the
Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 27 friday, 4/26/2019
Observer
W O H S IN E IN H S S K u STUDENT WOR Read more at observer.case.ed Courtesy of Cleveland Institute of Art Facebook The Cleveland Institute of Art Spring Showcase featured a fashion show featuring jewelry and fashion pieces created by CIA students.
New student organization presidents discuss positions Anna Giubileo
Spring elections have come and gone on Case Western Reserve University’s campus and the next generation of major student organization leaders have been announced. Next year, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) will be led by current third-year Marin Exler, a political science and Spanish double major. Second-year finance major Douglas Spizarny is the upcoming president for the Residence Hall Association (RHA). The University Program Board (UPB) elected third-year chemical engineering major Atirola Omilabu and the Class Officer Collective (COC) will be headed by third-year finance and economics double major Ethan Glickstein. All incoming presidents have been involved in their respective organizations since their first year on campus, advancing over the years from entry-level positions to executive positions, before now finding themselves as the head of the organizations. While they are all still involved in other on-campus organizations, rang-
ing from greek life to major specific organizations, much of their time has been devoted to their specific student organization. “Yeah, RHA takes up the majority of my time, but I love it, I don’t mind it,” said Spizarny. Each student shared some of their thoughts on what next year is going to look like. “I am so grateful to be a part of such an enthusiastic group of people, and I hope to keep that momentum going,” said Exler, when asked what she was most excited about for the upcoming year. Exler was inspired to run for president by the disconnect and misunderstanding between USG and other student organizations, mainly involving miscommunication and overlapping initiatives. She hopes to increase communication between organizations and committees so as to work together on shared interests, rather than on individual ones. When asked why he decided to run for RHA president, Spizarny responded, “I really like the values of RHA, and believe they stand for really good things. I think they could do a lot for campus, and wanted to restructure the organization so it lines up with those
values in the most effective way.” He shared that one of his major goals for the upcoming year is to work on budgeting, and that he has already begun working with an advising committee to improve and clarify the process in regards to how different parts of the organization handle the budget. Additionally, Spizarny mentioned that he met some of his best friends through the organization, and one of the things he is most excited about as president is getting to meet everyone involved in the individual councils. Omilabu shared what her top goal for the upcoming year is: “There is a lot of over-programming on campus, and I want UPB’s events to be distinguishable by working on developing a brand to better stand out.” She spoke of how her time in UPB has allowed her to hone her personal skills and come out of her shell. ”If you know me now, it’s shocking I was ever shy,” laughed Omilabu. While she did not want to ruin the surprise of some of the events the organization already has in the works for the upcoming year, Omilabu did mention that they created a new committee for campus engagement and is excited to see how that grows and in-
tegrates into UPB as it exists now. Glickstein said that he ran for presidency in COC so that campus unification can be thoughtful and tailored to the specific culture of the student body. “My top goal for next year is to host a new tradition where over 50 percent of the student body attends. We can’t even get that many students to class, so if we hit that number I would be happy,” joked Glickstein. He too expressed a similar interest to Exler in working more with organizations and removing the disconnect between them. “I want to see the continuation of the passion I see on campus to make CWRU a better place.” All of the upcoming presidents invited students who are interested in getting more involved on campus to join their organizations. “The best way to learn about the organization and get your voice heard is to join,” said Spizarny. “Explore your own passions and ensure you are living your most purposeful and vibrant life,” expanded Exler. Though it will be a lot of work, they are all excited about the possibilities their positions offer them.
News
A&E
Opinion
Sports
pg. 2 Period. health panel
pg. 6 Two talents’ last performance
pg. 8 Semester grades
pg. 15 Baseball upsets Wooster
Staff Reporter
news Menstrual and contraceptive health panel comes to CWRU Anna Giubileo Staff Reporter
“Women want and need more information regarding vaginal health.” This is the main sentiment behind the “Breaking The Silence: A Menstrual and Contraceptive Health Panel” as shared by panelist Dr. Anthony Tizzano. The panel was hosted by Period. @CWRU, a relatively new studentrun organization on campus. It is an affiliate of the global organization, whose goal is to both get rid of stigma surrounding menstruation as well as host product drives and fundraisers. The first speaker at the panel was Dr. Anthony Tizzano, a clinical professor at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner College of Medicine for the past 25 years. His talk, titled “Contraception for a New Millenium” examined the stigmas, misconceptions and current literature surrounding the different types of birth control. “The vagina kind of gets short shrifted in literature … At any given time there are 27 million current accounts of sex around the world. That is 30,000 ejaculations a second, 1.5 billion sperm trying to get to those eggs. Contraception is important,” Dr Tizzano said. He focused his talk on looking at oral contraceptives as compared to both the vaginal ring and intrauter-
ine devices (IUDs). In summary, oral contraceptives are not effective for the majority of women because they deliver inconsistent amounts of hormones over the course of a day, and it is extremely easy to miss doses. Vaginal rings and IUDs are both much more consistent in the levels of hormone delivery, but what puts IUDs a step above the vaginal ring is their efficacy: there is an error rate of 0.5 percent on average.
“Around the world women and girls are stigmatized simply for having their periods.” - Michelle Grotto on the effects of periods in pop culture “To bleed or not to bleed—that is the question,” said Dr Tizzano to end his presentation. He explained that it is perfectly okay for some women to not have their periods every month, and that each person should evaluate for themselves whether or not tak-
ing contraceptives is a path they will follow. The next presenter was Michelle Gotto, a graduate student studying public health and bioethics with an emphasis in reproductive health and ethics. Her presentation was “Periods in Pop Culture (Or, Menstruation in the Media).” Gotto focused her talk on the stigmas women face, especially those in the United States. “Around the world women and girls are stigmatized simply for having their periods.” One of her examples was what happened to the poet Rupi Kaur, whose photograph of period bloodstained sheets was censored by Instagram. She also raised awareness of the need for increased research into periods and period blood, an area that has been largely neglected by the scientific community. The final speaker was Hannoud Al Moghrabi, professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at CWRU, with her presentation “Women’s Health Challenges.” She discussed how feminism plays a role in women’s health, and how the medical field needs to work with women, not for women, and take a heterogeneous approach, since women’s bodies, symptoms and reactions differ from one to the next.
“A woman does have the right to control her own fertility and she needs access to information, service and psychological support for herself,” shared Al Moghrabi. She pointed out in her talk that there is a great disparity in access to medical care faced by disadvantaged communities due to discriminatory practices and policies. Al Morghrabi closed her section of the program by saying that “family planning and birth control supported by funding policies and research will help every child be a wanted child.” The program ended with a question and answer session, when the audience could send in anonymous questions for the presenters to answer. These ranged from why women go on birth control to help with period cramps—because the birth control can alleviate the cramps by thinning the uterine lining or discontinuing the periods altogether— to why girls today have been getting their periods earlier than decades past—due in part to an increase in body mass index and fat in diets, as well as a correlation with the hormones found in milk products. Overall, the event worked to create a space for discussion of periods, the stigma surrounding them and the transmittance of information about vaginal health. It was widely attended by students and faculty alike.
