commended fortheir beauty. A description of Helen’s divinebeauty is shown in Gamaliel Bradford’s poem,“Helen of Troy”. Bradford writes: Enthralling magic of thy godlike grace/bids memake light of simple honesty./truth, justice, faith,scorned hospitality—/what are they when I meltin thy embrace (5-8). This description identifies her beauty as godlike,as well as shows how moving her beauty is.

Helen herself is described as having anappearance that would still be considered beau-tiful today. She is depicted as having light hairand light skin (See fig. 2). She is described as“white-armed Helen” in the Iliad, Book III, line121 and the Odyssey, Book XXII, line 227. Sheis also described as “fair-haired Helen” in theIliad, Book VII, line 357 and again in theOdyssey, Book XV, line 58. These are two attrib-utes that are unusual for someone from her na-tive land to have, and are coveted by many whoare not born with those traits.

Most art from ancient Greece depicts fig-ures with more traditional features, such as dark

hair. This is shown in the painting Ladies in Blue,originally painted on frescoes at the Palace ofKnossos in Crete, Greece. This image of threeMycenaean women was restored by EmileGillieron, from fragments of the frescos fromKnossos (See fig. 3). Gillieron’s copy reproducesthe few fragments of the original fresco, which iscurrently on display in the Archaeological Mu-seum of Herakleion, Crete (Gilliéron). The imageof these women is a representation of how mostGreeks might have appeared.

Although descriptions of Helen by the an-cient mythographers are vague, often only de-scribing Helen as having goddess-like beauty,she is consistently described as having Anglo-European coloring. By ascribing these distinctivetraits to Helen, such as light hair and light skin,she was set apart from the Greek masses. Thepraises she receives for these traits establishthat it is these features that made her beautiful.In doing so, the ancient Greeks cultivated thepossession of these features as a standard ofbeauty.

The Anglo-European model of fair hairand light skin remains the principle ideal forwomen in the Western beauty industry today.This is due in large part to the globalization ofbeauty ideals. It is the constant repetition ofthese ideals via media that positions the Anglo-European ideal of beauty as universal. For ex-ample, the Anglo-European heritage is heavilyrepresented in American advertisements forbeauty products, where physical beauty is ansignificant feature (Cultural Ideals of FacialBeauty).

In this way, the media, through its vastreach, influences the public perception of whatis considered beautiful. North American mediaspecifically depicts the ideal woman as having athin body with long legs, light eyes, clear skin,and no wrinkles (Haboush, Warren, and Benuto).Author Bonnie Berry explains how the globaliza-tion of beauty ideals limits the range of accept-able beauty standards. Berry writes, “Throughtelevision, movies, magazines, billboards, andother visual media, our standards of acceptableand unacceptable looks are homogenized be-cause we, internationally, are presented with arestricted image of what is beautiful” (“BeautyStandards, Cross-Cultural”). This repetition hascaused the fair hair and fair skin standard to be-come normalized.

The media is a major factor that affectsthe public perception of beauty. The mainstreamNorth American media promotes the messagethat attaining a thin, youthful appearance is cen-tral to a woman's value and social role (Haboush,Warren, and Benuto). Widespread concern withphysical appearance reflects the increasing ten-dency for media outlets to feature images of ex-tremely thin models (Harrison). These trends inmedia depictions of the ideal body are largely re-sponsible for effecting public body image.

With these standards in place, the mediaacts not only as a proponent of physical expec-tations, but also an agent of judgement. Societyplaces extreme value on physical appearance asa factor determining worth (Haboush, Warren,and Benuto). Because the term beautiful is usedto esteem or commend, it therefore makes aclaim that is honored in the processes of criticism(Stolnitz). Many people struggle with body image

issues thanks to this consistent pressure to liveup to the values placed on physical beauty.

One of the major driving forces in estab-lishing modern day beauty standards and pro-pelling physical judgement is the beauty

pageant. These pageants encourage youngwomen to compete in ritualized events, in whichcontestants are judged to be more ideal thantheir rivals (Stoeltje). Contestants are justified intheir efforts to become the ideal woman by re-ceiving recognition and praise in the form of titlesand trophies. These contests reflect the inter-

ests, purposes, values, and goals of the organ-izers and impress them upon pageantcompetitors and their audiences.Criticism and judgement of beauty is not limitedto contemporary media standards and pageants.There is evidence that the judgement of beautywas also a part of ancient Greek culture. Per-haps the first beauty contest ever held was thejudgement of Paris. This contest pittedAphrodite, Hera and Athena, the three mostbeautiful goddesses of Olympus, against one an-other to compete for the prize of a golden apple.The apple was prized because not only was itgolden, but it was also addressed to the fairest(Atsma).

