The Observer, Volume L, Issue 08, 10/12/18

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Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 8 friday, 10/12/2018

Observer

Socks, NERF blasters and tag... Oh my!

Jack Lewis/Observer Fourth-year students Liam LeBlanc and Mark Goldberg prepare for Humans vs. Zombies, a 10-day campus-wide game of tag held every semester.

Mary McPheeters Copy Editor Have you noticed a bunch of students running around with NERF blasters in green bandanas for the past week and a half? You’re not imagining things. These students have been playing Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ), a 10-day long, campus-wide game of tag that simulates the zombie apocalypse.

The game is about humans trying to survive the apocalypse and zombies trying to increase their ranks. The game starts with five “Original Zombies” (OZs), whose objective is to tag as many humans as possible. You can

runs HvZ each semester. HvZ Core chooses the rules, story, dates, missions and pretty much everything else involved in making HvZ happen. They also run other weekly events, such as Nerf Wars, when weather permits.

Missions are hour-long games where humans and zombies compete to achieve objectives that occur every other day during HvZ. These missions impact day-to-day play as the winning side receives rewards for their triumph. This year, the humans won the first two missions.

If humans check in on time, they will receive a rubber band. If they have this rubber band and are tagged during the mission, they

recognize an OZ by their bandana, which will be green and pink and worn on their head.

Everyone else starts out as a human and wears a green bandana on their arm to signify their status as one of the living. Humans that get turned into zombies wear their green bandana on their head instead of their arm.

Zombies tag humans by touching them.

However, humans can prevent being turned with NERF blasters and balled-up socks. If a human hits a zombie with a NERF dart or a sock, the zombie will be stunned for 15 minutes, during which time they are not able to tag anyone.

HvZ Core, a committee created by the executive board of Big Games Club, plans and

do not turn into a zombie for day-to-day play.

If they do not have the rubber band, they will be turned into a zombie for the rest of day-today play.

Every semester, the game has a different story. The overarching story drives the gameplay for each mission.

“This semester our story is all about dinosaurs, where our campus has become ‘MesoZombic Park.’ Just like Jurassic Park, we’re in a dinosaur theme park, but the dinosaurs (zombies) got out of their enclosures,” said third-year computer science major and Core member Dylan Briggs.

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Fundraiser supplies crafts to third world societies Jack Heneghan Staff Reporter Bead bracelets and bookmarks—these objects may bear minimal significance to many children but are incredibly important to those who have little in the way of personal possessions; that’s why Case Western Reserve University DCI (Distressed Children and Infants International) held a Bracelets for Service event this past Friday, Oct. 5 in the Thwing Center.

At the event, participants prepared bracelets, cards and bookmarks for underprivileged children in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Nic-

leged children have equal access to opportunities for a secure and prosperous life.”

Additionally, the group seeks to connect American youth with those in other countries and to bring awareness to the challenges children face worldwide.

The first DCI project at CWRU kicked off in 2016, the same year the club’s chapter was founded. The goal of the first event was, similarly to the Oct. 5 drive, to interact with the community and spread awareness of the global problems children face. This is also the greater mission of CWRU Distressed Children and Infants.

The inaugural 2016 event was successful in this aspect as well because as many

aragua. At the end of the semester, DCI will be donating all the crafts to the children through the international organization.

In addition to the fact that these items are easy for students to both physically make and donate, they are also objects which can brighten a child’s day and serve as a reminder that someone is thinking of them. The program is successful because such an easy action can leave a powerful impact on a child.

“DCI’s mission is to protect the rights of children, stop child labor and help families lift themselves out of poverty through education, healthcare, vision care and income generating opportunities,” its mission statement reads.

“DCI envisions a society where underprivi-

as 100 bracelets and bookmarks each were made, only limited by the number of supplies.

Fourth-year Cindy Chen, DCI Vice President, estimated that about 70 people attended throughout the event.

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Opinion

Sports

pg. 2 Professionals with Pride

pg. 7 East Cleveland Theater at 50

pg. 10 CWRU tackles toxic masculinity

pg. 16 Women’s soccer nets a win

Students enrolled in Mathematics 121 and 122, Physics 115 and Statistics 201 all received extra credit for participating in the drive. Chen estimated that about half of the attendants came for the extra credit.

“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” she said about students’ reason for turnout, “because

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news Maltz Performing Arts Center to undergo renovations $10 million donation will carry out second phase of renovation process

Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter Sitting just west of the Cleveland Museum of Art is the imposing, goldendomed Maltz Performing Arts Center (MPAC). Thanks to a $10 million donation from Roe Green, Case Western Reserve University can now begin its second stage of planned renovations to the 1920s-era temple and surrounding area.

The first phase of the project was made possible by donations totalling $30 million from local philanthropists Milton and Tamar Maltz and the Maltz Family Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. Officially named the Milton and Tamar Maltz Performing Arts Center at Temple—Tifereth Israel, phase one involved cooperation with the congregation of The Temple—Tifereth Israel, to renovate historic Silver Hall, MPAC’s main performing space.

Phase two also calls for ambitious plans to expand the Center. Green’s donation is earmarked to establish the Roe Green Proscenium Theater, expand prac-

tice spaces at MPAC and create a costume and scene shop. Early renderings of the new additions depict a modernstyled addition which will complement the early-20th century construction of the existing building.

Future plans for CWRU’s western campus are just as bold as the Maltz’s; in 2019, the University plans to open the Health Education Campus (HEC) adjacent to the Maltz Performing Arts Center. While it is currently isolated, the Center is anticipated to be a centerpiece of the burgeoning HEC. CWRU’s western campus, which is only a short walk away, connects to Freiberger Field by the Nord Family Greenway, which cuts between the Cleveland Museum of Art and Wade Lagoon and features a broad walkway with numerous benches flanked by newly-planted trees.

Green’s gift marks the second generation of patronage from her family to CWRU. Green’s father, Ben Green, was the first alumnus of the CWRU School of Law to become a federal district court judge. Following his death in 1983, the Green family made a gift to CWRU’s

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons Case Western Reserve University recently announced a large donation to renovate the Maltz Performing Arts Center.

School of Law, endowing a professorship. The law library is also named after him.

In addition to her support of CWRU, Green has been a strong supporter of the

performing arts throughout northeast Ohio. Roe Greene Center for the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University and an award supporting rising playwrights also bear her name.

Editor’s Choice

LGBT+ employment fair receives warm welcome

Riley Simko Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University LGBT Center hosted its first annual Professionals with Pride event on Friday, Oct. 5.

Kent State University (KSU), Cleveland State University (CSU), John Carroll University, Baldwin Wallace and Lorain County Community College also participated in Professionals with Pride: Northeast Ohio Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Asexual (LGBTQIA+) Collegiate Career Fair.

Pre-sessions for resume preparation were held at KSU and CSU to help students prepare for the event.

The LGBT Center collaborated with several parts of the CWRU community for Professionals with Pride, including the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, the Alumni Association, the Social Justice Institute, the Office for Inclusion Diversity and Equal Opportunity and the Center for International Affairs.

Last Friday’s event also boasted several Fortune 500 companies, such as Procter & Gamble, General Electric and Dominion Energy. The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, City Year, AXA Advisors, Eaton and many more employers with gender and sexualityinclusive non-discrimination policies also attended.

In addition to hours of networking opportunities, Professionals with Pride hosted several breakout sessions for employers and students to attend. Gwen Stembridge led a breakout discussion called “Laws Impacting LGBTQ Employees.” Stembridge is the Northeast Ohio Coordinator for Equality Ohio, which is a legal and social advocacy group for LGBT+

Ohioans, founded in 2005.

Though this was the inaugural year for the event, feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive. Students, faculty and employers were encouraged to wear pronoun buttons and name tags, as well as to take a conversation sheet that might jump start the conversation on LGBT+ protections offered at their companies.

Angie Pohlman from Plexus: Chamber of Commerce for LGBT Community and Allies, one of the employers at Professionals with Pride, said, “I found it to be a terrific event because I got to meet some really fascinating students and I also got to network with some other organizations that are supporting the LGBT community at large.”

“It’s amazing that we had an event that acknowledges the difficulties that LGBT+ students face,” Adrian Hattan, a third-year student, said. “It’s helpful to see LGBT+ professionals because there is such a lack of role modeling in the community.”

That lack of LGBT+ representation may be due to discriminatory employment practices. Two weeks ago, the Cuyahoga County Council passed a non-discrimination policy to protect LGBT+ employees. This policy is not new to Cleveland, but it established a Commission on Human Rights with the power to oversee and settle cases on employment discrimination.

In most states and even in the counties around Cuyahoga County, these protections do not exist. That means openly gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender and otherwise LGBTidentified individuals could be fired for expressing their gender or sexual orientation.

The companies invited to Professionals with Pride, however, actively work with LGBT+ employees through an Employee Resource Group and/or have non-discrimination policies in their employment framework.

Oliver Page, a third-year student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, spoke up about those practices and the environment they cre-

“This is a really postive experience and a great opportunity for employers who are open to all people to find employees and interns.”

ate for LGBT+ people in the workforce.

“There are so many negative experiences you could have as an LGBT person in the workplace and it’s awesome to know that at these companies, someone’s looking out for you,” said Page. He added, “This is a really positive experience and a great opportunity for employers who are open to all people to find employees and interns. It’s comforting to know that everyone here represents a space that will be welcoming, and policies that enable people to not be persecuted.”

Professionals with Pride was a break from the norm for many other reasons, including the one-on-one interactions students were able to have with employers. Lines were short and faces were friendly. Many students were able to have extensive conversations about resumes and application processes and also to get to know the employers themselves.

Fourth-year student Ashley Chan said she did not initially plan on attending the event but decided to stop by and was struck by the positive atmosphere it conveyed.

“I’m surprised that this is the first time that this is happening because I think it’s very effective at helping students actually express themselves,” she said. “At a career fair, you may not get the opportunity to have a conversation with the other person. It’s really important to interview the other person to find out if this company is a good fit and is going to help you learn and grow. This shows people that networking doesn’t have to be intense and stressful.”

For more information about the companies present at Professionals with Pride, their hiring policies and upcoming events, visit the CWRU LGBT Center’s website or send them an email.

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Law school lecture Women’s Center holds dialogue on judicial hearings discusses federalism, courts Katharine Toledo Staff Reporter Due to the sensitive nature of the discussion panel, the names of its participants will not be included in this article and all speakers will be referenced using gender-neutral pronouns.

Furthermore, no specific stories shared by the participants in the discussion will be shared out of respect of the privacy of the participants and sensitive nature of said stories.

On Friday, Oct. 5, the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women teamed up with the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center to host an informal discussion regarding the confirmation hearings of then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in the context of sexual misconduct allegations brought against him. Rather than focusing on the details of the hearing itself, the discussion panel centered around how the members of the campus community are handling the news and their concerns for his nomination and confirmation process.

The discussion began with all participants introducing themselves and expressing their sentiments on the situation. Several people described feeling disappointed and powerless after listening to the allegations discussed in the hearings. One participant called the hearings “a punch to the gut,” detailing their fear that the candidate would be confirmed regardless of whether or not an FBI investigation on the claims or the hearings themselves proved the allegations to be true.

On Saturday, that person’s fear became reality when Kavanaugh was confirmed as the newest Associate Supreme Court Justice.

Multiple participants brought up their “lack of surprise” at the situation; one student explained that in today’s political climate, little comes as a shock and said that reading the news is sometimes likened to “reading satire.”

Following the dialogue on the confirmation hearings, participants were asked to discuss how they are practicing self-care in the wake of national spotlight on sexual misconduct, a topic which can be emotionally difficult to listen to.

