Volume XLVII, Issue 10, 10/30/2015

the

Case Western Reserve University volume xlvii, issue 10 friday, 10/30/2015

Observer

Heartbreak

Photos courtesy Suhib Jamal

Following death of first-year Mohammad Jamal, CWRU community shares his story Nardine Taleb, Staff Reporter

Early in the semester, members of the Muslim Student Association received an email from a first year student introducing himself: “Asalamoualaikum MSA peeps, Hello there fellow MSA brothers and sisters. My name is Mohammad Jamal and I am running for freshman representative. I’d like to think of myself as being a pretty ordinary guy with a couple extraordinary qualities, and this is why I am well suited for this position. I would be able to connect with you guys on a personal level.”

After being named to the position, the ordinary guy with extraordinary qualities carried out his promise, connecting on a personal level with students throughout the Case Western Reserve community and beyond. It’s why friends and faculty members spent time last week reflecting on the memories he left them with, the extraordinary stories they will never forget.

Their stories reveal the type of guy Jamal was. He was the type of guy who, when asked what he was doing with his day, replied, “Ice my knee, then football”; the type of guy who went home every weekend because he didn’t want his parents to think that college had changed him; the type of guy who sometimes introduced himself as Julio, as a joke.

Jamal—nicknamed ‘Mo’ by his friends—wanted to become a cardiologist one day, so he could fix hearts. When he died in a car accident on Oct. 17, at the age of 18, he broke countless hearts instead.

*** Writing instructor and English doctoral candidate Ray Horton taught Jamal at Case Western Reserve University’s pre-college Emerging Scholars Program (ESP) over the summer. At the start of his class, everyone was asked to introduce themselves. They went around in a circle.

“Each student would say something like, ‘Hi, I’m so-and-so, from so-and-so high school,’” said first-year student Arik Stewart, who also participated in ESP. Then came Mohammad Jamal’s turn.

Jamal did not introduce himself the way everyone did. He did not mention that he came to Case Western Reserve University after graduating from John

Hay High School or that he was captain of his high school soccer team, a sergeant at arms of the National Honor Society and a member of the Healthy Profession Pipeline Program.

He did not say, or maybe he did not know, that he hoped to join the Muslim Student Association as freshman representative, that he would become an active member of the Middle Eastern Cultural Association, and a leader of the intramural soccer team.

Instead, as Horton explained, Jamal paused. Then he stood up and said, “Hello, my name is Mohammad Jamal, and I am an alcoholic.”

The class broke into laughter.

Horton added, “This joke, which might have seemed inappropriate or disruptive in another context, turned out to be one of the most memorable moments of our class.”

*** No matter where he was, even if he was among a pool of stressed-out students, Jamal was still himself: cool and collected.

“His voice was mellow and chill,” Stewart said. One day, during a math workshop, Stewart explained that students were complaining about the problems they had to solve, but the pressure

“Mohammad made me see the good in the bad, the humor in hurt, and that at the end of the day, everything could be worse, but wasn’t.”

-First-year student Oluchi Onyeukwu

to finish work did not seem to bother Jamal. When they looked over at him, everyone wondered how he was so calm.

“We’d say, ‘Mohammad, you gotta focus,’” said Stewart.

And Jamal would tell them, “Just calm down, I got this.” He was, in fact, in a more advanced math course.

“He was a young man who didn’t seem at all phased by the pressures of college or the stress of a busy schedule,” said Horton.

His relaxed nature is something almost everyone who knew him noticed.

Jamal always encouraged others to take life easy.

“He was good company,” Stewart said. “When he gave a joke, everyone would be dying laughing.”

Second-year student Rita Mariococchi mentioned that, in Arabic 101, Jamal always had a smile after he made a joke.

Stewart described this smile as an “I just did that; I’m cool” type of smile. Thom Dawkins, ESP writing instructor and English PhD candidate, called it a “subtle grin” that everyone had come to love and respect, a grin he will never forget.

One day in class, Mariococchi said, the professor wrote the word “ayb” on the board. The word almost translates to “shame on you.” After asking the class to pronounce it correctly, the professor then requested that Jamal explain what the word meant.

to JAMAL | 2

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 2 Brain surgery a success

pg. 10 CMA hosts gardens exhibit

pg. 6 Fire alarm problems

pg. 17 Men’s soccer dominates

news Inside University Hospital’s live televised brain surgery CWRU undergraduate students assisted in running event Srivatsan Uchani Contributing Reporter On Oct. 25, television cameras recorded an operating room in University Hospitals (UH) as a surgical team consisting of two neurosurgeons, a neurologist and half a dozen nurses prepared to perform the first ever live brain surgery on Greg Grindley, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease. The surgery was broadcasted through the efforts of National Geographic and Mental Floss.

Viewers in over 170 countries were able to watch when, after six hours of almost totally unbroken concentration on the part of the surgical team, Grindley was able to control all of his limbs for the first time in 10 years.

The operation, for which Grindley was kept fully conscious, is officially known as a deep brain stimulation surgery because of the method in which electrical stimulators are strategically placed inside of the brain.

“Not a lot of people know what this procedure means,” said Will Pearson, president of Mental Floss. “So part of the goal of this was trying to educate the public and sort of demystify brain surgery. I’m thrilled to see how it all came together…I think it was a success, and it was thrilling to see on social media how many people responded to it.”

Aditi Shirke, a third-year student, watched the live broadcast.

“It was exciting to see something this amazing live on TV when it’s happening so close to CWRU,” said Shirke.

“The live DBS surgery portrays the success of technology and human spirit in overcoming the odds and helping people who have diseases—such as Parkinson’s—to have an easier life,” she added.

were preparing for this groundbreaking surgery, there was a low, steady stream of chatter, and those present alternated between typing furiously on their laptops and gazing up at one of the two large televisions mounted on the walls.

Empty coffee cups, open bags of junk food and soda cans littered the tables already covered with paper and telephones.

There were a few moments of tense worry leading up to the surgery, such as when one man muttered, “the audio still isn’t working.” But each moment soon dissipated as the problem was solved.

As dramatic music played and the TV screens cut to a live shot of the Seidman Cancer Center, a total hush came over the room.

During the surgery, the hashtag #BrainSurgeryLive was the third most popular trending topic on Twitter in the U.S. From the UH media room, National Geographic’s social media team typed away non-stop on their laptops, responding, with the help of a couple of doctors nearby, to questions and statements tweeted live from viewers.

One tweet particularly touched the National Geographic team: “#BrainSurgeryLive thank you for doing this show. I have essential tremors and was freaking out about the idea of DBS but you have calmed me.”

“This is why we are doing this, for people like this,” said Senior Vice-President of Communications Worldwide & Talent Relations at National Geographic Christopher Albert, who was leading the magazine’s behind-the-scenes efforts the night of the surgery CWRU students helped to make history

Inside the UH media room As people in the UH media room

from JAMAL | 1 Jamal, who was proficient in Arabic, so much so that he got perfect scores on his tests, translated the word in his own way and told the class it meant, I love you.

Then he shot them that charming smile.

Several days after his passing, thirdyear student Waed Eid finally looked through the text messages she had sent to Jamal, and the ones he had sent to her.

She was looking for memories. With almost every text, she would look up, laugh, and say, “Oh, I have another story!”

“Sometimes, I would say ‘Hun’ on accident,” she said, holding up her phone to show the text. “And sometimes, as a joke, he’d reply, ‘It’s okay, sweetie.’”

There was that one time when she texted him “Bye” as their conversation came to a close, and a minute later, he texted her “Hello.” He always made fun of her height. She made fun of him for always being injured because of sports.

Once, she asked him why he would rather hang out than text.

He said, “I’d rather talk to people in person.”

Fourth-year students Leina Lunasco and Austin Olshavsky worked closely As someone who likes to keep herself busy, going from classes to work to extracurricular activities, she now looked at the memories she had in her phone and talked about how Jamal taught her to enjoy the company of people.

He was one of the first people she made time for.

With a sad smile, Eid looked up from her phone and said, “Texting him made me so much happier.” *** The day after the funeral, first-year student Abdelrahman Rahmy looked over at Jamal’s bed, expecting to see him.

“It really hit me hard then,” Rahmy said.

There were so many stories to share about the time he spent with Jamal, as his roommate and his friend. And it’s the small things, the things that became part of his daily routine, that Rahmy remembers the most.

“I’d always tease him about the room being a mess,” Rahmy said. “And he’d be like, ‘Sorry, Mom,’ and then he’d get up and make a big fuss about moving things

Courtesy Srivatsan Uchani In University Hospital’s media room, employees from Mental Floss and National Geographic worked to make sure the broadcast went smoothly with Mental Floss and National Geographic to set up this event.

Lunasco was responsible for escorting the main personalities running the show to and from various locations in the hospital.

“Being with the Grindley family as they witnessed Greg’s tremors stopped was a beautiful and emotional experience,” said Lunasco. “[Although] the first couple of days were pretty rough—I believe Austin and I worked about 12 hour shifts—[to me] as an aspiring physician, to see the direct impact of modern medicine was

incredibly moving and motivating,” she continued.

“I hope to [similarly] impact many lives over the course of my career.

When accepting the job last month, we had no idea what we were getting into, but it was all worth it in the end.”

Olshavsky worked primarily as security for the operating room.

“The whole filming process was unbelievable,” he said. “The amount of prep work that goes into it, and then seeing it all come together on the day of [was incredible]…because you can’t really practice a surgery.”

around and ask me if it was better.”

Every Friday, they walked to a nearby mosque for prayer. There, Rahmy remembered how everyone would come up to Jamal and call him by his name.

“He was the type of person that people loved to be around, always making conversation with people and never letting people feel left out,” said Rahmy.

They played flag football and soccer together.

“Mo was the heart of the team,” said Rahmy.

Even when they would lose, Jamal would make the team laugh, so much that sometimes losing was fun.

“Throughout our time together, he showed me that I was focusing too much on some things and forgetting to just enjoy life,” Rahmy said.

“Moo was the most loyal person I’ve ever met,” Onyeukwu said. “He would do anything for the people he loved.”

She hopes to be a cardiologist one day, just as Jamal had. Now, she said, she will be going for the both of them.

“Mohammad made me see the good in the bad, the humor in hurt, and that at the end of the day, everything could be worse, but wasn’t,” Onyeukwu said.

*** First-year student Oluchi Onyeukwu, Jamal’s close high school friend who also attends CWRU, will never forget the type of friend he was. Instead of calling him Mo, she nicknamed him ‘Moo.’

*** Despite the heartbreak, Jamal’s friends and professors can’t help but smile when remembering the times they shared with him.

Still, they say, their smiles will never match the one Mo had. A smile that, Onyeukwu said, “lit up like nothing you’d ever seen.”

In the conclusion of his letter of intent for the MSA Freshman Representative position, Jamal wrote: “I do not have experience in this field, but as the saying goes, ‘You have to start somewhere.’ If you guys put a bit of faith in me, I will surely produce. I will not only make changes for the better merely possible, I will make them nearly inevitable.

news

observer.case.edu

Whether ‘grabbing’ or ‘bagging,’ lunch now without plastic bags Kushagra Gupta,Opinion Editor Aneeka Ayyar, Staff Reporter The typical beacon of a student’s Grab It! or Bag It! lunch is the plastic bag. Due to over a year of efforts by the Student Sustainability Council (SSC), that has now changed.

On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Grab It! and Bag it! stopped offering plastic bags and students instead have had the option of using free reusable bags, distributed throughout October by the council.

Those who haven’t received one have the option of requesting one at ‘gimmeabag@case.edu’ or obtaining one onsite when SSC members are present.

SSC Chair Grace Cammarn saw mostly positive responses to the change, but did hear of some discontent.

“I think with anything like this, you only hear the negative comments,” Cammarn said. “I think you see the happy responses, when you give them a bag.”

Most students have appeared to either adopt the reusable bag or stop using bags at all. One student, when asking for a bag via email, closed their email with a compliment.

The student wrote, “Biodegradable hugs and kisses.”

The blue bags come in a pouch that can be hooked onto a backpack, with

drawstrings to compact the bag for storage. The bag itself has handles, similar to its plastic counterpart. On them are the logos of the sponsors, Bon Appétit, CaseOneCard, Tapingo and the Office of Sustainability. Cammarn said that students who request one would get them within a week.

The move to reusable bags came almost a year after the SSC polled students in the lunchroom. Of a total of two hundred sixteen students, 79 percent had a positive response to bags being removed from Grab It!.

Partially based on that response, the group decided to move forward with their plan to remove bags from Grab It!.

Last fall, they worked with Bon Appétit to move the bags at Grab It! to the bar facing the windows where the microwaves were previously located. According to Cammarn, this forced students to weigh the benefits and costs of using a plastic bag. If it was worth them carrying their food over and grabbing a bag they would, but if they were going to sit down a short distance away, the students wouldn’t.

In a previous estimate, the council had determined the 500 bags were used daily.

“The average usage of a plastic bag is 14 minutes, so to think that each of those 500 plastic bags were being manufactured just to be thrown out in 14 minutes didn’t make sense,” Assistant Director of the Of-

fice of Sustainability Erin Kollar said.

The council has also conducted stakeouts at Grab It! After moving the bags, the group saw that only 35 percent of students were grabbing bags. Cammarn noted the occasional angry comments during this stakeout about the bags being farther away.

Still, that number was a sharp contrast to the 95 percent bag usage they had seen at the beginning of the fall 2014 semester. Not simply tallying, Cammarn and other SSC members had taken to noting how students had been using bags. Often students would use the bag to move and sit down on nearby.

She noted that the bags main use was to collect food items to throw in the trash.

Seeing this and the results of their poll, they decided to move them.

The group will be observing bag use again later this semester to note the results of their work. Cammarn knows that sustainability can be controversial.

She was aware of a similar campaign four years ago that students forced Bon Appétit to stop.

“The definition of sustainability, an integral part of it, is future generations,” said Cammarn. “The idea is that you are not doing it for you. You are doing it for the good of the planet and future generations. It’s not about that immediate satisfaction. It’s about what’s your future going to look like.”

