Friday, November 22, 2024 Volume LVI, Issue 13
President Kaler addresses students’ concerns in open Q&A
Zachary Treseler News Editor
Darcy Chew Sports Editor
Vani Subramony Contributing Writer
On Nov. 19, the Case Western Reserve University Undergraduate Student Government (USG) held their annual Q&A session with President Eric Kaler during their General Assembly (GA) meeting. This was one of the first times, since last spring’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, where students were able to directly ask Kaler about the direction the university has taken.
NEWS
Work-study
“I’M SORRY IF YOU FEEL THAT WAY.”
Originally, it was announced that the Q&A was to take place in Adelbert Hall, but it was then moved to the ballrooms in the Tinkham Veale University Center to accommodate a larger-than-expected crowd. According to CampusGroups, 110 students and faculty registered to attend. On the Instagram page for CWRU’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), organizers encouraged their supporters to “Pack the USG GA.”
The first 40 minutes constituted a curated list of questions chosen by USG from student and GA submissions. During this portion of the Q&A, Kaler addressed a long list of topics from school spirit to the implications of the upcoming Donald Trump presidency on CWRU’s operations.
The most contentious part of the meeting occurred in the final 20 minutes during an “Open Q&A” where students lined up behind a microphone to ask unvetted questions, many of which concerned Kaler’s support for various marginalized communities on campus, including Black and LGBTQIA+ individuals.
In that time, an audience member criticized Kaler’s lack of response to widespread racist text messages received by Black students across the U.S., including at CWRU, questioning why Kaler did not send a campuswide email reassuring support for any Black students who may have felt threatened. Kaler responded by apologizing, saying, “I’m very sorry [they] received messages that made [them] feel that way. The situation in the po-
litical sphere right now is so charged and divisive, I actually cannot think of a message that I could send that would help people feel better, across the board.” This statement was met with boos from the crowd.
Vice President for Student Affairs Travis Apgar interrupted by stating that he had sent an email. However, the student pointed out the difference between a message from a VP and one from the president. The student said, “It gave the impression that the African Americans on campus are not important enough for your time.” Kaler responded, “That is an unfortunate perception. It’s not true. I’m sorry if you feel that way.”
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payment delays frustrate, inconvenience student employees
Tyler Vu Layout Designer
This semester, Case Western Reserve University students who utilize work-study paychecks to cover rent, groceries and other essential expenses have faced delays in receiving their payments. A mix of staffing shortages and a late release of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) left many students without paychecks for months. The delays created stress and financial hardship for students across campus.
These delays were not only a result of understaffing but also systemic inefficiencies within the university’s Human Capital Management (HCM) portal, a critical component of processing employment forms.
The HCM portal, which processes student employment, started having problems in early September. On Sept. 17, the Office of University Financial Aid sent an email explaining the situation, stating that only two full-time staff members were managing over 2,100 student employment forms. One position was vacant, and, typically, temporary staff are hired
to help. However, this year, only one temporary hire was made, leaving the team with more work than they could handle.
By Sept. 20, another email from Director of Financial Aid Mike Collins said that staff had processed about 1,600 students and left 400 still waiting. However, many students didn’t gain access to HCM until mid-to-late October, leading to frustration and confusion. The office said that the final 400 students were new hires, which required significantly more processing time due to incomplete documents or other issues. Returning students were
processed more quickly, but even they experienced weeks of delay.
At the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) General Assembly meeting on Nov. 19, President Eric Kaler acknowledged the widespread frustrations, noting that there was a “perfect storm” of issues, including staffing shortages, FAFSA delays and incomplete student documentation. “Yes, this was absolutely a real problem, and I apologize for that,” Kaler said.
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Lucas Yang/The Observer
Work-study payment delays from page 1
He admitted that the Office of University Financial Aid was using an outdated system of paper forms that slowed the hiring process and revealed that staff who should have been entering records into the HCM system were bogged down by financial aid-related tasks. “I was a little appalled that we had paper forms in the hiring process,” he said, raising questions about why these inefficiencies hadn’t been addressed earlier. Kaler outlined steps being taken to address these challenges, including eliminating paper forms from the hiring process and collaborating with University Technology ([U]Tech) to improve streamline workflows.
“Whether or not these changes will work is unclear,” a student said, adding that many students are still skeptical after years of HCM issues. “Students just want the administration to focus on clear accountability, not just quick technical fixes.”
The delays were made worse by the late release of the 2024-2025 FAFSA,
a nationwide issue. The late FAFSA release caused a backlog during the busiest time for financial aid and student employment. The university stated that staff worked overtime and additional hires were made to resolve the issue, but the volume of delayed forms remained significant.
With a lack of income, some students had to borrow money from family or friends, some had to pick up jobs and others applied for emergency funds through the Office of Student Affairs. The university’s decision to stop offering pay advances made the situation even harder for those in immediate need.
“Over the summer, I didn’t receive my financial aid package until two days before school and after the payment plan cutoffs,” a student said. “I’m on the maximum aid given by [CWRU] and cannot afford to pay my semesters without a payment plan. After that, and the many emails saying not to contact the office, I was nervous to go talk to student employment
about why I still wasn’t in the system to the point that when I did go in and ask, they asked me why I waited so long.”
The delays also affected campus employers, with some departments holding off on hiring new student workers to avoid payroll complications. This created staffing shortages within departments and reduced employment opportunities for students.
This is not the Office of University Financial Aid’s first time experiencing issues with HCM. The system has experienced maintenance problems and other difficulties for years. While CWRU has partnered with [U]Tech to streamline processes, students and staff are questioning whether the system is reliable.
“HCM is okay at doing what it is intended to do, but it’s way too often that it is inaccessible or only partially functional,” one student said. “Students are not provided much guidance on how to use the system, and it makes logging hours difficult and more chal-
lenging than need be,” another student expressed. According to university officials, a team from [U]Tech, Human Resources and Enrollment Management has been formed to address these issues. Planned improvements include faster verification of Federal Work-Study eligibility and more efficient processing for returning students.
The delayed payments highlight larger issues within the university. Many students suggested that returning workers, especially those with high financial need, should have been prioritized. Others criticized the need for more transparent communication about why pay advances were no longer an option.
As FAFSA delays are expected again for the 2025-2026 academic year, the university has promised to implement changes before the fall semester to prevent similar issues. These include streamlining the HCM system, eliminating paper forms and expediting the processing of returning students.
