The Observer, Volume LI, Issue 7, 10/4/19

Sports: Spartans football continues undefeated season with 37-6 win (pg. 11)opinion observer.case.edu

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friday, october 4, 2019 volume LI, issue 7

Observer

Our Story Our Voice gets students talking about gender Veronica Madell Staff Reporter

Clevelanders are being evicted; CWRU may be part of the problem Sydney Negron Contributing Reporter

The pop-up event planned by the Panhellic Council empowers students and literally destroys insecurities.

Veronica Madell/The Observer “Would you like a sticker and a high five?” Kat Taylor, a fourth-year chemical biology and environmental studies major and member of the Interfraternity Congress-Panhellenic Council, cheerfully asked a passersby this past Friday at Kelvin Smith Library Oval. “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys played in the background as students on their way to and from class stopped to talk about gender.

The snacks, stickers and Taylor’s famous highfives drew them in, but real dialogue kept students engaged. On a foam board, students wrote things that empower them, from “my friends” to “prayer” to “my self-worth.” Below the board were scattered pieces of broken wood. On these, students wrote insecurities that they broke in half, smashing and discarding the toxic thoughts that held them back.

This is Our Story Our Voice (OSOV), a weeklong event put on by the Panhellenic Council, the governing body of all sororities at Case Western Reserve University. Taylor defined OSOV as a chance to think “about femininity in our culture: what do we associate with the feminine and why?”

Taylor asked, “Are those associations positive, do we still want them there? If not, what is our role as people in society, members of a college campus and potential leaders in changing that?”

OSOV was started in 2017 by Erin Buttars, a senior member of the Panhellenic Council, as her capstone project. Buttars found that there was no place at CWRU to talk about femininity and its implications, so she created one. In its first year, OSOV started with the hashtag #breathefire. Buttars wanted dialogue to start and spread. In the following years, each new organizer made their own hashtag to represent that year’s OSOV. In 2018, it was #limitless to address the glass ceiling, and this year, Holly Sirk, fourth-year material science and engineering major and Panhellenic Council president, chose #unstoppable.

Sirk chose #unstoppable “to talk about the barriers for females in our society and how to not let them stop us.” While planning the event, Sirk also wanted to address the gap in leadership be-

tween men and women. Lining the Binary Walkway are OSOV yard signs with facts that depict this divide: while the first sign shows female progress with the fact, “Females have outnumbered males on college campuses since 1988,” the last sign shows the still existing gap in leadership as “Globally, females hold just 24% of senior leadership positions.” OSOV is about getting students to read these facts and talk about them.

As Taylor says, it is “encouraging people to think about small parts of their day and large parts of our society.”

OSOV decided to primarily focus on the feminine side of gender because, as Taylor explained, “it is a meaningful thing to come together around.

Gender defines so much of how we are perceived in society; what roles we are supposed to play. We can explore this and empower each other.” However, Sirk added that this event was also open to allies. The inclusiveness of this event was apparent at the pop-up in KSL Oval, as male and female students joined together to participate.

OSOV kicked off on Sept. 27 with the pop-up event where Taylor greeted students, starting dialogue and drawing people in for the two events later in the week. On Sept. 30, OSOV hosted a movie night followed by facilitated conversations on the film “Miss Representation.” This film discusses the sexualized image of females in the media and how this affects girls growing up today.

OSOV concluded on Oct. 3 with keynote speaker Dr. Lisa Nielson, a historical musicologist with a specialization in women’s studies and an Anisfield-Wolf SAGES Fellow.

The Interfraternity Congress, the governing body of fraternities on campus, had their own dialogue on gender. On Sept. 29, they hosted an event called “Guys Being Dudes: The Masculinity Project.” This event was a chance to have conversations about different types of masculinity and toxic masculinity.

As Taylor says, all of these opportunities for discussing gender are about getting students to “take 10 seconds to think about something that shapes [their] entire life.”

“I feel like when you’re at Case, you’re in a bubble and don’t really see how bad the situation around you is.” This is how first-year student Judy Cusack described the relationship between Case Western Reserve University and the rest of Cleveland.

This sentiment seems to be widely acknowledged by the campus, but rarely discussed.

While the average student at CWRU pays nearly $70,000 annually to attend, the median annual household income for Cleveland in 2017 was a meager $27,854. Outside of the “bubble” of University Circle, life in Cleveland is a far bleaker picture.

With much of the population wrestling with issues of poverty, eviction and homelessness, city council representatives have declared the city to be facing a housing emergency and have announced plans to combat the crisis by providing tenants with representation in housing court.

The existence of CWRU has had serious consequences for the general population of Cleveland. The massive investments put into the community by the university and allied groups like University Circle Inc. (UCI), which allow the existence of the posh businesses dotting Euclid Avenue, as well as the plethora of museums and parks, contribute significantly to rising rents.

From 2018 to 2019, rent prices in the University Circle area increased nearly 50 percent. As other projects in Cleveland like the Opportunity Corridor have funneled investment into the area, similar trends in rising rents can be seen in other neighborhoods across the city. While CWRU and the surrounding area provide a good environment and education for many students, its financial success directly contributes to wider issues of poverty, eviction and homelessness in the wider community.

Because of the financial status of the average Cleveland resident, rising rents have had a particularly devastating impact. Recently, the U.S. Census Bureau determined Cleveland to be the city with the second highest poverty rates in the country, with an estimated 33.1 percent of all residents in Cleveland and 50.5 percent of residents under 18 living under the federal poverty line. Faced with a rising cost of living, many tenants simply do not have the income necessary to pay higher rents.

Together, rising rents and high poverty rates have created an eviction crisis in Cleveland. On average, there are nearly 9,000 eviction filings in the city annually, leaving the community with an eviction rate over two percent above the national average. Eighty percent of these eviction filings are due to an inability of the tenant to pay rent.

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news InterSEXtions discussion addressed gender-based violence in queer communities of color Jordan Reif Staff Reporter Lesbian, bisexual and heterosexual women are victims of rape at rates of 13.1, 46.1 and 17.4 percent respectively. When all sexual violence is included, those numbers rise to 46.4, 74.9 and 43.3 percent, and when race/ethnicity is considered, the incidence of all types of sexual violence are astronomically high for women of color, specifically black, multiracial and Indigenous populations.

The lack of research and overt outrage over such statistics, which are likely underreported, motivated Case Western Reserve University advocate Megan Long to host a discussion, “InterSEXtions,” discussing intimate partner violence in queer communities of color, on Oct. 1.

Megan Long is the advocate for Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response at CWRU, as well as a survivor advocate from The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and a licensed social worker. She offers free and confidential walk-in services and sessions to discuss any form of gender-based violence at the LGBT Center, University Counseling Services and the Flora Stone Mather (FSM) Center for Women, an alternative to mandated reporters on campus such as faculty, orientation leaders and residential assistants. Working with the CWRU community, Long listens to people,

establishes safety plans and explains potential avenues to address genderbased violence, including knowing one’s rights through the carceral system.

Last year, after activist Tarana Burke, founder of the #metoo movement spoke at the Maltz Performing Arts Center, Long along with with Office of Multicultural Affairs Director Naomi Sigg, wanted to create a space for people, especially people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who had experienced sexual or gender-based violence. Long hosted a few conversations last year, but hopes to have more discussions this year in an effort to “reach out to communities that we know are disproportionately affected by any type of gender- or power-based violence.”

Long started the discussion asking why no one is talking about these statistics and the people behind them, and why we are not talking about violence in same sex relationships. In the small, intimate discussion, CWRU community members discussed the role of explicit and implicit biases, and how the systems, criminal justice and legal, as well as social perceptions and stereotypes obstruct survivors’ rights to respond to their violence. Particularly, the barriers which complicate the ability to report gender-based violence, especially in queer communities of

color, were analyzed. These barriers include the stigma around being LGBTQ+, fear of calling the police, lack of avenues for undocumented people and pushback from communities for speaking out and drawing attention.

