September 5, 2018

C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R — 0 5 S E P T E M B E R 2 01 8 — VO L U M E 5 3

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BREAKING NEWS!

Student Athletes put on Sports Probation p4

FEATURES

Chasing Storms with the Metetorology Team p8

09/05/18

SPORTS

Return of the COD Spirit Squad p14

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INDEX

04 NEWS 07 FEATURES 12 OPINION 15 SPORTS

Student athleates on probation by NJCAA Chasing storms with COD’s Metiorology Team Is it okay to hate white people?

Make Student some athleates noise, the on Spirit probation Squad by is NJCAA back!

ON THE COVER Touchdown Chapp Photo by Alison Pfaff

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF................................ Tessa Morton FEATURES EDITOR.............................. Reanna Comiso OPINION EDITOR................................. Kimberly Wilson SPORTS EDITOR................................... Miguel Contreras REPORTER............................................... Joey Weslo HEAD PHOTO EDITOR....................... Alison Pfaff PHOTO EDITOR..................................... Julie Connelly GRAPHICS EDITOR............................. Brandon Beckwith SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER............. Trinity Jefferson

Newsroom 630-942-2689 Adviser Jim Fuller fullerj103@cod.edu

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NEWS BREAKING NEWS: College of DuPage Athletic Teams put on Probation by the NJCAA Reanna Comiso, Alison Pfaff and Tessa Morton College of DuPage Athletic teams for the 20182019 school year have been put on athletic probation by the National Junior College Athletic Association. As a result, COD teams are able to play their regular season, but are no longer eligible for postseason games.

A recent internal audit and an independent review by an outside law firm discovered the violations. Certain documentation was not completed for some students. These include high school transcripts, records of physicals as well as transcripts from transfer students.

These findings were not deemed as academic fraud, but date back to 2013. It’s not clear from an official statement how many athletes may have been ineligible during the four-year

period of violations. The statement also doesn’t say why college officials initiated the audit or the outside review.

The violations came during former COD Athletic Director Paul Zakowski’s tenure. The college announced the hiring of Greg McVey as the new athletic director this past June. It’s not clear if McVey was told about the violations or possible violations during the interview process. However, the college’s official statement highlights the hiring of McVey as one of the “necessary steps to ensure the integrity of our athletic program.”

According to College of DuPage’s official statement Dr. Ann Rondeau, these findings were self-reported to the NCJAA, and the college is promoting transparency with this issue.

“In our renewed commitment of strengthening College DuPage’s continued efforts towards transparency at all levels of the institution, we took immediate and appropriate action based on the internal draft audit report findings,” Rondeau said.

According to the school, the athletic department was responsible for obtaining all necessary documentation for student atheltes as required by the NJCAA eligibility.

Going forward, this responsibility will now be handled by the Student Records department.

Athletic department officials declined to comment on the situation Friday. They referred all questions to the office of public relations and marketing. The Courier

For most teams, they feel there is no reason to play this season. -Elijah Addison will be speaking with new Athletic Director, Greg McVey, in the near future.

The Courier spoke to one student athlete, Elijah Addison, a member of the COD football team. He enrolled in the fall as an athletic student and stated student athletes were not made aware of this decision until Aug. 30, one day before a public statement was given by Rondeau.

“To be honest, for most teams they feel there is no reason to play this season,” said Addison. “It is unfortunate. I was excited [to play], but it is what it is.

We still have opportunities, that is all that matters.”

After observing a Cou-

Alison Pflaff 4

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rier reporter speaking with Addison, athletic department staff asked the Courier reporter to leave the facility and, again, directed all questions to public relations personnel. The college’s statement pledges to provide “sufficient support to each student-athlete who may be affected by this internal review and self-report.”

To read Dr. Rondeau’s letter addressing the COD community, visit our webpage, codcourier.org

NEWS CHAP DAYS photos by Julie Connelly

09/05/18

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FEATURES NEWS Detroit-Become Human: is it Worth Your Money?

Trinity Jefferson - Social Media Manager There are three characters in this game, each is introduced individually and in their own way. Deviants are androids that become self aware robots; they think they exist just as much as humans do. Connor is the first android you meet in the game amongst Kara and Markus. Connor’s first mission is to deescalate a risky hostage situation.

With helicopters, the rain, and being targeted with a gun, Connor needs to persuade the emotional or “deviant” android not to jump off a 20 story building with a little girl.

I did not put the controler down until I realized it was two in the morning.

With choices being thrown at you every second, this game takes hold of your common sense and throws it on a rollercoaster.

You never know what’s going to happen next. It’s a choice-based interactive adventure, so during situations like Connor’s, the developers give you choices in response to what the deviant would say. These choices are also on a timer, so you have to pick quickly in order to, basically, not die.

Secondly there’s Kara.

As she opens her eyes we see that she’s on a podium in an android store.