In Greek mythology, the Judgement ofParis begins with the Wedding of Peleus andThetis and ends ultimately with the Trojan War.All gods were invited to the wedding, except thegoddess Eris. Angered at being turned awayfrom the festivities, Eris threw a golden apple in-tended for the fairest of the guests into thecrowd. Aphrodite, Hera and Athena all wanted toclaim the apple for themselves.

To settle the dispute, Zeus commandedHermes to take the goddesses to Paris, King ofTroy, to determine who was the fairest of thethree. When the goddesses appeared beforeParis, they offered him gifts to earn his favour.Paris was most impressed by Aphrodite and herpromise to make Helen his wife. So, he grantedAphrodite the golden apple and therefore the titleof fairest goddess in Olympus.

By competing for the reward of thegolden apple and the title of fairest goddess,Paris’ contest justifies physical judgement.Therefore, beauty is positioned as a quality thatcan be defined by the impossibly high standardsof its judges. The reward that accompanied thecontest assimilates beauty to perfection and in-spired the women to aspire to an unrealisticideal; much like the way contemporary media en-courages women to fit the mould of a specific,popular beauty model.

The unrealistic beauty standards con-veyed to the public propel the cult of beauty be-cause the public perception of beauty comesalmost singularly from the images set forth asideal through the media. The power of the mediaalso extends to controlling the value placed onlooks. Because society places extreme value onphysical appearance, beauty has become a fac-tor of determining worth. Beauty pageants in par-ticular propel the convention of judgement basedon appearance. When beauty is used as a toolfor praise, it causes many people to struggle withbody image.

In conclusion, by examining the stan-dards of beauty in ancient Greek times and com-paring them to current beauty standards, it canbe determined that despite the passing cen-turies, beauty standards have remained similar.The main similarity lies in the belief that there isa single ideal of flawlessness to be achieved.Since Greek antiquity, symmetry, proportion, andharmony have been essential elements in deter-mining beauty. Each of these elements is indica-tive of balanced perfection. This image of perfectbeauty is mirrored in the cult of beauty in modernday society, thanks to the hand of the media,which impresses rigid beauty standards on thepublic.

Works CitedAnderson, Pamela Sue. "Beauty." Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 810-814. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. Atsma, Aaron J. "Judgement of Paris." Theoi Greek Mythology. The Theoi Project. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. Berry, Bonnie. "Beauty Standards, Cross-Cultural." Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World. Ed. Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E. Sloan. Vol. 1. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference,2011. 139-144. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.Bradford, Gamaliel. “Helen of Troy [poem]”. The Sewanee Review 30.2 (1922): 129–129. Web. "Cultural Ideals of Facial Beauty." Cultural Encyclopedia of the Body. Ed. Victoria Pitts-Taylor. Vol. 1. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2008. [127]-137. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. Gilliéron, Emile. Ladies in Blue. 1927. Painted plaster. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York. Haboush, Amanda, Cortney S. Warren, and Lorraine Benuto. "Beauty, Ethnicity, and Age: Does Internalization of Mainstream Media Ideals Influence Attitudes Towards Older Adults?" Sex Roles 66.9-10(2012): 668-76. ProQuest. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. Harrison, Kristen. "Body Image, Media Effect on." Encyclopedia of Communication and Information. Ed. Jorge Reina Schement. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 79-81. Gale VirtualReference Library. Web. 18 Apr. 2016."Helen". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016 Homer. "Homer, Iliad." Homer, Iliad. Trans. Ian Johnston. Vancouver Island University, 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.Homer. "Homer, Odyssey." Homer, Odyssey. Trans. Ian Johnston. Vancouver Island University, 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. Lauder, Maureen. "Venus de Milo." Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Vol. 4. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 1503-1504. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Apr.2016.Lorand, Ruth. "Beauty and Ugliness." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz. Vol. 1. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2005. 198-205. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17Apr. 2016.Sartwell, Crispin. "Beauty." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 04 Sept. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. Sheppard, Anne. "Ancient Aesthetics." Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald M. Borchert. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 187-191. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 18 Apr.2016.Stoeltje, Beverly J. "Beauty Pageants." Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 125-130. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Apr.2016.Stolnitz, Jerome. "Beauty." Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald M. Borchert. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 511-515. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.West, Benjamin. Helen Brought to Paris. 1776. Oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Figure 1: The Venus de MiloSource: (Lauder).

