The Observer, Volume L, Issue 20, 2/22/19

What the hack

[Think]box provides venue for unique hackathon experience

Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter

Over 350 students from across Northeast Ohio holed up in the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] for 36 hours as a part of HackCWRU 6 from 9 p.m. Feb. 15 to 9 a.m. Feb. 17. HackCWRU is an annual hackathon event organized by the student organization HackCWRU, and is part of the official student hackathon league, Major League Hacking.

Hackathons typically bring together coders and computer science students to solve problems, innovate and compete for prizes. HackCWRU is different from most hackathons because think[box] offers participants the ability to work on hardware and software projects.

According to Michael Smith, a thirdyear computer science student and the director of logistics for HackCWRU 6, “think[box] is the key factor that makes HackCWRU so special. The majority of hackathons are strictly computer science events. With think[box], however, HackCWRU is able to provide students with the resources needed to create a really cool hardware hack.”

Smith began participating in hackathons at HackCWRU 2016 and has since participated in seven other hack-

athons. He believes there are many reasons why it is beneficial for students to participate in hackathons.

“Hackathons provide a place for students to apply their knowledge from the classroom in real world projects,” he said.

Additionally, HackCWRU allows participants to network with sponsors, which included KeyBank, Rockwell Automation, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and OmniSci this year.

Rockwell Automation’s representative at HackCWRU, Case Western Reserve University alumnus Anthony Castellaneta, mentioned similar advantages to participating in hackathons.

“I think hackathons are an incredible tool for building your resume with real hands-on experience,” said Castellaneta. “The projects are generally exciting, and the passion the hackers have really shines through.”

Castellaneta explained that “As an engineering company, we love hackathons, and HackCWRU at the think[box] in particular, because it self-selects the kind of new hires you want in your company.”

He noted that when conducting interviews he generally rated students who talked about interesting hackathon projects and experiences well.

HackCWRU also hosts an annual 12-hour hackathon event for Local

Hack Day in early December. Due to the shorter time frame of that event, participants focus on learning and smaller projects. Participants of all skill levels are welcomed in both hackathons.

HackCWRU also is looking into expanding future hackathons.

According to Smith, “We are looking into separate hardware focused and software focused hackathons, but nothing is set in stone yet.”

Dance marathon celebrates yearlong SpartanTHON fundraising

Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter

This past Saturday, Feb. 16, a few hundred dancers committed to staying upright for 12 hours as a part of SpartanTHON’s 11th annual Dance Marathon. Participants had fundraised throughout the year either individually or as a part of an organization. Dance Marathon is part of a national series of dance marathons taking place all across the country and was first held at CWRU in 2009.

The Dance Marathon is SpartanTHON’s premier event and a celebration of yearround fundraising efforts for University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital (UH Babies), a Miracle Network hospital. The Children’s Miracle Network is a nonprofit that raises money to help families cover medical costs that are not covered by insurance. This year, SpartanTHON raised $81,542.02.

SpartanTHON’s executive board and committees worked hard to make the

event fun for all involved, including the Miracle Network families who were invited to the event. The Tinkham Veale University Center ballrooms and the surrounding area were decked out with ribbons, balloons and other decorations, giving the event an exciting atmosphere.

Dance Marathon participants were sorted into eight teams of different colors that participated in mini-competitions throughout the event. Teams gained points by winning contests, and at the end of the event the team with the most points won. Most of the teams were comprised of Greek Life chapters or other organizations that had fundraised as a group. In the past, teams had been created randomly, but this year SpartanTHON executives decided to keep organizations together to promote team spirit.

Fundraising also occurred within the event. One touching moment occurred during fundraising, when the Kangas family, a Miracle Network family, auctioned off artwork their kids created. All three kids had been born prematurely and stayed at UH Babies for their neo-

natal care. Bidding for one piece of art reached $50.

Emily Kilmartin, a fourth-year student and SpartanTHON’s overall director, believes peer-to-peer fundraising, like what happened during the Dance Marathon, is one of SpartanTHON’s biggest strengths because it builds a base of students in the university’s community that can talk about SpartanTHON and its efforts.

Kilmartin also stressed that “SpartanTHON is a 365 day movement.”

And even though a successful season of fundraising has been completed, “[SpartanTHON’s] efforts never end.”

In addition to the Dance Marathon, SpartanTHON organizes other fundraising and awareness-building events. One such event is the Color Run, a five kilometer fun run that occurs at the beginning of the fall semester. SpartanTHON also held a campaign for Child Health Day on Oct. 7 to raise awareness for UH Babies’ Angie’s Institute, a cancer institute for adolescents and young adults. SpartanTHON built a rainbow

arch made of balloons in the middle of Kelvin Smith Library Oval to raise awareness of the institute.

Jessica Amalraj, SpartanTHON’s outreach director and a third-year student, has been involved with SpartanTHON since her first year at Case Western Reserve University. She describes SpartanTHON as “the most meaningful part of my [CWRU] experience.”

This year, Amalraj said she was particularly struck by the importance of the work SpartanTHON does.

“I was once again blown away by the direct impact SpartanTHON has in giving the families at [UH Babies] lifesaving treatments, funding research that will save millions of kids battling pediatric illness, fantastic child health specialists that the hospital cannot afford on its own and technology that makes miracles happen at the greatest children’s hospital in the nation,” she said.

Most importantly, the Dance Marathon reminds participants that they are truly making a difference in the Cleveland community.

Courtesy of CWRU Instagram Students worked on teams for projects during HackCWRU 6 in the [think]box.

Academic Integrity Board promotes fairness on campus

Anna Giubileo Staff Reporter

The Academic Integrity Board (AIB) plays an important role in the preservation of Case Western Reserve University’s values of integrity, transparency and academic excellence. The AIB is composed of a diverse group of students from a variety of backgrounds and majors who are committed to the aforementioned values and who work to promote a campus environment where those values permeate all aspects of academic and professional life.

Julia Gaspare-Pruchnicki, a fourth-year medical anthropology major, joined the AIB after she was nominated by one of her professors.

“I found it went really well with my values and my moral code,” she said. “I just really like the promoting we do on campus and the ability to interact with students and faculty.”

As part of their promotional campaign, the AIB presents a video to all first-year students during the orientation process. Gaspare-Pruchnicki is currently working with a team of other AIB members to rewrite and

reshoot the video in order to keep it up-to-date and make it more interesting for the students.

Being a part of the campus organization that is responsible for upholding honesty and the prevention of cheating comes with some pushback from the student body.

Third-year history major Claire Howard said, “My friends will definitely joke with me about it and tease me: ‘Oh, you’re going to turn me in.’ But mostly people are pretty respectful. They’re excited you have this opportunity.”

Gaspare-Pruchnicki explained that it is a good opportunity to not only get involved on campus but also to show future employers or graduate schools that you care about integrity. The showcase is especially important if one plans on going into the healthcare field or wants to do research.

“The board is here for the students,” Gaspare-Pruchnicki said. “Academic hearings are composed of three students and two faculty members, so it is a fair judgment on the part of the student.”

Koko Etokebe, fourth-year political science major and the faculty re -

of Academic Integrity Board Facebook

lations chair for the AIB, explained that the group acts as advocates for not only fairness and honesty but also for students who might find

themselves involved in integrity proceedings, making sure the proper steps are taken depending on the situation.

CWRU faculty joins international research team on Bipolar Disorder

Virginia Behmer Staff Reporter

Members of the Case Western Reserve University faculty are involved in an international research project focused on creating an inclusive database of research on bipolar disorder (BD) and looking closely at how it progresses during patients’ lifespans.

BD is a mental health condition characterized by extreme shifts from depressive low-points and manic (hyperactive) high-points. It is also known as manic depression. According to The Daily, the disorder afflicts 4.4 percent of United States adults directly and millions indirectly.

Martha Sajatovic, professor of psychiatry and neurology at the CWRU of Medicine, is one member of the international research team. Researchers from the University of California, the Dutch Association of Mental Health and Addiction Care in Amsterdam and

McGill University in Montreal make up the other members.

