The Observer, Volume L, Issue 17, 2/1/19

the

Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 17 friday, 2/1/2019

Observer Gram, her garden and the new generation Aquene Kimmel

Contributing Reporter

CASE CLOSED University closes from Jan. 28 to 31 due to winter storm

Courtesy of CWRU Instagram. Photo taken by Kim Almcrantz

Grace Howard

The small garden on Cornell Road looks a little different this winter.

Usually it would be decked out for Christmas, but instead strings of plastic autumn leaves and cheerful fake flowers remain, a contrast to concrete, brick and snow. The local landmark in Little Italy is missing its creator and caretaker, and the neighborhood can’t help but stop and notice her absence.

The autumn garland peeking through the snow invokes a familiar memory of years past. One fall day in 2016, Reta Fiorelli sat in her garden in Little Italy, just as she had done every day for years. Surrounded by the colorful flowers and decorations that make her yard a local landmark, she was looking up at the few clouds that hung still in the sky.

That was a typical day for Fiorelli. She made coffee, did her makeup, chose a purple outfit to match the streak in her hair and came out to sip her coffee at the metal table squeezed in in front of the apartment building she’d owned since about 1977. In the afternoon, she brought out some of her famous homemade pizzelles, snowflake-shaped Italian sugar cookies. While she ate, she enjoyed the sunlight and thanked passers-by who stopped to compliment her decorations, as they always did.

More recently, shortly after her 91st birthday in Nov. 2018, Fiorelli once again sat by a table, drinking coffee. This time her fuzzy beige jacket and undyed silver hair fit in with the calming yellows, greens and whites of the nursing home. Next to her sat her granddaughter, Jennifer Coakley, whom Fiorelli had partly raised after her mother, Fiorelli’s daughter, died of breast cancer. Coakley speaks loudly to her “Gram,” enunciating each of her syllables and encouraging her to remember their shared history, no matter how fragmentary the recollections.

Just over a year after she had sat out in her yard, eating pizzelles and watching the clouds, Fiorelli fell. It was Oct. 30, 2017. She was conscious and uninjured, but she couldn’t get up, so an ambulance came. After the hospital, she spent two weeks at a rehabilitation center where they asked her questions to test her memory and led her through exercises to rebuild her strength and reflexes—simple tasks like hitting a balloon.

In an article in The Daily on Jan. 29, Case Western Reserve University announced it would be closing campus from 7 p.m. Jan. 29 to 7 p.m. Jan. 31 due to inclement weather. The polar vortex sweeping through the Midwest hit Cleveland with temperatures reaching a low of 4 below zero.

The university’s decision to cancel classes and close for two days can be attributed to a concern for student’s safety. A warning from the National Weather Service alerted CWRU to the life threatening risks the temperatures in Cleveland could cause. “With wind chills that low, frostbite can occur in 10 minutes,” stated The Daily, cautioning those who must go outside to “dress as warmly as possible, wearing multiple layers and covering all exposed skin.”

However, a decision to shut down the University does not come lightly, said a University spokesperson to The Observer, “Decisions regarding weather-related schedule changes— delayed opening, early dismissals, closures, etc.—involve conversations among the leaders of several university offices (or, if a particular person is unavailable, a designate).”

These conversations are comprised of “representatives responsible for such areas as public safety, buildings and grounds and human resources. The

provost is present as the university’s leader for academic and student affairs, and the president leads the conversation.”

The University spokesperson emphasized the consideration that went into making decisions about cancelling classes, as these cancellations interrupt teaching and research. “This emphasis on continuing activities that directly advance the university’s mission is one of the reasons that leaders sometimes must wait until morning to determine whether to delay or cancel classes. On occasion forecasts of heavy snow prove unfounded, so leaders want to hear reports regarding the actual conditions that morning before making a final call. In those sorts of instances, the conversations take place about 5:30 a.m. The final deciding factor is always, always safety.”

When making the decision to cancel classes for this past week, the spokesperson elaborated that “the approaching front not only was long forecast, but reinforced by developments in places like Minnesota and Wisconsin on Sunday and Monday.

Case Western Reserve’s weather leadership group first met early on Monday evening [Jan. 28], with a consensus quickly reached that at the least, classes would need to be canceled Wednesday. Given that the front was not expected to arrive until Tuesday evening, however, the group elected to meet again Tuesday morning before making a final decision.”

The representatives monitored weather forecasts from the area, and made sure they were up to date on all developments before they released a statement. In particular, they watched the actions that institutions similarly affected by the weather took. By Tuesday it was clear that “broad agreement existed regarding the need to close the University Wednesday and delay opening Thursday. In reviewing updated forecasts—for example, overnight the National Weather Service’s wind chill warning for Thursday—previously scheduled to end at 1 p.m.— now was due to lift at 4 p.m. With that development, and in light of the severe risk these temperatures posed, the group elected to extend the closure until 7 p.m. Thursday. In the event the front truly had passed through the area by then, at least the possibility would exist of still being able to hold evening classes on Thursday.” However, it is important to note that ultimately “the final decision regarding evening and weekend activities within schools—classes or events—rests with the deans of those schools.”

In short, the dangerous weather conditions hitting Cleveland required careful consideration from several university offices to make the decision best for the well-being of the students and staff who would be on campus.

With single-digit high temperatures Wednesday and Thursday, and windchill in the negatives, safety was paramount.

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A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 4 New packaging service at CWRU

pg. 7 “Yappie” breaks boundaries

pg. 9 Preparing for the next storm

pg. 16 Swimming bounces back

News Editor

SEE GARDEN | 3

news CWRU holds first ever Professional Development day Nihal Manjila Staff Reporter

On Tuesday Jan. 9, Case Western Reserve University held its first ever Professional Development Day in the Tinkham Veale University Center (TVUC). The event included programs such as the Expo, the Solutions Slam and the Innovation Jam. The event was open to staff, graduate students, postgraduates and faculty.

The programming for the day was held on the second floor of the TVUC in the ballrooms, the Senior Classroom and the first floor conference room, while presenters for the Expo had stations set up near the steps.

One organization present at the Expo was the CWRU Toastmasters Club. Toastmasters provides students the opportunity to develop communication skills through educational programs and speeches to the club, both impromptu and prepared. An evaluator will give presenters feedback

about timing, grammar and points to improve on.

Toastmasters can be of special help to graduate students intending to pursue a job in which they propose research presentations. Members of the club offer advice on the presentations for improvement and to provide practice for an actual presentation.

The Writing Resource Center, available to all CWRU affiliates, had a station at the Expo to advertise their offered services. While commonly seen as a resource for undergraduate students, the center is available to graduate students, postgraduates and faculty as well. The center offers students up to two hours of help per week for writing and improving academic papers and written work, as well as reviewing non-academic work, like resumes.

The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences had a station to show off its degree program, study abroad options and the Nonprofit Management program,

available as a master’s degree, certificate or non-degree classes.

The Office of Research and Technology Management was promoting Research ShowCASE, an annual event held in the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center which involves hundreds of posters and presentations available to faculty, students and other members of the community with the goal of bringing together the CWRU community and learning about the research conducted at the university.

The Office of Student Activities and Leadership was present and sponsoring the Spartan Strengths Quest, an inventory used to find what top five character strengths a person has out of a total of 34 strengths which can then be used to improve professional skills.

The Center for International Affairs had a table to help acclimate international students and deal with any culture shock, as well as to advertise their study abroad programs.

With this many offerings, attendees

Announcement of Thinkers kickstarts strategic planning Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter

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On Jan. 24 Provost Ben Vinson III released the names of the faculty and staff selected to participate in Case Western Reserve University’s strategic planning initiative. Called Thinkers, these individuals were chosen out of 150 candidates who either applied or were nominated for the position. Thinkers plan to begin their work this month and continue until May 31.

Thinkers are the centerpiece of the university’s new approach to strategic planning and will participate in intimate conversations with the provost, initiate dialogue with the campus community and make the final recommendations about areas where the university can expand or explore.

The idea for the Thinkers program grew from conversations between Vinson and students, faculty and staff and from widespread participation in online surveys.

According to Vinson, “I became [convinced] that a traditional strategic planning process risked missing the exceptional opportunity that this level of engagement and energy represented.

After discussions with deans and other members of my leadership team, as well as others across the university, we decided to pursue this new approach.”

CWRU’s new approach to strategic planning differs from past tactics.

Traditionally, the university’s strategic planning involved developing specific goals, objectives and action plans for a five-year period. This approach to strategic planning has always been imperfect because plans often have to change due to unforeseen circumstances and opportunities. Instead, with this new

type of strategic planning, the Thinkers will look at the university’s impact from multiple perspectives to help draft a short, flexible document that identifies directions for CWRU to grow and guides campus decision-making.

Kathryn Lavelle, a professor in the department of political science, was selected as a Thinker. Lavelle was nominated without applying, although she had an interest in doing so.

“The program attracted me because it challenged me to have some ideas in order to join the group,” said Lavelle.

Lavelle also believes her background makes her especially well suited to the responsibilities of a Thinker.

“I have experienced [CWRU] from many angles over my life going back to my own high school days,” Lavelle explained.

Lavelle began working at CWRU in 2001, after being exposed to the university through meeting alumni in the Washington, D.C. area during her resident fellowship. In addition, her brother and sister-in-law graduated from CWRU. She is deeply invested in the campus community and wants students to have a great experience while at the university.

“My most frustrating moments,” according to Lavelle, “are when I have to tell a student that a course I am teaching is full, or that I have already taken on students to advise for capstones—and cannot help them that semester.”

Thus, one of the problems Lavelle hopes to address as a Thinker is the uneven allocation of resources to the university’s programs. However, she is also keeping an open mind about the other areas where CWRU needs to grow and change and stresses that bettering the university involves cooperation from faculty, staff and students.

had a multitude of options to choose from in terms of programs and resources.

Happening alongside the Expo were the Solutions Slam and Innovation Jam. The Slam focused on problem-solving around the university while the Jam’s goal was to bring CWRU members together to find a solution for a presented problem.

In addition, there were several training and educational events to help attendees improve their public speaking and presentation skills, gain knowledge about the professional deficit in disability education and the use of positive psychology and strengthbased strategies for team development.

Overall the University’s first Professional Development day served to provide professional opportunities, create career connections for faculty and students and increase engagement for all members of the campus community in a way that facilitates growth and learning.

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FROM PAGE 1

GARDEN “And I said, ‘Hit a balloon?,’” said Fiorelli. “‘Who can’t hit a balloon?’”

She was so mad to be taken out of her home that she kept her bedroom door closed for the entire two weeks.

When she was released home, though, things were still different.

Her daily routine was upended, as car insurers would no longer cover her. Almost every day of her adult life, Fiorelli had delighted in little shopping trips, when she would pick up items for her home or decorations for the garden. But that was no longer possible. ”I said, ‘You can’t make me quit my car,’” Fiorelli recalled recently. “‘You can’t.’”

Instead of driving, Fiorelli began to roam. Once she walked all the way to St. Ann Church on Cedar Avenue, and, a couple of times, her family members or tenants found her and drove her home.

After that, Fiorelli stopped decorating and lost her interest in gardening and cooking. At Christmas, Coakley and her family brought Fiorelli over to make pizzelles; each one was burnt, and neither woman has made them since. In the spring, Coakley came over and helped Fiorelli put out some of the little garden’s usual decor.