Macdonald Women’s Hospital holds dedication for new statue Adithi Iyengar Copy Editor Cloudless skies and a bright sun set the scene for a crowd of people gathered around a statue in front of Macdonald Women’s Hospital. On Oct. 26, approximately 40 people came out for the dedication of the new statue, “Where Hope is Born,” erected to welcome patients and families into the hospital.

The piece was created by artist Hector Vega and commissioned by philanthropists, Iris and Mort November.

MacDonald Women’s Hospital is a part of University Hospital’s Main Campus, which also encompasses Case Medical Center, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and the Seidman Cancer Center.

According to Dr. James Liu, chair of OBGYN, it was difficult for patients to find the women’s hospital’s entrance.

“Our hospital doesn’t have a true entrance,” said Liu. “There’s no way to get to the hospital. We do have an entrance but it is very hard to find.”

Iris and Mort November used this issue as an opportunity to commission, not only a sign, but a statue that catches the eye of whoever walks past it. The new statue, “Where Hope is Born,” sits right across from another of Vega’s works, “Where Dreams Come True.”

“I wanted to convey women and babies of all cultures,” said Vega. “I wanted to portray stay-at-home moms, business moms, and all kinds of women.”

The dedication of the statue began with a speech from Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, Iris and Mort November’s rabbi of Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple.

“I am blessed to be here by this super facility that is so available in our community,” said Nosanchuk. “Today, we gather aside of a beautiful new statue of where

Christopher Gittings/Observer The dedication ceremony of the new statue “Where Hope is Born” also celebrated the life of Mort November, a philanthropist who commissioned the project but died over the summer. hope is born.”

The event continued with food and laughter. People began to convene and tell stories about the late Mort November, who passed away this July.

“The fact that people remembered him with such love was really great,” said Iris.

“He would have had such a great time.”

Iris recalled her reaction when she first saw the completed statue.

“I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was and when I saw my name and Mort’s on the statue, I cried,” she said.

Remembering Mort and celebrating his life was a major part of the dedication.

Without his willingness to give to the community, this would not have happened.

“There was so much joy in the room,” said Iris. “I was so happy that everyone had so many fond memories of him.

3

Cleveland catch-up Aquene Kimmel News Editor Cleveland man shot, robbed in the street A Cleveland man was walking along Mt. Auburn Avenue, on the East side of Cleveland, when he saw four cars pull into a parking lot at a nearby apartment building.

Three men then approached him from a field near the building. They instructed him to lay down and took his cell phone and 200 dollars. One of the men then shot the victim in the buttocks and hit him with his gun, resulting in a bullet wound and an injury to his left ear.

The injured victim crawled back to his home, where his girlfriend called 911. Cleveland Emergency Medical Services was treating the victim when the police arrived. Following that, the victim was brought to MetroHealth, according to Cleveland.com The police report states that two differently sized bullet casings were found at the crime scene. No suspects have been identified or arrested.

Cleveland sports facilities to be updated using county-issued bonds\ The Cuyahoga City Council has discussed a plan to sell $65 million in bonds in order to make repairs and improvements in Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena, according to an article on Cleveland.com. The idea will be voted on at a future meeting.

These bonds would be paid back in 10 years using money from the “sin tax,” a tax on cigarettes and alcohol which voters extended in 2014 and which the county began to collect again in August.

Improvements will include new scoreboards for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Cleveland Indians, a new roof for the Indians’ arena, new closed circuit and video production systems, and many other repairs to the aging Progressive Field. The Cleveland Browns have also been making changes to their arena, to be funded partially with this fund.

“The proceeds from the new levy will fund bond debt service and provide a significant amount of dollars available for other capital repairs at the three buildings,” Timothy Offtermatt, chairman of the Gateway Economic Development Corp., said to Cleveland.com.

Changes are slated to be completed by the 2016 Republican National Convention.

4-year-old shot at his home On Wednesday, a 4-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder. When first asked, his father claimed that the boy had been shot in a drive-by shooting. He later said that the boy was actually shot by another child on accident.

Police arrested the father for child endangerment, and the boy was brought to Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital with his mother, according to an article on Cleveland.com.

This investigation is ongoing.

4

news

10/30/15

On the beat

Red Alert: Within the past several weeks Case Western Reserve University has had to send out several security alerts that have popped up in everyone’s email or caused everyone’s phone to ring, vibrate, scream or bark depending on their settings.

We don’t do this for the fun of it. We do it because we are legally required to and because we want to make the campus aware of potential threats and enlist the community’s help in locating suspects.

The legal part comes in as part of the Clery Act, passed by Congress in 1990, named after a college freshman murdered in her residence hall. One of the act’s requirements is that we alert the campus

Security alerts intended to inform campus community

community about certain types of crimes in a manner that is timely, will enable people to protect themselves and will aid in the prevention of similar crimes.

After the CWRU Police Department becomes aware of a serious crime— usually defined as a crime against person such as a robbery or assault—we try and get an alert out as soon as possible, once we feel we have enough of the basic facts to do so. The alerts are intended to be in ‘just the facts, ma’am’ style—what happened, where and a description of any suspects. Suspect descriptions are based on what is provided by the victim, which can range from de-

tailed to vague, depending on the individual. Alerts are usually not sent out for property crimes unless a significant pattern or other circumstances arise.

Alerts are intended to provide the campus community with enough information to take steps to protect themselves and provide descriptions of suspects that are still at large. Alerts will often come in bunches, sometimes triggered by one or more individuals engaging in a pattern of criminal activity in a given area until they are stopped. A case in point was a series of purse snatchings that occurred on or near campus over the summer, several of which triggered

alerts, with a similar suspect description. Eventually a suspect matching that description was stopped by CWRU PD officers and has been charged with several of these crimes.

So when the ringtone goes off, take a minute or two and read the alert. You may never need the information, but you never know. Let’s look out for each other.

On the Beat is a weekly safety column written by Sergeant Jeffrey Daberko of CWRU PD. He welcome questions, suggestions and gripes/groans/moans/ complaints about campus life at policecolumn@case.edu.

CWRU aims to increase consumption of “real food” Julia Bianco Director of Web & Multimedia Case Western Reserve University is aiming to have 30 percent “real food” by 2020 through a partnership with Slow Food at CWRU, Bon Appétit and the Real Food Challenge (RFC).

RFC is a nationwide effort for colleges to move at least 20 percent of the money spent on food in dining halls to

“real food” that supports local markets and sustainable food.

The RFC uses a Real Food Calculator that tracks institutional purchasing, breaking down what is “real food” into four categories: local/community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane.

Slow Food promotes local and sustainable food production, with an aim of “good, clean and fair food practic-

es,” according to Danielle Kulpins, vice president of the club. They have presented the idea to university President Barbara R. Snyder and are hoping to get her to sign a campus commitment soon.

“We define our tagline and our identity ‘food service for a sustainable future’ as f lavorful food that’s healthy and economically viable for all, produced through practices that respect farmers, workers and animals; nourish the com-

munity; and replenish our shared natural resources for future generations,” said Bon Appétit in a statement. “The Real Food Challenge guidelines align with our high standards and practices.”

The kick-off event was on Oct. 29, in partnership with Bon Appétit. Representatives from the RFC and the Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms— better known as CWRU 75004 Farm—were also present.

WE’VE FOUND THAT INTEGRITY

IS NOT SUBJECT TO BULL AND BEAR MARKETS. While performance can fluctuate, our disciplined, long-term approach to investing rests on values that are immune to market fluctuations. We’re here to benefit others. And to improve the financial well-being of millions. Just what you’d expect from a company that’s created to serve and built to perform.

Learn more about ways we can improve your financial health at TIAA.org/Integrity BUILT TO PERFORM. CREATED TO SERVE.

The Lipper Award is given to the group with the lowest average decile ranking of three years’ Consistent Return for eligible funds over the three-year period ended 11/30/12, 11/30/13, and 11/30/14 respectively. TIAA-CREF was ranked among 36 fund companies in 2012 and 48 fund companies in 2013 and 2014 with at least five equity, five bond, or three mixed-asset portfolios. Past performance does not guarantee future results. For current performance and rankings, please visit the Research and Performance section on tiaa-cref.org. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC, Teachers Personal Investors Services, Inc., and Nuveen Securities, LLC, members FINRA and SIPC, distribute securities products. ©2015 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America–College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF), 730 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. C24849C 1

Consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. Go to tiaa-cref.org for product and fund prospectuses that contain this and other information. Read carefully before investing. TIAA-CREF funds are subject to market and other risk factors.

news

observer.case.edu

5

Spotlight on research

Student studies the formation of fibrosis Sruthi Meka Staff Reporter Third-year student Nikhil Mallipeddi spends between 10 and 15 hours each week reading, discussing, theorizing and experimenting in a laboratory off a third floor hallway in Millis Science Center at Case Western Reserve University.

Mallipeddi is currently working with Principal Investigator and associate professor of biology Radhika Atit on a study to understand the formation of fibrosis, which is the hardening of organ tissues.

“We’re looking at the role of long noncoding RNAs, commonly called lncRNAs, and how they affect the development of fibrosis,” said Mallipeddi.

LncRNAs compose a diverse class of relatively short non-protein coding transcripts that play a critical role in regulating how genes are expressed.

“LncRNAs themselves are a pretty new field so not much is known about them in comparison to other types of RNA molecules,” said Mallipeddi. “Right now, most of our work is pretty exploratory.”

Mallipeddi spends a large portion of his time reading articles and other research publications to acquaint himself with the field of study.

“A lot of my time is also spent discussing the project, discussing ideas to implement in the future…[and] discussing what’s out there and how we can adapt that to what we’re doing,” he said.

Mallipeddi finds that these discussions with the research team, including Atit and undergraduate researcher Nathaniel K. Mullin, are just as important as the biological experiments conducted.

“When we’re actually doing the experiments, often times, we’ll have everything planned out and we’ll know what we expect to see,” said Mallipeddi.

The primary objective of the study is to better understand the function of lncRNAs in context and in relation to the development of fibrosis.

“Ideally, hopefully, we’ll find a specific lncRNA transcript that can compare to…creating or regulating dermal fibrosis,” said Mallipeddi. “Of course, that’s a perfect-world scenario and things don’t always work out the way we expect them to.”

Mallipeddi describes his research as a slow process that requires regular troubleshooting to make corrections to the general methodology. He enjoys using analytical skills needed to solve problems as they arise in the laboratory.

“With research, often times, the topic you’re studying is a very small topic in the field in the grand scheme of biology, and in the grand scheme of research as whole,” said Mallipeddi.

He feels the most important component of the research experience is acquiring the ability and the specific frame of mind that researchers use.

“I think that analytical systematic problem-solving approach is one of the best skills that you can gain as an undergrad,” said Mallipeddi. “While knowledge is still great, the real gem comes from exercising the analytical muscle in your brain…and applying it to different scenarios.”

In addition to f lexing his analytical muscles in the Atit Laboratory, Mallipeddi is also involved in clinical research at University Hospitals through the Emergency Medicine Research Division. He is also a brother of the social fraternity Delta Tau Delta.

“I really enjoy research,” said Mallipeddi. “I enjoy the mindset you have to apply to research.”

Greek philanthropy aims to spread mental health awareness Jasmine Gallup Staff Reporter Next week, in an effort to raise awareness for mental health, Theta Chi will be holding their annual Mental Health Awareness Week, five days of events designed to raise awareness and raise money for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Greater Cleveland.

Mental Health Awareness Week events will include a table in Nord with green ribbons each day of the week, a “Blackboard” event on Monday where students can draw in chalk on the Spitball statue, an open mic night 6 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday night in Clark 309 and a Mental Health Fair on Friday from 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. in the Thwing Ballroom. All proceeds of the events will benefit the NAMI of Greater Cleveland.

Mental Health Awareness Week culminates on Friday with the Mental Health Fair, where Theta Chi will be selling t-shirts for five dollars to raise money for NAMI of Greater Cleveland.

Third-year student Zachary Williams, a member of Theta Chi who is assisting with the organization of the week-long series of events, claims that the highlight the week will really be the open mic night on Wednesday.

“The idea of the event is to create a safe space for people to share their stories,” Williams said of the event, which will be held from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. in Clark 309.

“It’s heartwarming and uplifting for people who were able to share their stories,”

Williams said of last year’s open mic.

Mental Health Awareness Week started in 2013, in Williams’ freshman year.

“My brothers identified a problem,” Williams said. “Mental health struggles were really common, but weren’t being adequately addressed or thought about.

No one had really been talking about mental health on campus yet.”

The point of Mental Health Awareness Week was to get people talking about it, to break down some of the stigma surrounding mental illness and to get students who were struggling with mental illness to realize that they weren’t alone.

“People who were depressed, people who were suicidal, were getting the help they needed because they became aware of the resources,” said Williams.

Two undergraduate organizations started after Theta Chi’s first annual Mental Health Awareness Week, as part of the Case Western Reserve University community’s efforts to raise awareness of mental health: CWRU branches of NAMI and Active Minds.

Williams hopes that the effect of this year’s event mirrors that of last year’s.

“I hope to re-spark the conversations of last year,” said Williams. “Many people said that they didn’t realize so many people suffered from mental illness.”

“65 percent of people who drop out do so because of mental health—not because of financial issues, not because of anything else, because they couldn’t handle school—but because of mental health,” he added.

Does this empty space bug you? Then join our staff. We’re looking for a Director of Design.

Details at observer.case.edu/job-opportunities/

Years of work led up to new traffic lights Aquene Kimmel News Editor While walking between Northside and Southside, or between the Engineering Quad and Little Italy, many students cross at Adelbert Road and Circle Drive. Until recently, the three-way intersection made for unsure crossing, with students either rushing across or waiting as car after car coasted through the stop signs.

Now, traffic lights and walk signs regulate traffic and pedestrians as they pass through the intersection.

The idea of putting traffic lights at that intersection first came up a few years ago, when people brought it up to then-President of the Staff Advisory Council (SAC) Barb Juknialis.