The participants agreed that the best methods of self-care are to sleep more and try to disconnect from social media. In a society where human lives generally revolve around the internet, one participant stated, “It can be nearly impossible to remove ourselves from the biggest news story in the U.S., even the world.”

However, by deleting social media and limiting the time spent reading the news each day, a few of the participants noted that they were able to reduce outside stress.

The discussion concluded with a conversation of how the Kavanaugh situation ties in to the broader #MeToo movement against sexual violence. Several people expressed their mutual desires to see men enter the predominantly female movement in two contexts: disclosing their own assaults and assuming responsibility for past transgressions in the realm of sexual harassment, assault or other forms of violence.

The Women’s Center anticipates discussion sessions of a similar, informal nature in order to further dialogue in regards to similar issues which affect many members of the Case Western Reserve University community.

Maryam Iqbal Staff Reporter “Think of it in terms of basketball terms: you’ve got two shots, state and federal courts. Now no one wants just one shot in basketball. Two is always better. So why isn’t it the same for constitutional law? After all, who doesn’t want a second shot?”

Those were the words of the Honorable Jeffrey Sutton, who has been a U.S. Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit since 2003. On Tuesday, Oct. 9, Sutton visited the Moot Courtroom of the Case Western Reserve University School of Law to discuss his new book, “51 Imperfect Solutions: States and the Making of Constitutional Law.” The book details his views on traditional accounts of the relationship of the individual to the state, which he believes is based too much on decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Sutton’s book explores a wider perspective by considering issues through multiple constitutions and courts, while looking solely at American judges. His observations present a constantly changing federalist system, showing that the Supreme Court may not have all the answers to distressing constitutional questions.

In his talk, Sutton explained that when one thinks of constitutional law, one thinks of the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal court system. But a lot of constitutional law is not made at the federal level. In “51 Imperfect Solutions,” Sutton argues that American constitutional law should consider the role of state courts and constitutions, along with the role of federal courts and constitutions, in protecting individual

liberties.

Sutton claims that the balance between state and federal courts in protecting individual liberties has been eroded by an ignorance of state constitutional law. “51 Imperfect Solutions” tries to correct this imbalance by offering several ideas for reform.

During the lecture, Sutton pushed for more legislatively-enforced rights versus judicially enforced rights. To demonstrate this point, he said, “If I had to pick the 1964 Education Act or the Brown vs. Board of Education decision, I would always pick the ‘64 Act. Why? Because it is way better to live in a country where policy culture is a majority of Americans looking and interacting with minorities and dissenters versus relying on a five person majority in a nine person panel.”

(Editor’s Note: Brown v. Board was a unanimous decision by the court.)

He continued, “When you have lost at the U.S. Supreme Court, then all there is left is the state court. We need to take this issue more seriously [and start] actively discussing state constitutions and studying them [instead of] making them out to be bad guys versus good guys. Hence, letting states be incubators of policy making for national issues.”

Sutton’s discussion was followed by a panel discussion where three commentators from the law faculty shared their own viewpoints and a Q&A session with attendees.

Tuesday’s discussion panel is available for viewing on CWRU’s Youtube channel.

The talk was sponsored by the Center for Business Law & Regulation and provided one hour of in-person Continuing Legal Education credit.

Kavanaugh confirmation causes conundrum on campus Sophia Yakumithis News Editor The Senate approved Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court appointment last Saturday following one of the most contentious and unusually partisan confirmation processes the country has seen, fuelling an already fierce political divide in anticipation of November’s midterm elections.

Kavanaugh, who was accused of sexually assaulting a former high school classmate, saw great public disapproval amid judicial hearings after Christine Blasey Ford, Ph.D., appeared before the Senate to share her testimony on the alleged incident. The allegations warranted a short-lived FBI investigation, which lasted no more than a week, and Kavanaugh was confirmed in a 50-48 vote last Saturday.

While SCOTUS is designated to carry out the constitution as a non-partisan, executive body, Kavanaugh’s appointment represents a Republican effort to gain control of the judicial branch.

The former D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge replaces centrist conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired this summer, and shifts the top Court’s ideological scale as far right as it has been in its over 200 years of existence.

President of Case College Republicans David Rodriguez was pleased with Saturday’s decision.

“This successful confirmation [is]

a win for President Trump and the Republican Party,” he said, “the former of [whom] promised if elected would nominate conservative judges—not only to the Supreme Court with the confirmation of Justice [Neil] Gorsuch last year—but also with the record pace of successful appointments to lower circuit courts.”

On key judicial issues, including abortion rights and the extent of executive authority, Kavanaugh has refused to explicitly state his views. However, previous decisions have demonstrated his strict constructionist tendencies, which Rodriguez and many other Republicans highly regard for the top of the judicial branch.

“Having a Supreme Court [Associate Justice] who will rule according to the constitution, not legislate from the bench, is the main reason I am thrilled Kavanaugh was confirmed last week,” said Rodriguez. “This is what the framers [of the U.S. Constitution] intended, and Kavanaugh will be on the Supreme Court for decades to ensure that this is the case.”

In the days leading up to Kavanaugh’s appointment, the truthfulness of Ford’s allegations, accompanied by several other allegations of similar nature, was doubted by many Republicans.

Democrats, however, were generally more concerned with the new Associate Justice’s temperament, as demonstrated in his testimony, interfering with his ability to carry out judicial responsibilities and how his undermining of the content discussed in Ford’s testimony could shape public attitude towards sex-

ual misconduct.

“I am worried with the confirmation of Kavanaugh that the rhetoric such as ‘boys will be boys’ will increase in use, pushing the belief that men do not have to be accountable for the misdeeds of their past,” said second-year student Naveena Bontha. “Because of the widespread mockery of [Ford’s] testimony, I am afraid that victims will not feel comfortable to come forward with their own stories and experiences.”

Rodriguez, who feels that Ford “failed to bring forward enough corroborating evidence” on the front of Kavanaugh’s alleged sexual assault, said, “While it is important that victims of sexual assault are heard, keeping the precedent of innocence until proven guilty is paramount to keeping the rule of law in our country.”

Bontha, however, noted that both Ford and Kavanaugh’s accounts on the incident spoke to a greater issue beyond the content of their testimonies or the FBI probe.

“As a woman in 2018, it’s frightening to realize that sexual assault is still not taken seriously or even recognized as assault,” she said. “This can be seen on the college campus, where many students have experiences where they were under the influence and later realize what had happened the night before was nonconsensual.”

On Oct. 9, Pulse, a social polling app for college campuses founded by Dartmouth in 2016, sent out a poll which reached the Case Western Reserve

University community about the First Amendment. According to Jake Gaba, over 34,000 students have completed the “Freedom of Speech” poll.

With the midterm elections approaching and the controversy surrounding Washington, the First Amendment is certainly in the hot seat on college campuses.

“First Amendment rights on college campuses is an issue that’s on a lot of people’s minds now,” said Gaba. “This is probably the largest scale poll of college student opinion on the topic ever conducted, and the results are public to all the participants.”

Gaba said the survey breaks down responses by demographics to give student a deeper understanding on how their peers feel about certain issues, especially those which are relevant on a national level. “[Pulse] focuses on issues students care about, both local and national. The First Amendment survey, for example,” he said, “is a topic that has been on students,’ and the country’s, minds lately.

It is something everyone has an opinion on.”

Gaba also remarked that Pulse and social polls like it can contribute to fostering dialogue on and off college campuses, something Bontha believes is especially important in light of the most recent SCOTUS appointment.

“Although Kavanaugh has been confirmed,” she said, “it is important that we continue to hold ourselves and our peers responsible for their actions.”

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coming here might allow them to learn more about the club.”

Earle Luck, Worcester R. and Cornelia B. Warner Professor of Astronomy, said he does not administer extra credit for attending events on campus because he feels students will go to an event if they think it will be beneficial to them. He said other professors offer extra credit for attending events because they “want to make sure that a certain level of participation [outside the classroom] is ensured.”

Fourth-year student Grace Sze, DCI Presi-

10/12/18 dent, said, “I feel like [attending the event for extra credit] would be an issue, but a lot of [participants] signed up to be in the club while they were here and come to our general body (GB) meetings too.”

The organization estimated that 30 people signed up to attend the club’s GB. At their GBs, the group talks about current events and also makes bookmarks. Chen explained that the club is “planning to not have many GBs [this year], and instead of the GBs, DCI will be doing service events so that members can interact with each other more.”

Her experience is that students enjoy doing service events more than engaging in discus-

sion groups. In the future, DCI wants to continue hosting more service events and plans on making little, stuffed animals as another donation to the children. They are also throwing fundraising events to raise money for another goal, which is to fund the Blindness Prevention Program.

Through the Blindness Prevention Program, DCI provides cataract and refractive error treatment and eye screenings in impoverished areas.

According to Chen, “A lot of the slums [DCI donates to] don’t have healthcare, so this international club is founded to help them out.”

Unfortunately, students can not visit the

locations at which the trinkets are distributed.

Regardless, DCI officers hope to send volunteers to these countries as the group’s presence at CWRU expands so they can see the impact they are making first hand. For now, the club’s founder sends them on-site photos of the locations where their crafts are making a difference.

For those who want to help in making that difference in children’s lives, DCI is hosting a Sweets Bake Sale from Oct. 29 through 31 in Nord Hall and a Dine and Donate event on Nov. 9 in the Thwing Center, where students can try foods not offered on campus. Additionally, those who sign up for their newsletter will be informed about upcoming events.

Thwing Tuesdays: Writers write words Fueling hungry students

Weekly event offers food culture outside of campus dining Nihal Manjila Contributing Reporter

Every Tuesday in the Thwing Center, the University Programming Board (UPB) gives out free food to students as part of its Thwing Tuesdays series. The event, which serves food on a first-come-first-serve basis, is aimed to give students the opportunity to experience different kinds of dining options not otherwise available on campus.

As the number of restaurants and other eateries in University Circle expands, so does the food culture; this makes Thwing Tuesdays sure to please.

Thwing Tuesdays are orchestrated by UPB, an overseeing and planning body for a number of events at Case Western Reserve University. These events range from the various concerts on campus, such as this year’s Amine and Misterwives concerts, to other on- and off-campus student events.

Members of UPB coordinate with sources on providing food, then receive and present the food in the Thwing Atrium which they serve to hungry students who eagerly line up for meals. The lines can take upwards of half an hour to reach the tables but that does not stop students from lining up from the tables to the door.

Thwing Tuesdays have been a long tradition at CWRU. The goal of the event is to bring Cleveland’s food culture to campus so that students who do not have the time to travel around the city can try new food and maybe even pick up a new favorite eatery.

“Thwing Tuesdays have been a long tradition at CWRU. The goal of the event is to bring Cleveland’s food culture to campus so that students who do not have the time to travel around the city can try new food” This year, UPB plans to continue its tradition with a multitude of new food options. Two weeks ago, CWRU students were given Insomnia Cookies; last week, they tasted Peruvian cuisine from a local catering service. Oct. 9’s food was from the beloved local staple Happy Dog, and on Oct. 16, students will be able to enjoy their favorite Mitchell’s Ice Cream flavors. Needless to say, Thwing Tuesday’s variety of cuisine appears to be endless.

UPB also plans to collaborate with other student organizations on Thwing Tuesdays this semester. This week, Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi) partnered with UPB to promote Tomorrow’s Stars, a nonprofit organization founded by a Phi Psi alumnus that financially supports the college education of students in Ghana. The students then teach and work in the area so that more students can obtain the education they deserve.

According to second-year student Ibrahim Bazyan, a member of both Phi Kappa Psi and UPB, the fraternity is aiming to raise an upwards of $1,000 for the organization.