Figure 2: Helen Brought to ParisSource: (West).

Figure 3: Ladies in BlueSource: (Gilliéron).

April 2016 THE BATTLER COLUMNS PAGE 5

Features

Beating his last personal record by 22 seconds, Pellstands tired, but tall after completing the 5,000

meter run in 16:39

Caleb pushes through and crosses the finish line. His final lap was 5:41.

Pell comes in his first mile at 5:07. He races hard and hopes to maintaina similar pace for the next two races.

Glenville’s track, where several teams, including Alderson Broad-dus, will compete.

Pell pushes through the final 600 meters of the workout.

Alderson Broaddus freshman, Caleb Pell, warms up with his team-mates before a workout.

The team gathers at the line for a rigorous ladder work-out to prepare for the upcoming meet at Glenville.

In Their Shoes: The Life of a Track and Field Runner JACOB PITNER


April 2016 PAGE 6THE BATTLER COLUMNS

AthleticsKeir Yonge Named Men’s LacrosseOffensive Player of the WeekLEAH RUSSO


The Alderson BroaddusMen’s Lacrosse team has recordedtheir best season record since thestart of the program three yearsago. Multiple student athletes havereceived honors and accoladesthrough the Eastern Collegiate Ath-lete Conference (ECAC) through-out March and April.

Junior Keir Yonge was re-cently selected as the ECAC offen-sive player of the week on April 4after a 22-11 win over the Univer-sity of Alabama at Huntsville. In thisgame alone, Yonge netted a sea-son-high six goals and recordedfive assists for a total of 11 points.

Yonge is a native from Burn-aby, British Columbia where helived for the majority of his life. Hefirst started playing lacrosse at theage of three-years-old and hasbeen a star ever since.

Yonge said, “I selected ABbecause I had a friend who alreadywent here as well as two goodfriends who were also looking atthe university,” adding “I saw agood opportunity to help grow theprogram here as it was new to theschool and surrounding area.”

The ECAC offensive playerof the week is currently leading the

Men’s Lacrosse team, as well asthe entire ECAC with 53 points onthe season thus far. The closestcompetition for him presently holds46 points on the year.

Yonge said, “My favoritememory so far this year has to bewhen my teammate and fellow at-tack men, Dustin Stone, scored hisfirst ever career goal,” and went onto say, “He and I celebrated by hit-ting the dab, which we each thenreceived penalties for excessivecelebration.”

The Men’s Lacrosse team is4-8 on the 2016 season with threegames left to play on the year. Asof now they are not eligible to com-pete in the conference tournament,but the team has not lost hope justyet.

Yonge said, “When the windblows hard and the sky is black,Ducks fly together,” a quote fromthe movie The Mighty Ducks, is hisfavorite quote to describe how hefeels about his team.

The team gears up to playlocal rival Davis & Elkins Collegeon April 21 in Philippi, WV, wherethey are hoping to record anotherconference win and finish out theseason strong.

Andall and Team Grenada Movingon in the Caribbean CupMORGAN LEAF


Amazing! Unforgettable! Overwhelming! These are the words thatAlderson Broaddus junior Alec Andall used to describe his most recentsoccer experience. Andall represented his home country of Grenada onthe Senior Men’s National Team in the Caribbean Cup.

With his family and friends attending the tournament Andall wasexcited to have this opportunity. They were able to hear about his ac-complishments of playing college soccer in the United States and to seehow he has developed as a player.

First match was a friendly match that ended in a tie (2-2) againstTrinidad and Tobago.

The tournament opened as Grenada played against St. Maartenin the first official game of the tournament. Grenada won by the score of5-0. Andall assisted in the final goal of this game.

During the second game against the U.S. Virgin Islands Andall’steam scored a late goal to take the win with the score of 2-1.