A drug-addicted lowlife named Todd approaches with a retail clerk, resetting her with the same name as before. “Kara”, Todd says. Approaching an abandoned-looking home, Kara meets Todd’s daughter, Alice. This little innocent girl is constantly being abused by her father.

When Kara couldn’t watch the abuse any longer she “wakes up” and becomes a deviant due to making her own decision of sneaking Alice and herself out of the house in the middle of the night, leaving Todd behind, never looking back.

Lastly, there’s Markus.

Walking around this big, eccentric, house, Markus pushes around a sick old man, Carl, in a wheelchair.

After opening the curtains and grabbing breakfast for Carl, Markus is told to find something to do. As the player of the game, I chose to play chess. When Carl finished his breakfast,

him and Markus decided to play a game. Markus let Carl win, though as an android he could have defeated him in multiple ways without hesitation.

Carl looked at Markus and told him to never let anyone win, if you can win, then you must.

Each character is given different situations, scenarios, and hundreds of options when deciding what to do.

There seems to be thousands of different paths for the characters to take.

While playing this game, there were always life-changing decisions at hand. I could chose to survive in silence or live to stand up and fight another day. At times I questioned my moral compass: “Do I kill this person or save them?” With the clock constantly counting down, I would always have to make a split-second decision.

During the gameplay there are many areas

where you need to use the touchpad. The touchpad on the PS4 controller is already unnecessary, but this game will make you go out of your way to use it. It was just trying a little too hard for my taste.

Thinking about all the details that went into this game is overwhelming.

I’m a music geek. Hearing and watching what the music in this game does for its overall image is breathtaking. From various composers: Philip Sheppard, Nima Fakhrara, and John Paesano who created music for each character to the actors that played these roles, the creators spared no expense.

The writers and directors did an amazing job with introducing each charcter and creating an atmosphere where you feel apart of each individual story line.

This game is absolutely worth your money. Nine out of ten stars.

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THE COURIER

FEATURES Is “Hereditary” Truly the Scariest Movie of 2018?

Reanna Comiso - Features Editor

Since “Hereditary” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018, critics hailed it as the “scariest movie of 2018.” Sundance crowned it as the “scariest movie ever,” with others claiming it is “The Exorcist” (1973) of this generation.

The abundant hype fueled my interest in watching and reviewing “Hereditary” since its release in June 2018. It seemed like the whole population shared positive opinions on the movie. I finally got the chance to see the movie this past weekend at the Music Box Theater in Chicago, a few days before its DVD release.

I did my best to enter the theater with an unbiased mindset, hoping to not be overly critical after hearing the praise. I instead went in with the mindset it would be like any other modern horror film: painstakingly bad and generic.

“Hereditary,” written and directed by Art Aster, tells the story of an average family with cryptic ancestry and a fatal bloodline, hence the title. The movie begins with the Graham family mourning the death of Ellen, their secretive

matriarch. Her death triggers this family’s downward spiral.

Soon, everything left of this family begins to collapse.

The film, in short, is not one of the scariest movies of all time, but I can understand the claim to being the scariest of 2018. The film is less scary than it is uncomfortable and strained but in a good way. Aster does a nice job of pulling his audience into the story, creating a tension that feeds off of the audience.

The movie stars Toni Collette as Annie Graham, the troubled mother of the Graham family. Her father, brother and mother each die after dealing with severe mental illness. It soon becomes apparent she is dealing with delusion herself, and she quickly digs herself a hole she cannot get out of.

Collette does a good job of depicting intense anxiety, terror and delusion. She acts as the antagonist in the film for most of its duration.

The ending reveals she is also a victim, and the answers to many of the questions become clear, such as the significance of the cryptic writing on the walls or the empty treehouse with the red lighting.

Charlie Graham is Annie’s daughter, who takes a liking to Ellen, and, in the end, reaches a similar fate.

She is affected most by the death of Ellen, is fixated on decapitation, and haunted by waves of white light.

Milly Shapiro portrays the unsettling, troubled, 13-year old well, giving off the most intensity of any of the main characters.

Despite Collette and Shapiro’s notable performances, some of the other characters felt underwhelming.

Alex Wolff, who plays 16year old Peter Graham, fit the stereotype of a teenage boy with a blank personality who only cares about smoking weed under the bleachers and the attractiveness of his female classmates.

His character,is dealt the worst hand of the family, but his performance does not always exemplify that.

Some scenes meant to be dramatic and apprehensive came across as more comedic, specifically, anytime he has a falling-out with his mother.

One scene in particular shows the two arguing in a dream. Peter is awoken by his sleepwalking mother who begins revealing deep secrets of her unwanted pregnancy in a freudian slip. Peter is emotionally triggered, ending up in hysterics. What is meant to be a serious, dramatic scene instead comes off as over exaggerated and artificial. As the movie picks up, his performance becomes much more serious and fitting for the story, specifically toward the end.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this movie was how Aster puts a more interesting take on overplayed horror ideas, specifically possession and poltergeist activity. While

not necessarily bringing any new, groundbreaking ideas, the movie has more depth and dimension than most horror movies to come out in the past 15 years, which makes it more memorable.