Phi Psi set up a message board in Thwing Center for Tuesday’s event where students who lined up for food were encouraged to write a positive message on a sticky note and post it on the board for others to read, and students who needed an uplifting message could then take a note and carry it with them throughout the day.

As the event went on, the board was covered with messages and demonstrated the kindness of the CWRU student body.

Won Hee Kim/Observer Two members of Writers Writing Words advertising for their organization at the Choices Fair.

Anna Giubileo Staff Reporter At a school where the majority of students are pursuing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or medical degrees, English-centered interests can often be left on the wayside. Case Western Reserve University’s creative writing club, Writers Writing Words (WWW), is trying to change that.

Revived in the fall of 2015 after a short break, the club has welcomed many new members this year.

“We’re one of the smaller clubs on campus, but you get to know all of the other members very well,” event coordinator and second-year student Kevin Pataroque explained.

WWW meets every Saturday from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in Bellflower Hall and usually has about 20 attendees per meeting. Each week, the group highlights a new topic or skill in a workshop. At its latest meeting on Oct. 6, the group focused on character development. Its next workshop is on Oct. 13 and will cover adding emotion to writing as well as editing and reworking material.

Club treasurer and third-year student Marissa Vidal describes the goal of the club. “It’s not about teaching you how to write, but to practice the skills of writing,” she said.

Writing is not an innate skill, several

of the officers commented. Rather, they agree that writing is an ability one must work at to develop and learn.

“You don’t have to be a writer to write effectively,” said Vidal. “Even writers think their writing is bad.”

Recently, the club finished their second annual Charity Write-In, an event benefiting the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank. Raising a total of $468.79, it was approximately a 130-percent increase in donations compared to their first year.

Members of the organization compiled a collection of short stories in total consisting of 46,879 words—one for every cent raised.

Club member and second-year student Sanchi Kalra stated, “[The Charity Write-In] helped keep us together and connected over the summer when we usually don’t get to interact with each other as much.”

Writers Writing Words gives likeminded individuals the opportunity to create a structured community where they can meet new people and learn from one another in an environment where literary creativity is often pushed to the outskirts.

“Writers do exist at [CWRU],” said Kalra, “and Writers Writing Words aims to help writers—and self-proclaimed ‘non-writers’—develop the skills and confidence necessary to go out and write effectively both on campus and in the wider world.”

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Cleveland catch-up Andrew Ford Sports Editor Cleveland State University hosts final gubernatorial debate On Monday, Oct. 8 Cleveland State University hosted the final of three governor’s debates between Republican candidate Mike DeWine and Democratic candidate Richard Cordray. The two main candidates, both former Attorneys General for the state (DeWine is the current AG), are looking to replace current Gov. John Kasich. Cordray has most recently served in the Obama Administration in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. By all polling measures this is a very competitive race. Although all three debates have been bland in terms of entertainment, they have given voters a thorough understanding of the key issues and positions for both of the candidates.

The main issues both candidates are concerned with are education, healthcare and the opioid crisis that has ravaged Ohio.

Burning car found in East Cleveland On Wednesday, Oct. 10 police officers in East Cleveland were notified of a car on fire in a vacant parking lot. When they arrived on the scene, they found two burned bodies in the car. The incident is under further investigation, but officers are treating this a homicide case for the time being. The car, which had New York plates, was rented by a man from Bed-

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ford, Ohio, but he has not yet been contacted, according to reports.

Bibibop to open near location near campus Bibibop is adding another location near the campus of Case Western Reserve University. The new store, in University Heights along Cedar Road, will offer a free meal from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 16. For fans of bubble tea, this new location will sport a “Bibitea” bar, which the Uptown location does not have.

Event held in Wade Oval supported blood cancer survivors, families Light The Night is an annual event held by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Societwy. It is an event that occurs in various places nationwide to fundraise to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma and other blood diseases. On Sunday, Oct. 7 Light The Night was held in Wade Oval and was attended by thousands of people.

Families who have been impacted by a form of blood cancer carry lanterns to represent their loved ones. They carry a gold lantern if they know someone who passed away and a white one if they know someone who has survived or is currently battling cancer. The event featured fun activities for kids, like pictures with superheroes, and a one mile walk once it became dark. A stage, as well as the lanterns, “light the night” to celebrate survivors and remember those who passed away.

Oct. 2: Criminal Property Damage – Parking garage gate broken, Lot 75 Oct. 2: Petty Theft – Pumpkin taken from Leutner Commons. Item located and returned Oct. 2: Petty Theft – Equipment taken, Dental School Oct. 3: Criminal Mischief – Books damaged, Gund Law School Oct. 3: Theft of Motor Vehicle Part – Catalytic converter taken, Lot 57 Oct. 4: Petty Theft – Items taken from room, Robbins Building Oct. 6: Drug Abuse – Marijuana smoked in vehicle, Lot 5 Oct. 6: Underage Drinking, Howe House Oct. 9: Theft from Motor Vehicle – Window smashed and items taken from vehicle, Lot 78

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Login to one of our hour-long lunchtime webinars to discuss the Grad Entry Nursing Program. Upcoming webinars are scheduled for October 18, 2018; November 2, 2018; and November 15, 2018. All webinars begin at 12 pm EST. Follow the QR Code to select and register for the in person information session or one of our graduate program webinars. You can also find links to register at: case.edu/nursing/admissions/graduate-information-sessions

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10/12/18

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arts & entertainment Editor’s Choice

East Cleveland Theater opens season No. 50 with dramatic Jekyll and Hyde

Courtesy of East Cleveland Theater The East Cleveland Theater company performing Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde.

Kyle Smith Staff Reporter Fog poured through the darkly lit hall of a 100-year-old church Saturday night, as dark figures stalked through the gloom pursuing evil intentions. Where pews should have stood, rows of theater seating held a sparse audience, enthralled by the tale unfolding before them.

It was the second night of the East Cleveland Theater’s (ECT’s) production of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” a play by Richard Abbott adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s book “The Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and directed by ECT’s own Michael Lenzo.

The performance, which opened Friday, Oct. 5, marks the beginning of East Cleveland Theater’s 50th season. The show will

run through Oct. 28 on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. in the ECT’s permanent home: the Windermere Presbyterian Church on Euclid Avenue.

The Gothic, turn-of-the-century architecture of the church is the perfect setting for Stevenson’s classic Victorian story. Moonlight filtered in through the high windows, illuminating the artificial fog that swirled around the play’s single backdrop, an amazingly period-accurate sitting room. Alongside donated furniture and handmade props, a computer screen playing pre-recorded footage showed the audience a sneeringly evil Edward Hyde whenever a forlorn Henry Jekyll stood in front of it.

The level of dedication, care and ingenuity put into the scenery was matched by that of the actors, who displayed incredible on-stage chemistry as the tale of Jekyll’s

experiment-gone-wrong unwound.

Many actors explained that the ECT displays a level of expertise that sets it far above its peers. The ECT is run almost entirely on volunteer labor, with only four professional positions. For some, that professionalism is what drew them to the theater in the first place.

“I actually saw a show here a long time ago. I was so impressed that I came back to participate,” said Paula Santa, a graduate of Case Western Reserve University’s theater program who starred as Diana Carter in her ECT debut. “[ECT] is definitely one of the more professional community theaters you’ll ever find.

They’re just so professional in the way that they handle the performance and care for you,” said Caralyn Doerge, who played the role of Diana Carew, Dr. Jekyll’s fiance. “The people here are just so warm and inviting.”

The audience can feel the warmth and care that goes into each performance, and it is vital to the role of theater in a community.

“As an actor, the most important part of theater is to tell a story, to communicate something to the audience. For them, it’s a form of escapism, a way to get away from the humdrum of everyday life,” said Justin Steck, who stars in the titular role of Dr. Jekyll and his evil alter-ego Mr. Hyde.

“There’s still a wall at the movies. Here you can tell there are no gimmicks. It’s more participatory. You feel like a part of [the performance] as well,” said Doerge.

In addition to its commitment to excellent dramatics, the ECT has a moral tradition that dates back to its inception. Founded in 1968, the ECT, then the East Cleveland Community Theater, was created on the principle of inter-

racial cooperation and understanding. The cornerstone of this principle was colorblind casting, unless “the integrity of the play requires casting along racial lines,” casting decisions are made completely independent of race or creed, regardless of the piece’s period or original casting.

Stage manager, sound engineer, photographer and general handyman James Charpie is proud to say that this is a principle that the theater continues to uphold to this day. “[The principle of colorblind casting] is something we cherish very highly here,” said Charpie, a resident of Little Italy.

In recent years, the nature of such a commitment has changed with the demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods, but it is no less important.

“The biggest change we’re experiencing now is that for a period, East Cleveland was a primarily black neighborhood.

Now, there’s an influx of people of other nationalities, and that makes our mission that much more important, we think,” said Charpie.

In the 50 years since its founding, many things have changed around the ECT. One thing that has remained constant is the ECT’s dedication to upholding its principles and putting on an incredible show. A ticket to an ECT show guarantees not only a warm welcome but an unforgettable show.

The ECT is presenting performances of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Oct. 28.

Tickets cost $12 for students and $15 for adults.

Author Ben Fountain visits Cleveland Henry Bendon Staff Reporter As a reporter covering the 2016 presidential election for The Guardian, author Ben Fountain found himself up close and personal with the the most confusing and controversial presidential race in recent memory. On Monday night his tour supporting his new book “Beautiful Country Burn Again: Democracy, Rebellion and Revolution” stopped at a public library in South Euclid, Ohio, where he was interviewed by Case Western Reserve University English Professor Thrity Umrigar.

Fountain includes himself in the ranks of those baffled by the 2016 race, and as a result spent much of the last two years working on the book, a nonfiction account attempting to explain what led to the particular conditions of the 2016 race and the current political landscape.

Fountain arrived at the library around half an hour before the event and sat down with members of Umrigar’s introduction to fiction writing class. (The reporter of this article is in this class).

Fountain engaged in an open discussion on topics ranging from the struggles

of crafting characters to personal tactics for powering through writer’s block.

When writing he takes a legal pad and sits in a room scribbling every thought, and described his drafting process as creative flailing.

Once the event started, Umrigar and Fountain launched into a 25-minute Q&A. They began with a few entertaining sneak peeks into his new book. The scenes of Ted Cruz addressing an Iowa crowd with what Fountain described as “preachily sanctimony” and campaign director Paul Manafort bringing “Freudian slips back into fashion” were crowd favorites.

Umrigar and Fountain touched on his previous work, a novel satirizing the coverage and treatment of the Iraq War and the soldiers that fought there. They ended with a serious discussion about the legacy of white supremacy and capitalism in modern American society. Fountain’s argument, which is laid out in the book, is that the United States has experienced two main reinventions, both advancing toward towards the egalitarian goals laid out in our Declaration of Independence.

The first, he explained, was the Civil

War and emancipation, which were a critical expansion of the freedom principle that had to happen for the country to advance towards its goal of being a democracy. The second was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, which created a situation where hoards of workers were able to coexist.

Fountain credits all of the issues that the U.S. has reinvented itself to deal with and many that it struggles with today to a system that began with structural racism, with slavery being instituted to support the economic system. As a result, he explained to the audience that the entire system is riddled with structural white supremacy that divides the lower and middle classes and prevents people from fighting against their actual enemies.

After this powerful soliloquy the talk broke into audience questions, which were fairly straightforward questions about the book and dealing with Trump supporting family members. A relatively innocuous question about voter apathy led Fountain to describe that a large section of the population does not vote because they believe that neither party was actually making anything better. Playing to a largely leftleaning room, he then described the Democrats as the party that makes things worse

slower, which led Umrigar, to call out audience member and journalist Connie Schultz, the wife of Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, for her thoughts on the matter.

