Volume XLV, Issue 13: Nov. 22, 2013

the

volume xlv, issue 13 friday, 11/22/2013

Observer Spartan basketball takes their shot Men’s basketball off to exciting start with physical play and an overtime victory

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JP O’Hagan Staff Reporter Arianna Wage/Observer

Internet speeds to increase for CWRU researchers

CWRU to become first university to join Ohio’s high speed network Internet for researchers at the university is set to get a whole lot faster.

Ten times faster, to be exact.

Case Western Reserve University is set to become the first university to upgrade to Ohio’s 100-gigabit network.

Infrastructure improvements will increase capacity of CWRU’s network connection to the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet). The raise

will be substantial as the university’s current bandwidth sits at 10 gigabits per second (Gbps).

The improvement will allow for the increase of bandwidth in four research buildings from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps.

In a press release by CWRU’s Division of Information Technology Services (ITS), Dan Matthews, the university’s manager of network engineering and security, said that the new network will reduce transfer times of a one terabyte dataset from three hours to only

20 minutes.

The same release also noted that OARnet was “thrilled” by the development.

“We have begun to see that our statewide 100 Gbps network is already being leveraged for advanced research and job growth across Ohio’s medical research, higher education, manufacturing, engineering and technology networking corridors, in part because of research being done at institutions such as [CWRU],” said Pankaj Shah, executive director of the Ohio Supercomputer Center and OARnet.

The enhancements will be supported by a National Science Education grant.

Faculty members Dr. Dan Akerib of the Department of Physics, Dr. Mark Griswold of the Department of Radiology and Case Center for Imaging Research, Dr. Thomas Shutt of the Department of Physics and Dr. Phoebe Stewart of the Cleveland Center for Membrane and Structural Biology and Department of Pharmacology helped earn the grant by noting the significance of the proposed initiative to their research.

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 3 Typhoon: Still close to home

pg. 11 Just this “Once” at CPH

Mike McKenna News Editor

pg. 19 pg. 15 Cross country: Your money: SEC Open Forum Shine in regionals

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Progress continues on the Tinkham Veale University Center Last week, The Observer staff took a hard hat tour of the ongoing construction of the University Center. Nearly all of the exterior has been completed, and most of the structural interior is finished as well. Highlights of the tour included overlooking the space that will be an open eating area (bottom right), the convertible ballroom space (immediately below caption), and a preview of the space that will be shared among student organizations (far left, second down).

Arianna Wage & Mary Kate Macedonia/Observer

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Editor’s choice

A long way off, but too close to home Filipino students share stories of worry for loved ones in wake of typhoon Jeniece Montellano Staff Reporter Two days after the worst recorded typhoon in modern history hit the Philippines, Patricia Janine heard reports that the storm’s 150 mile-an-hour gusts centered on Tacloban, her mother’s hometown. The Case Western Reserve University senior checked news updates constantly, hoping and praying that communication would be restored. In the meantime, she could only plead to her cousins in Manila to post updates of the aftermath. She donated what she could online, waiting to hear from her family.

The recorded death toll of Super Typhoon Haiyan has reached around 4,000, with more than 12,000 injured— a total larger than CWRU’s entire student body. More than 1,500 are missing, according to CNN reports. It is estimated that the more far-reaching islands have a much higher death toll due to inaccessibility to food, water and aid, bringing USA Today’s predicted total to more than 10,000 deaths. However, NBC News claimed it was difficult to understand the death toll, and stated that the Philippine government put the count at around 3,982 on Nov. 18.

Nearly two million people in the 44 provinces affected are homeless, with more than 56,000 homes destroyed on the island of Panay alone. According to official reports, every structure on the islands of Guiuan, located on the eastern part of the Philippines, is flattened.

Blocked roads and poor infrastructure connecting many of the affected islands complicates aid distribution, as reports of looting and mobs multiply. Some of these islands have gone for days without food or fresh water.

“It was awful waiting to see if [my relatives] were okay since communication lines were down,” Janine said. “Five days after the typhoon, I received word from my mom and my aunt that her family is okay.” She continued, “But their house was destroyed and now they will be staying with other family members in Manila in an already crowded house.”

With the help of Duchesne Danna, a recent CWRU alumnus, Janine decided to work with the Phillipine Action Group to host a benefit dinner titled Ahon sa Alon: Rising from the Tides. All proceeds are going to the Philippine Red Cross’ Typhoon Haiyan relief effort. The event is set for 6-8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 6 in Hovorka Atrium. Tickets are $10 for students, and cake pops will be for sale in

“It was awful waiting to see if [my relatives] were okay since communication lines were down,” Janine said. “Five days after the typhoon, I received word from… my aunt that her family is okay… but their house was destroyed and now they will be staying with other family members in Manila in an already crowded house.”

-Patricia Janine the days leading up to the event in Fribley and Leutner. The event will have a raffle, performances, t-shirts for sale and Filipino food.

Sophomore Leina Lunasco’s grandparents go to the Philippines every year around mid-November to visit family in the north. This year, they are flying to Urdaneta, like always, but they know things will be different.

“Before they left for Urdaneta on Friday [Nov. 15], my grandma reminded me not to take anything for granted,” Lunasco said. “It’s just so sad that something so destructive can happen to innocent people, and the whole nation is in mourning. Many are making the effort to help those who have lost homes and loved ones.”

Compared to Hurricane Katrina, Haiyan had a smaller radius of impact, but a higher intensity in terms of wind power.

Katrina’s winds peaked at 173 miles per hour (mph) compared to Haiyan’s 196 mph winds, according to The Washington Post. Experts say that aid from organizations such as the Red Cross has been helpful, but the Philippine government is struggling to get supplies out to islands that are only accessible by helicopter.

In an interview for The Observer with Nilo Rivera, a doctor from Pampanga, “[There was] no electricity [and] 95 percent of buildings were destroyed…

Imagine post-apocalyptic movies. Many unburied corpses everywhere [and] massive looting.”

Dr. Rivera was on the first medical response team to Leyte. They saw about 3,000 patients and the only means of transportation were army trucks. The only food available was what they had brought with them. He also reported that many of the cities no longer had a formal government and mafias formed in order to gain access over the few supplies available.

The world has also responded, with individuals and countries pledging a total of over $192 million as of Nov. 19, with the U.S. at the top of the list. A statement released by President Obama on Nov. 10

reminds Filipinos that they are not alone: “I know the incredible resiliency of the Philippine people, and I am confident that the spirit of Bayanihan will see you through this tragedy,” the statement reads. “The United States is already providing significant humanitarian assistance, and we stand ready to further as-

Kyle Patterson/Observer sist the government’s relief and recovery efforts. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the millions of people affected by this devastating storm.”

Bayanihan translates to the spirit of working together. It’s a spirit shared by many Filipinos, a spirit they say is no more important than now.

Note from the reporter

A Filipino perspective on Typhoon Haiyan destruction Jeniece Montellano Staff Reporter Super Typhoon Haiyan hits close to home for me. A lot of family on my mom’s side and relatives from my dad’s side lives in the Philippines and my older brothers were born and raised in the Philippines for the first few years of their lives. I’ve been to the Philippines many times, and I am very proud of my Filipino culture. Hearing about the devastation caused by Haiyan, so soon after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that had hit Bohol and Cebu just two months prior, grieved me. I’ve seen how overpopulated the Philippines is, and a storm of that size and intensity was definitely going to affect a lot of lives. Many people that were hit by the earthquake and no

longer had homes were living in tents when the typhoon hit, and were swept away by the water.

I’ve also seen the beauty of the Philippines. The colorful character of the markets, lined along the streets, the vast variety of sweet fruit and vibrant flowers and the awe-inspiring landmarks unique to these islands truly take your breath away.

It’s not only the loss of lives that upsets me. The loss of the old Spanish churches, the gold statues and the thriving provinces adds a whole new dimension to this disaster. We Filipinos are very proud of our heritage and our country. The devastation caused by Haiyan deeply affects all of us, regardless of where we may live now.

I am proud of the outpouring of efforts to help those who are now home-

less and in desperate need of food and water. So many Filipinos have rallied together to do what they can to help. My family lives north of where the typhoon hit, so they’re safe. They immediately made care packages filled with food, water and other necessities to send out to Samar, one of the more isolated parts of the Philippines that was decimated by the typhoon. My parents, brothers and I have sent money to my family in the Philippines so they can buy more supplies to make more care packages. My aunt and uncle in Canada have also donated money.

In mid-January, my parents are going on a medical mission with other Filipino doctors that live in the Chicago area.

They had originally planned to go to donate medical supplies and provide medi-

cal and surgical care to only the people of Cavite and Marinduque. Now, they are extending their trip in order to help out in either Guiuan in Eastern Samar or Ormoc in Leyte, both smaller and more isolated areas. They plan on donating more medical supplies and providing medical and surgical care in these areas as well.

I wish that I had the time to go to the Philippines and help out in those provinces. Instead, all I can do is donate what I have and urge all of you to do the same. American money goes a long way in the Philippines, and even just $10 can buy a day’s worth of food and water for an entire family as well as help pay for medical supplies. Every little bit helps.

I know that the Philippines will ultimately be okay. We will be strong and continue to rebuild, one day at a time.

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CWRU nursing alumni act as patients in teaching program Arielle Soffer Staff Reporter Even though their degree may be in the healthcare sector, it turns out that several Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing alumni have a hidden talent: acting.

According to Celeste Alfes, an assistant professor and the director of the Learning Resource Center at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing (BSN), one of the biggest challenges nurses face in their everyday jobs is the constant patient interaction, which Alfe says many nursing students find intimidating.

To combat this, Alfes, along with the dean of the school, Mary Kerr, and the professors of the psychiatric mental health course at the nursing school, have recently developed and implemented a standardized patient simulation program so that undergraduates may improve upon their communication skills. This program is unique in that it replaces a program previously run at the Mount Sinai Skills and Simulation Center, where paid actors were trained to play mental health patient scenarios and supplement the role-playing often done between students. Now, alumni volunteers of the nursing school are being trained to play these roles in order to provide real-life scenarios for nursing students to address.

This program, first run in the spring semester of 2013 with the sophomore BSN students, has been especially beneficial in terms of cost saving.

Every visit in the old program to the Mount Sinai Skills and Simulation Center to simulate these mental health patient scenarios used to cost anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000, since the actors were being paid $20 per hour.

Alumni volunteers now have the opportunity to create relationships with current undergraduates. As registered nurses, Alfe said that alumni were eager to help when an email

was sent. Additionally, an info session was held to encourage alumni to volunteer and apply for the program. Thirty alumni sent in formal applications, and about five were ultimately chosen to receive the two hour training required to be a part of the program.

The volunteers specifically acted out mental health patient scenarios, as these situations are typically heavily dependent on communication between nurse and patient. In an effort to be as realistic as possible, there were simulated patient charts describing various mental health conditions such as depression, suicidal ideations and substance abuse.

After both role-playing with other students and with the volunteers, students did post-tests and wrote a reflection paper.

To see whether the role-playing was effective, Alfes applied for and received a $20,000 grant from the National League for Nursing.

This money will be put towards hiring professional actors to train for simulations to compare to the volunteer standardized patient simulations in the fall 2013 and spring 2014 semesters. The alumni will be working with the freshman nursing students this semester who will be interviewing the standardized patients on their medical histories.

In the future, alumni who volunteer will be further integrated into other disciplines such as with nurse practitioners who are studying the history of physicals and performing actual physical exams, with Masters of Science in Nursing students and with students in the School of Medicine.

Alfes also sees physical expansions on the horizon for the new program.

“The plan is to build private exam rooms with videotaping capabilities, specifically for these standardized patient experiences, as well as a communications laboratory for debriefing with a review of videotapes so students can get feedback,” said Alfes.

According to Alfes, the new relation-

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Elliott Pereira/Observer Alumni from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing are helping out current undergraduate nursing students by acting as patients in a new program. ship between nursing undergraduates and alumni has been a success, demonstrated in alumni’s desire to return and support the program. Alfes believes with this evidence,

this program has the potential to expand greatly, and may influence other nursing schools across the country to change how they conduct their student experiences.

The NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering offers graduate programs in engineering, science and technology management that empower students to put ideas into action.

Take, for example, industrial engineering student Hanako Tsuchiya, who was determined to improve industry efficiency and safety.

She put her knowledge to work and landed an internship with FreshDirect which turned into a full-time position as an Operation Analyst.

Learn how the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering culture of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship (i2e) can help you bring your ideas to life.

TO LEARn MORE AnD APPLy viSiT grad.poly.edu/case Case-Western-The_Observer-11-13-13-v1.indd 1

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“#GivingTuesday” comes to CWRU through Office of Annual Giving initiative A guide to the campus groups you can support Case EMS Case EMS is student-run volunteer emergency medical service group. It serves the campus community and provides CPR certification at discounted rates as well as EMT certification opportunities to students.

Donations will go towards newer and better equipment and ambulance upkeep to better serve the community. think[box] CWRU’s new invention center serves as a space for students, faculty and alumni to creatively experiment and foster collaboration and entrepreneurial growth. Donations will go towards the purchase of up to six fully equipped Mobile 3D printer workstations.