At home, Fiorelli would sometimes take a nap only to wake up thinking it was a new day. Coakley’s six-year-old son Joey would argue with her, insisting it was the same day.

Once, Fiorelli, Joey, Coakley and her husband Brendan were eating soup together, and Fiorelli thought hers could use a little salt, so she added some from the shaker. A few minutes later, Fiorelli again decided her soup was a bit bland, and added some salt. Shortly thereafter, she did it again. Noticing the pattern, the sixyear-old quickly swapped the salt and the cinnamon sugar. However, Fiorelli could feel that it was not her salt shaker and stopped short of sweetening her soup.

In the evenings of those last months, as Fiorelli’s awareness continued to wane, Coakley took to leaving Joey and her husband at home and driving down to the old brick building on its bumpy brick road by

Aquene Kimmel/Observer Fiorelli’s garden, decorated in orange and yellow

herself.

“I would go alone in the evening to be sure she ate and just to sit with her, just us, and hold onto all the memories,” said Coakley. “Those were my best—and saddest—visits.”

Finally, the family realized that things were not going to get better.

On Oct. 20, 2018, Coakley, Joey and Lindsey Fiorelli-Rodu, another of Fiorelli’s granddaughters, picked up Fiorelli. As they drove, they laughed and sang along to the “Sound of Music” soundtrack, trying to make the moment light. Back on Cornell, the rest of the family started packing.

As they drove, Joey asked, “Is this … the last time we’re gonna see Grammy’s house?” Coakley confirmed it would be, telling her son that Fiorelli was headed “to a new place.”

Joey was quiet for a time before he asked, “So, Grammy’s not gonna see her house ever again either?” Even Coakley couldn’t maintain her cheerful demeanor after that.

Over a month later, Coakley and Brendan made one of their now-routine visits to Fiorelli in the large common space of a 10-resident building

at Brookdale Senior Living, out in Willoughby, Ohio, where Fiorelli is a dementia patient. Across the table sat Sally Engert, another resident and the nurse who had cared for Coakley’s dying mother many years before. The family calls Engert and Fiorelli ending up in the same home both “serendipity” and a “coinkidink,” though it’s doubtful that either of the women fully recalls this long-ago connection.

“It has to be so hard for them to adjust,” said Coakley. While she’s surprised that Fiorelli has so easily agreed to sit at meals rather than staying on her feet to serve others—as she always had—other aspects have been harder. Fiorelli doesn’t like having help with showering and cleaning her dentures, and she dislikes her room, so she spends most nights on one of the common room couches.

According to Fiorelli, the adjustment has been dull. She adds, “It’s boring to me because I was always active … Not much for me to do anymore, you know.”

Coakley, in contrast, has had much more to do. Fiorelli’s son, who has power of attorney, leaves much of the

Aquene Kimmel/Observer Reta Fiorelli and her granddaughter, Jennifer Coakley

paperwork to Coakley; plus the family had to hurry to pack up the four decades of accumulated belongings filling Fiorelli’s apartment before a new tenant moved in at the start of 2019.

The new tenant’s rent payments help cover Fiorelli’s care, but just hearing the door creak open when she went in to pack brought back memories for Coakley of the apartment where she spent so much of her life.

“You know, some days I cry and I can’t stop, and other days I’m just like I am today, with being grateful that she’s still here, and being grateful that I had her this long, and being grateful that this [nursing home] is a good place, and she is accepting it,” said Coakley.

Coakley had intended to decorate the garden for Christmas this year, but she found that she just couldn’t do it without Fiorelli. For that reason, the decorations managing to peek through this January’s late snowfall are orange and yellow, not the red and green of the festive season.

When people pass by the bright decor now, there is no Fiorelli on whom to shower their compliments. Coakley is very aware of this, and she worries that all of the students and locals whose greetings punctuated Fiorelli’s days will wonder what happened to the old lady with the “jazzy” wardrobe.

She thought about putting up a big sign, “she’s gone,” or holding a yard sale so people could take home some of her unique decorations in memory but ultimately decided against it.

She and Fiorelli’s son will continue to decorate the garden, though. Coakley inherited Fiorelli’s flair for decoration, along with her tendency to bring others food and presents and her drive to care for those who cannot care for themselves.

“We are each other,” said Coakley, seated next to her grandmother in the nursing home common room.

The little garden off of Cornell is different this winter. Some walking past may not notice the change to the local landmark, particularly as time continues to pass and students come and go. However, while that patch of plants and decor might be the most visible remnant of Fiorelli’s years in Little Italy, it is her family, with Coakley at the helm, that will be her true legacy.

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New packaging service introduced to campus Packcity lockers installed to save time, money to meet rapid delivery demand

Jordan Reif

Staff Reporter Last fall, Case Western Reserve University became one of more than 30 universities across the country to introduce Amazon Lockers: a method of receiving Amazon packages with the scan of a QR code. These kiosks were introduced to CWRU in an effort to offset the volume of packages delivered to the residential hall area offices, a third of which are reported to be from Amazon.

As Amazon continues to increase expectations of quick deliveries through guaranteed two-day delivery with an Amazon Prime membership, and one-day pick up for residents of specific cities, other corporations are pressured to do the same. Neopost Group, a digital communications, shipping and mail solutions provider headquartered in France, responded a few years after the introduction of Amazon lockers with a seemingly identical parcel service called Packcity.

The “intelligent parcel lockers,” are an effort to ease consumer retrieval through saving time and money while providing complete accountability.

Once the delivery service has placed the package into a locker, the recipient will receive a notification with a code via email or text message. The recipient then enters the code and one of the unit’s lockers opens for package retrieval. The Packcity lockers provide 24/7 access for pick-up.

Packcity by Neopost has now joined the Amazon Lockers on campus in efforts to meet the demand for rapid delivery. Additionally, David Brown, Assistant Director of University Housing, reports the lockers to be part of a strategy to process and distribute packages in a “timely and ef-

Courtesy of proshipinc.com A woman demonstrating Packcity lockers similar to the ones found in Wade Commons.

ficient way.”

The implementation of such a system has been nascent for several years as University Housing began noticing an “onset of lines” in students waiting to receive their packages. Brown and John White, Director of University Housing, visited the University of Pittsburgh to better understand their experiences with the lockers, as well as speak to the staff about logistics of adding the lockers to campus. Their research found the locker systems to be successful, leading University Housing to work with the purchasing department to collect bids for the project.

The Neopost brochure for their Packcity product reports reduction of labor and labor costs as packages will no longer have to be dropped off at several locations but instead to the

lockers themselves. Brown responded to the expectation that Packcity and other similar lockers may decrease the number of student staff needed to assist with package deliveries. However, he is confident that “there will always be a need for staff support of the package delivery system.”

Starting this semester, all students’ UPS deliveries have been redirected to the Packcity lockers, and University Housing has asked that students pick up their packages within three days of delivery. “The system is only as quick and efficient as the package turnover can be,” said Brown. His hope is to decrease the current turnover average of 1.6 days to 0.8 days. Improving package turnover time is what Brown believes will spur a “real difference.”

Amelia Harman, a fourth-year student who has worked in the Wade Res-

idential Area Office for a year, thinks the Packcity program is interesting, but could be “redundant as students do not get to choose whether their package is delivered to the [parcel] lockers,” as one does with the Amazon Locker system. She explained how students may have to go to the Packcity lockers to receive some packages but wait in line at Wade and the South Residential Village Area Office for others. However, these locker systems certainly “help with the package load,” Harman reported, citing the influx of packages delivered in the first few weeks of the semester as students order textbooks.

Any problems or concerns which may arise with the new Packcity locker system can be directed to David Brown via his CWRU email or the Packcity customer care center for more technical issues.

Dining Services starts new composting initiative Anna Giubileo Staff Reporter

Patrons of Leutner Dining Hall may have noticed that for a few fleeting days at the beginning of the semester there was a new composting initiative. Diners would self-sort their waste—food in one bin, plastics in another. However, just a short while after the program appeared, it disappeared from the dining hall.

Worry not those many ecologically-minded among us, Case

Western Reserve University has actually been participating in a backof-the-house composting program since 2014. Bon Appetit partnered with CWRU’s Office of Energy and Sustainability and the University Farm—Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms—to create a composting program for all campus kitchens.

More notably for students, this past fall semester brought about a composting program that is open to the students at Fribley Marche. Vincent Gaikens, the campus executive chef for Bon Appetit, explained that

“the overall success of this program has to be the lasting high point for me personally … We have had great success rolling out this program at Fribley, as of the first semester.”

The implementation of a composting program at Fribley has “doubled the amount of material coming from [dining services at CWRU].”

However, the University Farm cautions that this increase in composting materials, while in the longrun beneficial, also includes the possibility of creating problems by having too much compost and not

enough labor and space to correctly process it.

Gaikens noted that for the Fribley kitchen’s composting program it took two months of planning and preparation before it could be followed correctly. This involved training employees and a detailed mapping of the logistics of the process.

A composting program designed specifically for Leutner is expected to be implemented at the beginning of February with the help of trained student volunteers and Bon Appetit staff.

School of Dental Medicine offers free exams Jack Heneghan Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine’s bi-annual Admitting Days event will be held on Feb. 4 and 5. The dental school will offer free exams to anyone who is 18 years old or older who has not been enrolled as a patient already.

Third and fourth-year medical students and residents will work with patients under the supervision of faculty members. According to the school’s website, the appointment “requires more time than similar work from a private dental office” due to the educational nature of the session. Patients can also receive a $100 voucher for future dental services during Admitting Days and in

general a 30 percent to 50 percent price reduction, depending on the procedure.

The School of Dentistry recently celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2017 and has been holding this event for the past four years. Over the years, more patients have started to participate. This past September, over 200 patients were treated. The school also holds emergency clinics

where the price is $27 for a diagnosis and typically between $85 and $115 for a procedure.

Admitting Day services are by appointment only, and limited time slots are available. Those interested in participating in Admitting Day can call the dental clinic to schedule an appointment. The clinic is located at 2124 Cornell Road on the Case Western Reserve campus.

arts & entertainment “Rent Live” showed potential despite production disaster

Courtesy of Playbill

Michael Wu

Staff Reporter Believe it or not, there was a time when “Rent” was radical. The musical, about a group of young New Yorkers fighting off gentrification in the shadow of the AIDS crisis, premiered off-Broadway, less than a decade after the country’s president would not even utter the word “AIDS” in public.

Since its premiere, the show has proven to be impossibly popular, becoming one of the longest-running Broadway shows in history, touring around the globe, spawning a film adaption and training the exact number of minutes in a year into the memories of audiences everywhere. It’s a far cry from the show that initially attracted attention by talking about something the world refused to acknowledge.

Now, in 2019—nearly 23 years after its Broadway debut—Fox’s “Rent Live” is here to prove the show still has a story worth telling.

Though before the cast could even hit the stage, the production had to contend with a disaster. Brennin Hunt, who was cast as Roger, broke his ankle during the final dress rehearsal. Without an understudy, Fox eventually decided to forgo the live aspect of “Rent Live” and air backup footage from the rehearsal. The last 15 minutes of the show were, however, broadcast live, and reworked to allow Hunt to remain seated.

Starting in 2013, with NBC’s “The Sound of Music Live!,” these new era network TV live musical adaptations have generally produced mixed results,

but they have uniformly lived and died on the excitement of them being broadcast straight from the soundstage.