The expectations perpetuated by society about what a survivor looks like overlook and exclude many people experiencing gender-based violence. As a result, the appalling statistics which started the discussion are likely underreported.

“It is important that we understand how many barriers people face just because of who they are,” said Long.

The discussion, first of many to come that will seek to address where gender-based violence intersects disproportionately affected communities, was held on the first day of domestic violence awareness month.

The Domestic Violence Awareness Project (DVAP), a national organization which united multiple different programs designed to raise awareness and educate the public about domestic awareness, encouraged people to start their advocacy with #1Thing.

“One person’s actions may seem insignificant, but together a communities’ collective ‘#1Things’ can lead to real social transformation,” explained the project’s website.

This theme, emphasizing the im-

pact of individual actions or words, reverberated through the InterSEXtions discussion.

While there are ways to support the cause by volunteering time or donating money, other more “passive” signals were discussed as a way to discreetly show support; for example, having a Safe Zone sticker posted outside your door. Furthermore, the CWRU community in attendance discussed the importance of simply listening to people and engaging in bystander intervention, so as to “not perpetuate racist, sexist, or homophobic behavior.”

“Sometimes we are quick to jump into problem solving mode,” said Long. “However, being able to hold a space for someone being so vulnerable is huge. We need to believe survivors, validate their concerns and never ever blame them for what happened to them.”

In the vein of #1Thing, Long ended the discussion emphasizing how microscopic actions can have a macroscopic effect.

There are many resources on campus and in the greater Cleveland community available for anyone to utilize. The Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, the FSM Center for Women, the LBGT Center and University Health and Counseling Services all offer services and sessions for people experiencing gender-based violence.

CWRU English Professor Maggie Vinter discusses death in the Elizabethan era Matt Hooke Executive Editor On the wall of Associate Professor Maggie Vinter’s office in Guilford House, there is a poster showing all 64 deaths in playwright William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Vinter’s debut book, “Last Acts: The Art of Dying on the Early Modern Stage,’’ describes how these deaths and death in other works of the period offered an important avenue for people to practice dying in the right way.

“It’s a universal human problem,” said Vinter, an associate professor in the Case Western Reserve University English department. “Everyone is terrified of death. Everyone wants a way to understand it.”

Death, though universal, is unknown. No one has come back from death and said what it is like on the other side. Practicing death through the theatre and other art forms is an attempt to make death more effable.

“There’s a gap between any idea you can have of death and the reality.

Freud said, and I think this is a good example that it’s impossible to imagine your own death,” said Vinter. “If you imagine your own funeral, you

still picture yourself looking at your own funeral. It’s impossible to imagine your own absence, in a way.”

Vinter said that people in early modern Britain viewed all death as active processes, where the person dying had to take action to die properly. Even someone who was comatose and unresponsive to the outside world could be waging a great spiritual battle.

“If you don’t look like you’re doing anything,” said Vinter. “You could still be doing something internally that, in their point of view, is the most important action you can take.”

Early modern Britain produced many manuals about how to die properly. Dying was thought of as a cultivated skill, like needlework, that could be improved with practice. Dying would be practiced throughout someone’s life; you were supposed to contemplate death, get comfortable with the idea, live as if you were dying and then think about how you would behave on your deathbed to make a good end.

“Like a lot of societies, the Elizabethan and Jacobean societies reached for religion,” said Vinter. ”They reached for these promises that Christianity makes that if you live a good life and die well you can go to heaven.”

Vinter used Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” a play where almost every main character dies as an example of the Elizabethan thoughts around death.

Many people were terrified of sudden deaths, because they would leave someone unable to make amends and receive their last rites. The deaths in Hamlet in particular offer many examples of characters dying without the ability to make proper preparation. However, you still see characters try to make amends before death.

Laertes, Hamlet’s friend who is poisoned to death toward the end of the play, is an example of a character desperately striving for forgiveness in his final moments.

“The last thing Laertes says, is ‘Exchange forgiveness with me, noble Hamlet. Mine and my father’s death come not upon thee, Nor thine

on me.’ You can see he’s like, oh crap, I need to do my accounting,” said Vinter. “I need to get good with God, which means I need to get good with Hamlet. He’s trying in that last minute to fit in a moment for forgiveness so he can get into heaven.”

The art of dying is often lost in the modern world, though Vinter mentioned that David Bowie’s last album, “Blackstar,” is an example of a recent artist using Elizabethan death tropes.

Mostly, death is now constrained to hospitals. Instead of being seen as a natural outcome, it is often seen as a failure of medicine. Vinter argues that this has given people more freedom in how they deal with death, but freedom comes with new challenges.

“If someone died in the 16th century, you knew what to do. These are the actions I have to do, this is how I have to dress so everyone knows I’m grieving and the community will come around me in these ways, and now we’ve lost some of those scripts,” said Vinter. “It’s more improvised, which is freeing, but at the same time more challenging.”

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Dress for Less comes to campus just in time for Career Fair Surita Basu Contributing Reporter

Dress for Less sells affordable business professional clothing to students. Veronica Madell/The Observer September is now behind us, and many students have started to feel the pressure of the internship and job search. With the career fair on Oct. 3, students were preoccupied with resumes, cover letters, interviews and the need to dress professionally.

Unfortunately, business casual and business formal can be extremely pricey, especially when it comes to women’s clothing.

Luckily, the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women was transformed into a clothing store on Tuesday, with dozens of students, faculty, staff and community members pouring in for the Dress for Less event.

Dress for Less is an event sponsored by Dress for Success, an international nonprofit organization that empowers women to achieve economic independence. Since 1997, Dress for Success has expanded to cover over 150 cities in 30 countries, including right here in Cleveland. The event offered suits, blazers, tops, skirts, purses, shoes and even jewelry, all for only $2 per item.

“I think this is a fantastic opportunity to easily get access to business casual clothes right before the career fair,” said Jas Philipoom, a fourth-year student. “Especially because a lot of people who are younger on this campus might not only [not] have the financial resources but the time or knowledge of how to get somewhere that sells business casual clothes or how to use the RTA, and then there’s the expense on top of that. So this opportunity that is on campus right when you need it and

has all kinds of selections is absolutely invaluable and I’m so glad that occurs.”

Sarah Dunifon, associate director for Women in Science and Engineering Roundtable, explained that “at the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, we work to empower all women and promote gender equity and inclusion across campus. The Dress for Less event is such a good fit for the type of work that we do. Once a year, we partner with Dress for Success of Cleveland and bring in racks of suits, blazers, blouses and other professional attire. We open the sale up to the CWRU community and are always blown away by the amount of attention the sale receives. It is clear that the CWRU community is eager for opportunities like these.”

Dunifon continued, “For many of our attendees, this might be the first professional outfit they’ve ever owned, and so it is important to us that we provide an accessible way for women to get outfit styling assistance and be able to purchase professional attire at a super discounted rate. I hope that attendees come away from this event feeling good about themselves, having the right type of professional attire to tackle the Career Fair or an upcoming interview and feel a sense of community with other women on our campus.”

“Hosting this kind of event here on campus really helps in terms of equity and inclusion and making sure women are as prepared as possible,” said Danielle Sabo, the advocate

for gender violence prevention and response in the Flora Stone Mather Center. “Dress for Success is a really amazing national company that does incredible work in terms of making sure all populations have the same access to a fashionable, professional wardrobe that again, keeps everyone in the running for the same professional opportunities and makes sure people aren’t excluded just because they can’t afford a suit. They’ve done wonders nationally and they’re really good just for the area itself, so they are a natural partner. Plus, they supply such amazing clothes!”

According to Sabo, it’s no coincidence that the Dress for Less was scheduled so opportunely for the Career Fair. “We always try to strategically place this event at the same time as either the career fair that’s happening or we know of conferences that are occurring so students, staff, faculty who need [a] professional wardrobe but maybe don’t have the finances to [to acquire one can do so]. We like to strategically do it at the same time so that again, students are feeling empowered, good about themselves and ready to go to any of these events for a price that is inclusive of all individuals budgets.”