“It is my understanding that the safety of that intersection has been an issue for some time,” said Juknialis. “I knew from personal experience and reports from SAC members that something needed to be done.”

After the issue was brought to her attention, Juknialis spoke with Richard Jamieson, vice president for Campus Services.

Jamieson agreed that the issue needed to be fixed, so he brought it to the Cleveland, with which Case Western Reserve University has

worked to improve pedestrian safety in past.

And then he waited. “[Richard] and I corresponded about this issue for a couple of years before he was able to convince the City of Cleveland to take action,” said Juknialis. “I am pleased that SAC was able to contribute to this project and help ensure safe pedestrian crossing at that busy intersection.”

Third-year student Erika Hripko crosses at that intersection frequently. Previously, she felt awkward having to wait and try to figure out when to cross. Since the new lights were put in, that has improved.

“Sometimes it takes a little longer to get across,” said Hripko. “But so far it’s been somewhat better, and I haven’t been honked at yet which is a plus. Other than that, though, it hasn’t changed a whole lot. But I was honestly glad when they put it in.”

Jamieson, too, was happy that the traffic lights have finally been installed.

“Safety is the University’s highest priority,” said Jamieson. “Installation of this traffic signal will improve pedestrian safety for the many members of the University community and the public who use this intersection. This is the reason we sought to have the traffic light installed. We are grateful that the City of Cleveland agreed to do so.”

Aquene Kimmel/Observer

CWRU requested traffic lights at this intersection years ago, and the city of Cleveland just recently installed them.

opinion Editorial

New residence hall problems are getting old

Absence of exhaust systems in the kitchen have left students facing the threat of frequent fire alarms for over a month Students that moved into the oncampus apartments at the New Residence Hall, known as the Apartment at 1576 first saw a modern-looking fireplace in the lobby.The ugliness of the situation they have been forced into could not have been more ironic.

As The Observer reported, soon after students had finished moving, they faced four fire alarms in the span of 24 hours.

A member of the Editorial Board visited the apartment of a student who wished not to be named. When the student had first moved in, they had immediately noticed the exhaust was missing and emailed housing, saying that they believed it to be a fire hazard.

The student received a terse reply, “No, there were no fans planned for over the stoves in the new hall.”

The kitchens of these apartments do not contain exhaust systems above their stoves. Instead, there is simply a smaller cabinet higher-up above.

Without this necessity, it is no surprise the fire alarms from simply cooking are routinely started. Even though Housing claims to have installed a form of ventilation, which they have opened in response to the high rates of alarms going off, students see no improvements in these rates.

Four weeks ago we described these problems in an Observer news article.

Still, there has been no great solution offered.

The Editorial Board holds the Case Western Reserve University administration and Housing responsible for the problems students living at the apartments continue to face. There is no good excuse for the apathy from the administration.

If Housing had mentioned any solutions that were being considered, the Board would not be commenting on this.

Well, that is, solutions other than opening a window. On Sept. 23, Housing did send out this suggestion in an email to the residents. Yet, they were met with another problem. The new apartment— which students have already paid so much for—only has windows that open about half a foot near the bottom. This is not an adequate solution, and will be useless once winter arrives; promoting this increases the risks of pipes bursting.

In addition to inadequate ventilation, the kitchens were given chairs instead of bar stools for the bar, and mediocre soundproofing of the rooms has garnered complaints. But these are minor issues compared to the one at hand.

To add fuel to a fire, the student’s—

whose suite we visited—thermostat was broken when they moved in. Due to this, the heat constantly blasts.

When the student begins cooking, the room is already hot. Smoke clouds their kitchen and sitting area. Pollution does not promote education. It’s easy to tell these students not to cook, but many are not on a meal plan and have not been offered one by the administration as a solution.

However, the largest danger is not for lack of food. Constant false fire alarms means that students will not evacuate when an actual fire is occurring. The fire alarm becomes not a signal of danger, but the boy who cried wolf. The burden on the local fire department is clear: When the abandoned Little Italy building burned to the ground earlier this semester, a false alarm at the apartments diverted fire department resources to what was probably burnt macaroni and cheese.

To get these students on a meal plan would be the first step for the administration and Housing. The administration must work with Housing to ensure that adequate ventilation is installed.

Despite the problems being clear for over a month, no attempts at actual solutions have been made. Even if they have, there has not been communication

Clarissa Cuevas/Observer to the campus community.

It is ineffective to ask students to essentially solve the situation by themselves, when asking them to open windows that barely open, or to cook without occasional smoke. It is placing the blame off of the building’s design, and onto the students who pay to live there.

At this rate, the new residence hall’s problems are getting old.

Stress, depression, anxiety in college students: not the norm The Different Perspective Ankita Chakraborty College students are no strangers to stress and anxiety. All those late hours spent studying and worrying about maintaining a high GPA can certainly take a toll.

Quite often depression can even set in as the daily school rhythm grows monotonous and tedious. Pressure to perform, to be social and to suddenly adapt to a new setting can easily push a student to the breaking point. All the described situations are likely shared experiences among college students and perhaps even expected.

According to a recent study by the American Psychiatric Association of college students who sought help at college counseling centers, 20 percent expressed anxiety as a top concern followed by depression and stress. The prevalence of these conditions may be why many stu-

dents have become desensitized to seeing their peers in a sleepless, stressed-out state and may disregard warning signs in their own bodies. Many people believe that symptoms they experience are a part of the typical “college lifestyle” and will not reach out for help.

The fact that there is still some stigma attached to seeking treatment for mental disorders also does not encourage students to request help. There is always the major hindrance of public perception; people may have an innate fear of societal rejection or hesitate because their attempts to get assistance may be misconstrued as overdramatic.

Students need to realize that they could be putting their health in jeopardy by not seeking adequate help or confiding in someone. By ignoring symptoms, they are allowing the condition to build up and ultimately manifest in a more tragic way rather than releasing the tension a bit at a

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer exists to report news affecting students and to provide 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. However, 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 observerads@case.edu.

The Observer is a proud member of CWRU’s University Media Board.

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 10900 Euclid Avenue, Suite A09, Cleveland, OH 44106. For policy and guidelines related to the submission of Letters to the Editor, refer to observer.case.edu/submit-a-letter.

time. I know in my case, every week exams used to roll around I transformed into a pent up ball of constant stress and anxiety, not wanting to reveal my underlying feelings to anyone. All because I had assumed everyone must be feeling the same way themselves. Why would they want to hear about my issues in addition to theirs?

This is the exact backwards logic that perpetuates a vicious cycle of experiencing problems but not seeking adequate emotional release. This is when using resources available at colleges is a good decision. Case Western Reserve University, for instance, offers counseling services through University Counseling Services available for students experiencing any mental health issues.

There is no doubt that all college students have a heavy workload and maintain a delicate balancing act of fulfilling academic, social and personal commitments.

Thus they need to be at optimal levels of

mental health in order to put forth their best performance, which is why getting to the root of any arising problems is crucial.

When conditions like stress are pushed aside, a whole host of negative consequences such as reduced academic success and reduction in overall well being come into play.

So the next time you see your friend looking a bit crestfallen after a not too great round of exams or complaining about ridiculously high stress levels after pulling two consecutive all nighters, maybe sit down to discuss the issue or refer them to appropriate resources. Remember, though excessive stress, depression and anxiety may be common in the college student population, they are by no means to be dismissed as nothing major.

Ankita Chakraborty is a second-year student majoring in biology and minoring in psychology.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergraduate students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher MIKE MCKENNA director of print ANNE NICKOLOFF director of web & multimedia JULIA BIANCO director of business operations TAYLOR MORAN advertising & marketing manager JACK WEBB account manager MARCUS GUTIERREZ news designer CHRISTINA CHENG news editor AQUENE KIMMEL a&e designer MATTHEW ZYLE a&e editor ELLIE RAMBO opinion designer ALEXANDRA GOLDBERG opinion editor KUSHAGRA GUPTA sports designer AMANDA LI sports editor JP. O’HAGAN graphic designer CLARISSA CUEVAS web editor JOE SATTERFIELD pr manager ASHLEY CHAN copy editors video editor SAI SUPRIYA VUDA ADITHI IYENGAR social media editor JENIECE MONTELLANO ANASTAZIA VANISKO advisor BERNIE JIM

opinion 7

observer.case.edu

Find your passion Student Mind Brian Eckert College is always a time full of change. From what I’ve heard, I would guess that about 99 percent of college students change their mind about what they want to do or study during their four years. Personally I’ve changed my mind about what I want to pursue as a career about seven times since I began looking at colleges while I was in high school.

Currently I’m at a crossroads and have lost sight of what I’m working towards as a student, employee and in general as someone in the pursuit of happiness.

Passion is something that plays an important role in my life. It first came about when I was job shadowing a chemical engineer at Eli Lilly and Company during my junior year of high school. At the time, I thought that was

what I wanted to because I like math and chemistry and I was an above average student. I didn’t learn anything about what he does, or what chemical engineering majors do in general, but I walked out of there at the end of the day with something more important than I could’ve ever hoped for.

During the time I spent with him, he told me about passion. The things that he loves to do, what he gets out of bed every day for and why he love coming to work. He talked about leadership, giving back to the community and inspiring young minds to attend college and find their passions. He told me, that when choosing a career path to consider three things and weigh them equally.

Abilities, passions and economic model.

Your career needs to be something you excel at. Sales wouldn’t be a good career choice for someone that is introverted and has poor communication skills, just

Respect party time Ask neighbors to quiet down before calling them out Current Adventure: Case

Heather O’Keeffe To those who report parties, I have a few choice words for you.

I went to a party in the Village the other night. It was busted. Which isn’t that big of a deal, since most parties are called quits early due to a GRM or the police.

Except this party, more like a get together of 20 friends, was busted at 11 p.m., on a Saturday night. Really, only 11 p.m. The GRM asked everyone to leave, checked ID’s and made sure all vessels were empty. The party was over, caput. Friends parted and paths split, searching for an enjoyable means to continue the young night.

I was crushed, devastated. The past hour had been all smiles: impersonating Drake’s swaggy dancing in “Hotline Bling,” building new friendships, catching up with old friends, laughing at inside jokes, celebrating each other’s achievements and most importantly, forgetting about our responsibilities and letting loose. This get together wasn’t about getting blackout drunk, it was about setting aside the daily “sCWRUed” grind in favor of friends and fun. My smile waned as one by one we left and our glorious gathering separated into confused clusters.

After speaking with the GRM and compiling various accounts of the events preceding the shutdown, evidence strongly suggests that you called the GRM. Your neighboring suite reported the noise/alcohol/sounds of happiness to the GRM who, following protocol, intercepted the gathering. Herein lies my frustration; reporting someone’s party isn’t cool. It’s rude.

For starters, watch “Neighbors” and heed the advice of Zac Efron: Don’t call the police/GRM/RA, take your complaint straight to the supposed perpetrator. If a neighboring apartment is too loud, get off your couch and knock on their door. Give a warning, be nice, ask them politely to turn down the music and don’t jump the gun. No need to destroy a party when dialing back the volume will do.

Second of all, what are you possibly doing at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night that vibrations from the adjacent apart-

ment or the possibility of binge drinking upset you? Friday and Saturday nights are reserved for anything except studying. These are sacred times set aside for movies, late night chats, parties, board games, discovering new music, moonlit strolls, coloring books, star gazing, rereading “Harry Potter” for the 10th time – literally anything except hitting the books and crunching the calculus. We all need this time to decompress, and you are no exception.

Other peoples’ residual noise or actions shouldn’t affect you. Weekend nights are about you doing you, don’t let anybody kill your vibe. It is college after all, did you expect it to be quiet? If you want silence, invest in some earplugs. If illicit activity rubs you the wrong way, hold up. Respect other people’s choices and save the self-righteousness for another time.

Finally, reporting a party is selfish, bordering on sadistic. Maybe sadistic is a strong term, but when you give the GRM/RA/police a ring (before knocking yourself and before the night has reached late adolescence aka 1 a.m.), you are effectively terminating someone else’s recreational fun. Is your desire for silence, legality or whatever motivated you to report a festivity, more important than the collective jubilance of dozens of people? I didn’t think so.

Halloweekend is upon us, one of the most rejoiced weekends in a collegian’s life. There will be loud music, ridiculous costumes, binge drinking and underage drinking. It will be rowdy and it should be.

If partying isn’t your thing, then read “Goosebumps” or catch a screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Do something fun, crazy, spontaneous, anything that brings a smile to your face and lets you forget about school.

Do overwhelm yourself in happiness and don’t impede upon someone else’s happiness by reporting a party. In fact when the bass starts bumping upstairs, knock on the door and join the merrymaking.

Heather O’Keeffe is a fourth-year student studying biomedical engineering and minoring in sports medicine.

She will go as Velvet Dog, Donald Trump and the Pink Power Ranger this year for Halloween.

like engineering is great for people that are problem solvers. The next thing to take into consideration is the economic model. Choose a career with a salary that is enough to provide for yourself, your family and enable you to do things you enjoy. Running and reading are much cheaper hobbies than wine tasting and travelling the world. The last, and most important to me personally, is passion.

Most people don’t think about passions the way that I do after my job shadowing. A passion is something that you love to do, something that is a ‘get to’ not a ‘have to.’ It’s something that brings out your best, brings you happiness and most of all inspires you.

During your four years here, set a goal for yourself to find your passions and pursue them. I love writing and reading literature, kayaking, biking, lifting weights and being with people that bring out the best in me. Not many

of those things are legitimate careers, except for writing, and even writing is difficult to get started in. I write this column because I love writing and I think that everyone should be able to do what they love. If you love math or chemistry, then it’s easy to do what you love. On the other hand, Hikaru dorodango and competitive dog grooming may be slightly more difficult to really spend time doing or make a career out of, especially for a college student.

I’ve always heard from teachers and parents, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.” I’ve done my best, so far, to find something that I love, because who wants to work for the rest of their life? Whatever your passions may be, find time for them and let them inspire you.

Brian Eckert is a first-year finance and economics double major.