Working with a $600,000 grant from the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, the three-year project began in November 2018. In total the data comes from 14 sites in eight countries and on five continents.

Benefits of this project are multifaceted: most previous research is from small sample sizes with a narrow demographic representation, and none of the samples were compiled in one place.

“First, we believe that by pulling together smaller datasets from multiple researchers around the world, we will be able to answer questions from this larger pooled dataset that cannot be answered with smaller/isolated research samples,” said Sajatovic. “Additionally, forming this research collaborative is expected to set the stage for larger coordinated studies.”

Moreover, Sajatovic believes that this project will help “raise much-

needed awareness on late-life bipolar disorder.” The population is aging, and by 2030 more than 50 percent of patients with BD will be over 60 years old.

“It’s encouraging to me going into clinical psychology that projects like these that focus on mental and behavioral health are being funded, and I hope to see more large scale projects like this moving forward,” said third-year psychology major Thomas Schlechter. “Using samples from other studies provides a great way to address a lot of methodological issues faced by mental health research—specifically small sample sizes and limited about of ethnic and cultural diversity in the samples.”

The work for this effort is occurring on the CWRU campus. According to Sajatovic’s research assistant, Kristin Cassidy, the team is “utilizing resources and working closely with staff from the CWRU UTech Research Computing and Cyberinfrastructure to

house and manage the data.”

This project is the first of its kind, and Sajatovic hopes it will set the framework for similar projects with wider scopes. For example, the occurrence of BD in children.

“This database is only focusing on adults as a first step in helping to understand how bipolar disorder may evolve with aging. However, it is also our hope that this project will serve as a model to potentially develop integrated databases that include individuals from childhood to old age,” Sajatovic said.

Schlechter echoed the hope for future studies based off of this project.

“This project would be able to provide an assessment of the validity of the smaller studies by comparing it with other data, as well as potentially seeing how different cultures may have BD present itself slightly differently,” Schlechter said. “I am really excited to see the results of this study as they happen.”

Courtesy

The Academic Integrity Board’s mission is to maintain the integrity, transparency and academic excellence of Case Western Reserve University

Do you know a faculty or staff member . . .

• Who has fostered your personal development?

• Who has facilitated your goals and life choices?

Nominate your undergraduate mentor for the 2019 J. Bruce Jackson, M.D., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Mentoring

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• Who has excited you about a course?

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Nominate your favorite undergraduate professor for the 2019 Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching

To nominate, go to: https://tinyurl.com/wittkejackson2019

For more information, please contact The Office of Undergraduate Studies

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The JACKSON/WITTKE Awards

CWRU law school mock trial team wins awards

Ibtesam Ghazy Staff Reporter

On Feb. 7-10, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law moot court team took first place at the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Chicago. In addition, four of the members of the team earned the top 10 speaker award for the first time in CWRU School of Law’s history. Around 680 law schools from 100 different countries are involved in this competition, and it is considered to be the largest Moot Court competition in the world.

For a mock trial, students from teams across the United States take on the roles of lawyers and witnesses for a civil or criminal case provided by the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA). CWRU Mock Trial was founded in 2001 and advanced to the National Championship Tournament in 2011.

Oralist Taylor Frank, who won third best speaker, joined the moot court team during her first year of law school and emphasized the team bond between the speakers.

“You get really close with your teammates when you have to travel for competition,” she said. “Even though it’s an individual competition for the most part, it’s nice to have good people to debrief with after the rounds.”

Members of the mock trial team de-

velop a close bond with their teammates. This bond means alumni tend to be very involved, and several have coached the program throughout the years, while others return frequently to judge at the Spartan Throwdown or to give advice.

Michael Scharf, one of the alumni that coached the International Law Moot Court Competition, participated in the Jessup Competition as a law student and found it a wonderful educational experience.

He stated, “I have been coaching our Jessup International Law Moot Court Team for 17 years, since I arrived at Case Western Reserve University. I love the opportunity to work closely with students, and have continued to coach on weekends when I’m not busy Deaning.”

“We have made it to the final round or won nationals 8 times in the last 15 years, and we won the World Championship in 2018,” said Scharf.

According to the CWRU School of Law, second-year law student Andrea Shaia won ninth best speaker, secondyear law student Megan Maccallum won fifth best speaker, third-year law student Taylor Frank won third best speaker and third-year law student Alex Lilly won second best speaker in the competition.

The competition has helped these students learn international law while developing their confidence, their ability to think on their feet and their oral argument skills.

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Ken Ken

fun

Horoscopes

Easy

Sudoku

Normal

Difficult

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

Difficult

Horoscopes as food from L’Albatros Brasserie that you can’t afford

Aries Duck confit

Taurus

Croque monsieur

Gemini

Au pied de cochon

Cancer

Pissaladière

Leo

Choucroute garnie

Virgo

Mussels with pomme frites

Libra

Blanquette of veal short rib

Scorpio

Frisée salad with lardons and poached eggs

Sagittarius Cassoulet

Capricorn

Terrine du chef

Aquarius

We’re looking for contributers!

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

Steak au poivre

Pisces Coq au vin

“The Umbrella Academy” challenges superhero stories

in over a decade. From here they must team up to prevent—you guessed it— the apocalypse, a task they only have seven days to achieve.

There are lots of aspects of the comic universe that make the show fun. The entire story is set in a slightly altered universe in which President John F. Kennedy was never assassinated and monkeys can talk and wear suits, but no one has invented the cell phone.

The characters themselves are also intentionally wacky. Way’s superheroes aren’t like Captain America. They each have a number and power associated with them except for Vanya (Ellen Page), who has been raised powerless, an outsider from the other super-children.

and special effects division do a great job of delivering the look and feel of a graphic novel.

The music is another highlight of the show. While one might expect that a show produced by the lead singer of MCR would see him controlling the soundtrack, it is actually showrunner Steve Blackman that designed a soundtrack that can only be described as wonderfully jarring. Blackman’s decisions to do things like play goofy upbeat indie pop behind a scene with six gruesome shooting deaths is representative of the show’s entire vibe, and the whole program is substantially better for his music decisions.

Henry Bendon Staff Reporter

A little over a decade ago, My Chemical Romance (MCR) lead singer Gerald Way decided he wanted to tell stories using a different medium. So, in September 2007, he released his first limited series of graphic novels, illustrated by Gabriel Ba, that imagined an entirely new universe of superheroes entitled “The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite.”

The graphic novel’s premise is that one day 43 women who started the day decidedly not pregnant give birth to children that an eccentric billionaire

named Sir Reginald Hargreeves takes an immediate interest in. He is able to adopt seven of the children, who have special powers that he trains them to use to fight crime as a group known as the Umbrella Academy.

“Apocalypse Suite” is also the source material for the first season of the show that dropped on Netflix on Feb. 15. It picks up many years later, with the Umbrella Academy having split up and developed into whatever constitutes the opposite of well-adjusted adults.

The season begins with the death of Sir Reginald Hargreeves, an event that brings the Umbrella Academy members back together for the first time

All of the others have suffered either childhood trauma or adult mistakes to make them each independently flawed— Diego (David Castaneda) is a vigilante and Klaus (Robert Sheehan) hasn’t been sober since the age of 13, which is par for the course of Hargreeves family’s messed up adulthood.

The show has a clear and compelling plot line and tells a story, but it’s as much about the characters themselves as it is about the apocalypse they’re trying to stop. This is both a strength and a weakness, as the interaction between the different broken adult super-people is generally entertaining but relies on each character becoming a caricature of their specific flaw. This is less of a flaw of the acting than it is the writing, as the cast

Way and MCR guitarist and “The Umbrella Academy” producer Ray Toro, do appear on the soundtrack as musicians, covering both Simon & Garfunkel’s “Hazy Shade of Winter” and The Turtles’ “Happy Together.” Songs in “The Umbrella Academy” aren’t just 15-second snippets, either. They play out in their entirety and have the effect of being entire characters all on their own.