This movie took a lot of inspiration from horror classics like Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980). “Hereditary” seems like more of a supernatural take on “Rosemary’s Baby,”with the basis of both feeling very similar.

Cult activity, satanism and a mother’s anxiety as a medium for creating the horror are key themes in both stories.

Some of my favorite scenes of Collette mimic many of the iconic shots of Shelley Duvall in “The Shining.” The camera is placed directly in front of Collette while she has a meltdown over her experiences, drawing the audience

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into her reality, very similar to Duvall. I would even go as far to say both actresses resemble one another.

Some of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) ended up making certain scenes feel more comedic than anything. For example, at the end of the movie, a headless body begins to float up to a treehouse, and I could not help but laugh.

The movie would have felt more serious without a lot of the CGI. The end of the movie does leave the audience with much to ponder and dissect. So, is “Hereditary” the scariest movie of all time? No. But, there is no doubt that it will remembered by many as the scariest of the year.

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FEATURES COD’s Meteorology Department Explores the Fascinations of Weather Joey Weslo - Reporter

photos by Evan Anderson To stand before the darkening clouds, the low rumble or nature’s ferocity, is to feel the immensity of existence raining down upon you. Few moments can ignite wonder, like the strike of lightning reflecting in the gaze of an awestruck eye.

Life is comprised of a series of time-lapsed photos. Every moment, every second bleeding into the next. If we take a moment, and raise our heads to the sky, we capture the frame, beneath the magnificence of it all.

Weather is the living, fluid frame of time.

College of DuPage Professor of Meteorology Paul Sirvatka’s life has shown, “You never have weather exactly like the weather you are currently experiencing.”

“Weather is chaotic, and 8

always different. It’s a fluidity complex beyond belief.”

For over 25 years, Sirvatka has developed the college’s meteorology department into a standard-bearer for providing education and opportunities for students.

“By coming here for your first two years, you will receive more education than any place in the country.

We hit the ground running, and offer to our students what other schools only offer their third and fourthyear students. Our program is more extensive; we like to have more advanced classes upfront to immerse the students in the field,” explained Sirvatka.

Sirvatka explained how their curriculum has resulted in a great reputation with other schools. Prestige is also brought by the department’s NEXLAB weather website. NEXLAB

is used by almost every university’s meteorology program in the nation.

“NEXLAB compounds the generation of images, primarily for models, satellite and radar. We will walk into National Weather Service offices, and they will have displays on the wall using our website,” said Sirvatka.

The accumulation of data is so comprehensive, even the Navy relies on NEXLAB’s information.

“Around 25 years ago, we found our niche of coming up with data. Now nobody else does what we do, because we already have the web presence and they can’t provide anything more,” said Sirvatka.

Mike Zuranski, Support Analysis and Product Developer, explained the weather reading instruments on campus, “Our

WeatherBug station is on the roof of the BIC building. The station has a series of temperature sensors and a rain gage. A group of sensors send readings to an electrical closet below it with a base unit.”

The station records temperature and humidity, from which they can derive dew-point. It also records barometric pressure, precipitation and the wind’s speed and direction.

Evan Anderson, Web Developer and Lab Manager, explained, “The data it outputs is privately viewable by the campus. Our staff deciphers the data and presents it to the larger public on our website.”

Sirvatka said the program launches helium weather balloons in October and April. The balloons rise to the mid-stratosphere and provide information for students to examine. They also utilize balloons for the storm chasing program.

“We attach a small box of instruments with a radio transmitter set up to a receiver. If we capture something significant, we share our information with the National Weather Service so they can use our data,” said Sirvatka.

Anderson elaborated, “Our instruments help us record data such as the wet bulb temperature, which is the temperature of a rain-

drop through unsaturated air. Our students also get to understand how atmosphere conditions change and how it relates to the ideal gas law.

“My personal favorite equation is the hydrostatic balance equation. It explains the force of gravity and the vertical pressure gradient force. There’s a force on the air rising, and there is gravity acting down. When you have a storm creation, everything is rising,” he finished.

Students are encouraged to take their learning and explore their curiosities.

The school’s storm chaser program allows the students to immerse themselves in

The Courier’s website is launching a weather widget designed to provide temperature, humidity and all current weather conditions. Updates will be fed from the WeatherBug station on the roof, directly to viewers. (courier.org)

THE COURIER

the fury and astonishment of some of nature’s most spectacular storms.

The program started in 1989, and is the nation’s oldest collegiate storm chasing program. Last year, the program ventured from Texas, up through Oklahoma, all the way to the Dakotas, just south of the Canadian border.