The sale had a wide selection of high-quality professional clothes and accessories. Most attendees left with styles that could have cost upwards of $100 if purchased elsewhere. Overall, the sale came at the perfect time, especially for students, to find professional wear at extremely affordable prices.

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FROM RENT | 1 Evictions are a major contributor to housing instability, or a lack of a consistent guaranteed home. For some, having a past eviction makes finding a place to rent extremely difficult, as landlords prefer tenants without indicators that they may have trouble paying. For others, an eviction can lead to homelessness. Evictions also contribute to school instability, health issues and unemployment; all of which have devastatingly destabilizing effects on people’s lives and the Cleveland community as a whole.

However, evictions cannot be carried out against a tenant immediately, and there are opportunities for the tenant to fight the eviction. When a landlord decides to evict a tenant, they must file with the city housing court to hold a proceeding. Here, both tenant and landlord have the opportunity to provide evidence to support their case, but over half of tenants nationwide do not appear for their proceedings. In doing so, the tenant is accepting the eviction.

The low rate of attendance of tenants at their eviction proceedings does not indicate a lack of care. Tenants are often unaware of their rights and lack the resources to seek legal representation for the proceeding. Under two percent of tenants facing eviction have attorneys to represent them in court, while 75 percent of landlords in Cleveland are backed by legal counsel. The consequences of this are dramatic. When tenants do have legal representation in housing court, evictions are avoided in over 90 percent of cases.

The Cleveland City Council has recognized that the current rate of evictions poses a clear and present danger to public safety and is now following the path of many other major cities around the country. Recently, major metropolitan areas like New York City and San Francisco have passed laws to guarantee representation in housing court to mitigate the number of evictions and their detrimental effects on the community.

On Aug. 21, council representatives Kevin Kelley and Anthony Brancatelli proposed legislation that would guarantee legal representation in housing court to some of the most vulnerable groups in the city. The representatives stated in their proposal that women and children are disproportionately affected by eviction, as 76 percent of eviction cases in Cleveland are filed against women-led households, and 60 percent consist of households with children. The proposed bill would provide free legal representation to those who fall below the federal poverty line and who have children living in their households.

On Monday, Oct. 1, the city council voted to pass the legislation, and the bill was signed into law on Oct. 2. The City Council, along with the Housing Justice Alliance and the United Way of Greater Cleveland have been working for months on a plan for implementation, and members have stated that the current goal is to have the program solidly in place by June of 2020.

As residents of Cleveland, many of the council members have a close personal connection to this issue. During a meeting of the Finance Committee, representative Kevin Conwell stated, “When I was young, we constantly moved from one part of Glenville to other parts of Glenville and to Hough. It always kept me behind [in school]. I don’t want someone to have to grow up like I did, having to move from one area to another.”

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arts & entertainment COIN captivates CWRU campus Aimee Wiencek Staff Reporter

Raising Cane’s graces Lakewood with its grand opening Aura Rossy Copy Editor

This past Saturday, COIN performed for the students of Case Western Reserve University. The concert was hosted by the CWRU University Programming Board (UPB) and held in the Tinkham Veale University Center ballroom. With tickets only being $2, the concert was a perfectly affordable event for a Saturday evening.

COIN, formed in Nashville in 2012, is an indie pop band, comprised of three members, Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen and Joe Memmel. The band has many successful hit songs including “Talk Too Much,” “Crash My Car,” “Malibu 1992” and “Run.” Their songs have charted on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.

The band has released two studio albums, including their selftitled debut album “COIN” and their most recent release “How Will You Know If You Never Try.” With 2,195,658 monthly listeners on Spotify, the band is quickly rising to fame.

The night began with CWRU’s own band, Sticky, opening up for COIN at 9 p.m. The openers, a CWRU favorite, got the crowd riled up and excited for the headliners who appeared at 10 p.m. As soon as COIN stepped on the stage, their catchy lyrics, upbeat music and amazing stage presence made it hard

to not sing and dance along.

Lead vocalist, Chase Lawrence, was a main cause of the lively concert. One could tell through both his vocals and his close interactions with the crowd how invested and excited he was to be performing.

His constant engagement and his amazing live vocals, made the concert a real crowd-pleaser. The show ended with COIN’s major hit “Talk Too Much” and almost every CWRU student sang along.

“I didn’t really know any of their songs beforehand but I still had a really good time,” said second-year Meira Farhi, “I think they were fun to watch and kept the crowd lively.”

Despite being a relatively short concert, it truly was the perfect event for the CWRU students to let loose and have some fun. With the band’s bright lights, energetic music and unbelievable stage presence, COIN gave the students of CWRU a night to remember.

If you missed their concert or just simply cannot get enough of COIN after their performance at CWRU, you’ll be happy to know that they are beginning their fall tour on Oct.7. They will be performing across the United States and Canada, including Tennessee, Michigan, New York and Toronto.

(Top) Chase Lawrence, lead vocalist of COIN, hypes up the crowd at the UPBeats concert.

(Bottom) Nick Charles and his band, Sticky, opened for COIN on the night of Sept. 28.

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Late into the night on Tuesday, Sept. 24, Raising Cane’s said goodbye to its last few guests, which happened to be some members of The Observer staff. The day marked the grand opening of its Lakewood, Ohio location, approximately 2030 minutes from campus by car. Its other location that is a reasonable distance from campus is in Strongsville, Ohio, which will tack on about 10 extra minutes to your drive.

It’s not the almost indistinguishable amount of driving you have to do that sets these two locations apart, however. The Lakewood location is on Detroit Avenue, nestled in the center of the city and proximal to neighboring residential streets.

As you drive through, you notice the bustle of the city, a distinctly different feel from the familiar University Circle, but a refreshing and pleasant change of pace.

Once at the location, you have the option of entering the establishment or, if you feel too exhausted by your drive, you can choose the drivethrough option. I recommend going inside for a more comprehensive experience, with hanging disco balls and vinyl records on the wall.

The location was well staffed, and the employees took care of ensuring tables were cleaned off in a timely manner, as well as asking to make sure the customers were satisfied post-ordering.

Its menu, although limited—no vegetarian or vegan options currently—offers all you could ever want when ordering fried chicken.

Whether you order their fried chicken sandwich or one of the different baskets of chicken fingers, you might just be convinced that you travelled south to eat the best chicken you’ve had in a long time.

The chicken fingers are complemented by a perfect fry-to-chicken ratio (aka, it doesn’t over-do it with the fries), a warm piece of Texas toast that is arguably better than the fries and its signature Cane’s secret sauce.

The decor of the establishment is sprinkled with sports-themed walls, glitzy disco lighting and comfortable seating both indoors and outside. Cups and napkins feature the Ohio State University (OSU) logo, aligning with the athletic-theme of many of their locations.

Whether you’re a die-hard fan of its sauce or you’ve never had Cane’s before and are curious to try it, the trip to Lakewood is well worth it.

The location is college studentfriendly and is sure to attract students from all over the area in search of the perfect, juicy chicken finger.

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Ingenuity Festival celebrates the fusion of technology and art Katelyn Park Contributing Reporter If you ever want to immerse yourself in an former scrap metal recycling plant whose rooms are filled with art, technology, vendors and music, check out Ingenuity or IngenuityFest next year. This electric three-day festival showcases the artwork and ideas of Northeast Ohio creatives that’ll leave you feeling inspired.

The idea for Ingenuity was conceived in 2004 by two friends, James Levin and Thomas Mulready, who wanted to create an event that would celebrate the region’s musical and artistic creativity, while also drawing attention to downtown Cleveland.

An important aspect of their vision was to incorporate technology and tech projects, which is why you might find affiliations with Case Western Reserve University on some of the projects at Ingenuity.

Exhibits included interesting uses of technology such as a fully interactive zen garden that translates light into meditative sounds.