In total, there will be eight series of “The Umbrella Academy” comics, and Way and Blackman are hoping for as many seasons of the show. Netflix has yet to pick up the show for an eight season run, but season one makes it seem well within the realm of possibility.

Season one of “The Umbrella Academy” now streaming on Netflix.

“The College Dropout,” 15 Years Later

Chris Heermann Social Media Editor

Fifteen years ago, Kanye West began his iconic discography with “The College Dropout,” (TCD) which came out on Feb. 10.

West began as a producer and originally made a name for himself by selling beats on a local level. Eventually, he was able to get recognition from rappers such as Jay-Z and Nas through his innovative beats. What made his style so groundbreaking at the time was the sped up samples from R&B mixed with soul and explosive drums that appealed to a variety of rap artists.

But West wanted to make it big in the music industry with his own songs. He faced opposition when trying to start out as a rapper because everyone just wanted one of his beats. Eventually, he was able to get a contract with Roc-A-Fella Records, Jay-Z’s former record label, and spent four years recording “The College Dropout.”

Filled with both emotional and humorous raps and features from some of the most popular artists at the time and his own production, “The College Dropout” debuted at No. 2 on Billboard, selling nearly half a million copies in its first week alone. But how does it hold up? Is Time Magazine right in naming it one of the 100 greatest albums of all time?

The album begins with a skit, one of many included in the album, that flows

perfectly into the first song “We Don’t Care.” This song has a “classic” sound with all the claps in the beats, setting a good rhythm that makes it an easy listen.

The next song, “Graduation Day,” is half-skit, half-melody that doesn’t hold up to the rest of the album, especially when immediately followed by “All Falls Down,” one of West’s most recognizable songs. “All Falls Down” has a soulful melody with excellent production, making it one of the greatest songs on the album.

“I’ll Fly Away” is a short rendition of an early 20th century gospel hymn and is easily forgettable, but it adds to the transition to the next song, “Spaceship,” which many also consider one of West’s greatest tracks on the album.

“Spaceship” tells the story of West trying to make it in the music world while also working minimum wage jobs. Many feel as though “Spaceship” is underappreciated, but it is hard to stand out when surrounded by some of his most acclaimed songs.

“Jesus Walks” is hands down one of West’s greatest tracks of all time. His powerful lyrics in combination with the beautiful mix of soul and drum production won West a Grammy for Best Rap Song.

The hit is followed by “Never Let Me Down,” which features Jay-Z. This song again has an interesting soul/R&B production that fits extremely well with Jay-Z’s lyrical style. It is a touching song that has a good beat behind it with an incredible hook that flows smoothly into

the following verses.

The next song, “Get Em High,” is not bad. However, when compared to the prior tracks, it fails to meet the high bar they set. With 21 songs/skits on TCD, “Get Em High” is one of the few songs that I would consider dropping from the album.

“The New Workout Plan” is one of West’s humorous tracks on the album. A catchy beat behind fun lyrics separates it from the rest just for the unexpectedness of it all.

Next we have “Slow Jamz,” one of his longest tracks at five minutes and 16 seconds. It also has some fun lines from West but those are overshadowed by features from Twista and Jamie Foxx, both of whom make the song worth listening to again and again.

“Breathe In Breathe Out” features Ludacris and is definitely more a product of its time. Hard hits with a typical drum beat behind make this song lack the “Kanyefeel.” But don’t let that stop you from listening to it, “Breathe In Breathe Out” is still an excellent song.

The three skits that follow bring the title into focus. They highlight the fact that society pushes kids into college without a plan for what to do afterward. It is a sentiment shared by many, and the track that follows is ironically named “School Spirit.” This song has a chill vibe with a solid beat and continues with the themes introduced in the skits.

The next song is “Two Words” and features Mos Def, Freeway and the Boys Choir of Harlem. West’s excellent production blends the choir and R&B samples

with drum hits to create a beat that is impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, it is overshadowed by another one of West’s greatest tracks.

“Through the Wire” tells West’s story of getting into a car accident and nearly dying. He overcame the ordeal and raps through the wire in his jaw, hence the title of the track. The beat behind is a classic West beat with sped up and repitched samples that flow well with his verses.

The penultimate song, “Family Business,” is where West gets emotional in his lyrics. He thanks his family for believing in him and making him into the person he is today. He reminisces over his past and brings the song together over a soft piano and drum beat with choir samples that can bring a tear to the eye.

The final song starts out melodic and brings the smooth soul-styled beat that West excels at. It transitions into a spoken outro over the same beat where he discusses how he came to make the album. The track may have benefited from being split. As it is, the song lasts nearly four minutes, while the outro lasts nearly nine minutes. Both add an excellent conclusion to the album, matching the mood while still being distinct.

So does the album hold up? Absolutely. The beats have a classic feel and while the hits may be overplayed, in the album they fit perfectly. At just over an hour and 15 minutes, it is easy to listen to while walking to and from your classes.

“The Umbrella Academy” follows seven people who were all born on the same day and adopted by an eccentric billionaire. It is based off of a graphic novel created by the lead singer of My Chemical Romance.

Courtesy of SpoilerTV

Playlist of the Week

Jackson Rudoff Opinion Editor

It’s the week after Valentine’s Day, which means you’re probably recovering from one of two things: a day filled with love or one filled with Tinder-assisted heartbreak. If you do fall into the latter category, not to worry, we’ve got a playlist catered to you. Enjoy these five tracks from the genre of “Sadboy” alternative music to help you reflect upon, or just plain wallow in, the post-Valentine’s depression.

On My Own—Whitney

A very stereotypical Whitney track starts us off with a cute but lonesome guitar riff fronting the melody and quiet clapping setting the backbeat. It’s actually written about the breakup of the Whitney members’ previous band. The lyrics’ introspectiveness doesn’t get too deep, and the song itself is a toe tapper, which allows for a calm lead into this playlist. It’s uncomplicated and catchy, which is what you want after what could’ve been a complicated week.

Summertime—Vince Staples

We’re leaving cute behind in this one. Vince Staples may be better known for the bops on “Big Fish Theory” or “FM!,” but this track from his debut album feels much more volatile. He’s always been unconventional, and the garage-house-esque beat on this track begins with an alternating pattern of minor chords that then leads into a slowpaced, almost somnambulant flow. Staples isn’t masking much with this one; he’s upset about a girl, his general situation and where his head has gone, and it’s painful for him to move forward.

Not your average pop concert

Emily Young Copy Editor

There is no greater joy than watching a 65-year-old man do a kick that would make even the Rockettes jealous, except watching his 71-year-old brother show him up by performing a flawless jumpkick combination that would put any professional dancer to shame.

This is the kind of energy and panache that five-time Grammy Award winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo brought to the stage at Trinity Cathedral this past Sunday. The South African choral group originally rose to fame after collaborating with Paul Simon on his 1986 album “Graceland.” The group revitalized Simon’s sound with their trademark rhythms and sounds based off of their native Zulu traditions: isicathamiya and mbube. Perhaps one of their most memorable examples of their style is the “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

However, this example does the group no justice. From the moment they stepped on stage, Ladysmith Black Mambazo captured the audience. Wasting no time for words, the group launched into a rich, full arrangement driven by a strong repetitive beat with energetic choreography.

Sleep Apnea—Beach Fossils

This song almost puts you in a trance with the ping-pong guitar mixing it uses, and you may even feel tempted to nap while listening to it. Beach Fossils’ most recent album had a lot of hopeful energy dispersed throughout its tracklist, but this cut from its debut “Clash the Truth” is much more nostalgic and, yes, sad. Post-adolescence and young adulthood aren’t easy, and lines like “Sometimes I no longer know what it means to care about the things you want to do” don’t sugarcoat the experience.

Holy Shit—Father John Misty

We’re going the route of the absurd with this one, but it’s just a stepping stone to acknowledging futility and finally moving on. Father John Misty, Josh Tillman to his friends, is not known for having lyrics that make much sense … or really any sense at all.