President Kaler addresses from
“‘Do you think arrested students should be denied their rights?’
Referencing Senate Bill 104, which will ban non-gender, mutistall bathrooms and require bathrooms to be used based on gender assigned at birth, Kaler explained that he expects “the bill not to be signed immediately, and there’ll be a 90-day period for us to respond.” Even as a private university, CWRU will have to comply with this bill, but Kaler reiterated the administration’s goal to “maintain and promote an environment where everyone can feel safe, learn and be treated fairly.” He added that this commitment “absolutely holds to our friends and gender ambiguous students and members of our community.”
In addition, many attendees pressed Kaler about the recent vandalism on CWRU’s campus and the arrests of four CWRU students. “I know some of you will find that frustrating but it’s now a criminal investigation, and we cannot provide further comment,” Kaler said.
Another attendee asked Kaler, “Do you think arrested students should be denied their rights?” They referenced the claim by SJP that students who were arrested were denied legal counsel. “It turns out there’s actually a settled case law on that,” Kaler said, mentioning that “the Sixth Amendment provides for access to a lawyer during critical portions of their prosecution. The arrest and transport to jail is not covered by those qualifications.” According to him, the university behaved within the boundaries of the law since the arrested students were provided attorneys upon request once at the jail.
One of the larger points of contention during the Q&A concerned the Freedom of Expression Policy and the amended posting policy. Kaler said, “We have an obligation to our community, as the administration, to provide a safe environment, free of intimidation, that promotes freedom of speech in a way that is safe and lawful. I believe our amended procedures do that in a
Palestinian, Arab or Muslim students. President Kaler reaffirmed his position on the investigation and student complaints of anti-Palestinian sentiment, stating his belief that Palestinian students were treated even-handedly and that the university would “cooper-
They referenced the claim by SJP that students who were arrested were denied legal counsel. ‘It turns out there’s actually a settled case law on that,’ Kaler said, mentioning that ‘the Sixth Amendment provides for access to a lawyer during critical portions of their prosecution.
robust way.” While he emphasized the unlikeliness of administration stepping away from the current policy—even as a result of USG action—he noted that they are amenable to hearing student concerns, citing the changes in late August that amended some of the rules regarding student demonstrations. Students also asked about the recent Title VI investigation into CWRU. This investigation was undertaken following the alleged failure of the administration’s response to alleged harassment of
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ate with [the investigation] to the full extent of the law.” He added that the university is “providing a safe environment for all of our students, providing access for all of our students to all of our campus and not allowing intimidating or threatening interactions.”
The first hour of the USG meeting concluded with a group of student protesters beginning the chant “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and walking out of the Tink ballroom. However, anyone who walked out of Tink on the side of Mather Quad was met by three counter-protesters on the sidewalk outside of Tink.
One student described crossing the street and being stopped by a counterprotester. After establishing his support for Palestinian liberation, the student was told by the counter-protester that “there is a place for you in Gaza soon.”
Another student, walking her friend to a nearby SafeRide, said, “I know it isn’t CWRU property, but we are trying to go about our days on our own campus and we can’t.”
During the open Q&A session, Kaler was questioned about the campus presence of the counter-protesters, and he stated that one of the counterprotesters outside “is banned from this campus … but he is not banned from Cleveland public sidewalks and streets,” so the university does not have the legal authority to remove him from the premises. When asked how students feeling unsafe and being verbally harassed should handle the situation, Kaler said that they should call CWRU and Cleveland police. During the counter-protest, two CWRU Division of Public Safety vehicles drove by several times and parked across the street, but officers never engaged with the event’s attendees and the protesters.
The arrest and transport to jail is not covered by qualifications.’”those
“Glicked”
is unlikely to replicate the success of “Barbenheimer”: An exploration of major pre-release problems in both films
Kate Gordon Life Editor
Note: This piece was written in advance of the movies’ 11/21 release date.
We all remember the magic of “Barbenheimer,” the summer 2023 dual release date for the movies “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” What many predicted to be a cutthroat box office competition instead resulted in a collaboration, with moviegoers flocking to see both films as a double feature. And why wouldn’t they?
In addition to a wave of Barbenheimer memes on social media, the two films were genuinely great, each scoring an Academy Award nomination for “Best Picture.” It’s no surprise, then, that movie theaters and film companies are itching to replicate the success of Barbenheimer, which brought in a lot of revenue for
both parties. That’s how we’ve ended up with “Glicked.”
For those unaware, Glicked is the name of the shared premiere date for “Wicked” and “Gladiator II.” I have every reason to believe that this pairing is going to fall far, far short of Barbenheimer, in terms of both box office revenue and critical acclaim; the latter will likely lead to the former. While I could be proven wrong, I’d like to explore some of the issues both movies face so Case Western Reserve University student moviegoers aren’t surprised on opening weekend when one or both movies don’t live up to their expectations.
I’ll begin with “Wicked,” as the cracks in this film are a little easier to spot. First off, although the name lacks the critical “Part 1” at the end, “Wicked” is in fact only the first part of a two-film series. The choice to split this story in half truly baffles me. The film has a two-hour and 40
minute runtime, longer than the entirety of the Broadway musical that it is based on. I will say that it is difficult to do a one-to-one translation of a stage production to a movie, as theater requires less suspension of disbelief by the audience and therefore less time devoted to exposition, but in no world are four hours needed to do justice to this story. I predict that “Wicked” will drag and be packed with boring, filler storylines.
Second—and maybe I’m alone in this thought—“Wicked” looks strangely fake for a movie with such a large visual effects budget, at least from what I’ve seen from the trailer. Its brightly-colored set design reminds me of “Barbie,” but that was supposed to look artificial. There’s also not enough props or people or maybe just enough detail in the environment to fill some of the shots, like in the one where Elphaba and Glinda board the train to the Emer-
ald City. The scene looks empty and unnatural—the sky and wheat field each have an odd gray tinge—and it’s far from the only one.
I do want to mention that I think Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will give good performances, as they’re each talented vocalists with Broadway backgrounds. The reviews for the film that are in so far are also generally positive, with a few mixed ones thrown in. I’m just skeptical about the film’s ability to win over the majority of people watching on opening day.
