The Observer, Volume L, Issue 23, 3/29/19

the

Case Western Reserve University volume L, issue 23 friday, 3/29/2019

Observer CWRU mourns with New Zealand Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter Dozens of students and community members congregated along Kelvin Smith Library (KSL) Oval for a candlelight vigil this past Thursday to show solidarity and respect for the victims of the recent New Zealand mosque shootings. The vigil was organized by the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and included speakers and a tribute to the victims.

The shootings occurred on March 15, when 50 people were killed in two mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand. An additional 50 people were injured.

Thursday evening’s overcast skies reflected the somber attitude of those attending the vigil.

Although most came in pairs or small groups, these cliques were abandoned to form a large circle, symbolizing unity and solidarity inside KSL Oval.

Ibtesam Ghazy, a second-year biology, nutritional biochemistry

and sociology major and president of MSA opened the event and introduced the speakers.

Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Gardner Patterson spoke following Ghazy. Patterson expressed sadness over the attack and showed administrative support for the vigil.

Ramez Islambouli, an Arabic lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures followed Patterson. Islambouli highlighted the significance a response to tragedy can have.

“When tragedies happen … boundaries are broken … [and] we come together as family.”

Islambouli also spoke about the power of love.

“Love is the best weapon against hatred,” he said.

After Islambouli, a man from the Cleveland community spoke about his friend who was killed in the shooting and about the terrible randomness of such tragedies.

Then, students from five different organizations around Case Western Reserve University read aloud the names of the 50 victims.

The event ended with a moment of silence for the first-year student, Justine Boyle, who recently passed away. In those final minutes, the lamppost light seemed to mimic the candles’ color, and the sense of solidarity and togetherness was especially strong.

Organizing the event was hectic, noted Ghazy, given that it occurred right after spring break, but holding it was imperative.

“This vigil was important to show our respect for the people who lost their lives, and to stand up against bigotry that necessitated the attack that created this,” said Ghazy.

Omar Mahmoud, Ghazy’s co-president, described the vigil best. “[It was a] moment of solidarity against hatred.”

Advocate for women’s education in Israel speaks at CWRU On Monday, March 25 Case Western Reserve University hosted a presentation by Amal Abu Alkom, an advocate for women’s education in Israel.

She was accompanied by Gabe Axler who translated Alkom’s words from Hebrew to English.

The talk began with Axler giving attendees a quick overview of the plan and a brief background about himself.

Axler is originally from Chicago but moved to Be’er Sheva, Israel where he was working with an entrepreneurial group. It is there that he met Alkom and began his role as translator. He has been working with Alkom now for three or four years, helping to bridge the gap between non-Israelis and Hebrew speakers. Alkom speaks Hebrew and Arabic, while Axler speaks Hebrew and English.

After his introduction, Axler gave attendees an overview of the location and

community that Alkom comes from. Israel is a majority Jewish country. About 75 percent of the population is Jewish and about 20 percent of the population is Arab. According to Axler, the Arabic Bedouin community in Israel makes up about three percent of the total Israeli population. He said the Bedouin community is “the periphery of the periphery” when defining where it stands in the country. He noted that it is also the fastest growing community in Israel with around eight children per family.

The Bedouin people in Israel live in the Negev region, are Sunni Muslim and are traditionally nomadic. They have many traditions that have been passed down through generations and are spread throughout the Middle East.

This is in stark contrast to the highly modern Israeli cities north of the Negev.

Axler described the classification of Israeli cities as 10 “clusters” based off of wealth and the fact that all the Bedouin villages are classified under cluster one, which is the least wealthy.

The Israeli Bedouin community has

faced a rapid transition in recent years, which has shown itself in the shifting of societal roles as young people gain access to information through technology and previous generations do not need to pass down traditional information as much.

Many geographically remote or distant villages are unrecognized and thus do not get government funding and resource allocation to modernize. The Bedouin population in particular has many villages that are not recognized.

The educational landscape in the region is also below that of most of modern Israel. The dropout rate of 36 percent is three times the national average.

Only about 30 percent of schools offer competitive matriculation exams.

Alkom began her presentation by speaking about her story and early life.

She grew up in a small village called Wadi Na’am in the Negev. Alkom grew up living in a tent and had to walk to a well to get water. She could only do homework during the day because they didn’t have electrical lighting. The vil-

lage had a population of 37,000 but only one doctor.

Alkom smiled as she remembered the memory of when she was a young girl and spent her lunchtime sitting outside the village doctor’s office and eating. In fourth grade, she began to dream of becoming a doctor herself. She got an old lab coat and made a makeshift stethoscope and became known as the girl that would “become a doctor.”

Alkom held onto this hope until the end of eighth grade. Upon finishing primary school, she realized that girls didn’t get to attend secondary school.

The boys would have to travel a significant distance in order to attain further education. Her hopes of becoming a doctor were shattered.

Alkom, however, did not give up.

Even though she was only 13 or 14 years old, she approached the lowest echelons of her community’s tribal leaders and went up the ranks, appealing for a chance to further her education.

News

A&E

Opinion

Sports

pg. 2 Engineering program piloted

pg. 9 Where to buy clothes at CWRU

pg. 10 What’s not on the campus tour

pg. 13 Check out our MLB preview

Nihal Manjila Staff Reporter

TO EDUCATION | 2

news FROM EDUCATION | 1 Upon reaching the top of the leadership, she was told that she could not continue her education. In response she threatened to throw herself down a well.

The leaders are said to have asked which well, so that they could recover the body.

Abu-Alkom spent the next 10 years as a member of her community and without education. She said that she would cry herself to sleep on many nights. However, her life would soon take a turn for the better.

She met and befriended a Jewish woman in her area. When Alkom’s new friend heard about Alkom’s desire for further education and her life story, she offered to help. Alkom likened this miraculous renewal of hope to having a terminal illness and suddenly having a doctor offer a cure.

Alkom gathered other women who also wanted more education and went to Be’er Sheva (Beersheba), the largest city in the Negev, for classes. She would face challenges of having no financial support and balancing caring for her family while attending school. Other women from her group would go on to become nurses, earn doctorates and achieve other accomplishments.

Alkom made the choice to switch her focus to social work instead of medi-

cine. She saw social work as equivalent to being a doctor for large-scale problems and sought to open up more educational opportunities in her area.

Alkom opened the non-profit Bedouin Women for Themselves in Segev Shalom to help expand the educational sector and was recognized by a larger Israeli organization that recognized grassroots movements and organiza-

modernizing society grow together and open up more educational opportunities.

Alkom brought traditional dresses with her from Israel that were made by Bedouin women in her organization. The proceeds from selling the dresses go to the organization’s education-based projects.

Axler described the dressmaking and sale as a way for the women to “remember their roots” and show that they can

“she has demonstrated that ‘a woman from the Negev can speak and think freely and become educated.’”

-Nihal Manjila, on Amal Abu Alkom, an advocate for women’s education in Israel tions. She would start doing social business as a way to create self-generating income to help spread her personal and community’s story and the many struggles and successes she faced in advancing her education.

Bedouin Women for Themselves began with just two women and now has 48 women and 60 girls working for it. They run programs and do projects to help the

advance into modernity without losing their traditions. Alkom described how the group begins new projects by gathering, closing their eyes and self-reflecting to visualize the project.

Alkom mentioned how she shocks herself because she has demonstrated that “a woman from the Negev can speak and think freely and become educated,” a sentiment not held by everyone in that region.

Case School of Engineering testing new curriculum Lev Pearlman Contributing Reporter

Spec ia Offe l rs!

2300 Overlook Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, 44106 Come home to a beautiful park-like setting and relax in your spacious studio, one, two or three bedroom suite. Enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast in our lobby Monday through Friday. We are conveniently located just minutes from; University Circle, Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve, Little Italy and Coventry Village.

• • • • •

On-Site Management 24 Hour Secured Building Free Outdoor Parking Indoor Parking Available Continental Breakfast

• • • • •

Fitness Area Concierge Services Large Laundry Facilities Community Room Available Storage Spaces Available

Ask About Our University Circle Area Employer Program For More Information Contact: Melissa Lazar- Leasing Coordinator 216.791.8547 info@waldorftowersapartments.com

3:23 AM Page 2

www.waldorftowersapartments.com

5/21/08

WALDORF Towers

81556Waldorf_Wt.qxp

TO ENGINEERING | 4

me Welco !

Home

At the heart of University tional and medical centers quiet residential neighborh has to offer.

Just a Moment Awa

Located in Cleveland Hei access to University Circl education and world-famo just a few miles away, the more excitement.

Whether you’re heading t fun, you’re just a moment attractions.

A Separate World

Come home to a beautiful studio, one, two or three b continental breakfast in o center meets your busines life in comfort at Waldorf

Amenities includ Carpeting Appliances Central air conditi Abundant closets

Walk-in storage lo Free outdoor parki On-Site Laundry Cable TV and hea

Courteous On-Site

Our professionally trained in mind: to make you as c environment perfect for y

For modern, comfortable vibrant city life contact W

(216) 791-8547

This semester the Case School of Engineering (CSE) is testing a new program for first-year students that will replace the current first-year requirements in a few years.

Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Division of Engineering Leadership and Professional Practice Kurt Rhoads, who holds a doctorate in environmental engineering, is the head of this pilot program. He is working to develop experiential programs for all engineering students.

Rhoads is also the coordinator for the first-year experience. Currently, CSE is piloting what will be the fall semester of their new first-year program. It consists of two 3-credit courses that will comprise the first-year engineering experience.

The main difference between the old curriculum and this new pilot program is the way that the material is taught.

“The old way of teaching engineering is to lecture and then have students solve problems that the professors have made up for homework. The new way that we are teaching these courses is through solving problems,” said Rhoads. “So, we give students problems that may be real or are close to real problems. Then students solve them using the same engineering tools that they would have learned in classes.”

Research showing that this way of teaching improved learned led to the change. He explained that students are more motivated to learn with real world problems, and it helps students form communities because they are working in teams, so they start to feel like they

are part of something bigger.

Rhoads continued, “The real-world problems help students learn problemsolving skills and design skills that they otherwise wouldn’t learn. We also want students to practice communication skills and negotiating with a client. In the second semester course, the students will work with a client that is a community entity, an NGO [non-governmental organization] for example, that has a real problem. Students are going to work with them to solve that problem.

They will gain experience negotiating and interpreting needs solving that problem.”

Research indicates that women and underrepresented minorities are better retained in this style of teaching.

“Why does someone switch out of engineering?” Rhoads asked, “They start struggling in a class, and they say ‘well I am different from everyone else, and everyone else is doing well, and the reason I am struggling is that I am different from everyone else.’ They don’t have a community because they feel like they’re different, and they don’t have people around them to support them, and they struggle by themselves instead of reaching out to other people to help them.”

“So, by building a team of engineering students early on, and by forming a social network of engineers at the beginning of their education then all students start to feel like they are engineers and they gain confidence and skills by working on these projects and problems that teach them basic engineering skills.

This community and network help underrepresented minorities and wom-

She has shown that she is able to make changes and that others can too.