Regardless, you can decipher his almost nihilistic view of the world in this one as he categorically rejects all sorts of societal conventions against the backdrop of an acoustic guitar riff. But you can’t help but agree with his conclusion that maybe everything you obsess over doesn’t really matter, as he “fails to see what it’s got to do with you and me.”

Our Song - Radiator Hospital

“Our Song” is a chaotic, high-intensity departure from the previous songs, but it is the exact type of energy you may want as you come to terms with finally ditching your sadness. From its opening declaration of “Dreaming of the last time that you wanted to dance,” you know we’re past trying to hide our feelings. The fast-paced beat and guitar riff, paired with the screamy lyrics and sense of urgency, get you riled up and ready to move on. There’s no real point in staying sad forever, especially over love that wasn’t meant to be. It is a new week after all, and maybe it’s time to change everything up—don’t overcommit to this feeling though, as not all problems can be solved with a new tattoo or haircut.

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

Ladysmith Black Mambazo introduces novel sounds and beats that blend seamlessly into a harmonic structure most Western listeners will find both familiar and refreshingly unique. Every song they sang was driven by descriptive lyrics, both in Zulu and English, with the added flair of the group’s superb vocal abilities that swept the audience along with the group.

What makes the group extraordinary is their energy and camaraderie. Most of the members are related to each other in one way or another or have strong ties to the men who founded the group 59 years ago. The group found moments during

the performance to make each moment special, for the audience and each other. Despite the carefully choreographed and synchronized moves, dance breaks were common, even leading to a spontaneous dance off near the end of the concert. The showdown was perfectly set off with group’s steady bass line and the whoops and cheers from the audience and performers alike.

The true difference between Ladysmith Black Mambazo and any other concert I have been to is their infectious joy. Like most stadium concerts headlined by pop stars, there were songs about losing love, finding true love, taking a journey and socially conscious rallying cries to end racism and sexism. But this is one of the few times that I have believed that a group meant what they were singing about.

The members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo don’t just feel the joy of finding love when they were writing their love songs, they feel that love every time they perform and they share it with the audience. Their choreography added to the performance, rather than simply distracting me with shirtless men and flashing lights meant to hide how bad the artist is at dancing. In fact, their dance moves were one of the most exciting aspects of the concerts, coming out when you least expected it.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a return to well-written music performed for the love of music. It is an elevated form of pop music for those who are bored of overplayed love songs that lost all meaning two weeks ago. Step outside of your comfort zone and discover why Ladysmith Black Mambazo has 17 Grammy nominations and five wins over an impressive 59 year career. Their second most recent album, “Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration,” is streaming now on Amazon and Spotify and is highly worth your time.

Students deserve better explanation, solution to tuition increases

College is expensive.

This isn’t a truth unique to Case Western Reserve University, but it’s certainly one that plagues the students here in particular. As a private institution, CWRU is by nature going to be more expensive than most other universities. It’s supposedly the tradeoff of the private college experience, and in theory, the expense is offset by the financial aid we receive.

At a certain point though, it becomes difficult to justify the continually rising costs of our education.

Last week, the university announced a 3.80 percent increase in tuition costs alongside a 2.75 percent increase in room and board rates. This is at least the ninth year in a row that attendance costs have gone up at CWRU. The main explanation for these significant increases is inflation. This explanation even dates back to 2016, when then-Provost Bud Baeslack claimed that baseline inflation projected tuition costs to increase approximately two to three

percent every year.

Many of the students at this school do not come from households with very much disposable income and most likely based their decision to attend somewhat on the initial costs. As the increases in tuition have compounded, it’s also likely that many of them have found themselves in a more difficult financial spot. While the university does now meet full need, a controversial decision in its own right, the expected family contribution generated from the FAFSA is grossly overstated.

If CWRU wishes to remain competitive and to continue to garner more incoming students, it will need to find ways to bring more consistency to the cost of attendance. The university is in an urban setting and is attempting to close the academic achievement gap. Yet by making attendance less accessible for students from lower income households, CWRU undermines this goal. Socioeconomic disparity is already a problem here, and it will only be exacerbated by these yearly increases in tuition.

While there are a number of ways that CWRU could better its fiscal practices, the most obvious is to begin freezing tuition for new students. This has been implemented at a number of public universities and has been praised by students who’ve experienced it. The ideal situation for both students and the university would be tuition freezing based on when students matriculate. That is, your tuition would be locked in at whatever price it was when you started your first year, even if tuition is raised for the next incoming class.

According to a student at a meeting discussing the tuition increase, university administrators were asked if a freeze was possible. The administrators reportedly said no, and that the university may just offer the expected price after four years from the beginning as costs increase by a set percentage every year.

Perhaps this answer highlights the very problem of how CWRU has designed its tuition and room and board rates. A consistent increase every year by the same percentage feels

highly arbitrary. If it’s inevitable, why? Inflation may affect the entire economy, but if more paying students are attending every year, why hasn’t this percentage at least dropped?

It just leaves students searching for more explanations, and there are probably more than one. But the ambiguous responses during official meetings with provosts both past and present have done little to dampen concerns. One thing is for certain, however, and it is the frustration we will continue to feel until the costs feel more justified.

As students, we understand that the education we are paying for is world-class and will be more expensive. But allowing it to slowly balloon out of reach except for the most economically privileged students is unacceptable. CWRU must either give us reasons that are more verifiable and believable or justify when and where the money will soon be spent.

Otherwise, potential students will start looking elsewhere.

Finding inspiration on a field-focused campus

lost.

There are many wonderful aspects of this campus. The academics are strong, the professors are acclaimed and there is a history of discovery and excellence. These all contribute to strong student development, both for those students studying STEM and those studying the humanities and arts. Students try to use these to their advantage by tapping professors’ brains and tirelessly taking notes during lectures. I think everyone can agree that the classroom learning on this campus is strong.

However, one area where I feel many students here are lacking in is with their sense of culture. You may ask, “how can this be when there are so many fabulous cultural institutions about campus?” It’s an excellent question. My answer: students do not embrace these institutions to their full potential thus much creative inspiration is

As a student body, we often fail to take advantage of the establishments which we have access to free of charge. There is Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra. There is the Museum of Contemporary Art, which many students thoughtlessly walk past on their way to and from class on Euclid Avenue. There is the Cleveland Botanical Garden, which is open yearround and houses plants from all around the world. And there is my personal favorite, the Cleveland Museum of Art, whose art collection is extensive and whose exhibits are constantly changing. Clearly, our campus is filled to the brim with culture.

Unfortunately, many students do not venture out of the confines of their dorm room. This is a shame, because so much is lost to these students. The main loss to these students is not the experiences themselves (even though they are excellent), but the inspiration the institutions can provide.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, but museums and similar institutions are an especially good source for it. Spending an afternoon

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wandering an art museum and studying the art within each exhibit, could be as helpful to some students as sitting through a lecture of their favorite class. You do not need to be an art student to be inspired by a Monet or a Dali.

Somebody might counter my argument by asking: why does it matter? Why do students even need that type of inspiration? My answer: these are also educational experiences.

These pieces of art and performances are lenses into different times and cultures, as well as the overall human experience. These experiences contribute to the formation of a well-rounded individual; one who has experience in many different fields and uses all of these collective experiences in different areas to drive their analysis and decision making. There is strength in being a highly focused individual, but there need to be other avenues of inspiration in one’s life than just the usual academic jargon.

When one person spends a lot of time focusing on one particular

subject or highly specialized field, they may struggle for perspective. By expanding their field of view, the aforementioned person has a wider view of more topics, and may be able to use other ideas or methods to confront new problems in their specialization. A wider range of interests and experiences offers more diverse ideas in the individual, and more different ideas like this tend to allow the individual more avenues of problem solving.

The cultural institutions near our campus are one avenue for students to expand their worldview. Spending an afternoon in a museum, or wandering through the gardens may offer up a different viewpoint the next time you are stumped with a problem, and it may give you the break from mental processing you need to find solutions to other problems.

