Volume XLVII, Issue 20, 2/19/2016

the

Case Western Reserve University volume xlvii, issue 20 friday, 2/19/2016

Observer HackCWRU brings student inventors together for 36-hour marathon Kushagra Gupta, Opinion Editor

Thirty-six hours, computer code, hardware and a lot of sweat don’t make for a typical Valentine’s Day weekend, but that was exactly how many Case Western Reserve University students spent this year’s Feb. 12-14.

Friday, Feb. 12, marked the beginning of the CWRU Hacker Society’s third annual HackCWRU, and saw teams of one to four high school or college students and alumni working speedily on projects ranging from a sonar safety system to virtual reality headsets to an app that lets you rent out driveway space. While normally spread over the quad, this year the competitors were also able to make use of two stories of the new Sears think[box] and all of the tools it came with.

Making use of these think[box] resources, fourth-year students Joshua Tang and Olga Eliseeva designed a heart shaped bulb they called the “Khalima Candle” for which the couple won the “Most Repurposed” award. The light flashes in sync with the heartbeat of the person holding it and was made using a heartbeat sensor

and a microcontroller they coded.

Both passion and ingenuity were in the air. The two-man team of second-year students Andrew Dupuis and James Timotiwu designed an electronic medicine dispenser that could hold up to eight medicines and was controlled by a touch screen. The two hadn’t met before the event and explained that the device included a customized time-controlled delay for each slot to avoid accidental overdoses. They won the Gaverick Memorial Award.

“We did most of this on a whim,” said Timotiwu. “Even though we knew what we wanted to do, we gradually built each part. Once we’re done with this part, [we said] okay, what’s the next part?”

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All photos Angeline Xiong/Observer Inventions at the third annual HackCWRU included a lightbulb that synchronizes to its holder’s heartbeat, a genetic simulator for children, and a set of clothing for a couple that light up brighter as they get closer to each other.

The event was open to high schoolers, current CWRU students and alumni.

Theft from Film Society office comes with added costs Some time between 3 p.m. on Feb. 3 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 4, $200 was stolen from cash boxes in the Case Western Reserve University Film Society’s locked office in Strosacker Auditorium.

According to a university spokesperson, “There were no signs of forced entry, only missing property, which leads us to believe that the property was stolen by someone with access.”

Liz Caceci, director of the Film Society, said there is no reason for her to believe that the thief is an officer of Film Society, because money in other boxes that an officer would have known about was not taken.

“The initial thought was ‘oh man, this

sucks,’ and then it just kept getting worse,” she said.

According to the Film Society’s records, there are currently about 41 keys available for the office. These records show that current (and some recently graduated) Film Society officers have a key to the office, as well as security and custodial staff. The Film Society does not have sole control of these keys, since those in the possession of security and custodial staff are not issued through Film Society.

This theft will cost the Film Society

more than the initial $200 that was stolen from their office, Caceci said. Film has begun looking into ways to improve the security of their office, including getting the lock to their office changed and more tightly restricting who gets a key.

The university is charging the Film Society to replace the lock, and will charge them for each new key they request for the new lock. They will also limit the number of keys Film Society can request, even though there has previously not been a charge or limit on new keys.

“We were told it will probably be a couple hundred dollars,” Caceci said about having the lock replaced.

With the cost of a new lock and news keys for each officer, the stolen $200 becomes a several-hundred-dollar expense.

Despite there being over 800 security

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 5 Smoking ban won’t work

pg. 14 Swimming heads to champs

Hunter Overstreet Staff Reporter

For our take on adding security cameras, see this week’s editorial on page 5.

pg. 3 pg. 8 USG open to Drag Ball flaunts student concerns student talent

cameras around campus, there is no security camera providing coverage near the Film Society’s office.

“There’s three right here,” said Caceci, pointing to various security cameras in sight from a seat in the Tinkham Veale University Center. “There’s not even one in Strosacker.”

A new security camera costs $1,500, and installation costs vary by location, said a university spokesperson. According to Caceci, paying to get a camera installed is impossible for Film Society. A university official told her that if Film Society wanted a camera, they would be on the hook for the cost.

“Not only is it not something we can feasibly do, it just doesn’t seem right,” Caceci said.

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news Talking Foreign Policy radio show discusses presidential candidates’ stances Anastazia Vanisko Copy Editor “Talking Foreign Policy,” Case Western Reserve University School of Law Co-Dean Michael Scharf’s weekly radio broadcast, discussed the role of national security topics in the upcoming presidential primaries in its Feb. 12 show.

The broadcast was produced in partnership with WCPN 90.3 ideastream.

Of the candidates still in the race, there is a wide range of experience in the field. Navy Reserve Captain Gregory Noone, guest panelist and director of the National Security and Intelligence Program at Fairmont State University, said that this should be the most important quality for each candidate, but in reality what is most important is the position they hold on each issue.

These stances vary on a range of topics, including relations with China, how to deal with ISIS and immigration policies.

With regards to China, Assistant Professor Timothy Webster, guest panelist and director of Asian Legal Studies at the CWRU School of Law, said that the issue tends to divide between estab-

lishment and fringe views rather than along partisan lines. According to Webster, this means that candidates such as Hillary Clinton, Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush view China as an economic opportunity, while Bernie Sanders wants to decrease foreign trade.

An issue that does seem to divide along partisan lines, however, is that of immigration. Candidates such as Donald Trump and Rubio offer dramatic solutions like building a wall along the Mexican border, while Clinton and Sanders advocate immigration reform.

According to Cleveland attorney David Leopold, a guest panelist and a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, this is possibly a Republican tactic to revitalize their white voter base after Mitt Romney received only 27 percent of the Latino vote in 2012. The Republican theory is that white people just aren’t voting.

The immigration question is complicated by how to deal with ISIS and the thousands of refugees f leeing the group.

Republican candidates adamantly oppose allowing in refugees, often in fear that they may have links to terrorist groups like ISIS. Trump even goes

Forced off the farm:

“These positions aren’t done in a vacuum. [The candidates] know that the voter group that they’re going for likes to hear this … I don’t know how genuine many of these policies and positions actually are.”

-Navy Reserve Captain Gregory Noone, referring to the various stances presidential hopefuls have on how to combat ISIS. so far as to say the U.S. shouldn’t let in Muslims, but, according to Webster, that would be the first time the U.S. specifically kept people out because of their religion. Furthermore, Webster said that these refugees are vetted multiple times before it’s even determined if they qualify as refugees, so the continued insistence that they may be linked to ISIS shows how politicized this issue has become. “[ISIS] is not a rational state actor that plays by the rules in the international arena,” said guest panelist and Cleveland Marshall College of Law Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio.

This, along with the November attacks in Paris, shows that ISIS is an unpredictable actor. The unpredictability has inspired a variety of approaches.

Cruz wants to carpet bomb the group— killing civilians along the way—while more moderate candidates have sug-

Shortened hours leave the property unusable for some student groups, new housing policy to blame

Mike McKenna Executive Editor For the past 20 years, Case Western Reserve University Film Society has held their end of the year retreat at Squire Valleevue and Valley Ridge Farms in Hunting Valley, Ohio. It has been the group’s way to “get away from campus and away from movies,” said Film Society’s director Liz Caceci.

The group would stay at the farm’s “Pink Pig”, a cottage on the property.

The farm was gifted to Western Reserve University in 1919, with subsequent pieces of the property given to the university in more recent years.

Much to Caceci’s chagrin, the tradition may come to an end unless the farm finds a way around a recent policy change.

This semester, buildings on farm property, which had been available for rentals nearly 24/7 in the past, will now be open only from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Farm grounds will be open 8 a.m-dusk Monday-Saturday.

While this may not seem like a big change, according to information gathered by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), these new times may result in many student groups not being able to use the property.

According to information provided

by USG president Chippy Kennedy, 84 student groups reserved the farm property in 2015. USG sent out a survey to representatives from those groups. With 41 respondents, USG found that 90 percent of those groups would be impacted by restricted access.

gested working with the Arab states to attack ISIS. According to Noone, a mixture of the moderate stances, along with boots on the ground (which no one wants to suggest) is what’s needed.

At this point, Sterio says, each candidate is focused on only one element of what needs to be a much broader plan.

But again, according to Noone, carpet bombing really isn’t an option under humanitarian laws.

Of course, there is always the possibility that candidates will change their stances on these various foreign policy issues.

“These positions aren’t done in a vacuum,” said Noone, specifically referring to the various stances on ISIS. “[The candidates] know that the voter group that they’re going for likes to hear this … I don’t know how genuine many of these policies and positions actually are.”

Observer Archives After a recent policy change, farm buildings will now be open only from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Farm grounds will be open 8 a.m-dusk Monday-Sunday.

Kennedy is calling for campus administrators to work out a system in which student groups could use the property after normal business hours.

“I hope this call serves to highlight the issues with recent changes to the policy and makes a strong recommendation to reinstate or negotiate policy that allows the farm to remain useful as an important aspect of CWRU undergraduate student life,” he noted in a document sent to Vice President of Campus Planning and Facilities Management Stephen Campbell and the

University Farm Director Ana Locci.

What is at the heart of this issue is a housing policy and compensation change associated with farm employees. Starting Jan. 1, rents which had been subsidized for employees living on the property in exchange for off-hours work doubled or tripled. Four employees (three which live with their families on the property) were impacted by the change and were notified that rent would increase on Oct. 19.

Sources with knowledge of the situation described the former arrangement

as a “handshake agreement” in which below market rents were offered in return for employees living on the property completing off the clock work such as unlocking buildings for groups using the farm after normal business hours.

Security was a major benefit the employees formerly provided. From time to time unleashed dogs would be found on the property in carefully maintained research ponds or local teenagers would illegally use the property for mudding.

According to university representatives, this agreement did not comply with federal tax rules since individual job descriptions did not require living on the property. That’s why CWRU can give free housing to graduate resident assistants, but could not provide subsidized housing to farm employees.

University representatives said the the new rent prices include utilities and are the low end of the market. One of the employees has moved off the property since the increase.

That move has led to reduced services being available, university representatives noted.

“We are in the process of assessing the organization to make changes necessary to restore the same level of service,” they said in a statement.

Most of the events impacted by the cancellations will not result in lost revenue for the farm. According to university representatives, since student groups do not pay rental fees, revenues from rented spaces account for less than five percent of the total farm budget. Large events at the Manor House are the only exception.

news

observer.case.edu

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USG launches Caucus Town Hall Meeting Celia Wan Staff Reporter At 7 p.m. on Feb. 23, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) will host the Caucus Town Hall Meeting, an initiative brought up by former USG Speaker Jacob Ma, and launched by current Speaker Jack English. The new forum, to be held in the Tinkham Veale University Center, is expected to increase student-representative interaction and promote student participation.

USG representatives are divided into five different caucuses, four of which represent the four undergraduate schools: College of Arts and Sciences, Case School of Engineering, School of Nursing and Weatherhead School of Management. There is also a caucus to represent the first-year student body. Based on the number of students in each school or in the first-year class, different numbers of USG representatives affiliated with these schools or class are elected.

The caucus system is designed to better serve different constituencies and solve problems specifically related to different schools. However English feels that little has been done in the past year and a half in terms of caucuses.

“The caucuses are supposed to be tools to advance student interest, but they have, to some extent, fallen by the wayside since the committees are able to take a lot of the load of getting student interest taken care of,” said English.

The current caucus system does not work as closely with students as was originally envisioned. While many initiatives are brought up by different USG committees, the caucuses seem less active in collecting student suggestions and initiating proposals to address student concerns. English feels that the caucuses have done very little, so their only function is to determine how many representatives each school or the firstyear class has.

One of the USG speaker’s responsibilities is to oversee the caucuses, so English, succeeding Ma, is trying to reinvigorate the caucus system with the new Caucus Town Hall Meeting.

USG invites all undergraduate students to join in at this monthly forum.

During the first 30 minutes of the forum, each attending student will talk with two or three representatives. At this time, students may give suggestions and concerns, and their thoughts

will be considered in the following session. The representatives will then come together according to their caucuses and go through every suggestion brought up to them. They determine whether the issues fall under USG purview and, if so, how they can address them. If USG cannot directly solve the issues, an alternative path will be provided to the students to pursue other solutions. To increase transparency in the decision-making process, the discussion process will also be open to students.

“The main point is that student representatives are elected to serve their constituencies, and [the Caucus Town Hall Meeting] is, apart from the committees, the best way we can think of to serve our student constituencies,” said English.

“We want to let them know that we hear their problems and we are trying to either solve them ourselves, or put them on the correct path to get them solved.”

English thinks it is important to ensure students that their voices can be heard by the administration, and their concerns will be addressed through the effort of their student representatives.

The Caucus Town Hall Meeting is expected to bring students and their rep-

resentatives together for better understanding and greater student efficacy.

It is unclear to many students what channels are available for them to express their suggestions and concerns to.

Besides the Caucus Town Hall Meeting, students can also submit their suggestions through a mailbox on the USG website. However since the mailbox was enacted, there have been only two responses: One complained about the quality of coffee at Leutner, and the other was related to the need-aware issue.