Schultz took a moment to praise the book, saying it and the president had been constant points of discussion recently in the Brown-Schultz household.

She then defended the Democrats as the only party working to solve student debt and raise the minimum wage. She asked Fountain what he thought the chances were that the Trump phenomenon would fade enough to allow the Democrats to retake the White House in 2020.

Fountain answered by comparing Trump to similar figures in American history like Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. He warned that in the past, personalities like the president’s seem to have staying power for around five or six years. He also predicted that at some point the country would turn on Trump but not necessarily before the end of his first term.

The talk ended with applause and book signings.

“Beautiful Country Burn Again” is available online and in bookstores.

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10/12/18

from ZOMBIES | 1 On Monday, HvZ held “When a mommy dinosaur and a daddy dinosaur…,” its third hour-long mission. According to the mission statement, the dinosaurs gained access to the mating grounds region of MesoZombic Park.

This area of the park was still functional during this mission and held genuine dinosaur eggs. The mating grounds were most of the North Residential Village section of campus, with the area near the first year dorms and upperclassmen housing in play.

The dinosaurs’ objective was to hatch eggs and kill humans. The humans’ objective was to prevent the dinosaurs from hatching eggs and to survive. The dinosaurs had to bring two eggs to an admin waiting at a nest and keep them warm for a set amount of time, and humans were not allowed to tamper with the eggs.

As the mission started, the humans dispersed from the Leutner Pavilion picnic tables, their base, to go stand near the nests. A few stragglers came to the mission late, meaning that they did not receive rubber bands and would become zombies for the rest of the game if they got tagged. Other than that, the first 10 minutes were mostly just humans standing around.

After those first 10 minutes things started to pick up. Four zombies chased three humans across Leutner Pavilion. A few humans were scouting out nest locations and had to sprint away after finding a bunch of zombies. Some scouts did not survive and returned to base shortly after the zombie chase across the pavilion. After the dead scouts returned, a bunch of other humans also returned to the base because they had been killed.

At the base, humans discussed the mission and how zombies got them. It felt strangely like Christmas. Christmas music was playing, including “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” and a human was dressed up in Christmas lights and wearing a Santa hat.

The zombies became more active toward the end of the mission. They were chasing humans all over the pavilion and humans desperately tried to stun them.

Around 35 minutes in, a bunch of zombies rushed the pavilion, killing several humans in the process. Soon after, a couple humans stunned several zombies. This stirred excitement among the dead humans at the base, who were cheering on their teammates. Unfortunately, around the 40 minute mark, the last human died and the mission ended. The zombies won. The zombie reward for this mission was a two minute reduction for the stun timer, reducing it to 13 minutes, and getting Crawford

Hall as a touch-to-spawn point, meaning that when a zombie touches one of the pillars of Crawford, they get immediately respawned, rather than having to wait 13 minutes after being stunned.

This result is not surprising, as historically the third mission is anyone’s mission, and humans virtually never win the full game. Since the game is supposed to be like the apocalypse, the odds are heavily stacked against the humans. In fact, the only time recently that the humans have even come close to winning was in Spring 2018. However, winning missions does increase the odds for the humans.

All of this might sound like something you might want to participate in, but you may be unsure if you want to participate or not due to safety concerns. Fear not, HvZ Core’s number one priority is safety. Because of this, HvZ rules explicitly state boundaries of play, as it is a campus-wide game and campus includes roads and other potentially dangerous places.

The rules describe how to be safe at crosswalks, how to keep both players and nonplayers safe and everything else pertaining to the safety of those playing the game.

Still not sure if you want to play? Playing HvZ is a great way to meet people, according to third-year mechanical engineering major, and HvZ Core member Eddie Conger, Fifthyear music and chemistry major and eighth

semester player Ethan Reid said that it’s a great way to liven up the bland daily routine of going to class and doing work. Overall, it’s just a lot of fun.

If you’ve decided that you do want to play next semester, here are some tips and things to remember from veteran players.

“One tip I have for humans is always make sure to look behind you. One for zombies is to think where you would be as a human, and look there,” said Conger.

“Have fun. Go to missions, and if/when you get tagged, remember that being a zombie is at least as much fun (if not more fun) as being a human,” said Reid.

“HvZ can be as much of a time commitment as you want. You can go about your day as normal, just trying to survive or get tags in between classes without adding significant time to your schedule. Or you can go all out and hunt for tags whenever you can, or go out of your way to survive,” said Briggs.

“Remember to go to classes, stay healthy, and have fun! Too many people take one side of the game to seriously. Try [being a] human and [a] zombie and have fun doing it,” said Conger.

Whether you decide to play or not, at least now you know why people wearing bandanas have been chasing each other around campus with NERF blasters.

A formulaic, yet odd marvel Lars Torres Staff Reporter The release of “Venom” has been plagued by immense scrutiny from many and cautious optimism from some.

Such doubts stemmed from its lack of a connection to Spider-Man or the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) due to it being from Sony Picture’s barebones Marvel Universe with a questionable writing group consisting of the writers of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and “Fifty Shades of Grey,” with a director still trying to draw clout from his last well-received film, “Zombieland.”

Fortunately, director Ruben Fleischer and main star Tom Hardy have managed to make something very watchable and fun.

“Venom” follows the story of intrepid reporter Eddie Brock (Hardy). Brock has done well for himself in life, from an investigative reporting show to an engagement with spirited attorney Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). Weying supplies Brock with an interview with Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), the head of the philanthropic and technologicallyminded corporation known as the Life Foundation. However, after Brock ambushes Drake with questions regarding the sinister dealings of the Life Foundation, Brock’s life starts crashing around him.

When all seems lost, he comes in contact with a mysterious extraterrestrial symbiote known as Venom (voiced

by Hardy) following Brock’s clandestine investigation into the Foundation. Armed with superhuman abilities, Brock/Venom aim to stop Drake and his company from continuing their ominous dealings, while Brock struggles to toe the line between villain and hero with his newfound friend.

Directing wise, Fleischer is just above a workmanlike execution of the lackluster story. He is in full control when showing Hardy’s acting capabilities through both Brock and Venom. Hardy’s snively yet endearing performance as

Courtesy of Wikipedia Venom is a sloppy but fun superhero action movie.

Brock manages to be the perfect straight man to the insanity and ferocity of Venom, who supplies the film’s best lines through his various insults and inner commentary of the situations throughout the film. Williams and Ahmed do their best with the material they are given, although Ahmed does not manage to portray someone menacing until the end, and even then it is through the assistance of another character.

The writing, from Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel, ends up

being pretty formulaic, with the plot consisting of a tired retread of the “saving the world” template. The plot feels like it was put together in minutes, with cheesy tones here and there outside of Venom’s performance. The music by Ludwig Goransson is above average, with the main theme for Venom being a standout imbuing an air of fear and bombast with some heroic flourishes to it. The editing is very haphazard and bordering on sloppy, but it does not take much away from the film.

In the end, “Venom” has a fair share of flaws with technical elements and plot. Hardy’s performance, the effects, the character of Venom and Fleischer’s above average direction help to move this film beyond a sub-par level.

Film: “Venom” Director: Ruben Fleisher Release: Oct. 5 Rating: 1/2

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observer.case.edu

Playlist of the Week

Kyle Smith Staff Reporter

As the first round of tests, projects and presentations winds to a close, many students may be tempted to turn off their brains and spend the next few weeks doing nothing more mentally stimulating than binge-watching Netflix. Well, binge away: this week’s playlist has all the mental stimulation you need in the form of five very different and very interesting math rock pieces.

“Sherman Is Connector” The Invalids

“Sherman Is Connector” is a hectic blend of syncopated drums and choppy, ska-like guitar, intercut with fluid guitar runs and vocal harmonies. Frontman Pete Davis recorded the song himself—vocal layers, multiple guitar parts and all—for the Invalids’ first album, “Eunoia,” in 2012.

“The Tide” - Yvette Young

“The Tide” is a rare solo acoustic track from Yvette Young, frontwoman of California math rock band Covet. The song pairs nautical imagery with Young’s complex, layered guitar playing. The song is about fighting to retain the love of someone before finally letting them go. Young’s clean, clear vocals perfectly fit her poignant lyrics as she asks the listener, “Do you remember what home feels like?”

“Trains” - Porcupine Tree

Do not be fooled by the deceptively familiar style of “Train.” While the song’s lyrics are plain, about leaving one’s childhood behind like trains leaving a station, the structure is anything but. Time signatures, key signatures and instrumentation change suddenly throughout the song, an audible metaphor for the blinding speed with which our experiences become distant memories.

“Reckless” asks, “Can you ever really know a person?”

Sunayana Jampanaboyana Staff Reporter

To open the Eldred Theater 2018-19 season, the Case Western Reserve University Department of Theater presented six performances of “Reckless” by Craig Lucas. “Reckless” is a hallmark of postmodern theater with underlying themes of loss and identity.

The bizarre chain of events in “Reckless” begins on an unassuming Christmas Eve. Rachel, played by third-year student Harper Case, is in the middle of a “euphoria attack” and is thinking about what her husband Tom, played by fourth-year student Matt Thompson, might have gotten her for Christmas this year.

She gets much more than you could ever wish for. In the midst of her “euphoria attack,” Rachel’s husband tells her that he hired a hitman to kill her and now regrets it. At her husband’s encouragement, Rachel runs away and happens upon complete stranger Lloyd Bophtelophti, played by fourth-year JP Peralta, at a gas station. Lloyd and his wife take Rachel into their home because nobody should be alone for Christmas.

Rachel lives day-to-day surrounded by therapy, embezzlement, murder, lies and an utterly nonsensical series of events. Rachel’s willful optimism continues to dwindle, revealing the brokenness of image and consistency in contemporary America while propagating the question, “can you ever really know a person?”

“We know what a person chooses to show us, no matter how close we are to them, but we can never know another person’s private thoughts and feelings,” said director David Vegh.

The themes of uncertainty and identity were supported by set, sound and lighting that helped build the mood. The stage was graced

Fall for CWRU with our annual Homecoming weekend Aura Rossy Accounts Manager

“After Dark” - Delta Sleep

Homecoming 2018 When: Oct. 11-14 Where: Case Western Reserve University Join in the festivities of this celebrated tradition that combines alumni reunion and parents weekend, reaching essentially anyone affiliated with the university. Homecoming activities range from academic lectures to social events. Use #homeCWRUing to connect on social media and be sure to check out the detailed schedule of Homecoming events on the CWRU website for more information.

Electronic whirring and buzzing sounds blare over the sporadic drum beats of “After Dark.” The song describes the experience of being slowly overwhelmed by the cacophony of sounds, sights and experiences of the city. “The City grows far beyond what we are now, I’d give my whole world to find a way out,” screams frontman Devin Yuceil. In a way, the chaotic energy of the song and the atonal noises create the experience Yuceil describes: frantically finding yourself in an unfamiliar place, seeking a way out.

“Panda” - TTNG

Formerly named “This Town Needs Guns,” TTNG is a math rock group from Oxford, England. “Panda” is from the band’s debut album, “Animals.” Every track on the project is named after a different animal. The animal names were meant to serve as a stand-in while the songs were being written but ended up being the final names. Unlike its namesake, “Panda” is lively and energetic, carrying the listener forward with swooping guitar notes punctuated by heavily syncopated drum beats.

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

by a cast including Sara Young as the six doctors, Bradley Schneider as Roy, Evan Adeen as Pooty and Sarah Parr as Trish. The entire cast was enthusiastic about working with this production and embraced the nature of this piece.

(Editor’s Note: Both Sarah Parr and Bradley Schneider are part of The Observer staff.)

As the play progressed, many shifts brought new developments revealing something completely contrary to the audience’s initial perception of a character.