Peter Wilson is a second-year biomedical engineering student on the biocomputing and informatics track. He works in the Gustafson Lab and can be found on Twitter at @wpieltseorn.

news designer LESLIE SERN

Peter Wilson

Peter for You

The problem with information pursuit

Wish You Luck

Erya Du

In the information age, we all have the habit of checking our phones and seeing what is happening in the world wherever we are. News inevitably floods into our lives, just like how the snow from Monday’s storm flooded into my eyes.

Back when information was not so easily accessible, the news was not as furious. My grandpa used to cut out the parts he liked in the newspaper and put them into a little file. Whenever I went to his house, he showed me his precious paper folder with pride.

But I haven’t seen that file since he got a smartphone. Now, we have many more and many more efficient ways to learn about what is happening around the world. With laptops, smartphones and easy access to the internet, you can find pretty much any information you might be searching for. Even if you don’t want to see the latest events, apps will just send you information automatically.

Our continual pursuit and access to the news has ultimately caused us to care less about whatever it is that we just read. When the next piece of news comes out, nobody really remembers or considers the previous one. A decreasing number of people even remember what happened yesterday.

The sheer pace of information makes people generally unable to concentrate. Since nothing remains interesting beyond the moment it occurs, we will spend most of our time feeling that we are being pushed

useless information. Everything is fast-paced and moving onward, with or without us.

Gradually, we begin to lose our opinions and goals and eventually feel like we’ve lost our time.

Before the age of constant information, people more commonly diverged from one another in their interests. They may have developed entirely different hobbies or aspirations because they would encounter various types of information from a less homogenized center of information, which lead them to varied lives. But today the information we gain tends to be consistent, because we hear exactly the same thing, and our attention is attracted by remarkably similar things.

What’s worse, even if we remember everything we see from the newspaper, TV and websites, we may delude ourselves into thinking we have a seamless connection with our world. However, we may still be very far away from the place where we live. There could be news or information left unreported or treated less seriously, causing certain things to stay under the radar as if they did not happen.

People used to call this information age an era of entertainment. So, in the end, is it that information is constantly trying to entertain, or that we’re constantly seeking the same entertainment?

Either way, it appears it is all moving in the same direction.

Erya Du is a first-year prelaw student double majoring in economics and international studies. She likes panda, deer and architecture.

The Commuter Lounger is no longer exclusive, and that’s okay

Unsolicited Opinion

Won Hee Kim

The graduate students are taking over the Commuter Lounge. This may be an overly dramatic way to put it, but since Feb. 11, the graduate students have gained access to the safe haven of Case Western Reserve University commuter students.

The lounge is nestled in one of the basements of the Thwing Center, across from the Thwing Storage space. The lounge contains comfortable seats, a pool table, a small kitchen, a study room and board games. Commuter students who have long gaps between classes, are waiting for the bus or just want to socialize hang out there.

I wasn’t comfortable with the graduate students at first. I complained about it to a friend who is applying for an Integrated Graduate Studies program about how a place I considered to be exclusive and special was being invaded. My friend then cracked a joke about how I should build a wall to keep out the graduate students, which made me realize how ignorant and selfish I was being.

To begin with, not everyone in the Commuter Lounge is a commuter to begin with. Since I gained access to the lounge last semester, I sometimes bring a friend over to play pool or study together. Police officers occasionally stop by in the evenings to talk and socialize. None of these people have made a mess of the room or interfered with my own ability to use the space. We coexist.

Thinking about the topic further, I realized that what I was really worried about was my perceived lack of

resources. Sometimes the Commuter and Off Campus Organization arranges events with food, and if more people have access to these events, it would make sense that there would be less food. However, the graduate students have a separate organization that creates their own events. And if the two organizations do work together on an event, they will probably account for the extra people.

As for the lockers, there are plenty of them in the lounge that are not currently in use. I don’t have one because I forgot to request one at the beginning of the semester, and being worried about not having the option to have a locker when I did not act to get a locker myself is ridiculous. There is nothing in the lounge that reasonable adults cannot learn to share.

The final point that I had to consider was that many graduate students already are commuter students. Other than the Triangle Towers and the Recovery House, there are no options for graduate students to live on campus. Housing for CWRU students is already becoming cramped because of the increasing number of undergraduate students, and graduate students are being affected as well.

Though my immediate reaction to sharing was negative, opening the doors of the Commuter Lounge makes sense. If nothing else, it beats raising tuition even more to pay for a new, separate room.

The Commuter Lounge will be renamed in honor of the new residents, but a new name has not been determined as of press time.

Won Hee Kim is a third-year English major with minors in creative writing and economics. They live off-campus.

Advocate with, not for

Viral Mistry

When you are involved in social justice advocacy work, you often don’t get to choose your allies. The work is exhausting, and you welcome any support you can get. In my experience, I’ve often encountered well-intentioned people trying to make a difference in this world.

But many seem more interested in advocating for people, not advocating with people. The distinction seems insignificant, but it’s paramount.

Someone who advocates for others sees themselves as a savior. They have figured out the glorious truth about how society should operate, and they are doing the world a favor by taking their time and effort to grace us with their wisdom. The focus of their activism is their personal sense of righteousness, not necessarily on making material changes for marginalized people. These people feel comfortable speaking on behalf of groups they do not belong to and decide which tactics are worth pursuing on their own. If you critique their behavior, you will find they get deeply offended. Often, they will condescendingly remark how they could in fact be using their position to perpetuate further injustice, and that you should be thankful they are bothering to use their privilege to help you.

A friend of mine had the perfect phrase to describe this group: eyes half open, mouth never shut.

Someone who advocates with others understands that they can never be the source of others’ liberation. They can and do center the lived experiences of marginalized people in their activism. They seek not to dominate the conversation but to lift up the voices of the marginalized. Instead of speaking on behalf of others, they help build spaces where marginalized folks can speak for themselves. They decide on tactics democratically and work to build coalitions between various marginalized identities.

I’ve had plenty of experiences with both groups of people. In fact, I’m willing to admit that when I first entered social justice circles, I definitely fit the first group more. A lot of those people possess multiple privileged characteristics (white, upper middle class, straight, men), and they feel a sense of guilt over them. This manifests itself in an activism rooted in feeling right and assuaging that guilt, as opposed to one focused on liberation for all people. And while these people recognize systemic injustices exist, they often don’t realize how their actions work to further perpetuate toxic hierarchies within activist circles that discourage engagement from marginalized folks and prevent the development of the diverse solidarity that will be necessary to build a better world.

To put it simply, both groups agree with the statement “I want to change the world.” The problem is the first group is focused on the “I” when they need to be focused on the “change.”

This is a problem of significant

When advocating for a marginilized group that one is not apart of, it’s important to advocate with the group and not for it.

importance to activists at Case Western Reserve University and around the world. While I have many friends who share the goals of the groups I support, they often feel uncomfortable as racial, religious, gender and sexual minorities in these spaces. They find themselves being smugly dismissed by white men who claim to know exactly what it is their community needs and feel disempowered and disenfranchised by the very people who are supposed to be aiding their pursuit of justice.

Those of us of dominant group status are not only welcome in this fight, we are necessary for it to succeed. But I urge

you, if you are someone who has read this and felt offended, do not channel that feeling into discouragement from participating in causes you support. Stay involved, stay engaged. But stop talking so much, and start listening.

Advocate with, not for.

Viral Mistry is a fourth-year biology and cognitive science double major who is also minoring in chemistry, history and philosophy. In his free time, he enjoys drinking good union-made beer, reading academic non-fiction and watching Vine compilations on Youtube.

Courtesy of Wikimedia/Alisdare Hickson

I Spit My Truth and It’s Brown

Trump’s emergency is another misguided negotiation

Publicized Confab

Josiah Smith

I believe that the best quality a president can have is an aptness for negotiation.