The absence of these stakes in “Rent Live” were unfortunately glaring. The issues that have come to plague the live TV musical were all exacerbated—shaky sound design, distracting lighting cues, less-than-perfect vocal performances— under the assumption that they could be fixed for the main event.

It’s a shame, considering “Rent Live” was obviously created as a loving tribute to its source material. “Rent” has always been a work that’s endured despite its imperfections, because of its earnestness, and “Rent Live” is no exception. Fox’s production pulled from previous Broadway performances as well as the musical’s less-than-beloved 2005 film adaptation.

There were, of course, unique changes made for this specific production, especially in terms of its staging choices.

“Rent Live’s” take on “Seasons of Love” was especially endearing, and a clever departure from the cast standing in a straight line in which the number is usually performed.

But for the most part, “Rent Live” seemed to function as a tribute to the legacy of the show and its storied past. “Rent Live’s” show-stopping finale even featured a reunion of the original Broadway cast reuniting onstage.

Unfortunately, unlike most of the previous productions, it was obvious the cast of “Rent Live” was operating without the frantic energy injected from the knowledge of actually being live. Granted, these modern televised musicals often have to sell themselves to audiences with both

marquee names in the world of film, music and television and Broadway performers more familiar with the type of production.

It’s typically a strategy that ends up with a mixed bag of who does and does not thrive in the musical theater format, rehearsal or otherwise.

Broadway veterans Jordan Fisher as Mark and Brandon Victor Dixon as Collins were the obvious standouts. Vanessa Hudgens, who previously stole scenes in Fox’s live version of “Grease,” also fared particularly well. However, singer Tinashe struggled to channel the grit necessary to play Mimi and lacked much palpable chemistry with Hunt’s Roger. But the most controversial performance of the night would belong to former “RuPaul’s Drag Race” contestant Valentina.

Much like her run on “Drag Race,” where she gained both admiration and ire for her diva behavior, Valentina’s performance as Angel was divisive. She had charisma in spades but her vocal performance was shaky, to say the least. An especially pitchy high note during Angel’s solo in “Today 4 U” certainly did not help her case.

Of course, she may have been saving her best vocals for the live performance that never happened, but this is, unfortunately, what aired. It’s a particularly egregious issue for a character meant to be a powerhouse, who serves as the center of attention every time she appears on stage and whose presence looms large even when she isn’t.

But, love her or hate her, Valentina— much like her character Angel—was the most important part of “Rent Live.” She is a representative of the new queer economy,

living evidence of the new structures that allow for previously sidelined performers to reach once untouchable heights in the entertainment industry. As a queer person of color, she is a result of everything “Rent Live” and its previous iterations have advocated for: inclusivity, opportunity, substantial representation. She is proof that “Rent” still has a place in the modern zeitgeist and has what it takes to retain its spot in the beloved musical theater canon.

Despite its issues, whether or not they were a result of Fox deciding to air a dress rehearsal, “Rent Live” still nailed its most important moments. The mostanticipated numbers like “Seasons of Love,” “La Vie Boheme” or “Contact”— a sexually explicit number that is usually cut in censored productions, such as those regulated by the FCC and aired on network TV—hit all the necessary marks and were mostly successful.

As frustrating as it was to watch much of “Rent Live” with the knowledge that the cast and crew were not knowingly producing the final product, the show’s final 15 minutes, the only footage to be broadcast live, was the most difficult.

As the cast zipped across the stage, or in some cases, sat stationary aloft a table with an ankle wrapped in a plaster cast, to present the finale, the show’s potential became clear. The production was highenergy, committed, loving and heartfelt; the pent-up nerves from months of rehearsal reinventing this well-trodden story finally exploding on stage. It was everything “Rent Live” could have been, and everything that “Rent” always has been.

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Playlist of the Week

Kyle Smith

Chaz Bear’s artistry shines through on “Outer Peace”

Staff Reporter

Unfortunately, last week’s playlist was dedicated to songs about the snow and cold, so this week has to be something different. Instead of wallowing in the oppressive cold, this week’s playlist contains some sunny and positive beats to keep you warm and upbeat through the low temperatures.

“All We Got” - Dem Atlas

“All We Got” carries a complex positivity. deM atlaS laments what he sees as an increasingly scary and confusing world, citing events like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. However, the rapper from St. Paul, Minnesota is not one to dwell on negativity and flips the confusion into a positive message: The world is big and confusing, so hold on tight to the little things that make you happy. Gang vocals deliver in the chorus the phrase “We’re all we got, don’t let me down,” a reminder to support those close to you.

“Let It Be” - Dyme Def

In another bittersweet track, “Let It Be,” Dyme Def takes stock of his life: his complicated feelings for an absentee father, his deteriorating relationship with his girlfriend and his lack of care for his own health. But again, the song finds positivity in growth, “But I don’t got [my dad’s] heart, no, I’m much stronger,” Def raps, acknowledging the ways in which he has matured beyond the role model his father set. The chorus contains a sped up sample from the Beatles’ “Let It Be” and features Def claiming that “When I get to three, I’mma let it all go and let it be.” The chorus ends with Def exclaiming “Three,” proclaiming that he has let the negativity go and decided to move forward with his life.

Outer Peace Album Cover, courtesy of Toro y Moi website

Jackson Rudoff Opinion Editor

“Make Your Move” - Hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics is a rap collective from California, and West Coast influences are clear in the slow, smooth, lo-fi swing of their beats. In “Make Your Move,” two members of the group, Casual and Pep Love, reflect on the path their careers have taken them. Pep Love raps, “I’m swimming in women and living without limit, my penmanship got me on a trip spinning around the world.” The two are thankful that their creative gifts have afforded them a lifestyle few get to experience.

“Express Yourself - Extended Mix” - N.W.A.

In contrast to Hieroglyphics chill, West Coast beats, “Express Yourself” comes from one of the most iconic West Coast rap groups of all time. Originally a solo song from Dr. Dre, this extended mix of one of N.W.A.’s most well known songs features additional verses from Ice Cube and MC Ren. Additionally, the beat features louder and clearer bass and brass lines. In the song, Dre explains the importance of being comfortable with who you are and expressing it to everyone else.

“Be (Intro)” - Common

Another song about self reflection, the positive themes in “Be (Intro)” are amplified by the uplifting, high-energy beat from Kanye West. “Be” is the title track and introduction to the rest of the album of the same name and introduces many of the themes seen throughout. Common mentions being inspired by great minds who have gone before him, “I’m talking Malcolm, Coltrane, my man Yusef. Through death grew conception, new breath and resurrection.” He also discusses his relationship with his daughter: “I look into my daughter’s eyes and realize I’mma learn through her.”

Find all these tracks online with our weekly Spotify playlist at observer.case.edu All photos courtesy pluspremiers.us, genius.com, directlyrics.com, and wikipedia.com

Toro y Moi, the solo project of Chaz Bear, has never really been confined to a single genre. It’s for that reason that he’s featured with artists ranging from Tyler, the Creator to The Avalanches. He fits the pattern of modern indie pop, which in recent years has become less about acoustic guitar riffs and crooning, gravitating toward lo-fi beats, sampling and complex instrumentation.

The latter is what Toro y Moi has always done best, especially on his 2015 album “What For?” With cuts like “Lilly” and “Buffalo,” the album thrived in its guitar, bass and drum work that allowed Bear’s merely adequate vocals to play up.

His songs on modern love and life in the city were catchy and resonating but thematically repetitive. “Boo Boo,” the 2017 follow-up to “What For?” fell into the same trap, where the sounds were new and exciting yet became repetitive by the fifth track.

However, his latest album, “Outer Peace,” released on Jan. 18, finally demonstrates the depth and maturity of Bear’s artistic skillset. It combines a number of motifs he developed on “Boo Boo” but pairs them with more appropriate vocals, better instrumentation and his best production to date.

The opening track, “Fading,” lays down the foundation for what is a highly contemporary album. It pairs a beat reminiscent of Bear’s house project “Les Sins” with an eerie “woop” vocal sample that creates an astounding atmosphere. When Bear’s voice finally cuts through, you are interested in what he has to say. He tells us that “everything is fading, fading, fading,” and we’re made aware of the bittersweet tracks that are to come. It’s a compelling intro track that gives us a taste of all the genres that this Toro album is gearing up to explore.

“Ordinary Pleasure” immediately follows, which begins with bongos before dropping a funkier riff straight from an ‘80s pop back beat. Bear softly laments the state of the times, asking “if sex even sells anymore” but also wonders if “he’s

just old.” It matches the overall maturity the first track laid out and takes the record away from being another analysis of 21st century romance.

But this evolution in motif and meaning does cause the album to stray away from the path at times, and the manner in which it bounces between genres eventually becomes overwhelming.

“Freelance” is a choppy, electropop track that draws you into its bassline. Directly before it though is “Baby Drive It Down,” a house track with James Blaketype vocals, which in turn is preceded by “New House,” which has a minimal hiphop beat and a concise, onbeat-bound flow.

While it’s good to see this exploration, the vast range of approaches to the message of this album allows that very message to be masked. Bear is still very much about the challenge of a modern social scene, but the melodic ride he takes us on makes the record feel like a combination of a few different EPs. Cohesive or not, however, it is still the best-produced Toro y Moi album to date and makes the best use of his vocals. Bear has grown past the nice but simple beats and leads from his great third album “Anything in Return” and borrowed the best of the synth and mixing elements from “Boo Boo” to create a fantastic atmosphere throughout the record. “Who Am I” is a fantastic representative of the complexity he has learned to create, with a number of melodic and rhythmic layers that fill its soundstage and make it immediately entertaining.

What can definitely be said for “Outer Peace” is that it is the most adept showing from the Toro y Moi project yet.

Chaz Bear is finally harnessing the incredible level of talent he possesses and putting records that are diverse, interesting and highly replayable.

Artist: Toro y Moi Album: Outer Peace Label: Carpark Release: Jan. 18 Rating:

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observer.case.edu

An “Elite” high school mystery show

Ryan Yoo

Staff Reporter

Netflix released “Elite” on Oct. 5.

The show follows three working class friends, Samuel (Itzan Escamilla), Nadia (Mina El Hammani) and Christian (Miguel Herran), who are given scholarships to attend Las Encinas, after a mysterious accident that destroyed their old school. The school, Las Encinas, is an exclusive private school where many of the country’s elite send their children. The arrival of these three outsiders infuriates the other students, including school bully Guzman (Miguel Bernardeau), who believe that the three outsiders don’t belong in their world.

The first season begins with a character being murdered, revealed at the end of the first episode to be Marina (Maria Pedraza). Over the next seven episodes, the series explores the relationship between the three newcomers and the children of the elite and slowly reveals details into Marina’s death, eventually revealing who murdered Marina and why they murdered

her in the last episode.

The series is reminiscent of other similar shows, such as “Gossip Girl” with its high society high school drama, and “How to Get Away with Murder” and its use of flashbacks and flash forwards. Like the HBO show, “Big Little Lies,” “Elite” unravels the mystery slowly, building suspense and tension between the characters.

This technique pays off, resulting in relatable characters and a bingeable show.

Like many shows today, “Elite” is unafraid of tackling social issues in its episodes. Not only does the series tackle the class conflict between the three newcomers and the children of the elite, the series also tackles issues like sexuality and religion.