Chabad and Hillel get Jewish students in the Passover spirit Lev Pearlman Staff Reporter
On Friday, April 19, the Cleveland Hillel Foundation and Chabad at CWRU began their respective Passover celebrations. The Jew-
ish holiday that commemorates the Jews’ mass exodus from Egypt to escape slavery over 2,000 years ago. On the first two nights of Passover, Hillel and Chabad hosted Seders. The Seder is a celebratory meal that happens on the first and second
Lev Pearlman/Observer Students enjoyed a celebratory Seder meal at the Albert and Norma Geller Hillel Student Center.
night of Passover and incorporates the story of the exodus, discussions about the meanings of specific foods and a search for a hidden dessert. A group of students from Hillel’s Undergraduate Leadership Committee worked with Jewish Student Life Coordinator Madison Dore to build their own Haggadah (a written guide for the Seder). Incorporating themes of world issues as tied in with the story of Passover, the students worked to create a modern version of the Haggadah for students. First-year materials science and engineering major Hugh Smith said, “Working together as a small group to produce something the whole Jewish community would enjoy was very spiritually fulfilling.” First-year economics major Blanche Spiner attended Chabad Seder and noted that “Passover seders at Chabad are second only to celebrating at home with your family. The thoroughness of the Seder combined with the amazing brisket and lively people all contribute to the familial environment of a passover seder at Chabad.” During Passover, grains and leavened bread are not eaten in anything except matzo, a flat cracker-like food that represents the food that
fleeing Jews ate when fleeing the Egyptians. To make life easy on Case Western Reserve University’s Jewish population (12 percent of the student body), Hillel has partnered with the university to provide lunch Sunday, April 21 through Friday, April 26 and dinner every night of Passover to students who keep kosher during Passover. Jill Ross, the Metro Hillel campus director said, “For years Cleveland Hillel has offered strictly kosher for Passover meals to students, faculty and staff on campus. We realized years ago that students wanted more options for meals during the week of Passover. We took it upon ourselves to offer a variety of kosher for Passover homemade meals. Through our wonderful campus partners and generous donors in the community we are able to offer highly subsidized meal options for students.” During lunch on April 24, Samuel Rosenthal Professor of Judaic Studies Jay Geller joined with students for an hour of Torah study. Smith said of the session, “Discussing the text behind Moses’ past allowed me to look at the common story of Passover in a new way, especially when I heard the interpretations of my peers.”
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Collaboration formed between Cleveland science institutions Jordan Reif
Staff Reporter The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (CMZ), Cleveland Museum of Natural History (CMNH), Holden Arboretum and Case Western Reserve University’s department of biology have relied on informal collaborations for decades through research, resources and teaching. On July 1, 2018, CWRU signed an agreement to enter into a formal partnership with all of these institutions barring CMZ, the only public entity among them. The agreement was finalized in October of the same year. This symbiotic relationship was created to benefit all partners involved, as well as undergraduate and graduate students and researchers. Three years of planning started when Kristen Lukas, director of conservation and science at the Metroparks Zoo, gave a guest lecture for biology professor Mark Willis’ animal behavior class. In return, some CWRU graduate students began working with Lukas on gorilla health research. Many of the research scientists at CMNH and the Arboretum were also teaching classes at CWRU as adjunct professors. The prospect of a formal collaboration was born when Willis recognized the possibility of “develop[ing] official agreements with all the main biological institutions in the city of Cleveland.” Each of these partners con-
tributes something different and unique in hopes of making the formal collaboration a success. Dr. Lukas recognizes the partnership to be a beneficial way to “produce highly trained zoo biologists” through a competitive graduate program, something only made possible through collaboration with CWRU. During his time as Director of Research and Collections and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, Gavin Svenson of the CMNH has worked to develop science programs across disciplines by capitalizing on community partnerships. Even before the formal agreement, Svenson recognized the benefits of being able to welcome eager undergraduate and graduate students from CWRU into his lab. However, Svenson believes this new binding agreement will allow CMNH to further develop and grow the offered programs and student opportunities. The collaboration will not only increase biological science research opportunities, but also allow CWRU students to be introduced to and taught by a wider range of advisors with a variety of academic and research experience. Svenson projects the partnership to assert Cleveland, and on a broader level all of Northeast Ohio, as a “destination for students interested in biological science training.” As with the other institutions involved, the Holden Arboretum has been informally partnering with CWRU for decades and recognizes this agreement
Courtesy of Madison Dore The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is the one of the institutions that joined CWRU in a formal partnership.
to be an opportunity for students, especially graduate students, to gain realworld experience through research. Chief Science Officer for the Gardens David Burke, hopes the current and future research conducted through these alliances will help scientists “find solutions to threats facing our native forests … and the natural world.” Burke added that this is especially critical as the hazards of anthropomorphic climate change continue to worsen. The CWRU department of biology, chaired by Willis, acts as a hub for the collaboration. The university will further connect all the institutions by offering CMNH, CMZ and Arboretum
experts non-tenure track faculty teaching positions. Willis proudly recognizes this partnership to be unique in its wide range of biological expertise and opportunities. The Holden Arboretum, Cleveland Natural History Museum, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and CWRU are all pillars of the Cleveland community and education sphere. All of these partners hope this formal agreement will increase and improve biological studies and research under one united affiliation. “We hope that by making our affiliation formal … it will [be] obvious that we are much more than the sum of our parts,” Willis remarked.
Plan for success this summer!
Think Summer 2019
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Register for classes today! Tuition for courses numbered 100-399 is half the price of fall and spring semesters
Summer Session 2019 May Term: 8-week session: 5-week session: 4-week session (1): 6-week session: 4-week session (2):
May 13 – May 31 June 3 – July 29 June 3 – July 5 June 3 – June 28 June 17 – July 29 July 8 – August 2
fun
4 | fun page
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.
Normal
Difficult
3/1/19
Horoscopes Horoscopes as Einstein’s Bros. Bagels
Aries
March 21 to April 19
Asiago Cheese
Taurus
March 21 to April 19
Potato
Gemini
April 20 to May 20
Plain
Cancer
June 21 to July 22
Sesame Seed
Sudoku The aim of the puzzle is to fill the 9 by 9 grid with numbers between 1 to 9 in each box. Each column, row and 3 by 3 grid should contain all the digits from 1 to 9 without repeating numbers.
Normal
Leo
July 23 to Aug. 22
Blueberry
Virgo
Aug. 23 to Sept. 22
Everything
Libra
Sept. 22 to Oct. 22
Cinnamon Raisin
Scorpio
Oct. 23 to Nov. 21
Honey Whole Wheat
Sagittarius
Nov. 22 to Dec. 21
Onion
Easy
Difficult
Capricorn
Dec. 22 to Jan. 19
Ancient Grain
Aquarius
Jan. 20 to Feb. 18
Jalapeno Cheddar
Pisces
Feb. 19 to Mar. 20
Six-Cheese
Interested in being part of our Editorial Board? Visit us at observer.case.edu to see open positions.
arts & entertainment Game of Thrones continues feminist tone
Courtesy IMDB
David Chang Staff Reporter
Heading into finals week, the change in the weather is much appreciated by all. Campus can also get excited about the only instance in which we don’t mind that winter is coming. “Game of Thrones” is back with its second episode of the final season, and this time, something else is coming with it: feminism. HBO’s “Game of Thrones” features many female leaders: Cersei Lannister blowing up all her enemies while sipping wine, Sansa Stark
overcoming the torment of three men and eventually becoming Lady of Winterfell and the most powerful of all, Daernys Targaryan murdering all the Khals to free and recruit the Dhothraki army to begin her quest for the Iron Throne. The second episode, like the first, features many character reunions in Winterfell before they are killed off by the White Walkers. The shock factor of the episode to many was when 18-year-old assassin Arya Stark loses her virginity to Gendry Baratheon after he made her a new dragonglass weapon. Some may find the scene a bit revolting,
as fans watched actress Mailese Williams grow up on the show and she is commonly perceived as a little sister figure. In a show which markets sexualization with rape and manipulation, a consentual sex scene should be celebrated in contrast to the past sexual and politcal opression featured in previous episodes. Williams said that she had the choice of how much of her body was shown, expressing embarrassment in a tweet on April 23, “if u feel uncomfortable just know that my mother and my step dad and my 2 sisters and my 4 brothers have all
probably watched this too ahahakillmeehehe.” After a childhood filled with a series of family murders and strict training, Stark’s ability to healthily express her sexuality celebrates the human side of her character. Jamie Lannister knighting Brienne of Tarth was one of the most sentimental moments of the show and perhaps the highlight of the episode. Their long history hits a high note as Jamie Lannister shows his respect and asks to fight under Brienne. However, some may disagree and argue that women are fitting into male standards. Another perspective is that women had to adapt to the patriarchy and become more violent and immoral than their true selves, as they are forced to embrace masculinity to survive in the cruel “Game of Thrones” universe. Stark transformed from a child to the ruthless assassin who wiped out the entire family that planned the Red Wedding. Seeing the more feminine characters, such as Maergary Tyrell, who used her emotional intelligence to climb her way to the throne, and the motherly figure of Catelyn Stark, murdered was discouraging to some. The ones alive are all fighters, including Brienne and Yara Greyjoy of the Ironborn. As the saying goes, “it be like that sometimes.” The genuine nature of the relationships in the show and tough losses that mirror reality are what keep fans rooting for the characters and tune in every season. The series is a lot more compelling if one looks beyond the sex, politics and gore.