She spoke about the challenges of the change as well. Alkom had to work to begin changing the traditional system of a male-dominated society deeply rooted in tradition.

Alkom hopes that future generations of Bedouin women won’t have to face the same challenges and roadblocks she did. She believes that Bedouin women are smart and have many skills but face challenges like language barriers and a very traditional society. Alkom believes these challenges can be overcome, even if they are difficult.

CWRU is working with Alkom to study the effects of having tablets as part of English courses on Bedouin teenagers’ desire to learn and continue their education. CWRU students can visit Israel as well.

Alkom has noticed the effects of her organization’s efforts: there are more Bedouin women in advanced schools, earning degrees and getting all sorts of jobs.

Alkom still continues her own education; she earned her second degree from a joint Jewish-Arabic program just last week.

She ended the presentation with a promise: she will continue her work and make an impact in the Negev region.

news

observer.case.edu

3

Survey on sexual assault, misconduct on campus sent to CWRU students Anna Giubileo Staff Reporter

“Violence does not discriminate.”

This is the message the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women (FSMCW) works to spread, primarily in the context of sexual misconduct.

This past week, undergraduate, graduate and professional students were sent a survey about sexual assault and misconduct on campus, pioneered by outside organizations Association of American Universities and Westat.

The survey looks at student opinions on the campus climate surrounding sexual assault and misconduct.

FSMCW Advocate for Gender Violence Prevention and Response Danielle Bernat Sabo said that she “not only believes that a survey like this helps more students come forward with reports and/or seek out confidential support but it also allows for us as a school to see where we might not be communicating our resources well enough to the community.”

The Center for Women also not-

ed that after the publicity of the #MeToo Movement, they had an increase in people coming to them with questions and asking for help.

Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and University Title IX Coordinator Darnell Parker released a statement about the survey. It said: “We are going to use the information from this survey to further develop our programs and outreach, and to assist in reviewing policies.

Since the last administration of the campus climate survey in 2015, we have used the information to enhance resources and programs oncampus.”

He continued, “We would like students to know that the university takes incidents of sexual violence and intimate partner violence seriously, and the Office of Title IX and its partners are here to provide resources to the campus community.”

This is the fourth year the survey has been sent out to students. Past results have inspired the launch of the Green Dot bystander intervention program, as well as the creation of educational modules and in-person education for faculty and staff.

While it is too early to know the results of this year’s survey, several different organizations on campus

continue to work toward decreasing the number of students affected by sexual misconduct.

Several new projects are in the works to improve the conversation around sexual misconduct. For example, fall 2019 will bring a new interactive series called bySTANDers at CWRU to help students and faculty be better informed about sexual

misconduct.

Additionally, programs like SEXPO are being extended in length, which is becoming a month long conversation called SEXtember.

By taking the survey, students are not only able to share their feelings on the topic but are also able to change the direction and momentum of new programs.

Jack Lewis/Observer The Flora Stone Mather Center for Women

Naomi Oreskes: Climate change is more than a scientific problem Jordan Reif Staff Reporter The Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, in partnership with local museums and educational institutions, welcomed Harvard University’s Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences Naomi Oreskes to campus last week as part of the annual Cleveland Humanities Festival.

This year’s festival emphasizes nature, offering a variety of lectures, exhibitions and performances from local and visiting guests throughout March and April.

Oreskes’ lecture, “Is Climate Change the End? If so, the End of What?” emphasized that anthropogenic climate change would—and has already started to—mark the end of seven things: climate—as we know it, nature, the Holocene, science—as we know it, capitalism, liberal democracy and western civilization as a whole. Additionally, she made a point to emphasize that climate change is “not just a scientific problem,” but one for all of us.

Oreskes, along with historian Erik M. Conway, wrote a non-fiction book, “Merchants of Doubt,” about how scientists manipulate the truth to fit their narrative. More recently,

the two colleagues published “The Collapse of Western Civilization,” a science fiction novel. Oreskes joked that if “[we] can’t persuade with facts, maybe we can persuade with fiction.”

She went on to outline the disastrous effects of climate change, citing extreme heat waves, the extension of hurricane season and the destruction of coral reefs around the world. Expanding on the physical effects of climate change, Oreskes discussed the quasi-controversial

initiative to scientifically acknowledge the end of the Holocene geological epoch and the start of the Anthropocene. This shift would be a huge step in acknowledging the impact humans are having on the Earth and its atmosphere.

As for the downfall of science, Oreskes believes science as an enterprise has failed us.

She dictated the long history in support of scientific exploration as a means for a stronger and more powerful nation. Beginning with Francis

Courtesy of WOSU Public Media A view of Cleveland from Lake Erie, which could be effected by climate change.

Check out exclusive content online observer.case.edu

Bacon and his belief that “knowledge itself is power,” the same logic was used by scientists Roger Revelle and James Hansen, who truly thought that if politicians simply understand the reality of climate change, they would act.

Oreskes then proceeded to explain how scientists, herself included, view climate change as solely a problem in physical science and earth systems. While it is true that global warming is a result of increased greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels and deforestation, the true cause, she said, is people. Consequently, climate change is an economic, social and political problem in addition to being a scientific issue.

Oreskes added that while generally people are the de facto cause of climate change, the blame is not shared equally. Rather, it is the wealthiest people—those predominantly from Europe, North America, Australia and Japan—whose lifestyles have, and continue to, lead to the most disastrous effects, often felt by the poorest people and nations.

At the end of the lecture, Oreskes emphasized that we are simply running out of time to prevent this “train wreck,” and that we must acknowledge that climate change is “meaningful for [all of us], not just the polar bears.”

4

news

3/29/19

School of Medicine professor’s research leads to big money for startup Maryam Iqbal Staff Reporter March 13 was a happy day for Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine’s Professor of Neuroscience Jerry Silver. After 30 years of research on “basic mechanisms that can robustly enhance nerve regeneration in animal models of spinal cord injury all the way to human patients,” Silver was able to take his research to the market. Last year, CWRU partnered with NervGen to commercialize his patented technology and potentially bring new therapies for spinal cord injuries and other conditions where scar tissue blocks regeneration. On March 13, Vancouver-based NervGen Pharma was able to raise 10 million Canadian dollars in its first round of public offering.

In an interview, Silver spoke about the origin of NervGen, explaining that one of its founders had a relative who suffered from a spinal cord injury, which prompted him to do research in the field.

This led him to Silver’s technology. In a matter of two years they brought on more people including Ernest Wong, the current CEO. Last summer, the company signed a licensing agreement with CWRU to research and develop Silver’s technology.

The key focus at the moment is to work on drug NVG-291 which is aimed at treating spinal cord injuries.

Silver also spoke about collaborating in his research with groups in Germany that used a similar drug to achieve the same preliminary results; that is, drastic recovery after a spinal cord injury. The peptide which was discovered as the primary treatment was patented in April 2018 when it became the basis of NervGen’s pharmaceutical testing.

One of Silver’s key discoveries was the identification of a mechanism isolated to a receptor known as a protein PTPSigma, which was part of the barrier molecules inhibiting nerve regeneration, and is what the team hopes will help their research into solutions for spinal cord injuries and other nerve damage, such as peripheral nerve injuries. According to Silver, groups in Hong Kong and elsewhere are looking into applying this technology toward medication for epilepsy, heart attacks and other diseases.

When discussing the next milestone for the company, Silver talked about how NervGen is now focusing on pre-clinical non-human studies for the NVG-291 drug to obtain Investigational New Drug approval from the Food and Drug Administration. As for his own work, Silver emphasized the work of his former graduate students, like Brad Lang, on the project.

Silver has expressed his plans to collaborate with more graduate students and other institutions like the Cleveland Clinic in the future as he continues his research.

Ohio heartbeat bill continues to its second hearing in the House Grace Howard News Editor This past Tuesday the Ohio House of Representatives Health Committee heard over 50 witness testimonies in the second hearing about Senate Bill 23, or the Ohio Heartbeat Bill. This bill would make abortions illegal as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, possibly before a woman is aware she is pregnant.

This hearing is a continuation of last week’s health committee hearing where proponents of the bill and witnesses spoke in favor of it. The hearing this past Tuesday began with witness testimonies. The first was from Dr. Kathi Aultman, who, after over 35 years of experience as an OBGYN performing abortions, has come to believe that the heartbeat is an appropriate measure of the viability of a fetus.

Defining viability is one of the most important points in the abortion debate, as fetal viability and pregnancy viability are different. The viability of a fetus is its ability to survive outside of the mother’s womb, while the viability of a pregnancy is whether the pregnancy can be carried to term.

Josh Brown, an attorney with the Ohio Christian Alliance reiterated that the bill is centered around viability. Mentioning Ohio’s 20-week abortion ban, Brown expressed the belief that Senate Bill 23 is “consistent with the progress of the case flow, it’s the next big step.” However, when questioned by Democrat Representative C. Allison Russo on the constitutionality of existing viability standards, he said that courts have upheld previous rulings.

Dr. Anita Somani of the Physicians Action Network brought up the growing maternal mortality crisis in America. In Ohio alone, 85 out of 100,000 women that have live births die from pregnancy complications. Somani postulated that

“the more restrictions that are placed on abortion the more it affects the risk to the mother in terms of death.”

The United States, a first world country, has maternal mortality rates approaching those of a third world country.

Somani then showed a pea as a visual demonstration of the size of a 6-week old fetus to further hammer in her point that a 6-week fetus is not viable.

Somani addressed the misconception that more sex education and effective contraception information leads to increased sexual activity. She believes that instead of placing limits on abortion in order to reduce it, the only way to effectively reduce abortion in Ohio is to increase access to contraception and healthcare. In her closing comments, Somani warned of Senate Bill 23: “laws like this force providers like Planned Parenthood, providers that offer lowincome prenatal care to leave, to change what they do.”

Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures and Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program Cheryl Toman, said of how she saw the bill affecting her job if it passed, “I’m not sure it will change the way I do my job since this is just one in a chain of disasters for women in the last several years. So if anything, it gives me another angle of analysis to look at. Women have never achieved complete equality in any society or in any country so this bill is just a product of that reality.”

There is fear that this heartbeat bill and other bills like this will be used to overturn Roe v. Wade. When asked whether this plan was feasible, Toman said, “Possibly. I’m not sure if Roe v. Wade can be overturned since most believe it is settled law but it can still be challenged.”

As a final comment on the repercussions of this bill, Toman advises that “any law or proposed law that attempts to further control women’s bodies is a sign of a deeper malaise in the country.”

Documentary on prominent Native American activist shown Nathan Lesch Staff Reporter In conjunction with the Center for Civic Engagement and Learning, LGBT Center, Flora Stone Mather Center for Women, Ellipsis Institute for Women of Color in the Academy, Lake Erie Native American Council and YWCA Greater Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University’s Social Justice Institute screened the documentary “Mankiller” and hosted its director and producer Valerie RedHorse Mohl on Tuesday, March 26.

This event was free, open to the public and included refreshments.

The documentary followed the life of Wilma Mankiller, who was born in 1945, lived her life as a Cherokee activist and leader and died in 2010.