Omar, Nadia’s brother, sells drugs in order to run away from his conservative parents and to live a more free life. In this process, he befriends Ander (Aron Piper), the son of the Las Encinas’ principal, Azucena. They quickly fall in love, and they have sex. Azucena accidentally stumbles in on the two, and accidentally outs Omar to his father. Omar’s father threatens him and bans him from seeing Ander again.

The highlight of the show is the chem-

Courtesy of Netflix

istry between Nadia and Guzman. At first, Guzman connects her to being a part of an Islamic terrorist group and befriends Nadia in order to win a bet that he could take her virginity. Despite coming from different backgrounds, they slowly fall more and more in love. Nadia learns to see beyond the bad boy facade that Guzman puts on, while Guzman learns to see beyond her hijab and her religion. Their

relationship is relatable and keeps you wanting more from the show Netflix has renewed the series for a second season that is scheduled to be released in 2019. The new season will pick up from the end of the first season. Will Nadia and Guzman ever get back together? Will the truth about the murder ever be revealed?

The only way to know is to watch it when it comes out.

Phillip Wang discusses “Yappie” after CWRU showing of limited series

Courtesy of UCSD The Guardian

Yvonne Pan

Arts & Entertainment Editor “You know if you meet an Asian guy, there’s a one in 13 chance his name is Andrew. There’s a one in five chance he’s an engineer.”

This quote is one of the first things you’ll hear when you watch “Yappie” and is a good example of what’s to come.

“Yappie” follows the life of Andrew Wang, a software engineer at Cylo, played

by Philip Wang. After a date calls him a “yappie,” meaning “young Asian professional,” Andrew tries to come to terms with his Asian-American identity.

Wong Fu Productions tackles topics like the stereotype of Asian-Americans being a model minority, interracial dating, conflict with other ethnicities and the cultural divide between family members in the five-episode season.

The showing on Jan. 26 was hosted by the CWRU Film Society and Asian-

American Alliance. The event offered the first three episodes of “Yappie” and invited the crowd of 200 people for a Q&A session with Wong Fu Productions.

When asked about how his parents reacted to his unconventional career path, Wang admits they are still not convinced, though he concedes having a sister who is a doctor has helped.

“Yappie,” which came out last May, has garnered roughly three million views total, but that success did not come easily. Wang explains Wong Fu had taken the script to studios in Hollywood and rejected for not having a hook.

He disagreed with their assessment.

“The hook for ‘Yappie’ is that it’s the only show that follows Asians in their everyday life. It was kind of disheartening to realize that we have to be 10 times as good to get the same opportunity.” “‘Crazy Rich Asians’ was a good start, but I hope for a day in which Asians can be successful without being pressured to

break box office sales,” he continued.

Wang decided to forgo the traditional route and created “Yappie” with Wong Fu Productions. With a limited budget and resources, the season, originally pitched to be eight episodes was cut to five.

Wang admitted to reading the comments on their videos.

“We [Wong Fu] have been accused of being too West Coast, East Asian and heteronormal,” he said. He acknowledges that his upbringing in California where he attended a high school that was 15 percent Asian is different from one of someone who grew up as the only Asian person in their high school.

“Yappie” has also received criticism for having a mostly Asian cast with people claiming Wong Fu pigeonholed themselves. However, Wang is unapologetic.

“We saved a lot of Asian roles because Asian actors aren’t given similar opportunities elsewhere.”

Wang understands that Asian represen-

tation is few and far between and encourages others to represent their experiences.

“Don’t devalue my experience because I can’t share your story,” he responds.

Wang also discussed Wong Fu Production’s eleven-year career at YouTube.

“Youtube is like high school, there are popularity contests, and it’s kind of weird, with a lot of noise and drama.”

Wong Fu Productions currently has more than three million subscribers on YouTube, a far cry from icons like Pewdiepie, who has more than 83 million. However, the channel has no plans of changing its message to gain more subscribers.

“I meet people who tell me they watched our channel in high school, and are introducing us to their children now,” Wang said. “We also have viewers that are only now discovering us in high school.”

If you liked “Yappie,” Wang hints that there will be a season two with a release date to be determined.

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Revisiting MGMT’s “Oracular Spectacular” 11 years later

Album cover for “Oracular Spectacular”

Jackson Rudoff Opinion Editor

It’s probably you have heard a cut from “Oracular Spectacular” in your lifetime. The 2008 indie-pop album made waves when it was released, and its songs have since been repurposed

in a number of commercials and video game soundtracks.

Besides its mass popularity, though, the album itself was well-received by critics and praised as a unique sound in a changing indie-rock scene; a praise it still receives just over a decade later. In tandem with other groups and projects such as Passion Pit and M83, the genre

saw itself become more synth-based and reliant on dense production. You didn’t need to be an incredible singer or instrumentalist, but you could make music with big hooks that stuck in people’s heads—in a good way.

In retrospect, however, it is safe to say that the industry overvalued MGMT’s debut album. While it did cut through with a sound that became recognizable as theirs, that sound only shines through on three tracks—which also happen to be the record’s singles.

The album’s first cut, “Time to Pretend,” is a bittersweet song about the perils of growing into young adulthood and coming to terms with the rest of your life. It uses a whiny synthesizer to send in the opening melody and set the tone for the rest of the song, which like MGMT’s other singles has an attractive and memorable chorus. For a band born from dorm-room songwriting between Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, it’s a fantastic, albeit formulaic lead for the rest of the record.

But the next memorable song on the album doesn’t appear until its fourth track: “Electric Feel.” Taking a different vocal route, VanWyngarden employs falsetto amidst a layered backdrop of synth pianos and simple, rhythmic guitar riffs. The bridge into the outro is a fairly iconic bit of indie-pop songwriting, and its hook is another catchy melody that sticks with you for a while. What follows the fading outro is the track “Kids,” which again, has a catchy and recognizable synth melody that kicks it off. A sample of yelling kids drives this intro, eventually giving way to a synth-

lead-heavy first verse that builds up to yet another catchy hook where the intro melody is picked up again.

This is the main problem with MGMT’s debut and their catalog since then. While other projects like it have matured and demonstrated musical variety, MGMT’s hits are reliant on the same structure and components. The songs sandwiched between the album’s singles, such as “The Youth,” are forgettable at best and don’t serve as the glue the hit tracks need. For the most part, the entire second half of the album contributes little to the project’s overall sound and tone and are simply boring by the time you reach “Of Moons, Birds & Monsters.”

It’s an album that’s easy to begin listening to but give up on halfway through. Other artists like M83 and STRFKR made albums around the same time that had incredible singles but also other tracks that made it feel like a complete, coherent project.

Credit can certainly be given to “Oracular Spectacular” for its influence upon the genre, and its role in catalyzing the micro-genres such as bedroom-pop and dream-pop with its popularity and reach.

But if you ask me, it’s time to stop pretending this was anything other than a mediocre album.

Artist: MGMT Album: Oracular Spectacular Label: Columbia Release: Jan. 22, 2008 Rating:

Unfortunately ending Final season of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” asks tough questions

Yvonne Pan

Arts & Entertainment Editor No one was more excited than I was when the third season of the Netflix adaptation of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” came out on Jan. 1 this year.

Anyone who knows me knows “A Series of Unfortunate Events” by Lemony Snicket, pen name of Daniel Handler, is my favorite book series. I devoured his books as a child and if I could frame the book he signed for me at the Maltz Performing Arts Center last year, I would.

In the series, the child protagonists, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire are sent to live with a distant relative named Count Olaf after the death of their parents in a fire. Olaf soon tries to marry Violet in order to gain access to the Baudelaire fortune—and that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The Baudelaire children witness murders and corruption and suffer betrayal and tragedy in the thirteen books. No matter where they go, whether it’s preparatory school or a lumber mill, Olaf is always on their heels, plotting ways to steal their fortune.

While my peers were celebrating the new year, I tore through the seven-episode season in a single day. The third season begins where the second season

ended, a cliff hanger, literally, as members of Olaf’s troupe cut the coupler connecting Violet and Klaus with Olaf’s car.

As the pair tumble down a slippery slope, Olaf drives away with Sunny Baudelaire.

Sunny’s abrupt graduation from infancy is apparent in this season as she maintains her composure, despite being kept apart from her siblings. Her cooking skills shine as she scavenges for food in the barren Mortmain Mountains.

“The ends justify the means.” But do they really? Violet and Klaus have their own coming-of-age moment as they explore this cliche and slowly cast doubt on their parents’ motives before their deaths and the discovery of the Volunteer Fire Department (V.F.D.), the secret organization they had worked for.

The children were firmly convinced their parents were on the noble side of the schism that divided the V.F.D. after the sugar bowl of Esme Squalor, a brief guardian of the children, and Olaf’s girlfriend, was stolen. But through this season and the secrets that escape it, they slowly realize that no one is truly noble or wicked but a mix of both. They meet people who frighten even Olaf, their murderous captor, and steal glimpses at his troubled past.

The Baudelaires find photos of their parents with Olaf and slowly piece together what was and could have been.

They learn it was one of their parents who

Courtesy of IndieWire

had stolen the sugar bowl and caused the divide in their group.

Furthermore, during Olaf’s trial at Hotel Denouement, they are also faced with their misdeeds. Olaf recounts how the Baudelaire children also participated in deception, relying on their youth to gain trust from adults who blindly helped them.

Do the ends really justify the means?

Season three’s unapologetic take on humanity reveals an important truth. Everyone has flaws and the people whom we love may not be the most noble after all.

You can watch all three seasons of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” on Netflix now.

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observer.case.edu

opinion Editorial

What can be said for the weather?

There are few things as great as class cancellation.

The early portion of any spring semester at Case Western Reserve University always tends to be backlogged, as students rush to move in, get their books and supplies and figure out their schedule all in the span of a few days. All of this is accompanied by the cold Cleveland weather and the dread that comes with walking to morning classes amidst frigid wind and sleet.

It’s nice, then, when Mother Nature seemingly intervenes and gives the entire campus a breather. But as fun as it is to finally have a legitimate excuse to never leave your dorm, the weather also brings a number of thoughts to mind.

The first is in regards to our preparedness for these sorts of occurrences. This Polar Vortex was highly anticipated, but what wasn’t yet confirmed was what our response would be. It was fairly certain that there would be wind chills ranging from minus 20 to minus 30, and the days leading up to the cancellation were filled with cries and even petitions for classes to be canceled. Remarkably, it was released on Tuesday morning

that CWRU would be closed except for essential staff. Students suddenly had a break in the middle of their week, and while professors rushed to rewrite their syllabi, we could finally catch up on everything we already were supposed to have done.

It’s a difficult decision to close down the entirety of the campus especially on a weekday. Academic calendars are planned out without these interruptions in mind, which does put a bit of a burden on professors in terms of course design.

However, it is also difficult to justify asking students to go to class on a day where exposed skin is at risk of frostbite within 10 minutes and they often have at least 10 to 15 minute walks to class. There are a number of students that may not have been adequately prepared to deal with this issue or who have never experienced such severely cold conditions.

It’s also likely classes would have experienced low turnout whether the buildings were open or not, which would have wasted time and resources. As difficult as it is to cease the operation of an entire campus for two days, it seems unreasonable to keep it open with a student body that has little plans in leaving

the confines of their own rooms.