“Gladiator II” suffers mainly from its sequel status. Variety called the film “ultimately a mere shadow” of the original “Gladiator,” which honestly isn’t a surprise. Hollywood has turned out sequels, remakes and reboots aplenty in the past five years, bringing in box office dollars on name recognition but failing to leave critics and moviegoers creatively satiated. Also, I must note that the film cut all scenes of Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy, who was expected to have a major role as leading man Paul Mescal’s love interest. It’s only a rumor at this point that the reasons her scenes were cut was because she was outspoken about the crisis in Gaza, but even if that’s not true it’s still pretty alarming that they cut all of the screentime of one of the three women in the movie, and a woman of color at that.
All said and done, it’s never good to keep beating a dead horse. Barbenheimer worked because it was organic and novel. Glicked already feels like it’s resigned itself to being second-best. However, with all criticisms in mind, I will probably still be seeing “Wicked” as it seems like a fun, camp-y kind of bad movie. “Gladiator II,” on the other hand, feels tired at best and ethically questionable at worst. But to each their own—even if it’s not as exciting as Barbenheimer, it’s always fun to go to a movie theater, which is getting to be a rarer and rarer occurrence these days. If either film has caught your eye, I encourage you to go out and see it—but maybe not both.
Dr. Barbara Kuemerle on bioethics, teaching and her new novel, “KRISPR”
Rithika Karthikeyan
Contributing Writer
Dr. Barbara Kuemerle, a biology professor at Case Western Reserve University with a PhD in genetics, has long been fascinated by the power of gene-editing technologies like CRISPR. When the technology first gained attention, she recognized that it had revolutionary potential, but also found herself questioning its ethical dilemmas. This curiosity led her to write “KRISPR,” a novel that blends science with a deeply personal narrative.
The story follows a young woman who stumbles upon a breakthrough in
gene editing during her undergraduate experience, offering her a chance to cure her father’s Alzheimer’s disease. As Aliya grapples with the power and responsibility of this discovery, the novel delves into the complex intersection of family, morality and ambition. It’s a gripping and thought-provoking exploration of how the promise of scientific progress can tangle with real-world consequences, making it an essential read for anyone curious about where these advancements might take us.
As Dr. Kuemerle discusses in this interview, the novel is a way to connect with a wider audience and spark conversations about science, ethics and the future of genetic research. Quotes have
been edited for clarity.
Rithika Karthikeyan: You created “KRISPR” to be very relatable to undergraduate students. At CWRU you have a lot of students involved in undergraduate research, so what advice do you have on trying to balance the promise of new discovery with responsibility to ethics and balance?
Dr. Barbara Kuemerle: I think we’re in a very revolutionary time. I think we’re going to look back at this time as a revolutionary era with SpaceX, AI, genetic engineering and things like that. You really do have to think about what you’re doing and the ethics of it, but I think most of science
is okay. Gene editing does raise ethical concerns. AI does, too. Even here at Case, you can see the rise of the bioethics department—it’s huge. Cleveland Clinic now has a big bioethics presence. I’ve talked to students who have shadowed bioethicists at the clinic, and there are questions like: If they’re doing brain surgery where the patient has to stay awake, and the patient decides in the middle of it that they don’t want to continue, what do you do? Do you stop right then, or do you say, “Wait a minute, you signed off on this, you need to finish it?” There’s a lot of complexity.
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Paul Mescal (left) stars in “Gladiator II” as Lucius Verus. Ariana Grande (middle) and Cynthia Erivo (right) star in “Wicked” as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. Both movies premiere on Friday, Nov. 22.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures
“KRISPR” novel from page 3
RK: As you said, CRISPR is starting to pan out. With time and books like yours, how do you think awareness or misinformation about CRISPR has changed, both in the scientific and non-scientific communities?
BK: In the non-scientific community, I still feel like a lot of people don’t know about it. There was a movie and a documentary called “Human Nature,” but it hasn’t really reached the general public. High school biology labs are starting to use it on plants, so younger generations are learning about it, but older generations, unless they’re investors who are familiar with companies like CRISPR Therapeutics, still seem unaware.
In the scientific community, though, it’s taking off. People are using [CRISPR] all over this campus as a tool for their research. Researchers are constantly improving it—finding better ways to use and deliver it. I think it has a lot of promise and nowhere to go but up.
RK: In your podcast episode with “Just in Case,” you mentioned how storytelling can make information more accessible to a wider audience. Does storytelling influence the way you teach your class, BIOL 216?
BK: Absolutely! On a regular basis, we use real-world case studies to put what we’re learning into context. It helps students see the relevance
beyond just memorizing facts. I once shared a case about my son’s medical issue—it’s technically a case study, but also a story. Students still tell me they remember that moment because it was personal and salient. In psychology, we know salience helps with memory—if something feels relevant, you’re more likely to remember it. It’s about creating connections in the brain, like using metaphors to explain complex concepts. I find it so profound—it’s vital for scientists to advocate for their work in relatable ways.
RK: You also mentioned in your podcast episode that being in a book club helped you revisit and reshape your perspective on books you initially disliked. With a polarizing issue like CRISPR, where ethical opinions can vary widely, how do you think open discussions can foster better decision-making?
BK: Open discussions foster better understanding. In my book club, I discussed this with family members, including my nephew, who’s a lawyer. He wasn’t sure he saw the ethical concerns, saying, “If it works, it works.” I encouraged him to read more about it and make his own decision. That’s what we need to do: stay informed, consider different perspectives and decide based on our own ethics. Awareness is key. If you don’t know something is happening, you can’t think critically about it. Once you’re informed, you can reflect, form your values and make decisions—whether it’s how you vote or how you approach the topic in your own work.
RK: When people want to become more informed on issues like this, where can they find high-quality information that’s accessible to a wide range of educational backgrounds?
BK: There are some great articles.
I mean, if you just google it, there was an article in “Scientific American”, I believe, called “The Dark Side of CRISPR” and that came out a few years ago. “Scientific American” is something that I think most people can read even if they’re non-scientists. It was really interesting because it was by some bioethicists.
RK: This is a lot of very useful information! I’ve got one last question for you - you kind of have two hats here as a scientist and a writer—you’re discovering new things, but you’re also learning how to share them with people. For CWRU students who are playing a similar role in that they’re learning and sharing, what is one last message you’d like to leave with them based on your book?