CWRU Labre Homeless Outreach Program The Labre Homeless Outreach Program serves the homeless population of Greater Cleveland in many different ways, including providing hot meals on a weekly basis and offering blankets, clothing and toiletry items. Donations will go towards continuing to help people in need near CWRU and Cleveland.

CAS Emerging Scholars Program The Emerging Scholars Program helps admitted students from the Greater Cleveland area excel as undergraduates at CWRU by providing them with experiences and skills essential for long-term success. They hold a summer bridge program to help students earn credits towards their degrees and provide individualized mentoring and academic support. Donations will go towards providing full-tuition summer scholarships and $3,000 stipends that will enable students to participate.

Center for Civic Engagement & Learning (CCEL) CCEL is a campus-wide resource that helps CWRU students find meaningful community service opportunities in Cleveland and beyond with over 75 organizations. Last year alone, students served approximately 17,000 hours, many of which occurred in Nicaragua and New Orleans with home restoration and youth development programs.

Donations will go towards helping CCEL expand Alternative Break opportunities and make them affordable for students of all income levels.

Tanvi Parmar Staff Reporter Dec. 3, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, is nationally recognized as “#GivingTuesday,” a movement to create a day of giving to kick off the giving season.

This year #GivingTuesday is coming to Case Western Reserve University, with the specific hashtag of #GivingTuesdayatCWRU, to benefit 20 service initiatives and student organizations on campus.

“There’s a lot of really great service projects here on campus, both student organizations and work that is done by various schools, that a lot of people don’t know about, and this the chance to both educate people about these initiatives and try to raise some money for them to continue their work,” noted Ayla Siemon, the assistant director of Annual Giving.

The movement originated from New York’s 92nd street Y and has benefitted communities for 139 years. The United Nations Foundation joined the movement as a partner. Since then, many corporations and nonprofit organizations have joined the movement and Laura Chisholm Social Justice Fellowship A number of CWRU School of Law students take unpaid internships within the public sector over the summer. This fellowship will allow all qualified students to get financial support to work in the public interest as opposed to other internships outside of the legal field. Donations will go towards an endowed fellowship in the name and memory of Laura Chisholm, a respected colleague and friend.

Student Sustainability Council The Student Sustainability Council is a student-led organization dedicated to the education and promotion of economic, social and environmental sustainability and equity to allow for a greater understanding of and respect for the environment. Donations will go towards the Student Sustainability Council’s Rain Gardens project.

Personal Finance in Developing Countries Research Silvia Prina, assistant professor of economics at the Weatherhead School of

have helped spread the word by starting their own initiatives.

In 2012, the movement had more than 2,500 partners from all 50 states of the United States. Over $10 million online donations were processed, which is a 53 percent increase from the previous year. More than 50 million people worldwide spread the word about #GivingTuesday, resulting in a trending hashtag on Twitter.

“There’s so much happening on this campus that shows how CWRU continues to make a difference in the world, but sometimes those efforts don’t receive the recognition they deserve. There’s an assumption that the university as a unit is doing this tremendous work, but the smaller, grass-root types of efforts make just as much of an impact, if not more, because they’re directly having an impact on the people who need the help the most. This is another opportunity for the CWRU community to demonstrate how we are continuing to make a difference in the world,” said Siemon.

The Observer has compiled a guide of the 20 student organizations involved.

Donors can visit CWRU’s website, read about each project and donate to the initiative of their choice.

Management, conducted a research project to determine whether a simple savings account would benefit a poor village in Nepal. Dr. Prina discovered that the level of literacy and financial literacy are low and incomes in the area are low and unstable. The solution was a simple village bank that provided a safe and convenient place to store funds while they accumulated. Donations will go towards helping to continue this research and expand the areas that benefit from the village bank.

CWRU Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity is a service organization dedicated to creating awareness of the problems of substandard housing and participating in the construction of quality, affordable housing both in the Cleveland area and throughout the country. Donations will go towards enabling students to help provide housing to those that need it most through CWRU Habitat for Humanity’s winter break trip.

LGBT Center The LGBT Center serves as a resource for students, faculty, staff and

alumni that helps individuals and groups develop programming ideas for campus and brings LGBT community programs and events to CWRU. Donations will go towards supporting the expansion of Safe Zone program, a network of volunteers committed to creating a community of respect and dignity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning students, staff and faculty.

School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Research Promising discoveries in the area of Alzheimer’s disease have been made at the CWRU School of Medicine. A drug used to treat cancer may be able to reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Donations will go towards enabling researchers to continue exploring the possibilities of this exciting development.

Healthy Smiles Sealant Program Serving Cleveland Metropolitan School District children in grades 2, 3 and 6, pre-doctoral students perform dental examinations and apply protective sealant to cavity-free teeth as well as educate children on general health care, oral care and nutritional health. Donations will go towards supporting the general operating budget for the program, including supplies and after-treatment take-home packages (toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss) for children.

Student-Run Free Clinic The Student-Run Free Clinic serves more than 400 patients per year in the clinic in addition to many more in outreach programs, which include blood pressure screenings, feet washing at a homeless shelter and various health education programs throughout the community.

Donations will go towards expanding the clinic’s hours to include evening service as well as the purchase of medical supplies for patients.

Frances Bayne School of Nursing Capstone Program Students spend 10 weeks during their senior year working in an extensive experience in community-based health care with vulnerable populations such as Native Americans, migrant workers, the Australian aboriginal community and the urban poor as part of the degree requirements for the BSN program.

Donations will go towards defraying costs associated with the program.

Food stamp cut hits 272,143 Cuyahoga County residents Julia Bianco Staff Reporter Earlier this month, Congress allowed the 2009 increases to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to expire, resulting in a cut in food stamp benefits for 48 million low-income Americans.

There are 272,143 residents of Cuyahoga County who currently use food stamps.

They represent about 21.6 percent of the total population. With a cut of 5.7 percent to their food stamp benefits, they are set to lose an average of about $29 per month per family, enough for sixteen meals.

“There are 16,000 people on food stamps in the city of Cleveland alone,” noted Dr. Robert Fischer, the co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development at CWRU. “About 40 percent of those recipients are children under the age of 18. The cuts are significant and they hit a lot of families.”

In 2009, the American Recovery and Re-

investment Act doubled the amount of money given to SNAP as a part of the federal economic stimulus. For Ohio, this meant $193 million towards the food-stamp program. However, as of Nov. 1, these benefits have since expired.

Many in Congress, as well as the local government, are looking to increase the cuts to pay for other programs, such as the Affordable Care Act, public education and Medicare expansions.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced a new program in September, which will put more restrictions on food stamp users.

As of Jan. 1, any able-bodied adult without children will be expected to have a job or volunteer position if they want to continue receiving SNAP benefits.

“The challenge for our country is, in a job market that may not have a lot of space for these people, how do you help them meet that requirement,” said Fischer.

“It’s hitting a very disadvantaged population,” he adds. “Five years ago, food stamp recipients were the lowest income people. But over the course of the financial meltdown, so

many families fell into poverty and had a need for food stamps. A lot of formerly middle class families now need food assistance.”

Dana Irribarren, executive director for the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland, has seen firsthand how the cuts are affecting people. The Hunger Network operates over 100 pantries in Cuyahoga County and serves 60,000 people each month.

“Food stamps are usually tight for people,” she said. “They end up using pantries if their income is so low that they can’t add to their food stamp income.”

Although she has no specific statistics yet, Irribarren says that many of the pantries noticed an increase in clients in early November, when the food stamp cuts hit.

“If you think about it, the cut is huge,” she said. “We’re going to continue to try to fundraise and meet our guidelines, but, unless something changes, I don’t know whether we’ll be able to meet this need” Said Irribarren, “It’s like the perfect storm.

It doesn’t make sense, and how we respond to it is a huge question that everybody is asking.”

Food Stamp Facts the 21.6% ofpopulation of

Cuyahoga County will be affected by the cuts

food stamp 5.7%ofbenefits will

be cut, an average of $29 per month per family That’s enough for meals per month

16

the recepients 40%ofof food stamps are under the age of 18

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Spotlight on Research

Law school: Ku’s attorneys Fourth-year student hopes to respond to Mitchell’s motion make career out of research Tyler Hoffman, Executive Editor Senior researcher focuses on plant genomic expression Kushagra Gupta Staff Reporter Many students conduct research for reasons like boosting their resume or to exploring interests in certain fields. Senior researcher Morgan MacBeth, however, plans to take on this trade for life, hoping to eventually have her own lab. The biochemistry major plans to continue on to graduate school and obtain a doctorate in Microbiological Sciences.

This past summer, she studied the microbial life present in the rhizosphere of soil. The rhizosphere is the upper portion of soil that plant roots interact with.

MacBeth said, “We looked at that data, and saw how similar related species of plants and their microbial—bacterial communities and fungal communities—were.”

The group saw that bacterial communities were of similar species but fungal communities were not.

However, the interesting aspect of her findings is the effect of growing rare plants in low-nutrient soil on its vitality. If a plant is grown in soil with similar kinds of necessary microbial life or next to a plant that contains the vital microbes, then it will most likely grow successfully. Eventually, these findings could be used to improve agriculture by making it easier to farm on low-nutrient soils.

Now, however, MacBeth has begun a new line of research that is more focused on the interests in her future. Her research involves studying how DNA moves within plants and how plants can express or not express certain genomes. Additionally, she’s interested in how DNA can disassemble and reassemble.

The work can be arduous. The DNA sequence she’s studying, LAS1, is 6 kilobases (kb) long and is expressed when the plant is in a low-nutrient and low-water environment. Once she obtains a piece of DNA, she has to run a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on it. The PCR creates millions of copies of the piece, making it easier to experiment on. Next, she uses gel electrophoresis, a process that divides DNA into bands that separate from each

other based on their sequence. This process is lengthy, with the PCR taking two hours and the gel electrophoresis one hour. Due to this, she works from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

However, she takes time commitment in stride, joking, “Growing plants takes a couple months. It takes a little bit.”

After this, she takes the bacteria and inserts it into the sequence.

She said, “You take the bacteria you grow with the insertion sequence in the bacteria and put a surfactant in the solution, too. You dip the plants while they’re budding. The bacteria will get into the plant and the surfactant will open the cells and it’ll express the sequence that you want.”

The plants were grown in an ideal high-nutrient and high-water environment. The results showed that when plants first took up the DNA sequence, they expressed it. However, as the plant grew, it expressed the sequence in decreasing amounts. It was occasionally found to present dispersedly on the upper region of the plant, but the plant clearly stopped expressing the gene.

She explained, “We’re trying to figure out how the mechanisms of how the DNA moves in and out of the chromosome and nucleus.”

In order to answer this question, she’s planning another project. Her next project involves taking seeds from the plants she is growing now and growing a second generation. This time, however, Macbeth will begin by growing the seeds in a low-nutrient and low-water environment. Using this method, the group can see if the plant will select for the LAS1 sequence.

The results from this work will provide a large step forward in understanding how to efficiently grow plants, providing invaluable insight to agriculture.

“We can understand how DNA moves through plants, all plants. We can see how genes are selected for,” explained MacBeth.

When she’s not doing research on campus, MacBeth is busy with the competitive Ultimate team on campus. She’s also part of Pi Beta Phi and the Scuba Club.

Correction The article “I would go back” on page two of the 11/15 issues was written by staff reporter Julia Bianco. It ran unaccredited. The Observer apologizes for the error.

Sheehan Hannan, Director of Print Mike McKenna, News Editor

On Nov. 14, attorneys for Raymond Ku, professor at Case Western Reserve’s School of Law, landed fresh blows in the legal brawl between Ku, CWRU School of Law Dean Lawrence Mitchell and the university. Mitchell has taken a temporary leave of absence from his post.

The objections, filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, counter a motion by Mitchell’s attorneys to strike material they deemed “immaterial, impertinent and scandalous.”

Ku, a law school professor, alleges that Mitchell and university administrators retaliated against him for attempting to report sexual harassment by Mitchell.

Mitchell’s motion, filed independent of the university’s legal team, attempted to strike instances of sexual harassment from the record. Ku’s objection maintained that

the allegations had a bearing to the case, as “Defendant Mitchell’s reputation forms part of the social context that must be carefully considered in relation to reports of sexual harassment.”

In addition to the objections, Ku’s representatives included a sworn statement by Daniel Dubé, the former special assistant to Mitchell. Dubé reiterated information published in the Nov. 15 issue of The Observer, including allegations that he was complicit in retaliatory actions like monitoring Ku’s blog posts by Mitchell’s request. In addition, he clarified to the court that he was the staff member who received a raise for his actions against Ku, then an associate dean.

Also included in Dubé’s statement are details of his termination from the university, which he maintains came on the heels of his attempts to report Mitchell’s misconduct to upper level administrators.

This is a developing story. For past and future coverage of this story, visit The Observer’s website.

CWRU’s Camp Kesem chapter to raise awareness on “#GivingTuesday” Compiled from staff reports While Case Western Reserve University’s Chapter of Camp Kesem is not one of the organizations participating in the Office of Annual Giving “#GivingTuesday” initiative, the student group that works to put on a summer camp for students who have or have had a parent affected by cancer will not be sitting out on Dec. 3.

That day,the group will be setting up a free photo booth on campus. They’re

asking students to tweet photos taken in it at their organization to raise awareness about their mission. They will be joined by other Camp Kesem chapters across the country, and hope to get “#bigkidsgive” trending on Twitter.