Closing campus, however, is only half of the battle of keeping students safe from the effects of cold weather. The other challenge is ensuring that all precautions are taken in keeping students safe even when they’re for the most part going to be indoors.

As far as the university administration goes, they did their part by keeping dining services, campus transport and certain facilities management open. University Health and Counseling Services also remained open for urgent matters.

Students weren’t otherwise left to their own devices, devoid of numerous campus utilities and services they depend on.

What can’t be controlled, however, is student behavior. Although numerous warnings were sent out regarding room temperatures and the danger of not shutting windows, a second set of emails were sent out when maintenance staff reported that they had seen a number of windows still open. While this issue may not seem too problematic, a burst water pipe is not a problem you want on a day with extremely cold weather.

Last year, Tyler House’s first night back from break was interrupted in the

early hours of the morning when a pipe burst and flooded a room. In combination with the high output from the building’s heating, it created a sauna effect that set off a fire alarm and forced everyone outside, without enough time to get warm clothes to wear while waiting until they were allowed back in. The flooding from the incident caused considerable damage to both the floor it occurred on and the one below it.

It’s important to remember that caution during your days off is just as important as the relaxation they provide. This includes keeping warm if you must go anywhere and truly considering your use of facilities and the currently limited university resources. Essential employees aren’t getting days off, and students making their jobs as easy as possible in these instances is just as essential.

The decision by CWRU to extend us a few days of shelter from the cold was great, and highly appreciated by students—maybe even by faculty. If it should happen again, we will hopefully be even more prepared than we were this time around.

Does CWRU need a neuroscience major?

I Spit My Truth and It’s Brown

Viral Mistry Since arriving at Case Western Reserve University, I’ve been interested in neuroscience. However, unlike many of its peer institutions, CWRU lacks an undergraduate neuroscience major, leaving myself and others wishing to study neuroscience in a bit of a pickle.

Most of us choose to split our time between the cognitive science and biology departments, and if they are feeling particularly interested, they major in both, as I have done. Since fall 2015, I’ve heard rumblings about a campus appetite for a neuroscience major. It’s been discussed by the biology department a few times, and several faculty members have expressed interest in it.

Back in October 2018, the Provost’s survey for the Strategic Planning Process found that neuroscience was one of the two most commonly requested new majors. Recently, I heard from some professors that a faculty committee with several members of the College of Arts and Sciences’ biology department and the School of Medicine’s neurosciences department has been formed to

finally shape out an undergraduate neuroscience major. All of these developments overlook a bigger question: does CWRU need a neuroscience major?

I feel particularly interested in this question because I am currently interviewing for Ph.D. programs in neuroscience. Obviously, I will never get to pursue this major, as I graduate this May. Meanwhile, I don’t know what I would have done if a neuroscience major had been available to me from the day I arrived at CWRU. I know the choices I made were limited by the options I had.

I can say that as someone who plans to go to graduate school for neuroscience and to pursue neuroscience research for many years to come, I have not felt underprepared simply because my major was not called “neuroscience.” I took every course on the brain that I could, ranging from courses on neurobiology, cognitive science, psychology and the philosophy of the mind. From this curriculum I learned a vast array of perspectives to modern neuroscience.

I have been able to work in a lab at the medical school that focuses on neurophysiology for over two years, and was blessed with the opportunity to present my research at the Society for Neuroscience annual conference in San Diego last year.

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During my interviews for graduate school, faculty were far more interested in the work I’ve done and the courses I’ve taken, the skills I’ve learned and the perspective I bring, than what my major was. Most of the prospective candidates I’ve met at these interviews were in the same position as me.

However, a neuroscience major could still bring benefits. Between the biology and cognitive science departments, we only cover some of the many aspects of neuroscience.

Fields like neurophysiology, neurodegenerative diseases and behavioral and social neuroscience lack representation at an undergraduate level. A neuroscience major could possibly result in new classes for undergraduates created in conjunction between the biology and neurosciences departments. With a specific major advisor and program director, students looking to pursue neuroscience would have more resources to approach the complicated field.

I’ve also been told that this new major would seek to develop and require the same sort of breadth of perspectives that I had to intentionally seek out during my time here. And of course, it is fully possible that more prospective high schoolers would consider CWRU if it had a dedicated neuroscience undergraduate program.

I’m of two minds on this. I see its values, and I understand why the university is considering developing this major. Yet, I worry it has the potential to pigeonhole students from a very early point in their undergraduate academic career and could restrict their ability to do what our university motto promises, to “think beyond the possible.” I personally would recommend that neuroscience be offered as a concentration or track within the biology major, similar to the biomedical engineering program.

Ultimately, I have no skin in this game because I will graduate long before this major might be adopted.

For my younger peers here at CWRU who could potentially pursue this major, do not allow this to close doors you haven’t even approached yet. I very strongly believe that your undergraduate career should be an opportunity for you to approach previously unconsidered subjects and to develop both your intellect and your humanity.

You are not defined by your major.

Viral Mistry is a fourth-year biology and cognitive science double major who is also minoring in chemistry, history and philosophy. He wears many figurative hats around campus, but if you ever see him, you can guarantee he’d rather be in bed reading a good book.

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10 opinion

2/1/19

CWRU needs to improve restroom inclusivity McPheeters Musings Mary McPheeters As far as college campuses go, Case Western Reserve University seems to be one of the more LGBTfriendly campuses in the country.

However, there is always room to grow and improve, and CWRU would do well to improve restroom inclusivity across campus.

I recently talked to a friend who identifies as non-binary about gender neutral restrooms on campus, specifically the ones in Tinkham Veale University Center (TVUC).

They expressed frustration that cisgendered people, especially people who feel comfortable using the gendered restroom, often use the gender neutral restrooms in TVUC. I wondered if other people within the LGBT community felt this way as well, so I sat down with several people at the LGBT Center to talk about the issue. They were all excited to share their opinions, but wished to stay anonymous. Although I spoke to several people within the LGBT community, this article by no means reflects the views of the entire diverse community. Here’s what they had to say.

Accessibility Overall, accessibility is the main issue that people seem to have with restrooms on campus. Although we have gender-neutral restrooms, they’re often hard to locate. There’s an app that has a list of restrooms on campus and what category they fall into—gender neutral, gendered single stall or gendered—but it isn’t up to date and is difficult to use. For instance, there’s supposedly a gender neutral restroom in the basement of Guilford, but nobody’s had any luck in finding it.

Even in buildings that do have gender neutral restrooms, they’re often out of the way or inconveniently placed. Rockefeller Building has a gender neutral restroom on the fourth floor, at the top of its nightmarish stairs. Glennan Building faces the same dilemma. Imagine having to hike all the way up those stairs to be able to use restrooms you feel

comfortable and safe in.

While it’s great that there are buildings that have gender neutral restrooms, almost none of them have adequate signage, and there are even more buildings that don’t have gender neutral restrooms. When I was talking to students in the LGBT Center, I learned about so many restrooms I had never known about previously simply because there aren’t big obvious signs pointing people to them.

According to the CWRU restroom map, only five buildings on the Case Quadrangle have gender neutral restrooms. I’ve never seen a sign for any of them.

This doesn’t even account for the fact that there are more than five buildings without gender neutral restrooms on the Case Quadrangle.

Luckily, most of the buildings on the quad are connected to other buildings. Even so, it’s extremely inconvenient to have to run to another building between classes just to go to the restroom.

This issue with accessibility goes beyond the quad, reaching other parts of campus as well. In buildings with study spaces, such as Wade, Leutner and Fribley Commons, there aren’t any gender neutral restrooms.

Instead of being able to take a quick break from studying to go to the restroom, some people are forced to go back to their dorms to use the restroom. Even though some people do feel safe using the gendered restrooms which offer privacy in the form of stalls, not everyone feels this way.

The problem extends to the locker rooms in Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center as well. There are only two gender neutral locker rooms in Veale, and they’re single person locker rooms.

There are also no photos online of the gendered locker rooms, so even those who might want to use them can feel like they are facing something daunting by entering them. They won’t know what the layout is or if they will have a safe space to change or shower. If the university just uploaded photos of the locker rooms, that would help tremendously in this particular problem area.

The university would do well in continuing to install gender neutral

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Courtesty of CWRU LGBT Center There is a gender neutral restroom located near the LGBT Center in the Tinkham Veale University Center.

restrooms in all buildings on campus.

Students are especially hoping that the new health campus will have plenty of gender neutral restrooms, perhaps even with multiple stalls.

Everyone prefers using a single stall restroom, but they’re just not effective or efficient on a busy college campus.

In an ideal world, all of the campus restrooms would have free menstrual and trash cans to dispose of them in. However, I recognize that not all students may feel comfortable even using the gendered restrooms and may be even less comfortable openly using menstrual products in gendered restrooms.

Another oft-cited issue by the students at the LGBT Center was menstrual products. This is actually an issue I brought up, because I recently noticed that pretty much every restroom I’ve been in on campus has a sign about “feminine products.” That’s a problem. These signs completely neglect that not everyone who gets their period is a woman. Non-binary people and transgender men can get them too.

The signs should be changed to say “menstrual” or “sanitary” products instead. Or, the signs could just say “please only put toilet paper in the toilet” to be more discreet.

Along those lines, as far as I have been told, none of the men’s restrooms on campus offer the free menstrual products that are available in the gender neutral and women’s restrooms. They also don’t have the trash cans between stalls for said menstrual products.

One of the people I talked to was forced to carry a used menstrual product with them out of the men’s restroom once because there also weren’t trash cans by the sinks.

This a ridiculous oversight, and there should be trash cans in every restroom, even if there aren’t smaller ones for sanitary products.

What’s worse is that, often, those hard-to-find gender neutral restrooms that are supposed to have the free menstrual products aren’t even stocked. It just makes those spaces feel even more forgotten about.

Since we will probably be stuck with a limited number of gender neutral restrooms for awhile until more can be built and renovated, there are things that cisgender people can do in the meantime to be better allies.

If you feel comfortable using gendered restrooms, then please use them whenever possible. For some, the gender neutral restrooms are the only ones they can use, so be mindful of that.

Also, don’t gatekeep the restrooms. Someone who uses the gender neutral restrooms might be cis-passing or questioning. It’s really none of your business; don’t tell them that they can’t use the gender neutral restroom.

If you live on a floor with Gender Inclusive Housing (GIH), do not use the GIH restrooms. I’ve heard instances of cisgendered people on a GIH floor using the GIH restrooms to shower, both taking away the GIH students’ safe space and causing them to be late to class.

At the end of the day, just be respectful. Keep in mind that people need to use gender neutral restrooms to feel safe. Not everyone has the luxury of feeling comfortable using a gendered restroom.

As one student in the LGBT Center put it, “we’re an afterthought.” We, as a campus, cannot and should not have a significant portion of the student population continue to feel like an afterthought.

We have to do better.

Menstrual The upshot products of respect

opinion 11

observer.case.edu

Is another government shutdown on the horizon?

Publicized Confab Josiah Smith So, our “non-essential” federal workers get the chance to go back to work for three weeks. There will be back pay, of course, and, for 21 days, the nation can collectively savor the relief from what seemed to be an unending stare-down in Washington.

Everything’s good, right? Sure, this relief is short term, but we should be able to rest easy, right?