Taco-bout a good time
Blue Habanero offers an awesome slice of Mexican in Gordon Square Lars Torres
Staff Reporter Out in the reaches of Gordon Square, easily accessible using Cleveland’s somewhat unreliable but effective RTA services, a new trendy and hip Mexican restaurant is slowly making waves among the other fanciful and hip restaurants, bars and stores along the strip in Gordon Square, near the great Capitol Theatre. Blue Habanero Street Tacos and Tequila is definitely worth a visit. Blue Habanero opened in November 2018, filling the space of former restaurant Arcadian Food and Drink that closed around the same time two years prior. The three year project culminated in a popular restaurant that was only open for four months before co-owner and investor Tim Kopp closed it abruptly, changing the locks on the restaurant doors before informing co-owner and operator Cory Hess and his wife, executive chef Rebecca Hess. Despite the circumstances surrounding Arcadian, Blue Habanero
faces much less controversy. In fact, the storefront may not look like much, seeming somewhat plain and abstract. But within, you are greeted by an enticing environment, surrounded by a combination of slick modernism and Day of the Dead decorations, a key celebration in Mexican culture. A massive and intricate bar sits to the right of the bar area. An attentive staff readily seats you and checks up constantly throughout the meal. Although you may dismiss it as another taco joint in a sea of Barrio’s and Qdoba’s, Blue Habanero distinguishes itself with its selection. The menu is small but scrumptious, from entrees comprising of varying types of street taco combinations, from carnitas, shrimp and fish to barbacoa, avocado, and steak tacos. Blue Habanero offers burrito and taco bowls as well, at affordable prices. Starting appetizers range from delicious and fresh guacamole to queso dip and spicy, delectable salsa. Specialties include a meal known as the Burrito Gigante and Melting Chimi-
Courtesy pixabay.com
changa, both under $13, that are sure to truly send you to food heaven. The restaurant boasts a variety of carefully crafted margaritas, straying from the typical lime-flavored offerings. The page-long selection includes signature drinks like spicy cilantro and blackberry mint. Although drinks are pricey, costing as much as the tacos do, if not more, they are definitely worth tasting. Blue Habanero is an ambitious
place that serves delicious food and unique drinks, all complimented by the growing and exciting neighborhood around it. Location: Blue Habanero – Street Tacos & Tequila Rating:
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A tale of two talents Playlist of the Week Jackson Rudoff Opinion Editor
Dallan Goldblatt A&E Designer
As April comes to a close, we often find ourselves caught between a few moods: celebration of the warm weather, anticipation of finally returning home to comfier beds and of course, existential dread propagated by final exams. Rather than suit this latter feeling with a playlist of vaguely nihilistic tunes, we’ve taken a much more direct take on our countdown to summer. Enjoy our end of semester mixtape that literally counts down the week for you as you listen to it.
Five - Machine Head
Nothing starts a spring playlist off better than heavy metal, right? Alright, bear with us on this one, we promise it makes sense. While metal isn’t for everyone, there is always some appeal in the anger that emanates from most tracks in the genre. “Five” is no exception, featuring all the best qualities in a good metal song: shredded guitar riff, growl-y vocals and a sense of chaos that fits the frustrating nature of pre-finals week. It’s perfect for winding yourself up to study or finish a paper, albeit driven by rage.
Courtesy of CWRU Department of Theater Fourth-year student Matt Thompson (Orlando) featured with fellow actress and fourth-year student Nailah Matthews (Rosalind) in his last CWRU production.
Staff Reporter
Graduating fourth-year student Matt Thompson not only excels in pre-medicine, but he also shines on the theater stage. Thompson is a double-major in biochemistry and theater. He has been involved in performing arts since age four. Inspired by his older brother’s violin abilities, he took up the instrument himself. This musical ability marked his first exposure to the performing arts world and became a hobby he continues to this day. More poignant than his fond early memories of his brother’s violin sonatas is his recollection of a theater production on the Great Lakes Theater stage in downtown Cleveland. A unique rendition of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” encouraged Thompson to pursue theater performance himself. “It got me really excited. We had a pretty good theater program at my high school, so I auditioned and started doing plays and musicals my freshman year.” Thompson was thrown head first into the musical ”Godspell.” He was on stage the entire show and loved it. After taking notes from directors and older performers throughout high school, Thompson jumped at the opportunity to craft his own student-led production of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning show, “Proof,” with a close friend and talented actress. The two had previously read the script in their Advanced Placement Literature course. Several summer rehearsals later, they debuted “Proof” to welcome students back to campus during their senior year. “No one else had ever done that at our school before, so we were super excited about it,” said Thompson. It was cool to take all the stuff that we learned from four years of acting, and do it ourselves.” Thompson knew he wanted to continue acting in college, but knew his end goal was something different entirely: becoming a physician. “I came in [to Case Western Reserve University] knowing I wanted to become a better actor and be involved in theater as much as I could be. But, I knew that pre-medicine was the top priority.” Although it is difficult to balance
at times, Thompson felt inspired to pursue a theater degree alongside pre-medicine. He spent his Spring 2017 semester abroad in London, at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Thompson made dramatic strides as an actor and returned excited to continue his endeavours as a performing artist. “Of course it’s work,” said Thompson, “but it’s work worth doing, because it’s something that [I] love to do.” The unique blend of arts and sciences turned out to be incredibly beneficial for Thompson’s future career as a physician. Performing arts and medical practice tend to require a similar skillset. “Good acting isn’t just about your emotional projection, “ said Thompson. “ It’s about listening and responding genuinely to your scene partner. The more in tune with your scene partner you can be, the better your scene will be. I think in terms of a doctor-patient relationship, it’s much the same.” It won’t be long before he’ll have the chance to apply those skills. Thompson closed his CWRU theater career last weekend, starring as Orlando de Boys in “As You Like It,” and will be graduating from the university next month. Next stop: medical school. “My first show at Eldred was “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” So, to close out with another Shakespeare comedy and to get married to [fourthyear student] Nailah Matthews again, this time as Orlando and Rosalind, and previously as Lysander and Hermia, was ironically full circle. It was a lot of fun.” Thompson is incredibly grateful for the mentoring he’s received, the amazing people he’s met and the growth he’s had as a performer throughout his time at CWRU and throughout life. “The constant goal as an artist is to do better, and to make the people around you better in any way that you can,” said Thompson. “You bring them up with you.” In the arts and sciences alike, Thompson believes the true reward is growth. “The challenge is always to come on stage the next time a better actor than you left the last time.” Whether that stage is the theater or the exam room, Matt Thompson will surely continue to better himself and those around him.
Four - Alaskan Tapes
You can only rage for so long, though. After a long release of work energy, you might need an afternoon to chill and recharge so you can get back to the anxietyfueled grind in the evening. Using “Four” as backing music to a nap in the afternoon sun is a great way to completely refresh your exhausted brain. Instead of worrying about the two papers you have due the next day, let these two minutes of ambient piano and atmospheric synth set the tone for a better day.