Bophtelophti appears to be a kind man, but each new event forces the audience to reconsider their image of him. Peralta described his character as someone who “at his core, is living in denial. He lives in this invented world where everything’s okay and everyone’s okay, when looming just under the surface are all these lies and issues.”

Case depicted Rachel as a convincing image of blind positivity.

“Rachel’s journey reflects very basic problems most people encounter, just at an incredibly heightened scale,” said Case.

“Some people think that the things you’re afraid to think about are the things which eventually destroy you. And that if you talk about them, as painful as that is, it helps them to go away,” said Case about the end of her character’s journey.

Incredibly absurd, incoherent and a surreal portrayal of “modern” America, “Reckless” was a memorable opening production for the Eldred Theater 2018-19 season by the CWRU Department of Theater.

Future productions include “The Drowsy Chaperone”, “Private Eyes” and “As You Like It”. Showings of “The Drowsy Chaperone” by Bob Martin, Don McKellar, Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison begin on Nov. 9. Tickets will be available for reservation in the box office located in Eldred Hall, over the phone or online.

Feast Your Eyes and Feed Your Soul When: Oct. 12, 2 -3:30 p.m.

Where: Kelvin Smith Library’s (KSL) O’Neill Reading Room Foodies unite! As part of the ongoing Homecoming events, alumnus Barney Taxel will be coming to talk about his career as a photographer and part-time lecturer. His works feature culinary giants from Cleveland’s secretly extraordinary food scene such as Michael Symon, Karen Small, Zack Bruell and Douglas Katz. Publisher Noelle Celeste will be present to talk about Edible Cleveland, a local culinary magazine. Food tastings will be provided by local restaurants.

Oscar’s Cookout When: Oct. 13, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Where: Wade Commons Field Grab lunch with Phi Kappa Psi and greet Oscar the weiner dog in support of their philanthropy, Tomorrow’s Stars. The fraternity

is hosting Education Week to contribute to education in Ghana by donating profits to a nonprofit that allows high school students to attend college with student scholarships.

Pumpkin Fest Delta Tau Delta When: Oct. 12-13, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Oct. 12 Case Quad, Oct. 13 KSL Oval.

Members of Delta Tau Delta host their first annual Pumpkin Fest to help fund Type 1 diabetes research. Paint and carve pumpkins on Friday, and on Saturday, relieve stress after midterms by smashing pumpkins.

Wizarding Weekend When: Oct. 12-13 Where: Mitchell’s Fine Chocolates This fine chocolates shop, located in the heart of Cleveland Heights, will temporarily transform into Honeydukes from Harry Potter.

They will be featuring beloved candies from the series including chocolate frogs, chocolate wands and Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.

Come get into the spirit of Halloween by celebrating with sweets, wizard-style.

Ripped When: Oct. 12-13, 7 p.m.

Where: Eldred Black Box Performed by the All Players’ Theatre Group (PTG), Ripped tells the story of a first-year college student who has mixed emotions about her recent life-change, only to be overcome by more uncertainty as she experiences a confusing sexual encounter. The performance deals with sensitive topics such as rape and the meaning of consent. The event is free, but a $5 donation is encouraged.

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10 opinion

10/12/18

opinion Editorial

Slowly changing toxic masculinity It’s often difficult for media members to resist latching onto ambiguous buzzwords, especially when they suit the context of a major news story. So when Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing suddenly became a debate over the reporting of sexual assault, female-male power dynamics and excessive alcohol consumption, broader concepts entered the spotlight. One of these concepts was “toxic masculinity,” a term familiar in discussions related to campus culture. Throughout the process of the Kavanaugh hearing and the events surrounding it, the phrase was tossed around by celebrities, media pundits and politicians.

But while numerous well-known figures seemed to speak of toxic masculinity in theoretical terms, many Case Western Reserve University students had no trouble recognizing it as reality.

Much of Kavanaugh’s highlighted illicit acts are not unfamiliar to students of this campus. On most Friday nights you can run across binge-drinking and backhanded derogatory comments toward women. But one of the most telling features of the Kavanaugh

incident can be found in his outrage following Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony. Sure, it can superficially appear as a passionate defense of his character as a judge and family man.

If you look deeper, however, you can find the hostile reaction associated with a challenge to an identity borne from toxic masculinity.

Your identity begins to change the moment you arrive on campus, regardless of your sex or gender identity. For men though, one of the common pressures that they first encounter venture into the realm of toxicity. These are often subtle and on most occasions you will not even realize they are in any way problematic.

One of the most frequently cited examples can be found in the popularity of the phrase “no homo,” an interjection that men will employ when what they’ve said could be even remotely interpreted as gay. Aside from its homophobic undertones, it also sets the dangerous precedent that expressions of affection are reserved for romantic relationships.

It’s for this reason that men may struggle to find emotional support during times of distress, contributing to a suicide rate that has risen year after year.

This in turn demonstrates why the

skepticism of toxic masculinity is so backward. Male media figures and political analysts have written endless numbers of op-eds contradicting the concept, claiming it as another route for feminists to deride men. What they fail to understand is that criticisms of toxic masculinity are not jabs at “masculine” actions or ideals. The products of a toxic system disadvantage everyone and directly contribute to many of the supposed counterexamples against modern feminist movements.

One such claim from detractors is that sexual assault against males remains both underreported and undercovered.

But nobody has ever denied that these cases occur or that they are important.

The pattern of underreporting comes from a sexual assault norm born from an unjust patriarchal society; it’s better to keep quiet than have to face both the reality of your situation and predicted doubts from others.

Referring back to our previous point regarding male relationships, it’s rare that men will even have anyone to go to in these sorts of cases. If you can barely express your fondness for friends without deviating from a masculine identity, then how are you going to

describe something you once thought could only happen to women?

It’s a vicious cycle, and it is only augmented by the other behaviors associated with it. In the Kavanaugh case, his supporters pointed to his heavy drinking as a college norm. Yet those who knew him also described cases where he blacked out or attempted to drink obscene numbers of kegs over the course of a year. How much of this can we truly consider part of the campus culture before we attribute it to other aforementioned pressures? Even if it is a combination of the two, the end result is a latent alcoholism that only feeds the recursiveness of toxic masculinity.

So if you have doubts that it inhabits your own life, take some time to reevaluate. While much of what’s been brought up pertains to social life, it can pervade academic or professional life in forms such as “mansplaining” and the hostility faced by female engineers—something which we’ve previously covered at length.

Regardless of where or in what form you see toxic masculinity on campus, replace passiveness with action to help the CWRU community

Rapid transit: one ride toward saving our world Staff Columnist

Jordan Reif The Trump administration’s very own 500-page environmental impact study determined that climate change, while still a “Chinese hoax,” will lead to a 4 C (7 F) global temperature increase within this century. Climate scientist James Hansen warns that warming to this degree will result in a permanent European drought, the desertification of China, India and Bangladesh, an underwater Polynesia and an uninhabitable American Southwest. We are in the process of leaving our children a world on end-of-life care.

While irreparable damage has been done, our fate is not sealed, contrary to the Trump Administration’s assertions. As 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions source from transportation, roughly 57 percent of which is from private automobile use, movement toward accessible and efficient mass transit is imperative.

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) is overpriced and underperforming. It would, arguably, be acceptable that RTA costs account for over

20 percent of a Cleveland citizen’s income if it meant safer, more accessible and betterorganized service. Cleveland’s reality is that only 44 percent of the population lives near a high frequency transit hub during rush hour, while for someone living in Portland, Oregon, the figure is 81 percent. Additionally, the state of Ohio has severely reduced financial support for the RTA system, providing only 1 percent of the cost of transit, while the typical state provides 20 percent.

Like many other mass transit systems in the United States, ours is in dire need of change. Cleveland is caught in a negative feedback loop where more money is needed to improve service, which requires greater ridership, which will only come if service improves or there is some other incentive.

While the state should fund the RTA significantly more than they currently are, relying on the desperate hope that the state will do so is counterproductive and foolish.

Rather, we might look to the successes of other cities in incentivizing public transportation system use.

Seattle has prioritized bus and transit transportation over private cars during morning and afternoon rush hours. Certain streets are closed to automobiles, and many streets in the downtown area utilize leading

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 otherwise 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.

green lights where the bus lane receives a green light prior to regular lanes, allowing them to quite literally beat the traffic. Seattle public transit saw a 20 percent increase in ridership over the course of four years.

Converted into pounds of carbon dioxide—a car carrying one person emits 0.89 pounds per mile while a full bus emits 0.14—the city has decreased carbon dioxide emissions by thousands of pounds yearly.

In Stockholm, Sweden, congestion pricing, charging drivers to access certain parts of the city, has resulted in a 20 percent decrease in car trips. Funds collected from drivers who still choose to drive their personal car are then used to improve roads and increase access to public transit.

Many American businesses subsidize transportation passes through employersponsored transportation programs. Apple Inc. workers at the corporate headquarters in California receive $100 (as of 2012) per month for use on public transportation.

Seattle Children’s Hospital pays workers $4 for every day they don’t drive to work alone (and offer biking/commuter classes and a bike service center). Coca-Cola in Atlanta introduced a shuttle system that runs between their various offices and the public transit system drop-off as well as subsidizing over

50 percent of the price of a transit pass.

Cleveland Clinic partnered with RTA Commuter Advantage to offer the ability to purchase transit fare with pre-tax dollars and guarantee a ride to your destination regardless of day by either bus, cab or special dispatch vehicle.

The efforts made by Cleveland Clinic and the RTA are admirable, and a good start, but they are just that: a start. If we hope to tackle other problems—healthcare, education, women’s and LGBTQ+ rights, militarism, racism and so forth—we need to ensure our world remains viable long enough to do so.

Aggressively approaching all the incentives listed above as well as moving rapidly toward a completely renewable power system is necessary to salvage our planet. We have inflicted the damage done to date, and it is up to us to heal our hurting world. Enhanced public transportation is just the first step.

Jordan Reif is a first-year student on the pre-med track. She likes to spend her time reading, saving the bees or innovating new ideas for her start up “Ned talks”—a discussion forum for those who are just not quite good enough to make it to TED.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergraduate students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher EDDIE KEREKES director of web & multimedia ALEXANDRA FACCENDA director of business operations SARAH PARR director of design RYAN YOO news editor SOPHIA YAKUMITHIS a&e editor MATT HOOKE opinion editor JACKSON RUDOFF sports editor ANDREW FORD web editor PRESTON WILLIS social media editor CHRIS HEERMAN adviertising manager DARIA RYABOGIN photo editor JAY KASSEL LEWIS accounts manager AURA ROSSY copy editors marketing manager BRADLEY SCHNEIDER MARY MCPHEETERS EMILY YOUNG advisor JIM SHEELER WON HEE KIM

opinion 11

observer.case.edu

Can one have too many celebrity crushes?

She Doesn’t Even Go Here Sophia Yakumithis Celebrity crushes have always been a favorite subject of mine.

When I was 12 years old, I launched a wildly successful One Direction blog.

Between its photo content and selfpublished fanfiction, I drew in over 1,000 Tumblr followers within a few months.

My blog was cathartic in the sense that my budding desires finally had an outlet where I could commiserate with other sexually frustrated pre-teens.

Here we are, seven years later, and nothing has changed, aside from the fact that my range of taste has expanded and matured. I think I also have more refined analytical skills as to how my interests would be as real-life partners. The shame of it is that now I actually have

meaningful interactions with men in real time and when I talk about, say, wanting the Hemsworth brothers as a snack, they think it’s mildly inappropriate and are turned off.

Several couples I know have the “one-time cheat list,” but anyone I have ever been involved with has had to sign a waiver understanding that if I run into any of my celebrities at any point, things might happen, and there’s no stopping me.