Although students are generally less informed about the ways to contact their USG representatives, they feel confident that they can address their concerns to USG if needed.

“I have never felt the need to seek out, but if I do, I think I could find more than one way to get in contact with USG representatives,” said Holly Johnson, a fourth-year student.

As some USG representatives have observed, students have been more concerned with campus issues and more active in voicing their opinions in the past year. USG is working on better serving its constituents and addressing student concerns by increasing its accessibility.

Campus insider

How does a class end up on MediaVision?

Julia Bianco Director of Web & Multimedia This week on Campus Insider, we sat down with Michael Thomas, Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning Systems, to talk about MediaVision.

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer Students at the three-day HackCWRU event shared their inventions with each other.

from HACK CWRU | 1 Not all students had a computer science focus. Molecular biology major Sid Sivakumar designed a genetic simulator called “ChromoSim” that could help teach children learning about genetics for the first time. Sivakumar explained that genetic simulations have existed and been used by researchers, but they were too complex for children.

“What I wanted to do was build a simulation that’s visually appealing and easy to understand for someone who has no idea what is happening,” Sivakumar said.

There were even students attempting to learn a completely new programming language. The “Best Project with a Beginner on the Team” award went to the one-person team of Mackenzie Kinzel for a game app, “Cookie Chaos.” Kinzel had never used iOS software programming, but learned how to and made an app wherein the player taps on cookies that show up increasingly often, all within the 36-hour time span.

For those who aren’t musically inclined but want to jam with their friends, “Air

Band,” designed by visiting Mickey McCargish and third-year students Jack Liddy and Ted Chen, comes with no strings attached. The app lets users shake their phone like a guitar or blow into it like a flute, and a nearby speaker emits the selected instrument’s noises.

The “Undergraduate Student Government Most Helpful to Student Life” award went to Aron Gates, Istvan Gates and Zac Yu for “Geohunt,” a Google Chrome extension that compares items already in apartments you’re interested in renting to items you’ve bought, based on your financial transaction history. Those searching for apartments are likely interested in ones that have goods they have already bought.

High school students and alumni weren’t eligible for awards, but two CWRU alumni made a device they will use for sure. Kate Hart and Ray Krajci, engaged and planning to marry this summer, modified a wedding dress and bow tie so that they light up blue.

As they move closer to each other, both change to a bright red.

The device, “You Light up My Life,” is a prototype for the one they plan to use at their wedding.

Which classes get MediaVision?

Whether or not a class is broadcasted in MediaVision depends on the professor. Before classes start, teachers have the option to contact Information Technology Services (ITS) and say that they want their classes to be recorded. Certain classrooms have MediaVision capabilities set up in them; if they do not, then teachers can record themselves using their laptops or a webcam.

“The spirit of the whole thing is we try to meet faculty requests,” said Thomas. “Size is not a defining factor.

If the faculty want it, we find a way to make it happen for them.”

The classes currently on MediaVision are a mix of different sizes, schools and undergraduate and graduate courses. Thomas said that arts and sciences courses generally request the service less because they are more discussion-based; the most popular courses are biology, chemistry and other sciences, as well as nursing and engineering courses and law school classes.

“It’s a very customizable thing,” said Thomas. “We’ve got a really good faculty support team that can help faculty adopt MediaVision in whatever way they want to.”

Generally there are more classes on MediaVision in the fall than in the spring due to more sections of certain classes being offered. Use of the service has been growing in recent years, with 80 classes using MediaVision last spring compared to 100 this spring.

Echo360 Active Learning Platform Echo360, the company that hosts MediaVision, will be getting updated this summer. The new update will still have the same lecture capturing system, but will also have enhanced analytical features for faculty as well as different ways for faculty and students to communicate within the system.

Live streaming In the past, professors have made requests to have a class streamed live, which MediaVision is able to do. They are also able to livestream student events on request, as they did with the Undergraduate Student Government’s (USG) recent need-aware admissions forum. If student groups or faculty want an event live-streamed or recorded, they can reach out to MediaVision via the ITS help line, 216-368-HELP (4357).

Teamwork Thomas stressed that there are many people who work to get each class uploaded. Each class is assigned a videographer, or recorded by the teachers themselves, and is then uploaded into Echo360. The video is made available to students within 24 hours, although usually it takes less time than this.

There are many faculty support people to answer questions from faculty, as well as a technical team that deals with problems that students and teachers call in.

“A lot of times when you’re not involved in the behind-the-scenes aspect of a service such as this you don’t realize all the people and things that go into making a recording pop up in your Blackboard account,” said Thomas.

“It’s truly a team effort.”

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news

2/19/16

Spotlight on research

Researcher takes on falsified medicine and supplements New machine aims towards handheld method of authenticating compounds Jeniece Montellano Social Media Editor Back in 2008, there was a big public health scam in China.

Manufacturers were selling infant formula with the compound melamine in it to mask the fact that they were watering down the formula to save money and maximize profit. Melamine increases the nitrogen content, making it appear as if the formula still contains the same concentration of protein even after it had been diluted. According to the World Health Organization, this resulted in kidney damage and kidney stones, with some infants dying due to kidney failure.

Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Soumyajit Mandal believes that a means of authenticating compounds in medicine can be commercialized and available to the public within the next few years.

“We want to put power back into the consumers’ hands,” said Mandal. “If you are a consumer or small pharmacy that is trying to figure out if the medication you have is fake or not, do you have the resources to examine what’s inside?

It’s probably not feasible; it takes time and it’s expensive.”

According to Mandal, there is a large incentive for fraud with manufacturing medicine and vitamins. They don’t cost a lot to make and they can be sold for a lot. The Food and Drug Administration estimates that there are more than 29,000 nutritional supplements available for purchase today.

“The problem is that [drug] packaging has a label on it that you can scan and it will tell you what’s inside, but it can actually contain something else,” said Mandal. “Either that’s not the active ingredient, the wrong proportion, it contains contaminants or it can be labelled with the wrong expiry date.”

This is a significant public health problem, particularly in developing countries.

Antimicrobials and anti-malarial medications are frequently falsified; according to Mandal, approximately 15 percent of this type of medication in Africa are substandard and do not contain what the packaging says.

An inexpensive way of detecting what these medications contain is needed, said Mandal. It must be widespread and cannot be complicated—the average person should be able to easily use it without needing access to a laboratory or knowing specialized training. The pill should be able to remain inside of its original container and remain unaltered.

Currently, mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography are the typical methods of analyzing compounds within medications. They are sensitive and do a good job, but they are not accessible to general consumers. Optical methods are a little

from THEFT | 1 The stolen $200 and the charges associated with a new lock and keys will come out of Film Society revenue, money that is normally used for purchasing new equipment and paying the officers for their work.

“I put the same amount of hours into this as a normal job,” Caceci said.

After these deductions, officer wages will drop below their current level of about $7 an hour.

“What I would probably do is take a

more accessible, but they can only detect whether or not a substance is present, not its concentration. This is where Mandal’s research comes in. Using the science behind MRIs, he and his team created a method of using radio waves to detect the presence and concentration of compounds within a packaged entity.

Mandal, his colleagues in King’s College and Professor Swarup Bhunia, who previously worked at Case Western Reserve University and is now at the University of Florida, developed this method a few years ago.

“We came up with this technique, and then we were trying to find a way to use it,” said Mandal.

His colleagues in London were using the method to identify medicine; Bhunia is the reason that Mandal started looking at supplements as well. According to one of Mandal’s colleagues in the department of nutrition, they estimate that 20-30 percent of nutritional supplements have inaccurate labels.

“If a drug is already in a grey area— let’s say it’s illegal or not encouraged— then the potential for fraud is even higher because it isn’t regulated,” Mandal added.

Mandal is referring to diet pills and muscle enhancers, both of which are often sold on the Internet. He says that the rate of fraud from online pharmacies is significantly higher. This is why Mandal wants to eventually make a usable prototype that can even provide feedback if the package of medicine is inserted incorrectly into the detector.

Mandal has been looking for people to beta test the prototype they’ve created.

The prototype examines medications and compares them to compounds stored in its database, alerting the user if there is an unknown compound. Mandal wants to expand its database and has been reaching out to CWRU’s Department of Nutrition to test their known compounds as well as the Centers for Disease Control to test anti-malarial drugs. The bigger the database, the more the scanner will be able to identify.

His prototype now is about four-byfour-by-four inches and attaches to a benchtop instrument that is about the size of a 10-inch laptop. They are working to miniaturize it so that someone can take it out into the field more easily. Eventually Mandal hopes to create a version that can hook into a mobile device, with an app that uses the database uploaded onto the Cloud.

What makes Mandal’s research unique is its f lexibility; his device can look at multiple different compounds and doesn’t specialize in just one. It can test for a wide variety of materials because of its database. Mandal says that it can even detect explosives.

“At least now, you can be somewhat more assured that what you’re taking is actually what it says it is,” said Mandal.

“It’s a wild world out there.” larger cut from my own salary,” Caceci said. “I would probably be a little tight on money with rent and everything, but … ” she trailed off at this point, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s been a long semester. I’ve had a lot to deal with, and then this just added to it.”

This is an open and active criminal investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Daniel Schemmel, a detective sergeant with CWRU police, at djs49@case.edu or 216.368.5993 or anonymously through our website or the CWRU Shield App.

Scholarships get personal Changes in scholarship funding allow for more small donations Julia Bianco Director of Web & Multimedia As part of the university’s increased capital campaign, there are now more options for donors to give to undergraduate scholarships.

“Our admissions have skyrocketed in recent years for undergraduates,” said Vanessa Mavec, Assistant Director of Development and Special Projects. “We have triple the amount of applications and our acceptance rate is more competitive. This is really exciting, but we had to look at how we support these students and give the best financial aid packages so we don’t lose them to other universities.”

In addition to the continuation of the already existing endowed scholarships—which are typically created by donations of over one million dollars and are then invested by the university with small amounts taken out each year to give to students—the university has also instituted two more options for scholarship donations.

The first is a term scholarship, which ranges from $25,000 to $200,000. These are doled out over four years, rather than invested, to support one student.

Donors can name the funds after themselves or anyone else. Donors have a say

in who receives their scholarship; they can designate it to someone in their school or an activity they are involved in. The student who receives the scholarship is asked to write to the donor.

“The idea is to create a one-to-one relationship between them which both the students and donors like,” said Mavec.

The last option is a shared scholarship fund, with one fund per undergraduate school and one for students who are undeclared. These consist of an annual fund to which people can donate between $1 and $25,000, which is put in one pot and given to the financial aid office to use for incoming students.

Although these options were started with a soft launch in the fall of 2014, they are now starting to get traction and becoming more of a streamlined program.

“I think it’s a really cool program,” said Mavec. “We’ve had a lot of people excited about it. It’s a new opportunity for people to give and see an immediate impact from their dollar.”

University President Barbara R. Snyder, who discussed these scholarship changes at a recent Residence Hall Association meeting, said that she personally has donated money to the university for undergraduate scholarships.

“We are hoping that people will love the experience of giving a scholarship,” she said.

CWRU 2015-16 ELDRED THEATER SERIES

directed by DavidVegh

by Martin McDonagh

theater.case.edu Feb. 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 21 and 28 at 3 p.m.

WARNING: CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE For tickets call 216.368.6262 Single ticket price $10 Adults 60+ and CWRU Faculty/Staff $7 Students with ID $5

opinion Strosacker needs security cameras Editorial The campus buildings on the quads are safe, right?

The idea that there is a Case Western Reserve University building that isn’t watched over by CWRU security or the university’s police department seems ridiculous.

But, as CWRU Film Society found out on Feb. 4, that is the reality of Strosacker Auditorium right now. The building does not contain a single security camera. When Film Society’s locked office had $200 stolen on Feb. 4, the culprit was not immediately identified solely because of the lack of a camera in Strosacker.

To punch Film Society while they were down, Director Liz Caceci was told by a university official that if they wanted cameras in the building, the student group may have to pay for it. The cameras cost $1,500 a piece; it’s ridiculous to think that any student organization could afford them.

If Film Society is forced to pay for cameras, the Editorial Board will see it not only as a direct, intended insult by the CWRU administration to the group, but also an insight into a lack of care for CWRU student safety.

We’re not the only ones that see some campus buildings as insecure.

Ironically one day after the theft, on Feb. 5 CWRU Police Department’s Sergeant Jeffrey Daberko wrote a piece called “Attack of the creepers” in The Observer. The piece referred to those who steal from offices in daylight as “office creepers.”

The piece stated, “This is a common problem at many busy University Circle institutions like the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland, and one individual may hit several institutions in the course of a few days. We know this happens here at CWRU because CWRU PD was recently able to arrest an office creeper caught in the act of stealing from an open office.”

Any reasonable person would expect that the university administration will take a view similar to its police department and purchase cameras for Strosacker Auditorium to make the wronged Film Society members more comfortable. We hope that’s what happens.

We hope that the CWRU administration will realize how this affects companies it is in contract with, such as MediaVision. There is expensive MediaVision equipment in Strosacker Auditorium that’s used to record classrooms.