I don’t think I’m alone in finding this resolution unhelpful. I also doubt that I’m alone in thinking that we might just be worse off than before. I hate to say it, but this partial re-opening of the government is a means to appease an increasingly restless country. This is a calculated salvaging of approval numbers. This is a quick water-break from all the shouting. This is a front so obvious that even seasoned Washingtonians are surprised by its lack of opacity.

Unfortunately, this is no longer about the wall. That is evident in the ever-evolving rhetoric which seems to describe some type of sturdy fortification. Barriers aside, this is about the “negotiator-in-chief” and his ability to command what he wants. The optics are changing and Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Ca.) seems to be delivering on Trump’s promise of intimidation more than himself.

This is a fight for “Lame Duck” status. Will this be what remains of Trump’s final two years? What else can Pelosi take?

So, let’s talk strategy, or, at least, language. Whatever the final draft of this deal is, the language of it will have to appease two sides who couldn’t be more polarized.

The Democrats would be remiss to offer any money for a “wall” and, likewise, the Republicans would be

their government shutdown for days on end. If anything, they could simply recycle their message if no agreement is reached. Advocating for an open government has no credible counter.

The Republican Party’s strengths going into this negotiation are very limited. Trump’s approval ratings during the shutdown were at an abysmal 37 percent. Additionally, it seems that border-wall funding is

“This is a fight for “Lame Duck” status. Will this be what remains of Trump’s final two years? What else can Speaker Pelosi take?” rash to accept anything less.

Where these two spheres overlap is in their support of some sort of increased security at the border.

Fortunately for the Democrats, they’ve entered the second-round of negotiations with the upperhand.

Arranging to postpone the State of The Union was nothing short of political brilliance. In what seems an added bonus for the Democrats, we already know that Americans don’t care enough about the southern border “crisis” to warrant

strongest only within Trump’s base, which dwindles when faced with the alternative of a shutdown. Trump and the Republicans don’t have many plays left, but their strongest move might be to declare a state of emergency to build the wall. Of course, a legal challenge would come to question the validity of a “crisis” so threatening it would need to appropriate military funds, but it seems that Trump has stacked a court system in his favor.

If the appeals mount all the way

to the Supreme Court, there is a possibility that the decision would be upheld. In this case, Trump would be able to fulfill his campaign promise, but he would be testing the country’s conscience. A move like that would widely be viewed as political posturing rather than a necessary sacrifice.

It is no surprise that Trump still has a substantial following and enough people who will vote for representatives based on their backing of the president. Trump could concede this loss and rally it for 2020, blaming the Democrats for his failure. He has already begun raising massive amounts of money for his re-election campaign.

Several figures put his fundraising totals well above $100 million, an unprecedented re-election machine not seen in history.

If there is one thing that’s for certain, it’s that shutting down the government for this cause is so wildly unpopular that even alluding to doing it again is a risk. It would be best to keep this political fight contained within these 21 days.

Repeating what we’ve seen will make everyone look bad, but Trump stands to lose the most should he demand, above all else, his border wall.

Josiah Smith is a fourth-year English and business management double major.

The price tag for Trump’s pride Taekman Tangents Sarah Taekman Jan. 25 marked the end of the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, at 35 days. The cause? President Donald Trump refused to approve government funding until Congress agreed to the funding of his famed U.S.-Mexico border wall, priced at $5.7 billion.

The present agreement for keeping the government open is only temporary.

There were some serious effects of the shutdown that were shunted aside in favor of the wall narrative.

It cost the economy $11 billion, $3 billion of which is irretrievable.

Food went uninspected, national parks were trashed, travel security was compromised and federal courts were delayed.

However, the most visible effect of the shutdown was that it put 800,000 federal employees out of work for over a month, when a large fraction of them already live paycheck-to-paycheck.

Government workers have come forward with their personal stories of coping during the shutdown: employees headed to work over the holidays without payment. People were unable to pay rent or medical bills. Coast Guard members resorted to food pantries.

Higher level officials haven’t seemed particularly receptive to the struggles that their lower level workers have faced. Workers were told to take out loans rather than utilize food stamps. Trump implied that local businesses would help unpaid federal workers get groceries and other basic necessities by giving them away.

The latter isn’t a totally untrue sentiment. Stories of businesses offering federal workers special deals and discounts have popped up online—cheaper meals and free entertainment passes, to ease the financial burden and to help workers take their mind off of things. But these are the exception rather than the norm, and the president shouldn’t carry out a shutdown under the assumption that private businesses will take the fall for his stubbornness. If anything, the statement was indicative of how casually Trump treated the entire ordeal.

But why the panic over the government shutdown in the first place? America has survived a couple of them in recent memory.

We’ve increased the frequency of our government shutdowns over the years, as it has become a stalemate

for policy. Over the course of their presidencies, Jimmy Carter had five and Ronald Reagan had eight.

Duration is what makes Trump’s shutdown different. Carter’s longest shutdown was 18 days, and Reagan’s was four days. Former President Barack Obama’s singular shutdown lasted 16 days. The previous longest shutdown of 21 days still pales in comparison to the most recent one.

Federal workers missed two much needed paychecks, and for what?

According to Trump, the shutdown was for the “benefit and for the safety of our country.” Because a wall is the only way to enforce national security, right? Because the “danger” of illegal immigrants to our citizens outweighs the danger of losing your home and being unable to put food on the table?

Halting paychecks for thousands and denying services to millions for

“Thus, the shutdown turns away from a standoff for national security and turns into Trump trying to live up to an already half-failed campaign promise. It’s a matter of one man saving face, and it just cost the country $3 billion.”

the sake of a $5.7 billion campaignpromised wall that was supposed to be “paid for by Mexico” is stubborn at best and delusional at worst.

Especially when the opposition isn’t even against border security but would rather put funding into measures like target ports, vehicle scanning for drugs and more immigration judges—measures that are more easily implemented and cost less than a wall.

Thus, the shutdown turns away from a standoff for national security and turns into Trump trying to live up to an already half-failed campaign promise. It’s a matter of one man saving face, and it just cost the country $3 billion.

The backlash over the shutdown hasn’t weakened his resolve either.

He’s threatened to continue the shutdown when the temporary measure wears off on Feb. 15— that “we really have no choice but to build a powerful wall or steel barrier.”

But he’s not pushing for that wall to protect the public. If he actually cared about the people’s safety, he wouldn’t be snatching paychecks from his workers. He would understand that policy works gradually, and maybe slow work on fortifying border security is better than a $3 billion standoff that risks thousands of people’s wellbeing while yielding no progress.

Trump has decided that his ego is worth more than the financial security of his lower level government workers. That no matter what he does, people will find ways to clean up after him.

Here’s to hoping he doesn’t try to further up the price tag.

Sarah Taekman is a third-year student majoring in origins sciences.

12 opinion

2/1/19

It’s time for a change in style Assorted Dastardly Schemes

Steve Kerby In publishing houses and newspapers, or any organization with significant written output, the “Style Guide” is the foundation of editing.

Armed with a style guide, editors have clear-cut guidance on spelling, punctuation and organizational issues. Through the hard work of an editorial staff, the garbled output of grammatically fluid writers like me becomes legible and uniform.

Here at Case Western Reserve University, we have a style guide of our own, which largely follows “The Associated Press Stylebook (AP),” a mainstay in the newspaper industry.

At CWRU, we only diverge from AP style in select ways; for example, academic titles like “PhD” are not punctuated with periods in official writing here, while AP style suggests “Ph.D.” It is the existence of these digressions from AP style that emboldens me to suggest another change that would make writers at CWRU sigh with relief, make editorial workloads lessened and make our collegiate writings legible and fluid. I call on the administration of this university to revise our style

guide and endorse the inclusion of the Oxford comma, contrary to the AP’s perennial condemnation of the article of punctuation.

The Oxford comma, also known as the serial or series comma, follows the second-to-last member of a list: “Alice, Bob, and Charlie” would be an example of its usage. The AP has been historically outspoken in their rejection of what they call an unnecessary blot. They defended their ways in a tweet from October, stating, “It’s consistent with our general rule for punctuation: Use punctuation that is needed; don’t use what’s not needed.”

Ignoring the oversaturation of colons and semi-colons in this tweet, there are several compelling reasons for this university to counter the AP’s forceful opposition to the Oxford comma. The first is subjective, but also perhaps the most important, as it is entirely artistic.

The Oxford comma provides equality and order in lists, signifying members as equals. When “Alice, Bob, and Charlie” go to the store, there is no suggestion that two of the three possess some special relation. “Alice, Bob and Charlie,” on the other hand, carries a subtle suggestion. The AP, in eschewing the comma except when necessary, opens up dozens of cases in which the comma’s inclusion is arguable one way or the other.

A writer could spit back that many commas are necessary for stylistic reasons. If the rule is changed, adopting the comma except in the most specific cases, the grey space of editorial confusion narrows to a slim margin of contrived examples.

The Oxford comma also provides rhythm, more precisely emulating in writing how lists are rendered in voice. “Alice, Bob, and Charlie” is pronounced with a pause between “Alice” and “Bob,” and between “Bob” and “and Charlie.” On the other hand, “Alice, Bob and Charlie” read literally would not have a pause between “Bob” and “and Charlie,” a sudden and concerning jaunt in tempo. This is most obvious in songs like “Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve” from the popular musical “1776.” The lyrics are sung exactly as written, with the comma.

Many respond with skepticism when I claim that 95 percent of writers instinctively use the Oxford comma and endorse it, but this is not an exaggeration. Over the past months, I’ve gotten in contact with academics, writers and teachers, and the overwhelming majority of those who write in English agree: the comma is warranted. Does the art of writing not belong collectively to those whose efforts produce it?

Why should the stylistic choices of 95 percent of writers be squashed by the AP’s antiquated rules?

Closer to home, prominent and respected voices here at CWRU also pitched in when I contacted them on the subject. Professor Christopher Flint, chair of the Department of English notes that “it provides exactitude, allowing you to distinguish at the end of a long list between ‘Laurel and Hardy’ (a comedy duo) and ‘Laurel, and Hardy’ (a musician and an author),” though “most people understand the meaning of a sentence with or without the Oxford comma 95 percent of the time.” Prominent alumni, including Anu Garg, founder of wordsmith. org, also endorse the comma.

I sent an email to President Barbara Snyder asking her opinion, but had no luck in getting a response.

It seems sad that the AP can hold back the deluge of support for the comma with their stranglehold on style guides, but we at CWRU can take a strong stand for clarity by changing our own style guide to endorse the comma except when absolutely unnecessary. If that goes too far, the decision should at least be left to the discretion of individual writers who know the machinery behind their writing best.

Steve Kerby is a fourth-year student, almost done studying astronomy and physics. He would like to remind you to aim for eight hours of sleep each night.

Think beyond the bottle

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Yvonne Pan Drip drop.

You hear the familiar patter of the world’s most precious resource dripping out of the tap as you wait impatiently for your reusable water bottle to fill up.

Tap water is a resource we often take for granted, sometimes opting for its pricier, less sustainable and less regulated counterpart: bottled water. At $9.47 a gallon, you could get a scoop of ice cream at Mitchell’s including tax and a free pretzel, three mochi from Dave’s Markets and have 30 cents left for the price of a gallon of bottled water.

“But isn’t bottled water safer?

Cleveland water tastes weird,” you may whine. Surely, the water bottle brand Fiji would agree. In 2006, the company ran a full-page ad that stated “The label says Fiji because it’s not bottled in Cleveland.”