Sirvatka said, “People come internationally to participate in our program.

Last year, we had people from Connecticut, California, Finland, Australia and Great Britain.

“We are always looking for tornadoes, but we also see some incredible thunderstorms. They can be very exciting and dangerous, producing large hail and damaging winds.”

Anderson detailed, “We search for a particular type of storm called a super-cell, which is a rotating thunderstorm. We target the conditions favorable for super-cells because they are known to be the most prolific in generating tornados.

“Cumulonimbus clouds for super-cells have a beauty that can be jaw-dropping.

There are times where you are just out of breath staring at them.

“There’s a photo in the Dakotas, where I’m looking at the storm, backlit by the sun. As the sunlight shone at a specific angle, the light refracted off the surface of a lake and displayed onto the bottom of a cloud. It blazed in a vibrant orange,” said Anderson.

Sirvatka explained, “We have many people whose primary passion is photography. They come to capture the beauty of picturesque storms, and we teach them the science along the way.”

Everyone becomes fascinated by weather in a unique, personal way. Our memories become intertwined with weather. Sirvatka remembers the astonishment and infinite curiosity of watching storms in the garage with his father. He can also remember a major Chicago snowstorm in April 1972 shutting down the entire city.

Zuranski reminisced, “Once on campus, one Friday afternoon, we had clear skies, but 50 mph post-fron-

tal, sustained winds. Part of the roof attached to the overhang was ripped off behind our classroom. We captured it on our timelapse camera. There was debris all along the walkway and into the trees.”

Anderson quipped, “It’s a good thing nobody was in the walkway adjacent to the roof, because the debris was flying with intense force.”

Zuranski also recalled the deadly 1990 Plainfield tornado in which 29 people died and 353 were injured, “I remember looking westward out the window, and the sky was incredibly dark and an ominous green.”

Sirvatka stated, “I’ve experienced it a few times, the sick, nauseous pea-soup you experience before a tornado. We can’t measure ‘greenness,’ so it’s hard to know what causes the color.”

New staff member Ron Stenz mused, “It’s probably the light refracting through hail, providing the green.”

Anderson stated, “It’s all about your perspective relative to the sun getting you the intense depth of greenness.”

Tornadoes can be devastating, however, the more mundane weather carries just as much significance across our lives.

Zuranski stated, “When people hear the terms ‘severe weather,’ they think tornados and hurricanes.

Severe weather can also be heat waves or droughts, which carry devastating consequences for agriculture.”

Sirvatka explained the role weather and climatology science plays for society.

“We are finding out how expensive weather can be.

Businesses are starting to hire meteorologists to save money. If a company loses money, shipping when it’s too hot or too cold, or by inefficient snow routes, meteorologists can plot their trucks and save millions of dollars. Weather impacts not only our daily lives but has global economic implications. Planning ahead for the future in long-range forecasting has become a highly valuable asset in the business world.

“Some of the best-paid meteorologists are working with energy companies, insurance, or agricultural and futures markets. What meteorologists say, changes

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the markets. People profit or lose massive amounts of money based on forecasts.”

Stenz stated, “There has been a larger growth for meteorologists in the private sector for economically motivated companies. If you can program, visualize data, and are an expert in meteorology, you are a more valuable professional commodity.”

Musing on the severity of weather in the future, Sirvatka stated, “People need to learn how to better prepare for severe weather and mitigate those costs. Meteorologists need to play a greater role in reaching the public to help them better understand what these dangers are.”

Meeting societal demands, in an increasingly important time for meteorologists and climatologists, could prove more difficult with the Trump administration’s 2019 budgetary proposal. The proposal cuts 20% of funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ($1.1. billion), including a 6% cut for the National Weather Service.

Sirvatka explained, “The weather service is already bare-bones, so any cut is

really tough. Our scientists will find a way to work with this. I do like that Trump chose (Atmospheric Meteorologist) Kelvin Droegemeier, from the University of Oklahoma as his science advisor. Hopefully, he will advocate meteorology strongly, potentially having a great impact.”

Greater awareness and fascination can help demonstrate how vital meteorology and climate science is to our society.

Anderson stated, “Take the time to appreciate the wonder of this science.

People go about their daily lives looking down at the ground, but if you look up, you will see things like halos or sun-dogs, which are light refraction from the sun hitting cloud particles and bouncing back to your eye.

“Even though the atmosphere is made of air, it is a fluid. Picture it as you are standing at the bottom of an ocean. The water of weather is crashing and moving all around you.

“If you can marvel at it, you can begin to ask yourself, “What causes that?”

There’s a whole realm of science and light refraction in the atmosphere waiting to be appreciated.”

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OPINION

NEWS

White people: Is it OK to hate us?