Three - Future & Young Thug
We’re going for musical whiplash with this one again. Like mumble rap or hate it, “Three” is a prototypical Young Thug track, even if Future feels a bit out of place in the vibe. The song has a quick, disorderly beat and classic lyrics like “codeine laboratory like I’m Dexter,” there’s little not to like about this track … OK, maybe we’re pushing it here. But still, this playlist would be no fun if it wasn’t as untethered as we are immediately before reading days.
Two - Heart
We’re returning to sad and sentimental music with this one. There is little to say regarding the actual aesthetics of “Two”; it’s fairly cookie-cutter soft rock, and its title just so happened to fit our theme perfectly. However, who can say that they don’t like having sad rock ballads to aimlessly jam out to while we dive head-first into academic sadness? It’s unremarkable, but it’s also the last song before the end of the playlist, which instantly makes it much more appealing.
One - Alanis Morissette
And with this song, we finally arrive at the end, and who better to take us out than Alanis Morrissette? While she may be mostly known for the definitionally-challenged pop classic “Ironic,” “One” is a simpler song with an open-spaced R&B vibe, but still very little musical complexity. Morrissette really showcases the emotional depth of her voice on this track though, and she infuses the track with an almost ominous vibe. Especially with the ending, we get a vague sense of sentimentality and melancholy. Given it’s the end of a long semester, these feelings seem perfectly appropriate.
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
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Julia Knight
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Chasing a line
Matt Hooke
Artist Chappelle Letman on creating despite disability
Executive Editor Chappelle Letman’s dust-covered hands glide over his latest sculpture, his fingers touching every crack and crevice. After feeling the appropriate spot, the 68-year-old grabs his hammer and chisel and cuts away, creating puffs of white dust with a rhythmic banging of metal ripping away stone. His work has been displayed in galleries all across Northeast Ohio, but he has never seen any of his pieces. “I lost my sight in 1992 to glaucoma [and] my mother died two days later,” said Letman. “I was wondering how I could keep working. I was doing book illustrations, teaching here and there, drawing landscapes and urban scenes in New York City. Jazz paintings and jazz drawings in nightclubs. One morning I woke up, and my sight was gone.” Letman’s love of art began in childhood. His father, a general contractor, first lit his creative spark. “My father used to be able to draw too and one day he drew a line and I was impressed by that,” said Letman. “Ever since then I’ve tried to copy that line.” After losing his vision, Letman left New York and went to Los Angeles to attend the Braille Institute. There, he looked for a new way to create. Sculpting, with its tactile nature, came to Letman as naturally as swimming comes to a fish. Letman’s sculptures are naturalistic,
dominated by curves instead of sharp edges. “[My work] is about the relationship between God, the stone and me,” said Letman. “Respecting the stone after so many years … respecting the transformation but not trying to control everything about that stone. I don’t believe in total control over my work. It’s about the relationship.” Letman cites local artist Kim Bassett as a key friend and mentor. They met when Bassett taught a sculpting class at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2001. “In the second week of class, 9/11 happened. I had to call every member of the class and I don’t know why but I saved Chappelle’s call for last. The first six or seven calls were rather business-like. I got to Chappelle and said the same thing I said to everyone else,” said Bassett. “There was a long silence and Chappelle said ‘you really feel this don’t you,’ and we both broke down crying. We talked very personally and that was the beginning of our friendship.” Taunya Cook-Clayton met Letman when she was a model in Bassett’s class. She remembers disbelieving that Letman was blind when they met, at first thinking that his blind cane was a joke. Letman made a piece in honor of Cook-Clayton that was purchased by the Cleveland Clinic Art Department. Letman’s sense of measurement and knowledge of the human form is unmatched. When working on the piece he
Matthew Hooke/Observer Chappelle Letman works on a new sculpture titled “Trinity.”
could figure out Cook-Clayton’s bone structure and body shape effortlessly by with a few non-invasive touches.
“It goes beyond materialism and having this and having that. I’m thankful that I can keep creating.” - Chappelle Letman on sculpting. “His memory is better than other artist’s eyesight,” said Cook-Clayton. “Working for Chappelle is like walking through a beautiful summer garden. Other artists depend on their eyesight; he depends on his memory.” Letman has plenty of memories to draw from in his life. He once sold a painting to jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. He used to drive in cross country races from New York to San Francisco. He lived in Alaska for several years where he learned how to drive a dog team and saw the northern lights fly past him among the glaciers. Even though he cannot paint landscapes or scenes of jazz clubs anymore, Letman said he now has more freedom than when he was a painter. “When I was painting, I was a realis-
tic painter and it was tiring. They have cameras for that,” said Letman. “I’m freer with my work. These shapes and forms come from visions I have, my dreams and what I feel from people.” Letman works six to eight hours a day on his work with an incredible attention to detail. “As you spend time with him, you realize that he plans every stroke,” said Cook-Clayton. Despite his work ethic, he is not an ascetic monk focusing on his craft while ignoring the outside world. The most striking thing about spending time with him is how many phone calls he gets from friends in his Old Brooklyn apartment. What draws him to the blank stone now is the same sense of freedom that first drew him to a blank canvas when he was younger. His technique may have changed, but a line, like the one his father drew, connects his two artistic lives across mediums. “I do what I do and I enjoy it,” said Letman. “It goes beyond materialism and having this and having that. I’m thankful that I can keep creating.” Aspects of his work that may seem like mistakes, such as pieces of unpolished stone, are often deliberate choices by the artist. “If you see human errors, those errors are usually intentional,” said Letman. “I don’t want perfection in a piece. Some things I’ll just leave. I don’t try to polish this up or shine this up or sand this up. Let it be.”
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opinion
4/26/19
opinion Semester grades
Editorial
C+
Referendums
With the Intercollegiate Club Athletics Board referendum capturing campus attention over issues of reallocating funding, this election cycle has brought up the issue of voter education in students. Prior to election day, the referendum had only been mentioned once in passing in an email newsletter sent by the Undergraduate Student Government. No significant information was widely released and the only information students had access to was information passed down through the student organizations they took part in. As of print time, the information provided to students is still limited. Students have access to the proposed
changes in funding, represented as percentages of the student activities fund, in the ballot casting screen, as well as in a recent email sent out by a representative of club sports on campus. In all, the referendum has remained confusing at best, with conflict arising between students in different organizations over the limited information circulating about the referendum and the potential changes in funding student organizations face. In the future, such significant changes should be accompanied by impartial, complete information about any given proposal. Without an educated electorate, referendums like this one cannot be passed fairly.
Although the CWRU campus and health sciences program has been rejuvenated thanks to the new Health Education Campus near Cleveland Clinic, these changes have not been reflected in the other parts of campus and in academic programs. For example, the Spartan Rehearsal Hall outside of Wade Commons is the culmination of many years of moving musical ensembles between a variety of rehearsal locations until settling groups such as the marching band in this less than ideal space. As CWRU often promotes its relation with the
Cleveland Institute of Music, musical groups should be afforded a larger, more acoustically oriented space to practice. The recent introductions of the Nord Greenway and the Health Education Campus represent a step towards an updated campus. With over 485,000 square feet of space, the Health Education Campus provides nursing and other medically oriented students a modern, technologically-equipped learning environment. CWRU should show a similar dedication to updating buildings used by its other academic programs.
C+
Campus Improvements
B+
Elections
Only around 23 percent of the undergraduate student body voted in campus elections last week. When such a small proportion of the campus population shows up at the polls, it is highly likely certain demographics will be overrepresented. Without a fully representative student government,
it is impossible to adequately represent the student body. Beyond voter turnout in the recent election, there were only a few individuals running for each position, sometimes leading to wins by default. Future elections should have increased engagement and participation from both the voters and the candidates.