Film Society’s office is right next to the room where MediaVision equipment is locat-

Clarissa Cuevas/Observer

ed. Ideally, the calculations the administration uses to determine how safe students should be will take this into account.

This isn’t the first time Film Society has had items stolen. In an interview, Caceci explained Film Society was slowly, discretely robbed of its concession food items by someone who wasn’t a student throughout last semester. This came to light when, over Winter Break, a large amount of candy was stolen.

Strosacker Auditorium is clearly now the target of one or many thieves and there is no reason to assume that these people weren’t armed when they robbed these areas.

The $200 stolen from Film Society was the revenue it uses to pay salaried members,

who now may not be paid in full. The group now plans to spend upwards of $200 to purchase a new lock for the office door, but has been told that they must pay the university $50-80 per every new key it requests for that lock. That amount may be understandable, but if they are forced to pay for the cameras, it would cross a line.

Strosacker Auditorium has three entrances.

It is connected to buildings on both sides that also contain numerous entrances and offices.

Finally it’s used as a shortcut between Adelbert Road and the main quad by students and employees. The university should have to cover any cameras placed in a high traffic building because it benefits everyone, not just Film Society members.

To force the group to purchase $1,500 cameras would also be an unreasonable attempt to annex money from the Student Activities Fee, which is supposed to remain allocated solely for student groups. This intrusion would call into question whether the administration truly values a vibrant extracurricular program at CWRU, or any sense of fair play when it comes to funds promised to students.

We expect the administration to offer to pay for the three cameras Film Society has requested.

Cigarette daydreams: Tobacco ban would be unenforceable High Ground Chandler Holcomb The number of colleges opting to ban smoking on campus has been rising in the past few years. The idea is to limit risks associated with public smoking like second hand smoke and foster a cultural shift to reduce the number of smokers on campus. Out of sight, out of mind, seems to be the idea. Case Western Reserve University has jumped on the bandwagon as well. Who knew people enjoying a cigarette every now and then would become an enemy of the American college system.

CWRU’s initiative has been in the works for quite some time now. Back in 2014, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) was contacted by the administration that suggested they work towards making CWRU smoke free like many other colleges around the country. As of Jan. 1 at least 1,475 campuses nationwide are smoke free, growing a significant amount from the 586 smoke free campuses in 2011. Clearly the faculty does not want to appear behind the times and wishes to join such a prestigious and morally upright conglomeration of outstanding institutions.

So the Undergraduate Student Government held a referendum, a one-question poll asking “Do you support Case Western Reserve University implementing a tobacco-

free policy on its campus?”

Slightly more than half of the few that responded voted yes. Seeing this as an acceptable gauge of student approval for the ban, the administration then endorsed a policy to be implemented. Members of USG felt this may not have been an efficient means of polling the public and the complaint arose that more student opinion needed to be taken into consideration before any such ban was implemented.

Currently USG is planning a new referendum to better gauge public interest in a smoke free campus, hopefully before the university takes any further action.

This hotly contested issue has been debated all over, and has even been the center of focus for The Observer’s other writers.

No ban CWRU can put in place can prevent students from smoking legally on sidewalks owned by the city, so any sidewalk next to any road will still be legal to smoke on. As many of you know, most of the routes to classes on either north or south side utilize these sidewalks. This invalidates the rallying cry that this policy makes students safe from the corrosive danger of secondhand smoke in a completely open space that seems to plague the mind of our caring and loving faculty.

Additionally, foreign exchange students who come from cultures where smoking is much more pervasive will continue to smoke in the wake of such a policy. Communicating this ban to every-

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 observer@case.edu.

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

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one will be extremely difficult.

I have seen students smoking in hallways inside—how does CWRU expect to keep them from smoking outside? This harps on the fact that while in theory banning smoking on campus may come from a want to actually reduce the amount of smokers and secondhand smoke, but practically speaking, it cannot achieve such measure without enforcing insanely strict punishments.

What concerns me most is enforcement.

Thinking that implementing this policy will do anything more than badger those who persist in their smoking habit is laughable. Providing information or resources in an attempt to help them quit will only go so far, and these resources are not dependent on a smoking ban.

Assuming a college student is not well educated enough to make the decision to smoke or not is already insulting. Depriving him of the opportunity to make that choice or face punishment is even worse.

The policy as it stands now has designated areas for smokers that both students and faculty alike can go to indulge, minimizing the residual effect to people on other portions of the campus while providing leeway to smokers. A ban would require them to leave campus or simply break the rules, and let’s be honest, how many people are going to walk all the way off campus just to not run the risk of potentially getting talked down to by CWRU Security.

What kinds of punishment will the defiant face? If it is not harsh enough it won’t solve anything, if it is too harsh you will jeopardize the standing of students who have done nothing but exercise their freedom of choice. There is no easy answer. So why does the administration keep pushing?

The answer is that the practical application of the policy is not an issue; this is advertising plain and simple. CWRU just wants to be “with-it” and be able to tell prospective students, noteworthy alumni and other peers that CWRU is on board with the smoke-free movement. Student choice and autonomy take a back seat to will of the administration.

This is just one example of numerous ways college campuses are becoming more sheltered and prone to single-mindedness. If, like me, you were hoping for a college that would allow you to be free to make choices like the adult you are, then you should be against this policy whether or not you smoke. Moderating the recreational activities of the students, beyond the obvious, is not the job of the school administration.

If they believe we are capable of making rational decisions, the administration should be facilitating our learning and decision-making processes, not telling us what we can and cannot do.

Chandler is a fourth-year student.

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 news designer CHRISTINA CHENG a&e designer MATTHEW ZYLE opinion designer ALEXANDRA GOLDBERG sports designer AMANDA LI graphic designer CLARISSA CUEVAS pr manager ASHLEY CHAN video editor SAI SUPRIYA VUDA social media editor JENIECE MONTELLANO photo editor LIZZY KALIKASINGH

news editor AQUENE KIMMEL a&e editor ELLIE RAMBO opinion editor KUSHAGRA GUPTA sports editor JP. O’HAGAN web editor JOE SATTERFIELD copy editors ADITHI IYENGAR ANASTAZIA VANISKO advisor BERNIE JIM

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opinion

2/19/16

Don’t support blocking Obama’s “Clean Power Plan” The Salt Pile Danny Miles Those that follow environmental issues are likely well-aware of the climate talks held in Paris last December. President Barack Obama, as well as numerous other world leaders, met in France at a United Nations sanctioned event to discuss environmental matters of global import.

Climate change spearheaded the talks, and it was in Paris that Obama reaffirmed his Clean Power Plan, a plan that looks to reduce carbon emissions and the U.S.’s energy footprint over the course of several years. Obama has been pushing these issues for quite a while now, and the climate talks in December were a culmination of these efforts.

However, on Feb. 9, the Supreme Court ruled in a shocking decision that the Clean Power Plan would be blocked from moving forward while it is being challenged in court.

Conservative opposition to the Clean Power Plan is expected, as is conservative opposition to nearly everything Obama has proposed.

The Court’s decision, on the other hand, is much less so. CNN Politics takes this as a sign that at least five of the justices have a serious concern about some aspect of the plan, which seems reasonable.

However the fact that the Court saw fit to completely block the plan from moving ahead is questionable. The Clean Power Plan’s tenets give states plenty of time to comply; in fact, most of its stipulations don’t come into effect until well after President Obama is out of office in January. (Most segments of the Clean Power Plan will not come into full effect for at least two years.)

The whole thing is awfully questionable.

The Court’s decision appears to be more straightforward obstructionism, which is disheartening when coming from the leaders of the judicial branch. At this point, this kind of opposition is expected from Congress, but

This stuff isn’t falsified. Climate change is a real and incredibly important issue. the fact that the Supreme Court is partaking in this sort of endeavor is frustrating, especially when the issue at hand is so important.

As a college campus, Case Western Reserve University students are more aware than most of the implications of climate change. I personally know many people who are espousing the importance of sustainability and alternative fuel, which is why it’s so jarring to me when politicians claim that climate science is bunk and that energy proposals are simply a way to bankrupt the coal industry (As seen in a tweet by Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming shortly after Congress voted to block the new Environmental Protection Agency limits).

This stuff isn’t falsified. Climate change is a real and incredibly important issue, and more Americans need to be talking about it.

I’m relatively certain that I only heard about the decision because it was mentioned in one of my classes here.

CWRU and its student body promote sustainability and clean energy constantly, and that’s a good thing. But we need to talk with our ballots, not just our mouths and pens. This kind of obstructionism will only be eliminated if CWRU students and other like-minded people get out and vote in this election.

We know it’s important, but we need to let Congress know that too.

Danny Miles is a second-year student who is generously reducing his carbon footprint by not bringing his car to school and is totally not just doing this so that he doesn’t have to pay as much in insurance.

A teetotaler’s take on college One is too many: an open letter to our Greek men alcohol culture Feminist Food for Thought Kate Rasberry Alcohol culture can be a persistent hellish nightmare for teetotalers (those who make a personal choice not to drink) like myself. I am not of legal drinking age, but it isn’t hard for anyone my age to find a party. However, as a teetotaler, I can confidently say I haven’t and will not drink throughout the remainder of my undergraduate years, and likely even after college.

That’s not going to be easy. It’s baffling how little the presence of alcohol is considered during social events, public or private.

For teetotalers, it seems to be everywhere; the presence of alcohol can seriously inhibit our social habits and how many friends we have, especially in college.

At the very worst, we have people questioning us about our religion or family while trying to spike our drinks because they “obviously” know better than us about “loosening up” with regard to something we disagree with. Luckily, my experiences at Case Western Reserve University with alcohol culture hasn’t been too harmful. Most people are respectful.

That does not dispel the remaining issues with abstaining from alcohol.

Drinking is so common for social interactions that there will seem to be a wall that separates you from everyone else.

No one wants to bother you lest they risk the possibility of being lectured, so most people generally don’t talk to you.

If they do, they are probably already your friend. Unless, of course, you are lying to fit in and pretending to drink to help others approach you under false pretenses.

If you are one of the more comfortable teetotalers and can be around alcohol and those partaking, congratulations: You’ve probably already figured out how to act and be okay in those situations.

I, however, am too squirrely to be around alcohol at all; it’s much harder to cope. If you are like me, you’ll simply have a hard time being around people who drink, even the light drinkers; you remain uncomfortable. You physically alienate yourself and feel awful because you are then truly alone with the knowledge that your friends are out having a good time without you.

It’s depressing when you get to that point. You still care about your friends or about missing an opportunity to make new ones. It’s more compromising and harder on you, however, to be at that type of social event than to be alone.

The most common complaint from

teetotalers is that they are almost always assigned the coveted designated driver title. If you don’t mind driving your friends every now and again, that’s great, but no one wants to drive everyone to and from parties. Furthermore, you’ll likely have to take care of their drunk, possibly vomiting friends every single time.

Those who drink should be kind to their abstaining friend and give them the night off at least half the time. Otherwise you are being selfish and heavily inconveniencing your friend.

One of the best things you can do is find a friend you can hang out with that shares your teetotaler ideology. Though many websites recommend finding a friend that does partake, but takes the night off for you, that’s simply inconveniencing that friend.

Even if a friend agrees to abstain for the night, they might break that abstinence at some point. That is understandable and I think it’s okay for a friend to do that. You need to realize that you will eventually be left without company. Simply, if you have a friend that shares the same ideology, it’s easier on everyone.

If you can’t find a friend, I find treating yourself to engrossing pleasures is the best way to spend time when others are drinking. Edging towards the more boring side of the scale, I prefer to drink my Mexican coke and replaying episodes of the 1995 BBC five-and-a-half-hour rendition of “Pride and Prejudice.” My method may not be for everyone, but it keeps my mind away from my friends and on the lovely Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

For your method, find something that takes all of your attention, like a movie or a hockey game, if that’s your preference. Treat yourself to sugary-anything and a meal at a restaurant you’ve been dying to try. Fill in a coloring book, create elaborate Rube Goldberg machines, learn a programming language. Do something that you honestly enjoy.

You care about your friends and they care about you, but just as you aren’t required to drink, they aren’t required to abstain. You need to find your own way of handling the alcohol issue. Over time, your reactions might change, and so might your coping mechanisms.

For now, especially in college, it’s imperative to learn how to deal with choosing a minority position in a widespread culture.

Kate Rasberry is a second-year student.

Letter to the Editor Recently, at Beta Theta Pi’s national president’s training, one chapter president suggested to the room that “it’s easy to say, like, at least we don’t pee on our pledges.” I struggled to keep a straight face, but the thinking he so eloquently described is pervasive here at Case Western Reserve University.

There is a persistent myth of exceptionalism in our Greek community—that our fraternities and sororities are concerned exclusively with service and philanthropy rather than, well, peeing on their pledges. And it’s true, our Greek organizations do a great deal of good both for their members and for the campus community as a whole. But we also struggle with the same issues of substance abuse, hazing and most centrally, sexual assault, which plagues Greek life nationally.

We cannot ignore these problems, and as a community, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard.

As such, I was disappointed by the recent piece “Fraternity brothers upset by Greek Life sanctions,” which presents the thesis that the Greek Life Office dealt unreasonably with Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Delta Tau Delta, without ever quite coming out in support of it.