But most memorable was a virtual-reality experience by Dave Braun, who had recently created this piece for his graduate thesis.

“I created this to serve an artistic purpose and not so much for gaming,” Braun said. “I wanted to show that VR has the potential to be its own artform and I’m glad I can do it at Ingenuity.”

The festival continues to maintain its vision but has since made changes that enhanced its mission. For instance, the multi-day, multi-location event that used to color the downtown area made Saint Clair Superior its permanent home in 2016.

The new location provides a hub for Ingenuity where it can expand its

core mission and showcase more of Cleveland’s strengths. The space hosts multiple programs such as lectures, workshops, and classes in addition to entrepreneurs from local businesses.

And if you’re still not impressed, the space is open year-round.

With most of its vendors and creators being Cleveland natives, one can find a summary of the area’s evolving art scene at Ingenuity. By perusing each room, you can find sculptures made of scrap metal, selfmade kiosks, two old beds centered in the room, used mini trampolines as swings and more.

In two words, Cleveland’s current art landscape can be described as, “scrappy” and “DIY” as said by Ingenuity’s Artistic Director Emily Appelbaum. Appelbaum is from Cleveland but has returned from her time in the Bay Area creating art and

outreaching to underserved communities.

As she continues to work with Ingenuity and watch it grow, she also recognizes the art scene is evolving.

“I think Cleveland is finally pulling up its slacks and owning its art,” Appelbaum said. “We know we’re not like New York City or Los Angeles or any other big art city for that matter, but we don’t care. Screw ‘em.”

Appelbaum’s contagious, champion spirit and excitement for Cleveland is a testament of this city’s rich sense of community and creativity.

She reminds us to recognize and pay attention to Cleveland’s growth even if it may be small compared to bigger cities. Whether it is in the spirit of ingenuity or not, anyone can participate in and observe the exciting growth and change of Cleveland and its art landscape.

Relying on social media helped make the Ohio City Street Festival successful Henry Bendon Staff Reporter

The rain proved only to be a temporary setback for the Ohio City Street Festival. Henry Bendon/The Observer For the past five years, the denizens of Ohio City have gathered together each fall for a street fair. The fair, put on

by Ohio City Incorporated, shuts down West 25th Street for a few blocks right by the West Side Market and brings vendors, performers, musicians and everyday citizens into the street to explore their options and take part in the days activities—including dunking various members of the community, such as City Councilman Kerry McCormack, whose 2:40 p.m. slot on the dunk tank unfortunately coincided with a welldelivered softball courtesy of The Observer.

This year’s festival was held on Sunday, Sept. 29, a day that began fairly nicely but saw some rain develop early

on in the afternoon. “[The festival] experienced a little bit of a setback because of the rain,” said Carrie Miller, the director of neighborhood services for Ohio City Incorporated. “But the great part is that people went into the businesses, which is part of the goal of the festival, and then when the rain ended they came back out.”

In general, Miller described the festival as a success. There were lines at vendors’ tents, people milling around and a small, but dedicated crowd enjoying one of the bands on the stage set up across from the Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Miller did, however, hedge her bets.

“There’s no science to [the festival] that I’ve figured out yet,” said Miller.

“We rely very heavily on social media to get the word out, and generally people seem to have responded well to that.”

The rain, however, continued to be a concern, but the weather was not a problem for some festival attendees.

“I kinda came to the fair thinking oh it’s a rainy day, I don’t know how many people will be around on a random Sunday in October to go to a street fair, but it’s really packed and the music is really good,” said Will Erickson, a Case Western Reserve University student currently on co-op.

“The snacks were also a positive,” he continued. “I haven’t had all the food but the food I have had is really excellent, so honestly, I’m impressed.”

The festival is also an important business opportunity. Don Whitaker, the owner of West Side Market’s D. W. Whitaker Meats, was handing out tote bags. Additionally, his organization encouraged local shopping by passing out coupons. “[The festival] is good for bringing a bunch of people to the neighborhood,” he said.

The rain faded into the afternoon around three o’clock, and festival-goers returned to the streets just as Miller said they would. By Monday, the street was returned to full functionality: the booths put in storage and the band tent taken down. But for the rest of the afternoon, it was smooth sailing and happy neighbors all across the West Side.

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A 30-minute drive, but a world away: Cuyahoga Valley National Park Henry Bendon Staff Reporter

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is free to the public and contains amazing views and friendly canines being walked. Henry Bendon/The Observer Saturday, Sept. 28, was officially a fall day. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell whoever schedules the weather, and the air we stepped into exiting our car at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) was 81 degrees and humid—not exactly ideal for hiking.

It was, however, National Public Lands Day, an annual event held on the fourth Saturday of every September, designed to bring people together to help maintain the splendor and beauty of the country’s national parks.

National Public Lands Day also opens up nearly every park to visitors free of charge, and while the CVNP is always free and accessible, it did make for an excellent excuse

to head down I-77 and check the park out.

For those looking to visit CVNP, a car is a necessity. The drive is half an hour to reach the park and another 10 minutes to find a parking spot and trailhead. Our exploratory mission started at the Boston Store Visitor Center, where one can find both parking and Mitchell’s ice cream.

The parking lot itself suggested the trail we meant to take might be fairly packed: our intended route was down the towpath to the Stanford House to Brandywine Falls Trail loop, where we would walk to find the fall, take some cool, Instagrammable photos and then loop back around.

The park, it turned out, is big enough to handle one full medium-

sized parking lot.

The hike we chose cut right through the quaint Boston Township area, which has been maintained to look like an oldtimey Ohio rural village. Then we went through the wilderness itself.

We struggled through marshes, up hills and through forests, our progress made possible only by our mental fortitude and the incredibly clean and well-maintained paths that made the hike approachable for pretty much anyone looking for some outside the big-city activities.

The total time out to the falls was about 45 minutes, according to the timestamps from a photo of a cool turtle we found when we arrived and a photo from the waterfall overlooking the boardwalk.

The hike was punctuated by cool

views and large friendly dogs, whose owners were taking advantage of the deceptive summer-like weather to get their canine companions some outdoor time.

We ran into some rain on the way out of the park, which was ironic considering the dry period prior to our arrival had left most bodies of water at fairly low levels, leaving us a less than perfect, but still impressive waterfall to cap off our hike and a very easy, although somewhat dusty, hiking environment.

For those interested in visiting the waterfall without doing a hike, you can drive right up to the boardwalk and park. There are a few falls other than Brandywine in Cuyahoga Valley with hikes that are very achievable for any experience level.

Cleveland-based book award recognizes four authors for their work Caroline Kuntzman Staff Reporter On Sept. 26, members of the Cleveland community attended the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards at the KeyBank State Theatre in Playhouse Square. The award was created in 1935 by poet and philanthropist Edith Anisfield Wolf to recognize authors who “challenge racism and celebrate diversity.”

The Anisfield-Wolf awards have run for 84 years. Over 200 written works have received Anisfield-Wolf awards. Past winners include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”

by Malcolm X and Alex Haley.

Four authors received awards at the ceremony.

The first was Tracy K. Smith, for “Wade in the Water” a collection of poems. “Wade in the Water” includes

a series of letters from black soldiers in the Civil War and a poem called “Watershed” which addresses chemicals being dumped in the Ohio River.

Smith received a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 2012 for “Life on Mars” and served as the United States Poet Laureate from 2017-2019.

The second Anisfield-Wolf award went to Tommy Orange. Orange’s novel, “There There” follows the lives of 12 urban Native Americans.

Orange described this group as being “double invisible” despite making up the majority of the United States’ indigenious population. “There There” has also received the PEN/Hemingway Award, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize and the 2019 American Book Award.

Andrew Delbanco received the third award on Thursday for his non-

fiction novel, “The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War.” Delbanco wrote it to discuss the impact of fugitive slave laws on Antebellum America.