Leonardo Dicaprio was at the top of my list for years. The lanky, charming Jack Dawson-era Dicaprio was nice and all, but for some reason, I’m really into the 43-year-old, environmentalist, Palm Springs version of the former “Titanic” star. Part of it is the lack of interest he appears to show in anything but himself and his own career. Receiving his attention seems like it would be a challenge—one that I’m up for, that is.

That task cultivates some sort of allure which has held me on for a while now.

Someone else I’d settle for is Chris Hemsworth. Yes, Thor. I had not seen “Thor” until this year, though, and it just made me even more frustrated. His body and his accent are amazing. The fact that he’s married with three children makes it even worse because I’m jealous of his beautiful wife, yet I am also rooting for their marriage. If I can’t have him, I will move to Australia, and he and his wife can just adopt me.

Currently, Matt Smith is my main interest. If you are connected with me on Snapchat, you have seen “Sparkly Matt,” a project I have been updating daily which features a black and white photo of the former “Doctor Who” and “The Crown” actor with a sparkle graphic on some part of his beautiful body. It is my most unlikely and off the beaten path pursuit, considering that at this point

in life my usual “type” is muscular and blonde. Perhaps I am reverting to my One Direction days and am, once again, drawn to boyish energy beautified by an enchanting British accent. When he wears glasses? Don’t even get me started.

The weirdest thing is that I got into him from watching “The Crown,” and I don’t even watch “Doctor Who,” the show that launched the actor into the spotlight. Actually, that’s a lie; I watched his three seasons, I just kept it on mute because I literally just wanted to look at him wearing a bow tie and tweed blazer. I hate sci-fi. Regardless, he may be higher on my list than DiCaprio right now.

I could go on and on about famous men I would take home with me, but I think giving me a spot on “The Bachelorette” would be an appropriate stage to explore this embarrassing interest of mine. The cast will certainly be star-studded and nothing unpleasant to look at.

Choices Fair proves not to be a cure-all for indecision Staff Columnist

Kehley Coleman As you’re probably aware, especially if you’re a first- or second-year student who is still undecided, the annual Choices Fair took place this past Friday, Oct. 5 at the Veale Convocation, Recreation and Athletic Center. Tables staffed by professors and students representing various majors, minors, programs and related clubs covering all disciplines from English to electrical engineering were set up throughout the indoor track area.

The participants answered students’ questions and distributed informative material on their course of study, as well as provided sign-up sheets for interested students to receive more information in the coming months. Targeted especially toward first-years, who are required to attend for their Seminar Approach to General Education and Scholarship (SAGES) class, the Choices Fair markets itself as a chance for students who haven’t declared their major to work toward making this important decision.

Being exactly such a student— deeply undecided regarding my major, interested in several different branches of engineering, the physical sciences and even some of the humanities—I found myself looking forward to the Choices

Fair. I arrived at the fair promptly at its 12:45 p.m. opening, armed with a list of questions that would help me both complete a required writing assignment for my SAGES class and leave the building knowing a little bit more about what I wanted to do with my college years.

I did get my questions answered, but I found my experience at the fair wanting in the latter category. While the Choices Fair certainly did help me discover a few new opportunities at Case Western Reserve University— an astronomy minor, for example, is shockingly accessible if you’re majoring in anything requiring introductory physics—I didn’t find it particularly helpful in deciding what course of study I want to undertake.

This is in no way the fault of the individuals running the tables. Everyone I talked to gave excellent answers to my questions and provided me with helpful information even when I had no specific questions. Rather, the Choices Fair was simply not the sort of event I needed to help me make my decision.

Just because the Choices Fair wasn’t helpful to me or students in my situation does not mean it isn’t helpful at all; it is entirely possible that some students who were struggling to choose between a few major interests were able to ask specific questions of the representatives and make a decision based on the

answers they received. It doesn’t even mean that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did enjoy learning more about various programs offered here at CWRU. But personally, this sort of fair environment was not as good a solution as I had hoped it might be for my problem. Yes, I got to ask a few questions of various departments, and yes, I found the answers informative. But for every question I asked, there were several more I couldn’t, due to the stretching lines of other first-year students eager to talk to the various representatives. Even for the questions I did get to ask, I couldn’t provide the necessary background for a complete answer by conveying my personal experiences and desires to the representatives. An impersonal twominute conversation while someone is in line behind you just doesn’t give you the chance to form a proper connection with the representatives.

Furthermore, there were some programs I was interested in but not knowledgeable enough in to go to the fair with prepared questions that could be answered in a short time frame.

At these stations I received general information that was somewhat helpful, but the environment didn’t allow me enough time to really determine what I personally might be able to get out of the programs.

In this way, the Choices Fair did more to hurt me than help me. It gave me a basic introduction to several more

courses of study that I found interesting but was less helpful in narrowing things down. This resulted in my list of potential majors becoming even longer than it was before. Discovering all the things I could do during my college years was enjoyable in the moment, but I’m finding after the fact that knowing about all these opportunities only increases the amount of stress I feel about not yet having decided what I should do.

Ultimately, while the Choices Fair wasn’t the cure-all for my indecision I had hoped it might be, I still think I’m better off for having gone. While attending may not have helped me and students like me make our final decisions, it did provide exposure to more programs and opportunities we might be interested in. I can now research into these different fields and set up one-on-one meetings with various faculty members and advisors to have more personal discussions regarding my major.

In the meantime, I can try to accept and enjoy being undecided for a little bit longer as I take classes across various courses of study to see what I find interesting.

Kehley Coleman is a first-year student considering majoring in chemical engineering. When not in class, she can typically be found reading trashy teen fiction and/or in rehearsal for something or other.

Unpaid internships give unfair advantages Unsolicited Opinions Won Hee Kim This summer I had an unpaid internship with a local nonprofit, Lake Erie Ink. I was able to learn many things about the administrative side of nonprofit organizations, as well as specific skills such as making infographics and grant writing. I made friends and useful connections. But not everyone has the opportunity to have such an experience, and unpaid internships on the whole lead to disproportionate representation in the business world in favor of those who are able to afford them.

The benefits of internships are

numerous and obvious. Interns gain relevant work experience and make connections that could lead to full-time jobs in the future. Internships also boost a student’s resume, making it easier for the student to find other jobs.

Unpaid internships are supposed to be mutually beneficial, and according to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the intern should benefit more than the employer.

This isn’t always the case, however, and many cases of illegal, unpaid internships exist—you only need to look online to find the horror stories.

Furthermore, for students that can barely afford college, paying for rent and food in order to work is not economically viable. That is, unless the student isn’t the one shouldering the cost. Students

that live with family or have someone who will pay their way through the internship have the opportunity to apply to a broader range of internships, whether or not they are paid. Others often have to take on another job in order to do the same or may even not apply as they prioritize paid work.

This isn’t to say that all internships should be paid. Nonprofits, like the one I interned with, are less likely to pay because of limited funding and the focus on philanthropy. Companies that are able to pay should pay, and as for those who can’t, it might be beneficial for the government or another organization to step in and fund these unpaid internships.

Case Western Reserve University, for example, provides support for students

looking for unpaid internships. I was lucky enough to receive a summer stipend from the Baker Nord Center for Humanities to fund my internship. In addition to the Humanities@Work stipend, I paid several hundred dollars out-of-pocket and looked for a part-time job to stay in Cleveland. For science, technology, engineering and math students looking for funding, they can also look towards Support of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors.

All in all, I don’t regret my internship.

I loved working like a real adult and gaining so many new experiences. That being said, I sincerely hope that other students will be able to gain similar opportunities, regardless of their economic backgrounds.

12 opinion

10/12/18

The dangers of specialization In Case You’ve Never Considered It...

Katharine Toledo What do you want to be when you grow up?

The very first time I was asked this question seriously was when I was in seventh grade. I was a gawky, braces wearing, acne riddled pre-teen who barely knew what I wanted for dinner, let alone to what I would dedicate the next 50 or more years of my life.

Most middle schoolers barely remember their locker combination and still rely on their parents for packed lunches and rides to and from school activities. At this age, none of us were ready to determine what our future looked like.

But somehow, by the time we arrived in high school, we were expected to know whether or not we wanted to continue onto higher education. If we were planning on attending college, we were encouraged to take advanced classes, begin preparing for our college application tests early, become involved with various extracurriculars in our

schools and begin to develop an idea of what we hoped to study in college.

Even college applications themselves are based on the fantasies of high school students regarding what they are going to study and ultimately do with the rest of their lives. Such a system leaves little room for students to radically change paths, or even explore other disciplines to which they had previously had little or no exposure.

It’s all absurd. At this point in our lives, students are between 14 and 18 years old.

Studies have proven that the human brain is not fully developed until the age of 24.

But by the time we’re 24, high-achieving students such as ourselves are expected to have completed 4 years of undergraduate education and either joined the workforce or engaged in some kind of graduate education program.

In other words, society expects us to have set our life plans in motion well before our brains have even finished maturing.

This contributes to another issue: the death of the so-called Renaissance man.

I use the word “man” very loosely, of course. The idea of the Renaissance man arose from its namesake period in history

and refers to individuals with strong foundations in artistic, intellectual, social and physical disciplines. Such individuals include Leonardo da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin.

These days, there are remarkably few individuals with such a background.

Pressure to specialize so early in our lives leads to students who are only educated in the arts, or only educated in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), with limited exposure to other disciplines. For some STEM students at Case Western Reserve University, their only collegiate-level experience in nonSTEM fields comes from the university’s standards requiring students to take at least one class within each category of classes, leading them toward the humanities, social sciences or fine arts.

For students whose studies favor the humanities, like myself, the same is true to exposure to collegiate-level courses in STEM. While such courses can be the most challenging for students, they are also the most valuable in the long run.

Taking classes in a discipline outside of one’s comfort zone requires students

to activate different parts of one’s brain and learn different ways of approaching issues. This in turn helps to create an individual’s well-rounded worldview; this creates a world full of people with the ability to approach problems from many different angles using knowledge or problem solving skills borrowed from other disciplines.

Without the time and the ability to explore new disciplines, students could be missing out on opportunities to solve major world problems, simply by approaching these problems from a new angle. The only way to ensure this, though, is by ensuring that students have the time and resources at the collegiate level simply to explore without having to worry about the effect it would have on their intended major pathways or GPA. Katharine (Katie) Toledo is a secondyear student from Columbus, Ohio. She studies political science and economics on the pre-law track with a minor in Spanish. Her hobbies include watching Netflix, staring at photos of her two beagles, visiting Mitchell’s Ice Cream and writing for The Observer.

A follow-up on an administrative failing Staff Columnist Stephen Kerby I was joking in my last article when I suggested that the administration should ban all non-Bon Appetit food from campus buildings for health reasons. Surely, I reassured myself, no one would get any bright ideas from my essay filled with righteous, if harmless, indignation. Alas, I was wrong.

I entered Nord Hall on Tuesday morning to find little pink printouts plastered on all the tables normally used to hand out food. Severe restrictions had been levied against all food to be sold in Nord. Each piece must now be individually wrapped, labeled with all ingredients and any possible allergens.

At least two people must be present to sell food, one with gloves to carefully hand the buyer each piece, and another to handle the money.

Ignore, for a moment, that studentsold food on Case Quad apparently needs none of these precautions. Disregard the insanity of asking for a thorough list of ingredients; more goes into a chocolate chip than just chocolate, after all.

Never mind the possibility that this is

an attempt to discourage students from selling food in Nord by laying such onerous restrictions on the process so as to make it totally impractical.

For now, take this new set of restrictions as another example of the administration’s lack of faith in its students, in this case concerning their physical well-being.