Rarely in life, especially in politics, do we achieve our goals to the fullest extent. No matter how much one believes their solution will remedy a problem, it is important to know that our perspective is impossibly narrow. Thus, facts should guide the conversation, and we should always be willing to be wrong while still arguing our point of view and game-changing ideas.

Though the American public was not present in the negotiation room while this bipartisan compromise was being drafted, it is apparent that Congress performed its duty. According to the data and statistics that inform the issue of border security, the appropriated funds and its intended purpose seem to adequately address present problems.

For this, we can thank our representatives. They’ve essentially avoided another national tragedy. The consequences of having the government closed for 35 days caused so much turmoil within the American consciousness. And that doesn’t include the material negative effects it enacted.

But what’s perhaps most painful is the fact that the president was considering a

course in which the same tragedy would happen again.

It’s beginning to seem as though the American public and our best interest is not the priority of our commander in chief. The declaration of a national emergency is another instance of this pattern. If these funds are being used for what can factually be ruled out as an emergency, what happens if an actual

This declaration has fractured the party, causing top rank-and-file Republicans to completely counter this use of executive privilege. Where will the party stand when Donald Trump is gone? I think the time is coming very quickly when politicians will be evaluated on who supported Trump and who didn’t.

Whether the leadership likes to admit

deliver on this campaign promise.

This shifts the onus to the courts since this is where the fight will play out. The big question is: Can a president declare a national emergency on an issue that is mostly political in nature?

Truthfully, this could play out either way. I’d like to believe that truth would prevail and this would be defeated in the courts, but it is just as likely that it won’t. If it is not, then the presidency gets new levels of executive privilege as well as a logistical nightmare on our southern border.

If anything, this president is most effective at galvanizing his base. If he stands to lose a fight within the courts, the campaign propaganda of “government corruption” could possibly become more effective—with Trump blaming his failures on the connivings of corrupt politicians.

emergency emerges while the current funds have been sanctioned for the southern border wall? Isn’t this a ripe opportunity for American adversaries? Aren’t we crippling our ability to respond to true threats?

I think there is enough coverage complaining about this national emergency. I don’t want this article to be about that. I’m more fascinated by the lasting effect this will have on the Republican Party.

it or not, the southern border wall is critical to Trump’s 2020 campaign. One could argue that it is the reason why his poll numbers have risen lately. Not only has the shutdown nonsense ceased, but there is a more streamlined path to getting the southern border wall. And because there is a healthy portion of the country that still supports/advocates for a southern border wall, it is reasonable to assume that his candidacy will be highly questioned if he is not able to

Whatever path this emergency follows, the conclusion will be a fractured Republican Party, one that will struggle to find its identity. Currently there is no one in the Democratic Party that is powerful enough to capture the American attention like Trump has.

But when that individual arises, the game will be permanently changed, and the GOP will suffer as a result.

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

Injustice in Palestine is injustice for all

In Case it Matters

Jordan Reif

On Feb. 10, Ilhan Omar, a Democratic freshman representative from Minnesota and notably the first Somali-American in Congress, responded to a tweet asking her who she thought was paying American politicians to be pro-Israel. Her response was “AIPAC,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

This one tweet led to an uproar of responses from citizens, reporters and other Congress members across the political spectrum about Israeli-American relations, principally the role Israel plays in our nation’s politics. Omar was called out for being anti-Semitic by many of her Republican and Democratic colleagues, including Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (NY).

Since the beginning of IsraeliPalestinian conflict, Israel has tried to paint support for the Palestinian people as an act of anti-Semitism. In fact, support for the Palestinian people should be associated with standing up for justice and equity in our world.

When Israel was first established as a state in 1948, then-President Harry Truman made the United States the first country to recognize the nation. Since then, Israeli-American relations have been up and down. But recently, it seems there is only unconditional support and blind trust for the country and its leaders. A look at the history of the Israeli state, however, reveals why this unconditional support is impermissible.

The state of Israel was created under the fictitious slogan of “a land without people for a people without land” and fueled the Zionist movement. During the first half of the 20th century, hundreds of thousands of European Jews emigrated to then-British-controlled Palestine. Naturally, the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had inhabited the land were angered. The Balfour Declaration—a British mandate—of 1917 presented the Palestinian land as a gift to the Jewish people. In 1947, the United

Palestinians deserve better

Nations (U.N.) gave more strength to the mandate by declaring the land belonged to both states. Israel officially received 55 percent of the land as a result, despite the Palestinian population being twice that of the Jewish community.

Frustrated by what they saw and experienced as British colonialism, the Palestinians coalesced with the surrounding Arab states and fought against the redistribution of their land. This 1948 war ended with Israel taking 78 percent of the land and is commonly referred to by Palestinians as Al-Nakba or “the catastrophe.” Over 700,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes, and today, seven million Palestinian refugees trace their roots to this exodus. A few years later in 1967, Israel began their occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, demolishing homes, evicting Palestinian families and arresting and detaining them without a fair trial.

This occupation is still ever-present today. Since the start of Al-Nakba, Palestinians have been tortured, detained, arrested, beaten and killed by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) daily. Over a thousand complaints of torture have been filed by Palestinians while in Israeli prisons since 2000, with only one ever leading to an investigation.

Young adults like Ahed Tamimi celebrate their 17th birthdays from within Israeli prisons, after being arrested for standing up for their family. Tamimi was imprisoned hours after an Israeli soldier shot her unarmed 15-year-old cousin in the face with a rubber bullet.

Yet, there are apparently no consequences for the actions of the IDF or Israeli government. They continue to restrict movement of people and goods, expropriate Palestinian land to build Israeli settlements, drop bombs on schools and hospitals, and arrest, tear gas and kill Palestinians of all ages. As long as there are no ramifications for illegal and cruel Israeli activity, there will be no justice.

Hopefully, Omar and Rashida Tlaib—a freshman Democratic representative from Michigan and the first Palestinian-

American Congresswoman—can show Democrats (and all Congress members) the error in their ways. Both appear to be the first two Congress members to proudly and rightfully stand up for the Palestinians, also supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which pressures Israel to comply with international law. The majority of other Democrats in Congress are “PEP” or “Progressive Except Palestine.”

Sen. Cory Booker, a Democratic New Jersey senator, strongly opposes the BDS movement and in November of last year, reported that he would support a bill to prevent U.S. businesses from participating in the BDS movement. Yet, following Booker’s official announcement to run for president in the 2020 election, he seems to have changed his mind. Booker voted against a policy bill at the beginning of February which included a measure to allow the government to punish companies that subscribe to the BDS standards. If he fears that voting for such a policy will hurt his election probabilities, then perhaps he should take a closer look to what is happening in the region and decide which side of history he wants to be on.

However, this skepticism surrounding the denouncement of Israel most likely comes from fear of doing so. Politicians from both sides of the aisle continuously accuse other politicians and figureheads of being anti-Semitic when they speak out against the abuses perpetrated by Israel on the Palestinians.

Some lose their jobs, as was the case with Marc Lamont Hill, a political contributor for CNN. After supporting the BDS movement while addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a speech at the U.N., he was lambasted for antiJewish sentiments and promptly fired. What CNN and critics failed to hear was Hill’s call and desire for justice—in his exact words as written on Twitter—for “EVERYONE.”

A demand of justice for all is not antiSemitic. There is most certainly a need to address anti-Semitic attitudes and actions

throughout the U.S. and the world, as a recent FBI report noted an increase in such hate crimes, but criticism of human rights abuses and racist actions by the Israel government is in no way one of these sentiments. Being critical of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians is not a critique of the Jewish faith and culture.

This brings us back to Omar and her bold statement—one that branded her so strongly as anti-Semitic that she issued an apology—insinuating a connection between Israeli money and American political power. Palestinian support has become incredibly controversial and partisan. Perhaps the reason for such low Palestinian sympathy in Congress is this political and financial influence of Israel and, just as Omar suggested, AIPAC. The committee itself boasts on its website that the “United States Congress has provided Israel with the strongest support of any institution in the world.” They influence American politics through campaign contributions, lobbying and the infamous all-expense paid trip to Israel for Congress members. In the world of foreign policy, AIPAC is at the top of the list for money spent lobbying, having spent $3.5 million. The all-expense paid trip, known for its luxurious accommodations, costs AIPAC $10,000 per person. That is a kind of a trip that Congress members remember when they are back in Washington D.C. voting on bills that could affect Israel.