Mankiller grew up impoverished in Oklahoma, but moved to San Francisco in her adolescence as part of a federal program to urbanize Native Americans. The documentary described this move as her personal “trail of tears” experience.

According to Mankiller, “it was completely different than what we were accustomed to.”

In San Francisco, Mankiller became involved in the Occupation of Alcatraz, which kickstarted her passion for activism.

Soon thereafter, Mankiller moved with her two daughters back to Cherokee land in Oklahoma. In Oklahoma,

FROM ENGINEERING | 2 en do better than they otherwise would.

However, the pilot program isn’t perfect. It is a complicated, evolving program that the school is still working on perfecting. Rhoads explained that “students need more programming practice than they get from just solving the projects that they had made, so we added an extra 50-minute tutorial session every week and are planning to keep that as part of the structure.”

They have also learned how to better pace the projects based on finding what is possible within a week or a module, Rhoads explained. The current structure consists of two-week modules that each focus on a specific subject. Each module is centered around a different idea or project, and there is a co-instructor for each module that works with Rhoads. The co-instructor is usually a faculty member from a different CSE department. There are six modules, each focusing on a different field: system engineering, electrical engineering, biomedical engineering, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering and civil engineering. Each program has a co-instructor, with the exception of civil engineering which is taught solely by Rhoads.

Each two-week module has eight hours of lab, twice a week for two hours, when the student is working on the problem. There are also two hours of lecture each week taught by the co-instructor serving as an introduction into the module’s topic and any theory that is necessary to do the lab.

During one module, students grow their own piezoelectric crystals. When the students apply a stress to the crystals, they generate an electric signal.

These crystals are used in headphone microphones. Students test them and measure the electricity coming out of them and developed their own sensor to detect motion.

Mankiller became involved in tribal leadership and service and pioneered self-help as a means to better the community. In 1983, she became deputy principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, and in 1985, the first female principal chief in the modern era. She faced significant sexism and health problems but made great strides in education, job training and Native American rights and healthcare for the Cherokee people. She was also a prominent feminist and worked to promote and empower Native American women to be leaders.

When the documentary concluded, Red-Horse Mohl answered questions about “Mankiller,” the production of the documentary and her experiences as a Cherokee woman. Red-Horse Mohl produced the documentary with Gale Anne Hurd, one of Hollywood’s biggest producers, responsible for “The Terminator” series, “Aliens” and “The Walking Dead.” “Mankiller” was produced for the Public Broadcast Service and took seven years to create.

Creating the documentary was challenging and time consuming.

“With a documentary, you’re creating the script as you go,” explained Red-Horse Mohl, commenting on why the documentary took so long to produce. “It was a lengthy [process].”

However, it was also fulfilling and important. According to Red-Horse Mohl, one of the biggest achievements of the movie is inspiring and encouraging women to run for office.

In another module, students make their own water quality sensor using an Arduino, then make their own water filter and tested the water quality before and after filtering. There is a competition and prize for the group that has the best quality of water.

The pilot program is consists of 17 first-year students from a variety of engineering disciplines.

“They are working together better,” Rhoads said, “and that survey results say that they are enjoying this style of learning.”

There has also been some very positive feedback from alumni and professional engineers. They like this new program and are excited that students are learning teamwork, presentation and problemsolving skills that they wouldn’t usually learn. Furthermore, they are very interested in hiring students that are learning these skills, according to Rhoads.

There is no set date for this program to be rolled out; the pilot will continue next year. However, when it is implemented, it will be mandatory for all first-year engineering students. Like other graduation requirements, it will only be compulsory for the first-year students who matriculate when the program is fully implemented.

Wonyoung Choi, a student in the pilot program said, “I really enjoy ENGR 131B. It’s a very hands on class, and it allows me to learn Matlab while also working in a team setting. Learning how to code in this way allows you to see how coding can be applied in different areas of engineering, and even what it would be like in an industrial setting.

Personally, I think it would be beneficial for students to learn coding in this way because it allows for more engineering experience that will be encountered in the future.”

In the future, Rhoads hopes to see similar styles of teaching across all engineering classes and disciplines.

fun

observer.case.edu

fun page | 5

Horoscopes

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

The signs as numbers.

Only true CWRU nerds will know what all of the numbers represent

Aquarius 360 Pisces 1.6180 Aries 1826 Taurus 216

Sudoku Normal

Gemini 3.1416 Cancer 666 Leo 4.0 Virgo 2.7182

Hard

Libra 365 Scorpio 525,600 Capricorn i Sagittarius 48,604

We’re looking for contributers!

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

For solutions more content, visit our website at

observer.case.edu

arts & entertainment Are we living in the golden era of comic book adaptations?

Henry Brendon Staff Reporter

While recent changes to the Disney-Netflix relationship have caused the cancellation of shows “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage,” the imminent arrival of a Disney-owned streaming service promises a replacement lineup in the near future.

Meanwhile, films like “Captain Marvel” are doing exceedingly well at the box office, and even though WarnerMedia has struggled to use the DC Comics license to similar effect, films like “Wonder Woman” and 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men” have shown that there’s broad interest in superhero-related content.

That’s not all the comic book content on the market, however. The CW Television Network started producing DC Comic’s “Arrow” in 2012, and the show launched a series of spinoffs ranging from the well-known, like “The Flash,” to the relatively obscure, like DC’s “Legends of Tomorrow.”

The CW doesn’t stop at DC. It’s also the network behind “Riverdale,” the television adaptation of Archie comics, both the comic world and the studio that creates them. “Riverdale” has seen a precipitous decline in its reception, having fallen from an 81 percent Rotten Tomatoes audience score for season one to 56 percent in its third current season, but with a fourth season already on order from both the CW and Netflix and a number of spi-

“Riverdale” TV Poster

noffs, both currently available and in production, the Archie comics brand isn’t going anywhere soon.

The only current “Riverdale”-affiliated show is “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” a Netflix show that centers around the character Sabrina Spellman (which you may know from “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”). There’s no crossover between the two, although there have been in the comics, but “Chilling Adventures” can more than just stand on its own.

The second season comes to Netflix on April 5, but in the meantime, viewers can catch up the struggles of a teenage girl negotiating high school relationships, dealing with bullies and deciding whether or not to sign her soul to the devil in exchange for superpowers.

Elsewhere on Netflix one can find “The Umbrella Academy,” a production of Gerard Way’s Dark Horse Comics, and on AMC “The Walking Dead” and its spinoff, “Fear the

Walking Dead” regularly demonstrate that not all graphic novels include superpowers. The future holds even more shows—a pilot has been ordered by the CW for a third Archie comics character, Katy Keene, and DC’s “Watchmen” is set to premiere on HBO sometime this year.

So, comic books fans, enjoy the moment. Because if there was ever a time to see your favorite character lifted off the page and placed on the screen, it would be now.

“Old Town Road” sparks debate over genres Chris Heermann

Social Media Editor On Dec. 2, musician Lil Nas X released his single “Old Town Road,” and the music game changed forever.

Lil Nas X (born Montero Hill) is an up-and-coming musician from Atlanta.

He dropped out of college in the spring of 2018 to follow his passion for creating music. He is at the forefront of the new wave of blended country imagery and hiphop sounds commonly called the “Yee Haw movement.”

Others leading the movement are artists such as Lil Tracy and Young Thug, the latter racking up over eight million views on YouTube on his “Family Don’t Matter” music video. After several offers from top labels, Lil Nas X signed with Columbia Records, joining the likes of Beyonce, Pharrell Williams and Tyler the Creator.

The song took some time to gain popularity, not gaining traction until recently.

The massive rise in popularity was due in part to an online community of mememakers, who used the song to show off their “Yee Haw” transformations on the TikTok app. The song debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for not only country songs, but R&B/Hip-Hop songs and

cross-genre, all at the same time.

However, Billboard quietly removed “Old Town Road” from the Hot Country Songs list, claiming that the song “does not currently merit the inclusion on Billboard’s country charts.” Billboard went on to say that while the song includes cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough country elements to warrant a position in the country charts. In his Twitter response to the news, Lil Nas X simply typed a sad face emoji. Other platforms like SoundCloud still classify the song as country, but whether or not they will follow Billboard’s lead is a mystery.

Regardless of its classification, “Old Town Road” is a hit. Brian Kelley from “Florida Georgia Line” gave the song his endorsement as did Justin Bieber on his Instagram.

The juxtaposition of heavy bass and banjo chords is simple yet enchanting. Its lyrics blend the genres in an innovative way. Lines such as, “Ridin’ on a tractor/ Lean all in my bladder/Cheated on my baby/You can go and ask her” incorporate both country and hip-hop imagery with finesse. The ingenious hybrid is short enough to warrant a second or even a third listen and catchy enough to stay in your head days after you hear it.

Old Town Road Album Art

a&e 7

observer.case.edu

Netflix show explores Playlist of the Week stalking, relationships Ryan Yoo

Director of Design

Even though spring break was only two weeks ago, it feels like it’s been a month since we’ve had a break. It’s hard being on campus when all you want is to be anywhere else. As we count down the days until the end of the semester—it’s 41 days, by the way—enjoy these songs about the lows (and highs) of the student life.

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Commiserate with Dolly Parton’s 1980 classic, “9 to 5.” Created for the film of the same name, the song is about working a 9-to-5 job while being overworked, underpaid and underappreciated, which is very relatable to the student experience.

Money, Money, Money - ABBA

Sometimes you just want to drop out of college and find yourself a sugar daddy or mama, so you can live the life of luxury without having to spend the rest of your life slaving away at a job you hate. Swedish pop band ABBA sings about this struggle of not having enough money in their 1976 classic “Money, Money, Money” and the desire to find a rich man or woman to take care of them.

“YOU” TV Poster

Arts & Entertainment Editor It’s been four months since the last episode of “You” premiered on Netflix, and I finally finished it. Although I’m a little behind, and thus had multiple friends spoil the ending, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t watched it yet.

“You” stars a graduate student, Guinevere Beck who catches the eye of Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager. Beck is pretty in the Instagram sort of way, as evidenced by how her entire life is broadcast on social media.

Despite going to graduate school and wanting to be a writer, Beck spends most of her time avoiding writing by flirting with her advisor and pretending her dad is dead.

Goldberg becomes obsessed with Beck, taking her phone and stalking her at every opportunity. He even murders her boyfriend, Benji and her best friend, Peach in order to have her to himself.

Goldberg’s ex-girlfriend, Candace haunts him, showing up in various moments of the show, as a sort of omen. There are flashbacks of their relationship, and we discover his obsession of Beck is not unique.

“You” brings to the table many different life lessons like “be careful what you post on the Internet” and “people are not always who they seem to be,” but perhaps most importantly, “love is bizarre.”

Throughout the course of the show, Goldberg is seen to be in a relationship with three very different women, Beck, Candace and Karen Minty, his neighbor Claudia’s sister. Beck, the current object of his obsession is excessively ordinary. She has no thoughts of her own, playing the role

of Peach’s “pet” in most social situations and flinging herself at men like Benji, a privileged man who sees her more as a sexual object.