BK: That’s a great question, especially because I teach a lot of premeds, and they’re going to have to talk with non-scientists to explain diagnoses and things like that. I think it would just be to be open-minded and not try to put your ideas onto someone else. You know, just listen. The best writers are the best listeners. You lean in and you listen and hear what people have to say. So that would be my advice: Just, you know, be a good listener. If you’re a good listener, then you can communicate what the individual is focused on.
If you haven’t picked up a copy of KRISPR yet, now’s your chance to dive in. Dr. Kuemerle’s book offers an accessible look at the science and ethics of gene editing, making it a must-read for anyone curious about CRISPR’s impact. Whether you’re interested in bioethics or just looking for a compelling story about family and love, it’s a great way to gain a deeper understanding of the future of genetic research.
St. Vincent explores new sounds in “Todos Nacen Gritando,” a direct translation of prior album
Kennedy Wolf Staff Writer
This past Friday, Nov. 15, popular indie rock artist St. Vincent released her ninth studio album, “Todos Nacen Gritando.” The title’s English translation is “all born screaming” and is a direct Spanish translation of her April album called … you guessed it, “All Born Screaming.” The sounds and rhythms of every song off the new album per-
fectly match their English counterpart; the only real difference is the language the lyrics are sung in. Despite St. Vincent’s long history on the indie pop/ rock stage, this is the first release of one of her albums in a different language.
The imagery of “Todos Nacen Gritando” is very similar to “All Born Screaming,” which is to be expected. But what I find interesting is the paradox of how the imagery of “Todos Nacen Gritando” stays true to its original source while also finding ways to con-
trast it. The album cover of “All Born Screaming” depicts St. Vincent on fire against a brown backdrop, thrashing about in a seemingly futile attempt to extinguish the flames. The cover art for “Todos Nacen Gritando” shows the singer—still on fire!—smiling from a triangular window and flipping the viewer off against a black backdrop. In this version of the cover art, she appears much more relaxed and seems to accept the fiery fate that awaits her. But there is also a sense of anger present, almost passive aggression, which is exemplified in her action of flipping us off. The background color being black instead of brown too feels intentional, almost as if she has accepted the burnt ash that will arrive shortly after the fire. While these differences are somewhat subtle, and the united theme of both album covers is fire, the differences should be noted when comparing the two.
The musicality of St. Vincent is another thing that I find intriguing in the comparison of these two albums. There will be obvious fluctuations in the pronunciation of words even in the same song when it is in a different language. But somehow she manages to keep the general flow and rhythm of the songs from the two albums fairly similar, all things considered. Of course, words are pronounced differently. But the flow of syllables and musical construction of each track is very much recognizable. Listen to the same song first in English and then in Spanish, and there is no doubt that they would be immediately recognized as the same song.
The main question I had after listening to Todos Nacen Gritando was, “Why Spanish?” St. Vincent does not come from a Spanish-speaking background, and this is her first time translating a previously released album of hers into a different language. She explained in an interview with New Musical Express (NME), “This was the right record to [translate]. This record is essentially about life and death and love. There’s a lot of iconography. It’s very Catholic, very sacred.” She went on to further explain that much of the album “All Born Screaming” was heavily influenced by the Spanish romantic artist Francisco Goya. She even directly cites the Goya painting “Saturn Devouring His Son” as a direct inspiration for her song “Broken Man.” I understand her urge to translate a body of your work into a medium that you feel it could not exist without. For St. Vincent, that was translating her most recent studio album into a different language because the inspiration she found for that album was primarily from Spanish texts. I find this to be an interesting way to approach one’s art and have not seen it done before. And I can always appreciate something new and unique done by a long-standing musician.
I am left wondering if St. Vincent will continue to rewrite her albums to better fit into the mold from whence they came. Will she redo her 2009 album “Actor” into Dutch? Or perhaps her 2021 album “Daddy’s Home” into Portuguese? I’m certainly curious to see whether this trend of hers continues in the coming years.
Indie pop artist St. Vincent releases “Todos Nacen Gritando,” a direct Spanish translation of her previous album “All Born Screaming,” with the new album cover mimicking the previous one of St. Vincent engulfed in flames. Courtesy of Total Pleasure Records
CWRU biology professor Barbara Kuemerle published her new novel “KRISPR” in August. The book follows the story of an undergraduate student who makes a remarkable discovery in gene editing and explores the bioethics surrounding the topic.
Courtesy of Jennifer Handler/The Morning Journal
The Jumble
ARBCRYENR ________________
And now, a limerick
The Observer has this place That is left to be seen as white space We must admit Our cartoonist quit And we really don't want it to waste.
Please email submissions to observer@case.edu
Weekly Horoscope
Which USG General Assembly Kaler quote are you?
Aries
"I would encourage any student who feels uneasy or unprotected to talk to a counselor."
"I’m sorry if you feel that way."
"It’s the law." "Which is where he maintains himself."
"I will tell you that I go to Spartan athletic events regularly, and the teams are fun to watch."
" Well, that is an unfortunate perception."
"We will not monitor students."
"So, again, it is vandalism."
"It’s not true."
Cancer
"I actually could not think of a message that I could send that would help people feel better across the board."
"That’s a pretty hard question to answer."
Pisces
"That commitment absolutely holds to our friends and gender ambiguous students and members of our community."
Top ten things NOT to say at Thanksgiving...
1. "Poltics am I right..."
2. "Exactly how much weight did you gain this year?"
3. "As usual, the dinner was delicious ... but who are we having for dessert?"
4. "I sharted."
5. "Black Friday shopping is no longer worth the hype..."
6. "I'm gender ambiguous."
7. "I'm sure the turkey won't mind ... I mean I sure like hands up my butt."
8. "Excited to go to grandma's house, been feeling extra horny."
9. "What if I steal the turkey?"
10. "Did you hear what President Kaler said???"
Compilation of out-of-pocket things heard across campus
On someone's shirt: "I pee in pools."
"Cover world events, especially in the former Roman empire."
"I don't have critical thinking like that. That's why I can't be a lumberjack."
"You ATE that placenta."
"Your radiocuntivity just melted the slaynobyl reactor and pussified the land!"