This summer will mark the first time that CWRU will host the free weeklong camp. At the national level, Camp Kesem is held on over 54 campuses. CWRU’s chapter was awarded $10,000 in funding by The Livestrong Foundation last summer to put on the camp.

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Inside the Circle A look at the week’s happenings in University Circle University Circle

Local Attractions Future of Uptown The recent development of Uptown over the past few years is part of a larger plan to turn the area into a bustling city hub. Started by a partnership between MRN Ltd, University Circle Inc. and Case Western Reserve University, the Uptown Projects aim is to bring in new shops, restaurants, a bookstore, a grocery store and 200 marketrate apartments. At this point, many do not believe the area has reached its full potential despite the rising residential levels and number of commercial destinations.

A major complaint is that Uptown is missing the local, one-of-a-kind destinations that will attract people into the area and make it a hot spot. Currently, chain restaurants like Panera, Chipotle and Jimmy John’s are the main businesses. This is changing, however, as places such as ABC Tavern and eventually Corner Alley, a bowling alley and restaurant, move into the open spaces in Uptown. Developer Ari Maron of MRN, also the developers of

East 4th Street, said that a mixture of chain and local commercial tenants is the goal and those working on the project say there is “more to come.”

Residential homes are selling for high prices at $2 per square foot, and homeowners are encouraged to come to Uptown near providers of daily necessities. Constantino’s acts as the local grocery store, with PNC Bank and UPS just down the way for residents’ banking and mailing needs. About 15,000 people now live in University Circle, just ahead the number of downtown residents.

Commercial spaces in Uptown have a rent of $30-$35 per square foot. At Uptown Phase I there is one open retail space, but Maron is not giving away any information about who possible tenants may be.

Most recently, WXZ Development broke ground on new apartments at 118 Flats, part of Phase II of the Uptown Project.

— Anastazia Vanisko

On Campus

RHAmen Rush food drive continues Last Monday marked the beginning of the annual RHA’s annual fundraiser, the RHAmen Rush. It started with a kickoff tabling event at KSL Oval, where students were given more information to create awareness about the drive.

Despite the name RHAmen Rush, more than just ramen is accepted. The

drive is for canned food and is campus wide. Boxes are in the lobby of every dorm for people to put any extra or unwanted canned goods.

The drive will continue through Nov. 26 and all donations go to the Cleveland Food Bank.

— A.V.

Annual LGBT alum event to be hosted today Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is constantly nationally ranked as one of the most friendly LGBT campuses. This does not end once members of its LGBT community graduate. On Nov. 22, an Alumni event by CWRU Pride, Cosmos for Case, is being put on to raise money for LGBT students.

Friday’s event is to be the first of an annual series, and though it is an alumni

event, CWRU students are welcome to send their own donations.

An event students are encouraged to attend, though, is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is a candlelight vigil walk from Lakeside Ave, West 3rd St, and Huntington Park to Cleveland City Hall. It is also Nov. 22, and begins at 5:45 p.m.

— A.V.

Police Blotter Nov. 11 to Nov. 18 Nov. 12 — Breaking and Entering- Forced entry into office and items taken, Eldred Theatre Nov. 12 —Shoplifting, Constantino’s Grocery, suspect located and cited.

Nov. 15 — Petty theft-Projector taken from classroom between 11/13-11/15, White Building.

Nov. 16 — Felony theft- Suspect grabbed wallet from courtside and fled on foot, Juniper Road basketball courts.

On the Beat can be contacted at policecolumn@case.edu.

On the Beat

Stay safe even after Turkey Day So we have reached the point in the year in which Thanksgiving break, which once seemed a distant speck on the horizon, is fast approaching. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays—you don’t have to buy gifts or pretend to care about your fellow man, just bring a side dish and prepare to stuff your face in one big exercise of mass gluttony.

And after Thanksgiving break comes winter break, so we will soon see a mass exodus of students and their dirty laundry heading for all points of the compass. The holiday season can bring some safety challenges as well, however, so here are some tips: If you are leaving campus, remember to lock your rooms and secure any valuables you aren’t taking with you. Thieves are as aware as anyone when breaks begin and end. If you are taking public transportation to the airport or other destinations late at night, think about sitting near the driver while travelling and calling ahead of time for a Safe Ride from the rapid stop to your residence. If you are leaving a car on cam-

pus, store valuables in the trunk or someplace else they are not visible; keep your junk in your trunk, as they say.

If you are staying on campus, especially over winter break, while the sudden bounty of parking spaces and shorter lines at Starbucks can be great, remember there are fewer eyes on campus as well, and eyes help deter crooks. Use the same precautions you would during the school year and call CWRU PD if you observe suspicious activity around your residence or while travelling the area. CWRU PD doesn’t go anywhere during the holidays and we have to do our own laundry, so we will be here if you need us, 216-368-3333, as always. On the Beat will be back after the break, so happy (and safe) holidays to everyone.

On the Beat is a weekly safety column written by Sergeant Jeffrey Daberko & Officer Mark (The Crossing Guard) Chavis of CWRU PD. Send feedback to this or other columns at policecolumn@case.edu.

Activities for students stuck on campus for Thanksgiving break Ellie Rambo Staff Reporter Although many students travel home for Thanksgiving, others decide to spend their break on campus for a variety of reasons.

“It’s too far and too costly to go home,” said sophomore Megan Ramirez, who is from Honolulu, Hawaii. Ramirez says that round-trip plane tickets from Cleveland to Hawaii can cost more than $1,000. “I will be kind of bummed that I’m not going home, but I didn’t last year, so I’m used to it,” said Ramirez.

Ramirez still plans to celebrate the holiday, however.

“We’re going to make Thanksgiving dinner and then we’re going to go Black Friday shopping,” she said.

Sophomore Monica Flanigan is not going home to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving break, because “it’s only a few weeks before we go home for winter break anyway.”

Flanigan plans to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which will be open

all weekend, except for Thanksgiving Day. Most museums in University Circle have regular hours during Thanksgiving weekend, and are only closed on Thanksgiving Day itself. Thanksgiving weekend is a great time to visit Cleveland museums, especially since many of them update their exhibits in November.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will feature a new exhibit about Elvis Presley starting on Nov. 29, and the Cleveland Museum of Art is currently featuring exhibits of portrait miniatures and sculptures from the Congo.

The Cleveland Orchestra will be performing at Severance Hall Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 after returning from a recent trip through Europe. Their Thanksgiving weekend concert is titled “Barber, Copland and the Common Man.” If students head downtown to Playhouse Square, they can get into the Christmas spirit the day after Thanksgiving with productions of “A Christmas Story” and “A Christmas Carol,” which run through December.

8 | fun page

fun

11/22/13

Crossword Puzzle Across 1. Satan’s territory 5. A type of small mammal 10. WW1 plane 14. Wings 15. Excuse 16. Breezy 17. Multiplicative inverse 19. An amount of medicine 20. An uncle 21. Flax fabric 22. Ate 23. Lost 25. Drench 27. A lower limb 28. Motion 31. A ring-shaped surface 34. Windows 35. Beam 36. Huh? 37. Of the highest quality 38. Rope fiber 39. 3 in Roman numerals 40. Construct 41. Cowboy sport 42. Having no intelligible

meaning 44. Pull 45. Glances 46. Breach 50. Mountain lakes 52. Long times 54. Record (abbrev.)

55. Violent disturbance 56. Tour of duty 58. Smell 59. Climb 60. Dwarf buffalo 61. Resist 62. Prison-related 63. An aromatic ointment Down 1. Seraglio 2. Lacquer ingredient 3. Shoestrings 4. Floral necklace 5. Boldness 6. Beside 7. Rodents 8. Forfeited 9. Zero 10. Extreme cruelty 11. Initiated 12. Backside

13. Not the original color 18. Layers 22. Membership fees 24. A promiscuous woman 26. Not under 28. Official tree of Canada 29. What a person is called 30. Misprint 31. Identical or fraternal 32. Buckeye State 33. Water resistant 34. Power 37. Gone under 38. Yowl 40. Honey insects 41. Perch 43. Guard 44. A strip of glittering foil 46. “There you have it!”

47. Sporting venue 48. Adult male singing voice 49. Toward the outside 50. Stepped 51. Assistant 53. Distinctive flair 56. Clairvoyant’s gift 57. Adult male

C O M I C S

Mess

‘Sorry, I left out my glass of water from last night.’ OH GOD I APPARENTLY LIVE IN A GARBAGE PIT. by xkcd

Clock Tower

by Kevin Yong

observer.case.edu

Philosofish

fun page | 9 Kate Hart Ray Krajci

Horoscopes Aries

Your future couldn’t seem brighter: you’ve worked hard this whole semester and it’s finally paying off.

Keep in mind that there are still two more weeks, and you can’t give up just yet.

Taurus

You have to stop worrying so much about keeping face. Every light casts a shadow, and no matter how hard you try, someone will see it someday.

Gemini

Your study playlist is nearly done. You only need to invest all spare time until Dec. 15 to create what others might consider to be perfect.

Cancer

“There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.”

-Andre Gide

Your friends have missed your usual peppy self, but have been thankful for a break from the overbearing, selfabsorbed you.

Leo

xkcd

PhilosofishComics@gmail.com

Still No Sleep

Try to reconnect with a friend from high school this weekend. You might be surprised how similar your experiences are.

Virgo

You could use a break from the status quo this week, especially considering that the past few weeks have been consumed by busy work. Get out and play.

Libra

You’re focusing too much on the trees in the forest.

The big picture shows a much different story than what you think.

Scorpio

I’m not listening to you. I mean, what does a SQUIRREL know about mental health?

Thwing Study Over’s free massages will be able to tease out the knots this semester has created. Just make sure to sign up in time!

Sagittarius

praise pressure prince punishment quirky quirt rotor ruler season seep serum sour thrash tread understand upstart vise vortex whereas whine

Wordsearch

aside beach beard booze bridge broom dies dire divide dray fast forever freak friend grand hasp honor humor knout lease point

Go back to your roots to find the solution to your problems, and you may find that you need to spend some more time at home than you thought.

Capricorn

Your technology shows your age more than the wrinkles in your face. It may be time to upgrade, but make sure you have a more valid reason for doing so.

Aquarius

Recently, everything has been smooth sailing for you. However, the next few weeks will prove to be challenging. Keep your eyes on the prize; it’s so close!

Pisces

Reach out for help this week, even if you think you can handle it yourself.

You underestimate the scale of the project.

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11/22/13

Average starting salaries Average starting salaries range from range from $70,000-$90,000 $70,000-$90,000 (You like numbers. How about those numbers?)

(You like numbers. How about those numbers?)

The MSM Finance program is offering substantial scholarships to CWRU undergraduates.

In less than one year, you can prepare yourself for rewarding careers in banking, private The MSM Finance program is offering substantial scholarships to CWRU undergraduates. equity, corporation finance, risk management, investment management, and consulting.

In less than one year, you can prepare yourself for rewarding careers in banking, private In many cases, financial firms are hiring top-performing STEM graduates at much higher equity, corporation finance, risk management, investment management, and consulting. salaries than those offered by STEM employers.* No work experience is required. The In many cases, financial firms are hiring top-performing STEM graduates at much higher Master of Science in Management-Finance (MSM-Finance) program is led by the same salaries than those offered by STEM employers.* No work experience is required. The world-class faculty who teach in our undergraduate finance program, which was ranked Master of Science in Management-Finance (MSM-Finance) program is led by the same #1 by Businessweek 2 out of the last 4 years. world-class faculty who teach in our undergraduate finance program, which was ranked #1 by Businessweek 2 out of the last 4 years. *Kauffman Foundation Research Series To find out more, contact Karla Crucke atResearch 216.368.3254 or *Kauffman Foundation Series KLC70@case.edu. Or visit: weatherhead.case.edu/finance

To find out more, contact Karla Crucke at 216.368.3254 or KLC70@case.edu. Or visit: weatherhead.case.edu/finance

arts & entertainment

00

Editor’s Choice

Unconventional Broadway in “Once” Irish film turned musical reaches Cleveland Playhouse

Joseph Verbovszky Staff Reporter “Once” is a pleasant departure from the standard fare of Broadway musicals.

It’s a lot simpler and quieter. One usually associates Broadway with blaring, brassy orchestras, dozens of characters and extras and expansive opulent sets.

You will find none of these in “Once.”

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing; although, there are points where the narrative drags. Overall, “Once” tells a simple yet beautiful story and does it very well.

The plot follows Guy (played by Stuart Ward), a lovesick vacuum repairman in Dublin whose songs of love for his ex-girlfriend only cause him pain. One day, during one of his sorrowful recitals, in walks Girl (Dani De Waal), a Czech immigrant who needs her Hoover fixed.

Herself a music-lover and consummate pianist, she is drawn to Guy’s love songs

and succeeds in persuading him into recording music and flying to New York to make money and reunite with his exgirlfriend. Naturally, Guy falls for Girl as it was ultimately she who inspires him to sing again and gives him hope for the future.

It took me a second glance, if you will, to realize how compact the timeframe of this musical actually is. Everything happens over the course of a week. Yes, everything: meeting, getting to know each other, Girl convincing Guy to get a bank loan to rent the recording studio, getting the bank loan, recording at the studio, saying farewell. Normally, getting to know someone takes longer than that, and where can I get a loan approved in a single day, literally, for a song? I was beginning to be reminded of notorious Carlie Rae Jepsen song; I just met you and this is crazy but can I persuade you to undertake a fantastically financially risky scheme to make it big in the music business? Granted, Guy supposedly

sings amazing and heartfelt songs that should force us to suspend our disbelief.