A-
Communication and Security
With far greater transparency and significantly shortened response times, security at Case Western Reserve University has taken student feedback to heart this semester. Response times have changed dramatically from the almost hour-long waits students faced in the fall semester. Only 11 minutes separated the notification of shots fired sent to students during the most recent emergency and the all clear notification. CWRU Alerts have also increased in frequency, especially since email alerts also match text alerts rather than simply summarizing
B-
the emergency event after the fact. In terms of late-night transportation, Safe Rides have added lights to their cars to increase visibility and decrease the likelihood of injury. The KSL Express shuttle is now fully functional, running from 5:15 p.m. until 3:00 a.m., offering students a safer alternative to walking home from across campus at night. This, combined with the extended Safe Ride hours of service, makes for a safer campus overall as students have more options for staying safe after dark.
Housing
Early this semester, the needbased grant policy for students living off campus housing changed drastically. Students with needbased aid can recover up to $13,000 in housing grants because needbased aid for housing will now rely upon CWRU estimates for off campus cost of living. This comes as a relief to many students who currently live off campus or plan to in the future. As University Circle rents rise, this help is much needed. Despite this change in grant policy, the housing lottery system remains problematic. The university has no reliable system to deal with students who fall through the lottery system’s cracks. Without an efficient method of re-housing the students who find themselves without a room for
the next semester, the university is unprepared for an anticipated record-breaking freshman class and overcrowd university housing. Additionally, students staying in dorms over the summer must pay for Summer Session and Spring and Fall Transitional Housing, which, all together, costs around $3,100. This cost is virtually the same as fall or spring housing, which contradicts the university’s claim that students can save money by staying on campus over the summer. Although CWRU has improved its treatment of students living off campus, it must now turn its attention to students on campus and provide contingency plans for students who struggle to find housing with CWRU.
Correction: In the graphic published with Viral Mistry’s article, “What does it mean to be brown at CWRU,” in Issue 26 on page 8, The Observer incorrectly represented the African American and Unknown/Not Specified populations. The purple dot should have been labelled Unknown/Not Specified in the legend, and there should have been two purple dots. The corrections have been made online. The Observer apologizes for the errors.
The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer reports news affecting students and provides an editorial forum for the university community. Unsigned editorials are typically written by the opinion editor but reflect the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. Opinion columns are the views of their writers and not necessarily of The Observer staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 302-4442 or e-mail observer-ads@case.edu. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be e-mailed to observer@case.edu or submitted on our website at observer.case.edu. Letters can be mailed to Thwing Center 11111 Euclid Avenue, Suite 01, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. For policy and guidelines related to the submission of Letters to the Editor, refer to observer.case.edu/submit-a-letter. The Observer is a proud member of CWRU’s University Media Board. Follow The Observer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @cwruobserver.
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Policy and documentation must pave the campaign trail Peter for You
Peter Wilson It is impossible to deny that there is a large field of Democratic candidates running for president in 2020. Even now, over a year before the election, there are at least 19 major candidates who have announced their candidacy or are expected to announce their candidacy soon. These candidates come from every sector of the party. There are moderates, like Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, and there are far-left candidates, like Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, among the fray. Thus far, the candidates have done much to differentiate themselves, but in most cases, this differentiation has come with campaign strategy or public speeches, not with policy stances or plans for their ideas. The only candidate thus far who has rolled out policy after policy backed up by written documentation of their plans is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren. Within the last week, Warren has continually made proclamations of her policy and quickly released plans for implementation. The other candidates should follow her lead. The best path to true differentiation between candidates is policy stance and planning. I am not saying the other candidates should follow Warren’s policies or ideas, but rather that they should model her path of documentation. This could be essential to candidates like Cory Booker, who have not been able to make the waves necessary to get widespread name recognition. If Booker were to roll out policy and documentation like Warren has, he could be an excellent and well-known candidate who has sound plans for the future. The primary avenue for differentiation that most candidates have taken so far has been to make public appearances and speak with local constituents, such as when Texas representative and recent Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke
made his journey from Michigan to New Hampshire, even stopping in Cleveland for a quick break to meet the locals. I would also like to clarify what I mean by “policy ideas” and “documentation.” Many candidates have come out on issues which are policy positions, but normally, the position stops there. Warren takes it a step further by producing and releasing complete, publicly accessible plans for each of her positions. This is what really differentiates the Warren campaign from the others. This was a common complaint about the Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign in the sense that he had many grand policy ideas that he was vocal about, but he did not release hard plans. When asked about them, he would reiterate his positions without giving more substance. This is a trait commonly seen in today’s campaigns as well. Another example of this is the call a few candidates have made to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Several candidates have intimated that they might be in favor of abolishing the agency, but only Julian Castro has proposed a plan to do so. A plan is all that is needed, and it shows that the candidates really have a grasp of what it means to be president. It also gives the voters more knowledge of what the candidates truly think and feel on a deeper level than with just a headline. It is unfortunate that so many candidates have not already followed Warren’s example. I am sure that the candidates will begin to try to differentiate themselves more as we near the primaries, particularly as candidates face off in public debates. Hopefully, more will take action to solidify and document their political plans, as there is still time before the elections finally roll around. Peter Wilson is a second-year biomedical engineering student on the biocomputing and informatics track. He works in the Gustafson Lab and can be found on Twitter at @ wpieltseorn.
Checking in during shelter in place Unsolicited Opinion Won Hee Kim It’s 1 a.m. on a Friday night, and your phone buzzes. “An emergency has been reported on campus,” says the text. “Shelter in place until further notice.” Then, the notifications pour in over GroupMe and other group chats. “Is everyone alright?” You ignore these notifications and head over instead to the unofficial Case Western Reserve University meme page, Case Memes for Academically Challenged Beans, on Facebook. Maybe you even mute
“If something does happen and someone is hurt, the jokes can be seen as being insensitive and maybe even cruel.” - Won Hee Kim on making memes during shelter in place.
the group chats as you browse through the spicy new content on the page. The initial notifications go unanswered, and the senders are left worrying about the safety of their friends. Warm weather means that more people are out and about at night, but the tedium of the messages from CWRU Alerts and concerned acquaintances
makes it easy to ignore the potential danger. Often, the result is just that “the police have investigated the surrounding areas and found no immediate risk to the campus community” and that nobody was injured. Maybe whoever sent the message made a mistake, and it becomes fodder for jokes. Other times, though, students may actually be injured, like the shooting that took place last semester. Cleveland is not the most dangerous city to live in, but it is a city nonetheless and it is important to be cautious. The CWRU police and security do a lot for us, as we have Safe Rides, walking escorts and the Shield app that can ensure our safety. But bad things have happened on campus before, and there is no doubt that bad things will happen again. Maybe it won’t be to you, but your wide range of acquaintances and friends could be at risk. This is why checking in with friends is important. When you leave a friend’s house at 10 p.m., let them know when you arrive home. Click the heart button on the group chat messages that ask about everyone’s well-being, and if there is someone you know that might be outside at the time, like a friend in the theater department working on a show until late, a quick text to make sure that they are safe would not go amiss. Just because a situation is frequent does not mean that it is not dangerous. People need to take care of each other. Making memes and jokes is not inherently bad, however. The memes can be a good way to relieve the stress from being put into these situations frequently. But if something does happen and someone is hurt, the jokes can be seen as being insensitive and maybe even cruel. It’s impossible to ensure the safety of everyone on campus until we receive the CWRU Alert letting us know that things are alright, but we can make sure that the people we love are safe before checking out the meme page. That’s all we can do. Won Hee Kim is a third-year English major with minors in creative writing and economics.