This is good, as the argument is untenable.

At a basic level, membership review is carried out exclusively by a fraternity’s national organization and alumni. The GLO had no involvement in the process. To me, though, the core of the issue is in the quote that the article gives from a former member of Phi Psi that “[We’re] not terrible people, but we’re being judged purely on some questionable things that, in my opinion, should just be accepted as normal on a college campus.”

Generally speaking, I don’t believe in bad people. People don’t typically decide that what they’re doing is wrong and then decide to keep doing it. They rationalize, they make excuses, they fight the cognitive dissonance.

No one believes themselves to be a bad person, and even people who repeatedly do horrible things can still, in other contexts, be incredibly kind or selfless or loyal. This kind of complexity resists labels. So I have no difficulty at all in believing that most of the men suspended in the recent membership reviews are not “bad people.” I’m actually quite confident that the vast majority did nothing terribly transgressive.

The real question, though, concerns what kinds of behavior we want to normalize in our community. I would argue that substance abuse is not something we collectively want to accept, but the exact definition of abuse is somewhat open to interpretation. Attempting to distinguish moderately unhealthy risktaking typical of adolescents from an unac-

ceptable drug problem is outside the scope of this piece.

Concerning sexual assault, however, there can be no quibbling. And there can also be no denying that this is an issue among fraternities on campus: In December of 2014 the Greek Life Office called together all of the Interfraternity Congress presidents and asked them not to hold any social events for the remainder of the semester due to the large number of ongoing sexual misconduct investigations involving Greek men.

No one would dispute the claim that sexual assault is not to be tolerated as such, but I feel the need to emphasize this point lest its overriding importance be disputed. Nothing can prepare you for what you will feel when (and it really is more a question of when than if) you hear that someone you care for has been sexually assaulted.

When a friend told me from a hundred miles away while I sat in class one morning that she had been raped over the weekend, I truly understood for the first time that not one person more should have to experience that kind of degradation. We cannot consider anything less than the total elimination of sexual assaults by our brothers to be acceptable. And we cannot distance ourselves entirely from the actions of those men to whose personal development we have promised ourselves.

Fundamental to Greek life is the notion that every action I take reflects not only on myself, but also on my fraternity. The actions of the members of a fraternity cannot be meaningfully separated from the actions of the fraternity, and through his behavior each individual helps to establish a culture. But that culture cannot then be deconstructed into the specific people and actions which created it—rooting out cultural problems is not as simple as condemning the actions of the few worst offenders. Ultimately, containing no rapists is an absurdly low standard by which to justify the existence of an organization.

We have to do better. These membership reviews are unfair to the majority of the members suspended, but when we fail to hold ourselves and our brothers to the values ostensibly so central to our organizations, we must accept them as inevitable. The burden rests on us, through our individual words and actions, to make this community into what we want it to be. If every member of Greek life took this mission to heart, it would be a trivial task. Probably, it will not turn out to be so simple. But we have no choice other than to always strive to live in accordance with our values so that each of us leaves a positive impact on our chapter and on our campus community.

James Gurian Second-year student

opinion 7

observer.case.edu

Slippery thoughts for slushy sidewalks Student Mind Austin Stroud Wednesday, Feb. 10, as the snow piled down hard at Case Western Reserve University, little seemed to be done in an effort to prevent the immediate effects it would have on campus.

As I trudged through the slush covering all the walkways and streets on campus, I was perplexed as to why these dangerous conditions continued to persist throughout the day. I figured surely something would be done about the conditions at hand in a timely manner.

Unfortunately I was wrong.

While it was certainly a great annoyance having to walk through slippery pathways with little to no visibility, I found the general lack of safety to be the greater issue. It wouldn’t take much

for someone to be seriously injured by either falling or an automobile accident.

While some people may have remained unhindered, the lack of clear pathways presented a substantial accessibility issue to students, faculty and staff who may be encumbered by a disability. The lack of urgency involved in responding to the conditions brought

I figured surely something would be done about the conditions at hand in a timely manner. on by the snow is a bit worrisome, as it makes me wonder how a situation would have been handled if things were drastically worse.

Eventually the vast amount of slush

A new blueprint for greenie routes Opinion Editor Kushagra Gupta Campus transportation on grounds that extends slightly over a mile should not be the impossible task that it’s now made out to be. The idea that Case Western Reserve University students should wait for a greenie as long as it takes to walk that distance doesn’t make any sense.

As someone who’s often at Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) past 10 p.m., the question of whether to walk or wait is more than familiar. It’s important to me that I be able to get to my suite safely and quickly after a long day of studying.

I often try to make an eight hour block for sleep in my schedule and a half-hour delay can make this impossible. Furthermore, having to work that long can create a bitter mood and that only worsens when I wait nearly double the time the app “NextBus” tells me a greenie will take to arrive. Frustrated and late, it’s difficult to get enough sleep for the next day.

Campus transportation has been covered and debated many times in The Observer, so I would like to propose a new solution.

The most obvious flaw in the greenie system is the labeling: the North Loop covers the entirety of campus (excluding the top of the hill) and even then goes off-campus. Yes, two minibuses take this route, but the path is too extensive.

It’s important to me that I be able to get to my suite safely and quickly after a long day of studying.

Opportunity, however, lies in these numbers: the North Loop can be split into two separate loops.

Students should be able to quickly get to the North Residential Village, the South Residential Village, KSL and the main quad in the evening. They should be able to move between home and the 24/7 library efficiently. Furthermore, the 20-minute walk from the north and south sides of campus is not a fair burden to place on students.

was taken care of, but the swiftness by which action was taken was certainly lackluster. Obviously CWRU’s location means that it is subject to some of the harshest winter weather in the country.

This is not, however, a sufficient excuse to take to avoid basic action such as presalting sidewalks and walkways, something that didn’t occur last week.

The main quad is often the site of evening extracurriculars. I’m not a part of any of the following, but can account for at least one large organization meeting five evenings of the week: the Residence Hall Association on Mondays, Film Society on Fridays or Saturdays, the Undergraduate Student Government on Tuesdays and Greek chapters on Sundays.

A greenie that “sprints” between these four locations mentioned would make travel across campus efficent; a fast “Campus Loop” would make everyone happy.

That also means there’s an opportunity for a true North Loop. Like the South Loop, this loop could go further into Little Italy, where many students

Students should be able to quickly get to the North Residential Village, the South Residential Village, KSL and the main quad in the evening. live, but also making it easier to travel to restaurants.

What happens if you’re a student living in Little Italy studying at the library and want to get home? Instead of hopping on a greenie that slowly travels across all of campus, you’ll be a couple quick stops away from a shared stop with the new North Loop, which would then take you closer to your home than the current North Loop does.

The same goes for students living on or off campus on top of the hill. The reality is that with three buses, there is the chance to divvy up our long campus into three unique areas covered by separate buses.

Because this system could use existing buses and drivers, the new system has few disadvantages. Excluding new signage, the biggest advantage of this change is that it won’t cost CWRU an extra cent.

Kushagra Gupta is a third-year student and likes solutions that sound simple and cool, even if they may not work. He is the Opinion Editor for The Observer.

The fact remains that more preparation and effort could have been involved in responding to the hazardous conditions Feb. 10. Although part of the responsibility rests with the students to

exercise caution when such conditions come about, I believe that a disproportionate burden is being placed on us when more could be done to handle the situation by others.

Aside from this one instance, the response to snow conditions has generally been strong. This week, nothing near the scale of the problem encountered Feb. 10 has arisen.

I am hoping no such complications will occur again. With the weather being as unaccommodating as it is, I commend everyone who works so hard to keep the CWRU campus safe and accessible, as I would imagine it is not an easy task to do so.

Austin Stroud is a first-year student and bi-weekly opinion columnist at The Observer.

College admissions process shouldn’t be taxing Student Mind Brian Eckert In last week’s column I discussed a neIn last week’s column I discussed a new project headed by Harvard Graduate School of Education titled Turning the Tide. Through this project, the supporters are attempting to relieve some of the stress of the college admissions process. So many students go through sleepless nights and stress filled days all throughout high school just to get into the college they want, or even worse, the college their parents want.

It will be difficult to remove the stress parents put on their kids to overachieve and get into certain colleges, but there are things to be done about the application process. Colleges across the country are currently looking for students that take all AP courses and play three sports and join handfuls of clubs and service groups.

In today’s competitive college atmosphere it can be extremely stressful for students to apply to college. Most students going into their senior year are looking to relax and focus on enjoying their last year of high school. Instead, many are faced with the most stressful year of their high school careers.

Personally, I spent more time in the fall of my senior year working on college applications than working on school work. I spent countless hours working on essays and resumes and filling out The Common Application. I was forced to neglect my school work

I spent countless hours working on essays and resumes and filling out The Common Application. and other obligations because there was a deadline that I had to meet. Only a handful of my high school’s graduates attend four-year schools every year, so I received very little support from counselors and peers.

This application process led to a lot of sleepless nights. The stress didn’t end when I hit the “submit” button on The Common App either. It just became a waiting game. The first thing I did every night when I came home from practice or meetings or whatever after school ac-

tivity I had, was checking the mail immediately. I remember one day when I knew I’d be receiving some mail, I went to the office and faked an illness so that I could go home and check the mail.

The stress that came with these applications was something I never could’ve imagined. I assume I’m not the only student that went through this. I was sure that I would get into at least a few of the schools I applied to, but I was uncertain

The stress that came with these applications was something I never could have imagined. of a few schools that I really wanted to get into. I also didn’t have any pressure from my parents. I can’t even begin to understand what it must be like to have parents that would’ve pressured me to get into and attend a certain school.

The second and third parts of Turning the Tide go along with this well.

The second part outlines the importance of community service. The importance of community engagement is very important for the founders of Turning the Tide. They want to see more students get engaged in community programs across race and cultural boundaries. This will help students to become more accepting and open to different cultures. College is full of new experiences and students from other backgrounds.

The third and final part of Turning the Tide is based around redefining achievement. The different achievements of students from all backgrounds should carry the same weight. Some students might not have access to AP credits or honors courses because their school doesn’t offer those credits. Achievement should be based on the maximum effort the student put forth with what they have available.

The college application process is one of the most difficult and stressful times in most students’ lives up to that point. Going to college is a great achievement and should be something students can look forward to as they approach graduation.

Turning the Tide is all about making this process easier and more enjoyable for students, the way it should be.

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

arts & entertainment Student performers shine at Drag Ball Sierra Cotton Staff Reporter Held on Friday, Feb. 12, the Case Western Reserve University Drag Ball promised to break transgender stereotypes and donate all its funds to the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland. Without a doubt, the event delivered on this promise and provided extra sweet surprises.

Having never seen a drag event live, I was interested to see how the students of CWRU change their personas while strutting down the runway or lip synching.

The student performances exceeded my expectations. The performance was more than just dress-up—each of the performers gave it their all, from their outfits to completely embodying their personas. What surprised me the most was that six out of the eight performers identified themselves as she/her/hers. It never occurred to me that the drag performers didn’t have to be male.

“For me, the stars of the show were definitely the students that participated,” said first-year student Amanda Smith. “Their energy was what made it fun to watch.”

The first part of the show was the runway portion, and it definitely caught my attention from the first second. Vivi Vendetta

(Vinvcenzo Volpe), a second-year music and biology double major, walked onto stage in a killer red dress and sparkling silver heels I would never dare to walk in.

Complete with a blond wig, makeup and gloves, Vivi was stunning. Following our only contestant that identifies as he/him/ his, the rest of the performers impressed me with their ability to portray themselves as males/genderless, from the fake facial hair to the way they walked.

Without a doubt the best part of the event was the lip syncing. Each performer was distinctly different from the next and gave different energies to their performances. They all got on stage with a huge amount of bravado and confidence.

Song selections ranged from Lady Gaga to Queen, providing the audience with a range of performances.

When Vivi Vendetta started her act by saying, “I’m a flute player, and I’ve been told I’m really good at blowing,” the room filled with laughter. Rounds of applause and overall excitement erupted from the audience when Stone Hardman (Jill Stone) ripped off his shirt to reveal all the major feminine parts were being held down with tape and painted on chest hair.

The actual contestants weren’t the only ones who gave performances. The

Julia Bianco/Observer

The event had a special guest performer, runway walking and lip syncing.

audience was able to participate in mini contests on stage, including a lip sync battle to Beyoncé and Adele, heel strutting contestant to Nicki Minaj and a dance battle. All genders partook in the event and it was a site to see. It was unbelievable just how much energy the crowd gave when first-year nursing major Whitney Hom first hit the stage in the heel strutting contestant and when the girls on Team Beyoncé danced to “Crazy in Love” in perfect harmony.

In addition to the student performances, professional drag Queen “Lady J” got on stage and delivered an “Alice in Won-

derland” act. While it was very entertaining and I was impressed by her ability to dance on such high heels; it just wasn’t the same as the student acts. The student acts gave a lot more energy and captivated my attention more.

Other students enjoyed the general atmosphere. “I really enjoyed Drag Ball.