But does he succeed? Yes and no.

Guy’s music is good, very good even, but it didn’t inspire that sense of awe necessary to justify the characters’ actions. If anything, I would have said Girl should have been the one going to New York.

During her main piano solo, I was shocked to her Girl’s thick Czech accent give way to a low and beautiful voice, full of passion and anguish, as she confessed her impossible love for Guy. Now that would have sold records.

Overall, the music of “Once” is a pleasant departure from the standard Broadway fare. There’s no orchestra and all of the music is made by the few instruments on stage, including a guitar, a mandolin and a piano. This makes the music considerably less bombastic than what’s normally found on Broadway. I’d classify it as mostly folk with a little bit of pop. Likewise, almost all of the songs

distinguish themselves from the spoken parts, rather than characters singing their lines, making “Once” more like a play about musicians rather than a musical, something that works surprisingly well in this case.

The stage design, like the music, reflects the intention to tell a relatively unadorned and simple story where content matters more than appearance. That’s not to say that the set doesn’t look good. It’s a delightfully rustic recreation of an Irish pub, with a bar, mirrors, a wooden table and gas lamps.

Generally, “Once” tells a simple love story, but delves into the complexities of that love. It usually succeeds, but not always. Sometimes the narrative drags and the quiet story becomes rather sleepy. Likewise, the music is not always as heartfelt as the plot that drives it. But more often than not, “Once” delivers a unique and moving tale that is a welcome departure from the usual Broadway musical.

Venus in Fur: An Earthly Delight Joseph Verbovszky Staff Reporter It’s incredibly rare that a play succeeds not only in presenting a story filled with sharp wit and thought-provoking themes, but also packaging all of this into a succinct and neatly intermissionless timeframe. “Venus in Fur,” Cleveland Playhouse’s (CPH) latest theatrical endeavor, is a vibrant example of such a rarity. The play is a modern adaptation written by David Ives, of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s novel of the same name, originally set in 1870. Although not a phenomenon that will redefine the world of theater, “Venus” certainly inspires both more laughs and more reflection than most of CPH’s current season.

At first glance, “Venus” appears to be a deceptively unadorned, even simplistic play. As it opens, the play’s only two characters sit in an almost-empty studio that used to be a sweatshop, reading, believe it or not, a play. Yet, from the first carefully designed drip of water from the hole in the studio’s ceiling onto the stage floor, one can see that there is a craftsman’s hand at work behind the simple façade; the beauty lies in the execution. This could very well characterize the whole play. It possesses an intricately layered and complex playwithin-a-play plot structure that explores not only the relationship between the novel’s original characters but also between the actress and the director and finally, between men and women in general.

Shifting effortlessly between their roles, the cast demonstrated exceptional acting. In particular, Vanessa Wasche

stands out for her portrayal of Vanda.

When Vanda Jordan enters late for her audition, all sopping and soaked from a rainstorm, her heels clattering as rudely on the floor as her profanity echoes on the stage, one would hardly think her capable of playing Fräulein von Dunajew (whose first name, incidentally, is also Vanda), the classy, erudite, yet free-spirited girl of the late 19th century, let alone the cruel mistress she later becomes. Instead, Wasche’s Vanda comes off between silly and slightly charming, a struggling actress who sways Director Thomas Novachek with her persistence rather than allure. Yet, when Thomas finally gives in and begins reading the script with her, she transforms, literally from one second to the next, from Vanda Jordan, struggling actress, to Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s late 19th century feminine ideal. It’s more than just voice or posture or costume that changes, it’s the essence of the character. It’s brilliant and the audience can more than understand Thomas’ shock at the change.

Thomas, as well as Herr Doktor Severin von Kushemski (the character from Sacher-Masoch’s novel) are portrayed just as brilliantly by Michael Brusasco.

In contrast to Wasche’s performance, which emphasizes her ability to embody the different roles so completely, Brusasco’s Thomas is characterized by his resistance to change his character. Admittedly, I was initially a little put off by the way he half-heartedly read Kushemski’s lines, but I soon realized that by doing so, he was remaining in charge above the play, as a director. It’s when he becomes more engrossed in the play he’s reading that his control recedes and

the locus of power shifts ambiguously between director and actress.

Ambiguity is, in fact, both the highlight and the main strength of the play.

The word, emphasized by Thomas at a few noted points throughout the play, comes to characterize it as a whole. Over time, it becomes clear that not only is the balance of power between the characters not clear but also aspects of the characters themselves. Thomas is in charge and takes a sometimes imperious tone with Vanda; he is the director. Yet, occasionally he answers his phone and as he talks to his fiancé on the other line, he visibly shrivels up, fawning and obsequious. Does he compensate at work for his lack of authority at home? Does he feel emasculated by his fiancé’s successful career while he scrapes by as a playwright? This expresses itself toward the end when he takes over the role of Vanda, insisting he can do it better. He trots around in the fur with relish and one has to wonder if it’s not the character of Vanda that Thomas identified with as he spent long hours carefully adapting the ancient German BDSM novel into a play.

It also raises some questions about changing gender roles a century after the novel was written.

This same ambiguity manifests itself in Vanda’s character, whose origin is nebulous as the Joker’s scars. Perhaps most interesting was an exchange between Vanda and Thomas in which Vanda insists that Kushemski turns Vanda into a monster.

Thomas counters that perhaps Kushemski just brings out an aspect of Vanda’s personality that was already there. The same could be said of Vanda’s character in the overarching play. She resists but Thomas

begs her to continue. “You’re evil,” she says at least twice. Maybe he is. Maybe he is manipulating her just as Kushemski manipulates Vanda into dominating him.

The fantasies of men can be scary things: Even when they wish to be powerless and dominated, they remain in control.

The play handles these questions and complex themes with humor and a sharp wit. Despite being a play named after the goddess of love, it is ultimately more earthly and funny than divine and sexy.

Some of the best scenes include Vanda’s improvisational Venus scene in which she portrays a terrifyingly funny “Germanic” Venus complete with a few deep-throated utterances of the word “Jas.” Likewise, it’s hilarious to watch Thomas prancing around as Vanda, ludicrously aping female mannerisms.

Nevertheless, while “Venus” is very successful when it brings SacherMasoch’s fetishistic romance down to an earthly level, it occasionally takes itself too seriously and, in approaching the divine, gets burnt by the sun. In particular, when Thomas dresses Vanda in leather boots, a rather awkward two minutes of zipping ensues that did more to raise my eyebrows than my heartbeat. Likewise, I found it difficult to take the final scene seriously and, even with the thunder, Vanda just wasn’t Venus, she was just Vanda. In coming down on a serious note, the play drifted away from the playful and humorous ambiguity that had been its strength, thus making the ending seem a tad offkey. It’s a minor complaint.

I can’t say “Venus in Fur” was divine comedy, but it was definitely an earthly delight.

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In review: Martin Jacques spoke at Town Hall of Cleveland series Jessica Yang Staff Reporter As part of the Town Hall of Cleveland speaker series, which is partially sponsored by Case Western Reserve University, acclaimed economist and author Martin Jacques spoke on Nov. 4 at the Playhouse Square’s Ohio Theatre. Local Clevelanders came as well as many students from the university to listen to Jacques’ speech titled, “When China Rules the World”.

Jacques is perhaps most known for his 2009 global bestselling novel, “When China Rules the World: The End of Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order,” which was well-received by political pundits and economists for its analysis of Chinese economy as well as the study of Chinese culture and how it relates to the workings of Chinese economy.

The lecture given at Ohio Theatre didn’t deviate much from Jacques’ novel, save for updated statistics, such as a new

numbers that predicted that the Chinese economy would overpower the American economy by 2018 instead of 2027, which was previously predicted by Goldman Sachs in 2007. This new statistic created an audible gasp in the theater since the current prediction is more pressing, being only a few years away.

Although people who read Jacques’ novel or watched his TED talk were disappointed by the relative lack of new information and new topics, the lecture did serve as an eye-opener into China’s rapid economic and political growth as well as how this growth would affect the world.

Jacques started off by giving a historical context of China and how the Song dynasty (A.D. 960-1279) provided the basis for Western industrial revolution with the invention of coal in the 11th century. Bringing in economics and transitioning to current events, he stated that the Chinese economy was about onethird larger than that of the U.S.’ at the

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eve of the financial crisis. Jacques also mentioned that China is the largest export destination and import-trading partner for many countries, such as Australia and many East Asian countries. This change is incredibly drastic compared to past economic standings.

In a more global context, Jacques stated that with China’s large government surplus and the amount of loans the Chinese are given, soon the World Bank will diminish in importance. A statistic given

by Jacques stated the China Development Bank and the China Export-Import Bank gave $110 billion in loans to developing countries while the World Bank only gave a mere $100.3 billion.

Jacques also argued that with China’s rise, it’s only reassuming a position of power and that when China does take it back, it will be in a manner that is unfamiliar to Westerners. In 1820, China had one-third of the global gross private product and is predicted to return to that

position in 2030. The Chinese way of thought is drastically different from that of the West in terms of modernity, and Jacques gave an example describing the Chinese thinking of themselves primarily as a civilization state whereas the West develops their identities as countries on the basis of nation.

Towards the end of the lecture, Jacques explored the differences in culture, including Confucian mannerisms, China’s shame-based culture, Western guilt-based cultures derived largely from Christianity and also how America could respond to China’s rise.

While the lecture was interesting and humorous as Jacques injected jokes throughout (he began with “Just as my country [England] didn’t rule the world… though it had a good bash at it”), there were huge overarching generalizations in addition to a noticeable avoidance of the rampant corruption in China and how it could ultimately deter China’s growth.

The Observer’s Playlist 11/22/13 Jason Walsh Staff Reporter Run the Jewels ft. Big Boi — “Banana Clipper” Another week, another Run the Jewels video. Killer Mike and El-P have been releasing a string of videos lately in support of “Run the Jewels,” their 2013 debut as a duo. The video for “Banana Clipper” features Mike, El and Big Boi circling donuts around a College Park parking lot in fancy cars. It looks like a lot of fun, and considering “Banana Clipper” is one of the better songs off of one of the year’s better rap releases, the video is definitely worth a watch.

A$AP Rocky — “Phoenix” A$AP Rocky continues to carve a special niche in hip-hop for himself. The video for “Phoenix” has shots of A$AP in an all-red high-fashion getup alternating with shots of him in his usual allblack leather-jacket-with-stocking-cap trap outfit. Lyrically, he references Basquiat and then threatens to shoot you.

The song and video are both all over the place, which I guess is par for the A$AP course.

Roosevelt — “Montreal” “Montreal” is a fantastic little piece of New Wave disco, bringing to mind groups like Cut Copy and The Tough Alliance. The video is four minutes of psychedelic color blocks, and to cap everything off the song has a bongo solo. This track is my first exposure to Roosevelt, a producer out of Cologne, but I’ll definitely have him on my radar after this.

Timbaland ft. Jay-Z, Drake & James Fauntleroy — “Know About Me” This is one of those songs that I don’t really think I need to describe. It’s a Timbaland beat, with Timbaland, Drake and Jay-Z trading verses. Drake outshines both of the other rappers, reminding us of his versatility and his skill on beats harder than anything from “Nothing Was the Same.”

Prince — “Da Bourgeoisie” Apparently Prince is over albums?

He’s been randomly dumping tracks into the internet for a few months now, with no sign that he intends to release a full album. I guess we should be happy with whatever we can get though. “Da Bourgeoisie” is some fantastic Prince funk, all deep bass and Prince singing about getting dumped for a girl.

Classifieds Apartments for rent - corner of euclid ave. And e.116Th st.

1 Bedroom 1 bathroom efficiency units $350/mo. - Students welcome - to schedule a showing please call carnegie group at 216-252-6580

a&e 13

observer.case.edu

This week in photos: :

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Dan Savage spoke to a filled Strosacker Auditorium about LGBT issues. The Undergraduate Indian Student Association (uISA) lit up the stage of John Hay High School Auditorium in their annual culture show, Andaaz.

Harsha Chandupatla/Observer

Courtesy Sapna Sundar

Courtesy Sapna Sundar

In Maria Fazal’s Nov. 15 article “Portrait miniature exhibit: A timeless expression of humanity,” the “Mini-Drama” talk was inaccurately stated to occur on Friday, Nov. 22. The talk actually will be held on Feb. 14, 2014. The Observer apologizes for the mistake.

14

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11/22/13

How student groups are spending it

SEC Open Forum

Friday, Nov. 22, 12:30-2 p.m.

Nord 310 — Food provided

opinion Editorial

State Your Case

Feeling disconnected?

Get involved.

Do you think CWRU is worth the money?

The lack of student participation and sense of community at Case Western Reserve University are both issues that have repeatedly graced The Observer’s pages. There is a valid reason for this, too. Sometimes it feels as though a good chunk of CWRU students focus too much on noticing what is wrong on campus but don’t bother to find out more about it or, better yet, be the change they want to see on campus. Since repetition never hurt anybody, we are going to raise this issue once more before we reach the end of the semester.