The Daily editors: Don’t insult CWRU’s Latino community To the editor, I am writing to express my disappointment in the Oct. 19, 2015 edition of The Daily. In said edition, an article titled “How Mexican drug cartels are fueling America’s deadly heroin epidemic” was shared under the “In The News” section. An editorial choice to publish such a charged headline and share said article, discussing a highly nuanced subject matter, reflects a callousness towards the Latino/a identity, which can no longer be tolerated at our university.

Over the past year considerable progress has been made on the fronts of diversity and inclusion on our campus.

Much of that progress has been shared through The Daily. Such news includes the rollout of Diversity 360 at the start of the year, and more recently the awarding of a fourth consecutive national award for excellence in diversity and inclusion from the national magazine, Insight into Diversity. This celebration of diversity extended most recently to the promotion of Hispanic Heritage Month events, most prominently the arrival of nationally renowned journalist, Maria Hinojosa, as the opener of the Power of Diversity lecture series. Indeed such news can and should be shared as a reminder of our commitment to the values of diversity and inclusion in our community. Still, despite the significant progress we have made, Oct. 19’s edition of The Daily led me to question if we had returned to the proverbial “square one.”

I do not contest the celebration or recognition of university affiliated work in the national news media being featured in The Daily. Although I do question the judgement of the editors in deciding to print the charged headline and share the article previously mentioned.

Deeper research on the growing heroin epidemic and its impact on the U.S. may trace the source of the drug outside the U.S. However such research would almost certainly give some credence to related issues of poverty, addiction and the foundational theory of microeconomics in which, simply stated, there is no supply where there is no demand.

Suffice it to say, this is not simply the case of Mexican drug cartels injecting their drug supply into the veins of un-

witting Americans.

Instead, however, readers of The Daily were offered that limited perspective on the issue. Those who simply skimmed the headlines of The Daily left with one understanding and a charged one at that— Mexican drug cartels are fueling America’s deadly heroin epidemic. Still even those who read the article were faced with a subtle, yet very problematic issue: the author changes his language from “Mexican drug cartels” to simply “the Mexicans.” In both the cases of the charged headline and the content of the article, we must confront the critical issue of language. We must reflect on the power of language in discourse and how subtle changes in language can, specifically in this case, have a dramatic impact on our perception of the Latino/a community.

In today’s increasingly polarized political climate it is important that we, especially as a university community, make a stronger commitment to a thoughtful use of language. When the aforementioned headline was shared in The Daily, the language offered legitimacy to the racist accusations of the likes of Donald Trump. Indeed the headline appears to solidify what Trump said during his campaign announcement, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime.”

In an effort to increase the thoughtfulness and care that CWRU demonstrates towards those who claim a Mexican, Mexican American and/or Latino/a identity, I requested the retraction of the article from The Daily, as well as a public apology issued to the CWRU community. The staff of The Daily was receptive in offering to meet with myself and representatives from La Alianza and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Indeed I appreciate the responsiveness of The Daily staff. Still, despite the meaningful conversation that resulted, it remains unclear what actions The Daily will take to address this issue. Indeed until such actions are taken, the question remains, does CWRU truly respect and value Latinos and Latinas within our community?

Andrew Torres Fourth-year student

8

opinion

10/30/15

From Baghdad to Cleveland and back High Ground Chandler Holcomb It is vital to understand the struggles of others. I would like to share the story of Shwan Taha, a man I listened to and admire. Students at Case Western Reserve University need to know this man’s story and learn what their time at CWRU really means to them and others.

At a young age Taha had to leave his family and country behind. War with Iran had jeopardized the security and welfare of Iraqi citizens. Luckily his family was able to make arrangements for him to go abroad to the United States to study at CWRU. But this meant going to a place where he would have to deal with what was going on in his life an ocean away from those he cared for.

On Aug. 2, 1990, over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers invaded Kuwait under the leadership of Saddam Hussein. Conflict with Iran had drained the country’s resources and seizing the oil rich country would help pay off Iraq’s debts. After some deliberation, the United States and coalition forces launched a full-scale air and missile attack followed by a ground assault.

Taha was still at CWRU at the time.

He was able to speak to his family

only for a few minutes each week. When the war came, his family told him to stay and find a job abroad. Not only had things in Iraq not gotten better, they had deteriorated to such an extent that return was not an option. Taha had to apply for refugee status in the United States. It is hard to put into words what this was like. To be in a place where very few people understood what was happening, to not know if your family is safe or if you will see them again and to see the country you love descend into chaos.

While the hellish events in Iraq continued to unfold, Taha managed to get his MBA. His work in extensively compiling information about emerging markets in the Middle East caught the attention of Dr. Mark Mobius, an emerging market fund manager. Suddenly, Taha had the opportunity to fly all over the world training with the best of the best, but at every turn, he experienced difficulty. Despite his clear business qualifications, a number of states refused him visas because of his nationality. He would have to sit in embassies with his papers and books while waiting to gain access to these countries, unsure if he would ever get in and be able to continue to do his job.

But his tenacity led to his eventual

This November, mind the issues, remember number 2 The Salt Pile Danny Miles Once again election season is upon us. Come Nov. 3, voters across the country will come out in droves to voice their opinions and help drive our country forward. Or, taking into account past years at least, only 30 percent of Ohioans will be at the ballot and that is an absolute shame.

It may not be the critical presidential election year quite yet, but every single person that reads this ought to go to the ballot box in a few days. The issues on the ballot could affect the development of Ohio for years to come.

Issue 3 has received the most attention, both from lawmakers and the media at large, due to the fact that recreational marijuana is a hot issue throughout the country right now. For the unaware, the short version is that Issue 3 will legalize recreational marijuana usage in Ohio.

As always, though, there’s a catch; only 10 facilities will have the legal right to manufacture the product, effectively creating a monopoly in the state. This has sparked contentious debate, and excellent points have been made for both sides. In fact many of these arguments have been featured in The Observer.

In my opinion, however, the most important part of this year’s ballot is actually Issue 2. Issue 2, officially known as the proposed Ohio Initiated Monopolies Amendment, would amend the Ohio Constitution to allow the Ohio Ballot Board to evaluate proposed amendments. Specifically, the ballot board would prohibit petitioners from sponsoring amendments that would “create a monopoly, oligopoly or cartel” for

the sale or manufacture of goods. If the five-member board finds the proposition in violation of this principle, it puts two questions in front of voters, which in effect ask if this amendment should be granted an exemption. Both questions must be approved by voters, with a majority, for the amendment to pass.

On the surface, this feels like an innocent idea, one that simply limits the influence of special interest groups on the Ohio economy. However opponents of Issue 2 have noted that the vagueness of the bill could very easily be misappropriated, and that the Ohio Ballot Board could effectively shut down unwanted petitions, sending them into a “political black hole,” as it were. It is also important to note that the Secretary of State appoints all five members of this panel. It is not difficult to envision incredibly undemocratic scenarios that could result from this arrangement.

On the other hand, it is very possible that this bill is as innocent as it appears. Issue 3 has its own fair share of problems and Issue 2 passing would definitely resolve quite a lot of them.

The point here is that these issues, and in particular Issue 2, are important, and they will affect a large portion of the campus community in some way or another.

Just because we aren’t seeing a new face in the White House doesn’t mean that it’s safe to ignore this election.

Please vote. Whether for or against, do your research, know where you stand and let your voice be heard.

Danny Miles is a second-year student, who manages to simultaneously spend far too much and far too little time on his homework.

success. He was recognized and recruited by Soros Fund Management. The business was cutthroat and entailed handling vast amounts of currency trading all over the world. By all intents and purposes, Taha had achieved great success.

Then one day while traveling to Greece on a private liner, he was caught in a horrible storm. As the waves crashed around him and the ship churned, the Coast Guard arrived. He was not the only one saved that night. A small group of young men had fled Afghanistan in a small inflatable raft and were nearly drowned in the storm. They were so desperate they risked losing their lives for a chance to escape from the horrors of their war-ravaged country.

Taha realized that if fate had taken a slightly different turn, he would have been left behind to endure harsh deprivations like they had. He decided to use his knowledge and expertise to help his homeland. He quit his job and returned to Iraq to launch Rabee Securities, a company he established to promote investment in Iraq. The company is an effort to give back to those of his fellow Iraqis who did not have the options he did.

CWRU was fortunate enough to have Taha return to the university to share

his unique perspective and journey. The hardships of his youth taught him to roll with the punches and treat others with empathy and respect, a mindset he hopes he can encourage more students to share.

Life in the U.S. offers many advantages. It is easy to forget those less fortunate. But thinking back on the people in the raft the night of the storm Taha remembers the fortuities and luck that accompany everyday life. This drives him to keep an open mind when approaching others and their problems. You never know what people have gone through.

Far too often do we close ourselves off because it is convenient.

Sometimes school can confine you to a space. You bury yourself in textbooks for so long you may forget to look up and take a look around. If you plan out every little detail, if you don’t take risks, if you are too afraid to fail, you may shut yourself off to a new and exciting experience that can help you make a real difference. Sometimes all it takes is an open mind and the willingness to dare that things can be better, not just for yourself, but for everyone.

Chandler Holcomb is a fourth-year student at Case Western Reserve University.

A young American’s appalment of Ben Carson’s campaign to be the leader of the “free world” Case Western Reserve United Josh Lehrer

Experts, community leaders and commentators alike mostly agree that Ben Carson was not only flat-out wrong in his comments linking gun control to the Holocaust, but that he was ignorantly abhorrent. Carson, originally a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon who saved countless lives from debilitation, suffering and death, now remains at the helm of American bigotry.

The point of this opinion piece is not to take sides on the extremely divisive issue of gun control; it is to refute Carson’s disgraceful claims about the Holocaust and its occurrence as a result of the disarmament of Jews, especially German ones. But Carson has not only offended me, but also most notably Jews, the Romani people and the millions others who saw their cultural heritage almost destroyed by the vicious murdering and devastation of groups at the hand of the Nazis in Europe.

You see, Ben Carson once was a hero of mine. In eighth grade, I read his autobiographical account, “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story.” It deeply encouraged me, and oriented me toward embarking on a career in health care and public good. He was truly one of my greatest role models, despite me living in sheltered suburbia in New Jersey—in one of the richest counties in the entire United States by income level at that.

And you would think, from his inspirational story of mobilizing from the slums of Detroit to a prominent medical doctor and innovator, that he would embrace more moderate or even liberal ideologies. Since the time of my reading of his book, though, I see this interpretation as evidently false. His legacy to me and many others, particularly among the African American community, has diminished. In fact I regard him as adversary now; I wouldn’t be surprised if others do too.

Carson has in the past demonstrated explicit homophobia, xenophobia and now, I’d consider, anti-Semitism. I did not take offense as much about the former two, because I am a privileged American citizen

who does not feel personally disenfranchised. That is not to say that I found it disconcerting and hurtful to many of my good friends and peers who identify with those groups, though. As a young American Jew who is involved in advocacy efforts and social justice, I of course was personally very hurt by his Holocaust comments.

I’d like to ask Ben Carson in person, look him in the eye and challenge him on his absurd remarks, which lack historical fact. I would go so far as to state that is clear irony. Would he make the same assertions about African American slaves before the Civil War? If they were armed, would they have been able to overcome the American Southern slave owners, their “masters”?

How about during Reconstruction after the Civil War and into the Jim Crow era? Would African Americans have been able to gain civil rights via violent revolt and obtaining firearms to achieve this mission? The answer to both of these questions are quite possibly one of the best counter arguments to the point he made. It directly addresses a personal aspect of his life: his ancestral history and race.

Not only do I no longer support Carson, I am profoundly disgusted with him and his appeal to certain blocs of Americans, who feel he is delivering the “right answer,” and that he is fit to serve in the capacity of President of the United States of America.

The only real solution to preventing such a hateful individual, who lacks compassion or concern for those he may upset, from ascending to the presidency is to call upon the other GOP opponents and the Republican National Committee to substantially pressure him to suspend his campaign. A leader does not elicit fallacious propaganda to promulgate himself to the national spotlight.

Instead he leads by example, unites rather than divides, and remains at least somewhat true to historical fact.

Please, Ben, do the majority of Americans a favor: suspend your campaign, and see if you can ever possibly re-establish your legacy as a doctor who healed so many lives, not disaffected them.

Josh Lehrer is a fourth-year student.

observer.case.edu

advertisement | 9

arts & entertainment Editor’s Choice

Spring gardens amidst autumn leaves CMA hosts impressionism exhibit

Holly Chen Contributing Reporter As winter is fast approaching in Cleveland, the vibrant autumnal colors and crisp fallen leaves remind us that, soon, the Cleveland landscape will be devoid of life, save the occasional bird or squirrel braving the cold to scrounge up some food. If you find yourself longing to see green again, you might want to head not outside, but in.

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) recent exhibition “Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse” is a vibrant assemblage of over one hundred garden-inspired Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. The show features works by well-known French Impressionist artists such as Monet, Pissarro and Renoir. It also includes Impressionists from other countries, like American artist John Singer Sargent, Spanish artist Joaquín Sorolla and German artist Max Liebermann. The show also features Post-Impressionists such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin and Cézanne.

The paintings in the show are centered around the theme of the garden, and specifically the garden as a source of healing. When a visitor walks into the gallery she immediately sees a quote by Monet: “Gardening was something I learned in my youth when I was unhappy. I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.”

As the visitor continues through the gallery it becomes apparent that, even in years of war, artists such as Monet were able to find spiritual and mental healing by painting scenes of gardens.

Courtesy Art Resource, NY The Edouard Manet painting “The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil” is part of the temporary exhibition.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is an entire room devoted to Monet’s monumental paintings of water lilies. The “Water Lilies” triptych (three paneled painting), originally part of a series of 12 paintings meant to decorate the Musée Rodin, takes center stage.

Since it’s been 30 years since these three paintings had been seen together and four years since the CMA’s panel has been housed in the museum, this exhibition is truly a special occasion. In the room housing the “Water Lilies” triptych are two benches on which visitors can sit to fully immerse themselves in the experience.