With the two wins Andall’s team will be able to move on to the nextround.

Andall stated, “We topped our group and qualified for the secondround coming up at the end of May.”

“Personally, I think I did a really good job in helping my team gothrough the tournament and coming out victorious. In the first game ver-sus St. Maarten I had a 91 percent pass completion rate and one assistwhich I would say is a good performance,” Andall shared on his perform-ance in the tournament.

Being away from campus and not being able to attend classeswas something Andall had to deal with also as he travelled for the tour-nament.

“It’s always difficult to miss out on classes especially with finalsright around the corner but I was able to coordinate with my professorsand classmates so that I can cover what I have missed,” said Andall.

When asked to describe his experience playing in the tournamentAndall stated, “From being around training and playing with my coachesand teammates, some of which are professionals, I have learned a wholelot which I could add to my game to be a better player.”

ABU to Go Fishing in The Near FutureJAMES SCHOOLCRAFT


Seniors Shaun Greer and Hayden Crockett had adream during their Junior campaigns to incorporate two thingsthat they love; college sports and fishing. Hayden and Shaun went to Dr. J.D. Long with an idea to starta club fishing team at Alderson Broaddus University. The teamwould practice at Pleasant Creek, Tygart River and Lake, andwould look to take trips to Summersville Lake and StonewallJackson Lake.

“We wanted to bring something fun, competitive, andrealistic to the University” said Greer “Fishing is a lifetimehobby and is a great way to build friendships.”The team is looking to come into effect in the fall of 2016 andwill hopefully add competitions by the spring semester.

Alderson Broaddus and Philip Barbour to Get TrackJACOB PITNER


The plan for a new track and field facility to be used byboth Alderson Broaddus University and Philip Barbour HighSchool has been in the works for some time, but was finallyapproved this February. The facility will cost roughly $2 millionand will be done by Beynon Sports Surfaces. Constructionstarted April 4, and is expected to be finished by the end ofMay or at the latest, mid-June. Alderson Broaddus Track andField coach, Jesse Weiner says, he is “very excited about thetrack.” And as one might imagine, so are the athletes

PHILIPPI, W.Va. – The Alderson Broaddus women's lacrosseteam scored a program-best 23 goals as they topped Davis &Elkins 23-3 Thursday evening at the Multi-Sport PerformanceStadium.

Prior to the game, Tia Kline, Ellen Wilkins, and AuroraWinwood were honored for Senior Night.

In the opening two minutes, Darian Turner put the Bat-tlers on the board first just 13 seconds in before Haley Frostmade it 2-0 at the 27:58 mark. 37 seconds later, BrookeThomas scored to make it 3-0 in favor of AB but Davis & Elkins(1-8 overall, 0-3 G-MAC) netted a pair of goals 36 second partto make it 3-2 with 26:24 left in in the opening half.

The Battlers quickly answered with four goals to take a7-2 advantage before the Senators would score their final goalof the contest to make it 7-3 when Haley Ware added her sec-ond of the game at the 18:23 mark.

Over the final 17:33 of the half, AB scored six goals in-cluding a pair from Hannah Goodwin and Alexandra Haydu totake a 13-3 lead at halftime.

It was all AB (8-7, 2-1) in in the second half as SarahWhite opened up the scoring at the 25:50 mark. She scoredtwo more in the contest while Jasmine Barham added threein the second as the Battlers outscored the Senators 10-0 inthe final 30 minutes.

Barham led AB with four goals in the contest whileadding two ground balls. Turner, Haydu, and White finishedwith three goals for the Battlers while Frost, Winwood, andKrista Cooper added two. On the defensive side, Kline fin-ished with five ground balls and four caused turnovers whileEmily Petrole got the win in net and finished with four saves.

Ware led the Senators with two goals and two groundballs while Emily Loss got the loss in net but finished with 14saves.

The Battlers finished with 44 shots, 37 on goal, in thecontest while winning the ground ball battlers 24-13 and con-verted all 21 of their clear attempts.

AB returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Walshfor a 5 p.m. start.

Women's Lacrosse Tops D&E 23-3 on SeniorNight For Most Goals in Program History

Seniors Winwood, Wilkins, and Kline.

Construction underway for new track.

Andall with teammates.

Documents

The Cult of Beauty in Ancient Greece and Modern Media