The Student Executive Council (SEC) is a great example of the kind of engaging student organization that could change the running editorial record of the Opinion section. Today, the SEC will host an open forum called “Your money: how student groups are spending it.” The open forum will answer questions regarding where the Student Activities Fee (SAF) we all pay ultimately goes and hopefully correct some misconceptions about how the money is spent. All of the SEC organizations (i.e., Residence Hall Association, Undergraduate Student Government, University Program Board, Class Officer Collective, University Media Board, Interfraternity Congress and Panhellenic Council) will be present at the event, so more or less every area of student life at CWRU will be covered.

It can sometimes be difficult for a CWRU student to see where the SAF goes in reality. Attending an open forum like the one hosted by the SEC will certainly illuminate students in this area. After all, an open forum also provides the students with a chance to hold the major student organizations accountable. The relationship between students and student organizations should be interactive. It would surely give students some perspective. Last week, The Observer asked the question “Is CWRU worth it?” Engaging in an open forum about finances will most definitely help answer that question. Other issues, such as Greek Life’s donation of rollover funds and the Tinkham Veale University Center will surely be addressed.

This time, the forum has been advertised properly, in a decided departure from other campus forums. Last semester, the provost organized a forum about changing tuition and room and board rates. Sadly, only a few students attended an event that could have been very fruitful and informative. This was partly due to minimal publicity about the event. For the SEC’s open form, empty seats should not be a problem —at least based on the effort by the council to publicize the event to undergraduate students.

We encourage you to go, or, if you missed it, seek out similar events and opportunities that enable you to help make the CWRU experience better.Whether it means listening in on an open forum or joining an organization’s executive board, active participation never hurts—it results in a greater connection to the university you pay to attend.

The editorial opinion takes a stand on a select campus issue that The Observer’s board of directors, the executive committee of the editorial board, considers relevant and consequently should be brought to the attention of the Case Western Reserve University community. The board consists of the executive editor and publisher, director of design, director of web and multimedia, director of print, director of business and marketing, and opinion editor. A member of the board meets with students, staff, faculty or any other persons who the board considers to be a subject matter expert. The board will then decide what stance to take on the issue, or if there are disagreements among the members, communicate them in the editorial. The meetings with interviewees occur off the record; no person will be directly quoted or referred to by their name. The editorial opinion does not in any way influence the work of the editors, reporters and staff of The Observer, nor does it represent the opinions of those interviewed for it.

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer exists to report news affecting and/or involving students and to provide an editorial forum for the university community. Unsigned editorials are the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 368-2914 or e-mail observerads@case.edu.

The Observer is a proud member of the CWRU Media Board.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be e-mailed to observer@case.edu or submitted on our website at observer.case.edu. Letters can be mailed to 10900 Euclid Avenue, Suite A09, Cleveland, OH 44106. Letters need to include the writer’s full name, address, and telephone number. Anonymous letters will not be published. Letters from organizations must contain the name of an individual for contact purposes. Writings may be edited for clarity and brevity, and while The Observer makes an attempt to print all correspondence; space and date of publication are not guaranteed. Letters over 600 words may be returned to the sender. Letters must be received by 5 p.m. on Tuesdays.

24.49%

36.73%

38.78% No; the tuition is too high for what CWRU is worth.

Yes; but only if you take advantage of more resources than just the education.

Yes; a CWRU degree in itself is worth the tuition.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergradute students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher TYLER HOFFMAN director of design MEREDITH DYKEHOUSE director of web & multimedia KYLE PATTERSON director of print SHEEHAN HANNAN assistant director of business & marketing COLE MORRIS account manager ERIC HAUFLER ad manager CELIA TORRES news layout MEILYN SYLVESTRE a&e layout AMBER ALBERGOTTIE sports layout HEATHER HARGROW opinion layout EDWIN LO distributors SAGE SCHAFF DANIEL DOHERTY

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16 opinion

11/22/13

On the importance of holding onto our communal values The meaning of Spartan life Jacob Martin I have been carrying this 5.5 x 8.5inch yellow paper with me everywhere I’ve gone since mid-September. I look at it almost every day and read the five affirmations that constitute the values of the Share the Vision program.

Many of you may have never heard of Share the Vision or only know it because you’ve seen someone wearing a wristband or received a water bottle displaying the name. Nonetheless, I don’t wish to discuss the history of the program or the program itself; rather, I wish to discuss what it stands for.

In theory, Share the Vision is a perfect program which provides Case Western Reserve University with the following purpose: “To realize our vision of a just and humane campus community, we strive to: (1) Support the worth and dignity of each individual; (2) Respect new ideas and encourage examination and discussion of differing opinions; (3) Appreciate and enjoy our rich cultural, ethnic and racial diversity; (4) Strive for excellence and integrity in teaching, scholarship, research and service and; (5) Promote justice and compassion on our campus and in our world.”

I believe I would be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t agree with these five statements. In fact, I’m fairly

confident that if I gave anyone a copy of my little yellow card they wouldn’t be able to dispute these five bullet points in any way.

All semester, I have been writing about this vibrant campus community of scholars. The affirmations adopted in 1990 by the Share the Vision campaign are exactly what this campus needs. They call for dignity, dialogue, diversity, integrity and justice respectively. Indeed, these are five principles by which to live a curious, rich and humane life.

Yet we ignore Share the Vision and what it stands for. We go about our weeks without regard for others or how we can become a meaningful community. We ask questions, go to class and complete assignments, but only because we want an A. We trade thinking and learning for a piece of paper and a high GPA. We do not care about our campus community or thought for the sake of thought.

However, I am a realist and this is a research university. In order for professors to attain tenure and the university to keep its doors open, research must be a major focus of the institution. But what’s so hard about simply living according to the five affirmations I’ve just laid out?

The fact of the matter is that when we become a community, our morale increases, our campus becomes a happier place and our research gets better.

Specifically, when we live our lives by

these five points of dignity, dialogue, diversity, integrity and justice, we foster collaboration and advancement through mutual respect and collegiality. “[CWRU] aspires to be recognized internationally as an institution that imagines and influences the future.” This is the official vision of the university and it will achieve this goal in four different ways. One such way is to “nurture a community of scholars who are cooperative, collegial and committed to mentoring and inclusion.”

This is the message I’ve been promoting each week in this column because I have not seen this vision on campus since my freshman orientation on a beautiful week in August 2010.

I distinctly remember walking around the main quad during orientation unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of campus and participating in ice-breaking games. My orientation leader, a tiny junior from Kansas, was flawless in making me happy to be here. She abolished the keen awkwardness and aloofness that accompanies the shock of being somewhere new.

I remember walking through a tunnel of shouting white shirts and outstretched arms on my way into DiSanto Field’s bleachers to watch an awe-inspiring orientation leader boogie. When I went onto the field to fill in the huge bubblelettered “CWRU,” I was elated, inspired and happily anxious for the start of my undergraduate career.

This is not a piece about orientation.

However, the enthusiasm and passion orientation leaders bring to the first few weeks of classes each fall embodies the spirit of community that should fill this campus. We need their spirit to linger all year and not dissipate after week two.

When I look around campus and see how students treat one another or hear some of the comments faculty members make, I wonder how we have abandoned such positive beliefs. Do we really care that little about other students? Is it that we only care about ourselves? Don’t we value knowledge and thinking more than merely getting a piece of paper?

These are questions each of us needs to ask. If we choose to live exclusively within our own worlds, we are choosing to exist in fantasy worlds. We learn through comparison and difference; without engagement with others, we cannot grow.

I do not want to see the sentiment and values of Share the Vision’s five affirmations displayed only during orientation. I believe in orientation magic, and I want to believe that we all have a little orientation leader spirit inside of us.

Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey to the President. He grants it a “presidential pardon” and saves it from slaughter. The pardoned turkey has gone to such places as Mount Vernon and Walt Disney World.

The American Holocaust: a different perspective Family matters Kyle Patterson Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Shawnee caverns in Bellefontaine, Ohio. A group of Cleveland Institute of Art students and friends were going down for the weekend as volunteers to help fix up the grounds, primarily prepping for the winter. I drove down on Saturday to join them, getting lost only once in the process. Nearly everyone was still sleeping when I arrived, giving me plenty of time to look around what was to be headquarters for the day, a combination home, museum and gift shop.

I spent most of that day stuffing insulation into the cabins that visitors can rent out, a process that started in confusion and quickly turned into giggling fits of frustration. Conveniently, two of my friends drove up just as I installed the last screw in the new ceiling; dinnertime, they said. A small corner of the room was still lacking its ceiling, but without screws there wasn’t much to be done, so we packed up the power tools and I hopped into the car.

As it turns out, my friends misinterpreted “starting dinner” as “dinner is ready,” leaving nearly half an hour of free time.

I took this opportunity to sit down with Hawk, chief of the tribe.

He asked me what I wanted to know.

“Anything.” I said. Truthfully, I didn’t know what to ask. The only problems I knew involved Native Americans occurred well before my time; “Made in China” dream catchers and Halloween

headdresses were among the handful of things I even attributed to the culture.

Standing before this giant of a man in his wheelchair, neither of those felt like the largest problems in his book.

He took a couple moments to think before finally sharing. “There’s a book, American Holocaust,” he began, “It’s a horrible book. I don’t know why anyone would read it… But I think everyone should.”

The history of the Native American people is something of a large debate in the world of history. There are no concurring records of population, leaving estimates ranging from 50 to 100 million in what’s currently the United States (for reference, the U.S. currently has a population of over 313.9 million). As few as 70 percent but as many as 95 percent of them were dead by the dawn of the 20th century. The American Holocaust outlines three primary causes, all of which began before European armies set foot on North American soil.

The first largely leading cause was what Hawk referred to as biological warfare. The complete lack of immunity to European diseases lead to the greatest decline in Native American population.

The chiefs of that time, out of concern for posterity, encouraged their young to mingle with the Europeans; their hope was that the European blood would give their children’s children a chance against the new diseases.

The second cause was, as Hawk put it, chemical warfare. The Native American people had never experienced alcohol like the Europeans brought with them. The younger members of tribes quickly lost their lives to European spirits.

The third, cultural warfare, attacked on a level that can’t be quantitatively measured by population. Christian missionaries assaulted what little culture managed to survive through the sharp loss of so many lives, leaving in its wake an even further loss of active members across the tribes.

The physical violence didn’t begin until after what accounted for almost 70 percent of the deaths. Lasting well into the times of today, though nowhere near as large a scale as a century ago, physical violence and systematic oppression of Native Americans is still one of the biggest problems the current tribes face. The Shawnee Caves are state-recognized, and through the efforts of Hawk, the federal government recognizes that the caves are state-recognized, but they are still not a federally-recognized reserve. Affirmative action requires legal proof that you are at least one-quarter Native American by blood. Worth noting, the only other two living beings that require a pedigree are horses and dogs.

As he paused in his story, I took a moment to look around the room. A few tribe members stood by the wood-burning stove, sharing a brief conversation before going back to their business. A woman sat on the other side of the counter, listening in such a way I almost expected her to continue the story. My friend reached over me to fetch the ash tray from the counter, and as she pulled back I could see the tears coating her eyes. She wasn’t the only one from our group with glistening eyes, I noticed.

Hawk drew a breath and continued.

This time, Hawk spoke of his late grandfather, who had passed away some years ago. He was one of the few fluent

speakers of the Shawnee language. Holding back tears, Hawk explained how this man spent the last years of his life in silence, unable to indulge in daily conversation for lack of other fluent speakers.

For nearly two more hours, well past the end of dinner, Hawk shared his experiences with my friends and me. He shared how he ended up in a wheelchair, and how he felt he was physically targeted. He shared how he dealt with politicians trying to further push out the tribe. He concluded with the actions of people that add to cultural appropriation, the one thing I was aware of before sitting down with him: “They take our land, they take our culture and then they want to take our names?”

It’s unfortunate that the space of this column is not infinite; I would love to share in full detail the events of that day.

After talking with Hawk, my friends and I stepped outside and I listened as a few of them shared how they related to Hawk’s stories. It was, ultimately, an incredibly eye-opening experience for me.

For those interested, the book Hawk mentions is “American Holocaust: The Conquest of the New World,” by David E. Stannard.

Kyle Patterson is a senior computer science major looking forward to the end of spring semester, his decided graduation term. He’d like to make a special note that this column is written as a personal column and is not related to his duties as a web director of The Observer. The opinions and thoughts expressed in Family Matters stem from his desire to be the change he wishes to see in the world.

opinion 17

observer.case.edu

What we all need Education 101: Argument in to learn about our surroundings the university What CWRU is really teaching us Abby Armato

My initial response is to fill this with apologies and excuses for writing what I did—of course the stereotypes of East Cleveland are wrong. The Observer’s columnists, as students who reflect the campus perspective, should be more conscious of their power to either reinforce or ignore, in attempts to not perpetuate, these stereotypes.

To that end, I am sorry to the campus and surrounding community as a whole for writing a comment which “dishonors the East Cleveland community.” In no way was my comment meant to be an attempt to degrade the community and its people. For example, a burrito at Qboda is about $6, and 25 burritos is $150, an explanation of the amount of CaseCash in my account, not the value of a community. However, last week’s letter to the editor made me realize that my comment did dishonor East Cleveland.