Tessa Morton - Editor-in-Chief In an era when cultural divisiveness is at its peak, we are being re-exposed to the racism, sexism and discrimination that minority groups have been struggling with for time immemorial. Black Lives Matter, the “Me Too” movement and anti-immigrant vitriol infesting our politics have all reminded us of the work that still needs to be done to ensure true equality can

Wikimedia

one day be obtained.

But equality is a funny thing. It can often feel like no one actually knows what it really means. Everyone has a different perception of where the goal is.

When Sarah Jeong, a newly hired technology writer for the New York Times, had “anti-white” tweets uncovered by an anonymous Twitter user, conservatives and right-wing pundits were

outraged by the hypocrisy. “#CancelWhitePeople,” Jeong wrote in a tweet. “Oh man it’s kind of sick how much joy I get out of being cruel to old white men,” she wrote in another.

Which begs a fine question: Is it OK to make hateful comments about a generalized group, if that group is “white people?” Are white people the only ones left who it is still acceptable to

Sarah Jeong,Technology writer from the New York Times.

hate?

Jeong responded to the backlash by apologizing while also defending her posts as satirical reactions to those who harassed her.

“I mimicked the language of my harassers,” Jeong said in a Twitter post.

Whether this argument is a reasonable defense or not does not resolve the larger question. Is it still OK to make hurtful comments about white people, even if it is meant in jest.

The best defense is that white people are not and never have been oppressed or marginalized. White people have never been without power. Some believe racism is a concept imbedded within the framework of institutionalized power and historical context. Nolan L. Cabrera, an associate professor at the University of Arizona who is writing a book on racial attitudes amongst white students, told the Washington Post whiteness is not the same as other racial identities.

“The term ‘racism’ is not the equivalence of prejudice or bigotry,” Cabrera said. “It’s an analysis of social inequality along color lines and an analysis of power dynamics and social oppression. None of which has ever been in the hands of people of color or communities of color.”

Despite a reasonable analysis of racial power dynamics, this statement ignores the reality that many are not trying to equate racism with oppression.

Which brings me back to a major issue within this debate - the multiple perceptions of equality and race, held by different groups. If those in minority communities and those in white communities have different

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definitions of racism, conflicts such as this are bound to continue.

The idea that racism and oppression are one and the same is conflation. Those without power can be racist. Those without power can hate those with power.

That hate, when based solely on skin color or nationality, is racism. The social and political power structures that govern American society are not manipulated by individual members of minority groups to systematically discriminate against the white majority. However, whether an individual has the power to discriminate or oppress those they hate based on race is not a requirement for the things that person believes to still be considered racist.

In 2009, David Pilgrim, the curator of the Jim Crow Museum, responded to a question about anti-white racism in an open online forum held by Ferris State University. Pilgrim discussed the many definitions of racism and argued, depending on the definition held, hateful behavior exhibited by a minority can be categorized as racist.

“If you define it as “prejudice against or hatred toward another race,” then the answer is yes,” Pilgrim said, when asked if African Americans can be racist. “However, if you define racism as “a system of group privilege by those who have a disproportionate share of society’s power, prestige, property, and privilege,” then the answer is no.”

Pilgrim argues individual members of minority groups can exhibit racist behavior, hold racist beliefs or even sometimes be defined as racist. However,

as a collective group, minorities are neither creating nor benefiting from the systemic racism permeating American social and political constructs.

Jeong’s tweets were targeted at a generalized group of people, based on skin color, and regardless of intention, the language was hateful.

The most egregious tweet, in my own opinion, was one that reiterated a point I frequently see argued online. There is an attempt to exclude the voices and opinions of white individuals who wish to contribute to discussions about race or culture.

“White people marking up the internet with their opinions like dogs pissing on fire hydrants,” Jeong tweeted.

Often referred to as “whitesplaining,” white individuals sharing opinions online can find themselves rebuked or told to “stay in their lane.” Although not all ideas shared by white people online may be constructive, censoring the voices of an entire race, even as a response to centuries of minority censorship, does nothing to heal divides or build healthy diverse communities. Labeling expression from those you disagree with or do not want to hear from as “whitesplaining” or “mansplaining,” is just a new way to stifle speech.

In a New York Times Op-Ed, Thomas Chatterton Williams wrote about the silencing of white voices as a by-product of new “left-of-center public thinking,” when discussing the politics of race.

“Whiteness and wrongness have become interchangeable — the high ground is now accessible countinued on page 12 11

OPINION

only by way of “allyship,” which is to say silence and total repentance,” Chatterton Williams wrote.

Any generalization of a group that leads to the silencing of all voices within it, is imprecision. It presumes to know things about an individual or their perceived identity based on nothing but the color of their skin. To some, this is the definition of racism they prescribe to and the definition does not limit itself to minorities. Assuming that a man explaining something or a white person sharing an opinion is immediately done so with intent to assert authority over the ideas of others within the context of a power dynamic, is a generalization that can be considered racist or sexist.