Candace, on the other hand, has a sultry nature and is very assertive, but is not above sleeping with a record executive. Her poor character and immoral behavior destroy Goldberg, and she abandons him, supposedly moving to Italy.

Minty, a brief fling after Beck and Goldberg initially break up, is the most “girlfriend material” of the three. She clearly cares about Goldberg and helps him through his breakup with Beck and takes care of Claudia through her addiction. Despite her inherent kindness, Goldberg spends the bulk of his relationship with Minty stalking Beck, even panicking when she deletes her social media accounts briefly to focus on writing.

Although Minty had been interested in Goldberg since the beginning of the show, she is not blinded by love.

She is unfazed when Goldberg breaks up with her and even warns Beck, albeit in a jealous ex-kind of way.

The same cannot be said for the other characters of the show. The most obvious, Goldberg, begins stalking Beck after only their first meeting. He ignores her red flags, like her pretending her dad is dead, her fake personality with her friends, and her inability to write, seeing her as a fascinating puzzle or an exciting conquest, rather than someone who is lost in life.

Furthermore, Beck spends the first few episodes infatuated with Benji, a guy who spends most of his time talking about his homemade soda brand but cannot even differentiate its taste from store brands.

If you feel like your love life is stagnating, don’t worry. Love may be lurking around the corner, literally.

Work B**** - Britney Spears

It is often said that there is no elevator to success, only stairs. In this 2013 EDM headbanger, Queen of Pop Britney Spears succinctly says, “You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maserati? You better work b****.”

Working Class Heros (Work) CeeLo Green

The song “Working Class Heroes (Work)” highlights the working heroes in our lives.

Green sings about the hustle of working in order to provide for your family. The song uses a catchy beat and meaningful lyrics in order to motivate the listener themselves to get to work.

Tonight, Tonight - Hot Chelle Rae

There are weeks where it seems that everything seems to go wrong—you woke up late, missed class and forgot your homework in your room. Forget all about your terrible week as you dance away to this 2010s pop-rock smash hit that everyone can enjoy.

Find all these tracks online with our weekly Spotify playlist at observer.case.edu All photos courtesy pluspremiers.us, genius.com, directlyrics.com, and wikipedia.com w

Yvonne Pan

8

a&e

3/29/19

Pop legend Scott Walker dies at the age of 76 Matt Hooke

Development Editor Scott Walker began his career as a teen icon and ended it as one of the foremost figures in experimental pop, influencing countless artists to expand their horizons.

His record label 4AD announced Walker’s death on Monday, March 25. He was 76.

“I think he’s probably been my idol since I was a kid,” said the late David Bowie when asked about Walker in a 1997 Radio One interview.

Imagine if Joe Jonas started making orchestral albums featuring story songs inspired by French avantgarde films and sociopolitical issues like the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and you would have something resembling Walker’s career.

The Ohio-born Walker broke out with in the mid-1960s with The Walker Brothers. The trio were not brothers or named Walker, but despite this, they became a huge success in the U.K. The group had two U.K. number one hits, “Make It Easy on Yourself” and “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Any More.”

“I was not cut out for that world,” said Walker in an interview with Guardian writer Sean O’Hagan. “I love pop music, but I didn’t have the temperament for fame.”

The group had a polished folkrock sound that relied on their three-part harmonies. The band, and Walker when he became a solo artist, never achieved as much success in the United States as in the British Isles. The songs are solid examples of ‘60s folk but lack the ambient that would define Walker’s later work.

Though many of his albums are worth listening to, his classic is 1969’s “Scott 4.” The album is the best encapsulation of the baroque pop that made him a legend. Walker’s unique approach to songwriting was what separated him from other artists of any era. Other pop artists such as Frank Sinatra, whose deep voice and delicate and precise phrasing resembled Walker’s, used orchestras, but few created the dark atmosphere that Walker did.

“Essentially, I’m really trying to find a way to talk about the things that cannot be spoken of,” he said in the aforementioned Guardian interview. “I cannot fake that or take short cuts. There is an absurdity there, too, of course, and I hope that people pick up on that. Without the humor, it would just be heavy and boring.”

His songs were often stories, filled with strange details, unusual characters and mystical themes. The first track on “Scott 4,” “The Seventh Seal,” is based on the French

Courtesy of Wikipedia Scott Walker on the set of a TV show in the late ‘60s.

film of the same name about the Black Death. The song’s lyrics fixate on death and destruction as society collapses from the plague.

The album is full of character studies, with some songs transitioning between different interconnected people. “Hero of the War” is a cynical realistic view of the glorification of nationalism masked by an upbeat instrumental spearheaded by two interlocking guitars.

The first three verses have Walker speak to the “Hero’s” mother while the final verse has Walker address

the hero himself. The song is a heartwrenching display of how nationalistic platitudes can do little to comfort those who are most affected by war the people who have been maimed or had loved ones die due to conflict.

His final album was the soundtrack for the 2016 film “The Childhood of a Leader.” The grandeur and experimentation that Walker displayed throughout his career made him a perfect film composer. A fitting twilight for one of the greatest adventurers in popular music.

Elton John’s greatest hits, 45 years later Yugan Sakthi Staff Reporter

Monday, March 25 marked Sir Elton John’s 72nd birthday. In those years he has, by some measures, become the fifth best-selling artist of all time. He never truly left the spotlight, but with his biopic “Rocketman” in the making, the light shines anew on his life and music; to mark the occasion, we decided to revisit and explore some of John’s greatest hits.

“Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going To Be A Long, Long Time)” is a fitting place to start, one of his best known and most beloved songs.

“Mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids,” he laments, a rolling piano riff in the background keeping the inevitability of his leaving Mars in sight. “It’s just my job five days a week.” In this song, John is a spaceman, a lone traveler to Mars, not knowing when he will come back to Earth.

Many have speculated the song’s true meaning is about drugs. The lyrics do seem to suggest this by using the phrase “high as a kite.” It has been in use since the 1930s as a simile for marijuana and the dark underpinning of such a theme gives the song parallels some of the darker aspects of John’s own life. But Bernie Taupin, John’s lyricist and “Rocket Man” songwriter, dispelled the myth in interviews. The song truly is about space, inspired by Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Rocket Man.” “Rocket Man” was the final song

on the A-side of the singer’s 1972 album “Honky Chateau,” just one song that came from an unparalleled stretch of musical creativity from John.

In the seven-year period from 1970 to 1976, John released an incredible ten studio albums, an era which many consider to be his prime. Pick up any compilation of his greatest hits and most songs will have been released in that time.

In the middle of that period came “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” largely considered his best album.

Conceptually, it is 18 different colors of paint splattered eyes-closed onto a canvas. But it makes sense, because John’s image in the public eye followed a somewhat similar vein—to ask for coherence was to degrade the essence of his music.

As extensive and thematically diverse as it is, the album works. The first song, really a pair of songs, “Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” takes the listener through 11 minutes of drums, guitars, synthesized flutes and growling vocals before depositing them on the other end in a daze.

Of course, that’s right when the next hour swallows them up. Nostalgia-packed songs like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” lead into blazing rock riffs later like those in “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” the sparse piano chords in “Bennie And The Jets” juxtaposed alongside the airy vocals and brush-like hi-hat of “Roy Rogers.”

In the album, his voice soars and it growls; there are times when John knows he is the frontman of the

Courtesy of Wikimedia

group, but at into the lush lets the bass wheel. In the most popular

others he leans back instrumentation and and drums take the sense that it was his record, it stands out

above the rest of his works. But in the sense that it was the expression of a man who came into fame over a course of just three years, it is just as powerful as all the others.

a&e 9

observer.case.edu

Places to go clothes shopping near CWRU Yvonne Pan

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Clothes shopping is rough when you’re short. While online shopping is convenient, returning packages because you didn’t read that the inseam on a pair of jeans is 30 inches, isn’t. If you’re looking for an excuse to get off campus, embrace your capitalist side and go shopping this weekend.

Cleveland Clothing Co. Location: 11435 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 12-6 p.m.

Travel: Healthline, Red Line This is barely off campus, but sometimes getting out of bed is a burden, so this will do. We live in University Circle, one of the most cultural dense neighborhoods in the country and we should be proud of that. Come grab some cute Cleveland gear and show up your hometown.

Avalon Exchange Location: 1798 Coventry Rd, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 441198 Hours: Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 12-6 p.m.

Travel: Bluelink, Bus route 9 I’m a sucker for thrift stores and Avalon Exchange does not disappoint.

They have a great selection of unique finds that are decently priced. Conveniently located in Coventry, it’s a great stop for a day trip accompanied with a meal at a nice restaurant. Avalon Exchange also has $1 sales scattered through the year so be sure to check those out for a steal.

City Buddha Location: 1807 Coventry Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118 Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Travel: Bluelink, Bus route 9 According to Google Maps, City Buddha is a one minute walk from Avalon Exchange, so you really have no excuse not to stop by. With the slogan, “where your style meets your spirit,” this religious goods store is a funky place that fits the vibes of Coventry.

With a unique selection of accessories, City Buddha is a great place to find a present for a friend or yourself.

Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland & East Central Ohio Location: 2720 Van Aken Blvd, Cleveland, Ohio 44120 Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Travel: Bus route 48-48A Chances are you’ve heard of Goodwill, but when was the last time you’ve been to Shaker Square? The neighborhood has a locally roasted coffee shop, Dewey’s Coffee House, which is a great stop for an early morning before shopping. Loganberry Books is also a short walk away, and a chance meeting with Otis, the bookstore cat should be enough to persuade you to visit.

University Book Store Barnes & Noble Location: 11451 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 Hours: Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 9a.m.-5 p.m.

Travel: Healthline, Red Line

Joe Green/Flickr Goodwill is one of the many options students have for buying clothes in the area.

Tired of wearing your ratty high school crewneck? Come to the University Bookstore for some cool Case Western Reserve University gear. Download the app for 15 percent off.

Tower City Center Location: 230 W. Huron Rd, Cleveland, Ohio 44113 Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday 12-5 p.m.

Travel: Healthline, Red Line Tower City is majestic, and it’s a shame most of the stores are closing or have closed. It still boasts stores like Bath & Body Works, Claire’s, Foot Locker and Brooks Brothers. If you’re looking to

extend your weekend, the Tower City Cinema has $5 Monday movie tickets.

Severance Town Center Location: 3640 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland, Ohio 44118 Hours: Depends on the store Travel: Bus route 9 At Severance Town Center awaits a “never boring. always surprising” shopping experience, at a quintessential department store, Marshall’s. The store shows off a plethora of home goods and clothes, all at prices that make mothers happy. The center also has an Ashley Stewart, as well as other essentials like Home Depot and Burger King.

10 opinion

3/29/19

opinion Editorial It’s March, which means many students are awaiting or have already received their college decisions.

It also means that a number of prospective students will be flocking to Case Western Reserve University to check out their potential home for the next four years. While here, they will more than likely be treated to a tour of campus that will show them the parts of CWRU that make it one of the most interesting colleges around.