It was my second year going and I liked the atmosphere and the acceptance of everyone,” said Alexis Rios, a third-year student. “There was nothing bringing it down and I feel like there is a lot of controversy around gender and gender identity, and here everyone accepted everyone and there was good energy and good vibes and Lady J was pretty amazing to see.”

Overall, the event was a great showcase of the diversity and talent CWRU’s student population has to offer. The Drag Ball truly is for everyone, whether one identifies as a part of the transgender community or not. In the end, this event not only broke down gender barriers but raised over $200, money that the will go to the LGBT Center of Cleveland.

Event: LGBT Center’s Drag Ball Location: TVUC Ballroom Date: Feb. 12

CIM student hosts afternoon jams on WRUW Chrismaly Vidal Staff Reporter

CV: Why the guest every week?

PM: “For a while I was DJ-ing with Beatmatrix after completing my apprenticeship with them. They kind of raised me with electronica music. While on their show, they would have a guest professional DJ who would spin. And I think, when I started my show, I wanted to tag team life events with people.

Whether it’s parties or bike rides, whatever. I thought it’d be an interesting and fun way to twist up music. You can hear electronica music wherever but even I don’t know what’s coming on when they come on. It’s usually their first time on air but a lot of [CIM students], because they already know how to present themselves as musicians, can really speak as an orator.

WRUW 91.1 FM hosts an eclectic group of shows, and the schedule changes regularly. To help you discover new shows to follow, we’re interviewing radio show hosts about their backgrounds and the concepts behind their programs. This week we talked to Perry “Wolfbrother” Wolfman, who hosts the show Jammin’ Jammz every Tuesday.

Chrismaly Vidal: How did you first get into being a programmer?

Perry Wolfman: “First semester at Cleveland Institute of Music was really busy, but by the second semester, I had gotten the hang of it and just came across the opportunity while sitting at Leutner.

I thought it was the coolest thing ever because it wasn’t like classical music— not something that you were forced to do. I thought it would be an interesting way to have a hobby or something away from the school. There’s like some negativity and a lot of pressure that goes into our school, and I was trying to find a way to kind of relieve the stress and there you go. I fell in love with the station and after second semester sophomore year, I’ve been with it basically ever since.”

CV: How long have you be hosting ‘Jammin’ Jammz’?

PM: “Well I’ve been doing this show for the past two years. I took a semester off last semester because I was like ‘Oh, senior year’s going to be hard,’ and then this semester suddenly got really light. I

CV: How do you usually approach people to be a guest?

Chrismaly Vidal/Observer Perry Wolfman hosts an electronic show featuring guests from CIM. was then like “let’s do it again! Let’s go out with a final bang, you know? Senior year, last semester. Why not?”

CV: Have you done any other shows?

PM: “I was an apprentice on Beatmatrix, which was a really great electronic show. They had a lot of drum and bass and house music. Like funk and groovy house rather than the generic ‘house.’”

CV: Tell us about your show.

PM: “The first half of this show, I’ve got this board right here and use it to

spin on this program called ‘Traktor.’

This is a Traktor controlled S2 DJ controller. I’ll use this and basically will do 30 minutes of a mini-mix to open up the show with some Jammz for you [the listeners]. It’s basically one fluid back to back, musical electronic extravaganza.

Then, every week I bring a guest on, give them a DJ name that represents who they are. For example, Laura [his guest of the week] is a vocalist as well.

A junior at CIM with me and she’s a singer, but also in high school did Saber in Color Guard, so I called her Saber Singer.”

PM: “I normally have specific people, close friends that I know even if I called them at 3 a.m. in the morning and asked them they’d be down. Also, normally the kids at CIM just stick to the school and don’t do anything, besides practice—and live, eat, drink and sleep.

That’s it. So, when I bring CIM kids here, or any guest, they’re usually surprised. More the CIM kids because they have no idea that this is right in their backyard. It’s so close and such a good place to hang out.”

Show: Jammin’ Jamz Host: Perry Wolfman Date: 2-3 p.m. every Tuesday Hometown: New York City, NY

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A blast from the past with Never Shout Never Mike Suglio Staff Reporter Christofer Drew, the bleached blond lead vocalist and guitarist of Never Shout Never, walked onto the stage of the House of Blues Cleveland with a half empty bottle of wine.

After taking a sip from the bottle he proudly explained that today was his 25th birthday.

The sea of young girls roared with excitement and shouted “Happy Birthday!” I glanced over at the empty bar where bored bartenders were handing out water as if they were giving away well vodka shots.

Drew asked if anyone was over 21 and a few hands were raised. I stayed in the back with my pen and paper feeling completely out of place.

Never Shout Never is a good mixture of indie rock, folk and (mainly) pop. The skilled instrumental talent is apparent in every song, but like many pop bands they fall into overplayed ballads and clichéd melodies. But Drew has grown as a musician since his days of being a Myspace sensation under the alias nevershoutnever! in 2007.

I found “Coffee and Cigarettes” to be rather catchy and found myself singing along. I was also impressed with Drew’s performance of “Red Balloon,” which rallied the crowd.

Red balloons fell from the ceiling, which was visually stunning and a fun touch to the decent pop song.

Drew and the band performed a cover of the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” which was decent, but not even close to the power of the original. At one point Drew apologized to the crowd for “drinking too much wine,” which may have been a factor in some lackluster performances.

Opening for Never Shout Never was reunited band Metro Station, composed of Ma-

SUMMER

son Musso and Trace Cyrus, older brother of Miley Cyrus. Metro Station reunited and began touring again after Cyrus’ return in 2014.

The House of Blues was filled with energy and good vibes as the two jammed on risers in a dark yet neon-filled stage. In a dull evening at the House of Blues I found myself rocking to the band’s electronic pop rock as 18-year-old girls continually screamed “I love you” at the stage.

Musso and Cyrus ended their set with their famous hit from 2007, “Shake It” which I fondly remember blasting loudly on my car radio as I drove through Cleveland suburbs.

Cyrus asked everyone to put their cell phones away and just dance to the high-energy song, which the majority of the crowd agreed to do.

Prior to Metro Station was the very young band Jule Vera. The lead guitarist clapped his hands, trying to rally the crowd, and lipsynced the lyrics more than he played his instrument. What the band lacked in talent was made up with spectacle, which comprised of trying to play the guitar with one’s tongue, playing drums while water is on them, and rallying the crowd to wave their phones in lieu of lighters during a “slow” song. The sea of lighted phones was incredibly cliché.

I believe there is potential talent and growth for Jule Vera. The band would clearly win any “battle of the bands” competition, but when compared to other bands that night it was a harsh contrast. With the right training and guidance, lead vocalist Ansley Newman could drive the band to serious success.

Bands: Never Shout Never, Metro Station, Jule Vera Date: Feb. 10 Location: House of Blues

Playlist of the Week Sarah Lisk Staff Reporter

If you missed Jukebox the Ghost at Spot Night a year ago or just missed them in general, you’re in luck: the trio will be jamming at Beachland on March 4. In preparation for their current tour, Jukebox has released a campy music video for their (mostly) upbeat jam “Hollywood.” The group’s aesthetic—more pop than indie, with a few creative liberties—is epitomized on the track. Indeed, “Hollywood” begins as a showtune-esque ballad until pounding drumsticks foreshadow a burst into infectious pop action. Just try to stop yourself from dancing.

Beach House - “Space Song”

For a more mellow state of mind, press play on Beach House and the mystical “Space Song.” The simple but heartfelt lyrics read more like a free verse poem than a popular song, but the addition of Victoria Legrand’s haunting voice over melodic guitar lines transforms the track into one of the best off “Depression Cherry.”

Fans craving more Beach House can spend the leap year awash in the duo’s gentle energy: the duo is playing at House of Blues Cleveland on Feb. 29.

Gwen Stefani - “Make Me Like You”

study abroad

Ska pop staple Gwen Stefani is back with the radio-ready “Make Me Like You.” Although the poppy track is more sincere than her earlier hits, Stefani is clearly banking on it to make waves: Last week, the singer successfully debuted her live music video during the GRAMMYs. Stefani’s third solo album, “This Is What the Truth Feels Like,” will debut on March 18. Tour dates have yet to be announced, so keep your fingers crossed for an appearance by the superstar in Cleveland.

CWRU COURSES

Get away for the summer!

Make an appointment with a study abroad advisor at studyabroad@case.edu.

Botswana

ENGR 225B: Thermodynamics, Fluid Dynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer May 30–June 17, 2016

China

ENGR 200: Statics and Strength of Materials May 23–June 9, 2016

Cuba

SPAN 306/406 ETHS 306: The Cuban Experience May 7–May 29, 2016

France

FRCH/WLIT 308/408: The Paris Experience June 1–June 21, 2016

APPLY TODAY

www.case.edu/studyabroad studyabroad@case.edu

Jukebox the Ghost -“Hollywood”

Greece

CLSC 318/418: Archaeological and Epigraphical Field School May 28–June 19, 2016

Thailand

EECS 233: Introduction to Data Structures June 6–July 1, 2016

Other Summer Study Abroad Options

Programs all around the world 3-12 weeks in length All majors search here: www.case.edu/studyabroad See a study abroad advisor to find a program right for you studyabroad@case.edu

#FlashbackFriday The Click Five -“Just the Girl”

Did you know The Click Five’s third album came out in 2011? Neither did I. This week, try to ignore the anxiety of impending midterms and instead revert to a child-like state with middle school bangers like 2005’s “Just the Girl.” After your next study sesh, raise a glass to substanceless sound of The Click Five and their all but forgotten one-hit wonder. Other recommendations for your throwback playlist include Boys Like Girls, Cute Is What We Aim For, and The Academy Is… Go crazy.

Find all these tracks online with our weekly Spotify playlist at observer.case.edu.

All photos courtesy of amazon.com, pitchfork.com, & josephvinaixa.com.

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2/19/16

“Deadpool” breaks the fourth wall with great force Lars Torres Staff Reporter

The character of Deadpool originated in the 90s as a supervillain for Marvel Comics, but eventually found new life as an anti-hero mercenary in later comic publications. He became renowned in comics for breaking the fourth wall, his sheer insanity, the many crass jokes he makes and the ultraviolence on display.

Deadpool made its debut in the abysmal “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” played by skilled actor Ryan Reynolds, who is well versed in comedy and seemed born to play the role. Unfortunately this incarnation of the beloved character was poorly handled and concluded. For almost a decade, Reynolds spent most of that time trying to honor the character he loves, for himself and the fans. It is fantastic to know that his efforts were not in vain with this new incarnation in “Deadpool.”

This new film follows the character of Wade Wilson, a disgraced former soldier who now works as a mercenary for anyone willing to flip a nickel his way. While visiting his regular dive bar—tended by his best friend Weasel (T.J. Miller)—Wilson meets Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), an escort and waitress at a strip club. They are immediately attracted to one another following Vanessa’s thorough and hilarious violation of a bar patron. Their relationship seems unstoppable, until Wade collapses one day and is diagnosed with terminal cancer. In a desperate bid to find a cure, Wade takes up the offer of Francis

Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox “Deadpool” offers a cheeky approach to the Marvel Universe, featuring a twisted anti-hero.

“Ajax” Freeman (Ed Skrein), who immediately betrays Wilson and forces him to undergo torture and forced serum injections to activate his mutant powers. This proves successful, but Wilson is disfigured in the process. Wilson vows revenge on Ajax, and proceeds to take up the mantle of an almost-superhero by donning the name “Deadpool” and setting off on his path of vengeance.

Speaking with a group of Case Western

Reserve University students who also attended a preview screening, many of us agreed that the film succeeds within the first two minutes with satirical opening credits, poking fun at the actors, producers, writers and the director.

Siddharth Bajpai described the movie as “beyond irreverent and just such a good time to have. I am going to have to see this again!”

Tri Ngo and Aditya Kamat also shared

these sentiments, finding the movie to be “full of so many jokes, man, I think we both forgot some because the audience was laughing hard along with us.”

The film was a-laugh-a-minute, the action sequences were well directed and choreographed and the sheer sense of fun on display was infectious. What makes this movie is Reynold’s grandiose and magnetic performance as Wade Wilson/ Deadpool, who deserves awards and ovations for what he brings to the character.

Baccarin is also strong as Vanessa. The use of the characters of Colossus (Stefan Kapičić) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) are also wellperformed and well-utilized in the film to comedic and action effect.

Overall, the film is a must-see, even for people not familiar with the titular character. The film is rife with many fourth-wall jokes, jabs on the superhero film genre and is a bundle of pure enjoyment from beginning to end. This is also an unexpectedly perfect date movie, so take your significant other with you to experience a tour de force in the overblown superhero genre, made even more surprising coming from a first-time director.

What a promising beginning, and congratulations to Reynolds for pulling off such a tricky performance.

Film: “Deadpool” Directed by: Tim Miller Release Date: Feb. 12 Rating:

Your turning point from depression and hopelessness to hope and resilience.

Your turning point from depression and hopelessness to hope and resilience.

If you know someone on our campus who is struggling with thoughts of suicide, talk to them, comfort them and let them know it gets better.

University Health & Counseling Services is here to help them … and you!