“Seeing the paintings all put together is amazing,” remarked Cleveland Institute of

Intensity, humor blend in Players’ Theatre Group show Sierra Cotton Staff Reporter If the name: “The Motherf**ker with the Hat” doesn’t intrigue you enough to watch the show put on by the Players’ Theatre Group, maybe a description will.

This Friday and Saturday, the Players’ Theatre Group will be performing the show with a cast and crew made entirely of first- and second-year students. The show centers around Jackie, a recovering cocaine addict just out of prison who finds a hat on his nightstand.

This prompts him to believe his girlfriend Veronica is cheating on him, and he demands a gun from his AA sponsor.

Filled with sex, drugs, alcohol and violence, the play balances its intensity with other elements. Jonah Roth, director of the show and president of the group, believes the appeal of the show lies in its ability “to explore these things so openly and in a comedic way while still retaining the dramatic aspect of it.”

“The play is about growing up and moving on as well as the struggle to put the past behind you and build a life you can be proud of,” said Roth.

The director warns audience mem-

bers to “expect a lot of swearing and offensive language.” The show has more than just foul language to it though.

Roth hopes the audience experiences “a few emotional twists and turns, coming out of it thinking about what it means to be addicted to something—or someone.”

He also hopes the audience will enjoy the show, though. While it might not be “a warm fuzzy feel-good comedy, it has a complex story that really takes you in,” he said.

Although the show is during Halloween weekend, it is still early enough to go out and enjoy the festivities. As a bonus, the show is free, so it only seems sensible to enjoy a free show before partaking in the Halloween fun.

Show: The Motherf**ker with the Hat Group: Players’ Theatre Group Where: Black Box at Eldred Theater When: Oct. 30 and Oct. 31, 7 p.m.

Price: Free

Music student Beatrice Hsieh.

“It’s such a calm scene, but at the same time it feels so monumental and grandiose,” said Dan Blumhard, another CIM student.

Hsieh nodded in agreement and observed, “There’s a stillness to it, but it also feels alive.”

When questioned about why they decided to come see the exhibition, Hsieh and Blumhard said they wanted to come to relax since they had some free time during fall break. “It’s nice to not feel so stressed out and to relax.”

Hsieh commented.

When asked about his thoughts on the exhibit, Blumhard said: “In general, every single painting is gorgeous. It’s really interesting to get different perspectives of the Impressionist

era as a whole, and how it developed.”

Beatrice was particularly struck by the stylistic aspects. “The play of light and shadows, reflections, colors and depth are really wonderful,” she said.

As classical musicians Hsieh and Blumhard also found parallels between the development of Impressionist painting and the harmonic language of classical music, but both agreed you don’t have to be an artist or musician to be able to fully enjoy the exhibit. When asked if they would recommend this exhibit to other students they said enthusiastically: “Definitely, absolutely, everyone come.”

“Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse” will be up in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Hall and Gallery from Oct. 11, 2015 to Jan. 5, 2016, so there is plenty of time to visit. Case Western Reserve University students can get in free to the exhibition with their Case ID, and students from other universities can purchase tickets to the show for a discounted rate. Just make sure you leave your camera at home, because there is a strict no photography policy.

So if you ever find yourself tired of looking at the soon-to-exist piles of snow outside your window, head over to CMA to see this eververdant exhibit.

Exhibit: “Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse” Location: Cleveland Museum of Art Date: Ongoing until Jan. 5, 2016 Ticket Price: $0-18

CWRU Thoughts Maria Fazal Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University community is known for thinking beyond the possible. Each week this column aims to capture a slice of campus life.

Q: What is the most time-consuming part of your day?

A: Probably filling out supplemental applications. I think the most stressful part is trying to put in all the experiences you’ve had in the past four years into 500 characters and trying to capture the effect all of those organizations have had on you.

Q: Can you give me an example of that?

A: I’ve been an R.A. for two years, and I think I’ve learned a lot of different lessons just from the two years that I’ve had the opportunity to grow in the role. Just having to choose one or two examples of when I feel like I’ve really learned time management, for example, or learned to communicate effectively with residents, from the many examples I can think of in my hard is hard to do. Taking that twoyear experience and bringing it down to one or two sentences is really hard.

Q: Do you have any standout memories

Stephanie Kim/Observer from those two years?

A: Just realizing residents do take note of the time you put into the role—like, at first it seemed like I was putting all this time in and no one was really noticing it. Having them drop by and say things like, “Thank you for all that you’ve done,” or just leaving you sweet notes brings so much more value into the role. I feel like I’m really helping someone. At the end of the year, I was checking out another resident and she hugged me and said, “I couldn’t have asked for a better R.A. for my first year.” That really made me glad—this year, even though it had its ups and its downs—I felt like I impacted this person.

a&e 11

observer.case.edu

Haunted Cleveland

Halloween events across the city

Playlist of the Week Charlie Topel Staff Reporter

Spook-tacular Playlist!

All the songs you need to have an indie-ween you’ll DIE for.

“Afraid of Everyone” - The National

Straight from The National’s near-perfect album “High Violet,” “Afraid of Everyone” is an emotional (shocking) track about new fatherhood and drug abuse.

Starting you out to be afraid of everyone—and yourself—on Halloween.

“They are Night Zombies!!

They are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from The Dead!! Ahhhh!”

- Sufjan Stevens From Sufjan’s lengthy “Illinoise” album is “that one zombies song,” also referred to by its incredibly long name above. Chant along with the “zombies” and their Land of Lincoln-themed rhymes. Horrifying!

“Zombie” - The Cranberries

Continuing on the zombie-tastic theme is the classic song from Irish rockers The Cranberries. This straight-from-the-90s track features singer Dolores O’Riordan’s signature voice with grungy instrumentals. Remember the 90s? AAAH!

“Walking With A Ghost” - Tegan & Sara Simply His Servants & Cleveland Public Theater/Facebook Above: Cleveland’s Simply His Servants will perform “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Cedar Lee Theater. Below: As part of its Día de los Muertos celebration, Cleveland Public Theater will have cemetary installations.

Maria Fazal Staff Reporter

etery walking tours and haunted trail rides, these tours cover a wide span of the city.

Halloween only comes once a year, so it’s important to make the most of it. These are the best festive events happening this weekend in Cleveland, from the family-friendly to the downright frightening. So pull out your costume, get some friends together and hit those sinister streets.

“The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

Haunted Houses

Probably one of the more traditional Halloween activities, haunted houses are spread throughout Cleveland. If you’re looking for a good spook, consider visiting The Fear Experience, which was created by Case Western Reserve University undergraduate Max Simon and his cousin, Nick Francis, in 2008.

Funtober ranks it as the #1 Top Haunt in Ohio and #14 haunted attraction in the country. A closer haunt right on campus is Circle K International’s Eliminate Project Haunted House, which will have food from The Jolly Scholar, snacks, a DJ and “fearsome creatures.”

Haunted Tours

Like haunted houses, Cleveland has a multitude of haunted tours. Some of the more popular ones are: Haunted Cleveland Ghost Tours: Offered from Sept. 15 through Halloween, these tours take visitors through places like the Squire’s Castle, the USS Cod, the underground tunnels, Riverside Cemetery and the sites of the Cleveland Torso Murders.

Meet the Spirits: These walking tours take visitors through the old Fairport Harbor Lighthouse and focus on its mysterious lore.

Psychic Sonya’s Haunted Cleveland Tours: Including walking tours, ghost bus tours, cem-

Twin sisters Tegan & Sara are walking with a ghost this Halloween; what could be scarier? This track shows T & S at their finest, with one of their most memorable indie pop hooks. Besides, what’s spookier than twins? If it’s featured in “The Shining,” it’s scary for sure.

“We Will Become Silhouettes” - The Postal Service

What’s scarier than a nuclear apocalypse? Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel joined forces long ago for their one-off side project The Postal Service, and in this track, Gibbard contemplates the consequences of love and bombs over Tamborello’s innocent synths.

In celebration of the film’s 40th anniversary, Cleveland’s Simply His Servants will perform the cult favorite at the Cedar Lee Theatre at midnight on Saturday night.

Cedar Point’s Halloweekends

Offering what they call “daytime, not-soscary Halloween fun” in The Great Pumpkin Fest and much more frightening terror in Haunt, Cedar Point has a lot of Halloween fun packed into its two contrasting events.

Zombie Paintball at Mapleside Farms

Incorporating a long storyline involving World War II and “Super Soldiers” gone wrong, this attraction allows players to join the “United States Zombie Resistance Force” and combat the living dead.

Cosplayoween

On Halloween day, the 16-Bit Bar + Arcade is opening its doors at noon and will feature specials all day. They call it “the night to dress in anime, J-rock, video game, sci-fi or fantasy gear.” At 10 p.m., rounds to decide on a crowd-voted best Halloween costume will begin. The winner will win a $500 Star Wars prize pack.

Día de los Muertos Ohio

From 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Oct. 31, the Cleveland Public Theatre will celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday with plenty of dance, music, altar art and cemetery installations.

“The Killing Type” -Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra

Amanda Palmer teamed up with the mysterious Grand Theft Orchestra for her record “Theatre is Evil,” and little is more evil than this song. Palmer sings violently about killing her lover out of passion. Scary stuff!

“The Afterlife” - YACHT

What a way to end a playlist: with death. Indietronica outfit YACHT sings about the inevitabilities of life after death in this track, bringing a fitting end to this frightening playlist. BOO!

Find all these tracks online with our weekly Spotify playlist at observer.case.edu Charlie Topel is a fourth-year student who used to be an engineer but now has decided that numbers are scary. When he’s not writing about music, he can be found worrying about the future and complaining about Morrissey.

All photos courtesy of stereogum.com, amazon.com, rollingstone.com, & youtube.com.

12

a&e

10/30/15

Learn To Lead with

Weatherhead’s Leadership Minor

MOCA hosts Halloween silent disco

Department of Organizational Behavior Ranked in top 3 departments world-wide

Choose 3 Elective Courses •

Take 2 Required Courses  

ORBH 250 Leading People ORBH 251 Leading Organizations

• • •

ORBH 303 Leading Teams through Interpersonal Relationships ORBH 370 Women and Men in Organizations ORBH 380 Managing Negotiations ORBH 391 Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion

For More Information: http://weatherhead.case.edu/degrees/undergraduate/acadamics/minors Or Contact Lila Robinson – Department Administrator orgbehavior@case.edu 216-368-2055

Rachel Payne/Observer Many dancers wore spectacular costumes at the MOCA Halloween silent disco.

Rachel Payne Staff Reporter

Hillel International Welcomes

JARED ISAACSON as the new Executive Director at Cleveland Hillel Hillel’s Mission

Enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.

Hillel’s Vision

We envision a world where every student is inspired to make an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.

Cleveland Hillel www.clevelandhillel.org

The Museum of Contemporary Art’s (MOCA) sold-out silent disco was turning people away as I waltzed into to the museum, receiving a pair headphones from the lady at the front desk. The headphones were definitely not of the highest quality, but I slid them over my ears and started bobbing away to the music.

A fun aspect of this was the fact that I had the power to choose my DJ. With just one click of a button I could simply change the entire atmosphere of the room. DJ Lawrence Daniel Caswell lived up to the “disco” aspect of the event and played upbeat disco songs throughout the night. DJ Red-I was really the life of the party, bumping all the hits from the Michael Jackson classic “Thriller” to Drake’s “Hotline Bling.”

I wasn’t super impressed with any of the decorations MOCA had up during the event, and felt that a more-inspired Halloween atmosphere would have really added to the event. The only attempts at Halloween style decorations seemed to be a simple maze with candy at the end all the way up on the third floor and projected black-and-white movies behind the DJs on the dance floor.

That being said, the people attending the event went all out in some incredible Halloween costumes, from Mary Poppins to a herd of “party” animals. The costume contest was super competitive but the winner was a person dressed up as a naked lady in a hilarious skin color body suit. The runnersup from the contest were as follows: in second place a impressively realistic Carrie, in third was Dexter and his victim and in

fourth was Red Eyes.

One of the most enjoyable components to the silent disco was the ability to truly adjust and tailor your experiences to your preferences. For instance if the music was too loud all I had to do was lower the volume and if I wanted to enjoy a conversation with the other people at the event I could just remove my headphones.

While my favorite component to the event was busting a move out on the dance floor, other guests had their input on the most impressive feature of the night.

“Let me tell you, my favorite part [of the silent disco] was the karaoke,” said Jill, an attendee. “I’m a breast cancer survivor. This is my second time out since being a breast cancer survivor and this is probably the best time that I’ve had.”

Jill enjoyed belting it out to “Hootie and the Blowfish” and “Addicted to Love.”

Steve Rogers, another attendee, enthusiastically said, “It was astounding!”

All in all, the event was a blast and I got to commemorate the night by posing for some pictures at the photo booth before heading out. I would give the event four out five stars, simply because I wish MOCA would have done just a little bit more decoration or possibly a presented a cool exhibit to truly get me into the spirit of Halloween.

Event: MOCA Halloween silent disco Location: Museum of Contemporary Art Date: Oct. 24, 2015 Rating:

a&e 13

observer.case.edu

Concert calendar: A look at this week’s upcoming performances Anne Nickoloff Director of Print

Every week in Cleveland is a week to see live concerts. However, like any other week, it’s difficult to see them all. Dozens more of Cleveland’s concerts are just waiting to be experienced.

For a head start on choosing a week of music, here are five upcoming Cleveland shows:

Date: Oct. 30, 8 p.m.

Event: Beachland Halloween 9: Party All the Time Venue: Beachland Ballroom Price: $8-12 Featuring a series of cover artists composed of local bands, Beachland’s Halloween party will be a night filled with music of The Smiths, Van Halen, Soundgarden, Bob Dylan and more. What’s better is that your ticket is $4 cheaper when you’re wearing a costume.

Get into the spooky spirit a day early with Beachland’s annual bash.

Date: Oct. 30, 7 p.m.

Band: The Front Bottoms / The Smith Street Band / Elvis Depressedly Venue: The Agora Price: $16.50-20 The Front Bottoms’ show at The Agora is a departure from their usual kind of music— the usual being screamo/death metal. The

New Found Glory/Facebook The energetic pop punk band New Found Glory will perform at the House of Blues.