He described them as impacting all African Americans, not just those who were former slaves, for they could be brought to the South if they were misidentified as runaway slaves. In addition to his Anisfield-Wolf award, Delbanco has received a National Humanities Medal.

The final award of the night went to poet, playwright, activist and educator Sonia Sanchez. Sanchez received a Lifetime Achievement award for her past work and is a key figure in the Black Arts Movement. She read some of her poems and encouraged the audience to vote. Sanchez previously

won the Wallace Stevens Award from the American Academy of Poets and was the poet laureate for the City of Philadelphia.

In addition to hearing from the award winners, the audience was treated to a performance from 10-yearold Logan Greer. Greer is a student at Campus International School in Cleveland. She read her original poem “City of Growing Up” which reflects the multifaceted nature of Cleveland.

Following the awards ceremony was a reception where attendees could meet the authors and enjoy refreshments. At the reception, first-year student Lydia Mandell said that she enjoyed attending the Anisfield-Wolf awards, naming Sonia Sanchez as her favorite speaker because of her message about intersectionality and the need to uplift others.

8

opinion

4/19/19

opinion

EDITORIAL

What Public Safety does for CWRU Editorial Board Following the release of the 48page comprehensive 2019 Security and Fire Safety Report, the Public Safety department at CWRU should be commended for its actions to document safety procedures on campus.

After two recent fires in Kent Hale Smith and Millis Schmitt, Public Safety combined their Fire Safety section and annual security report.

However, as incidents such as petty theft are reported across campus, we should ask what the attitude toward public safety is on campus, and what official departments should do to help promote a safe university environment.

With the addition of the fire safety section, the 2019 Security Report covers more information than previous reports, including the number of fires and their causes in all campus buildings in 2018. While there were only three fires last year, the information is useful to students who want to learn about what safety precautions they should be taking across campus, especially as there could be cause for concern after the two recent fires, which resulted in the closing of both buildings involved for a period of time.

However, outside of fire safety, students may be more concerned about crime, which the Public Safe-

ty department has attempted to address in the past with the expansion of Safe Ride hours. However, safety seemed to take a step backwards recently this year with confusion over who would be allowed into Safe Rides.

Beyond student transportation, it should be Public Safety’s responsibility to make sure that students also feel safe on campus, and that they have the space to use the resources they need. This includes the publication of medical amnesty and other programs that encourage students to seek help instead of worrying about consequences, and to create an environment where students living in university-owned dorms feel safe where they live. However, Public Safety may be failing in this regard.

Recently, following an attempted mugging on Murray Hill, the Carlton Road community Residential Hall Association sent out a survey to evaluate students’ feelings on how safe they felt while in their dorms and in the area, and called for ideas to help the area feel more secure.

Although it is positive that the community was able to come together to find ways to feel more safe, the responsibility to ensure that students feel protected should fall to the de-

partment on campus that was designed for this purpose.

Similarly, reporting crimes on campus often feels futile. A student who asked to remain anonymous had money stolen from their dorm, and was offered a bike lock in return.

Although there is little to be done in those situations, it is important to create an environment in which students feel like they are being heard, rather than feeling helpless.

Ultimately, CWRU Public Safety should not be criticized too harshly for their performance on campus; as

a whole, they still publish regular monthly crime logs with reported crimes from the month, which has been maintained for the past several years. The attempts to expand the Safe Ride program and the security notification system should also be commended. However, Public Safety should make sure that the students they are meant to protect. feel as safe as Public Safety claims they do, instead of student organizations taking action to reach out to students before an official department on campus has the chance to.

Recent fires and confusion over Safe Ride policy raises questions about campus safety. Courtesy of The Daily

Richards: Blind acceptance of mainstream media is dangerous Jason Richards Staff Columnist Americans have been desensitized by dishonesty. We appear to be content with settling for what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear. Objectivity has been categorically replaced with “alternative facts,” or ones that we choose to accept rather than ones that exist in reality. In this era, emotion rules over logic. That characteristic is what truly highlights the current Trump administration.

Look no further than how James Comey, former director of the FBI, was treated. For years, Comey has been the target of the Trump administration in their attempts to destroy his credibility to curry favor with their supporters. Comey, who led the investigation into Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, was fired in May on the grounds of mishandling the investigation into Hilary Clinton’s 2016 email scandal. However, just a few weeks ago, a judicial report was released on Comey. Although it condemned him for irresponsible practices that set bad precedent for FBI employees, it claimed that Comey and his associates never leaked any classified information to members of the media.

This contradicts the most significant criticism the Trump Administration had against Comey.

This not only resembles the Clinton controversy over her emails, but is tightly linked to it. Yes, she made some irresponsible decisions with her private email server, but the nearly two-year long investigation into her actions concluded that she never broke any pre-established laws (nor did the investigation in-

dict anyone, unlike the Mueller investigation). Yet, one of Trump’s foremost rallying cries, and a major reason why he was able to garner support early on in his successful presidential bid, was “lock her up.”

Lock her up on what crime? Clinton never committed any crime, but she was painted in an extremely negative light by Trump and many mainstream media outlets, which led to the general population assuming that Clinton was guilty. Although I am not a Clinton supporter, I recognize that basing fiery rhetoric around lies

and misdirection is not conducive to an objective atmosphere of discussion, for which we, as a society, should strive for.

Trump’s claims, publicized on his Twitter account, may be the worst offender in spreading false information. According to The Washington Post, Trump made 492 false or misleading claims in his first 100 days in office. This averages out to around five false or misleading claims per day. Why do people even listen to what he says anymore?

False information is so incredibly

Trump spread false information on social media to attack political opponents. Courtesy of Flickr

widespread now, and easy to spread further, that it makes sense a large number of people buy into it. Consider this: try to compare the number of lies you hear from your peers as opposed to the number of lies you hear in mainstream media. In order to do this, you would need to know the real information to identify whether other information is true or false. However, finding accurate information now can be incredibly difficult. This core concept is why a substantial amount of people still trust what Trump says; they are easily misinformed because of a lack of access to real, accurate information.

I am not sure if they are entirely at fault for that. We, as Americans, have accepted that we prefer to hear the things we like to hear rather than the things we need to hear. The Trump administration and many mainstream media outlets are intoxicating to people because they cater to audiences who may not know the truth, and who accept whatever confirms their pre-existing opinions.

We set the terms for our own consumption of media and information.

From the same logic, we have the power to these terms. America as a society can no longer tolerate the widespread distribution of false information. Once we make a stand and demand that correct information be made more available, administrations plagued with dishonesty like the Trump administration will hopefully disappear.

Jason Richards is a third-year computer science major. He enjoys programming, biking and spending his money on Chipotle.

opinion 9

observer.case.edu

Zhu: Why we romanticize the hustle, and why I hate it Zhu’s Clues Caroline Zhu Opinion Editor Ever since millennials and more recently Generation Z started growing into maturity, older generations have levelled claim after claim of laziness and entitlement at young adults, while many protest that this generation works just as hard as previous generations did, often for less payoff.

Tuition rates continue to rise and inspirational stories about people who work while studying become increasingly common. The sheer volume of these articles marks a shift in society to admire what is often termed “the hustle,” or the will to do whatever necessary to achieve your goal. This shift, while initially an attempt to recognize those who work hard for little reward, has instead marked a swing towards faking a struggle to prove personal worth, which only leads to misconception and disrespect.

This shift can be attributed to a variety of sources: the downward trend in elite university acceptance rates, the attention that some hardworking students receive for their motivations or achievements and the advent of the hustle. When universities’ admissions ask for highly personal statements, many students who are already well off will dramatize or even fabricate a struggle they went through to make their ap-

plications seem more compelling.

This behavior ignores the inherent privilege available to these students in that their achievements should speak for themselves relative to the resources they had available.

To provide a simple example, students who had access to often expensive standardized testing preparatory material are proven to perform better than students who do not, giving them an edge in the admissions process. Faking or embellishing a tragic story to try and gain another leg up in the admissions process is disrespectful to students who actually faced significant personal struggles and were able to continue achieving at their level.