Provoked, the Cleveland Water Department ran tests comparing Fiji bottled water to Cleveland tap water and other brands like Aquafina, Dasani and Evian, discovering 6.31 micrograms of arsenic per liter in the Fiji water and immeasurable amounts in the other samples.

Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asserts that water with up to 10 micrograms of arsenic per liter is still safe to drink, the lack of regulation of bottled water is concerning. The EPA regulates tap water under the Safe Drinking Water Act, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests bottled water and regards it as a lower health risk “food.”

The EPA’s maximum contaminant levels establish limits on tap water that the FDA does not have the luxury to implement. Furthermore,

the FDA only requires bottle facilities to maintain water test records for only two years, compared to five to 10 years for public water systems, making it easier to destroy undesirable results.

Even if you are content consuming arsenic, have you considered the microplastics lurking in your singleuse plastic bottle? According to a study conducted involving 250 bottles from nine countries, at the

Ryan Yoo/Observer A drinking fountain located in the Thwing Center. Reflling bottles with tap water is more sustainable than buying new bottled water.

State University of New York in Fredonia, an average of 10 plastic particles wider than a human hair were found in every liter.

Though there is no evidence that ingesting such small pieces of plastic can be harmful, consuming larger amounts may have the unfortunate side effect of cancer, miscarriage or abnormal male sexual development.

“Water is water, is there even a difference anyway?” you may ask, and I’ll concede that may be so. In fact, 64 percent of bottled water has its origins in municipal tap systems.

Water bottle companies like Nestle have privatized and depleted public water resources for profit. During a recent drought in California, the brand used water supplies from the state that would have served 2,200 households for a year.

Dismayed? Fortunately, you can avoid the cost and environmental and health risks associated with bottled water by switching to tap.

If you are interested in raising awareness, consider joining Take Back the Tap (TBTT), sponsored by Food & Water Watch.

Case Western Reserve University’s chapter of TBTT hopes to raise enough money and awareness to implement more water bottle refilling stations on campus to reduce the need of single-use water bottles and to ensure every student on campus has a reusable water bottle.

Though TBTT has maintained a small, but active presence on campus, current coordinator and second-year student Claudia Jazowski plans to hold more events this semester to encourage students to drink tap water rather than buy expensive bottled water.

The author of this column helped to co-found TBTT in early 2018 with second-year student Diana Zavela.

fun

observer.case.edu

fun page | 13

Ken Ken

The aim of the puzzle is to fill the whole grid with numbers. The only numbers you are allowed to use are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. No number may repeat in a column or a row. Each “cage” (or a shaded box) contains a target number and the arithmetic method needed to be used to obtain the target number.

Easy

Normal

Horoscopes Signs as artists we liked in middle school

Aries 3OH!3 Pisces Black Eyed Peas Aquarius Panic! at the Disco Taurus Taylor Swift

Sudoku Normal

Gemini Eminem Cancer Neon Trees Leo Justin Bieber

Easy

Difficult

Virgo All American Rejects Libra One Direction Scorpio LMFAO Capricorn Soulja Boy Sagittarius Fall Out Boy

We’re looking for contributers!

If you would like to write, take photos, or serve on the public relations committee, email us at observer@case.edu.

14

sports

2/1/19

Spartans fall to top UAA competition David Chang Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University women’s basketball team fell to tough opponents this past weekend, including No. 19 University of Chicago 83-55, and the University of Washington in St. Louis (WashU), who holds a perfect 7-0 University Athletic Association (UAA) conference record. The Spartans still maintain a strong record of 12-6 for the season, remaining behind Chicago and Washington in the UAA standings despite having lost their last three games.

In the game against Chicago, the Maroons took the lead early with numerous outside jumpshots. The Maroons scored a three to cap off a 13-7 lead with four minutes remaining in the quarter. After a quick timeout, the Spartans managed to take the lead back with a three by firstyear guard Alyssa Hyland, a layup by fellow first-year guard Abbey Lawrence and a jump shot by fourth-year guard Hillary Hellmann before free throws by Chicago ended the quarter 17-14. The Spartans struggled offensively in the second quarter, committing nine turnovers and going scoreless for seven minutes of play until Lawrence broke the ice with a three.

The Spartans played tough and kept

up with Chicago, trading shots consistently. Their offense flowed better, and the team found graduate student forward Kara Hageman twice for open layups.

The Spartans ended the quarter on a high note with a three by second-year guard Emily Todd. However, Chicago proved to be too much for the Spartans, as the hosts relentlessly attacked the paint and bombarded with threes, which dragged the lead out in the fourth. Hageman had 15 points and seven rebounds on 7-for11 shooting, while Lawrence added 12 points and five rebounds.

Hageman commented on the team’s play against Chicago, “[Our] effort just wasn’t there, [we] weren’t focused, for next game [we’ll] follow coach-to drive and kick out to the open shooter, and go for the cuts that the defense gives us … the score didn’t reflect our performance.”

Determined to bounce back from the loss against Chicago, the Spartans maintained the lead for most of the first half against WashU, as both secondyear forward Emma Cain and third-year guard Kendall McConico aggressively attacked the paint and drew fouls, leading the team with seven and six points respectively in the first quarter. The team maintained a consistent point lead in the second quarter, highlighted by a three from Hageman with around four minutes remaining.

Rina Ding/Observer Hillary Hellmann stares down a defender during the Throwback Weekend game last season

McConico carried the momentum into the third quarter, making a three early in the quarter, then getting a steal on the following possession. However, opposing fourth-year guard Rachael Sondag started to heat up in the second half going 5-for-6 from three. The Spartans had no answers for WashU’s three point shooting with the Bears going 5-for-7 from deep in the fourth. The Spartans resorted to late game fouling at the last minute but were unable to tie the game.

“We played the best basketball ever

this season … we didn’t play [Sondag] tight, she made a lot of deep threes, we played less as a team,” said Hageman.

She also mentioned the team will close out and contest harder on WashU’s perimeter shooting next time the Spartans play them.

The Spartans will have the chance to even the score against these tough opponents with a little Throwback Weekend magic on their side, playing Chicago on Feb. 1 and WashU on Feb 3 at Adelbert Gymnasium.

Patriots, Rams to clash in Super Bowl Andrew Ford Staff Reporter

In what seems like an inevitable fact of life, the New England Patriots are once again playing in the Super Bowl. This time, they match up against the Los Angeles Rams, an upand-coming team in their first Super Bowl since 2002, when they faced none other than the Patriots.

However, both teams enter the game with a sense of controversy surrounding their conference championship games.

The Rams played the New Orleans Saints. With a little more than a minute left in the game, the score was tied. The Saints were driving down the field, and in the red zone threw a wheel route to wide receiver Tommylee Lewis. While the ball was in the air, Lewis was leveled by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, an obvious pass interference and helmetto-helmet hit. Yet, the referees did not throw a flag. The Saints then had to settle for a field goal, but with plenty of time left on the clock the Rams drove down the field, tied the game and eventually won in overtime. If the correct call had been made, the Saints would have had a first down and could have drained the clock and kicked a field goal to win. The NFL admitted to Saints Head Coach Sean Payton that the referees missed the call. That egregious noncall cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl.

In the AFC Championship Game, a questionable roughing the passer called on the Chiefs led to a go-ahead Patriots touchdown. While not as directly impactful as the no-call in the Saints-Rams game, it is disappointing to see referees miss easy calls in some of the most important games of the year. It is not as though these two calls were debatable—everyone, even

the NFL, recognizes that these were incorrect calls. Now, the biggest game of the year has an asterisk next to it because of these missed calls.

But that is history now. The Rams and Patriots won the right to compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Rams’ strength is on the offensive side of the ball. Led by the young genius head coach, Sean McVay, the Rams put up the second-most points per game in the regular season, 32.9.

They boast a strong running game that averaged the third-most rushing yards per game. Running back Todd Gurley II leads the backfield, but recentlysigned running back C.J. Anderson has played a crucial role in the playoffs.

In both of the Rams’ victories in the playoffs, he has played a huge role for the team. As quarterback, Jared Goff has looked elite under McVay’s system, leading the Rams to the fifth-best passing offense this year. Supporting the offense is a stellar defensive line.

On defense, the Rams have arguably the best defensive player in the league in defensive tackle Aaron Donald. Donald is virtually impossible to block and requires a double team on every play. The Patriots will not let Donald have a good game; they are smart enough to do whatever it takes to take away Donald’s playmaking abilities. The rest of the Rams’ defensive line will need to step up to get pressure on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady’s effectiveness requires time to throw, so if the Rams don’t get frequent pressure, Brady will pick apart the defense.

The Patriots, on the other hand, don’t blow you away on paper. They have the fourth-ranked scoring offense, but other than that they don’t stand out in any one area. The same is true for their defense. But, the Patriots do have the two greatest assets in this game: Brady and head coach Bill Belichick. Brady is probably the

greatest quarterback of all time. He just knows how to win games. The rest of the players on offense aren’t studs, but Brady makes them look like they are. He’s a quick and efficient passer who is exceptional at reading the defense and finding the open man.

Like Brady, Belichick just knows how to win. His gameplans are outstanding and will keep his team in the game no matter the talent disparity.

The Patriots haven’t been perennial Super Bowl contenders by accident.

The greatness of their coach and their quarterback shows every year, no matter how much fans claim that the

Patriots are not as good as they were in years past.

In an earlier edition of The Observer, I predicted the Rams would win it all this year. I am sticking with that prediction. Although the Patriots undoubtedly have an experience advantage, the Rams have more talent across the board. McVay is a brilliant coach and will have his team ready to compete on the biggest stage. The Rams will get a key stop late in the game to win 31-27, bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Los Angeles.

The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3 and will air on CBS.

Spartan wrestling sees midseason struggles Andrew Ford Staff Reporter

In their recent matches, the Case Western Reserve University wrestling team has not seen the results they have desired.

On Thursday, Jan. 17 the Spartans lost to Adrian College in a dual match, 25-12.

Third-year wrestlers Andrew Hoover, Alec Hoover and Isaac Collier won their matches in their respective weight classes, as well as

fourth-year grappler Gavin DershFisher.

CWRU was supposed to compete that weekend, Jan. 19, at home in the Dr. Si Ostrach Meet, but it was cancelled due to weather.

The next weekend the team traveled to Wheaton College in Illinois for the Pete Willson Invitational, where they finished 31st out of 38 teams. Alec Hoover and Dersh-Fisher were the only Spartans to advance to the second day of competition.

They’ll return to action on Feb. 2 for Senior Day.

Love sports? Want to write about them? Become a sports reporter!

Contact observer@case.edu with “Sports” in the subject line

sports

observer.case.edu

15

NBA players’ fashion transfixes fans Claire Nordt Sports Editor

While keeping up with the NBA, there is one unexpected element that cannot be missed—the creative outfits worn by the players while arriving to games. The origin of the NBA’s passion for fashion can be traced back to the implementation of a dress code by the then NBA commissioner, David Stern. The code required players to dress in business casual attire during any participation in team or league events.

When first introduced, the dress code was met with criticism. Players were angered by the clear targeting towards hip hop culture due to the code’s policies that banned headgear as well as chains and pendants. The rules seemed to strip the players of the ability to express their personalities through their sense of style.

Over time, however, the players began to embrace the dress code, eventually finding a way to once again use style as a form of personal expression.