Write your own deliverance I Spit My Truth And It’s Brown
Viral Mistry This has been a semester full of spicy takes, but let me put to print my hottest take yet: Hamilton is a mediocre musical at best. It’s painfully historically inaccurate and is actually incredibly dangerous in how it melanin-washes figures who should be remembered as slaveholding colonizers, not as adorable theater geeks. However, I do appreciate the musical’s lyrical depth and brilliance. In particular, I find inspiration in the following lines from the song “Hurricane”: “When my prayers to God were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance”. When I first got here in August 2015 I was, believe it or not, incredibly shy. I didn’t have any experience as a leader or an advocate of any kind. I contemplated joining The Observer early on, but I didn’t because I felt like I had nothing of value to say. Even when I didn’t believe in my own voice, other people did. I’ve been fortunate to learn and grow with my peers, both those who are currently here and those who are long gone from this university. They pushed me in the small
and manageable ways that brought me to where I am now. I joined the Undergraduate Diversity Collaborative (UDC) as a second-year student, and had the privilege of serving on its executive board during my third year at Case Western Reserve University. I got to speak and advocate with others. I learned about the deep injustices in this world, and my capacity to change them. We pushed for changes wherever and however we could: menstrual products in the women’s and gender-neutral bathrooms, adding an African-American studies minor and defending the rights of undocumented students on campus. I started to feel comfortable in my own skin and with my own voice. In the fall of 2017, I wrote my first Letter to the Editor for The Observer in response to a hate incident at Cleveland State University. Later, in early 2018, I lost re-election to the UDC board by a single vote, and ran for a position on the executive board of the University Media Board (UMB), and won. That ended up being one of the wisest decisions I ever made while at CWRU. I quickly befriended former Executive Editor for The Observer Eddie Kerekes, who served on the executive board of UMB with me. He constantly told me to write for The Observer, but I didn’t believe him when he insisted that
people cared about what I had to say. Another successful Letter to the Editor, several successful Facebook rants and numerous Friday morning conversations with Eddie about Opinion Editor Jackson Rudoff’s brilliant editorials flew by last semester. At the semesterly Study Buddies event held by UMB for its members during finals, I finally got to meet Jackson and talk to him about how much I loved his work. For the umpteenth time, Eddie told me to write for the Opinion section. I decided to go for it. That brings us to this semester. I picked a tag that resonated with me: my favorite lines from my favorite song by BritishPakistani rapper Riz Ahmed, “They put their boots in our ground, we put our roots in their ground, I put my truth in this sound, I spit my truth and it’s brown.” I hoped the tag could give me the strength I needed every week to use this platform to speak my truth about the issues that matter to me. And so I did. I saw so many problems around me, and I tried my best every week to write about something important and meaningful, hoping I could make the strongest positive impact possible in my final semester here. In my own little way, I could move the needle. I have been absolutely floored by the responses to my articles this semester. So many of you have had so many positive
things to say about my pieces. They’ve helped launch new opportunities for myself that I couldn’t have ever previously imagined. I’ve laid bare my life and heart to all of you so many times and I couldn’t have asked for a better audience. I’ve found new confidence and strength in my perspective and thoughts. I approach graduation and the next chapter in my life ready to be the agent of change I’ve wanted to be for so long. To all those who came before and with me here, thank you for your love and support. Even on the darkest of nights, I knew I was never truly lost because I had the light of your constellations to guide me. To all of you who I am leaving behind, I am passing the torch down to you. Express yourself, in every little way you can. Reach out for that position. Speak out when you feel ignored. Ask the bigger questions. Never let anyone stop you from speaking your truth. Pick up your pen, whether metaphorical or literal. Write your own deliverance. Viral Mistry will be graduating this May with degrees in biology and cognitive science and minors in chemistry, history and philosophy. He wants to thank you all for an incredible and life-changing four years that he will never forget.
10 opinion
4/26/19
The inheritance of pain Guest Columnist Stephen Kolison Last week I found myself spending a lot of time studying in the medical library. I love how it smells like old books. I love how the reading room and its fireplace make me feel like royalty. But despite my love for the room, I feel uneasy there. Every time I look at the old white men in the paintings on the wall, I feel like I’m being judged. It’s almost like I can hear them telling me that I shouldn’t be studying there. When my feelings of insecurity first came, I was willing to let them go. However, there is a mural outside the entrance to the library depicting slaves holding up a white man. How can I let go of my race-related insecurities when our own library proudly displays art that tells me that black people do not have a place in academia but instead have a place in servitude? The anxiety I feel in the medical library is indicative of a larger issue. This semester, I felt lost, like something was missing in my life. On campus and in the United States, I had been struggling to find my purpose as an African-American man. I had to become committed to understanding my blackness and how it was going to shape my future. Confronting your blackness is a frightening task if you don’t have many people to go to for help. Certainly, I couldn’t go to my white friends because they had the one thing that I envied: security. Security not only in terms of physical safety, but also in terms of identity. My white friends knew who they were and where they came from. They could trace their family lines as far back as the 16th century. They were satisfied with the role their families played in the making of America. My white friends were people who would undoubtedly inherit their family’s legacy, and they took that for granted. What I was going to inherit was less
clear because the only family I knew were the people I could see. I knew I was half Liberian on my father’s side, but I knew nothing about my mother’s ancestors. I wanted to know who they were, what kinds of jobs they had, where they lived and why they were so far out of reach. In my confusion, I realized that I wasn’t just lost. Underneath my desperation to find my identity was a profound sense of sadness and emptiness. I was clawing for attention from people who lived within me, but I could not find them. In a moment of my life where I needed my ancestors’ guidance the most, they were nowhere to be found. My old way of coping, by running away from my problems, was no longer acceptable. I wanted to grow and transform into a better person, but that wouldn’t happen until I pinned my grief down and asked it what it wanted from me. I needed to go on a quest and make peace with the people who came before me. Who could have guessed that the peace I needed was in Cincinnati, Ohio? I went to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center because they had a genealogy center where I could learn about my ancestors. So that I could make peace with my ancestors, I drove all the way to Cincinnati for a white man to teach me how to use Ancestry.com. With his help and the names my mother gave me, I found army records, signatures, census records and marriage certificates. I wish I could tell you why, but holding copies of those documents made me cry. Maybe I was just overwhelmed—absorbing centuries of data in an hour can do that to you. Maybe it was because I was still unsatisfied. My white friends had pictures, coats of arms and their histories didn’t suddenly stop in 1850. But maybe it was because I didn’t feel alone anymore. Even though I only knew my ancestors by name, they were real, they mattered, and they didn’t just disappear with
time. Having physical proof that they existed affirmed my existence too. I learned that my maternal greatgreat-grandfather was sold to pay off his former master’s gambling debt and then carted off to Alabama. I learned that my mother’s family did not formally exist until the 1850s when they were freed and became farmers. My great-grandfather could not read, and my grandfather’s highest degree was from high school. My extended family did not leave that county until 1970 when my aunts went to college. In 160 years, I am only the second generation of my family to go to college.
“My ancestors left behind more than their trauma; they left behind power.” - Stephen Kolison, on transgenerational trauma.
After 160 years of freedom, my family and I are still dealing with the fallout of their original trauma. My ancestors survived slavery, Jim Crow, lynching and disenfranchisement, but it came at a cost. Generations later, their terror manifested in me as a deep depression and anxiety. Psychologists call this transgenerational trauma: the inheritance of pain. In my search for a legacy, I learned that my ancestors left behind their sorrows. Whenever I felt like someone was unfairly exerting their power over me or felt targeted because of my race, I internalized that pain and felt
hopeless. My body reacted to that bigotry the same way my ancestors reacted centuries ago. My ancestors left behind more than their trauma; they left behind power. If I had looked at the library mural a year ago, I would have been angry, internalized that subtle racism and then let it fester within me. Now that I know what my ancestors went through, I have the power to choose. I choose to celebrate every black person on this campus because our presence is revolutionary. Yes, my great-great-grandfather was a slave and my grandfather only finished high school, but here I am at a major university. I choose to use my ancestors as my strength and push past the pain in order to overcome. I recommend that every black person look into their family’s histories and reclaim their family’s narrative as one of triumph instead of struggle. Our power, as black people, lies in knowing where we come from. Ever since learning about my roots, I have loved and understood myself more. Oddly enough, I’ve never felt more American. The burden of being black in America is that I will always have the task of carrying this history and pain within me. It’s a history that confuses and scares me, but there’s hope and beauty in it as well. I, along with my brother and cousins, represent a new opportunity for my family. I’m still not sure of my purpose in life, but I’m sure that it involves confronting my inherited trauma and breaking that cycle. Now that I’m rooted, I take myself seriously. I take my health seriously and I take my education seriously. I now proudly and boldly claim my space because, as James Baldwin would say, my ancestors already paid the price for that ticket. If they could survive their traumas, I can survive mine too. Sure, I’m still processing, but I’m also improving. I would like to think improvement is what my ancestors wanted from me, and that truly makes me their wildest dream.