We already see the ramifications of this on slightly altered scales, where wealthy students and their parents are currently embroiled in investigations of bribing admissions officials to embellish the records of the students, when their wealth and privilege should have afforded them well beyond enough resources to achieve at extremely high levels.

Beyond university admissions, this becomes relevant when students are at universities like Case Western Reserve University. Private universities like CWRU come with a hefty, ever-growing price tag that students often have to work multiple jobs to

support themselves at school. Still, not everyone needs to work to balance their finances, with help from family or other sources. This is standard; income distributions will always be unequal and it is unreasonable to assume otherwise. However, with the popularization of the trope of poor college students and the glorification of the struggle, somehow the idea of appearing broke has become appealing to students. As such, students who will boast low incomes and call themselves hustlers for working a few hours a week will also be the ones to disappear on $1,000 spring break trips.

Ultimately, this behavior is disrespectful to those who spend hours at work to go home and try to maintain their academics in a system that will only congratulate them for their work without trying to offer assistance.

How many times have we seen mega-corporations cite these stories of success in spite of poverty as inspirational, when they have the resources to help these people, but instead choose to congratulate them for helping themselves?

This kind of congratulatory behavior from a position of privilege feels like a slap in the face to those who work themselves to the bone trying to stay afloat. By co-opting

the struggle of being poor, privileged individuals and organizations tout poverty as some kind of ideal, which is both insulting and painfully transparent as a way to feel better about themselves without taking any action.

For individuals, this is a commodification of poverty—to only briefly dip into the kind of grueling work that so many across our nation must go through in order to make ends meet, only to step out once the water is too warm.

When universities and society at large make the shift from celebrating those who thrive in the face of adversity to congratulating students for being forced to work long hours outside of academics without aid, it only creates an expectation for students to overwork themselves to chase after an unattainable goal.

There is absolutely no shame in being honest about your life and your means; to lie about it and to pretend to share a struggle with someone who is forced to hustle to get by is disrespectful, and ultimately easy to see through.

Caroline Zhu is a second-year computer science major with a deep and abiding love for Shakespeare.

She is currently asleep and cannot take any messages.

Kim: On Starbucks names and microaggressions Won Hee Kim Director of Print I started using a Starbucks name in March.

My Korean name, Won Hee, was too foreign for the baristas to spell.

It held up the line, and there were many grumpy, caffeine-deprived customers behind me. So when the barista asked me to repeat my name for the third time, I told him that he could just write down “Charlie.” As an economics minor, I can appreciate efficiency, and I didn’t mind that my real name wasn’t on the cup. These sort of mistakes happen even to people with standard American names.

But in some way, I’ve always had an issue with my name.

Personally, I love my name. My parents carefully and painstakingly picked it out for me, and the hanja, or traditional characters, that make up my name mean something along the lines of: “I wish that you will always be shining.” No, my issues stem from my name’s interactions with other people.

Teachers have misspelled or mispronounced my name from nearly

the moment I stepped into America.

However, I was lucky enough to grow up in immigrant-rich areas like California and New Jersey, and my teachers and peers quickly corrected themselves.

Case Western Reserve University has not offered me the same experience.

In my second year, I took an introductory class that took attendance every day. I remember specifically that the professor told us to write our names in “the English alphabet, not the Chinese one.” Maybe I imagined it, or dramatized it in my head in the aftermath, but she seemed to look at the Asian or Asian-American students in particular. This felt wrong for several reasons. For one thing, I wasn’t Chinese. For another, the Chinese language does not have an alphabet. Uncomfortable with the whole situation, I ended up dropping the course before add/drop ended.

Now, while I’m in my fourth year at this school, something similar happened in an elective class I had

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer reports news affecting students and provides an editorial forum for the university community.

Unsigned editorials are typically written by the opinion editor but reflect the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. Opinion columns are the views of their writers and not necessarily of The Observer staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 302-4442 or e-mail observer-ads@case.edu.

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been wanting to take for a while. The professor asked my name, and upon hearing it, she asked, “That isn’t an American name, is it?”

I explained how to pronounce my name—one, like the number, and he, like the pronoun.

“I guess I’ll never say your name then.”

Ouch. I considered telling her my Starbucks name, but I was interrupted by the sound of laughter from my classmates.

For people who have never been bullied, this behavior may seem innocuous, but being laughed at by a class is one of the worst feelings in the world. Though they were responding to her joke, it sounded to me like they were agreeing with her.

People mock microaggressions and make jokes about them, but this incident marked the second time comments like this have caused me to drop a course I wanted to take.

I don’t want to disclose the names of the specific professors or classes—this article isn’t meant to

call them out by name—but someone needs to speak out against this behavior.

It’s all right to mispronounce or misspell names. It’s all right to not know everything about a foreign culture, and it’s more than all right to use a pseudonym so you can get the correct order at Starbucks. But it’s not all right to use something like a name as fodder for insensitive jokes; alienating a group or a person in a class to gain the approval of the rest of the class should never be okay.

I wasn’t able to say anything directly to my professors, and considering that I’m about to graduate, it’s too late for me. My hope for the current future students of CWRU is that in similar situations, whether they are a victim or a bystander, they can be braver than I was and confront those insensitive enough to act so unprofessional.

Won Hee Kim is a fourth-year English major with minors in creative writing and economics.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergraduate students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher MATT HOOKE directors of print WON HEE KIM & NATHAN LESCH director of design RYAN YOO director of web & multimedia JACKSON RUDOFF director of business operations SARAH PARR layout designer LESLIE SERN social media editor DEEKSHA GOLLAMUDI web editor PRESTON WILLIS photo editor CHRIS HEERMANN advertising manager JUSTIN HU accounts manager SHIVANI GOVANI marketing manager BRADLEY SCHNEIDER

development editor EMILY YOUNG news editor GRACE HOWARD a&e editor YVONNE PAN opinion editor CAROLINE ZHU sports editor MEDHA NAYAK copy editor AURA ROSSY & RITCHELLE ALINSAO

10

sports

10/4/19 8/23/19

Spartans succeed despite sweltering heat Chris Heermann Photo Editor Sept. 28 marked the All-Ohio Cross Country Championships. This meet was a big deal, colleges and universities from across the buckeye state traveled to Cedarville to compete for glory and dominion over their rivals. All divisions compete at the same course, creating an electric atmosphere that usually brings out the best in each runner as they race alongside teammates and rivals while the roaring crowd cheers them on to victory.

This past weekend was unusually hot for late September. When the gun went off for the men’s varsity race, it was a blistering 84 degrees.

Humidity was at a high, yet the Spartans soldiered on. Third-year Trey Razanauskas came through the finish line at 26:04. Razanauskas placed 15th overall, in a race that included several Division I teams.

This was Razanauskas’ first race of the season, following an injury that held him out of competition until this weekend. For his efforts, Razanauskas was named UAA athlete of the week, the second CWRU runner to win that award this season.

Although the divisions competed alongside each other, the race was scored among each division, with points counting for each place within the runner’s division. Finishing second for the Spartans was fourth-year David Hall, with a time of 26:09. Hall finished eighth among Division III runners. Following Hall was second-year Spencer Weigand, who finished ninth, and first-years Jack Begley and Joe Jaster, who finished 11th and 15th respectively.

The Spartan men placed fifth out of 38 teams, No. 2 among Division III teams. In the open race the Spartan men continued to demonstrate their depth by finishing first overall, with third-year Dima Blundell finishing first for CWRU with a time of 27:21.3.

The Spartan women began their race at 1:45. What cloud coverage there had been quickly dissipated, and the sun heated the temperature to an excruciating 88 degrees as the varsity runners sped through the 6k course. Again, the Spartans proved

that they excel in rough conditions, placing second among the Division III teams. Leading the way for the Spartans was fourth-year Maddie Lindemann, with a time of 23:31.1.