Higher education presents a plethora of mental challenges to prepare students for professional life. Conflicting opinions clash on every campus, and engaging with those debates promotes a strong academic environment. Still, recent developments on our campus suggest that we are witnessing the coddling of students. We are being bubble-wrapped, and our administration is focusing on keeping the bottom line in the black with safe but docile students.

Most students here are legal adults.

Some of us are older than 21, an adult in every way. Our parents might be half a continent away, and most of us will depart after graduation for independent life. There, we will fend for ourselves, sink or swim. Four years of college can produce stable adults by removing safeguards that previously were propped up by parents but soon students will

need to stand alone.

Accidental allergic reactions are of course preventable and regrettable, but I would hope that a student mature enough to go to college is also mature enough to take precautions for their allergies.

For example, a student with a severe allergy to peanuts passing through Nord should not accept food cooked in some random fraternity’s oven, regardless of the amount of care in preparation or labeling. If the administration is truly concerned about allergens, though, I hope you won’t mind my repetition.

If health risks are the real justification for banning external food then studentdistributed food should be banned in all university buildings.

Because I wasn’t blunt about it last time, I do not think student-distributed food is a threat worth eliminating. Don’t do it.

The administration should not be so concerned about the minute details of its students’ physical well-being. Food was greatly restricted in Tinkham Veale University Center for health reasons, and now it’s restricted in Nord.

General safety is always desirable, but if higher education is to be a transition period between adolescence

and adulthood, shouldn’t more faith be placed in the ability of students to look after themselves? Leaving all else aside, I think it is beneficial for a university to produce self-sufficient adults who live nice long lives and donate to the Alumni Association for decades to come.

Our administration, by acting as a helicopter parent, is treating students as customers instead of academic assets and apprentices. A healthy student will continue to enroll year after year, and protecting students from even the smallest of dangers helps avoid lawsuits by angry parents. CWRU wasn’t this protective a few decades ago. As my last article suggested, the university doesn’t seem to trust students to make decisions that directly affect the campus community, and it likewise doesn’t seem to trust their ability to take care of themselves.

In this age of broken promises, the university should take small steps to show a modicum of real trust.

Steve Kerby is a fourth-year student studying astronomy and physics. He’s flattered that administrators read his articles but would like to reiterate that student-sold food should not be banned.

In response to a rather difficult Saturday Publicized Confab Josiah Smith If you’re like me, last Saturday was rather difficult.

In all honesty, I did not want Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation in the slightest. The whole situation was handled extremely poorly at the hands of the people whom we offer our most sacred trust and the reliance of our wellbeing. It would be extremely difficult to say that this nomination and confirmation was done with the majority of the American people in mind. If anything, most Americans were unsure how to feel about the situation and were skeptical of the intentions of both sides.

That fact alone should have defeated his nomination. I want to be proud and confident of the record and reputation of all nine of the Supreme Court justices.

I’m not sure I can say that about all of

the current justices, but I am certainly unable to say that about the most recent appointment.

The power that the Supreme Court wields is absolute, only checked by the arduous process of ratifying an amendment or a separate dissenting opinion made by the same court. Most people don’t truly grasp the control this branch contains. Their decisions aren’t like the type of laws that Congress makes. Their rulings are interpretations of the American democratic system, having the power to affect almost every part of America, or at least other elements within government which impacts the choices that are available to us. And because of the sheer breadth of their decision making, every person on the court should not only have the advice and consent from the Senate, but they should be able to boast the overwhelming approval of the American people.

There were few people that didn’t sympathize with Christine Blasey Ford’s

testimony, which you can tell from Kavanaugh’s low approval ratings. It amuses me how several Republicans, as well as one Democrat, were willing to jeopardize their chance at re-election for this confirmation. There are a plethora of other people qualified to perform the tasks required of a Supreme Court justice, many of whom were listed alongside Kavanaugh on President Donald Trump’s short list. I would hate to admit that this is political corruption, but if you look at the separate parts that made up the journey to filling the vacant seats on this Supreme Court, it is hard, if not completely incorrect to say otherwise.

I also hate to bring up the situation that unfolded with Merrick Garland because this isn’t an attack article. But, it is impossible to ignore the blatant evidence that persists, where the Republicans stalwartly refused to hold hearings to “advise and consent” on President Obama’s nomination. If we want to

talk about corruption, let us begin there instead of fishing around uncorroborated claims that the Democrats and Dianne Feinstein used a victim as a ploy to derail the confirmation hearings.

What is most upsetting is watching the president mock a victim and then to witness his supporters laugh along with him. If anything, I had hoped that it wouldn’t come to this. No one besides Ford and Kavanaugh know the truth, but what we have been presented with is a victim, someone who claims to have been powerless, targeted and taken advantage of. And to see this horrific situation stir laughter within some of my fellow Americans is incredibly gross and marks a deeply dark moment in this country; one that I’m sure wouldn’t have happened in the previous administration.

I think we would all appreciate if this country were “great again.” The time period we’d individually reference, however, is the matter that’s up for debate.

fun

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fun page | 13

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Aries Binge watches “Chopped” Taurus Seeks therapy dogs Gemini Drops out of college Cancer Actually studies Leo Stress bakes

Source: https://xkcd. com/2037/

Libra Goes for a long walk

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Can you find all these words related to articles in this issue?

HUMANS ZOMBIES LGBT KAVANAUGH VOLLEYBALL FOOTBALL TENNIS CHOICES VENOM SPECIALIZE THEATER RECKLESS INTERN CELEBRITY SOCCER MALTZ

Scorpio Doesn’t matter; sleeps through exam anyway Ophiuchus Eats well and exercises Capricorn Has a nervous breakdown Sagittarius Coffee

14

sports

10/12/18

Cross country teams both take second in Ohio Championships Andrew Ford Sports Editor At the All-Ohio Championships on Sept.

29, the Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s cross country teams both earned second place among Division III teams in the state.

For the men, it was a repeat performance from last year, when they also finished second. This time around, the team was led by a 25:06.2 time from third-year runner David Hall, the sixth best time in Division III and the 30th best time from the entire competition, which featured teams from Divisions I, II and III and the NAIA. The Spartans also had four other runners finish in the top 25 of the Division III teams. Second-year runner Trey Razanauskas finished in 11th just 16 seconds after Hall. Four seconds after Razanauskas, first-year runner Spencer Weigand finished in 14th place. The women’s team, ranked No. 24 in Division III, also finished in second in Division III, but placed 14th among all teams.

Third-year runner Madeline Lindemann paced the Spartans with a time just under 23 minutes, good for eighth in Division III. Second-year runner Kiera Olson crossed the finish line shortly after her teammate to finish in 13th place in Division III. Fourth-year runners Ellen Sears, Jennifer Hoffman and Marissa Miyagi also contributed to the second place team finish by crossing the finish line in the top 40 in DIII. Both the men’s and women’s teams will compete in the Inter-Regional Rumble this Saturday, Oct. 13.

World Series Predictions Staff Reporter Sanjay Annigeri Astros vs. Brewers

Staff Reporter Riley Simko Astros vs. Brewers

Staff Reporter David Chang Astros vs. Brewers

Staff Reporter Nicholas Kamlet Red Sox vs. Brewers

Opinion Editor Jackson Rudoff Astros vs. Dodgers

Web Editor Preston Willis Red Sox vs. Dodgers

Executive Editor Eddie Kerekes Astros vs. Dodgers Chris Heerman/Observer

Second-year runner Kiera Olson (pictured above) ran at the All-Ohio Championships on Sept. 29. Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams finished second among Division III teams.

Jurassic Park!

Fri October 12

The Original film!

Pre-film extravaganza with free food, fossils, talk by CMNH Dinosaur Paleontologist! Games, prizes and

more! Fun begins at 5, first screening at 7. In Strosacker Celebrate Homecoming and enjoy a bag of popcorn in Strosacker Auditorium with this Spielburg classic about dinosaurs, ethics, and life finding a way. Hosted by the CWRU Film Society, which has been spooling 35mm film at CWRU for over four decades, and sponsored by the Evolutionary Biology Major, Origins Major, and undergarduate Origins Club! Rated PG-13. For more information, see films.case.edu.

Join Us!

Origins.case.edu/club

Origins Club member Jeb, on location in Mongolia

Origins Club is a diverse group of students interested in evolution, cosmology, astronomy and other origins topics, especially Origins Science majors. Many of us work closely with faculty in a variety of areas from lab science to field biology and paleontology. Some of us have traveled to do fieldwork in the deserts of Mongolia, the jungles of South America, and the remote outback of Turkana, Africa. You can too.

Origins Club meets the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month in ROCK 221, 7pm Join us for "Life, the Universe & Hot Dogs" every 2nd Weds at Happy Dog, Euclid Tavern 7pm

sports

observer.case.edu

15

Spartans’ win streak ends in first home UAA game

David Chang Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team defeated Hiram College 3-1, but dropped the first home University Athletic Association conference game against New York University (NYU), 0-3.

The match against Hiram got off to a fast start with both teams immediately trading shots. Second-year midfielder Maximilian Klemm took a shot at the 10 yard line in the first 40 seconds but was wide, while Hiram responded with their own about one minute later. The opposing goalie proceeded to save two consecutive shots, but the Spartans remained unwavered.

Off a thrown ball, a good pass through two defenders found second-year midfielder Connor Weber alone on the thirty yard line.

Weber took his time dribbling towards the

goal and slipped a pass through two defenders to Klemm at the middle of the box. The goalie went for the tackle as Klemm snuck the ball in the bottom right corner for the first goal of the game.

Five minutes later, Weber found secondyear forward Seldon Magruder in the middle of the field, who hit a high shot to the right corner of the goal to extend the lead 2-0.

“Connor is really flexible. We use him side to side to switch the ball, which opens up passing lanes for the attacking forwards to receive,” said fourth-year forward Alex Besl.

Feeling the momentum of the game, three minutes later Magruder attempted a 25 yard shot that slipped through the keeper’s hands for his second goal of the game. The Terriers were able to score during the 80th minute but were unable to comeback from the three point deficit.

During the NYU match, the Violets came out blazing right off the bat, taking seven of

the first eight shots of the game. First-year goalkeeper Charlie Fink demonstrated his role as defensive anchor, recording four saves in the first thirty minutes, with back to back saves during the 26th and 27th minutes.

The Violets broke the tie in the 34th minute from a cross into the middle of the box.

As Fink tried to intercept the cross, the ball was tipped through his fingertips to the lower left side of the goal.

The Spartans started to play in a more controlled pace to maintain possession of the ball, attempting three shots in the last four minutes of the first half, but the shots were either wide or stopped by the Violet’s stout defense.

On their performance in the first half, Besl believed that the Spartans were dominating. “If you only watched the first half, you would believe that [we were] going to win the game,” he said.

In the second half, first-year midfielder Peter Darnelle’s shot from the right corner was on target for the top left corner of the goal, but the opposing keeper managed to save it. Later, after a wide shot from Magruder, the Violets quickly pushed the ball down court and New York’s striker gathered a loose ball in the left side of the box and swiftly shot it over Fink to the lower right corner of the goal. The Spartans were unable to comeback from the 3-0 deficit.

“The dagger in the second half was tough for us...but after watching the film I am not worried at all [about future games]. We just need to maintain a compact defense…[and] work on final moment [in games and] connecting on the pass,” Besl said.

The Spartans will look to bounce back at home this weekend, as they take on Washington University of St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 12 and the University of Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 14.

Will there be a World Series rematch?

Andrew Ford Sports Editor There are just four teams left in the MLB playoffs after just two rounds of games. In the American League, the Boston Red Sox dispatched the Wild Card Game-winning New York Yankees in four games, and the Houston Astros swept the Cleveland Indians in the other division series. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves in four games in the National League, and the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Colorado Rockies, Wild Card Game winners themselves.