Photos of the week
fever scarlet gobble thankful thanksgiving cranberries pilgrim violence november colonization traditions plymouth influenza yams wishbone smallpox starvation
Shivangi Nanda/The Observer
Shivangi Nanda/The Observer
Joce Ortiz/The Observer
Auden Koetters/The Observer
By:
Dean Ku
Opinion
EDITORIAL
CWRU has to work this out
Editorial Board
As course selection for the spring semester wraps up, students are both triumphant and distressed. They woke up bright and early, logged onto their SIS portal and enrolled in all their new classes—or they had a nervous breakdown as they realized the seat they expected to take had already been snatched by someone else. Despite the flawed course selection process we have here at Case Western Reserve University, though, quite a bit can also be said about the school’s decisions on general education requirements—particularly physical education (PE).
Many of the physical education courses that fulfill general education requirements are twice a week and provide no course credit, which wouldn’t be that bad until you realize you have to take four different classes to meet this requirement. Granted, these classes amount to two semesters of courses and can be taken in alternative semester-long courses instead, but even these semesterlong courses end up being about two hours per week at an inconvenient time.
It is worth noting that physical education is typically something that will make someone break a sweat, especially if the class is fulfilling the movement credits that are required. Therefore, even if the class is only 50 minutes twice a week, students still have to account for the time it will
take them to get back home to shower and get ready for the rest of their classes. Furthermore, many physical education classes are in inconvenient locations—typically the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center or Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center—which are at completely opposite ends of the campus. Many second-years find themselves living in the South Residential Village closer to Veale Center, but by the time thirdand fourth-years have already chosen their classes, desperate to fulfill their requirements on time, the pickings for these second-years are slim.
The third- and fourth-years who find themselves choosing PE courses only a couple semesters before graduation may end up having to make the long walk twice a week from North Residential Village to South Side for one class before dashing back home to prepare for the rest of their day. This walk can take anywhere from 25–30 minutes, and in the snow, it’s sure to take even longer. While there is a shuttle system, during bad weather days, these buses are likely to be stuffed to the brim and unwilling to try cramming more students on board.
Although Veale Center is a nice gym, it is in a pretty inconvenient location for many students, and therefore it seems as if the university should try to move more courses to North Side if possible. Another solution, though, would be to simply lower the amount of courses required to fulfill this degree requirement.
Self-esteem 101
Catherine Choi Staff Writer
Throughout my childhood, I struggled with low self-esteem—as people constantly found ways to put me down. Over time, however, I came to realize that although how others treat you does matter, it’s ultimately more important to focus on how you treat and perceive yourself. In the end, those who don’t like me or who bring negativity into my life should simply distance themselves. In the meantime, I’ve realized that the key to breaking the cycle of self-doubt and insecurity lies in how we respond to our own emotions. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has flaws. Some are accepting of that fact and focus on their strength and learn to love themselves for who they are. Some people are not happy with the way they are and seek to improve in areas that make them insecure. In the worst case scenario, some people are frustrated with the fact that they are not perfect and beat themselves up about it, falling into the endless loop of self-hate and thinking that they are not worthy of respect. For some people, it is even worse as they feel uncomfortable seeing others have what they lack, leading them to bully those individuals. Having low self-esteem is nobody’s fault; but it leads to detrimental results.
The first thing to know about low self-esteem is what it does to us. Those with low self-esteem lack confidence about who they are and what they are capable of. Signs of low selfesteem include the following: sensitivity to fair criticism even though it is
not with malicious intent, social withdrawal and being reluctant to associate with other people because of the fear of being judged, unnecessary hostility and physical symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anorexia and substance abuse. It goes beyond not being able to accept oneself and can affect others around them, such as having to deal with people who are overly hostile and refuse to accept criticism.
In the beginning of my college career, having low self-esteem made it difficult to have a normal life. Despite the open and welcoming atmosphere typical in the beginning days of college, I would struggle to initiate a conversation with others because I intentionally monitored my behavior so as not to offend others. Additionally, I was afraid of hostile reactions. I feared being judged for not putting myself out there, even in situations where it was necessary, like during group projects. I was easily affected by external stimuli, and even small setbacks that others experienced regularly were enough to bring me down. However, I eventually realized that addressing these problems was in my control.
Low self-esteem is a vicious cycle, and we are often the ones who initiate it. For example, by harboring the memory of being mistreated, some people may start to believe that they are not worthy of decent treatment. They may struggle to cut rude people off due to a fear of being alone, which leads to further self-belittlement and stress. Those who were put into many unfortunate situations are likely to refrain from challenging themselves and from fighting for something that is rightfully theirs, such as a promotion
Students often find themselves putting far more effort into waking up early to workout before a long day of classes ahead of them than seems necessary. And this is only more inconvenient as the times offered for the classes are typically when other courses are held or bright and early in the morning. Many students prefer to study late at night and wake up later in the morning to get ready for classes, but if they only have time to go to physical education classes in the morning, they may just end up in a burned out and sleepy cycle.
Alternatively, if the school does not want to lower the amount of requirements, then it doesn’t seem like too much to ask for some form of credit attached to these physical wellness classes. Case Cooks, a course that many students take to bypass a semester of actually working out, offers credit and teaches students practical lessons about how to cook for themselves. Furthermore, students do a simple assignment to prove what they’ve learned, which allows them to get easy and relatively stress-free credit for their time and efforts. Although it can be argued that students shouldn’t be rewarded for the bare minimum, it seems as if putting time into something that we have to take— despite it possibly having nothing to do with our future life or career—entitles us to some form of credit, even if it is just one unit.
It is worth noting that many schools of similar academic rigor to CWRU do not have this require-
ment built into their curriculum. In fact, a study by Oregon State University found that 56.2% of institutions actually did not require a PE course in general education requirements. This majority is continuing to grow every year. It doesn’t seem too far off to postulate that CWRU likely has this general education requirement to encourage students to become orientation leaders. One of the main incentives of the weeks of preparation during the summer to welcome in the new class is a half semester credit of physical education movement credit. If students begin after their first year and are able to stay in the program every year after, they are able to knock out a total of three half credits to count toward their physical education requirements. Although painted as an incentive of going through the program, the reality is that the school has created the requirement in the first place. In fact, this incentive is probably enough to allow the school to get away with paying orientation leaders less than they would have to for weeks of work if the overall general education requirement were lower. Orientation leaders should certainly receive school credit for all the hard work they put into the weeks leading up to the new semesters. But perhaps the school should reconsider the current course load that students already have to contend with at such a rigorous university when making decisions about our health and wellness.
or a raise, which leads to frustration with themselves. Those lacking confidence might underperform their ability to the point that those around them may actually start to believe that they are incapable.