As a projection of the school’s community, these stereotypes should not appear in the newspaper because we should not put out into the greater community the misconceptions on our campus. But, whether or not I had written it or the paper had published it, the stereotypes of East Cleveland still exist. Ignoring them in the newspaper is better than reinforcing them, no doubt. But the paper is the perfect forum to openly discuss these misconceptions, especially where they come from and how they can be stopped.

To be completely honest, I know nothing firsthand about Cleveland or its communities. I know only what I have been told by other people. As a high school senior looking at colleges, I was told by various Case Western Reserve University students that I would only really be safe on campus. I was told wandering too far off campus would get me in trouble. I was told going beyond the east side of campus was a bad idea.

Google East Cleveland and the majority of hits talk about the danger and crime.

But even broader than that, as an 19-year-old raised in the suburbs and going to live in a foreign city without my parents, I was told to be safe and not travel alone or at night or off campus. Like many first-years, city-living is a new and different experience compared to growing up.

Specifically this city; I am sure most of us got a flabbergasted “You’re going to school in Cleveland?!” from a friend or family member, which suggests a negative perspective of the city.

So I entered the CWRU community hesitantly with a pile of pointers which basically said, “Do not leave campus or you will not come back.” Other students added to this idea with negative and nervous comments on Twitter and Facebook about Cleveland and its surrounding areas. Words like “sketchy” and “janky” are thrown around, creat-

ing a very biased image of what life in Cleveland is like.

This becomes a joke of sorts. Not because poverty is in any way a laughing matter, but because it’s a commonality near and among us. Us. We who have left home and arrived at a city we know very little about. We who were taught to be nervous in this new city. We whose fears prevent adventuring out and challenging the bombarding stereotypes.

We find comfort in knowing we are all feeling the same anxiety.

Just being aware of what we say to each other and post online is a great start.

When comments based in stereotypes have the power to “shame the community as a whole,” more attention needs to be paid to our words, both spoken and printed. Additionally, we need a closer connection between campus and the city that will challenge the misconceptions and stereotypes we hear. An understanding would overcome the fear and nerves with which many students enter CWRU and Cleveland. During orientation week, great examples of building this understanding were activities like CWRU Connects and Discover Cleveland that demystify the city and start to unravel some of its stereotypes. But beyond that, obtaining this understanding requires actively joining a group like Habitat for Humanity or getting on the RTA and experiencing the communities firsthand. If fears and stereotypes are already in place, the latter isn’t very likely.

CWRU informs its students about upcoming events on campus, but what if we received more information about offcampus activities as well? Simple things like upcoming events in the community or ads for restaurants worth traveling to.

Of course, it then becomes the student body’s responsibility to take these opportunities and venture off into the city.

I haphazardly came across a couple of these events myself which, though I was reluctant, I did attend. While I didn’t feel completely in my comfort zone the whole time, I was able to overcome some of my initial city anxiety and start to challenge the stereotypes I came to CWRU with.

This is not an “us vs. them” situation; this is “us vs. ourselves.” We need to overcome our own misconceptions by having firsthand experiences. These experiences will challenge our misconceptions to create an understanding. Cleared misconceptions will slow the stereotypes, those of the greater Cleveland community and East Cleveland. But it all starts when we openly acknowledge our contribution to problem, whether it’s a passing remark, a post on Facebook or a comment in an opinion piece.

Abby Armato is a first-year student currently majoring in English and anthropology. When she is not freaking out about impending adulthood, she enjoys various strokes of creativity, determination and passion.

@CWRUObserver observer.case.edu f cwruobserver

The elephant in the room Andrew Breland “I love argument, I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and agree with me, that’s not their job.”

One might assume that the above quote came from a philosopher, essayist or other nominally unemployed person trying to make a point. At the very least, no one would believe that the quote came from a successful politician whose main attributes were enduring conflict and creating substantive policy over opposition.

She was noted for her strong will, rejection of compromise on key ideological issues and her efforts to turn Britain around from the perceived failures and excesses of the liberal welfare state.

The quote comes from Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister in the 1980s. She became famous for a conservative revolution in Britain. But most significantly, Thatcher stands for a brand of politics that is almost dissolved in public rhetoric.

This brand of politics, however, can extend beyond the hallowed walls of parliament as it inserts itself into the general consciousness of every industry in the U.S. As all of us are more than wellaware, one of the most affluent and powerful industries in the country is not what most people would call an industry at all—the university system.

The American higher education system includes nearly 5,000 colleges and universities where over 20 million students are enrolled every year. Recent debates around universities center on the income value of university degrees, the cost of education and the necessity of “skills-based learning.”

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Emeritus Professor of History at Yeshiva University Ellen Schrecker. She was in town to give a talk as part of the Baker-Nord Center’s “Interpreting Capitalism” series. Professor Schrecker is most notable for her work of anti-McCarthyism, or put another way, anti-anti-Communism. But in recent years, she has focused substantially on academic freedom in the university, an issue I have long been fascinated with.

As regular readers of this column will remember, on multiple occasions I have commented on the need for competing viewpoints, viewpoint diversity and “freedom to say what you want” on several occasions throughout the last two years. While talking with her, Schrecker commented generally on the hypocrisy of academia: Encouraging new horizons of research on one hand, while punishing those who speak up against university policy on the other.

One of the most curious points she made was that education discourse in this country is severely diminished.

Instead of talking about the “general good” and creativity among our college students, we have resigned ourselves to viewing college students as commodities to be traded. College, instead of an education, is a business. Professors, instead of educators, are investments.

While this is not a patently false or even unbelievable view, its perpetual ascendency in the higher education discourse signals an enormous quandary for the future of education in this country. Without a conversation including all education solutions, we arbitrarily eliminate possible life-saving and societyimproving techniques.

Perhaps the utopian education is one where students and professors interact equally in a system much like that employed by Socrates. Or maybe, a system of “great books” education like those employed at some liberal arts colleges, proves in the long run to be the most successful at creating creative, empathetic students. Is that not successful?

Or maybe the corporate model is the most successful. The market, after all, tends to settle on efficient productivity.

But we will never know the answer to that question, since our industry has turned away from that dialogue. Educational leaders have embraced the language of politics, have settled for complacency, and have ignored the obvious benefits of other less corporatist manners of education.

This is the practical application of the uncompromising view of politics, extending into other arenas. Though I heartily agree with most of what Thatcher did in Great Britain, the method by which she accomplished her goals set a standard that has pervaded and perverted other, less adversarial fields. Though argument and complete demolition of opposition has its place, compromise and fair-gamesmanship preclude it in most possible situations.

Professor Schrecker’s words were inviting and intriguing. And for the next couple of weeks, I will explore some of the statements and assertions she made about the need for freedom and equality in education and political stadia. Her statements probably rang true mostly due to their unique and powerful connection with our Case Western Reserve University. As she spoke, her negative generalities painted a picture of the ideal corporatist university, her dystopia. Unfortunately, CWRU fit the bill on most of her concerns.

Here’s hoping that we can recover the humanism that we have lost in this conclusion.

Andrew Breland is a double major in political science and English, planning on getting a master’s degree in political science before attending law school.

He is the vice president of the Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity and the treasurer of CWRU’s undergraduate mock trial team.

Have an opinion on this week’s editiorial?

Let us know.

18 opinion

11/22/13

Letter to the Editor To the editor: Andrew Breland’s recent article about Dan Savage insults the LGBT community, as well as members of other minority communities who are vocal about ongoing oppression and mistreatment. His effort to expose the hypocrisy of Dan Savage’s comments reveals his underlying bias and a subtle double standard.

Gay people should complacently accept the vitriolic hate speech we are subjected to daily, but must never return the favor. If we do, then we become equally as blameworthy as our persecutors.

Breland’s style of victim blaming is nothing new, and he conveniently ignores the facts which weaken his position. Without mentioning the constant right-wing hate speech that precipitated Savage’s comments, the author provides four examples of Savage’s “hateful” remarks. A hypothetical example: If you were told that I insulted someone four times, you might quickly form a poor opinion of me.

But your opinion might change if you learned I had been subjected to years of hate speech and disparaging remarks likened to animals and child molesters, and then denied rights to equal treatment under the law.

I agree with the well-worn axiom “two wrongs don’t make a right.” But no reasonable person could conclude that a small number of arguably hurtful utterances equal the longstanding, near-daily vitriol spewed by members of the religious right against the LGBT community. Dan Savage’s comments were not uttered in a vacuum. They were spoken against a backdrop of hatred, homophobia and LGBT youth suicide.

Breland’s article further states that after Savage was confirmed to speak at CWRU, his “anger began.” Anger? At having someone who started a successful project to combat LGBT despair and suicide, a project to which the current president of the United States contributed, be present on campus for a couple of hours? Breland expresses anger about a short one-time event he never had to attend, but if the LGBT community expresses anger about hate speech and denial of equal rights we contend with daily, we must adhere to the highest standard of diplomacy or else forfeit all sympathy?

It is clear that the elephant in the room is Breland’s bias against the LGBT community. He writes that “Dan Savage has no contribution to what we do on a daily basis.” I might accept this sweeping statement if there were no one at CWRU belonging to a minority group, involved in social activism, interested in opinion journalism or curious about successful web-based campaigns. The “we” to whom Breland refers apparently means the heterosexual, male, conservative Republican community to which he belongs. For the LGBT community, Dan

Savage has made, and continues to make, a tremendous impact.

Breland also writes that he expects “his words here to cause outcry. [He] expect[s] angry classmates...spiteful and demonizing glances.” I hope his classmates will instead expound the many public instances of hate, discrimination and intolerance toward LGBTs, with specific examples of the detrimental effects of this culture on LGBT individuals. Regardless, I suspect whatever negative responses Breland receives to be ultimately benign—certainly nothing similar to the challenges LGBTs endure simply for being born gay, and far short of the constant gross mistreatment of LGBTs that triggered Dan Savage’s comments at issue.

Breland’s opinion piece attempts to arouse sympathy for a group that has typically enjoyed full rights and freedoms but has historically had the privilege of bullying sexual minorities without consequence. How many of the “upset and crying” attendees at Savage’s 2012 high school journalism conference took their own lives? Or suffered non-transient psychological harm of any kind? Compare that statistic with LGBT youth suicide, depression and homelessness rates and learn which group is truly deserving of sympathy.

Breland’s statements that his “anger began” while “minding [his] own business” as well as his question “how could this happen?” indicate his belief that some harm has been unjustly thrust upon him. There is none. If Breland’s threshold for harm is this low, I cannot imagine how he would fare walking a mile in LGBT shoes. But I can guess it would not go very well.

Dan Savage’s real views on bullying: He’s as mad as hell, and he’s not going to take this anymore! There is at least one more likely reason for the “outpouring of excitement and support” for Dan Savage’s talk besides students being ignorant, jaded or uncaring. Perhaps saving lives and contributing to the psychological well-being of millions of people outweigh four arguably hurtful phrases uttered in frustration. Actions often do speak louder than words.

Adopting a page from Dan Savage’s playbook, I invite Andrew Breland to join in a friendly one-on-one chat about his views. I always make time to provide perspective to others who are unfamiliar with, or who choose to ignore, the serious and unique struggles faced by minority groups. Perhaps Breland can enlighten me on the harms he believes to have suffered by not attending Dan Savage’s talk, or the daily hardships he must endure as a fully-included member of mainstream society.

William Metcalfe Lee Professional student

Letter to the Editor To the editor:

stay connected to stay observant

Andrew Breland’s most recent opinion editorial “The Man who invented ‘Santorum’” was a particularly disconcerting read for multiple reasons. I personally have no opinion on Dan Savage—I do not have the information nor have I attempted to find the information necessary to claim a stance on the surrounding controversy.

I also have no issue with Breland’s opinion on Savage. My discomfort lies in the presentation of said opinion. As a political science major, I don’t question that Breland understands the importance of researching the issues before forming an opinion. Gathering relevant information is critical in making an informed opinion—which is what is precisely lacking in this particular piece.

As a member of the Case Western Reserve Community and a contributor to a publication such as The Observer, it is disappointing to see a piece that reads more like a page from a pre-teen’s journal than a published article. It was clear that Breland never sought information on the choice to bring Savage (he was simply “minding my own business” while listening to other student’s conversations).

His claim that “perhaps the students that are excited have never read or heard the hateful statements that have come out of his mouth...maybe we just do not care” is insulting at the very least. To assume those who have differing opinions are simply ignorant or hateful themselves is contradictory to the love of the First Amendment that he touts so proudly. The fact that he did not attend the event is further proof of his own ignorance on this topic, the same ignorance that was placed on those who did attend.

It did not seem to occur to Breland that those who attended the event have access to the same amount of (and more, due to the very fact that they attended the event) information as he. By asking those who attended, Breland would discover that a Q&A session allowed for his exact grievances to be addressed as did the Open Forum hosted by the LGBT Center the following day.

It should also not go unnoticed that Breland does not waste time recognizing himself as a martyr, saying “...I expect my words here to cause outcry. I expect angry classmates. I expect spiteful and demonizing glances.” It is a discredit to the intellectual and supportive community of CWRU to assume those who disagree will turn to hatred.

I truly believe that someone who feels as strongly and sincerely as Breland claims would attend these events and take advantage of the opportunities presented to discover why others agree or disagree with his thoughts. I respect his efforts to ignite change on this campus by challenging policies and decisions. His space in The Observer serves as an exceptional opportunity for a dialogue to be opened in the campus community and I appreciate the attempt at beginning this discourse. I can only hope that in the future his writings will be grounded in fact and Breland will serve due credit to his readers.