Of course, there is a clear and significant difference between systemic racism, which has permeated our

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political infrastructure, defined public policy for centuries and resulted in the systematic discrimination of a group of people based on race, and one individual saying something hateful about another individual or group.

Despite the obvious impactful differences, both actions can be defined as racist and neither should be acceptable.

Responding in kind to what you see as oppression from a white majority does not resolve anything and only fuels perpetual division and conflict. No room is left for a resolution. The dynamic becomes one of winners and losers.

This is not the way you coexist, and it is only encouraging those in extreme groups who thrive on their perceived victimhood despite a more privileged racial or gendered status.

White supremacy feeds off of divisive rhetoric and the manufacture of cultural and racial “wars.” Language that can be defined as “anti-white” serves to legitimize their belief that white identity and culture is under threat, despite all evidence to the contrary.

Not only is it possible for minority groups to hold and express racist views about white people, it is also done so to their own detriment, fueling the backlash from white extremists groups who fight against what they perceive as their own cultural demise.

When I reflect upon my own reaction to Jeong’s tweets, I freely acknowledge that the differences between “anti-white” rhetoric and systemic racism, discrimination and oppression are palpable. Jeong’s words had no impact upon my sense of self as a white American,

and like water off a duck’s back the words lacked any sting. My response to her tweet was not one of concern for those white individuals who may choose to be affected by the words used, but of concern for the larger social and cultural implications of continued racial division in American society.

While writers for leftof-center publications like Vice News and Huffington Post argue “reverse-racism” isn’t real, a National Public Radio (NPR) poll from October, 2017 found a majority of white Americans believed they faced discrimination.

“More than half of whites — 55 percent — surveyed say that, generally speaking, they believe there is discrimination against white people in America today.”

Regardless of how an individual defines racism, it is

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clear that continued racial division and animosity is not the solution when the perception some white people have of being persecuted may define their politics and beliefs.

Chatterton Williams argued in his Op-Ed that a continued focus on the foundations of America as rooted in white supremacy continues to give whiteness power and “exacerbates inequality.” By analyzing the writings of prominent African American author Ta-Nehisi Coates, as well as the racist speech of white nationalist, Richard Spencer, Chatterton Williams noted a problematic connection.

“Both sides eagerly reduce people to abstract color categories, all the while feeding off of and legitimizing each other,” Chatterton Williams wrote. “Both sides mystify racial identity, in-

terpreting it as something fixed, determinative and almost supernatural.”

“What identitarians like Mr. Spencer have grasped, and what ostensibly anti-racist thinkers like Mr. Coates have lost sight of, is the fact that so long as we fetishize race, we ensure that we will never be rid of the hierarchies it imposes.

We will all be doomed to stalk our separate paths.”

No matter your personal definition of racism and despite the evident history of systemic prejudice and minority oppression, a progressive movement towards equality cannot allow for the condoning of any hateful speech against any group. It is not OK to hate white people for their race alone. A unified, diverse and truly equal America will not allow for it

OPINION The A.A Degree is Worth Your “Time” Kimberly Wilson - Opinion Editor

Commencement Ceremony at College of DuPage in May 2018 Obtaining the Associate in Arts (A.A) degree at College of DuPage might take longer than most initially expect, but the overall benefits still make getting the degree a sound decision.

Most students come to COD to earn their A.A degree, with the 2017 school year seeing 1,119 students graduating with it. The Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S) degree is a close second with 944 graduates.

Taking the average amount of 12-13 credit hours (or four classes) per semester won’t get you the A.A degree in two years, the time it would take to become a junior at a fouryear college or university.

But, especially if you’re transferring to an Illinois

university, it is still worth your time.

COD is a member of the Illinois Articulation Agreement (IAI), so students who earn an A.A degree at the college will have completed their general education requirements. These students will therefore be juniors upon transferring to any participating IAI institution.

IAI colleges and universities include Elmhurst College, Benedictine University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Wheaton College and Columbia College are some examples of schools in Illinois that don’t participate.

Attaining an A.A degree is also a good option for

those who aren’t sure if they want to continue on to a four-year college or university. Having an A.A degree could lead to careers in management, sales and education.

Some might say taking more than two years is a deterrent to getting the degree, but it’s not impossible to get it within this time frame. One would just have to increase the amount of credit hours they take each semester to 15-16 (or at least five classes). Dedication and a little extra effort could get you to where you want to be, when you want to be there.

Having Advanced Placement or AP classes also increases your chances of finishing the A.A degree

faster. AP classes can mean you will have already fulfilled requirements for certain classes and wouldn’t need to take them in college. Enrolling in summer courses is also another option to stay ahead, as you can take several courses during that semester.

But even if you don’t finish in two years, getting your A.A degree is still a good option. We often obsess about our lives going exactly the way we plan, but college is about more than completing your degree in a certain period of time. Sometimes life will take us on a path we weren’t expecting, but these times are often opportunities for us to grow. The Pathways program here at COD is

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designed to help students stay on track to graduating in a timely fashion.