Front Bottoms’ upbeat indie rock, which gets endearingly DIY at times, would be a great way to chill out the night before Halloween.

Date: Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m.

Band: New Found Glory / Yellowcard / Tigers Jaw Venue: House of Blues Price: $25-35 As of press time, this show hadn’t yet sold out, but certain resale balcony seats were already inching their way into the $100 price point. Grab a general admission spot while you can for a cheaper price. Besides, with

Get scared for a good cause Samantha Chrin Contributing Reporter Students who love haunted houses and supporting a good cause should mark their calendars: on Friday, Oct. 30, Circle K International (CKI) is hosting a haunted house in Thwing Center.

Admission to the event is $5, and $12 gets you admission and a Jolly package, which includes a t-shirt and discounts on drinks. The money will go towards the Eliminate Project.

Tickets can be bought in the Tinkham Veale University Center on Oct. 29 and 30 from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., and also on Tapingo and at the door.

The Eliminate Project is an ongoing project with UNICEF and Kiwanis International, CKI’s parent organization, that is focused on eradicating maternal and neonatal tetanus, a disease which affects thousands of newborns and mothers every year.

According to the president of CKI at Case Western Reserve University, Thomas Franco, this year marks a target year for the Eliminate Project. The goal is to raise $150 million, and so far the organization has raised $100 million. CKI at CWRU started last semester, said Franco, and they wanted to be a part of this push to help the Eliminate Project reach its goal.

As for the haunted house: “We don’t want to give away too much,” said Franco. “It’s not too drastic, but it’s going to be a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to get together with a group of friends.”

But will it be too scary to make it through the end? “Many have tried… no, I’m kidding.

This is the first year, so there’s a lot of unknown. A lot of people get scared easily, and you’re more than welcome to get out,” said Franco.

It was designed with the fear factor in mind, and there are also actors in costume, he added.

The event partnered with The Jolly Scholar, and has had help from other campus organizations like American Red Cross, Sigma Psi, the Residence Hall Association and the Undergraduate Student Government. In addition there will be a tater tot bar, baked goods and Halloween candy, according to Franco.

“It’s for a great cause,” Franco said. “The campus hasn’t seen much of [these events] before. Every year, there’s not much going on for Halloween.

“Also, it’s convenient,” he said. “It’s the night before Halloween, so you don’t have to miss your friend’s party, and it’s on campus.”

As for students planning to attend the event, first-year student Sreeti Ravi said that although she doesn’t know what to expect of the event, she thinks she will enjoy it. Volunteer coordinator, Abby Tyson, said, “We’re trying to make it something anyone will have fun at. I’m really looking forward to it, too. It’s so exciting to see all our work turn into an actual event.”

Event: CKI Haunted House Location: Thwing Center Time: Friday, Oct. 30, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.

Price: $5-12

Blue Note Tokyo/Facebook Kat Edmonson will perform her signature brand of jazz at the Music Box Supper Club.

energetic throwback bands like New Found Glory and Yellowcard, wouldn’t you rather be dancing than sitting?

Date: Nov. 4, 8 p.m.

Band: Kat Edmonson / Milton Venue: Music Box Supper Club Concert Hall Price: $20-22 Kat Edmonson’s smoky vocals would make for a great midweek date night. Her music is simple, with an old-fashioned jazz band backing her. For a good feel of her style, check out her version of “Lovefool.”

Date: Nov. 5, 7 p.m.

Band: The Ark Band Venue: Grog Shop Price: $5 Celebrate the almost-end of the week with some upbeat reggae at the Grog Shop. For the price of $5, you can sway to The Ark Band’s covers and original music all night. According to their bio on Grog Shop’s website, the band “continues to be a dynamic force on the American scene after two decades, their songs expressing the love, peace, togetherness and spirituality needed in our world today.” Groovy.

“First Date” gives a good first impression Lars Torres Staff Reporter My first impression of “First Date” was made during the opening number, “The One,” which immediately showcased the energetic eccentricities that would follow. The musical follows Casey (Mara Grigg) and Aaron (Alex Meltsner), who have been set up for a blind date by Casey’s sister, Lauren (Sarah Glieberman), and her husband, Kevin.

Casey initially fears the worst from the date due to Aaron’s nervousness, awkward conversation topics and somewhat neurotic sensibilities. These quirks come from his past troubles, including his breakup with ex-fiancé, Allison (Victoria Radcliffe), who he is still clinging on to. The blind date is far from ordinary, as it is peppered with hilarious dream sequences regarding family reactions to the possible relationship (“The Girl For You”), mental projections of friends helping out from time to time and the scene-stealing character of Reggie (Keith Dona). Reggie is Casey’s obnoxious but incredibly funny friend who constantly interrupts the date with various voicemails he leaves for her (“Bailout Song” #1-3).

The direction and acting in “First Date” were terrific, and these aspects added to the various strong musical numbers, with few negatives in terms of songs and performances. Also for only being a one-location musical, the set was well designed. With the exception

of Aaron and Casey, the other actors play multiple roles. Aaron Magid played the restaurant waiter and other roles.

Will Erickson portrayed another patron on a date and, most memorably, an edgy British guy. These multiple roles are played well by the other actors, and scenes with these multiple roles tended to be filled with fun and laughter.

Brittany Stern, a first-year student who particularly loves theater, said, “It was very good and always funny. Very emotional at one point as well and the voicemail song numbers were the best.”

First-year student Courtney Capra, who saw the musical on the second evening showing, said the musical “definitely exceeded my expectations, which were high.”

Tri Ngo, a first-year student, said “I was not expecting much from it, but it was very good and much funnier than what I had expected.”

Overall, from those reactions, it seems that there was a positive reception from the audience. Ultimately, this was a wonderful musical, and it was certainly worth the price of admission.

Bravo to the Case Footlighters for this marvelous musical presentation.

Production: “First Date: The Musical” Troupe: Case Footlighters Directed by: Beth Magid Rating:

14

a&e

10/30/15

“Yoshi’s Woolly World” is adorable, challenging Brian Sherman Staff Reporter

Nintendo has recently gained the stereotype that its games are increasingly child-friendly, and “Yoshi’s Woolly World” is by far the most cute and cuddly game on the Wii U to date. GoodFeel, the studio behind 2010’s “Kirby’s Epic Yarn,” has, once again, employed a yarn-based aesthetic in their game, creating a timeless atmosphere that also allows for unique gameplay features.

Right when the game starts, the player is hit with the unique aesthetic of the game. Everything is made of yarn. Everything. Yoshi, the enemies, the bosses and even the very world itself is made of yarn and fabric. The fabric sags a little under Yoshi’s weight, as if a little piece of yarn has been placed on top of it. Instead of eating enemies and turning them into eggs as in past Yoshi titles, Yoshi can unravel enemies and turn them into yarn balls that can tangle up enemies or knit missing platforms into place. Even in the overworld, sometimes a pair of scissors or an open cabinet can be seen in the background, making the game feel as if it were literally hand-crafted.

The story, by comparison, is much less unique. Kamek, the evil wizard Koopa, arrives at the island of the Yoshis and unravels all but two of the Yoshi tribe into yarn bundles, planning to use them to power up Baby Bowser.

Courtesy Amazon Yoshi, as well as his surroundings, have a handmade look in this Nintendo game.

However, the two surviving Yoshis attack Kamek and force him to scatter the yarn bundles across the many worlds.

While a unique take on the story given the yarn-based nature of the game, it’s more or less a combination of “Yoshi’s Island” and “Yoshi’s Story.”

The hidden collectables are done very well. Sometimes a hidden cloud that contains goodies is placed at just the right point to be hit by your jump arc or a certain wall has a bow placed on it, indicating that it can be unraveled to reveal a secret path. Overall most of the

collectibles are hidden just well enough that they’ll be missed if rushing through the stage, but indicated just enough to give a sense of satisfaction rather than frustration when the puzzle or hidden location is figured out.

The game is rather easy, though it increases in intensity near the end of the game, particularly when going for 100 percent completion. However players can purchase badges using beads, which can provide bonuses like immunity to lava or bottomless pits, reveal secrets or allow players to play alongside Poochy,

Yoshi’s adorable yarn puppy. Every stage can be completed without these badges, though they certainly become easier with them.

The game’s music is another standout feature. Almost each stage has its own unique music, creating a unique feel for each level. One stage might have Yoshi quickly platforming across red lava yarn to an energetic rock track, while another stage is a more puzzle-based trek through a pyramid to acquire multiple keys with a quiet, thoughtful and distinctly ancient Egyptian sounding track.

However, at times, the game feels a bit inconsistent. Most levels tend to have a gimmick or two that isn’t often reused in later levels, such as a few transformations or puzzle mechanics.

That being said, “Yoshi’s Woolly World” does its job remarkably well.

It’s a competent, fun platformer with a charming and unique aesthetic. Sometimes games don’t need to be hard, don’t need to punish or impress; sometimes they just need to delight and amaze.

Fans of platformers won’t be disappointed, and people who like anything cute will be overwhelmed by the aesthetic of the game.

Game: “Yoshi’s Woolly World Release: Oct. 16, 2015 Rating:

fun

observer.case.edu

fun page | 7

Horoscopes Aries It’s okay if you aren’t really as cool as you want people to think. We still love you.

Taurus This time of year is always hard for you and sometimes you want to shut down. It’s okay to take a break. Don’t be stubborn and feel pressured to keep smiling when you’re struggling.

Needing help is not equal to weakness.

Gemini Keep focusing on yourself, it’s what you’re best at. (And I don’t mean that in a negative way.)

Cancer I’m sorry everyone calls you the cry baby of the zodiac, Cancer. They’re usually jealous that you’re so in touch with your emotions. Try hanging around your bud Pisces for a while and you’ll feel right at home.

Leo With your ego, you tend to have a hard time admitting you’re wrong, and you also tend to passionately defend yourself. Take a step back and look at your situation from all sides. What could you personally do differently?

Virgo Stop taking everything so seriously.

(Even this.)

Word search D

O

E

P

F

W

U

V

X

Z

B

E

H

R

J

O

A

G

Y

G

I

T

A

H

G

E

Y

Y

A

O

A

A

E

Z

Y

K

A

M

D

Y

G

T

F

L

L

O

N

B

H

H

O

Q

K

J

H

N

I

O

O

L

P

S

H

H

R

R

H

C

G

O

V

S

O

H

Y

U

A

C

B

I

E

H

W

I

H

L

R

T

C

J

L

Y

R

O

C

A

H

T

D

I

I

E

B

S

K

V

W

F

T

U

I

A

T

N

N

H

V

A

F

P

F

O

U

N

Y

C

E

U

A

G

S

I

L

Q

A

W

E

T

R

I

Z

P

Z

Y

E

I

N

L

Q

E

F

E

Q

D

M

L

J

O

R

U

W

U

N

U

C

D

I

E

H

A

L

L

O

W

E

E

N

T

E

B

R

D

B

Y

R

E

G

R

U

S

K

A

Z

X

W

I

Z

Z

R

N

B

Z

Z

X

U

T

A

E

F

D

V

F

T

O

O

O

H

G

E

S

R

K

E

R

X

B

R

A

I

N

S

U

E

H

Q

N

F

Z

P

Y

D

T

T

U

L

K

I

H

Z

P

V

K

T

H

S

F

G

C

Q

Y

S

C

S

G

U

D

I

K

M

V

T

Y

H

R

T

M

J

P

L

E

Z

F

I

P

C

C

O

R

X

U

D

Z

L

K

V

R

D

N

E

B

Libra You have been crawling in your skin just WAITING for a good time, and your time has come. Balance your charm and vibrant personality with a dose of humble. Now is a good time to make a romantic move on someone!

Scorpio Happy birthday! Well, maybe. Those born between Oct. 23 and Nov. 22 are Scorpios, but if you follow the 13 sign zodiac that changes the dates, so be sure to double check.

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

Brain Dedication Fibrosis Football Hat Halloween Haunted Jolly Scholar Party Play Sparc Speaker Statue Surgery University Weatherhead

Want to see the return of crosswords? We’ll bring them back with your help.

Email observer@case.edu if you’re interested in making them for The Observer.

Ophiuchus Enjoy a weekend full of mysterious horror films, and enjoy a Halloween celebration or two!

Sagittarius You’re difficult to pin down emotionally sometimes but now is the time you need to be strong and steady, supportive yet blunt, and ever optimistic.

Capricorn You are definitely overworking yourself lately. Make sure you still have some time to be creative.

Aquarius It’s okay to over share, but what people like about you is your authentic air of mystery.

Pisces Your sensitive side is coming out full force lately. Don’t swim with the flow and let people take advantage of you; go against the current.

-Abbey Zellers, Contributing Reporter

16

sports

10/30/15

All for one

Spartan cross country gears up for postseason

Cavs season opens with high hopes Noah Crowley Staff Reporter

have, otherwise. A long list of resigned players that eased the nerves of Cleveland fans everywhere. Last, but certainly not least, was the resigning of Thompson, which continued all summer into Oct. 21.

The Cavaliers have also added new talent to the squad, including former Cavalier Mo Williams, who last played with the Cavaliers during the first “LeBron era”, and was traded to the Clippers in return for the draft pick that turned into All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving.

The new talent has helped to bolster a team that was already strong, and has filled in some of the weak spots of last year’s roster.

The start to the Cavaliers season is likely to be rough. Irving will be out for several months with his knee injury he incurred during the Finals, and Shumpert remains out with an arm injury.

Meanwhile, James is dealing with back pain that will keep him sidelined more often than otherwise during games, and several other injuries still plague the team.

This 2015-2016 season of basketball looks to be another strong year for Ohio’s only professional basketball team. The Cavaliers are “All In,” “All for One” and still have unfinished business to take care of. Definitely a team to look out for throughout the next 82 games and into the postseason. It will not be a surprise if James is seen playing in his sixth straight Finals.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished an offseason of improvement. After reaching the NBA finals and losing in six games to the Golden State Warriors, the Cavaliers spent their summer fighting to retain all of the players that made them great and added more players to the lineup.