If a past failure is getting in the way of your self-esteem, try to investigate why the failure occurred. It could be because you were aiming for something that was too far out of reach without preparation, because of unwanted criticism that came along or competition or misfortune beyond control, not because you are worthless. You can start by combating small challenges, and use these experiences to progressively achieve bigger accomplishments. Those who cannot refrain from comparing themselves with others must come to realize that there is no right or wrong way to live life despite what others do or say. Those who
have people putting them down must be able to distinguish between constructive criticism and pure hatred. They also must remember that the mature response to people they dislike is to distance themselves and focus on their own affairs. Although it may be hard to see things straight while in an endless loop of self-hatred and poor outcomes, there is a lot of room for selfesteem improvement. People can start by switching their attention to other things, such as discovering a new hobby or shifting their negative thought patterns, being grateful for the positive traits that they do have and keeping in mind that others do not care about you as much as you think. There is nothing wrong with cutting off people you do not like and remember that hard work and dedication can make a difference in how you live your life.
Lucas Yang/The Observer
Infrastructure is everything to us: So why don’t we care about it?
Milo Vetter Staff Writer
Here’s an exercise for you. Close your eyes, and picture the world after an apocalypse. What did you see? Everyone’s vision is different, of course, but I’m willing to bet that somewhere in that slideshow of movie tropes was decay. Uninhabited buildings leaning at physi-
cally impossible angles, with only their concrete skeletons remaining. Trees growing in places where they would never be allowed to grow if any human had the power to stop them. Cracks in roads expanding and getting greener and greener until there’s hardly any road left. But here’s the thing: You don’t have to wait until the end of the world to see those things. You can actually see them right now if you want to.
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A few blocks east of the Superior Avenue Regional Transit Authority station, there’s an abandoned apartment building that was once called Huron Place Apartments. The mood in there can only be described as post-apocalyptic. All the windows are gone, the ceilings have long fallen, the wall framings have warped so much that they block the hallway like branches and nature is slowly beginning to reclaim it. But Huron Place Apartments wasn’t done in by a catastrophe: It just ran out of money. The world we build doesn’t only decay when we aren’t there anymore to maintain it; it also decays when we stop caring about it. And when you stop caring about an area so much that you let the infrastructure decay, it shows. In sociology, there’s a popular school of thought called “broken windows theory.” It claims that small imperfections, such as windows that never get fixed, create a culture which lacks care for the common good. For example, it’s much easier to justify vandalizing a building if it’s already abandoned because nobody’s using it. Unfortunately, this theory did result in broken windows policing, which was doomed to fail because this type of policing misunderstands what is socially harmful about a broken window. Broken windows don’t represent a culture of lax law enforcement but rather a culture of neglect. And does anything communicate a culture of neglect more than crumbling infrastructure? How can we expect people to keep our streets clean when they’re already dirty from chunks of crumbling asphalt? How can we expect them to work with a smile on their faces when the trains they take to work are old, rickety and loud? How can we expect people to contribute to their communities when their roads have potholes so big that they have to drive on the sidewalk to avoid damaging their cars? Furthermore, how can we expect people to believe that we care about them when we have the ability to fix those potholes but don’t? This is what’s at stake when we ignore our infrastructure. “Good enough” may allow us to continue to scrape by for a while, swerving around potholes and ignoring cracks, but living in a world so neglected ultimately unravels our social fabric.
When we let our infrastructure deteriorate so much that it needs to be replaced instead of renovated, we pay even more for it. Most people don’t know that, for most projects, replacement actually costs significantly more than the original construction. For one thing, demolition is expensive and time-consuming. Another major expense in infrastructure is what we civil engineers call “Maintenance of Traffic.” Having to rebuild a bridge while cars are still driving over it multiplies every logistical challenge and time constraint because contractors have to stagger their construction instead of doing it all at once. And don’t forget that someone has to pay for transporting road work signs, barriers and delineators while someone has to work as a flagger. This is why infrastructure projects come with a staggering price tag.
But these expenses aren’t a bad thing at all. When we’re lax on tax policy and don’t tax the wealthiest
Americans, the money often stays in one place. It’s likely to get invested, sure, but invested into companies that are already doing well. In contrast, what happens when we tax the wealthy and spend those gains on infrastructure? It goes to struggling American steel mills in the Rust Belt. It goes to American concrete plants. It goes to workers who are paid good union wages who then spend that money on their families and distribute it into their local communities. Today, the economic math of construction has flipped—materials aren’t the most expensive part anymore, labor is. But the other side of that coin is that construction workers have never been as valuable as they are today, so doing more work on infrastructure means distributing massive amounts of cash to those who (in my opinion) deserve it the most.
I think I’ve made my point that investing in infrastructure is important. And the good news is that we’ve made great progress in that investment. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), passed almost exactly three years ago in November 2021, was possibly Biden’s greatest policy achievement. It allocated about $1.2 trillion to all kinds of infrastructure. And it’s certainly made a difference. As you can imagine, the bureaucratic rollout has been slow, but it has now fully taken effect. As I’ve learned from industry professionals, civil engineering in America is positively electric right now—critical projects that had been in funding limbo for years are now moving at maximum speed, and civil engineering firms are hiring like crazy to meet the demand. We’ve even seen the effects here at Case Western Reserve University—the resurfacing of Adelbert Road, just to the east of the Case Quad, was paid for by the IIJA.
But we’ll need more. Every morning, I walk under the two rail bridges at the Cedar-University station, just southwest of Sears think[box]. The piers have decayed so much that you can see that one of them was built with modern rebar, while the other was reinforced with riveted steel plates. It’s hard to tell exactly how dangerous those support columns are, but seeing them every morning doesn’t exactly do wonders for my morale.
More broadly, our roads, bridges and buildings will never stop decaying. But how do we summon the political capital to rectify this in the future, given the legacy that President Joe Biden now has as a boring, ineffective president? The IIJA wasn’t just an incredible legislative achievement, it also required an incredible amount of political capital. And yet, this may be the first time you’re hearing about it! When we fail to talk about how important our infrastructure is, it sends a clear message to our representatives. Knowing that Americans don’t care about their infrastructure, that their ability to get to work smoothly is a negligible concern compared to the price of meat at the supermarket, is it any wonder that politicians haven’t talked about this success? I’ll be the first to admit that Biden’s administration isn’t perfect. But if we continue to neglect appreciating our infrastructure, we’ll also continue to neglect fixing it.