Rissah Asefa Undergraduate student

observer.case.edu

sports | 19

Editor’s Choice

Spartan runners cross finish line at regional meet

Courtesy Martin Santek Senior David Dixon paces towards the finish line during the UAA Championship race on Nov. 2nd.

Men and women’s cross country teams both end season on a high note Katie Wieser Sports Editor The Case Western cross country team ended their regular season with dual successes as the women’s team claimed the sixth spot and the men’s team took seventh out of 35 teams at the National Collegiate Athletics Association’s Great Lakes regional meet last weekend.

Top finishers for the teams were sophomore Kelsey Aamoth, who placed 21st for the ladies, and senior David Dixon, who clinched fourth place and a national meet spot with a time of 25.17.2.

The Spartans are in a very difficult region for the sport of cross country and came in strong after a tough UAA meet earlier this month. Many teams in the field were previous national competitors or entrants to this year’s race. Aamoth was looking to improve on last year’s result of 27th place, but suffered a leg injury prior to the race. She was able to complete the 6,000-meter race five seconds faster than last year, but was clearly hoping for a better result. When speaking about the season, Aamoth said “I definitely improved a lot from last year, but it didn’t end the way I wanted it to…it was unfortunate.”

However, Aamoth’s time along with fellow Spartans Kristen Ruckstuhl in 34th place, Erica Bauerbach in 35th place, Dana Jeter in 49th place and Lydia Greene in 51st place earned enough to claim the sixth spot in the region.

Aamoth, Ruckstuhl and Bauerbach all received honors as all-region performers by placing in the top 35 of all participants.

The men’s team had an equally difficult task ahead of them as they faced off against the tough schools in the area.

Dixon led the way with his fourth-place finish followed by Timothy Travitz in

46th place, Wyatt Hoch in 53rd place, Tony Spalding in 74th place and Chippy Kennedy in 77th place. These top finishers helped the Spartans to their seventh place finish overall.

Dixon came into the race with his eyes on the national meet, but was even surprised with his own speed during the race. He will look to end his final season at Case with a bang as he competes in the National meet in Hanover, Ind. this weekend.

As the regular season ends, head coach Kathy Lanese is already looking to the team’s future. With the sophomore-heavy squad this past season, Lanese knew to manage expectations.

“We had two very young teams. With youth comes inconsistency,” Lanese said.

Despite this, she was very pleased with the strong showings throughout the year at critical meets such as the AllOhio Intercollegiate Championship and the Inter-Regional Rumble at Oberlin.

Throughout the season, the team had extreme highs and career best times to balance out the rare times when the team failed to meet expectations. Multiple runners recorded faster times on average for the races and grew their confidence and experience.

However, when the stakes rose, the inexperience came through. Many runners hadn’t participated in conference or regional level meets before this year, so Lanese knew that it would be a challenge to beat the nationally-ranked competition that would be in attendance.

But she still feels that the team rose to a higher level over the course of competition. Stellar performances led to four all-region runners and a runner in the national meet. Lanese believes that these factors speak for the caliber of talent returning next season. “Next year, both teams have a very bright future.”

Football ends season with offensive fireworks at Annual Academic Bowl JP O’Hagan Staff Reporter The Spartans rebounded from a disappointing loss at Washington University last week by winning the Annual Academic Bowl against top rival Carnegie Mellon.

A quick start by Carnegie Mellon led to a 7-0 lead just four minutes into the game when the Tartans’ quarterback Rob Kalkstein found a receiver wide open downfield for a 79-yard score. The Spartans were not discouraged and would score 28 of the next 31 points. The defense stepped up on both teams to force threeand-outs and there was no indication of the shootout that would follow.

On fourth down and 11, the Spartans ran a trick punt play with running back Manny Sicre’s direct snap, pitched to quarterback Scott Mackie who got the first down. Mackie returned the favor by hitting him for a 29-yard pass to get the Spartans to the Carnegie Mellon 17. Spartan quarterback Billy Beecher finished off the drive with a two-yard push into the endzone. The extra point was good to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

Carnegie Mellon fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and the Spartans pounced on the mistake and took control at the Tartans’ 32. One play later, Olson found Lapcevic on a 32-yard touchdown pass.

After a Tartan field goal brought the score to 14-10, the Spartans scored two passing touchdowns to make the score 28-10 with

9:19 left until the half. Carnegie Mellon responded to the Spartan offensive explosion with a touchdown to make the score 28-17 at halftime.

Carnegie Mellon cut the Spartan lead to 28-24 with a 71 yard drive which culminated in a touchdown early in the second half. Olson threw his third touchdown of the game when he connected with wide receiver John Mangelluzzi for the second time with a the 79-yard touchdown catch. The 35-20 cushion was important 20 minutes later when the Tartans marched down the field for 90-yard and a touchdown. Carnegie Mellon then converted the risky two point conversion to pull within a field goal with just over two minutes to play. Carnegie Mellon then attempted an onside kick attempt but the Spartans were able to recover it and run out the clock for the win.

The Spartans were led by quarterback Olson who threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns. His biggest target was Mangelluzzi, who caught for 136 yards and two of the three touchdowns. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Everett Dishong led the Spartans and recorded eight tackles.

The Spartans ended their season second in UAA play for the second straight year. Besides the heartbreak, the Spartans are poised to continue their strong seasons with many talented underclassmen, many of whom saw play time on Saturday. As the Spartans say goodbye to the seniors they honored two weeks ago, they look to take back the UAA championship next season and have the potential to do so.

20 | sports

11/22/13

Women’s basketball showcases strong individual play during opening weekend Spartans posted multiple double-doubles; UAA Player of the Week Katie Wieser Sports Editor The Spartan women’s basketball team got off to a strong start during their opening weekend of play at the North Carolina Wesleyan College Jean Edge Classic. The team suffered their first loss against area rival Baldwin Wallace University on Tuesday.

The Jean Edge Classic was a fine forum for the Spartans to shine as they posted two wins of ten-plus points and center Laura Mummey posted double-doubles in both matchups versus Methodist College and North Carolina College. The team shone in their first face-off as they led the Methodist Monarchs through the entire game. The team had 61 rebounds and claimed 26 turn-

overs as they led with a 35.6 percent field goal percentage.

Standout players included Mummey with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Berit Eppard with 10 points and 12 rebounds and Brooke Orcutt with eight points and nine rebounds. The Spartans won with a score of 55-43 in this defensive showdown.

The ladies kept their momentum going during their game against host North Carolina College. The team started the game with another victory in mind, winning eight straight points to open the first half. The team kept a strong presence in the paint and kept the pressure on the Battling Bishops to make difficult shots. The Spartans scored the final field goal with 3:26 left in the game to end with a score of 79-63.

Browns fall in battle of Ohio David Hoffman Staff Reporter The Browns had a chance to get back into the playoff race, an opportunity to put the league on notice and put a scare into the rival Bengals, who sit atop the AFC North division. Most importantly, the Browns were giving their fans reason to get legitimately excited. Lost in the chatter was a single important reminder: This was still the Cleveland Browns. Sunday, the Browns that the fans have come to know and love showed up in full force as they were humiliated in Cincinnati to the tune of a 41-20 final score.

Initially, the Browns came out on fire in the first quarter, offering hope that they had turned a new leaf for once. Joe Haden, the team’s best defensive player, intercepted Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton twice, returning the second one into the end zone for a defensive touchdown. In the blink of an eye, the Browns had built up a 13-0 lead and hopes were raised. After all, that is usually the team’s modus operandi: Jump out to a lead in a big game like this to give the fans hope, only to dash that hope later on.

Usually, that hope doesn’t get dashed until some point in the fourth quarter, but on this day the Browns didn’t even wait that long to bring the hopes of their fans down. The second quarter featured one long parade of mistakes and by the time the quarter was over, the Browns had dug themselves an insurmountable hole.

When it came to making mistakes, the Browns left no stone unturned. The offense and special teams committed a

grand total of five turnovers, leading to plenty of easy touchdowns for the Bengals. Quarterback Jason Campbell got the party started with an interception, giving the Bengals offense the ball deep in Browns territory.

Two plays later, the Bengals scored a touchdown to get on the board. It turned out to just be the beginning. Mere minutes later, the Browns dug deep into their playbook, so to speak, when a punt attempt got blocked. It was the first time in 20 years that the team had experienced the agony of a blocked punt. Clearly, they must have felt a need to remind the fans of that feeling. Naturally, the blocked punt was returned for another easy score.

At that point, the Browns were hanging on by a thread.

It didn’t take long for the Bengals to cut that thread completely. Less than two minutes after the blocked punt, running back Chris Ogbonnaya provided the Browns with a triple whammy: He got tackled in the backfield for a loss of four yards, fumbled the football for a turnover and watched helplessly as the Bengals returned that fumble to the end zone for yet another touchdown.

By that point, the Browns couldn’t leave Cincinnati fast enough. The game was effectively over, and all that was left to be determined were the final statistics.

After giving fans the impression that the team might actually be improved in recent weeks, for one day the Browns sent out a harsh reminder of the stigma attached to being, well, the Browns.

Hopefully, the Steelers show them a little more mercy next week.

The top Spartan contributors were Mummey with 23 points and 10 rebounds, Orcutt with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Julie Mooney with 12 points.

Mummey and Orcutt both were selected for the all-tournament team and Mummey earned further honors as the University Athletics Association Women’s Basketball Player of the Week.

The great individual play continued in Tuesday’s game versus Baldwin Wallace. The opposition was much tougher with this familiar rival. The teams traded points in the first half with the Yellow Jackets putting together a few scoring runs that kept the Spartans on their toes.

The second half was dominated heavily by the strong Baldwin Wallace team as they added eight three-point shots and multiple field goals to their total. The

Spartans were unable to match the skill of the Yellow Jacket team and ended with a score of 65-89.

The Case Western team was outmatched in scoring percentages of every category, including free-throw percentage where the ladies made only 11 of 17 attempts from the line. Individual players still had strong showings as Mooney led the team in scoring off the bench with 15 points. Orcutt scored 10 points and Amanda Germer added 11 points to the team total.

The season will keep gaining momentum as the ladies head to the Fred Raizk Tournament in Wilmington, Ohio this weekend before hosting their season home-opener against Kenyon University on Tuesday Nov. 26th at the Veale Center.

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observer.case.edu

sports | 21

Grambling players grappling for control Marques Winick Contributing Reporter Last month, Grambling State University made history within the college football world. But it wasn’t for what they did on the playing field; it was for what they didn’t do in their parking lot.

On Oct. 18, the Grambling State Tigers staged the first team boycott in college football history when only 22 of the team’s 78 players showed up to ride the buses to their game against Jackson State the following day. The small Division I school in northeast La. suddenly found itself in the nation’s spotlight.

When this news first broke, I was surprised and confused. I know how much work it takes to be on any college sports team, being on Case’s baseball team myself.

But on top of that, Grambling football isn’t just the average sports team. It was once the home of the legendary Eddie Robinson, the winningest coach in college football history. So why would the players leave a stain on all of that hard work and tradition?

The answer is revealed in a letter that the players wrote to the Grambling administration. It details a laundry-list of long standing issues, the biggest one being

the poor condition of their equipment and practice facilities.

They explained how mold and mildew was causing water to leak through faltering walls and ceilings, and how pieces of the floor tiles were missing from their weight room, to go along with their torn-up lifting benches.

Furthermore, they stated that their uniforms were plagued by the same mold as the facilities, which they claimed led to several players being infected with multiple staph infections. A series of pictures sent by a Grambling player to ESPN seemingly provides evidence of these horrid conditions.

As a player, my inclination would be to accuse the administration of negligence.

They knew about the poor facilities, so why didn’t they fix them? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t so simple.

Over the past few years, Grambling has been hit with severe budget cuts from the state of Louisiana. Since the 2007-2008 school year, the overall state funding for Grambling has dropped from $31.6 million to just $13.8 million, and the whole school has been impacted.

Like many colleges across the country, Grambling has been forced to fire

approximately 127 staff members, and to reduce their number of degree programs from 67 to 47.

The rundown, dirty athletic facilities were simply the latest impact of the budget cuts. This is nothing new to the athletic department, which already had to disband the men’s and women’s golf teams in 2010.

What the football players didn’t seem to realize was that the problem wasn’t that the administration didn’t want to provide them with a better facility; the problem was that they couldn’t afford to.

Now, I’m not disputing that the players had a right to complain to the administration. Conditions like that are unacceptable for any school, let alone one with Grambling’s history. There’s already enough risk involved in the game of football. They shouldn’t also have to worry about their pads and weight room as potential sources of disease or injury.

At CWRU, our administration understands the importance of offering good, clean and safe facilities to its student-athletes. Construction is about to begin on the Wyant Field House, a state-of-the-art building that will provide a new weight room and practice area for athletes. You can be sure that Case will never allow the floor to start falling apart in there.

That isn’t to say that Grambling should have built a new facility like CWRU. As a private institution, CWRU doesn’t have to worry about state-mandated budget cuts like Grambling does. But it certainly seems like more could have been done to make their existing facilities safer, even with their dwindling funds.