But with our knowledge of what is actually covered on the route, we feel that there are a few highlights that tend to be omitted. So we’ve compiled a list of our “off-the-tourpath” parts of campus that every prospie should make a point of checking out.

Observatory CWRU has an incredibly unique history with astronomical research.

We actually own two telescopes, both of which used to be housed in Cleveland. One of them has since been moved to Arizona, but a 9.5 inch rooftop telescope can still be found on top of the A.W. Smith Building.

The best part about this resource is that it is open to all on campus, so long as you schedule an appointment with Associate Professor Charley Knox first. After he runs you through operation of the instrument, you can

Campus stops on the CWRU tour route not taken find open use dates on the calendar. The astronomy department runs a number of fun events through the observatory, such as a special viewing of the solar eclipse that occurred in August 2017.

It’s a hidden gem that most people don’t even realize exists, so taking some time out of your visit to at least check out the facility is well worth it.

Sustainability House Sustainability efforts on campus have ramped up in the past few years, with a number of new initiatives appearing in the form of Take Back the Tap and Students Encouraging Environmental Dedication (SEED).

We’ve also undertaken a number of clean energy research efforts (one of which will be discussed later) that are scattered across the Cleveland area. It’s all part of what made us one of the Princeton Review’s 50 Green Colleges.

But one effort on campus is primarily the responsibility of students: the Sustainability House, also referred to as Wade Manor.

Situated on Wade Park Avenue, the students who reside in it focus on green lifestyle goals and do research on their own behavior habits. From these observations, they constantly look for new ways to improve the sustainability of those that will follow in Wade Manor. It’s a unique living

situation that combines environmental research with residence life and can factor into your CWRU experience as an upperclassmen.

Kulas Music Library If you’re interested in music at CWRU, either as a cross-enrolled student at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) or just to take some lessons on the side, a visit to Kulas is essential. There are many students in the performing arts, and CWRU has done well to accommodate them every step of the way. The Kulas Music Library, located in Haydn Hall, is just another example of that.

It’s a well-stocked facility with plenty of sheet music, theory books, musical history books and even films catered to any musically-inclined student on campus. For those who do play an instrument, it cannot be overstated how helpful it is to not have to pay for these resources. Sheet music, in particular, can sometimes be very hard to find thanks to the complexity of musical copyrighting.

The Kulas Library is a great addition to a campus that is constantly working to be more STEAM than STEM, especially since it shares space with musical monuments like Severance Hall and CIM. The Newer Green Spaces

While not all of these are completed yet, it is worth checking out the various green spots that adorn campus. The Nord Family Greenway, which provided a more direct connection from the Tinkham Veale University Center to the Maltz Performing Arts Center, was just one of many planned additions.

Currently, another new greenway is under construction next door to the Tink. You’ll notice it on your walks through the Mather Quad, or if you’re a prospie, as you leave PBL (the Peter B. Lewis Building) and enter the Tink. It used to be a lot with two vacant buildings and a parking lot, frankly making it an eye sore in the otherwise beautiful Wade Oval. The spot may be dense with dirt and construction now, but it will have a number of walkways and grass that will really improve the scenery.

In the coming years, the entire Mather Quad could be overtaken with green spaces. There was a proposed plan for the Quad to overtake its stretch of Bellflower Road, expanding the cramped space of the social sciences and humanities portion of campus. As the university ramps up efforts bring the exterior design of CWRU up-to-date, these small expansions in green space are welcomed improvements.

Maybe the grind should stop I Spit My Truth and It’s Brown

Viral Mistry One of my closest friends from high school maintains that every time I talk to him, I’m doing something new, whether it be an academic or an extracurricular pursuit. Everytime he comments on it, I promise him this is the last new thing I’m going to do.

You can imagine what the next call after that is like.

Unfortunately, this is something I see extensively at Case Western Reserve University. In my experience, CWRU student culture does not merely normalize overachieving, it emphasizes it. Students feel an enormous amount of pressure from every angle to be the very best. Parents want a solid return on the enormous investment they are making in their children, and if they feel otherwise, faculty will feel the heat, ensuring that the faculty maintain a tough curriculum.

Administrators want to make sure the students are successful to help recruitment

and to ensure there is a pool of successful donors.

And of course, this conversation would be incomplete without discussing how CWRU students reproduce this pressure on each other. I’ve been here for almost eight full semesters, and I will be completely honest, I have never truly felt like I have been doing enough. It always feels like there are other people who are using their time more wisely than me, getting more out of their time here.

That mentality is toxic, and I would argue it’s a critical part of the issue CWRU has been having with donations from recent alumni and first-year retention, especially among first-generation college students, low-income students and students of color.

I recently met a CWRU alumna at a graduate school interview dinner at Ohio State University, where she is now a doctoral candidate. We bonded over the oddities of CWRU culture, she asked how some of the faculty were doing and talked about other CWRU-specific topics.

Eventually, the conversation at our dinner

The Observer is the weekly undergraduate student newspaper of Case Western Reserve University. Established in 1969, The Observer reports news affecting students and provides an editorial forum for the university community.

Unsigned editorials are typically written by the opinion editor but reflect the majority opinion of the senior editorial staff. Opinion columns are the views of their writers and not necessarily of The Observer staff. For advertising information, contact The Observer at (216) 302-4442 or e-mail observer-ads@case.edu.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be e-mailed to observer@case.edu or submitted on our website at observer.case.edu. Letters can be mailed to Thwing Center 11111 Euclid Avenue, Suite 01, Cleveland, Ohio 44106. For policy and guidelines related to the submission of Letters to the Editor, refer to observer.case.edu/submit-a-letter.

The Observer is a proud member of CWRU’s University Media Board. Follow The Observer on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @cwruobserver.

table shifted into everyone’s trip home, and I mentioned how I had to get up incredibly early the next day to catch a 4:50 a.m. Greyhound bus from Columbus to Cleveland, as it was the only way to ensure that I would not have to miss my 10 a.m. class. The whole dinner table looked at me like I had grown a second head, and the alumna exclaimed, “these are the kinds of people I went to undergrad with.”

The whole Greyhound bus ride back, those words rang through my head, largely because she was right. Those are the kinds of people I’ve seen, and the kind of person that I am. Was I always like this? Did CWRU simply bring this out in me, or was I inculcated into this mentality without realizing? I honestly don’t know anymore.

Here’s what I do know. I chose the 4:50 a.m. bus, not the 3:00 p.m. bus, and the only response I could meaningfully muster when asked why: the grind doesn’t stop.

But the more I think about it, the more I feel that this “all engines go, all the time” mentality is hurting us. It’s hurting

campus cohesion, undermining students’ emotional well-being and teaching us to prioritize the wrong things.

I don’t know what I would do if I was presented with those bus choices again.

What I do know is I felt obligated to choose the early bus. I felt obligated to push myself to my margins, maximize the efficiency of my time and prioritize my academics over everything else, including my sleep.

Let’s work to build a campus culture where academics are valued but are not seen as the sole source of validation.

Where student success and achievement are understood in terms of personal growth, not how many resume lines you can list off during an introduction.

A campus culture where I wouldn’t have felt like a failure for taking the later bus.

Viral Mistry is a fourth-year biology and cognitive science double major who is also minoring in chemistry, history and philosophy. This 2020 election, he will be a single-issue “email and Slack abolition” voter.

the observer

established in 1969 by the undergraduate students of case western reserve university executive editor & publisher EDDIE KEREKES director of web & multimedia ALEXANDRA FACCENDA director of business operations SARAH PARR

news designer LESLIE SERN a&e designer DALLAN GOLDBLATT opinion designer KATHY YAO adviertising manager JUSTIN HU accounts manager SHIVANI GOVANI marketing manager BRADLEY SCHNEIDER advisor JIM SHEELER

news editor GRACE HOWARD a&e editor YVONNE PAN opinion editor JACKSON RUDOFF sports editor CLAIRE NORDT web editor PRESTON WILLIS social media editor CHRIS HEERMAN photo editor JAY KASSEL LEWIS copy editors MARY MCPHEETERS EMILY YOUNG WON HEE KIM

opinion 11

observer.case.edu

University response to student death was balanced Staff Columnist

Kehley Coleman The death of a student is, of course, never easy for a school to cope with.

It is a loss that impacts everyone on campus, whether they personally knew the student or not, and it is often difficult to determine how best to reach out to the community in light of such a tragic event.

Nevertheless, in light of the death of Justine Boyle, a first-year student, Case Western Reserve University has done well at balancing compassion for those closest to Justine with the concerns of the broader community.

I never knew Boyle, so I can’t truly say I was personally affected by the news of her death in the way that her friends and family have been. In fact, I wasn’t even aware of what had happened until the second email sent by Vice President of Student Affairs Lou Stark. It arrived the day following the initial communication of Boyle’s loss to the student body in The Daily, an email which I had missed.

I was initially concerned that The Daily, a publication which generally features articles detailing on-campus research and social events, was selected as the medium for reporting such a tragic event. The fact that notification of the death of a student shared space with everyday news struck me as in somewhat poor taste. An incident so personal to the campus community deserves a separate email announcement honoring the student’s memory. There shouldn’t

be links to information about upcoming yoga events or swimming championships accompanying the news since it might be viewed as detracting from the sincerity of the university’s expression of sorrow at this loss.

Not only that, but I also worried about the effectiveness of The Daily at actually delivering this important news to campus. I know many people who do not consistently read The Daily (including myself) who missed this installment.

the day after this initial announcement, which clarified the situation. It explained that publishing an article in The Daily the day following the event is standard university practice to prevent the news from being widely spread before those closest to the deceased have been notified.

This was perfectly understandable; after all, it is most important for those most deeply affected by the loss to learn about and share this tragic news in the most compassionate way possible.

“Case Western Reserve University has done well at balancing compassion for those closest to Justine with the concerns of the broader community.”

- Kehley Coleman, on CWRU’s handling of the news of Justine Boyle’s death.

Given the sheer number of emails students receive on a daily basis and the fact that The Daily becomes so routine, students may not find it urgent to open the message as soon as they receive the notification. It may be a period of hours or even days before they do go back and read it if they even do at all.

I was glad, however, to receive the follow-up email sent by the university

I did still wonder at the choice of The Daily as the method of first communicating with the campus at this time—might a separate email from a university official, like this follow-up, before publishing an article be a better way to inform students? But I completely understand the need to wait to broadly communicate with the student body and was grateful for the university’s

explanation of this decision.

I was very appreciative to receive this follow-up email so soon after the initial one. I found that the university’s explanation of their protocol helped me make sense of the way the news had been reported to the community and provided reassurance that the university was handling Justine’s death in a thoughtful and compassionate manner and were being attentive to the concerns of the broader community.

Overall, from what I know of the event, the university has handled an extremely tragic and difficult situation fairly well. The event was communicated to the campus as soon as was respectful to do so. In light of concerns regarding the way this communication occurred, the university responded quickly and clearly. The university has also provided information on how to contact counselors around the clock within both the original article and the follow-up email—the most crucial step in any tragedy of this sort—to help any students who are struggling during this difficult time.