If youUniversity know someone on our campus220 who is struggling with thoughts of suicide, Counseling Services Sears Library Building 216.368.5872 talk to them, comfort them 2145 and let them know gets better.

University Health Services, Adelbert Road,it216.368.2450 division of the Office of Student Affairs, 110 Adelbert Hall, 216.368.2020 University Healtha & Counseling Services is here to help them … and you!

Community resources:

University Counseling Services 220 Sears Library Building 216.368.5872 University Health Services, 2145 Adelbert FREE - 24/7 CONFIDENTIALRoad, 216.368.2450 a division of the Office of Student Affairs, 110 Adelbert Hall, 216.368.2020

Community resources:

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TEXT ‘GO’ TO 741-741

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Pop punk fills the Agora Anne Nickoloff Director of Print

On Feb. 12, hundreds of concertgoers filled The Agora, removing layers of sweaters and coats. Outside, it was bitterly cold, and the chill seeped into the concert hall’s lobby.

However, once inside, the crowded room heated up during a pop-punk show featuring State Champs, Neck Deep, Knucklepuck and Like Pacific. The two headliners, State Champs and Neck Deep, had just returned from their world tour; their performance in Cleveland marked the third stop of their North American travels, presented by Alternative Press Magazine.

Audience members climbed up to the top of the balcony seats, tucking their coats and scarves into corners, then ran back to the excitement below. Lights danced across the Agora’s walls, flashing at every beat of the music.

Down on the ground floor, things got fairly wild.

Random crowd surfers tumbled precariously over a packed-in standing crowd during Neck Deep’s set, pulled over the pit barrier by guards in front. In contrast, Neck Deep’s actual performance was rehearsed; at times, the band’s timing was so in sync that

the musicians looked similar to a boy band dancing on the stage. Their energetic rock had the crowd dancing along. Soon, the band itself loosened up during their more wellknown hits.

State Champs created a whole new level of excitement in the auditorium. Fists punched into the air and audience members sang along. At one point, a circle pit formed, and excited dancers jumped around the open area, flailing wildly on the floor. State Champs had a rawer sound, and a more intense effect on the dancing crowd.

The night’s performances stayed on schedule, and despite featuring four different bands, the concert ended relatively early. Audience members sprinted back to their cars, some of them wearing shorts and t-shirts, others bundled in their warmest clothes.

Even Cleveland’s coldest night couldn’t keep them away from this show.

Concert: State Champs / Neck Deep / Knuckle Puck / Like Pacific Date: Feb. 12 Location: The Agora Rating:

Ode to Vance Joy

Sanjana Singh/Observer The singer-songwriter, known for his hit “Riptide,” performed for an enthusiastic audience at the House of Blues Cleveland.

Sanjana Singh Staff Reporter

Last Monday, Vance Joy brought his charm and talent to the House of Blues Cleveland. The Australian singer-songwriter first earned fame with “Riptide,” one of his hit singles, and continued to the road of fame when he began opening for Taylor Swift this past year. This time he’s part of his own Fire and the Flood Tour in cities across North America.

His recent Cleveland show started off with two opening acts: Armstrong Lee and Jamie Lawson. Armstrong Lee is an indie pop duo from Texas. The singer, Michelle Armstrong, had amazing range and pitch through every song, but the group’s stage presence was lacking because of Armstrong’s somewhat exaggerated dancing. Some of the song’s lyrics were unoriginal, but the onstage chemistry was great, including the killer guitar solos

by Christopher Lee. The second opener was Jamie Lawson, a singer-songwriter who was the first to join Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. But his red hair and British accent are not the only things he has in common with the famous “Thinking Out Loud” singer. With his acoustic, pop ballad style, he charmed his audience with his thoughtful lyrics, soothing voice and subtle humor.

One particular moment was when he humored the Cleveland audience, singing his song “It’s Cold in Ohio,” joking that he co-wrote this song to explain how he

would never come to Ohio because of the cold weather but ended up there anyway.

Lawson showed promise with his deep song lyrics and his silent command of the stage.

By the end of his set list, the whole crowd was excitedly singing his most famous song “Wasn’t Expecting That.”

But the show did not begin until the man himself, Vance Joy, came on stage. Roaring with enthusiasm, the crowd’s excitement made it clear why the show sold out quickly in the first place. His stage presence and live performance resonated toward the great overall vibe of the crowd.

Like Lawson, his songs had thoughtprovoking lyrics, but his song list had a better range of topics. One minute he would sing about returning home to a loved one in “Straight into Your Arms;” the next minute he tugged at the audience’s heartstrings in “Emmylou,” where he sang a lullaby to his future child.

When he played his most popular song, “Riptide,” on his ukulele, the audience, familiar with the song, took over parts of the chorus for him. Even when the show was over, his fans did not stop the applause until long after Joy walked offstage.

Bands: Vance Joy, Armstrong Lee, Jamie Lawson Date: Feb. 15 Venue: House of Blues Rating:

Courtesy Wikipedia West’s latest album is both a mess and a masterpiece, and features guest vocals from Frank Ocean, Sia and Kendrick Lamar.

The life of Kanye Alex Tomazic Staff Reporter A lot has changed for Kanye West since he last released an album. He became a legitimate fashion designer, he got married and he became a father.

While being an influence in the rap industry, he has garnered massive attention in recent years for his outlandish actions.

What could West possibly have in store for the fans who crave another album?

West’s seventh studio album, “The Life of Pablo,” debuted over a week ago at a live listening event at Madison Square Garden. The event was marketed as the unveiling of his Yeezy Season 3 clothing line. Oh, and he was going to debut the album he had working on for three years.

Tickets for the event sold out in 10 minutes, but not to worry if you couldn’t get your hands on a ticket: The event was streamed to movie theatres across the nation and on TIDAL, the streaming service founded by long-time Kanye West mentor Jay Z. In the words of West himself, “Out of respect for Q-Tip, Puff, Hov, Lauren, Pharcyde, Mary, Stevie, Michael, Hendrix, James, Pete Rock, Pac, Marvin … this new album is ONE of the greatest albums.”

West also said on Twitter, “This album is actually a Gospel album.”

Honestly, I couldn’t believe him until I heard the album myself. “Ultralight Beam” starts the album and immediately steals the show. “We on an ultralight beam, this is a God dream,” West sings, reflecting on his journey of creating this album. Once the choir starts singing, you begin to believe this is a God dream too.

What’s a Kanye West album without a few great collaborations? Chance The Rapper, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Young Thug, The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar and André 3000 all contribute to West’s new LP. The most stunning feature off the album was Frank Ocean, who seems to have crawled out from under a rock just to sing on the soulful “Wolves.” It’s pretty obvious how large West’s influence is when he can gather an ensemble crew like this to make his new album.

With the relatively sudden release

of the album, coupled with the fact that West didn’t even have a concrete name for his album until days before its release, the album feels both complete and like a mess at the same time.

The tone sways back and forth, from West praising his love for God to dissing Taylor Swift and Ray J. This isn’t even all that surprising, because that’s who Kanye West is. But this isn’t the same West who released “The College Dropout” almost 12 years ago. He even reflects on his career on the acapella track, “I Love Kanye.” He’s reached a point where he recognizes the different personas he’s created over the years and has decided to stick to just one.

The album’s emotional climax is in “FML,” an ode to his wife. “Don’t stop your loving, Don’t stop for nothing …

They don’t wanna see me love you,” a reference to all tabloids speculating on the fractured relationship of Kimye.

West offers the contrasting view. The songs like “Father Stretch My Hands,” “Famous” and “Facts” are reminiscent of the recent Kanye West, the man who earned a living spitting the most outrageous raps. The album is a mess and a masterpiece, much like West himself.

“Name one genius that ain’t crazy,” he says on “Feedback.” He would know, right?

“The Life of Pablo” also references the kind of artwork West wants to create: that of Pablo Picasso. The scholar Robert Stam noted, “Nothing so infuriates anti-modernist critics as the awareness that Picasso could have painted ‘normal’ portraits.” West could produce “normal” music, but that’s not he wants.

“Normal” isn’t what rocketed him to fame. There is nothing truly normal about “The Life of Pablo,” and I’m grateful that’s the way it is.

West was able to hype his album to the extreme and follow through on his promises. He created an album that encompasses his career, his aspirations, his faith and his love. All he did was take this and add a little West flair.

Album: “The Life of Pablo” Artist: Kanye West Release Date: Feb. 14 Rating:

fun

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fun page | 7

Horoscopes Aquarius Your significant other will be visiting from distant lands. Better make sure someone picks them up from the airport so they don’t break up with you after traveling so far.

Crossword

Pisces It’s okay to eat your feelings.

-Julia Bianco, Director of Web and Multimedia

Aries As Aloe Blacc always says, you’re the man, you’re the man, you’re the man.

Taurus Binge watching “Transformers” movies will always be better than dating. Who needs a bae when you’ve got Michael Bay? Gemini Since you can’t tell if you’re single or not, it’s time to define the relationship.

Cancer If meeting someone special at Case Western isn’t working out too well, try changing the location up. Instead of class, meet a significant other at the club / zoo / public transportation / in line at Constantino’s.

Leo Go up to a stranger and say, “gimme some sugar, honey,” while making a kissy face. Works every time.

37. Jewish holiday involving drinking (at least) four cups of wine

Libra You’re pretty and competent. You don’t need no man.

38. in basketball, passes that lead to a score

Down

1. extra 2. immigrant 3. treasure trove 4. one of the most coveted shelter-improving rewards on “Survivor” 5. where a messy pig lives 6. a type of lizard 7. surprised exclamation 14. fib 17. salary 19. CaseWireless actively trying to ruin your gaming session 20. class meetings 21. Student Activities Fee allocation body 22. castles 24. the chapel on CWRU’s main quad 26. singers of “Miss Murder” and “Girl’s Not Grey” 29. nerds, as in freaks and 30. emits 31. the most coveted eyebrow shape 32. killer whale 34. how Iggy Azalea categorizes her music (although not everyone agrees)

Answers Down 1. Spare 2. Expat 3. Bonanzas 4. Tarp 5. Stye 6. Iguanas 7. Hah 14. Lie 17. Pay 19. Lag 20. Sessions 21. SEC 22. Palaces 24. Amasa 26. AFI 29. Geeks 30. Sends 31. Arch 32. Orca 34. Rap

1. the unused correct spelling of your favorite fruity frozen dessert 5. the library’s middle name 8. craft 9. high-end Colorado ski resort 11. 2015 Michael Caine film, or adolescence 12. group in charge of planning dorm-specific events 13. the giver of Macs, iPhones and endless pointless product updates 15. munched upon 16. a Pokemon game that will improve your photography skills 18. a good place to look for a diamond for that special someone 21. the photo filter that will take all your pics back to olden days 23. that SAGES assignment that you’ve been putting off all week 25. CWRU’s oft-lamented general education program 27. Cleveland in the winter 28. stories 31. flavored mayonnaise 33. compass point between east and southeast 34. sprinter 35. as in Pacific, Atlantic 36. group in charge of class-specific school spirit programming at CWRU

Across 1. Sherbet 5. Smith 8. Art 9. Aspen 11. Youth 12. RHA 13. Apple 15. Eaten 16. Snap 18. Zales 21. Sepia 23. Essay 25. SAGES 27. Cold 28. Sagas 31. Aioli 33. Ese 34. Racer 35. Ocean 36. COC 37. Pesah 38. Assists

Across

Virgo What’s wrong with growing into an old cat lady? Everyone has their callings.

Scorpio Your family keeps asking who that special someone is.

Apparently it’s time for you to hire a sugar baby.

Ophiuchus What’s the best part about not dating anybody? Not having to shave. Grow your hair out and stay warm this winter!

Capricorn What’s the best part about dating somebody? When they make you food. Thanks.

Sagittarius Sorry, I have a boyfriend.

sports

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Wrestling falls at UAA Tournament

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Spartans struggle on the road, enter final stretch of season

McNamara earning UAA Rookie of the Year Award brightspot for team despite losses JP. O’Hagan Sports Editor The Spartans have reached the end of a long road of small successes and tough struggles, as they competed in their final two dual meets of the season. The Case Western Reserve University squad took on University Athletic Association (UAA) rivals the University of Chicago Maroons and the New York University Violets in Chicago at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship.

The Spartans opened the day of competition by taking on the Violets who entered the championship ranked 15th in the nation for DIII. The Spartans struggled in the opening seven bouts of the match, as third-year student Matt Moy and fourth year pins leader Nick Lees lost their matches at the 125 lb and 174 lb classes by decisions. The Spartans lost the 141 lb, 165 lb matches by pins and the 157 lb class by a technical fall. Finally the Spartans gave up the 133 lb and 149 lb weight classes with forfeits, finding them down in team points by a score of 36-0 in after those first seven rounds came to conclusion.

However the Spartans refused to roll over and battled back against the highly skilled violets. Following a 184 lb weight class decision for second-year student Cito Balsells, the Spartans turned those first few points in two straight wins in the 197 lb and 285 lb bouts.