After a week-long hiatus, the Grambling football players agreed to finish out their season in return for updates to their facilities. Their biggest complaint appears to have been put to bed for now.

However, many more of their grievances remain unaddressed. And in my opinion, they should stay that way.

Among other things, the players’ letter voiced their discontent with the long bus rides they had to make to Kansas City,

Mo., and to Indianapolis, stating that the 14- and 17-hour trips left them physically and mentally drained. Furthermore, it mentioned how they were not provided Gatorade and Muscle Milk (a recovery drink) after their summer workouts like they were accustomed to.

Knowing the school’s financial situation, the players should have realized that these complaints were less important than their need for updated facilities, and not even worth mentioning, given the circumstances.

Clearly, the administration felt those were areas where expenses could be cut.

Grambling Athletic Director Aaron James stated that bussing to Indianapolis alone saved the department $700,000. But the players undoubtedly viewed these as disadvantages, after being used to a more luxurious experience. Personally, I don’t buy it.

At CWRU, we bus to all of our games, including our annual spring break trip to Sanford, Fla., which takes roughly 20 hours. We’re also never supplied with Gatorade or Muscle Milk; we stick to good old-fashioned ice water.

While it would be nice to have as many luxuries as possible, we’ve never felt that the bus rides or lack of free recovery drinks hurt our performance, and I can’t see it having a different impact on the Grambling football team.

Still, the players felt strongly enough about those petty issues to include them in the same letter as their valid complaints about the facilities and equipment.

In the end, they were willing to deal with them in order to finish out the season, but I wonder if they even should have mentioned them in the first place.

Since their school already had to end athletes’ careers due to a lack of funding, shouldn’t they just have been happy enough still having a team to play on?

I’m glad to see that once the safety of the facilities was addressed, the players agreed to finish the year, despite their remaining grievances. After all, football with minor inconveniences is better than no football at all.

Construction begins on the Wyant athletic and wellness center Mark Patteson Contributing Reporter Students living in the Village at 115 may have noticed that fences, porta-potties and construction trailers appeared in the field between DiSanto Field and Nobby’s Ballpark as workers prepare the future site of Wyant Athletic and Wellness Center for construction. With ground broken in October, the university expects the 24,000-square-foot addition to the North Residential Village and Athletic Complex to open in autumn 2014.

Intended to satisfy a scarcity of athletic resources, the center will most prominently feature a 5,000-square-foot facility for weight and cardiovascular training and general exercise available to all students. In addition to saving North Residential Village students a long trip to work out in Veale Center, it will pro-

vide meeting and practice space for varsity football, baseball, softball, track and soccer teams.

The center will also include new locker rooms and coaches’ offices along with athletic training and medical facilities.

In addition to serving the university’s varsity teams, the new center will contain multi-purpose areas for use by intramural sports groups and clubs. Beyond athletics, it will offer study space for students and a Varsity Club for alumni, meetings and recruitment.

Named after 1965 Case Institute of Technology alumnus and donor Dr. James Wyant, the athletic center represents the final touches to the North Residential Village and Athletic Complex. Inspired by his time on the cross country team and his coach Bill Sudeck, Wyant’s $4 million gift has already provided for the construction of the Coach Bill Sudeck Track.

22 | sports

11/22/13

The Jolly Scholar Leah Levey finishes

Spartan soccer career with quiet dominance

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Charlotte Palmer/Observer Leah Levey breaks up an offensive charge against Brandeis University.

JP O’Hagan Staff Reporter When sitting down with the soft spoken leader of the women Spartan’s soccer team, it can be easy to forget her commanding presence on the soccer field. Leah Levey, a graduating senior and a co-captain for the Spartans, will be remembered as one of Case Western’s greatest female soccer players.

Stepping into the role of a senior leader came naturally for Levey. She was captain of both her high school and club teams prior to arriving at CWRU. “It was kind of natural,” Levey said, “If I could work hard I could lead them to do the same. I lead by example.”

With so many close games, and finishing a game under .500, the Spartans relied on Levey’s leadership. There is always room for improvement, and while it was disappointing at times, the Spartans followed Levey’s example, fighting until the final whistle blow. Levey pointed to the first game of the year as a good marker for what the team was capable of.

The game was against Transylvania and the Spartans were down by two goals, just a minute into the second half. The team didn’t give up and rallied to score three goals to come back and win. Levey scored the second of those three goals, helping revive the team’s spirit. “So many games were so close. I was proud that we could compete,” Levey said.

In addition to leading the Spartans to a 8-9-2 record this season, Levey has been honored to be named to the Capital One Academic All-District VII Women’s Soccer First Team. By being named to the team Levey is also now on the ballot for being named to a Capital One Academic All-America Division III Team. Levey’s older sister Deena, who graduated last year, was also named to

the team last fall. The Capital One Academic program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be eligible for Academic All American consideration, an athlete must be a varsity starter and have a GPA above 3.30. Levey is the 79th Case Western athlete named Academic All-American.

Looking back over her decorated career, Levey had trouble finding many games that really stood out. Her strong play and dedication over the past four years all came together in one great career. However, looking back to her freshman year, Levey recalled her first UAA conference game, played against Brandeis. “It showed me I could compete at this level.” Levey said.

She has done just that, scoring six goals with two assists this season alone.

Over her career at CWRU, she is tied for fifth in program history with 17 goals.

Leah is a three-time All-University Athletic Association honoree, a 2011 NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region selection, and a two-time OCSA Academic All-Ohio and All-Ohio pick. This past summer, she represented Team USA in the 19th Maccabiah Games in Israel. “It went by really fast,” Levey said, “It was an incredible experience and I am best friends with my teammates.”

Now that her playing career at Case has come to an end, Levey is focused on graduating with a degree in nutrition and going on to graduate school. She plans on becoming a registered nutritionist. However, Levey knows that she won’t be leaving the soccer field behind forever. “I will look for a club or something in grad school where I can play,“ Levey said, “And I can see myself coaching someday. I couldn’t walk away forever.”

observer.case.edu

sports | 23

from Basketball | 1 The men’s basketball team has started out of the gate with a 2-1 record the past week. After starting the season with two strong wins in the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Memorial Tournament, the Spartans dropped a high-scoring game against Baldwin Wallace to start the season. There is a lot of potential from the talented Spartans this season. “With so much talent, we have depth at all positions. We are confident in all of our reserve players,” said head coach Sean McDonnell, “Our bench will win us games this year.”

Friday night marked the kickoff of the 2013-2014 season and chants of “C-A-S-E! Case! Case! Case!” resounded through Horsburgh Gymnasium. The Spartans answered the call with a strong 70-64 victory over Anderson University (Ind.). David Thompson led the Spartans with a career high 22 points in a game-long battle with eight different lead changes and 10 ties. Four points was the largest separation either team was able to gain until the final four minutes.

In addition, early foul trouble limited both teams as the officials attempted to regulate the fierce and physical game. Thompson jump-started the Spartans’ season with an electrifying dunk on the first possession to go up 2-0. Anderson and Case traded leads until a 5-0 run by the Spartans put them up 16-12 at the 13:41 minute mark.

Anderson responded taking back the lead five minutes later when a driving layup gave the Ravens a 21-20 lead. The Spartans responded to the run but were unable to gain a foothold and Anderson closed the half with a single point 33-32 lead. The tough play was highlighted by multiple fouling first halves from players on both teams. “It was a good first game,” Thompson said, “We are prepared for a tough physical game, we practice that way.”

As the back-and-forth play continued in the second half, the Spartans turned to their bench for support. A few key rebounds and baskets by Brian Klements off the bench and pivotal fast-break layup by Spencer Boyd led to a momentum swing in the Spartans’ favor. The layup gave the Spartans a two-point lead and the Ravens would never recover. Anderson was able to cut the lead to three multiple times in the following min-

utes but the Spartans didn’t back down. A clutch basket by Julien Person gave the Spartans a 66-60 lead with 35 seconds remaining on the clock, which forced Anderson to foul.

A few extra points from the free throw line boosted Case to the win. The bench’s play was the stand-out factor, helping the Spartans to finish strong. “We can build and clean up on the defense going forward,” Klements said, “The guards did a great job getting me and David [Thompson] the ball inside, it was a team effort.”

Case followed its strong win with a thrilling overtime victory to win the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Memorial Tournament. Much like the night before for the Spartans, the two teams battled back and forth through the first half. The Spartans led twice by four, the last time occurring at 7:04 mark. The Lords led by as many as three, and finished the half up by the slim margin of 36-34. Case broke a 4545 tie with a 7-0 run early in the second half that was capped by a three-pointer by senior guard Tim Chung. Kenyon answered with an 8-2 run and pulled within three, at 6360. The Lords refused to go away and made the score 72-70 in favor of the Spartans with just over five minutes in regulation. On the very next possession, Person answered with a clutch three. Kenyon's Ikenna Nwadibia made a layup in traffic with 5.8 seconds left to tie it at 80.

The teams headed into overtime and the Spartans took the lead when Thompson had a monstrous dunk with 3:54 left to play. Kenyon rebounded with three buckets in a row however and looked to have control but then wasted two at the free throw line.

The Spartans took advantage of the missed free throws and came back with a three by Chung at 1:10 and a free throw from Person with 39 seconds to play. Person made a crucial lay to make it 90-89 with just 19 seconds left. Kenyon had their final look and their shot bounced off the rim. Person then grabbed the rebound and put away the Lords with two from the charity stripe ensuring the Spartans the win. The game plan didn't change in overtime,” said McDonnell, “We needed to focus on stopping Kenyon's top player, securing key rebounds and being efficient on offense.”

Hoping to capitalize on their previous wins, the Spartans headed across town to play Baldwin Wallace on Tuesday night.

The game turned into a shootout that the Spartans would drop by a score of 88-75 for

Arianna Wage/Observer David Thompson shoots and scores on his way to a career-high 22 points versus Anderson University. their first loss of the season. Strong shooting

by Baldwin Wallace set the tone for the first half as they jumped out to a 17-9 led with just under 15 minutes left in the first half.

The Spartans responded with a 10-0 run and would grab its only lead of the game off a fade-away from guard Tim Chung.

Baldwin Wallace answered quickly, however, and finished the half strong with a 41-34 led over Case Western. The hot shooting continued for Baldwin Wallace in the start of the first half, scoring 17 points in just over three minutes. With 16 minutes left the Yellow Jackets had a 58-42 lead.

The Spartans were not finished as they battled back to within seven. It wasn’t enough, as Baldwin Wallace turned up the defense and kept the Spartans from getting within 10 points for the rest of the game. “Our team defense needs to keep improving,” McDonnell said, “Our opponents shot too efficiently, and we want to be more difficult to play against than that.”

The Spartans played on Thursday night at Muskingum, which occurred after this issue was sent to printers. A game recap is available online. Case will play next on Tuesday at home against Denison.

women’s basketball:

7

74-50

points in the paint versus all opponents

football: wins in a men’s basketball: row against average height area rival of CWRU CMU starters ultimate:

6’5’’

139-72 quick point breakdown versus opponents during Steel City Showdown

cross country:

4

shots

all-region runners from men & women’s teams

24 | sports

11/22/13

sports

Case Western Fighting Gobies shine in Steel City Showdown

Freshmen Gobies Adele Zawada and Erica Bindas work together during the North Coast tournament hosted on Oct. 27th.

Courtesy Justine Ko

Women’s Ultimate team claims top spot while men finish tenth Katie Wieser Sports Editor The Case Western Fighting Gobies ultimate club finished off their fall semester tournament schedule with a successful weekend at the Steel City Showdown in Pittsburgh. Both the men and women's teams made strong showings with the women finishing as champions and the men beating several tough opponents before falling to Penn State.

The women swept the entire field of opponents with a 4-0 record for the weekend.

The squad started out with a 13-8 win versus Michigan State and went on to dominate Kenyon University 13-4 and Eastern

Michigan University 13-2. During the championship round on Sunday, the ladies faced off against Carnegie Mellon University. The women won the match 11-6 and took the top spot for the weekend.

The women's squad is extremely happy with the win. The team has grown this season and is finally able to compete in high-prestige regional tournaments like Steel City. The ladies knew they could be successful in this meet, but were careful to keep their level of play high going into the final. Club Vice President Sharon Yee was encouraged by the playing by all members of the squad. “The rookies definitely played well. There were some times when they were the

only ones out there and they managed to score. It speaks well to the captain’s preparation and training.”

The men's team is also beginning to compete on a whole new level. During this high-profile tournament, the team came in seeded 14th out of 24 teams. The Gobies fought through seven matchups for a final record of 5-2 on the weekend and a 10th place finish.

On the path to success the Gobies beat out two teams that had beat them last year and had an average margin of victory of 5.2 points. The team fell to Ohio University in the first day of play, sending them to the consolation bracket where they performed well, beating two additional teams

on the way to meet up with Penn State for the final match of the day.

The Gobies lost their final game by only one point, bringing their weekend to a close. Both of the teams that beat CWRU finished last season with top-three finishes in the region, which demonstrated the marked improvement of the Fighting Gobies squad.

The fall portion of the season is primarily used to get the team ready for the series portion of competition in the fall. The Gobies will compete in several events leading up to the sectional competitions later in the spring.

Both teams will finish up play for the fall semester with the annual Alumni Tournament on Nov. 23-24 on campus.