The college’s website states Pathways’ “Programs, support services, and instructional approaches are redesigned and re-aligned to helps students to clarify their goals, choose and enter pathways that will achieve those goals, stay on those pathways, and master knowledge and skills that will enable them to advance in the labor market and successfully pursue further education.”

Staying longer than two years can give you more time to work out what exactly you want to pursue after you’ve gotten your A.A degree. You’ll also

have more time to take advantage of the many clubs and resources available at COD, which will make you a more experienced and well-rounded individual wherever life takes you after graduating. The Chaplife website and app lists the plethora of clubs and organizations available here at the college.

Whether you finish your A.A degree in two years or longer, it’s undoubtedly the most straightforward path at COD towards transferring to a four-year college or university. If you’re not sure what you want to do after you graduate, having a college degree can also open doors for you even if you choose not to move on to a four-year institution.

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NEWS SPORTS There Will Be Sparkles; COD Spirit Squad Takes Formation Miguel Contreras - Sports Editor

Amber Schulz and Adiznez Rodriguez Athletic events and the halls of COD promise the missing element of exuberant green and black uniforms attending them in the near future. The Chaparral’s Spirit Squad hosted its first meeting and unveiled many of their ambitious ideas to a classroom of performers brimming with anticipation. Adorning their new Spirit Squad jackets, Adianez Rodriguez and Amber Schulz held the attention of everyone as they described how the newly forming Spirit Squad would not only be a team of performers but, more than anything, a family.

When arriving at College of Dupage, first-year student Rodriguez was dismayed. After falling in love with cheerleading and dancing over her four years at Addison Trail High School, starting college at COD came with a bittersweet flavor knowing that her journey in performing was coming to a close.

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However, rather than merely accept her finale, Rodriguez defied this outcome.

“I graduated high school, and I was not ready to stop doing what I love. I am still coaching for Addison Trail, seeing them practice every day reminds me how much I miss it and how much I still want to do that,” Rodriguez said. “So I took whatever steps necessary to make that happen. I know a lot of people here who were in cheer or dance that did not get the opportunity to continue because no one had the willpower to get things started again. So I decided I am going to put my foot down and take the steps to get everyone back into something they love.” The last time COD housed a cheer team was 2016, prior to it dissolving on account of the coach at the time relinquishing their position for unclear reasons.

Soon after initiating the process of forming what began as only a dance club,

photo by Julie Connelly Rodriguez reached out over social media for anyone interested in Cheer and Dance. Without missing a beat, she received a reply from another performer still unprepared to relinquish her passion in Schulz. Shulz began cheer when she was only in the first grade. She continued to perform as well as take up coaching and dance all the way up and through high school. Also a graduate of Addison Trail a year before Rodriguez, she was, too, confronted with the conclusion of her performing career. With this newfound opportunity, her spirits have reascended at the prospect of recapturing the feeling of what it’s like to perform.

“When I am cheering or dancing my mind just goes,” Schulz said. “At that moment nothing else matters.

The feeling is unbelievable, the way that the crowd feels when it is cheering for you is indescribable. Even now it gives me goosebumps.”

The first year of the Spirit Squad is all about setting precedent and bonding. It will be made clear that all members of the team are equal to one another, and everyone is expected to be an upstanding member of character and attitude.

This process of building trust and comradery is especially important since the Spirit Squad plans to enter formal competition as soon as next year. The Spirit Squad will not participate in formal competition this year due to its fall start when it would usually begin in the summer and proper preparation is required.

When the hands beneath a flier are the only things protecting them during a stunt, there is no space for drama. As Rodriguez adamantly proclaimed, “Being on this team means being part of a family, and being a part of that family means taking care of the home.”

The focus of the first year is a zero-discouragement en-

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vironment with no tryouts.

There is room for anyone ready and willing to put forth the effort and learn.

“This year we are working on technique and making sure everyone has a better understanding of what we’re aiming for,” Schulz said. “A lot of the girls might not have competed before, but this year we are getting the girls strictly ready for competing season and show them what that is all about.”

The Spirit Squad has aspirations beyond even performing. Amongst their greatest priorities is to spread awareness of events occurring on campus.

Through greater awareness, they hope to increase attendance of, not only on-campus events, but also of students attending COD looking to go further in their performing endeavors. What’s more, the team is interested in supporting any group that reaches out to them and assisting them

in any way possible. Rodriguez strives to create a community at COD in which passion supports passion.

“We are here to support everyone because it is what they love to do- that’s their talent, Rodriguez said.“We only hope that through supporting them we might get the same back.”

The burgeoning Spirit Squad would also like to especially thank the new Athletic Director Greg McVey for the amount of support he has shown them, and to whom the Spirit Squad attributes the possibility of their current formation and future aspirations.