While there is no easy way to deal with a loss of this sort, the university has done well at providing the necessary information and resources for students to understand and come to terms with the event.

Kehley Coleman is a first-year student planning on majoring in chemical engineering. When not in class, she can typically be found reading trashy teen fiction or rehearsing for something.

Stop institutionalizing ableism In Case You’ve Never Considered It...

Katherine Toledo There’s this simulation called the Spoon Theory Demonstration.

It’s used to help people who aren’t disabled to better understand that tasks that may seem simple to them are significantly more difficult to those of us with chronic illnesses and other disabilities.

You’re given 20 spoons at the very beginning of the simulation, and the number of spoons you’re holding decreases each time you encounter a situation that would pose a serious challenge to a person with a disability or chronic illness; the number of spoons decreases proportionally to the amount of energy needed to carry out a particular task. For example, you’d lose a spoon for getting out of bed in the morning, as such an action can be incredibly taxing to people with limited mobility, physical handicaps or, like in my case, arthritis.

The idea is that, before long, you’d be completely out of spoons just from doing things you do each day without thinking about them.

The goal of the Spoon Theory Demonstration and its variants is to help people without disabilities to understand what we go through every day; maybe if someone can put themselves into our shoes for just a moment, they can understand and empathize a little better. Maybe it’ll change the way they look at everyday actions, making them more aware of their own ability.

The people who designed Case Western Reserve University’s campus clearly never did the Spoon Theory Demonstration. The campus is a logistical nightmare for people with physical disabilities because older buildings like the Flora Mather

House have no elevator or equivalent accommodation. In addition, many buildings lack gender-neutral restrooms for LGBTQ+ individuals who might not feel comfortable using multi-stalled gendered bathrooms.

But the sad truth is that Mather House isn’t even the only building with serious accessibility issues.

Buildings all across campus, including some of the residential facilities, have limited accommodations for disabled individuals.

Instead of equipping each residential hall with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible rooms and restrooms, the university often offers its disabled students a place in Stephanie Tubbs Jones Residential Hall or the Village at 115.

On the one hand, this is great, as both spaces are set aside specifically to accommodate disabled students. On the other hand, if you’re a secondyear student, you might be forced to live on the opposite side of campus from your peers to accommodate your disability. All of this, by the way, ignores the eight ominous flights of stairs separating the “Bottom of the Hill” residents of South Residential Village from those at the “Top of the Hill.”

The limited accommodations provided for disabled individuals also don’t take into account issues of intersectionality. For example, in Crawford Hall, there is no bathroom that is both gender neutral and ADAaccessible. This means that if you’re a non-binary individual in a wheelchair, you’re just going to have to find another place to go to the bathroom.

For the sake of argument, let’s add another layer to this hypothetical situation. You’re now a non-binary individual in a wheelchair with a digestive autoimmune condition like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease that makes you have sudden,

Jack Lewis/Observer

A staircase in Mather House. It’s just one of many buildings at CWRU that lack accessibility options for disabled students.

unstoppable urges to use the restroom.

Now, finding another location to use the restroom isn’t an option—you need a restroom, and you need it now.

Sometimes, the university approves special parking passes to students, staff and faculty with limited accessibility.

But, to quote the website describing this accessible parking, “even when students are approved for accessible parking, they must purchase a permit through parking in Access Services.” What if you’re a student paying your own way through college and require a car for disability reasons, but can’t afford the exorbitant $61.99 per month for even the cheapest parking pass on campus?

To give credit where it’s due, the university is working to change some of these accessibility issues. For example, Undergraduate Student Government, partnering with organizations like the Social Justice Institute, is working on an initiative to increase the number of

single stall gender inclusive restrooms across campus.

But this isn’t enough. The CWRU community need to push harder to make our campus not just accessible to people of varying degrees of ability, but inclusive of them too; there’s a difference between providing these accommodations and standardizing them.

Once providing appropriate disability accommodations in every single building on campus is the norm, CWRU will have truly established itself as supportive of the people who need these facilities.

Katharine (Katie) Toledo is a secondyear student from Columbus, Ohio. She studies political science and history on the pre-law track with a minor in Spanish.

Her hobbies include watching Netflix, staring at photos of her two beagles, visiting Mitchell’s Homemade Ice Cream and writing for The Observer.

12 opinion

3/29/19

A Texan’s first winter Case Embraced Christian Reyna All my life, I loved the hot weather and despised the cold. One hundred degrees was nothing to me; just a normal summer day back home, perfect for me to go out with family and occasionally go to the beach, which was only an hour and a half drive away. If it got down to the 90s, that was amazing, and the 80s were even better. I would survive the heat no problem, but cold weather was my kryptonite.

Cold, to me back in Texas, was 50 degrees. I’d panic if it reached the 40s. I thought the world was ending if it was in the 30s. It was unspeakable to go outside in the very rare instances when it dropped below freezing.

Before I came to Case Western Reserve University, I realized that the weather was going to be a big change.

I thought I would be fine in my new environment.

However, I underestimated the change.

Autumn came around and I thought, “well this isn’t too bad.” I’ve never seen leaves change colors before, and it was so beautiful to me. The weather was fine as it dipped into the 60s, and the 50s weren’t too bad with my new winter coat. I thought that if winter was gonna be like this, then maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

Boy was I wrong. Winter arrived, and I was freezing.

I’ve never experienced such cold and frigid temperatures. As the temperature got closer and closer to single digits, it became absolutely horrendous to deal with. Even with warm gloves, a good winter coat and a beanie, I was cold. I dreaded going outside to class during those days.

The addition of snow only added to my internal chaos. Sure, snow is fun and all as I’ve only seen it twice in my

life before coming here, but I quickly learned to not wish for it too often.

I slipped and hurt myself a couple of times. Snow blew into my face, and there were times when I couldn’t open my eyes fully. The beauty of snow that I had seen in movies was quickly removed from my head.

The beautiful autumn scenery was gone as well. Winter killed all the plants, and it looked depressed everywhere I looked. The snow would mix with dirt and debris, and it didn’t look nice whatsoever. The sun only rarely came to say hello. I missed seeing life in full bloom.

I started to miss Texas weather during these cold and lifeless days.

My family and friends would tell me of their sunny days back home, and it made me even more homesick. The lifeless weather certainly made me feel like I was far from home, and I was not enjoying it. However, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Despite initially hating the cold and

unpredictable weather of Cleveland, I’ve since come to learn to appreciate it. I see it as a way to train me for the cold extremes because I am already accustomed to the hot extremes. By the end of winter, I got used to the cold, and now I think 30s is amazing.

Whenever I see friends and family complain about it getting cold because it’s in the 50s, I laugh and invite them to Cleveland, bragging that I’m thriving in far harsher conditions.

Winters here aren’t too bad, there are just some outlier periods when we’re hit with a polar vortex. Other than that, it’s pretty nice.

But still, I can’t wait to go back to Texas in the summer and tackle the opposite extreme again.

Christian Reyna is a first-year biomedical engineering major who is also planning on minoring in Spanish.

He absolutely loves dogs and probably procrastinated in writing this article.

Vulgar humor opens conversation on privilege Zhu’s Clues Caroline Zhu Amid her relatable quips about the state of Cleveland’s streets and being a woman today, Michelle Wolf’s campus appearance last Friday focused on the importance of privilege in modern society. Planted in fun hypotheticals about the historical women’s rights movement, her words helped open conversations about privilege in feminism.

Wolf opened with a joke about being harassed on the streets of Cleveland, immediately setting the tone for the rest of her set as a commentary on the experiences of the modern woman.

Much of her set was composed of her trademark “vulgar” humor, as she calls it, ranging from discussions about swapping genitals with the other sex to talking about the close details of periods. However, her dirty humor was not necessarily shallow but constantly alluded to the issues of privilege and race inherent in modern feminism.

Wolf points out that feminism is, at its core, intersectional. It cannot be discussed without also discussing other tensions, from race to class to sexuality. One memorable joke from her set involves the fight for women to

hold jobs in the mid-1950s, when this fight was truly only fought by and for white women. Wolf calls attention to how black women in America often had to work as household help in the very houses where white women spent their days.

The issue that Wolf implies can be found in how white women try to define

Although it would be easy for Wolf’s criticism to feel hollow and played out for laughs, what sets her apart from this is her recognition of her own privilege as a white woman. Her privilege is the platform that she stands on to deliver a message to all other women who have similar platforms that they must advocate for all women. As a feminist,

“Although it would be easy for Wolf’s criticism to feel hollow and played out for laughs, what sets her apart from this is her recognition of her own privilege as a white woman.”

- Caroline Zhu, on the importance of intersectionality in modern feminism. modern feminism in the terms of their own struggles. This does not invalidate the struggles that all women face, but acknowledges that white women hold privilege that no other demographic of women possess.

Wolf acknowledges that this is an aspect of feminism that is non-negotiable; we fight for all women or the struggle loses its grounding.

Feminism must be intersectional and to suggest otherwise is to split the

community of women apart and weaken the movement. Often, we avoid the topic of privilege because it acknowledges an inherent power imbalance that those who benefit the most from this do not want to acknowledge.

However, discussing privilege is not an attack on those who have it but a call to action to use that privilege for the common good. Wolf is able to integrate these concepts into a tightly bound comedic package which makes the message easier to internalize.

Ultimately, in order to have constructive discussions about feminism and intersectionality, we must open the conversation to talk about the differences between demographics of women in order to maintain a united feminist movement. It is unproductive to assert that everyone is equal when this is fundamentally untrue and can only impede progress. Although Wolf’s message was not incredibly deep, it did not have to be.

Her statements only need to open conversations on the topic, whereas we must continue the dialogue to develop a better understanding of the differences between groups of women.

Caroline Zhu is a first-year computer science and economics major with a deep and abiding love for Shakespeare.

She is currently asleep and cannot take any messages.

No shame in taking Pass/No Pass courses Unsolicited Opinion Won Hee Kim My fingers trembled as I typed in the request. I double-checked my grammar. I changed a few words, moved the mouse over and hit submit. You can’t take back the request, the system warns me.

Don’t worry SIS, I know.

The deadline to request to change a class to pass/no pass (P/NP) grading is today, March 29. For first-year students, it’s next month.

I was nervous about submitting the request, but now that I’ve done it, I’m relieved.

P/NP grading is an alternative to the standard A-F grading that does not count toward GPA but gives the same credit hours as normal.

According to the bulletin on the school website, undergraduate students can take “one course each fall and spring semester on a P/NP grading basis, provided they remain enrolled in at least 3 credit-hours of courses for regular evaluative grades.”

P/NP grading sounded like the ideal solution for my grades and my stress, but I hesitated for a long while because I was worried about the stigma. What exactly does it say about a student if they take a course without grades? Would they be perceived as lazy or uncaring about school? Overly focused on their GPA and not on actual learning?

I talked extensively with my friends, siblings and even complete strangers before I came to the conclusion that, well, the option is there for a reason.

