Art by Josh Jones

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Since 2004, the Six Mile Post has sponsored a First Amendment Awareness Week. It is important to our staff, both as journalists and as citizens, to protect and show our support of this important amendment. Without it we could not do our job, speak freely or live freely.
We are supported by our cosponsors, the number of which has grown greatly from the four cosponsors we had back in 2004.

List of Cosponsors:

1. The Criminal Justice and Political Science Club
2. Baptist Student Union
3. Brother 2 Brother
4. Creative Writing Club
5. Fellowship of Christian Athletes
6. The Spanish Activities Club
7. Green Highlands
8. Equality Alliance
9. SVA (Student Veterans of America)
10. PTK (Phi Theta Kappa)
11. SGA (Student Government Association)
12. Capture Highlands
13. Gaming Club
14. Animation Club
15. Students Without Borders
16. Charger Cheerleaders
17. Human Services Club
18. Old Red Kimono
19. GHC Chapter of the American Assoc. of University Professors
20. English Majors Association
21. AAWCC (American Association of Women in Community Colleges)

LiveHealth Kiosk is located on the Floyd Campus Photo by Kayla Jameson

GHC has partnered with the University System office to pilot a LiveHealth Online Kiosk, courtesy of Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The kiosk, located on the Floyd campus, allows students and employees to video chat with a doctor. It is designed to be like a standard office visit and is not for emergency situations.

The kiosk is in the soundproof Walraven room W-320, and the key can currently be accessed in the Human Resources office. The HR department hopes to eventually install a card reader so that the kiosk can be accessed via GHC’s ID cards.

Virginia Siler, vice president and chief human resources officer, said, “The good thing about it is that you can, if you’re on the Floyd campus, come get the key from us, go into that space and in just no time be in front of a doctor.”

The cost is the same as a patient’s copay with Blue Cross Blue Shield or $49 otherwise. The kiosk takes credit and debit cards.

An individual can set up an account on the LiveHealth Online website in order to have his or her information available at the time of the visit; however, an account is not mandatory in order to go to the kiosk.

A variety of tools such as a thermometer and blood pressure cuff are available on the kiosk to help the doctor get a better idea of what the patient’s medical needs might be. People who use the kiosk are asked to use the provided antibacterial wipes to wipe down the tools and touchscreen after use.

Students and employees on other campuses can use their devices to access LiveHealth Online.

Wellness Coordinator for Human Resources Emily Farmer said, “Of course people can use their computer and do the same thing to access LiveHealth Online. They advertise on television to do this, but you don’t have those instruments available, and that’s one of the biggest advantages of this.”

The 44^th annual Honors Assembly was held April 12 at the Clarence Brown conference center in Cartersville.

Students, their guests and GHC staff and faculty attended the event.

The assembly started with a welcoming speech by GHC President Donald Green.

Nursing, academic and leadership awards were presented, as well as 50 Who’s Who awards.

Here’s a list of the winners: honors night program-2016

College officials are making it a priority to make sure students stay safe on campus.

Silent Witness is a form on GHC’s campus safety webpage that can be used to report a crime or something suspicious on campus. Faculty, staff and students may use it if they don’t feel comfortable going into the campus safety office. When a form is filled out, it will be sent to Georgia Highlands College’s Chief of Police David Horace’s email account.

The form may be found by going to the Highlands home page, searching for “silent witness” and clicking the first link. The person making the report has the option of leaving or omitting his or her name.

“Plan, Prepare, React” is a video about how to react to an active shooter situation that was recently released through the University System of Georgia. A link to the video was emailed to all students, faculty and staff.

Horace said that if someone suspects a shooter is on campus, he or she should call 911 and campus safety and tell them in detail the suspected shooter’s appearance and his or her location on campus.

If someone is in the vicinity of a shooter, he or she should try to escape the area or barricade himself or herself in a place away from the shooter.

People should look for exits, according to Horace, and if there is no way to escape they should lock themselves in a classroom. If the classroom door doesn’t lock, they should barricade the door with desks and put books in their backpack and wear it in front of them.

“Active shooters tend to cause as much damage as they can. So when you barricade yourself in, that’s a deterrent,” Horace said.

Horace wants students to understand that if there is an active shooter situation on campus, the first team of police officers to arrive will be concentrating on finding the shooter to stop the threat. The second set of officers to arrive will start helping the injured.

He said that it is also important that everybody complies with law enforcement. People might even be told to drop their phones.

It is important that faculty, staff and students pay attention to their surroundings and available exits, Horace said.

Director of Student Life John Spranza said, “At any case, whether it’s on campus or at the grocery store or at the mall, just being aware of your surroundings is probably one of the most important tips for students as far as their own personal safety.”

ORK staff and advisers read submissions in their office. They are (from left) Caleb Howard, literary editor; Wesley Sanders, art editor; and faculty advisers Nancy Applegate and John Kwist. Photo by Lydia Chandler

Georgia Highlands College’s literary magazine, The Old Red Kimono, will be coming out again this year. It consists of art, photography, fiction and poetry from GHC students, faculty and others from all over the world. Almost as old as GHC itself, The ORK has been in publication since 1972.

The 45th issue of ORK will be published in late April.  There will be a reception to celebrate the release of the new issue, and students who are published in the magazine will get the opportunity to read their works at the reception.