Whatever the primary reason for the U.S. being so friendly with Israel, which has as a result been termed the “Middle East’s most stable democracy,” Congress is undeniably in the pockets of AIPAC, and in turn, Israel. Seventy percent of the U.S. Senate is influenced by AIPAC, with some Congress members receiving upward of $200,000 from pro-Israel lobbyists. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, one of Ohio’s two senators, is among those Congress members.

It is time we start listening to the cries of the Palestinian people and stop spending our time criticizing Congress members who are attempting undermine injustice. Most importantly, we must remember that injustice for one is injustice for all and that Palestine is not excluded from this rule.

- Josiah Smith, on Trump’s national emergency call

“The big question is: Can a president declare a national emergency on an issue that is mostly political in nature?”

Legalized sports gambling: beneficial or dangerous?

Andrew Ford Staff Reporter

In 2018, the landscape of sports in the United States changed for the foreseeable future but not because of anything that happened on a court or field.

Instead, the change stemmed from the Supreme Court striking down a federal law that did not allow states to oversee legal sports betting with a few exceptions such as Nevada. The flood gates opened for states to authorize gambling in their territory for the first time since 1992.

However, it is naive to think that sports betting was only taking place in the states that were grandfathered into the 1992 law. Illegal gambling is a billion dollar industry by some estimates. With states now having the ability to regulate this business, governments will now be able to institute taxes on sports bets thereby increasing governmental revenue.

For example, Rhode Island has issued a 51 percent tax on winnings. According to the governor of the state, the projected increases will go into the state’s general fund, helping to improve schools and roads. No wonder 18 states sued the federal government to overturn that law.

Professional leagues will also earn more money from this change. The NBA especially has pushed for this change.

In 2014, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver wrote an op-ed for the New York Times advocating for legalized sports gambling, arguing that the increasingly popular hobby needs regulation. What he doesn’t mention, though, is that the NBA would profit greatly from the overturned law. Indeed, in July 2018, two months after the Supreme Court’s ruling, the NBA announced a partnership with MGM

crime to bet for your favorite team.

But for all the benefits, there is a reason that the law was passed almost three decades ago. Legalized gambling on sports presents the potential for the “integrity of the game” to be fatefully ruined, according to Silver. In other words, sports betting is such a profitable industry that it would be easy for someone to abuse the system. We have seen multiple examples of this historically.

Let’s travel back to 1919.

In perhaps the greatest American match fixing scheme in history, eight players on the Chicago White Sox supposedly fixed the World Series, purposely losing to the Cincinnati Reds for large payouts on the bets they placed on their own game.

Fast forward to the latter half of the 20th century.

ever made calls to fix games, but ESPN recently published an in-depth article, featuring dozens of interviews that conflict with Donaghy’s story. According to multiple people involved in the scandal, Donaghy did in fact intentionally fix games, although FBI and NBA investigations could never prove that fact.

It is estimated that Donaghy’s scandal generated millions of dollars for those involved.

Resorts International, the first ever such agreement between a professional league and a gaming company.

Another argument for the benefits of legalized sports gambling is the personal freedom awarded to citizens. As mentioned earlier, it is not as if people weren’t betting on sports; they were just doing under the table deals or using untrustworthy websites. Now, it is no longer a federal

One of the greatest baseball players of all-time, Pete Rose, was banned from baseball after an investigation by the MLB uncovered the fact that Pete Rose bet on his own games as a manager for the Cincinnati Reds. It never appeared that he fixed any of his own games, but the fact that he bet on them has continued to shadow his career. Rose, the all-time leader in career hits, still is not in the Hall of Fame.

And then there’s 2007, when NBA referee Tim Donaghy was caught helping a friend gamble enormous sums of money on the games he refereed. Donaghy continues to deny that he

These are just three examples that prove how gambling can affect the integrity of sports. Some argue that legalizing sports betting will allow for increased regulation from professional leagues, hopefully preventing players, coaches, referees or anybody involved from profiting on their ability to alter the outcome of contests. But there is no guarantee that leagues will be able to catch every possible issue.

Each individual person will have a different opinion on this subject due to its innate polarizing nature. And there are great benefits, specifically for leagues and governments who stand to benefit from the ballooning industry. In general, the increased revenue arguably outweighs the potential scandals that might arise. While the arguments against sports betting are legitimate as evidenced by historical developments, the infrequency of such debacles makes it a no-brainer for forward-thinking leagues, governments and people to accept and even embrace sports gambling.

LEAD.LEARN. CARE.

Interested in a Career in Health Care?

Nurses are the most trusted and sought after health care professionals, and graduates of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University are found in the hospital and the board room.

FPB’s Graduate Entry Nursing Program is specifically designed for students with non-nursing undergraduate degrees who are ready for a career in nursing. This graduate degree prepares students for practice as an advanced generalist registered nurse and to lead interprofessional, evidence-based initiatives.

- Andrew Ford, on legalizing betting in professional sports

With states now having the ability to regulate this business, governments will now be able to institute taxes on sports bets thereby increasing governmental revenue.

Two players hit career scoring highs, men’s basketball continues skid

Sanjay Annigeri Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University men’s basketball team continued its rough patch in their University Athletic Association (UAA) schedule, losing 83-71 to Emory University on Friday, Feb. 15 and 68-62 to No. 22 University of Rochester on Sunday, Feb. 17. Both games were played at home in the Horsburgh Gymnasium. Even with these losses, two players set career highs in scoring, with first-year guard Jack Vaselaney scoring 17 points off the bench against Emory and second-year guard Michael Volkening scoring 22 points against Rochester.

The bench helped CWRU stay in the game against Emory, but its contributions weren’t enough to garner the win.

The Spartans were down as much as 17 points in the first half but were able to trim the halftime lead to seven with three pointers by Vaselaney and second-year guard Antonio Ionadi. The team went into halftime down 39-32.

In the second half, CWRU cut the lead down to 50-48 with over 14 minutes left in the game on a three point play by third-year forward Michael Hollis.

Vaselaney gave the team its first lead since the start of the first half with a three pointer to put the Spartans ahead 55-53.

However, Emory went on a 7-0 run with under 10 minutes left in the game and built the lead up to 13 points. Vaselaney trimmed the lead to seven with under two minutes left, but the Spartans were unable to mount a final comeback.

Athlete Spotlight

Against Rochester, both teams fought back-and-forth but a late push by Rochester gave them the victory.

The Yellowjackets scored the first five points of the game until the Spartans went on a 13-2 run to give them an eight point lead.

Rochester cut into the lead and went ahead 25-24 with under five minutes left in the half. They continued and went on an 8-4 run to take a 33-28 lead into halftime.

Volkening started the second half with a three pointer and a layup to tie the score

at 33. The Yellowjackets answered this by building a 10 point lead with under 10 minutes left in the game.

The Spartans wouldn’t back down though, going on a 10-0 run in a span of just under a minute and 30 seconds to tie the game at 51.

CWRU regained the lead 55-54 with under five minutes left on free throws by Ionadi.

Rochester hit back-to-back layups and the Spartans responded with layups by Ionadi and Hollis.

The score became tied at 60 with un-

der two minutes left, but Rochester went on a 6-0 run to secure the victory.

The Spartans finished the week with two losses, bringing their overall season record to 9-15 and their UAA record to 2-11.

The team will close out the season with a rivalry matchup at home against Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m.

“We need to keep competing and guarding to stay in the game,” Head Coach Todd McGuinness said. “We need to make our open looks.”