“As someone who is really concerned over mental health in this country, pass/no pass classes offer the opportunity to learn without pressure,” Samantha Chrin, a fourthyear chemistry major and my friend told me.

It’s important for college students—for everyone, really—to take care of their mental health, as it affects all aspects of our lives.

I briefly considered dropping the class completely to avoid the stress.

But we’re students of Case Western Reserve University, and it’s no question that we want to learn. Pass/No Pass classes, in that way, are the love-child of auditing classes and regular classes. They allow students to be invested in their learning without the extreme focus on letter grades.

However, taking classes as P/

NP may be troublesome for other reasons. “You may change your major,” a family member warned.

I didn’t think I would, having senior status, but it is a concern for underclassmen. The grades might also look bad on a transcript, but so long as they are not for major/minor courses, everything should be fine.

As a final test, I went over to another friend, someone I respect a lot. “I’m thinking about making one of my classes pass/no pass,” I said.

“What do you think?”

“Cool,” he replied.

It just solidified that there’s no reason for me, or anyone else for that matter, to feel ashamed of going the route of Pass/No Pass.

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

sports

observer.case.edu

13

Athlete Spotlight

Third-year rower finds support in teammates

Claire Nordt Sports Editor

Madison Piccirillo is a third-year chemistry and finance student who has dedicated much of her time at CWRU to the CWRU rowing team.

When she’s not in the water, she enjoys spending time with her Delta Gamma sisters and sleeping.

What is your favorite part of being on the crew team? Why? The people—it is a very supportive, yet competitive atmosphere. We have the same goals.

Where did you get your passion for the sport?

I’ve been rowing since ninth grade. Honestly I’m not sure how I started, but I fell in love with it. My favorite part of rowing is the swing of the boat. It’s really encouraging to know that that speed is not just related to individual power, but to

flow as a whole.

Do you have any fun memories or stories?

It’s a rowing tradition to throw the coxswain in the water if you win first place and that’s always exciting. At one of our scrimmages last year, our coxswain Natalie [Schemer] called a power ten for chicken nuggets. I enjoyed that.

What other activities are you involved with on campus? What do you enjoy about them?

I work part time at the hearing and speech center. I do [undergraduate] research in the biochemistry department. I am a Delta Gamma sorority member. I love DG because my sisters are super goofy.

Why did you choose your major? What interests you about

Courtesy of CWRU Delta Gamma website Madison Piccirillo, a rower with the crew team, stands next to an elephant.

it?

I am a chemistry and finance dual degree Bachelor of Science major. I want to go into pharmaceuticals, so I really enjoy learning both the scientific and administrative side.

What are your favorite activities to do in your free time?

What free time? I just finished “You” on Netflix. I like to sleep when possible.

A glance at the upcoming MLB season Claire Nordt

World Series champions, the Boston Red Sox. In addition to the title, the Red Sox have Mookie Betts, who is the reigning AL MVP, keeping them a team to watch.

The first day of spring has passed, Not to be overlooked are the Tampa Bay meaning it is officially the season for Rays, who have put together a talented warmer weather, more scoops of Mitch- young roster. Last year, they won 90 ell’s Homemade Ice Cream and less games with the second-youngest position concentration in class. But the start of player group and the youngest pitching spring also represents the start of some- staff, definitely gaining them credit as a thing much greater: the start of the Major team to keep an eye on this season. The League Baseball season. Opening day remaining teams, the Toronto Blue Jays was March 28 this year, and the date be- and the Baltimore Orioles, both have low gan the six months of home runs, steals predicted chances of winning the division and endless excitement of the regular according to FiveThirtyEight’s model. season, followed by the enthusiasm Moving into a look at the AL Central, and passion of the postseason. With the the Cleveland Indians stand out in the diseason beginning, it is only natural for vision. If the Indians win the division title, baseball fans to spend their days eagerly it would be their fourth straight. The preanalyzing this season’s roster, predict- vious three years they have won by a maring just how each team will perform and gin of 12.7 games, a pretty comfortable anticipating how new players will affect position to be in. The closest competition each team’s play. the Indians have are the Minnesota Twins With 30 teams in the major leagues, according to the predictions of FiveThirit can be challenging to know where to tyEight. The Twins have potential in Eddie begin when looking into how the sea- Rosario, a talented outfielder, and Michael son will play out. The website FiveThir- Pineda, who the team signed in December tyEight analyzed the upcoming season 2017 but was unable to play in 2018 due with a predictive model that lays out the to his surgery recovery. Falling to the bottwo leagues of the MLB. A look into this tom of the division are the Chicago White model and the analysis done by FiveThir- Sox, the Kansas City Royals and the DetyEight offer insight into how the season troit Tigers. The three teams have a less may look. than 10 percent predicted chance of winStarting with the American League ning the division combined.

(AL) East, the New York Yankees are In the AL West, the Houston Astros always a popular name throughout the remain the team to watch. They won the season, and this year will be no different. 2017 World Series, finished last year with The Yankees boast a roster of big names, 103 wins and are likely to continue that including Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stan- success this year. The FiveThirtyEight ton and Aaron Hicks. Last year, they set model predicts the team to win 98 games the record for home runs hit in a single this season, the highest of all teams. The season by a team with 265, a feat the big names of Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve team will hope to repeat. The Yankees’ and Justin Verlander still yield promise bullpen has been considered one of the of great performances. The Los Angeles best in the MLB, but an injury to start- Angels agreed to an extension with Mike ing pitcher Luis Severino does leave the Trout which keeps him with the team for team dented at the start. the next 12 seasons, allowing them access Also in the division are the reigning to his talent for years to come. However,

Sports Editor

the team still has a low predicted chance to win the division, just below the Oakland Athletics and above the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.

This wraps up the American League, bringing the preview to the National League (NL).

In the NL East, the competition looks tough. FiveThirtyEight predicts the Washington Nationals will come out on top, despite the loss of Bryce Harper. The team still has a core with Max Scherzer and Anthony Rendon, who were worth 9.5 and 4.2 wins above replacement player (WAR) in 2018, respectively, according to Baseball Reference, both higher than Harper’s 1.3.

Speaking of Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies garnered plenty of attention after signing him to a 13-year contract.

Although Harper may be the most wellknown name on the team, his WAR trails those of teammates J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, who were both worth 4.3 WAR and also offseason additions.

Hopefully the additions will keep the Phillies from repeating last season, when the team went from leading the NL East in July, to finishing the season with a losing record.

Also providing competition will be the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves. The Mets picked up Edwin Diaz, Robinson Cano and Wilson Ramos in the offseason, and the defending division champions, the Braves, gained former MVP Josh Donaldson.

The Marlins complete the division, but with a less than one percent predicted chance of winning the division, they likely won’t be the topic of any postseason discussion as the season progresses.

For the NL Central, FiveThirtyEight predicts a tough fight for the title between the Milwaukee Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs.

The defending division champions, the Brewers, have a core that features the

2018 NL MVP, Christian Yelich. In addition, the team’s bullpen ranked among the best last year with an ERA of 3.47.

The Cardinals used the offseason to add to their roster, picking up Paul Goldschmidt who was worth 5.4 WAR. The acquisition, along with their 88 wins last season, put them as expected contenders.

The third contender, the Cubs still have Javy Baez, Kyle Hendricks, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, so they should not be counted out. Rounding out the division are the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds, who are predicted to win 79 and 77 games, respectively, placing them in the middle portion of the league.

In the NL West, it is easy to hone in on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have competed in the previous two World Series, falling short in both. The roster contains many big names, including Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler in the bullpen, and Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor in the field. The Dodgers’ competition in the division will likely come from the Colorado Rockies. Last season, the Rockies tied with the Dodgers at 91 wins through the 162 games, forcing the teams to compete in a one-game playoff for the division title.

The San Diego Padres acquired Manny Machado, previously with the Dodgers, in free agency, but the acquisition does not push them to contenders at this point according to the model by FiveThirtyEight. The Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants complete the division, with both teams falling short of being expected standouts.

With all these teams to keep eyes on, the season is bound to be exciting.

Whether each division is won by its predicted winner or a team that unexpectedly conquers, there is no uncertainty that the season will be exciting, eventful and an overall great way to stay entertained through the spring and summer months.

14

sports

3/29/19

Owning Northeast Ohio Spartan softball eases through regional competition

Andrew Ford Staff Reporter

Cleveland-area schools have proven to be no match for the Case Western Reserve University softball team.

In the past week and a half, the Spartans have gone 7-1 against four teams from Northeast Ohio.

To begin regional play, CWRU went 1-1 against Baldwin Wallace University. They lost the first game 5-4 in extra innings, but they came back and subsequently defeated the Yellow Jackets 14-4 in five innings. In the loss, first-year player Liv Thomas and second-year catcher Dusstyn Reynolds each hit home runs. Reynolds launched another home run in the win, and this time was joined by fourth-year shortstop Nicole Doyle, her first home run of the year.

The Spartans’ bats stayed hot on Saturday, March 23 against Kenyon College, quickly defeating the Ladies in both games, 13-2 and 14-6. Thirdyear first baseman Nicole Carty had herself a day, specifically in the first matchup. She went 4-for-4 from the plate, including a double and a home run, and drove in three runs. Carty could not be stopped in the second game either, going 3-for-4 from the plate and scoring two runs, while also pitching a complete game. Doyle had a tremendous game as well, recording five RBIs. On March 24, the University of

Courtesy of CWRU Athletics Third-year pitcher Ilissa Hamilton prepares a pitch. The Spartans have gone 7-1 against four teams from Northeast Ohio.

Mount Union didn’t stand a much better chance.

The Spartans beat the Purple Raiders in both games of the doubleheader, scoring nine runs in each contest and holding Mount Union to one total run. Third-year pitcher Ilissa Hamilton pitched a complete game shutout to begin the day. Hamilton only gave up two hits and struck out two. Reynolds went 2-for-3 from the plate with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Second-year pitcher Sidney Brannam

started and finished the second game, allowing one run in six innings. Carty again dominated at the plate, going 4-for-4 in the game, including a tworun home run that ended the game because of the mercy rule.

Against John Carroll University (JCU), the streak continued with two more victories. The first game was a 6-4 win for the Spartans in which CWRU launched five home runs.

Hamilton pitched the entire contest and picked up another win, bringing

her record to 5-2 this season. She also contributed at the plate, hitting one of the home runs. The Spartans soundly defeated JCU in the second matchup, 10-0 in five innings. Hamilton hit another home run to pace CWRU offensively.

CWRU will begin University Athletic Association competition on March 29 and 30 at home against New York University. The doubleheader starts at 2 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Athlete Spotlight

Second-year jumper designs bridges Niko Kamlet Staff Reporter

Luke Traverso is a second-year jumper on the Case Western Reserve University track team. Last indoor season, he topped his pole vault at 4.01 meters, and he is looking forward to building on that this year. In the classroom, he is working toward a degree in civil engineering. He puts what he is learning to use by serving as the vice president of fabrication for the Steel Bridge Design Team.

What is your favorite part of being on the track team? Why?

My favorite part of being on the track team is that everyone pushes each other to be the best they can be on and off the track.