Writing with passion about our community Editor’s Note Matt Hooke “Do you love music?” asked my first editor Brian Karem after an article on a music festival in Washington, D.C. did not meet his expectations. Karem was the executive editor of The Montgomery County Sentinel, a weekly newspaper in suburban Maryland. After my first-year plans to be a psychologist nosedived like my grade in my first 300 level class, I found myself interning that summer at that small office above an episcopal school. Karem ran our 10,000 subscriber outfit with the aggression one would expect from a former University of Missouri football player, with speeches resembling outtakes from World War II movies more than standard business fluff. “Of course,” I responded sheepishly as my heart sank into my gut. “Then why don’t you write like it?” asked Karem as he looked over my copy. Those words define the attitude I bring to The Observer. The ability to tell someone’s story is a great responsibility. Our writing and reporting must reflect
the passion and love that our subjects put into what they do. As I take the reins in the fall, you will see an expansion of the content you read each week. Three aspects of our paper that I will start focusing on are feature writing, investigative reporting and video content. I believe The Observer must have an inherently different role than other campus news outlets like The Daily. The Observer as the student voice cannot function as a stenographer for Case Western Reserve University, uncritically announcing new campus renovations and new fundraising initiatives. I have the great fortune of succeeding a fantastic editor in Eddie Kerekes, and I look forward to expanding on his accomplishments. As executive editor, I will try to tell the stories of students and community members honestly and justly while holding the university, local government and business interests accountable. Next fall is an important one for The Observer as it marks our fiftieth anniversary. To honor this anniversary, we will publish one archival story each week. I plan to have two new subsections to the paper to be published periodically: “food” under the umbrella of arts and entertainment and “science and the environment” under news.
Food may seem trite, but there are few things as necessary in our daily lives. When we sit down to have a meal, we do not simply fill ourselves with fuel as impersonally as I may fill up my car with gasoline. We are sharing in a cultural experience. The food we enjoy represents who and where we come from with recipes and techniques that are passed down from generation to generation. A food section comes as the culinary scene of University Circle is undergoing a massive amount of turmoil. Rising rents and a lack of parking has forced out mainstays like Falafel Cafe and Happy Dog while new restaurants like Tacologist and Dave’s Cosmic Music Club move in to gain a foothold. This section will be a platform for our readers’ recipes, letting our newspaper display their creativity. We will also create more video content, giving students who are interested in documentary filmmaking or television broadcasting a place to hone their talents. A section on science and the environment will make a great addition for two reasons. Firstly, we live in an area where the environment has great importance. We are about 30 minutes from a national park and right alongside the Great Lakes. The Environmental Protection Agency was founded in part
because of the infamous Cuyahoga River fire in 1969. An environment section cannot simply be an easy going Kenny G soundtracked “Weather Channel on the 8s.” It must take into account the unique problems of environmental justice that face our industrial city. Secondly, The Observer is a newspaper that represents a sciencefocused institution. We should offer a place for these students to write about their interests much in the way that I, as someone who has a great interest in arts and culture, have found a place to write about mine. The section will be a place for students to interview professors about their scientific work and talk about issues in the sciences that are important to them without having to undergo the lengthy process of writing a research paper. The opportunity to be a journalist is a great gift that has taught me more about myself and the world that surrounds me than anything else I have done in my short stint on this Earth. It has forced me to reevaluate my perspective on things and think beyond my often narrow worldview. I hope to create a version of The Observer that does the same for others: a paper that gives our readers a window into someone else’s life every Friday morning.
sports
observer.case.edu
Athlete Spotlight
Second-year tennis player on interests Niko Kamlet Staff Reporter
Madeleine Paolucci is a secondyear tennis player on the Case Western Reserve University women’s tennis team. In only her first year, she was ranked tenth in Division III doubles with partner Nithya Kanagasegar, and finished 16-11 in singles. When she is not playing tennis, she is an active member of Pi Beta Phi and a dedicated nursing major. While this leads to her having little time to spare, she loves to bake when she gets the chance.
What is your favorite part of being on the tennis team? Why? The best part about being on the tennis team here at CWRU is my team. We are a small team and a close knit group of girls who spend a lot of time together. The weekends that we spend traveling together are always the most memorable weekends that I always look forward to.
Where did you get your passion for tennis? Any good stories? I started playing tennis when I was about 6 years old. Both my parents played as well, so they would take us to the courts and toss balls to us to see if it was something we liked. I played a lot of other sports growing up like soccer, basketball, swimming and volleyball but when I got to high school, I decided that I wanted to focus just on tennis as it was always my favorite of the sports that I played. So you could say that I got my passion for the sport from my parents introducing it to me at a young age, and it has stuck with me ever since.
Do you have any meets that you remember being particularly special? Why?
I am also involved in Greek Life on campus. Pi Beta Phi is great because it gives me a break from school and is a great way to get involved around campus with other chapters. Especially being a nursing student, Greek Life has given me the opportunity to meet so many more people who I don’t have classes with. School and tennis keep me pretty busy so I don’t have any executive positions in my chapter but I am on the social committee.
What do you hope to accomplish with the degree? During my last few years in high school I became interested in nursing as a potential career because I have always loved science and working with people in general. Also, the idea of having a job that isn’t your regular sit down desk job was appealing to me. When I looked at CWRU, the great nursing program is one of the reasons that brought me here since I knew I wanted to do nursing.
Spartans honor Doyle, lose series Andrew Ford Staff Reporter
On Saturday, April 20, the Case Western Reserve University softball team honored lone fourth-year player Nicole Doyle for her commitment, dedication and excellence. The ceremony led off a four-game series against Emory University at home. Doyle has been an exceptional shortstop for the Spartans. During her second year on the team, she was named to the University Athletic Association (UAA) First Team. She also earned a Second Team Award last year. CWRU, despite the festivities, had an important weekend in conference play. They battled closely in every game, but only came away with one victory. The first game against Emory went into extra innings. Emory scored early, taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Both teams scored a run in the fifth to hold CWRU’s deficit to two runs. Then, in the bottom of the seventh, the Spartans tied the game after third-year pinch runner Caitlin Smith stole home and second-year outfielder Arisa Cleaveland drove in second-year designated player Sarah Miller to send the game into extra innings. However, CWRU gave up a grand slam in the top of the ninth that capped off the Emory win, 7-3.
What are your plans for after college? I still have two years left of school so I really haven’t thought about life after college too much. I love kids so I am interested in pediatrics, but I take all of those nursing classes next year, so by the end of my junior year I should have a better idea of what area I want to go into. I am from Grosse Pointe Farms, MI originally and I love home but there are also some great hospitals in the Cleveland area and all over the country so we will see where I end up.
Spec ia Offe l rs!
What are your favorite free time activities? Why? One of my favorite things to do in my free time is bake. I love making anything from cookies to brownies to cakes, but I especially love eating cookie dough. I also love playing with my Portuguese Water Dog, Emma. Some of my other favorite hobbies are working out and spending time with friends.
What is your favorite quote or what inspires you?
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I have some amazing parents that come to support me at so many of my matches since I was little so I would say they are what inspires me the most. My parents have taught me some of the most important lessons like how to be a team player and how to never give up that pertain to not just me on the tennis court, but also in everyday life.