Sports
Nathan and Iagnemma qualify for NCAA Championships after Great Lakes Regional
Darcy Chew Sports Editor
November not only brings freezing winds and cascades of autumn-hued leaves, it also marks the last weeks of the season for the Case Western Reserve University cross country teams that have braved all sorts of weather and courses the past semester.
For many of the runners, their outdoor cross country season concluded this past weekend with the NCAA Great Lakes Regional where the men’s team placed fourth (137 points) and the women’s team placed ninth (246 points) out of a total of 39 teams.
The Spartans were back in Blue River Memorial Park in Shelbyville, Indiana, after previously running the course earlier this season at the Grizzly Invitational.
The race saw many great performances from the team, with all seven runners on the women’s team seeing improved times from the Grizzly Invitational. The third-years dominated with Lauren Iagnemma (21:49.55), Ashley Novak (22:24.76), Arianna Holbrook (23:35.30) and Julia Hluck (23:55.05) all contribut-
ing to the team’s ninth-place finish. First-year Becca Liaw rounded out the top five Spartan finishes with a time of 24:06.6. Iagnemma finished fourth overall out of 270 runners and earned All-Region acclaim for her second consecutive season. Novak also received such honors with her 15thplace finish, as the honors are given to the first 35 who cross the finish line.
On the men’s team, fourth-year Aidan Nathan was the first Spartan to cross the finish line with a time of 24:58.24. Nathan was followed by second-year Jacob Slater (25:40.15) and first-year Donovan Crowley (25:42.76) placing 27th and 30th, respectively. Crowley was also the first first-year to finish the course. With their top 35 finishes, Nathan, Slater and Crowley received All-Region honors. Just outside of the top 35 were a pair of Spartan runners: first-year Adam Esa (25:52.82) and graduate student Stephen Henry (25:53.22) as they placed 36th and 37th, respectively.
Iagnemma and Nathan both qualified as individual qualifiers for the DIII NCAA Championship, which will take place Nov. 23. They will be running the LaVern Gibson Course
in Terre Haute, Indiana, hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Many of the cross country runners will be back with the indoor track
and field season,
on Dec. 7 in the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletics Center.
Women’s soccer falls with heartbreaking 89th-minute goal in NCAA second round against No. 5-ranked Messiah
Darcy Chew Sports Editor
After a series of unideal conference matches, the Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team made their fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, where they beat Skidmore College 4-3 and fell to No. 5-ranked Messiah University 0-1.
During the non-conference regular season, the team saw a lot of success against unranked universities, remaining undefeated in non-conference contests. However, the true test came when facing the other top-ranked UAA schools, including then No. 1-ranked Washington University in St. Louis, No.
7-ranked Carnegie Mellon University, No. 16-ranked New York University and No. 20-ranked Emory University. In conference matches, the Spartans went 1-4-2, so it had come to a shock that the Spartans were able to continue their streak of NCAA tournament appearances.
The Spartans fought tooth and nail in the first round of the NCAA tournament, accumulating a total of 24 shots with 12 on goal. Their commanding offensive line led to an early 2-1 advantage going into half-time. However, after returning from the break, the Thoroughbreds upped their game, converting a penalty kick and scoring on a free kick. The next 14 minutes were intense as both sides fought to make the tie-breaking goal.
With a little over five minutes left in the game and the score tied at 3-3, third-year midfielder Jamie Goldfarb notched the game-winning goal with a header after thirdyear midfielder/forward Ceci Dapino sent the ball into the box from a free kick.
“I just had to score. I knew I had to do something, because there were high stakes: win or go home,” Goldfarb said in the post-game press conference. “Everyone really wanted that goal. If it wasn’t me, it would have been Abby or Molly.”
In the post-game press conference Head Coach Alyssa Johnson stated, “It was a whirlwind of emotions with everything going on.”
Johnson also commented on how the team’s experience with the competitive UAA conference aided in their win.
“Every single [UAA] game you’re facing an opponent who is good enough to make a run in this tournament. And so every single game for us has an impact that matters. So I think it just adds a little bit more weight that kind of mimics the tournament in a sense, because you know, if you aren’t seizing your moments in that game, you’re losing an opportunity to win,” she said. “Every single team out there is good enough to capitalize on your mistakes. That margin of error has to be really small. And every single team plays a slightly different style too. So we’re used to seeing a lot of different formations, a lot of different styles of play, and so I think that helps us become a lot more adaptable in moments.”
The Spartans continued the following day with Round 2 of the tournament, playing against host and No. 5-ranked team Messiah. This game was another physi-
cal game for the Spartans as both teams battled for possession and opportunities to score. The match went scoreless until a heartbreaking goal by Messiah occurring in the last 70 seconds broke the 0-0 tie. The Spartans were unable to find the back of the net before the final whistle.
In the post-game press conference, Johnson commented on the result.
“It’s obviously an emotional result to play your butts off for 90 minutes and have some calls and some things that you feel like should have went your way that didn’t,” she said. “You know, it’s definitely a frustrating one, but I couldn’t be prouder of this team and prouder to be in this moment with this team. They left everything out there today” Johnson also reflected back upon the season.
“I couldn’t be more grateful to be here, to have the season that we had. I know there were a lot of ups and downs, but I think it made us better as a team. It made us better culture-wise and everything,” she said. “And obviously, I know I said this before, but our conference prepares us for matches like this. I know Messiah has a history of success. And our conference has a history of success as well, so we were battle tested, and we know we can compete with these top teams because we are a top team. Our record might not have shown that this year, but we deserve to be here.”
The Spartans concluded the season with an overall 9-5-5 record, with all five losses coming from teams that made it at least to the round of 32. Other UAA teams still in contention for the championship
WashU, UChicago, Emory and NYU.
beginning with the Spartan Alumni Meet
are
The CWRU women’s soccer team confers during the NCAA tournament. The Spartans beat Skidmore College 4-3 and then lost to Messiah University 0-1. Courtesy of Marcelo Dapino/CWRU Athletics
Third-year Lauren Iagnemma (right) and fourth-year Aidan Nathan (second from right) qualified for the DIII NCAA Championship after the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, with other successful performances from (left to right) second-year Jacob Slater, first-year Donovan Crowley and third-year Ashley Novak.