I have made lifelong friends and have had some truly amazing training partners that have held me accountable. The feeling of competing is a feeling like no other and has been significantly enhanced by the people I have been able to do it with.

Where did you get your passion for pole vault/jumping? Any good stories?

I started out as a distance runner in seventh and eighth grade and saw high schoolers pole vaulting in the spring. I then asked myself, “Why am I running in circles when I could be doing that?” I was extremely awful at first but was intrigued by the complexity and physicality of the sport, which led me to a pole vaulting club. My coach Branko Miric taught me how to pole vault, diet, lift and find my passion. I enjoy all the challenges of fitness, and I believe pole vault brings them together.

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

Why?

At DIII All-Ohio Indoor Championships this February, I qualified for the meet as sixteenth out of sixteen competitors. I cleared 4.01m on my first attempt, setting a new lifetime best and placing seventh to score two points for the team. I had been stuck at 3.81m for two years and had several minor injuries last year that prevented me from competing. I was starting to question why I was putting so much effort into something for no improvement and not even being able to contribute to the team. When I cleared that bar, I felt the two-year weight being lifted off my chest

and contributed to the team in a meaningful way for the first time.

I decided to major in structural civil engineering as I love the idea of designing something for people, and then being able to see its impact in person. Infrastructure is used to connect people and communities, and having a degree will allow me to work with a firm to create the best solutions to the problems at hand.

Aside from track, what else are you involved in on campus? Clubs, student organizations, Greek life? Can you explain what you do in What do you hope to accomplish with the them?

degree?

I am the vice president of fabrication for the Steel Bridge Design Team in which I lead the construction of a 22 foot bridge that we assemble and test at the annual [American Institute of Steel Construction] AISC Student Steel Bridge Competition. My responsibilities include teaching members how to weld and planning in detail how to make our design a reality. We are currently fabricating the bridge and are extremely excited to compete at the University of Michigan this April. I am also a representative of Men’s Track and Field in the Case Association of Student Athletes (CASA), and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

What are you majoring in? What interests you about it?

I am considering pursuing a master’s degree, and then will work towards my Professional Engineer License that will enable me to sign off and submit designs to public authorities. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a professional organization that gives a grade to the nation’s infrastructure every four years. In 2017, the United States received a D+ rating mostly due to structural deficiencies, structures that are at the end of their lifespan, and the fact that underperforming infrastructure costs the average American family $3,400 dollars a year.

Engineering is problem solving, and this a very large problem that I want to help solve in whatever way possible. Getting a technical degree is the first step, and I am looking forward to all of the opportunities it will provide.

sports

observer.case.edu

15

Ohio man has perfect bracket through first two rounds Emily Young Copy Editor

Every year, March Madness rocks the nation with torrents of busted brackets, crushing dreams and ruining sports enthusiasts’ chances of winning their office betting pool.

This year was particularly brutal, with only top-seeded teams making it to the Sweet 16. The lowest seeded team to make it to the Sweet 16 is the University of Oregon at 12, followed by Auburn University, a 5-seed. Oregon played the University of Virginia (No. 1) on Thursday, March 28 with results not available as of press time. Auburn will face the University of North Carolina on Friday, March 29 in an interesting matchup. The Sweet 16 games will end on Friday, March 29 with the Elite Eight games finishing the weekend.

Despite the surprising turn of events in the tournament, one perfect bracket remains. For the past several years the NCAA has been tracking brackets entered into major online games such as those hosted by Yahoo!, ESPN, CBS, Fox, Sports Illustrated and the NCAA itself. Out of the tens of millions of brackets submitted this year that the NCAA has tracked, only one bracket has correctly predicted 48 out of the past 48 games correctly, blowing away the previous record of 39 consecutive games predicted correctly in 2017.

The bracket, named “center road,” was created by Ohio-native Gregg Nigl, a 40-year-old neuropsychologist from Columbus. Nigl has been filling out brackets for over 10 years and has commented on the surreal nature of having a successful bracket, let alone a perfect one. “Center

Jack Lewis/Observer March Madness brackets are a ritual for many. Above is just one of the many brackets that have been created this year.

road” is one of four brackets that Nigl submitted this year, with two of his other brackets placing first in their bracket groups.

Nigl has a history of successful brackets, winning competitions with a few different brackets at his work.

He attributes his success to a lot of luck and a little strategy. According to an interview with ncaa.com, Nigl “always watch[es] bracketology,” and puts a lot of faith in the advice of the professionals. Other times, Nigl does what we all do and picks the team he likes best, either because of their city, their players or their coaches. While the team rankings, bracketology and

favoritism all play a role, Nigl really emphasizes the role luck has to play in picking a winning bracket. In fact, one of the most astonishing aspects of the “center road” bracket is the insane odds of picking a perfect March Madness bracket from start to finish.

While most experts will tell you it can be difficult to calculate the exact odds, the NCAA has calculated the odds of picking a perfect March Madness bracket as one in 9.2 quintillion. While this is a feat that Nigl has yet to accomplish, the 48 games he has correctly picked so far put him only 15 games away from beating the odds and choosing the per-

fect bracket. If Nigl accomplishes this, he will be the first person in the history of the tournament to do so, according to the NCAA. Ironically, Nigl has not been following this bracket closely, instead choosing to focus on his other submissions in more hotly contested bracket competitions. However, after receiving media attention from outlets ranging from Fox News to People Magazine, Nigl is sure to be watching. For those who want to follow along with the historic bracket, you can find it on ncaa.com and watch as the second half of the tournament unfolds.

sports Baseball extends winning streak to six with two sweeps

Third-year southpaw Scott Kutschke throws a pitch for the Spartan baseball team.

Sanjay Annigeri Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University baseball team continued their home dominance by defeating State University of New York at Fredonia in a doubleheader 19-0 and 5-3 on Saturday, March 23 and St. John Fisher College in a doubleheader 5-4 and 7-2 on Sunday, March 24.

Against SUNY Fredonia, the Spar-

tans kept the bats swinging. Fourth-year second baseman Rocco Maue totaled six runs over the two games, while secondyear catcher Jake Ryan went 6-for-10 at the plate.

After a quiet first few innings, the Spartans scored nine runs in the third inning, sending 14 batters to the plate.

Maue hit a bases-loaded triple to increase CWRU’s lead.

Maue also hit two solo home runs to lead off the fifth and sixth inning, adding to the pile of runs already scored.

Second-year pitcher Matt Levine

Courtesy of CWRU Athletics

pitched seven shutout innings, while firstyear closer Keaton Stankowski preserved the shutout with two scoreless innings.

In the second game of the day, the Spartans came back from a 3-0 deficit early.

Maue and Ryan helped power the Spartans’ run, driving in a combined three runs.

Second-year shortstop Jacob Lott drove in two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and gave CWRU their first lead at 4-3.

Ryan added the insurance run by an RBI single to drive in Lott, leading to the

final 5-3 score.

Against St. John Fisher, CWRU overcame an early nailbiter and then handily defeated the Cardinals.

The Spartans were able to claim the victory on a bases-loaded walkoff single by first-year outfielder Cole Jarrett.

CWRU trailed 4-3 entering the seventh and final inning of the game. Lott hit a one-out triple, while Maue was hit by a pitch. Ryan then doubled to left field to tie the game at 4. Fourth-year third baseman Jacob Kucia was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Jarrett answered with a single down the left field line to drive in Maue and win the game for the Spartans.

In the second game of the day, the Spartans took an early lead and never relinquished it.

Third-year outfielder Samuel Neal started the scoring with a two-run double in the second inning. St. John Fisher answered with a run in the top of the third.

A run-scoring groundout by third-year first baseman Casey McConihe extended the team’s lead. CWRU added another run on a single from fourth-year catcher Tyler Wypiszenski.

The Cardinals trimmed the lead with a run in the top of the sixth. However, the Spartans’ offense would be too much, as Maue and McConihe added late runs in the seventh and eighth innings to extend the advantage to 7-2.

The Spartans finished the week with four wins, bringing their overall season record to 12-6.

The team will begin the University Athletic Association part of the schedule this upcoming weekend, Friday, March 29 to Sunday, March 31, when they face Washington University in St. Louis at Nobby’s Ballpark for a four-game series.

The series starts with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday.

Track and field teams win meet, Cassandra Laois breaks records again David Chang Staff Reporter

The Case Western Reserve University men’s and women’s track and field teams both placed first out of 14 teams at the Amy Adams Memorial Invitational hosted by Muskingham University, located in New Concord, Ohio, last weekend. The Spartan women had 12 total top three placements, edging out Malone University by one point, while the men had seven top three finishes.

Graduate student Cassandra Laios stood out in her events, shot put, discus and hammer throw, claiming first in all three. Laios broke her previous school record for the hammer throw, with a toss of 52.48 meters. This was 0.86 meters longer than her previous record which she

set the weekend prior. In addition to breaking her own record, Laios also broke the school shot put record of 13.12 meters set in 2012, with her mark of 13.29 meters. Her mark of 40.48 meters won the discus event.

Following this performance, Laios was named University Athletic Association Women’s Field Athlete of the Week, her thirteenth Athlete of the Week honor of her career.

Another first place finish came from third-year jumper Samantha Kelts in the triple jump, with her mark of 10.65m in the second round blowing away all the competitors.

The Spartan women had three second place finishes, including thirdyear student Vannessa Pasadyn in 800-meter run with a time of 2:26.53, third-year student Abbey Waltz in pole vault with a mark of 3.35 meters, and second-year teammate Olivia Battistoni in 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:55.84.

The women also ended the invitational with a number of third place finishes. Fourth-year thrower Marina Yu claimed third in the hammer throw with a mark of 43.92 meters.

In the javelin, fourth-year Spartan Shannon Carroll threw 31.39 meters to claim her third place finish. On the track, fourth-year teammates Sophie Trikeriotis and Olivia Newman each placed in their events. Trikeriotis finished the 5,000-meter run with a time of 19:06.02, and Newman crossed the finish line at 1:07.49 in the 400-meter dash. The Spartan women’s 4x100-meter relay team also finished third.

For the Spartan men, first place finishes included third-year student Jonathan Haling, with a time of 49.37 in the 400-meter yard dash and third-year teammate Dominic Oddo in the long jump with a mark of 6.75 meters. First-year Spartan Logan Singer’s time of 4:05.14

earned him first in the 1,500-meter race, trailed by second-year teammate Daniel Grasing who crossed the finish line at 4:06.96. Secondyear jumper Jordan Butler claimed second in the high jump with a mark of 1.80 meters and in the long jump of 6.62 meters. The Spartan men’s 4x400-meter relay team also finished second with a time of 3:33.43.

Hailing recorded his season best time, commenting that “it was good performance indicator leading up to the [more important] All-Ohio and UAA [University Athletic Association] meets.”

Both the men’s and women’s team will return to action next weekend.

The throwers will compete at the Carnegie Mellon Mini-Meet in Pittsburgh, and the rest of the team will head to Westerville, Ohio to compete at the Otterbein April Fool’s Invitational hosted by Otterbein University.