First-year student Gavin Dersh-Fisher picked

up an extremely narrow 4-3 decision and firstyear student Brian McNamara picked up a 4-0 decision. The late wins boosted the Spartans to a final score of 36-9 in the defeat.

McNamara was awarded with the UAA Rookie of the Year award for his strong showing at the tournament and over the course of the whole season. He was also named the AllUAA wrestler in the 285-pound weight class and the 12th CWRU wrestler to be named 285 lb class. The second head-to-head duel of the day against the hosting University of Chicago saw the Spartans struggle again in the early matches, before bouncing back for a run late, but still being handed the defeat. Moy lost a 10-3 decision in the 125 lb class while the Spartan wrestlers at 133 lbs and 144 lbs, first-year students Luke DiMuzio and Connor Howlin were both pinned. The Spartans also gave the Maroons the points for the 149 bout via forfeit. However Connor Gordon picked up a win in the 157 lb. class with a technical fall. The Maroons swept the 174 through 197 lb classes before McNamara won the 285 lb weight class merely off of forfeit.

The Spartans will continue their postseason play when they compete in the 2016 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional. The Spartans head out to Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the competition in two weeks.The action kicks off on Saturday Feb. 27 and carries over into the following day. Feb. 28.

Take a break from the books.

Join us for College ID Night every Thursday!

Starting at 8 p.m., you’ll enjoy:

$2 Well drinks & Select Draft beers Free Shoe Rental Beer Pong & live DJ

Stephanie Kim/Observer Spartan guard Javier Alvarez shoots over a University of Chicago defender. The Spartans return home and look to win the final three games of the season.

Jacob Rayyan Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team dropped both games this weekend against Washington University and University of Chicago and fell to 10-12 on the season, including a 3-8 record in the University Athletic Association Conference.

The Spartans have lost three straight and are now 2-8 in their last 10 games. “ Its definitely a deflating feeling knowing we played well, had a good chance to win and weren’t able to finish the job,” said fourth year student Jimmy Holman, “I think it’s important to take away some positives from those types of games; we had guys that stepped up and played really well in vital minutes and we had spots on offense when we were really clicking.”

In the first game against Washington, fourth-year student and guard Matt Clark scored 26 points, one away from his career high. In the first half, the Spartans found themselves down 10 points early on, trailing 187-8 with about 15 minutes left in the half.

The Spartans battled back, continually wearing down the lead before going on an 11-1 run late in the half, taking a 47-45 lead at the half.

The game was tight throughout the second half, as the Spartans held a slim lead while the Bears continually chipped away. After building a 10-point lead, Washington pushed back again, trailing 81-80 with just over six minutes left. In a wild final minutes of the game, there were various big shots and lead changes.

Eventually the Bears would pull ahead and build the lead late to take the victory. Clark scored the final 11 points for the Spartans in the effort. The Bears closed the game on a 2711 run to win 107-98. The Spartans let up 62 points in the second half of the contest. Head

Coach Sean McDonnell, when asked about how his team can improve its defense, said, “We need to make sure that our opponents are held to one contested shot every possession that we don’t force a turnover.”

In the second game of the weekend, the Spartans had a difficult time scoring, putting up only 72 points in the effort. The Spartans shot only 38 percent for the game and were plagued by 20 turnovers. Jimmy Holman led the way for the Spartans with 18 points. Holman scored 13 points in a 20-point first half for the Spartans. The Maroons went up big, triggered by two key runs as they pushed their lead to 45-28 with 3:06 remaining. A small run by the Spartans cut the score 50-36 going into the half.

In the second half, the Spartans attempted to cut the lead, briefly getting their deficit down to single digits, 56-47, with 15:58 left to play. Chicago would respond, going on a 16-0 run over the next five minutes as the lead ballooned to a game-high 28 points as the Spartans went without a bucket for over six minutes. “We need to focus on playing a full 40 minute game and not allow teams to make late runs,” said Holman, “That’s killed us often this year.”

A late run by the Spartans helped close the lead by the game’s end with a final score of 8972. McDonnell, when asked how to improve the team’s offense, said, “We need to push the ball at every opportunity and then confidently take the first great shot that presents itself.”

The Spartans come home to play two games against Rochester University and Emory University. The game against Rochester will be senior night. As the season draws to a close. “I’d love to win out,” said Holman “We have two of our last three at home, which is hugely important and I think the home crowd can help us gain some momentum going into our last one at Carnegie.”

Men’s Basketball CWRU New York U.

# 2 10 11 15 21 3 5

11409 Euclid Ave. Cleveland thecorneralley.com

@CornerAlleyUC CornerAlleyUptown

CWRU Player PTS AST REB BLK TO J. Holman 18 4 3 1 3 29 C. Zucker 3 1 2 0 1 23 M. Clark 11 0 6 0 3 26 D. Black 6 1 6 0 1 24 E. Black 4 1 7 3 3 19 M. White 7 0 1 0 4 7 J. Alvarez 8 2 0 0 2 16

14 S. Sangree 3 M. 23 McGovern 0 24 S. Boyd 6 M. 32 Hartman 4 42 M. Ottusch 0 44 J. Lavis 0 55 TJ Duckett 2 Team 72 Totals

0

0

0

0

3

1

1

0

0

3

1

4

0

0

18

0

3

0

0

9

1 0 0

2 2 9

0 0 0

0 1 2

3 11 9

12

46

4

20

# Player 2 C. Barthel 4 N. Brooks 11 T. Howard 24 J. Smith 32 A. Voss 4 N. Karras 14 J. Fenlon

72 71 New York U. PTS AST REB BLK TO MIN 6 3 8 4 2 30 1 2 8 0 3 18 13 2 4 0 0 23 22 1 6 1 0 25 12 5 7 0 2 26 0 1 0 0 0 8 15 0 3 0 1 18

21 M. Jacobs 2 R. 0 3 Shearmire E. 33 6 Robinson 42 J. Jackson 5 B. 44 Crawford 7 Team 71 Totals

0

3

0

1

17

0

1

0

0

4

2

1

0

0

12

0

0

0

0

4

1

3

0

1

15

14

39

5

9

14

sports

2/19/16

Spartans start swinging in Oberlin

Spartans succeed against top competition

Men’s tennis opens spring season with win

Women’s tennis defeats nationally ranked 27 and 38 squads

Noah Crowley Staff Reporter The Case Western Reserve University Spartans men’s tennis team is officially in season.

The team, comprised mostly of thirdyear students, is getting off to a solid start after a commanding win in Oberlin College, with a competition score tally of 7-2 at the end of the day. The victory helped the team to show its promise that it has this season, and they will hopefully see their success continue into Friday, Feb. 19, as the Spartans face off against University Athletic Association rival, the Washington University in St. Louis Bears.

The Spartans started out their match against Oberlin with two of the three doubles matches going to the old gray and blue. Fourth-year students CJ Krimball and Louis Stuerke beat Oberlin’s Ian Paik and Jeremy Lichtmacher by a margin of 8-5 to start the doubles. The next double match was dropped as Oberlin’s Callan Louis and Abraham Davis defeated Spartan third-year students Adam Collins and Freddy Daum 8-4. With the tally tied at one apiece, third-year students James Fojtasek and Phil Gruber won the third set of doubles against Robert Gittings and Michael Drougas, giving CWRU the lead in the tally—a lead that persisted throughout the rest of the day.

As the games shifted into singles, the Spartans began to take a commanding lead in the tally against Oberlin, winning most of their matchups by commanding margins. Krimball again won a point for the tally when he again defeated Paik 6-1 and again 6-2. As first-year student Tyler Holsopple put it, this match was “seemingly smooth sailing the whole time.”

This sort of winning style kept going throughout the remaining courts, except once.

Despite this winning day, the Spartan lineup is probably still going to undergo plenty of switches. According to Holsopple, “Lots of the players can beat one guy higher and can still lose to a guy lower on the lineup, so figuring out where players should play is challenging.”

It will be interesting to see how these players end up fitting best.

This year is off to an exciting start, and the team is already looking at some big hopes. Holsopple has aspirations of going all the way and has some promising words for the season: “On the off season we did a fantastic job of working on team unity and chemistry so now that that has been established, I think what we need to focus in on is applying this team bond to our team’s confidence of winning a championship this season.”

Keep an eye on this Spartan tennis squad as the wins look to start piling up from this great 1-0 start.

Editor’s Choice

Swimming and diving prepares for postseason

four out of the five singles matches. The Spartans were able to seal the victory with two blowout wins as fourth-year student Surya Khadilkar won her match The Case Western Reserve Universi- 6-0, 6-0 at fifth singles, and second-year ty women’s tennis team continued their student Nina Cepeda beat her opponent, hot start this past weekend with two 6-0, 6-1, at sixth singles to close the wins over two ranked opponents. First match in style. the Spartans traveled to Hope College, The doubles pairs have provided where they blew out the number 27 team strong starts for CWRU, as they have in the country 8-1. The Spartans fol- won a majority of the games in all three lowed that victory with a win—a strong of their matches. The wins that the dou7-2 over number 38 Kalamazoo. bles pairings are providing allow some The Spartans got out fast against pressure to be taken off the singles playHope as they swept all three doubles ers in their matches as they have been matches. The Spartans won the second playing with a lead. and third doubles matches 8-2, while With this strong start to the season, they took the first doubles match by a the Spartans will look to move up in score of 8-6. Second-year student Nithya the next national rankings when the ITA Kanagasegar, who is ranked number 15 Division III Women’s Collegiate Tennis nationally for singles, beat her opponent Rankings come out on March 3. CWRU who was ranked number 33 nationally ranks fourth in the central region and in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. The Spartans’ will look to move up when they face only loss was at seconds singles, when Washington University in St.Louis and fourth-year student and captain Taylor University of Chicago, who are currentSweeney lost in a tiebreak 10-3. ly ranked ahead of them.

CWRU continued the hot play the First, the Spartans turn their attention morning of Feb. 14 when they beat their to their next two matches, where they second straight nationally ranked op- will look to continue their hot play when ponent. The Spartans started strong in they face Allegheny College on the road Men’s Basketball CWRU 72 on Feb. 27. CWRU then opens up condoubles again by taking two ofNew the three York U. 71 doubles matches. Hot play carried over ference play at University of Rochester CWRU New York U. on Feb. 28. into the singles matches took # Player PTS AST as REBCWRU BLK TO # Player PTS AST REB BLK TO MIN

Ben Resnick Contributing Reporter

2 10 11 15 21 3 5

J. Holman 18 C. Zucker 3 M. Clark 11 D. Black 6 E. Black 4 M. White 7 J. Alvarez 8

14 S. Sangree 3 M. 23 McGovern 0 24 S. Boyd 6 M. 32 Hartman 4 42 M. Ottusch 0 44 J. Lavis 0 55 TJ Duckett 2 Team 72 Totals

4 1 0 1 1 0 2

3 2 6 6 7 1 0

1 0 0 0 3 0 0

3 1 3 1 3 4 2

29 23 26 24 19 7 16

2 C. Barthel 4 N. Brooks 11 T. Howard 24 J. Smith 32 A. Voss 4 N. Karras 14 J. Fenlon

6 1 13 22 12 0 15

3 2 2 1 5 1 0

8 8 4 6 7 0 3

4 0 0 1 0 0 0

2 3 0 0 2 0 1

30 18 23 25 26 8 18

21 M. Jacobs 2 R. 3 0 Shearmire E. 33 6 Robinson 42 J. Jackson 5 B. 44 Crawford 7 Team 71 Totals

0

3

0

1

17

0

1

0

0

4

2

1

0

0

12

0

0

0

0

4

1

3

0

1

15

14

39

5

9

0

0

0

0

3

1

1

0

0

3

1

4

0

0

18

0

3

0

0

9

1 0 0

2 2 9

0 0 0

0 1 2

3 11 9

12

46

4

20

Spartans compete in UAA Championship Meet this weekend Veijay Raj Staff Reporter Last weekend, the Spartans wrapped up the regular season swimming at the Midwest Invitational held by the University of Chicago.

Case Western Reserve University was without their top swimmers, only sending four women and two men to compete in the small invitational. Due to the small rosters, the women finished third out of five teams while the men finished fifth out of five teams. Coach Doug Milliken decided to rest his top swimmers for the conference championships near.

Third-year student Emily Boluda led the charge for the short handed women’s team, competing in three events. Boluda took eighth in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5:32.48 and fifth in the long 1,650-yard freestyle with a time of 19:21.78.

In addition, underclassmen Sophia Hestad, Carolyn Manuck and Jenna Krynicki were given an opportunity to race prior to the start of the postseason.

Hestad competed in the 100, 200 and 500-yard freestyle, finishing with times of 1:02.66, 2:17.44 and 5:57.30. Manuck

finished the 200-yard and 400-yard individual medley in 2:25.28 and 5:13.00.

Wrapping up the women’s performance was Krynicki, finishing fourth in the 50yard freestyle and achieving a personal best of 1:03.00.

On the men’s team, the two competitors last weekend were second-year students Stefan Roeseler and Tommy Petro.