The biggest struggle of the summer was the fight to resign the rebounding phenomenon power forward Tristan Thompson. Thompson helped LeBron James lead the Cavaliers through the postseason after all-star power forward Kevin Love’s shoulder was torn out of place by Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk in the last game of the first round.

The Cavaliers are one of the favorites to win the Eastern Conference again this year, and are presumed to have a very good chance of winning it all.

After losing the Finals to the Warriors, Dan Gilbert and company set out on a single mission: resign everyone and improve the roster. Almost immediately into the free agent signing period, James, Love, fan-favorite Matthew “Delly” Dellavedova, James Jones, Timofey Mozgov and Iman Shumpert.

It took the Cavalier executives a long while to resign wing player J.R. Smith, who declined to pick up his player option and ended up signing back with Cleveland for less money than he would

Varsity Team

Calendar Friday 10/30

Home vs. Wooster and Bethany 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM

Volleyball Men's Soccer

Away @Chicago 6:30 PM

Away @ Washington 2:30 PM

Women's Soccer

Away @ Chicago 4:00 PM

Away @ Washington 12:00 PM

Cross Country

UAA Championships, 11 AM

Swimming & Diving

Away @ Carnegie Mellon 1:00 PM

f

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Thomas More

6

0

1.000

8

0

1.000

Case Western Reserve

6

0

1.000

6

1

0.857

Westminster

4

1

0.800

5

2

0.714

Carnegie Mellon

4

1

0.667

4

3

0.571

Washington & Jefferson

3

2

0.600

5

2

0.714

Saint Vincent

2

3

0.400

3

4

0.429

Bethany

2

4

0.333

3

5

0.375

Waynesburg

2

4

0.333

3

5

0.375

Geneva

1

4

0.200

2

5

0.286

Thiel

0

5

0.000

1

6

0.143

Grove City

0

5

0.000

0

7

0.000

Conference

Conference

All

All

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

Emory

7

0

0.000

26

2

1.000

Washington

6

1

0.000

28

2

0.857

Case Western Reserve

5

2

0.000

21

5

0.714

Carnegie Mellon

4

3

0.000

24

6

0.571

Chicago

3

4

0.000

18

8

0.429

Wins

Losses

Percent

Wins

Losses

Percent

1

0

1.000

5

2

0.714

Rochester

2

5

0.000

14

13

0.286

1

6

0.000

13

14

0.143

0

7

0.000

4

22

0.000

Chicago Washington

1

0

1.000

5

2

0.714

New York U.

Case Western Reserve

0

1

0.000

6

1

0.857

Brandeis

Carnegie Mellon

0

1

0.000

4

3

0.571

Men’s Soccer

All

Wins

Volleyball

Sports Standings Football (UAA)

Ruckstuhl, Dana Jeter, Lydia Greene and Veronica Cole, the team includes the addition of sophomore Danielle Kulpins this season.

On the men’s side, the team showcased impressive improvement at the inter-regional competition last week, with most of team recording personal records. In the tough competition, the team placed eighth out of 37 teams. Similar to the women’s team, the men’s team returns with the same group they had last year along with some added younger talent. After having three runners dip under 25 minutes at the inter-regional competition last week, the men’s team looks to compete for a nationals spot at regionals.

The team continues their postseason this Saturday on Halloween, competing in the conference championships at Brandeis University.

Conference

Home vs. Washington @ 6:00 PM

Football

The men and women’s cross country teams are heading into their biggest meets of the season, starting with the University Athletic Association championships this weekend. The teams will then receive a two week break before national qualifiers. Much improved over last year, both teams look to push towards a nationals appearance.

Last year, the women’s team fared well, finishing fifth at regionals out of 35 teams and sending Kelsey Aamoth to nationals as a third-year student. A team that was full of third-year students last year, the team returns experienced and poised to contend for nationals in this year’s postseason. Along with the group of six seniors Aamoth, Evy Hail, Kristen

Football (PAC)

Sunday 11/1

Saturday 10/31

Veijay Raj Staff Reporter

Conference

All

Women’s Soccer

Conference

All

W

L

Draw

Percent

W

L

Draws

Percent

Carnegie Mellon

4

0

0

1.000

13

0

1

0.929

0.800

Washington

3

1

0

0.750

13

2

0

0.867

0.667

Chicago

3

1

0

0.750

11

4

0

0.733

13

2

1

0.813

W

L

Draw

Percent

W

L

Draws

Percent

Brandeis

3

1

0

0.750

13

2

1

0.813

Case Western Reserve

3

1

0

0.750

12

2

1

Washington

2

1

1

0.500

10

2

3

Emory

2

1

1

0.500

8

4

2

0.571

Brandeis

2

2

0

0.500

Carnegie Mellon

1

1

2

0.250

9

2

3

0.643

Rochester

2

2

0

0.500

8

5

1

0.571

Chicago

1

2

1

0.250

9

4

2

0.600

New York U.

1

3

0

0.250

11

4

0

0.733

Rochester

0

1

3

0.000

5

3

5

0.385

Case Western Reserve

0

3

1

0.000

7

4

4

0.467

New York U.

0

4

0

0.000

5

10

0

0.333

Emory

0

3

1

0.000

7

6

2

0.467

sports

observer.case.edu

17

Editor’s Choice

Men’s soccer dominates Waynesburg 9-0 Jacob Rayyan Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team continues to win, dominating Waynesburg University 9-0 on Saturday to improve to an overall record of 12-2-1 and 3-1 in conference play. The Yellow Jackets fall to 1-14-1 on the season including 1-4-1 in conference play.

The scoring started early for the Spartans, who found the back of the net three times in the first half, with three different players scoring. The scoring began in the 13th minute with fourth-year student and forward Matthew Zembas. Two more goals were scored in the half by fourthyear student Alex Masciopinto and firstyear student Paul Darmstadter.

The second half went even better for the Spartans as second-year student Alex Keller-Biehl and third-year student Brandon White each scored three goals, completing the blowout. The goals for Keller-Biehl were his first of the season, as he worked his way into the rotation and made the most of his opportunities. When asked about what worked so well in his team’s offensive strategy, head coach Brandon Bianco said, “We made getting 15 plus [shots on goal] a specific goal of ours going into the game and the guys focused on

this. Our specific focus I think helped us with having a good attacking mindset.”

The Spartans tallied an incredible 30 shots, with 19 of them being on goal.

Furthermore, this was the ninth shutout of the season for the Spartans, including their third straight. Goalkeeper Thomas Nolan faced three shots on goal and saved all three of them in his first start of the season.

When asked about the confidence of the team after a big win like this, coach Brandon Bianco said, “The win was good because we got some of our younger players a lot of minutes and experience. They scored six goals which is great for morale.”

As the season winds down, these next two games are crucial for the team to win the University Athletic Association (UAA) Conference. Bianco, in discussing his team’s goals for the remainder of the season, with expectations being so high, kept his team’s season in context by saying, “Our ultimate team goal is to win the next game. This is our focus.

We’ve positioned ourselves well and if we win our next game in the final three we play we should be okay,” said Bianco.

It has been a season to remember for the men’s soccer team, which is currently tied with Emory University atop the UAA conference.

Yida Liu/Observer The men’s soccer team crushed Waynesburg University by a score of 9-0. Five Spartans found the back of the net.

18

sports

10/30/15

CWRUcio holds Quidditch tournament for good cause Shounak Bose Staff Reporter On an overcast but warm Saturday morning, three teams participated with the Case Western Reserve University Quidditch Club, CWRUcio, in their second annual philanthropy tournament. Whoever won out of the three teams, the CWRU Swing Club, Phi Kappa Tau/Sigma Psi and the Mad Mandrakes would be able to donate the tournament earnings to the charity of their choice.

However, according to CWRUcio member and tournament organizer Maria Vratsanos, none of the teams had decided which charity they would play for yet.

The tournament was decided with three matches. The first two matches were Phi Kappa Tau/Sigma Psi against each of the other teams. After the Mad Mandrakes and Swing Club won each of their matches, it was decided that the two teams would play each other to determine the winner of the tournament.

At the end of a close and hard fought match, the seeker for the Mad Mandrakes was able to catch the snitch to win the game.

Although the tournament had a casual and fun atmosphere, all teams played with fierce intensity. Even players who were not currently in the game were passionate, yelling advice and cheering loudly from the sidelines. The intensity of the game was shown when in the final game, an attempted shot at the goalposts hit them so hard that they were knocked off of their stands. The aggressiveness of the players was also demonstrated when in the second

Courtesy CWRUico The winning team, the Mad Mandrakes donated the proceeds to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. game, CWRU Emergency Medical Services was needed on two separate occasions due to player injuries A particularly scary incident occurred in the second game when CWRUcio member Natalie Bick was struck in the face with a broom and required treatment. The accident occurred when a CWRUcio member acting as the snitch, successfully pried a broomstick away from a seeker, but accidentally tossed it straight into Bick’s face.

Bick needed ice applied to her face, but was in good-spirits after the game. Bick, who is in her first year with CWRUcio, talked about her love for the club and its members by saying, “this is such an amaz-

student specials

join us Wednesdays at Michelson & Morley at Tinkham Veale University Center 1st Wed. of each mo.

half price flatbreads buy any flatbread and get the 2nd for 1/2 off!

2nd Wed. of each mo.

date night a gourmet, three course, dinner for two for just $25 per person 3rd Wed. of each mo.

burger & brew for 10 bucks chef's choice burger and beer for just $10 4th Wed. of each mo.

1/2 off apps 1/2 off chef's choice appetizers specials subject to change due to community events

ing group of people and I really feel at home with them.”

Although the primary goal of the tournament was to raise money for charity, CWRUcio members also looked to use it as a way to introduce Quidditch to the CWRU community. “We view this event as a dual philanthropy and community event,” said CWRUcio member Ryan Cleary.

Cleary proceeded to explain how CWRUcio modified the rules to make the tournament easier for first-time players, who made up the majority of participants in the tournament.

In the days preceding the tournament, CWRUcio held information sessions and

student specials

practices to teach players about the rules and techniques of the sport. The team reviewed the rules with the players again before the tournament, and kept an extra set of goalposts for teams to practice on the side while other games were going on. The team also loaned a few of its own seasoned players on each team to help organize them and create strategy. To prevent a competitive advantage, CWRUcio players always played in positions they didn’t normally play. To prevent injuries, the tournament used “high school rules,” which banned tackles and other forms of aggressive contact.

Overall, CWRUcio members felt that novice players did a good job in adjusting to the rules and pace of the game. Afterwards CWRUcio member David Mayer remarked, “The only thing I noticed people mess up was dismounting accidentally,” referring to the broomstick that all Quidditch players are required to keep between their legs while playing.

First-time players were able to learn a lot about the strategy in the game. Matt Haberbusch, who played chaser for the winning team, the Mad Mandrakes, described his first time playing Quidditch as “a lot of things happening at once.” While playing with CWRUcio members, he said he learned about the best places to be positioned to score as a chaser.

CWRUcio members hope that this event will help to spread awareness for their team before their next home match.

That match will be against Oberlin on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m.

student specials

Observer Archives The men’s and women’s swimming and diving squads won their first meets of the year as the took down cross town rival John Carroll University. The Spartans return to action against Carnegie Mellon this weekend.

join us join us Wednesdays Wednesday Spartan swimming speeds to at win at Michelson Michelso & against Morley atJohn Carroll & Morley at The Spartan women swam strong beJP. O’HaganTinkham Tinkham hind Mestha and Wilson as they came away Sports Editor with seven additional wins.Veale Fourth-year Veale The Case Western Reserve University student Rebecca Pakradooni won the 100 University University Lauren swimmers and divers are off to strong starts Fly with a time of 1:00.77, while Homack finished the 50 Free with a time as both the men’s and women’s squads bested Center Center of 25.75 seconds.

First-year student Kelsey cross-town rival, John Carroll University.

The women’s team posted a strong 198-98 1st Wed. of each mo.

victory over the Blue Streaks in the first meet half price flatbreads

of the year. The Spartans were led by secondyear student Ellie Wilson who touched the 2nd first Wed.inofboth each wall themo.

50 yard and 100 yard breaststroke Wilson finished with times dateraces. night of 31.28 andcourse, 1:08.42dinner in the 50 a gourmet, three forand two100 races. andperson first-year student Suhan forNewcomer just $25 per Mestha added three wins of her own as she 3rd Wed. of each mo. won the 200 free with a time of 1:59.57 and burgerthe&100-yard brewbackstroke for 10making bucks to the wall in chef's choice burger and beer for $10IM with a 1:00.16. Mestha also won just the 200 time 2:14.86.

4th of Wed. of each mo.

The Spartans swept the diving events with 1/2 off apps first-year student Emily Budziszewski posting 1/2 off chef's choice appetizers a 1-meter dive score of 217.55 and secondyear posting a 3-mespecials subject tostudent changeBrooke due toHortness community events ter dive of 217.45 points. buy any flatbread and get the 2nd for half off!

Holmberg captured the 500 1st Wed. of Fly eachwhile mo. firstyear student Renee Decker won both the half price flatbreads individual 100 free and swam a leg of the buy any flatbread and get the 2nd for half off! victorious 200 freestyle relay. each mo.

The men’s 2nd side Wed. saw ofsimilar success beating the Blue Streaks date186-107. night Fourthyear student Aaron Tam the 100 but-for a gourmet, threewon course, dinner two for just $25 per person terfly with a time of 51.48 seconds beating out fellow Spartan and second-year student 3rd Wed. of each mo.

Aaron Pang by a whole 2.21 seconds. Secburger & Drew brew for 10 bucks ond-year students Hamilton posted chef's choice burger and beer for just $10 first place finishes in both the 500 free and 200-yard individual medley with mo. times of 4th Wed. of each 4:49.48 and 1:59.89.

1/2 off apps The Spartans also took home both diving 1/2 off chef's choice appetizers events as fourth-year student Connor Farrell won the 1-meter with adue score 267.40 events specials subject dives to change to of community and posted a 298.20 in the 3-meter dive.