This was Lindemann’s first race of the season, following an injury that held her out of competition until this weekend. Lindemann proved that she was here to stay, finishing fourth among Division III runners. Close behind was third-year Kiera Olson, finishing ninth with a 23:44.7.

Next to finish was second-year Jana

Fisher, who came through the line at time 23:52, finishing 15th. Following Fisher were first-years Stephanie Wroblewski and Melissa Phung, who finished 19th and 20th with times of 24:04.0 and 24:06.4 respectively.

Now that we have had several weeks of races, the regional and national rankings are beginning to settle. Changes now represent a more accurate guess of where a team may finish in postseason competition. The Spartan men moved up to

third in the XC Great Lakes Region, displacing John Carroll University.

Nationally, they moved up 12 spots to a program-record 18th, due to their success at the All-Ohio Championships. The Spartan women also moved up to third in the region, displacing Baldwin Wallace University after beating them at the All-Ohio.

Nationally, they moved up three spots, from 25th to 22nd.

The Spartans are back in action this weekend at the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky.

Maddie Lindemann races at All-Ohio Championships. Chris Heermann/The Observer

Women’s team steamrolls toward UAA competition David Chang Staff Reporter Although Nick Chubb’s 88 yard touchdown was an impressive demonstration of speed, another force to be reckoned with is the Case Western Reserve University’s women’s soccer team.

The Spartans stay undefeated for their last week of regular season play, picking up wins against Kenyon College and John Carroll University, both with scores of 3-1, improving their record to a 9-0-0. Their performance bumped the Spartans to rank 10th on the United Soccer Coaches National poll. The Spartans also broke the total goals scored record in a season, which was previously held at 32.

In their record breaking game against Kenyon, second-year Christina Hickinson caught the opposing goalie off guard when the opposing defenders passed the ball back for a reset. Hickin-

son’s burst of speed enabled her to drill the ball into the goal before the opposing keeper could pass the ball. In the second half, Kenyon responded with a goal of their own, tying the game 1-1.

After kick-off, fourth-year Kimberly Chen found Hickinson at the right side of the box. Hickinson spun around her defender to receive the past and just got her shot off before the opposing defender could block it, rolling through the keeper’s hands. At around the 60 minute mark, first-year Aniya Hartzler drilled a 25 feet pass to second-year Anika Washburn at the middle of the thirty yard line. Washburn juked left and went right, creating separation for a deep shot towards the top right corner of the goal. The Spartans outshot Kenyon 21 to 7 shots.

Around the 21 minute mark of the game against John Carroll, the

Spartans offense swarmed the Blue Streaks defense, passing the ball around to prevent interception.

First-year Merry Meyer lobbed the ball into the box to a trailing Chen, drawing first blood for the Spartans.

A minute after kickoff, good ball movement and positioning found Hartzler open one on one with the opposing keeper. The keeper came up and blocked the shot, but Washburn whizzed ahead the defense to tip the ball back in to extend the lead 2-0. Not staying content with their lead, the Spartans continued attacking, first-year Johanna Dunkers took a shot but it was saved by the opposing goalie, and Meyer’s shot went wide.

Not devastated by the deficit, John Carroll scored of a cross to mount their comeback. Starting in the sec-

ond half, John Carroll subbed in their second keeper, who saved two shots in the first three minutes of the second half. Wanting to prevent the lead going out of hand, the Blue Streaks started playing aggressive defensive, racking up four fouls in the second half.

Third-year Lauren Unterborn had two saves in the second half, including a diving jump to block a long-distance shot. To put the icing on the cake, second-year Greta Lazarra crossed the ball to Washburn at the middle of the box for her team-leading eighth goal of the season, handing John Carroll their second loss of the season. Washburn’s performance this week was recognized by her UAA athlete of the week honor, the second time this season.

The Spartans will begin UAA play against New York University on Saturday, Oct. 5 on the opposing field.

sports

observer.case.edu

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

11

Football continues with winning streak and earns honors Shreya Ramani Contributing Reporter

Nicholas Kamlet Staff Reporter Adam Zybko is a fourth-year tight end on the Case Western Reserve University football team. Over his four seasons, he has seen action in 30 games, accumulating 318 yards and one touchdown. Zybko has also received accolades of UAA Fall All-Academic recognition and Fall 2018 PAC Academic Honor Roll. He is currently majoring in finance and economics, and remains open to different possibilities within the fields upon graduation.

Outside the classroom, Zybko is part of the Weatherhead Fund club and Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

they would say. I’m also contemplating graduate school in either finance or economics. I’d also like to do some more travelling before I eventually get down to business.

What is your favorite part of being on the football team? Why?

I guess this is technically offcampus, but I was fortunate to spend the past semester studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for sure. Besides that, I’ve also been involved in the Weatherhead Fund club, where me and other students manage a portion of the university’s endowment. I’m also a part of the Van Horn and Wolstein Societies as well as CWRU’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

My favorite part about being on the football team would have to be the camaraderie between me and my teammates. Given the amount of time we all spend together, it’s hard not to build strong relationships and become good friends off the field. It’s a pretty unique environment to be a part of since we’re all similar minded and get to compete alongside each other. We’ve definitely gathered more than our fair share of inside jokes together.

Do you have any games that you remember being particularly special?

I think it’s hard not to mention our 2017 win over rival Carnegie Mellon University my second year. We were down with less than a minute left and blocked and returned a punt for a touchdown to take the lead. Next thing we know, we’re in overtime and convert on a fourth down to end up winning. I’m not sure that description can do the game justice, but suffice it to say it was the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of. What makes it even more memorable was that it was the last game of our regular season that year, so it solidified our undefeated season, gave us our first PAC championship and sent us to the playoffs, where we matched our program record, making it to the second round.

What are your plans for after college?

I’m still undecided about what I’m doing after graduation. I have a return offer from my internship last summer, but I’m still going to “throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks,” as

Aside from football, what else are you involved in on campus? Can you explain what you do in them?

Why are you majoring in finance and economics? What interests you about it?

This past weekend, Case Western Reserve University’s football team looked to remain undefeated when they traveled to Greenville, South Carolina to play against PAC rival Thiel College. With their 37-6 win, the team improved their standing in the season and conference, as they improved to a 3-0 in the season and 2-0 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference play. The team was led by game leaders second-year Drew Saxton, third-year Zach Hall and third-year Colt Morgan.

Quarterback Saxton completed 23-of-42 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns with a pair of interceptions. Wide receiver Morgan was equally impressive, running 116 yards and completing nine passes with two touchdowns. Running back Hall scored a touchdown and ran 78 yards with 11 carries throughout the night.

As the game progressed under the Saturday night lights, the Spartans caught an early break, with game leader Hall scoring a 12 yard touchdown by 8:26. The second quarter saw dual action from Saxton and Morgan, with Morgan catching a pair of touchdowns to put the Spartans ahead by 14 points. With these touchdowns, Morgan moved into fourth place in program history with 24 career touchdown receptions.

Linebackers, third-year Joshua Smith and fourth-year Isaac Withrow each added three sacks and four tackles respectively, and fourth-year cornerback Luke Bedell picked up a pair of passes, adding to his total passes this season, now recorded as a team high of three.

The third and fourth quarters were marked by two players scoring their first career touchdowns; third-year running back Brett Carney scored the sole touchdown in the third quar-

ter at the 6:15 mark, catching a nine yard touchdown pass, furthering the Spartans lead of 28-0. Thiel scored their only touchdown in the third quarter, edging the score to 28-6.

The extra resulting extra point was blocked by first-year Gabe Doree.

First-year running back Jack McCrae scored the last touchdown in the fourth quarter, along with the team safety, as the clock timed out, securing the Spartans win at 37-6.

With outstanding play from all classes, the defense was a highlight of the night with 10 sacks throughout the game.