In order to become a part of this exciting new opportunity be contact a member of the Spirit Squad or email their leaders at ChapsCheer2018@gmail.com before the Sept. 7th cut off date.

SPORTS SPORTS SCHEDULE

Wednesday September 5th Women’s Soccer Versus

Joliet

Home 4 pm

Saturday September 8th Men’s Soccer Versus

Moraine Valley

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Home 12 pm

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SPORTS photos by Alison Pfaff

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SPORTS Sunday’s Slaughter: Chaparrals Run Over the War Hawks Miguel Contreras - Sports Editor In an decisive victory, COD’s football team dismantled White Water in a 39-0 rout Sunday.

Despite the disappointing news of their post season probation, the men showed no signs of remorse as they pounded the opposition with relentless sweeps to the wings and bombarded them with a barrage of aerial assaults. From the onset of the competition the Chaps wasted no time drawing first blood in their opening offensive possession with a dominating rush from their running back Damian Jackson for a touchdown. From there the suffocation only continued as the defence continually suppressed all efforts of the War Hawks to generate any momentum.

Even amidst back field errors and slight glimmers of resurgence from White Water, COD demonstrated a superior ability to recover and continue their onslaught. Strong punting and opening kicks granted no opportunity for the Hawks special teams to return the ball, trapping them in a perpetual cycle of setbacks. By halftime the Chaps built themselves a confident 23-0 lead, scoring just before the half closed and placing the death blow for the match.

As the boldness of the supporting COD crowd swelled into the second half, the oppression of the midday sun served only to bolster the wallup of the Chaparrals, and diminish the dwindling hopes of the visiting team. Riding on the wave of their first half aggression, the Chaps left nothing to be desired in the second, permanently grounding the War Hawks and sending them reeling home.

39-0 VICTORY

Chaps Season Kickoff: Boys football team kicks off the season with a 39-0 shutout against UW White Water.

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COFFEE BREAK THEME: FASHION

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ACROSS 1. Words to live by 6. Flicked in a tray 9. Text messenger 13. Cowboy movie 14. *Badgley and Mischka, e.g.

15. Young Montague 16. Diver’s lung 17. Ostrich of Australia 18. Cake cover 19. *Between stiletto and flat 21. *Winter collection 23. Drench 24. ____-de-camp 25. George Orwell’s Napoleon 28. Program for training officers 30. Win at an auction 35. Applications 37. ____ d’Ivoire 39. Port in Portugal 40. C&H crop 41. *____ couture 43. Madrid’s football club 44. “____ on Wayward Son” 46. Comedian Carvey 47. Barber’s supply 48. First-aid item 50. “Pro” follower 52. *To change the color of fabric 53. Sacred 55. Little troublemaker 57. *a.k.a. catwalk 60. *Outerwear pullover 63. Tarantino’s creation 64. Like King George, 1760-1820 66. Find new tenant 68. 1st letter of Hebrew alphabet 69. Negative conjunction 70. Do penitence 71. Those not opposed 72. *Designer Laroche 73. Espresso plus steamed milk

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DOWN 1. Trigonometric func.

2. *Nordstorm’s outlet 3. *Purse for the red carpet 4. Financial woes 5. Demosthenes, e.g.

6. Port in Yemen 7. Greater than the whole?

8. Alluring maiden 9. *Little Black Dress creator 10. Arabian chieftain 11. Fast time 12. Lincoln lumber 15. Come to the surface 20. Unit of geological time 22. Tokyo, once 24. Insurance industry statistician 25. *a.k.a. Prince of Prints 26. *Designer Mizrahi 27. Tragedy or comedy or satire 29. Frog’s friend, according to Lobel 31. Civil wrong 32. Measured in loafs 33. *Salvatore Ferragamo’s home country 34. *Gabbana’s partner 36. Balkan native 38. Volcano in Sicily 42. Dine at home 45. Name of God in the Old Testament 49. Former Portuguese colony in India 51. Unprincipled 54. Deviating from truth 56. *____-____-Porter 57. Part to play 58. Part of the eye 59. Tiny sips 60. Gossamer 61. Frequently 62. Superman’s last name 63. Word of possibility 65. Debtor’s note 67. Tiger’s starting point

COFFEE BREAK WEDNESDAY

87° 80° Partly Cloudy

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

75° 70°MostlyCloudy

75° 70°

Cloudy

SATURDAY

75° 70°

Chance of Rain

SUNDAY - TUESDAY:

As we go through the upcoming weekend, the eventual track of the remnants of Tropical StromGordon will determine if Sunday ends up being a rainy and cooler day as well before we dry out heading into the start of next week. An area of high pressure looks to move into the Midwest on Monday, which would lead to quiet and sunny weather with temperatures right around normal for this time of year with highs in the upper 70’s and low 80’s.

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