12:00 PM

observer.case.edu

Cross Country

UAA Championships, 11 AM

Swimming & Diving

Away @ Carnegie Mellon 1:00 PM

The last week was a relatively quiet one for the Case Western Reserve University women’s soccer team, only playing one game. It was a home game last Saturday in which they hosted the College of Wooster.

The game ended in a scoreless draw that seemed the right result, given Wooster had four shots on goal to CWRU’s three.

There are positives to draw from the match: CWRU was able to preserve their 10th shutout in 15 matches on the season. It was goalkeeper Megan Romelfanger’s sixth individual shutout on the season.

Although coming out of this game with a win would have felt better, the defense continues to play well together heading into two difficult games in conference play this weekend. Head Coach Tiffany Crooks said, “Our program has traditionally been very strong defensively. This year has continued that trend. We’re organized, hardworking, and consistent in the back.”

The Spartans will be on the road this weekend to play two ranked University Athletic Association (UAA) teams. The first of these games is on Friday against 19th ranked University of Chicago. They will follow that up with a game on Sunday against 6th ranked Washington University

CWRU

sportsWaynesburg 19

Shots Case Western Reserve Waynesburg

Spartans gear up for final UAA road showdown Billy Heyen Staff Reporter

Men’s

2015 Season Football Score Predictions

in St. Louis. The CWRU women have an 0-3-1 mark in UAA play thus far, and will be needing a bit of a jump start this weekend against two very good soccer teams.

The key will be to get out ahead early, because their defense has proven time and again that they can keep teams from scoring.

Conference play presents different challenges for the Spartans, so Crooks says, “We will need to execute our game plan that was designed just for these two games. We will be playing slightly different than in our recent games.”

If CWRU can score the first goal this weekend in their matches, they may not have to worry about scoring a second, and they can back into the thick of conference play as the season proceeds towards a hopefully exciting conclusion.

Crooks recognizes the inherent difficulties of UAA play, acknowledging, “Being on the road in the UAA presents its own unique challenges as well … Being resilient and able to roll with the punches of group travel are important as well.”

The Spartans will have two huge games coming up this weekend, and will need to play their best to get back into the thick of things in conference. With a strong defense in the back, the ladies should be able to get the results they are hoping for.

Week

Date

Opponent @ Chicago

Corner Kicks Case Western Reserve Waynesburg Assists Case Western Reserve Waynesburg

CWRU-Opponent

Correct

21-17

30-31

Week 1

September 5

Week 2

September 12

Week 3

September 19

St. Vincent

38-21

49-14

Week 4

September 26

@ Thiel

49-28

41-6

Week 5

October 3

@ Bethany

56-28

59-20

Week 6

October 10

Waynesburg

42-21

45-14

Week 7

October 17

@ Geneva

24-10

20-7

Week 8

October 24

Wash. & Jeff.

35-31

35-28

Week 9

October 31

Washington

31 - 28

TBD

Week 10

November 7

__ - __

TBD

Week 11

November 14

Thomas More @ Carnegie Mellon

__ - __

TBD

BYE Week

Scoring M. Zembas 12.

A. Masciopinto 32: P. Darmstadter 41: A. Keller-Biehl 46.01/79:

N/A

B. White

63.25/71:

Shots on Goal 1 Case Western Reserve 8 Waynesburg 3

Saves 1 Case Western Reserve 3 Waynesburg 5

Fouls 1 Case Western Reserve 1 Waynesburg 3

Isaiah Ahn/Observer Scoring Waynesburg The Spartans battled to a scoreless tie this weekend at home against Wooster.

Total

Women’s Soccer 1 2 0 0 0 0

CWRU Wooster

OT 0 0

2OT 0 0

Final 0 0

Shots Case Western Reserve Wooster

1 2 4

2 OT 2OT Total 4 0 0 6 4 1 1 10

Shots on Goal 1 Case Western Reserve 1 Wooster 2

2 1 1

OT 0 0

2OT Total 0 3 1 4

Corner Kicks Case Western Reserve Wooster

1 0 1

2 OT 2OT Total 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 4

Saves 1 Case Western Reserve 2 Wooster 1

2 1 2

OT 0 0

2OT Total 1 4 0 3

Assists Case Western Reserve Wooster

1 0 0

2 OT 2OT Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Fouls 1 Case Western Reserve 6 Wooster 6

2 OT 10 1 5 0

2OT Total 1 13 12

Scoring CWRU Total

Scoring Wooster 0

Total

0

Spartan volleyball: A true underdog story Eddie Kerekes Staff Reporter Starting the season on the longest opening winning streak under their head coach. Defeating three teams who, at the time, were nationally ranked in the top 20. Winning an unprecedented 16 matches in straight sets. And, of course, receiving a national ranking for the first time in program history.

The accomplishments of the 2015 Case Western Reserve University volleyball team are vast, perhaps the greatest in the program’s history. The team would not be playing so well without the contributions of the senior class: libero Katie Best, outside hitter Carolyn Bogart, middle hitter Haley Kauffman, setter Robyn Marks and right side hitter Dani Witri.

The seniors’ greatest strength is their experience, as all five have played consistently since their sophomore year, and Bogart, Witri and Marks greatly contributed their freshmen year as well.

The team was rebuilding in two of those years as in both 2013 and 2014 the Spartans finished with a losing record.

Therefore, the seniors have experience with struggles that other top teams do not.

“We weren’t coming into this season ex-

pecting to be undefeated,” said Bogart.

“The upperclassmen[‘s] experience has really helped us rebound.”

At the beginning of the season, the team was clicking on all cylinders, showcasing another of the seniors’ strengths, facilitating excellent team chemistry. The focus on playing together stems from the season’s theme “each a piece, together complete.”

“We’ve always been a team of really consistent, really solid players,” said Best, as opposed to a team that relies on one or two superstars. “When we all come together as our solid selves, we do great things.” Added Witri, “When we’re playing together we have the ability to beat anyone in the country.”

More important than winning, making sure everyone on the team feels important is the main goal. “[The theme] is what we always need to tie back to,” said Best.

The seniors embrace the plucky underdog label bestowed upon them by national pundits because they win as a team and not through otherworldly individuals. No one expects the small engineering school from Cleveland to be dominant in volleyball, and the team believes an opponent’s underestimation of them will be their downfall.

“We definitely function well as the underdog,” said Best. “Everyone just goes

Stephanie Kim/Observer The team is lead by five seniors listed in the graphic below. out there with a nothing-to-lose mentality” and great things start happening.

Great things indeed, as the team rolled off 10 straight wins, culminating in 3-0 victory over rival University of Mount Union.

By defeating a perennial national powerhouse, the team validated their belief that this was going to be a special season. The win was especially sweet as the seniors had never defeated the Purple Raiders before.

Of course, in every underdog story there are always setbacks the team needs to overcome in order to finally reach the highest level, and the story of CWRU volleyball is no different. After the joys of finally

achieving a national ranking, the team lost two of its next four matches.

Drawing from the teachings of head coach Karen Farrell instilled in them over four years, the seniors focused the team on controlling their emotions and staying grounded by riding out the emotional roller coaster. “By keeping emotional consistency stable, everyone, playing-wise, is more consistent,” said Marks.

The seniors also helped the team keep the losses in perspective. “We have a lot of games that matter in the future, so you can’t dwell on the past or else you won’t accomplish the goals you wanted to accomplish,” said Kauffman.

In volleyball circles, the name “Case Western Reserve University” used to draw blank stares, but now those stares have turned into looks of admiration of a topflight program, and the seniors understand that fact. “I want to be remembered as part of the turning point year,” said Marks.

Best agrees, adding, “Our legacy could be getting us on the map.”

The seniors will be honored before the team’s final home matches of the season on Saturday, Oct. 31 at Horsburgh Gymnasium, when they take on the College of Wooster at 1 p.m. followed by Bethany College at 3:30 p.m.

Robyn Marks

Katie Best

Carolyn Bogart

Haley Kauffman

Dani Witri

Number: 16

Number: 33/7

Number: 26

Number: 10

Number: 21

Position: Setter Major: Biomedical Engineering

Position: Libero/ Outside Hitter Major: Biochemistry

Position: Outside Hitter Major: Psychology

Position: Middle Hitter Major: Accounting

Position: Right Side Hitter Major: Nursing

Top Stat: 7.11 assists per set (2013), 1370 Assists (Career)

Top Stat: 1381 Digs (Career), 211.0 Points (2014) Season Performance: 30 digs against Hiram Oct. 13 2015

Top Stat: 1088 Kills (Career), 963 Digs (Career)

Top Stat: 705 Kills (Career) .379 percent kills (2015)

Top Stat: 394 Kills (Career), 455.5 Points (Career)

Season Performance: 35 assists against John Carroll Sept. 1st 2015

Season Performance: 30 digs against Hiram Oct. 13 2015

Season Performance: 29 Digs and 15 kills against Muskingum Oct. 10 2015

Season Performance: 17 kills against Heidelberg Oct. 10th 2015

Season Performance: 9 kills and 11.5 points against Pomona-Pitzer Sept. 25 2015

Honors: All UAA Honorable Mention (2014), Sophomore Captain (2013), All-UAA Second Team (2013)

Honors: Captial One Academic AllDistric VII Second Team (2014), UAA-All Acedemic Honors (2013), Gator Invitational All Tournament Team (2012)

Honors: UAA-All Academic Honors (2013), CMU Double Tree All Tournament Team (2013)

0

sports Powering through

Spartans battle tough competition in the Cleveland rain on way to national ranking JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The Case Western Reserve University football team rose to the challenge this week to keep their six game win streak alive and to remain tied atop the President’s Athletic Association (PAC).

The Spartans proved that they belong amongst the best this weekend, as they hosted the number 15, nationally ranked Washington & Jefferson College Presidents Saturday night. The Spartans and their fans endured rain, which ranged from drizzling to pouring for much of the game, and toughed out in typical Cleveland fashion.

As expected the Presidents’ running back poised problems for the Spartans, breaking away for some huge gains to keep the teams neck and neck. The Spartans found themselves playing catchup after the Presidents scored first in the second quarter after a scoreless first quarter.

CWRU responded but each time the Spartans would score the Presidents would answer and thus the two teams traded blows until late in the fourth quarter. The Spartans didn’t get their first lead of the game until fourth-year student and receiver Bryan Erb caught a touchdown pass with just over two minutes left in the third quarter to go up 28-21.

While the Spartan defense struggled at times to hold back the President offense, especially in the rain, the Spartan offense didn’t miss a beat. Second-year student and starting quarterback Rob Cuda lead a masterfully executed charge for the Spartans in which he completed 21 of his 35 passes and found five teammates in the endzone. Cuda’s aerial attack accounted for 278 yards and he rushed for an extra 100 yards.

The game-winning drive broke the 2828 tie with a two play drive as Cuda and Erb marched the Spartans into the endzone on two passes of 32 and then 39 yards. With the Spartans up 35-28 with 5:34 left to play the Spartans looked to run out the clock, and the resultant clock management, and Spartan run-offs, made for some contentious moves, especially between the two fan bases, packed together under the shelter of the DiSanto Field Pressbox.

However the final attempt for the Presidents was foiled by Spartan cornerback and

???

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer

All photos Andrew Hodowanec/Observer Quarterback Rob Cuda rushes out of the pocket during Friday’s win. Cuda led the Spartans to their sixth straight victory. third-year student Nick Kwon who snatched his second interception of the season with two seconds of play left, driving the final nail into the Washington & Jefferson coffin.

The CWRU level of play this week proved that their season has not been a fluke and they were rewarded for the display with a national ranking in the D3football.com National Poll, sitting at 23rd in the nation. It is the first time that the Spartans have been ranked since the end of the 2009 season.

While the Spartans sit tied with Thomas More in the PAC, CWRU will be looking back toward the University Athletic Association this week. The Spartans will face off against the Washington University Bears this week and will look to buck the historical trend of failing to their UAA rivals. The Spartans have only bested the Bears in nine of their 29 meetings.

2015 Season Football Score Predictions Week

Date

Opponent

CWRU-Opponent

Correct

Week 1

September 5

@ Chicago

21-17

30-31

Week 2

September 12

Week 3

September 19

St. Vincent

38-21

49-14

Week 4

September 26

@ Thiel

49-28

41-6

Week 5

October 3

@ Bethany

56-28

59-20

Week 6

October 10

Waynesburg

42-21

45-14

Week 7

October 17

@ Geneva

24-10

20-7

Week 8

October 24

Wash. & Jeff.

35-31

35-28

Week 9

October 31

Washington

31 - 28

TBD

Week 10

November 7

__ - __

TBD

Week 11

November 14

Thomas More @ Carnegie Mellon

__ - __

TBD

BYE Week

N/A

CWRU will be forced to maintain their same level of play from this past weekend as any mistakes will be costly. Mistakes have been rare for the Spartans however, as Cuda has posted 23 touchdowns and 226 pass attempts this season and has yet to throw an interception. There were a few close calls last week but nothing has yet come back to hurt the Spartans.

While the Spartans have excelled with the high powered offense of Cuda, and his many offensive options, they will need a continued strong showing from the defense. The Spartans will look for strong play from secondyear student and safety Cody Calhoun who has 35 tackles, fourth-year student and linebacker Gavin Sandidge who has 33 tackles, and finally Kwon who has posted 30 tackles.

The Spartans will need to focus on shutting down Washington University third-year

student and quarterback J.J. Tomlin who is currently eighth in the nation at the DIII level with 2,206 passing yards. However the Washington attack isn’t all in the air as the Bears have two backs who have combined for eight touchdowns and 669 yards on the season. The Spartan defense has excelled against the run so the true test will be in the air.

Both teams will be looking to continue on their winning streaks as the Spartans have now won six straight and the Bears have put three straight in the wins column.

With all of this taken into consideration, The Observer is concerned about the Spartans this week but won’t risk throwing a wrench into the streak and therefore we are predicting a narrow 31-28 win for the Spartans, but this will be a true test.

The action kicks off on Saturday at 12 p.m. on DiSanto Field.