Fifth-year defensive end Cameron Brown finished the game with 3.5 sacks, just shy of his own record set against Saint Vincent College last season. After Saturday’s performance, Brown has totaled 4.0 sacks this season and 28 for his career. He is now tied for third in program history in career sacks, and has moved within five sacks of the program’s record.

These statistics led him to be selected as both the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and University Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Week. Brown, the reigning PAC and UAA Defensive Player of the Year, has now garnered PAC Player of the Week honors five times, and UAA Athlete of the Week honors on six occasions. Fourth-year defense linesman Andrew Lease also earned honors, being named into the defensive tackle on the D3football.com Team of the Week.

As CWRU continues to look to extend their winning streak, they will return home this weekend for a key matchup against Westminster College at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5 at DiSanto Field.

Coming into CWRU, I pretty much knew I was going to major in something within Weatherhead [School of Management]. I just didn’t know what specifically. I was drawn to the quantitative aspects of finance, but I was mostly just interested in learning more about that discipline after taking a few introductory classes. I later picked up economics as a major because I wanted to understand more about markets and the general economy. I think studying economics provides a unique way of thinking about how things work, so I found that aspect valuable.

What is your favorite quote or what inspires you?

It’s a little ironic, but a quote I think about a lot is by Mark Twain: “Don’t let school interfere with your education.” I still take school seriously, but I feel like this quote is hinting at how much there is to learn outside the classroom.

Football continued their undefeated start to the season with a 37-6 win. Courtesy of CWRU Athletics

sports NFL storylines after the first four games Andrew Ford Staff Reporter The first quarter of the 2019 NFL season has passed and the league is as polarizing as ever. One division has four teams with the same record.

Backup quarterbacks are taking the league by storm, and, of course, the New England Patriots are dominating everyone.

Who are the Cleveland Browns this season?

After a promising end to last season and an off-season filled with notable additions like Odell Beckham Jr. and Olivier Vernon, the Browns entered the 2019 campaign with probably their highest expectations of this century. In typical Browns fashion, they were blown out in their first game by the Tennessee Titans at home. All the hype disappeared and the doubters were proven right.

Then, Cleveland beat an injured New York Jets team, but arguably didn’t play very well. At the very least the defense showed potential. That potential carried over into the next game against the Los Angeles Rams, the defending National Football Conference Champions. Although the Browns lost the game, their defense held one of the best offenses in the league to 16 points. Finally the team put everything together in week four against divisional rival Baltimore Ravens, winning 40-25.

Head Coach Freddie Kitchens and quarterback Baker Mayfield finally got the offense humming against a very solid Ravens defense. Will Cleveland build off this momentum in the coming weeks? Or was this offensive explosion an anomaly? The Browns definitely have talent, but it still remains a question if they’ll be able to put it all together and make a playoff run.

A two-team race in the AFC The Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs each sit at 4-0 after meeting in the 2018 American Football Conference Championship game a year ago. It appears they are on a collision course again. This edition of the Patriots boasts a stifling defense. They are currently allowing a league-low 240 yards per game; the next closest defense allows 280 yards a game.

It is not even close. More impressive perhaps is that they are allowing less than seven points per game. What New England is doing defensively is nothing short of miraculous in today’s offensive heavy league. On top of that, their offense averages more than 30 points a game thus far. The defending NFL champions look even better this year.

In red and yellow, the Chiefs are led by a freak of nature at quarterback, reigning NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes II. Mahomes is having an even better year this season, throwing for more than 1,500 yards through four games. Just for context, that puts him on pace to throw for 6,000 yards in one season. Kansas City’s offense has proven almost impossible to stop so far, as they average 34 points a game. However, their defense is barely mediocre. The Chiefs need to dramatically improve that side of the ball if they want to make it to the Super Bowl this season.

son. Enter Gardner Minshew II, an enigmatic rookie drafted in the sixth round. Besides becoming an instant icon given his unique personality and almost mythical stories (apparently he does his stretches in a jock strap), Minshew has impressed many people with his abilities, including leading a game-winning drive against the Denver Broncos in week four. In Carolina, star quarterback Cam Newton has been battling injuries, but Kyle Allen has led the team to back-to-back wins after an 0-2 start. After Drew Brees had to have surgery on his hand, the New Orleans Saints called on Teddy Bridgewater to manage the offense, and he has looked decent as well. On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season because of elbow surgery, and backup Mason Rudolph has been more of what you might expect a backup to look like. It will likely be a long season for fans from the Steel City.

The NFC is a crapshoot While the AFC has two teams that are clearly playing at a level higher than their competition, the NFC is wide open. The Saints have played well, but who knows if they’ll be able to keep winning with Brees out. The Dallas Cowboys arguably are the best team on paper, with Dak Prescott at quarterback, Ezekiel Elliot in the backfield, Amari Cooper at wide receiver and Leighton Vander Esch at linebacker, but Head Coach Jason Garrett has not yet proven to be a great coach. The Rams just lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and gave up 55 points.

The NFC North has four teams that all could win the division. Don’t forget about the Philadelphia Eagles or Seattle Seahawks. Only six teams can make the playoffs. The race for the NFC will be fun to watch the rest of the year.

The fall of the quarterbacks Multiple prominent starting quarterbacks have been injured for significant amounts of time, and for some teams the backups have proven more than serviceable, while others desperately miss their starters. In Jacksonville, the Jaguars signed Nick Foles in the off-season, who broke his clavicle in the first game of the sea-

The 2019 NFL season started Sept. 5, and the Browns have shown potential in their offense.Courtesy of Pixabay

Women’s tennis leads the way at the ITA Regionals Medha Nayak Sports Editor Case Western Reserve University’s women’s tennis team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Division III Central Regional Championships from Sept.19 to Sept. 21. The tournament took place in Kalamazoo, Michigan. On the first day of the tournament, both doubles teams moved to the next round in the 32-team doubles draw, and two singles players advanced in the 64-players draw.

Doubles partners third-year Madeleine Paolucci and first-year Savannah Bright got fourth place in the draw while third-years Nicole Cardwell and Trisha Sundaram also advanced after winning 8-5 against a doubles team from DePaul University. For the singles game, ninth-

placed Sundaram earned a 6-1, 6-1 win against Hanover College, and a 6-0, 6-1 win over Augustana College. Bright earned a 7-6, 6-2 win over Denison University and added a 7-6, 6-1 win over Lake Forest College. Paolucci won against Denison University with a score of 6-4, 6-1 in the round of 64, but lost against Washington University in St. Louis 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 in the round of 32.

Cardwell ended up with a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 against Kenyon College, but turned it around after winning 6-2, 6-1 in the consolidation round over Trine University.

On Friday, Sept. 20, the doubles team of Cardwell and Sundaram, seeded fifth, advanced to the semifinals at the ITA Central Regionals

in Kalamazoo. The doubles team advanced after winning 8-7 against Hope College and 8-5 against The University of Chicago (UChicago).

They advanced to play the thirdseeded doubles team from Kenyon in the semifinals.

The doubles team of Paolucci and Bright won 8-5 against Kenyon, but fell to the fifth-seeded UChicago team 8-2 in the quarterfinals. In singles play, in the second round of the consolidation bracket, Cardwell won against Augustana 6-0, 6-2, and then won in the quarterfinals 7-6, 6-3 against Kenyon. She advanced to the consolidation semifinals.

At the semifinals of the ITA Regionals, the doubles team of Cardwell and Sundaram, seeded

fifth, lost 8-3 to Kenyon. In the consolidation semifinals, Cardwell lost 7-5, 6-3 to DePaul.

The CWRU men’s tennis team also had a successful weekend at the Rocket Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. First-year James Hopper and third-year Matthew Chen both were chosen to the All-Tournament team.

First-year Diego Maza won every round at the Oberlin Invitational.

The women’s team will play next at Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday, Oct. 5th in Pittsburgh. The men’s team will play at the 2019 ITA Fall Regional Championships hosted

by Kalamazoo College in Michigan from Oct. 4 through Oct. 7.