Fourth-year swimmer finishes season with a bang

Niko Kamlet Staff Reporter

Renee Decker is a fourth-year student and a freestyle/backstroke swimmer on the Case Western Reserve University women’s swim team. Recently, at the University Athletic Association Championships, her relay team achieved a school record and NCAA ‘B’ cut time of 1:35.37 in the 200yard freestyle relay. When she is not in the pool, you can find her studying for her chemical engineering classes or teaching students in Chemistry 111 and Engineering 225. She also enjoys watching television and being outside in her free time.

What is your favorite part of being on the swimming team?

Why?

My favorite part of being on the team is knowing someone always has your back. We are such a large team but still remain very close, it’s like having extended family.

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

Honestly I started swimming when I was 7 years old because my older sister did. Then somehow along the 15 year journey it turned into an obsession. And don’t let anyone ever tell you that swimming is not a contact sport, I once accidentally gave someone a concussion during a meet warmup.

Do you have any meets that you remember being particularly special? Why?

I remember my high school district meet, anchoring the last 4x100 freestyle relay and coming up from behind to win the race. It was such an incredible feeling.

Do you have any meets that you remember being particularly special? Why?

I remember my high school district meet, anchoring the last 4x100 freestyle relay and coming up from behind to win the race. It was such an incredible feeling.

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

I am the director of information for UPB [University Program Board] so I send out the newsletter and deal with a lot of internal logistics. I’m also a TA for both CHEM 111 and ENGR 225, I love being able to help teach other students.

What do you hope to accomplish with the degree?

What are your post graduate plans?

I hope to find a job doing something that I am passionate about. I don’t quite know what that is yet but as of now I really enjoyed my metallurgy internship so I believe I’m going to steer in that direction.

What are your favorite free time activities? Why?

I enjoy baking and watching “The Great British Baking Show,” as well as outdoor activities like hiking.

What is your favorite quote or what inspires you?

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

I think this is my favorite quote because there are always going to be those people that are naturally “good” at things, but no one should ever be better than you at hard work.

Courtesy of Jon Schwartz

Third-year guard Monty Khela heads towards the basket. The Spartans faced Emory University and University of Rochester last weekend, ultimately falling to both.

Courtesy of CWRU Athletics

Tennis bounces into spring season

Men’s tennis extends win streak, women start season with a win and a loss

dhi Jha competed in second doubles, but were unable to capture the win. The final score was 8-5.

The Spartans faced a rough start to the singles matches, falling short in both first and second singles. These losses pushed Hope into the lead at 3-2. A win at fourth singles by Amin tied the score 3-3, but a loss at third doubles followed. Jha was able to secure a win at fifth singles, putting CWRU and Hope back at a tie. In sixth singles, Mukund was defeated by her opponent, and Hope claimed the day.

The following day, the Spartan women faced Kalamazoo College. They finished the day with a 9-0 win, bringing their overall season record to 1-1.

The day started with Paolucci and Cardwell claiming victory at first doubles 8-0. Karnam and Jha teamed up in second doubles, and won with a final of 8-2. To finish up the doubles contests, Amin and Mukund defeated their opponents 8-1 to bring the Spartans to 3-0.

Claire Nordt Sports Editor

The Case Western Reserve University men’s tennis team extended their winning streak while competing against Coe College on Friday, Feb. 15. The win brought the Spartans’ record to 4-0 overall.

To start the day, the Spartans competed in doubles matches. CWRU was able to claim two of their three doubles contests of the day. One of the wins came from second doubles where second-year Spartan Matthew Chen and third-year teammate Zach

Hennessey won 8-3 over their Coe opponents. Third doubles also claimed a win. First-year teammates Chaitanya Aduru and Aaron Umen won against their opponents 8-2. Third-year student Anthony Kanam and second-year teammate Jonathan Powell competed at first doubles, falling to Coe 8-6. In their six singles matches, the Spartans were able to claim victory in all of them. Chen competed at first singles and Kanam at second singles. Umen claimed third singles and firstyear Spartan Max Vicario took fourth singles after a comeback. Finally, at fifth singles Powell defeated his opponent and fourth-year student Rob

Stroup claimed sixth singles. The women’s team also competed last weekend, making their 2019 spring season debut on Feb. 16 against Hope College. The day concluded in a Spartan loss, with a final score of 5-4.

Doubles contests started the day and the Spartan women came out strong, claiming two of the three doubles matches. In first doubles, secondyear teammates Madeleine Paolucci and Nicole Cardwell defeated their opponents 8-1. Third doubles also came out on top with second-year student Mira Amin and first-year student Shreyaa Mukund finishing 8-2. Firstyear Spartans Sneha Karnam and Ni-

Following doubles were singles matches. At first singles, Paolucci walked away victorious. Cardwell and Karnam also claimed wins at second and third singles, respectively. Fourth singles were captured by Amin, fifth were taken by Jha and Mukund rounded out the sweep at sixth singles.

The tennis teams will return to action this weekend. The men’s team will head to the 2019 ITA Indoor National Championships which will be hosted by CWRU at the Cleveland Racquet Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio. The event will take place from Friday, Feb. 22 through Sunday, Feb. 24. The women will face Indiana University of Pennsylvania at the Cleveland Skating Club on Saturday, Feb. 23.

Women’s basketball splits at home

ing the paint.

The Case Western Reserve University women’s basketball team split their final pair of home games this weekend, claiming a win against Emory University 63-58 but falling to the University of Rochester 73-63. The Spartans’ overall record is 14-10, placing them fourth in the University Athletic Association.

The Spartans started the weekend on Friday night when they came out victorious against Emory, who entered the game on a seven-game winning streak. Third-year guard Alicia Marie Gonzales started the game picking the pocket of an Emory guard and making a three to put the Spartans on the board early in the first. The Spartans ran their offense well, with secondyear forward Emma Cain and fourthyear forward Hillary Hellmann attack-

First-year guard Abbey Lawrence said running the offense was crucial in crunch time: “We worked a lot [going through plays] in practice … we all had this drive, the need to win, [everyone] was locked in and focused.”

Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter but turned up the heat in the second, shooting 53.8 percent from the field for CWRU and 50 percent for Emory. With the constant point-trading, the score remained close throughout the whole game, with neither team garnering a lead greater than five points. Midway through the third quarter, Gonzales knocked down a three to bring the lead to 37-32 for the widest margin of the game to that point. Emory responded with a layup, bringing the margin back down to three.

The teams battled to a tie at 44 at the end of the third. In the fourth, the Spartans played excellent perimeter

defense to force Emory to miss seven out of eight three point attempts. After a timeout, Cain delivered two straight lay ups and Hellmann made a jumpshot to extend the Spartan lead to five. The Spartans held on during the last minute of fouling to prevent Emory from coming back.

Although graduate student Kara Hageman struggled with her shot throughout the game, the team created open opportunities for her on the midrange. Hageman remained crucial to the Spartan interior defense, grabbing 14 rebounds and recording two steals and two blocks.

The following day, the Spartans took on Rochester. The Yellowjackets started the game with a 10-2 run. The Spartans were outrebounded by Rochester 50-32, and struggled from the perimeter shooting 2-for-10 as a team from beyond the arc, allowing Rochester to give shooters space and protect the paint. The Spartans

were never able to gain a lead but came close on multiple occasions in the third. In the fourth, the Spartans struggled offensively, relying on Hellmann to score nearly all of the team’s points.

“[The team] had difficulty rebounding [and] boxing out. They jumped over us. [We] need to do a better job,” said Lawrence

Hageman finished the game with 20 points and 14 rebounds, hitting the 1,400 career point mark while Hellmann notched 18 points and six rebounds. The Spartans look to end the season strong on Senior Day against Carnegie Mellon University, Saturday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m.

On the impact that Hellmann and Hageman has on the team, Lawrence commented: “[They] were really welcoming and encouraging, especially to the freshmen, [being] great role models … we hope we can live up to what they accomplished.”

The men’s tennis team defeated Coe College 8-1, extending their winning streak and bringing their season record to 4-0.

David Chang Staff Reporter

Courtesy of CWRU Athletics