Beginning with the American League Championship Series, it’s a battle of the top two regular season teams. The Red

Sox won 108 games, the Astros won 103. This matchup will be a battle of the top offense and defense in baseball. The Red Sox led all teams with 5.41 runs per game, while the Astros have the lowest earned run average (ERA) at 3.11.

The Red Sox boast the two best players in terms of batting average and slugging percentage in Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez. On the offensive side for the Astros, Jose Altuve finished third in the league in batting average and Alex Bregman had the fourth best adjusted OPS in the league. The hitting advantage goes to the Red Sox. However, the Astros have a dominant pitching staff that is deep and talented.

Justin Verlander led the entire league in walks plus hits per innings pitched.

Charlie Morton had the best winning

percentage, and Gerrit Cole had the highest strikeouts per nine innings rate.

The Red Sox have Chris Sale, an elite pitcher who has had outstanding years in the past, but their rotation as a whole isn’t very talented, but it is effective.

Houston has the advantage here, though.

I predict this series will go seven games and is set to be both extremely competitive and entertaining. But, I have to lean with the team who has home field advantage. I have the Red Sox going to the World Series after winning the pivotal Game 7 at home.

The National League Championship Series is the lesser of the two series from an entertainment standpoint. The Brewers have the best player in the this series with probable NL MVP Christian Yelich and also have home field advan-

tage. On the other hand, the Dodgers have the second best team ERA and the fifth best runs per game, both of which are better than the Brewers.

The Dodgers have immense talent all across the board and added Manny Machado earlier in the season to make another World Series run. While the Brewers had the better regular season, I hesitantly have to put my trust in the Dodgers and their huge payroll to return to the Fall Classic after a five game victory.

The battle of the East Coast and the West Coast will be a must-watch series, in as much as baseball can be a mustwatch. I’ll stick with the team that took out my beloved Yankees. The Boston Red Sox will win the World Series in six games.

To China and back

Third-year volleyball player sticks with sport despite international travel Nicholas Kamlet Staff Reporter Haley Sims is a third-year volleyball player who plays middle hitter. She has dedicated her life to volleyball since sixth grade and has not looked back. Off the court, she is involved in Alpha Chi Omega and Theta Tau. Her family experiences have led her to study biomedical engineering to better understand why and how conditions occur.

What is your favorite part of being on the volleyball team? Why? My favorite part about being on the team is all the friendships that I have made. Some members of the team are my best friends.

They are there to support be through the good and bad times on and off the court. No matter what, I know they have my back.

Where did you get your passion for volleyball? Any good stories?

I started playing volleyball in sixth grade.

I used to be a dancer, but when we started middle school all my friends decided to go to volleyball tryouts. I ended up quitting dance and trying out with them. In eighth grade, my family moved to China for three years. I continued to play volleyball there, but it was a very different environment. We got to travel all over Asia to play games. The experiences and friendships volleyball has given my are why I continue to play the sport. I have grown to love it over the years and can not imagine my life without it.

Do you have any matches that you remember being particularly special? Why? Last year we played Carnegie Mellon [University]. It was a tough fought match on our home court, and we came out victorious.

They were ranked that year and had a team full of very talented seniors. I will never forget the energy we had on the court or how happy we were to be able to pull of that win.

Aside from volleyball, what else are you involved in on campus? Can you explain

your role?

I am in Alpha Chi Omega. I was on our executive board last semester as Vice President of Chapter Relations and Standards.

This semester I am our IM [intramural] chair.

I am involved in Theta Tau, the professional engineering fraternity. For the fall and spring semesters of my sophomore year I was the pledge educator. I also just signed up to participate as a dancer in Spartanthon for my second year in a row.

Why are you majoring in biomedical engineering? What interests you about it?

I am majoring in biomedical engineering because when I first came into college I was unsure if I wanted to go into the research side of medicine or the actual medical field.

I have had a lot of experiences in my life which different family members and friends having health problems that don’t typical strike their age or gender. I really wanted to find out why this was possible and get a better understanding of the medical field.

Courtesy of CWRU Athletics Third-year middle hitter Haley Sims has been a consistent, dominant force on the volleyball team. This season she is second on the team in blocks and leads the team in total blocks.

sports Football suffers heartbreaking defeat Riley Simko Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University men’s football team lost to undefeated No. 12 Washington & Jefferson College on Saturday, Oct. 6. The final score was 44-36.

Despite the loss, the Spartans had an impressive outing. First-year quarterback Drew Saxton threw for a career-high 414 yards during the game, and second-year wide receiver Colt Morgan matched his own personal best and the CWRU record for most touchdown receptions in one game. Morgan was named the University Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week for his efforts during the Washington & Jefferson game.

Second-year linebacker Brian Victor and second-year safety Joshua Smith each recorded 10 tackles, tying for the team high.

Second-year running back Kyle Turcovsky rushed for a career-high 59 yards.

The Spartans earned 523 yards this game, 414 in the air and 109 on the ground.

CWRU started out strong, driving against the Presidents for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead. But the Presidents caught up within the first quarter, putting the score at 7-7.

The Spartans took the lead again in the second quarter, and the Saxton-Morgan duo connected on their second touchdown

of the game. The Presidents pushed back for a touchdown, but the kick was blocked, putting them right on the Spartans’ heels at a score of 14-13. The Presidents took the lead heading into halftime with a field goal.

Washington & Jefferson continued to rally in the second half, scoring a quick touchdown in the first two minutes. The Spartans responded with yet another touchdown from Saxton to Morgan, bringing the score to 21-23.

The Presidents extended their lead through the rest of the third quarter, putting the score at 21-30.

The Spartans bounced back once again in the beginning of the final quarter and brought the score up to 28-30 with another Saxton-Morgan connection. This score earned Morgan his fourth touchdown of the game, tying his personal record of receiving touchdowns and the previous school record set in 2002.

In less than 15 seconds, Washington & Jefferson stormed the field for an impressive 75 yard pass, earning a touchdown in one swift play and bringing the score to 28-37.

The Spartans were unable to score off their next possession. Once more, the Presidents scored a touchdown within fifteen seconds on their first play via a 98 yard touchdown run.

In the final minutes of the game, fourthyear wide receiver Joey Spitalli got a two

Women’s soccer records offensive outburst Sanjay Annigeri Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team displayed their offensive firepower last week at home with a commanding 3-0 win against Allegheny College on Tuesday, Oct. 2. However, the team faced a setback with a 2-0 loss to New York University (NYU) on Saturday, Oct. 6.

The match against Allegheny strongly favored the Spartans as the team had 16 shots in the first half even though they were unable to score.

The momentum carried over to the second half, and the CWRU offense came to life. The first strike was during the 61st minute, when fourth-year forward Maggie Tyma received a header from fourth-year forward Melanie Kukura, dribbled it on the left side of the box and shot it past the outstretched arms of the goalie.

Five minutes later, third-year forward Kimberly Chen would recover a saved shot taken by Tyma and sneak it past the goalkeeper. Chen put another goal under her belt when she hit a 30-yard free kick right above the arms of the goalie to add to the lead.

Overall, the offense had 28 shots with 15 on goal, while the defense, lead by second-year goalkeeper Lauren Metz, held Allegheny scoreless.

“We have good offensive players who had scoring opportunities,” Head Coach Tiffany Crooks said. “And, Tyma was the real spark she has proven throughout her

time here she can be. She came on in the second half and changed the game. Her effort really opened it up for us.”

The conference matchup against NYU did not go as well for the Spartans.

NYU jumped out to an early lead in the 10th minute, as third-year midfielder Isabelle Turner scored off of an assist from second-year midfielder Julia Raith. Three minutes later, Turner added another goal as she corralled a loose ball in the box and scored. NYU scored these two early firsthalf goals and held onto their lead, while the Spartans’ offense remained scoreless.

The team finished the week with a win and a loss, bringing their overall season record to 6-5 and their conference record to 0-2.

The team will face tough back-to-back matchups, with a Senior Day game against No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis on Friday, Oct. 12 and against No. 13 University of Chicago on Sunday, Oct. 14.

“This is a really tough weekend, and we’re used to it. Last year, we played them on the road when they were [No. 1] and [No. 2], respectively. We lost at [Washington University in St. Louis] in the last minutes and played [University of] Chicago closer than most teams at that point,” Crooks said. “Our women respect the talent and accomplishments of these programs, but we aren’t intimidated by it. I’m excited for the games. And being at home during Homecoming is a great boost for us. It will be wonderful to welcome back our women’s soccer alums throughout the weekend.”

point conversion pass after Saxton threw his fifth touchdown of the day to wide receiver Luke DiFrancesco. The final score was 36-44 in favor of the Presidents.

This loss stopped the Spartans’ 14-game regular season win streak carried over from last season and dropped them down to No. 21 in the Division III rankings.

“If you look at their record, Washington & Jefferson just has a stronger defense,” Alexander Mullarkey, a third-year sports

medicine student, said. “Both teams played hard and had outstanding defense, but the other team just edged ahead. Overall, their team’s just a bit more balanced.”

Next week the football team will be at home, playing against Saint Vincent College for the CWRU homecoming game at 1 p.m. on DiSanto Field. Saint Vincent College remains unranked among Division III teams, has a 1-4 record and has lost every away game so far this season.

Martin Sentak/CWRU Athletics Second-year wide receiver Colt Morgan (86) and first-year quarterback Drew Saxton (4) have found a special connection this year. Twice this season Morgan has tied the CWRU record for most receiving touchdowns in a game.

Tennis wraps up fall season, women’s duo set for ITA Cup David Chang Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s tennis teams completed their fall season on Sept. 30.

The women’s team played strong Division I teams at the Detroit Mercy Invitational in Michigan, while the men’s team competed at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Fall Central Regional Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.

The tournament format for the Detroit Mercy Invitational was a hidden dual format and did not factor in team scores. The Spartans played Bowling Green State University in singles play and Akron University and host University of Detroit Mercy in doubles play.

Second-year student Mira Amin led the team with a victory in both singles and double play. Amin defeated Oakland’s Samantha Galloway in a close match, 3-6, 7-5, 13-11, and Akron’s Carla Flores and Alexis Steer 7-5 in doubles play with partner first-year student Sneha Karnam. Fourth-year CWRU student Jessica Liu earned a victory against Oakland’s Dasha Artamonova 4-6, 6-1, 10-7. First-year student Nidha Jha claimed the Spartans’ only win on the second day of the tournament against

Akron’s Alexis Steer 3-6, 6-1, 10-5.

Liu commented on Jha and Amin’s play, saying, “[They] are very consistent at hitting to the baseline, and they do a good job at volleying middle balls.”

The men’s team finished with an overall singles record of 26-12 and a doubles record of 15-5. The 11th seeded duo of second-year student Matthew Chen and third-year student Zach Hennessey had a 4-1 record overall. They finished at the semifinals of the main doubles draw, after losing to top-seeded University of Chicago’s doubles pair Tyler Raclin and Jeremy Yuan, 8-3.

On Sunday, fourth-year student Rob Stroup claimed the win over Washington University of St. Louis’s Koki Takabatake to win the consolation draw for singles with a 5-1 record overall. Second-year student Earl Hsieh and firstyear student Kenneth Boyette won the consolation draw for doubles, defeating Transylvania’s Arjun Gupta and Hugo Kouhkna 8-3 for the title.

The doubles duo of Liu and Paolucci will head to Rome, Georgia to compete in the 2018 ITA Cup at Berry College.

Seeded fourth, Liu and Paolucci will take on Bethel University’s Maggie Riermann and Grace Riermann, who won the Midwest Regional ITA tournament.

The Spartan tennis teams will resume play in the spring.