“Students get to see their work in print, and once it’s in print, it’s there forever,” said Nancy Applegate, professor of English and one of the ORK faculty advisers. Applegate also said, “Students also get to see their work alongside that of faculty and staff and sometimes more established poets.”

The official submission due date for this issue is Feb. 18.

Artwork submissions can be brought to The Old Red Kimono office, located in the student life office, on the Floyd campus. Poetry, fiction, and pictures of artwork can be submitted by email to Applegate at napplega@highlands.edu.

For more information, go to https://www.highlands.edu/site/ork.

Leigh Callan speaks about new book with mother, Joby Whittenburg by her side. Photo by Taylor Barton

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Leigh Callan was a Georgia Highlands College professor for the school’s health sciences division for 27 years before retiring in 2002. Now Callan has authored her first book, Here’s my Heart: A Legacy of Love and War.

The book provides the first-hand experiences of Leigh’s father, Lieutenant Doyle K. Whittenburg, during World War II through the pictures and love letters that he sent home to her mother, Juby.

After Callan’s retirement, she found herself with nothing to do, so she asked her mother if she could have the letters. Since her father had always wanted something done with them, she began transcribing them for her family.

She had heard the stories from the war all of her life, but she never knew the personal side of it. She said, “I got the facts, but in the letters he is so willing to tell every thought he had. He would tell you his deep feelings about these events.”

The letters changed her perspective of the war and her father, and she knew then that the letters were unique. Callan said, “I thought we should not just keep this for ourselves. It needs to be out there for other people to enjoy and learn from, so I hope that happens.”

To walk in their dad’s footsteps, Callan and her brother, Ken, traveled to England, Belgium and Germany to visit the places her father had documented in his letters to Juby. They visited an English manor that her father had stayed in during the beginning of the war. They also visited a family her father had stayed with and a crystal factory that their father had mentioned in a letter.

They returned and showed Juby the pictures they had taken and a goblet they had bought from the crystal factory. According to Callan, Juby said, “I felt like I was there.” Callan happily responded, “Mission accomplished.”

On December 7, 2015, Callan did an informal presentation and book signing at the Floyd GHC campus library. To purchase a copy of Here’s my Heart: A Legacy of Love and War, please visit leighcallanauthor.com.

GHC students listen to their guide in the jungles of Costa Rica. Contributed photo.

Georgia Highlands College is offering three study abroad opportunities this upcoming year.

The first trip is to Costa Rica and will take place March 27 to April 3. Students will go to the University of Georgia’s Costa Rica campus.

The 15 available slots are currently full, but Bronson Long, director of global Initiatives and study abroad, encourages students who are interested to apply in case a spot opens.

The trip will include horseback riding, zip lining, dancing lessons, a trip to a coffee plantation and a day with a Costa Rican family.

The fee for the trip is $1,836 and is all inclusive. Applications need to be completed by Christmas break.

On June 19, health science majors will be going on a 10-day trip to Costa Rica.

Their activities will be similar to those of the first trip to Costa Rica, but they will also visit local clinics and meet with local doctors, nurses and midwives.

The fee is $1,425, but that does not include airfare. Spots are still open and applications will be accepted until the end of February.

The third trip will be to Montepulciano, Italy, and will take place from June 23 to July 24.

The trip will be through Kennesaw State University. GHC Professor of English and Dean of Humanities Jon Hershey will be going on the trip and teaching classes there.

Students on the Italty trip must take two classes, which will equal six credit hours. There will be two days per week of classes with morning and afternoon sessions. Classes will be held in the medieval fortress La Fortezza. There will be excursions to Rome and Florence, where students will go to places such as the Coliseum and the Uffizi Gallery.

All courses offered will count as GHC class credits. The trip fee of $4750 covers all transportation, lodging, activities and some meals. It does not cover all meals or tuition. Tuition can be covered by financial aid, and students can also apply for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship.

“I think overall the study abroad program is really a life-changing experience, and students typically report it’s one of the best things they did as a college student,” said Long.

“It’s educational, it’ll broaden your horizons, but frankly it’s fun too,” he said.

For more information about any of the study abroad trips, students can contact Bronson Long at blong@highlands.edu

Bronson Long sits at his desk while he discusses his new book, “No Easy Occupation: French Control of the German Saar, 1944 – 1957.” Photo by Taylor Barton

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Students may have seen Bronson Long around Floyd’s campus or have taken one of his classes, but not everyone knows that he has recently published a book.

Long is an associate professor of history as well as the director of global initiatives and study abroad.

His new book, “No Easy Occupation: French Control of the German Saar, 1944-1957,” is an academically rich text about the German Saar, a small territory that France and Germany spent many years fighting over for its resources.

While reading through German newspapers, Long kept coming across references to the German Saar. He had not anticipated writing his dissertation and a book on the subject, but he became fascinated when he found so little information about the German Saar.

“Historians are always looking for something new that slipped through the cracks,” said Long.

Most of the sources for the book came from French and German archives.

Throughout his life, Long has visited and lived in both France and Germany. As the director of global initiatives and study abroad, he manages international trips and study abroad programs to give Georgia Highlands’ students the opportunity to travel to other countries.

Vice President for Academic Affairs Renva Watterson is very proud of Long and his accomplishments. “The overall message we want to get out is that we’re very happy that Dr. Long is here and brings his knowledge and excellence to Highlands College,” she said.