Courtesy of CWRU Athletics
Football concludes season with thrilling Homecoming game, falling to Carnegie Mellon 30-37
Abhishek Nambiar Staff Writer
With Homecoming and Reunion Weekend this past weekend came the 38th-Annual Academic Bowl for the Case Western Reserve University football team. In this final game of the season, which took place on Saturday, Nov. 16, at DiSanto Field, CWRU unfortunately came short against Carnegie Mellon University: The Spartans lost 37-30 to the Tartans, wrapping up CWRU’s season with a 6-4 record while CMU improved their record for the season to 9-1.
The first quarter saw both teams come in swinging. CMU scored the first touchdown of the game during the sixth minute, the culmination of a drive that CWRU had difficulty responding to at first. After this score, however, the Spartans reclaimed possession and went on to score a touchdown of their own during the 10th minute, courtesy of first-year running back Andy Kavcic and a kick by second-year kicker Gabriel Petrozzi. This touchdown left the game at a 7-7 tie that remained as such for the rest of the quarter.
The Tartans amped up the intensity during the second quarter, scoring a field goal less than one minute into the second quarter, breaking out of the tie and achieving a 10-7 advantage. For most of the quarter, the two teams went back and forth for possession of the ball, unable to completely break through either side’s defense. This was until the 13th minute, when CMU scored their second touchdown of the game, furthering their advantage to 17-7. The second quarter concluded with a last-minute field goal by Petrozzi, setting the score at 17-10 going into halftime.
With the start of the third quarter came a strong offensive surge by CMU that culminated in a touchdown during the first minute followed by a safety two minutes later, giving the Tartans a 26-10 edge over the Spar-
tans. Not before long, CWRU was able to get back on its footing with a three-and-out just after the safety. The Spartan offense followed this up with a touchdown from third-year quarterback Aaron Filips with less than five minutes left in the period. This touchdown brought the score to 26-16, leading to a subsequent offensive drive by CWRU that ran through the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth quarter.
Within the first minute of the fourth quarter, fourth-year running back Sean-Michael James scored a touchdown with a 10-yard pass from Filips, reducing the Tartans’s advantage to 26-23. CMU answered this with an offensive drive of their own, though the drive stalled and left them forced to score a field goal, putting the score at 29-23. In the aftermath of this, Filips led an offensive drive that gave the Spartans another touchdown—and their first lead of the game, with the score at 30-29 and 4:07 left on the clock.
This lead was short-lived, however, as the Tartan offense led a drive that gave CMU another touchdown, placing the score at 37-30 with 1:12 left to play. The Spartans’ subsequent drive proved unsuccessful, and the last possession of the game went to the Tartans, who chose to run out the clock and thus secure their win.
Fourth-year cornerback Dominic Sais—who had the most tackles out of any Spartan playing in the game, with 10 to his name—commented on the unfortunate result and where CWRU may have fallen behind.
“I think we started a little slow on both sides of the ball. In games like [this] it’s impossible to point to any particular moment or drive and say it lost you the game, but I think if we would have been a little more successful before half time, it would have been easier to put it away in the fourth quarter,” he said.
Graduate student linebacker Gabe Troch, who himself finished with 9 tackles, had his own comments to
say about the team’s performance.
“The game came down to a few key plays, and Carnegie Mellon made more of them than we did,” he said. “Being in the right position is important, but making the big play when it counts is what wins games. They did that better than us at more crucial moments and that helped them win the game.”
While the Spartans may have had their shortcomings, players also drew attention to what had gone well during the game.
“I think defensively keeping [CMU] out of the end zone when they had [three] or [four] chances in a row from the one-yard line really helped set the tone. We wanted them to respect our physicality and tenacity and I think we succeeded in that,” Sais commented.
“I’d love to highlight the excellent play from the Offense,” noted graduate student linebacker Sean Torres, who himself added 9 tackles dur-
ing the contest. “The offensive line played great, Filips in his first start played exceptionally well at quarterback, and [third-year wide receiver] Dylan Cave was making key plays all game. I’m proud of how our offense played, they allowed us to stay in the game.”
This final result of the game is one that many Spartans on the football team and in the crowd in DiSanto Field may not have wanted. However, it does still highlight the strong efforts made by the team over the past season, something that has helped the team in achieving its ninth-consecutive winning season— even if they came short in this specific contest.
“The team is in a great position for next year. Towards the end of this season, many older players battled injuries, and younger players stepped up. Overcoming this type of adversity will help the team continue to improve,” Troch said.
Third-year quarterback Aaron Filips assists the Spartans in 3 touchdowns against Carnegie Mellon University at CWRU’s Homecoming Game, leveling their score before their eventual loss that wrapped up the season. Phillip Kornberg/The Observer
Scores and Upcoming Games
Men’s Soccer
CWRU vs Carnegie Mellon (11/9) - T 2-2
Football
CWRU vs Carnegie Mellon (11/16) - L 30-37
Wrestling
CWRU at Albion Open - No team scoring
CWRU at Baldwin Wallace Invitational (11/23)
Women’s Basketball
CWRU vs John Caroll (11/15) - L 50-66
CWRU vs Capital (11/20) - W 40-51
CWRU at Pitt-Greensburg (11/23)
CWRU at Mount Union (11/26)
CWRU at Marietta (12/4)
Men’s Basketball
CWRU at Houghton (11/16) - L 75-80
CWRU at Bethany College (11/21) CWRU at Kalamazoo (12/4)
Volleyball
UAA Championship Quarterfinal: CWRU vs Brandeis (11/15)W 3-1
Semifinal: CWRU vs WashU (11/15) - L 1-3
Third-place match: CWRU vs UChicago (11/16) - L 1-3
UAA Championship First round: CWRU vs Dubuque (11/21)
Swimming and Diving
CWRU at Total Performance Invite (11/21-23) CWRU at CMU Diving Invite (11/22-23)
Championship First Round CWRU vs Skidmore (11/16) - W 4-3
NCAA Great Lakes Regional (11/16) Men’s team: 4th of 39 teams Women’s team: 9th