The Spartans would love to redo the second game. Things were looking great through six innings. CWRU jumped out to a 7-1 lead, including a solo home run from third-year first baseman Nicole Carty as part of a three-run sixth inning. The game fell apart for the Spartans in the seventh. Emory scored eight runs to take a 9-7 lead. The Spartans went scoreless in the bottom half of the inning, losing both games on Saturday. Because of a weather cancellation Friday, the two teams played the rest of the series early on Easter Sunday. Once again, CWRU lost despite scoring seven runs. Emory won the first game Sunday morning 10-7. Doyle had a solid game at the plate. She went 3-5 with two RBIs. Finally, CWRU secured a win, 3-2, in the final game of the weekend as both teams’ bats cooled off a bit. Emory scored quickly in the top of the first, but Carty responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first to give CWRU a 2-1 lead. Third-year third baseman Melissa Cuellar extended the lead to two runs with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth. Emory scored one run in the seventh but was stifled after that. Second-year pitcher Sidney Brannam earned her ninth win of the season in the contest. The Spartans travel to St. Louis for their final UAA series of the year against Washington University in St. Louis on April 26 and 27.
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My freshman year I went to the NCAA tournament with my doubles partner Nithya Kanagasager and it was definitely the most exciting tournament I have had the honor to play in. Our first round match we played a team from Mary Washington that we had lost to previously in the season and we ended up beating them to become the first All-American’s in our programs history. It was a really special moment for both of us and I was so happy that Nithya was able to graduate on such a high note. Another match that was equally as memorable for me was playing in the ITA Central Region doubles final with my partner, Jessie Liu. Jessie and I beat the University of Chicago team which qualified us to play the Oracle Cup. This was another program first for us and being able to play at Oracle Cup with Jessie was an amazing experience.
Aside from tennis, what else are you involved in on campus? Can you explain what you do in them?
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sports Track and field claims 12 titles at First-Annual CWRU Invitational David Chang Staff Reporter
Like the gunshots that start every race, the Spartans went out with a bang at their only home outdoor track meet this season. The Case Western Reserve University track and field team competed at the beloved DiSanto Field this weekend at the First-Annual CWRU Invitational before heading to the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships next weekend. Teams from Cleveland State University, Defiance College, Ursuline College and Oberlin College participated in the meet. Twelve Spartan athletes recorded first place finishes. Third-year jumper Samantha Kelts placed first in the long jump with a mark of 5.00 meters, while second-year Spartan Cara Giannuzzi earned first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:03.32. Graduate student Cassandra Laios claimed first in the discus
with a mark of 42.08 meters and in the hammer throw with a throw of 51.85 meters. For the men, first place finishers include third-year thrower Brian Holden in javelin with a distance of 56.75 meters and second-year teammate Luke Traverso in the pole vault with a mark of 3.85 meters. Firstyear Juan Perez placed first in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.23. Perez was also part of the 4x400meter relay team who claimed first with a time of 3:58.07. The other three members were second-year teammates Corey King and Musa Hakim Jr. and third-year sprinter Darius Inzar. Third-year sprinter Jonathan Haling had a personal best time of 11.21 in the 100-meter dash and this past week’s Spartan Athlete of the Week, second-year runner Trey Razanauskas, claimed the title for the 1500-meter run with a time of 3:58:07. First-year Spartan Spencer Weigand also placed first with a
Courtesy of Naji Saker Jumper Samantha Kelts competes at DiSanto Field this past weekend. Kelts finished first in the long jump.
time of 1:59.11 in the 800-meter run. The Spartans will conclude their season by heading to Atlanta, Georgia
to compete in the UAA Championships hosted by Emory University on Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28.
Baseball upsets Wooster with explosive offense Eddie Kerekes Staff Reporter
Despite a postponement on Sunday, April 21, the Case Western Reserve University baseball team added two wins to their ledger in style. On Thursday, April 18, the Spartans upset No. 15 College of Wooster, 21-10, in Wooster. On Saturday, the team defeated Heidelberg University, 8-1. The star Spartan of the week was Jake Ryan. The second-year outfielder went 5-for-9 over the two games, slugging three home runs and a double. He also contributed five runs scored and five RBIs and was hit by two pitches. Ryan’s three home runs in the victory over Wooster tied a program record. For his efforts, d3baseball.com named Ryan to their team of the week as an outfielder and the University Athletic Association (UAA) also named him
one of their hitters of the week. In the Thursday night game, the Spartans jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, a sign of things to come. Second-year outfielder Benjamin Stawicki hit a two-run home run, the first of six for CWRU during the game. His home run followed a two-run single from fourth-year third baseman Jacob Kucia. After the Fighting Scots cut the deficit to two in the second inning, Ryan responded with his first of three home runs to lead off the third inning. The team added two more runs in the inning and Ryan added two more himself in the following inning with another home run. The Spartans scored seven runs in the fifth inning on just four hits, sending 11 men to the plate. Fourth-year catcher Tyler Wypiszenski started the scoring with a two-run home run.
Fourth-year second baseman Rocco Maue added a bases-loaded single to plate two, as did Stawicki two batters later. Kucia finished the scoring by taking home on a wild pitch. After the inning, the Spartans were up 16-4, and the result of the game was not in doubt. The team added five more runs in the seventh inning to score their most runs since a 21-0 victory in 2014. While the offense was not as prolific in the following game, the Spartans still scored eight runs in the victory. The pitching also stood out, with first-year pitcher Nick Denove and third-year swingman Scott Kutschke combining for nine strikeouts and just one walk on the mound. CWRU chased Heidelberg starting pitcher Mac Spears after just twothirds of an inning, scoring four runs off of the right-handed second-year
student. Third-year two-way player Casey McConihe and fourth-year outfielder Jacob Pestel both walked with the bases loaded to drive in runs, and Stawicki and second-year shortstop Jacob Lott drove in runs with singles. The Spartans added two runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to pad their lead and secure the victory. After the two non-conference wins, CWRU has a 20-11 record this season. The team has just five games left, a four-game series this weekend with UAA opponent Brandeis University and a single game against John Carroll University on Tuesday, April 30. All five games will be at Nobby’s Ballpark on campus. The Spartans (5-5) sit in third place in the UAA, though Washington University in St. Louis (12-2) has already clinched the conference title.
Men’s tennis has four-match winning streak heading into championships Claire Nordt Sports Editor
The Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team had a busy week, taking on Walsh University last Thursday, Hope College and the College of Wooster on Saturday and Oberlin College on Sunday. The packed schedule did not hinder the Spartans, and they finished the week with four wins. The match against Walsh started strong for the Spartans with a sweep of the doubles matches. The momentum continued to singles play, where the team won five of the six matches, securing an 8-1 win.
On Saturday, the Spartans started with the match against Hope College. Singles play, rather than doubles, came first. CWRU took all six matches, gaining an early 6-0 lead, enough to secure the match. All six singles matches were decided in straight sets. Three wins in doubles play followed, securing the overall sweep for the Spartans. In the following match against the College of Wooster, the Spartans again took an early lead, winning two of the three doubles matches. With just one loss in singles play, the Spartans claimed the match, 7-2. The Spartans kicked off Sunday by recognizing fourth-year Spartan Rob Stroup, the lone senior on the
team. In his four years on the team, Stroup has won 15 or more singles matches each year. Currently, he has the fourth-most singles victories in program history with a career record of 66-48. Stroup performed well on his Senior Night, winning at third doubles with his partner third-year student Anthony Kanam. Second-year teammates Matthew Chen and Jonathan Powell defeated their first doubles opponents and first-year Spartans Aaron Umen and Chaitanya Aduru claimed second doubles, to sweep the competition. For singles play, the Spartans were victorious in five of the matches, falling only at first singles. The match ended in an 8-1
win for the Spartans. The weekend brought the Spartans to an overall record of 19-8 on the season, with a 7-7 record against nationally-ranked Division III teams. The Case Western Reserve University women’s tennis team did not compete over the weekend, but are preparing for the 2019 University Athletic Association Championships. Both the men and women will be traveling to Florida to compete with the goal of bringing home a title. The men enter the competition seeded fifth and the women are seeded seventh. The championships will start on April 25 and will run through April 27.