Now it is a guarantee that upon arrival at the arena prior to a game, players will walk in showcasing an outfit fit for fashion week. It is almost a competition to see who can show up in the most revolutionary attire formed from fresh and modern silhouettes and accompanied by unusual textures and patterns.

One of the most notorious players in regards to fashion is Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Before every game, he can be seen strutting fashion forward outfits. These have previously included cropped trousers, bright colors and even a matching purple acid wash denim shirt and pant set. In response to the positive reactions towards his style, he released a book titled “Russell Westbrook: Style Drivers” in 2017. The book delves further into his use of clothing and accessories to express himself and includes photographs of some of his most popular

Keith Allison/Flickr

Russell Westbrook is well-known in the NBA for his often unconventional and progressive fashion.

looks. Westbrook is just one of many NBA players who choose to dress to impress. Other players have included feather accessories, printed blazers and much more into their outfits.

Also known in the basketball world for his sense of style is Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade. As one of the pioneers of the fashion takeover of the NBA, Wade was not afraid to take his fashion beyond arena entrances and attend Paris Fashion Week in 2011, where he was the only player in attendance. Wade continues to attend fashion shows, including Givenchy and Hermes. Similarly to Westbrook, Wade also further pursued his interest in fashion. In 2017, he partnered with Amazon to sell four of his own clothing lines. In addition to this, he has collaborated with various brands to gain more exposure to the design and fashion world. While other players may not have developed their own

clothing lines, there is no doubt that the presence of early style risk-takers in the NBA influenced much of the fashion culture that exists today.

While their entrances to the arena may be grand, on the court players are limited in their abilities to showcase their style. Even still, they have managed to find one way to do so: shoes. Basketball shoes are no longer just necessary footwear, but are now canvases used to express a player’s thoughts and style. Often times shoes are adorned with tributes for family and friends of the player. This may involve including a name or significant date or number. Karl-Anthony Towns, a center for the Minnesota Timberwolves, commemorated his friend Mac Miller following the star’s passing in October 2018 by stepping onto the court in shoes bearing a print of the singer’s face. Other times, players wear shoes designed to be modern and

sleek, and sometimes the kicks are completely unique and quirky.

The 2018-2019 season has had many great shoe moments. One example belongs to Langston Galloway of the Detroit Pistons. On Dec. 15, Galloway stepped onto the court sporting shoes printed with characters from Toy Story. The fun kicks no doubt left young fans amused as the characters moved along the court, and older fans were hit with nostalgia at the sight of childhood favorites. Aaron Holiday of the Indiana Pacers made a statement by stepping onto the court in floral shoes on Dec. 23. The sneakers were a pair of Nikes from Kevin Durant’s line, and they featured vibrant red flowers against a navy background.

Overall, the creativity in fashion and footwear certainly add flair and fun to the much loved game and give players a chance to express themselves.

Track and field battles for the Obelisk Claire Nordt Sports Editor

Chris Heerman/Observer The track and field teams fell to Carnegie Mellon University at the 11th-annual Battle for the Obelisk. Spartan highlights include two first place titles and meet records by graduate student Cassandra Laios.

The Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the 11th Annual Battle for the Obelisk last weekend. Together, the teams earned 115 team points, but that was not enough to secure a win against University Athletic Association opponents Carnegie Mellon University, whose teams combined for 157 points.

Graduate student Cassandra Laios earned titles in both the weight throw and shot put. For weight throw, Laios scored a mark of 17.08 meters, which set a new meet record, surpassing her previous meet record of 16.78 meters. Laios also set a new meet record with her shot put mark of 13.70 meters. The previous record of 13.35 had been set by Laios last season.

In addition to Laios, third-year Spartans Madeline Lindemann and Samantha Kelts also placed first in their events. Lindemann competed

in the 3000-meter run, crossing the finish line at 10:35.18. Kelts was able to take first in the triple jump after jumping a distance of 10.63 meters. The women’s distance medley relay team also claimed the first place title. The team consisted of fourth-year Spartan Isabel TorresPadin, third-year runners Vanessa Pasadyn and Shahed Eid and second-year runner Maria King.

For the men’s team, third-year hurdler Dominic Oddo, third-year runner Jonathan Haling and thirdyear thrower Brian Holden all earned first place titles. Oddo took the 60-meter hurdles in 8.67, Haling conquered the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.91 and Holden threw 13.90 meters to win the weight throw. The men’s 4x400-meter relay team also had a first place finish. Third-year Spartan Michael Hradesky and first-year teammate Logan Singer teamed up with Oddo and Haling to complete the race in 3:31.24.

The Spartans will next compete at the Joe Banks Invitational on Feb. 2 at Ohio Northern University.

sports Un-Marooned

Men’s basketball wins first road game at University of Chicago in decade

Daniel Brenner/Observer The Spartans defeated University of Chicago by a score 85-80. The win marked the first road win against Chicago in 10 years. Head Coach Todd McGuinness said, “I am so proud of my guys and happy for them to experience the game.”

Sanjay Annigeri Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team continued its University Athletic Association (UAA) schedule last week, facing two tough opponents on the road, the University of Chicago and Washington University in St. Louis (WashU). The team defeated thenUAA leader Chicago, 85-80, on Friday, Jan. 25, but lost to WashU two nights later, 88-55.

“First win at Chicago since January

2009, so I am so proud of my guys and happy for them to experience the game,” Head Coach Todd McGuinness said.

The game kept things interesting with back-and-forth play.

The teams started the game exchanging leads. Third-year guard Monty Khela tied the game at 16 on a three pointer with over 10 minutes left to play in the first half.

Chicago made a 12-2 run to give the Maroons a 10 point lead. Third-year forward Michael Hollis ended the run with a layup with under eight minutes left in the half and started a quick 6-0 run to bring

the Spartans within four.

The teams exchanged buckets and second-year guard Ignas Masiulionis tied the game at 37 going into halftime on a three pointer.

Free throws by second-year guard Michael Volkening and two three pointers by third-year forward Connor Nally gave CWRU a five point lead in the beginning of the second half. Chicago would tie the game again at 47, and both teams would continue trading the lead.

Second-year guard Antonio Ionadi broke this stretch, hitting a three pointer

and sparking a 7-0 CWRU run. However, the Maroons would answer back with their own 8-0 run to go back up four.

Ionadi would hit a game-tying three pointer to knot the score at 72 with under four minutes left and Masiulionis hit a long two pointer to give CWRU a 75-73 lead. Chicago hit a three to take a temporary lead, but Masiulionis once again delivered with a clutch three pointer. CWRU would take the lead and hold on for the win.

Against WashU, the Spartans were outmatched.

CWRU started the game by making five three pointers, but the Bears took an early 11 point lead. Hollis hit a layup with over eight minutes left in the half to bring the deficit to eight.

Unfortunately for the Spartans, WashU started a 16-2 run. Fortunately, third-year guard Sam Hansen’s layup ended the run with under three minutes left. CWRU went into halftime down 45-25.

A three pointer by Hansen in the beginning of the second half brought the Spartans closer, now down by 17. This was as close the team would get in the second half, as the Bears pulled away and won.

The Spartans finished the week with a win and a loss, bringing their overall season record to 9-9 and their UAA record to 2-5.

The team will be back on campus for Throwback Weekend and the home part of their home-and-home series with these two teams. They will face Chicago on Friday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. and WashU on Sunday, Feb. 3 at noon. CWRU will wear alternate jerseys of the Case Institute of Technology Rough Riders and Western Reserve University Red Cats.

Spartans bounce back at Ohio Northern Riley Simko

Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University Swimming and Diving teams took first at Ohio Northern University (ONU) on Saturday, Jan. 26.

The men’s team defeated ONU 179119, bringing their season record to 6-2.

The women’s team beat both ONU and the NCAA Division II team from Hillsdale College with scores 243-54 and 204-90 respectively, bringing their season record to 7-2.

First-year swimmer Anna Smith and second-year teammate Caitlyn VonFeldt teamed up with fourth-year Spartans Suhan Mestha and Alli Drohosky to take the women’s 200-yard medley relay, swimming in at 1:50.84.

Smith continued solo, winning her bid at the women’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 59.86.

Mestha and VonFeldt joined firstyear teammates Sarah Krueger and Daniella Rupert to win the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:40.90.

Krueger then took first in the 1,000yard freestyle, while Rupert sped into

first in the 200-yard freestyle, completing their races in 11:02.11 and 1:59.56 respectively.

Mestha went on to win both the 50yard freestyle, 24.67, and the 100-yard freestyle, 54.07. VonFeldt took the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke, with times of 1:00.16 and 2:10.37 respectively.

First-year diver Hailey Seibert made a splash in the women’s diving event, scoring 189.25 in the one-meter dive and 188.00 in the three-meter dive.

Fourth-year diver Sydney Anderson took second in the women’s three-meter dive and third in the women’s one-meter dive. Fellow fourth-year diver Vera Bostwick picked up a second place win in the women’s one-meter dive and a third place win in the women’s three-meter dive. Together, Seibert, Anderson and Bostwick almost entirely edged out the ONU and Hillsdale diving competitors.

Olivia Picchione, a third-year swimmer, also picked up a win in the women’s 200-yard individual medley.

The CWRU men’s team won 11 out of the 16 competitions against ONU. The Spartan men swept the individual freestyle competitions. First-year swimmer Neil Wible took first in both the

men’s 100-yard freestyle and men’s 200yard freestyle, with times of 48.44 and 1:46.42. Fourth-year teammate Brody Schmidt won the title in the men’s 500yard freestyle with a speedy 4:52.17, while fellow fourth-year swimmer Keith Erichsen took home the gold in the men’s 1,000-yard freestyle at 10:03.64.

First-year teammates Nick Schoenig and Calvin Tecson triumphed over the competition in the men’s 100-yard backstroke and the 50-yard freestyle respectively. Their corresponding times were 52.99 and 22.12.

“The win over ONU was empowering as we bounced back from a tough meet at SUNY Geneseo,” Schoenig said. “After our loss, we had a team discussion, and the team knew we could do better. I believe that motivation for redemption led to a better outcome for our meet at ONU.” The Spartans continued to take gold throughout the meet, with several more noticeable wins before the dual meet was over.

Will McDonald, a second-year student, took the men’s 200-yard backstroke at 1:57.66, and fellow secondyear student Jakob Woerner took the men’s 200-yard butterfly with a time

1:57.51. Sean Twomey added his weight to the second year power trio, winning gold in the 200-yard individual medley and swimming in at 1:59.07.

Second-year diver Cassiel Yuzik took first in the one-meter dive, scoring a whopping 215.70 points. Yuzik also took the three-meter dive with a score of 226.45, almost 50 points ahead of the second place finisher, Mark Fox, another second-year Spartan diver.

In addition to his team accomplishments at ONU, the University Athletic Association (UAA) recognized Yuzik as the UAA Diver of the Week for his outstanding performance against the Polar Bears. This is Yuzik’s second UAA Athlete of the Week honor in his collegiate diving career.

Yuzik is the second Spartan on the swimming and diving team to be named to the UAA Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Week honor this season.

Mestha earned the honor as well in November 2018.

On Friday, Feb. 1, the Spartans will have their Senior Night in the Veale Natatorium, facing off against Notre Dame College at 6 p.m. The team is graduating 13 members, all of whom will be honored at the meet.