Roeseler had a huge weekend, achieving personal records in four events. Roesler finished the 500-yard freestyle in 5:00.31, the 100-yard breaststroke in 1:00.98, the 100-yard freestyle in 50.23 and the 50yard freestyle in 23.15. Petro added a 55 second 100-yard butterfly and a 22.96 50-yard freestyle to round out the short handed men’s team.

For their strong showing at the Midwest Invitational, Krynicki and Roesler won the University Athletic Association’s (UAA) Swimmer of the Week awards.

The Spartans look to capitalize on their week of rest and momentum from the regular season at the UAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Rochester this week. The men and women squads will be looking to improve off sixth and seventh place finishes last season. The meet started on Wednesday, Feb. 17 and will run until Saturday, Feb. 20.

Women’s Basketball CWRU New York U.

#

Player

43

CWRU PTS AST REB BLK TO MIN

45 59

L. Mummey

10

0

6

1

4

36

24 H. Hellmann 2 K. Hageman 22 J. McCoy 11 E. Young

7 10 10 2

0 1 0 1

4 7 9 1

0 1 2 0

3 5 4 5

27 32 35 32

4 11 22 42

M. Dunbar C. Moore E. Nye R. West

5 0 5 11

1 1 1 1

2 2 4 7

0 0 0 3

2 1 1 5

22 20 26 29

23

2

0

2

0

0

12

3

M. Bilby

2

2

2

0

3

12

42 S. Magliato 0 42 D. Kreienberg 2 12 A. Amburgey 2 Team Totals 45

0 0 2 4

0 0 0 29

0 0 0 4

0 5 0 6 1 15 22

33 B. Nordstrom 6 10 A. Clemente 3 13 S. Anderson 9 34 J. 10 5 K. Anderson 0 Team Totals 59

8 0 2 0 1 16

2 0 6 1 1 30

0 0 1 0 0 5

1 0 2 3 0 19

21 12 25 11 8

A. Roth

Player O. Obi

New York U. PTS AST REB BLK TO MIN 8 0 4 1 1 14

# 20

Observer Archives Spartans are competing this week in the UAA Championships and have prepared for well for the challenge.

Men Place School 1 Chicago (UC) 2 Washington (WU) 3 Milwuakee (MU) 4 Olivet Nazarene (ONU) 5 CWRU

Women Points 503 418 339 217 108

Men’s Swimming Events Event Winning Time Winner 400 Yd. Medley 3:38.15 Team A Relay 1650 Yd. Freestyle 16:52.00 G. Schneider 200 Yd. Freestyle 1:45.28 E. Hoenshel 100 Yd. Backstroke 51.55 M. Jansen 100 Yd. 59.05 A. Lin Breaststroke 100 Yd. Butterfly 51.33 M. Matthews 50 Yd. Freestyle 100 Yd. Freestyle 200 Yd. Backstroke 200 Yd. Breaststroke 500 Yd. Freestyle 200 Yd. Butterfly 200 Yd. IM Relay

Place 1 2 3 4 5

School

UC MU MU MU UC WU

21.93 47.06 1:53.90

N. Peterson E. Hoenshel M. Jansen

ONU MU

2:12.28 4:43.44 1:55.79 1:57.53

J. Taylor A. Huerta A. Huerta G. Schneider

UC MU MU MU

MU

School

Points 538 474 171 139 61

Chicago (UC) Milwuakee (MU) Olivet Nazarene (ONU) CWRU

Washington (WU)

Women’s Swimming Events Event Winning Time Winner 400 Yd. Medley Team A 4:30.90 Relay M. Lee 1650 Yd. Freestyle 18:44.41 200 Yd. Freestyle E. Helgeson 1:55.30 100 Yd. Backstroke G. Sanchez 58.77 100 Yd. Christina C. 1:06.92 Breaststroke 100 Yd. Butterfly 50 Yd. Freestyle 100 Yd. Freestyle 200 Yd. Backstroke 200 Yd. Breaststroke 500 Yd. Freestyle 200 Yd. Butterfly 200 Yd. IM Relay 400 Freestyle Relay

School CWRU ONU MU MU UC

59.47 24.73 52.88 2:08.58

F. Yang

UC

E. Roche E. Helgeson

MU MU

G. Sanchez

MU

2:31.01 5:14.11 2:09.96 2:21.97 4:06.00

W. Whitney E. Helgeson M. Miller M. Lamere Team A

ONU MU ONU MU CWRU

sports

observer.case.edu

15

Women’s basketball improving despite back to back losses Billy Heyen Staff Reporter It can be easy to focus on results when it comes to collegiate athletics. With regards to the Case Western Reserve University women’s basketball team, however, it cannot be the only thing by which the team is judged. This past weekend saw the Spartans lose two games, bringing their record to 7-15 and 2-9 in conference. “It is obviously very frustrating feeling losing games when you believe you can win.” said first-year student Hillary Hellman, “After coming off a big win against NYU, we had high hopes of beating another nationally ranked team.

However, we were so focused on winning and getting that feeling back that we overlooked the process of the continuous hard work that got us the win against NYU in the first place.”

Due to this it is more important to recognize that this is an extremely young team, with seven first-year students on the team and only two fourth-year students. Coach Jennifer Reimer makes sure to emphasize this point: “We feel great about our season thus far as young players have shown tremendous growth and our upperclassmen have shown strong leadership.”

Hellmann has been one of the brightest spots for the team this season, showing growth and currently averaging 12.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Hellmann will be a huge part of the team for

the next few years, along with her other six first-year counterparts. Kara Hageman, only a second-year student, is averaging 13.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She is just another example of a bright spot on a young team. “Every sport’s season has it’s highs and lows, but the key is really to not allow either to impact the team’s performance the next game,” said Hellmann “Both experiences allow you to grow together as a team, and you have to constantly be working to be better everyday in practice.”

Another highlight has been third-year student Jess McCoy. She has been one of the leaders of the team all season, and this past weekend she was able to put together a career-high 27 points in a losing effort to Washington University in St. Louis, en route to being named the University Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Athlete of the Week. “ I think I came out and played with more aggressiveness, trying to move the ball and make things happen,” said McCoy, “I think that mentality also led to a good shooting percentage and success attacking the rim.”

Reimer had plenty of words of praise for McCoy, saying “(She) is one of the best guards in the league. Jess is a competitor. She’s always at her best against the best teams—Friday night was no exception.”

Her career-high game came against the number ten team in the country in Wash U. Her effort did not come against

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer Emily Young dribbles through traffic against Washington University earlier this season. Despite recent losses, the Spartans have continued to improve. some lowly team. She was getting buckets against one of the best teams CWRU will play all season. The win column might not be best indication of the successes of the team this season, and they will close the season strong. “We will finish this year working smart and working hard and giving our opponents all they can handle,” said Reimer.

With two games this upcoming weekend, the Spartans return home. They return to the court beginning on Friday, Feb. 19, hosting the University of Rochester. Senior Night will be Sunday, and will honor fourth-year students Em-

ily Young and Laura Mummey before playing Emory University, a team the Spartans already beat once this season.

Be sure to head over for both games, especially on Senior Night, to show support for a resilient CWRU women’s basketball team. “Our goal for these last three games is to play with hustle, passion, and leave everything on the floor,” said McCoy, “ Rochester is playing great basketball right now, and I’m excited to see them on our home court.

Emory, who also has a few upsets under their belt, will be a strong follow-up game on Sunday.”

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sports CWRU track and field team breaks several records at All-Ohio Championships Shounak Bose Staff Reporter On Saturday, Feb. 13, at the All-Ohio Championships at Otterbein, the Case Western Reserve University track and field teams broke multiple records for the school and conference, allowing the men’s team to finish sixth and the women’s team to finish ninth out of 17 teams.

The Spartans were led by record-breaking performances by first-year students Olivia Newman and Rasheed Ajala, second-year student Sam Merriman and third-year student Temi Omilabu. “I would like to say that it is special, but I have to be honest with myself that it is becoming very second nature,” said Ajala “If I hit that time once and never hit it again then clearly I’m doing something wrong, but the fact that I keep getting better week by week, shows that training is paying off, and I’m on the right track.”

Newman beat her old school record on the 400-meter dash by 0.21 seconds, finishing with a new school record of 59.22 seconds, which placed her second in the event. She also contributed in the 4x400 relay.

Ajala finished the 60-meter dash in 7.13 seconds. Although he finished ninth overall in the meet, his time broke his previous school record by 0.03 seconds, and ranked second overall in the season in the University Athletic Conference (UAA). “It just goes to show that sprinting in Ohio is one of the most competitive in the country, “ said AjalaI grew up

in Ohio, and I was recruited by many of the dominant sprinting schools in the state, so I knew what I had to face to become one of the best sprinters in the state. What truly matters to me is that I outperform the other sprinters in the UAA conference, and help lead the team to win for the first time in many years. The fact that I’m setting myself to do so, is an extremely great feeling.”

Merriman did not just win the 5,000-meter run; he also beat the meet record and UAA season record with a time of 14:45.45. The meet record that Merriman was able to beat was earned by CWRU’s Aaron Johnston-Peck in 2006. Johnston-Peck also holds the school record for the race, which Merriman missed by just one second.

Omilabu, who has been having a stellar season thus far, beat a school record on weight throw again, with a whopping distance of exactly 17 meters, which also became the furthest distance thrown in the UAA this season.

Omilabu’s previous record was 16.54 meters.

“It’s special every time, and it’s a good reminder not to be complacent,” said Omilabu “Despite the record, I know that I have to keep pushing myself and working hard. I can’t rest on my oars, especially with the UAA Conference Championships and Nationals coming up, where I’ll be competing against a lot of other really talented athletes. What really matters is how I do on the day of the meet, not the numbers I have beforehand.”

Another UAA-season record was obtained in the distance medley by third-year students Olivia Zabrodsky and Abby Casalnova and

Season preview

Spartans look to return to Championship heights

Observer Archives The Spartans missed the playoffs after two straight appearances but look to return to their winning ways.

Last Season Record: 24-15 Top UAA Rival: Emory University Last Season UAA Standing: Top Rival: Marrietta University 4-4, tied for second in UAA Returning Seniors: Last Season Standing: Eddie Abramson, Neal Krentz, Lee Ninth in Mid-Eastern Region Penzarella, Connor Tagg, Zack Tobias Newcomers: 11 Season Kickoff: Feb. 20 at Shenandoah, 12 p.m.

First Home Game: March 25 against Pitt.-Greensburg 3:30 p.m.

Head Coach: Matt Englander (10th Season) Team Accolades: Six straight seasons of 24 wins or better. 49th best NCAA Division III with .295 batting average and 6.0 runs a game. 3.63 combined team ERA. UAA Champions in 2013, 2014.

Player Accolades: Josh Neal: Team High batting average .309 with 24 RBI. Jake Shields: All-UAA Second Team, All-Mideast Region Third Team.

Neal Krentz: Pitched first no-hitter in UAA Championship Tournament Play.

Tony Damiano: UAA Baseball Hitter of the Week -compiled by JP. O’Hagan, Sports Editor

Andrew Hodowanec/Observer The Spartans broke four records this weekend at the All-Ohio meet and are working toward UAA Indoor Championship in two weeks. fourth-year students Juliana Ross and Kelsey Aamoth. Their time of 12:36.79 earned them third place in the meet.

The men’s 4x400 relay, which consisted of first-year student Joseph Cabral, second-year students Andrew Ibibo and Grant Mlack and third-year student Nathan Wahner, missed a school record by under a second, but finished third in the meet with a time of 3:23.86.

Part of the track and field team also competed in the Mid-February Meet on Friday, Feb. 12, at Baldwin Wallace. The women’s team finished fourth out of 13 teams, and the

men’s team finished 11th out of 15 teams.

The Spartans’ next meet will be Friday, Feb. 19, at Baldwin Wallace, although part of the team will go instead to Kent State University on Saturday, Feb. 20, both are warm ups for the upcoming UAA Indoor Championships. “ We’ve all been working pretty hard in practice and trying to get in the right mindset,” said Omilabu, “I am constantly inspired by my teammates and coaches, and how much work the program as a whole has put in this season.

I have a really good feeling about the UAA Championships.”

Season preview

Softball swings away for another strong season

Observer Archives Spartans look to follow up last years great season with an NCAA playoff bid.

Last Season Record: 32-11 Last Season UAA Standing: 5-5, fourth in conference Last-Season Standing: fourth in Central Region

Top UAA Rival: Washington University Top Rival: Trine University Returning Seniors: Abbey Filliez, Rebecca Molnar, Kristen Klemmer, Meghann McMahon Newcomers: Four

Season Kickoff: Feb. 20 Away at William Peace College, 12 p.m.

First Home Game: March 19 versus Thiel College, 1 p.m.

Head Coach: Josie Henry (10th Season) Team Accolades: Second DIII slugging percentage (.606), Second in DIII homeruns.

Top Five GPA in DIII. 13 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete Honors Player Accolades: Annie Wennerberg: NFCA First Team All-American, UAA Most Valuable Player, AllUAA First Team Selection, First in DIII with 20 Homeruns, CWRU Program Homerun Record.

Katie Wede: UAA Rookie of the Year, All-UAA First Team Selection.

-compiled by JP. O’Hagan, Sports Editor